Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: El Bestia Purpura vs. Capitao Brasil Jr vs. Velocidad vs. Extraordinario Jr El Critico vs. Sergei Kalashnov for the Heritage Championship Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Hector Montez Your New Favourite Team vs. Young Blood II for the tag titles Marc Speed vs. Nigel Svensson Joey Beauchamp vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

El Bestia Purpura vs. Capitao Brasil Jr vs. [B]Velocidad[/B] vs. Extraordinario Jr El Critico vs. [B]Sergei Kalashnov [/B]for the Heritage Championship [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] vs. Hector Montez [B]Your New Favourite Team [/B]vs. Young Blood II for the tag titles Marc Speed vs. [B]Nigel Svensson[/B] [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 4 June Parliament Square 994 in attendance Testing our new road agent and his abilities, we put El Bestia Purpura, Extraordinario Jr, Capitao Brasil Jr and Velocidad together in the dark with Optimus scripting. The result was better than prior attempts have been, though not as good as these men will hopefully become capable of. In the end, though, Purpura once again felt the wrath of the Velocidad Tornado. [I]Velocidad defeated Capitao Brasil Jr, El Bestia Purpura, and Extraordinario Jr by pinning El Bestia Purpura[/I] RATING: D+ [B]El Critico vs. Sergei Kalashnov for the Heritage Championship[/B] I liked this. Good chemistry and noteworthy skills let these two put together a pretty damn solid match, and as we ran it out to the time limit, that was necessary. Neither of these two seems able to truly prove themselves the master of the situation. [I]El Critico drew with Sergei Kalashnov when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Hector Montez[/B] Very nice work here, too. Hector and Brandon put on a very strong, intense match that lasted 13:42. The backdrop driver eventually put Hector away, but until that point we saw an excellent early card bout. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Hector Montez by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Your New Favourite Team vs. Young Blood II for the tag titles[/B] I have to talk to Johnny and Jonni about getting a different name, I really do. Davis looked fantastic throughout this match, particularly as Jonni really didn't seem like he was all the way into the bout. Despite that, however, Johnny Highspot eventually got the advantage, pinning Seiji clean in the centre of the ring with the Frog Splash after some vicious double-teaming. And just like that, we have new tag champions... [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated Young Blood II when Johnny Highspot pinned Seiji Jimbo[/I] RATING: C [B] Marc Speed vs. Nigel Svensson[/B] Weakest match of the night, looks like. Which is unfortunate, as I have plans for both of these two, but we'll see how they go as time goes on. A basic back-and-forth technical match which ended when Marc Speed caught Nigel in the cross armbreaker, eventually forcing him to tap. [I]Marc Speed defeated Nigel Svensson by submission[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship[/B] As ever, these two lit the ring up and got the crowd roaring, and despite the letdown that the prior match had been, this pulled things back with a fantastic performance. Not as long as some of their battles, last week being an example; Petey found himself Breeze Blocked and pinned at 20:05 [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated Petey Barnes by pinfall[/I] RATING: B A good solid card, a set of good writeups online, and just like that downloads pick up again. Maybe we're not peaking yet... OVERALL: C+ Big Smack Scott's been running his mouth this week; seems his rep as a brawler is irritating him. He's looking to develop a new image as a more entertaining wrestler. The Stunners finally dropped the Coastal Zone tag belts. The new champions? Jim Force... and Davis Wayne Newton. They're calling themselves the Midday Express.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Extraordinario Jr vs. Marc Speed vs. Huracan Sandoval Jr Your New Favourite Team vs. The Stunners for the tag titles Seiji Jimbo vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship Sergei Kalashnov vs. El Critico for the Heritage Championship Davis Wayne Newton vs. Toby Juan Kenobi Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 1 July Phoenix Nights (North UK) 85 in attendance Yes, we've returned to keeping the North in our rotations, at the expense of a night in the Midlands a month, simply because our fanbase is smaller in the North than it is anywhere else on this planet, and that fact disturbs me. Once again Optimus was put to the test arranging a dark match between Extraordinario Jr, Huracan Sandoval Jr, and Marc Speed, and he turned out an OK script for them to follow. In the end we saw Extraordinario Jr meet an Ojo del Huracan and eat the pin. [I]Huracan Sandoval Jr defeated Marc Speed and Extraordinario Jr when he pinned Extraordinario Jr[/I] RATING: D [B]Your New Favourite Team vs. The Stunners for the tag titles[/B] Having lost their belts in another promotion, the Stunners asked for a chance to regain them here, or at least that's what I told people on the mic feed. The four men turned in a good basic performance for an opening match which finally ended with a Low Down/Frog Splash sequence to allow Johnny to pin Brandon to the mat. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated The Stunners when Johnny Highspot pinned Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/I] RATING: C- [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship [/B] This was not all it should've been, however. I'd had hopes for these two as an intermittent championship feud to help fire interest in the belts, but they don't mesh well together, and as such Nigel's awkwardness in the air was really highlighted. I knew going in to the Beacon experiment that it was going to give us some bad bouts, however, as it's really something to feud over while honing an understanding of psychology. I can live with that. Eventually Seiji woke up to the fact that Nigel and he would both look better if they were both working submission; this was, however, a bit late on, and there wasn't time to do much more than set up for and then apply the Seiji Ocean Lock before Nigel tapped. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Nigel Svensson by submission [/I] RATING: D [B]Sergei Kalashnov vs. El Critico for the Heritage Championship[/B] And neither of the problems that besieged the prior battle applied here. The crowd opened up in their appreciation for this one, and rightly so, but ultimately Sergei ducked the Critical Mass and came through with the Eastern Block. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated El Critico by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Toby Juan Kenobi[/B] Man, these two put together a good job, though I think neither of them are really that used to working in front of such small crowds, and as such it wasn't as good a bout as it could have been. Davis managed to twist free of Toby's assault and get the Newton's Cradle. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Toby Juan Kenobi by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship[/B] Much better than the submission bout had been. This one got very, very heated in the back-and-forth, and the crowd definitely got behind it. Joey finally overcame Sammy with a Breeze Block from the top turnbuckle. [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated British Samurai by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Yeah, more than good enough for a first return to the Phoenix Nights. With luck we'll be packing out the place soon enough. OVERALL: C+ More news of ROF alumni: Greg Gauge has attained the peak of RIPW, capturing their biggest belt.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next up: The Animals vs. The Shooters Hector Montez vs. Velocidad Bairei Yasujiro vs. Steve Flash vs. Jonni Lowlife Petey Barnes vs. Jed High Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Seiji Jimbo for the Beacon Championship Joey Beauchamp vs. Davis Wayne Newton in a 30 minute Iron Man Match

