NWA Wildside Friday Nights 2002

[Guest TSMAdmin]

NWA Wildside's Fright Nights

 

Greetings and salutations (credit goes to Christian Slater for that one). My name's Thomas (though members of the board and people who previously read my stuff on SmarkTalk may know me as Styles_Clash). I'll be doing NWA Wildside, and IWA Mid-South tape reviews, with the occasional interview thrown in. By the way, to new readers, unless a match is so stupendous that I must, I will not be doing play-by-play.

 

Due to SmarkTalk's old format basically dying of cancer, I can only link you to two of my previous works for now: my David Young Interview and my review of the NWA Wildside 3rd Anniversary Show.

 

Enough with my pimpage, on with the show!

 

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Fright Nights in 2002 was a two-night show, and was mostly a tournament for the Wildside Tag Team Titles, strung in with other title defenses, and a bloody ending to a great feud.

 

Of course, you can get this tape from Melanie McKee, who you can contact for tapes at [email protected], and her list of tapes can be located at http://mmm30504.tripod.com/h3sgirlswrestlingtapes/index.html

 

Onto the matches....

 

Jr. Heavyweight Mega Rumble for a shot at Slim J's Jr. Heavyweight Title later in the night:

(order of entrance): Salvatore Rinauro, Kid Kool, Scott Cage, Scott E. Smooth, Jeff Lewis, Kid Thrilla, Derek Driver, Jeremy V.)

 

Before we start, a funny story: My mom saw the opening minutes of one of the tapes, since she's paranoid and thought I was buying porn, and up until she saw a ring involved, she thought I was watching a porno, and Salvatore Rinauro was a porn star, which is why, for this one review, I will refer to Sal as "The Porn Star", so I can beat the joke into the ground and get it overwith. Anyway, Sal The Porn Star and Kid Kool start off, and in their minute alone, look much smoother than they did last month. Scott Cage comes in next, and, either he's hit the gym hard since Freedom Fight, or Kool and Sal are the puniest men alive, because he looks a good deal bigger than he did in the Rage-Future Shock match at Freedom Fight. Scott E. Smooth comes in, and I HATE him. I mean, it's really apparent in this match, since him and Rinauro are in the same ring, side-by-side, but he's just like Sal Rinauro, only without the charisma, talent, or likability. It's just a crime when he got TV time, and the TWA guys had to wait months. Thank God he's just a jobber. Jeff Lewis is the biggest guy in here. He seemed decent enough, though he didn't do much of note. It's funny, I had heard stuff from Tennessee about how small Kid Thrilla is, yet he's still one of the bigger guys here. Driver came in, missed the Sliced Bread #2 like always, and left. Jeremy V. is over, I tell ya, yet he was one of the first guys out. Order of elimination went: Lewis, Driver, Thrilla, V., Cage, Smooth, and then Sal The Porn Star when Kid Kool rana'd him over the top rope for the win after a two minute sequence at the end. After the match, Sal The Porn Star throws a tantrum at ringside. Good, but suffered from "battle royal syndrome" (too much standing around, punching and kicking). (if I didn't mention how good someone looked in this match, they didn't get to show enough)

 

WINNER: Kid Kool

GRADE: 73

 

T-N-T (Tony Stradlin & Todd Sexton) come out for a promo, and Tony Stradlin can actually cut a good promo. He goes on about "how it's an honor to have a whole tag tournament dedicated to us", and how it's crap that they don't have a bye to the finals. Stradlin finished that point off with a great line: "It's like a breast without a nipple; it just ain't right!" Wildside CEO Jeff G. Bailey comes out, and gives them that bye. NWA Board of Directors member Bill Behrens comes out, and gives the Briscoes a second-round bye (since they lost the belts to T-N-T via interference from Big Business Brown, who is sadly not present here), and the Backseat Boys a second-round bye (since they beat T-N-T in Philly). Unrest becomes apparent in the T-N-T/Bailey camp, but Bailey guarentees a Blackout/T-N-T final. Really good segment, made by the mic work of Bailey and Stradlin.

 

The Michaels Boys (Rick & Chris) vs. Sex, Love, And Money ("Bad" Brad Hunter and "Sexy" Shawn Alexander)

 

Sex, Love, & Money are a couple of North Carolina indy guys, while the Michaelseseseses were a TNA team to this point. The second the entrance for SL&M started, I thought to myself, "Damn, not another set of Swingers Inc.", considering their goofy robes and the overall jackass-ness to their entrance. But, they actually turned out to be pretty decent. I would have prefered Bad Attitude as opposed to The Michaels Non-Brothers, but David was probably booked elsewhere, and Chris isn't too shabby, so I learned to accept it. This was quite the breath of fresh air, as they worked a slower pace here as compared to other Wildside tags recently. They also used the Midnight Express vs. Rock 'n' Roll Express formula, a favorite of mine and others, with Chris playing a convincing Ricky Morton. The rest is history, hot tag, Michaelses get advantage, and they end it off with a "Triple Shot" (Rick's Double Shot, followed by a top rope elbow drop by Chris) on Brad Hunter for the win. Quite the fun little flashback to when men were men, and didn't have pyro in their entrances.

