TCP1

Seemed harsh given the circumstances. 😁

New York City… Year End Awards 2023… Wrestler of the Year: Remo Richardson (SWF) Young Wrestler of the Year: David Stone (CWA) Female Wrestler of the Year: Brooke Tyler (CWA) Tag Team of the Year: The Trailblazers (Donte Dunne & Erik Strong) (CWA) Independent Wrestler of the Year: Devilfish (ZEN) Veteran Wrestler of the Year: Valiant (Unemployed) Promotion of the Year: EILL Most Improved Promotion: ZEN: Art of Wrestling Show of the Year: CWA Super Slam 2023 (David Stone vs. Skip Beau) Match of the Year: Remo Richardson & Mainstream Hernandez defeated Nicky Champion & Ekuma (SWF Supreme TV – December 2022) Announcer of the Year: Mitch Naess (PSW/NYCW) Colour Commentator of the Year: Emma Chase (NYCW) Manager of the Year: Gabrielle Ortega (EILL) Top 10 Workers in the World: 1. Remo Richardson (SWF) 2. Mainstream Hernandez (SWF) 3. Ekuma (SWF) 4. El Mitico Jr (EILL) 5. Nicky Champion (SWF) 6. El Heroe Mexicano (EILL) 7. Wolf Hawkins (TCW) 8. Yellowjacket (EILL) 9. Star Master (EILL) 10. Joss Thompson (USPW) NYCW Workers and People of Note in Top 500: 15. Greg Gauge (Sam Keith’s son) 38. Atom Smasher (Nevada Nuclear – NYCW Alumni) 97. Matthew Keith (Sam Keith’s son) 107. Monty Trescarde (NYCW Alumni) 102. LA Star #2 (NYCW Alumni) 204. Masked Stranger (NYCW Alumni) 208. Trent Shaffer (Current COTT World Champion and NYCW Main Eventer) 228. Sammy Smoke (Sammy the Shark in NYCW – Alumni) 257. Roger Cage (NYCW Alumni) 309. Petr Novak (Formerly The Big Problem – NYCW Alumni) 312. Bulldozer Brandon Smith (Current NYCW Main Eventer) 347. Hawkeye Calhoun (NYCW Alumni) 362. Fro Sure (Current NYCW Upper Midcarder) 369. George Trapesi (Current NYCW Empire Champion) 373. Tennessee William (NYCW Alumni) 444. Zippy Deverell (Current NYCW Tag Team Star) 468. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus (Current NYCW Main Eventer) 497. Perfect Pepper Pelton (Current NYCW Tag Team Star) Title Prestige NYCW Empire: George Trapesi – 58 Prestige (+7) NYCW King of New York: George Trapesi – 70 Prestige (+17) NYCW Tag Team: Cross River Connection – 55 Prestige (+8) NYCW Tri-State Regional: George Trapesi – 54 Prestige (+10) NYCW Stomper Memorial Cup: Cross River Connection – 60 Prestige (+7) COTT World Heavyweight: Trent Shaffer (NYCW) – 68 Prestige (+8) COTT World Tag Team: Cross River Connection (NYCW) – 63 Prestige (+9) COTT United States: Danny Hagman (NYCW) – 64 Prestige (+7) COTT World Women’s: Danielle Sweetheart (QAW) – 55 Prestige (+6) COTT World Six-Man Tag Team: Aldous Blackfriar & The Wild Cats (CZCW) – 54 Prestige (+6) Top 10 Matches 1. George Trapesi defeated Riley McManus (NYCW New York City Showdown 2023) – 81 2. George Trapesi defeated Trent Shaffer (NYCW Welcome to New York 2023) – 80 3. George Trapesi & Prime Time Jack Pryde went to a Double DQ with Trent Shaffer & Zippy Deverell (NYCW Empire Superstars #40) – 80 4. Riley McManus defeated The Eagle (NYCW Empire Superstars #42) – 80 5. George Trapesi went to a time limit draw with Riley McManus (NYCW Battle of the Five Boroughs 2023) – 79 6. George Trapesi defeated Denny King (NYCW Empire Superstars #37) – 79 7. Cross River Connection defeated The Biggins Boys and The Fantastic Express (NYCW New York City Showdown 2023) – 78 8. The Biggins Boys defeated The LA Stars (NYCW Rush Hour 2023) – 78 9. David Wayne Newton defeated Oliver Kobb (NYCW Empire Superstars #31) – 78 10. Trent Shaffer defeated Ash Campbell (NYCW New York City Showdown 2023) - 78 Next time… the beginning of the end…

New York City… home of the greatest story in professional wrestling… The massive Greenwalt Dome was the site of the Showdown. I arrived in the early hours, ready to oversee all the extra production costs we’d plunged into making this show an absolute barn-burner. My own expectations meant that anything other than the best show in our history would be a disappointment. The boys knew it too. There was nervous energy everywhere as they trickled into attendance throughout the day. Larry was one of the last to arrive. His concerned expression from two days before had remained. His plan of action had already begun behind the scenes. And while tonight should’ve been a celebration, it had become something else to him. And by virtue of how we ran things, to me too. I couldn’t concern myself with any of that now. I had history to make. NYCW New York City Showdown 2023 Sunday, Week 4, December 2023 Greenwalt Dome, New York City, New York Attendance: 42,760 ONE SHOT BATTLE ROYAL: In a decent match, Andrew Harper won a battle royal in 14:56. The other members of the 'final four' were The Masked Mauler, Charlie Corner and The Eagle, with The Masked Mauler being the final elimination. The Masked Mauler got the most eliminations over the course of the match. Rating: 71 An amazing opener as Andrew is as good as his word; teaming with Mauler to eliminate everyone else before turning on him and getting the win. The nuclear heat from an over-excited crowd helped make this a fantastic opener, one of our best and was a great way to get guys with no stories on the card. SINGLES MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. Hugh de Aske In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Hugh de Aske in 7:36 by pinfall with The Glorious Red. Rating: 67 In the matchup of ‘International Significance’ Magnum Kobe went over clean. The match was a big letdown and the crowd while respectful of both men, didn’t have a reason to care about de Aske. Magnum got all his spots in and we moved on. SINGLES MATCH: Brutus Milano vs. Honest Frank Jr In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Honest Frank Jr defeated Brutus Milano in 8:05 by pinfall with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 67 Another lower-level match here as we wanted to highlight Honest Frank in all his glory. Brutus Milano was not someone who missed the biggest moments in our history. However we felt about him, this match acted as a strange sort of ‘passing of the torch’ moment. NYCW’s history passing the power of the unbearable douche onto the next generation. The crowd didn’t care much, but I found myself getting a little emotional. NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Biggins Boys vs. Cross River Connection vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Cross River Connection defeated The Biggins Boys and The Fantastic Express in 9:58; the order of elimination was The Biggins Boys first, and then The Fantastic Express. Cross River Connection win the COTT World Tag Team. Cross River Connection win the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 78 Arguably the three most successful teams in NYCW history battled it out after over a years worth of matches between them. This was the culmination of their respective careers and comfortably the best match any of them have ever had around here. The original plans had seen The Fantastic Express getting the nod, but I’d rewritten the finish late last night. CRC were back and I wanted to thank them for being consistently entertaining bad boys of NYCW. COTT UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Danny Hagman defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 9:44 by submission with a Steel Curtain. Danny Hagman wins the COTT United States. Rating: 73 Huge win for the Kid and a great story told between them both. Bulldozer even gave Hagman a brief handshake after the match before leaving with his head held high. The crowd showed him appreciation and he flipped them off to highlight that those hoping for a face turn were out of luck. SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a bout that had fantastic heat and good wrestling, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Angry Gilmore in 9:46 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 34 Turns out these guys had wrestled too much already and this was the result. The crowd, suffering from over-excitement were effectively cooled by this disappointing match. That one was on me. SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Fro Sure defeated Thom Barrowman in 10:11 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 73 A clean win from the young star against the veteran. Fantastic match-up. After the show Thom Barrowman sit for a moment in the corner of the ring. Once Fro Sure had left, Barrowman picked himself up and waved to the crowd who gave the old timer a standing ovation. COTT WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Trent Shaffer vs. Ash Campbell © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Trent Shaffer defeated Ash Campbell in 9:42 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Trent Shaffer wins the COTT World Heavyweight. Rating: 77 Quick match and a quick win for Trent over the outsider. Ash looked pretty good and the match got the crowd ignited once again. Trent may have lost the Empire Title, but he’s now the World Champion. NYCW EMPIRE & TRI-STATE TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi © vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus © With both men in the ring, the crowd lights dimmed and the atmosphere electric. The Star and The Bulldog squared off in a match approximately one year in the making. They have had many classic battles this year, but with the big gold belt on the line and no time limit, these two took each other to the absolute limit. It was a masterclass in chain-wrestler, infused with passion and story. This is what professional wrestling is all about. Riley McManus did what Riley McManus does and played the consummate heel foil to the heroic babyface of George Trapesi. He controlled large portions of the match, never letting Trapesi gain a foothold. Fern and Nicki were outside, both neutralised by the other, watching in awe as their two man battled it out for thirty minutes. Late in the match, Riley lifted Trapesi high in the air for the slingshot suplex, but Trapesi spun out of the move. McManus knew what coming and countered the attack by tossing his opponent into the ropes. Only Trapesi flew in at such speed that he got back to McManus quicker than the champion anticipated and delivered a Star Maker Lariat for the ages. He hooked the legs, and; after a year of pain an transition, picked up the three-count, the win and the title. In a bout that had fantastic heat and great wrestling, George Trapesi defeated Riley McManus in 30:30 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. George Trapesi wins the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. George Trapesi makes defence number six of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 81 Match of the Year and that is how you steal the show. ANGLE: Having picked up the victory, George Trapesi celebrates in the ring. Rating: 73 OVERALL RATING: 80 Our best show of all time. Nothing else to say. Results: Theheel - 8/9 John Lions - 6/9 DinoKea - 6/9 KyTeran - 5/8 Herrbear - 4/8 Next time… Year End Awards 2023

This is not lost on me. I fully expected my boys to lose the titles a number of times, but they always had my guys win. Possibly bacuse my teams are usually a lot more over than others. Or I got lucky.

