Wildfire1324

I would like to be added as well when Arlie gets back.

Location: The Pittsburgh Events Center (Pittsburgh, PA) PSW Steel City StarFest XIII March 2020 Attendance: 1219 Viewers on WrestleWorld: 29,475 Announcers: Mitch Naess and Alex Braun In dark matches: Big Boss Emperor defeated Fernando Fernandez Yuta Isono defeated Chip Martin The Historian defeated James Diaz Canadian Hardcore defeated The Dirty White Boys Wicked Lester defeated Tank Bradley SHOW RATING: 50 (Having some issues with my graphics so I posted without them for now. Hopefully I can fix that going forward.)

From PSWrestling.com PSWrestling.com Online Prediction Contest Results (Overall Predictions in Parenthesis) Sisma 8/9 (17/18) Falling_Star 5/9 (12/18) Puto (7/9) Herrbear 4/9 (10/19) Jaysin (6/9) Scottie (6/9) ToastyCenturion (6/9) Aboardtheark 7/9 (12/18) The Blonde Bomber 7/9 (12/18) Theheel (4/9) Congrats to Sisma for correctly predicting the results of eight of nine matches at HIGHWAY TO HELL. Don't forget PSW fans, the fan who correctly predicts the most match results between now and May 31st 2020 will win two ringside tickets to see our big HOMECOMING show at the world famous PSW Arena in June!

The past few weeks had been an absolute blur. With the unexpected passing of Larry Vessey and all the preparation that went into HIGHWAY TO HELL, I barely had a moment to catch my breath, let alone catch up on the business but I finally had a few moments to myself since we had already finalized the card and the booking for STEEL CITY STARFEST XIII last night. Or at least I thought I did until a number I didn't recognize lit up my phone. "Hello?" "Hi Mr. Naess. This is Les Moore from WrestleWorld.com. I hope I didn't get you at a bad time?" "Hi Les. Please call me Mitch. No, I'm good. How did you get my number?" "Oh....from Phil Vibert. I'm hoping you're familiar with our service. Phil is going to be broadcasting his podcast on our platform starting this month. He gave me your number and said that we would be crazy not to put Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling on our platform from day one. I'm hoping we can make a deal." "I'm familiar. My team has been keeping tabs on your announcements. We're interested if the money is right. I'll text you our mail address. Fed Ex us over a contract and we'll see if the terms make sense." "Sounds goods Mitch. I'll get that out in today's mail. We're trying to move quickly on this and if possible, we'd love to have your March show in Pittsburgh on Wrestleworld." My day of relaxation was clearly over so I hopped in the car and headed over to the office to let the team knows we had gotten the call from WrestleWorld. Phil had already told me to expect a call from them but I didn't need to show all my cards on our first call. He already gave me an idea about what to expect contractually so I was already expecting this deal to happen and happen pretty quickly. I already knew our production values were as good or better than anyone else they would sign up to their platform so I knew there wouldn't much of a financial outlay on our end. That would be a good thing because we've been losing a decent chunk of change so far this year, not hemorrhaging money by any means, but something that I needed to keep an eye on. Most of the expenses had been on new talent and that has proven to be money well spent so far. But I did need to return a call to my accountant who was very confused about $35,000 purchase to Chase Bank, $35,000 to secure the intellectual property rights to something that I thought would prove very worthwhile. From PSWrestling.com Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling Presents STEEL CITY STARFEST XIII LIVE AT THE PITTSBURGH EVENTS CENTER AVAILABLE NOW ON WRESTLEWORLD.com! MAIN EVENT CAGE WARS Nelson Callum, Xavi Ferrara and Devil Care vs. Ernest Youngman, Logan Wolfsbaine and Rich & Famou$ (w. Venus Angeletti) PSW NATIONAL TITLE MATCH Sayeed Ali © vs. Madman Boone PSW TAG TEAM TITLE REMATCH The Samoan Pit Bulls (w. Travis Century) © vs. Samoan Destruction, Inc. STRAP MATCH Austin Smooth vs. Cowboy Buck Winchester PLUS Ash Campbell vs. Teddy Powell Xavier Reckless vs. Antix Cerberus vs. Devil Dog Dustin Deuce vs. Vendetta Blood Soldiers vs. Little Bill & Big Jeb AND MUCH MORE! Tickets are available on PSWrestling.com!

Please include me as well. Thank you.

Thank you! 1. Well a wild west style wrestling company DOES need a sheriff! 2. I guess we will have to see about that one! 3. Stay tuned to the upcoming post from PSWrestling.com to see who is next!

