Monday, January 8, 2018

Jim Cornette on Black Saturday (Vince McMahon's Purchase of GCW's Timeslot, 1984)

Published on Jan 8, 2018
Jimmy goes into July 14th 1984 AKA Black Saturday; the day Vince McMahon took over Georgia Championship Wrestling's WTBS timeslot and replaced Gordon Solie and the gang with WWF squash matches.

I'll post this now so PWInsider, Observer, etc can again catch up to me. Will Tim Storm Put Up His NWA Worlds Title Match to Fight Jocephus?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znh0CAWxBP4

Published on Jan 8, 2018
Tim Storm lost the NWA Worlds Title to Nick Aldis after being injured by Jocephus. After losing the Ten Pounds of Gold, Tim Storm is out for revenge but Jocephus is currently suspended for 45 Days after the attack. Jocephus used the time to enter a Period of Contemplation and said that he is willing to fight Tim Storm only if Tim Storm were willing to put up his title rematch against Nick Aldis

I don't have many followers but man do I have viewers of this blog.

You guys are really blowing this blog up viewer wise today and all I can really say, and I say this sincerely? Is thank you.

Will Ospreay : WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 - 6TH MATCH post-match comment

Harry Smith shoots on WWE's "Stupid Rules"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCbr28zz2I4

In this Wrestle Talk TV Extra son of the legendary British Bulldog, Harry Smith gives his controversial opinions on the behind the scenes rules of the WWE when compared to wrestling in Japan.

Scott Steiner vs Davey Boy Smith Jr (Harry Smith)

Published on Jan 2, 2018
1st ever match between "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner & Davey Boy Smith Jr This match was featured at Pro Wrestling Syndicate's "Empire State Strikes Back" event

Here's something not many have seen. Rock n Roll Express vs The British Bulldogs

QUICK QUOTES: Tony Schiavone on WCW’s downfall, David Arquette, the match he always wanted to see

QUICK QUOTES: Bruce Prichard discusses early Raw commentator Rob Bartlett

WWE UK CHAMPION VS. IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION SET

WWE UK champion Pete Dunne vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Will Ospreay has been announced for the Wednesday 1/17 IPW UK event in Milton Keynes.

Ospreay, who captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight belt at the 1/4 New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 12 show, noted on Twitter that, to the best of his knowledge, it was the first-ever in ring meeting of current WWE and IWGP singles champions:


Believe it or not, that's not actually the case.  Then-WWF champion Hulk Hogan faced then-IWGP champion The Great Muta at the 5/3/93 Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan with Hogan scoring the pinfall.  Obviously, neither title was on the line.

Ospreay later noted on social media that when that match took place, neither he nor Dunne had been born yet.   The champion vs. champion match has a nice hook to it for sure.

For more on IPW UK, click here.

FIVE STAR WRESTLING ANNOUNCES LIVE, WEEKLY SERIES ON FREESPORT TV IN GREAT BRITAIN, MYSTERIO, RVD AND MORE TO APPEAR

Five Star Wrestling held a media conference today in Sheffield, Great Britain announcing a live, weekly series on Freesports TV, a channel listed as available in 18 million homes in the country. 

The first broadcast will be Thursday 2/1 from The Echo Arena in Liverpool, featuring Fiva Star champion John Morrison vs. Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio vs. Zack Gibson.  The theme of the series appears to be former WWE stars facing UK talents.

Former WWE World champion Jack Swagger was at a press conference today at the Sheffield Arena, announcing he would be taking part in the series. 

Free Sports announced back in September 2017 they would be working with Five Star, who last year announced a 128 Man tournament that would run over several months in Great Britain in 2017 following a live special on SpikeTV in the UK.  That tournament was later announced as postponed.

Last year, the promotion had released a grandstand offer to former WWE champion CM Punk, claiming it would pay him $1 million to compete in the tournament.  Punk, who is under contract to UFC, did not publicly respond to the offer and contractually, couldn't have taken it. 

Five Star Wrestling's website lists 11 events for Thursdays, running 2/1 through 5/10.

STEVIE RICHARDS, BILLY GUNN, BOB HOLLY, SHANE DOUGLAS ATTACKS LUKE HAWX, J. SPACE & MORE SETTING UP WRESTLECON EVENT: 1/6 WILDKAT WRESTLING IN MEISLER, LA LIVE REPORT

Edward King was on hand as our master of ceremonies to welcome us to the show and get the crowd pumped up.

