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Review of NWS Show in Manville, New Jersey, Saturday, August 16, 2003
by Lawrence Kleber
Of the many promotions in New Jersey, I had yet to attend an NWS/NWA
card. After being invited by promoter Gino Moore to cover his upcoming
Manville show, I have finally seen the NWS in action, and the show was
quite impressive. The matches were held at the VFW building, a smallish
room with good lighting and sound. There were approximately 225 fans in
attendance and the show began promptly at 7:40 pm. The lovely Alicia
served as the ring announcer and had her best show yet in that capacity.
Every word could be understood and she worked well with the angles.
Match 1 In the opening contest, Hasheem Ali faced Travis Blake. It
was a pleasant surprise to see Ali, who I haven't seen since I attended
an EWA show in Jackson. He is a good worker and a fine heel. The
smaller Travis was an the attack quickly with scientific moves, but after
a clothesline by Ali, the tables were turned. Following a nice suplex
by
Ali, Blake was pinned. Following the pin, Ali kept working on Blake,
which prompted Nikoli Volkoff, with manager Nikita to appear. Volkoff
turned on Ali and helped Travis up. "I am proud to be an American!"
said
Volkoff to Ali. "Pick on someone your own size." This set up
the main
event: Volkoff vs. Ali. Of course, Nikita changed sides to manage Ali.
Match 2 The dastardly Simply Luscious took on Alere Little Feather in
a women's match. This was the first time I had seen Alere in action.
She is adorable and a great face; the fans really get behind her. As a
rookie, she let Luscious carry the match. There were two impressive
suplexes in a row by Luscious. Following a sloppy double clothesline,
Simply Luscious pinned Alere after an old school airplane spin. Not a
bad match, as ladies' matches go and I am looking forward to seeing
excellent work from Alere in the future.
Match 3 In a tables match, hometown boy Roman faced Kevin Knight. It
was very weird to see Roman as a face. He is one of the best heels in
the business. I hadn't seen him wrestle in a while and we laughed about
his squash match on WWE Heat with Val Venis. Kevin, who runs the IWF
school in West Paterson and will be having two shows next week on
Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, is a hysterical heel. On the stick
he began taunting Alicia. "Put some clothes on! Your mother lets
you
out of the house dressed like that?" He then informed the fans that
the
show was taking place in "Womanville" not "Manville".
Once Roman
appeared, the match took off immediately. The action spilled out into
the audience and Roman tried to put Kevin through a vendor's table. "I
am not as dumb as you look," said Kevin. Kevin stole a chair from
a
young fan and the kids started chanting, "Kevin sucks". Kevin
had the
upper hand in the match and Roman was taking a beating. Ref Barry helped
Kevin set up the table to end the match. After a low blow by Roman, the
match turned around. Roman executed a very high drop kick. Kevin is
still talking. "I'm much too much for Roman," he said, but Roman
got him
with a chair. Finally Roman put Kevin perfectly through the table. No
doubt, this was the match of the night. I was informed later that Kevin
was injured during the match. I send my best wished to Kevin for a
speedy recovery.
After a 20 minute intermission, wrestler turned comedian Luscious Johnny
Valiant came into the ring to do some humor. He was accompanied by Gary
Wagner, who is directing Johnny's upcoming show in New York, and a
"Russian" girl by the name of Ulla. Johnny called out Volkoff.
Coming
to the ring Volkoff said, "Johnny, I used to watch you wrestle when
I was
a little kid." Very funny. Valiant informed the fans that he would
ref
the contest between Volkoff and Ali and then there were some shenanigans
with Nikita comparing Ulla to Alicia.
Match 4 Richie "Ice Pick" Lowinski defeated Ace Darling, after
Darling's manager, Dapper Johnny Falco, hit Ace by mistake with his cane.
Dapper Johnny is very funny on the stick; he is a real old school
manager. Highlights included a double noggin knocker and a nice power
slam by Ice Pick. He also took a rough fall on the floor. Dapper
taunted the fans, security, Ice Pick and the ref during the entire match.
Match 5 This three way dance featured Tommy Force, with Dapper Johnny
Falco, Slayer, with Father Ozzie, and favorite Gavin Quest. The first
half of the match featured many good holds, but the match had a remote
feeling to it. Slayer was not as crazy as usual and it was up to Dapper
Johnny to bring the fans into the match. Following a pin of Slayer by
Gavin, after Force hit Slayer with a plastic wet floor sign, the match
picked up. During the match climax, Gavin attempted a 360 for the pin,
but was hit by Dapper Johnny's cane. This was the set up for a superplex
by Force and a pin of Quest. Gavin called for a rematch and Gino Moore
informed Falco and the fans that in November, Quest will face Force with
Dapper Johnny either handcuffed to a fan or locked in the back.
Match 6 In the main event, Nikoli Volkoff faced Hasheem Ali, managed
by Nikita. Boy have times changed! The Russian heel is no longer valid
with the end of the cold war. Russia is now our ally. Nikoli has become
a face, but Nikita still plays the American hating Russian. When Nikoli
attempted to sing "God Bless America" (a spoof of his old singing
of the
Russian national anthem during matches), Ali and Nikita ambushed him.
I
could not believe Volkoff, who is no youngster, took an over the top
spill out of the ring. By the close of the show at 10 pm, Volkoff pinned
Ali and Nikita reunited with his comrade. I could not figure out how
this happened.
Gino Moore and Johnny Falco run well planned shows. The match lengths
and the total show length are just perfect. They have a show coming up
in Wildwood on August 20. Check for the details on their website WWW.
NWSWRESTLING.COM.
National Wrestling Superstars returns to the historic Step Inn Ballroom in Sayreville on Saturday, September 20th with a 7:35pm belltime.
NWS promoters always strive to keep the fans surprised and the show in Sayreville will be no different. Fresh off of two main events in Wildwood over the past two weeks, America's Hero, The Patriot will take on America's Most Hated, Hasheem Ali. In recent matches, Ali's manager, Mohoward Gottheheaves al-getz has gotten involved, causing all kinds of havoc, so this time, NWS officials told them they have a surprise waiting for him when he brings his charge back to Central New Jersey.
Also on the card will be a 3 way dance for the NWS Junior Heavyweight title featuring champion Mike "Kid" Kruel as he takes on two of today's young superstars Matt Striker and Rob Eckos.
Rounding out the card will be a tag team match featuring the team of Dave Webb and Big Shot Bryan Sexton, a return grudge match featuring French-Canadian Tommy Force and Antonio Malave plus Archadia, JT Highlander, Jerry Doring, Next Generation and more.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children (under 12) and senior citizens. For information call 732-888-1704 or email: weekendref@aol.com
Visit the NWS website
www.nwswrestling.com