Location: The Newark Armory (Newark, New Jersey) PSW Highway To Hell February 2020 Attendance: 1198 Announcers: Mitch Naess and Alex Braun In dark matches: Big Boss Emperor defeated Devil Dog James Diaz defeated Chip Martin Deathwish defeated Ben Williams The Historian defeated Happy Elwood Madman Boone (working through an injury) defeated Yuta Isono SHOW RATING: 47

From PWReporter.com: ......and finally, in New York City Wrestling news, it was announced this week that long time indy stalwart Steve Flash has emerged as the new owner of the mercurial regional company. In a conference call, Flash noted that he wouldn't be changing the infrastructure of the company dramatically but said that he would maintain his position as head booker for the time being, with some help from color commentator Ernie Turner. He added that while he personally had no issue with Mitch Naess or Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling, he would not be ceding an inch to them, adding, "they have may started a war, but I'm going to be the one who finishes it." We're going to stay on top of this story here at PWR. Also, you won't want to miss my Audio Update tomorrow morning where I delve deeper into the biggest story of the week, the shocking reunion of the estranged Stone brothers, Dan Stone Jr. and Edd Stone, presumably bringing an end to the long simmering family drama up in Canada, plus I'm going to preview PSW's upcoming HIGHWAY TO HELL show. Be sure you're signed up for PW Reporter Plus so you don't miss any of our exclusive audio content and more. (Special thanks to The Historian for the banner)

"Hey Steve, it's Bryan, Bryan Vessey." Steve Flash had been anticipating this call for a couple of days. He had spoken with Bryan at his brother's funeral and while it was neither the time nor the place to discuss business, they agreed to talk about the company in the coming weeks. He had been doing his best to steer the company through uncertain waters but there was only so much he could do. He wasn't sure who his boss was going to be or for that matter, if he even was going to have a job or if the company was going to remain in business. "Hey Bryan. How is everyone holding up?" "As well as can be expected. It's still shocking but also not shocking at all, you know what I mean?" "Definitely. I mean, I worked with him for years now. Larry was nothing if not high strung. At least Joanne was classy enough not to release the episode." "For sure. She called me to offer her condolences and I reassured her that it wasn't her fault. She sent me the audio and, well.....it was Larry overreacting to some tough, but fair questions. I'm sure he worked himself into a tizzy and the coroner said he had a massive heart attack while driving. Fortunately, no one else was hurt when he swerved into that divider. But anyway, Steve, there's other issues we need to discuss." "Right. Does this mean you're the new boss here?" "No absolutely not. So Larry's will called for me to get half ownership stake and his wife Helen to get the other half. She knows nothing about the business and has even less interest in learning. Myself, on the other hand, I just don't have the bandwidth to run this company. I've been talking with some folks at TCW and there's interest in using me as a road agent there potentially. This company has some good bones but is a real fixer upper as they say. I just don't have it in me to build up an independent company." "Good bones? Have you been watching some HGTV there Bryan?" Bryan Vessey laughed but Steve Flash was definitely feeling nervous. If the company was leaving the Vessey family, his future just became that much more uncertain. "It's my wife. I swear. So we looked into the books and the company has a bit of debt, a couple of thousand, nothing crazy and while it's not super popular, it does have a small but loyal fan base as well as some good relationships in the biggest media market in the world. I spoke with the Stomper yesterday about a sale." "The Stomper is coming out of retirement to run his old company? That's a plot twist!" "Hardly", Bryan Vessey said with a chuckle. "With that man's whiskey and cheap cigar habit, its an absolute miracle that he didn't beat my brother to the grave by years. But no, I just wanted to get some input from him on the company because I know Larry valued his opinion. We both reached the same conclusion about a sale." Steve Flash braced for the answer, hoping that Bryan wasn't going to sell the company to those punks from Pittsburgh. "Let me ask you a question Steve. You have a reputation in the business for being rather....thrifty let's say. Would I be wrong in assuming you have a nicer nest egg than the typical top-flight indy star does in retirement?" "Thrifty is a little harsh but I have definitely watched my money over the years and made some prudent investments. Why?" "That's what Stomper told me you'd say. So tell me Steve, once Larry's will is officially probated, if you're willing to absorb the debt of the company and we can come to reasonable terms on the sale, would you be interested in becoming the new owner of New York City Wrestling?"

It's still real to me dammit!

"And we're back with our guest for the rest of the show, Larry Vessey, one half of the legendary Vessey Brothers tag team and the current owner of New York City Wrestling.* Larry, welcome to Behind the Curtain." "Thank you for having me on Joanne." "So Larry, this must be a tumultuous time for you personally, with the attacks from Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling coming literally like a bolt from the blue. Did you have a falling out with Mitch Naess?" "Listen, I always had a cordial relationship with Mitch. We were never friends but we did our thing and they did theirs. There really wasn't ever much crossover between our promotions, as we do family friendly pro wrestling and they have has-been's and never-will-be's hitting each other with garbage cans. But bringing their low rent brand of professional wrestling to our backyard? In our home, The Ministry? Spitting on a decade plus long agreement you made with my friend and mentor The Stomper? Nah, that doesn't sit right with me. So if they want a war, they got one." "You say that the Ministry is your home Larry but you've mostly been running the Weston Gymnasium of late. You actually haven't been at the Ministry in over a year and the last time you were there, you had barely half a house. Meanwhile, PSW sold out the Ministry last week. What do you have to say about that?" "That's got nothing to do with anything Joanne. We're in a little bit of a seasonal lull in business right now but I'm sure that our program with Tennessee William and Brutus Milano is going to be drawing big gates in the coming months. My point is a man is only as good as his word and Mitch Naess proved to not be a man of his word! I never should have trusted Phil Vibert's errand boy. In fact, you talk about our building, how about the fact they haven't run their own building, the PSW Arena in months also? What about that?" Larry Vessey was getting a bit red in the face. Clearly he wasn't a man used to having his positions challenged. "No one is saying PSW's business hasn't been down as well, but in the interest of fairness, that's a 4000 seat building in a smaller market as opposed to a 1000 seat building in the heart of Queens. It's dramatic difference." The man was clearly infuriated and began to turn bright red. "Listen, I didn't come here to get ambushed by someone who was the star of a third rate dead promotion like AAA and has to pretend to be a journalist on a podcast to stay relevant." "If anyone knows about third rate promotions, I guess it would be you Larry." That was the straw that broke the camel's back as Larry Vessey threw down his headset and stormed out of the podcast studio, slamming the door behind him, yelling out, "You can kiss my ass lady!" as he left. He walked out of the building and climbed behind the wheel of his 2019 Acura MDX, still frothing with rage. He tore out of the parking lot and raced on to the highway, furious that he wasted his time driving down to that ungrateful harpy's studio, rather than just doing on it Zoom like she had suggested, whatever the hell that is. He stressfully continued ranting and raving to no one in particular when his heart finally gave out, causing him to swerve abruptly, smashing right into the divider at 75 miles per hour in a horrible, and ultimately fatal crash.

