The Flipside: A Legacy of Violence (40)

Morton Murphy is a road agent with the Legacy of Champions. Morton has been a road agent for Spinebuster Wrestling and BRAND wrestling. He is also an established wrestling commentator and regarded wrestling journalist.

The opinions of Morton Murphy in no way reflects that of the Legacy of Champions and is merely one man’s opinion.

First and foremost I’d like to an extend a thank-you to Teddy Caldweller and the team for extending the invitation for me to write for this tremendous website. I’ve really been enjoying the reviews of many wrestling promotions and Teddy’s opinion reflects mine in that it’s honest and refreshing. He doesn’t pull any punches and let’s you know what he thinks and you’ve got to respect a man who does that.

Secondly, I’ll give you a little insight as to what I plan on doing here in EWTorch and that’s two things:

1. give you a road report on Legacy of Champions
2. keep you up to date with news and rumours

Just remember that most importantly anything I say is one man’s opinion and while you’re entitled to yours I’m entitled to mine. The theme song for today is: Against All Odds by Phil Collins. Plug it into your iTunes and have a listen while you read, it’ll make it all the more enjoyable.

I wanna add that it’s fantastic that Legacy of Champions has come back to television. I’ve always been a fan of the product and this being my first time involved with the company, I’m real excited to hopefully lead a few guys in the right direction and lend them a hand through what can be a scary and daunting task of performing in this biz. Let’s get started shall we?

A Legacy of Violence (40)
When the vignette of the mystery man (quite obviously Suicide if you watched the show and if you haven’t, go watch it now!) got some good pops from the crowd. I like the entertainment factor and have always been a mark for it. Sometimes these vignettes can be hit and miss and this one… it was right on the money.

Umaga Reihana got some good reactions from the fans. The story of his ulterior motives panned out a bit and it seems that someone had something more to do with the fate of Ninja K than we might have expected. Aside from a confusing backstage segment later in the show I felt that Umaga put in a great performance. We weren’t fortunate enough to see him inside the ring but when we do, you can be assured that he’ll get some good responses from the fans. The two occasions he appeared on V31 was no exception. As for Ninja K, he’s always been the phenom when it comes to Legacy of Champions and though only breifly were we treated with his presence, he really knows how to sell the drama.

Ken Kaze and Lance Spencer seemed to have a nice chemistry together in the ring. While them opening the show was confusing for me they still put there all into it and I think the fans appreciated the performance. The countout ending isn’t a way I’d book a show but when I get my chance to do that in the future then I guess you’ll see what I can do. No harm – no foul, booking team. Just think through your openers a little more because at the end of the day… you want them fans to buy another ticket, right?

Mr. Relentless, Aran Thompson, got some good heat from the fans. He seemed a little rusty on the stick but it has been a while since he got the chance to do it. Some nice moments of gold in them thar hills and I expect that in the coming weeks he’ll only get better and shake that rust off. His confrontation in the ring with Jackson Snow was a solid outing. They worked well together and with a bit more work, they could really get something good on the boil.

The fans gave some nice responses to Oliver Ranken as he appeared in a backstage segment. I had a little bit of trouble understanding him but I think that’s something that can be groomed. What I could understand I liked and really look forward to seeing what this potential blue chipper can do in the future. Looking forward to seeing him in the ring!

Austin Advent had some nice moments on the mic and probably wasn’t getting the heat from the fans he wanted to. Anybody going against Ryan Billows is going to x amount of heat as a given but he could’ve milked it a little more. Saw some potential in his stick work but he really didn’t rile up those fans enough for someone facing Billows in a Loser-Leaves-Town match. As to their match, I didn’t think they had the right chemistry. I’d have thought two pretty similar kinda guys, good-versus-evil style, they might have clicked a little more but from a fan’s perspective… I don’t wanna see those two in action together for a long while. Maybe it was a combination of Billows’ ring rust and Advent’s green-ness, but it’s not something I’d look forward to on a booking sheet.

