Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

[Marcel Fromage]

Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [I]Edison to keep the momentum in the 7-series[/I] [B]Hector Montez [/B]vs. Velocidad vs. Extraordinario Jr [I]Will go with Hector here as your most established of the 3. I do like Extraordinario though...mainly because I did the render! :) [/I] [B]The Shooters [/B]vs. Los Hijos [I]Got to go with my boys Billy and Don[/I] [B]Bairei Yasujiro [/B]vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger [I]Interesting bout between 3 cultures - none of which are British! I think Bairei will take it to keep him looking fairly strong.[/I] Joey Beauchamp vs. [B]British Samurai[/B] [I]I was thinking Joey initially, but I'll go with Samurai in case you're worried about the OLLIE thing and want to push the guy who is always available to you more.[/I] [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]vs. Sergei Kalashnov vs. Seiji Jimbo [I]Nice way to give a couple of guys some exposure higher up the card, but there's no way Davis is losing this.[/I]

[chris caulfield]

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

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 4 August Parliament Square 1000 in attendance Steve's battle with Roy continues in the dark, seeing Steve go two down early on – an arm bar once again finishing the bout. It wasn't as good as last week, but again, it's all about the experience as much as anything. [I]Roy Edison defeated Steve Flash by submission [/I] RATING: C- [B]Hector Montez vs. Velocidad vs. Extraordinario Jr[/B] Damn, Hector looked good out there. Velocidad's definitely improving, too. Might be a little too early to say, as regards Extraordinario, but thus far I'll take what my guys are giving me. Surprisingly, it was Velocidad who got hit with the Hijack Suplex, leaving me needing badly to sit down with Optimus and work out how high the ceiling on this Extraordinario kid actually is in his eyes. [I]Hector Montez defeated Velocidad and Extraordinario Jr when he pinned Velocidad[/I] RATING: C [B]The Shooters vs. Los Hijos[/B] In a lot of ways this was another of the many Old ROF/New ROF matches we've seen in recent months. Unfortunately, the New ROF here are also very, very new – and this should've been the opening match, except that that might've led to the webcasts being cut off before they went all the way through. Don continues to stand out and Sandoval looks to be picking up some pretty good brawling tips from the two Brits; in the end the We Have to Amputate led to Capitao tapping out in Don's tender ministrations. [I]The Shooters defeated Los Hijos when Don Henderson forced Huracan Sandoval Jr to submit[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger[/B] A tricontinental bout here that was as good as the all-lucha display earlier. Not bad work at all, here, and the Yasujiro Suplex ended things, allowing Bairei to pin Critico after laying out Ruud with an enzuigiri. [I]Bairei Yasujiro defeated El Critico and Ruud van Anger when he pinned El Critico[/I] RATING: C [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. British Samurai[/B] These two still have a lot to teach each other. And, from what I could see, they went about teaching each other those things throughout the twenty minutes of hard-fought action, fetching up only reluctantly against the time limit. [I]Joey Beauchamp drew with British Samurai when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Sergei Kalashnov vs. Seiji Jimbo[/B] A twenty-five minute Champions Match. By recent main event standards, it's weak; but you kind of expect that when two of these guys are not yet really main-event ready. That said, if this bout is anything to go by they're getting there, and Davis is helping. The bonds of tag partnership win out, eventually, and Davis chooses to pin Sergei for the win at 24:26 [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Sergei Kalashnov and Seiji Jimbo when he pinned Sergei Kalashnov[/I] RATING: C+ Not a brilliant show but good enough; really you can insert my usual comments for such shows here. Here's hoping OLLIE didn't too too fantastically. OVERALL: C+ Well, no, they didn't – and maybe it's that that caused Phoenix I to lose the book, but to be honest I doubt it. I've got to figure something else went wrong for him. That said, another chance to get on television closes without a deal sealed...

