Found Footage Friday: SUDDEN IMPACT~! VS~! DISTURBING BEHAVIOR~! IN A CAGE~! WITH DOUG GILBERT~!

Sudden Impact vs. Disturbing Behavior NWA Main Event 6/23/01

MD: The gameplan was to watch the one set up match and then the cage match, but then I realized this was actually a better set up match since it led to the Doug Gilbert save, so now we're just giving the week up to this stuff. I liked this a lot though, probably even more than the cage match. It was a non-title street fight (Disturbing Behavior were the champs). The heels took almost all of this, with Renesto just tossing his opponent into a wall to begin. He'd play crowd control whenever Lane started to fire back on Daniels, which was often actually; there was a real Jamie Noble style pitbull attitude he had here.

The match opened up when Renesto chucked a chair off the top rope to the floor and took out one of Sudden Impact. From there, they were both consistent and creative (but in a basic and straightforward way) with the violence. Gatlin took a great skidding bump, head first, into a chair lodged in the corner. They also absolutely took his head off with a knee drop off the second rope with his head stuck in the chair. Lane would channel that fire and eventually come back just long enough for them to get a fluke crucifix win. Post match continued the beatdown with Gilbert making the save to set up the cage match. My big takeaway is that I want to seek out more Renesto. Daniels was solid (and had a great elbow drop in this one, for instance), but Renesto came off like a scuzzy star, one of those guys that probably just needed a break to become a cult favorite on the undercard of a national promotion.

Doug Gilbert/Sudden Impact vs. Ricky Murdoch/Disturbing Behavior (cage) NWA Nashville 6/23/01

MD: Thirty minutes of footage, half of which was Doug Gilbert, bloodied and battered, holding court in the center of the cage and goading heels to run into his fist and back body drop. Not a bad thing certainly. The match itself felt like a throwback. There were almost no set spots in here, maybe one or two big crotchings from off the top of the cage onto the top rope. Almost everything was violence and guys getting tossed into the cage. There wasn't even the normal sort of ebb and flow you'd expect out of it where one side holds advantage and the other comes back all at once. At times it felt like multiple singles brawls going on at once, with the advantage mixed. On some level that might have made it seem more real or natural or organic, but I don't think it made it more narratively compelling. I will say that some of was because of Ricky Murdoch's superior size. Compared to everyone else in there, he had a certain WALTER size and shape to him, at least relatively. He was still more than happy to go flying into the cage and bleed. He was mostly paired with Sudden Impact, with Renesto and Daniels more than happy to have their punches blocked and returned again and again by Gilbert. It got a little repetitive after a while but it was something I didn't mind seeing over and over. About midway through they started trying to climb over which is almost never the way you want a cage match to turn, but it led to a great post-match mauling where the heels had Gilbert alone in the cage and were just destroying him. That led to Doug's big homecoming promo and him getting revenge on his terms. This was solid chaos even if you won't necessarily remember much of it later other than what Doug did and maybe Murdoch hefting himself into the cage repeatedly.

Disturbing Behavior (Jeff "The Crippler" Daniels/Tim Renesto) vs. Sudden Impact (Chris Gatlin/Steve Lane) NWA Main Event 2011

MD: Bryan Turner posts a lot. He's a boon to the community. You should go out of your way to support him. He posts tapes as he comes across them though, so sometimes things are out of order or you don't get the build. Moreover, it's hard to get a sense of what to check out and what not to. If a name isn't entirely familiar sometimes it's tough to know when to dive in given limited time. Full disclosure here: I wanted to watch the cage match with Doug Gilbert but I wasn't sure exactly who I was dealing with in Disturbing Behavior and Sudden Impact, so I figured I'd check out this ten minute TV match.

Usually with these, you get a commercial break, maybe it comes in JIP, and they almost never give away clean finishes on TV (and well they shouldn't!). They didn't here as this ended shortly after the hot tag with interference. Everything about these indies at this time was to build to the live card and the TV was just a vehicle to get there. It means that it's often worth watching but not often worth writing about. Disturbing Behavior was Jeff "The Crippler" Daniels and the Modern Day Assassin Tim Renesto, Tom's son. He wrestled as Tim Tall Tree throughout most of the 80s, including a NJPW tour in 1981 (the third guy in an Inoki/Choshu/Fujinami vs. Billy Crusher/Hogan tag). Daniels was enhancement for Memphis and Smoky Mountain in the 90s.

