Powerslam Productions December Double Shot part 1 McComb MS 12/15/2012

Been hearing good stuff about the Powerslam shows in McComb and Tylertown. But haven't had a chance to check out a show till last night. Spent the 30 odd minute drive down listening to the Art of Wrestling episode with Jimmy Yang. Got there about 30 minutes early. But ended up hanging out in front of the wrong doors. Thankfully some people showed up about 20 minutes later and informed us of this mistake.

Got into the Pike County Little Theater and saw they had a concession booth set up along with a vendor's table. The vendor's table had various DVDs,posters,pictures and trading cards for decent prices. Plus they had 4 lucha hoods. I knew none of them would fit my huge melon. But my buddy that drove us down grabbed a poster from a PSP show in Tylertown,a Rey Jr lucha hood and a neat framed picture of Paul Bearer.

We entered the theater proper and saw two front row seats were reserved for me. Thanks Reggie.  Ended up talking to a guy that goes to lots of the MS shows and he told me his name. But my shitty memory I have forgotten it. After awhile Reggie Matthews came out and I gave him the two DVDs I had brought for him.

The show started pretty much on time,which is always nice. The Outlaw Matt Lancie came out and cut a promo about how he should be facing Luke Hawx tonight for the Powerslam World title.

 Dave Hughs,the PSP commissioner I think,comes out and sets up a match between Lancie and Joe Kane. Joe Kane The Prince of Pain is the former PSP World champ. So he invoked his rematch clause.

Loved this match. It was heel vs heel and the crowd made it even more fun.

 There was some teenagers sitting to my right,I am guessing 15 or 16,who heckled the shit outta the various wrestlers.

Lancie got the win. So he will be facing Luke Hawx in the main event.

Well I noticed a guy in a mask hanging around one side of the ring.

He never talked the entire show. But did growl at some people. And seemed to be filming the matches on his Iphone. Also he clapped when Reggie Matthews was in the ring. After the show my buddy got him to sign a poster. But neither of us can read what he wrote. Maybe mysterious masked man,that I nicknamed Black Scorpion,will reveal his identity at the show on the 29th.

The second match was Curt the Stud Matthews vs Sgt Socorro. But Curt said he is now just Stud Matthews. He comes out to "Eye of the tiger". Wearing Studamaina trunks.

He is announced as being from "Biloxi Beach" so that means I am gonna automatically cheer for him. Then I realize he is working a Hogan gimmick and I hate Hogan. But I will still cheer cause of the Biloxi Beach line.

Sgt Socorro enters the ring and the teens next to me start calling him Captain America.

Stud does some nice subtle comedy bits. I quickly start yelling for the legdrop of doom.

Sgt Socorro finally gets the upper hand and gets a few 2 counts.

Stud Matthews misses a legdrop of doom :(

But finally he connects with one.

1,2,3 and it's over. Stud Matthews wins.

Match 3 started off with Blake Wilder coming out. Obviously the heel.

And I was thinking he kind of reminded me of Randy Orton. Cocky heel that thinks he is the shit. But then Blake sat on the apron and I got a close look at his boots.

The gold on the boots and his trunks made me think of the White Power Ranger. The entire match I kept expecting him to call on his Zord.

McComb's own Wes Adams is out next. Being the local guy he is the mega over face.

Wes challenges Blake to a loser shakes the winners hand match. Hell yeah that is a southern as hell gimmick match. Didn't Memphis have a Power Ranger at one time?

They do a test of strength. And some of the kids in the crowd start chanting "TIGHTY WHITEYS" at Wilder. I try to get a "Where's your Zord" chant going,but it dies a quick death.

Wes does some nice work down on the mat. And Blake keeps  the mega cocky aura going.

Both guys end up flat on the mat and the ref,who looked like Peter Frampton,starts to count.

Wes Adams get the pin. But Blake refuses to shake his hand. This brings the PSP commissioner out. Who tells Wilder if he doesn't shake Adams hand he is suspended for a month.

 Wilder gets in the ring and teases shaking Wes's hand. The teens to my right stand up and pantomime shaking hands to mock Wilder. It is wacky stuff like that ,that makes me love deep south crowds. Wilder finally leaves and doesn't shake the hand. So I assume he is suspended.


4th match is Lukas Frost VS Ling Phan. I hope I got Ling's name right,it was hard to make out the last name.

This was a great back and forth cruisierweight style match. Ling takes a bad spill outside the ring. And when he rolls back in he looks hurt.

So Lukas Frost starts working Ling over.

Frost goes to the second turnbuckle.

Ling gets out of the way and mounts a comeback.