“Money” Mike Carradine vs.“Mythian Warrior” Anthony

Anthony immediately had Carradine running to the ropes, and made sure he stayed there.  In fact, every time it looked like Anthony was getting the better of him, Carradine ran to the safety of the ropes. A fed up Anthony finally delivered a cracking kick to the posterior of Carradine when he exposed his backside once more.

Anthony certainly had Carradine outclassed, but Carradine was able to catch a kick from “The Mythian Warrior” and send him to the mat for some stomps. Carradine kept up the punishment with an all new brand of brutality we as yet had not seen from him. Ever the athlete, Anthony attacked back with skill and speed. Carradine tried to take him off his game by spitting in Anthony’s face. This only managed to send Anthony into a rage. He let loose a series of chops and finished Carradine off with a knee to the back of the head, putting him to the canvas for a 3 count!

Winner: “Mythian Warrior” Anthony

Great way to start the show on a high note. These two whipped the crowd into a fervor right off the bat.

Socorro w/ The House of Harper vs. Hyperstreak

Socorro took to the mic and announced that he had something to say to, ”Each and every one of you idiots!” He demanded that the crowd stand and Kojak Sly told the crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Hardbody Harper. The crowd rained down boos as Socorro serenaded his manger. Luckily for them he was stopped short by Hyperstreak’s music

A cheap shot from Socorro caught Hyperstreak off guard as he was making his entrance, but that didn’t stop Hyperstreak from pinballing around the ring as only he can do. Socorro couldn’t keep up with Hyperstreak’s speed and was soon against the ropes. A bit of foul play from Kojak Sly turned the tide and left Hyperstreak lame on the outside.

Socorro laid in a clubbing at ringside as Harper cheered him on; then lent a hand by holding Hyperstreak’s feet while Socorro delivered a heel to the face. Socorro continued to make use of his solo underhanded tactics inside the ring, and the House of Harper wasn’t too shy to lend a hand from ringside either.

Hyperstreak tried as best he could to overcome the unfavorable odds. Slipping every blow he could and getting in a few of his own while he was at it. A missile dropkick from Hyperstreak evened things up, leaving both men prone. Back at their feet Hyperstreak took over with clotheslines. He then laid out Harper and sent Socorro into Kojak via a diversion. Looking for an equalizer he sent them both to the hard floor with a rolling senton from the top rope to the outside! The crowd was at their feet.

Shenanigans from Harper prevented Hyperstreak from getting the three count and Sly did the final deed needed to get Socorro a pinfall via Twist of Lime (pumphandle suplex).

Winner: Socorro

This was a fun one that, while showing how innovative the House of Harper can be in getting their way, still allowed both men to showcase their skills.

“Ruthless” Ryan Davidson vs. El Saiko Gato

After his last Wildkat match up against Bu Ku Dao, Ryan Davidson was looking to hurt somebody. El Saiko Gato was just the unfortunate soul put in that position.

It took Davidson a beat to get his hands on Saiko Gato, but when he did it wasn’t pretty. Suplexes and strikes sent Gato end over end from one side of the ring to the other. An enziguri created the separation Gato was looking for, but it was all for naught. A mammoth-sized fisherman buster from Davidson put Gato out for the three count, and Davidson arose from the mat with a surly attitude.

Winner: “Ruthless” Ryan Davidson

As he was taking his time to gloat he was ambushed by Bu Ku Dao! Dao set in with fiery intensity. Bu Ku only had a few moments to put a hurting on Davidson before he himself was ambushed by Shane Taylor! The Notorious One nearly decapitated Dao with a Murda Time Clothesline and a knockout punch!

“This is my show!” Taylor shouted as the Wildkat fans chanted, “Welcome back!”

As El Saiko Gato helped Bu Ku to his feet, Davidson and Taylor ran back in and demolished Gato! First with a brainbuster from Davidson then a second rope splash from Taylor. The two raised their hands in unity and took off for the locker room together.

Exciting. Absolutely exciting. Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Savannah Evans vs. Christi Jaymes

Jaymes promptly put Evans in a painful leg lock and held it on tight. Making her way to the rope, Evans was able to escape and set in with incredibly physical attack on the Brazilian. A dazzling rope-walk armdrag put Chritsi back on top, but a thunderous powerbomb from the turnbuckle by Evans left them both prone.