[chris caulfield]

[B]The Animals[/B] vs. The Shooters [B]Hector Montez[/B] vs. Velocidad [B]Bairei Yasujiro [/B]vs. Steve Flash vs. Jonni Lowlife [B]Petey Barnes [/B]vs. Jed High [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] vs. Seiji Jimbo for the Beacon Championship Joey Beauchamp vs. [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]in a 30 minute Iron Man Match

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 2 July Parliament Square 951 in attendance Our dark match this week: The Animals take on the Shooters, giving them some real experience. It wasn't great, chiefly as it was far too obvious who was gonna win, but again we could see some development in the Shooters themselves. Don really shone throughout, but against his opponents you'd expect that, really. In the end the Scottish Deathlock claimed another victim in El Bestia Purpura. [I]The Shooters defeated The Animals when Don Henderson made El Bestia Purpura submit[/I] RATING: D+ [B] Hector Montez vs. Velocidad[/B] This, on the other hand, was fantastic, and I'm reminded once again that Velocidad really does have a bright future ahead of him. Hector was the standout star here, but this is to be expected; he's a legend for a reason, and the past year has shown that he still has the skills to go with that. At the end the Velocidad Tornado try was countered partway through into a Hijack Suplex and Hector got the pin. [I]Hector Montez defeated Velocidad by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Steve Flash vs. Jonni Lowlife[/B] ...OK, this really should have done better. I guess the problem is that by and large all of these guys have fallen by the wayside in recent times; that and the fact Bairei's still feeling beat due to his WLW tour commitments. That didn't stop him countering the Low Down by hurling Jonni from the ring and catching Steve with the rightly-feared Yasujiro Suplex, however. [I]Bairei Yasujiro defeated Steve Flash and Jonni Lowlife when he pinned Steve Flash[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Petey Barnes vs. Jed High[/B] Oh, this is going to be a disaster of a week. Petey and Jed have absolutely zero chemistry and even Simona's efforts to camouflage that at ringside really didn't help. Petey got the win; beyond that, it's not something I'm happy to discuss.[I] Petey Barnes defeated Jed High by pinfall [/I]RATING: D+ [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Seiji Jimbo for the Beacon Championship[/B] Better. Much better. In fact, this was just out-and-out good stuff. This was a battle of the drivers; in the end, though, it was the Jimbo Driver that claimed the victim. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Davis Wayne Newton in a 30 minute Iron Man Match[/B] We may salvage something of this yet. Davis went one fall up ten minutes in when he countered a Breeze Block into a hotshot and caught Joey into an inverted DDT on the rebound, covering for the pin. Joey got mad at that point and, around sixteen minutes in, got the equaliser with three rolling butterfly suplexes. But at the twenty-two minute mark Davis hit a springboard backflip over the Breeze Block and caught Joey with the Newton's Cradle before he had a chance to collect himself, and the referee counted three. For the next eight minutes Joey chased him for the final fall, but couldn't quite make it, and in the end the timer elapsed, giving Davis a victory over the champ. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Joey Beauchamp by two falls to one[/I] RATING: B- In the end, the show turns out to have been good enough, despite the clunkers in the middle. We picked our momentum back up and the word of mouth is, by and large, favourable. OVERALL: C+ OOC: Gah! Goofed – Davis was meant to win the title there.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: The Stunners vs. The Animals Young Blood II vs. Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson Don Henderson vs. Nichiren Amagawa Sergei Kalashnov vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Johnny Highspot vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs. El Critico Joey Beauchamp vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man match for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

