PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

7/19 SOUTHEASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING TV TAPING REPORT FROM KNOXVILLE, TN

By Larry Goodman on 2014-07-23 08:35:43
The July 19 Southeastern Championship Wrestling event, their second television taping, was another excellent southern style wrestling show.

Opportunities to see the Tennessee brand done with this kind of quality are few and far between these days, so these shows are a pleasure for me as a long-time fan of the genre, and evidently the Knoxville fans think so too. Another full house was in attendance at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium Ballroom of approximately 200. Like last time, the fans were super responsive all night long. What was more impressive is that this was almost a 3 hour show and the crowd was hot for every match and showed no signs of tiring. There were many similarities with the June event, mostly good and one definitely not so good.

Match quality was as good or better than the first show. A few additions and upgrades have been made to the roster. The crowd is into the key angle and they all advanced nicely. Vordell Walker and Shane Williams had another top notch bout. Now for the bad news -- both shows suffered from production issues that reduced the total usable television footage to four hours instead of the planned six hours. Camera operation problems at the June taping resulted in lost footage. Last night, the production crew from FOX 43 didn’t have enough memory cards to last out the show. Two key matches were scrapped and the Walker/Williams probably won’t be seen in its entirety. Fortunately, the TV show doesn’t debut until July 26, so SECW has enough footage to air until the August taping.

(1) Vordell Walker defeated Chris Michaels in 10:08. All Vordell for the first five minutes capped off with a clothesline over the top. Michaels does that bump so well. Michaels suckered Walker in so he could snap his neck off the ropes. Michaels went to work on Walker’s ankle. Michaels signaled for the superkick but Walker countered with an overhead suplex and both men were down. Each man thwarted the other guy’s finisher before Walker used an Olympic slam to set up the tombstone driver. Solid action from wrestlers that look and perform like real pros is never a bad way to open a show. The Knoxville fans have taken to Walker.

(2) Tate Twins (Brent & Brandon) defeated Mitch Miller & Ricky Blues in 4:15. Tates got a monster pop. I knew they were over but not this over. Tates totally dominated with their Young Guns in miniature act. They were crisper on their doubles than last time. Their timing was spot on but some of blows looked really light. Tates finished with the flying bodypress/neckbreaker combo. The Tates are identical twins. I still have no idea which is which and probably never will. Hensley tried to tout the stars of David Marquez’s United Wresting Network and was interrupted by Shawn Shultz. Shultz isn’t a good talker. He is a world class talker. Shultz said he was man enough to admit that he got beat last time by a guy that used to be household name and called out Chase Stevens. Shultz told Chase they didn’t have much in common. Stevens lived in a bar while he lived in a gym. Stevens’ career was on the decline while his was on the incline. But the one thing they did have in common was passion. Shultz said if they teamed up they could be the most dominant force in pro wrestling. Stevens appeared to be giving serious thought to Shultz’s offer before answering with a resounding NO! Shultz said Stevens embarrassed him and challenged him to a match where he promised to take Stevens out of the business.

(3) “The King” Shane Williams defeated Dylan Bostic in 4:17. Williams wasn’t happy that Bostic was able to hang with wrestling wise, so he resorted to the shortcut. King finished with the Lawler fist drop followed by the piledriver. I hope they do something with more with Bostic.

(4) Jessie Belle defeated Rae Lynn in 3:53. A familiar match up to OVW fans. Lynn was the babyface minus the clueless bimbo character from OVW. Belle has put on some weight. She never fit the diva mold to begin with and she’s now built closer to an old style lady wrestler. She’s also developed into much better worker. Lynn busted out a rana and series of butt butts. Belle bailed and did a number on Rae when she followed her out. Back inside, Belle locked in a fine looking Boston crab. Rae made the ropes. Rae’s comeback dropkick landed waist high. Belle won it with a spinning Gori Bomb. The ref for matches 3 and 4 was atrocioius and was never seen again. Veteran Nashville ref Kurt Herron worked all of the other matches.

(5) Ryan Mitchell defeated Shane Andrews in 5:02. Fans cheered the heelish Andrews at first because he’s a local hero, but Mitchell was able to win them over as the match progressed. Mitchell worked for booker Paul Adams in SAW. He’s got size and a good look. This was a competitive match with fast-paced action. Mitchell looked a bit rusty in spots. Mitchell being so much larger than Andrews created a dissonant visual. There was no water in the pool for Andrews’ frogsplash and Mitchell capitalized with the implant DDT.

(6) Shawn Shultz defeated Chase Stevens in 5:38. Shultz tried an up and over. Stevens wasn’t having any of that and decked him with a punch. Shultz went for a leapfrog and got decked again. Stevens used a 10 count stalling suplex for a near fall. Shultz got untracked with punches, a big back elbow and a beat down in the corner. Chase turned the tables on him, and ref Kurt Herron got bumped. Taking believable bumps has never been Herron’s strong suit. With the ref down, “Bam Bam” Lance Erickson hit the ring with a spinebuster on Stevens, and he was dead meat for Shultz’s cover.

Postmatch, Erikson and Shultz bumped knuckles signifying that a partnership had been formed. Shultz taunted Stevens. I popped for Erikson showing up in SECW. They needed a heel monster, and a guy with Erikson’s old school vibe is the perfect fit.

