Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

[Phantom Stranger]

Wrestling Clinic Sunday, Week 4, February Aston University Sports Hall 677 in attendance Our lowest attendance in a while, but that was more or less to be expected; we've probably cooked the Midlands to a turn recently. Time to go back down to the carefully-protected South for TV. A good dark match pitted Extraordinario Jr against Steve Flash, representatives from both upcoming brands. Naturally the better man – Steve – carried the day, but it was pretty good. [I]Steve Flash defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Dean Daniels[/B] For an opening match this was ridiculously good. Brandon and Dean put up an excellent puro style match which also saw Bulldozer get a top rope leg drop on Dean to a massive pop. Neither man could conquer the other, however, and we rolled to the time limit. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith drew with Dean Daniels when the time limit expired[/I] RATING: B- Jillefski makes one last attempt to bring the reigning champ across to USPW, and he and Sammy produce a pretty good interview sequence in which Sammy politely declines and puts ROF over heavily. RATING: C+ [B]The Shooters vs. Your New Favourite Team[/B] Two teams about to be split permanently by the brand separation get one last chance to fly the flag, and they put on a great match by our tag division standards. The end comes with Don forcing Jonni to tap to the We Have to Amputate. [I]The Shooters defeated Your New Favourite Team when Don Henderson made Jonni Lowlife submit[/I] RATING: C+ Billy and Don were left in the ring. After a long moment, Billy shakes hands with Don and the two embrace. RATING: D+ [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Marcos Flores[/B] It was explained that the #1 Contender to the USPW Championship had already been selected, and this match was being staged to select his opponent. A really nice match, this, and a solid use of seventeen minutes, but in the end Johnny Stones picked up a win on his debut with the Brainbuster. [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- We ran clips of the current #1 contenders in both promotions, Joey Beauchamp & Pit Bull Brown, and hype their match, which is the main event. RATING: D- [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Pit Bull Brown[/B] Now this was a lot of fun for a main event. It wasn't intended to be taken too seriously, just introduce ROF fans to Brown and give him some momentum without killing Joey's momentum by doing so. They put on a big tough-guy brawl that came to an end with a double-low-blow sequence. Humphrey's reactions were hysterical. [I]Joey Beauchamp drew with Pit Bull Brown due to a double disqualification.[/I] RATING: B- Not the best Wrestling Clinic, but acceptable. We can live with cards like this so long as we can keep on growing with them, which we are – and this was all goof-off end-of-term groundwork, anyway. OVERALL: B-

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 1 March Parliament Square 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.19 A lovely dark match sees Velocidad put on about the best match we've seen out of him against Johnny Highspot, but even so Johnny gets the win with a spike DDT to set up for the frog splash. [I]Johnny Highspot defeated Velocidad by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Davis cut a quick promo about the honour of competing in the opening match in ROF TV history, facing Mario Heroic, the DaVE stalwart. RATING: D- [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Well, this was definitely good enough to kick off our TV career. A very enjoyable quarter-hour saw Davis and Mario put on a solid match with a lot of back and forth before Davis twisted as Mario went for a cross-body, taking him to the ground and applying the STF. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Mario Heroic by submission[/I] RATING: B- The Stunners came to ringside with their tag belts and cut a promo about there being no one left to stop them building up the longest and strongest tag reign in Ring of Fire history. RATING: D- [B]The Stunners vs. The Animals for the Tag Titles[/B] Not as good as the opener, but reasonable nonetheless. After some strong back-and-forth work the Stunners began to dominate, convincingly putting the Animals away and finishing when Brandon tagged Eagle in then sent Purpura halfway across the ring with a wicked biel before Eagle got the New Jersey Turnpike to cover for the pin. [I]The Stunners defeated The Animals when Black Eagle pinned El Bestia Purpura[/I] RATING: C- [B]Don Henderson vs. Hidekazu[/B] A quick ten-minute bout to show the new TV audience (we hope) what Don can actually do, and it works wonders. Don finishes with the tilt-a-whirl powerbomb into the Scottish Deathlock again. [I]Don Henderson defeated Hidekazu by submission[/I] RATING: B We ran a quick hype slot for the Trial by Combat main event, where Joey'll take on Sammy. RATING: D [B]Hugh de Aske vs. Jonathan Faust[/B] Another solid performance here which produced a pretty good match even with less than eight minutes. Faust carried the day with the Devil's Drop, needless to say. [I]Jonathan Faust defeated Hugh de Aske by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]British Samurai vs. Joey Beauchamp vs. Petey Barnes[/B] This? This was the right choice for our main event. This was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. A hard-fought triple-threat saw all the usual break-up-the-pin spots for some time before Petey brought the whole thing from a hundred and twenty an hour to zero in two seconds, felling Sammy with the X Factor and then dropping Joey with a vicious Future Shock to pin him. It was absolutely beautiful. [I]Petey Barnes defeated British Samurai and Joey Beauchamp when he pinned Joey Beauchamp[/I] RATING: A Not our best ever show, but a damn good one and a fantastic first introduction to the TV. Needless to say it set the boards running. OVERALL: B

