USA Pro Meltdown 8/29/2003

Written by: Bob Colling

USA Pro presents Meltdown
Date: 8/29/2003
From: Queens, NY

Opening Contest: Dan Barry & Johnny Ova vs. Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz (EC Negro & KC Blade): Ova and Barry go on the attack prior to the bell, but they get sent to the floor quickly. Barry is worked over with strikes in the ring and Ova experiences the same. Scoundrelz play to the crowd after taking their opponents out with strikes. Negro sends them into each other as Blade faked a dive to the floor. Blade hammers away on Ova in the corner and then humps his face. Blade heel kicks Ova leading to a near fall. Ova stops Blade with a neckbreaker and tags in Barry. Blade arm drags Barry and tags in Negro to hit an axe handle off the top. Barry doesn’t get high enough on a leapfrog and the crowd lets him know it. Barry elbows out of a hammerlock and rolls through but Blade keeps control with a few knee drops. Blade slams Barry and goes to the top rope. Ova tries to shake the ropes, but Barry just shoves Blade onto the top rope. Ova dropkicks Blade off the ropes from the top rope. Blade is dropped over the railing chest first. Barry double stomps Blade’s arm and keeps control on the mat. Barry takes Blade over with a bridging suplex and Ova connects with a running knee. Blade hammers away on Barry, but Ova delivers a knee strike from the apron and Barry kicks Blade for a two count. Ova jabs Blade a few times followed by a DDT for a two count. Ova puts a sleeper on Blade for a few moments. Blade drops Nova with a back suplex and both men are down. Negro gets the hot tag and cleans house with clotheslines. Negro hits a cobra clutch slam but Nova breaks the cover. Negro stops Nova on the top turnbuckle and delivers a few knee strikes for a two count. Barry keeps a head scissors on Negro as Nova locks in a Boston Crab, but Blade makes the save. Blade rams Barry into the corners a few times and they eventually hit stereo Rikishi Drivers for the win. (**. Well, the referee for sure messed up on the finish there or they weren’t supposed to kick out. Regardless, it was a solid opening contest between local talents. I was rather surprised by it.)

Second Contest: Danny Demanto, J-Kronik & Kevin Matthews vs. Envy & The Elm Street Kids (Danny Yamz & Psycho) vs. Jimmy Hustler, Rob Fury & Smoked Out vs. Boogalou, Eddie Guapo & Low Ryda: I’m familiar with maybe three guys in this match. I’m sure nobody reading this came for my usual review of matches. Hell, I didn’t even start this show wanting to do such a review. Thus, I will not. Boogalou gets the win following a wheelbarrow/cutter combo to pin one of the local guys. After the match, they attack them as well. This went just about fourteen minutes.

Third Contest: Chris Caliber & Johnny TNT vs. James Newblood & Javi-Air: Similar to the previous match, I know virtually nobody in this match. Considering they are all small guys it should come to no surprise that they do a few dives to the floor. There is a couple of dangerous looking piledrivers and the second one leads to a three count.

The Boogie Knights and Matt Striker come out and brings out someone who acts like he’s Chris Jericho. They have a table in the ring and Striker says that one of the men in the ring need to be dismissed. I honestly have no ides what this is. They are making fun of a guy who is a little out of shape and then beat on him. They bring a woman into the ring and they make fun of her, too. This has nothing to do with wrestling and I’m not going to cover it.

Fourth Contest: Skinhead Ivan & Zeno vs. The Christopher Street Connection (Buff-E & Mace): Every time I see Skinhead Ivan on these shows, it just blows my mind he was created. Ivan gets backdropped after a cheap shot before the match. Ivan nails Buff with a somersault kick and several stomps. Ivan misses a clothesline in the corner but keeps control with strikes. Ivan misses a splash in the corner. Mace grabs Zeno’s butt in the corner and then spanks Zeno before Ivan gets involved with a running kick. Ivan plants Mace with a side slam. Ivan hits an elbow drop off the top for a near fall. Ivan low blows Mace and hits a side Russian leg sweep. Ivan punches Zeno on accident and Buff cleans house with clotheslines. Ivan sends them into each other and they kiss. Ivan gets pulled in for a kiss, too. Zeno collides with Ivan and the CSC hit a top rope splash for the win. (*. That was mostly comedy and Zeno wasn’t very good. CSC is one of the most popular tag team acts during this period but their matches are not very good.)