"You guys tell me, do these signings just scream of nepotism if we hire these kids?" I had gathered my inner circle in the office to discuss two potential signings. The biggest conflict of interest was sitting to my right, the driving force behind the East Coast Wars, Johnny Martin. We were talking about bringing his son, John Junior, in to work dates for us. The kid was working for various small indy groups out west to get some seasoning and I worried that it was too much pressure on him to come to PSW and follow in his old man's footsteps already. While his dad backed the idea to bring him in, he wasn't pushing hard for it. Eric Tyler was the one who saying we should bring him in, calling the kid a natural, a literal chip off the old block, which is where his ring name, Chip Martin, came from. "Look, Tyler's got a good point Mitch.", Alex Braun interjected. "He's not going to learn much more out there on the west coast unless he joins one of the bigger companies. We don't want him getting involved in that turf war between IPW and GSW and we sure as hell don't want CZCW getting their claws into him. He'll never come back to the east coast then. It would only be nepotism if we pushed him beyond where he's at and what he's earned." The other prospect we were talking about was one that a lot of promoters had their eyes on, James Diaz, the son of legendary star Raymond Diaz, and the cousin of one of our top young wrestlers, Logan Wolfsbaine. The musclebound youngster was already generating a big buzz on the internet and it was honestly a surprise someone hadn't grabbed him already. Logan was constantly asking me, "When are you bringing my cuz in? He can already work rings around half this roster." Looking at the clips I'd seen of Diaz, he wasn't wrong. "I'm sure his dance card is going to fill up fast but it won't hurt us to secure dates with him now. He's a big, tough kid and he's perfect for the style we're steering the company towards. I say we offer him a contract now while we still can, fore one of the other big indy groups does, especially Vessey." Martin advised. We had already inked two more intriguing kids, Fernando Fernandez from Mexico, a fiery young brawler from Mexico that Vibert had turned me on to, and The Historian from Mid Atlantic Wrestling who worked an old school, meat and potatoes, black trunks, black boots throwback gimmick. While I wasn't publically attacking MAW yet, I didn't mind sharing one of their better prospects with them, for now. The question was, did we just add four new wrestlers on the roster today, or just two? "Well, let's get in touch with them and offer some deals, shall we?" From PSWrestling.com

From PSWrestling.com PSWrestling.com Online Prediction Contest Results Sisma 9/9 Falling_Star 7/9 Puto 7/9 Herrbear 6/9 Jaysin 6/9 Scottie 6/9 ToastyCenturion 6/9 Aboardtheark 5/9 The Blonde Bomber 5/9 Theheel 4/9 Congrats to Sisma for correctly predicting the results of all nine matches at NEW YEAR REVOLUTION. Don't forget PSW fans, the fan who correctly predicts the most match results between now and May 31st will win two ringside tickets to see our big HOMECOMING show at the world famous PSW Arena in June!

Location: The Ministry (Queens, New York) PSW New Year Revolution January 2020 Attendance: 1000 (Sell Out!) Announcers: Mitch Naess and Alex Braun In dark matches: Big Boss Emperor defeated Ben Williams Yuta Isono defeated Masked Mauler VII Blood Soldiers defeated Justice Jolson and Dominic DeGraff Canadian Hardcore defeated Little Bill Lebowski and Devil Dog SHOW RATING: 57

"Just wanted to thank you again for putting me over on your way out the door Stoney. That mid-life crisis line stung a little though, I won't lie!" I was just finishing up a call with former referee RM Stones who helped me "work the boys" in the staff meeting I held. Stoney had already told me a few days ago he was stepping away from things for a while to focus on writing the great American novel, one of his long time goals, so we came up with the little charade to make me look a little tougher in front the boys since I was the owner and booker now for the first time ever. "Well you almost made me break kayfabe when you called me Ronald! I nearly burst out laughing but I'm glad I could help a little although I'm not sure how intimidating you're going to be to the locker room with that youthful babyface of yours!" "It's a blessing and a curse Stoney. I actually got carded for wine the other day." "Sure Mitch, real rough break looking young even though you're in your forties. My heart bleeds for you. Oh and by the way, I already told Jez to expect a call from you. He's probably the best mat slapper out there on market, almost as good me. Key word there is almost." "I appreciate it Stoney. I definitely need another good ref in here with you gone but the door is always open for you to come back, but you're probably going to be such a big shot author, you won't have time for the little people. But anyway, let me run. I need to get the January card up on the website but don't be a stranger." "Will do Mitch and good luck with everything. I believe in you, you got this man!" I hung up the phone and opened up my Macbook. Time to get the New Year Revolution card out there for what is hopefully an enthusiastic fanbase in Queens. I had tickets to sell. Predictions welcome!