The two of them slugged it out as they climbed back to their feet and continued beating the hell out of each other after they were both up. The action was neck-and-neck until Evans let loose a fisherman suplex with a bridge to hold Jaymes down for the pinfall victory.

Winner: Savannah Evans

The only word I can use to describe this matchup is, “Physical!” More of that, please!

Pump Patrol (Curt Matthews, Jared Wayne and Johnny Flex) vs. “Chalmation Sensation” Danny Flamingo and “Mr. Excellence” Brandon Scott vs. Fortune 5000 (Mr. Bates and Nathan Bradley) vs. Scott Phoenix and Edgrin Stone in a Fatal Four Way Tag Match

Matthews of Pump Patrol and Phoenix started us out. Matthews appealed to Phoenix to join Pump Patrol which Phoenix declined. At his teammate’s insistence Matthews tagged out to Johnny Flex.

Mr. Bates tagged in off of Flex and that’s the the action really started. He struck away with anger. Having something to prove after The Revolution Rumble. Phoenix leveled him with a press slam and soon Bradley and Flamingo found themselves facing off. Flamingo went on the attack first, but as Bradley was returning fire Edgrin Stone tagged in and dropped him with a huge back body drop! Brandon Scott tagged in off of Stone and the punishment of Nathan Bradley continued.

Jared Wayne mercifully tagged in off of Bradley and went to work on Scott. A Pumple’s Elbow later and Pump Patrol to sequester Scott to their corner of the ring. A DDT got “Mr. Excellence”  the gasp of oxygen he needed and Flamingo tagged in. At this moment all chaos erupted bringing all nine men in the ring at once.

One by one they all fell to each other’s crushing blows as the fans went ballistic. Pump Patrol was able to incorporate the insanity into their game plan as they have been seen to do before. The three of them teamed up on the legal Nathan Bradley and held him to the mat for a three count.

Winners: Pump Patrol

As the combatants were taking their leave a fist fight broke out between Danny Flamingo and Mr. Bates leading to security separating the two.

An entertaining contest from start to finish. The antics, wrestling and crowd work pulled me right in and wouldn’t let me go.

“Swipe Right” Joe Keys vs. “Southern Stomper” Luke Hawx

Before the Match, Hawx gripped Keys in a firm handshake as a show of dominance then took him to the matt with a headlock takedown. The two measured each other up with some chain wrestling, an exchange that saw Keys come out on top.

Not to be outdown, Luke tattooed Keys’ flesh with some stiff shots to the chest and face. Hawx kept Keys on his heels with suplexes, slams and a neckbreaker until Keys was able to retaliate with some offense of his own. A backstabber sent Hawx to the outside and Keys sent himself over the top with a slingshot to knock the wind out of Hawx.

Before Keys could reap the benefits of his attack, Hawx was assaulted by a man in a hoodie who ran up to ringside holding a pipe. The hood came off the attacker’s head to reveal... Shane Douglas! Security lept in immediately and threatened Douglas with a baton. Douglas submitted to police who handcuffed “The Franchise” and took him away.

The locker room had emptied out by now and the Wildkat roster was chomping at the bit to get their hands on the detained Douglas.

Edward King asked the audience to please remain calm and in their seats as EMT’s tended to Hawx. Perry paced back and forth. After what seemed like an eternity EMT’s were able to place Hawx on a gurney and take him away for medical attention.

Winner: Luke Hawx via DQ

Edward King let the crowd know that this was, in fact, not part of the show. He said the Shane Douglas had been arrested.

I was floored. Absolutely floored.

Would love to see Joe Keys return to a Wildkat ring in the near future.

King Beard vs. Kojak Sly w/House of Harper

King Beard tried to go head to head with Kojak Sly, a strategy that went very badly for him. It was a major effort for Beard to stay conscious following a big boot from Sly. A dazed King Beard then fell victim to a vicious clothesline from Sly, putting him down for a 3 count in short order.

Winner: Kojak Sly

As Sly stood celebrating his victory, Edgrin Stone emerged from the locker room to stare down Sly. The crowd chanted , “YES! YES YES!” while security pleaded with Stone to turn back. Deciding to wait for a later time to deal with Sly, Stone collected King Beard from the floor and carried him to the back.

Looking forward to seeing these two monsters go toe-to-toe

Ken Dixon(c) vs. “The Baton Rouge Bullet” Jace Valor w/Mobile Home Mobsters for the Wildkat Revolution Championship

As the two felt each other out, it was clear that Dixon was physically stronger. Valor clearly had to rethink his strategy and rolled to the outside in order to confer with the MHM.