The Stunners vs. [B]The Animals[/B] [B]Young Blood II [/B]vs. Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson [B]Don Henderson[/B] vs. Nichiren Amagawa [B]Sergei Kalashnov[/B] vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Johnny Highspot vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship [B]British Samurai [/B]vs. El Critico [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man match for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 3 July Aston University Sports Hall 842 in attendance OK, so we've tested out Davis' potential as a main event winner against the champion, and the results seem favourable. Back to the build, now, though; we ran two dark tags this week: [B]The Stunners vs. The Animals[/B] Bulldozer really looked fantastic in comparison to the others here, but the Stunners and Animals were mostly here to learn from each other and give the Stunners more momentum. I mean, let's face it – did anyone expect the Animals to go over yet? [I]The Stunners defeated the Animals when Bulldozer Brandon Smith pinned Amo del Gato[/I] RATING: C- [B]Young Blood II vs. Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson[/B] Giving two newer ROF competitors a chance to learn from two fast-rising stars, while also testing them out to see how they work as a tag team. Marc, naturally, handled his side of the contest with the aplomb you'd expect of someone his age, and Davis looked as spectacular as ever, but ultimately it was all good, right to the point where Marc's crossface armbreaker attempt was smoothly countered into the Newton's Cradle, and Marc found himself pinned. [I]Young Blood II defeated Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson when Davis Wayne Newton pinned Marc Speed.[/I] RATING: C [B]Don Henderson vs. Nichiren Amagawa[/B] I didn't expect this to work so well without getting Nichiren a bit more established. This first bout on the webcast turned into something of an East vs. West submission masterclass, and at 16:28 Nichiren finally tapped to the Scottish Deathlock. Don wasn't even flagging yet – looks like he really has pulled his cardio work into overdrive. Maybe he'll be able to last the lengths he needs to be in regular title contention... [I]Don Henderson defeated Nichiren Amagawa by submission[/I] RATING: C [B] Sergei Kalashnov vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Johnny Highspot vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship[/B] Now this was good, too. The quarter-hour eventually came down to the speed of an Eastern Block – pinfall transition in comparison to a Yasujiro Suplex – pinfall transition; Sergei covered Hector an instant before Bairei covered Johnny, and as such Sergei's pin was the one that was counted. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Bairei Yasujiro, Johnny Highspot and Hector Montez when he pinned Hector Montez[/I] RATING: C [B]British Samurai vs. El Critico[/B] Once again playing the clash-of-legends angle, these two worked damn hard for a full twenty minutes, eventually reaching the time limit before either man could gain a definitive advantage. And the result was a lot better than I'd even hoped. [I]British Samurai drew with El Critico when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B- [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man match for the ROF Championship [/B] Man, the crowd were massively into this. Joey and Petey work ridiculously well together, but I think Joey being beaten by Davis last week played into this; he's no longer invulnerable. And then Petey got a Future Shock onto the floor at fourteen minutes, rolling Joey in and covering him for the pinfall. With the challenger one up on the champion, the atmosphere was about as taut as we've ever had it – but Joey was able to come back, ducking the X Factor to hit an electric chair which he followed up with a frog splash to tie the score, and in the closing minute Joey secured it beyond doubt when he delivered a leaping Breeze Block as Petey was perched on the top turnbuckle, securing a second fall as Petey was counted out. [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated Petey Barnes with two falls to one[/I] RATING: B Oh yeah, that hit the spot. The atmosphere was electric the whole way and there wasn't a dud note throughout. Needless to say, it's been voted our best show to date. OVERALL: B- The following night, 21CW followed us to the Aston University Sports Hall, and got only 688 fans. Joey Beauchamp was hailed as the show's MVP. Which is a shame, as it was his last night with the promotion. Poppa Punisher has also left UCR behind him, describing it as not large enough for him. Man... they're bleeding talent and bringing in almost no one. I honestly do worry about them.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Death From Above vs. Animals The Shooters vs. The Force Bairei Yasujiro vs. Steve Flash eiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