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 1 March Plaza la Navarre (Western Europe) 865 in attendance Our European oddysey begins; in the dark we give them a lucha battle, with Magnifico going up against Ultimate Phoenix. Neither man is known here and the reaction is pretty much 21CW fodder, but here that's actually all we need to make our mark. The Phoenix Firebird Splash puts Magnifico away flawlessly. [I]Ultimate Phoenix defeated Magnifico by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ Jillefski runs a quick hype for the main event. Bad idea; neither man is known. RATING: F [B]Steve Flash vs. Dean Daniels for the USPW National Championship[/B] Mere weeks after Flash lost his Heritage strap he gets the chance to earn new gold, and while he and Daniels don't click and neither is especially well known here they put on a match designed to overcome that. It's a good match, and the reaction isn't actually a bad one. Steve manages to twist clear of the cradle piledriver attempt and connect with a Flash Bang for the win at 17:58 [I]Steve Flash defeated Dean Daniels by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Simona and the Force return to an old UCR stomping ground and deliver a scorching promo aimed at their rivals for the tag belts tonight: Sergei Kalashnov and Ruud van Anger RATING: E [B]The Force vs. Ruud van Anger & Sergei Kalashnov for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] A little under a quarter of an hour sees the first European execution of the Star Destroyer help Jed put Ruud away after Sergei notably failed to come to his aid. Again, not a great reaction but an OK match, and Sergei's being off his game actually helps this little arc. [I]The Force defeated Ruud van Anger & Sergei Kalashnov when Jed High pinned Ruud van Anger[/I] RATING: C- Ruud, furious, launches into a blistering tirade against Sergei Kalashnov, ending by hitting a Gilmore-inspired Anger Management to lay him out. RATING: D [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Marcos Flores[/B] Now this overcame the unknown issue. Granted, through our webcasts and his long tenure Bairei is at least semi-known, but the performance these two put on was simply excellent, and was rewarded with the best reaction of the night so far. Marcos manages to counter a Yasujiro Suplex, getting an inverted DDT to keep Bairei down for the Flores Heaven Elbow and the pin. [I]Marcos Flores defeated Bairei Yasujiro by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Rolling Johnny Stones for the USPW World Championship[/B] Unfortunately, once again these two fall foul of being unknown and turn in something of a 21CW match, with Johnny eventually getting the Brainbuster after reversing the Dog House Piledriver. He covers for the win at 24:13 [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Pit Bull Brown by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ By the standards we're having to work with, this was a successful card. Our integrated ROF/USPW fan forum has seen something of a spike in European registration over the past week. OVERALL: C-

[Phantom Stranger]

Monday afternoon I found myself face-to-face with the owner again. This time, though, he was smiling slightly as he passed across a steaming cardboard cup of coffee from the place across the street. “What's going on?” I asked. “It's been a month,” Sammy returned. “We've put our first show on the goggle box, even. I thought you were going to bug me about bringing in a women's division by now?” I shook my head. “Not while we're dealing with the USPW launch, too,” I returned. “It's just too much at once. We're going to have our belts tight for a while. Maybe by the end of the year. Maybe earlier if everything goes well.” Sammy's smiled grew broader for a moment. “Now you're getting it.”

[Phantom Stranger]

OOC: As may or may not yet be apparent, USPW is a) less supported and b) more sports-entertainment oriented, insofar as I can within my product boundaries (which means still no dodgy finishes, etc, but between-match shenanigans will be up) Hopefully the fairly radical changes over the past few months haven't put anyone off...

[Marcel Fromage]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;329434]OOC: As may or may not yet be apparent, USPW is a) less supported and b) more sports-entertainment oriented, insofar as I can within my product boundaries (which means still no dodgy finishes, etc, but between-match shenanigans will be up) Hopefully the fairly radical changes over the past few months haven't put anyone off...[/QUOTE] Nope...I think you're taking it in an interesting direction. It'll be interesting as well to see if any stars rise to the top as a result of a brand split that may have otherwise been lost in the mix.

[Phantom Stranger]

Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 2 March Phoenix Nights 300 in attendance RATING: 0.18 A return to the North on TV, and we're just hoping this won't work out too badly. Our dark match pits The Animals against a rare appearance by Death from Above, but even the efforts of one-half of the tag champions can't stop the Animals getting the win in a poor match when the Ninth Life fells Velocidad [I]The Animals defeated Death from Above when Amo del Gato pinned Velocidad[/I] RATING: D [B] Hidekazu vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Heritage Championship[/B] The show proper begins with a good match that pulls the crowd in and gets a good reaction – for the sold-out Phoenix Nights, if not in general. It's a tough match full of puro stylings that seem to go over pretty well with the audience, driving the two grapplers in the ring on to do better. Bulldozer finds himself on the receiving rather than giving end of a backdrop driver when the contest ends, though. [I]Hidekazu defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ We ran a music video on Petey Barnes after his victory last week, with a promo by him over the top where he vowed a return to form and a return to the top. RATING: C [B]Johnny Highspot vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Another pretty solid match, here, which deserved a better reaction than it got – but it kept the crowd into it, which is all we're asking for here. A Hero Attack met a dropkick, after which Johnny picked Mario off with a Frog Splash. [I]Johnny Highspot defeated Mario Heroic by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Don came down to ringside with me and discussed Jonathan Faust, playing up his 21CW success and his earlier time with Ring of Fire to ensure our audience knew what he meant. RATING: D [B]Don Henderson vs. Jonathan Faust[/B] A time limit draw match here to help develop Jonathan by putting him up against the one man who, chemistry issues notwithstanding, can get good matches out of him. It helps that Faust is at his most known here in the North, but even so this was just good. [I]Don Henderson drew with Jonathan Faust when the time limit expired[/I] RATING: C+ Davis came out to taunt Petey before their match, claiming it's not what you did ages ago and might do when everyone else has run out of talent, it's what you can do right now. RATING: C [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes in a Ladder Match[/B] Short but sweet and, considering the venue, the crowd was into it. Petey delivered a Future Shock from the top of the ladder while snagging the prize for himself to win. [I]Petey Barnes defeated Davis Wayne Newton when he retrieved the prize.[/I] RATING: C+ Not a bad show; it's not good, and there are places it won't help, but there are places it will. It didn't damage us, which is all to the good. OVERALL: C

