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Episodes of 148-152 of SAW television can now be viewed at sawonline.tv
Last Week on SAW…Derrick King Enterprises narrowly escaped with the SAW Tag Team Championship vs. Picture Perfect after a screw up by Johnny Bandanna…Jeff “The Crippler†Daniels dismantled Chad Williams and said he was coming straight for Hammerjack…Reno Riggins resigned as matchmaker, turning the reigns over to a man said to know the wrestling business better than he did, George Gulas…Vordell Walker defeated David Young despite A-Team’s vociferous complaints about the officiating.
Michael Graham opened with big news about the January 15 TV Taping. Due to popular demand, Gulas had changed the main event to Chase Stevens vs. Tommy Mercer (a match they can’t air on television due Mercer’s TNA contract).
Former SAW Champion Kid Kash made his way to the ring without the usual extracurricular activity. Graham noted the strangeness of Kash taking up the cause of finding the evildoer that stole SAW’s equipment.
1 – KID KASH vs. DANIEL WHEELER (aka Steven Walters)
They opened with grappling. Kash broke cleanly and warned the ref about the use of closed fists. Tempers flared. A series of forearms shots put Kash on the deck. Wheeler tried for a suplex but Kash countered with a small package. [commercial break] Wheeler opened up with a round of shots into the turnbuckles. Kash fired back and they were beating the hell out of each with stiff strikes. Kash was clearly getting the better of it until Walters nailed him with a step up kick to the head. Kash barely rolled a shoulder at two. Kash was dead weight when Wheeler tried to pull him up, and Kash got him with the small package. Afterward, Kash initiated a handshake with Wheeler.
WINNER: Kash in 8:30.
Graham led into a Daniels promo by showing the clip of Daniels strangling Hammerjack with a wire coathanger from two weeks ago.
Daniels alleged that his issues with Hammerjack started many years ago in Houston when he rode with “a brotherhood…true one percentersâ€. Daniels said he stood up for Hammer when he wanted to join. “But I learned the hard way that Hammerjack couldn’t be trusted.†Daniels claimed that a large amount of money came up missing and one of his true bothers took the fall. He said the job that was done with a 16 pound sledgehammer. “Who carries a sledgehammer? Hammerjack does…Six months ago a brother of mine lay on a table in Huntsville, Texas and got lethal injection and is no longer here.†Daniels said the word had come down to drop the hammer on Hammerjack.
I can’t do what I want, because I can’t get away with it. But what I can do, is every time I get my hands on you, I can take you within an inch…I am going to exact revenge like no other. You think Marc Anthony was bad? You think playing with your family was bad? I’m not here to play kid games. I’m here for you, Hammer, and I’m coming hard. And I’m going to take you within an inch, every time I get my hands on you. Every time I get my hands on you within an inch. You see, Hammer, one sentence is all it took – ‘Time to drop the hammer’ – It’s not gonna be fun. It’s not gonna be a picnic. It’s not gonna be walk in the park. It’s gonna be a fight. So don’t like a cabbage, all head and no tail. You got to bring some to get some. They don’t call me “The Crippler†for nothing. Somebody’s gonna get hurt.
2 -- JT QUEST vs. MIKE DELL
Quest, oh he of the classic mullet, outwrestled and outpowered his smaller opponent. A high backdrop was followed by a lariat over the top, but Dell skinned the cat, hit a spinning neckbreaker and started taking liberties with Quest. Dell got near falls with a huracanrana and a flying headscissors. Quest with a flying burrito to spark a comeback. Cut off with a flatliner by Dell. Moments later, Quest ducked a lariat off the top and leveled Dell with a big boot for the pin.
WINNER: Quest in 5:35.
George plugged the Nick Gulas Memorial Show, He included detailed directions to the building. He also informed viewers that the hamburgers at the HWA Arena were made with freshly ground meat. He ran down the card, the sponsors, and the VIP package – only 14 of those babys left. It ate up six minutes of TV time.
