APW TV Workrate Report: 2/5/11

We start with a video recap of last week's good Dylan Drake/Derek Sanders match. For some reason the highlight film is shown in small picture-in-picture. It's taking up only about 1/3 of the screen, and there ain't anything going on in the other part of the screen. Odd choice. Video goes a bit long, as it's 4 minutes, and then right into a sit down interview with Dylan Drake. Then a commercial. Shit this show is dragging. We're at like the 8 minute mark and nothing is happening.

And another video!

But this one is pretty awesome, as it's a recap of the awesome fat Russian Alexis Derevko turning on Sheik Khan Abadi. The video is black and white and has Russian folk music blaring during Derevko's beatdown, and it really fits nicely. Derevko is fat and carries a chain and has nice punches. Abadi is greasy and has hair like Pauly Shore in Encino Man, or Dweezil Zappa. He has questionable offense at times but can always take a nice beating and bump huge.

1. Alexs Derevko vs. Sheik Khan Abadi. This is a GRUDGE match! Derevko takes a rana nicely and Abadi does a somersault dive to the floor. Abadi takes a big springy bump off a hotshot that looks good. Derevko lifts him up really high and does a big atomic drop, and Abadi sells his tailbone really well. But then Derevko hits a low blow and the match ends in DQ, so that's short and disappointing. Match was picking up and then it ended.

GOTH INTERVIEW! Corvus and the newly heel Jeckels are in a BLACK room wearing black clothing and talking about DARK stuff, and they're holding CANDLES! Evil, red, apple cinnamon candle. Like maybe one of those Glade 2-in-1s that has two different scent levels. You'll get a little apples n' cream up top, but the longer it burns you break into the bottom layer which will be berry or something tasty like that. They're really a great deal. I got a bunch at Target for like $3 so our place doesn't smell like garbage. I bet the GOTH interview cellar smells like failure and cinnamon. They could have also gone to Walgreens and gotten one of those black candles in a Jesus or Mary glass. I'm not sure if they have ones with Jesus or Mary in a lowrider, but they probably do by now. Jeckels works better as a heel but we're not talking about a big jump up in watchability here. He is embarrassing. But when he was a face and would do his awful little laugh, it made him come off developmentally disabled. As a heel it just comes off misguided.

2. Corvus, BLACKWELL, OMEGA, and Jeckels vs. Mr. Wrestling IV, Vennis DeMarco, Sheik Khan Abadi, and Chicano Flame. Man Chicano Flame has been around for awhile. This kind of match is pretty much guaranteed to be good as long as a couple participants are decent, as you can hide a bunch of weaknesses and have constant action. NOAH multi-mans are one of my favorite types of wrestling, so I can get behind a good 8 man. This had a few guys I like, and it delivered for a nice long main event. Blackwell and Abadi were the stars here, with Abadi really shining on the face team. Corvus and OMEGA looked good here, and OMEGA really needs to shift up his look or haircut or something. He actually is one of the better workers in APW, but looks like a total goof in his Matrix jacket and computer programmer haircut. He and Corvus do a bunch of awesome miscommunication spots in this, including both missing a charge and plowing into each other. They really made it look great, like they genuinely didn't know they were going to run into each other. Best segments were when Blackwell was in with Abadi, as Abadi bumps bigger than anybody else in APW, and Blackwell hits harder than anybody else, so it was a match made in heaven. Blackwell would do shoulderblocks that would sent Abadi careening in all sorts of painful ways. Jeckels stays out of most of this, and that helped the match. Mr. Wrestling IV is frustrating to me, as he seems like a guy that can go on the mat, but he hardly ever does and instead works as a goofy face. I'd much rather see him as Nick Bockwinkel than Bugsy McGraw. DeMarco does occasional things well, like a nice elbowdrop, but then he does a lot of stuff bad like lousy punches. But you know? This match was fun and all action, just as 8 mans should be. It's simple formula that's hard to mess up, and easy to get right, and they got it right. Now I want a Blackwell/Abadi singles match.