Wildside 3rd Ann. Show Review

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

This is going on the new site tomorrow along with the David Young Interview. Without further ado, my first review in a month or two: the Wildside 3rd Anniversary Show, simply known as Wildside Version 4.0.

 

*****

 

I got this tape from Melanie McKee, whose tape site is at http://mmm30504.tripod.com/h3sgirlswrestli...apes/index.html, and who you can contact to get tapes from at [email protected]. She's got Wildside direct from the master copies, Ring Of Honor, IWA Mid-South, and many more tapes, at cheap prices, fast delivery (comparable to Smart Mark Video), and really good quality.

 

Onto the matches....

 

Kid Kool vs. Salvatore Rinauro

 

Salvatore Rinauro RULES. As funny as he was as Kid Xctasy and Sal Del Rio, he's just awesome in the new role. Steven Prazak gets in a funny line when Dan Wilson announces Sal as from Los Angeles: "How many places is he from? Must have been a painful birth." Another thing, I don't know whether Sal made Kid Kool seem more charasmatic, or Kool's nervous, or whatever, but Kid Kool seems to have had all the charisma sucked out of him. Anyway, the match itself was decent. I think the fact that Sal's pants kept falling down hampered his performance, and they seemed to lose communication on a couple of spots. It was still pretty good, yet slightly disappointing. Sal did throw some mean-looking clotheslines, though. Can't you just tell I love putting Rinauro over? Finish came when, in a nice sign of story-telling intelligence, Kid Kool had to break out a new finisher, a Cradle Flatliner, to finish off Rinauro.

 

GRADE: 78

 

Swingers Inc. (Mikael Adrien & Vincent I. Pain, w/ Destiny) vs. Total Destruction (Sean Royal & Rusty Riddle)

 

Who'd like some squash? Cut a piece of this then, because this was a complete squash. The story going into the match was that the Swingers won an underdogs' match (a bunch of undercard guys) to get a spot against a mystery team at this show. Before the match, Mikael Adrien cuts a not-so-good promo about drinking champagne and messing around with the male crowd members' girlfriends. Then, Total Destruction came out and destroyed them. I think Swingers Inc. got in about three moves. The rest of the match was Total Destruction making Adrien and Pain look like a couple of morons. TD finished off Swingers Inc. in about five minutes with the Easy Rider (suplex/side slam off the top rope double-team). After the match, the Dobbins Bros. attack Total Destruction, leading to (forewarning) a pretty bad match at Fright Nights.

 

GRADE: 60

 

Onyx vs. Murder One

 

This was a pretty non-descript brawl. Both guys worked hard, but they're the type of guys can be easily carried to good matches. They just can't carry others to good matches. The crowd did seem into it, which is a positive. Again, this was pretty non-descript, so I can't really say a lot more about this match, other than that Murder One dominated after a flurry of offense from Onyx, but Onyx reversed Murder One's Zoolander into the Blackout DDT for the win in about eight-nine minutes.

 

GRADE: 68

 

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

 

It's well documented that I'm not exactly a big Scottie Wrenn fan. But, I'm a big fan of Tank's, and Future Shock's pretty good too. Scottie starts the match, and lets us know that he will not be selling or bumping for Future Shock immediately, as he dominates both guys without really breaking a sweat. Tank comes in, and does more of the same, but eventually FS get the better of him. Tank made Brandon and Jay look really good, selling and bumping well for them. Scottie comes back in for the hot tag, and once again no-sells and doesn't bump for anything until he gets tied up in the ropes, and gets stomped down by both members of Future Shock. Tank, who was laid out outside the ring, comes back out with his sickle to get DQ'ed. The finish did make Future Shock look a little stronger, since Tank had to use a weapon to get the upper hand at the end, but at the same time, it was the second non-finish between the two teams in a row, which isn't always good. Still, a good match, but not without its bad points.

 

GRADE: 75

 

Wildside Heavyweight Title (No DQ) :

David Young © vs. Iceberg

 

This, well, it rocked. They worked their asses off, the crowd was into it, they told a great story, and ended up with a huge success. The story of the match was that David had to fight through all the disadvantages (Iceberg being near-unstoppable, Jeff G. Bailey's willingess to cheat for his guys, Andrew Thomas's crooked referring), and he got through some of them early, taking out both Thomas and Bailey (with an awesome spinebuster). He then had to throw everything in the book at Iceberg, and Iceberg showed some vulnerability. 'Berg also had to throw everything in the book at Young, which, even though David jobbed, put him over just as much, if not more than he put over Iceberg. Iceberg got the win, but after two Ground Zero splashes, and Young's finisher, the spinebuster. After the match, Stone Mountain makes his return to Wildside, and hands Iceberg the belt. Great fucking match, and this should be Example A on how to do a No DQ/Streetfight.