The two of them, together stand out pretty well as a journeyman tag team in 2001 Nashville however. They take most of the footage we have here and are scuzzy and credible, just like you'd want, laying in shots, cutting off the ring, beating up the young guy. Daniels had more size and the sort of stomp-punches/kicks that feel like comfort food, but Renesto stood out more with a wiry explosiveness, looking like a strung out 70s prog rock bassist ready to skid across the ring with a legdrop or toss his bony frame into a guy in the corner with full abandon. I don't have a ton to say about Gatlin and Lane here, though I think Gatlin was the FIP in there and he did a good enough job crawling for the ropes and garnering sympathy throughout. Maybe we'll have more takeaways from the cage match.

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XCW Midwest Legends of the Garden Night 2 3/4/09

XCW MIDWEST ON SEGUNDA CAIDA

Buddy Landell v. Crippler Jeff Daniels

TKG: Budro comes out looking as big as AWA era Adonis. He doesn’t bump like AWA era Adonis. He comes out in a v cut sweatshirt no knee pads and no hair dye. Daniels beats on him for a bit, Budro intercepts the brass knucks thrown in by Daniels valet and knocks Daniels out.

PAS: I have seen no kneepads Buddy Landell not take any bumps in matches that entertain me, this wasn't one of them. I think he really needs to work heel to pull that off, a face who exerts no effort just feels like a ripoff. Daniels initial rush of Budro looked good, but we are only talking a 90 second match

Tracy Smothers v Mitch Ryder (Taped Fist Match)

TKG: On night one, Smothers beat Ryder by using the wrist tape so we have the rematch as tape fist match. Fun booking. Both guys really lay it into each other and have a nasty ringside brawl. Lots of both guys trying to post the other guy only to end up posting themselves. Just a string of postings one after the other: Smothers torches his shoulder into post trying to lariat Ryder, Ryder blasts his own fist into post missing Tracy with a punch, etc. Really rewarding streetfight.

PAS: This is probably best Tracy match I have seen in years, there is some early Tracy shtick, but for the most of the match they are just laying into each other. Tracy's taped backfist is nasty looking, and I loved Ryder's Lawler style fired up punch combos. After the nastiest of postings Ryder gets busted open and really bleeds a ton which isn't very common in XCW so it felt special.

Bill Dundee v. Todd Morton

TKG: This just puts a big smile on my face and I “OOH!!” along with both guys stuff. No real toe to toe sections. You get the sense that that will come later in the series. Instead you have face moving forward heel moving back. Though a neat variation on that as you get sense that Morton wants to be on offense. Lots of really fun goofy Dundee outwitting Morton and cutting him off before Morton can get any kind of momentum. Morton is great at selling the burn from not being able to get his stuff off. Morton eventually of course does find a way to cheat to offense and has a nasty little run. I demand the rematch.

PAS: Watch all of the Memphis TV for the 80's Memphis set, Bill Dundee really came off like the king of the studio match. He was really great at work a simple entertaining match full of awesome shtick. Here he controls Morton early using all kinds of nifty little tricks, popping him in the knee on the break, holding the rope for him only to bang it into his nuts, just a ton of clever horseshit which Morton sold like a champ. When Morton finally gets the advantage his offensive run looked awesome. Totally fun studio match which would make you buy a ticket to see the Mid-South Coliseum rematch.

