WWX Ravage Review

Welcome to the first WWX Ravage review! I’m Aaron Cody and I’ll be doing reviews for World Wrestling Xistence for EW Torch. This promotion apparently has just gotten back to two television shows following their big pay-per-view Hall of Pain 8 and they have both started big plans heading into the next Pay-Per-View: Phase Out!

Tonight Ravage is live from the, err, “Ravage Arena” and we know the new Global Champion, which is exclusive to the Ravage brand, will be on hand so let’s see what happens! We start it off with Tye and Skyla, the Ravage announce team, giving their review of the Hall of Pain PPV, paying attention to the Global Championship match and a match between Adora Cruz and Ethan Cavanaugh before we go backstage to the first segment of the night!

Ravage interviewer Lacey is with the new Global Champion Randy Brown. Lacey makes the mistake of pointing out that some in the locker room are upset about how Randy Brown won the Global Championship. Randy simple states that they would do the same thing in his shoes and that he will do whatever it takes to remain Champion before we go to commercials. Short and to the point although it really doesn’t say much as Randy for a champion to just yell every time he’s near a mic. Apparently he’s in the main event tonight, although if you blinked you missed it being mentioned (I blinked).

AJ Kool vs. BB King

We come back as Kool is heading to the ring and he gets sneak attacked by King before the match starts. Things you need to know: BB King is a legend that won’t hang up the boots and Kool is decent but has little to show for his time in the WWX. Basically its a show down between aged talent and underrated talent. We’ll see what happens.

Skyla informs us that Megan, King’s girlfriend, is in the hospital due to a car accident and her condition is unknown. Apparently that is why King…um…I’m not sure what that means. We’ll have to see on that too. We get a little back and forth action but Fuse, one of King’s lackeys, is on the ring apron to distract the referee right when Kool starts to build some steam.

While the referee was distracted Xavier Pendragon, the International Champion, comes in the ring and attacks King with the title belt. Instead of helping his boss Fuse goes back to the floor as Kool goes to the pin and…doesn’t get the three?

HUH?! So much for the power of an illegal title belt attack. Another short exchange and both men end up on the mat. The referee begins the count and gets to 8 before Kool gets up and starts attacking King with power moves. He then insults Megan’s accident in King’s face. Apparently that was cool with Skyla? I’m not sure what to make of that one. Kool continues talking trash until King shuts him up with a pair of brass knuckles right in front of the referee. Thank God it’s over.

Winner: AJ Kool via DQ. This match really didn’t know what to do with itself. I can only think that when this one was booked they had three or four ideas floating but instead of narrowing it down and just letting King and Kool wrestle Ravage tried to pull all of their ideas off at once…and the result was a steaming pile that didn’t help anyone involved. I hope this isn’t an omen for the rest of the night. (DUD)

After the match King lays out Kool with a chair and says that he’ll find out who caused Megan’s accident. Which means it wasn’t an accident? Suddenly Blair Lipton, the owner of Ravage, shows up on the Tron and tells the unconscious Kool that since he won he’ll be facing Steven PS next week.

Apocalypse vs. Scott Grayse

Skyla complains about the pyro as Scott Grayse and Apocalypse make their entrances. We get a bit of build from the announcers as these two big men stare off and the bell is rung. We start it off with a tie up and Grayse looks to be in a position to overpower Apocalypse but is blocked. Apocalypse forces Grayse to the ropes with some heavy kicks and punches. Apocalypse then grabs Grayse’s leg and spins him through the ropes and to the outside of the ring.

The announcers do a good job breaking the move down as Apocalypse goes to the outside with Grayse. Apocalypse tries to throw Grayse into the steel steps but Grayse counters him with a drop toe hold. Somehow both men end up down on the floor and the referee begins the count. Grayse is back on his feet at five and Apocalypse is up and bleeding from the forehead.

Both men get back into the ring and Grayse goes on the attack, punching Apocalypse but it doesn’t faze him. Apocalypse catches Grayse’s fists and goes for a Chokeslam but Grayse reverses it into the Grayse Effect – his version of a Cutter. Grayse goes for a cover but its not enough and Apocalypse powers out at 1. Grayse goes back to work, attacking the head of Apocalypse with elbow and knee drops before hitting Apocalypse with a gutwrench powerbomb.

Pretty impressive show of strength by Scott Grayse. Instead of going for a pin Grayse attacks the ribs of Apocalypse and then hits him with a Double Arm DDT. This time Grayse goes for the pin and Apocalypse kicks out. Grayse pulls up Apocalypse and Apocalypse shakes off all the attacks on him so far and opens up an offensive on Scott Grayse. Hey, Apocalypse is a monster for a reason. Apocalypse hits Grayse with a stalling gutbuster before hitting an Oklahoma Slam. Apocalypse then pulls Grayse up into a bearhug and rams him back first into the corner. Now that had to break something.