 

GRADE: 77

 

The Lost Boys (Azrael & Gabriel) vs. Dagon Briggs and "~MR. DELICIOUS~!" Jacey North w/Seven (aka the female Dupp from TNA....sorry for reminding you about that)

 

Notice my blatant marking-out for Mr. D.; my philosophy is, if you're not a Jacey North fan, you don't have a soul. Extreme, but true. The Lost Boys seemed to have a fire lit in their ass for this one, as, and I'm not saying they don't work hard all the time because they do, but they seemed to be more crisp and "on" with their stuff. Jacey, of course, was awesome. Dagon was decent, but didn't get enough time in to juggle me either way on him. Dagon and Jacey seemed to have something as a team from early on, which is probably why they're now Cutting Edge, a regular team in Wildside. Formula of the match was Lost Boys started on offense, working Jacey's arm, Cutting Edge get the offense, including the Lost Boys' double "headwich" dropkick, followed by looking up at the ceiling, ala the Lost Boys, and towards the end of their offensive streak, a tope suicida by Jacey, which Dan Wilson just had to reply with "looked like a flying penis". The Lost Boys did get the win soon-after, with the Excommunicator on Dagon. This was fast-paced, and hard work was abound. Great undercard match.

 

WINNERS: Lost Boys

GRADE: 79

 

Total Destruction (Sean Royal (yeah, the same guy from the New Breed) & Rusty Riddle) vs. The Dobbins Brothers (Chad & Jason)

 

This was the ending of a feud filled with run-ins and brawling galore. Before the match, Al Getz returns to Wildside, and says that he used his former commissionary power to get this match no time limit, and did his catchphrase ("whatever Al wants, Al Getz."). Then, the match happened, and it was bad. I mean, I didn't expect a Lost Boys/Briscoe Brothers-type match, hell, I didn't expect much. This match was just a mess. From the opening bell, Sean Royal got busted open hardway after dropping one of the Dobbinses on their head and getting an accidental shot to the face from his boot. Later on in the match, TD went for the Easy Rider, and man, did they ever goof it up. The Dobbins didn't go up for the suplex, and they just ended up landing all over the place. The match ended in a no-contest when Andrew Thomas got knocked out. After the match, the whole locker room cleared, and Total Destruction left through the entrance for the last time, as they left Wildside right after this. The only things I liked about this were that TD sold for the Dobbinses better than just about anyone else in Wildside history, and the overhead belly-to-belly that I believe Sean Royal nailed on one of the Dobbinses. I don't like to bash stuff all that often, but this deserves bashing.

 

WINNER: None

GRADE: 56

 

Brandon K. & Dirk "The Wiggler" Ciglar vs. Onyx & Derek Driver

 

I just want to mention that Dirk Ciglar has the worst nickname in the history of wrestling, though I'm sure that new art of wiggle fighting is surely rising in respect. Anyway, the Wildside representives in this match were originally Tony Mamaluke and Caprice Coleman, but Caprice hurt his knee (and still hasn't come back) and Tony was booked elsewhere on this night. Onyx, who had been announced as Caprice's replacement, cuts a promo pre-match to introduce his new partner, "the man with the second best abs in Wildside", Driver. Once again, it was worked under the RnR vs. MX formula, with the NWA East team beating on Driver, and then Onyx clears house. Onyx got the win with the Blackout DDT on I think Brandon K. This was eh-ish, not bad, but not extremely great, either. Like Onyx's match with Murder One from the Anniversary Show, very non-descript.

 

WINNERS: Onyx & Driver

GRADE: 69

 

Scottie Wrenn & Tank vs. Mind 'n' Matter (Brian Black & Dr. Heresy)

 

I believe Heresy and Black are from NWA East in Pittsburgh, like Ciglar and K. are. Heresy actually attempted to dethrone Scott E. Smooth as "Biggest Jackass Of The Show", with his bad mannerisms and annoying micwork. But, Scott just barely edged it out, and remained "Biggest Jackass Of The Show". This was basically a squash match, with M'n'M getting little offense in. But, Tank took all of said offense, including a cool-looking standing Figure-Four from Heresy. But, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will dethrone Tank breaking out a titty-twister on Heresy, something I never thought I'd see him do. Alas, the finish comes when Black bumps outside the ring, and Scottie hits the Psycho Scottie Slam for the win. This was your basic WWF Superstars squash, plus a move straight out of a 7th grader's offensive arsenal.

