Welcome, one and all, to my latest OVW TV review. This week, OVW did everything right. Let’s have a look at why.
OVW Episode 1032
On commentary this week is Ted McNaler, Gilbert Corsey, and Josh Ashcraft. It’s good to hear Gilbert back on commentary, he’s a very consistent member of the team.
Nigel Winters vs. Adam Revolver [w/Shannon The Dude]
We’re opening with a match this week, and it’s one that’s a clash of styles. Nigel gets a lot of shine in the early going, firing off head scissors and monkey flips at speed. Everything looked very smooth. Revolver locks in his patented sleeper hold after dumping Nigel off the middle rope, and slowed the match down. He basically kept the move locked in, hauled Nigel to the middle of the ring, and scissored the body. Nigel faded and passed out, giving Adam the win after two and a half minutes. I’m giving this one ** ½. The short time meant that it couldn’t give us a full look at what they could do together, and that’s a shame because they had some chemistry. Though I’m not a big fan of the single-move-gets-the-win trope, it actually worked well here. The reason being that Nigel fought and fought and fought through the sleeper hold, and Adam had to keep it locked on tight. There was no instant win, it was a slow victory born from wearing his opponent down. That’s good work.
Let’s hear from Justin Smooth
Post-match, ‘The Trinidad Titan’ Just Smooth enters and send Adam away. He has the OVW rule book in his hands. He opens to a chapter and says that a title can and will change hands on a DQ. He mentions getting stripped of the title after SNS 1K, then says that Michael Hayes was DQ’d last week, so he should be a champion again. He poses a little and then leaves, while the commentary team debate whether he has a case.
DL3 and Thunder Kitty’s date part 1
DL3 is dressed to the nines for his date with Thunder Kitty. When she turns up, she doesn’t seem too thrilled by his attention. She actually pulls a butter knife on him when he starts messing with her hair.
OVW TV Title Gauntlet Match
Ashton Cover [w/William Lutz] is out first, followed by Big Zo. Cove charges straight in and Zo essentially steamrolls him down. The big man even manages to get a little dancing in while he controls his opponent. A Lutz distraction fails, as does Cove’s attempt to escape, and Zo gets the win with a modified spinning slam after two minutes fifteen. That was an entertaining squash.
The defending champion Drew Hernandez is out next. Though he’s able to show off his strength, Zo finds Drew to be a more capable opponent. This one was a fun back and forth big man match. In the end, Zo attempts a Zo bomb, but Hernandez pushes the ref into him. That gives Drew the chance to scoot underneath him and nail the powerbomb for the win after two minutes. Good storytelling there, as Drew was unable to lift Zo for the move the regular way.
Chace Destiny is out next and immediately starts using speed and high flying moves to take it to the champ. The commentary team says that Drew wasn’t expecting it, and that seems to be correct, as he’s reeling early on. He manages to get back on top after barreling Chace through the ropes to avoid a Butterfly Effect. Chace gets a fight back including a beautifully smooth arm bar into a leg sweep. Chace’s selling is superb in this match. Sadly, he comes up short when Drew nails a powerbomb at three minutes twenty. I’d like to see these guys clash again, that was great.
‘The Boy Wonder’ Sam Thompson runs out and uses a similar tactic to Chace, speeding around the ring to keep on top of the big man. He goes for a top rope dropkick, but Hernandez catches him midair and hits the powerbomb for the win after one minute twenty. While I think it’s a shame how short a time Sam is getting in these gauntlets, that was an impressive finish, especially withdrew continuing to sell his fatigue.
The final competitor is ‘The Real Deal’ Randall Floyd, who has been missing form OVW for five months. Randall was set to be on the Olympic team in 2016, but a concussion kept him out. Here, we see him holding his own with strikes, and he soon locks in a figure four for the submission victory and the title after a minute thirty of action.
The total televised time of the gauntlet was around eleven and a half minutes, and honestly, it was one of the best ones we’ve had. Everyone looked great and made use of their time, the selling was consistent, and each section told a story. Even Randall Floyd’s squash-style win made sense due to Drew having not only been in there the longest but having taken more damage this week. Well worth a watch and *** 1/4.
DL3 and Thunder Kitty’s date part 2
The unlikely pair are seemingly enjoying themselves, and DL3 is laughing about a story that Thunder Kitty is telling about not getting her change. DL3 mentions his new rap album, and they get ready to order food. And bourbon. With Thunder Kitty’s senior discount. This all very lighthearted.
Justin Smooth wants answers
Justin tries to get a word with Dean Hill and gets in an argument with Meg, who we’re told is getting a Women’s Title shot at the next SNS. Smooth makes his case to Dean Hill, and the commissioner explains that different matches have different rules. Smooth won’t take this answer and forces his way into the office.
Megan Bayne vs. Jessie Belle
After the title match announcement in the previous angle, the result of this one was never in doubt. The match is competitive though, with Jessie getting some shots in, and Megan showing some mat wrestling prowess to bolster her power game. That’s all important because Megan going into the title match looking entirely undefeatable would make Cali look weaker going into it, I think. Interesting fact from the commentary team: Megan was a high school wrestler, and she wrestled on the men’s team. After three and a half minutes of really good back and forth action, Megan gets the win with sunset flip reversal. Easy ***
DL3 and Thunder Kitty’s date part 3
Thunder Kitty is ready to leave, and DL3 wants to help her. He steals a kiss, and she forces a smile. Once DL3 has left, Thunder Kitty heads on over to…Shiloh Jonze! There’s a twist! I wonder if this will lead to the end of Entourage 2.0?
Number On Contender’s Match: Dustin Jackson vs. Ca$h Flo
I really enjoyed the three-minute encounter between these two in episode 1030, so it was good to see this in the main event slot. Ca$h jump-started this one with an attack before the bell, and things just picked up from there. The early part of the match was all about Ca$h’s power and viciousness. I love runs like that because he’s so good in the role. Everything looks and sounds authentic, and he’s great at drawing heat from the crowd. The result of that was that the crowd were hot when Dustin started his fiery comeback. The match was actually followed a classic pattern and worked well within the bounds of it. In the end, Ca$h missed a top rope splash, and Dustin capitalized with a top rope splash of his own. That looked to be the end of the match, but Justin Smooth ran in and attacked both guys. The match is declared a draw at almost ten minutes and gets a *** ¼ from me.
After the match
Justin complains about not having the title and calls out OVW Heavyweight Champion Michael Hayes. The champ obliges and comes out. He takes the microphone and asks Justin if he wants to go one-on-one right now. Smooth demands it, and Hayes calls for a referee. Dean Hill comes out and interrupts them. He takes the title belt and gives it to Hayes, then announces that the two will clash in a No DQ match at the next SNS. Smooth beats down the champ, until the masked man runs in and hits a Change Maker, allowing Hayes to send Smooth packing to end the show.
This was one of the best overall shows that OVW has put out. The matches themselves were all entertaining, and each achieved what they set out to do. The angles were kept short, which meant that none of them dragged. We got a few match announcements for the next Saturday Night Special and the crowd was hot throughout. Honestly, there isn’t anything to really complain about here. Well worth going out of your way to watch.
Matt Doyle Media 