New York City… one month to go… NYCW Empire Superstars #41 Friday, Week 1, December 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 8,419 [*]ANGLE: George Trapesi is out with Cheerleader Nicki and he’s calling out Riley McManus. They’ve got a contract to sign for the upcoming match. McManus and Fern come out ready to sign, but he points out that the contract institutes a no-violence ban until the big show. So Trapesi better watch himself, because if he acts violently in any way towards him beforehand the match is off. Rating: 73 [*]Spike Sylvain defeated Charlie Corner in 8:11 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 62 [*]ANGLE: The Cross River Connection are delighted to be back together and they’re gunning straight for the tag team titles. Someone needs teach The Fantastic Express a lesson. They’ll beat any of the other contenders to get that chance. Rating: 76 [*]Cross River Connection defeated The American Cobras in 9:40 when Prime Time Jack Pryde pinned Storm Spillane with a Prime Time Perfection. Rating: 72 [*]ANGLE: Trent Shaffer is out with Billy Keelan and he cannot explain what happened on Sunday. But he’s a man and he knows how this works and he’ll just catch the winner after the Showdown. For now though, he’s looking for a new challenge. Ash Campbell is out, with COTT World Title… Trent just smiles. Rating: 68 [*]Andrew Harper defeated Captain Canada in 7:46 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 56 [*]ANGLE: Danny Hagman is with Whistler and he’s feeling good despite the loss. Bulldozer is one tough SOB, but he’s learnt a lot out of one match. Now he’s looking forward to a rematch… at the biggest show of the year. If Bulldozer has the stones. Rating: 77 [*]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated American Flash in 5:35 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. Rating: 62 [*]ANGLE: Denny King is with Whistler and he’s seen a lot of new faces around here recently. And despite that, he’s the one taking ‘The Star’ to the limit last week. He reckons Trapesi might even be a bit distracted by his upcoming big match, which can only mean good things for the Denster. Rating: 71 [*]Denny King defeated George Trapesi in 9:51 by disqualification after Trapesi refused to stop beating him against the ropes. Rating: 67 [*]OVERALL RATING: 69 – 0.33 (252,591 viewers) Well the crowd were not happy with the finish to that match and it ruined the whole feel of the show. Lesson learnt and I suspect the Denny-aisance is now finished. I decided to release Oliver Kobb after a disappointing trial period. He’s good, but I just couldn’t find anything for him to get stuck into. NYCW Empire Superstars #42 Friday, Week 2, December 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 8,098 [*]ANGLE: The show opens with The Fantastic Express. They’re bragging to the crowd about their dominance and how there isn’t even a number one contender. This brings out The Biggins Boys, Cross River Connection and VCC. They’ve spoken to the powers that be. And for the first time in NYCW history, there will be a FOURWAY TAG TEAM DANCE at the Showdown. Rating: 74 [*]The Biggins Boys defeated The Razorbacks in 10:05 when Bart Biggins pinned TJ Brown with a B-Dropper. Rating: 51 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr along with his bodyguard; Big Jon Walker, are backstage with Whistler. He hasn’t got a match at the Showdown. Just then Magnum Kobe walks past. After a tense exchange, Kobe challenges Frank Jr to a match. Rating: 82 [*]Honest Frank Jr defeated Brutus Milano in 10:29 by pinfall with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: Thom Barrowman may have underestimated Fro Sure. But he won’t that mistake again at Showdown. In fact he’s going to show the world that he’s still got it. Rating: 80 [*]Charlie Corner defeated Thom Barrowman in 9:58 by pinfall with a Corner Cutter following interference from Fro Sure. Rating: 72 [*]ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith videos in from his ranch back home. He’s smoking a cigar and has changed his mind about Hagman. He’s like a little pup. But he’s green as grass and someone who needs training. Someone to break him in. Smarten him up. And Bulldozer is the man to do it. In fact, he’ll sweeten the pot and put the COTT United States Title on the line. Rating: 80 [*]Danny Hagman defeated The Masked New Yorker in 9:58 by pinfall with a Missing Piece. Rating: 62 [*]ANGLE: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ finds it hilarious that George nearly lost the Tri-State title. Isn’t it such a shame that The Star can’t lay hands on the Bulldog until the big fight. Hilarious. Rating: 75 [*]Riley McManus defeated The Eagle in 10:23 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Riley McManus makes defence number three of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 80 [*]OVERALL RATING: 79 – 0.38 (286,825 viewers) Well that was a surprisingly good main event as The Eagle engages with the audience on a natural level. It’s inexplicably after the treatment I’ve given him. But I loved him for it. Over in the alliance, Danielle Sweetheart won the COTT World Women’s Title, and we have two shows to go before the big one. NYCW Empire Superstars #43 Friday, Week 3, December 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 8,482 [*]ANGLE: Vessey Combat Club are out to run-down what they’ve got on the line at Showdown. Not only are the VCC taking home the tag team titles. But Magnum Kobe has secured himself a match of ‘International Significance.’ And it would nice, if at some point the Powers That Be told them what that meant. The three of them look at Larry, who smiles awkwardly. Rating: 68 [*]The VCC defeated The American Cobras in 10:27 when JP Barnham submitted Marvel Malloy with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 65 [*]ANGLE: Cross River Connection need a warm-up before the big show. They might be rusty, like an old car… or like a sexy new car with bad luck. Yeah, that’s more like it. They’re sexy new sportscars who got unlucky. Rating: 83 [*]Cross River Connection defeated The Razorbacks in 8:22 when Prime Time Jack Pryde pinned TJ Brown with a Prime Time Perfection. Rating: 60 [*]ANGLE: Magnum Kobe is out in the ring with Larry Vessey. They want to know how the ‘international significant’ opponent is. The Pirates of the Caribbean theme plays and out comes… Hugh de Aske… The Dread Pirate. Rating: 77 [*]Magnum Kobe defeated Spike Sylvain in 9:38 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 68 [*]ANGLE: We see another video of George Trapesi training hard for the big match in a gym. Only this time, Riley McManus appears from nowhere and starts beating him with gym equipment, while Cheerleader Nicki and Fern Hathaway brawl in the background. Rating: 80 [*]Davis Wayne Newton defeated The Eagle in 9:43 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 74 [*]ANGLE: Angry Gilmore has got a lot on at the moment, and it’s making him ANGRY. Not only has he got to worry about DWN, the Dastardly Canadian Douche. But now he’s got to teach Trent Shaffer a lesson too. Hey Trent, here’s a free lesson: stop losing. Rating: 85 [*]Trent Shaffer defeated Angry Gilmore in 10:23 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Rating: 76 [*]OVERALL RATING: 77 – 0.38 (291,696) Another good show there as we’re picking up steam at exactly the right time. With one show to go, I sat in my office in New York looking at the planned card for Showdown, when Larry entered. “Kyle Rhodes has been fired,” he said bluntly. “TCW… is that because of the Aaron Andrews thing?” “Yup. Turns out when your top star is caught smuggling drugs, the secret shareholders demand your head. Rhodes knew this, put plans in place and has gone.” “Whose taking over?” I asked. “We don’t know, but apparently the shareholders don’t like the idea of being associated with criminality. So we might see a buyout.” “A new owner? Of the entire company. That sounds problematic for us.” “Could be. Depends who it is.” NYCW Empire Superstars #44 Friday, Week 4, December 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 8,619 [*]ANGLE: The Vessey Combat Club are out and as they begin their promo, The Fantastic Express slide into the ring to deliver a hellacious beatdown. The VCC are prepared for it though and they smash them back. They continue the vicious assault and then even appear to seriously damage the arms of both members of the tag team champions. Rating: 87 [*]Phil Anders defeated Zombie Boy in 10:14 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 62 [*]ANGLE: The Masked Mauler is with Whistler doing his normal bit, when Andrew Harper approaches him. He wants to talk about the inaugural One Shot Battle Royal. He suggests the two of them team up to eliminate all the others and then battle it out for the win and the title shot. Mauler appears open to the idea. Rating: 71 [*]The Masked Mauler defeated Jonnie Perez in 9:45 by pinfall with a Piledriver. Rating: 69 [*]ANGLE: Nitch Naess and Emma Chase are shown on camera. They have received news that, following the beating from The Fantastic Express, they’re sad to report that The VCC have been ruled out of the tag team title match at Showdown, meaning it’s now a triple threat match. Rating: 77 [*]Charlie Corner defeated Jay Becker in 9:43 by pinfall with a Corner Cutter. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: Davis Wayne Newton is enjoying a delicious Chablis and wondering what the world will hold for a man of his talents once he disposes of the Angry Old Man… what a time to be alive. Rating: 86 [*]The Eagle defeated Andrew Harper in 10:28 by pinfall with a Freedom Slam. Rating: 70 [*]ANGLE: We go to the ring for the contract signing for the main event. Unlike normal, both men sign and have a stare down, but no punches are thrown. Rating: 84 [*]Angry Gilmore, Danny Hagman, Fro Sure, Magnum Kobe and Brutus Milano drew with Davis Wayne Newton, Bulldozer Brandon Smith, Thom Barrowman, Trent Shaffer and Honest Frank Jr in 10:11 following a double disqualification. Rating: 69 [*]OVERALL RATING: 74 – 0.35 (264,654 viewers) Another great show for us. I said my piece to all the guys and told them I’d see them Sunday to make history. They were fired up by that, when Larry told me to meet him at headquarters. Travelling through the rain in a yellow cab, I reached HQ late on the Friday. The offices were empty save for Larry’s office. I walked in and rarely, he was surrounded by paperwork. “What’s up boss?” I asked. “I’ve called East Coast Today. The run of Superstars has come to an end.” “But… why?” I couldn’t believe my ears. We had one of the hottest wrestling shows going and we were getting better by the week. It was a money-spinner for us and a keystone of NYCW. “I know who the new owner of TCW is,” he said darkly. “Sam knew before anyone…” “Well who is it?” I said. “Pee-Wee Germaine.” “The referee from CZCW….” I said completely confused by the entire situation. “He’s a billionaire who referees for fun,” Larry said. “It might seem like a comedy hire, but trust me; he didn’t get to where he is by being bad at business. We need to act… now.” “Act how?” He didn’t respond and just stared at me. “Act how Larry?” New York City Showdown 2023 NYCW Empire & Tri-State Unification: 'The Star' George Trapesi vs. 'The Georgia Bulldog' Riley McManus © COTT World Heavyweight: Trent 'The Talent' Shaffer vs. Ash Campbell © NYCW & COTT World Tag Team: Cross River Connection vs. The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © COTT United States: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith © Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton Brutus Milano vs. Honest Frank Jr Magnum Kobe vs. Hugh de Aske One Shot Battle Royal Next time… New York City Showdown 2023…

New York City… where major changes could be in the offing… It was the penultimate show before the big one. Backstage before the event I was talking with Honest Frank about his son. He was delighted with the progress and I promised him that better things were afoot. Frank mentioned that he was happy in his role of road agent backstage and enjoyed working with the younger performers and passing on tips and tricks to smarten them up. It allowed me to reflect on the quality of our road agents. Even with the loss of Bryan Vessey to CZCW earlier in the year, we had a plethora of options of older stars. NYCW Welcome to New York 2023 Sunday, Week 4, November 2023 Weston Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 39,152 GANG WARS MATCH: Oliver Kobb, Miller Fforde & California Love Machine vs. Andrew Harper, Brutus Milano & Sandman Winks In a decent match, Andrew Harper, Brutus Milano and Sandman Winks defeated Oliver Kobb, Miller Fforde and California Love Machine in 9:35 when Sandman Winks submitted Miller Fforde with a Deep Sleep. Rating: 67 Andrew Harper was head-and-shoulders above everyone else. Sandman Winks was the weak link, but we’d been testing the chemistry during the pre-show and we had a plan for Brutus and Sandman as a team going forward. Fortune smiles upon Milano once more. SINGLES MATCH: The Eagle vs. The Masked Mauler In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, The Masked Mauler defeated The Eagle in 9:40 by pinfall with a Piledriver. Rating: 63 A classic finisher for the Mauler as The Eagle seems a little lost once again having lost his partner. Was it time to repackage him again? His popularity had continued to sky-rocket despite consistent losses, so the crowd clearly wanted to love him. SINGLES MATCH: Charlie Corner vs. Honest Frank Jr In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Charlie Corner defeated Honest Frank Jr in 10:18 by count out. Rating: 64 A cheap finish to a disappointing match between two of our youngest stars. Having been responsible for bringing down Honest Enterprises, Frank Jr is now causing more mayhem with his bodyguard in tow. I liked Big Jon Walker and his upside, although he was clearly still very green. He also has big, but not so big as to make Frank Jr look small. A perfect compliment. NO.1 CONTENDERS MATCH: The Biggins Boys vs. Cross River Connection vs. Vessey Combat Club In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, The Biggins Boys drew with Cross River Connection and Vessey Combat Club in 10:05 after the referee lost control of the match following interference from The Fantastic Express. Rating: 69 Anyone whose ever watched wrestling will know why The Fantastic Express interfering here is a terrible idea. Match was decent though. NYCW EMPIRE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Riley McManus defeated Magnum Kobe in 9:38 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Riley McManus makes defence number two of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 71 Clean win from our champion here as a penultimate step towards the main event. No last-minute swerves, just some awesome in-ring action for the fans to enjoy. SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Fro Sure defeated Thom Barrowman in 10:28 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Rating: 65 Cheating to win is still a win. And the increasingly slow and awkward Thom Barrowman held his own against a better opponent before losing. It was tough to say exactly how long we could expect Barrowman to keep churning out big matches. But Fro Sure was a good opponent for him. SINGLES MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Danny Hagman in 10:03 by count out. Rating: 69 Another cheap win as Bulldozer looked dominant, but Hagman just kept coming. Looking a little surprised by the fight in the kid, BBS press slammed him out of the ring and let the referee count him out for a victory. This feud, will continue… SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Angry Gilmore in 10:02 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 75 Two of our best in-ring talents bring the goods in the semi-main event. Despite his decreasing stamina, Angry Gilmore can still go and we’ll be sure to milk his in-ring career until the last possible moment. We’re also going to ask him to begin transitioning to a road agent role too as you can never have too many of them. ANGLE: We get elaborate entrances for ‘The Star’ George Trapesi and Trent ‘The Talent’ Shaffer. Rating: 86 NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Trent Shaffer vs. ‘The Star’ George Trapesi © In a bout that had fantastic heat and great wrestling, George Trapesi defeated Trent Shaffer in 11:31 by pinfall with a Shooting Star Press. George Trapesi makes defence number four of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 80 Wowza. So these two have great chemistry, which helped turn this into a match to remember. The fact that Trapesi had to use his super-finisher to get the win tells you how hard fought this match was. And that chemistry note was like finding actually money. OVERALL RATING: 79 Speaking of money, we made $204,624 profit and got a fantastic 586,296 viewers for one of our best shows ever. Elsewhere in the wrestling world I discovered that Sammy Bach had won the King of Kings tournament. MAW had ended their relationship with TCW and immediately signed NYCW alumni: Vito Pirelli, Luca Sacramoni, Tully Casey, Chuck Casey and Dreadnought. I was oddly happy that they were all getting another chance at glory. I’d be watching their progress keenly and congratulated Sam Keith on the decision. Results: KyTeran - 6/8 DinoKea - 5/8 John Lions - 4/8 Theheel - 3/8 Herrbear - 3/8 eayragt - 3/8 Next time… the Showdown is on the horizon…