 

WINNERS: Wrenn & Tank

GRADE: 64

 

Future Shock (Brandon P. and Jay Freeze) vs. Jeff Lewis & Jeremy V.

 

This was the second best first round match, only to the Lost Boys/Not-Then-Cutting Edge. This match didn't exactly follow the MX vs. RnR formula to a tee, though Future Shock did get some heat on Jeremy, and it was a nice refresher from the other matches that did. Lewis did get to show that he was quite the spiffy worker here, and V. was great at getting the crowd into wanting his comeback. Future Shock's really developed into quite the good heel team, as highlighted here. You can definately tell they've been watching their tapes. Anyway, this match had a faster pace than anything up to this point on the card but the Lost Boys/Jacey-Briggs match, and it sort of livened things up, too. They had the ending chaos spots, which ended when a Lewis/V. double team was interrupted, and Future Shock hit their Aftershock for the win. Fun match, and everyone involved really showed improvement.

 

WINNERS: Future Shock

GRADE: 78

 

Wildside Jr. Heavyweight Title:

Slim J © vs. Kid Kool

 

Match of the first night, right here. You could really tell Slim, like Jimmy Rave, had improved by getting to work with Jeremy Lopez. He combined the intricacies of psychology and matwork that he obviously got from his series with Lopez and Rave, and combined them with his great rudo ring work. Kool came to play, too, playing the underdog face, which he's good at. They did some familiarity spots, since they've met thousands of times on TV and at the Wildside Family Friday Night shows, like Kool blocking the Anger Management, since he knew it was coming, and Slim reversing Kool's cradle flatliner into a front chancery choke, which also works on the level that you could say, looking through Joe Schmoe's eyes that he learned the matwork from Lopez. Finish came when Sal Rinauro, The Porn Star came out to the ring to pull Kid Kool off the top rope, giving Slim J enough distraction to knock Kool off the top rope, and hit the Anger Management for the win. It wasn't on the levels of Lopez-Slim (which I've seen now, review coming on Melanie's "Best Of Slim J" tape soon), but it was still pretty good. Like was mentioned earlier, match of the first night.

 

WINNER: Slim J

GRADE: 81

 

Dory Funk, Jr. & Adam Windsor vs. Blackout (Murder One & Rainman) w/ Jeff G. Bailey

 

Before the match, Andrew Thomas, aka My Hero and Yours, gets taken out of the match by Bill Behrens, and gets replaced by BANG's (Dory Funk, Jr.'s promotion) Claudia "The Claw". OK, I'm sorry, but realistically, I honestly wouldn't really be obeying any referee who looked as much like my mom like she does. Anyway, I was sort of tentative going into this match, seeing as if the only thing older than Dory Funk is this gigantic tree outside my house, and I've heard very bad things about Windsor's ring work. But, this wasn't all that bad. Very methodical pace to the match, but I didn't expect it to move that fast, considering Dory's age, and how bad his knees must be. Rainman was in for the majority of the match, getting his arm worked over by Team Funkin' Dojo. Whenever Dory and Rainman were in there together, it was quite good. Windsor wasn't too horrible, but he didn't do much besides an armbar, a suplex, and a dropkick to the back. The only thing I noticed, and I'm really not trying to be nit-picky, but Windsor got into position for his moves way too soon, which came off sort of silly on tape. Eventually, Blackout used their brawling to get the advantage, attempting to work over Dory's arm, but that didn't work, so all chaos ensued. Jeff Bailey gets involved, so Dory Funk gives him a spinning toe hold at ringside, which is the second time they did that spot in Wildside (first being during Blackout/Windsor & Paul London for the BANG Tag Titles....speaking of Mr. London, when the hell is he going to be back in Wildside?) In the ring, Windsor (who had bumped and sold less than Jeff G. Bailey up to this point) reverses Murder One's Zoolander into a roll-up for the win. After the match, The Michaels Boys chase Blackout out of the arena. This was decent, and they seemed to hide whatever flaws Windsor has that I couldn't see here.

 

WINNERS: Funk & Windsor

GRADE: 74

 

Now, onto Night Two....(overall thoughts on Night One coming up at the end of the review)

 

Before the night begins, we see the Backseat Boys, upset with the locker room accomidations set up for them by Wildside (under the building in a dark, dingy room). Trent Acid looks to be ranting to someone off-camera about how they're "international superstars", and they shouldn't be treated this way. At the end, Wildside Senior Official/All-around Great Guy Andrew Thomas peeks his head in, to tell Trent & Johnny that their match is up in 10 minutes. Johnny Kashmere complains how he has a massage in 10 minutes, but we then fade to black.....

 

This starts the semi-finals of the tournament....

