Sunday, December 31, 2017

I said I'd post this late, so it's late and it's letters to me time. :)

If you want to ask something, make a comment, etc. ChicagoBillW1@gmail.com

What in your opinion was the biggest surprise of this past year?

Pat. C. Newport, R.I.
Without a doubt it would be how Billy Gorgan has revitalized the NWA. I'm currently writing an article for an Australian newsletter that this guy Dann Lennard   Puts out about it. How the fans reactions to it have been in my opinion, way better than anything Impact Wrestling has done. or WWE in my own personal opinion.


Has anything you said would happen (or not happen) come to pass?

Mark M. London, England.
Without a doubt, and ALOT of people are mad because I've bragged about this. But I said right from the get go that bringing Jeff Jarrett back to TNA/Impact Wrestling would be the biggest mistake they could make. Well, we see how that played out. I was on the mark with that and, i said that Jarrett's GFW would be considered more of a joke now than ever and... Anthem Sports smartening up to that fact and following thru on the purchase of it? Said it all. I also said that Anthem Sports wouldn't stand a chance against Matt Hardy in a lawsuit. Seeing that Anthem Sports backed out of it, that's three in a row off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of at least two more but, those three were the main ones.


Bill, thanks for all the indy stuff you post. No other site features these groups or in your case, feature them on a weekly basis. You show the same company's new shows each week so it's cool to just come here and see them. I get WCWC on tv where i live but I never would've known about it if I didn't find your site and see the show highlighted. So thank you for that.

Rachel- Oregon
No, Thank you. I try but there's so many that I wish I could get to. The ones I feature, like AMW, Fight Pro Wrestling, WWA (Kentucky), RCW, WCWC, Absolute(UK) are ones I just happen to find on accident or a suggestion and either found a heel I liked, storyline, or the whole show. These companies provide what the major groups can't for me and I so appreciate them for what they put out every week. House of Glory I've been trying to keep up with as well as Defiant but there are, only so many hours in a day. :) Can't get all but I do what I can which is more than some 'other' sites w/paywalls and VIP memberships I can name that don't do half of what this little blog that can does.


What a great mixture of stuff you post here, some old, some new, and alot of obscure stuff. The written podcasts I enjoy alot too. Thank you for creating this. I have this bookmarked and really enjoy the mix of things you come up with.

Aiden C.- Vancouver
It's people like you that have helped make this thing successful so the thanks is to you, people like you never view this blog it wouldn't exist.


I'm sure you've been asked this alot but what was your favorite promotion growing up?

Dale- Atlanta
I have and don't mind answering it again. AWA, and Bob Luce's/ Dick The Bruiser's WWA out of Indiana. Those were the only two at one time that we could get on tv growing up in Chicago, before WCCW, Crockett, McMahon, and even Southwest Championship Wrestling(for like three months on a Spanish station) came in. I grew up on AWA and WWA so they'll always be the faves and Bockwinkel was THE CHAMP for me, him and Harley Race.


Bill, Where's that AWA group you feature every week from?

Jim Reynolds- Hammond, Indiana
The indy group? Actually it's in your state. Indiana, I believe Madison Indiana is where they have their weekly shows.

 

 

 

 

 

BBC story on women wrestling

Indy results and stuff.

AAW from last night in Merrionette Park, IL: Keith Lee & Shane Strickland b Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier, ACH d Matt Riddle 20:00, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett b Curt Stallion & Nick Brubaker, David Starr b Eddie Kingston after a baseball bat shot to the face, AR Fox over Joey Janela, Teddy Hart and Penta 0M, David & Jake Crist & Sami Callihan b Myron Reed & Stephen Wolf & Try Miguel, Connor Braxton & Jake Something b Paco & Sean Waltman, Rey Fenix b Jeff Cobb with a Canadian Destroyer to keep the AAW title.

Progress from yesterday in London at the Electric Ballroom, Chapter 60, no matches were announced but the show still drew a sellout of 700 fans: Tyler Bate & Zack Gibson & Kyle Fletcher & Chris Brookes b Trent Seven & James Drake & Mark Davis & Kid Lykos in an elimination match with Brookes as the final survivor in a comedy match, Jack Sexsmith b Joe Coffey, Millie McKenzie won six-way over Charlie Morgan, Sierra Loxton, Candyfloss, Charli Evans and Chakara, Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins b Clint Margera & Drew Parker in a 12 days of Christmas no DQ match with 12 different weapons wrapped up as Christmas presents being used, Rampage Brown b Flash Morgan Webster, Travis Banks b Will Ospreay to keep the Progress world title (said to be one of the best matches in Progress for the year and possibly their history), Pete Dunne b Jack Gallagher to keep the U.K. title. (I actually enjoy watching Rampage Brown in Absolute Wrestling so I may have to go search up some PROGRESS now.)