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW: Standard Bearers Lubuskie Arena (Central Europe) 792 in attendance Well, not a bad attendance for our first appearance in Poland. For a dark match, we pitted Roy Edison against Nigel Svensson. In just under ten minutes they put on a pretty good show – in no small part due to road agent Crippler Ray Kingman – which ended with Roy forcing a tapout via arm bar. [I]Roy Edison defeated Nigel Svensson by submission[/I] RATING: C- At the start of the show proper Ruud cut a blistering promo on Sergei and challenged him to a match, one on one, Last Man Standing, right there and then. RATING: E+ [B]Ruud van Anger vs. Sergei Kalashnov[/B] Again with Ray's help these two turned out a good solid match than won the Polish crowd over, running nearly a quarter of an hour before the Anger Management off the top turnbuckle kept Sergei down [I]Ruud van Anger defeated Sergei Kalashnov when he was unable to answer a ten count[/I] RATING: C+ Immediately following this Jonni Lowlife hopped the crowd barrier as the referee helped Sergei up, and as Ruud grabbed the ref away the Low Down laid Sergei back out. They then rolled him into the ring and Jonni hoisted Sergei for a powerbomb, hitting it as Ruud came off the top rope with a leg lariat onto the high-up Sergei. RATING: E+ [B]The Force vs. East and West for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] Not a bad match; next time I'll likely ask Ray to help them out, but this wasn't too bad. Nichiren ate the Star Destroyer and Toby picked up the pin. [I]The Force defeated East and West when Toby Juan Kenobi pinned Nichiren Amagawa.[/I] RATING: C- [B]Steve Flash vs. Seiji Jimbo for the USPW National Championship[/B] A good hard-fought match that I suspect has gone some way to putting both of these men further on the map in Europe. Again this lasted just under a quarter of an hour before the Flash Bang settled matters. [I]Steve Flash defeated Seiji Jimbo by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Danny cut an interview with Bairei hyping the main event, but it didn't go down too well. RATING: F+ [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Bairei Yasujiro for the USPW World Championship[/B] Half an hour of a fantastic battle got the Polish crowd back on their feet. Imagine how good it'll be when the Polish crowd actually know these two. In the end, though, Johnny cut off Bairei at the turnbuckle, carried him to the centre of the ring, and dropped him with a vicious brainbuster. [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Bairei Yasujiro by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Not great, but good enough. Some more work to do, I think. OVERALL: C-

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 3 March Parliament Square 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.18 Another poor dark match, sadly: The Animals and Los Hijos are not doing as well as I'd hope. Maybe we need to get Optimus more involved in crafting their matches again. Still, it helps Purpura, as he puts Huracan away with a Beast Bomb. [I]The Animals defeated Lost Hijos when El Bestia Purpura pinned Huracan Sandoval Jr[/I] RATING: D- [B]Matthew Gauge vs. Black Eagle for the Beacon Championship[/B] Nearly seventeen minutes of good hard wrestling gives us an opener to be happy with, leaving the southern crowds buzzed when, eventually, Matthew counters a 'rana attempt into a powerbomb and goes for the Proton Lock to retain. [I]Matthew Gauge defeated Black Eagle by submission[/I] RATING: C+ Following that, Matt got a mike and told us all what he thinks of himself. RATING: E+ [B]Hidekazu vs. Hugh de Aske for the Heritage Championship[/B] These guys have pretty good chemistry together, and Hidekazu seems to enjoy helping Hugh with his placements and general psychology as they work before he gets a tilt-a-whirl sitout powerbomb and – SLAPS ON THE SCOTTISH DEATHLOCK! Entirely a sequence Don's been getting happy with recently! [I]Hidekazu defeated Hugh de Aske by submission[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. Johnny Highspot[/B] Weakened by a lack of chemistry, they still pulled together something better than I'd expect from 21CW, if only just. I can live with that, though; whenever Johnny got in his scattered offence he went for that feared shoulder of Joeys, and Joey fought through to nail the Breeze Block and pick up the win in 13:42 [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated Johnny Highspot by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- We ran a quick video about Joey and Sammy at Trial By Combat next. RATING: D+ [B]British Samurai vs. Davis Wayne Newton vs. Don Henderson in an Elimination Match[/B] Much nicer work, this. We haven't been able to keep up to speed for a while; I think the Sammy-as-champ experiment isn't doing too well, but we'll see. He's often putting on great matches but somehow the spark just hasn't been there while the owner's held the belt. About twenty minutes in Don went for the tilt-a-whirl, but Davis got clear and hit the STF for the first elimination. It took nearly five minutes longer for a second elimination, but Sammy managed to put Davis away with a spinning slingshot fisherman's suplex. [I]British Samurai defeated Davis Wayne Newton and Don Henderson by elimination[/I] RATING: B Another video ran for Petey Barnes to close out the show. On his voice over this time, Petey again promised a return to the very top of Ring of Fire along with stating that if he had to blow all the money he made in UKW bribing people to run these videos to get that attention, he was more than willing to do it. RATING: B- Much better than last week, and it gives us some more traction in the South. Which, with a PPV next week, can only be a good thing. Let's see how that goes... OVERALL: B- Mitch Naess has quit 4C. This leaves 'em without a booker, which I don't think can be good for them.

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW Standard Bearers Sunday Week 3 March Plaza La Navarre 927 in attendance Our dark match this week continues the Phoenix/Leon running battle, which is as much as anything running to keep putting them over to the fans and to get some close-to-guaranteed good ratings. Leon once again picked up the win with the Split Second Justice, but the match was fantastic. [I]El Leon defeated Ultimate Phoenix by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]East and West vs. The Riot Act (Jonni Lowlife & Ruud van Anger)[/B] Thankfully, after all that hype, the Riot Act have solid chemistry together, which is great for a team I came up with when I was half-asleep one morning trying to figure out how to rebuild the tag division. This was... well, it was 21CW, but I think there's room to develop that so long as we can get East and West over and get Jonni and Ruud more capable when calling their matches. The new team go over with that powerbomb/top rope lariat combo, which they're calling the Rubber Bullets Bomb. Don't ask me. [I]The Riot Act defeated East and West when Ruud van Anger pinned Marc Speed[/I] RATING: D+ The Force hit the top of the ramp and begin to taunt the Riot Act, promising that that's as close as they'll ever get to the tag titles. RATING: E [B]Steve Flash vs. Billy Robinson for the USPW National Championship[/B] And, again, neither man is well known here. But this was good nonetheless, and the twenty minute battle ensures that both men finish more over than they started. [I]Steve Flash drew with Billy Robinson when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: C- Marcos came out and asked Jillefski for a chance at the big belt this evening, and Jillefski graciously granted permission. RATING: E- [B]Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Pit Bull Brown[/B] Not bad – not bad at all once you take overness issues into consideration. Chojiro took the loss after ten entertaining minutes when the Dog House Piledriver hit home. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Chojiro Kitoaji by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Roy cut a promo to hype his bout next week against Sergei Kalashnov. Not too bad, all told. RATING: D- [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Marcos Flores for the USPW World Championship[/B] Another pretty solid battle here sees Stones retain again at 27:40 with the Brainbuster. But it's not a bad match, and again I see a lot of potential for the future as these wrestlers develop a reputation. [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Yeah, not too bad. Once again we secure ourselves slightly better European popularity, which is what we need to start getting the reactions we get everywhere south of Manchester in the UK. OVERALL: C