Back inside Valor met Dixon with a quickness that the champion could not match. Soon it was Dixon’s turn to take a rest on the outside as the crowd chanted, “Yep! Yep! Yep!” Valor invited Dixon back into the ring, a courtesy that Dixon took advantage of when he sent Valor to the outside while he himself was climbing back in.

Upon sliding back into the ring, Dixon was quick to send Valor outside once more. This time it took Valor to the count of 8 to make it back in. Dixon kept up the pressure with a slow methodical pace, careful not to overexert himself against the challenger and perhaps he didn’t feel as if he needed to.

This approach would prove to be detrimental when Dixon was caught off guard by an enziguri from Valor. The MHM member went on the attack and planted Dixon, but only got a two count. “The Baton Rouge Bullet” took to the top rope for a Swanton Bomb, but missed the attempt. Dixon grabbed up Valor as he rose to his feet and dropped the challenger to the mat with a fireman carry slam. 3 seconds later and Ken Dixon had his first successful Revolution Championship defense under his belt.

Winner: Ken Dixon

This was nothing short of a good ol’ fashioned wrestling match, and I loved every second of it. These guys did a great job of putting together and executing a worthwhile championship contest.

“Outlaw” Matt Lancie v Hardcore Holly vs. Billy Gunn in a Triple Threat Match

Before the match, Billy Gunn took to the microphone say, “If you’re not down with Wildkat sports, we got two words for ya!”

After eyeing each other up, Billy Gunn proposed a three-way test of strength to start things off. When he reached for Lancie’s hand he snuck in a cheap kick to “The Outlaw’s” gut. Holly then jumped in on the action and the two of them started double teaming the younger talent. Outside the ring Holly took out Lancie by running “The Outlaw’s” head into the ringpost. Then two veterans decided they should test their skills against one another as they had done years ago. The two, grappled, grabbed and slugged away at each other; punctuating their attacks with some playful boasting to the crowd.

An armdrag from Holly sent Gunn to the outside and Lancie took this as an opportunity to send Gunn into the ringpost. Lancie slid back inside the ring to take Holy to task, but Holly began laying in his patented chops. Out of nowhere Lancie struck Hardcore Holly with a spear but could only get a two count.

Gunn came back in to put the boots to Lancie. Gunn literally had Lancie against the ropes when The Outlaw ducked an attack and sent the New Age Outlaw to the outside. Holly came back in and tried for an Alabama slam, but  Billy Gunn stopped the attempt and put Holly down with a Fameasser! Gunn made the cover and picked up the three count before Lancie could break up the pinfall.

Winner: Billy Gunn

I’d been looking forward to this match since it was announced. I knew these three would beat the hell out of each other and they delivered. It’s always great seeing Hardcore Holly scrap with Wildkat talent and adding Billy Gunn to the mix took it to a new level. Throw in Matt Lancie and you’ve got yourself a sure winner. Great job to everyone involved in bringing this to the Wildkat fans.

“Wildcard” J Spade(c) v Stevie Richards in an Extreme Rules Match for the Wildkat Heavyweight Championship

During his introduction Stevie Richards had Edward King introduce him as being from, “The home of the number one seed in the NFC playoffs…” and stated that he, “... thanked God every day that he isn’t Billy Gunn…”

Stevie Richards then had King read Richards’ own personal rendition of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ which began, “Twas the night before Wildkat…” It went on to say that, “The fans were all hanging from the bleachers with care hoping Stevie Richards would soon be there…,” and that in J Spade’s dreams, “... visions of Stevie Kicks danced in his head…” The poem concluded that, “January 6th begins the Winter of Stevie.”

Stevie attacked Spade from behind during the champ’s introduction, and an eye-rake kept Spade off his game. Spade went back at him with equal intensity. The fight went to the outside and the Spade took advantage of Extreme Rules by ringing the ring bell against Richard’s nether regions. Spade then called to a nearby fan who handed him an original NES console which he bludgeoned the back of the challenger with! After getting in a couple shots of his own Richards retaliated with the NES.