New York City… the final steps to glory... NYCW Empire Superstars #37 Friday, Week 1, November 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 7,486 [*]ANGLE: Trent Shaffer and Billy Keelan are out and furious about George Trapesi’s behaviour. They demand satisfaction. George Trapesi tells him to name the time and the place. Rating: 86 [*]Spike Sylvain defeated Charlie Corner in 10:17 by pinfall with a Punk-N-Nasty following interference from Honest Frank Jr. Rating: 64 [*] ANGLE: The Fantastic Express are feeling top of the world. They’ve beaten all foes and life is just great. No one can touch them. Rating: 73 [*] Perfect Pepper Pelton defeated Eric Mortenson in 10:17 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 68 [*] ANGLE: Fro Sure is looking for the biggest, baddest dog in the yard because he needs to make an impression. And he thinks the biggest dog is Thom Barrowman. Rating: 80 [*] Andrew Harper defeated Billy Chase in 9:37 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 61 [*] ANGLE: Danny Hagman has had it with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. He’s just a bully with a famous name. But he’s going to prove that when push comes to shove, pound-for-pound The Pittsburgh Kid is the true name around here. Rating: 70 [*] Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Bowden Snoop in 10:16 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. Rating: 60 [*] ANGLE: The Georgia Bulldog is champion once again, and life is good. Even better, he’ll happily watch George Trapesi and Trent Shaffer kick lumps out of one another, with what’s left of the winner taking him on at New York City Showdown. Rating: 75 [*] George Trapesi defeated Denny King in 10:23 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. George Trapesi makes defence number three of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 79 [*]OVERALL RATING: 79 – 0.37 (280,984 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #38 Friday, Week 2, November 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 7,587 [*]ANGLE: The Biggins Boys are out and they’re not finished with the tag team champs. The Fantastic Express might think they’ve ‘completed’ tag team wrestling, but they’re about to get a lesson from some veterans. Rating: 76 [*]The Biggins Boys defeated The Razorbacks in 8:09 when Bart Biggins pinned Jamarr Green with a B-Dropper. Rating: 49 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr wants us to get used to seeing his new bodyguard Big Jon Walker. The fans of New York better learn to live with him being around the place. He’s going to be watching Frank’s back from all the jealous haters who are holding him back. Rating: 76 [*]Honest Frank Jr defeated Oliver Kobb in 7:48 by pinfall with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 62 [*]ANGLE: Thom Barrowman has heard Fro Sure flapping his gums. He’s seen a million Fro Sures in his career. And they all end up the same. Buried by the master of professional wrestling. Rating: 77 [*]Thom Barrowman defeated Garry The Entertainer in 5:44 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 63 [*]ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith destroys some rookies backstage and then looks into the camera and issues a warning to Danny Hagman… Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Rating: 75 [*]Danny Hagman defeated Leonardo Fry in 8:22 by submission with a Steel Curtain. Rating: 50 [*]ANGLE: Riley McManus and Fern Hathaway are looking for a challenge to tide them over at Welcome to New York. So if there’s anyone who wants a shot at the champ; make yourself known. Rating: 75 [*]Riley McManus defeated The Eagle in 19:45 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Riley McManus makes defence number one of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 72 [*]OVERALL RATING: 72 – 0.34 (258,415 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #39 Friday, Week 3, November 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 7,685 [*]ANGLE: Perfect Pepper and Prime Time meet up to discuss their singles careers and seem happy. While catching up, The Fantastic Express pass them and joke about being the ones to scare them into tag team retirement. Perfect and Prime Time attack and leave the champs down and beaten before high-fiving. As they depart the scene, Prime Time can be heard saying “Good point, Pep.” Rating: 68 [*]Vessey Combat Club defeated The Powers of Pain in 9:52 when JP Barnham submitted The Juggernaut with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 57 [*]ANGLE: After the match Larry Vessey joins his Combat Club in the ring. He doesn’t think The Fantastic Express are as safe as they think they are. All the VCC need is one opening, and they’ll break their arms and legs. Rating: 65 [*]Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated Sal DiMeo in 8:19 by pinfall with a PrydeFall. Rating: 65 [*]ANGLE: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi is shown working out and building up his cardio ready. He knows Shaffer feels like he’s been screwed out of the main event of the Showdown. He’s a fighting champion, so he offers a match to Shaffer. If he can win the Tri-State from him, he can take the title shot. But he’s confident that he’s the hardest worker in any room. Cheerleader Nicki confirms that. Rating: 72 [*]Magnum Kobe defeated Marco Gonzalez in 7:39 by pinfall with The Glorious Red. Rating: 55 [*]ANGLE: Angry Gilmore is with Whistler and he’s still angry. He’s angry about not winning the King of New York, he’s angry about not getting to face DWN and he’s angry that his lunch didn’t have any GODDAM pickles in it. But instead of worrying about his lunch, he’s going to focus on what he can actually change. Rating: 84 [*]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Jay Silver in 9:46 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 57 [*]ANGLE: Trent Schaffer and Billy Keelan think the workout videos of Trapesi are fun. They’re a nice distraction. But Trent doesn’t need to workout. He already knows he’s the best. After all, he’s The Talent. Challenge accepted. Rating: 85 [*]Trent Shaffer defeated American Flash in 9:43 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Rating: 72 [*]OVERALL RATING: 74 – 0.34 (255,325 viewers) The beatdown of The Fantastic Express was to cover the unbelievable double-injury for Rafe Sashay and Zippy Deverell. They’re out for a month and a couple of days, respectively. Not ideal, but not the worst, they’ll be back to defend the titles at the Showdown. We then received the type of news he hadn’t had in an age. A raid on our talent. IPW , who’d recently grown to comparable size to us had pushed the boat out and signed a number of our lower-level workers to written contracts. I weighed up whether to counter the offers and opted not to. For the workers sake and our own finances. I held meetings with Sal DiMeo, Howlin Mad Mort and Juggernaut Jones and wished them well in the future and thanked them for their work. In the mean-time, we continued to draft in workers on one-night deals to see if there was anyone worth keeping on full-time. NYCW Empire Superstars #40 Friday, Week 4, November 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 7,713 [*]ANGLE: George Trapesi has a pick your partner tag team main event ahead of him and he was so impressed with Prime Time that he wants him to be his partner to help battle Trent Shaffer and Zippy Deverell in the main event. Perfect Pepper agrees to watch their backs from outside so that Rafe Sashay isn’t tempted to get involved. Rating: 78 [*]Phil Anders defeated American Flash in 10:29 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 54 [*]ANGLE: The Masked Mauler speaks a series of old school wrestling holds and gets more and more angry. Whistler struggles to translate. Rating: 71 [*]The Masked Mauler defeated Miller Fforde in 9:38 by pinfall with a Piledriver. Rating: 54 [*]ANGLE: Fro Sure and Thom Barrowman meet backstage. They don’t say much to one another until Fro Sure tells Barrowman to watch what’s in store. Rating: 82 [*]Fro Sure defeated Outlaw Wes Revell in 8:06 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 68 [*]ANGLE: Davis Wayne Newton from the comfort of his personal balcony at the Empire Ballroom, has some words for the Living Legend Angry Gilmore. Relax. You’re old enough that you’re likely to give yourself a heart attack. Rating: 86 [*]Angry Gilmore defeated Simon Waves in 10:13 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 69 [*]ANGLE: Trent Shaffer talks with The Fantastic Express and tells Zippy he better bring the goods tonight. Rating: 89 [*]George Trapesi and Prime Time Jack Pryde drew with Trent Shaffer and Zippy Deverell in 10:03 following a double disqualification after Rafe Sashay and Perfect Pepper got involved leading to a six-man brawl. Rating: 80 [*]ANGLE: Prime Time and Perfect Pepper grab the mics after the match. They’re tired of The Fantastic Express running roughshod over the company. They’re inserting themselves into a number one contenders match at Welcome to New York. They’re back! Rating: 79 [*]OVERALL RATING: 80 – 0.38 (287,246 viewers) And with that the penultimate big show of the year was set. It didn’t quite have the punch of the shows surrounding out, but with a fascinating main event between Shaffer and Trapesi on the cards, I had some high hopes. NYCW Welcome to New York 2023 NYCW Empire Heavyweight Title: Magnum Kobe vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus © NYCW Tri-State Title: Trent Shaffer vs. ‘The Star’ George Trapesi © COTT United States Title: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith © No.1 Contenders Match: The Biggins Boys vs. Cross River Connection vs. Vessey Combat Club Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman Charlie Corner vs. Honest Frank Jr The Eagle vs. The Masked Mauler Next time… the final big stop before the Showdown…

New York City… the hunt continues… NYCW The King of New York 2023 Sunday, Week 4, October 2023 Weston Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 36,356 10-MAN BATTLE ROYAL: In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Perfect Pepper Pelton won a battle royal in 9:38. The other members of the 'final four' were Thom Barrowman, Spike Sylvain and Oliver Kobb, with Thom Barrowman being the final elimination. Perfect Pepper Pelton got the most eliminations over the course of the match. Rating: 71 Having been eliminated from the tournament by his former partner, Perfect Pepper takes him a battle royal victory to kick-off the show. Good win for the singles star. KONY QUARTERS: Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. ‘The Star’ George Tapesi In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, George Trapesi defeated Prime Time Jack Pryde in 10:20 by pinfall with a Shooting Star Press. George Trapesi wins the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 63 Prime Time loses both his spot in the tournament and his title to ‘The Star’ George Trapesi. The match was something of a disappointment to be honest, but they still did ok. The title change was a bit of a shock for those in attendance, but that’s why we’re in business. KONY QUARTERS: Magnum Kobe vs. Honest Frank Jr In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Honest Frank Jr in 9:40 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 67 Honest Frank Jr suffers at the hands of his former team-mate in a really good little match. The future remains bright for Frank Jr, but we’re a way off from him stepping up in a scenario like this. KONY QUARTERS: Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Angry Gilmore in 10:27 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 74 Great match and a big win for DWN who rightfully books his place into the main event proper by beating the old man gatekeeper of the top of the card. Gilmore can still go in the ring and DWN has developed into one of the best on our roster. KONY QUARTERS: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Danny Hagman in 9:46 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. Rating: 67 In the much-anticipated showdown between this two, it’s the wily and brutal veteran who gets the win and halting Hagman’s momentum. Can anyone stop the big man now? NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, The Fantastic Express defeated The Biggins Boys in 10:17 when Rafe Sashay pinned Bart Biggins with a Fantastic Flashbang. The Fantastic Express make defence number twelve of the COTT World Tag Team. The Fantastic Express make defence number seven of the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 71 More wonder from these two as we’ve come to expect over the last year. Just stick em in a match and let glory occur. TAG TEAM MATCH: Vessey Combat Club vs. The Chop Shop In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Vessey Combat Club defeated The Chop Shop in 8:01 when JP Barnham submitted Eric Mortenson with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 54 A nice little tag team match to get these guys on the card. A beautiful moment occurred too as Ray Cavalero debuted a new hope spot, which the crowd absolutely ate up. One day we’d pull the trigger on the VCC as tag champs. KONY SEMI-FINAL MATCH: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, George Trapesi defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 10:28 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. George Trapesi makes defence number one of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 69 Spectacular stuff here in a classic David vs. Goliath match-up. Trapesi getting the clean win just adds to his already insane momentum and Bulldozer still looked dominant even though he lost. KONY SEMI-FINAL MATCH: Davis Wayne Newton vs. Magnum Kobe In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Magnum Kobe in 10:08 by pinfall after using a foreign object. Rating: 73 A mat-classic between these two as Magnum continues to bring the goods despite his back looking more like a pretzel every day. DWN gets the win by cheating and looks poised to take off into the stratosphere bringing together his top-tier in-ring ability, charisma, mic skills and now popularity. NYCW EMPIRE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus vs. Trent Shaffer © In a bout that had fantastic heat and good wrestling, Riley McManus defeated Trent Shaffer in 10:15 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex after George Trapesi interfered. Riley McManus wins the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 72 Curious ending to the match here, with Trapesi running in when the ref was down and out. He pointed his finger guns at Riley, before switching it to Shaffer and delivering a Star Maker Lariat to the champion. Riley, confused, took the pin and reclaimed his title. KING OF NEW YORK TITLE MATCH: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a superb match, George Trapesi defeated Davis Wayne Newton in 22:06 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. George Trapesi wins the NYCW King Of New York. George Trapesi makes defence number two of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 76 Match of the Year contender here as these two bring it all in a big spot. Absolutely incredible showmanship throughout in one of NYCW best ever matches. George Trapesi is going to the big dance. OVERALL RATING: 75 Now that was an event. Normally our second biggest show of the year, this one moved the pieces into place heading into New York City Showdown 2023. We got a whopping 593,453 viewers and made $192,317 profit throughout the month as we continue to snowball our success built around a number of big feuds; notably The Star vs. The Georgia Bulldog.’ Results: DinoKea - 9/10 KyTern - 8/10 Theheel - 8/10 John Lions - 8/10 Herrbear - 8/10 eayragt - 8/10 Next time… there’s one last big show between now and the big one, could anything derail us now…