Fifth Contest: Homicide vs. Deranged: Homicide hip tosses Deranged and they trade a few arm drags. Deranged dropkicks Homicide into the corner and another arm drag to cause Homicide to bail to the floor. Deranged takes Homicide out with a somersault dive to the floor. Homicide drops Deranged over the top rope and tries for a dive, but Deranged connects with a kick instead. Deranged hits a springboard dropkick and a kick to the head. Deranged continues with a boot scrape but Homicide comes back with a clothesline. Deranged goes to the top to hit a crossbody for a near fall. Homicide tosses Deranged with an exploder suplex. Homicide spikes Deranged with an elevated DDT for a two count. Homicide works over Deranged with chops in the corner. Homicide hits a superplex off the middle rope for a two count. Homicide stops Deranged with a right hand. Homicide catches Deranged, but Deranged hits a tornado DDT for a two count. Deranged takes Homicide out with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Homicide uppercuts Deranged and hits a middle rope dropkick for a near fall.

Deranged counters a shining wizard with an STF. Homicide takes Deranged down to the mat and locks in a head scissors submission, but doesn’t get a submission. Homicide slams Deranged to the mat and climbs to the top hitting a splash for a two count. Homicide kicks Deranged across the back and misses a top rope diving headbutt. Deranged kicks Homicide a few times for a two count. Deranged chops Homicide in the corner, but Homicide fights back with a clothesline. Deranged low blows Homicide and hits a Code Red for a two count. Homicide plants Deranged with a double leg slam and puts an STF on in the middle of the ring. Homicide splashes Deranged in the corner but is met with a kick on the middle rope. Deranged takes Homicide over with a hurricanrana. Homicide nearly wins following a yakuza kick. Deranged hits a cutter for a two count. Deranged misses a moonsault and Homicide low blows Deranged. Homicide proceeds to hit the Cop Killa but pulls Deranged up on the cover. Homicide hits the Cop Killa a second time and wins the match. (***1/4. I’d say this was an effective match and they worked very well together. The Cop Killa move looks incredibly painful and to take it twice, essentially on his head, was cringeworthy are a viewer. I probably enjoyed this more because of the lackluster wrestling I endured prior to this.) After the match, Homicide yells at a wrestler in the balcony that has a neck brace. I can’t tell who it is, but the fans are ripping on him.

Sixth Contest: Louie Ramos vs. Balls Mahoney in a hardcore match: Ramos tries to jab skewers into Mahoney’s forehead, but fails. Mahoney sticks them on Ramos tongue instead. Mahoney nails Ramos with several kicks on the mat. Ramos jabs Mahoney a few times but Mahoney hits Ramos with a metal object. Mahoney digs into Louie’s forehead. This is clearly senseless hardcore nonsense. Ramos digs into Mahoney’s forehead. Ramos misses a clothesline and hits the post on the floor. Ramos rams Mahoney into the post face first and uses a barbed wire bat. Ramos jabs Mahoney with the bat a few times. Mahoney drops Ramos with several strikes and a superkick. Mahoney hits a middle rope leg drop for a two count. Mahoney gets crotched on the top and falls to the mat. Ramos hits a Death Valley Driver and a leg drop for a two count. Mahoney slams Ramos and delivers a leg drop for a two count. Mahoney sets a table up and gets hit by Ramos with a few chair shots. Mahoney lays onto the table, but Mahoney’s female manager hits Ramos with a chair. Ramos powerbombs her onto the table, which doesn’t break. Ramos splashes Mahoney, but Mahoney gets a rollup and wins the match. After the match, Mahoney whacks Ramos with a chair shot. Mahoney tries to do a fireball but messes it up. Mahoney does it a second time and clearly comes nowhere close to hitting Ramos with it. Mahoney had brought a wooden cross with him and sets it up in the corner. Ramos is taped to the cross in the corner. Mahoney is hammering nails into Ramos hand before running off. (DUD. Okay, so many things wrong with this. The wrestling was awful and the finish drives me nuts. Why do all that hardcore shit and then finish with a rollup? The aftermath is just awful. Don’t do that kind of stuff in wrestling.)

Seventh Contest: The Solution (Havok & Papadon) vs. Trailer Park Trash (Nuke & Vinny Stylin): The camera doesn’t get the match and really just gets the finish. The Solution win the match following a blockbuster/powerbomb combo. This match came right after intermission.

Eighth Contest: Gauntlet Style Battle Royal: This match involves all the ticket sellers for the event. They are treating this as a complete joke telling them they have two minutes to wrap it up before they get back to real wrestling. The same kid that got beat up earlier in the night won the battle royal.

