by Scotty Szanto-Nicodemus
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

I have two pieces of good news before I get started.  First, I finally received all of the tapes that Amey ordered for my birthday…more about that at the end of the recap.  Second, we finally met someone that lives nearby that also shares our love for indy wrasslin’!  A friend of a friend, Mar Mar lives in San Antonio and attends nearly every ETW (Extreme Texas Wrestling) show.  We made tentative plans to attend an event together.

OK, so like I said, I have already received my birthday tapes, but I had already started this recap before they arrived, so we are going to go with it before I start on one of my new tapes.

To wit: I have three tapes from Ultimate Pro Wrestling out of California.  I got these tapes a little over a year ago; when UPW was having a buy two get one free promotion.  Each is a “Rough Cut” (from 1/01, 3/01, and 8/01), meaning that these events were taped and edited for television, but these tapes are the uncut version of each show.  The tape that I am doing is the one from March, titled When Worlds Collide.

Let’s get to it…

The tape opens with some generic heavy metal played over clips from the show…and just as quickly as it began, it ends and we start with Rick Bassman (as in UPW Owner Rick Bassman) in the ring.  He starts by thanking the live audience for blowing-off Survivor to come watch some wrasslin’ (I really REALLY want to make a joke about skipping reality tv to watch fake sports, but I’m sure that you can come-up with something on your own).  Bassman also tells us that the show is (was) being broadcast on the web.  He brings out Paul Bearer, who is in town to take a look at some of the guys that are under developmental contracts (ahem…Prototype), as well as some of the other young guys.  Bassman again thanks us for supporting UPW, and we get started with the UPW dancers, who commence to get in one another’s way while tossing t-shirts into the crowd.

The ring announcer introduces the live crowd and us to the announcers, first the heel color commentary will be handled by the leader of the “Schwag Army”, The Big Schwag, and the man calling the action, Doc Marley.  Oh, and Marley is led to the ring by the timekeeper Drzan.  These names will seem familiar if you saw the indy wrasslin’ special from TLC that featured UPW workers and footage.  In fact, clips from some of the matches from this tape were shown on that special.

Hell’s Bell’s v. Definition of Pain w/Rio Storm: Hell’s Bell’s consists of “Maddog” Mike Bell and Smelly, and the DoP members are Al Katraz and Bad Boy Basil…they’re dressed in orange prison outfits, doing the convict gimmick.  For the record, Rio Storm is not dressed like an inmate, just a big chick in leather.  Hell’s Bell’s (the Bell brothers, we are told) attack as the DoP enter the ring, and we are underway.  Big Schwag tells us that Al Katraz had a European Title Match against Test on Jacked, for whatever that’s worth.  The Bells double-team on Basil, with Maddog holding him in a Sharpshooter as Smelly comes off with a big Legdrop.  Hmm…it seems odd for me to want to cheer prison inmates, but the Bell brothers are sure acting heelish, and the announcers have yet to take sides!  Maddog hit a nice version of the Fallaway Slam, but instead of releasing, he held on with a bridge for the two-count!  Both men connect with a Clothesline, and then they both crawl to make the tag.  Unfortunately I think most of the crowd hasn’t arrived yet, and so there is practically no crowd reaction when the hot tag is made to Al Katraz.  He takes both of the Bells out with Clotheslines, then after a Scoop Slam for each, he goes outside (where one side of the ring is flush with a stage), and flies over the top rope with a Double Flying Clothesline.  He goes for a Chokeslam, but Smelly reverses it into a Full Nelson Slam (which he was nice enough to name the Stink Bomb).  1, 2, no.  Meanwhile, Maddog has attacked Rio Storm outside the ring!  I have to point out that his attack seemed completely unprovoked by the way, as Bad Boy Basil makes the save.  Maddog dispenses some whoop-ass to Basil, and then assists Smelly in pulling Storm into the ring!  They set her up for what is essentially a Double-Team Full Nelson Slam, and hit it in the middle of the ring!  OK, the announcers have chosen sides, as Schwag laughs, telling Rio Storm, “So you wanted to be a manager, honey.  Well, there you go!”  Smelly puts the badmouth to Storm, but Al Katraz sneaks-up from behind.  Schoolboy!  1, 2, 3.  Definition of Pain win in what was certainly not the worst tag matches ever, but the ending with the attack on Rio Storm really came out of nowhere.