[Phantom Stranger]

Combined card for lead-in Fighting Fit & Trial By Combat: TV Extraordinario Jr vs. Nate Johnson The Animals vs. Death from Above Hidekazu vs. Mario Heroic for the Heritage Championship Matthew Gauge vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship Daniel Black Francis vs. Jonathan Faust Trial By Combat Nate Johnson vs. Johnny Highspot Don Henderson vs. Hugh de Aske Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man Match for the #1 Contendership British Samurai vs. Joey Beauchamp in a Last Man Standing match for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;329999]Nope...I think you're taking it in an interesting direction. It'll be interesting as well to see if any stars rise to the top as a result of a brand split that may have otherwise been lost in the mix.[/QUOTE] Hopefully so. I finally actually have an idea for Hidekazu, which is a plus. The problem is that I've not yet figured out how to arrange autopush by brand alone, so most pushes are overall, making it difficult to gauge real positions. I will say that I now have a plan to take me through the next year and a quarter from where this dynasty's reached, or at least I have the key moments at the top sketched out. There's room for change, but the direction should keep us stronger.

[chris caulfield]

TV [B]Extraordinario Jr[/B] vs. Nate Johnson [B]The Animals[/B] vs. Death from Above Hidekazu vs. [B]Mario Heroic [/B]for the Heritage Championship [B]Matthew Gauge [/B]vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship [B]Daniel Black Francis [/B]vs. Jonathan Faust Trial By Combat Nate Johnson vs. [B]Johnny Highspot[/B] [B]Don Henderson[/B] vs. Hugh de Aske [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man Match for the #1 Contendership [B]British Samurai[/B] vs. Joey Beauchamp in a Last Man Standing match for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 4 March Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 0.19 So, our first TV show that leads into a PPV. Our dark match saw Extraordinario Jr take on new signing Nate Johnson from MAW, and after a great ten minutes (considering how little-known these two are) Nate got the Natural Order and picked up the win. [I]Nate Johnson defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]The Animals vs. Death from Above[/B] Risky choice for an opener, but I figured Optimus could probably give them a hand – and I was very right. This ended up a very good match, every bit the equal of the dark bout preceding. And this show's mostly about showcasing the lesser-reputation talent, with a few midcard stars, to keep our big names fresh for Trial by Combat. Believe it or not, these four men ran to the time limit. [I]The Animals drew with Death from Above when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: C Davis appeared on the big screen after that, throwing down a challenge to Petey Barnes: prove he is what he says he is at Trial By Combat, and he won't have to buy any more time. RATING: D+ [B]Hidekazu vs. Mario Heroic for the Heritage Championship[/B] Fourteen minutes and forty seconds of good solid technical wrestling culminated with the tilt-a-whirl powerbomb and Scottish Deathlock by Hidekazu for a win. [I]Hidekazu defeated Mario Heroic by submission[/I] RATING: C+ Don Henderson walks down to the ring with a broad grin on his face and shakes Hidekazu's hand. The Heritage Champion then thanks Don for “all the help he's given me since my last fall from grace... and for creating the title I'm proud to wear now.” RATING: B- [B]Matthew Gauge vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith for the Beacon Championship[/B] Another really good midcard bout featuring another DaVE wrestler – and Bulldozer, who's being headhunted by SWF. I'd be a lot more worried if Eisen was in a position to wave written contracts around. This one only ran 12:49 before the Proton Lock ended things in Matthew's favour. [I]Matthew Gauge defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by submission [/I] RATING: C+ April Appleseed was shown hanging out in the Edgeware Hall green room watching the show on a widescreen TV. She gave the camera a languid wave from the sofa she was stretched out on... then Daniel Black Francis entered shot behind her. “Y'know, I used to go by Danny Appleseed,” he informed her. “Lucky I'm not any more, though – if I was, they'd call what you and I should be doing a prelude to incest.” April just raised an eyebrow, and Daniel continued. “I b'lieve in being direct. So here it is: you and me – let's go out, see if we work together, OK?” April laughed. “I give you points for honesty,” she says. “That's pretty up front. Tell you what – you're on next, right? You win, and you've got a date.” RATING: D- [B]Daniel Black Francis vs. Jonathan Faust[/B] And this was the Fighting Fit main event. Not bad at all, though Daniel was starting to look pretty drained by the end. A legit main eventer for ROF he ain't. Mind you, I said that about Don once. It took a hair over twenty-five minutes, but by the end the Devil's Drop got countered for the Dreadlock Drop to carry the day. [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Jonathan Faust by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ A good show; we got a wave more signups on the website after it. It's good to know that we're still growing at a decent rate. OVERALL: C+

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Trial by Combat Tuesday Week 4 March Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance BUYRATE: 0.02 Nate was in action again in the pre-show here. It's not like anyone isn't buying more booze during it anyway. This time he was up against Johnny Highspot, and the two put on a fantastic match that showed they worked well together, but Johnny got the spike DDT/frog splash combo again. [I]Johnny Highspot defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ I got on the mic then. “You know, that whole Davis/Petey match seems like a plan to me. That being the case – let's make this for the Number One Contendership, and let's make it a half-hour Iron Man match!” RATING: D [B]Don Henderson vs. Hugh de Aske[/B] A lovely match, which really brought home how solid our midcard can be. I don't think anyone expected Hugh to win, though, and Don proved that with the tilt-a-whirl sitout powerbomb into the Scottish Deathlock for a tapout at 18:44 [I]Don Henderson defeated Hugh de Aske by submission[/I] RATING: B [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute Iron Man Match for the #1 Contendership[/B] Wow. So, as we all know, these two have little chemistry. And Davis really wasn't giving it his all tonight. And this was still damn good, rolling to the time limit with no falls on either side – and just like that, both men have a claim to the #1 Contendership! [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Petey Barnes with no falls apiece[/I] RATING: B- Another hype video recapping the past month for Sammy and Joey, leading up to this match. RATING: D+ And then I got on the mic and confirmed that as far as I was concerned, a stip Joey had asked me for needed adding to this match – now it was LAST MAN STANDING! RATING: D [B]British Samurai vs. Joey Beauchamp in a Last Man Standing match for the ROF Championship[/B] I think my favourite memory from this match is going to be Joey becoming frustrated after Sammy picked himself up from being flattened by a Breeze Block for the third time, strapping the title belt over his shoulder, and slamming into Sammy with another – and Sammy got up again! That was, indeed, one of the two big spots this was built around, the other being the finish – a top-rope fisherman's suplex to the outside that slammed Joey's spine into the crowd barrier. That was, pretty much, all she wrote. [I]British Samurai defeated Joey Beauchamp when Joey could not answer the count of ten[/I] RATING: B Lovely show. Not as good a buyrate this time, but we'll look to build on this success. OVERALL: B Congratulations are due to RIPW, who've made a name for themselves in their home region now and are being looked at as stronger for it. The bad news here is that Tyler looks to be re-signing with 21CW, meaning he's not out of my hair.