"Thank you for coming everyone. I'm actually a bit impressed that some of you guys can even turn on a computer, let alone log in to Zoom for this meeting!" I was running my first ever full roster meetings on a non-show day. All of the local guys had shown up at our "corporate headquarters", which is better classified as a fairly small bit of office space in a suburban Pittsburgh strip mall. The rest of the crew was logging in to watch the meeting online. Not a single person was late, let alone missing. I guess they wanted to know if I had lost my marbles. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a definitive answer to that question myself. My mentor Phil Vibert was fond of saying greatness exists outside your comfort zone, but if my grand plan was going to come to fruition, greatness needed to exist here, in this office, between a Chinese take out place and a liquor store. If worse came to worst, that liquor store could come in handy. "So I think you all deserve an explanation to my little.....let's call it.....moment of clarity." "Did you drink Uncle Phil's Kool-Aid again boss?" That got a pop from the boys. "No Xavi.....not this time. But talking with one of the smartest men in the history of this business did shine a light on what we've doing wrong....what I've been doing wrong recently. For starters, Alex is stepping down as the head booker, not because I asked him to, but of his own accord. He's going to stay in the booth with me, but he deserves to have some down time to spend with his family. We owe him a big thank you for all his hard work the last few years." The boys give Alex Braun a well deserved round of applause for a few moments until the Samoan Machine asked the million dollar question, "So who is taking over the book?", they all wanted to know who had their professional fates in his hands for the foreseeable future. "Me. I'm handling creative now. This is my company, my passion project and it's time that we're showing the world my vision for Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling." The crowd murmured but I pressed on without waiting for questions. "Speaking of the booth, we're going to streamline down to a two man booth with Alex and myself. Two reasons for this, one, we can focus more tightly on getting across our storytelling in a way that a three man booth doesn't always allow for and two, I want Eric Tyler to focus on his road agent duties. Between him, JD and Johnny, our crew is as good as any in the business and I'm going to be running some new young talent in here as well in the coming months. I want you guys to really focus on building up the ones who have the special spark we're looking for. And Ash, I already spoke to Tyler about this before the meeting, but I'm also breaking you two up as well. You don't need anyone else to talk for you and I've got a new storyline for you to really sink your teeth into. We won't make a big deal about the split, I'll just casually mention that you both are going your own ways." I have been so proud of Ash Campbell, the son of the late, former DAVE legend Nemesis. Losing his dad to heart attack was a rough blow. When someone has lived as hard a life as Nemesis had, you can't say it was a shock but no one would have blamed Ash for falling apart. But instead, the kid took his time to grieve and then got himself into the best shape of his career and then returned to company with a new lease on life. I had big plans for a talent like him. "What did NYCW do to you Mitch? Did Larry Vessey kick your dog or something?" asked Jake Idol. "I honestly could care less about Larry Vessey either way. We've been playing nice with them for a few years now but that has benefited them a lot more than us. He's simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They're the other large indy group in our territory and the time has come for us to make some of that sweet, sweet Big Apple money. In fact, that brings me to one of my big announcements. It just went live on our website and social media that this January, New Year Revolution will take place right in NYCW's home base, the Ministry in Queens!" That got their juices flowing. For years we've done shows in New York, but mostly upstate, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse. We've even gotten as close as being right across the river in Newark and Jersey City but as part of our gentlemen's agreement, we've never booked a venue in the five boroughs of New York City. That just changed. But the biggest and potentially most divisive change was still to come. "That brings me to the biggest upcoming shift in our business model. As you all know, this company was founded in tribute to and as a way of continuing the legacy of Danger and Violence Extreme, the most hardcore wrestling company ever in North America. But, the world has changed. The sport we all love has changed. Mostly importantly, the fans have changed. Attendance is down. Ad revenue is down. We haven't even been able to draw a big house at our home base, the PSW Arena in over a year. That needs to change and Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling needs to change. Our style, what the dirt sheets have referred to as a "Hardcord Redux" needs to go away and we need to evolve this company into something new. We're not going to turn into some flippy do spotfest style or god forbid, sports entertainment but we are going to dive headlong into wrestling roots. Back in the 1980's the Texas territory was ablaze with hot crowds and over talent and that style is my goal, a classic wild west promotional style in 2020! You want to be tough? You want to be hardcore? You do it with your fists, not with a chair or a kendo stick. We're going to tell big stories that lead to big fights between big personalities which is going to draw big crowds and make us big money! And if you can't live up to that standard, we're going to find someone else who can! I believe in every person in this company or you wouldn't be here but it is time for me to step it up and I'm asking each of you to give a little bit more of yourselves. Get in the best shape possible, sharpen up your promo skills, expand your move sets and come up with new ideas for your character. I am going to take this company to the next level and I will be financially rewarding the people who help me to do it. We're going to become the premier super indy of the east coast but I need all of your help to make this a reality. Who is coming with me?" Longtime referee RM Stones stood up. "With all due respect Mitch, you're asking a lot of us. You're risking the stability of this company and the jobs of everyone here based on what? A roughly thought out, quite frankly impulsive idea? We're not getting rich but we're all making a living in the sport we love. Why do you want to risk that on what feels like....I hate to say it....a promotional mid-life crisis?" Well that stung a little. "This is not impulsive Stoney, this is preemptive. I've been seeing the cracks in the foundation and if we don't make changes now, the whole house can come tumbling down before long. Yes there is some risk involved but that is how life works. I'll take my chances burning out before letting PSW just fade away." "You know what, that's too rich for my blood Mitch. I've got a mortgage to pay. Maybe I'll see if Larry Vessey needs another referee." "You go do that Ronald." The boys ohhhh'd at that one. No one called RM by his given name. "Thank you for everything you've done but I don't need anyone that doesn't believe in the future of this company. Hit the road and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out! And if anyone else feels that same, they can follow him out with their tail between their legs." Nobody moved a muscle. Nobody said a word. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop as RM Stones glared at me and left. The rest of my team was apparently solid and ready to go to war. "Thank you all for coming. I'll be in touch in the coming days and I'll see everyone in Queens next month for our new start."