OK, UPW’s version of Goldilocks is a chick in a nurse’s outfit (I shit you not), and she is backstage with Christopher Daniels.  He thinks that his feud with Samoan Joe should be over.  Long story short, one of them will leave tonight with the UPW strap, and the other will just leave UPW.

Blue Meanie w/The Power Twins v. Navajo Warrior (champ) w/The Big Schwag, UPW Internet Championship: It seems that Meanie is substituting for someone they call Billy D tonight, and as soon as the match starts, Doc Marley calls him the Blue Boy.  Meanie starts off at 100 mph, landing the 10-punch count along early.  Navajo Warrior reverses an Irish Whip, but when he charges the corner, Meanie gets the boots up and follows it up with a Running Bulldog.  1, 2, no.  Meanie pulls him up, but Warrior rakes the eyes (something he never would’ve done before he joined the Schwag Army, Marley assures us).  Irish Whip into the corner, but Meanie avoids the charge and rolls him up for a two-count.  The Big Schwag climbs onto the apron, but one of the Power Twins yanks his feet out from under him, and he falls face-first into the ring apron.  Schwag makes it back to his feet, but he is disoriented, and when Navajo Warrior is whipped into the ropes, Schwag trips him up, allowing Meanie to hit the DDT.  1, 2, 3!  Your winner, and NEW UPW Internet Champion is The One, The Only, The Blue Meanie!  Short and by the book, no complaints from me…besides, it always warms my heart to see the Blue Meanie getting some love from the bookers!

Hardcore Inc. w/El Jeffe v. The New Evolution w/Loony Lane, UPW Tag Team Tournament Semi-Final Match: Hardcore Inc come to the ring first, and they are made-up of The Hardkore Kid and “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce.  The New Evolution (certainly not to be confused with The Evolution, I’m sure) consists of Nova and Frankie “The Future” Kazarian, both of whom are now featured on TNA, I believe.  The Big Schwag misunderstands the crowd, thinking that he hears them chanting “Schwag! Schwag!” when they are actually saying “Nova”.  That’s kinda funny.  Kazarian starts with the Hardkore Kid, ducking a Clothesline and then coming off the ropes with a Crossbody.  Nova is tagged-in for some two-on-one action, as he and Kazarian come flying off the ropes onto the Kid, who wisely rolls out of the ring.  That brings Pearce into the ring, but he falls victim to a Double-Armdrag, followed by a Double-Russian Legsweep.  New Evolution celebrate in the ring, allowing Hardkore Kid to attack from behind.  Nova quickly reverses, but this time the heels are able to take control behind the referee’s back, as Pearce hits Nova with a Clothesline in the corner, followed by a Superkick from the Hardkore Kid as he comes out of the corner.  Nova is truly channeling Ricky Morton, as Hardcore Inc begin to double-team against him.  Even a triple-team at times, as El Jeffe makes his presence known.  They also keep the ref distracted by repeatedly taunting Kazarian to come into the ring.  Nova begins to mount a comeback, but it is short-lived.  Hardcore Inc ties him to the tree o’ woe, and when Pearce charges, Nova displays why he is called the Innovator of Offense by catching Pearce in the corner, then using his legs to push away from the corner, he falls, landing a Diamond Cutter on Pearce.  Very cool spot that I probably butchered in the description.  Both men are down, both make the hot tag, and Kazarian takes-out both member of Hardcore Inc.  He has the Kid set up, and connects with the Twist o’ Fate, but Pearce breaks-up the pinfall attempt.  The heels then double-team Kazarian, sending him into the corner, followed by whipping Nova into the same corner.  Their plan backfires, however, as Nova Monkeyflips his partner back into the ring, where he lands a Double Clothesline on both opponents!  I’ve seen that spot a couple of times before, and I love it every time!  Another innovative double-team move by the New Evolution goes un-named as the match begins to break down, with El Jeffe choking Kazarian on the bottom rope as Nova has the Hardkore Kid in a pinning predicament behind the ref’s back.  The Kid kicks him off, sending Nova into the ropes, where he meets a chair being swung by Pearce!  Nova stumbles backwards into a Schoolboy by the Hardkore Kid, 1, 2, no!  Nova kicked out because he’s Extreme, so it’s going to take more than a chairshot to end this match!  Pearce comes into the ring and puts Kazarian up in the Rack…he spins, and drops him in a slam that Doc Marley calls the Rack Bomb.  1, 2, Kazarian kicks out!  Hardkore Kid comes into the ring with the chair, but Nova leaps from the top rope, connecting with a Van Daminator, which sends the Kid to the outside.  Pearce is isolated in the center of the ring with both members of the New Evolution, who use a crazy set-up for a Tornado DDT on Pearce for the 1, 2, and 3.  New Evolution advances to the finals of the Tag Title tournament.