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 4 March Lubuskie Arena 526 in attendance Man, we've gotta get more popular in Europe fast. Our dark match pitted Magnifico against Ultimate Phoenix and saw the Phoenix come up with a win in a 21CW match. [I]Ultimate Phoenix defeated Magnifico by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ [B]Roy Edison vs. Sergei Kalashnov[/B] A good match here saw the Fresh Prince from Belarus take a loss to Roy, who controlled well and got a submission victory with a nice arm bar. [I]Roy Edison defeated Sergei Kalashnov by submission[/I] RATING: C+ Simona hit the ring next and offered East and West a title shot, right there, right then. They naturally showed up, all eagerness, and were blindsided by the UCR favourites, who viciously assaulted them before shoving them into the ring for the bell to ring. RATING: E+ [B]The Force vs. East and West for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] And despite the assault Marc and Nichiren put up a remarkable challenge to the champions, demonstrating skills that could push them higher in time to come. This wasn't going to happen yet, though, as Jed got the pin on Nichiren following a Star Destroyer. [I]The Force defeated East and West when Jed High pinned Nichiren Amagawa[/I] RATING: C Ruud Anger was suddenly in the ring, having entered through the crowd, and he squared off with Jed, obviously angry. The two exchanged heated words for a few moments before Ruud flattened Jed with a stiff uppercut, at which point Toby jumped him – and Sergei Kalashnov hit the ring, smashing Toby down with the Eastern Block! The tag champs returned the violence quickly enough and the locker room emptied to drag them apart. RATING: D- [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Marcos Flores[/B] With the sports entertainment portion of a USPW show compressed into one twenty-five minute segment we then returned to the wrestling, and as the clock ticked down to the time limit Bairei squeaked a win out of a fantastic match that had even the Polish crowd roaring approval following the Yasujiro Suplex. [I]Bairei Yasujiro defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Steve Flash[/B] A champion's match here to see how well Flash can run if we end up pushing him to the top, which is beginning to look like a legitimate proposition if he turns out to have the years in him. I don't think it was as much worse than Bairei and Marcos as the crowd reaction would seem to indicate, but it was worse – still, good enough, as Johnny put Steve away after twenty-five minutes with a Brainbuster. [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Steve Flash by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Yeah, a pretty weak card overall. It's good enough to help us in Poland, though. OVERALL: C-

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 1 April Aston University Sports Hall 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.21 Right, owing to odd scheduling on my part beforehand this month's Pay-Per-View is next week, so it's this show to get rolling for it. A weak dark bout again; Nate Johnson in action once again, besting Velocidad with another Natural Order in a match that would have been well served by having Optimus more involved in the storytelling. [I]Nate Johnson defeated Velocidad by pinfall[/I] RATING: D [B]Hidekazu vs. Huracan Sandoval Jr for the Heritage Championship[/B] Probably the best match Huracan's been part of, in no small part because Optimus did help to lay this one out. This time around Hidekazu just covered after the tilt-a-whirl powerbomb rather than go for the submission, and at 12:47 that proved to be enough. [I]Hidekazu defeated Huracan Sandoval Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Don and Hidekazu shared another moment of congratulation within the ring. RATING: B- [B]Matthew Gauge vs. Mario Heroic for the Beacon Championship[/B] Another good quarter-hour of solid wrestling, ended by another Proton Lock. Matthew and Mario do bring the goods most weeks. [I]Matthew Gauge defeated Mario Heroic by submission[/I] RATING: C+ Matthew then took the mic up and offered a challenge to Don and Hidekazu; a tag match at the PPV against him and a 'silent partner'. RATING: D [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Daniel Black Francis[/B] Not too shabby at all, this. 'This' being Bulldozer inspecting his manager's beau for himself, and I guess he passed Brandon's test – he went the time limit. Which is how we found that even the time limit is pushing it for Daniel; his cardio definitely needs work, though he's young enough to be reasonably confident. But a good solid match shows that at the worst Daniel can maintain a spot in our upper midcard. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith drew with Daniel Black Francis when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: B- We ran a video recapping Davis' match with Petey at the PPV and the ending, and informed the crowd that our main event was a two out of three falls match to determine the number one contender despite their draw. RATING: C+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes in a two out of three falls match[/B] Best match of the night in exactly the spot on the card that we want it. This wasn't by any stretch of the imagination the best battle these two have had, but it was pretty good; Petey discovered around the thirteen minute mark that an X Factor can be turned, at least by someone like Davis, into an STF, and that lost him the first fall. The second fall went Petey's way when he hit a Future Shock that snapped Davis' neck off the top rope as Petey fell to the mat outside, with Petey back in to make the cover almost immediately. The final fall saw Petey look for that again and find himself posted over the top rope instead, and as he recovered Davis hit him with a corkscrew plancha. That led to a brawl on the outside which lasted until the merciless ten count elapsed. [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Petey Barnes at one fall apiece and one fall drawn[/I] RATING: B Yep; a good show to set up for Premier League, and it garnered our best rating to date. Over ten thousand watched this show, and I've got to figure that's a good thing. OVERALL: B-

