[2001-01-20-OVW-TV] Shelton Benjamin vs Johnny Spade

[GSR]

First time we’ll be seeing Shelton in singles action as opposed to being one half of the Stretching Crew.  Spade has got no look, no physique and comes across as someone who has been pulled out the crowd to be a last minute substitute.  I was thinking this is an odd TV main event but there is some back-story to this which Cornette explains.  In Corny’s eyes he considered Spade a prelim wrestler at best, however Spade didn’t see it that way and ended up quitting OVW when Cornette wouldn’t put him in main events.  Spade then started a vendetta against Corny, campaigning against him, trying to get the people to turn on him, showing up at spot shows etc.  When he showed up at the arena today that was the last straw.  He’d had enough of him disrupting his shows and decided to give him that main event he wanted, against Shelton Benjamin, and told him that should he beat him he’d give him a shot.  Cornette’s not worried in the slightest though because he knows Spade, a man who couldn’t whip cream with an outboard motor, won’t win.  Textbook belly to back suplex by Shelton who has dominated the match so far.  He measures him for the superkick, which connects, and Spade takes a quality bump.  After getting a couple of near falls Shelton leaps backwards in one motion to the top turnbuckle.  Spade is crawling by the referee and it’s blatant what’s coming next.  Yup, ref bump, Spade pulling Robert Brisco in the way of the flip dive.  Shelton with a huge powerbomb but there’s no-one to count the cover.  The Collector (Sylvester Terkay) is out, making his return to OVW, and he attacks Shelton.  Chokeslam followed by a fireman’s carry slam before putting the unconscious Spade on top.  Brisco comes around and despite Dean Hill and Cornette’s yelling from the booth for Benjamin to wake up, he can’t, and Johnny Spade is back on the OVW roster.  He loses it on realising he has won, in the laid out Benjamin’s face as the footage ends. 

The best Shelton has looked so far.  He did perfectly well in carrying this, even if it was admittedly short, and looks as though he has every bit as much, if not more, potential as a singles wrestler as he does a tag.

[soup23]

Spade is as preliminary as it gets for OVW. He should be in the third match of a Charlestown IWA MS show. Shelton looks good running through his offense. Because this is OVW, we even have a ref bump here as Spade moves Briscoe into the way of Sheltons dive from the top. Collector runs in making it four run ins from the back in four segments we saw on OVW tv this week. Collector does his damage and gives Spade the win of all things. *