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TNA back in Metroplex for second show
By Kevin Hageland, Staff Writer
By the time professional wrestler Petey Williams arrives in Dallas for Friday night’s Total Nonstop Action wrestling show at the House of Blues he will also be on the verge of completing what might be the most hectic 11 days of his life.
Williams, the current TNA X-Division champion, got things started Aug. 6 when he traveled to Las Vegas for his impending nuptials. After a couple days of relaxing, Williams wed fiancée Gina on Friday in a ceremony at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.
“I have never seen her look so beautiful as she did that day,” Williams said of his new bride. “It was a beautiful ceremony and reception.”
“We booked the date about a year ago and last year our pay-per-view in August wasn’t until a week later,” Williams said. “Then we got our schedule in January and all I could think was ‘uh-oh.’
“But my wife is used to it. She knew me when I had a normal 9-5 job and she got to see me every weekend, but she knows the schedule of a pro wrestler is very hectic.”
Williams said he was already behind on his beauty rest since, ‘No one sleeps in Vegas’ and he only got about two hours of sleep on the red eye before defending his X-Division title against Consequences Creed at Hard Justice.
Williams got the victory with his flip piledriver move dubbed the Canadian Destroyer.
“I thought the match went pretty well,” Williams said. “Creed is a young guy that is very athletic and talented.”
Williams’ whirlwind week didn’t end there though as he traveled to Orlando for Tuesday and Wednesday’s Impact television taping. Impact is TNA’s weekly two-hour shows that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. Central on Spike TV. This is the same show in which Williams defeated Jay Lethal for the X-Division championship in April.
This is Williams’ second X-Division title reign with the first run coming during Williams’ stint with Team Canada in 2004.
“The first time around I was with Team Canada and that was great,” Williams said. “But I also like the opportunity of being out on my own.
“I think I passed AJ Styles on the list of most days as [X-Division] champion this weekend. Now I am only behind [Chris] Sabin and [Christopher] Daniels, so I am hoping to become the longest reigning champion ever.”
To do that, Williams will need to retain his belt when TNA returns to Dallas on Friday. This will be the organization’s second house show (non-televised event) in the Metroplex and will once again take place at the House of Blues.
The setup at the House of Blues offers a unique experience to fans as the ring is on the stage along with several rows of seats. Other seats are also available in the pit and the balcony.
“I didn’t wrestle the last time we were in Dallas, but some of the guys were describing the setup for me and it sounds pretty interesting,” Williams said. “We go to lots of different venues, but I would love to do a tour where we made stops at places just like the House of Blues.”
While the seating configuration may be unique to the wrestlers, the shape of the ring may be a surprise to fans unfamiliar with TNA’s product. For several years TNA has used a six-sided ring as opposed to the standard four-sided ring in other promotions.
“The first thing everyone always says is, ‘Is that an octagon,’” Williams said. “But I have to tell them that it’s not eight-sided its six, and I think that’s a hexagon.
“There are some neat things that go with the six-sided ring; it just seems like you can do a lot more stuff in there.”
The moves in the hexagon-shaped ring will be performed by Williams as well as TNA World Champion Samoa Joe, Booker T, Robert Roode, Christian, Lethal, The Latin American XChange, the Rock N’ Rave Infection, Kaz, James Storm, Awesome Kong, Roxxi, Jacquelyn and more Friday when the show begins at 8 p.m.
Lethal, along with Shark Boy and Curry Man, will be in Dallas from 2-4 p.m. Thursday to promote the show. The trio of TNA stars will be at the Best Buy located on 4255 LBJ Freeway.
“The live events are really great because you get to see a lot of solid matches and usually more in-ring action,” Williams said. “Plus, it’s more of a personal experience; we bring the loudest fans in the crowd backstage and sign autographs after the show.”
As far as Williams’ own in-ring future, he said he was honored to wrestle alongside Scott Steiner against Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe in a recent tag team match, but would love to face either competitor in a singles match in the future.
“Who knows,” Williams said. “Maybe we could do a champion versus champion match with me against Joe.”
While fans aren’t going to see that Friday, they can check out the card (including Williams defending his strap against Kaz) by purchasing tickets at the House of Blues Box Office, by calling: 214-978-BLUE or going to: ticketmaster.com. More information can also be found at: www.tnawrestling.com.
“For people that already have tickets you are in for a hell of a show,” Williams said. “And for those that don’t have tickets, you should go buy them because this is a great, cheap way to have fun, get autographs and maybe meet some of your heroes.”
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