Inspire Pro Wrestling on 1/14 in Austin, TX has ACH vs. Shane Strickland, Kody Lane vs. MJF and a Battle Royal.

  • SuperBowl Bash 5 on 1/20 at 5 p.m. in Barrie, ONT at 49 Ferris Lane featuring Joe Hendry.

  • Smash Wrestling on 1/19 in Sarnia, ONT at the Music Hall with Tarik vs. Joe Hendry.

  • XICW on 1/7 in Warren, MI at the Hot Rock Sports Bar.

    CWE on 1/8 in Virden, Manitoba at the Virden Collegiate and 1/10 in Brandon, Manitoba featuring an appearance by Jake Roberts.

    Stardom on 1/13 in Yokohama has Io Shrai vs. Rachael Ellering plus Kris Wolf defends her AWS title against Miranda Salinas. 1/21 is the company seventh anniversary show at Korakuen Hall with Mary Apache vs. Kay Lee Ray and Queen's Quest vs. Oedo Tai.

    Lisa Marie Varon will appear on the Amazon and Amazon Prime TV show "Tainted Streams" that Jessie Godderz is in. She plays the parole officer for the character Godderz plays. The two played a couple in TNA several years ago.


     

    Sunday Night Indy feature is, that little group from Maryland called Fight Pro Wrestling Episode 24

     
    Published on Dec 31, 2017
    This weeks episode sees Beast Man vs Mac Mayhem and Killian McMurphy vs Ray Rumble

    ROH Prospect Talks WWE Changing Their Mentality On Independent Wrestling

    Ring of Honor top prospect finalist John Skyler recently took some time out of his busy schedule to participate in an interview with Marc Madison of The Wrestling News Hub Magazine. In the interview, Skyler opens up about his passion for the business, working in NXT, how everything clicked for him during a match with Johnny Gargano, and how the business has changed. They sent us the highlights below, you can check out the full interview by clicking here.

     
    A career highlight match to date:
    "There was this one particular match against Johnny Gargano that I had in Charlotte, North Carolina for PWX, which was probably about two years ago now. It was kind of a cold match, there was no rivalry, he was coming in for one-time appearance and I was working my way up the system at the time, just getting hot. The bell rang and we stood there in our respective corners and the crowd was going ballistic. We hadn't done anything, we were just standing there and staring at each other from across the ring, and they were chanting 'Johnny Wrestling, Skyler Sucks' and then it became a 50/50 thing where people were like chanting 'Johnny Wrestling' / 'Let's go Skyler.' We took a couple steps closer to each other, we went nose to nose with one another, and then the crowd started chanting 'This is awesome.' We had never touched each other! This was a cold match, and it was literally us just taking a moment to acknowledge the people and the people were acknowledging us. We were letting the people, in a certain way, dictate what we were going to do next, but they didn't have full control, we were still trying to figure things out. So, we were like, okay."

    His experience with Kyle O'Reilly:
    "We crossed paths only briefly, it was in the NWA Future Legends cup, I believe and that was about 7 years ago. He was still on the rise with Ring of Honor, but my experiences with him were great. He was such a mild-mannered, very nice young guy just like me and a lot of guys in that locker room, but I think we had both had matches earlier on in the day. It was a one-day tournament, and I wrestled Reid Flair earlier on in the show and he wrestled maybe Tony Kozina, I believe. I know we didn't have a lot of time to put a match together, and we didn't really know each other. So, we had to go out there, and again, feel it out in what I think was Carlton, Georgia, near Atlanta. We had to look at the type of crowd we had, and again, this is the sign of two pros going out there and getting it done. Kyle was always great, and he was a very polite and very professional guy. I'm glad to have worked with him the few times that I did."
    How the WWE has changed their mind about independent wrestlers:
    "Where now, wrestlers are starting to embrace it, as, like, the new regime there, they want to know where you have been and your accomplishments on the independents and where you have been, and they almost embrace that independent background, where they turned up their nose to it a couple of years ago. That's changed in a good way, and there are a number of guys making great livings on the independents outside the WWE. There is a world outside the WWE that people may think maybe a little bit untapped. There are people going out, and celebrities showing up at PWG shows in Rosita, California, and it's this hotspot where people want to go and see what is going on. I also liken what a number of the American fans will see on the independents to college football. They are playing for the love of the game, and aren't making millions of dollars yet, they haven't made it to the NFL yet. The NFL is like WWE, and people are doing it for the contracts or the money, and when they are playing college ball they are doing it for the love of the game. I think fans come out to independent shows and see that, we are making good money, but not necessarily WWE money. It isn't life-changing money, but we love performing and we love the business".