3 – “King†SHANE WILLIAMS vs. NORMAN CROSS
Williams had all the accoutrements - the regal entrance music, the crown and the Lawler style tights. Williams thoroughly abused the kid. Cross finally got a near fall with flying body press, but his comeback was extremely short lived. Shane pulled the straps up and pinned Cross with a flying fist drop to the gut.
WINNER: Williams in 4:08.
Next up was the introduction of Rudy Charles as an associate of The A-Team (Paul Adams, David Young, Jesse Emerson, Rick Santel and Roxy). Young was pumping up with the exercise bands while wearing his superhero muscle suit. He implied that his hidden muscle was getting a work out with Roxy. Adams said A-Team was getting shafted by the refs. It should be noted that Adams was the model of propriety here. Adams had Emerson define the word “discrimination†in legal terms. Adams said Charles was now the designated referee for A-Team matches due to Emerson’s legal maneuvers. Adams put Charles over huge, talking about how he reffed world title matches in TNA. Charles said he had been refereeing since he was five years old and he was all about the rules.
4 – DAVID YOUNG (with Paul Adams & Jesse Emerson & Rick Santel & Roxy) vs. VORDELL WALKER
Young attacked before Walker made it inside the ring. A-Team was the picture of tranquility, as Young dominated the match, cutting off Walker’s brief comebacks. Young did his signature flying crotch bump onto the turnbuckles to set up Walker’s full-fledged comeback. As Walker was pummeling Young with the 10 Punches of Doom, Charles signaled for the DQ. Young sold it like he was knocked out. Charles reached in to raise Young’s limp arm while standing at ringside with A-Team, who celebrated like they had just won the Super Bowl.
WINNER: Young in 5 minutes when Charles DQed Walker for using a closed fist.
Afterthoughts: Considering it lacked for a true main event, this was an OK episode. The timing of Tommy Mercer’s contract signing with TNA couldn’t have been much worse for SAW, as previous episodes had telegraphed that he would play a crucial role in the title match between Phil Shatter and Chase Stevens. The decision was to limit the match to DVD rather than to change the finish. SAW still has Mercer booked for all their live shows, so the story with Stevens can still play out for the Nashville fans. True vitality in the ring was limited to the Kash match. Wheeler is better known as Steven Walters, one half of New Wave, the former NWA Anarchy Tag Team Champions. TV didn’t do this match justice. Live, the stiffness of their strikes was off the chain to the point the welts on Walters body were visible on TV. The match also worked to clearly establish that this is a different Kid Kash. Young vs. Walker was fine for what it was – a way to introduce Charles’ MO as A-Team’s partner in crime. The hilarity with Young is non stop. This is a role he was born to play. The Williams match gave “The King†a chance to let his sadistic tendencies run wild, plus he actually got a win with the Lawler-in-reverse straps up fist drop. Quest/Dell was filler, just a TV win for an RTW guy. RTW’s sponsorship deal is history because the promotion went belly up. Morton’s was nice space for taping purposes, but SAW was doing themselves no favors by putting the RTW talent on their TV as part of the deal. A Jeff Daniels promo is usually gold. This one had problems. His delivery of the material was classic stuff. I had no difficulty believing that he had the most evil of intentions towards Hammerjack, but the motivation for his actions, not so much. We’re being asked to believe that the Crippler and Hammer were once members of a biker gang, and Hammer is being accused of stealing money that resulted in a fellow gang member being executed in the Texas state penitentiary. We’ll see how it unfolds, but at the get go, suspension of disbelief is being severely tested by this story. The A-Team segment got the job done. It wasn’t one of their better ones in terms of smooth chemistry. Then again, this is a somewhat reconstituted A-Team. I popped when Charles said he started reffing at age five. I can picture him coming out of the womb wearing a bow tie and powder blue shirt. As for the Gulas ad, it was long and kind of odd. Overall, this was a transitional episode from a promotion that is weathering both expected and unexpected transitions.