 

Rick & Chris Michaels vs. Dory Funk, Jr. and Adam Windsor

 

This was a fine match. I thought it was better than the Dory/Windsor vs. Blackout match, just because Dory was dominant on offense, and Dory's offense is quite cool, in a flashback type of way. It's definately more legit-looking than a number of guys today (coughTheMaximoscough). I believe I'm stealing a line that Larry Goodman put in his report, but I'm guessing Rick & Chris had a lot of fun bumping and selling for Dory. Like the first night, Team Funkin' Conservatory worked over the arm of their opponent, namely Chris Michaels. Windsor did a little more in this match than the previous night, and he noticeably set up his moves too soon. Rick didn't do so much, and I'm guessing it's because he wanted to conserve energy for his barbed wire match later in the evening with Rainman. Speaking of Rainman, him, Murder One, and Iceberg interfered, as did Onyx to stop them, to cause a double-DQ. I guess nobody told Dory that Chris Michaels was a face, too, as Dory pounded him with forearms after the match. Eventually, Rick cuts a short promo, giving respect to Dory & Windsor and hyping the barbed wire match for later in the night. Once again, good, slower-paced match.

 

WINNERS: None

GRADE: 77

 

The Backseat Boys (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) vs. The Lost Boys (Azrael & Gabriel)

 

Before the match, the BSB cut a promo, with Johnny talking about how "it's nice to see a real team come out to that music for a change," (I don't know if he was referring to Bad Attitude or The Midnight Express, since I don't know how much they've watched Wildside from the past) and Trent goes on, again, about being "international superstars". The match starts off with the BSB stalling, before all four guys go into spot pandemonium. Johnny & Trent break out the stereotypical "gay spots" that they seem to do whenever they debut in a new promotion. The whole match was spot after spot after spot, including the Lost Boys crashing off of the apron into their "steel coffin" (a formation of eight chairs used during their feud with Blackout) in a spot basically stolen from the CZW War Games-style match (which I will review in the next few weeks). Finish comes when the BSB hit the T-Gimmick (double-crucifix powerbomb where opponent's lifted by their arms, not armpits) off the second rope on Gabriel for the win. A spotfest indeed, but at least they hit all of the spots.

 

WINNERS: The Backseat Boys

GRADE: 76

 

Scottie Wrenn & Tank vs. Future Shock (Brandon P. & Jay Freeze)

 

This was good, slightly above par of their previous match. They ran off of the RnR vs. MX formula, which Future Shock seem to have been excelling off of. Tank, as with the previous match, sold and bumped for Future Shock for the majority of the match. Jay Freeze in particular really seemed to be heelish during his assault on Tank, yelling insults at him while working him over. Finishing sequence started with Tank hitting a chokebreaker on Brandon P., and got the hot tag to Scottie. Scottie eventually bumped the ref on accident during a gorilla face buster spot on Freeze. Brandon clocked Wrenn with a chair, but Wrenn kicked out for two. The actual finish came when Scottie reversed a Tornado DDT by Jay Freeze into the Psycho Scottie Slam for the win. Good match, with a hot finish, though personally, I thought they should have either done a draw (setting up a Briscoes win later on), or a Future Shock victory (which would have had to have the Lost Boys win their match).

 

WINNERS: Wrenn & Tank

GRADE: 79

 

Wildside Heavyweight Title:

Iceberg ©(w/ Jeff G. Bailey) vs. Stone Mountain

 

I expected something wretched out of this, but it wasn't all that bad, mainly because Stone Mountain's flaws were protected as much as possible without being in some sort of tag situation, and it was kept short. Iceberg bumped for Stone Mountain, and he did so like he was 200-something pounds, including an Irish whip over the guard rail bump which cleared that section of the audience for sure. They then fought around the ring for a few minutes. They went back into the ring, and Andrew Thomas bumped when he ran into Stone Mountain, who was signalling for the Landslide (Baldo Bomb). Jeff G. Bailey threw Iceberg his veggie peeler, but Stone Mountain got it out of Iceberg's hands, and used it on him, which Andrew Thomas saw, and DQ'ed Mountain for. After the match, the locker room clears to seperate 'Berg and Mountain. This could have been worse, thank goodness it wasn't.

 

WINNER: Iceberg

GRADE: 67

 

Scott Cage vs. Bolo Alexis "B.A.D." Dartarian (w/ Taylor Made)

 

This match was very reminscent of when a new guy would debut in one of the national promotions during the heyday of Hogan, and they'd give him some squash fodder to make him look impressive. B.A.D. seems like the type of guy that they'd be debuting back in those days: big, muscular, uses a lot of power moves, and really bland. Taylor was muscular, and not in much clothing. She didn't do much besides trip up Scott Cage. Cage really made B.A.D. look like a million bucks here. He bumped and sold like hell for him. Finish came when B.A.D hit a cobra clutch suplex on Cage. After the match, B.A.D beat up security guy/Rick Michaels trainee Jason Blackman for touching Taylor when she "accidentally" tripped on the ring steps. In simpleton terms, this match was a short squash.