The goofy Nurse is backstage with The Angry Amish Warrior, Roadkill.  Let’s all see what he has to say…she asks him lots of yes-or-no questions, leading up to the big question, “What do you think of your opponent, and the rest of the Schwag Army?”  Say it with me now, “Chickens!”

“Shooter” Tony Jones (champ) v. King Faviaro for the UPW Southern California Title: Tony Jones should be a familiar name to a much larger percentage of you, as he had a WWF dark match against Mike Modest that was featured in the movie Beyond The Mat.  Both Jones and Modest are based out of Roland Alexander’s APW…Modest and Alexander will be featured later.  Jones is much bigger than when he was featured in Beyond The Mat, so I guess he took Jim Ross’ advice to heart and tried to work on filling-out his upper body.  The match starts slowly, as there are some technical difficulties in getting all of the smoke from the entrances cleared so that both the live crowd and the cameras can see the ring!  Eventually the match gets underway, and Faviaro is getting the better of Jones.  Faviaro is doing a Tommy Dreamer, or perhaps Buh-Buh Ray Dudley gimmick, and by that I mean that he is the loveable out-of-shape guy that is surprisingly good in the ring.  Jones reverses Faviaro’s good fortune however, folding him in half with a release German Suplex.  The Shooter follows that up with a Sidewalk Slam, but only gets a two-count.  The smoke has finally cleared enough to see the action well, and Jones takes control by scraping his bootlaces across Faviaro’s eyes.  Schwag says, “I think that’s illegal in some states!”  Jones with a release Full-Nelson German Suplex, which is all the set-up he needs for his submission hold, the Holy Shoot (a Full-Nelson Camel Clutch).  Faviaro quickly taps, and Tony Jones keeps the UPW Southern CA Championship in control of the APW.

Da Playas v. Hi Impact: Da Playas come to the ring first, and they are B-Boy and Funky Billy Kim.  Their opponents are Prodigy and Andy Van Dam, collectively known as Hi Impact.  This is not Tom Marquez as The Prodigy, by the way, rather some young high-flyer.  He and Van Dam lure Da Playas outside the ring, only to slide back in, and then come over the top with stereo Crossbody Blocks to the floor.  Once we make it into the ring, it is Prodigy against Kim, and neither man can obtain a clear advantage until B-Boy makes a blind tag and Da Playas are able to double-team on the Prodigy.  Andy Van Dam makes the mistake of trying to get involved in the match without being tagged-in, and while the ref is distracted getting him back onto the apron, Da Playas are able to mount a long double-team attack on Prodigy.  The ref eventually restores order, and Funky Billy Kim lands a BIG Clothesline before tagging B-Boy into the contest.  More double-teaming by the heels, but when B-Boy lifts Prodigy for an Atomic Drop, it is reversed into first a kick that sends Kim down, and then a Bulldog on B-Boy.  All three men are down in the ring, and Van Dam is leading the crowd as they cheer for Prodigy to make the tag.  Schwag calls it “Cheap Heat” as the faces get the fans to clap along, and Prodigy makes the tag to Andy Van Dam.  Double Clothesline, followed by two Standing Dropkicks, and a Flying Crossbody onto B-Boy.  All four men in the ring briefly, before Prodigy gets sent to the floor by Funky Billy Kim.  B-Boy sets Van Dam up in a Back-Breaker, and Kim comes off the top with a knee across the throat.  1, 2, Prodigy makes the save!  B-Boy thrown to the outside, and Van Dam holds Kim in a Powerbomb position, and Prodigy comes from the top with a Flying Crossbody.  1, 2, 3.  Hi Impact are your winners in a somewhat pedestrian tag team match.

