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Night of the Superstars wrestling show
As I ate dinner, I heard them mention that the show was sold out and were turning some folks away at the door. At one point they mentioned having 1200 paid. The show itself was in the high school gymnasium. They also announced Shawn Michaels for a Q&A and signing on August 31 that was almost sold out already, and one guy suggested Ric Flair would be appearing on May 18, but I haven't seen that official by the promotion.
After the Star Spangled Banner by country singer Emma Leigh, who did a concert before the show, the matches got started. The whole card lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes.
Jamin Olivencia vs. Cliff Compton: They started the match without a referee, not sure if that was intentional. Olivencia got the ring announcer to do his name better while doing his spinning. They each did some mike work beforehand, Olivencia putting over the local crowd, Compton big-timing it by saying he was a WWE tag champion. Olivencia got Compton with 10 punches mounted in the corner, which Compton did a Flair flop out of. Olivencia then stole Compton's jacket and threatened to throw it to the crowd, which got Compton the advantage. Olivencia had a nice sit-out powerbomb for a two, finally winning with a jumping DDT. Olivencia has some good moves and charisma, and Compton is really good at getting the crowd to hate him.
Ray Storm (with Billy Sexton) vs. Mark Anthony vs. Preston Michaels: Michaels is a local who graduated from the high school we were in. Anthony came out with a title belt, and the announcer said he was a Top Rope Pro Wrestling champion, but I got the impression he's a champion in Southside Pro Wrestling (looked like the ring was from there as well based on the turnbuckles). The referee was as well, I guess, because a guy came out (the matchmaker I think, not sure) to toss the referee out. Storm did a Rick Rude "what I'd like to have right now" deal to get the ladies to come to ringside. Before the bell, Storm hit Michaels with the belt, taking it from the referee. There were a lot of blown spots in this match as well as a ref bump. This let Storm use some knucks on Anthony, but Michaels blocked it and got the pin on Anthony. The referee presented Michaels with the title belt, but the original referee noted the knucks used. I'm not sure if this was intended as a title match - it wasn't announced as one - but Anthony got on the mike and said if Michaels wanted a shot at the title, he could have it in Strasburg on April 27.
Jake Roberts: Jake "The Snake" Roberts came out to address the crowd. He talked about his history and his recent changes, having lost 65 pounds and looking easily in the best shape he has in years. He said he was forced to retire because of his issues, but he was announcing his comeback and that he'd have his first match for this crowd in the near future. The crowd was really good to him and he was visibly touched by the reaction.
Miss Tessmacher: Miss Tessmacher came out for an interview, but before the ring announcer could get much beyond "are you glad to be here?" Robbie E came out. He did some of the "bust on the locals" heel work, then grabbed Tessmacher and started manhandling her. This led to Rob Terry coming out for the save (the announcer kept calling him Robbie T, so I guess he's not current on TNA TV?) and challenged Robbie E to a match. Robbie bailed, but Terry said if Robbie didn't fight, he wouldn't get paid according to the promoter. He also started calling Robbie a hamster.
Robbie E vs. Rob Terry: Robbie offers the handshake of trust, which Terry finally accepts after stalling, and proceeds to crush Robbie's hand and not let go. Robbie starts hitting Terry all over, even his boots, and Terry no-sells all of it. After a chase around the ring, Robbie ducks to get Terry's arm to hit the post, leading to his advantage. Terry finally makes the comeback and uses the Torture Rack to submit Robbie. After the match, Miss Tessmacher hits Robbie with a low blow.
Rick "Buzz" Slater and The Barbarian vs. Natural Born Thrillaz (Phil Brown and David Tita) with D'Arcy Dixon: This was easily the match of the night. The Thrillaz had some nice moves and hit crisply, and Slater had some very nice chops. They also did a traditional tag team match, with the smaller of the Thrillaz being the face in peril (he looks really young, but I'm not sure). Slater at one point used a chain he wore to ringside to choke down the younger Thrillaz member. As the Thrillaz start making their comeback, Slater bails on Barbarian, causing their team to lose by countout. Kind of a disappointing end to the match. Afterwards the Thrillaz raise Barbarian's hands in thanks for him coming out, and they dedicate their match to a local principal who passed away. These guys are a little smaller than you'd see in WWE, especially the younger guy, but I liked their stuff.
Six-Man Tag - DJ Murdoch, Asaafi, and ??? vs. Rip Sawyer, Chris Draven, and Logan Creed: I'm piecing the names together from the website here, the announcer was really trying to growl them out and they weren't clear. The only name left on the site that I didn't hear for sure was Jeremy Rhodes, but I'm not sure. Sawyer took most of the punishment and held the match together as best he could, but it was a bit sloppy. Creed finally got the win with a frog splash, the only move he really did all match.
Rock n Roll Express vs. Kevin Nash and X-Pac: There was a lot of stalling to start, including Nash and Gibson working for a test of strength, which Nash dominated of course. Due to his recent medical issues, X-Pac was only briefly in the match hitting guys but taking no bumps, and each time he got out of the ring he was visibly hurting and checking his rear to ensure he was okay. Nash did most of the match, hitting all of his signature spots like the deep knees and foot choke in the corner. Ricky Morton did his usual "playing Ricky Morton" and took the beating before the hot tag after mule-kicking Nash low. The Rock n Roll Express finally won by first individually dropkicking him, then Gibson hit more of a superkick while Morton hit a dropkick (he actually visibly missed both times) to topple Nash, and they stacked on him for the pin. After the match, X-Pac apologized for not doing more in the match because of his medical issues.
Interesting to note, in the original lineup for this card (http://topropeprowrestling.com/top-rope-announces-matches-for-night-of-the-superstars/), they had Robbie E and Rob Terry teaming, mentioned Jamin Olivencia was the OVW champion, had Slater and Barbarian fighting, and had Miss Tessmacher wrestling. Olivencia didn't have the OVW title with him and Tessmacher didn't wrestle. The site also suggested that Foley would appear on the wrestling card, but he didn't.
There was a bit of post-show drama on Twitter as well that I got inadvertently involved in. I'd mentioned that X-Pac owed no apologies and that suiting up and going out there was tough enough, and he replyed noting that the promoter hadn't payed them what they were owed. X-Pac said he risked permanent injury to make the show and not disappoint the fans. He said they got paid for wrestling, but got stiffed on the VIP packages, calling them "scams." He also said that no one even took his blood pressure and that his doctor will likely be mad that he got in the ring at all. He also personally thanked and apologized to fans who made comments online, sounding very upset that he couldn't perform for them. Nash also went off on his own Twitter account, calling the promoter a scumbag and saying that they were going to file with the Virginia wrestling commission on Monday to file a grievance.
They also said none of their friends would ever work for this guy or his promotion, which could get interesting since, of course, they've practically sold out of their Shawn Michaels experience, where VIP super tickets go for $175. I'm planning to go, but I'll be interested to see what happens after this.
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