Speaking of Billows, his and “Black” Tom Williams segment later in the show seemed a little congested to me. I would have expected more from two stalwarts and it comes down to it being too verbose. I didn’t get that meanness from Tom and maybe that’s a way he’s pushing with in the new LoC. I was left kinda empty by their appearance together.

I expect big things from Khristian Keller. His segment got some great reactions from the fans in the arena. He’s a great honest character that I look forward to every time he graces the television screen. The chemistry between he and LLB was obvious and I really wanna see a lot more of those two together. You’ve got the grounds of a great feud there. History. Calibre talent. Great stick workers. Drawing power and heat. Book it, Danno. I wanna see it! They’re match on Violence was truly one of the highlights inside the LoC ring, only surpassed by the main event. I mean, from a staff perspective you’d expect to veterans of their calibre to be able to provide the goods but they really did and it was a high point on the card.

I’m looking forward to LoC’s Flyweight division and if the match between Tyke and Cordova is just a sniff of what we can expect, we are really in for a treat. Dawn Cassidy says later on that the Flyweight championship is pretty much made for Tyke and I have to agree. I don’t wanna see it on anybody else. The match between the pair was fast-paced and really opens up the corridors for future stories in the WHOLE of the Flyweight division. Seeing this type of thing on a wrestling program excites me as a part of the staff and as a wrestling fan. They both seemed to really click and the fans were delivered a seamless performance by both.

The cameo of Brandon Thomas missing his flight was a true highlight of the show. Probably a runner up to Keller’s segment backstage. I’m looking forward to seeing where the Thomas character goes with all his rich LoC history. Thomas is a blue chip performer and anything he does on LoC television is gonna be great. It goes without saying.

The Team division seems to be another hotly contended division coming up through the ranks. I’ve had a little more hand in what’s going on there so I imagine I’m probably a little verbose and bias but I’m excited by the stories we should see in weeks to come. Tank Adams and the Flying Vergamovs seemed to click inside the ring and opened up a wound to lick for the coming weeks. Be interested to see how the fans react to the Team Championships being on Tank but I expect good things. Even if the fans aren’t yet to see the forest for the trees.

Remy Leroux and Midnight Cowboy seemed to work okay together in the ring. I wasn’t completely sold but I think there’s always work to be done for any superstar. I will say we saw flashes of brilliance and about mid-way they seemed to hit their stride. Later on we saw a double-up on story with the Cowboy being told no drinking and the True Blue Battlers being told the same. Granted, they panned out differently but it was still the same pig just painted different colours. They must’ve missed this at the writer’s meeting which is a shame because it could dampen the debuts of all stars involved. It was nice to see Macca and Bazza in a nice vignette to establish their characters and I think we can be excited about them in weeks to come.

When I think entertainment I think of Trey Vincent and his debut on LoC proved me right. He was a little verbose and didn’t have that TV edge I’d come to love him for but he was pure entertainment nonetheless. LoC have really stretched to push him into the top of the card but I think it will be a risk that pays off. We’re not talking about pushing a greenhorn here. We’re talking about a blue chipper who’s finally been given his moment in the sun and if he can tidy up those segments I really think we’ll see some good things. Celeste Darkheart and Trey really had a nice on-screen chemistry and if it wasn’t just me, I think maybe she got a little jealous of Felicia Hart being spanked and not her.

Shawn Hart proved why he *SPOILER* got the belt *SPOILER* when the show come down to it’s fruition. He’s a star outright in his own lunchbox and that lunchbox is LoC. I loved everything he did on the show and I think you’d agree with me we’re going to see some entertainment between he and Suicide. The main event between Hart and Vincent was, without failure, the match of the night and when you tack your credits onto the ending of Violence which LoC provided than I think you’ve got to be happy coz it’s going to leave the fans wanting more. And that’s what it’s about right? Tuning in next week!

I think the show was a success. It’s early days yet and there’s a cast that needs to get the eyes of the fans used to them. We can expect to see folks debut over the next few weeks but if they can back this show up with some solid storyline progression next week, LoC will really be trying to take Keller’s title of King Shit of Fuck Mountain.

Until next time, I’m Morton Murphy and I’ll catch you… on the Flipside!