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;321868]Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [I]Edison to keep the momentum in the 7-series[/I] [B]Hector Montez [/B]vs. Velocidad vs. Extraordinario Jr [I]Will go with Hector here as your most established of the 3. I do like Extraordinario though...mainly because I did the render! :) [/I] [B]The Shooters [/B]vs. Los Hijos [I]Got to go with my boys Billy and Don[/I] [B]Bairei Yasujiro [/B]vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger [I]Interesting bout between 3 cultures - none of which are British! I think Bairei will take it to keep him looking fairly strong.[/I] Joey Beauchamp vs. [B]British Samurai[/B] [I]I was thinking Joey initially, but I'll go with Samurai in case you're worried about the OLLIE thing and want to push the guy who is always available to you more.[/I] [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]vs. Sergei Kalashnov vs. Seiji Jimbo [I]Nice way to give a couple of guys some exposure higher up the card, but there's no way Davis is losing this.[/I][/QUOTE] Sound 90% of the way, there. Joey's the guy getting the strongest recommendations from my road agents - the one guy they're telling me to build around - so I'm prepared to offer him an exclusive PPA if it comes to it, though as it stands OLLIE have more or less folded. I wanted to make sure both the preferred and the backup choice had a bit of drive in the main event scene, though...

[Phantom Stranger]

To begin September: Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Seiji Jimbo vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Black Eagle vs. Velocidad in a Ladder Match for the Beacon Championship Your New Favourite Team vs. The Force for the Tag Titles Sergei Kalashnov vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship Marc Speed vs. Hector Montez British Samurai vs. Billy Robinson Davis Wayne Newton vs. Don Henderson for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Black Eagle vs. Velocidad in a Ladder Match for the Beacon Championship Your New Favourite Team vs. [B]The Force [/B]for the Tag Titles [B]Sergei Kalashnov[/B] vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship Marc Speed vs. [B]Hector Montez[/B] [B]British Samurai [/B]vs. Billy Robinson [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Don Henderson for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 1 September Phoenix Nights 150 in attendance Slowly but surely the Northern audience starts to catch on to us and attend. Steve and Roy tied up in the dark bout again this week, with Steve coming out on top with a Flash Bang. I'm hoping that Steve's lack of momentum coming in is what weakened this contest. [I]Steve Flash defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Black Eagle vs. Velocidad in a Ladder Match for the Beacon Championship[/B] Not bad. Not brilliant, mind, but not bad. Bairei reprised the splash onto a climbing man from the turnbuckle, Eagle got the Turnpike on Seiji from the ladder, Velocidad tried for the tornado only for Bairei to counter, using his momentum to hurl him into the ladder and topple Eagle from his climb, and Seiji got the Jimbo Driver on Bairei coming off the ladder to the ground. All in all a fast-paced vicious match that ended when Seiji springboarded from the top rope to near the top of the ladder, skipping the climb to get ahead of Eagle and grab the belt. If it had a flaw, it's that it didn't have the time for all of those spots. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Bairei Yasujiro, Black Eagle and Velocidad when he retrieved the title belt.[/I] RATING: C- [B]Your New Favourite Team vs. The Force for the Tag Titles[/B] Stamina limits mean that it looks like I'm bringing Jed and Toby back into the tag division for a while. In order to do that, unfortunately, I have to slowly bring their pushes down, which I don't much enjoy – and I'll be pushing them back to the moon when they're solidly in the tag ranks again. For now, though, they serve as a vehicle to help establish Jonni, who's actually become the more talented of his team. Toby ate the Low Down while Johnny and Jed were tied up in a brawl outside the ring and Jonni got the pinfall at 12:31. Work on that cardio, boys. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated The Force when Jonni Lowlife pinned Toby Juan Kenobi[/I] RATING: C- [B]Sergei Kalashnov vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship[/B] Not as good as I'd hoped, this. Not sure why, either, but it can't be helped. At a little over a quarter of an hour Sergei got another defence on his record, and that's pretty much all there is to be said about this. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Ruud van Anger by pinfall[/I] RATING: D- [B]Marc Speed vs. Hector Montez[/B] Admittedly, this is mostly a nothing match, with its main goal being to get Marc more to people's attention and fill a few spare minutes on the card. Hector thus controls for the victory with the Hijack Suplex. Good show, though. [I]Hector Montez defeated Marc Speed by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B] British Samurai vs. Billy Robinson[/B] Well, this was a pleasant surprise; Billy and Sammy work really well together as a one-on-one thing. They only had ten minutes, and Sammy used that to gain a bit of momentum and put Billy away convincingly. [I]British Samurai defeated Billy Robinson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Don Henderson for the ROF Championship [/B] Not a great match. How much of that is due to the lacklustre crowd (and, indeed, relative smallness of the venue, and relative lack of popularity both of these men have here) and how much to other factors is, of course, in question, but there you go. Not a great match, but a good one, and there's promise here; and at 18:31 Davis got the Newton's Cradle to a reasonable pop. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Don Henderson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ One of our weakest shows in some time, really. But I'll take it; I'm anticipating a slow improvement in sales at the Phoenix Nights as the months drag on. OVERALL: C Pit Bull Brown has the book for OLLIE now. I'm not quite seeing how that works, but OK. Byron's complaining that he's been out of work for six months; I find myself wondering whether his position as a jobber would seem so bad now. El Bandito main evented and won SOTBPW this week; just before that, El Critico teamed with Junior Youth and Ultimate Phoenix to capture the Campeones de Trios belts. It's a good week for us.