With Grayse in the corner Apocalypse starts throwing big shoulders into Grayse and then chokes him with his boot. Apocalypse breaks at four and forces Grayse to the ropes, going for an Irish Whip but Grayse blocks the back body drop with a kick. Both men back up to the ropes and hit simultaneous big boots, again taking both men down. The referee begins the count and both get up at five. Grayse tries for an Irish Whip but is reversed right into the referee.

I smell interference… Yup. John Cage, a newcomer to WWX and a champion in another organization makes his way to the ring with a microphone. He starts talking trash to Apocalypse and Grayse tries to take advantage, only to eat a big boot. Cage sneaks into the ring and hits Apocalypse in the face with his championship belt. The crowd lets him have it as Cage runs from the ring with Apocalypse getting to his feet soon after. Wow, is this ‘No Sell Belt Shot’ night or what? Grayse finally drops the big man with a Superkick and gets the three.

Winner: Scott Grayse via Superkick. MUCH better. Not to say this was perfect or anything. I know these are supposed to be unstoppable monsters but there comes a point when you have to SELL something. Other than that these two big guys worked very well together and even the interference at the end of the match from John Cage blended into the match without seeming out of place. It was a nice rebound from the abortion that was the opening contest. (**1/4)

After another commercial break Tommy Lipton, husband of Blair Lipton and Commissioner of Ravage, makes his way to the ring and the fans love him. He grabs a microphone and tells the audience tonight is a night of revenge for both him and David GS. What? I’m sorry, from what I saw at Hall of Pain only DGS was screwed…not you Commish. Suddenly Randy Brown and his goon squad shows up and attacks Lipton, apparently injuring him. Skyla says something stupid and we go to commercials. I think this was supposed to build up to the main event…I think. It was a pretty decent idea with poor execution.

Triple A Championship

Sanza Hedo vs. Axel Van Roth

I haven’t had a chance to watch a lot of WWX TV but I’ve heard some good things about Sanza Hedo. At Hall of Pain both he and David GS won in the Race for the Case, the WWX’s answer to Money in the Bank so I’m expecting good stuff here. Apparently Van Roth is a rock god and a wrestler….okay.

This match will be fought under Hardcore rules so that would explain why Hedo clocked Van Roth with a shot from a wooden sword right at the bell. Now, to those reading who don’t know the difference a wooden sword is cut from solid wood while a kendo stick is a bunch of sticks tied together. Okay? Van Roth gets back to his feet and both men slug it out with Sanza getting the upper hand again.

Sanza goes for the pin and gets a two count. Sanza grabs his wooden sword and hits Van Roth a few more times with it and again goes for the cover and again Van Roth kicks out. Hedo pulls Van Roth up and the two trade blows a bit more with Van Roth blocking a kick from Hedo. Van Roth hits a Fisherman’s Suplex on Hedo but doesn’t bridges for the pin. Instead he’s back on his feet and so is Sanza who attacks with a kick, stunning Van Roth enough for another sword shot but Van Roth catches it before its hits him.

The lights dim, some chick starts screaming and when everything goes back to normal Ayame, Sanza’s manager, is gone from ringside along with Van Roth. Apparently he has some idea what happened because he charges up the ramp to find them and Van Roth blindsides him with a chair. The crowd hates him and, really, those boos should be directed elsewhere.

Instead of going for a pin because, you know, there is a match going on, Axel grabs a microphone. He tells Sanza he didn’t kidnap Ayame and she’s just in the back. Van Roth then tells him that this wasn’t about his title and leaves. Okay, then what did you just waste our time for? Skyla says something stupid and we go to commercials.

Winner: Who Knows. Okay, this match had a lot of potential going in. There was some okay action in the beginning but it was stopped before it could really mean anything. On top of that the ending just did not belong there. If the match wasn’t about the title, why did Axel even bother wrestling the match? And what was the point of the whole disappearing act if no angle was going to come out of it? What was the point of giving in-ring time to something that could’ve easily been a segment?! Yet another match passes on Ravage and I’m left with more questions than I should be watching a wrestling show. (DUD)

Back from commercials Blair and Tommy Lipton are back on my screen and plotting something because of the attack earlier. Here’s another question for the Ravage booking team since tonight is apparently Q&A Night: if this feud is supposed to be between Randy Brown and David GS, why are Randy Brown and Tommy Lipton getting all of the air time? And If I’m wrong why has Brown and Lipton been pushing this match all night but DGS hasn’t said a word? Maybe that will get answered later tonight along with everything else. But, I’m not holding my breath.

