Ohio Valley Wrestling
Episode 793
October 30th, 2014
Davis Arena – Louisville, Kentucky
http://www.ovwrestling.com/tv/793

Hello, and welcome to another episode of OVW TV! This is the “go-home” show leading into the November edition of “Saturday Night Special” this coming Saturday. OVW has a “SNS” on every first Saturday of the month and acts as their monthly “big event” or “PPV”. OVW TV is available on OVwrestling.com for FREE every week if you would like to watch along with yours truly (@LuchaNerd on Twitter) and the SNS are available on the same website for only $.99! (I can’t find information as to when the SNS’s are posted on the site, but I do not they are not iPPV’s and do not air live)

We kick off this episode with “The American Hero” Michael Hayes coming out for his OVW Television title match against reigning TV champion, Chris Silvio. We get some stills from a recent OVW house show to recap what led to this match. This is a nice touch from OVW as they have been known to continue storylines on house shows yet don’t recap them on their TV, thus making anyone who doesn’t travel with OVW lost.

Basically Chris Silvio won the TV title through nefarious means with the aide of heel Senior referee Josh Ashcraft.

OVW Television Championship Match – Chris Silvio (c) vs. Michael Hayes: Chris interrupts his awesome entrance music (The Rolling Stones – Paint it Black) to cut a promo on Danny Davis (whom he refers to as Quasimodo). Chris says Davis is a bumbling idiot who scheduled a match against Hayes despite beating him in their last match.

Michael Hayes (who unfortunately shares his name with wrestling legend, but I assure you is not the Freebird) has recently spent time at the NXT Performance Center. Hayes is an American war hero who lost his left leg in Iraq. Chris Silvio is definitely the OVW standout. From an in-ring standpoint and on the mic, Silvio is a talented dude.

This match starts off at a slower pace with Silvio gaining the advantage with a sneak attack on Hayes and controlling the match on the outside of the ring leading to a commercial break. The slow pace continues after the break with Silvio continuing to control the match until he dives off the top rope to the outside and Hayes counters with a blow to Silvio’s injured ribs.

Silvio gets the first near fall after a rebounding Ace Cutter. Hayes then gathers himself and slaps the Liberty Lock (Cobra Clutch) on Chris Silvio. Silvio is able to get his foot on the ropes. Hayes hits a couple of Single Knee Code breakers on Silvio. A very tall man comes out wearing a security shirt comes to the ring and choke slams Michael Hayes to give Hayes the DQ victory, but allowing Silvio to walk out with his TV title. Commentators Gilbert Corsey and Dean Hill have no idea who this gigantic man is and are outraged at Silvio for obviously taking the easy way out of this match. **1/2

This match could have been WAY better if Silvio and Hayes picked up the pace of the match a little bit. One thing I have noticed from the OVW product is that it appears the wrestlers are told to keep the match pace to a jarring slow pace. It is like watching late 80’s WWE wrestling. OVW doesn’t need to jump to a neck break Dragon Gate like speed, but pick up the pace a litter bit. Heck, even WWE has shown a quickened pace over recent years. Hayes and Silvio are the two most complete wrestlers in OVW from character, promo, and in-ring skills and this feud should be a classic one, but I would like to see these two work at a quicker, more urgent pace. Especially for two men who hate each other.

In the back we have #1 contender Melvin Maximus confronting OVW Heavyweight Champion, Cliff Compton about last week when Compton hit Maximus over the head with the OVW title during Maximus’ match against Shiloh Jonze. Compton explains to Melvin that it was clearly an accident, but it won’t be an accident tonight when Compton defeats Maximus. Maximus rebuttals saying that we will find out who the real world champion is after tonight.

I’m confused. Are they wrestling tonight for the world title? Or do these guys think its Saturday already?

The OVW Southern Tag Team Champions the War Machine (Shiloh Jonze and Eric Locker) enter the picture to confront Melvin and Cliff. Jonze says Compton and Melvin are whining and complaining again. Compton tells Jonze and Locker that he didn’t recognize them without their scumbag manager, Titus. Jonze says his name is “Michael Titus” and he has a message for Compton that the OVW Heavyweight title is coming back to Titus Enterprises. (Titus may or may not be fired later in the show due to his actions/words toward Trailer Park Trash on episode 792) Jonze challenges Compton and Melvin to a match later tonight. The main event will be the OVW tag champions against the two men competing for the OVW title this coming Saturday.

After a commercial break we are joined by Gilbert Corsey and Dean Hill who are talking about what happened during the commercial break. Danny Davis did not want to talk about what happened last week between Titus and Trailer Park Trash on TV. Danny Davis did not fire Michael Titus on TV like was previously teased. Corsey and Hill explain that they couldn’t fire Titus without fearing reciprocations from Titus’s attorney pressing charges that could cause OVW to cease to exist. Corsey and Hill explain that Titus is not in the arena tonight for fearing for his safety, but is booked this coming Saturday night at the SNS and if Titus fails to appear for that event then OVW would have just cause to fire Titus.

Raul LaMotta vs. Dave-Lo: On episode 792 LaMotta handpicked the OVW young lion, Dave-Lo, to be his tag team partner, but then ended up abandoning Dave-Lo in the middle of the match causing Dave-Lo to receive a 2 on 1 beat down from TerreMex.

