- So I figured I would put this one together as a gift to all my loyal fans out there for missing Impact last week. See, living in Cincinnati, we are able to get the OVW TV tapings along with Lexington and Louisville KY on the local CW channel. Finally having a Saturday off, I was flipping through the channels and came across it, so what the heck. This is just a one-hour show of their weekly TV taping. No opening links or anything, let’s just get right to it. And due to the location I’m probably the only one on the Pulse who can see the show, would anyone be interested in it being done weekly? Drop me a line to let me know.

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OVW TV - 8/30/2008

- Taped from Lexington, KY

- Your hosts are Dean Hill, Kenny Bolin & some other guy with an accent

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- Opening segment is an OVW Heavyweight title contract signing between current champ Anthony Bravado (with Gavin Garrison) and challenger Joey Matthews. Don’t know if I need to explain or not, but Matthews was “Joey Mercury”, former half of MNM (the first carnation). He’s definitely slimmed down a bit, and it’s good to see that he’s still going strong after the whole drug rehabilitation scenario and that nasty spot with the ladder, no jokes intended. Garrison gives a spiel about how Bravado is his “client” and plays wealthy-lawyer-family role. They sign and Matthews ends up putting Garrison through the table.

Omar Akbar v. Rob Conway

Three lessons learned from this match: Even in the minor leagues, they are still doing Sheik rip-offs, I can’t even get away from them even when not doing Impact for one fucking week, and Rob Conway is still alive. Conway runs in and jumps him to start to go in control, but the rest of the Akbars quickly get involved to gang up on him and draw the DQ. Well that was quick and worthless. (-/-)

Winner: Rob Conway (DQ)

Josie v. Sara Del Ray

This Josie was actually just on Impact two weeks back, unsuccessfully taking on Awesome Kong. The fact that she goes by the alias “some chick” in that report just shows how brushed up I am on my current OVW knowledge. Sorry. Josie takes her down in a leglock to start but SDR reverses it with a grapevine. They break it and Josie stomps away then locks in an interesting leg lock over Sara’s neck in a vice. SDR gets a pair of big boots but Josie quickly takes care of her for the pin. Fine women’s mat wrestling but time restraints in a one hour show made it, well, this. (1/2*)

Winner: Josie

- In the back Chris Cage and Sergio taunt Claudio who is soon coming to OVW. He tells Sergio not to come out tonight.

Scott Cardinal v. Supergloves

Cardinal does some heel mic work to start. He also has RATM for entrance music. Supergloves is a scrawny-looking guy with a luncha mask on. Cardinal jumps him and start and gets a flying forearm then does some choking in the ropes. Supergloves dodges an Irish whip and gets a low dropkick but charges and gets tossed. More taunting and the ref decides to DQ him. Again short and pointless. (1/4*)

Winner: Supergloves (DQ)

- RYBACK is coming to OVW in two weeks.

Chris Cage v. Claudio Castagnoli

This is Claudio’s OVW debut. You probably know him best from ROH. Back and fourth to start and Claudio grabs a headlock. Claudio monkey flips him but Cage works him over in the corner and gets a side Russial leg sweep for two. Cage does some evil heel rope choking and continues on the corner offense, then snapmares him over and drops a knee for two. Cage goes to a rear choke but Claudio comes back with an awkward looking Roaring Swiss Uppercut from the second rope. Cage runs into another pair of them, following by a third for two. The birdies have to be flying around his head, comments Dean Hill. Claudio adds a twirling Impaler DDT for two. Cafe counters another uppercut to a backslide for two, then tries a dropkick but Claudio catches him by the legs and spins him around. Sergio then interferes (ironically against his mentor’s will) but he gets the uppercut allowing Cage to roll him up with a handful of tights for the pin. (**3/4)

Winner: Chris Cage

- Igotta Brewski video package set to Metallica. OVW sure does love their cliche music with entrance music and during promos.

Los Rojos v. …….

- Actually, it looks like Ramon’s partner Raul Loco is injured due to Apoc and company, so no match. Darriel Kelly (aka DK) comes in and says since the same thing happened to his partner last week, Nick Dinsmore should let he and Ramon get a hold of them. He agrees, so now that’s set up I guess.

- In the back Serena brings in some flowers she received from “Lumpy”, some nerdy-looking teenager who along with a fat guy are wearing “pledge” t-shirts I guess attempting to get into some kind of super secret OVW fraternity. She seems to like them but the others give him a hard time. Speaking of ironc cliche music, the Locos theme music is “Low Rider”.

JD Michaels v. Rudy Switchblade - OVW TV Championship on a Pole Match

They each try hauling it for the belt to start but neither avail. Michaels back suplexes him out of the corner and retrieves a chair from ringside. He sets it up in the corner but ends up running into it himself. Switchblade misses his frog splash and after main event commercials Michaels tries choking him out with his shirt. I predict that Rudy will later return the favor with his own pair of Chuck Taylors. They brawl to the announce table where Michaels adds an axe handle off of it as Bolin randomly and inappropriately gives us a brief history of Cincinnati. Back at ringside Switchblade ranas him off the apron. Now Bolin says they might have cracked a million viewers during that announce table spot. Rudy tries climging for the belt but gets hung in the tree of woe and Michaels stomps him off. He tries climbing now but gets knocked off. Michaels retrieves a ladder and knocks Rudy to the floor with it, then tries climbing it to get the title even though being about five feet too shirt. Rudy comes back in and tips the ladder as Bolin continues the never-ending onslaught of Mexican reference. They battle on the leaning over ladder in the corner and Michaels attempts to superplex him off, but Rudy fights out and tips it over allowing Rudy to unstrap the belt to win the TV title. The faces come out to celebrate the big win. Short but entertaining for the concept despite the ususal abysmal announcing. (**1/2)

Winner: Rudy Switchblade

End of show.

The NeelDown - Not the worst little show, and due to the lack of backstage interviews and promos the matches at least get to longer than say, when TNA iMPACT! used to have a one hour time slot, which is the way it should be. A couple of decent matches given the time restraints, though they probably should have done more for building up Bravado-Matthews than just the very start of the show.

Last 5 posts by Mark Neeley

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