With less than 36 hours before its Fan Appreciation Night TV taping, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) stunned fans on Monday morning by announcing all shows at Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky, would be postponed temporarily.
The move to close the Arena comes after a swelteringly hot Saturday night pay-per-view on June 29. Fans of the promotion were more than happy to pack the Arena located at 4400 Old Shepherdsville Road in Louisville, but many left the event suffering from dehydration, fatigue, and other symptoms from the heat. With fans expected to pack the building again on July 2 for a free event, concern for their safety led management to suspend the action in OVW’s home base.
“OVW is committed to giving the fans the best experience possible when coming to a live event,” OVW producer Jessie “J-Mo” Morris wrote on his Facebook page. “We will take this opportunity to make the improvements needed to upgrade the facility to make the live experience of OVW wrestling one that we can all be proud of.”
Former OVW ref Aaron Grider also chimed in. “OVW is doing the right thing by their fans and their talent. That building is hot on normal days let alone the heat we get in the summer… Makes a ton of sense to avoid potential disaster with a fan or wrestler.”
Fans were understandably disappointed by the news but by and large understanding.
“It was the RIGHT call from OVW to postpone,” wrote Ren Iris, a moderator of The OVW Fan Zone group on Facebook. “This was OVW appreciating the fans and looking out for everyone’s safety!”
While Davis Arena will be empty of fans for the time being, that doesn’t mean the promotion itself is on hiatus. OVW’s annual Summer Tour will continue to roll on. The promotion recently announced that its end of summer pay-per-view, scheduled for August 31 in Pikeville, Kentucky, will feature an appearance by Kevin Nash.
The timing isn’t the best for OVW, which has seen a huge upswing in attendance the last few months, thanks in part to discounted summer ticket prices and a grassroots online fan community, plus the remaining buzz from the Netflix series Wrestlers. At the same time, the promotion is going out on a high note, leaving fans hungry and wanting more. In a matter of months, Al Snow’s roster has nearly flip-flopped with Luke Kurtis, Jack Vaughn, and Tony Evans turning fan favorites, aligning with one another against a new heel faction calling itself The Revolution.
It was no surprise seeing EC3 step to the forefront of the group, but fans were shocked by heel turns from Crixus and Tony Gunn as well as the surprise return of OVW legend Jamin Olivencia. Crixus, in particular, seems to be thriving in his new super-villain role, offering this consolation to fans disappointed by today’s news:
“Just think of how far I’m gonna stick my boot up Doug Basham’s ass in the nice, cool arena and I’m sure you will feel better,” he cracked.
OVW hit pause on a high note. The building may be cool, but the action will remain hot when it resumes.
TOP PHOTO: Luke Kurtis at OVW’s Davis Arena. Photo by Lloyd Thomas