But Frost gets the win. Both guys busted their asses in this match. And it was a fun fast paced match.

Well it was time for intermission. Stud had come out was sitting on the ring apron and talking to the kids. I mention Bob Holly and Stud admits that Holly is legit.

We wandered off into the other room. The vendor's table seemed to be  doing great business. Same with the concessions. I go back into the main room and end up talking to Sgt Sorocco. Turns out he is getting out of the Army soon. Poor guy had to goto Fort Lost in woods for BCT and AIT.

Match 5 starts with Calvin Rose,who I think I saw on the short lived Mississippi Championship Wrestling TV show from a few years ago. He comes out with his manager Hardbody Harvey,I think it is Harvey. He is a doughy bald white guy. So the crowd hits him with bald and fat jokes. He gets up in my face telling me "You are unattractive and will never see a naked woman." "Wait doesn't your mom count?" was the only thing I could come back with. Then Reggie Matthews comes out. The crowd goes wild. I have been bullshitting Reggie off and on for at least a month now. So I was nice to finally meet him and see him wrestle.

Calvin Rose ends up in the corner near me. And I notice he has a hairy back.

Some really well done stuff from both guys. Finally Rose's manager Hardbody Harvey interferes so Reggie wins by DQ.

Now it's time for the main event. Powerslam World Champion Luke Hawx,defending his title against Outlaw Matt Lancie.Matt hits the ring first.

And one of the teens yells "He looks like he rode my little pony all the way from Brokeback Mountain!" Which of course gets lots of laughs.

This ended up being a very stiff and very fast match. Both guys were sweating buckets when the match was over.

 Lancie exited out the back.  The owner came out and announced that December 29th in McComb there will be an 8 man tournament to determine who faces Luke next.But Luke hung around taking pictures with fans and talking to people. I got him to sign my WSX dvd set. And told him I had seen some of his Wildkat work. He told me about the Extreme Reunion show he is on soon. My ride was ready to leave so we got on the road and headed back to Brookhaven. Over all it was a fun show. The small room plus how close the ring was to the crowd was an interesting setting. It felt like someone had set up a wrestling ring in your living room and was putting on a show.

Hey be sure to check this out

Pezzville a new web comic

If all goes right it I will add a new strip every Monday,Wednesday and Friday.

X-men and me

The above is the cover to the first issue of Uncanny X-men I ever read. Was on a trip to some relatives. Had just learned how to read recently. Dad grabbed me a copy of comics from Stuckies. And for the  next 20+ years I didn't miss an issue. Sadly my original copy of the issue disappeared in  a fire years ago. But earlier this year I got a decent shape copy for a buck.

Well it was around issue 150 that I finally realized it was better to subscribe to the comic instead of hoping the local drug store would get in the next issue. And from then till issue 300 I kept subscribing. Of course the brown paper mailers the comics came in meant they were usually racked up pretty good by the time I got a copy. But not having to get a ride to town every week was worth the damage.

Found the trade of the Phoenix saga and enjoyed it. But still wanted to read more earlier X-men stories. Someone I knew got the Masterworks,but really at that time the 60s X-men stuff was beyond corny to me. But I am not a big fan of much 60s Marvel stuff. So when Classic X-men started in 86 I quickly subscribed to it.

I had discovered 4 comic shops by this time. But it was mid 80s and X-men back issues were way the hell outta my price range. So thanks to Classic X-men I ended up reading up to where I had first started.

As the X-men line of comics expanded I for quite a few years got everything. And titles like New Mutants,X-factor and Wolverine had good runs. But most of the time the spinoffs were kind of bland. Excalibur was the one stand out.

Well fall of 92 the Fox kids X-men cartoon premiered. And looking back on it now the animation is an eyesore. But the stories and voice acting are good. This is also when the X-men toy line exploded. I at one time had most of the first 5 or 6 waves of figures. But sold off all that stuff years ago.

I was still reading the comic,even though I hadn't enjoyed it that much for about 3 years. My current subscription was  ending at issue 300. Figured that would make a great jumping off point.

Now I am not the biggest JRjr fan,but that cover is just but ugly. The holofoil doesn't help. Plus the almost $4 cover price. I think I still have this issue buried somewhere's in a longbox.

After 2 seasons of the cartoon I stopped watching. Had stopped reading the comic. And the toys,hadn't bought any in years. Even with the movies coming out,something I had waited 15 years on,I wasn't excited enough about the X-men franchise to buy anything outside a dvd of the film and cartoons.

Then in 2008 I am looking on Ebay for cheap comic trades. Was working a job with lots of down time. So would read various stuff to pass the time. Found the first Essential X-men volume for cheap. Ordered it and re-discovered why I had loved the X-men for so many years. Actually loved the art more in b/w than color. But so far have read 6 of the Essential volumes and will be getting more soon.