 

WINNER: B.A.D.

GRADE: 65

 

Iceberg/Jeff G. Bailey Promo

 

Jeff talks about how Iceberg defeated Stone Mountain (albeit via DQ), even though he made Iceberg bleed, and he shouldn't get another title shot. He then challenges Bill Behrens to bring on all challengers, because Iceberg would destroy them all.

 

Stone Mountain Promo

 

Mountain's surprisingly a good promo, albeit sort of weird. He could definately make a good biology teacher, as he talks about tigers' instinct to ravage after the blood they've tasted. I think he also talked about devouring Iceberg, though that could be the lack of sleep I have talking.

 

Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Tony Mamaluke & Onyx

 

Mamaluke's replacing Derek Driver, who replaced him the previous night, and, as stated before, Onyx is replacing the injured Caprice Coleman. The match starts with a really nice matwork sequence with Mamaluke and Jay. Mark & Onyx brawled when they came in. Onyx dominated with his power, until Mark pulled the top rope down as Onyx charged at him to start the car wreck spot, as everyone dove from the ring to the outside. Briscoes dominated offense from then on, until Mamaluke got a hot tag. Mamaluke and Jay have yet another good segment together. Chaos ensues again, with all four guys outside the ring, brawling. Tony and Mark make it back into the ring, but, all of a sudden, the bell rings, and it's a time limit draw, a complete bullshit finish. This was an excellent match; one that Tony Mamaluke and Jay Briscoe excelled in. But it was a bad way to end off the best match of the whole tournament.

 

WINNERS: None

GRADE: 83

 

"The Role Model" Jason Cross vs. John Phoenix (w/ Jeff G. Bailey)

 

Cross returned to Wildside during the Green Guy angle, where each week, a guy in a green mask would attack Phoenix. He eventually unmasked to be Jason Cross. This was Cross's first official match back to Wildside. He did look a little rusty, not as in he was botching moves, because he was hitting nearly everything right on, but because his selling was lackluster compared to before he left. A small bit of that may be because Phoenix knocked him legitimately loopy with an insane 450 splash to the floor, where his knee connected with Cross's head. They started off with Phoenix taking Cross lightly, since Cross hadn't worked since May, minus a match outside of Wildside against Iceberg, but Cross knew everything that was coming, since Phoenix trained him, and they were part of the original Suicidal Tendencies. When Phoenix got the advantage, they went to the outside, where the 450 splash happened. Phoenix went inside and took it to the mat. Minutes later, Cross gets the advantage back, and hits one hell of a corkscrew no-touch hilo moonsault. Bailey interfered with one of his Gucci shoes, but hit Phoenix by accident, which lead to the running Shooting Star Press, and, as Patrick McGovern calls it, THE BEST BRAINBUSTER IN NORTH AMERICA~! Cross then went up top, and Bailey nailed him with a bag of coins, leading to Phoenix hitting the 450 splash for the win. Pretty good match, probably would have been better if Cross was fully aware of his surroundings for the whole match.

 

WINNER: John Phoenix

GRADE: 83

 

Finals of the Tag Team Tournament for the NWA Wildside Tag Team Titles:

Scottie Wrenn & Tank vs. T-N-T (Todd Sexton & Tony Stradlin) vs. The Backseat Boys

 

Future Shock attacked Wrenn & Tank before the match, which lead to Wrenn being taken to the back, and Tank crawling around on the floor a bloody mess during the first half of the match. T-N-T and the Backseats had a better match than the Backseats had with the Lost Boys, mainly because they kept to the simple RnR vs. MX tag formula. They did a big finisher sequence at the end, but it was all for naught, as Tony Stradlin rolled up Trent Acid for the surprise win. Wrenn & Tank rise from the dead to come back to the match, as T-N-T work over Wrenn's knee, which had been attacked during Future Shock's pre-match attack. Wrenn sold better here than he has for a lot of smaller guys. They did a smaller version of the finisher sequence at the end, as Tank blocked the Powder Keg, and Stradlin blocked the F-Bomb. Seconds later, after getting up from a double superkick, Tank hit the F-Bomb, but Todd Sexton pulled Speedy Nelson out of the ring, who creatively ducked a punch from Sexton. Sexton still broke up the pin. They did another false finish with Sexton hitting Tank with a tag belt, and Wrenn hitting Stradlin with a tag belt, which lead to a pin by Stradlin. Then, seconds later, Tank whipped Todd into a Psycho Scottie Slam for the win. Like I said earlier, the finals should have either been Briscoes/Backseats/T-N-T (gets the most out of the non-regulars), or Lost Boys/Future Shock/T-N-T (Future Shock would have benefitted from a win over Wrenn/Tank and being this high on the card big time). Still, this was good, and I liked how it was treated as two different singles matches, and not a six-man clusterfuck.

