Thanks to Steven Wisecarver a.k.a Gregor Samsa from the WZ forums for sending this in.
I just came back from the AWE Night of Legends show in Fishersville, VA. The place was pretty full, I'd guess about 2,000 people. (Side Note: There were a lot of people named Skeeter there.)
I sat opposite the main camera so odds are my ugly mug was visible to those who ordered the PPV.
There was an hour of dark matches before the PPV went live. Larry Zbyszko, Dirty Dutch Mantell and Chris Cruise came out in tuxes to do play by play. There were introduced and not surprisingly Larry received the biggest ovation.
The first match was a battle royal with a bunch guys I hadn't heard of. There was one fat guy who wore a lucha mask and a leotard covered in caution tape. Sadly he didn't win. Some other fat guy in a mask did. I didn't catch the name.
There was a very good match between Chris Hamrick and Chase Owens. Very creative spots and a great pace. Hamrick won.
The next match featured Dennis Condrey w/Bobby Eaton vs one of the Mulkey brothers. Not sure which one. The other Mulkey was at ringside. The Midnight Express played the heels here. The match was good for seeing the legends, but a technical masterpiece it was not. Fine showing by the four gentleman though. The fans weren't feeling very Mulkey.
Bill Apter came to the ring and presented Larry Zbyszko with an award for his work with Arn Anderson as "The Enforcers." Bill claimed the award was from 1999. He might have meant 1989.
There was a countdown as we went live on PPV.
The first PPV match was a no holds barred, no DQ match between Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk. Funk looked exactly as he has for the past 20 years. Funk's punches looked pretty stiff. They utilized the ringside area and the various accoutrements it provided. Tommy wins. Afterward Funk was pissed. He gave Tommy one of the many gestures for f*ck you and walked to the back.
Next, some local radio people came to the ring to be interrupted by a shirtless black guy in a Yankee cap. He talked about wrestling being a man's business. Lita and Babydoll came to the ring. Lita looked amazing. Her and Babydoll smacked the chauvinist and mugged to the crowd. Again, Lita, damn.
Next, Jamin Valencia took on Sonjay Dutt. They both cut promos backstage that were aired on a tiny tron over the entrance area. Cocky heel vs cocky face. Sonjay was billed as "The Playa from the Himalayas." Good match. Valencia with the win.
Mohammad Akbar cut an anti-America promo. The crowd was all over him as the stands were full of baseball caps with gold fishhooks affixed to the bill. They hated him despite everything he said being true. Duggan did his usual "U.S.A." schtick. Quick match. Solid while it lasted. Duggan wins to the delight of everyone but me.
C.W. Anderson vs. Perry Saturn. Perry was sporting a very Tysonesque facial tattoo. Also a tattoo on the back of his head. So yeah, he looked good. Saturn did a suicide dive to the outside only to be met with a wicked chair shot from Anderson. This was billed as Saturn's first match in 9 years. I don't know if that's true or not, but this was a good match. He didn't miss a step. This match was given a good amount of time. Saturn picks up the win.
I was desperately in need of a Coke Zero so I went to the concession stand as One Man Kru fought someone. The match was over by the time I returned to my seat.
I believe the next match was Alex Silva w/ Sunny (OMFG!) vs Dave (Fit) Finlay. To be honest my eyes were focused on Sunny during most of the match. Just…damn. There was a moment during the match where Finlay looked legit injured. Silva was able to stall by playing to the crowd as refs checked on Dave. As the ref's were helping Finlay to the back Silva taunted him until the Irishman turned and limped back into the ring. The match continued. I continued ogling Sunny. Finlay gets the win. Silva gets a bloody nose. Sunny gets my undying love.
After my coke zeros I headed to the restroom. There was a stall that brought to mind the movie "Trainspotting."
Short Sleeve Sampson gets the win over Abo Shongo with a frog/tadpole splash. Short Sleeve is a little person if you didn't know. Abo Shongo, I think was just short.
Next was the main event. There was a barely audible video package talking about the history between Nash and Morton. The video package sort of spoiled the identity of Nash's mystery partner. The Rock N Roll express come out to plenty of applause. Then music hits that seemed to be a cross between the wolfpac theme and the old diesel music. Nash looked in real good shape. People began to chant DDP! DDP! Nash made the anti-climactic announcement of DDP as his mystery partner. DDP looked to be in good shape too. I should check out that Yoga For Real Guys. Shortly into the match Doug Gibson comes to the ring with a microphone and says this should be a singles match, Nash vs Morton anything goes. And the referee should be Ronnie Garvin. Ronnie comes on down in just a plain t-shirt, no stripes. Fans were somewhat upset as they wanted to see more DDP. He and Robert Gibson headed to the back and Nash vs Morton starts. Nash moved around the ring very well. Sidewalk slam. Elbows in the corner. Standard Nash stuff. He takes the cover off of a turn buckle and launches Ricky face first into it. Ricky blades. Crimson mask, sort of. Nash grabs a mic while Ricky is down and demands to know what problem Ricky has with him. Ricky takes the mic and talks about loving the business and so forth and that Nash is just a prick, an asshole who does it only for the money. Nash gets the mic back and asks Ricky whether the 30 or so surgeries Nash has had were all about the money? Nash says that's all he wanted to know. And that as far as he's concern he and Ricky no longer have a problem. He offers Ricky his hand, Ricky takes it and is pulled into a jackknife powerbomb. Nash goes full heel, saying that it's always been about the money. He takes a few parting shots at the crowd and walked out to a mixed reaction. Robert Gibson came out to aid Ricky Morton. They get a big applause as people headed for the door.
I heard a few people yelling "refund!"
I thought it was a good show. Seeing Sunny and Lita was definitely worth the admission fee. The wrestling was a bonus.
