NEW Rumble In Rockland
Date: 5/3/2008
From: Thiells, NY
MATCH #1: BRIAN ANTHONY VS. JULIO DINERO
FINISH: Anthony hits a top rope elbow drop and pins Dinero for the win.
Bob’s Take: It always catches me off guard to see Anthony presented as a babyface because he’d go on to be one the biggest heels for NEW, and he was quite good at it. They kept things rather basic for a good portion of the match. I feel like at this point Anthony is capable of more than just the basics, but that’s the approach they went with. Dinero did a fine job carrying the offense aspect of the match. To the crowds credit, they seemed to be quite excited for wrestling in general. A basic overall encounter, but they kept the crowd engaged and Anthony getting a clean victory is the right call. It’s not the opener full of high spots that many fans, including myself, tend to prefer. But, it was solid enough.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #2: PRINCE JALIL SALAAM VS. JOHNNY SWIFT
NOTE: Before the match, Salaam cuts an anti-America promo and he’s really leaning into the Muhammad Hassan type of look and overall persona.
FINISH: Salaam wins by submission with the camel clutch. After the match, Jerry Lawler comes out to confront Salaam because Salaam kept attacking Swift. Lawler notes he’s American and wears a crown, not a table cloth like Salaam. Lawler makes things political and accepts a match with Salaam for later on in the night.
Bob’s Take: It’s not rocket science to quickly see that Swift is purely an enhancement guy for Salaam. It’s a quick match, but I feel like I enjoyed this more than his previous showing in NEW at Wrestlefest XII. The gimmick is an old trope, but it’s what you’d expect on indies. It figures that Salaam does something mildly enjoyable and he’s going to job to Lawler in an hour.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #3: ALERE LITTLE FEATHER & KURT ADONIS VS. VELVET SKY & SHORT SLEEVE SAMPSON
FINISH: Sky plants Adonis with a DDT and Sampson hit a top rope frog splash to pin Adonis.
Bob’s Take: Adonis is one of the over the top corny heels, and I mean in that in a positive manner because he tends to be entertaining. I’m not surprised that they would book Adonis in a match involving midget wrestler Short Sleeve Sampson. On paper, it looks like a comedy match. It didn’t take long for the match to begin to realize it is in fact a comedy match. Adonis taking a backdrop by Sampson was quite the visual, too. It’s kind of amazing to remember Sky as Talia in 3PW where she was a sex slave for Tod Gordon (angle) and now in 2008 she’s a top female indie wrestler for NEW. It’s crazy what can happen in three or four years. I normally don’t enjoy these kind of matches, but I thought they played their role very well, and it held my interest throughout. I can see how or why this was on the card as a draw for the undercard.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #4: JASON BLADE VS. ROB ECKOS
FINISH: Eckos picks up the win following a swinging neckbreaker.
Bob’s Take: There’s a lot more intensity in this match than anything else that’s happened before it on the show. It came across as if these two were ready to put on a show, which is something I like to see and it grabs my attention. Blade had some good fast pace offense while Eckos kept it slower when he was in control. Blade had buzz on the indies during this time, and I can see how he had some momentum in this match. I’ve been a fan of Eckos for many years at this point and he’s gotten better quite a bit. Eckos winning the match cleanly was not something I was ever expecting especially since Blade seemed to be a top face for NEW. The finish came across a bit abrupt, but it was a enjoyable encounter.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #5: TNA WORLD CHAMPION SAMOA JOE VS. XAVIER
FINISH: Joe pins Xavier following the Muscle Buster to retain the title.
Bob’s Take: Back on March 22nd, 2003, Samoa Joe won the ROH World Championship from Xavier, and his dominance in wrestling truly took off and held the title for nearly 650-days. Considering the match is billed as being a title match, it’s obvious that Xavier never had a chance in winning and showing up at the Impact Zone as the new champion. Xavier had a little bit of meaningful offense that included a gut buster and a clothesline combo, but aside from that this was mostly one-sided in Joe’s favor. It’s a shorter match than may be expected, but they didn’t stall too much and the acton was consistent even if it was an obvious outcome.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #6: JEFF STARR VS. MICHAEL SAIN
FINISH: Starr pins Sain following a top rope swanton bomb.
Bob’s Take: I’m not sure what it was here, but Sain looked better than I’ve ever seen him compete before. Starr bumped around well for Sain, but Sain looked a lot more confident and consistent with his moves. It’s clear that Sain has studied Kane as he had similar style of strikes for instance. Sain’s showing here is a clear indicator of his potential. Starr did a great job in his babyface role with his bumps for Sain and his fire on his comeback attempts. Starr winning is a bit of a shock, but I’m wondering if I’m misremembering the dominance that Sain had in NEW prior to this. He’s lost to Lawler and Slaughter, which is to be expected. I would’ve figured a win here for Sain, but Starr looked good here and the clean finish is a big win for Starr.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #7: JERRY LAWLER VS. PRINCE JALIL SALAAM
NOTE: As expected, there was some banter between the two. Lawler insulting Salaam and immigrants coming to America for jobs stating they mostly work in fast food. Lawler is quite obsessed with the price of oil barrels.
FINISH: Late in the match, there’s a referee bump and Lawler pummels Salaam with a foreign object. The referee sees this, but doesn’t call for a disqualification. Moments later, Lawler spikes Salaam with the piledriver to win the match.
Bob’s Take: There’s quite a bit of stalling, as expected in a Lawler match. Salaam took time to insult the audience and continue to get heel heat as if he needed any more of it. They went with the kind of match you’d see in Memphis in the mid 80s with the tease of weapons and there’s even a moment where the lights went out, but that seemed to be a production issue rather than an angle. It’s exactly what you’d expect out of Lawler on the indies in 2008. He has a formula and it works for the crowd. It’s never going to be a classic, but that’s not the point of his appearances.
Match Rating: *1/2
MAIN EVENT: BOOKER T VS. JOEY MATTHEWS:
FINISH: Booker T picks up the win following the scissors kick.
Bob’s Take: I’m glad that Booker T came into this putting forth proper effort and not mailing it in for the audience. Booker looked to actually want to be competing, and Matthews is a good opponent for him being a veteran himself. Matthews actually kicked out of the Book End and avoided the scissors kick on a couple of attempts. It was a bit more competitive than I thought it would be, but Booker delivered the hits and did so with good energy to close out the show.
Match Rating: **
Final Thoughts:
There’s some average wrestling on the show, but from a work rate standpoint this was a rather poor event for NEW standards. There’s plenty of name power (Booker, Joe, Lawler), and the show didn’t drag along by any means. There just isn’t the quality in-ring wrestling to justify recommending this show for viewing.
Thanks for reading.