Now there has been 2 more X-men cartoons. The late 90s one,that I saw maybe 4 episodes of. And then the Wolverine and the X-men show that lasted one season. It was actually pretty good. But got fucked over.

So since I was a kid reading the X-men they have exploded. 3 cartoons,well 4 if you count the Wolverine anime like show,4 films and bunch of merchandise. Too bad so much of the merchandise focuses on Wolverine. He is interesting sure,but I want more Nightcrawler,Racheal Summers and Colossus merch.

Conan the Barbarian and me

I first discovered Conan the barbarian when the 1982 film came out on VHS. My father was a huge fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. So he rented it. My mother didn't want to let me watch it cause it was rated R. But Dad talked her into letting me see it. I loved it and ended up renting it at least 3 or 4 times a year for a long time. Well I knew that there was the Conan comic book from Marvel Comics. And had seen issues of the magazine sized comic "Savage Sword of Conan". But never bother reading either one. Not really sure why. Then in 1984 when "Conan the Destroyer" came out Dad,my Uncle and I went to see it opening night. Even as a younger kid I could tell the film wasn't nearly as good as the first one. But I still enjoyed it. And from then till sometime in 2008 I re-watched the films a few time. Then I was going through a magazine and saw an ad for the Science Fiction book club. Discovered that now they carried comic book trades and hardcovers. So I ended up joining and as two of my "free" books I got the first trade of the Dark Horse Conan comic and the first volume of the "Savage Sword of Conan Archives". When they came in I sat down and devoured both of them. While the Dark Horse Conan stuff is great. I really really liked the Savage Sword reprints. I am partially color blind so black and white comics have always appealed to me more than color comics. And since Savage Sword was a magazine it didn't have to follow the comics code authority rules. So the stories were more violent and sometimes there was even some nudity.

Not too long after reading those two trades I was at the local used bookstore. And found one of the older books reprinting Robert E. Howards Conan short stories. These stories had originally been published in pulp magazines back in the 30s. At work one night soon I started reading it and loved it. It was through this paperback that I discovered how very different the R.E. Howard Conan was compared to the Conan from the 2 films. The Howard Conan wasn't just some dumb muscle bound barbarian. He was a smart man who wasn't this huge mass of muscle. He also had a strict code of honor. I did some research and found out that some of the stories in the paperback I had were re-written from the original versions that had been published in the pulps.So I wanted to track down the original versions. Thanks to a wrestling forum of all places I found out that most of the Howard Conan stories are in the public domain in Australia. And on the Australian Project Gutenberg website you could download them. So I downloaded all the ones they had. Then not too long after that I saw that the Science Fiction book club had a nice 3 volume hardcover collection that reprinted in their original form all the R.E. Howard Conan stories. I ordered them and over the past few years have really enjoyed reading them.

Well since I liked the two Conan comic book trades I figured I should try out the Marvel Conan the Barbarian comics. It was free comic book day and the shop I goto for FCBD had a sale on all their back issues. I got a nice stack of Conan the Barbarian and King Conan for 50 cents an issue. While these comics are fun reads they really don't capture the feel of Howard's version that well. But since then anytime  I find any Conan comics for a buck or less I pick them up.

Well I found out that there had been two Conan cartoons. And The Hub kids channel was airing the second one every morning at like 5am. So I set my DVD recorder to record them. Watching them they are not that bad. Sure they are toned down cause it is a cartoon for kids. But they are a fun addition to the Conan mythos. Also found out there was a syndicated live action Conan TV show. It only lasted one season. Well I discovered that Netflix had it streaming. So I watched the first episode and it really sucked. Conan was a brainless muscle head. And the acting was pretty bad. But the scenery is nice to look at.

Then in 2011 a new Conan film came out.Jason Momoa plays Conan and looks more like how Howard describe Conan than either Arnold or the guy that played Conan in the live action TV show. Now it seems lots of people I have talked to hate this film. But the ones I have asked only know Conan from the two Arnold films. And this film is much closer to Howard's version of Conan. Sadly it seems this film didn't do that well so I doubt we will get a sequel. Which is a shame cause it is a well done sword and sorcery film.

Also in 2011 for X-mas my amazing Aunts got me 6 volumes of Dark Horse's "Savage Sword of Conan Archives". And as of right now I still have 4 of them to read. I love how some of the stories in these volumes are really good adaptations of the Howard stories. Some of the stories are adapted from the later Conan stories that other authors wrote. Overall so far there hasn't been a bad story in the first 6 volumes of this series. Plus the artwork is gorgeous. Some of the best comic artist contribute the artwork to the stories. I have also found a few issues of the "Savage Sword of Conan" magazine.Most of the time I manage to get them for a buck or less. And they are great. I love the covers and all the added stuff that isn't reprinted in the archive trades.