New York City… heading full-speed to the quarter finals… NYCW Empire Superstars #36 Friday, Week 4, October 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 6,968 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Danny Hagman defeated Phil Anders in 7:23 by pinfall with a Missing Piece. Rating: 56 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Davis Wayne Newton defeated JP Barnham in 8:06 by submission with a STF after blatantly cheating. Rating: 65 [*]ANGLE: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus doesn’t care that he’s out of the King of New York, because he’s still got a rematch clause and he’s cashing it in at the event. Trent Shaffer reminds him he’s already cashed it in. But it doesn’t take Riley long to wind up Trent into accepting. McManus vs. Shaffer III is set. Rating: 81 [*]KONY SWEET 16: George Trapesi defeated Andrew Harper in 7:36 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. Rating: 70 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Fro Sure. Rating: 72 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Honest Frank Jr defeated Fro Sure in 10:15 by pinfall after using a foreign object. Rating: 63 [*]ANGLE: The Biggins Boys come down to the ring. They take microphones and start talking to the crowd, before eventually getting interrupted by The Fantastic Express. They have a big argument, going back and forth on the microphone, before agreeing to face each other in a tag team match at King of New York. Rating: 76 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Brett Biggins in 9:39 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: The CRC make an agreement backstage that whoever wins their most epic of showdowns gets the others’ support for the rest of tournament. Unless they draw, in which case… balance. Rating: 74 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated Perfect Pepper Pelton in 10:16 by pinfall with a PrydeFall. Prime Time Jack Pryde makes defence number three of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: After the match, there’s a moment of wariness between the tag team partners. But finally Perfect Pepper offers his hand to Prime Time, who shakes it and the two men hug. Rating: 87 [*]OVERALL RATING: 72 – 0.33 (250,847 viewers) And with that heart-warming moment, the qualifying rounds are over and the final quarter finals of the King of New York are set. Heading into the big show, I felt confident that the next big step forward would be taken soon. In the meanwhile, we heard news that Nicky Champion had signed with SWF in one of the biggest moves in professional wrestling history. We also got a breakdown of individual merchandise sales for the boys. Top 10 Merchandise Sellers: 1. Angry Gilmore - $7,350 2. Emma Chase - $6,695 3. George Trapesi - $6,681 4. Magnum Kobe - $5,466 5. Fro Sure - $5,266 6. Prime Time Jack Pryde - $4,598 7. Perfect Pepper Pelton - $4,141 8. Trent Shaffer - $3,672 9. The Eagle - $3,003 10. Danny Hagman - $1,691 This was eye-opening enough for me when Troy Tornado told me that he liked the rookie Jamarr Green and had agreed to take him under his wing. Good for him. NYCW The King of New York 2023 KONY Final: A vs. B KONY SEMI A: 1 vs. 2 KONY SEMI B: 3 vs. 4 KONY QUARTERS 1: Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. ‘The Star’ George Trapesi KONY QUARTERS 2: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith KONY QUARTERS 3: Magnum Kobe vs. Honest Frank Jr KONY QUARTERS 4: Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton NYCW Empire Heavyweight: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus vs. Trent Shaffer © NYCW Tag Team: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © Vessey Combat Club vs. The Chop Shop Next time… our biggest tournament ever gets a winner…

New York City… moving Ernie on from the announce desk… In the week between shows, we learn that USPW had signed Freddie Huggins, which was fairly huge news in the scheme of things. But we weren’t really big enough for that to effect us just yet. One day we’d be able to compete. But for now, we were moving on. And we’re moving on to: merchandising. Having almost entirely ignoring it, we’ve finally upgraded our merchandising to the fifth level. Which meant that old shows would now be packaged up for DVD and streaming purposes and we were about to start producing worker-specific merch for our top stars. I would one day be cool to see which workers sell the most merch. But apparently not yet. In terms of backstage changes, we have decided to remove Ernie turner from the announce table. We’d draft him back in, in case of emergencies. But for now he was getting back into management, focusing specifically on a couple of lower card workers; Samoan Wrecking Crew. NYCW Empire Superstars #34 Friday, Week 2, October 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 7,059 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: George Trapesi defeated Billy Chase in 8:23 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. Rating: 59 [*]ANGLE: After the match, Riley McManus appears from the crowd, slides into the ring and delivers a vicious beatdown to Trapesi. Having knocked him out, Riley poses over the body, brimming once again with confidence. Rating: 70 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Phil Anders defeated The Juggernaut in 5:37 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 49 [*]ANGLE: Angry Gilmore and Davis Wayne Newton are backstage arguing about whose going to win the King of New York, when they’re interrupted by Danny Hagman and Bulldozer Brandon Smith fighting by catering. Gilmore rushes to join in, but DWN steps away and thinks better of it. Rating: 83 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Andrew Harper defeated The Eagle in 7:50 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith hobbles to the ring. He has noticeable bruising on his chest and around his eyebrow, but he’s smiling when he gets in the ring and beckons his opponent to join him. Rating: 75 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Charlie Corner in 8:08 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. Rating: 65 [*]ANGLE: Aware that Danny Hagman is up next, Bulldozer waits be the entranceway. But Danny comes through the crowd and beats him down. Having thrown Bulldozer back out the arena, the Pittsburgh Kid marches to the ring ready for battle. Rating: 78 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Danny Hagman defeated Brutus Milano in 7:35 by submission with a Steel Curtain. Rating: 63 [*]ANGLE: Both The Fantastic Express and The Biggins Boys head to the ring. Bickering and throwing shade at one another; Zippy Deverell and Bart Biggins go to the announcers desk to commentate on the upcoming match. Rating: 76 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Brett Biggins defeated Rafe Sashay in 19:54 by pinfall with a B-B-Gun. Rating: 66 [*]OVERALL RATING: 70 – 0.33 (248,779 viewers) Slow news week means we roll on with the torunament... NYCW Empire Superstars #35 Friday, Week 3, October 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 6,849 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Davis Wayne Newton defeated Ray Cavalero in 8:28 by submission with a STF. Rating: 53 [*]ANGLE: Fro Sure is looking forward to testing himself against the best in NYCW. He’s managed to draw someone called… Denny King. He’s never heard of him, but he’s sure the young up-and-comer will give him a good workout. Rating: 75 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Fro Sure defeated Denny King in 8:16 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: Larry Vessey and the VCC are backstage with Whistler. They haven’t started well in the King of New York tournament. But that’s why a team is always better than being alone. Ray may have been overwhelmed, but JP has the next match in the bag. Then, once they’ve worked together to win the whole thing, they’re going to use the title shot to fight The Fantastic Express. Rating: 73 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: JP Barnham defeated Sal DiMeo in 6:24 by submission with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 54 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr is backstage with Oliver Kobb. He offers Kobb some money to lay down. When Kobb politely refuses, Honest Frank complains to Whistler about unfair life is. And he’s going to have to invest his money elsewhere in the future. Rating: 77 [*]KONY QUALIFIER: Honest Frank Jr defeated Oliver Kobb in 7:38 by pinfall with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 69 [*]ANGLE: Davis Wayne Newton is up on his favourite balcony, now with servants feeding him grapes while he sips champagne. Apparently it’s good to be the King. He quickly covers his mouth “Ooops, spoilers.” He enjoyed the opening match. It just reinforced his long-held belief that he is simply too good. Rating: 79 [*]KONY SWEET 16: In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Zippy Deverell in 9:33 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 68 [*]ANGLE: Riley McManus is out with Fern Hathaway and he’s still furious about being knocked out of the King of New York. But he’s had a thought and he’s going to ignore the tournament and go straight for the source. He swallows his pride and asks Trent Shaffer to ‘make me famous.” Trent comes out grinning ear-to-ear, while Billy Keelan agrees to the challenge. Rating: 82 [*]KONY SWEET 16: Angry Gilmore defeated Thom Barrowman in 9:32 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 70 [*]OVERALL RATING: 72 – 0.33 (252,279 viewers) We’d worked through the qualifying rounds and where now part of the way through the Sweet 16. Everything was going well. Which is more than can be said for TCW. Aaron ‘The Ace’ Andrews, their talismanic figurehead, was in trouble. Pro Wrestling Reporter had lead with the story online and it was spreading like wildfire. It turns out he’d been caught as part of a drug smuggling cartel. It had all come out during an undercover sting to find those responsible and his name had appeared multiple times as a low-level enforcer for one of the parties involved. Apparently using his fame and success, he’s been able to launder drugs money and import drugs illegally. The 37-year-old has been fired with immediate effect from TCW, crippling their main event plans, causing them huge harm in terms of popularity and making him the most toxic man in the entire industry. Insane. Next time… we continue the mega-tournament…

I am so excited about all of this. And in advance would like to say that I appreciate all the work you guys are doing. I know how tricky mod-work is, but having a tight-knit team is always helpful and I have no doubt that what you'll produce will be fabulous.

New York City… where anyone can be King… Having worked out brackets through secret draw ahead of time, we decided to withhold the information from the audience and give the impression that the new-and-improved 32-man King of New York tournament was randomly drawn on Superstars. Every single wrestler was included except Trent Shaffer as the Empire champion faced the winner at New York City Showdown in December. NYCW Empire Superstars #33 Friday, Week 1, October 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 6,929 ANGLE: Trent Shaffer and Billy Keelan are out to start the show. They’re looking forward to a week off and a chance to watch the King of New York tournament. Obviously they’re looking forward to facing the winner in December and making them famous on route to seeing out the year as champion. Now let the games… begin. Shaffer sits on a throne next to the announce table to watch. Rating: 88 Trent and Billy were a great combo and this segment got the crowd fired up. KONY QUALIFIER: Chip Martin vs. Thom Barrowman In an extremely short match, Thom Barrowman defeated Chip Martin in 4:57 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 45 Chip Martin, son of Johnny Martin makes an appearance in the tournament and is promptly destroyed by Thom Barrowman. KONY QUALIFIER: Angry Gilmore vs. Eric Mortenson In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Angry Gilmore defeated Eric Mortenson in 7:47 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 64 A surprisingly big opening round match sees former Howlin Mad Mort trying his best against the middle-aged-and-angry… Gilmore. The better man wins obviously, but it was a decent match. ANGLE: Following the match, Gilmore tells the crowd he’s going all the way to the finals and if he happens to come across that Canadian scumbag DWN, well then more’s the better. Rating: 86 Angry is superb on the mic and brings authenticity and veteran flair to the show. KONY QUALIFIER: Magnum Kobe vs. Spike Sylvain In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Spike Sylvain in 5:47 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 65 Poor Spike. Like Denny King, he’s a forgotten member of the roster. Purely used to put over others or train rookies on the pre-show, he’s been a great hand for us over the years and we respected for that work. ANGLE: Backstage The Masked Mauler looks at the brackets and sees his match is tonight. When asked how he feels, he declares “PILEDRIVER!?!” Prime Time joins and is looking forward to facing Mauler tonight. “May the best man win.” “IRON CLAW!?!” “It sure is buddy, it sure is.” Then Perfect Pepper Pelton joins and looks a little disheartened at having drawn Riley McManus. But then is delighted to see Prime Time. The two hug, and then begin to discuss the old days and how they miss each other. But then Perfect sees the Tri-State title and is impressed. Mauler buts in and slaps the belt heavily, indicates his own waist before saying: “SLEEPER!” Rating: 77 KONY QUALIFIER: Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. The Masked Mauler In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated The Masked Mauler in 9:51 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Prime Time Jack Pryde makes defence number two of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 66 As with the tag team titles at the Stomper Memorial Show; Prime Time defends the title he’s got in all matches, even those in tournaments. Here he’s able to best the former Tri-State champion handily. ANGLE: Backstage, the Fantastics and the Biggins’ are in a pull apart brawl. A quick look at the brackets show that they’ve been ‘randomly’ drawn against one another in the qualifiers. Rating: 76 KONY QUALIFIER: Bart Biggins vs. Zippy Deverell In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Zippy Deverell defeated Bart Biggins in 8:08 by pinfall with a Spinning Bulldog. Rating: 69 Well, well, well. Good news and bad news here. The good news is that these two have great chemistry against one another. The bad news is that Bart Biggins, the younger of the two brothers was visibly tiring at the end of this short match. That did not speak well for his long-term future. Great match again though. ANGLE: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ heads to the ring following Pepper’s intro. But Sirius interrupts him and Geroge Trapesi, walks out the entrance. Looking a little uncomfortable, Riley hurries to the ring. George stands on the opposite side of the entrance ramp to Trent Shaffer’s throne to watch. Rating: 77 Psychological warfare. KONY QUALIFIER: Perfect Pepper Pelton vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Perfect Pepper Pelton defeated Riley McManus in 21:20 by disqualification after George Trapesi and Trent Shaffer interfered. Rating: 69 Slightly underwhelming as I had far-too-high-hopes. But the result is a real shocker. Riley played the put-upon heel to perfection here and Pepper slides through to the next round on a wing and a prayer. OVERALL RATING: 73 Not a bad start to the tournament and ending with a huge shock loss for the reigning King was a nice twist. The crowd absolutely loved the fact Pepper progressed, but it does now mean the Cross River Connection will face each other for the first time ever. The show got a 0.32 rating (246,144 viewers). Next time… the tournament continues…

Breaking News... The tournament brackets have been released for the upcomnig bumper edition of the King of New York Tournament...