[Phantom Stranger]

RING OF FIRE RANKINGS: SEPTEMBER 2009 MAIN EVENTERS Jed High Davis Wayne Newton British Samurai Don Henderson Petey Barnes Joey Beauchamp UPPER MIDCARD Toby Juan Kenobi Johnny Highspot Bairei Yasujiro Ruud van Anger Sergei Kalashnov Billy Robinson MIDCARD Seiji Jimbo Roy Edison Velocidad Hector Montez Bulldozer Brandon Smith Black Eagle Hidekazu El Critico LOWER MIDCARD Nigel Svensson Steve Flash El Bestia Purpura Amo del Gato Matthew Gauge OPENERS Capitao Brasil Jr Huracan Sandoval Jr Nichiren Amagawa ENHANCEMENT TALENT Extraordinario Jr Marc Speed

[Phantom Stranger]

September Week 2: Roy Edison vs. Steve Flash Hector Montez vs. Extraordinario Jr vs. Velocidad Sergei Kalashnov vs. Black Eagle for the Heritage Championship Jed High vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp in a 30 minute iron man match for the ROF Championship

[Marcel Fromage]

Roy Edison vs. [B]Steve Flash[/B] [I]I'll take Flash to take the lead[/I] [B]Hector Montez [/B]vs. Extraordinario Jr vs. Velocidad [I]Same thought as the other show - Montez is the more recognised in your fed[/I] [B]Sergei Kalashnov [/B]vs. Black Eagle for the Heritage Championship [I]Kalashnov to retain, I reckon[/I] Jed High vs. [B]Petey Barnes [/B]in a Ladder Match [I]Do these two have bad chemistry? You already said you want The Force back in the tag ranks.[/I] Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship [I]I simply don't know much about Jimbo. I'll go draw, as most of your shows have at least one draw in them! :p [/I] [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Joey Beauchamp in a 30 minute iron man match for the ROF Championship [I]Don't see DWN losing the strap yet.[/I]

[chris caulfield]

