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New MSWA Commissioner Has His Hands Full During First Day On The Job

Posted: Sep 19th 2008 By: CMBurnham

The unexpected return of MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Halo to active competition a couple of months ago left a gap that needed to be filled in the company. Given the number of volatile personalities in MSWA, someone who could stand up and take charge was required. And after several meetings of the MSWA board of directors, that choice turned out to be...Scott Sanders?

It's true. And not the decision a lot of people might have been expecting. But since Sanders is still recovering from a leg injury as well as some nerve damage in his shoulder and upper arm, he can't compete in the ring. So that leaves him with plenty of time on his hands. And given his keen eye and penchant for taking care of business Jersey-style, Scott was announced as the interim MSWA commissioner this past Sunday.

Scott hit the ground running by announcing that he was going to give chances to some stars that had been ignored or overlooked before. For instance, he announced that Romo would be given what amounted to a tryout match for MSWA. But that tryout match would be against Sanders' brother, the newly crowned OECW Champion Shawn Sanders. With Scott at ringside, Romo fought to prove himself, but could not overcome the intense style of the "Natural Born Killer".

Sanders also wanted a clear decision regarding the 1 contendership to the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles, so he ordered a match between the top 2 tag teams in the area; The New Varsity Club (Xavior and the man Shawn beat for the OECW Title, Kevin Morgan) and former champions The South Side Soul Assassins, a team Scott knows very well due to a prolonged feud that lasted most of 2007. Both teams battled to a double countout, due to some distraction by Xavior onto SWCW Champion 3rd Rail. Xavior actually left the match in the middle to go and get candy to lure Rail away from the ring. But Tyson Jaymes did not want the match to end that way and referee Rob Justice restarted things after both teams agreed. Tyson & 3rd Rail ended up going on to win the contest and become #1 contenders to The Forsaken's belt. That contest of behemoths will be one to look forward to.

Not everything went smoothly for the new commissioner, though. During the match pitting Outlaw against Maniacal Mike, Outlaw shoved Rob Justice, earning a DQ. He then hung Mike in the Tree of Woe and brought out a chair that had been stashed under the ring, placing it across Mike's face. Scott got on the microphone and promised that if Outlaw attempted to injure Mike by using the chair, he would be fined and possibily suspended, but that didn't matter to the tall Texan. He hit a dropkick on the chair, slamming it into Mike's face. Thankfully, MSWA Oklahoma Champion Bad Boy came running to Mike's rescue, fighting off Outlaw and driving him from the ring. But as Outlaw made his way towards the dressing room, the emotions got too much for him and he shoved the commissioner. Well, Scott would have none of that. Taking a couple of segments to cool down, he came back out to the ring and announced to Jesse Storm and the assembled crowd that due to his actions, Outlaw would be fined his entire paycheck for this show. He also stated that if Outlaw ever put his hands on the commissioner again, the punishment would be even worse.

All this had been business, but now things seemed to turn a bit personal. Scott brought out Big Bud Barnes, a newcomer to Oklahoma wrestling. He said he'd heard that Bud was looking for an opponent and a match and that he had one. The match would be an arm wrestling match and the opponent would be...Jason Kirby. Kirby, who was running sound for the show, seemed completely surprised as he didn't think he was going to be on the show. But Scott started to butter Kirby up, even comparing him to the biblical David (perhaps a reference to the story written about Kirby several weeks back) and telling him that he could take the near 400-lb. contender. When asked whether this decision had anything to do with Kirby's upset defeat of Scott's brother Shawn, Scott simply replied, "No. This is nothing personal. This is just business." Kirby never backed down, but also never had a chance. He was completely outsized and outpowered by Barnes and even using 2 hands could not budge Barnes' forearm. Barnes eventually grew tired of the game and slammed his arm down, knocking Kirby out of his seat. But there were no hard feelings from either men and Kirby raised Barnes' hand in victory after the event was over.

And thus a new era dawns in MSWA. With Scott now the voice of authourity, he certainly has his hands full. One of the first things he should address is the FACT that once again, MSWA Mid-South Champion Al Farat has gone over 30 days without defending his title. Halo once threatened to strip him of that belt and perhaps Sanders should follow through on that threat. As an interesting side note, Farat's last title defence came against Shawn Sanders and Farat won by DQ, not pinfall or submission. Now that his brother is in control, perhaps Shawn can get the opportunity to add another singles belt to his collection.

Tags: MSWA, Halo, Scott Sanders, Romo, OECW, Shawn Sanders, New Varsity Club, Xavior, Kevin Morgan, South Side Soul Assassins, SWCW, 3rd Rail, Tyson Jaymes, Rob Justice, Outlaw, Maniacal Mike, Bad Boy, Jason Kirby, Al Farat