[2000-08-12-OVW-TV] Damaja & Nick Dinsmore vs Mark Henry & Rob Conway

[soup23]

Before the lame DQ, this was possibly my favorite OVW match I have seen. The DQ didn't make any sense as they are able to thwart it off with the Brain Damage. Henry looks for the first time in the decade like a monster and he is a welcome addition to the OVW proceedings. Damaja and Dinsmore have good double team moves and I would like to see them featured as a team. Cornette is yelling too much of course but the frantic pace of the action at least matched the tone this one time. **1/4

[AstroBoy]

It's astounding how much of a punchable face Nick Dinsmore has at this point. I'm supposed to be cheering for him and everything about his body language to his facial expressions to his stupid bicep taunt is so unbecoming of a likeable babyface. Damaja here looks pretty wild with his strikes and kind of rough around the edges. Mark Henry, though, is really good here and really helps give the match a nice base to build off of. This was fine but nothing special.

 

**

[GSR]

Bolin Services jump Damaja and Dinsmore before the bell, getting an early advantage on them. Conway assists Henry with the big ‘Avalanche splash’ on Damaja. They try to repeat it again in the opposite corner, but this time Damaja catches Conway with a Thesz press first, while at the same time Dinsmore comes off the top with a flying crossbody to Henry. The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ runs through an attempted double clothesline, though they manage to take him down with a double Russian leg sweep. Conway is back in the ring, but a Damaja drop toe hold results in him headbutting his own partner in the groin. Combination flapjack into a facebuster, although the execution was off on that one. Dinsmore goes for the Lionsault, but as he leaps to the middle ropes he’s clobbered by Henry who then pulls him to the outside. Belly to belly by Conway for a two. ‘Mr Wrestling’ fights his way out of the ‘World’s Strongest’ bear hug only to run into a great looking tilt-a-whirl slam. The Conway sleeper hold is countered with a belly to back suplex; Dinsmore then avoids the Henry big splash and makes the hot tag. Clothesline from the top turnbuckle by Damaja to both members of Bolin Services. Noggin knocker followed by a pair of ‘Damaja splashes’. Henry saves Conway from the ‘Brain Damage’ and all four men are fighting it out in the ring. As referee Robert Briscoe is pre-occupied with what’s going on elsewhere, Jerome Croney jumps in and onto the back of Damaja. That makes no difference, as this time he’s able to hit his finisher on Conway while at the same time stunnering Croney. The official turns around, sees Croney in the ring and calls for the DQ even though Damaja is covering ‘the Iron Man’. Post-match Damaja and Dinsmore land a nice double missile dropkick on Henry as he’s running his mouth to the camera.

 

Run of the mill tag match that didn’t do much for me. Damaja and Dinsmore’s basic double team moves were fine, but when they tried to incorporate some fancier stuff, that’s where they struggled and things looked sloppy. Henry had some nice moments in there such as attacking Dinsmore on the Lionsault and that real powerful looking tilt-a-whirl, while Damaja’s ‘Brain Damage’/stunner looked great. Did we really have to have a DQ though? I’m guessing it was to protect Conway, but after a few months break in watching the OVW stuff I see that nothing has changed when it comes to ref bumps and outside interference.