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW Standard Bearers Sunday Week 1 April Plaza La Navarre 978 in attendance We're getting tantalisingly close to filling the Plaza out, though I doubt it'll happen as early as our next date here in a fortnight's time. The dark match tonight saw Roy Edison carefully demolish Nigel Svensson using heavy MMA elbows, knees and kicks to prevent the use of that hyper extension arm lock, allowing Roy eventually to lock in his own arm bar for the submission victory. Not bad, much of which is down to the Crippler. [I]Roy Edison defeated Nigel Svensson by submission[/I] RATING: C- [B]Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Dean Daniels[/B] As ever these two have fantastic chemistry as opponents which they used to full effect, putting on a great opening bout before Dean managed to get the Cradle Piledriver for the win. [I]Dean Daniels defeated Chojiro Kitoaji by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ The Riot Act make their way to the ring, with Ruud loudly explaining that they're damn sure they've earned this title match and they're going to prove it right... about... That's when Simona Cox dives under the ropes and knocks our ref out with a vicious 'lightsaber' shot. Jillefski and Evans barely have time to recognise the weapon as a police extension baton with the extender painted pink before the rest of the Force are in the ring with their own 'sabers', laying about them in fine style. RATING: D- [B]The Force vs. The Riot Act for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] This wasn't great, but good enough. Ray isn't used to booking sports-entertainment inspired matches, but he did his best, and the crowd were reasonably into it considering where we are – point of fact, this got the kind of reactions we're used to for tag brawls in the UK. Toby eventually got the win on Jonni with the Star Destroyer, but it has to be said that for men who'd just been worked over the Riot Act put on a heck of a fight. [I]The Force defeated The Riot Act when Toby Juan Kenobi pinned Jonni Lowlife[/I] RATING: C- [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Seiji Jimbo[/B] Steve Flash has the midcard belt so it's somehow become Seiji's job to take beatings and make his attackers look good. Believe me, that'll change. In any case, I kinda gave the match away there; Pit Bull beats Seiji, but it takes him over seventeen minutes to do so, giving Jimbo a lot of shine. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Seiji Jimbo by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Johnny Stones came out to demand that the stip for the main event be removed – or failing that, at least that it not be for the title. Danny got angry and got in his face, insisting that he called the shots, and that with an attitude like that, Johnny's way just wasn't going to happen – a ladder match for the belt it is! RATING: F+ [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Bairei Yasujiro in a Ladder Match for the USPW World Championship[/B] I need these two to save this show, as it's been weak. Still, next week has a secret weapon, but... In fairness, their half-hour was about as good as I'll get out of the European territories for a while, with Bairei putting on a phenomenal show but Johnny ultimately retaining. The crowd were even reasonably into it – and Bairei landed the abdominal splash against an opponent who had no reason to know it was coming. [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Bairei Yasujiro when he retrieved the title belt.[/I] RATING: C+ I think the show was saved; good enough for the webcast not to drag us down anywhere, good enough to do good here. Europe will warm to us sooner or later, mark my words... OVERALL: C

[Phantom Stranger]

Show and PPV card: Fighting Fit: Nate Johnson vs. Amo del Gato Hugh de Aske vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith Extraordinario Jr vs. Mario Heroic Black Eagle vs. Velocidad Daniel Black Francis vs. Jonathan Faust in a two out of three falls match ROF Premier League The Stunners vs. Los Hijos ???????? & Matthew Gauge vs. Don Henderson & Hidekazu in a two out of three falls bout Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon British Samurai vs. Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship

[chris caulfield]

Fighting Fit: Nate Johnson vs.[B] Amo del Gato[/B] Hugh de Aske vs. [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] Extraordinario Jr vs.[B] Mario Heroic[/B] [B]Black Eagle [/B]vs. Velocidad [B]Daniel Black Francis[/B] vs. Jonathan Faust in a two out of three falls match ROF Premier League [B]The Stunners[/B] vs. Los Hijos [B]???????? & Matthew Gauge[/B] vs. Don Henderson & Hidekazu in a two out of three falls bout [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] vs. UK Dragon British Samurai vs. Davis Wayne Newton vs. [B]Petey Barnes [/B]for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 2 April Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance Rating: 0.21 Nate Johnson took on Amo del Gato in the dark match, and as part of my continuing attempts to BEAT SOME DAMN PSYCHOLOGY INTO THEIR HEADS I told Nate to call it with del Gato and let him see how it's done. I expected the result to tank, and it did, but it tanked with purpose. Nate got the win with the Natural Order. [I]Nate Johnson defeated Amo del Gato by pinfall[/I] RATING: D We kicked off the show as a whole with an announcement; rather than exhaust potential challengers before their title match, we'd decided that the number one contendership for ROF: Premier League would be held jointly, and as such the main event of the evening would see British Samurai take on Davis Wayne Newton and Petey Barnes in a triple threat match. RATING: C [B]Hugh de Aske vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith[/B] It's a PPV pre-show and I need to keep people involved from getting exhausted. That means Bulldozer and Hugh get to run to the time limit again, and they do so – putting on a great performance along the way, including a top rope elbow drop from Brandon that shows an interesting new side to his character. [I]Hugh de Aske drew with Bulldozer Brandon Smith when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B Matthew Gauge hit the ring, then, to inform Don and Hidekazu who else they faced on the PPV last night – making his return to ROF (I love talent trades), it's the man who's like an older brother to Matthew, ART REED! RATING: D- [B]Extraordinario Jr vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Yeah, no one has any doubt who's gonna win this one, and Extraordinario's inexperience brings the event down somewhat. On the other hand, these two work well together. Really well together. And that makes for an entertaining enough eleven minutes, ending with the Hero Attack. [I]Mario Heroic defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Joey appeared on the ramp and went off on one – it's disgraceful he's not on Premier League, he's the greatest champion in Ring of Fire history, blahblahblah... RATING: D And then I cut him off and corrected him. He's the greatest champion in the past two years, maybe, but before him there was a man who I've just decided to make his opponent in the ring tonight, LIVE on Pay-Per-View – the UK Dragon! RATING: D [B]Black Eagle vs. Velocidad[/B] For a match between two low-rankers with bad chemistry, this was good. Which is to say it didn't stink up the house and it served its purpose, that being to give Eagle a clean win without Brandon on the other end of the tag rope and kill ten minutes. [I]Black Eagle defeated Velocidad by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Daniel Black Francis vs. Jonathan Faust in a two out of three falls match[/B] Yep. That's Daniel in the main event again. Yep, when he can't go twenty minutes without tiring at our pace. He turned in an OK match nonetheless, winning the first fall clean with the Dreadlock Drop, tiring and falling victim to the Devil's Drop in the subsequent fall, and eventually pulling out the win when April Appleseed dropkicked Miss Information off the ring apron to distract Jonathan. This was actually good, considering the problem. [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Jonathan Faust by two falls to one[/I] RATING: B- A good show all-round to get people fired up. Hopefully we'll better it on the other side of the next dark bout... OVERALL: C+