Shawn Cook/Cody Hawk v. Rock and Roll Express v. Tommy Rich/Doug Gilbert

TKG: So I go into this dissapointed that it isn't a straight Rich/Gilbert v RnR match. I am really digging the booking of the show where the XCW regulars go over the veterans on all of the night two matches. and you couldn't really do that without the XCW regular team. Still I don't like three way dances. Plus it's the three way tag dance where you can tag in anyone. So on paper lots of reasons to think this won't work. But they absolutely make this work. This isn’t TNA so instead of embracing the foolishness, they do lots of spots mocking the inherent stupidity of the three way structure. At some point or other each team gets one section where they are forced to work against their own partner. Each team works a comedy spot around it…Plus you get the Rock n Rolls cooperating to attack guys on apron, veteran heel team slightly not trusting each other, and the young heel team full on willing to battle against themselves. Partner forced to work against his own partner in multiperson tag is one of the goofier things in wrestling today and I really enjoyed it here as these guys really knew how to play up the spots goofiness. Ricky Morton and Doug Gilbert work a bunch of sections with each other and both look really solid. Gibson does a rolling across ring tag (rolling tag to other team on opposite side of ring) which is a really visually neat spot. For the most part though Robert Gibson and Tommy Rich are placed in role of powerhouses (the Neidharts of their teams) which isn’t really a role I associate with either guy.

PAS: Man did Dougie Gilbert look great in this match, nasty looking offense, great shitck, solid bumping. Really looked like a guy they should have brung in as a regular guy. Gilbert v. Flash and Gilbert v. Ryder would have been great. Cook and Hawk are a really solid tag team and the held down the athletic part of the match really well. Robert Gibson had a shirt on, and kind of wrestled like a guy in a shirt (although the somersault tag was great), but Ricky continues to defy father time, as he still seems to have an impressive amount of his athleticism.

Flash Flanagan v. Bull Pain

TKG: Bull Pain comes in with a limp form yesterdays beatdown and Flannigan does some heel mic work about how they should cancel the match. And then it's on. Powerhouse babyface with bad wheel is something we've all seen before. Still Bull is really great at being both a monster and vulnerable at same time. He isn't a guy who switches back and forth "Now I'm a monster" and " Now I'm vulnerable" but instead gets them both accross at same time. They do this spot midway in the match where Flannigan repeatedly distracts ref so that he can hit Bull with cruitch. Flannigan tosses his belt and ref is distracted by going to retrieve and remove, Flannigan tosses chair in ring, etc. Efectively gets over the idea of using an outside weapoin being something that needs to be hidden from ref without any real tough guy ref talking down a wrestler spots. Finish to this is a little disappointing especially since I've liked their finishes against each other before. I mean I'm not a guy who needs a long finish train but I kind of wanted one more kick out or something.

PAS: Man is Bull Pain an impressive baby face worker. For a role that he has hardly worked in his career, he is just tremendous as a tough guy gutting through an injury. Flanagan is nasty in this taking him apart, and his bumping was great, he eats a suplex and a DDT on the floor and make both look brutal. I liked the finish more then Tom did, Bull's frog splash was great looking and after his spectacular sell of the knee, it came off totally reckless, in a way that should have cost him the match. Morton running in with the baseball bat did seem a little unnecessary, but it felt like it ended about when it should have. Really good match between a pair of really good wrestlers.

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XCW Midwest Legends of the Garden Night 1 3/3/09

TKG: Pre-show Bill Dundee comes out to do some mic work only to be interrupted by Todd Morton, Shawn Cook and Cody Hawke. Todd Morton demands respect and Dundee reaches out to turn Morton's backward hat frontward. Dundee goes to walk away and is jumped from behind. Bull Pain comes out for the save. I'm going to start turning guys hats around when collar popped backward capped idiots buck at me at in bars. Unfortunately I like to drink alone and don't expect anyone to come in for the save.

PAS: I really don't get why you would run in to save a guy who cuckolded you, but I am glad that Bull and Bill have put their differences behind them.

Robbie Ellis v. Crippler Jeff Daniels

TKG: Ellis at this point looks like a less athletic Danny Kaye. I'm not sure why Ellis is a legend of the Garden, but I'll go with it. They work a roughneck brawler v highflyer with Ellis as your 64 year old highflyer, Ellis is pretty fun working a bunch of old guy highflying including an insane second rope to the floor plancha and a really nice headscissor take over. Jeff Daniels has a bunch of nasty ways to hit an old man and is damn good at selling in a way to make the highflying credible.

PAS: For worker in his mid 60's Ellis isn't as effortless as Dundee or Saint but he hits his stuff really well. Daniels was really great at credibly being thrown around by a really old guy, which isn't easy to do. Great looking elbow drop which looked rude on your Grandpa. There was one blown backdrop which looked like Daniels was going to die, but otherwise a really fun opener.