It is thanks to my love of Conan that I have also gotten into some of the other great pulp characters. So far I have read some of Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane stories. And just recently got a Solomon Kane comic trade. One thing I should point out is most people that know me know that I am not a fan of Lord of the Rings and all the other fantasy novels inspired by that classic trilogy. So it always surprises them when they learn I love Conan. But to me Conan is a very different type of fantasy. I have been told that LotR is "High Fantasy" and that Conan is "Sword and Sorcery". Which I guess means I am a fan of the "Sword and Sorcery" genre.

Sword and Sorcery collection 4 film DVD

Deathstalker,Deathstalker II,Barbarian Queen and The Warrior and the Sorceress
Shout Factory DVD
1983,1987,1985,1984

When I was a teen my uncle had come down to visit my family. And he took me to the video store to rent some movies. Well he saw they had Deathstalker II and was telling me how great the first one was. "Newt this is even better than Beastmaster!" Well I had seen Beastmaster and loved it so I talked him into renting Deathstalker II. We got back to my house and ended up watching it with my Dad. I was enjoying the film cause of the comedy and all the boobs. Well I kind of forgotten about Deathstalker for years. Then the third film in the series got shown on MST3K. Which promoted me to go track down the films. Well I could only find the original Deathstalker. It was at this tiny Mom and Pop video store and I tried to copy the VHS. But it seemed to have some kind of copy protection on it. So when I brought it back I asked the owner of the store if they were willing to sell it. But they wouldn't. Well about a year later I got on the Internet for the first time and tried to track down the Deathstalker films. Never could find them for a price I was willing to pay.

Fast forward to 2011 and I hear that Shout Factory,who is quickly becoming my favorite DVD company,is releasing lots of the Roger Corman films onto DVD. So I wrote an email to SF and asked if the Deathstalker films might be coming out. I got a reply saying that the first two were coming out soon. So as soon as I saw a pre-order for the Sword and Sorcery collection I ordered it. The day it came in I sat down and watched both Deathstalker films.

The original Deathstalker was obviously made to cash in on how huge a hit "Conan the Barbarian" was.While it's low budget is obvious it is still a fun enjoyable film. With the right mixture of action and comedy it brings back memories of sitting around with my buddies and watching all the various 80s action films we would rent almost every weekend. What I really liked is we get a fun commentary with John Shardellati,John Carl Buechler and Richard Booker. Lots of interesting behind the scenes stories are told and it seems like they all had a blast making this film.

Deathstalker II is even more of a comedy than the first one. But I find this one even more enjoyable than the original. We get Monique Gabrielle playing a double role. And John Terlesky is great as Deathstalker. Plus there is a fun scene where Deathstalker has to wrestle the Queen of the Amazons. Who is played by Queen Kong of Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling fame. Now it is obvious this film has an even lower budget than the original. Cause some scenes from the original are replayed in this film. But what I really enjoyed about Deathstalker II is we get an amazing commentary with Jim Wynorski,John Terlesky and Toni Naples. They all seem to be having a blast watching the film and there is some interesting stories told about the making of the film.

Barbarian Queen is a film I had heard about for a long time. But never saw it in any video store. And never saw it playing on cable.The late Lana Clarkson is the lead. And the night before her wedding her world gets turned into shit. Her groom is put in jail,her village is destroyed,and her friends are killed. Now Ms Clarkson isn't the best actress but she does a fine job as the lead. From doing some research it seems there is some stuff that is cut out of this version of the film. Some of the scenes where Lana is tortured are cut down. But they are included as extras on the DVD.

The Warrior and the Sorceress is the final film on the DVD set. And my least favorite of the four. David Carradine is the lead. He is wandering around the world as a mercenary. So really he is a barbarian version of his character from the old "Kung Fu" TV show. David ends up involved in a war between two clans. I have only watched this movie one time and I doubt I will watch it again anytime soon.

To me at least this set is worth the price for the two Deathstalker films. With Barbarian Queen being a nice addition to the set. All the films look great. And as always Shout Factory has done a great job with the packaging. I like how the DVD case is see thru. The backside of the cover has the various films posters. I have seen this DVD set selling for as cheap as 10 bucks online and if you are a fan of films like "Conan the Barbarian" or "Beastmaster" track down a copy. Sword and Sorcery collection gets a B.