Spade took a brief leave behind the curtain and reemerged pushing a shopping cart containing a trash can filled with weapons! Richards called for a chair from the crowd…. which he used to sit in as he slapped a vice-like sleeper on the champ. Spade escaped by with a low blow using a crutch followed by a drop toe hold onto the open chair. The fight went outside and Spade placed Richards in the cart he had wheeled out the garbage can in, ramming him into two ring posts. He lit up Richards’’ back with a kendo stick , but a desperation Stevie Kick sent the champion to the mat. Two malicious chair shots to the groin kept J Spade down.

These two were using everything but the kitchen sink... that is until Richards went under the ring and emerged with a kitchen sink!

Spade knocked the challenger down with a low blow before he could implement the metal sink, and the two rose to their feet trading right hands. When it looked like Spade was going to lose out on the exchange the champ slammed a cookie sheet that was left on the mat against Richards’ forehead!

It was here that Spade turned it up to 11 when he grabbed a table from under the ring. Spade tried to superplex Richards through the table but was stopped short by the ECW alumn. Richards slipped out his predicament and Stevie Bombed Spade through the table only for a 2 count!

At that moment “Bad Ass” Billy Gun ran in and dropped Stevie with a Fameasser! It seemed as though he didn’t appreciate Richards’ comment about him during the introductions. Gunn covered Stevie with the champion for the 3 count!

Winner: “Wildcard” J Spade

During the celebration Hardcore Holly emerged from the curtain, dismantled Gunn and Alabama slammed Spade!

Holly grabbed a microphone and said, “In about 3 months I hope you guys are ready for Wrestle Con. Get your affairs in order,” He pointed to Spade lying on the mat, “I’m gonna end your career! Same goes for you, Billy!” He then turned his attention to the prone Stevie Richards, “Stevie, you know what happened last time you and I got together!”

This match wowed me and the rest of the fans from start to finish. Spade and Richards took us all back to the days of ECW in perfect fashion. They really put their bodies on the line out there in front of all of us fans, and that’s something I truly respect.

It seems we already have our championship match for Wrestle Con on April, 5th

More indy things. Appearances by Steamboat, Jimmy Hart, Lawler, and more.

North Carolina's Pro Wrestling Xcellence promotion will be running a loaded weekend for their annual X16 tournament this weekend.  Night One in Charlotte, NC at the Carole Hoefner Center will feature New Japan Pro Wrestling's Juice Robinson vs. John Skylar (which sounds awesome on paper), David Starr (tearing it up on the independents and poised to be one of the next hot talents) vs. White Mike, James Drake vs. Drew Adler, Chip Day vs. Harlem Bravado, Tracer X vs. Serpentico, Sugar Dunkerton vs. Elijah Evans IV and Corey Hollis (always very good) vs. Joe Black   A TLC bout with The Ugly Ducklings vs. The Syndicate for the promotion's Tag Team belts will close Night One.  Night Two at the Carrabus Arena in Charlotte will feature the finals plus Joey Mercury and Anthony Henry appearing.

The promotion is bringing in Kevin Kelly for a seminar this Saturday before their event as well.

Matt Tremont's On Point Wrestling returns this weekend with an event on Friday 1/12 in Blackwood, NJ at the Gamechanger Wrestling compound headlined by Scott Summers (hell of a hand and one of Jerry Lynn's favorite opponents towards the end of his career) vs. Nick Gage in what looks to be a fun brawl plus former ROH regular Pelle Primeau, who has been wrestling for WORLD-1 in New Jersey, facing Dru Blood.

WWE Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Hart will be appearing at the Saturday 1/13 River City Wrestling return to San Antonio, Texas.  Steamboat will be an outside the ring enforcer for a steel cage match featuring RCW Tag Team Champions Paul Titan and "Adorable" Anthony Andrews vs. Love & Marriage (Rob Love and Brandon Groom) while Hart will be managing David Leetch.  Hernandez will also be appearing on the show.

Black Label Pro in Indianapolis has started to put together quite a locker room for its events.  Their return on Saturday 1/13 features Joey Janela vs. Jonathan Gresham, which sounds all sorts of awesome, plus Ethan Page vs. former WWE Quebecer Pierre Oulette, BLP Heavyweight champion Tom Lawlor vs. Gunner Miller, AJ Gray vs. Sammy Guevara, a Rumble featuring Dasher Hatfield, Brian Pillman Jr., Space Monkey and more.

NWA champion Nick Aldis is booked for Primal Conflict Wrestling on 1/19 in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia at a KOA.   I've been in basements of housing projects and converted supermarkets for pro wrestling, but I've never been to a pro wrestling show at a campground.

Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland has Ray Rowe working their 1/19 event, the former Emma Tenille Dashwood on 2/23 and Ricky Steamboat appearing on their 3/10 event.  Eddie Kingston is booked for 3/10.

Future Stars of Wrestling is touting that its Saturday 1/27 return to Las Vegas at the Silverto Casino will be the biggest event in company history, featuring a Steel Cage match with Kevin Kross vs. Hammerstone vs. Young Boy Jody as well as Jeff Cobb vs. Sami Callihan (always going to be great given their chemistry) and Alberto El Patron vs. Moose (which will be taped for Impact Wrestling TV) and ROH's Kenny King vs. Graves.

The New York Wrestling Connection will kick off their 2018 with a return to the NYWC Sportatorium in Deer Park, Long Island on 1/27 with a "Doorway to Hell" match closing out a Best of Three Series with The Extricated vs. The Awakening.

 

FLASH FLANAGAN TALKS RETIREMENT

Hoosier Pro Wrestling in Columbus, Ohio kicked off their 20th year promoting events on 1/6, headlined by HPW champion Kenny Cage beating Dillen Swango.  Underneath, Flash Flanagan defeated Butcher Manson.

Flanagan a former OVW and IWA Puerto Rico champion, has talked quite a bit about 2018 being his final in-ring year.    On Facebook, Flanagan wrote, "They say nothing lasts forever and all I ever wanted to be in life was a professional wrestler. Life isn’t always fair and it’s never easy but I got to live my dream. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but this is probably going to be my last year entertaining you guys. I’ve had many friends tell me they were going to retire and I’d just tell them you you never retire you just take time off but as of now this will be my last year unless I get that spark in me I once had. I’ve enjoyed entertaining everyone that has bought a ticket and seen me perform because I’ve always tried giving you your money’s worth whether you liked me or not. I love you guys because without the fans were nobody out there. Maybe I’ll change my mind but if I don’t I hope to see everybody one last go around this year."

Flanagan has been wrestling since 1992 under the Flanagan name and appeared in the early days of TNA as Slash Venom.  He's had a long journeyman career appearing everywhere from WWE to IWA Puerto Rico and about every independent in the mid-west that you can think of.  When he does retire, that will be the end of an era.

SHANE DOUGLAS JUMPS LUKE HAWX

Shane Douglas attacked Luke Hawx in an angle to close the 1/6 Wildkat Sports event in Meisler, LA.  Douglas, who appeared unannounced, came in through the crowd and attacked Hawx during a match with Joe Keys after Hawx was sent to the floor.  Douglas was masked when he attacked Hawx and when he unveiled himself, some fans realized who he was immediately and others didn't realize and thought it was a legitimate fan attack.  The locker room hit the ring and Douglas was then stopped by police wielding batons and was "arrested" by local police, who were in fact, actual local police.   It was played up as a legitimate situation and part of the show, but was actually an excellently executed angle.   The back story here is that the two have publicly traded barbs about the other dating back to Rob Black's XPW and the Steve O'Neill Extreme Rising promotion.  The two recently settled their personal issues, opening up the doors to do this angle.  The promotion, of course, is claiming that Douglas' actions were not part of the show.   Hawx wrote on Facebook that he'd suffered broken ribs in the attack.  Obviously, this is all leading to a Douglas vs. Hawx match, either in April at Wrestlecon or the promotion's return to Philadelphia this summer.  You can see the video of the angle below:


The Wildkat Show was headlined by champion J. Spade facing Stevie Richards (a regular here) with Spade retaining in what was said to have been a nice brawl, including weapons after Billy Gunn interfered and laid out Richards with the Famouser.  Richards had knocked Gunn during his ring introduction at the onset of the match.   After the match, Bob Holly hit the ring and laid out all three, laying out a challenge for the promotion's return event in New Orleans at Wrestlecon on 4/5

STUTTS GONE FROM CWF MID-ATLANTIC,

Brad Stutts, who worked as the booker and lead announcer for Gibsonville NC's CWF Mid-Atlantic in North Carolina was fired on 1/6 by owner Jeff Rudd following a meeting with Rudd and Trevor Lee, who is one of the senior members of the promotion's locker room.  The news shocked a LOT of people as Stutts was extremely well liked in the Carolinas wrestling scene and was a big booster for a lot of the area wrestlers on social media.   Nationally, he'd be best known as "The Scribe" in Matt Hardy's Broken Universe segments on Impact Wrestling last year.   As an announcer, I always thought he was excellent.  His booking was extremely influenced by 1980s wrestling and was always well received.  The promotion was considered one of the most consistently entertaining in show to show storylines as well as at developing local talent.

