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NWA Smoky Mountain uploads a new episode each Saturday at nwasmokymountain.com
The broadcast team of Matt Rhodes and Heath Sneyd (a little guy sporting dark sunglasses and a 10 gallon hat) opened from ringside. The crowd popped for the announcement that Ricky Morton would be in the main event. Sneyd made a snide remark about Morton’s age. Rhodes welcomed Young Gun†Cody Isis as guest color commentator.
Gavin Derring defeated Scott Sterling (with Ashlee Hope & Austin Cox) in 4:20. Derring is a lean, agile aerial type along the lines of Kendall Windham. He’s got height to have an excellent physique when he fills out. Sterling has size but he also has the big belly. Sterling capitalized on a rookie mistake to take control of the match. However, Cox “accidentally†grabbed Sterling’s foot, giving Derring time to roll him up. Cox ruined the finish by staring a hole through Sterling when he did the deed. Hope in her ultra short skirt more than made up for this, as she berated Cox and slapped him across the face.
2 weeks ago – Chase Owens made a save on a postmatch beatdown being conducted by Knights of the Roundtable (Lukas Angel & Jeff Baker with Rob Knight) only to wind up on the wrong end of a piledriver from a third Knight, Jason Kincaid.
Last week – Kincaid was a sore loser after Owens reversed a piledriver to pin him, so he attacked Owens and tried to piledrive him again. They had to kill time waiting for Morton to make the save.
(2) Chase Owens beat Jeff Baker in 6:35. This Kincaid guy must be quite the badass. Rhodes said he was suspended for giving Commissioner (and retired heavyweight champion) Robbie Cassidy a piledriver. Baker is terrible in the ring, although he did pull off a cool heel move where he sandwiched Owens between the ring apron and the frame. The lack of ability is kind of OK since he’s cast as the Knight’s stooge, but at least learn how to kick out to properly kick out out of a cover for God’s sake. Owens did some nice stuff. He comes across like a guy that has worked hard to improve his craft. He’s got a knack for doing the right things at the right times. The question mark is does he have the pure athletic ability to take it the next level. Owens got the pin after a roaring elbow.
Rhodes informed Owens that he was the first entrant named for the Smoky Mountain Cup Tournament on April 1 at the Kingsport Civic Center and asked for his comments on Kincaid. Owens said Kincaid took the coward’s way out by attacking a man with an injured back (Cassidy). Owens stumbled at a crucial moment, which was a shame because it was a strong promo up to that point.
Last week…In a roller coaster finish, Diamonds in the Rough (David Young & Sigmon) defeated Beau James & Tony Givens with the help of Ashlee Hope and Kole Layton King to become the new NWA Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions.
(3) Beau James & Tony Givens & Gavin Derring beat David Young & Sigmon & Kole Layton King (with Ashlee Hope & Austin Cox) in 11:38. Rhodes received word that Derring was in the match because Nick Hammonds had suffered a foot injury of unknown origin. Givens is the owner of NWA SM and long standing babyface star, who has formed a dream team of sorts with Beau James, the owner of Southern States Wrestling. Givens has the requisite ring skills but needs to get back in the gym. King is a fairly young guy with an old school feel. Decent match. Young was great with all the little things like the bump he took for Derring’s high crossbody. The announce team was describing average looking moves as “greatâ€, which makes it tough to put a truly great move over when it happens. Derring pinned King with a missile dropkick.
Last week…NWA Smoky Mountain Heavyweight Champion Chris Richards introduced brass knucks into his title match against Keith Knox. However, Knox speared Richards and clocked him with the knucks right in front of special referee Robbie Cassidy, who decided to count the pinfall anyway. Baker jumped in to stop it. Cassidy decked Baker. Angel hit the ring and Cassidy started beating his ass as well. That’s when Kincaid showed up to piledrive Cassidy.
Cut to Rhodes in the NWA SM studio with a report on Cassidy’s status. Rhodes said Cassidy had suffered a stinger but no permanent damage (Cassidy had back surgery 10 months ago). Cassidy’s non-sanctioned non-title match with Richards at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium on April 1 was still a go. Rhodes revealed that the second entrant in the tournament would be the new NWA National Heavyweight Champion, Chance Prophet.
(4) Ricky Morton & Keith Knox vs. Chris Richards & Lukas Angel (with Rob Knight) in 10:20. Knox is the up-and-coming star of this show. With the bald head and thick muscular physique, Knox looks like a taller version of Steve Austin at first glance. He showed impressive presence and poise in addition to explosive power. Richards is an ugly nasty brawler. Larger than Knox but with a bad body. Angel is an inexperienced guy with potential. He needs to get in better shape, but he moves deceivingly well for such a thick build. Knox showcased power moves. Morton took the heat. Knox pinned Angel with a devastating two hand sitout choke bomb.
Baker hit the ring and gave Richard a nightstick. He repeatedly jabbed Knox in the forehead with the nightstick. Knox bled bigtime. Owens ran in with a chair to clear the ring. Knox looked delirious at this point. Morton said the Knights drew first blood. He promised the Knights would bleed next week.
Closing thoughts: This was the second TV episode produced since the company joined the NWA and dropped the Championship Wrestling Alliance name in favor of NWA Smoky Mountain. On the plus side, the show features a nice blend of talent with just enough veterans (Morton, Young, James and Givens) in the mix. Morton’s promo was as fired up as I’ve seen him in a while. Knox is far and away the star of the younger generation. He looks like a guy with all the basic tools to become a major star. Knox is a four year pro, so he’s further along in the ring than Ryan Nemeth (OVW) for example. Sigmon and Owens are young veterans. Derring and Angel are green guys with potential. Everyone on the roster presented like a professional wrestler with proper gear – no gym shoes, t-shirts or parachute pants. It’s a sad commentary on the state of things to even have to mention that. The booking and storytelling were totally solid. There was a whole lot going on during this hour, but the recap segments made it possible for the uninitiated viewer to get right with it. Announcer Matt Rhodes did a good job of introducing all the characters, a formidable task with the plethora of run ins during this show. They started to build for their next big house show, as well as using the finish of the main event to hook viewers into watching next week’s TV. Derring was given one hell of a push. The key babyfaces (Knox, Cassidy, Owens, James & Givens) were all presented in a manner that made it easy to get behind them. Rhodes does a fine job on play-by-play. He put the talent, the moves and storylines over at every turn, and he has a voice reminiscent of Mid-South Wrestling era Jim Ross. There are a few things in the minus column however. The building doesn’t look good on TV. The droopy curtain and light stands facing the hard camera make a bad first impression. Richards, King and Sterling didn’t do much for me as heels. It’s not that they were outright bad. Their characters just weren’t interesting or engaging, at least not this week. Rhodes communicates tremendous excitement, but he’s in high gear too much, which gets in the way of the high points standing out as special moments. If you’re tastes run towards an independent wrestling show with that distinctive East Tennessee flavor, NWA Smoky Mountain is worth checking out.
Your feedback is welcomed -- larry@georgiawrestlinghistory.com