    Chris Jericho's Podcast Leaving PodcastOne

    Chris Jericho's podcast, Talk Is Jericho, is leaving PodcastOne after a four year run. Jericho revealed that last Friday's episode was the last on the podcast network, and that the show will be moving to Westwood One. He also said that his Jericho Network, which was launched in June of 2016 on PodcastOne, will be going with him.

     
    "This is the last TIJ of 2017 and it's also the last Talk is Jericho here on PodcastOne," Jericho said. "I've got a big announcement to share with you. Talk is Jericho has a new podcast home for 2018. My show is moving to Westwood One, the huge, the famous Westwood One!"

    Talk Is Jericho debuted on PodcastOne in December of 2013 with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as Jericho's first guest. Since then, over 400 episodes have been recorded.

    "Nothing is really changing," Jericho stated. "We're still doing two episodes per week, every Wednesday and Friday, just like we've always been doing... The good news is [that] The Jericho Network is coming with me. So Westwood One, here we come! I really feel that Talk Is Jericho is going to go to a whole new level with Westwood One."

    Jericho added that the show will also now be available on Google Play, Stitcher, Tune In and Podbean. It is also available on the web at Omny.fm

    AUDIO: SID VICIOUS' CALL INFORMING AIW HE WAS A NO SHOW

    Absolute Intense Wrestling released audio of their phone call with Sid Vicious, where the former WWF champion explained he was no-showing their event in Cleveland due to the travel ban President Donald Trump has ordered in the United States, which obviously has no bearing on U.S. citizens being able to travel.  You can listen to the audio by clicking here.

    Impact Wrestling star EC3 dressed as Sid, complete with leather vest and blonde wig, signing Sid promo photos, in an attempt to turn the negative into an entertaining positive for fans in attendance at the event.

    For more on AIW, visit www.AIWrestling.com

    Want an Indy Show in Wisconsin? Ok, here you go. BREW CITY WRESTLING RETURNING NEXT MONTH WITH SHANE DOUGLAS, WAR GAMES AND MORE

    Brew City Wrestling celebrates our 14th Anniversary Show,
    "Rise To Honor XIV" on Friday, January 12, 2018 at the
    Columbus Club of West Allis, 1800 S. 92 St. Bell time is
    7:30pm, doors open at 6:45pm. Tickets available on
    brewcitywrestling1.com $25 ringside, $17 advance pre-sale or
    $20 general admission at the door. Meet & Greet starts at
    6pm with Shane Douglas, WWE Hall of Famer Greg "The Hammer"
    Valentine, tickets are $10. Then join the Stars of Brew City
    Wrestling at the Slurp -N- Burp Fun Bar, 1454 S. 92 St.

    ***MAIN EVENT***
    WAR GAMES STEEL CAGE!
    Heathens -vs- Brew City Saints

    EXTREME RULES, FANS BRINGS THE WEAPONS!
    ECW Legend "Franchise" Shane Douglas -vs- "BCW Franchise"
    Evil Dys

    LOSER GETS THEIR HEAD SHAVED!
    "Mar-Man" Mario Crivello -vs- "Fabled One" Aesop Mitchell

    NO DISQUALIFICATION!
    Evil Sierra -vs- Frankie "Thumper" DeFalco

    "Rage" Mitch Blake -vs- Ruff Crossing

    2018 Brew City Wrestling Hall of Honor Inductions

    More FANdemonium matches announced soon!

    www.brewcitywrestling1.com

    NWA CHAMPION NICK ALDIS HEADING TO PRIMAL CONFLICT WRESTLING

    At least if they film something it'll be appreciated by these fans, unlike those moron fans of Combat Zone Wrestling. (Yeah, I did say it. :) )

    On Saturday, December 9, 2017, at Combat Zone Wrestling's Cage of Death in Sewell, NJ, Nick Aldis made history by defeating Tim Storm to become the new NWA World Champion.