In a statement released online, CWF stated, "CWF Mid-Atlantic recently learned that Brad Stutts has been engaging in what we believe is "inappropriate behavior."  The behavior attributed to Stutts does not align with the standards and values of CWF Mid-Atlantic. We have reviewed the matter and, as a result, have severed ties."  

The firing came in the midst of a strong run for the promotion, which held its biggest event of the year, Battlecade 18 on 12/30 and legitimately had to turn fans away from the doors due to overpopulation.  Stutts, who booked most of the promotion's storylines (Trevor Lee handled his own creative) was fired prior to a Rising League Generation event, which is the promotion's secondary tier shows, where trainees and talents needing experience get the chance to work with wrestlers who are more seasoned.   That show was headlined by Kool J defeating CWF Rising Generation League Champion Mike Mars to win the belt, which was a booking change made as part of the new direction, described to me as low level talent suddenly beating an undefeated star out of nowhere.

JERRY LAWLER, CARLITO & MORE: CWA PRESENTING WRESTLERAISE THIS SATURDAY IN ARKANSAS

THE FORMER EMMA VS. BRITTANY BLAKE TO HEADLINE DEBUT STANDALONE WRESTLING EVENT, GOLDBERG HEADING TO PROMOTION'S BOARDWALK BEATDOWN IN ATLANTIC CITY

Stand Alone Wrestling will debut with an event on Saturday 2/24 in Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, NJ featuring former WWE star Emma aka Tenille Dash vs. Brittany Blake.  Also scheduled for the debut event:

*LAX vs. The REP

*Johnny Silver vs. Demarcus Kane

*Joe Gacy vs. Martin Stone (NXT's Danny Burch)

*Tulpa vs. Dante Caballero

*Brandon Kirk vs. Hot Sauce Tracy Williams

For ticket information, click here.

The promotion has launched an official website at www.standalonewrestling.com.

The promotion will be holding a major convention and event titled Boardwalk Beatdown on 8/25 with former WWE and WCW World champion Bill Goldberg appearing.    The promotion announced the following in conjunction with the event:

Midnight is the last day to qualify for our Preorder Perks Program...These are the 2 free raffles you are entered into just for Preordering your LIFTOFF Tickets...

Raffle 1- Winner of this raffle will be the Ring Announcer for 1 match with a tutorial by our own Emil Jay...

Raffle 2- Winner will receive a free In Ring Photo Opp and 8x10 of Tennille FKA Emma From WWE.

We also are Ready to announce our Raffle for those in Attendance at LIFTOFF..Tickets will be $1.00 $5.00 for 10 or $20.00 for a wingspan (2 arms extended)

For this Raffle the winner will win a Boardwalk Beatdown Package for 2...

Friday Aug 24th Dinner with the Stars for 2 at Tennessee Ave Beer Hall

Saturday Aug 25th Boardwalk Beatdown Convention at The Claridge Conference Center 2 Admission Tickets

Stand Alone Wrestling Live at The Clardige Celebrity Theatre 2 Front Row Tickets.

And 2 VIP Meet and Greets for Goldberg and our CO-Headliner to be announced prior to Intermission at LIFTOFF!!

Tickets are available directly at www.standalonewrestling.com

IMPACT WRESTLING TAPING THIS STARTING THIS WEDNESDAY IN ORLANDO

Impact Wrestling will begin taping most of its weekly television leading into the 4/22 Lockdown PPV starting this Wednesday at 6 PM in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios.  The promotion will be running every night starting 1/10 through 1/15 with doors opening at 5:30 PM.  If anyone is attending any of the tapings, we are seeking spoiler reports.  These will be the first tapings under Scott D'Amore and Don Callis, so we will get our first indications of what the new direction will look like with these tapings.

(Hopefully they'll be better than the last set because the last set sucked major ass).

Despite surgery on his ankle, Sonjay Dutt was working at the Impact office last week.   He's not expected back in the ring for many months.

There are plans to film a Moose vs. Alberto el Patron match at the 1/27 Future Stars of Wrestling event in Las Vegas for Impact TV.