“You know the last time J0hn and I talked, I told him what you did for me after the Netflix premiere.”
I’m seated across from Bryan Kennison and his best friend, “Dancing Stevie J” Steven Johnson at Locals, one of their favorite pizza and beer spots in the Louisville neighborhood of Germantown. I interviewed Kennison a year ago in this same restaurant, and he shared the story about waiting backstage to make their entrance for OVW Rise, the night after Wrestlers dropped on Netflix.
The day everything changed for OVW.
“What did I do?” Johnson said.
“Normally, when we were introduced as the OVW announce team, I went out first, and then Steven,” said Kennison. “That night, Steven pulled me back and stepped in front of me. You said, ‘This is your night. They’re going to pop huge for you.’ So you let me go last and get the big pop.”
“Well as much as I wanted to put you over,” said Stevie J. “I didn’t want to be in your shadow. I mean, I did mean well, but they were going to say his name, and then they wouldn’t hear mine. So the heck with that.”
He’s kidding.
Well, Stevie J’s not, but Steven Johnson is.
Steven Johnson and Bryan Kennison have been friends for a decade. They spent seven years working backstage at OVW, and they’ve come out as best friends on the other side. Not only best friends, but business partners. After years sitting beneath the Al Snow learning tree, they’ve decided to put what they learned to the test. Powerbomb Events hosts its first pro wrestling event on June 6 at Logan Street Market in Louisville. It’s a pro wrestling event done their way, connecting local people to local businesses.
And all because he left wrestling Reddit open on a tablet at work.
Johnson was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and grew up in Meade County. “I moved to Baltimore, Maryland, two weeks before 9/11,” he said. “Long story short: I got stuck on a military base and had to pretend I was in the military for about four months. The statute of limitations has passed on that, I think.”
“Hopefully!” added Kennison.
In 2003 Johnson returned to Louisville. “It was sometime between Wrestlemania XIX and XX. I know because I remember where I was when I watched both of them on pay-per-view.”
Johnson settled in the Highlands neighborhood. He met the woman who would become his wife in 2006. In addition to working for a bank, he began purchasing properties around town to fix up as rentals.
“I’ve had a few wrestlers as tenants. Turbo Floyd rented from me when he came up from Miami,” he said with a wink. If you know, you know.
Johnson was working at PNC Bank when Bryan Kennison was hired at the same branch. “We had this iPad gimmick we carried when we greeted customers,” said Johnson. “When there were no customers, I’d go to the Squared Circle Sub-Reddit and read about wrestling.”
When Kennison picked up the tablet and saw a news story about AJ Styles going to Japan, he knew immediately who it was. “We were the only two men working there,” said Kennison.
“And needless to say, none of the women gave a damn about wrestling,” said Johnson. “We talked about wrestling that day, and we never stopped.”
Johnson and Kennison started the Powerbomb podcast to share their conversations about wrestling with other fans. That led to a connection with Al Snow, who sat down for an interview with Kennison on a day Johnson was working. Kennison told Snow that if he ever needed anything, they’d be happy to help. Al told them to come any time.
“We did security with Joe Cooley one week,” said Johnson. “A few of the regular got a little sassy with us, so we knew we had to find something else.”
Their salvation came in the form of Jaylee, who the OVW Women’s Champion at the time. Jaylee was working a feud with Callie Young. “The women’s division was getting zero love on TV at the time, so we said, ‘Why don’t we record a pre-tape with Jaylee?'” said Johnson. “We filmed it, Al approved it. We posted it on socials, and it got the angle over.”
Their efforts saw immediate results. The fans saw the videos online. They cheered louder for the women’s division. OVW gave them more TV time. Johnson and Kennison knew they were on to something, so they started looking for other pre-tape opportunities.
The pre-tapes became their ticket to getting on camera. Soon they were hosting a second show for OVW called Overdrive while OVW trained them for television. When COVID hit, the previous announcer’s team stepped away, opening the door for the duo to become the promotion’s lead announcers.
Kennison inherited the play-by-play seat following in the footsteps of Gilbert Corsey and the legendary Dean Hill. The color commentary role had been filled by a number of talents over the years including Dutch Mantel, Jim Cornette, and Kenny Bolin. As “Dancing Stevie J,” Johnson had no trouble filling the role of heel announcer.
Their position on the creative team gave Kennison endless opportunities to put his best friend on the spot, surprising him live on air to give impromptu speeches or get a pie in the face. But the biggest rib pulled on Johnson belonged to Al Snow, who decided to pay him back for a stunt pulled at Snow’s birthday party. It was a private event that culminated in Dancing Stevie J marrying Snow’s 80-something mother. Snow’s mom was 100% in on the gag. So was Johnson’s wife, who watched along with everyone when Stevie J kissed the elderly bride.
“That was my greatest creative achievement,” said Johnson. “Being able to pull that off without Al knowing.”
“And then kissing Al’s mom,” said Kennison.
Johnson said, “It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever done.”
On a Thursday night after the roast, Al informed Bryan that he wanted him to change seats at the announcing table. “I always sat in the chair next to the entrance,” said Kennison. “I liked being able to be the first one out. Al told me, ‘You’re now sitting in the far seat.’ I didn’t want to, but he was the boss. So I took the far seat, and Steven took mine.”
Johnson nodded. “Six inches from the new pyrotechnics.”
“Al’s revenge,” said Kennison.
Neither man knew there was pyro on the set. Not until it went off right in front of Johnson. “Those things were hot,” he admitted.
The relationships forged at OVW brought nothing but encouragement to Johnson and Kennison when they began talking about Powerbomb. One of the first to contact Johnson and Kennison was TNA’s Mr. Elegance, better known to OVW fans as AZJ. “He said that’s awesome. You guys are going to be awesome, as long as you keep doing it your way,” said Kennison.
The debut Powerbomb show also features former OVW talents Dream Girl Ellie, Orion, Sophia Rose, and former OVW and NWA Champion EC3. The booking is stellar, with dream matches like EC3 vs Lord Crewe and Mance Warner vs. rising star Ethan Heyre.
Johnson and Kennison cannot wait to try some of the angles and gimmicks they were told would never work, gimmicks they can now test for themselves because they’re the boss. But it’s the local connections that matter most to Powerbomb. The local businesses sponsoring the show. The local venues that are opening their doors. Connections made at OVW but also by just  being connected to their beloved Germantown neighborhood.
“The show’s in Louisville,” said Johnson. “But if I could draw a five mile radius around this neighborhood, that’s who we really want to reach.”
Powerbomb plans more than just wrestling. There will be comedy shows, music concerts, and other events aimed at families and adults. They want people to come out and make a day of it, supporting local businesses and while making memories in their own community. Their first event, a comedy show featuring Mick Foley, was a rousing success, and tickets are selling fast for the first Powerbomb wrestling show.
The fans are eager. The wrestlers are excited. But no one’s more delighted than Steven Johnson and Bryan Kennison. Whatever happens in that ring at Logan Street Market on June 6, it’ll be fueled by an abiding love for pro wrestling.
And you better believe “Dancing Stevie J” will find a way to get the pop he deserves.
For more information about Powerbomb Events, visit:
Top photo by Lloyd Thomas.