 

WINNERS: Wrenn & Tank

GRADE: 80

 

Barbed Wire Match:

Rick Michaels vs. Rainman (w/ Jeff G. Bailey)

 

The ring set-up were two sides of the ring wrapped in barbed wire, and barbed wire boards surrounding the sides that weren't wrapped in barbed wire. Andrew Thomas just has to crack me up, coming out wearing oven mitts, googles, and a long-sleeved shirt. Both guys brought barbed wire accessories to the ring (Rainman's barbed wire knux, and Rick's barbed wire baseball bat). The match started with Rick bumping like hell for Rainman, and a nice, slow tease to the first barbed wire spot, which was Rick falling on a barbed wire board outside the ring. Then, they bled buckets. Bailey was great when Rainman was on the ropes, making Rick bleed, yelling at Rainman to dig deeper and such. Rick eventually regained offense, and after a near fall on a suplex, he rubbed his blood on Andrew Thomas's white shirt, which made Andrew vomit during the next pin. Finish came when Rick hit the Double Shot on Rainman on a barbed wire board. Really good brawl, but I thought the Dark City Death Match from the 3rd Anniversary Show was better.

 

WINNER: Rick Michaels

GRADE: 83

 

Post-match, Iceberg attacks Rick Michaels backstage as Jeff G. Bailey yelled at Rick about how he wanted him dead. Good ending to the tape.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The second night was by far better than the first night, which was basically a bunch of average tag matches, and a pretty good Jr. Heavyweight Title match. The second night had some good stuff on it, including a really good blow-off to one of the better Wildside feuds in a while, Rainman vs. Rick Michaels. It was slightly better than Cross-Phoenix, which I think could have been better. The tag tournament was hindered by some bad booking, as the Briscoes were completely wasted in their use, and Scottie and Tank didn't need those belts, and they didn't need the tournament win. T-N-T could have held onto the belts one more week, since Tony didn't leave until late-December. The crowd did seem into almost everything, which is a plus, and for you first-time readers, Steven Prazak & Dan Wilson rule over all other announce teams. They are simply amazing.

 

Again, you can get this, and a lot of other great tapes, from Melanie McKee at http://mmm30504.tripod.com/h3sgirlswrestli....html

 

But, that's not all. Here's a bunch of random promos/angles from some of Melanie's other assorted tapes....

 

Wildside Rarities Vol. 1 - Jeff G. Bailey/Lost Boys Graveyard promo (from CZW)

 

This is, without a doubt, Jeff G. Bailey at his creepy, brilliant best. The camera closes in on Jeff standing above the Lost Boys, who have a gravestone. Jeff delves into the topic of bullies, about how the H8 Club are bullies, and how the Lost Boys have been victims of bullies their entire lives. Jeff then talks about how the Lost Boys can either take the H8 Club out the "Roderick Ferrell way" (Roderick was the leader of a vampire cult who inspired the movie, "The Vampire Clan"), by bashing them in the skull repeatedly until their brains splatter out, or, the preferred way, the "Dylan Kleivold and Eric Harris way", which left 13 dead, and 23 wounded (Kleivold and Harris were the Columbine murderers). That, by the way, apparently caused a stir with a couple of the affiliates of Fake You TV (I know WGTW in Philly edited the promo out, and I believe another affiliate threw a fit about it, but they're the morons who took Wildside off their station briefly because Slim J grabbed his crotch). The promo ends with silence, and the camera pans in on the gravestone, which Azrael and Gabriel finger-painted "H8 Club" on with blood from a wound on Azrael's forehead. Creepy, sick,....I really liked it. This is proof why Jeff G. Bailey is, without a doubt, the best stick man in the business today.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 10 - Iceberg/JGB Promo

 

This was part of the hype for the really good Tank/Iceberg Cage Of Horrors match from Hardcore Hell. Bailey talks about what Iceberg would do to Tank would be nothing compared to the death he's seen in person as an attorney (his character is that of an attorney, but it was sort of put on the backburner during his run as CEO on TV). He finishes with one of my personal favorite lines of his ever: "Tank, you're gonna die; tell Satan I said hi." Another great promo.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 10 - Iceberg/Jeff G. Bailey Promo

 

This could also be titled "Jeff Bailey goes off the deep end". They're standing behind a cage, as Bailey tries to describe what he wanted Iceberg to do to Tank, including carve him up with barbed wire and a veggie peeler (which Iceberg makes look like a deadly weapon). Bailey then grabs an apple, and goes into complete violent orgasmic mode, as he pushes the apple through the cage, shredding it in the process, explaining how the apple represented Tank's head. Bailey says that he's preparing Iceberg by making his watch snuff films and episodes of Seventh Heaven. Hilarious. The promo ends with a close-up of Iceberg, and Bailey, off-camera, saying, "Iceberg, you're a murderer!"