New York City… where we honour a great before our biggest show to date… Backstage at the Garden and I’ already grown accustomed to its corridors and layout. I went over to speak to Sam Keith to make sure he knew the running order. He was training Honest Frank Jr in psychology. It would seem that we had another master-protégé relationship. While explaining things to FrankJr, he mentioned his son; Greg and I discovered that he’d signed with SWF. Sam and Frank Jr listened to my instructions and I moved on. The plan for these evening, other than all eyes being on the main match and the grudge between the Star and the Bulldog, was a new induction into the NYCW Hall of Fame. The GODDAM AMERICAN HERO; American Machine was being honoured for his contribution to the company with a little pre-show ceremony. I looked through the official programme of the Hall of the Fame at the current members: The Stomper Whistler Steve Flash Honest Frank Black Hat Bailey Man Mountain Cahill American Buffalo Old School Principals Wiley Coyote I couldn’t argue with any of them. My mind then drifted to who on the current roster would make it. Would I make it? I guessed that a lot would rely on how the months ahead went. The music signified the beginning of the ceremony and I went to rush to the announce table, before realising that I’d actually replaced myself. The two new additions to join Ernie Turner were two of the bigger signings I’d ever made. But I was confident they’d deliver the goods. There voices boomed over the arena as we looked to get started: “Hello New York, I’m the ‘Innovator of Hardcore’ Mitch Naess and I’m joined today by Ernie Turner and, returning home after a seventeen year absence, the Legendary… Emma Chase…” NYCW Battle of the Five Boroughs 2023 Sunday, Week 4, September 2023 Weston Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 32,102 TEN-MAN TAG MATCH: Oliver Kobb, The Biggins Boys & The Powers of Pain vs. Brutus Milano, Andrew Harper, Denny King & The Chop Shop In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Andrew Harper, Eric Mortenson, Sal DiMeo, Brutus Milano and Denny King defeated Oliver Kobb, The Biggins Boys and The Powers of Pain in 10:02 when Eric Mortenson pinned Oliver Kobb, illegally using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 67 Never, ever, bet against Brutus Milano. SINGLES MATCH: Charlie Corner vs. The Masked Mauler In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Charlie Corner defeated The Masked Mauler in 9:41 by pinfall with a Corner Cutter. Rating: 61 Charlie gets the W against his long-time opponent. It was definitely time to move on from this feud however as it was starting to get really stale. Both men were great and had the potential to deliver even better matches with other people. NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Honest Frank Jr vs. Prime Time Jack Pryde © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated Honest Frank Jr in 9:41 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Rating: 60 There were times when there was a lack of psychology on display, so it seems Sam Keith noticed the problem and was trying to address it. If these guys could get that together their matches would reach another level. For now though, I’d have to look to keep them in matches with veterans otherwise their pushes would stall out. SINGLES MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Perfect Pepper Pelton in 10:10 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 67 Speaking of branching out. Pepper here delivering a fantastic singles match. Sure he had Magnum to help and he lost. But this is a massive step forward from the tag team specialist and hopefully meant we didn’t have to rely on the CRC being team all the time. NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Vessey Combat Club vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, The Fantastic Express defeated Vessey Combat Club in 9:47 when Zippy Deverell pinned JP Barnham with a handful of tights. The Fantastic Express make defence number ten of the COTT World Tag Team. The Fantastic Express make defence number six of the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 69 VCC step up and deliver a decent match with the Fantastics. Given more time and polish they could easily be the long-term replacement for The Biggins Boys, who were unlikely to be able to keep their run going as they aged. SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Thom Barrowman defeated Fro Sure in 10:08 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Rating: 63 Wily old Thom Barrowman gets a little cheating victory over the up-and-coming Fro Sure. Pepper watched from ringside, but didn’t interfere, as per Fro Sure’s instructions. Those two had a nice little friendship brewing. It is sometimes nice to have everything be a blood feud. COTT UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith © In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Danny Hagman in 9:56 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. Bulldozer Brandon Smith makes defence number one of the COTT United States. Rating: 65 Another veteran beating another young star. Match was a close one and Bulldozer shows that despite his advancing age, he’s still got plenty in the tank. And is a good choice for COTT United States champion. NYCW EMPIRE & COTT WORLD TITLE MATCH: Ash Campbell © vs. Trent Shaffer © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Trent Shaffer defeated Ash Campbell in 9:35 by disqualification. Trent Shaffer makes defence number four of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 63 In a potential unification matchup, we erred on the side of caution and had our guy win, but no titles changing hands. Our relationship with the COTT had somewhat diminished in recent months, and we realised that everyone in that organisation was out for themselves. So eventually we’d probably make a power play. But for now Sam Keith and Mitch Naess were too important to us to mess around. SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Angry Gilmore defeated Davis Wayne Newton in 9:58 by pinfall by using underhanded tactics. Rating: 74 Just when I think Gilmore might be on his way out, he delivers a match-up like this. Having someone like DWN opposite him was part of the reason, but my God these two can absolutely deliver. They didn’t even have any chemistry notes. ANGLE: George Trapesi makes an elaborate entrance to Sirius by Alan Parsons Project. Rating: 70 GRUDGE MATCH: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus The bubbling, hated rivalry which had lasted throughout the entire year so far led to this point. ‘the Star’ George Trapesi had seen a drastic change in character through it, and his eyes were firmly planted on revenge. But as the match progressed, The Georgia Bulldog matched his opponent’s intensity and in-ring ability to produce one the best matches in NYCW history. Back and forth, with neither man giving an inch. Then, the smallest of mistakes gave The Star his opportunity. McManus missed a big clothesline, which allowed Trapesi to line-up the Star Maker Lariat, which McManus ducked and rolled through into a backslide. From where Trapesi kicked out and immediately applied a Crossface. With McManus looking like he was about to tap… the bell rang. Confused, Trapesi looked to the ring announcer, who declared the match a time limit draw. McManus slid out the ring and was helped to the back by Fern, completely disinterested in continuing the war. In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, George Trapesi drew with Riley McManus in 30:00 when the time limit expired. Rating: 79 Crowd hated that finish. And by hated, I mean loved to hate. What a match. Any lingering doubts about either man’s main event position have been entirely dispelled by that Match of the Year candidate. OVERALL RATING: 78 553,296 viewers and $42,582 profit even with upgraded production costs meant we were on course for a bumper end to our best year to date. But more than that, next month ses the return of The King of New York tournament. Results: KyTeran – 5/10 DinoKea – 5/10 Theheel – 4/10 John Lions – 3/10 I feel a bit bad about these ones, because the main event especially was a rare draw. Plus most of these matches could've gone either way. Next time… a 32-man elimination tournament…

New York City… where masks ultimately hold you back from your most bad ass self… The buzz around George Trapesi’s return was red hot and we wanted to push ahead with some new feuds and blowout some older ones before October’s King of New York tournament. I had considered increasing the size of the tournament this year, but we still had a month to get through first. Wanting to get stuck into the production side a bit more, there were some key moments to focus on, but otherwise I’d approach the note-taking in a steam-lined fashion. NYCW Empire Superstars #29 Friday, Week 1, September 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,530 [*]ANGLE: ’The Star’ George Trapesi comes down to the ring with Cheerleader Nicki. He gets in the ring and grabs a microphone. “MCMANUS! I’m coming for you, you SOB!” Trapesi drops the mic and leaves. Rating: 83 [*]Perfect Pepper Pelton defeated Andrew Harper in 8:29 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 67 [*]ANGLE: Fro Sure cuts a promo congratulating Perfect Pepper Pelton on his victory. Rating: 82 [*]The Juggernaut defeated Denny King in 8:07 by pinfall with The Pounce. Rating: 52 [*]ANGLE: Vessey Combat Club cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with The Biggins Boys. Rating: 65 [*]The Biggins Boys defeated Samoan Wrecking Crew in 5:39 when Bart Biggins pinned Loa Afu with a B-Dropper.Rating: 55 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr cuts a promo challenging Prime Time Jack Pryde to a title match. Rating: 83 [*]NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. The Masked Mauler © In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated The Masked Mauler in 10:13 by pinfall by using underhanded tactics. Prime Time Jack Pryde wins the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 66 [*]ANGLE: Trent Shaffer cuts a promo saying he doesn’t know who George Trapesi is, but he thought it was funny to see McManus get his backside handed to him. Trent approves. Rating: 82 [*]George Trapesi defeated Davis Wayne Newton in 21:56 by pinfall with a Star Maker Lariat. Rating: 72 [*]OVERALL RATING: 74 – 0.31 (239,235 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #30 Friday, Week 2, September 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,691 [*]ANGLE: Riley McManus is beside himself. He’s so stressed, Fern has trouble sleeping. He thought he’d finished the LA Stars for good. Apparently not. But at Battle of the Five Boroughs he will finally finish the job when the two meet one-on-one. Rating: 73 [*]Charlie Corner defeated Brutus Milano in 8:21 by pinfall with a Corner Cutter. Rating: 51 Angry Gilmore cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. Rating: 83 [*]The Chop Shop defeated Billy Chase and Garry The Entertainer in 6:46 when Eric Mortenson pinned Billy Chase with a Tree-Feller. Rating: 48 [*]ANGLE: Perfect Pepper Pelton cuts a promo thanking Fro Sure for everything he’s done for him. But it’s time for new things. Time to escalate his singles career. And he can’t think of anyone better suited than Magnum Kobe. Rating: 79 [*]Fro Sure drew with Honest Frank Jr. in 10:23 following a double disqualification. Rating: 74 [*]ANGLE: Davis Wayne Newton cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Angry Gilmore. Rating: 87 [*]Danny Hagman defeated Spike Sylvain in 7:46 by submission with a Steel Curtain. Rating: 63 [*]ANGLE: Trent Shaffer thinks he is on the roll of a lifetime. The Brain agrees and has actually negotiated a premium contract for the Battle of the Five Boroughs. Empire Heavyweight Champion Trent Shaffer will be facing Ash Campbell in a unification match for the COTT World Title and the NYCW Empire Heavyweight Title. Trent approves. Rating: 84 [*]Riley McManus defeated Magnum Kobe in 22:10 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Rating: 72 [*]OVERALL RATING: 75 – 0.31 (237,533 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #31 Friday, Week 3, September 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 6,151 [*]ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr. comes down to the ring. He takes a microphone and starts talking to the crowd, before eventually getting interrupted by Prime Time Jack Pryde. They have a big argument, going back and forth on the microphone, before descending into a brawl. Rating: 79 [*]Andrew Harper defeated Chip Martin in 6:07 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 65 [*]ANGLE: The Biggins Boys cut a promo saying they may not be fighting for the titles soon, but they’ll be back for them sooner than everyone thinks. Rating: 76 [*]The Powers of Pain defeated The Fantastic Express in 18:20 when Zippy Deverell was disqualified while fighting The Juggernaut. Rating: 64 [*]ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cannot stand the punk kid Danny Hagman, but he has bigger fish to fry. Or smaller in this case. He’s about to smash Americana Jr to little bits. Rating: 79 [*]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Americana Jr in 5:33 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. Bulldozer Brandon Smith wins the COTT United States. Rating: 69 [*]ANGLE: Danny Hagman thinks if Bulldozer is obsessed with beating him, he should put that shiny new title on the line. Rating: 84 [*]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Oliver Kobb in 9:41 by submission with a STF. Rating: 78 [*]ANGLE: Riley McManus cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with George Trapesi. Rating: 67 [*]Angry Gilmore drew with Trent Shaffer in 9:35 when the referee lost control and stopped the match. Rating: 73 [*]Shaffer and Gilmore are brawling away, when Davis Wayne Newton attacks Gilmore from behind and the two men beatdown the veteran. Rating: 75 [*]OVERALL RATING: 76 – 0.36 (274,777 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #32 Friday, Week 4, September 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 6,304 [*]Trent Shaffer, Riley McManus and George Trapesi are in the ring arguing over the title. Trapesi doesn’t care about the title; he just wants McManus. Rating: 91 [*]Thom Barrowman defeated Oliver Kobb in 8:10 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 66 [*]The Fantastic Express cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with Vessey Combat Club. Rating: 83 [*]Vessey Combat Club defeated Jean-Pierre Wiuff and Darren Spratt in 6:11 when Ray Cavalero pinned Jean-Pierre Wiuff with a Vessey Locks. Rating: 41 [*]The Masked Mauler cuts a promo demanding his title back. Rating: 77 [*]The Masked Mauler defeated Captain Canada in 7:30 by pinfall with a Piledriver. Rating: 57 [*]Thom Barrowman cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Fro Sure. Rating: 76 [*]Magnum Kobe defeated Andrew Harper in 9:40 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 67 [*]Davis Wayne Newton cuts a promo about Danny Hagman and Angry Gilmore. Rating: 85 [*]George Trapesi, Angry Gilmore, Danny Hagman, Brett Biggins and Bart Biggins defeated Trent Shaffer, Riley McManus, Bulldozer Brandon Smith, Rafe Sashay and Zippy Deverell in 19:54 when Bulldozer Brandon Smith was counted out while fighting George Trapesi. Rating: 73 [*]OVERALL RATING: 77 - 0.36 (272,656 viewers) Revenge is a dish best served piping hot, as Trapesi begins dismantling the people protecting The Georgia Bulldog. In other, potentially more important news; Mitch Naess and Emma Chase have pretty good chemistry, which is just wonderful stuff. Jean-Pierre Wiuff had his nose broken during their last match too, but shrugged it off like a boss. Tough kid. NYCW The Battle of Five Boroughs 2023 'The Star' George Trapesi vs. 'The Georgia Bulldog' Riley McManus NYCW Empire & COTT World: Ash Campbell © vs. Trent Shaffer © COTT United States: Danny Hagman vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith © Angry Gilmore vs. Davis Wayne Newton Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman NYCW & COTT World Tag Team: Vessey Combat Club vs. The Fantastic Express © Magnum Kobe vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton NYCW Tri-State: Honest Frank Jr vs. Prime Time Jack Pryde © Charlie Corner vs. The Masked Mauler Ten-Man Tag: Oliver Kobb, THe Biggins Boys & The Powers of Pain vs. Brutus Milano, Andrew Harper, Denny King & The Chop Shop Next time… The Battle of Five Boroughs…

