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DCWA Proving Grounds 2/23/05

zackarcherPosted on 10/27/05 at 07:59:32

DCWA Proving Grounds: 2/23/05 from the DC Armory.

Finally, independent wrestling has come to Washington DC!  And this time, it's not at the local county fair, it's not in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and it's not going to disappear by the end of the year (I hope)!

The show opened with The Basham Brothers making their way to the ring.  They claimed that they were making more money for this appearance than every other wrestler on the show combined.  They bragged about being WWE Superstars and not needing to be at the show but because of the money offered to them, they decided to come so the fans could go home saying they saw real superstars.  At this point, Ahmed Johnson and D'Lo Brown hit the ring.

The Basham Brothers vs. Ahmed Johnson and D'Lo Brown

Quick squash.  D'Lo hit a Sky High and Ahmed Johnson nailed a Pearl River Plunge for a combined 1-2-3.

Ahmed Johnson and D'Lo Brown defeated The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham) when A. Johnson pinned Danny Basham with the Pearl River Plunge in 0:03:39.
Rating: **

Jake Roberts vs. Curt Henning

This was a "legends match" of some sort that ended up going about twice as long as it should have.  Roberts was incredibly slow, Mr. Perfect had to struggle just to get that 1 star.  

Post match: When the two were shaking hands, Chris Candido came out and started berating the two.  That was a wrestling match?  Wrestling finally comes to Washington DC and THIS is what the fans had to sit through?  Ten minutes of restholds and a "Perfect" Plex? Now all the pressure was on him to turn the night around for the fans because if there was another match like that, this city would be dead for another thirty years!  At this point, Henning decked him.  The two had a pull-apart and Henning was kicked out of the building.

Curt Henning pinned Jake Roberts with the Perfect Plex in 0:10:34.
Rating: *

Chris Candido vs. Chris Sabin

Wow.  If there actually was the possibility of losing DC, Candido and Sabin would have been our saviours.  For twenty minutes they battled with neither man giving in.  Finally, Candido somehow reversed a superplex attempt into the Blonde Bombshell for the win.  Post match, Candido continued about putting on a good match and that everyone in the DCWA should thank him for bringing the show back from the dead and that when we return in March, he will be the reason.

Chris Candido pinned Chris Sabin with the Blonde Bombshell in 0:20:26.
Rating: **** ½

Triangle Match:  Brian Pillman vs. Nick Mondo vs. Kurasawa

Fans certainly didn't see this next match coming.  Brian Pillman and "Sick" Nick Mondo were both surprises.  But Kurasawa?  From WCW?  Most didn't even remember who he was, but there was a small group that did and they were psyched.  What ended up as more of a surprise was that Kurasawa beat both guys.  After being beaten up for the first ten minutes or so, Kurasawa seemed out.  But Pillman and Mondo turned their attention towards each other.  Mondo broke out the weapons which Pillman was happy to see.  After Mondo was knocked out with a chair, Kurasawa hit a German Suplex on Pillman while the chair was still in his hands.  Smacking himself in the face, Pillman was out.  Kurasawa then took Pillman's chair and beat Mondo silly, power bombing him onto the chair for the win.  The 20 or so fans who knew Kurasawa lost their minds.  Everyone else applauded his efforts.  Pillman and Mondo both have huge cult followings already; could this be the beginning of something great for Kurasawa?

Triangle Match
Kurasawa defeated Brian Pillman and Nick Mondo:
        x Kurasawa beat Pillman via the German Suplex in 0:12:05
        x Kurasawa beat Mondo via a jack-knife power bomb in 0:14:46
Rating: * ¾


Tag Team Match with special referee SUWA
Jody Fleisch & Sonjay Dutt vs. KENTA & Tajiri

Top stars from around the world combined here in the nation's capital.  Sonjay Dutt from India (who is actually graduating from George Washington University in DC later this spring) and Jody Fleisch from England teamed up to take on KENTA and Tajiri from Japan.  SUWA was brought in to play special referee.  He did a fantastic job for the first twenty minutes until Dutt ducked a running knee from KENTA which hit Suwa in the face.  SUWA became irate, convinced that KENTA was attempting to continue their feud from NOAH and began hitting him with brutal forearms and chops.  SUWA and KENTA were guaranteed extra money if they could keep their emotions in check and it seemed like everything was going well until this happened.  Of course, the match went crazy at this point.  Tajiri attacked SUWA; KENTA was knocked out of the ring.  Dutt and Fleisch ended up with Tajiri in a double Boston Crab/Camel Clutch, while SUWA kept KENTA from getting back in the ring all the while counting to twenty to give his team the loss.  

