OVW TV
Date: 5/25/2002
From: Louisville, KY
Footage from the May 17th WWE live event at Freedom Hall where Rob Conway & Nick Dinsmore won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championships from Doug Basham & Damaja is shown. Queen Victoria got involved and hit a back suplex, but Dinsmore kicked out at two. Johnny Spade tried to help, but Damaja knocked Spade off the apron and Dinsmore nearly won with a German suplex. Dinsmore almost won with a crossbody off the ropes. Conway hits a neckbreaker on Basham and Dinsmore is rocket launched off the top by Conway onto Basham to win the titles.
MATCH #1: KANYON VS. PROTOTYPE
NOTE: This is Kanyon’s first in-ring action since suffering an injury in October 2001.
FINISH: Late in the match, Kanyon decks Kenny Bolin off the apron, but Prototype hits the Protoplex for the win.
Bob’s Take: Kanyon looks to be excited back in the squared circle, and I’m glad to see him back in action after several months of recovering from injury. The OVW crowd initially didn’t seem to be all that invested in Kanyon, but once they said his name it was like a light bulb went off and they knew who he was. Kanyon showcased a ton of his offense and if he’s in OVW for a few months to get the ring rust off, it will only help OVW TV. The finish doesn’t bother me since Prototype has a rematch with Nova and needs to have some momentum. Kanyon looked good and his offense was quite good. This was a good TV match.
Match Rating: ***
We get a reminder of last week where Nova made his debut in OVW and proceeded to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship.
Mick Foley sent in a pre-tape promo to promote his appearance at Six Flags where he will be the special referee for the rematch between OVW Heavyweight Champion Nova and Prototype. Foley will not be intimidated and will have Mr. Socko with him.
Jim Cornette is in the ring and introduces Jim Ross for an interview. Cornette knows Ross is there for a specific reason. Ross says they are interested in a lot of talent in OVW, but he’s especially interested in Nova. OVW Heavyweight Champion Nova makes his way out to join the segment. Ross has a message for Nova. Ross tells Nova that he made a great impression and a lot of peoples attention in the WWE. Ross talked to Rey Mysterio Jr. noting that Mysterio is part of WWE now and has great respect with Nova. Cornette claims Mysterio requested to compete against Nova. Nova says he is flattered and looking forward to the match with Mysterio. Nova is also looking forward against Prototype at Six Flags. Prototype and Kenny Bolin join the segment. Prototype is sure that Cornette is proud of himself for last week and claims Nova stole the title from him last week. Prototype is not thrilled that JR is there as they mock him, too. Prototype says Nova will be an ex-champion on Friday. Prototype believes Nova’s match will suck. Nova says he’d rather suck than blow, which prompts Prototype to try and brawl with Nova, but is held back by Bolin.
We see footage from last week highlighting the match between Ron Conway and Trailer Park Trash, which saw Trash pin Conway after a brass knuckles shot.
MATCH #2: OVW SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPION RON CONWAY VS. FLASH
FINISH: During the match, Trailer Park Trash comes out and attacks Conway on the floor. Nick Dinsmore comes out to make this a tag match. Dinsmore gets the brass knuckles, but the referee sees Dinsmore with the brass knuckles and calls for a disqualification
Bob’s Take: They went at a pretty good pace with Flash seemingly sprinting in the ring, which is something I didn’t recall being his style. Flash is an intriguing wrestler and he’s one that entertains me despite not having a WWE contract. The match isn’t anything all that great, but it’s just an angle advancement since these two teams are fighting over the titles at Six Flags.
Match Rating: *1/2
The Revolution (Basham, Damaja & Queen Victoria) make their way out to the ring for an interview with Jim Cornette. Cornette reminds them that they are the former tag champions. Damaja says they almost didn’t let Victoria rub her hands on their bodies that’s how mad they are. Basham has some demands and notes they are not done with Conway and Dinsmore. Basham wants a rematch with Dinsmore and Conway. Basham wants to be in the tag title match instead of Trash and Flash. Cornette recalls trying to get rid of Basham for the past year whether it be the heavyweight title or control of OVW. Cornette says all Basham has is a contract that states he could sue them if they fired him. Cornette tells Basham they will get title shots when they give them title shots. Danny Davis gets in the ring to save Cornette from Damaja being aggressive. Davis insults the trio and reminds Basham they have no stroke anymore. Davis repeats the same thing Cornette just said. Davis announces all three members of the Revolution are fired and tells them to get their lawyers ready. The Revolution freak out over this announcement.
During the commercial, the Revolution were thrown out of the Davis Arena with their gear bags.
We get a segment reminding us that Leviathan had been sold to Rev. D-Von into forced labor essentially. Leviathan fought off Damien and had something sprayed into his eyes. This also marked the debut of Seven (Kevin Fertig), who arrived and attacked Leviathan.
In the ring, Jim Cornette interviews Synn, Damien and Seven. Cornette announces that Leviathan will no longer compete in OVW. However, Leviathan will compete at Six Flags on Friday for the last time in a handicap match. Synn says they will send Leviathan straight back to hell. Seven is officially named and says the number seven is important to him because its the number of sins. He was chosen to be tolerable to sin. Seven talks about the sins being lazy, greed, no jobs, pride, lust, envy, and the deadliest sin known as wrath. Seven proclaims that Leviathan will feel their wrath at Six Flags on Friday.
MAIN EVENT: OVW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION NOVA VS. REY MYSTERIO JR.
NOTE: For what it is worth, Mysterio is not wearing a mask. This is also a non-title match.
FINISH: Late in the match, Prototype and Sean O’Haire attack Mysterio and Nova. Mysterio and Nova fight them off with Mysterio hitting a hurricanrana on O’Haire and a 619. Prototype is met with a knee strike by Nova and a baseball slide by Mysterio.
Bob’s Take: It’s a bit odd seeing Nova presented as a main even guy in OVW, but this persona is likely what he would have morphed into in ECW anyway. It’s also a treat to have Mysterio randomly show up on OVW TV for a one-off appearance. Nova showed some unique rollup attempts in the match. But, this never felt like it got out of first gear because of the angle afterward. It would have been wishful thinking to suggest there was ever going to be a finish to this bout.
Match Rating: **
Final Thoughts:
A good episode this week with Kanyon and Mysterio stopping through to compete in matches. They did a good job promoting the Six Flags show, which seems to be a strong on paper. I’m not sure if firing the Revolution is the right move especially since it seems as if it would be an expensive direction with court costs for OVW to successfully accomplish that. I hope it’s a short term angle as I enjoy the Revolution on TV.
Thanks for reading.