[B]Roy Edison[/B] vs. Steve Flash [B]Hector Montez [/B]vs. Extraordinario Jr vs. Velocidad [B]Sergei Kalashnov [/B]vs. Black Eagle for the Heritage Championship Jed High vs. [B]Petey Barnes [/B]in a Ladder Match [B]Seiji Jimbo[/B] vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]vs. Joey Beauchamp in a 30 minute iron man match for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 2 September Parliament Square 1000 in attendance Two dark matches again this week; first, Roy went 3-1 up against Steve Flash with what was still a pretty damn good match considering the rookie was off his stride, but Steve was doing better than his usual excellent performance, so that mostly makes sense. [I]Roy Edison defeated Steve Flash by submission[/I] RATING: C The second dark bout: Hector Montez walked Extraordinario Jr and Velocidad through a triple threat, eventually getting the Hijack Suplex on Extraordinario. Hector looked great; the others... not so much, but they're still learning, theoretically at least. I'm glad, though, that this won't be broadcast online. [I]Hector Montez defeated Extraordinario Jr and Velocidad when he pinned Extraordinario Jr[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Sergei Kalashnov vs. Black Eagle for the Heritage Championship[/B] The show proper opened with a better match than the dark period closed with, but it still wasn't great. Eagle and Sergei are good flyers, but as yet they've not had a real chance to find their feet in ROF – Sergei more than the Eagle, granted, but both men are still establishing themselves. Still, this was perfectly acceptable fare, ending with an Eastern Block at 18:07. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Black Eagle by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Jed High vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match[/B] I need to remember that these two don't click; by Jed's standards this was a perfectly serviceable match, but less so for Petey, who's developed massively over the past two years. (Seriously – when I got here, the notion that Petey could one day be one of our two most dominant champions would have been absurd. But now... The thing I really took from this bout, the thing that'll stick with me, is Petey superkicking Jed through a couple of rungs of the ladder, something I still feel was a real risk for him, before he got up there and grabbed the target. [I]Petey Barnes defeated Jed High by retrieving the item[/I] RATING: C- [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship[/B] And this is what the Beacon Championship was designed to do; show the fans signs of promise from the greats of the future. The best bout thus far tonight, running all the way through to 18:05. I suspect it could've been better if it had had a winner, but the right thing to do for both men seemed to be to let them battle to a draw. This got heated, violent, and while it stayed within the rules, Humphrey pretty much had to throw it out by the time he threw it out. [I]Seiji Jimbo drew with Bulldozer Brandon Smith when the referee stopped the match.[/I] RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp in a 30 minute iron man match for the ROF Championship[/B] And this picked things right back up. Joey and Davis went at each other hammer and tongs here, but neither man was able to get a pinfall or submission throughout the full half hour. With the score entirely even and both sides pushed to their limits, the time limit was, I think, pretty much a relief for both men. [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Joey Beauchamp when neither man could score a fall within the time limit.[/I] RATING: B We continue to see questions about whether Bulldozer should get such long matches, despite the fact the crowds seem to be pretty into them. Beyond that I didn't see any complaints. OVERALL: B- Well, look at that – Lobster Warrior, DaVE Unified Champion with eleven successful defences behind him, has decided they're too small for him and won't be re-signing. This chunk of DaVE history fascinates me, I'm not quite sure why.

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;322420] Jed High vs. [B]Petey Barnes [/B]in a Ladder Match [I]Do these two have bad chemistry? You already said you want The Force back in the tag ranks.[/I][/QUOTE] See, YOU can remember that, it's just me who has problems... As for the draws, yeah. I like 'em in a looks-like-sport product - makes things a bit more 'realistic'. Plus they're a little momentum boost for both men.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Seiji Jimbo vs. Marc Speed vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship The Stunners vs. Your New Favourite Team for the tag titles Sergei Kalashnov vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship Hector Montez vs. Magnifico The Shooters & British Samurai vs. The Force & Joey Beauchamp Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Marc Speed vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship [B]The Stunners[/B] vs. Your New Favourite Team for the tag titles [B]Sergei Kalashnov [/B]vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship [B]Hector Montez [/B]vs. Magnifico [B]The Shooters & British Samurai [/B]vs. The Force & Joey Beauchamp [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 3 September Aston University Sports Hall 938 in attendance Steve and Roy continue their dark series; after today's bout, in which Roy kept up his end of the bargain, they're up to 3-2 as Steve gets the win with a Flash Bang out of nowhere. [I]Steve Flash defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Marc Speed vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship[/B] Nice; very nice. Marc seems to have picked up a couple of speciality puroresu spots, which is going to prove handy as time goes on. These three really didn't have long – few matches this card do – but they made the most out of it. Marc cut off a charge from Nigel with a dropkick and turned around to be caught in the Seiji Ocean Lock, and the champion retained. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Marc Speed and Nigel Svensson when he made Nigel Svensson submit.[/I] RATING: C- [B]The Stunners vs. Your New Favourite Team for the tag titles[/B] A good solid back-and-forth bout highlights the development in skill among members of the tag division as these four put on a match of rare quality, culminating in Jonni getting the Low Down on Brandon and smoothly covering for the pin as Johnny intercepted Black Eagle. I'm quietly impressed. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated the Stunners when Jonni Lowlife pinned Bulldozer Brandon Smith.[/I] RATING: C [B] Sergei Kalashnov vs. El Critico vs. Ruud van Anger for the Heritage Championship[/B] Oh, yes. I knew Ruud had a good match in him; granted, putting him in with a can't-miss luchador legend and the rising star that is Sergei is a bit of a cheat, and the two could likely have had a better contest without him. But that wouldn't have led to me watching Ruud's game improve all over the place, and if Ruud's better the possibilities open right back up. Very nice contest right up until the Eastern Block sends Critico out of the ring and ricochets into Ruud, allowing Sergei an easy pin – which makes him the man with the longest Heritage Championship reign to date. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated El Critico and Ruud van Anger when he pinned Ruud van Anger[/I] RATING: C [B]Hector Montez vs. Magnifico[/B] Magnifico, our latest signing, marks the third legendary luchador to join Ring of Fire. To make him feel at home we put him up against Hector to begin with, and while the fight was a short one it was good, culminating in the Hijack Suplex as Hector continues to pick up steam. [I]Hector Montez defeated Magnifico by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B] The Shooters & British Samurai vs. The Force & Joey Beauchamp[/B] ROF meets UCR, was the pitch. This was also the first indication I've had that Billy's also developed a better cardio regime; both Shooters can last twenty minutes now, somewhat miraculously, and it was only the Force who were flagging when, at 19:37, Sammy's Secret Samurai Stretch forced Jed High to submit. Really good stuff til then, though. [I]The Shooters & British Samurai defeated The Force & Joey Beauchamp when British Samurai made Jed High submit.[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship[/B] That left the two top tiermen who don't click to close out the show, with only sixteen minutes and scant chage to put a worthy title challenge together. Recipe for disaster? Turns out the answer's very much no. Not the best bout we've ever put on, nor even necessarily in the top ten – but it's up in the top tier. Very polished, very smooth, and very worthwhile, with Davis twisting the Future Shock into the start of the Newton's Cradle to get the pin. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Petey Barnes by pinfall[/I] RATING: B So it turns out that Steve, Don, Sammy, and Critico can do the road agent thing pretty well when we don't have Optimus available, and since all of them were on the card anyway that's not exactly an expensive option. Very nice card, very nice feedback. OVERALL: B- Hector Montez has broken off contract negotiations, citing a belief that he can make more money elsewhere. Much as I'll miss that kind of talent, if he's right – good. I hope we've given the legend a new lease of life. ...Holy crap. USPW appears to have gone into a suicide dive, somehow. Did I miss something major? They can't even be described as a major regional force anymore, they're... small fry.