“The Enterprise” Andy Judge and Cash Money Brothas v. Bison, Horshu, Luminous: OK, so the Cash Money Brothers are Under Pressure and “Iceman” John Black, and they are teaming with Andy Judge in a Six-Man Tag Match.  A short woman in a business suit leads them to the ring, but she goes unmentioned by both the announcers and the Chiron, so I’m taking that as a cue to ignore her, too.  Andy Judge is the manager of the Cash Money Brothas, it seems, and he tells the crowd that he is the person that is responsible for putting asses in the seats.  Rick Bassman leads their opponents, the Ultimate Power to the ring.  Doc Marley tells us that every member of the Ultimate Power is more than 6’6” and over 300 lbs (and absolutely ripped, I might add), so it doesn’t matter who Bassman chooses, the Cash Money Brothas are no match.  To demonstrate this fact, the faces chase the heels out, and isolate Under Pressure in the ring for some power moves.  Under Pressure is no small guy, but he is being tossed around by the much larger Luminous, and later Bison.  A comedy-spot sneaks in, as Bison is going for the pin against Under Pressure, Andy Judge comes in and kicks Bison, but not hard enough to break the count!  The ref only stops counting when Bison gets up to go after Judge!  The Enterprise quickly bails, of course, and Horshu tags in for a sloppy Belly-to-Belly Suplex, dumping Under Pressure on his head.  Pressure is able to roll over and make the tag to his brother, John Black.  Some well-placed kicks from Black puts Horshu to the mat, and Black tags-in Andy Judge.  They set Horshu up for the Shattered Dreams kick in the heel’s corner, and when the faces rush into the ring, Judge is able to land the kick behind the referee’s back.  The heels celebrate in the ring, and continue to triple-team against ‘Shu.  It looks like he is about to turn the tide with a Dropkick onto Black, but his knee has been worked-over too much, and he can’t make it to the corner.  That means more double-teaming by the heels, of course!  The momentum of the match changes when Judge (the manager) attempts to lift the 300+ pound Horshu up for a Vertical Suplex, which ‘Shu reverses into a DDT.  The tag is finally made to Luminous, and all six men come into the ring.  Both of the Cash Money Brothas are sent outside the ring, leaving Judge alone in the ring with Horshu.  Surprisingly, Judge is getting the best of it in the ring, locking ‘Shu in a Figure Four.  Horshu is not the legal man, however, and so the ref is trying to get Judge to break the hold.  Luminous eventually makes it back into the ring and lands a Powerbomb on Judge for the pinfall victory.  The Ultimate Power are your winners.

The name of the nurse is Nurse Cassy, and her interviews are being broadcast over the internet.  She is with Donovan Morgan, Mike Modest, and Roland Alexander.  They have some harsh words for the Urban Outlaws.

Keiji Secoda w/The Big Schwag v. “The Angry Amish Chicken Plucker” Roadkill: Keiji Secoda is fresh off a dark match with the WWF, and Schwag is sporting a Roadkill t-shirt.  The match begins with Roadkill distracted by Schwag on the mic.  Secoda attacks from behind, but Roadkill quickly gains control with a reversal on an Irish Whip and the Dirt Road Slam.  Secoda sent into the corner, where Roadkill connects with the 10-punch count along, only to be dumped over the top, all the way to the floor!  Schwag lays in a couple of big boots outside the ring, and when tossed back into the ring, Roadkill is holding his left knee.  Naturally, Secoda goes for the leg, putting it on the bottom rope and then jumping down on it a-la Bret Hart.  He goes to the proverbial well too many times, however, because when he goes for it a third time, Roadkill gets the knee up, crotching Secoda.  No time is wasted by Secoda, however, clipping the knee when Roadkill gets to his feet.  Again Secoda goes for the same move too many times, trying to clip the knee again, but Roadkill sidesteps him, and catches him for a big Powerbomb, and both men are down.  A little bit of Iblockyourpunch, youdon’tblockmine action, before Roadkill takes firm control of the match, first with another Dirt Road Slam, followed by a Running Power Slam.  1, 2, no.  Slam near the corner, where Roadkill comes off the second turnbuckle with a big Elbowdrop, but Schwag is there to place Secoda’s foot on the ropes.  Roadkill argues with Schwag briefly, and then turns his attention back to the match, where he goes for a slam of some sort, but Secoda reverses it into a Crippler Crossface in the center of the ring!  Roadkill struggles to make it to the ropes, and Secoda breaks the hold.  Secoda goes for the Roaring Elbow, but Roadkill ducks and hits a Side Slam.  Secoda is standing in the corner, and when Roadkill rushes for a Vader Splash in the corner, Secoda ducks out and pulls the ref into the way.  Secoda slides out of the ring as the Big Schwag comes in with a chair.  He lightly waffles Roadkill a couple of times, before holding Roadkill for Secoda, who has made it back into the ring.  Roadkill ducks the attack, however, and Schwag takes the mysterious green mist in the face!  Roadkill hits the Barnburner (Fireman’s Carry into a Diamond Cutter), followed by a Big Splash from the corner.  1, 2, 3!  Roadkill scores the victory.