This match never actually gets underway as referee Timmy Danger comes out to chase referee Josh Ashcraft out of the arena. LaMotta hits Dave-Lo with a stiff clothesline and walks out on Dave-Lo for the second week in a row, except this time as his opponent. N/A

Danger then comes back to the ring with a microphone. Danger tells Ashcraft that he has something important to say. Danger wants Ashcraft to come back out to the ring to hear what he has to say. Ashcraft reluctantly comes out of the curtain. Danger tells Ashcraft that he is sick and tired of hiding behind people. Danger tells Ashcraft that at this Saturday’s SNS it has been determined in the back. It will be Danger vs. Ashcraft and the winner becomes OVW Senior Official. Ashcraft is outraged and the crowd heats up.

In the back is Pastor of Disaster with the Altar Boy and The Apostle. PoD tells Altar Boy and Apostle that they have what they’ve always wanted, Ryan Howe’s guitar. (Why have they always wanted a guitar? Is their worship band on Sunday’s missing an electric guitar?)

Ryan Howe with the backing of The Wild Boyz confronts The Congregation in the back. Howe, who recently appeared in WWE’s video of the recent NXT tryouts, is in possession of PoD’s “Good Book”.

Howe tells PoD that their six man tag team match tonight is just fine and their one on one match at SNS is just fine, but to make things interesting Howe challenges PoD to a Guitar and Book on a Pole Match. Howe’s guitar and PoD’s book will be on pols in opposite corners at SNS.

The Congregation (Pastor of Disaster, The Apostle, and The Altar Boy) vs. Ryan Howe and The Wild Boyz (Eddie Diamond and Bud Dwight): This match starts off with some hot action as the Wild Boyz make some quick tags to garner the early advantage. The Wild Boyz take the Congregation out to the outside. Ryan Howe comes in and goes to steal his guitar back, but PoD surprises Howe from behind with a Schoolboy for the win.

The psychology of Howe going to retrieve his guitar and making that more important than wrestling this match is poorly done. Why would Howe make that more important than wrestling this match when he knows he will have an opportunity to win it back this Saturday? It is concerning to see babyfaces portrayed as bumbling idiots like this.

Body Guy w/ Big John vs. Elvis Pridemoore: Pridemoore who wrestles with a baseball hat on backwards throughout his match appears to have a redneck gangster type gimmick. Corsey mentions Pridemoore is a former OVW Heavyweight Champion. Did he wear his hat when he was champion? I just can’t take a wrestler seriously when he is wrestling with a hat on.

Body Guy controls the match early on with a modified ankle lock. Pridemoore puts together a string of offense on Body Guy until Big John gets on the apron. Pridemoore walks up to Big John, Body Guy tries to sneak attack Pridemoore, Pridemoore ducks and Body Guy knocks his own bodyguard off of the apron. Pridemoore scoops Body Guy up, but Body Guy counters into a Pedigree for the win. Important note: Body Guy knocked Pridemoore’s hat off with the Pedigree. *

After the match Gilbert Corsey takes a microphone over to Body Guy and asks Body Guy what he has to say for himself after Big John attacked Rump Thump last week. Body Guy says that no one comes here to see Rumper Dumper; they come to see the most gorgeous body in all of wrestling. Rump Thump then comes out and asks Body Guy if he thinks this is a joke. Big John then attacks Rump Thump from behind and picks up Thump’s knee and slams it into the concrete on the outside of the ring.

Rump Thump cut a pretty decent promo on Body Guy here, but he still reminds me of a combination of Junkyard Dog and Koko B. Ware, in name, gimmick, and unfortunately for him, ring ability.

TerreMex confront Shiloh Jonze in the back as Jonze is by himself. TerreMex warns Jonze about their upcoming match this coming Saturday night for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championships.

Melvin Maximus and Cliff Compton vs. War Machine (Shiloh Jonze and Eric Locker): The onscreen graphic names the tag champs as “The War Machines”, but the OVW website has them as “The War Machine”. Is it plural or singular?

The much smaller Shiloh Jonze embarrasses himself to start the match attempting to Schoolboy the much larger and muscular Maximus as Maximus and Compton try to decide who is going to start the match. Shiloh does a good job playing the cunning and smaller heel.

Compton and Maximus take turns tagging each other in to the chagrin of their teammate. Despite their disagreement Compton and Maximus are making easy work of the OVW tag champions.

During a commercial break The War Machine(s) gained the advantage as they work over Compton until Compton regains the advantage until Maximus tags himself in again.

Maximus gets his finishing move, the dreaded (and heat sucking) bear hug on Eric Locker. Shiloh Jonze comes in and jumps on the back of Maximus. Cliff Compton jumps off the top rope to deliver a double axe handle on Jonze, but Jonze jumps out of the way and Compton consequently double axe handles Maximus. This causes Maximus to attack Compton and the two start brawling causing the referee to declare this match a no contest. ½*

Maximus and Compton brawl to end the show as the locker room pours out into the ring to try and break up these two.

Final Thoughts: 

This show did a good job of tying up loose ends and setting up every match that will appear on the Saturday Night Special this Saturday all in the matter of an hour. One thing I would like to see OVW do is pick up the pace in their matches. I understand the mentality of letting the moves breathe and telling a story in the ring, but it’s almost as if the wrestlers are so handcuffed from going faster that the action comes off as “fake”, which is the last word you want to be used when describing your wrestling product. Most every match at the SNS looks intriguing with the exception of the main event. This is always unfortunate with any wrestling card. Melvin Maximus has a great look, but no other redeeming qualities and Cliff Compton is one of the most entertaining personalities in wrestling, but lacks that entertaining factor when wrestling in the ring.

I will be covering The Saturday Night Special and have my review of that show up the day it is posted on OVW’s website! Follow me on Twitter @LuchaNerd