Report by: pwinsider.com
Even though the show was supposed to start at 6:30 PM, no one was let into the building until an hour later. I can't beleive how small everything is in comparison to TV. The ring especially is tiny! The Desire video played, (Hogan's footage got a HUGE pop) then the ring announcer (No Chim) welcomed us, set the ground rules, and the show began.
DARK MATCH: CARLITO CARIBBEAN COOL vs. SHANNON MOORE
Carlito was booed heavily, but totally played up the crowd, and convinced then to boo him some more. When Shannon came out, he got a decent pop, and some people behind me started a "SHANNON" chant. Moore hit all his usual cruiserweight spots, and was awesome to watch. He carried most of the match. Carlito could use some more work. He put his feet on the ropes and pinned Moore, and the crowd hated that. I tried to yell some encouragement to Moore, but no one would back me up. Good match.
WINNER: CARLITO CARRIBEAN COOL
VELOCITY
Josh Mathews and Bill DeMott in a funky hairdo came out to good reaction, and shook hands with the fans.
NUNZIO with Johnny the "Bull" vs. AKIO
Nunzio got a nice reaction, while everybody booed the wonderfully talented Akio. Great cruiserweight action with both men flying all over the place. Akio hit some great flips and flying kicks everywhere, and Nunzio pulled off a nice tilt-a-whirl head-scissors (Which I don't usually see from him) Akio tried cheating, but Johnny stopped him, and Nunzio hit the springboard arm-bar to finish him off. (I can't say "good bye" in Italian.) Nice.
WINNER: NUNZIO
NEXT MATCH: RICO with Miss Jackie and CHARLIE HAAS vs. THE BASHAM BROTHERS
All three faces got great crowd reaction. Rico actually seemed to be getting more of a pop than Jackie (!) The Bashams came out, and were booed. Charlie and Doug started off. Charlie hit his great technical moves. He later tagged in Rico who started cleaning house, and naturally molesting Doug. He tagged in Danny who wouldn't have any of it, and slapped Rico. Rico wasn't joking around anymore, and hit some nice kicks. Eventually both Bashams tried the switcheroo to win, but it didn't work. Both teams then hit the ring and started chaos. Charlie hit his cool looking springboard spinning axe-handle on Danny, while Rico got on top of the turnbuckle, and right after I yelled out "Moonsault!" he did it, and and it was great. He pinned Doug, and the crowd was happy. Very good.
WINNERS: RICO and CHARLIE HAAS
The crowd started a big "Rico" chant. There was also a funny spot where Jackie grabbed Charlie's behind, and he got mad because he though Rico did it.
NEXT MATCH: RENE DUPREE with Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko vs. HARDCORE HOLLY
Rene and Kenzo were booed coming in. When Holly came in, he got a bigger than deserved pop while my friends and I kept yelling at how much of a jerk he is. The match lasted much longer than it should of. Holly came off looking very weak which was strange since he does such a good job of beating up Matt Capotelli. He was slow on offense, while Rene hit his usual spots. He finished the match with his Michinoku Driver. My buds and I popped for this. Glad the match was over.
WINNER: Rene Dupree
NEXT MATCH: (No sure if this will air) A local guy named TONY vs. JOHNNY "THE BULL" STAMBOLI
Some guys started a "Who are you chant" for Tony. He was allowed a bit of offense, but Johnny didn't sell into a lot of it. People then started a "Let's go purple trunks" chant. Then when Johnny climbed to the top of the turnbuckle, Tony performed an awesome flying wheel kick to Johnny's head, and the crowd was surprised. I popped for it. But Johnny recovered, hit his finisher, and won.
WINNER: JOHNNY "THE BULL" STAMBOLI