NOW 5 Flyer – Picture by Kevin DiFrango

Ripper Blackhart, manager of Trik Nasty, came out to run down Nasty’s opponent for the night, Matt Taylor. He insulted the fans for rooting for Taylor and for living in his “dumpy” hometown. Taylor came out to defend the fans and home town. As Taylor threatened Blackheart, Nasty came down and attacked Taylor. He worked over Taylor’s left arm and spit banana at him.

“Sweet Dreams” Sless Taylor vs “The Professional” Brandon Fields – This match may have been the best of the night. Sless is very good in the ring with an attractive style with plenty of movement and flips. Fields is technically sound and ground based which fits his billing. They had a great opening contest to get the crowd into the event. Taylor won with a spring board Phoenix Splash. Afterwards, he was interviewed and said that he’s ready to be NOW’s 1st ever Heavyweight Champion. That started the post match interviews about said Championship.

“The Stretcher” James Avery vs Bryen Douglas – This was the first time I have gotten to see Douglas wrestle. He acquitted himself well against Avery, who was the veteran of the match. Avery won with an underhook power bomb from the top rope. I was a bit surprised since he’s a bit more of a mat wrestler that the finish came from the top. He celebrated after the match with Fields, Jimmy Shane and Robby Star. Naturally, he staked his claim to the NOW Title.

Robby “Super” Star vs Daniel Winchester – Winchester is a pretty impressive athlete himself. He looked in better shape than I saw him last and his large size is a difference maker. Star is a good heel and gets the crowd to boo him well. He lost to Star who put his legs on the ropes for leverage on the pin. Which made them boo him even more. He also celebrated with his Clique (Because I’m not sure they have a name) and proclaimed a shot at the NOW Championship.

“The Baddest Man on the Planet” Aaron Williams vs “Agent Orange” Juice Jennings – Jennings came out with a package of “information” about a conspiracy in NOW Management to keep him away from the NOW Title. He was interrupted by Williams. They had a good match. Both are good mat based wrestlers with Williams using kicks as a more of his offense than Jennings. Juice ended up pulling something from his package of evidence and clocking Williams with it. As he went for the pin, the bell rang and the match ended in a time limit draw. Naturally this produced more conspiracy claims from Jennings.

“The Dab King” Jock Samson & Papa Dingo vs Ethan Wright & “The Main Event” Justin Mane – Samson’s scheduled partner was unable to make it so Papa Dingo was his replacement. Dingo was a large black gentleman playing the part of offish tribesman from Africa, face paint and all. Samson used a Fidget Spinner to control him. Wright & Mane were both making their debut in NOW. They both looked like quality wrestlers. I did have to laugh that Wright (I think) had no rhythm trying to stomp and get the crowd behind them. They didn’t get a whole lot of offense in though because of the size of Samson & Dingo. The referee got distracted, Samson pulled the Fidget Spinner out of his boot and clocked Wright or Mane for the win.

“Black Superman” Onyx with Little O vs “No Shame” Jimmy Shane – This match was the shortest of the night and rightfully so. Shane plays a chicken shit heel and Onyx is a destroyer. The match played out that way too with stalling being the main weapon of Shane. Onyx won with a Spear. After the match, he was attacked by The Clique attacked Onyx and left him laying. Little O, his daughter, tended to him after the attack.

Trik Nasty w/ Ripper Blackhart vs “Dark Star” Matt Taylor – The match played off of the opening segment with Nasty working over Taylor’s injured arm. Taylor fought back valiantly. I could have used without the banana peel spot in which the referee ended up taking the bump. He had an “Edge Coffee Break” length stay on the mat which was a bit unrealistic. It did end up biting Nasty in the end though. Blackhart tried to interfere but ended up having Nasty run into him. Taylor overcame the odds and won the match. He closed out the night by telling his home town that he was ready to bring home the NOW Championship. – Kevin DiFrango