New York City… we’re heading back to the Garden… NYCW Brooklyn Brawl 2023 Sunday, Week 4, August 2023 Weston Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 28,405 20-MAN BATTLE ROYAL: In a bout that didn't have much heat and terrible wrestling, Andrew Harper won a battle royal in 13:11. The other members of the 'final four' were Brutus Milano, Denny King and Spike Sylvain, with Brutus Milano being the final elimination. Brutus Milano got the most eliminations over the course of the match. Rating: 58 A battle royal which ends with all the old school NYCW heels together. It’s like being back in 2020 and personally, I loved it. Harper with the big win to reinforce his Bully Enforcer gimmick. SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Perfect Pepper Pelton defeated Fro Sure in 9:32 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Rating: 63 Pepper really has learnt from Fro Sure and this is a big, singles win for the former tag champ. The fact he cheated to win draws a smile from Fro Sure. In fact Fro Sure seemed happy for his opponent, despite losing the match. GANG WARS MATCH: Prime Time Jack Pryde & Vessey Combat Club vs. Honest Frank Jr & The Chop Shop In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Honest Frank Jr and The Chop Shop defeated Prime Time Jack Pryde and Vessey Combat Club in 10:27 when Honest Frank Jr pinned JP Barnham with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 66 Keeping the show rolling, we have Frank Jr getting another big win. It seems that when he’s teamed with two bigger boys, he is successful. Prime Time and the VCC can afford the loss here. Because I liked the idea of The Chop Shop as muscle for hire and wanted to run with it. NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, The Biggins Boys defeated The Fantastic Express in 10:30 when Zippy Deverell was disqualified while fighting Bart Biggins. Rating: 76 OLE! Another incredible match from our tag team ranks. And while The Biggins got the win, the Fantastics keep the titles. This allows us to go to a rubber match if we want to. Alternatively we might want to save that for another time. NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Charlie Corner vs. Billy Chase vs. The Masked Mauler © In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, The Masked Mauler defeated Charlie Corner and Billy Chase in 9:56 when The Masked Mauler submitted Billy Chase with an Iron Claw. The Masked Mauler makes defence number nine of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 53 Having learnt our lesson of over-using match-ups, we inserted Billy Chase into this title defense. Mauler’s run had been superb for both him and the title prestige, but I wasn’t ready to have him drop the title just yet. SINGLES MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. David Wayne Newton In a good match, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Danny Hagman in 22:13 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 69 And in the final showdown DWN gets the nod via cheating. We’d now have a nice break in the feud to let both men expand into other things for the time being. SINGLES MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Thom Barrowman defeated Magnum Kobe in 9:48 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 63 Thom gets a big match win. We could’ve gone either way here, but we were genuinely scared that Magnum might just up and retire due to injury at any second. Once he’d proven he will recover we’ll change things up. But for now; One Man Army marches on. SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Angry Gilmore in 9:49 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. Rating: 68 And there we have it. Bulldozer finishes the feud with a clean win to propel him back towards the very top of the card. We were slightly overrun with top-level heels. ANGLE: Trent Shaffer makes an elaborate entrance with Billy Keelan alongside him. Keelan then introduces him to the crowd in an elaborate and overly-long opening match tale of the tape. Rating: 74 NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus vs. Trent Shaffer © Following the introductions, the two men get to work. Throughout the match, Trent maintains a level of control and offense which firmly establish him as the dominant performer. But what Riley lacks in experience, he more than makes up for in grit. Even with Shaffer hitting a number of big moves, Riley keeps kicking out and slowly, so slowly, he starts to crawl back into the match. The crowd can sense the change an don’t seem happy about it. Trent slowly becomes the de facto face of the match as Riley uses every trick in the book to gain and maintain control. Then, just as it looks like he’s going to regain his title… Cheerleader Nicki returns to NYCW and appears at ringside to start brawling with Fern Hathaway. Having beaten her down to the delight of audience, Nicki gets into the ring and slaps Riley around the face. Distracted, Riley turns around into a Heart Burn and Trent hooks to legs for the win. In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Trent Shaffer defeated Riley McManus in 23:09 by pinfall with a Heart Burn following interference from Cheerleader Nicki. Trent Shaffer makes defence number two of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 67 ANGLE: Furious about Cheerleader Nicki’s sudden return, Riley stands in the middle of the ring as Trent and Billy sneak into the crowd with the title. The lights in the arena dim and spotlights begin to swirl around the entrance as Sirius by Alan Parsons Project plays. Cheerleader Nicki runs up the ramp and points to the entrance when a man enters… Wearing a long black, leather duster coat and black trousers, with a headband covered in stars he begins to march towards the ring with Nicki alongside him and behind him on the VesseyTron the words spin white against the black: ‘The Star’ George Trapesi. The former LA Star #1 has returned to NYCW. As he marches to the ring, Nicki follows alongside before rushing in to take out Fern Hathaway. Trapesi gets in the ring, looking bigger and more imposing than ever before. McManus, having got his bearings, charges, only to find himself on the receiving end of a chokeslam. Trapesi picks up the dazed McManus so he’s stood in the centre of ring and then points a finger gun at him before delivering a clothesline so powerful that McManus spins in the air before landing. With the crowd going berserk, Trapesi and Nicki pose on the apron as the show ends. Rating: 84 Now that’s a repackaging. OVERALL RATING: 67 487,109 viewers tuned in, mainly for the main event and the aftermath. The actual quality of the event was a little underwhelming, but you can’t knock that ending. And that, hopefully is the thing that people remember. Having made an incredible $163,865 profit, it was time to look into upgrading production values to majestic. If we’re really going for it, then I want us to look every bit as good as USPW, TCW and SWF. Next time… LA Star #1 has returned… Results: KyTeran – 6/9 John Lions – 6/9 Neslo024 – 5/9 Theheel – 4/9

New York City… One last break before we get stuck in heading to King of New York and beyond… With Larry and I about to take our first vacations in years, we handed the book to Ernie Turner with strict instructions on what to do. NYCW Empire Superstars #25 Friday, Week 1, August 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 4,935 [*]Trent Shaffer cuts a promo thanking Riley McManus for gifting him the title Riley is not pleased. Rating: 80 [*]Prime Time Jack Pryde drew with Brutus Milano in 6:41 following a double disqualification. Rating: 53 [*]Honest Frank Jr. cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Prime Time Jack Pryde. Rating: 70 [*]The Biggins Boys defeated Samoan Wrecking Crew in 7:26 when Bart Biggins pinned Loa Afu with a B-Dropper. Rating: 53 [*]Perfect Pepper Pelton cuts a promo demanding a rematch with Fro Sure. Rating: 74 [*]Andrew Harper defeated Perfect Pepper Pelton in 7:36 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 66 [*]Gilmore and Hagman cut a promo teaching each other how to beat Newton and Bulldozer. Rating: 76 [*]Thom Barrowman defeated The Juggernaut in 7:43 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 45 [*]Riley McManus is furious with Trent Shaffer and demands a rematch. Rating: 65 [*]Angry Gilmore and Danny Hagman defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Davis Wayne Newton in 23:10 when Danny Hagman submitted Davis Wayne Newton with a Steel Curtain. Rating: 68 [*]OVERALL RATING: 70 - 0.31 (235,908 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #26 Friday, Week 2, August 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,348 [*]Trent Shaffer opens the show with Billy Keelan and they happily accept the rematch with Riley. Trent it seems, could do with the workout. Rating: 75 [*]Denny King defeated Charlie Corner in 8:21 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 56 [*]The Fantastic Express cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with The Biggins Boys. Rating: 81 [*]The Chop Shop defeated Billy Chase and Garry The Entertainer in 5:43 when Eric Mortenson pinned Garry The Entertainer with a Tree-Feller. Rating: 47 [*]Honest Frank Jr. cuts a promo announcing that it’s still not far that Prime Time Jack Pryde gets preferential treatment than him. Rating: 70 [*]Honest Frank Jr. defeated Fro Sure in 9:52 by pinfall with a Roll The Dice. Rating: 65 [*]Spike Sylvain defeated Danny Hagman in 7:53 by pinfall with a handful of tights. Rating: 64 [*]Prime Time Jack Pryde will happily face Honest Frank Jr anytime and anywhere. Rating: 79 [*]Riley McManus defeated Prime Time Jack Pryde in 22:04 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex following interference from Honest Frank Jr. Rating: 67 [*]OVERALL RATING: 70 - 0.31 (237,590 viewers) Refreshed and back from holiday, I was met with the news that Rafe Sashay thinks Brutus doesn’t connect with fans and we should fire him. You think I haven’t been trying Rafe? The man is Teflon. Ernie had done a decent job of running things in my absence. Although I had been on holiday, I had taken time to attend the funeral of Rip Chord. The man was a legend and I wanted to pay my respects. NYCW Empire Superstars #27 Friday, Week 3, August 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,349 ANGLE: Riley McManus joins us to kick things off and he’s still angry about losing the title to Shaffer. This brings out The Talent and his agent. They’re used to dealing with curtain-jerkers getting annoyed that the top talent get better treatment. They’re sympathetic. It’s not easy to stand in the presence of greatness. But at Brooklyn Brawl, McManus will get his rematch. They just hope he saves the money from the fight’s purse so that he doesn’t come back to them later for another payout. Rating: 81 Shaffer and Keelan were gold on the mic and McManus was improving to keep up. The idea of Shaffer as a true ‘big star’ and McManus as a ‘wannabe’ was a lovely twist. Shaffer becoming the de facto face despite this behaviour was even funnier. These opening tv show angles were dynamite, but there was a problem; Me. I didn’t have the skills to keep up with the action in a convincing way. And that was holding them back from even greater heights. It was not something I’d considered, but we were growing at such a fast rate that it’s not all that surprising. SINGLES MATCH: Chip Martin vs. Andrew Harper In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, Andrew Harper defeated Chip Martin in 5:49 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 64 Harper has been low-key winning a lot of matches and actually finds himself positioned as one of the top stars in the company because of that. We’d have to work on seeing if we could turn that into a breakout at some point. ANGLE: The Biggins Boys are backstage with Whistler and they’re there to talk about The Fantastic Express. They respect the champs and can’t deny that they’ve had an incredible year. But they’re ready to test their metal against the best NYCW has to offer. So they’re challenging the Fantastic Express to a rematch at Brooklyn Brawl. Rating: 66 NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Powers of Pain vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, The Powers of Pain defeated The Fantastic Express in 8:08 when Rafe Sashay was counted out while fighting Bart Biggins. Rating: 67 It seems that the Biggins are using some very Fantastic behaviour to get a response out of the champs. ANGLE: Fro Sure is backstage with Perfect Pepper Pelton. He hopes the young fella has learnt his lesson. Pepper says he has and he’ll prove it. He wants a rematch at Brooklyn Brawl. Laughing; Fro Sure accepts. Rating: 79 The odd mentor-protégé relationship they’re working with is pretty good. And Pepper stands to only improve by being in segments with Fro Sure, who is quietly becoming one of our best. SINGLES MATCH: JP Barnham vs. Phil Anders In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, Phil Anders defeated JP Barnham in 8:05 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 52 Sometimes you just want the young rookie to get a win. Anders career has not taken off the way we’d hoped after he sent American Machine into retirement. His aborted moment with the crumbling Honest Enterprises was sub-optimal, but as long as we was getting experience, I hoped he’d be fine. ANGLE: Danny Hagman is bored of Davis Wayne Newton and his anti-USA rhetoric. If Canada is so great, why doesn’t he just go back there? In fact, Hagman thinks they should settle their score once and for all at Brooklyn Brawl. Rating: 72 SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Sal DiMeo In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Angry Gilmore defeated Sal DiMeo in 7:44 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 65 Angry Gilmore, whose career has been stuttering a little, gets a nice, clean victory over Sweet Sal. Match was fine, but once again we had issues with stamina. I know technically we’ve always had that problem with the likes of Brutus. But I thought we were moving past that. ANGLE: Angry Gilmore grabs a microphone after the match and demands a final showdown with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. Rating: 81 Simple and effective story-telling from two veterans who look like they truly hate each other. They don’t obviously. They actually get on well. But with both of their careers on the back nine (Bulldozer because of his body rather than his age), it’s nice to give them a proper feud against fellow veterans to sink their teeth into. NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. Trent Shaffer © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Trent Shaffer defeated Magnum Kobe in 21:50 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Trent Shaffer makes defence number one of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 70 Great match and clean win for Shaffer against one of our best. In case you were wondering, Magnum put on this match with his body falling apart. So that tells us everything we need to know about his talent levels. OVERALL RATING: 73 0.31 (232,817 viewers) as we’ve ironed out some of the small issues and are once again on the rise. Underpinned by the awesome debut of Shaffer. With one show to go before Brooklyn Brawl, we heard the sad news that Jeremy Stone, of the legendary Stone Family, had passed away at the far-to-young age of 57. We sent our condolences to the rest of the family. In related alliance news; Lucy Stone-McFly won the COTT World Women’s Title. The decision was made in part because she’s a fantastic worker, but also to honour her extended family. It was a nice touch. NYCW Empire Superstars #28 Friday, Week 4, August 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,396 ANGLE: Fro Sure dances to the ring to his own music. Once out there he invites Perfect Pepper Pelton to join him. “Now listen kid. We’ve got a match this Sunday and there’s some things I want you to know before we get into it for a second time…” “No need Frozone,” Pepper interrupts. “Thanks for your help, but I think I got it. You can’t trust anyone, look out for yourself and do whatever it takes right?” “Heh, you’re weird. But yeah, that’s broadly it.” “Cool man, I look forward to the match.” Pepper offers his hand and Fro Sure shakes it. Only Pepper doesn’t let go. When Fro Sure realises, Pepper smiles and then delivers a slap to the face and a low blow. Smiling, Pepper leaves Fro Sure in the ring and waves to the crowd as he heads up the ramp. Rating: 82 The learner becomes the master? SINGLES MATCH: Jay Silver vs. Phil Anders In a bout that had little heat and embarrassing wrestling, Phil Anders defeated Jay Silver in 5:47 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 27 Woof! This was bad. Neither of these guys are ready to be controlling a match just yet and the results were some of the worst we’ve seen since the awful Samoan Wrecking Crew matchup which Larry ran. ANGLE: Honest Frank Jr is backstage with Whsitler. He’s sick and tired of being disrespected. Don’t these people know who he is? He’s wrestling royalty. Whistler points out that he left his dad’s stable. Frank Jr points out that his own dad disrespected him. It was like the time we didn’t get the BMX bike he wanted as a kid. His dad had to learn then, and he has to learn now. But he’s not here to talk about his dad. He just wants to let Prime Time know that he’s found a tag team to support him in his battle. The Chop Shop enter and Honest Frank Jr hands a wad of cash to Sweet Sal, who smiles. Rating: 82 Absolutely incredible mic and character work as Honest Frank Jr is fast becoming the most obnoxious heel on the entire roster. TAG TEAM MATCH: Vessey Combat Club vs. Wiuff & Spratt In a bout that didn't have much heat and terrible wrestling, Vessey Combat Club defeated Jean-Pierre Wiuff and Darren Spratt in 8:30 when JP Barnham submitted Jean-Pierre Wiuff with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 49 Solid win for VCC here and they helped elevate their rookie opponents in the process. The perfect mini-match. NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Captain Canada vs. The Masked Mauler © In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but terrible wrestling, The Masked Mauler defeated Captain Canada in 5:31 by pinfall with a Piledriver. The Masked Mauler makes defence number eight of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 60 And following on from the last match, Mauler delivers a solid beating to a fellow masked performer in a really, really good match-up. ANGLE: Danny Hagman is with Whistler and he’s so sick of talking about Davis Wayne Newton, that he’d prefer to talk about the upcoming NFL season with Whistler. He’s confident that the Steelers will beat the Jets on opening day. Whistler is less sure and they have a nice little moment before DWN attacks them both from behind. “Blue Jays for life! Because they, like me, are from the mecca of all sports; Toronto, Ontario, Canada!” Rating: 74 Just got to get that catchphrase into every promo. What a douche. I loved him. SINGLES MATCH: Bowden Snoop vs. David Wayne Newton In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Bowden Snoop in 7:38 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 54 He follows the backstage attack with a simple victory in the ring. Bowden Snoop had huge upside, but no was not the time for him to start challenging established performers. ANGLE: Trent Shaffer, with Billy the Brain, cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Riley McManus. He’s not worried in the slightest about losing. In fact it’ll be nice to find someone else to elevate to his level… before dispatching them. He’s here to help he company and the best way to do that, is to make a lot of people famous. And the best way to make them famous is to beat them in the ring. And no-ones better at winning that Trent ‘The Talent’ Shaffer. Rating: 84 They’re both so good on the mic. The TV show really has given us scope to try out different people in non-wrestling roles and the results have been superb. TAG TEAM MATCH: Angry Gilmore & The Biggins Boys vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith & The Fantastic Express In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Angry Gilmore and The Biggins Boys defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith and The Fantastic Express in 21:04 when Angry Gilmore pinned Zippy Deverell with an Anger Management. Rating: 73 A big win for the faces heading into the weekend event. And what a match. In recent weeks our main events have become some of our best ever matches and this continued that trend. Just great stuff all round. OVERALL RATING: 74 0.31 (236,237 viewers) for the go-home show, and with that done. We were ready for the big show. NYCW Brooklyn Brawl 2023 NYCW Empire: 'The Georgia Bulldog' Riley McManus vs. Trent 'The Talent' Shaffer © Angry Gilmore vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith Magnum Kobe vs. Thom Barrowman Danny Hagman vs. Davis Wayne Newton NYCW Tri-State: Billy Chase vs. Charlie Corner vs. The Masked Mauler © NYCW & COTT World Tag Team: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © Prime Time Jack Pryde & Vessey Combat Club vs. Honest Frank Jr & The Chop Shop Fro Sure vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton 20-Man Battle Royal Next time… a big Brawl in Brooklyn…