When The Big Schwag makes it back to the announce position, he asks, “Did we win?”

Mike Modest & Donovan Morgan w/Roland Alexander v. Mike and Marshall Knox (The Urban Outlaws) w/Savvy, APW v. UPW: The Outlaws square-dance their way to the ring with Savvy, and once the match begins the square dancing continues when the Knox brothers are whipped towards each other, they do-si-do and then connect with Clotheslines on their opponents.  Eh.  They double-team on Modest, and then Morgan, as I am distracted by the fact that one (and only one) of the cameras is using black-n-white film…so the picture keeps switching from b-n-w to technicolor.  The announcers manage to tell us that this match is likely to be one of Mike Modest’s last independent dates without ever mentioning the letters “W, C, or W”.  Modest and Morgan are all over Mike Knox, as Schwag declares that the Urban Outlaws have the upper hand because Savvy is sexier than Roland Alexander.  I’ll agree that Alexander is less than pleasant to look at, but I don’t follow the logic that Savvy’s team is better because of it.  Oh well, back to the match, where Donovan Morgan is dumping Mike Knox on his head repeatedly, first with a Double Underhook Suplex, and then with a release Belly-to-Back Suplex.  It reaches the point that both announcers discuss that Roland Alexander trainees specialize in dumping people on their heads!  Modest tags in, and with a vicious Clothesline, sends Knox flipping over…onto his head!  Modest with what appears to be a Standard Suplex, but since the announcers are so caught-up in the whole dumped on his head storyline, Doc Marley calls it “some sort of Snap-Brainbuster-Suplex sort of maneuver.”  Knox eventually lands a big Powerbomb, and then gets the hot tag to his brother, Marshall, who begins cleaning house…he’s even got a right hand for Roland Alexander, who has snuck up onto the apron.  Both APW guys are sent out of the ring, and Marshall goes out after Modest.  That leaves Mike Knox in the ring, against Donovan Morgan on the apron.  Knox attempts to bring him in with a Suplex, but Roland Alexander grabs his leg, allowing Morgan to reverse into a Crossbody.  1, 2…Alexander is holding Knox’s leg so that he can’t kick out…3.  Doc Marley sums up the events by saying, “APW manages to steal another victory here in UPW.”

Nova joins Doc Marley on color commentary for the next match, and they talk over a promo by the Big Schwag, who went out to get someone to take-out The Prototype, and he introduces that person, CW Anderson.

CW Anderson v. Prototype: You all know Prototype as John Cena, of course, and he is introduced “from Area 51”.  Cool.  He rushes the ring, and when he approaches the turnbuckles, he leaps too soon, almost falling out of the ring, and finally catching himself and falling backwards into the ring.  He immediately climbs the ropes on the opposite side of the ring, waving his arms to fire-up the crowd.  He recovered nicely, but that was still very Uncool…let’s see how he does the rest of the match.  CW Anderson was one of my favorite guys in ECW by the time the company folded.  I thought that his mic work got light years better while on TNN.  Combine that with the Anderson in-ring style, and you’ve got a solid worker that was moving-up the card by the time they lost their tv deal (he was feuding with Tommy Dreamer at the time, remember).  As for this match, well, Prototype takes control early, despite the best efforts of the fan at ringside holding a sign that reads, “Proto-Hype”!  Lots of big power moves, until Anderson gets a Superkick, followed by the Anderson Arm-Breaker.  “Prototype must owe Anderson twenty bucks,” declares Doc Marley.  We are also told that Anderson was a minor-league catcher with the San Diego Padres farm system at one time.  Schwag slides a chair into the ring, and then distracts the ref while Anderson positions the chair between the ropes, then sends Prototype in shoulder first.  Ouch.  Anderson then stands the chair up in the middle of the ring, and Nova badmouths the ref for not removing the chair, saying, “yeah, I know he’s from ECW…but when I went to wrasslin’ school, there were no chairs in the ring.”  Prototype drops Anderson onto the chair Atomic-Drop style, and both men are down as the ref finally removes the chair.  They start to trade punches and chops as each gets to their knees, and as they make their way to their feet, Prototype takes control with a Clothesline, followed by a Standing Dropkick.  Anderson reverses a slam, but can only get a two-count.  Each man reverses an Irish Whip, and when Prototype comes off the ropes, he walks into a Spinebuster!  1, 2, two and seven-eighths!!  Somehow, Prototype kicked out!  Anderson whipped into the ropes, into the Proto-Bomb…1, 2, 3!  YOUR winner, the Prototype, John Cena. He leaps onto the turnbuckles celebrating, and luckily he climbs the ropes safely this time.