(7) Washington Bullets (Trey & Jon Williams) defeated Mitch Miller & Ricky Blues in 3:40. Bullets got tremendous heat and all their stuff looked good. Bullets took some big bumps before Blues fell victim to the Marion Barry (backcraker/cutter combo).

The Nitros Noise segment with Chris Michaels as the guest was next. This is the best way to use Nick Nitros as he really fires up the crowd. Michaels announced his retirement again. The segment was a redo of last month due to lost footage. We shall see where this leads.

(8) Ryan Mitchell defeated Shane Williams in 9:23. Williams took a high back body drop with perfect form. Don’t see enough of those any more. Mitchell ate King’s boot charging in. Williams timing on that move is so stellar. Williams took over but couldn’t but Mitchell away. Williams missed the Lawler fist drop. Comeback time. Williams escaped from the DDT and hit a leg lariat but Mitchell kicked out. Williams pulled out a set of brass knucks. Walker came to ringside and took them away. Mitchell then hit the implant DDT for the pin.

Postmatch - King threw a turn buckle kicking hissy fit. “I’m the King. I speak the truth.” Williams said he laid Walker out once and he would do it again in his kingdom.

(9) Misty James defeated Nina Monet in 2:58. Monet got the spot that opened up when Amber O’Neal’s booking was moved to the August show. The match was fine except for the visual aspect of the babyface (James) being so much larger and taller than the heel. Monet isn’t one to shy away from trading stiff blows and is a willing bumper. James was able to reverse Monet’s figure four leglock and won it with a running bulldog.

(10) Chase Stevens defeated Lance Erikson (with Shawn Shultz) via DQ in 12:34. Big chant for Chase right off the bat. I loved the simplicity of this match and how it looked distinctly different than anything else on the card. Erikson caught Stevens with a stiff punch. Chase went down face first and was in deep trouble for the entire match. Stevens tried to fire back but really couldn’t get his bearings, and Erikson continued to land big shots. Stevens tried to mount a comeback, but Erikson turned his high crossbody into a backbreaker. Stevens took a chest bump into the buckles and rebounded into Erikson, sending both men down -- a unique and well executed choice to set up Stevens’ long-awaited comeback. Erikson got tied up in the ropes. Stevens pounded away on him. As Stevens went for Death From Above, Shultz attacked him for the DQ.

Shultz and Erikson gave Stevens a beating until Crimson made the save. Crimson extended his hand and they let the tension build before Stevens responded in kind. The handshake got a great pop and it’s not like the Knoxville fans knowing their history of their feud in SAW. It was kind of thing that stars with experience on a larger stage know how to pull off.

(11) Vordell Walker defeated Shane Williams in 17:33. This was a hell of a match with the intensity of a real fight. Walker was giving Williams a beating and lighting him up with wicked chops. The King was wincing in pain and fell out of the ring. The punishment continued on the outside, but Williams caught Walker with a cheap shot as he was coming back through the ropes and finally got the advantage. Walker ate a boot charging in and Williams hit his patented hangman neckbreaker. Williams worked two submissions. Walker powered out of both of them with shows of pure strength. Williams hit a second neckbreaker for a near fall and went up for the fist drop. Walker shook the ropes to crotch Williams and followed up with a scarily dangerous superplex. Walker got a crossface. Williams came back with a figure four. Twice Walker made the ropes. Williams went for it again, and Walker nailed him with a desperation enzuirgiri, but Walker was still in bad shape. As Williams set up for the piledriver, Walker hooked him with an inside cradle.

Postmatch – Williams tried to cripple Walker and reapplied the figure four. Walker needed assistance to get the back. Crimson and Stevens came to the ring. Crimson said they came to fight and called out Shultz and Erikson. Shultz asked Stevens if he didn’t have enough of a fight earlier and kicked Crimson in the gut. Crimson chased Shultz out of the ring and went nose to nose with Erikson. Erikson laughed and backed off. Stevens said Shultz was a peeny POS that ain’t never been nothing and never will be nothing, and all he had going for him was Erikson and he wouldn’t be there for long. The crowd was hot to see the four of them go at it and it was the scheduled main event, but with no way to tape it, the match was made for August 16.

NOTES: August 16 also has Tates vs. Bullets and the SECW debut of Amber O’Neal…Former Georgia Referee of the Year Dustin Robinson is booked for the August 16 show. SECW wanted to use Scrappy McGowan’s son Jeff as one their refs but he blew out his knee. The company also planned on bringing in Georgia star Kyle Matthews, who is presently rehabbing after surgery to repair a torn labrum…Trey Williams vs. Brent Tate with their brothers at ringside was the other key match canceled due to the production problem… Booker/promoter Paul Adams ran the show with help from Beau James. David Marquez is a partner in this promotion and was responsible for negotiating the deal with the TV station. Marquez wasn’t at the show because he was in California producing an MMA event, so ring announcer Scott Hensley handled the ringside interviews. Key advisor Tom Prichard wasn’t available either because he was booked on a legends show in South Carolina…A match featuring two Knoxville area indy wrestlers, Shawn Streets vs. Tommy Coffee, was also dropped from the card…The time slot for the TV show on FOX43 in Knoxville is noon on Saturday… Blues and Miller came in from Baltimore. Mitchell came in from Pittsburgh…Blues’ father is “Hard Rock” Ricky Blues Sr, who competed as a cruiserweight during the 90s on the East Coast and Mid Alantic indy circuits…James changed her finisher to the bulldog instead of a butterfly suplex because it was used in an earlier match.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!