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Premier League Tuesday Week 2 April Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance BUYRATE: 0.05 We kick things off with a dark title defence, bringing Brandon and Black Eagle back out to battle Los Hijos. It's a simple match, and ultimately it's mostly there to try out Brandon and Eagle's new double-team, the Superbomb Splash, where Brandon hits a huge high-angle powerbomb from the top turnbuckle on his partner, who flips fully over to splash a downed opponent with huge velocity. The pop says it worked. [I]The Stunners defeated Los Hijos when Bulldozer Brandon Smith pinned Huracan Sandoval Jr[/I] RATING: C A quick hype video for Art & Matthew and Don & Hidekazu ran to open the PPV. RATING: D [B] Art Reed & Matthew Gauge vs. Don Henderson & Hidekazu in a two out of three falls bout[/B] This was really nice to watch as an opener, not least because I got to see Don hit a moonsault again and Hidekazu try a springboard dropkick. Art actually picked up the first fall after Matthew's flurry of offence injured Don's shoulder; Art, coming in, smoothly applied the Dread Lock and got the tapout. Things changed quickly when Hidekazu got the tilt-a-whirl powerbomb into the Scottish Deathlock on Matthew around the seventeen minute mark to even the scores before Don came in, suplexed Art out of his boots, hit the moonsault and applied the Scottish Deathlock to carry the day. [I]Don Henderson & Hidekazu defeated Matthew Gauge & Art Reed by two falls to one[/I] RATING: B- Another video runs; Joey's championship career interspersed with older clips of Dragon's. This was pretty well received. RATING: C [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon[/B] And these two turn out to love working with each other, which lets them put on a hell of a clinic. Dragon even trusts Joey enough to let him hit a Breeze Block to the back and, at another point, deliver a spinebuster from the ring apron to the outside despite Dragon's year out with spinal problems. In the end, however, Dragon fights back, rallies, and gets the Dragon Drop for a historic pin! [I]UK Dragon defeated Joey Beauchamp by pinfall[/I] RATING: B+ Davis comes out for the main event first, mic in hand. Addressing his comments specifically to Petey, he informs him that this is where the phoney comeback ends, this is where everyone sees who's best, and this is where Ring of Fire gets a new champion – the Triple Threat. RATING: C [B]British Samurai vs. Davis Wayne Newton vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF Championship[/B] Oh, a beautiful match, an absolutely beautiful match. Davis and Sammy did their level best to re-establish Petey and show that he actually can still hit the top, as Petey battles through their offence, with it gradually coming to focus on him almost exclusively, to climb that high mountain, grasp that brass ring, verb that cliché noun and eventually hit the Future Shock on British Samurai after sending Davis to the floor – and become Champion again! [I]Petey Barnes defeated British Samurai and Davis Wayne Newton when he pinned British Samurai[/I] RATING: A Yeah, that's definitely how you put on a PPV. Come to me, buyrates! Come to me, new fans! OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 2 April Lubuskie Arena 643 in attendance Oh, did I ever get the dark match lineup wrong; Sergei went head-to-head with Billy Robinson, and he beat him handily in the dark, and lo it was about as well-received a match as we've put on in Europe. Damn. Ah, well. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Billy Robinson by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Ruud van Anger vs. Toby Juan Kenobi[/B] Chemistry issues make this captain's match a 21CW affair, though that can't be helped. Toby got a fairly quick win with a Kenobi Kutter. [I]Toby Juan Kenobi defeated Ruud van Anger by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ As Jonni came to the ring, Toby was still leaving. Both men engaged in a long, angry staredown. RATING: E [B]Jed High vs. Jonni Lowlife[/B] Better match, thanks to a lack of chemistry issues and the sterling efforts of Ray in the back. And the feuding teams go one for one on the night as Jonni gets the Low Down on Jed. [I]Jonni Lowlife defeated Jed High by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Ruud joins Jonni to celebrate, and predictably enough, the Force open up on them with those 'lightsaber' batons. RATING: E+ ...and then El Leon and Ultimate Phoenix hit the ring! There's a lovely pair of stereo superkicks that clear the Force out of the ring, and then stereo corkscrew planchas keep them down on the outside as the Riot Act roll out of the ring themselves... RATING: E [B]El Leon vs. Ultimate Phoenix[/B] With the fracas broken up, these two can get back to their match, and they put on a doozy to pull the crowd's attention back; Leon gets another victory with another Split Second Justice. [I]El Leon defeated Ultimate Phoenix by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Steve Flash vs. Marcos Flores for the USPW National Championship[/B] Bad chemistry is the only problem here, and it's a problem they more or less overcome with a doozy of a match that only ends when Steve rolls clear of the Flores Heaven Elbow and capitalises to roll his opponent up for the win. [I]Steve Flash defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Rolling Johnny Stones emerged at this point, grinning, the title over one shoulder. “Roll the tape,” he says, and we get clips of his path to dominance over the title scene over the past few weeks. “So no one here can beat me, Jillefski,” he concludes. “No one can even come close. How about I just take this belt home and take the night off?” “Oh, I think not,” comes a female voice, and the crowd pops as they recognise Nadia Snow. Surely Don Henderson can't be far behind? “See, I've got a challenger for you, Johnny. Someone who deserves that gold. Someone you've never fought.” 'HEN-DER-SON! HEN-DER-SON!' Nadia acknowledges the chants with a crooked grin. “Nice idea, but no. He sent me along, though, to give an old friend his due.” And Son of Erin begins to pipe through the speakers. HE'S BACK! MERLE O'CURLE HAS RETURNED! And Jillefski screams that the match is on! RATING: F+ [B]Rolling Johnny Stones vs. Merle O'Curle for the USPW World Championship[/B] This would've been better, I think, had the prior sequence worked as well as I'd hoped. Merle let Johnny seem his equal the whole way and the match was good; not the best of the night, sadly, but good, and Merle gets his ROF momentum back in a big way with the Celtic Crossface. [I]Merle O'Curle defeated Rolling Johnny Stones by submission[/I] RATING: C Weak show overall. But that's OK, again, it's groundwork, and as Merle gets over in Europe this can only get better. Turns out Nadia works well with Merle, too. OVERALL: C-