 

GRADE: 89

 

NWA World Jr. Title:

Jimmy Rave vs. Slim J

 

I was slightly disappointed with this one, but then again, with these two, I expected something equalling Jesus's return to Earth. Still, this was quite the good match. Slim showed shades of his old rudo-self, which was quite cool. Slim got in most of the offense, with Jimmy getting the hope spots. About two-thirds into the match, Jeremy Lopez, who was beat in a previous three-way dance with the other two to lose his match at this show, comes out. He grabs Jimmy's leg, and Jimmy goes to the outside to attack. Slim hits a moonsault onto both guys. Slim and Jimmy go back into the ring, but the finish comes when Slim goes for the 420 Splash, but Jeremy trips him up, and Jimmy hits the Northern Lights Bomb for the win. Like I said before, slightly disappointing, but still pretty good.

 

GRADE: 82

 

Dark City Death Match:

Rick Michaels vs. Rainman

 

This should be required viewing material for any main eventer in any promotion that's in a position to put a guy on the brink over. Rick Michaels completely put over Rainman like a king, yet he kept his heat, and went over clean. He bumped like a madman for Rainman, and made him look like a top guy. See, Trips, it's not that hard to do. Rainman also was really good in here, and seems to have really stepped it up since Blackout broke up. This was a really good brawl. Iceberg and David Young's match was slightly better, if only because their story had a few more intricacies to get over. Still, that doesn't take anything away from how good this match was. They did the match under Texas Death Match rules, with a ten-count after each pinfall. They added a really cool effect to each ten count, as the lights would go out, a recording of a police siren would go off on the P.A. system, and siren lights came on. There was one really dangerous spot where they set a chair on fire (after a few unsuccessful attempts), and Rainman did a face jam on Rick into the chair. If my memory serves me correct, the finish came right after that spot, as neither guy got up for the ten count, so the first guy up won. The first guy up was Rick Michaels. After the match, Rainman jumped Rick with barbed wire knucks, foreshadowing to their barbed wire match at Fright Nights. Really nice brawl, something that not only do all brawlers need to watch, but those in a top position in any promotion that's in a position to put a new guy over big.

 

GRADE: 86

 

John Phoenix vs. Adam Jacobs (Loser Leaves Wildside)

 

This was awesome. Phoenix basically proved here that he hadn't lost anything, and it even seemed like he improved during his time off. Jacobs immediately brings a nice, subtle touch to this match, wearing his ring gear from the Suicidal Tendencies days, as opposed to the tights that he had been wearing since turning face. They opened up with a bunch of familiarity reversal spots just to get the point over to newer fans that they knew each other better than anyone in Wildside. They did some out-of-ring brawling when they realized that the mat work wasn't working. Phoenix then got offense, until Adam's big comeback, that ended when he "hurt" his knee on a kip-over in the corner. Bill Behrens, and even Andrew Thomas, Jeff Bailey's paid ref on TV, check over Jacobs with concern, until Phoenix knocks Behrens out, and attacks Jacobs's knee like an asshole heel should. He finished off with a 450 splash on the leg. If Phoenix wasn't hated by every Wildside mark after this, they're idiots. Phoenix was absoutely awesome as a dickish heel, and Jacobs looked really comfortable playing face, and did it well. Post-match, the Green Guy (who was revealed to be Jason Cross under a green mask) attacked Phoenix between blackouts in the arena. Tremendous match, something both guys should be really proud of.

 

GRADE: 90

 

Wildside Tag Team Titles (2 out of 3 Falls) :

The Lost Boys (Azrael & Gabriel) vs. T-N-T (Tony Stradlin & Todd Sexton) ©

 

This was pretty good, but disappointing, considering the amazing match these four guys had at Freedom Fight. The first fall played off of T-N-T jumping the Lost Boys during their entrance for a 4-way tag match with the SAT and the Briscoes at Heatstroke (August TV taping) and pinned Gabriel within seconds, as the Lost Boys came from under the ring, attacked T-N-T, and got the first fall in under a minute. Second fall was mostly straight tag format, playing off of the format of most of the Freedom Fight match. T-N-T got the second fall with one of the LB's finishers, the Unholy Roller (top rope hurricanrana from one end, frog elbow drop from the other) after the chaos ending segment of the tag formula. The third fall played off of both the match where the Lost Boys won the tag titles for the first time, a ladder match with Blackout at Hardcore Hell, and the Falls Count Anywhere format of the third fall in their other 2/3 falls match from Fright Night 2001. Finish came when Future Shock interfered, leaving Gabriel open for a Double Spike Cradle Piledriver off of the ladder (since the regular one didn't work at Freedom Fight, another thing they played off of). After the match, Scottie Wrenn & Tank help the Lost Boys clear house. I loved how they played off of stuff from each of their previous matches, and they worked hard. But, for some reason, something was a little off. The Freedom Fight match is better, but this is still a good match.