[Phantom Stranger]

The final week of September: Animals vs. Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Your New Favourite Team vs. The Force vs. Death from Above for the Tag Titles Don Henderson vs. El Critico Sergei Kalashnov vs. Hidekazu vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship Seiji Jimbo vs. Matthew Gauge for the Beacon Championship Davis Wayne Newton vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship

[Marcel Fromage]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;322525]See, YOU can remember that, it's just me who has problems... As for the draws, yeah. I like 'em in a looks-like-sport product - makes things a bit more 'realistic'. Plus they're a little momentum boost for both men.[/QUOTE] I always keep a spreadsheet of chemistry and match ratings. Keeps me aware of who not to put together. I also keep notes on how many times people have faced each other. So I know, for example, that Merle O'Curle and Don Henderson in my ROF have bad chemistry and have only ever met once in 4 years! I should really use more draws myself - I use them occasionally. The interesting thing is that if I set it to 'draw', things are fine. If I actually specify a double count-out, the match drops a couple of ratings! :confused:

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;322620] I should really use more draws myself - I use them occasionally. The interesting thing is that if I set it to 'draw', things are fine. If I actually specify a double count-out, the match drops a couple of ratings! :confused:[/QUOTE] Yeah, I get that too. Which is how there've been a couple of double-DQs that didn't get crapped on by the crowd. They seem OK with double stoppages and double KOs, though.

[chris caulfield]