Death From Above vs. [B]Animals[/B] The Shooters vs.[B] The Force[/B] [B]Bairei Yasujiro[/B] vs. Steve Flash [B]Seiji Jimbo[/B] vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Petey Barnes [B]Joey Beauchamp [/B]vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 4 July Parliament Square 1000 in attendance We're unlikely to reach the quality of last week, but hopefully we'll get a bit further to where we're aiming for. Our dark bout this week: Death from Above and the Animals, with an acceptable dark match that ended with Amo del Gato eating a New Jersey Turnpike. [I]Death from Above defeated the Animals when Black Eagle pinned Amo del Gato[/I] RATING: D [B]The Shooters vs. The Force[/B] Now this was a pretty good performance; all participants involved could be seen visibly improving as the match went on, but ultimately Billy clotheslined Jed out of the ring and Don sank Toby with a Scottish Deathlock, allowing the Shooters to chalk up an important victory. [I]The Shooters defeated The Force when Don Henderson made Toby Juan Kenobi submit[/I] RATING: C- [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Steve Flash[/B] These two really are good, it has to be said; while Bairei's main event run has been curtailed by the fact that between us and WLW he's almost always pushing himself to the limits and I don't want to cause myself issues with an absentee champion, he's doing well whenever I use him – and while Steve's job has been, essentially, to work with the younger guys, going over the rookies and losing out to established lower carders to build them up, despite that he's slowly become perceived as a solid midcarder. The contest was nice and solid for the full fourteen minutes it ran, ending when the Yasujiro Suplex claimed another victim. [I]Bairei Yasujiro defeated Steve Flash by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship[/B] Again, nice. They only had ten minutes but they put together a really nice bout. It finished when the Bulldozer overcame his injured arm, dropping Nigel with the backdrop driver, only to be cut off by Seiji. The Jimbo Driver's impact sent Brandon rolling from the ring and Seiji slapped the Seiji Ocean Lock on Nigel to force a tapout. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Nigel Svensson when he made Nigel Svensson submit[/I] RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes[/B] You know, I've got to admit it; I forgot that these two don't click. And I'm not actually gonna complain about that, as they still put on an incredible match, rolling back and forth, which ended only when Davis turned an X Factor into an STF in an incredible piece of rolling athleticism – only to be thwarted by the time limit! [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Petey Barnes when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B- [B] Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship[/B] Joey seemed, as is often the case when he and Sammy step between the ropes together, to be learning; which is fantastic, frankly, as the better he becomes the better a champion he can be. The match came to an end when Joey's Breeze Block attempt, caught into the Secret Samurai Stretch, was followed up – the Breeze twisted in the hold and forced Sammy's shoulders to the mat for the three count. [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated British Samurai by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- Another pretty solid show, and the response online continues to be excellent. We're hoping this will mean better audience numbers when we return to Phoenix Nights next week... OVERALL: B-