The Ballard Brothers w/Miss Delicious v. “Big” John Heydenreich & Nathan Jones (The Ultimate Army) w/Sadyst, UPW Tag Team Tournament Semi-Final Match: The Ballard Brothers, Shannon and Shane, are Canadian.  That means they are required to come to the ring dressed as hockey players, I guess.  They are also former members of the Schwag Army (and also 5-time tag champs), before Schwag, in his words, “kicked them to the curb.”  Nathan Jones is introduced as the World’s Strongest Man, and this is your classic high flyers v. big men match.  Heydenreich takes control first against Shane Ballard.  Tag to Jones, who flubs a kick to the gut, followed by a sloppy Gut-Wrench Slam.  A Sidewalk Slam by Jones doesn’t appear to put Ballard in any serious danger, and now Jones, obviously winded, tags-in Big John…I hope everyone understands that I am giving Jones a hard time in the spirit of fun, he actually looked pretty good in his few minutes in the ring so far.  Heydenreich in the ring against Shannon, who is going for a Tornado DDT, but Big John tosses him off into a Face-First Slam.  Off the ropes, reversal, off the ropes, and Ballard finally connects with a Spinning DDT, and both men are down as Shane Ballard cheers his brother on.  Hot tag to Shane, who has a Dropkick to the knee of each of his opponents.  He hits a Running Bulldog on Big John, but Jones is able to shrug him off.  Jones goes for a Clothesline over the top rope, but Shane drops down holding the top rope, causing Jones to tumble out onto the floor.  In the ring, Shane goes for a Crossbody on Heydenreich, but gets caught.  Shannon leaps from the top turnbuckle, however, so that it’s a Double Crossbody, and Shane holds on, 1, 2, 3!  The Ballard Brothers advance to the finals in the tag team tournament to take on the New Evolution.

Someone gave Jones a microphone, and he cuts a short promo that I can only understand about half of…basically he is saying that he and Heydenreich are big and strong, and they intend to win their matches from here on out.

Samoa Joe v. Christopher Daniels (champ), UPW Heavyweight Championship – Loser Leaves UPW: This is the first of your double-main event for the evening, and in a nice twist, it appears that Daniels is making his entrance on the stage, but then the real Daniels makes his way through the crowd and attacks Samoa Joe from behind!  They are outside the ring, and the bell hasn’t rung to officially start the match yet, and so Daniels attacks with a steel chair.  They finally make their way into the ring, and when Drzan misses her cue to ring the bell, on commentary Schwag says, “Ding, ding, there you go.  The match is officially underway.”  Daniels is all over him, not even letting Joe get to his feet, and finally sending him over the top rope to the floor.  This time Daniels goes out onto the apron, and then leaps from the second turnbuckle with a Moonsault!  A nice move, but Schwag wonders if it is enough to beat an angry Samoan.  They go back into the ring, where Joe is finally able to gain control by reversing an Irish Whip, and connecting with an Enziguiri Kick to the back of the head.  Joe stays on him, with a Snap Suplex, and a big Kneedrop to the chest.  Standing “Mafia Style” Kick to the head by Samoa Joe, before dropping Daniels face-first in a Gorilla Press Slam.  Belly-to-Back Suplex (complete with a bridge) gets a two-count for Joe.  Daniels sent into the corner, but he comes out with a Clothesline…and another…and when Joe ducks the third, Daniels grabs him and drops down into a DDT.  That was a nice sequence.  They follow that up with a botched move out of the corner, but they quickly go right back to it, and Daniels gets a Victory Roll out of the corner for two.  Samoa Joe with a big Powerbomb, into an Oklahoma Roll, which also scores a two-count.  Joe goes for a kick off the ropes, but Daniels ducks, and cinches-in an STF!  Joe slowly makes his way to the ropes, forcing Daniels to break the hold.  Daniels pulls him back into the middle of the ring, but Joe reverses it into an Ankle Lock.  Joe is forced to break the hold when Daniels makes it to the rope, and then both men are down after an Enziguiri by Daniels.  When Joe charges with a Clothesline, Daniels is able to duck out of the way, but the ref is not so lucky.  A kick to the back of the head causes Joe to fall on the ref, and when Daniels hits his finisher, Angel’s Wings…Mikey Henderson comes into the ring and counts 1, 2, 3 behind Daniels’ back while the ref is still down.  Henderson quickly bails out of the ring, and Daniels begins to celebrate, thinking that he has successfully defended his belt, and sent Samoa Joe out of UPW forever.  The ref makes his way to his feet, and tells Daniels that he did not make the 3-count, and so the match must continue.  Joe grabs him and locks-in the Emerald Driver, which he calls the Island Driver, for the 1, 2, 3.  Samoa Joe is the NEW UPW Heavyweight Champion, and Christopher Daniels takes a moment on the mic to thank the fans of UPW.  For the record, this was recorded just before Daniels debuted in WCW…I just didn’t want to spoil it for you before the match!

