Three hours south of Louisville – give or take half an hour, depending on how fast you drive – the OVW 2024 World Tour made a stop in Nashville. EC3 was there, along with Haley J, Luke Kurtis, Leila Grey, Tiffany Nieves, Al Snow, and many of the promotion’s top stars. No doubt it’s a special night for the Tennessee fans who discovered OVW through Netflix. I’m sure the wrestling was great and a good time was had by all.
I seriously wonder, though, if they had as much fun as we did back home.
Tonight was OVW’s annual “Run for the Ropes,” an outdoor show held at Waterfront Park near the banks of the Ohio River. It’s part of the Kentucky Derby Festival and, truth be told, and extension of a Derby wrestling show tradition that goes back more than 100 years.
With a marquee event in Nashville on the same evening, OVW had to split their roster. Those left behind were under the watchful eye of advanced class trainer (and OVW’s original student number one) Doug Basham. But to call this the B Team would not only be unfair, but wholly wrong. The OVW roster is solid, with dozens of potential future stars in both the women’s and men’s locker rooms, and some of those “left behind” include current and former champions like Jack Vaughn, Tony Gunn, Kal Herro, Shaloncé Royal, and AEW/ROH star Truth Magnum.
This was a solid crew, and they delivered a heck of a show at Run for the Ropes.
Part of the fun this evening, no doubt, had to do with the circumstances. The TV cameras stayed behind at Davis Arena. Al Snow was out of town. I’m sure everyone backstage would have been thrilled to go on the Nashville trip, but everyone seemed quite happy to be there, and everyone was trying to pop Doug Basham.
After a quick match between two recent OVW Academy graduates, the action kicked off with a ladies tag match. Gemma and Dream Girl Ellie repped the Bad Girls Club against their rivals Sophia Rose and Lady Bird – the All-American Sweethearts.
It was clear from the glare in Ellie’s eye this would not be a typical night. She stared Doug down in his seat behind the barrier from clear across the ring. There was malice in those eyes, but also mischief. Ellie amped things up even more when she accidentally ended up with a huge chunk of Lady Bird’s hair in her hands.
Ellie and Gemma may not be front and center of the Bad Girls Club, but make no mistake: these girls can go. Ellie’s been a solid member of the roster for a few years now, getting some screen time in the Netflix series. And people behind the scenes are very high on Gemma. Sophia Rose and Lady Bird are outstanding talents and a dynamic duo, and the girls delivered a solid match.
Contest number two pitted Orion – formerly the masked Blanco Loco – against OVW’s newest sensation, Super Z. Orion’s a dynamic performer who’s been stretched by the loss of his mask over the last year. Super Z? The guy’s just over. We all know it’s ZDP, the formerly demon-possessed henchman of The Fallen, and we love his new, colorful gimmick. Super Z gets the win here with some high flying acrobatics of his own.
Big Beef met Tony Gunn in a hard-hitting bout that had the crowd split. Josh Ashcraft spoke for all of us when he yelled out, “I like both these guys! I don’t know who to cheer for!” Again, the OVW roster is deep, and Big Beef has grown tremendously since joining the company. But Tony Gunn? To many fans, he is the company. He’s main vented counties shows and held the Heavyweight Championship many times. He and Beef gave the fans a show tonight.
Dustin Jackson and Jack Vaughn made their way to the ring next, and you can credit Jack Vaughn for getting easily the biggest rise out of the boss. Picking up the mic, Vaughn offered to take his signature jacket off if Dustin took his off as well. “Do you want to see Dustin take his jacket off? Let me hear you! Jacket off! Jacket off! Jacket off!”
Basham buried his face in his arms, unable to control the laughter. I could hear Jack shout over the ropes as he removed his jacket on the near side of the ring to Doug, “Don’t tell Al!”
Doug got his own licks in with a few people. He teased Tony Gunn when Gunn called for his flask, pretending like he might take a sip for himself. He also got Referee Charlene McKenzie to break arguing that a two count should have been a three. It’s a reminder that it wasn’t too long ago Doug was “one of the boys.” He came to have some fun too.
Jack’s antics gave way to those of Shaloncé Royal, whose opponent Island Girl TT had to wait endlessly for a chance to see any action. The Fighting Siren – a classical opera singer by training, mind you – got hold of a microphone and refused to give it up. When ring announcer Eric Cornish finally managed to wrestle it from her hands, she swiped another one from Doug Basham.
Shaloncé had everyone, even the casual bystanders, whipped into a frenzy with her vocal antics, and TT got a rousing cheer when she knocked Royal out for the win.
The night ended with a six man tag pitting Kal Herro, TW3, and Donovan Cecil against Tony Evans, Jay Diniero, and their surprise partner Truth Magnum. Normally a babyface here when matched with his fellow Outrunner Turbo Floyd, Truth picked up a mic and made sure fans knew this was not the night to cheer for him. It’s been ages since I’ve heard a heel promo from Magnum, and it’s clear being bad comes easy to him.
Tony Evans is definitely on the rise at OVW. He’s wrestling Luke Kurtis for the OVW Championship at next Thursday’s live pay-per-view, which will also take place at Waterfront Park. He certainly got the older woman standing behind me riled up.
“When I walked around that curtain and saw all your ugly faces,” growled Evans, “I wanted to get back in my car and go back to Bowling Green!”
“You BG Idiot!” the woman behind me bellowed. “Go back to Bowling Green!”
Listening to her became almost as entertaining was watching Josh Ashcraft and Doug Basham, who really let themselves be fans for most of the evening.
I have to say this for Kal Herro: he truly looked like a main event guy tonight. He’s come a very long way in the two years since I started watching him closely. He’s grown from a solid hand mid-card guy to someone who can carry the spotlight and close the show on a high note. Tony’s main event days may have arrived sooner, but Kal is not far behind.
With a mostly standing crowd of a couple hundred people looking on, the good guys won and the bad guys lost. But then the real fun began. TW3 insisted Kal Herro do the worm. Then Tw3 did the worm. Then the man known as The Mammoth, Donovan Cecil, attempted the move.
Then they all turned to ringside and began to chant: “Doug! Doug! Doug! Doug!”
OVW student number one, The Machine, the two time WWE Tag Team Champion had no choice but to answer the call, as you can see in the video below.
It was great seeing Manny Domingo after the show. Manny was sidelined by an unfortunate ring injury and will know soon if it requires surgery. Manny’s a dynamic crowd pleaser, and I know every OVW fan wants to see him back soon.
It was also fun seeing so many families and kids discover OVW for the first time. I listened in as a dad taught his kids to cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys. They didn’t come for the show. There were food trucks and rides and even live music stages in the park, all part of the Derby Festival Chow Wagon. But they stopped to check things out, and everyone had a great time.
OVW’s pay-per-view, Double Crossed, kicks off at 7 pm at Waterfront Park in Louisville on Thursday, May 2. Admission is free, as long as you’re wearing a Kentucky Derby pin. Buy them at Meijer and you’ll save bucks vs. the prices they’re charging downtown.
You’ll see some of the marquee names next week including Haley J, Luke Kurtis, and Leila Grey. You’ll also see the artist formerly known as Enzo Amore, Real1, who has a match with one of tonight’s big stars, the man he calls “Phony Gunn.”
Doug Basham assured me Thursday’s show will be even better. That’s a bold statement, considering this was one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve ever had at OVW or any wrestling promotion. Then again, this is OVW. They’re used to doing things people say cannot be done.
For information on how to order the pay-per-view, or to catch OVW’s weekly programming, or to buy tickets to an event, visit www.ovwrestling.com