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 11 - Blackout/Lost Boys Graveyard Attack

 

They had filmed vignettes with the Lost Boys in a graveyard prior to this, basically putting it over as their safe haven. Blackout, just to get under the skin of their enemies, decide to attack them in the one place where they felt safe. Besides the fact that I couldn't really find a situation where a cameraman would be hanging out in Blackout's car without them knowing, unless they paid him to film it, this was a pretty good angle.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 17 - Iceberg/JGB Chatahootchee River Promo

 

This was part of build-up for the Iceberg-Stone Mountain match at Christmas Chaos. The Chattahoochee River is where Atlanta child murderer Wayne William was caught after disposing of his last victim. Bailey goes into how Stone Mountain was the only man to make Iceberg taste his own blood, and how Iceberg will get his revenge at Christmas Chaos. Bailey also is somehow able to justify murder. Bailey talks about after Iceberg's done with Stone Mountain, he'll "dump him in the....(points at sign that says "Chattahoochee River")" The promo ends with Jeff flashing a creepy smile, and a close-up of the river. Simplistic, yet brilliant and creepy.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 11 - Iceberg/JGB Promo (Total Abuse book reading)

 

The camera starts with a close-up of the book "The Making Of A Serial Killer" and an article with pictures on Columbine. The camera pans back, and Jeff G. Bailey's reading the book "Total Abuse", which, if I have this correct, is the diary of a serial killer, or something to that extent. Bailey's reading details of a violent murder, and Iceberg's listening intently. Bailey stops reading, and tells Iceberg to do the same thing to David Young in their match, only leave the mess, so the crew can clean it up. He then tells David Young to give his son and wife one last goodbye. Once again, sounding like a broken record, but this was brilliant.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 14 - Iceberg Butchers David Young

 

This is Iceberg carving David Young's forehead as Jeff is expressing his love for the blood over the microphone after the match afformentioned. David bladed so deep that I believe he had to go to the hospital to get his vein put back together. Rick Michaels and Adam Jacobs make the save, and Jeff warns Adam that he's next for screwing over the NWA Elite.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 14 - Iceberg & JGB Promo/David Young Promo

 

The 'Berg/Bailey promo is your usual fare from them, but included Iceberg smearing David Young's blood on his face, and Bailey asking David to comptemplate over either death or forfeit of the Wildside Title. However, David Young cut probably the best promo of his life right after. He's on the floor, with his face and his belt covered in blood. He talks about how he's flying to Japan right after this, and how he has seven days to think about what he'll do to Iceberg when he comes back. He leaves us by telling Iceberg to remember his face as he goes to sleep at night. Every segment featuring Young/Iceberg/Bailey from that night was great-brilliant, and proves why if you want to see wrestling (and violence) written well, watch Wildside.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 17 - Jeff G. Bailey/Rick Michaels Confrontation

 

This was Rick Michaels's return to Wildside TV after his back injury. Bailey comes out, interrupts a progress report on Rick by Dan Wilson, and rants about Cross not getting a match with Phoenix again. Then, Rick Michaels comes out with his wife, Tonya, using a walker since he was unable to walk without it at that time. Rick talks about how his situation isn't sports entertainment, and rips on Bert Prentice, who was the idiot who made him take the balcony bump that caused the injury. Rick then offers to put his career on the line if Cross gets to wrestle Phoenix at Christmas Chaos. Cross then comes out, and puts his own career, and his TNA contract, on the line, too. Then, Bill Behrens comes out, and sanctions the match under these stips: Cross's Wildside career, TNA contract, and Rick Michaels's career vs. Jeff G. Bailey's resignation as CEO of Wildside. This segment was just proof of how a great booker can mess with a fan's emotions, as seeing Rick in that condition brought the mood to a really somber state, but Bailey's wisecracks were so funny, you couldn't help but laugh at at least one of them.

 

AJ vs Air Paris vs Sabu - AJ Styles/Jeff G. Bailey Promo

 

For anyone who says AJ Styles doesn't have much charisma, watch this. AJ is funny as hell here. Bailey goes on about how AJ isn't a hardcore wrestler like his future opponent for the NWA World Title, Sabu, is. AJ's standing there, worried about a modeling contract and his abs. Bailey cuts himself after he picked up some barbed wire, and during the ending, where Jeff goes on a semi-psychotic rant about Sabu possibly messing up AJ, he looks at the cut, and yells, "I'm breaking out in stigmata!" Hilarious. Another really good promo.