**OOC Note** Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone interacting with the diary so far. It's been really fun watching to see how people think about the storylines and booking and what makes sense. A lot of the time in fact I look at your reasoning and it's better than my own. If there is anything I can do to improve the reading experience, please do let me know. I am keen to do better where I can.

New York City… where we replace the irreplaceable babyface, with a brand new heel… Shaffer had already made a name for himself backstage. Telling stories and arranging poker tournaments. He was in many ways the perfect replacement for LA Star #1. His manager Billy ‘The Brain’ Keelan, was a steal from SWF. He happily paid over the odds for him because his mic work and charisma, even in his mid-20s was absolutely incredible. Not to mention he was a real people person AND had the look of a 1980s scumbag agent, which meant he fit in immediately. NYCW Rumble in the Bronx 2023 Sunday, Week 4, July 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 25,802 TAG TEAM MATCH: Vessey Combat Club vs. Samoan Wrecking Crew In a bout that had a decent reaction from the crowd but sub-par wrestling, Vessey Combat Club defeated Samoan Wrecking Crew in 7:01 when JP Barnham submitted Loa Afu with a Golden Scissors. Rating: 46 Nice big event showing for the Samoans here. They lose most of the time, but their talents are improving every week. SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Fro Sure defeated Perfect Pepper Pelton in 10:20 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 62 Fro Sure spent weeks warning Pepper that singles is not like tag team, and then he went and beat him clean to back that up. It’s not a feud built on hate or anger, but about learning. Which makes it somewhat unique. TAG TEAM MATCH: The Powers of Pain vs. Brutus Milano & Andrew Harper In a decent match, Andrew Harper and Brutus Milano defeated The Powers of Pain in 10:16 when Brutus Milano submitted The Juggernaut with an Italian Backbreaker after blatantly cheating. Rating: 62 Never write-off Brutus in a big game atmosphere. SINGLES MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a good match, Danny Hagman defeated Davis Wayne Newton in 21:48 by pinfall with a Missing Piece. Rating: 73 Fantastic match between two men with great chemistry. Likely their last singles battle for the time-being, they go out with the best yet. NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, The Fantastic Express defeated The Biggins Boys in 10:08 when Zippy Deverell pinned Brett Biggins after using a foreign object. The Fantastic Express make defence number six of the COTT World Tag Team. The Fantastic Express make defence number two of the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 72 Another great match as the champs do everything in their heelish power to retain the titles. This could be the first in a string of great matches involves The Fantastics, The Biggins’ and soon the VCC. NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Charlie Corner vs. Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. Honest Frank Jr vs. The Masked Mauler © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, The Masked Mauler defeated Prime Time Jack Pryde, Honest Frank Jr. and Charlie Corner in 10:16 when The Masked Mauler submitted Charlie Corner with an Iron Claw after interference from Honest Frank. The Masked Mauler makes defence number seven of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 61 Cooling the crowd off a bit comes this fatal fourway match, which sees Prime Time come close to winning singles gold. But he ends up being distracted by Honest Frank Jr and Mauler takes the opportunity to grab a win from the claws of defeat. SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Angry Gilmore defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 9:53 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 63 When in doubt, go back to the well one last time. Angry finally gets a win and we can settle this feud for a bit. We had rough plans for both men shortly. SINGLES MATCH: Magnum Kobe vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Magnum Kobe defeated Thom Barrowman in 9:46 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 61 Another match between two of our top stars and once again, this disappoints slightly. I don’t know what is going on at the top of the card. Was it because of the advanced age of the likes of Barrowman, Gilmore and Smith? Did we need to plan ahead a bit more? NYCW EMPIRE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Trent Shaffer vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Trent Shaffer defeated Riley McManus in 25:08 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Trent Shaffer wins the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 66 First things first, these two definitely have pretty good chemistry together. The fact it was the rare heel vs heel matchup may have dampened things. But the shock nature of the finish and Riley fighting so hard to keep the title, only to lose it to the man hired to help him keep it is… well, it’s delicious irony isn’t it. Matach could’ve been better, but it’s a start. OVERALL RATING: 66 477,157 viewers and $135,599 profit. But disaster of disasters, we discover that Magnum Kobe has been suffering from chronic back pain, which explains a lot. Apparently his body has been reduced to 33% efficiency. He’s 36 years old and this injury will linger for over a month. Was his body collapsing? Should we be worried? Any thoughts of Magnum were dispelled when Larry approached after the show to tell me that Rip Chord has passed away. Next time… feeling burnt-out, Larry and I take a vacation and pass the book to a friend… Results: Theheel - 7/8 Herrbear - 5/8 John Lions - 4/8