[Phantom Stranger]

To begin August: Hidekazu vs. Steve Flash vs. Extraordinario Jr vs. Velocidad Your New Favourite Team vs. The Stunners for the Tag Titles Seiji Jimbo vs. Nichiren Amagawa for the Beacon Championship in a Submission Match Sergei Kalashnov vs. Jed High for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs. Don Henderson Joey Beauchamp vs. Davis Wayne Newton for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

[B]Hidekazu[/B] vs. Steve Flash vs. Extraordinario Jr vs. Velocidad [B]Your New Favourite Team[/B] vs. The Stunners for the Tag Titles [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Nichiren Amagawa for the Beacon Championship in a Submission Match Sergei Kalashnov vs. [B]Jed High [/B]for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs.[B] Don Henderson[/B] [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] vs. Davis Wayne Newton for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 1 August Phoenix Nights (Northern UK) 74 in attendance ...Or not. But better we get the North to care about us now than when it'll be even more expensive. Our dark match; Hidekazu, Steve Flash, Extraordinario Jr and Velocidad squared off in a four-way dance. Hidekazu looked pretty damn good rolling toward his pinfall victory over Steve, and between Steve and Hidekazu Extraordinario Jr picked up a few tips on fighting hardway. [I]Hidekazu defeated Steve Flash, Extraordinario Jr and Velocidad when he pinned Steve Flash[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Your New Favourite Team vs. The Stunners for the Tag Titles[/B] You could see Jonni Lowlife improve on multiple fronts here, which is pretty much a necessity; between YNFT and Low Lives he's a cornerstone of the tag division. This was mostly Eagle and Johnny, though; the Frog Splash finally got the better of the Eagle. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated the Stunners when Johnny Highspot pinned Black Eagle[/I] RATING: C- [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Nichiren Amagawa for the Beacon Championship in a Submission Match[/B] Not so good, not yet. At least it's in one of our least important venues, though; and it'd grace a 21CW main event and not look out of place. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Nichiren Amagawa by submission[/I] RATING: D [B]Sergei Kalashnov vs. Jed High for the Heritage Championship[/B] Better; much better, and Jed's still learning. This means we have further up to go, and this is a good thing; Sergei wins the bout, eventually, by rolling clear of the Sky High and capitalising. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Jed High by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]British Samurai vs. Don Henderson[/B] Another time limit draw to show what people can do, and also as part of our tests to see how long Don can last. He wasn't even flagging as the bell rang! Some good stuff here, too, as two ROF stalwarts demonstrate what Ring of Fire means. [I]British Samurai drew with Don Henderson when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Davis Wayne Newton for the ROF Championship[/B] Hrmm. This is the weakest of the bouts the duo have had, at least in the way it came off. I'm hoping that that's just a side effect of the goof a couple weeks ago – maybe the repair job I did wasn't as good as I'd hoped. They also didn't have as much time as we maybe should've given them. The end came when Joey attempted a Russian leg sweep and Davis converted it into an STF to force Joey to tap out, giving us a new champion. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Joey Beauchamp by submission[/I] RATING: C+ Good enough not to complain, though, as shows go. Downloads are up, net chatter's up, and we're set on the course I want us set on at last. OVERALL: C+

[Phantom Stranger]

Next: YNFT vs. Capitao Brasil Jr & Huracan Sandoval Jr Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison The Shooters vs. The Force Hidekazu vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith El Critico vs. Hector Montez Davis Wayne Newton vs. British Samurai for the Ring of Fire Championship

[Marcel Fromage]

