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DEJ's Kevin: Covering Pro Wrestling Ohio - The Wrestlelution Announcement Jul 18, 2008 - 4:32:42 PM
Joe Dombrowski and Jamie Scott started the show off by talking about Wrestlelution. It is Pro Wrestling Ohio's of a pay per view that will be taking place outdoors at the Cleveland Plain Dealer Pavilion on August the 3rd. The match ups for the event will be filled out as the following episodes of the show are chronicled.
Vincent Nothing came to the ring. He called the Ladder Match for the Heirloom Swords terrible because Nothing claimed he had the best ladder match in Ohio this past year. Jake Crist interrupted. Nothing then challenged any of the participants from last episodes ladder match to a ladder match at Wrestlelution. Crist grabbed the microphone and said that him and his brother carried the ladder match Nothing is talking about. Crist challenged Nothing to a match. It started quickly with Nothing getting on the offensive first. Dawn, a new valet, came down to the entrance ramp like Miss Hancock. Nothing controlled the action with a couple of different rest holds and a couple of different suplexes. Nothing locked on a reverse Texas Cloverleaf but Crist got to the ropes to break the hold. Jake Crist then hit some quick strike offense. Nothing caught Crist running at him with an overhead release suplex. Nothing set Crist up in the corner for a splash, missed and then Crist rolled up Nothing with a bridge for the three count. Crist offered his services to Nothing for Wrestlelution as his partner and Nothing accepted.
Ashley Lane, formerly Lexi Lane, came to the ring. Dombrowski noted that she had a falling out with Josh Prohibition and Johnny Gargano. She cut a promo that issued an open challenge. Hobo Joe came out and accepted. "The Clash", Brian Bender and Earnie Ballz, came to the entrance ramp. Jamie Scott left his spot and allowed Ballz to take over color commentary. Lane took the offense to Hobo Joe with some hard kicks and forearms. "The Clash" left the announce booth after Hobo Joe took over on offense. Earnie Ballz distracted the referee while Brian Bender attacked Hobo Joe. This attack allowed Ashley Lane to pick up the win.
Dombrowski pushed Wrestlelution in a backstage promo. He said that the biggest match will be for the newly minted PWO Heavyweight Title. The ladder match was mentioned as on the card. Both Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and King Kong Bundy will be making special guest appearances.
Michael Cash interviewed Dawn. She explained that she was scouting for the creme of the crop. Dawn said "I like it on top" to finish out her short promo.
Mike Tolar came to the ring as the announcers mention his credibility an an All American wrestler at Kent State. Tolar cut a promo about how great he is. The crowd chanted "Cram it." Tolar then ran down the Cleveland's sports teams. He challenged anyone to a match at Wrestlelution and tonight. Jason Bane accepted. Bane dominated the match until he missed a running shoulder block in the corner and ran into the ring post. Tolar then worked on the shoulder. Bane took command again with a clothesline, overhear release suplex and a spine buster. After taking the action to the floor, Tolar distracted the referee which allowed Cronus to sneak up on Bane. Cronus ran Bane head first into the ring post. Bane was counted out. Tolar celebrated the cheap win.
Marion Fontaine, with a new haircut, took on Johnny Gargano. The announcers mentioned that Jimmy DeMarco had been banned from the PWO and guards were posted at all the arena entrances. Fontaine and Gargano both got in some basic offense and then mirrored moves which obviously came up empty. Dombrowski mentioned that Michael Hutter will take on Josh Prohibition for a shot at the PWO Title. Fontaine took over on offense for a couple of minutes. Gargano got to attack Fontaine with some slick looking offense including a drop neck breaker on to his knee. Gargano tried to superplex Fontaine, but he blocked it and hit Gargano with a top rope drop kick. Fontaine bounced Gargano's head off of all four corners and then gave him an airplane spin. That set of moves reminded me of some eighties style offense. Gargano hit a michinoku driver for a two and a half count. After a series of countered leverage pins, Fontaine hit a spine buster. Gregory Irons then came through the crowd and attacked Gargano. This caused the win for Gargano. A brawl ensued but eventually Gargano played the cowardly heel and headed to the back.
Analysis: Creating a large event for one's wrestling league without the help of any larger organizations is a step in the right direction. It'd be great if they could get it on pay per view but that doesn't seem to be in the works. I'd love to attend but already had plans for the weekend. If they come out with a DVD of the event, I will review it at that time.
As for the show itself, the biggest problem was the issuance of four challenges in one night. The first was Vincent Nothing challenging either the Virii or Matthew Justice & "Bloody" Morty Rackem. Having Jake Crist be Nothing's partner helps bring a little bit of independent credibility to the event. I was not keen on Nothing running down the previous ladder match though because he could have given them credit and still put himself over as a better wrestler in ladder matches.
Ashley Lane was the next to offer a challenge which was met with a male opponent. I'm not a proponent of that type of match but they matched up close physically. It served the main purpose of removing Lane from her partnership with the already over Gargano and Prohibition and putting her with the lower card team "The Clash." It should help to reestablish her and hopefully make Earnie Ballz and Brian Bender a more respectable team.
Dawn has another gimmick which is taken right off the shelf from WCW's Miss Hancock character. If the PWO wants an occassional women's match, she'll have to join up with a face. From the sounds of her catch phrase "I like it on top", I'm hoping that she is more of a controlling manager and helps to take someone lower on the card to the top. I'd imagine they could give her someone like "Meat" when the WWE used Jackie and Terri Runnels as the "Pretty Mean Sisters" or P.M.S.
Mike Tolar issued two challenges at one time, one for the evening and one for Wrestlelution. Even though Tolar has gotten a number of victories recently, he's still not big enough to take on Bane and get a rub from him. The count out vicory was the right choice though. Their roster is a little thin so having him pick up a victory against another roster member would be tough to do. The match did help to further the storyline cowardice of Cronus and help to enrage Jason Bane for their match up at Wrestlelution.
The final match between Marion Fontaine and Johnny Gargano was just a backdrop to further the storyline between the feuding Gregory Iron and Gargano. Fontaine's future match up with "Deelicious" Jimmy DeMarco was also put over in a nice manner while not stepping on the bigger feud. Gregory Iron had been selling his head injuries nicely for the last several episodes and this was a perfect way to have him come back.
Kevin DiFrango is the hardest working member of the DEJ Experience. Keep an eye out for Dusty, Eric or Jeremy's articles and our Ask the Experience blog. If you feel like you have some ideas to stir into our pot, email us at theaudioexperience@gmail.com
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