So it is currently Sunday May 25th 2003, 11:20 pm and I am stiff as hell. It�s the day after the NSP Grand Battle Show and I thought, "I got the time, why not write about my match and the show." So... I�m gonna.
I guess I�ll talk about the show and its matches in order and get to my match last. The show started off with that Opera "Jackass" intro song but the sound guys were having some technical difficulties. This worried me because little slip ups like that can make the crowd hostile, or anxious, or just plain ignorant. Luckily, Showtime and Chambers were curtain jerking and put on one hell of a match. I�d like to mention that 2 of Showtime�s students accompanied him to the ring for his match. Those students being Shawn Spears and Jake O�Reilly. O�Reilly hasn�t had his first match yet but he is ready to start given�r and is a very solid worker. All of Showtime�s students are not only fantastic workers, but really good guys. Class act students at the Wrestleplex. And the other student with Showtime at ringside was Shawn Spears. He HAS worked in many feds across Ontario (including NSP) and is one guy I really love to watch. He�s so fluid and natural in the ring. In a few years time, after he gets some more matches under his belt, and starts hitting the weights seriously, he�ll be one of the top guys in Ontario. Another class act worker. Every student at Wrestleplex is taught to respect the business and the boys. They all have bright futures. Back to the show.
The first match REALLY set the tone for both the tournament and the show as a whole. Although the crowd was a little smaller than last month�s, they were much hotter. Next up was Lazz and Fury. It was good to see Fury back in action. I could tell he was both stoked and nervous to get back into the ring and he and Lazz put on one hell of a contest. (Especially for how long Fury has been away from the ring.) Lazz is SUPER over in The Falls (more than he�s ever been). And I like to think it�s all because of me. LOL... just kidding. I miss working Lazz. I like to think that we helped each other immensely in terms of getting over with the Niagara crowd. Hopefully I�ll get to work him again in the future. We are both so much better than we were during our FSPW Internet Title feud. Anyways, I�m happy to see Lazz getting over huge, and happy to see him getting a push. He totally deserves it.
Next up was Playa and Sandbag... I mean Inferno Johnny Adams. Playa made another fantastic promo that the crowd ate up as usual. I was very impressed by this match because I don�t think these 2 have touched each other in a ring since the good old days back at the FSPW training dojo. Even then, I don�t think Playa would agree to touch Sandbag. (LOL... sweet rib.) Anyways, another awesome match that saw both these guys take it up a notch in terms of work rate. Again, I�m happy to see Inferno receive success in NSP. And again, I like to think it�s all because of me! Ok, ok, I�ll stop that. What I mean is, Inferno and I started from the bottom at FSPW/NSP and some how worked our way up into what we are today. It�s really weird comparing old FSPW tapes to current NSP tapes. We have both come along way. I know it sounds corny, but I�m proud of Sandbag. (More about him later).
The next match was Dangerboy and Hacker. I can�t put these guys over any more than I have in the past. But I�m gonna try! Again, 2 workers that pull out all the stops and go to another level (a level with anti-gravity and sparrow bones) when they work in NSP. I especially popped huge for the finish of the match. Simply brilliant. And what made it work so well was the way they sold the whole thing. Especially Hacker. I don�t want put these guys over any more than I have to (they can do that themselves!) But just an all around amazing match. I was talking to some of the boys after the show and I was saying that I got worried after my 4-way match at Crossroads many months back. That match was given rave review and we did so much in that match that I thought there was nothing left to be done in terms of shear craziness. Well, I have been proved wrong time and time again at every NSP show since. Every month sees something crazier than the last. And this match showed that if you want crazy, you want NSP. That reverse ranna off the top was disgusting. Simply awesome match.
Then it was the tag team dog collar match. The crowd got what they wanted out of this one. The most emotional point in the night was Kinkaid�s farewell speech. He meant everything he said and I know he�s gonna miss the Niagara crowd dearly. I�m afraid he�s not gonna be able to stay away. Which he should, because all of his medical problems are NOT a work... they�re legit. I just want to say in front of all the fans that I�m gonna miss Kinkaid the worker. But I�m not all that sad because I know Kinkaid, my friend, will still be at the shows and still play a role in NSP. Talking to him before the show and hearing him talk about how proud he is of NSP and it�s workers (especially how proud he is of guys like me and Sandbag) makes me see how dedicated he is to wrestling, and making NSP THE promotion to watch and work for. Cheers Kinkaid. Like you said, you had one hell of a run. (Sammy�s gonna miss ya... lol).
Next was the triple threat tag team match. I didn�t get to see a lot of this match because I was concentrating on my own, but I did catch TJ�s mic spot. He�s so good on the mic. So funny. I love TJ. I have my best matches with him. If for some reason I end up in a tag situation in the future, I�d love to work him in a tag. Or singles (which would be better). NSP hasn�t seen as singles match between us and I know we could tell a hell of a story. Now it�s my turn. Next up was me and JC for the NSP independent title. I came out to new theme music for this match. �Cochise� by Audioslave. And I kinda came up with a new entrance too. I decided that I needed a song that really got me pumped and jacked for my match. And Sevendust just wasn�t cutting it for me. I heard this song while working out the other day and knew that it was gonna be by new theme. Totally got me jacked for my match. Anyways, back to the match itself. My main focus going into this match was to tell a good story. I know what the fans in NSP want and I now what they expect. But I also knew that I wasn�t gonna be able to give them a crazy high spot affair like I would be able to with Dangerboy. So my main concern was being able to just tell a story (minus the craziness) and still be able to get the match over. And I feel we did just that. JC and Pee Wee have wicked heat in The Falls, and that just made my job that much easier. JC and I just went out there and had a straight up match. No frills, no gimmicks. One on one. Big mano a little mano. And to my liking our story got over. JC got wicked heat on me and beat me up real good. He even hit a second rope fall away slam (that TJ told me sent me all the way across the ring). That made me happy. Anyways, the match had JC working my back and my ribs after I slid into the pole under the bottom rope while trying to stop myself from hitting the exposed turnbuckle. From there, JC went to work on my back and ribs and made it impossible for me to not look believable in my selling. In the end, I hit my finish but got screwed by PEE WEE when he broke up the count. I went for my finish again, but JC caught me in a Fatboy Driver during my efforts. JC got the clean 1-2-3 victory and spoiled my attempt at finally getting the Indy title. That title has been fought for by some of the best workers in the country, and I�m not gonna stop chasing that belt. After the match, JC continued to pummel me with 2 consecutive powerbombs before my old �American Steele� partner Inferno Johnny Adams came to stop the punishment. However, he too got powerbombed for his efforts. Does this suggest that �American Steele� might make their triumphant return to NSP?! I sure as hell hope not! LOL!
The card finished off with a solid tag match with all the winners of the first round of the Grand Championship tourny. I was happy to see Lazz go over clean on Showtime. HUGE push in the works I presume. And again, he deserves it.
Anyways, that raps up my thoughts on NSP GRAND BATTLE 2003. All in all, I think that was one of, if not, THE best NSP show to date, top to bottom.
EVERY match was solid, and every match had the crowd going. I was VERY happy with the show as a whole. It just proves that NSP is one of the top indy feds in the province, if I dare not say the whole frickin� world.
Thanks to all the NSP fans that came out to the show. Thanks for all the support. Hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did.
"Completely" yours,
Cody Steele