    Etching his name in history alongside the names of legends like Ric Flair, Harley Race, and Terry Funk, Aldis determined to make his reign the defining reign of his Generation. The NWA is now owned and backed by Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan and is poised to make the "Ten Pounds of Gold" mean more than it has in a long time.

    Primal Conflict Wrestling is proud to host an athlete the caliber of NWA World Champion Nick Aldis!

    Primal Conflict Wrestling presents "Holy War", presented by: Pop's Barbeque & Sauces, Regional Bonding; on Friday, January 19, with VIP Meet & Greet at 6pm , Doors Open at
    6:30pm for General Admission, and a 7:30 pm Bell Time

    Harpers Ferry KOA
    343 Campground Road
    Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

    Primal Conflict Wrestling Champion KEN DIXON vs. DIRTY MONEY

    Also In Action:
    - Former TNA World Champion NICK ALDIS (aka Magnus)
    -Primal Conflict Wrestling Television Champion NAPALM
    -Primal Conflict Wrestling Tag Team Champions LOGAN EASTON
    LAROUX & "The Reason" C.A. ELLIOT
    - "The New Age Plague" GORY
    - "The Polynesian Powerhouse" NUI TOFIGA
    - PUNK ROCK ALL-STARS
    - MUSTAFA AZIZ
    - SEAN STUDD
    and many more!

    Ticket Info:
    VIP Front Row- $25 In Advance;
    VIP Second Row- $20 In Advance;
    General Admission -$15 In Advance;

    * All Tickets $5 more at the door
    ** There is an additional charge for photographs and
    autographs, as set by individual talents.

    Advance Tickets on sale NOW at
    www.primalconflictwrestling.com

    Follow Primal Conflict Wrestling on Twitter
    https://twitter.com/PrimalConflict

    Subscribe to PCW 24/7 for just $4.99 a month
    https://pcw247.pivotshare.com/ 

    For those in New Jersey. NICK GAGE, TEDDY HART, SCOTT SUMMERS & MORE SET FOR ON POINT WRESTLING IN BLACKWOOD, NJ

    On Point Wrestling presents its 5th anniversary event, "Enter the Compound" at the Game Changer Wrestling Compound, 110 Harmon Drive, Blackwood, NJ on Saturday, January 13 with a 8:00 pm bell time.

    Feature matches signed for the show so far:

    REMATCH: 2 1/2 YEARS IN THE MAKING
    - Nick Gage vs. Scot Summers

    1ST TIME EVER
    - Anthony Deppen vs. Teddy Hart

    OPW CHAMPIONSHIP
    Drew Blood vs. KTB

    Drake Chambers vs. Pelle Primeau

    Pro Wrestling Explosion returns to Somerdale, NJ on January
    26 with Joe Gacy, Delirious, Jeff Cannonball at 6:30 PM at
    the Somerdale VFW, 10 Kennedy Blvd, Somerdale, NJ 08083

    Matches scheduled:

    PWE champion Alex Payne defends his title against Delirious
    (main event)!

    Juan Francisco De' Coronado vs. Desean Pratt (semi main)!

    Jenny Rose vs. Allie Recks!

    The Beach Bums vs Xyberhawx 2000!

    **INTERMISSION**

    Joe Gacy vs Grizzly Redwood (first time)!

    Cheeseburger has an open challenge to ANYONE!

    Smash Bradley/Billy Avery vs. The Agency (Oleg and Boar with
    Sly Stetson)

    Bobby Dempsey vs. Hermit Crab!

    Mike Orlando vs. "The Kid" Vinny Pacifico (opening match)!

    Attending: Jeff Cannonball! + more!

    BEYOND WRESTLING PRESENTING LIVE iPPV OF YEAR & FIRST MATCH OF 2018 TONIGHT

    NO SID? NO PROBLEM! HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN SID NO SHOWED AIW'S 12/29 EVENT

    AIW Rulers of the World, no longer featuring Sid Vicious.