Ninth Contest: USA Pro Tag Team Champions Boogie Knights (Danny Drake & Mike Tobin) vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Wayne: Whipwreck and Wayne get the advantage with right hands and Whipwreck drops Drake over Wayne’s knee for a gut buster. Drake is sent into Tobin’s groin with a drop toe hold. Whipwreck leg drops both men on the apron and along with Wayne they dropkick chairs into their heads on the apron. Tobin is sent into the guard railing. Wayne gets distracted and is met with a few strikes by Tobin. Drake continues to beat on Wayne by hitting a spinebuster for a two count. Wayne is met with a double snap suplex and Drake hit Tobin with a fist drop in an apparent botch. Drake slams Wayne and hits a middle rope leg drop for a two count. Tobin gets caught by Wayne with a flapjack after leaping off the middle rope. Whipwreck gets the hot tag and hammers away on Drake. Whipwreck hits a wheelbarrow on Tobin for a two count. However, the referee was pulled out of the ring. Whipwreck spits water into the referee on accident. A female manager tosses some other guy with a German suplec and the crowd explodes for it. Whipwreck has the cover, but gets clotheslined by Drake. Drake gets crotched on the top turnbuckle. Whipwreck hits a middle rope stunner on Drake for the win. (*1/2. This was better than expected largely because they didn’t keep it to tag rules by any means. It was constant action and a few hardcore spots were good touches.)

Tenth Contest: USA Pro X-Treme Champion Grim Reefer vs. Xavier: Xavier shoulder blocks Reefer for the early advantage. Reefer takes Xavier over with a hurricanrana. Xavier regains control with a hammerlock on the mat and knee drops. Xavier keeps a front face lock on Reefer until Reefer backs into the corner. Reefer drops Xavier throat first over the top rope from the apron. Reefer tries for a head scissors on the floor, but Xavier catches Reefer. Reefer breaks free and goes to the top to hit a somersault dive! Xavier trades chops with Reefer on the floor. Xavier drops Reefer with a savant kick. Xavier comes off the ropes to deliver a forearm strike. Xavier continues with several knee strikes in the corner. Reefer hits a spinebuster and sends Xavier into the corner to deliver a running dropkick for a two count. Xavier slams Reefer to the mat followed by several stomps. Xavier nearly wins after a handstand knee drop. Xavier hit a German suplex, but by only grabbing Reefer’s wrists for a two count. Xavier tries for a neckbreaker, but Reefer counters with a low blow and a neckbreaker for his own for a near fall. Reefer keeps a backbreaker on Xavier before heading to the top and hits a springboard swanton for a two count. Xavier chops Reefer several times to the mat to get out of a sleeper. Xavier slaps Reefer and press slams Reefer groin first onto the top turnbuckle. Reefer leaps off the middle rope, but is met with a clothesline. Xavier delivers a gut buster and a kick to the back of the head. Reefer counters a tilt a whirl with a crossface, but Xavier rolls over. Reefer keeps the hold on. Xavier has Reefer over his shoulder and plants Reefer gut first to the canvas. Xavier hits a 450 splash for the win and the championship. (**1/4. There was a couple of good spots throughout the match that were impressive mostly by Xavier showcasing his strength. Reefer tends to be a lot of fun to watch and his dives added to the match well. The match just felt like it was in first gear with a few good spots thrown in and different get to that next level.)

Eleventh Contest: USA Pro United States Champion Mike Kruel vs. Slyck Wagner Brown: Brown takes Kruel down to the mat and put a head scissors on. Kruel counters with a chin lock on the mat. Brown takes Kruel over with a back suplex leading to a standoff. They trade a few arm drags leading to another standoff. Brown hip tosses Kruel followed by a dropkick and a heel kick for a two count. Kruel connects with a leaping arm breaker and knee drops to Brown’s arm. Kruel sends Brown into the corner shoulder first. Brown gets a two count with a rollup. Kruel backdrops Brown to the apron, but Brown flips back in. Kruel gets a body scissors on Brown in the ropes but has to let go. Kruel drops Brown’s arm over the top rope followed by a leg sweep clothesline. Kruel slams Brown to the mat and heads to the top rope. Brown tosses Kruel off the middle rope with an overhead suplex. Brown hits a middle rope leg lariat for a two count. Brown puts a head scissors on Kruel over the ropes before letting go. Kruel nearly wins with a spinning sit out Death Valley Driver. Brown plants Kruel with a sit out powerbomb for a two count. Billy Reil has come to ringside and distracted both men. Reil superkicks Kruel after Brown was clotheslined. Reil is speared and chased by April Hunter and Luscious. Brown hits the Appreciation Bomb and pins Kruel to win the championship. (*1/2. It kind of felt like they were going through the motions and the interference by Reil and involvement of the ladies left this feeling a little flat.)