Nurse Whatshername is backstage with the New Evolution, and they are there to tell the Ballard Brothers that if they don’t evolve, they will dissolve.  I think that’s what Kazarian said, anyway.  Nova says that they are in UPW for two reasons, to win the tag belts, and to look good while doing it.

“Miracle” Mikey Henderson v. Rob Van Dam: Mikey Henderson was also featured in the TLC special that I mentioned before, and was described by Bassman as the top prospect in UPW.  It just doesn’t feel like an RVD entrance if it isn’t to the sounds of “Re-Spect Walk!”  Van Dam gets on the stick, to introduce Henderson and the audience to everybody’s favorite wrassler, (say it with me now) Rob Van Dam.  The match begins as expected, with a series of takedowns and reversals, and lots of RVD showboating for the crowd.  Schwag wonders where Bill Alfonso is just as RVD begins to take control in the corner.  The match eventually degenerates into a battle of egos, with Henderson trying to get the fans to cheer as loudly for him as they do for RVD.  It doesn’t work.  RVD starts to lay-in the kicks, and then sends Henderson outside the ring, into the crowd!  Back to ringside, where Henderson is introduced first to the ringpost, and then to the stage next to the ring.  RVD goes back into the ring, and invites the ref back into the ring to make sure that neither of them gets counted-out.  Van Dam then immediately rolls back outside.  He positions Henderson on the apron, hanging over the edge, and then comes over the top rope with his patented Slingshot Legdrop.  Both men finally make their way back into the ring, where RVD hits another of his patented moves, the Tumbling Senton Splash, which I believe he now calls Rolling Thunder.  He rolls outside, where he gets a chair and brings it back in and throws it across the ring into Henderson’s face…in plain view of the referee, with no mention of the possibility of disqualification.  Oh well.  Henderson turns a Short Arm Clothesline by RVD into a Fireman’s Carry Takeover, and for the first time Henderson is in control of the match.  He gets RVD up into the Rack position, and then drops him in a Sit-Out Slam of some sort.  1, 2, no.  Van Dam rolls out of the ring.  Henderson follows him out, slamming RVD into the barrier at ringside, and then into the ring apron itself before heading back into the ring and sliding under the bottom rope with a Baseball Slide Dropkick.  He then comes back in and leaps from the middle turnbuckle with a Flying Crossbody onto RVD on the floor.  The action stays outside, as Henderson misjudges a Moonsault from the turnbuckles to the floor, landing face first and connecting only with his lower legs on RVD.  Somehow Henderson is able to get to his feet first and drag RVD back into the ring, where he hits a big Legdrop from the second turnbuckle for a two-count.  Henderson positions the chair in the middle of the ring, picks up Van Dam for a Piledriver on the steel chair!  Instead of going for the pin, however, Henderson climbs the corner to taunt the fans.  When he does finally go for the cover, RVD is able to get a shoulder up.  The ref had moved the chair onto the apron of the ring, and when Henderson retrieves it, he berates the ref, telling him not to touch the chair again.  RVD is able to duck a Clothesline, grab the chair and toss it to Henderson for the Van Daminator, but Henderson ducks and goes for a DDT onto the chair, but Van Dam reverses it into a Northern Lights Suplex w/a Bridge.  1, 2, Henderson kicks out!  Samoa Joe comes into the ring and attacks RVD, assisting his new friend Mikey Henderson…but here comes the Fallen Angel!  Daniels hits the ring and cleans-house on the heels, hitting his Last Rites finisher on Samoa Joe to send him outside, then with Henderson laying in the middle of the ring, Daniels hits his Springboard Moonsault, followed immediately by Van Dam’s 5-Star Frogsplash!  Daniels leaps over the top onto Samoa Joe on the floor, as RVD slowly crawls over to make the cover.  1, 2…no!  Mikey Henderson just kicked out of the 5-Star Frogsplash!  Daniels and Samoa Joe brawl all the way out of the arena.  Inside the ring, RVD is going for the Split-Legged Moonsault, but Henderson crotches him on the top, then brings him off with an Inverted (Face First) Suplex.  That gets only a two-count.  Henderson places a chair on the prone body of RVD and goes up for a big Legdrop, but RVD rolls out of the way.  Henderson goes into the corner, where RVD meets him with his (again, patented) Running Dropkick with the steel chair.  He positions Henderson and comes off the top with the Split-Legged Moonsault.  1, 2, 3.  RVD gets the victory as 900 fans go wild for their favorite wrassler.  That was a really good match, and when Henderson kicked out after receiving the Moonsault from Daniels and Frogsplash from Van Dam, I actually thought for a moment that Henderson could pull-off the upset.