[B]YNFT[/B] vs. Capitao Brasil Jr & Huracan Sandoval Jr [B]Steve Flash [/B]vs. Roy Edison The Shooters vs. [B]The Force[/B] Hidekazu vs. [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] [B]El Critico [/B]vs. Hector Montez [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]vs. British Samurai for the Ring of Fire Championship Blimey you've been busy today!! Edison in my game falls into the 'you'll work in Europe so why not the UK?' category! :D

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 2 August Parliament Square 1000 in attendance Our dark match this week; Your New Favourite Team up against Capitao Brasil Jr and Huracan Sandoval Jr, with the latter two showing surprising chemistry, even though Highspot was the real standout in this match. Wasn't a great bout, but there's promise here. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated Capitao Brasil Jr and Huracan Sandoval Jr when Jonni Lowlife pinned Capitao Brasil Jr[/I] RATING: D [B]Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison[/B] Our newest signing gets the Steve Flash test; fresh from the world of MMA, Roy comes to us with a rep and some skills, but little idea about putting the moves together into a good wrestling match. I'm moving him into a dark program with Steve, I think, to help him pick things up. Roy certainly seems to have started picking things up quickly, but he's got a lot to learn. [I]Steve Flash defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ [B]The Shooters vs. The Force[/B] Ah, Don... looking good as ever, here. The bout ran around eleven and a half minutes of excellent back-and-forth before Toby Juan Kenobi met a Scottish Deathlock and had to tap. [I]The Shooters defeated The Force when Don Henderson made Toby Juan Kenobi submit.[/I] RATING: C- [B]Hidekazu vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] The requisite time limit draw between two experienced old opponents; but I felt like we've been on our back foot all night, as Optimus is unfortunately required elsewhere and myself, Sammy and Don have been pulling the road agent duty. I knew this'd be a worthwhile match and keep the crowd into it, and it certainly did; pretty good, all told. [I]Hidekazu drew with Bulldozer Brandon Smith when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: C+ [B]El Critico vs. Hector Montez[/B] And another battle between old enemies. And man, this one was an absolute doozy. Critico pulled out even more stops in the brawling department and both men really went to town on this, keeping the crowd into it the whole way. In only a little over eleven minutes the Critical Mass claimed its victim, however. [I]El Critico defeated Hector Montez by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. British Samurai for the Ring of Fire Championship[/B] Long-term fans will know that Davis and Sammy don't click too well together, and that I really don't care as they still perform fantastically – and this really was no exception. Best. Match. In Ring of Fire history. The crowd screamed like crazy, riding the high off the prior match, and Davis and Sammy stretched the tension for a full 27:55 before Davis countered the Fisherman's Suplex, scoring the pin with a Newton's Cradle. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated British Samurai by pinfall[/I] RATING: B+ Well, you won't be stunned to hear that this was another damn successful show – a new best ever. More complaints about the Bulldozer going twenty, despite the performance, but I can live with that. Surprisingly cheap show overall, too. OVERALL: B-