Twelfth Contest: April Hunter vs. Billy Reil vs. Luscious: Reil manages to win the match following a powerbomb to Hunter. After the match, Slyck Wagner Brown, Mike Kruel and Luscious knock Matt Striker to the floor.

Thirteenth Contest: Al Snow vs. The Sandman: Snow takes Sandman down to the mat for the early advantage. Snow elbow drops Sandman’s left knee to keep the advantage. Snow bails to the floor after Sandman got to his feet and grabbed his kendo stick. Snow tries to keep Sandman on the mat with a cover attempt, but only manages a two count. Snow keeps a hammerlock on Sandman to continue the slow start. Snow keeps Sandman down with a running clothesline. Snow controls Sandman with a kneeling abdominal stretch. The crowd is chanting “boring” and Snow tells them they will do less the more they chant that. Sandman clotheslines Snow and tosses Snow to the floor. Snow returns to the ring to beat on Sandman. Snow takes Sandman over with a snap suplex for a two count. Sandman takes Snow over with a suplex. Sandman hits Snow with his kendo stick causing Snow to roll to the floor. Sandman sends Snow into the railing a few times. Sandman scoop slams Snow heading to the top rope missing a swanton bomb. Snow whacks Sandman with Head to win the match. (DUD. That was just an awful wrestling match and clearly Snow was not motivated to put forth any effort this time around. The crowd didn’t like it and rightfully so.)

Main Event: USA Pro Heavyweight Champion Raven vs. D’Lo Brown: Mikey Whipwreck starts the match for Raven and wrenches on D’Lo’s arm. Raven pulls down on Brown’s arm over the top rope from the apron. Brown counters another attempt and Raven yanks down on Mikey’s arm several times. Brown goes to the floor so that Raven can see him and Raven gets mad at Mikey. Mikey shoves Raven and Wayne gets in the ring to stop them. Brown sends all three men into each other. Brown sends Mikey into Raven again as they are going with a more comedy based match early on. Brown shoulder blocks Raven and ducks a clothesline to drop Raven with a right hand. Raven drops Brown with several right hands. Brown counters a DDT and sends Raven into the referee. Brown hits a sit out spinebuster, but the referee isn’t there to make the count. Raven powerbombs Brown int the corner and nearly wins with his feet on the ropes. Raven dumps Brown to the floor. Wayne chokes Brown on the floor to help the champion.

Raven hits a side Russian leg sweep against the railing. Mikey Whipwreck is up in the balcony for some reason at this point. Brown nearly pins Raven as he’s distracted. Raven clotheslines Brown for a two count. Raven drops Brown with a microphone shot. Raven puts a trash can over the referee and continues to beat on Brown. Brown boots Raven in the corner and misses a middle rope moonsault. Raven splashes down onto Brown’s back a few times. Raven puts a chin lock on Brown int the middle of the ring. Brown low blows Raven to avoid a splash. Raven dumps Brown to the floor to keep control of the match. Raven sends Brown ribs first into the railing. Raven puts a figure four leg lock on D’Lo. Brown rolls over to counter the hold and Raven lets go of the hold. Raven clotheslines Brown to maintain control of the match. Raven puts a sleeper on Brown in the middle of the ring. Brown takes Raven over with a back suplex. Brown hammers away on Raven and decks Mikey and Wayne off the apron. Brown slams Raven followed by a leg drop for a two count. Mikey accidentally superkicks Raven and Brown nearly wins the match. Brown heel kicks Mikey. A woman tries to get involved and she’s spanked. Raven superkicks Brown for a two count. Brown plants Raven with a DDT, but Mikey pulls the referee out. Wayne throws powder into D’Lo’s face. Brown hits a sit out spinebuster on Wayne and Mikey counts the pin, which makes Brown think he won. However, Raven comes in and connects with the DDT to pin a blinded Brown for the win. (*. The action was boring and not very entertaining at all. The finish was clever, but there was nothing good here, folks.)

Final Thoughts:
When there is fourteen matches on a show and only one of them is an entertaining match, you can easily skip this show.

Thanks for reading.