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and excitement about this diary. Falling Star, its great to see you're still on the board! I think you're all going to enjoy this story

From PWReporter.com: Fireworks hit the east coast indy scene out of nowhere last night that have a lot of wrestling fans buzzing on social media. On the latest episode of "The Vibert Voice", Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling owner Mitch Naess fired seemingly unprovoked shots at New York City Wrestling and their owner Larry Vessey, effectively ending their friendly working arrangement. Here are a couple of Naess quotes I pulled from the podcast. "Quite frankly it's been embarrassing to be associated with such a tired old cliche of a wrestling company. We're on the cutting edge of the business and Larry Vessey is promoting like it's still 1978. So effective immediately, NYCW can consider any working agreements between us to be null and void." "If any of their workers want to come and try their hand in the Steel City, they're more than welcome to come work for a real wrestling company, not a parody of our great sport. We have a great roster on hand but we're always on the lookout for fresh young talent." "They better watch their step because PSW is going to be running a show in their backyard before they know it and then the fans in the Big Apple can decide which style they like better. I'm pretty confident in what some of the smartest wrestling fans in the world will pick." "Look I don't have a beef with Larry Vessey or Steve Flash or anyone over there in Queens. I like Larry but this is about business, not friendship. I think we're the best independent wrestling company on the east coast and we're ready to prove it. If Larry thinks he can compete with us, then great. What's the saying Phil, a rising tide raises all ships? Let's see what they've got." The attacks come as PSW's business has stagnated in recent months and I've heard reports that long time booker Alex Braun will be stepping down although whether its of his own accord or not, I'm not certain. Who will be taking over remains up in the air but they'll be stepping into a very contentious situation from the very start now. Meanwhile, this tirade from Mitch Naess seems very out of character for the usually mild mannered owner and announcer. He doesn't really do much media beyond the occasional appearance on his former mentor's podcast. There has been speculation that this could be a work and the two companies have actually expanded their working agreement but the people I have spoken with told me that Larry and his team were blindsided by the announcement. Either way, it seems like the eastern indy scene is going to be heating up in the new year! In less explosive news from the interview, Naess also mentioned that he had signed Sasquatch McGraw and Otis Von Battenberg, the team of Canadian Hardcore, to work several dates for the company and that long time PSW mainstays Dead Bolt and manager Carl Batch had been released from the company. He also intimated that a veteran manager was slated to join the company in the new year. No word yet on who that could be or which act or acts they'd be working with. We're going to stay on top of this story here at PWR so don't miss my Audio Update tomorrow morning where I delve into what this could mean for New York City Wrestling and speculate on who the new PSW booker could be, plus I'm going to preview the year end awards. Be sure you're signed up for PW Reporter Plus so you don't miss any of our exclusive audio content and more. (Special thanks to The Historian for the banner)

(Reserved #2)

(Reserved)

