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Devine Embarassed By TNA Official At Muskogee Event

Posted: Aug 21st 2008 By: CMBurnham

Johnny Devine may think he's the most deserving superstar in the TNA X Division, but the former World X Division Champion got some comeuppance at the TNA event in Muskogee this past Sunday in a most embarassing way. Devine had faced Consequences Creed the previous night in Lawton and came out on the losing end of that conflict. Determined not to make his Oklahoma appearances both end negatively, the Canadian superstar had a plan in place for his contest against Kaz.

The match was what most people would expect from the X Division: lots of high flying moves and a display of pure athleticism, although Devine certainly resorted to his share of dirty tactics. All of this kept referee Shane Sewell busy as he tried to make sure the contest was clean and the most deserving man came out victorious.

But a major turning point came when Kaz went for a sunset flip out of the corner on Devine. Devine was able to keep his balance and drop down on Kaz, pinning his shoulders. With the referee in position to count the pin, he didn't notice that Devine had hold of the ropes to gain an illegal advantage. With the 3-Count made, Devine believed that he had pulled one over on the referee and avenged his poor showing from the night before.

But Kaz immediately protested the decision and turned to the fans for validation of what happened. Normally, referee's decisions are final, but Sewell sensed something was wrong and the protests of the Muskogee crowd verified this. After some heavy questions towards Devine (and some denials that just seemed too intense), Sewell decided to restart the match. Kaz sensed an opportunity that he couldn't afford to pass up. He took the battle to Devine, knowing that he couldn't allow his opponent to get his head together to come up with another cheap plot. History looked like it was about to repeat itself, though, as Kaz again came out of the corner with a sunset flip and Devine again grabbed the ropes. But this time, Sewell was paying attention to what happened and kicked Devine's hands off the rope, allowing Kaz to bring him over and make the pin for 3.

Kaz celebrated at ringside with the fans, but Devine was irate. Sewell remained calm as Devine threw a temper tantrum and put his hands on the referee on several occassions as he tried to walk away. But when Devine reached up and slapped Sewell across the face, that was as much as he could take. Sewell exploded into a rage, battering on Devine, whipping him into the ropes and giving him a strong clothesline. He then ripped off his referee's shirt, exposing an upper body that certainly didn't look like that of a typical referee. TNA senior referee Earl Hebner ran down to the ring and spent a couple of minutes calming Sewell down, but the crowd certainly wanted to see more and cheered him the entire way.

Perhaps Devine was so intent on his recent matches (and his general lack of success) that he didn't know about Shane Sewell's background. Prior to being a TNA referee, he was known as Glamour Boy Shane, a top star in Puerto Rico and former tag team partner of Val Venis. This explains the wrestling knowledge and atypical body build he displayed.

Tags: TNA