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 3 April Aston University Sports Hall 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.22 A strange choice for a kickoff here, but Nate Johnson meets El Bestia Purpura in the dark in what turns out a 21CW match. I have a degree of hope for this matchup once both men are better known; it's pretty solid. Purpura gets a rare win with the Beast Bomb [I]El Bestia Purpura defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ Petey kicks the show off in the ring, title over his shoulder, broad grin on his face. “I did it,” he tells everyone. “I came back and I got the job done. And I have another chance to be champion. But, you know, I miss the way we used to do things. I miss the title being on the line every week. And in any case we got six weeks before the next PPV; I say, let's go for a defence every time until we get there, huh? Let's see... how about we start rolling with Joey Beauchamp, so I can prove I got what it takes to him once and for all!” RATING: C [B]The Stunners vs. Los Hijos for the Tag Titles[/B] This was a good fun ten minutes, thanks in no small part to Optimus. No question who's gonna win this one, sure, but really, who cares? We gave the TV crowd a good look at the superbomb splash this time and Black Eagle covered for the win immediately afterward. [I]The Stunners defeated Los Hijos when Black Eagle pinned Huracan Sandoval Jr[/I] RATING: C [B]Matthew Gauge vs. Hugh de Aske for the Beacon Championship[/B] A close-fought quarter of an hour here ended pretty satisfyingly when the Cut-Throat Driver gave Hugh gold again. I need to figure out something to do with Matthew soonish... [I]Hugh de Aske defeated Matthew Gauge by pinfall[/I] RATING: C I took the microphone up then and discussed UK Dragon. His accomplishments to date, his horrible injury, and his return. I took my best shot at getting across what his return means. RATING: D [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Daniel Black Franci[/B]s Another match longer than Daniel seems really happy with, but it was pretty good, and if this is what Daniel produces when he's tired and not really feeling it – even if it's only what he produces when you stick Davis in the ring with him – he was a worthwhile signing. It went back and forth for quite a while before Davis turned into a clothesline and got the STF in response, making Daniel tap at 18:43 [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Daniel Black Francis by submission[/I] RATING: B- [B]Petey Barnes vs. Joey Beauchamp for the ROF Championship[/B] By God, these two really have it. A lengthy match – a hair under thirty minutes – kept the crowd spellbound until Petey caught Joey's Breeze Block attempt into a sleeper hold and somehow got the win. [I]Petey Barnes defeated Joey Beauchamp by submission[/I] RATING: A Not a bad little show at all. I just wish Daniel had fired on all cylinders tonight. Between this and the PPV aftermath we picked up the best rating we've had yet. OVERALL: B-

[Phantom Stranger]

USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 3 April Plaza la Navarre 744 in attendance Our dark bout tonight sees Sergei back in the dark against Magnifico. Two very different men who both nonetheless rely on their speed; that said, this was good. Ray understands a quick match well and helped these men lay out a really entertaining pre-show. [I]Sergei Kalashnov defeated Magnifico by pinfall[/I] RATING: C The big screen goes backstage as the webcast begins, showing the Force, spurred on by a manic Simona, assaulting Phoenix and Leon with those heavy 'lightsabers'. Wasn't exactly received well. RATING: F+ [B]El Leon vs. Toby Juan Kenobi[/B] With both men solidly beaten down Leon is dragged out to the ring for his match with Toby. And if I'm honest, it's a doozy, particularly as we left these two to figure the whole thing out for themselves. Leon stood up to Toby's offence for nearly a quarter of an hour before Jed hit him from behind with a turnbuckle dropkick that sent the proud lion stumbling forward into a Kenobi Kutter. It's probably the single best segment we've run in terms of getting Leon over and it shows what Toby can be when he's motivated and working with good people. [I]Toby Juan Kenobi defeated El Leon by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Seiji Jimbo vs. Dean Daniels[/B] Still not over enough, these two, but there's only one way to get them there and we're working with it. And this wasn't actually a bad bout, all the way up to the Jimbo Driver finishing things. It just needs crowds who've invested in these men to make it come alive. [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Dean Daniels by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Ruud van Anger and Jonni Lowlife are backstage explaining their grievances with the Force to a mostly-amused Nadia Snow when a large bin lid with bits glued on to resemble the Millenium Falcon frisbees into shot, smacking Nadia on the nose. Seconds later the Force are on the scene, 'sabers' in hand, levelling everything they see. RATING: D- [B]East and West vs. The Riot Act in a Tag Contenders Match[/B] The seriously-injured Riot Act are not at their best here, and as a consequence the submission specialists have a field day, opening up and really taking it to them in a match designed by Ray. Nichiren's the man who finally gets the duke, putting Jonni Lowlife down with the Amagawa Total Lock [I]East and West defeated The Riot Act when Nichiren Amagawa made Jonni Lowlife tap out[/I] RATING: C We ran a quick hype video for Pit Bull Brown as part of our continuing 'these guys get over if it kills us'. RATING: F [B]Merle O'Curle vs. Pit Bull Brown for the USPW World Championship[/B] Good stuff this, not as well received as you'd hope. USPW is still very weak, but hopefully we'll start to get there soon. Naturally enough the Celtic Crippler carries the day. [I]Merle O'Curle defeated Pit Bull Brown by submission[/I] RATING: C Soo... not bad, considering what we have to work with. Progress still very definitely needed, however. OVERALL: C