[B]Animals [/B]vs. Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Your New Favourite Team[/B] vs. The Force vs. Death from Above for the Tag Titles [B]Don Henderson [/B]vs. El Critico [B]Sergei Kalashnov[/B] vs. Hidekazu vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship [B]Seiji Jimbo[/B] vs. Matthew Gauge for the Beacon Championship [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Tuesday Week 4 September Parliament Square 1000 in attendance Moved Steve and Roy's saga out of the dark section this week; hopefully that won't be a bad move. The Animals, instead, took on Nigel Svensson and Marc Speed, allowing them to pick up a rare win when Amo del Gato got the Ninth Life on Marc Speed. Del Gato appeared to be learning a heck of a lot off his opponents, too, while Purpura and Marc also showed some signs of improvement. That made the otherwise lacklustre result pretty acceptable to me. [I]The Animals defeated Marc Speed & Nigel Svensson when Amo del Gato pinned Marc Speed.[/I] RATING: D [B]Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison[/B] Not a bad opener; these two vary in quality a lot as this series rattles on, and this wasn't their best, but as Steve tied the series and guaranteed it'd run a full seven matches I felt justified in putting this on the broadcast rather than the tag bout. Nice work by both men. [I]Steve Flash defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Your New Favourite Team vs. The Force vs. Death from Above for the Tag Titles[/B] Because we haven't mixed the tag formula up in quite a while. Jonni and Toby are getting better at ring generalship, which was very useful here; the bout wasn't brilliant but was acceptable. A good solid back-and-forth that ended when Highspot took out both members of the Force with a plancha to the outside just before Jonni Lowlife clotheslined Black Eagle and then hit Velocidad with the Low Down to get the pin. [I]Your New Favourite Team defeated The Force and Death From Above when Jonni Lowlife pinned Velocidad[/I] RATING: C- [B]Don Henderson vs. El Critico[/B] Man, this was good. And no, there was no real reason for these two to be wrestling, but nonetheless, it was good. A hard-fought it short battle saw Don eventually duck the Critical Mass and land a neckbreaker before rolling in for the Scottish Deathlock to pick up the win at 10:57 [I]Don Henderson defeated El Critico by submission[/I] RATING: B- [B]Sergei Kalashnov vs. Hidekazu vs. Hector Montez for the Heritage Championship[/B] Short, this, but good, and Hector begins his cruise to the end of his contract, eventually being pinned by Hidekazu after a real struggle – with Hidekazu getting the belt and his first real taste of ROF success. [I]Hidekazu defeated Hector Montez and Sergei Kalashnov when he pinned Hector Montez[/I] RATING: C [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Matthew Gauge for the Beacon Championship[/B] Not as good as I'd hoped, this; Matthew and Seiji don't mesh too well, though they turned in a reasonable bout regardless. It ended with the time limit, rather than with a decision, and the fans seemed happy to see Matthew back. He can go far, that one. [I]Seiji Jimbo drew with Matthew Gauge when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. British Samurai for the ROF Championship[/B] Coming off the six-man tag last week, Sammy looked strong entering this. It wasn't on a par with some of what they've done before, but when you consider how well they've done I can forgive that. These two overcame their lack of chemistry smoothly and worked well within their seventeen minutes of time, before Davis twisted in the Fisherman's suplex, landing on his feet behind Sammy and slamming him to the ground while simultaneously locking on the STF. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated British Samurai by submission[/I] RATING: B- No complaints or criticisms from the fans and a very acceptable show. Downloads rise again! OVERALL: B- They're tipping me as pushing Huracan Sandoval hard, which I'm sure would come as news to Huracan, as he's embarrassingly slipped off my radar. I'm wondering if going to two shows a week would be wise; my roster is growing, even with Critico joining Hector in moving on, and people need the exposure, the developmental time, and I think we should be able to afford it if we only run the Phoenix Nights once a month for developmental purposes. So we'll try it; as of October 2009, Ring of Fire: Best of British Tour will be joined by Ring of Fire: Wrestling Clinic, which will run on Sundays for the near future.

[Phantom Stranger]

Week 1 October: Best of British Tour The Stunners vs. Los Hijos Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Seiji Jimbo vs. Marc Speed vs. Nichiren Amagawa vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship Velocidad vs. Magnifico Hector Montez vs El Critico Davis Wayne Newton vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match for the ROF Championship Wrestling Clinic The Animals vs. Hugh de Aske & Dean Daniels Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison Your New Favourite Team vs. The Force for the Tag Titles Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Sergei Kalashnov for the Beacon Championship Hidekazu vs. Matthew Gauge for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs. Joey Beauchamp vs. Don Henderson

[Marcel Fromage]

Best of British Tour The Stunners vs. Los Hijos Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Marc Speed vs. Nichiren Amagawa vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship [B]Velocidad[/B] vs. Magnifico Hector Montez vs [B]El Critico[/B] [B]Davis Wayne Newton [/B]vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match for the ROF Championship Wrestling Clinic [B]The Animals [/B]vs. Hugh de Aske & Dean Daniels Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Your New Favourite Team [/B]vs. The Force for the Tag Titles Seiji Jimbo vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Sergei Kalashnov for the Beacon Championship [B]Hidekazu[/B] vs. Matthew Gauge for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs. [B]Joey Beauchamp [/B]vs. Don Henderson Good luck with attendances in the second half of the month!