Backstage Randy Brown says something. The Main Event is next!

Global Heavyweight Championship

Randy Brown vs. David GS

This match is going to be fought under Lumberjack Rules. Great. Wait, Randy Brown has a tag team partner for this match? Shard comes out with the champion so I guess its a Lumberjack Handicap match? I know the new rules of the Global Title allow the Champion to make the rules of their title defense similar to the Triple A Championship; but this is getting ridiculous.

Suddenly Blair Lipton comes out and makes an announcement that the match is now a tag team match under the orders of Tommy Lipton and Johnny Razor is now the tag partner for David GS. For those keeping track at home that makes this a Lumberjack Tag Team Global Championship Match. This is going to go well.

Tye questions what the other stipulation is when DGS and Randy Brown tie up to start the match. DGS gets the upper hand earlier but Brown gets a kick in. Tye points out that both men aren’t 100% after their match at the pay-per-view and they’re right because DGS is busted open after one kick. DGS blocks out the pain and goes after Randy. Randy goes for another kick but DGS gets out of the way and kicks Randy in his injured ribs.

Tye: Well these two should not even be wrestling tonight after that brutal Hall Of Pain match!

No! You think?

Randy Brown tries to tag in his partner but David GS stops him, going for a DDT but Randy pushes him off. DGS goes for a roundhouse kick but Randy catches his leg, leaving him open for surprise kick from DGS. Both men are down! Both men go to their corners and tag in their partners with Johnny Razor getting the upper hand with an hip toss.

He goes for an elbow drop but Shard avoids it and goes for Razor’s elbow. Tye and Skyla say something stupid and I have my TV on Mute for the rest of the night. Shard hits a snap suplex on Razor and then pulls him back up for some Flair Chops. Razor falls back in the corner and Shard goes for a kick but is blocked. Razor hits Shard with a body slam and goes for a Leg Drop but Shard rolls out of the way. Razor gets back to his feet slowly and Shard hits him with a Face Buster and a Leg Drop of his own.

Shard tags in Randy who wants the pin but Razor kicks out at two. Randy pulls up Razor and goes for some move called the Rated R but Razor counters with a Reverse DDT. Razor tags in DGS and goes for a Spear on Randy but Randy moves out of the way and DGS flies out of the ring.

Since Randy’s goon squad is the lumberjacks you can guess what’s about to happen. The goons beat down DGS good and bloody and Randy Brown flips off the crowd. The goons rolls DGS back in and Randy goes for his move but DGS blocks it manages to hit Randy with a Spear. Wait…weren’t you just beat down and injured? Ah well. One more question to the list. Razor blocks Shard as DGS goes for the pin but its broken up by…AJ KOOL?! That’s it: I give up. The referee calls for the bell and finally puts this one down.

Winner: Who Knows (*)

Blair comes out again and explains that at Phase Out the Global Championship will be on the line and Randy Brown will face David GS, all of Brown’s cronies will be banned from ringside and Tommy Lipton will be the Special Guest referee. I’m lukewarm for this one if only because I think this match will either lead to a swerve or a Brown/Lipton feud; none of which have to do with David GS which means he’s just…there. I could be wrong: in fact I want to be wrong. Like everything else tonight we’ll just have to wait and see.

Final Thoughts: I really wish my first night as the WWX’s TV reviewer was a bit smoother but I guess I didn’t have a choice in this one. In the end, it all seemed to be Crash TV for the sake of Crash TV. The opening match was garbage. Same thing goes for the Triple A match. Same thing for the main event. There is simply no excuse for crap matches considering all of the talent involved.

On top of that there are serious production issues that must be addressed by Ravage management. I’m sorry but Tye and Skyla are probably better off hosting some crap dating show on MTV, not doing play-by-play in any capacity. Between those two airheads and the sloppy segments the whole show came off as amateur hour as far as TV is concerned.

But, I try not to be critical without holding out some hope for the future. Here’s the thing from what I could tell watching Ravage: instead of focusing on certain paths the Ravage team threw everything against the wall and hoped for the best. That might have been popular backstage but the only ones who liked it were in the “Ravage Arena” and you probably couldn’t rub two brain cells together in that crowd. The good news out of all of this is that Ravage now has a few decent story lines to work with along with a two week break to refocus itself. Hopefully we’ll get a more concrete wrestling show next time.

Next time I’ll be covering WWX Fury! Until then I’m Aaron Cody AND YOU’RE NOT!!!

Pt.1-http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/wwx_connection/message/18450

Pt. 2-http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/wwx_connection/message/18452