 

AJ vs Air Paris vs Sabu - AJ Styles/Jeff G. Bailey/(former Wildside owner, not the comedian) Steve Martin Promo

 

This was right after they did an angle where Tank Abbott knocked out Sabu right before AJ vs. Sabu. Wildside owner (at the time) Steve Martin gloats about how the NWA World Title (which Bailey is holding) is finally in Wildside. Bailey hands the belt to AJ, and AJ's reaction to having the belt in his possession is priceless. Bailey rips on Suicidal Tendencies, saying that if they wanted to name themselves after a band, they should call themselves The Carpenters, since they're "bullimic little bitch boys". Funny. They then head to the ring. Short, but funny.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 1- AJ Styles/Jeff G. Bailey Promo

 

This was after AJ vs. Sabu, where Air Paris interfered to cost AJ the World Title. Bailey called Paris a "bullimic bitch boy" again. To tell you the truth, I can't remember much more from this promo, other than that it was pretty good, and effective.

 

Best of Wildside Vol 9 - Jeff G. Bailey/Big Business Brown promo about the NWA 53rd Anniversary Show

 

This was funny. You see, at the NWA 53rd Anniversary Show, Wildside guys interfered in the main event War Games match between IPW and NWA Florida. This is a follow-up promo to it. Jeff really raked into the NWA for basically being crappy and irresponsible. Everything he said about Wildside being the entity of the NWA is absolutely true, and just from watching this, I can almost tell that these were not just made-up words for a worked promo. Wildside was, and in a way now, is, getting the short end of the stick from the NWA, especially when it comes to Bill Behrens, owner of the most successful company the NWA has, not being voted President of the NWA that year, and then being voted off the board the next year. To add to the hilarity, Big Business Brown was there. I swear, him and Andrew Thomas have to be related, because they share this gene where all they have to do is stand there and make facial expressions, and it's funny. Another good one.

 

"Commercials" for Melanie's videos by Andrew Thomas, Dan Wilson, AJ Styles, Blackout, Slim J, and Jeff G. Bailey/Iceberg

 

These are basically little 5-second plugs for Melanie's tapes. Andrew did his in front of a Simpsons framed picture that I want. Dan's looked to be at his house, since I know he has a zillion tapes, and he's surrounded by nothing but tapes. For some reason, after AJ's plug, I had the e-mail address memorized. Hey, he did the job. Blackout's was alright, besides for a good line from Homicide (now Murder One) which went like this: "When we aren't whacking people in the head with rubber chickens...wait, that's the fake Homicide." Slim J's was funny; talking about servicing his ho's, and then watching some Wildside tapes. But, not to continue the verbal blowjob, but Jeff and Iceberg had the best one. Jeff had the line of the commercials: "We would say we get our snuff from her, but she doesn't have that. But she does have IWA Mid-South, and that's close enough without the real thing." This is a really cool concept for a tape company, and I enjoyed these too.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 18: NWA Elite/Bill Behrens/Rick Michaels Segment

 

This was right after Christmas Chaos, when Jeff G. Bailey lost his right as CEO of Wildside. He comes out smiling, and talks about how the NCW Arena's always going to be his building. Bill Behrens comes out, corrects him, and then introduces Rick Michaels as the new CEO. Rick seems more mobile here. Bill then announces Rick as 2002 Wrestler of the Year, which sends Iceberg into a fury. Rick then books Rainman vs. Jason Cross and Iceberg vs. David Young for later in the night, and warns Jeff G. Bailey about interfering. This was a really good "faces overcome" segment.

 

Best of Wildside Vol. 18: Suicidal Tendencies Reunion/Adam Jacobs Parking Lot Beating

 

This was from a TV taping originally scheduled to have Jason Cross face Iceberg. However, Cross broke his wrist at TNA just days before, so he couldn't work. Bill Behrens tries to explain the situation over the house mic, but Jeff G. Bailey won't have any of that, and sics Iceberg and Rainman on Behrens. Jason runs down to the ring, wearing a cast, and is overwhelmed by the NWA Elite, who attempt to "Pillmanize" his other wrist. Iceberg and Rainman deflect several undercard wrestlers and referees. They go ahead with their plan, until the lights go out, and the old Suicidal Tendencies intro music hits, leading the returning Adam Jacobs and John Phoenix to save their old partner. Rick Michaels comes out and announces a Suicidal Tendencies/Rainman, Iceberg, and Jeff G. Bailey match for the next taping. However, later in the night, as Adam and his wife are ready to head home, Iceberg and Rainman attack Adam Jacobs, as Bailey narrates from the side, sort of similar to when the Horsemen beat down Dusty Rhodes in a parking lot in 1987, and paid a cameraman off to film it. As they're slamming Adam's leg in the car door, his wife calls 911 on her cell phone, which causes the Elite & Bailey to run away. The reunion was a really good, fun angle, and the attack in the parking lot was done to perfection; Adam's wife was even used to perfection in her small role, something that most third-parties in wrestling anymore don't seem to be.

 

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Next time, NWA Wildside's Christmas Chaos, including the blow-off to a storyline that had lasted since October of 2001, and a really fine TV Title match.

 

Thanks for reading,

Thomas Green

 

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