Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’
Memphis Wrestling’s rollin’…
And Memphis Wrestling is, rollin’ to the Anniversary Show with the Heritage championship match between Brett ‘Every Rose Has It’s Thorn’ Michaels and Austin ‘Best Of The Best’ Lane in 3 weeks.
Before that, we have Jonathan Gresham v Nick Aldis next week, but this week? The tag title picture gets sorted.
In the red corner; The Yung GOATS, Aaron, and Zay, tag champs but with no belts.
Why?
In the blue corner, the Posse, malcontents who turned on their mates at Christmas, stole the belts, attacked a seating area in the very Wrestlecentre they helped build causing $5,000 of damage (those seats must be encrusted with diamonds) and were banned from the building.
Now?
They are being allowed back.
Just once.
To face the champs.
In an Unsanctioned Match.
For the titles…
Hang on, how can it be for the titles if its Unsanctioned? Never mind that! This is tasty and has been simmering for some time.
But first…
Country Rock v Jay Smooth & Martin
Country Rock has a problem. A big problem. The clue is in the name; Big Jack.
You see, Memphis Wrestling had a recent Trios tournament and CR was only a duo. So they (well, one of them) asked Big Jack to join them. And they said they would pay him to do so. That didn’t work out. And they owe him money.
They’re getting it, but will he wait?
No.
After some good action including Martin avoiding blocks on the outside, sweeping the leg and connecting with an elbow to the face, then hitting a tornado faceplant, not a DDT, big Jack arrived.
And powerbombed Chris Hayes on the apron, allowing Martin to hit the leg drop off the top for the pin. But not content with that, he then hit a huge knee on Carter Matthews and left him lying in a cross configuration on his mate.
Compound interest…
And Now, The Match Of The Show
Mike Anthony v EJ Sparks
I’ve seen Sparks impress in other Championship Wrestling programs and this is a very good signing. Although Mike Anthony does tend to run through opponents.
Not this time. Sparks avoided the onslaught early on and hit a springboard back elbow and flying kick of his own.
Mike is never down for long though and the smile he gave EJ after a powerslam may have been because he was thinking of the big clothesline and sort of Northern Lights, sort of suplex dump that he was about to deliver.
After he missed a leg drop off the top though, Sparks came back with a flying forearm/shotgun dropkick/roundhouse kick/lovely flying cutter combo for a justified long 2 count.
He perhaps just got overconfident. That’s why, after a spine buster and Stormbreaker knee found their mark, he walked right into Anthony’s finisher, his version of Uncle Mikey’s Gator Feet lying-on-the-back-whilst-kicking-you-in-the-face move for the pin.
EJ will produce magic here in Memphis Wrestling. Mike Anthony already does.
Guest Time!
And what guests. First, Nick Aldis, former NWA champ, who bigged up Memphis as a wrestling town, and then Jonathan Gresham, the current ROH champ, who had a surprise for us; did he say that when they grapple next week, the ROH title would be on the line? I hope so.
Huge guests in matches that matter. That’s the way to do it, Memphis Wrestling.
The entrance of the Posse to the Wrestlecenter they were banned from was filmed with gravitas by @fredstyle88 who provides photos for this article and when they walked through the crowd, there was a feeling that the princes across the water have come to stake their claim.
The Yung GOATS v The Posse
And it’s Unsanctioned. So tell me again how the tag titles are up for…never mind that!
This is a strange stip and one that works for this more than 3-month angle, which has shocked and stunned me.
The GOATS didn’t waste any time with stereo suicide dives and there was more wonderful high flying to come, GOAT Zay sitting like a Vulture on one turnbuckle, waiting for Posse Lil Chris to come off the opposite corner, catching him as he dived and driving his head to the mat.
Then it broke down. Someone handed Aaron a tennis racquet. Another fan gave Posse Simon his timberland boot style footwear and he hit Zay with it whilst Aaron speared Chris through the curtain to the lobby.
That’s not all though. And this was a strangely effective but very odd spot. When they turned heel, the Posse drove one of their spiked shoulder pads into Aaron’s eye and he only took the patch off tonight. So? Simon just happened to have…a pot of salt. Which he poured into Aaron’s eye; salt into the wound, head honcho Dustin Starr said, but that would only work if it was an open wound and that was three months ago, so…never mind that, it works!
And it really did.
The end came in an effectively sneaky way, with salt being used again, GOAT friend Brandon threatened, Zay begging them to think again – low blow, pin.
It was a great fun match, with lots of weapons, but it stayed around the ring so it didn’t try to be too much or lose its focus.
And what will Memphis Wrestling do now? The pissy Posse, as I call them, can’t enter the Wrestlecenter, they can’t darken its doors again, can they?
But they’re the champions.
A great conundrum to solve for the promotion, great news for the fans.
It Was Good, Then?
It was phenomenal. Good and great in-ring action, long-tail storylines coming to fruition, new acquisitions, and great characters. As I say in my podcast, Steve Swift’s Rambling Reviews, Memphis Wrestling goes go by in the blink of an eye and I can’t wait to see what happens next week.
All images provided by Five Starr Fan Cam, Follow on Twitter here