"And remember to use the code VIBERT to save 10% on your new Casper mattress. Casper Mattresses, they're changing the way people sleep. Well, that's our show for this week everyone. Thank you again to my special guest, Mitch Naess, the owner of Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling. Mitch, before we sign off, where can people find you on social media?" "Thanks Phil. it's always a pleasure to talk with my old boss. You can find me on Twitter under @MitchNaess. That's really the only one I use these days." "No Tik Tok for you?" "Um....no. Definitely not Phil. I'll leave the Gen Z dance routines to you." "And on that frightening visual, this has been Vibert's Voice. I'm Phil Vibert, and until next week, remember gang......Greatness exists outside your comfort zone." The young and clearly overworked show producer gestured at the host. I can't imagine how much of a pain in the ass working for Phil Vibert like this would be. Well, I mean, I could imagine of course but I digress. "We're clear Phil. Good show sir." Phil Vibert leaned back in his chair. "Thanks Naveen. So Mitch, talk to me. Now that we've fed the marks, you want to tell me what's eating you? What's really going on with your company?" My former mentor could always read me like a book and it annoyed me even to this day. My poker face clearly hadn't improved over the years like I thought it had. "Nothing too big Phil. Just that we're heading into the holidays and Alex is giving up the book, wants to spend more time with him family and less time figuring out storylines. So I need to figure who is next to take over before our January show. I'm at a loss for who though. I talked briefly with Pistol Pete Hall about it but he politely told me he hates our product. A bit of a pain this time of the year but nothing I can't sort out. I might let Johnny Martin run with it for a bit." Phil Vibert took a big swig of his iced coffee and sat in silence for an uncomfortably long moment, staring at me the entire time. "So you've gone from Braun, to Tyler and back to Braun the last few years right? And where are you for it? Johnny's not gonna change that either. Johnny's a warrior, he really is, but with all the wear and tear on that guy physically and mentally, he's not the answer. You know I love all these guys but they're just booking the bare minimum basics and figuring all the hardcore stuff will be what sells the tickets. You've gone from booker to booker and PSW really hasn't made much of an impact on the scene. I've even seen fans online calling it Pittsburgh Stale Wrestling. " I won't lie. That one hurt. I've been busting my ass trying to continue the legacy of what we had built when I was working for him back in the day. His words just cut me down to size, like a disapproving father. Or step father. Or an uncle. I don't know. Our relationship was always complicated. He could be an asshole but I loved him regardless, so this hurt. "I'm not saying this to be an asshole Mitch. I mean, we both know I AM an asshole but there is no one I want to succeed in this business more than you. But if you want to do more than just tread water there, something has to change. Even the strongest swimmer can only tread water for so long before they get exhausted and drown. You've been at this for over a decade now without a whole lot to show for your work. Something has to give. You need a man of vision, a man of perspicacity to take over the booking." Wait. Was arguably the greatest wrestling mind of the last thirty years implying he wanted to come and book Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling? "Phil.....I'm honored you'd want to come and join us and obviously I would love to have you on board but I don't think I could afford you." Phil Vibert let out a sharp laugh. "Mitch, you definitely can't afford me. You think you can top the money I'm making from Dollar Shave Club and Zip Recruiter? And that's not even factoring in the absolutely stupid amount of money Spotify is giving me to pump out this crap. Here's a little secret, Eisen couldn't even afford me at this point, let alone you." "Eisen's busy trying to stay out of jail." "Well whichever one of his idiot kids is running the show, they couldn't afford me either." "I'm confused then. Who are you suggesting for the gig?" Phil Vibert rubbed his temples and sighed. "You, you dense son of a bitch, you! It's your company, you're the one who needs to book it. You were my right hand man for years so you've probably forgotten more about this business than half the bookers working today will ever know. You don't need another burnt out DAVE veteran booking your territory.No one is going to save PSW but you. You've already got a big hand in the roster construction, yes?" "Well yes I do but...." "Okay so let me ask you this.....what the hell is this roster?" "What do you mean?" "It just makes no sense Mitch! You have all these high level indy guys like Callum and Youngman and Ash and Logan and Xavi, not to mention some high end tag teams that you could build a real promotion around assuming they don't all get snatched up by one of the bigs, but the rest of the roster is just has-beens, spot monkeys and third rate hardcore wrestlers. I know a lot of them are young and cheap but they're not the caliber of worker you need. Not to mention the style is just dated as hell these days. I know you're trying to honor the legacy of what we did but if I was still running the company today, there's no way DAVE would still be what it was in the early 2000's. It would have naturally evolved into something new and more modern. Not to mention, with what we know now about concussions and CTE, having your workers kill each other with chairs and kendo sticks is a losing proposition these days." "Look I know we're not close to what DAVE was but we must be doing something right Phil. We're the biggest indy group east of the Mississippi. The Confederation has practically begged me to join several times." "Considering your competition, that's not terribly impressive. Vessey is running his usual 1970's dumpster fire and Keith sold out to TCW so he can mold the trainees of the clear third of the so-called big three promotions. You're lucky CZCW isn't in your neck of the woods or they'd be eating your lunch. And don't get me started on the COTT! But here's my point kid....." "I'm forty three years old Phil." "Still a kid in this business as far as I'm concerned but here's my advice. Take the book yourself and stop playing nice with New York. I know you love Pittsburgh but you're going to make a hell of a lot more money promoting in Vessey's backyard. I'd take him out like the outdated garbage his promotion serves up and by that point, I guarantee MAW's deal with TCW will have fallen apart under the weight of Sam Keith's ego. Then you can pick up the pieces of both companies best talent to try and help minimize the inevitable raids from the bigger promotions. Before you know it, the eastern seaboard will be yours. You'll be the super indy of the east coast with room to grow from there. Forget DAVE's legacy or my legacy. Go claim your rightful legacy in this business. And if you can't book this company yourself, maybe it's time to call it day before it bleeds you dry financially and you can do something else with the rest of your life." That's the problem. With the roller coaster of highs and lows that this business was, there's nothing else I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Sure, I was an announcer, and a damn good one at that. One of the bigger groups would hire me in a second if I tapped out of PSW but I didn't want to work for someone else. I couldn't work for someone else after all these years. Phil knew all of this which is why he just threw that punk card down at my feet and dared me to pick it up. What he was suggesting was going to cause absolute chaos in the local scene. Did I want to be the one to start a second East Coast War? "Phil, can we re-record that final segment? I've got a few announcements I need to get out there." "Attaboy. Naveen, fire everything up again." The show producer sighed. He was so close to being done for the day, so close. "Yes, yes of course sir."