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;321697] Blimey you've been busy today!! Edison in my game falls into the 'you'll work in Europe so why not the UK?' category! :D[/QUOTE] Mostly I've been posting today; my game's up to mid-October but I've only been doing a show or so a day for the past week or so, trying to catch up. From that perspective I can say that Edison looks to have been, at the least, a worthwhile hire. My roster's getting crowded - look for developments around the start of October to handle that.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison The Shooters vs. The Force vs. The Animals vs. Los Hijos (Capitao Brasil Jr and Huracan Sandoval Jr) Seiji Jimbo vs. Ruud van Anger for the Beacon Championship Hector Montez vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Marc Speed British Samurai vs. Nichiren Amagawa Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes vs. El Critico for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]The Shooters[/B] vs. The Force vs. The Animals vs. Los Hijos (Capitao Brasil Jr and Huracan Sandoval Jr) [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Ruud van Anger for the Beacon Championship Hector Montez vs.[B] Nigel Svensson [/B]vs. Marc Speed [B]British Samurai [/B]vs. Nichiren Amagawa [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Petey Barnes vs. El Critico for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 3 August Aston University Sports Hall 918 in attendance Our dark match this week: Steve Flash battles Roy Edison again, with this bout being announced as the first in a best of seven series that I'll run entirely in the dark (unless their ratings begin to explode upward soon.) And, while it was Steve who really shone – man, this was much, much better than I expected. Roy and Steve battled for ten minutes before Roy got an armbar out of nowhere and forced Steve to tap out. [I]Roy Edison defeated Steve Flash by submission[/I] RATING: C [B]The Shooters vs. The Force vs. The Animals vs. Los Hijos (Capitao Brasil Jr and Huracan Sandoval Jr)[/B] Not a great match, but the big-numbers tag bouts aren't intended to be; with so many people active a lot of things can be tried, a lot of tricks passed on, without anyone actually seeing it in the audience. Amo del Gato continues to develop, and while most of his time was spent looking like the best performer in the ring, Don also seemed to be picking up a few things – mostly Mexican submission techniques, transitions, and counters. It was Capitao Brasil Jr who ended up losing, though, as Don turned a double chickenwing into an inventive pinfall situation. [I]The Shooters defeated The Force, The Animals, and Los Hijos when Don Henderson pinned Capitao Brasil Jr[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Ruud van Anger for the Beacon Championship[/B] The debuting UCR grappler steps up to the plate. My plans actually revolved around a Double Dutch/Your New Favourite Team feud, but unfortunately Frank's injury record is just a little too bad for Sammy to green light a hiring, so we'll do what we can with Ruud. This wasn't as good as I'd hoped; both men are reasonable storytellers in the ring, but they work best adding wrinkles to a story someone else is masterminding. In the end, though, Seiji got the Ocean Lock and forced Ruud to tap. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Ruud van Anger by submission[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Hector Montez vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Marc Speed[/B] Fun little three way dance, this; it didn't have time to be long, but it helps pick us into gear and gives Hector some momentum and the others some screen time, which Marc in particular needs in the UK. Hector actually pinned Nigel after the Hijack Suplex; Optimus evidently sees a lot of potential in Marc. From what I've seen, he's right. [I]Hector Montez defeated Nigel Svensson and Marc Speed when he pinned Marc Speed[/I] RATING: C [B]British Samurai vs. Nichiren Amagawa[/B] The gamble did not pay off; these two don't work together. And hopefully won't again without an intermediary in there; this was horrible, and an awful comedown for Sammy after his phenomenal effort last week. Mercifully he ended it quickly with the Secret Samurai Stretch [I]British Samurai defeated Nichiren Amagawa by submission[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes vs. El Critico for the ROF Championship[/B] Now this picked things back up, all 30:23 of it. Petey's primarily aerial; in order to camouflage his awkward chemistry with Davis and allow Davis to demonstrate his full range of skills we added a lucha legend to the mix, and the results were fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that Matthew couldn't actually keep up with it; Critico ate a Future Shock early but Davis broke the pin up, rolling Petey clear and clamping the STF on, only for Critico to break that up. A second Future Shock attempt saw Davis post Petey over the top rope, spin, duck the Critical Mass and then get the Newton's Cradle pin to keep Critico down and get the win. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Petey Barnes and El Critico when he pinned El Critico[/I] RATING: B OLLIE achieved cult status last week; if you were wondering about the relative lack of star power, this cost us Joey, Sergei, and Velocidad. I'm gonna have to move if OLLIE maintains that level of prestige. But I don't know when I can move to; so many of my guys also have WLW or UKW contracts. Considering what I had to work with, I'm mostly happy with this card; we seem to have kept people talking, and downloads, once again, improved. OVERALL: C+ I kinda hate to say this, but thank goodness; OLLIE's show bombed this week (and didn't actually feature any of my guys, oddly), and as far as promotional prestige goes they're once again around on a par with us. Checking with Joey, Sergei et al indicates that they'll go with me next week. Here's hoping they don't regain any time soon... In other news, UCR apparently didn't have Poppa Punisher drop the belt. He left and Captain Hero beat out Scheming Behemoth to take the belt up.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Hector Montez vs. Velocidad vs. Extraordinario Jr The Shooters vs. Los Hijos Bairei Yasujiro vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai Davis Wayne Newton vs. Sergei Kalashnov vs. Seiji Jimbo