 

GRADE: 84

 

A small announcement: I'm not going to do the semester average grade thing anymore, unless there's a huge outcry for it, since some of the averages make good tapes look worse than they are.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The show started off with a "Hi, how ya doin'?" instead of a bang, and sort of struggled along until the awesome Wildside Title match. From then on, the show rocked, with nothing below an 80 in my standards, and that to me is pretty damn awesome. Also, and I sound like a broken record, but Steven Prazak and Dan Wilson once again proved their superiority as the nation's best announce team. I think the challenge for them now is trying to do badly on commentary. With them, it seems nearly impossible. And finally, I think you should shoot Melanie an e-mail about getting this tape, because it's quality stuff.

 

That's all, folks. Once again, you can contact Melanie McKee for this, and a bunch of other tapes at http://mmm30504.tripod.com/h3sgirlswrestli...apes/index.html, or by contacting her at [email protected]. Next time, Fright Nights 2002, featuring a Tag Team Tournament, and Rick Michaels vs. Rainman in a barbed wire match.

 

Thanks for reading,

Thomas ([email protected])

[Guest goodhelmet]

is this the same alt.wrestling as will parish's old site? i've been waiting for that guy to write something else forever.

[Chunk 0]

When did this show take place. I cant seem to see a date in your review (good work by the way) or on the traders site that you left a link to.

 

ChUnK!

[Guest GroundZeroSplash]

Show took place 9/21/02.

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

is this the same alt.wrestling as will parish's old site? i've been waiting for that guy to write something else forever.

Nope, it's my short name for our site's generic working name, Alternative Wrestling.

[Guest goodhelmet]

you might want to think of another name. although that site has been dead for awhile, (it seemed like only bower, myself and dames read the damn thing) we learned out the hard way that having a site that resembles another site is a way to attract unwanted and often unjustified criticism.

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

The way things are going, we may have some time. Patrick's been offline all day, and I'm almost sure the webmaster dude isn't doing shit. Yes, I am venting.

[Chunk 0]

Show took place 9/21/02.

Yeah, I found it in a google search. But thanks anyway.

 

Did Fluff Dupp work for Wildside? (As Severn Briggs?) And is her real life boy friend a part of the promotion?

 

Also, Styles Clash -> a really good trade I know owes me a tape, and I was thinking of smapling some Wildside. Could you reccomend a single show to get me into the promotion. (Hint Fluff would draw me like a biatch)

 

ChUnK!

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

Show took place 9/21/02.

Yeah, I found it in a google search. But thanks anyway.

 

Did Fluff Dupp work for Wildside? (As Severn Briggs?) And is her real life boy friend a part of the promotion?

 

Also, Styles Clash -> a really good trade I know owes me a tape, and I was thinking of smapling some Wildside. Could you reccomend a single show to get me into the promotion. (Hint Fluff would draw me like a biatch)

 

ChUnK!

Yeah, she works for Wildside, as the valet for Cutting Edge, the Jacey North/Dagon Briggs team. I think the boyfriend you referred to is Briggs.

 

As for a single tape to get, Freedom Fight 2002. Really good opener, suckass second match, but it excells from there. Slim J's breakout match, Briscoe-Briscoe, an amazing T-N-T/Lost Boys match, and one of the finest War Games match I've ever seen. It's probably the best Wildside show I've ever seen, and a nice spot to start watching at.

[Chunk 0]

Yeah, she works for Wildside, as the valet for Cutting Edge, the Jacey North/Dagon Briggs team. I think the boyfriend you referred to is Briggs.

 

As for a single tape to get, Freedom Fight 2002. Really good opener, suckass second match, but it excells from there. Slim J's breakout match, Briscoe-Briscoe, an amazing T-N-T/Lost Boys match, and one of the finest War Games match I've ever seen. It's probably the best Wildside show I've ever seen, and a nice spot to start watching at.

Thanks a lot for the tip. If my trader is able to get hold of it, consider it well and truely ordered.

 

Ill let you know what I think, when ive seen it.

 

ChUnK!

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

Site Note: that 6 percent chance the site won't be going up today I mentioned? It happened. However, I do have a URL to hype now: http://www.puroresufan.com/eastside. We're not going with the shiningwizard.com server; too slow to get stuff up.

[Guest GroundZeroSplash]

Nice Review. I clicked on the link provided and it took me to some Japanese wrestling site.

 

Is that what was supposed to happen?

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

The site's going to be an offshoot of Stuart Max's Strong Style Spirit. Until we get our site up, it directs you to Stuart's site.

[Guest GroundZeroSplash]

Any word on when your site is going up yet?

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

Not really. Patrick's now talking to some guy about setting up templates or something. For now, I'll be on TSM.