No promos or anything to end the tape, and so after Van Dam’s music ends, we close with the ring announcer telling the fans the lineup for the next show, and the camera alternates between showing the UPW banner, and the Sonicfish banner (www.sonicfish.com), as Sonicfish was the site that broadcast the show live on the internet…and we are out at two and a-half hours.

Well there you have it.  Sometimes when you buy a tape from an indy fed it feels like an all-star event (I point you to the ROH show that I recapped for an example), other times indy shows feel like watching a wrasslin’ school training class.  This show was an example of the latter, even with the inclusion of such stars as Christopher Daniels, RVD and CW Anderson; this show lacked the big time feel until the very end.  Too many tag matches on this card for my taste, so I guess that had something to do with it.  Nothing was outright bad, don’t get me wrong…it was just done very much by the book.  Each match besides the two main events was kept short (10 minutes or so), and so a few of the matches felt rushed…trying to fit everyone’s high spots in before the finish is called for.

If you saw the TLC special that featured UPW, then I would recommend this tape because you can watch the TLC show and see Christopher Daniels scripting a match, then you can watch this tape and see the match play-out.  That is what originally drew me to UPW, in fact.  If you have not seen that special, I would still recommend this tape if you want to see John Cena cutting his teeth, and the two main event matches are stellar.  There is one subset of wrasslin’ fans that I would not recommend this tape to, and that is the vampires.  If you don’t think a wrasslin’ match is worth your time without copious amounts of blood, well, this isn’t the tape for you because UPW considers itself to be a family-friendly product.  Personally, I can appreciate both, and all in all I give this tape a Thumbs-Up as good, clean wrasslin’ fun.

I’ve got a few things planned for the near future, recap-wise.  First of all, for my birthday Amey bought me three tapes, two from 3PW (Pro-Pain Pro-Wrestling), and one from ISW (Incredibly Strange Wrestling).  The ISW show is their first videotape release, and it is titled SnackDown!.  If you have never seen ISW (Amey and I originally saw them on the 2001 Warped Tour), then you need to check out their website and be ready for the onslaught when I bring you that recap…if you liked the Kaiju Bug Battel that Rick has mentioned a few times, then Incredibly Strange Wrestling is right up your alley!  The two 3PW shows that I have are This One’s For You from 9/21/02 (I think this was the memorial show for Flyboy Rocco Rock), and the 3PW One Year Anniversary Show from 2/15/03.  Both shows were filmed in Philly, but only one was at the ECW Arena.  One other thing to keep in mind is that sometime soon I should be bringing you an exclusive report from an ETW event in San Antonio.  So it looks like my plate is full yet again…hopefully that means it won’t be so long between recaps this time!

PEACE

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