New York City… where we have another month of admin to work through… I received a lot of hate online for the finish of that match. But everyone backstage agreed it was the only choice we realistically had. 474,083 viewers had still tuned in and we turned a whopping $197,229 profit, which we immediately funneled into upgrading our Live Experience to Professional. The locker room was buzzing after the show and after Riley and LA Star had shaken hands, I left the boys to say what they needed to say to each other. I handed the book to Larry and hopped on a plane to Texas. I had meetings to deal with and I knew I could trust Larry to book in my absence. NYCW Empire Superstars #21 Friday, Week 1, July 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,179 [*]Cross River Connection agree to go their separate ways and thank each other for a fantastic run as a team, but for now they want to try out being singles wrestlers. Rating: 88 [*]Prime Time Jack Pryde defeated Brutus Milano in 6:27 by pinfall with a PrydeFall. Rating: 62 [*]The Fantastic Express cut a promo about being the undisputed best and how they’re looking forward to beating The Biggins Boys. Rating: 83 [*]The Biggins Boys defeated Samoan Wrecking Crew in 8:28 when Bart Biggins pinned Loa Afu with a B-Dropper. Rating: 54 [*]Fro Sure cuts a promo warning Perfect Pepper about biting off more than he can chew. He likes the kid, but fighting singles is not liking being in a team. Rating: 76 [*]Perfect Pepper Pelton defeated Andrew Harper in 6:21 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 66 [*]Magnum Kobe cuts a promo challenging Thom Barrowman. Rating: 73 [*]Thom Barrowman defeated The Eagle in 9:39 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. Rating: 61 [*]Davis Wayne Newton cuts a promo up in the balcony about Danny Hagman. Rating: 75 [*]Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Davis Wayne Newton defeated Angry Gilmore and Danny Hagman in 20:04 when Bulldozer Brandon Smith pinned Angry Gilmore by using underhanded tactics. Rating: 65 [*]The Georgia Bulldog comes out wearing LA Star #1’s mask before taking it off and throwing it away. He’s out for a celebration and to thank ‘The Talent’ Trent Shaffer and as part of their deal, he can choose his prize. Trent says he’s got his agent flying in, in a couple of weeks and he’ll let him know about payment then. But for now, they’re just happy to have rid the company of both LA Stars. Rating: 74 [*]OVERALL RATING: 72 - 0.30 (228,852 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #22 Friday, Week 2, July 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 4,885 [*]The Masked Mauler cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Charlie Corner. Rating: 69 [*]Charlie Corner defeated Denny King in 8:20 by pinfall with a Corner Cutter. Rating: 56 [*]Fro Sure is back to give more advice to Perfect Pepper Pelton about fighting in singles competition. Rating: 79 [*]The Chop Shop defeated Billy Chase and Garry The Entertainer in 8:29 when Eric Mortenson pinned Garry The Entertainer with a Tree-Feller. Rating: 45 [*]Honest Frank Jr. cuts a promo explaining that he knew with the right partners, he could be successful. Rating: 77 [*]Fro Sure defeated Honest Frank Jr. in 8:03 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 65 [*]Danny Hagman is looking for Davis Wayne Newton, when he accidentally walks into Bulldozer Brandon Smith, who isn’t impressed. Rating: 66 [*]Danny Hagman defeated Spike Sylvain in 9:36 by submission with a Steel Curtain. Rating: 61 [*]Riley McManus cuts a promo about how there’s no one left to beat. So he offers an open challenge to any rookie. Rating: 68 [*]Riley McManus defeated The Juggernaut in 18:07 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Riley McManus makes defence number ten of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 52 [*]OVERALL RATING: 60 - 0.27 (209,038 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #23 Friday, Week 3, July 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,252 [*]Trent Shaffer is out and tonight is the moment they’ve all waited for. ‘The Talent’ is a man of great taste, of refined sensibilities and y’know what, he’s a hero to millions around the world. He’s an elite athlete and in the modern World, the elite athletes need elite representation. So I’ve searched the globe for the absolute best representation and, like all things, he’s been successful. Introducing to the World, the greatest agent, the greatest manager and the greatest mind in professional wrestling; Billy ‘The Brain’ Keelan. As his new manager, Billy the Brain has found the top independent worker around to test his skills in tonight’s main event. Rating: 67 [*]Andrew Harper defeated Chip Martin in 9:39 by pinfall with a Spike Slam. Rating: 52 [*]The Biggins Boys cut a promo challenging The Fantastic Express to a title match. Rating: 72 [*]The Fantastic Express defeated Vessey Combat Club in 9:50 when Zippy Deverell pinned JP Barnham, illegally using the ropes for leverage. The Fantastic Express make defence number four of the COTT World Tag Team. The Fantastic Express make defence number one of the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 64 [*]Riley McManus asks Trent Shaffer and Billy Keelan about payment for his help. The Brain says his client doesn’t need money. But he’ll happily take some gold, and points at the Empire Heavyweight Title. Rating: 69 [*]Magnum Kobe defeated Phil Anders in 9:56 by submission with a Magnum Deathlock. Rating: 58 [*]Thom Barrowman cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Magnum Kobe. Rating: 75 [*]Angry Gilmore defeated Sal DiMeo in 11:36 by pinfall with an Anger Management. Rating: 60 [*]Angry Gilmore cuts a promo saying he’s done with Bulldozer Brandon Smith for now. But he’s pretty angry about the way Davis Wayne Newton has been bad-mouthing New York, and America. And he better watch his mouth. Rating: 87 [*]Trent Shaffer defeated Porkchop Patterson in 7:53 by pinfall with a Heart Burn. Rating: 53 [*]OVERALL RATING: 62 - 0.27 (206,966 viewers) NYCW Empire Superstars #24 Friday, Week 4, July 2023 The Empire Ballroom, New York City, New York Attendance: 5,178 [*]Riley McManus comes down to the ring. He takes a microphone and starts talking to the crowd, before eventually getting interrupted by Trent Shaffer. They have a big argument, going back and forth on the microphone. Trent lays Riley out and motions for the belt. Rating: 75 [*]Phil Anders defeated Jay Silver in 6:10 by pinfall with a Hangman's Neckbreaker. Rating: 21 [*]Magnum Kobe and Thom Barrowman get into a brawl backstage. Rating: 75 [*]The Powers of Pain defeated Jean-Pierre Wiuff and Darren Spratt in 7:42 when The Juggernaut pinned Jean-Pierre Wiuff with The Pain Train. Rating: 38 [*]Prime Time Jack Pryde absolutely hates Honest Frank Jr and plans to shut his mouth. 80 [*]The Masked Mauler defeated Captain Canada in 5:37 by submission with an Iron Claw. The Masked Mauler makes defence number six of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 53 [*]Charlie Corner cuts a promo about Honest Frank Jr. Turns out, he hates him too. Rating: 67 [*]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Bowden Snoop in 7:50 by pinfall with a Fisherman's Suplex. Rating: 47 [*]Bulldozer Brandon Smith and The Fantastic Express defeated Angry Gilmore and The Biggins Boys in 20:10 when Bulldozer Brandon Smith pinned Angry Gilmore, illegally using the ropes for leverage. Rating: 66 [*]OVERALL RATING: 68 - 0.29 (221,692 viewers) Having negotiated everything I needed to in Texas, I looked over the notes from the month from Larry. They were surprisingly comprehensive: American Flash, California Love Machine & Masked Cougar win the COTT World Six Man Matthew Keith joined CWA Angry Gilmore has taken Bowden Snoop under his wing Bulldozer says “Brutus Milano doesn’t connect with the fan, you should probably write him off.” Aaron Knight won his fifth CWA World Title. Magnum Kobe has bonded with Whitehorse Whittaker on social media Americana Jr won the COTT United States title Ade Nelson & Josh Jacobs won the Sam Keith Classic XIII Rich Money won his fifth USPW World title For my part, I had been with OnDem representatives and the suits from East Coast Today. I had successfully extended our deals with both for events and the TV show. So it was another successful month as I took back control in time for our end of month event. NYCW Rumble in the Bronx 2023 NYCW Empire Title: Trent 'The Talent' Shaffer vs. 'The Georgia Bulldog' Riley McManus NYCW & COTT World Tag Team Titles: The Biggins Boys vs. The Fantastic Express © NYCW Tri-State Title: Charlie Corner vs. Prime Time Jack Pryde vs. Honest Frank Jr vs. The Masked Mauler © Magnum Kobe vs. Thom Barrowman Angry Gilmore vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith Danny Hagman vs. Davis Wayne Newton Fro Sure vs. Perfect Pepper Pelton Vessey Combat Club vs. Samoan Wrecking Crew Next time… McManus vs. Shaffer… Rumble in the Bronx…

New York City… where we look to smash our attendance record with the best built match in an age… Weston Square Garden. The premier venue in all of New York City. It wasn’t the biggest capacity, but it was steeped in history. This is where Ross Henry fought one of his two matches at Total Mayhem XXI. I never thought we’d be able to perform here, never mind sell the place out. Yet here we were. The crowd were loud and opinionated and way already chanting for LA Star #1. After walking the hallowed halls alone before the show, I went into the locker-room. The one which had seen so many New York Dandies hockey teams. The boys were in fairly good spirits. I walked over to Star. “How you feeling Georgie?” I asked. “I’m good.” “You nervous?” I pressed. He looked me straight in the eye. “Absolutely not.” I smiled and shook his hand, but he pulled me into a hug and said, “I just wanted to say… thanks. Thanks for always believing in me. Even when Ricky left. I never thought I’d be where I am.” I ignored the lump in my throat and smiled back at him with a nod, before turning to the rest of the locker room. “Showtime guys!” NYCW Summer in the City 2023 Sunday, Week 4, June 2023 Weston Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 20,789 ANGLE: The Biggins Boys and The Powers of Pain are in the ring. Andrew Harper heads out with Denny King and Spike Sylvain in tow. And he has a microphone. “You know what, we’re here in Weston Square Garden. And we opening the show. It wasn’t that long ago that we were competing for gold. Former holders of most of the titles. And now what are we? Forgotten? I don’t think so. New York City, you want a show. Well we’re the true New Yorkers, and we’re not along.” Saturdays by Mitch Murder begins to play… and here comes Brutus Milano, flipping off the crowd as he enters. Rating: 62 Felt like a heel turn better suited his character and opened new doors for this group of original NYCW talent. GANG BATTLE MATCH: The Biggins Boys & Powers of Pain vs. Brutus Milano, Denny King, Andrew Harper & Spike Sylvain In a decent match, The Biggins Boys and The Powers of Pain defeated Denny King, Spike Sylvain, Andrew Harper and Brutus Milano in 9:43 when Brett Biggins pinned Brutus Milano with a B-B-Gun. Rating: 59 Then again, maybe it was just a rib on the pastrami-sucking idiot. Suck it Brutus. NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Charlie Corner vs. The Masked Mauler © In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, The Masked Mauler defeated Charlie Corner in 9:53 by submission with an Iron Claw after interference from Honest Frank. The Masked Mauler makes defence number five of the NYCW Tri-State Regional. Rating: 61 So it seems not all is lost with Honest Enterprises. Decent little match to heat up an already nuclear crowd. NYCW & COTT WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Fantastic Express vs. Cross River Connection © In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, The Fantastic Express defeated Cross River Connection in 9:47 when Rafe Sashay pinned Prime Time Jack Pryde with a Fantastic Flashbang. The Fantastic Express win the COTT World Tag Team. The Fantastic Express win the NYCW Tag Team. Rating: 68 First upset of the night, but I think it’s fair to say that the crowd loved both teams. With duelling chants and just generally chanting about how awesome they were. I didn’t disagree. GANG WARS MATCH: Vessey Combat Club (Magnum Kobe, JP Barnham & Ray Cavalero) vs. Honest Frank Jr. & The Chop Shop In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Honest Frank Jr. and The Chop Shop defeated Vessey Combat Club (Magnum Kobe, JP Barnham and Ray Cavalero) in 9:37 when Honest Frank Jr pinned JP Barnham after Mortenson had hit a Tree-Feller. Rating: 69 Finally a bit of revenge for Honest frank Jr, who the crowd inexplicably loved. Their chanting for him was so much, we had to call an audible and switch the VCC heel for the match. The roof of the place nearly exploded when Frank Jr stole the pin from Mortenson. SINGLES MATCH: Danny Hagman vs. Davis Wayne Newton In a good match, Davis Wayne Newton defeated Danny Hagman in 22:27 by submission with a STF after blatantly cheating. Rating: 65 A fantastic addition to the canon of these two wrestlers seemingly eternal battle. Perhaps a little under what we’d hoped, but both men had lost a match or two in the build-up. Not to mention someone from Pittsburgh against someone from Canada in this arena? SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure vs. Thom Barrowman In a bout that had good heat and decent wrestling, Fro Sure defeated Thom Barrowman in 21:41 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. Rating: 64 Big and clean win fro Fro Sure as he continues to slowly climb the ladder of our roster. Thom Barrowman is a professional and he must realise his time at the top is limited. SINGLES MATCH: Angry Gilmore vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith In a bout that had great heat and decent wrestling, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Angry Gilmore in 9:40 by pinfall by using underhanded tactics. Rating: 67 Bulldozer cheats to win in a decent match. We had to cut it short because of stamina concerns for both men, but they delivered a classic between veterans and crowd respected them both for it. NYCW EMPIRE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: LA Star #1 vs. ‘The Georgia Bulldog’ Riley McManus Following their over-the-top intros, both men stood in the ring as special announcer Whistler read the tale of the tape. The lights on the audience were darkened and the ring was illuminated in a spotlight to give the match a classic, big match feel. Whistler continued to explain that there are no DQs, no count-outs and Fern Hathaway, Thom Barrowman and Bulldozer Brandon Smith are barred from ringside. The crowd boo’d that specification. When the opening bell sounded, the Garden exploded with sound. They were almost entirely with LA Star #1, but the kid looked completely in control. Being a title match, the time limit was set at sixty minutes instead of the usual thirty minutes and for over half an hour, the two men exchanged chain-wrestling moves, high flying moves, vicious brawling shots and incredible Japanese stiff strikes. As the match reached a crescendo, with the crowd calling for a finish, LA Star climbed the ropes and delivered the highest top rope Double Stomp of his career. Crushing McManus chest. He hooked the legs for a 1, 2… and unbelievably, the Georgia Bulldog kicked out. Rallying quickly, Riley delivered a Slingshot suplex, but to the crowd’s joy, LA Star kicked out of that. On jelly legs, the two men stood toe and toe and beat each other’s faces with punches leading to crowd cheering and booing in time. LA Star feeds of the energy of the crowd and delivers an almighty clothesline to knock McManus silly. Slowly he climbs to the top tope and points out to the crowd and then up to the sky… and doesn’t notice the person in a hooded leather jacket sliding into the ring. The figure runs up the ropes, hooks Star’s arm and hits a crashing top rope jackhammer. The figure then wakes up McManus, who gets to his feet and hits one last Slingshot Suplex and hooks Star’s legs for the 1… 2… 3. In a bout that had great heat and good wrestling, Riley McManus defeated LA Star #1 in 34:25 by pinfall with a Slingshot Suplex. Riley McManus makes defence number nine of the NYCW Empire Heavyweight. Rating: 71 ANGLE: With the crowd ready to riot, Riley grabs a microphone as Fern runs down to ringside to join them. “You thought he was going to win didn’t you? Be honest. I screwed him, like I screwed you all. And I couldn’t have done it without my friend. My shooter on the grassy knoll. Ladies and gentlemen of New York City, join me in welcoming Trent ‘The Talent’ Shaffer.” Riley, Trent and Fern then pick-up the limp LA Star and begin hitting vicious shots with a chair into his head. The crowd pelting the ring with garbage the whole while. Then, making sure to seat LA Star facing the camera, Riley McManus undoes the strings at the back of his mask and pulls it off, revealing a mop of longish brown hair and a completely bloodied face. Riley grabs the mic one last time. “Get this piece of trash out of my ring. This is New York City Wrestling, and it belongs, to The Georgia Bulldog.” Rating: 82 OVERALL RATING: 70 Results: John Lions – 5/8 Theheel – 5/8 Scottie – 4/8 KyTeran – 3/8 Next time… what the Hell just happened…

Quick Predictions Call to Arms Pre Show Sally Anne Christianson, Ariel Breaks and Zoe Ammis versus The Queen’s Court “The Man Without Fear” Sonny Wildside versus Marc DuBois Natalie DiMarco & Sandra Shine versus Lilly & Rose Skip “The Flow” Beau versus “Double J” Jared Johnson Main Show Diablo Duvak vs. Chucky Dorrance vs. Jayson Van Pelt vs. Jamie Atherton vs. John Yates vs. Davis Wayne Newton “The Natural” David Stone versus Lee Rivera w/ Jenny Playmate "The Shooting Star" Erik Strong versus "Shooter" Sean Deeley Tag Team Titles: The Griffin Family versus Thunder & Lightning © Women's Championship: Amber Allen versus Laura Flame versus Lauren Easter vesus Nadia Snow© The Golden versus The Elite w/ Drake Young World Championship: “The Revolution” Cameron Vessey versus Sean McFly ©