    Our Lady of Mount Carmel
    Cleveland, Ohio
    12.29.17
    No Vacancy

    As everybody knows by now, Psycho Sid no showed his appearance. True to form, AIW came through and with some holiday magic ended the year with a bang.

    Showed opened with Filthy Tom Lawlor tapping The Captain of the Ship, Louis Lyndon. This was a real good mat based match that saw Lawlor focus on Lyndon’s injured arm. I was looking forward to this match and it delivered. Tom Lawlor is the man. In a relatively short time he’s established himself as one of the best wrestlers here and the crowd loves him. If I were a champion in AIW, I’d be paying close attention to Tom Lawlor in 2018.

    Next up was a tag match that saw Shawn Shultz and Mance Warner with long time AIW heat magnet, The Duke defeat Eric Ryan and Bobby Beverly by nefarious means.

    Newer AIW heat magnets, Dr Daniel C Rockingham and Brian Carson, Dedication Personified; came out to rag on Sid. They then bought out their partner Gregory Iron Vicious. After more great mic work, Team Justice started to arrive. First Dick Justice, then Matt Justice, then #ESID3 Justice!! Need less to say Mount Carmel went nuts.

    This was great. Greg Vicious even brought scissors into play. It was so 1993. In the end Team Justice prevailed. Glad #ESID3 was home for the holidays.

    An open challenge was issued by tag champs To Infinity and Beyond, Colin Delaney and Cheech. It was answered by an unlikely duo that we immediately dubbed The Long and The Short of It: 7 Foot Savage, PB Smooth and (Horn) Swoggle. The 2 time champs ended up regretting making the challenge as the first time team pulled off the major upset and won the belts..  Swoggle was in town Thursday doing a comedy show. He stayed over to help offset Sid no showing and ended up as tag champ.

    First half ended with Dominic Garinni defeating All Ego Ethan Page in a good rematch from last month. Same result  minus pre and post match prayers. There was a “Baby Jesus” chant during the match as a large picture of the Nativity was on one of the walls.

    #ESID3 signed a lot of pictures during intermission. “He’s not here, but I was” EC3

    An eight man tag match with a lot of good young talent started the second half. No Consequences (AJ Gray, Garrison “Gary The King Baller” King, Tre Lamar and Joshua Bishop) took on The Production (Frankie Flynn, Derek the Director, Colby Redd and Magnum CK). Magnum  is a big guy and his entrance is great. This was AIW BS Crazy. Fighting everywhere. The scoreboard at Mount Carmel went on and off out of nowhere a couple of times. This distraction allowed Eddy Only to interfere and assist the Production to a cheap victory between heel teams. There’s a lot of talent to watch here. Joshua Bishop gets better every show. This year’s Back to the Future Cup is a great showcase of AIW’s next generation.

    Intense Champ Joey Janela defended against the Unprofessional Professional, The Zombie Princess Jimmy Jacobs. As you can imagine this match couldn’t stay in the ring and it didn’t. they brawled in the crowd and chairs were involved. In the end, Janela hit some sort of driver on Jacobs after they were fighting on four chairs in the middle of the ring. The chair Jimmy’s head hit was FUBAR. Great match.

    Up next was a match I thought might be a slobberknocker, Hot Sauce Tracy Williams vs Eddie Kingston. This was way beyond slobberknocker. Brutal match with lots of offense from both guys. Sick back fists from Eddie who controlled more of the match. In the end Hot Sauce won. Afterwards, both men were down on the mat for awhile. Other wrestlers came in to assist. Kingston gave an amazing speech putting over Tracy Williams as better than him and a leader of the next generation of professional wrestling. Check this out.

    Our semi main event was next. It’s a scramble featuring four of the best in the world. Matt Cross, with grandma Cross in the crowd vs Gringo Loco vs Laredo Kid vs Queen of Cleveland, Mrs Wrestling, Mrs Bee’s Knees, Mrs Cat’s Pajamas, Candice LeRae. This was as great as expected. The winner was not, as Candice was the surprise victor. I hope this positions her to face Tenille Dashwood in February. That would be great.

    Main event rematch for AIW championship. New champ Nick Gage defends against former champ Tim Donst. Last month’s match was a bloodbath. Donst vowed to get back to wrestling in an effort to regain the title. This was a unique match. They grappled a lot. They went into the crowd and eventually the bleachers, but things never got out of control or close to ultraviolent. It was a wrestling match that Gage won.