[chris caulfield]

Best of British Tour [B]The Stunners[/B] vs. Los Hijos Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] [B]Seiji Jimbo [/B]vs. Marc Speed vs. Nichiren Amagawa vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship [B]Velocidad[/B] vs. Magnifico Hector Montez vs [B]El Critico[/B] [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match for the ROF Championship Wrestling Clinic [B]The Animals [/B]vs. Hugh de Aske & Dean Daniels Steve Flash vs. [B]Roy Edison[/B] Your New Favourite Team vs. [B]The Force [/B]for the Tag Titles [B]Seiji Jimbo[/B] vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Sergei Kalashnov for the Beacon Championship [B]Hidekazu[/B] vs. Matthew Gauge for the Heritage Championship British Samurai vs. [B]Joey Beauchamp [/B]vs. Don Henderson

[Phantom Stranger]

Best of British Tour Tuesday Week 1 October Phoenix Nights 163 in attendance Our dark bout tonight: The Stunners take on Los Hijos, as I continue my experiments with developing the novice tag teams. As expected, it was weak, but it'll do for now, and Brandon looked very good as he systematically dismantled both opponents before putting Capitao away with a backdrop driver. The younger guys need to improve, but I think they're getting there... [I]The Stunners defeated Los Hijos when Bulldozer Brandon Smith pinned Capitao Brasil Jr[/I] RATING: D [B]Steve Flash vs. Roy Edison[/B] Sadly, this final encounter in the series ended up being one of their weaker bouts, but given a choice between broadcasting this and the prior match I'm still glad it was this one. They went at each other hard, but in the end Steve sidestepped a showy roundhouse kick and got the Flash Bang out of nowhere for the pin. [I]Steve Flash defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Marc Speed vs. Nichiren Amagawa vs. Nigel Svensson for the Beacon Championship[/B] I'll not lie; this was poor. Too many of these guys haven't yet mastered the psychology of a match, and they took too much of it into their own hands. Mercifully it was at least short, and I am once again reminded of just how much time these guys need to wrestle for before they'll be all I want them to be. Marc Speed ended things when he ate a Jimbo Driver and found himself pinned, the champion retaining. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Marc Speed, Nichiren Amagawa and Nigel Svensson when he pinned Marc Speed.[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Velocidad vs. Magnifico[/B] Ugh. Magnifico's a legend in the world of lucha libre, but he spectacularly failed to show me why here as we webcast one of the worst matches I've booked. Again, it was mercifully short, with the Velocidad Tornado closing the deal, but this show is not impressing me so far. More work needs to be done. [I]Velocidad defeated Magnifico by pinfall[/I] RATING: E+ [B]Hector Montez vs El Critico[/B] Something of a farewell match here, and I think one weakened by the fact they were following something so horrible. We tried to redress things here, with Hector finally getting a win over El Critico in their last bout against each other for ROF. (I think they may have some work to do before they go, in terms of teaching the youngsters.) [I]Hector Montez defeated El Critico by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match for the ROF Championship[/B] Much, much better, this, and something of a card-saver – assuming we still have anyone watching the broadcast. The Triple Threat faced two great aerial opponents here, and the whole thing was in question the whole time – Davis hasn't proved he can win when neither signature move can do it for him here, but he did well, at one point cutting off Petey's climb by sending Bairei crashing into the ladder with a release fisherman's suplex. (Bairei returned the favour with the Yasujiro Suplex later in the match, again sending Petey crashing to the floor.) Petey got the better of Bairei on a different occasion, rolling clear of the abdominal splash onto the ladder before Bairei did it – and that was what finally sent Bairei out of contention, seconds before Davis dropkicked the ladder into Petey's face, allowing him the time for a quick scramble to the top and to retain the belt at 30:56 [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Bairei Yasujiro and Petey Barnes when he retrieved his title.[/I] RATING: B Considering how weak the undercard ended up being, I'm glad and grateful that we did as well as we did in pulling it back. We need more of our guys to get over in the North, I think. I've got to assume that's part of what holds us back here – and if so, I'm glad we're working here now, rather than when the gap would be even greater. OVERALL: C+