Tracy Smothers v. Mitch Ryder

TKG: This is a family show and Smothers is a professional, instead of giving the crowd the finger he keeps on giving them the pinkee. He wields his pinkee with such conviction that it actually comes off really crass. They start with a bunch of Tracy stalls and working of the ref before unleashing the bombs in the corner. Tracy chokes Ryder with wrist tape behind the refs backagain and again and eventually pegs Ryder with the roll of tape.

PAS: When Tracy Smothers does his stalling and heel stuff in other feds it comes off as more crowd pleasing ironic heel. Here it does what it is designed to do, piss off the crowd and get them more behind the babyface. I really liked how Smothers used the tape to set up the next nights taped fist match. The booking of the whole show was like a Clash of Champions to set up the next nights Great American Bash, and they did an awesome job of making me want to buy the Bash.

Bull Pain v. Todd Morton

TKG: So I really enjoyed this matchup on the Rollin Hard tribute show but that was a match for Roland, his family and friends and about Roland's kids. This was just these two going at it. Bull Pain is a guy whose offense looks devastating and Todd Morton is a guy who will eat stuff spectacularly well. But in the midst of the Bull Pain run of offense, Todd Morton is able to pull off a nasty chop block. And DAMN can Todd Morton take apart a guy's leg. They do the spot where Pain's leg is draped over the bottom rope and Todd Morton jumps on it, and I've never seen that spot look as nasty. Todd Morton just wrecks havoc on Pain's leg while Pain does real bad ass job of selling being on one wheel. Pain struggles on the floor to get a chair to protect himself and no one wields a chair like Bull Pain. You knew there would be outside interference, but this was Finlay/Booker/Benoit TV title more "outside distraction" setting up finish than actual "interference". I want to see these two guys wrestle an endless series.

PAS: This was tremendous, Morton is as good at working a leg as anyone you have ever seen, and I am pretty amazed at how good Bull Pain is as a sympathetic babyface. Morton is really great here pulling off the switch from stooge to killer which is the true measure of a great heel, it was something Arn Anderson was masterful at and Morton is as good. As good as this match was though, it still felt like a backdrop setting up Morton v. Dundee. This was the right match to work for that role, but I still need to see these two in a main event match where they can really deliver a Match of the Year. It seems like the XCW booking is building towards it, and I am confident if it happens it will be epic.

Sexy Shawn Cook/Cody Hawk v. Irish Airborne

TKG: I haven't liked the Airborne much in the past but they were fine here. There earl tandem-ish face quick tag stuff worked in the context of guys doing quick tags. This was also helped by Cook and Hawke being guys who do a real nice job with the buffoonish eating of the quick tag stuff. The quick tag face section was longer than it tends to be these days. I don't get the sense that the darker haired guy is that good at working face in peril. But it was a well set up FIP section with big bump and big floor move and the darker hair Airborne guy does a great job of selling a sleeper like a guy about to legit pass out. The lighter haired Airborne isn't very good as a hot tag guy. But these two are guys who normally are really problematic as they tend to try to work scramble tag BS when its out of place. They for the most part avoided giving in to their scramble tag tendencies. The were perfectly fine and I dug this matchup. This was a good show top to bottom. Post match Cook and Hawk attack with Morton and Gibson coming out for the save.

PAS: I didn't go into this w high expectations, but ended up really enjoying it. Irish Airborne had previously struck me as guys from the Fantastics/SAT's school of babyface tag wrestling where the focus would be on the fancy moves and double teams they could pull off. I always preferred the Rock and Roll Express style, where the focus is on fighting back against the heels taking a beating and showing heart. In this match they worked more R+R's then Fantastics and it was by far the most I have enjoyed them (although this match did have the same face rolls up the heel, second heel superkicks the face finish of ever Fantastics match of the 1980s). Cook and Hawk are a solid heel team, the kind of guys who could have made a nice living in the 1980's running through this match against local pretty boys from coast to coast. The quality of this kind of match depends on the blowjob team and Airborne were more Mason Dixon Connection then New Fabs, but that is still plenty good enough for me.

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