"And remember to use the code VIBERT to save 10% on your new Casper mattress. Casper Mattresses, they're changing the way people sleep. Well, that's our show for this week everyone. Thank you again to my special guest, Mitch Naess, the owner of Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling. Mitch, before we sign off, where can people find you on social media?" "Thanks Phil. it's always a pleasure to talk with my old boss. You can find me on Twitter under @MitchNaess. That's really the only one I use these days." "No Tik Tok for you?" "Um....no. Definitely not Phil. I'll leave the Gen Z dance routines to you." "And on that frightening visual, this has been Vibert's Voice. I'm Phil Vibert, and until next week, remember gang......Greatness exists outside your comfort zone." The young and clearly overworked show producer gestured at the host. I can't imagine how much of a pain in the ass working for Phil Vibert like this would be. Well, I mean, I could imagine of course but I digress. "We're clear Phil. Good show sir." Phil Vibert leaned back in his chair. "Thanks Naveen. So Mitch, talk to me. Now that we've fed the marks, you want to tell me what's eating you? What's really going on with your company?" My former mentor could always read me like a book and it annoyed me even to this day. My poker face clearly hadn't improved over the years like I thought it had. "Nothing too big Phil. Just that we're heading into the holidays and Alex is giving up the book, wants to spend more time with him family and less time figuring out storylines. So I need to figure who is next to take over before our January show. I'm at a loss for who though. I talked briefly with Pistol Pete Hall about it but he politely told me he hates our product. A bit of a pain this time of the year but nothing I can't sort out. I might let Johnny Martin run with it for a bit." Phil Vibert took a big swig of his iced coffee and sat in silence for an uncomfortably long moment, staring at me the entire time. "So you've gone from Braun, to Tyler and back to Braun the last few years right? And where are you for it? Johnny's not gonna change that either. Johnny's a warrior, he really is, but with all the wear and tear on that guy physically and mentally, he's not the answer. You know I love all these guys but they're just booking the bare minimum basics and figuring all the hardcore stuff will be what sells the tickets. You've gone from booker to booker and PSW really hasn't made much of an impact on the scene. I've even seen fans online calling it Pittsburgh Stale Wrestling. " I won't lie. That one hurt. I've been busting my ass trying to continue the legacy of what we had built when I was working for him back in the day. His words just cut me down to size, like a disapproving father. Or step father. Or an uncle. I don't know. Our relationship was always complicated. He could be an asshole but I loved him regardless, so this hurt. "I'm not saying this to be an asshole Mitch. I mean, we both know I AM an asshole but there is no one I want to succeed in this business more than you. But if you want to do more than just tread water there, something has to change. Even the strongest swimmer can only tread water for so long before they get exhausted and drown. You've been at this for over a decade now without a whole lot to show for your work. Something has to give. You need a man of vision, a man of perspicacity to take over the booking." Wait. Was arguably the greatest wrestling mind of the last thirty years implying he wanted to come and book Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling? "Phil.....I'm honored you'd want to come and join us and obviously I would love to have you on board but I don't think I could afford you." Phil Vibert let out a sharp laugh. "Mitch, you definitely can't afford me. You think you can top the money I'm making from Dollar Shave Club and Zip Recruiter? And that's not even factoring in the absolutely stupid amount of money Spotify is giving me to pump out this crap. Here's a little secret, Eisen couldn't even afford me at this point, let alone you." "Eisen's busy trying to stay out of jail." "Well whichever one of his idiot kids is running the show, they couldn't afford me either." "I'm confused then. Who are you suggesting for the gig?" Phil Vibert rubbed his temples and sighed. "You, you dense son of a bitch, you! It's your company, you're the one who needs to book it. You were my right hand man for years so you've probably forgotten more about this business than half the bookers working today will ever know. You don't need another burnt out DAVE veteran booking your territory.No one is going to save PSW but you. You've already got a big hand in the roster construction, yes?" "Well yes I do but...." "Okay so let me ask you this.....what the hell is this roster?" "What do you mean?" "It just makes no sense Mitch! You have all these high level indy guys like Callum and Youngman and Ash and Logan and Xavi, not to mention some high end tag teams that you could build a real promotion around assuming they don't all get snatched up by one of the bigs, but the rest of the roster is just has-beens, spot monkeys and third rate hardcore wrestlers. I know a lot of them are young and cheap but they're not the caliber of worker you need. Not to mention the style is just dated as hell these days. I know you're trying to honor the legacy of what we did but if I was still running the company today, there's no way DAVE would still be what it was in the early 2000's. It would have naturally evolved into something new and more modern. Not to mention, with what we know now about concussions and CTE, having your workers kill each other with chairs and kendo sticks is a losing proposition these days." "Look I know we're not close to what DAVE was but we must be doing something right Phil. We're the biggest indy group east of the Mississippi. The Confederation has practically begged me to join several times." "Considering your competition, that's not terribly impressive. Vessey is running his usual 1970's dumpster fire and Keith sold out to TCW so he can mold the trainees of the clear third of the so-called big three promotions. You're lucky CZCW isn't in your neck of the woods or they'd be eating your lunch. And don't get me started on the COTT! But here's my point kid....." "I'm forty three years old Phil." "Still a kid in this business as far as I'm concerned but here's my advice. Take the book yourself and stop playing nice with New York. I know you love Pittsburgh but you're going to make a hell of a lot more money promoting in Vessey's backyard. I'd take him out like the outdated garbage his promotion serves up and by that point, I guarantee MAW's deal with TCW will have fallen apart under the weight of Sam Keith's ego. Then you can pick up the pieces of both companies best talent to try and help minimize the inevitable raids from the bigger promotions. Before you know it, the eastern seaboard will be yours. You'll be the super indy of the east coast with room to grow from there. Forget DAVE's legacy or my legacy. Go claim your rightful legacy in this business. And if you can't book this company yourself, maybe it's time to call it day before it bleeds you dry financially and you can do something else with the rest of your life." That's the problem. With the roller coaster of highs and lows that this business was, there's nothing else I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Sure, I was an announcer, and a damn good one at that. One of the bigger groups would hire me in a second if I tapped out of PSW but I didn't want to work for someone else. I couldn't work for someone else after all these years. Phil knew all of this which is why he just threw that punk card down at my feet and dared me to pick it up. What he was suggesting was going to cause absolute chaos in the local scene. Did I want to be the one to start a second East Coast War? "Phil, can we re-record that final segment? I've got a few announcements I need to get out there." "Attaboy. Naveen, fire everything up again." The show producer sighed. He was so close to being done for the day, so close. "Yes, yes of course sir."