Post match: Fleisch said that although they disagreed with how SUWA gave them a win, they'll take it.  KENTA snuck back into the ring and took SUWA out with some knees to the face and an exploder Suplex.  Both vowed revenge.

Match with Special Referee SUWA
Jody Fleisch and Sonjay Dutt defeated KENTA and Tajiri when Fleisch defeated
KENTA by countout in 0:23:07.
Rating: *** 1/4

Savio Vega vs. Tom Zenk

Quick story:  Upon leaving Puerto Rican group IWA, Savio Vega is making one last trek to the states to make a name for himself.  Tom Zenk is coming out a retirement in an attempt to relive his glory days.  Zenk talked about overcoming his demons.  Vega talked about getting through customs.  Both have made it to DC for what they both believe is their last shot at stardom.

Match:  Vega made quick work of Zenk.  It was obvious who has been out of the game for years and who has been working.  Zenk was rusty but did show a few signs of brilliance in his first loss.

Post Match:  Shook hands, both promised to return next month.

Savio Vega pinned Tom Zenk after a kick to the head in 0:07:46.
Rating: * ¾

TNA X-Division Showcase
Christopher Daniels vs. Petey Williams

Daniels and Williams both agreed to come in at the last minute as a treat to all the fans that came to the first DCWA show.  No one in the building, wrestlers included, expected this match.  The two put on quite a spectacle that went nearly twenty minutes and had the crowd on their feet by the finish.  In the end, it was Daniels hitting the Last Rites out of nowhere to get the win.  Of course he had to get the mic and talk for a while to get the crowd even more riled up.

[TNA X-Division Showcase]
Christopher Daniels pinned Petey Williams with the Last Rites in 0:18:53.
Rating: **** ¾

Main Event
Art Barr vs. Kid Kash vs. Rob Van Dam

Taped promos were shown of Kid Kash and Van Dam both talking about how happy they are to be here in DCWA, doing something for the loyal DC fans who have gone far too long without something to call their own.  Although both were very cocky and were sure of victory, it was Art Barr who took things over the top in ring as he was introduced first.  Before Kid Kash could be introduced, Barr snatched the microphone from the ring announcer and went on a tirade about how Daniels and Williams didn't deserve to be here and they just came for the money.  He came to show the fans that real wrestlers don't follow the money, the money follows them.  And that after tonight, he will be the one putting DCWA on the independent map.  Eventually he let the ring announcer do his job and both Kash and Van Dam made it to the ring.

Van Dam, Kash, and Barr tore the house down tonight it what could quite possibly be the best match DCWA will ever put on.  I literally lost count of the number of frog splashes I saw in this match.  Excitement from the first double-team on Barr to the last leap off the top-rope from Kash onto Van Dam.  Art Barr had just been hit with his own frog splash by Van Dam when RVD rolled over, got nailed by Kash, and pinned.

Post match: Barr was fuming about getting beat yet never actually being pinned.  In order to prove that he is the top-dog in the DCWA, he challenged both men to singles matches next month.  Both agreed, then when RVD claimed that he was the top-dog (i.e. the "Whole Fuckin Show") Kid Kash reminded them that he was the one who got the pinfall.  And just like that, we have ourselves a Round-Robin Tournament.

Triangle Match
Kid Kash defeated Art Barr and Rob Van Dam when Kash pinned Rob Van Dam with the
Money Maker in 0:26:36.
Rating: **** 1/4

Well, Chris Candido was right in saying that we will return to the armory in March.  But after the match we just saw, you can be sure that he wasn't the only reason.  With a lineup like this, DCWA just made an unbelievable first impression and will be sure to follow that up with each and every event we put on in the future!
Snabbit888Posted on 10/27/05 at 08:23:59

Fun little show to start.  Not a whole lot to say in terms of specifics, as he first couple cards of a ruleset are pretty formulatic by default, but an odd mix of wrestlers has me interested.  Oh, and it's "Hennig" not "Henning." :)  Good first card though.
zackarcherPosted on 10/27/05 at 14:49:50

He's a fantasy wrestler.  ;)
91Posted on 10/27/05 at 20:20:12

Art Barr, now there's a guy you never see anyone use in TNM, which is a shame as he was a great wrestler who could wind up the crowd no end. And while Snabby makes the point of the first few shows being formulaic, you have made the effort to give us some ideas of peoples characters - I've got a good idea of who are the faces and heels, so yeah, nice stuff.