From NYCWrestling.net Predictions welcome!

<a href=" https://imgur.com/xPvLhiz"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xPvLhiz.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> From PWReporter.com: "......and finally let's touch on New York City Wrestling's latest show. I've been told from friends who were there that Gang Wars was probably the weakest effort to date under the new Steve Flash regime. Even though the six man tag main event delivered and the grudge match between the former Sammy Smoke and veteran Art Reed was excellent, there was apparently a little much too much talking and post-match shenanigans and not enough in-ring action for the notoriously hard to please crowd on hand in South Philly." "However, what I am hearing is that the bigger story was occurring before the show where the company runs prelim matches with the younger workers before the main crowd enters the building like they have been doing for a few months now I've been told. We knew that the company already had spent some money to bring in green, but hyped young prospects Charlie Corner, the son of the former SWF World Heavyweight Champion Dread, wrestling under a mask as Dreadnought already up on the main card, plus the recently announced super prospect Will Beaumont who had a falling out with RAW down under and made the leap the States. What hasn't been made public however, not even on the worker's own social media accounts, is that the company has an embarrassment of young riches working for them including second generation stars like powerful brawler James Diaz, the son of Raymond Diaz, and the son of Primal Rage, who was known as Original Sinner but has been working under the name Primal Beast, as well as charismatic talker Garry the Entertainer who had a falling out with MAW and the young luchadore powerhouse, Aztec Prince, in addition to their homegrown prospect, the giant Super Massive Destroyer that they have been holding off of shows for a while now to get additional seasoning. From what I am hearing from someone who saw all the kids working at this past weekend, Beaumont and Diaz are the closest to making appearances on the main card." "No word on if Steve Flash himself, his right hand man Art Reed or the company's young booker, Franklin Fumier is the one making these signings. However, in my opinion, it's a sign of better days being ahead for a company that for too long has felt stuck in the 1980's if they're looking to finally rebuild around some younger talent. Whoever it is making these signings, they clearly have an eye for talent so what shall see what is next for NYCW....." **special thanks to Historian for the banner**

Location: South Philadelphia Rec Center (Philadelphia, PA) NYCW GANG WARS July 2020 Attendance: 490 Announcers: Franklin Fumier and Joanne Rodriguez <a href="https://imgur.com/Ph0gzeI"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Ph0gzeI.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><a href="https://imgur.com/ofzeEWB"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ofzeEWB.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> As I scrolled through my phone before the show, I mentioned a little tidbit to Steve,"So Notorious won the COTT World Tag Team titles last night at a CZCW event boss. I wonder if we should consider bringing them in? I bet they'd work well with some of our teams." "Don't call me boss and yeah, that might not be a bad idea although they're not super well known on this side of the country. That reminds me, we have a COTT conference call coming up soon and I'd like for you to take part in it." Before I could respond, our head referee, Michael Bull, came over and asked to speak to Steve in private. They walked off to the side and by the slump in his body language, I could tell the boss didn't get good news. The two men shook hands and Steve walked back over to me. "First thing after the show, start reaching out to some of the better indie refs. Michael signed with TCW." SHOW RATING: 35 Note to self: Yeesh. Ease up on the angles.