Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 2 August Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 0.25 Really glad to have sold Edgeware Hall out again. Coming back to these places I get nervous. Our dark match this week was inexcusably weak, however; Velocidad's match with Daniel Black Francis ended as you'd expect, but on the way there they demonstrated all sorts of weaknesses in terms of working together. [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Velocidad by pinfall[/I] RATING: D Petey kicked the show off again, this time picking Hugh de Aske as the week's worthy claimant, and telling him he'd sorted things so there wouldn't have to be a TV title defence too. RATING: C+ [B]Black Eagle vs. Edward Cornell[/B] A shaky opening match, weaker than I'd hope. Cornell got the win over Eagle with a quick cradle after rolling clear of the New Jersey Turnpike. It was... OK at best. [I]Edward Cornell defeated Black Eagle by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Davis hit the ring next and demanded Petey give him a title shot. Soon. And then he added darkly that he already knew that title shot wouldn't be coming any time soon... RATING: C [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Keith Adams[/B] The other bout in the battle of the tag teams tonight. A really nice use of a quarter of an hour here saw Keith duplicate Edward's career track in ROF, making a tag loss and a singles loss his opening matches as the Inverted Piledriver claimed another victim. Pretty good stuff, and I regret not bringing Keith aboard earlier. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Keith Adams by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp[/B] Brilliant work by these two, precisely to the directions I was hoping for. What played out was a great match with irrational failures to win; a loose STF application by Davis – almost deliberately loose – a Breeze Block followed by a five-second pose and a sloppy pin, and an exceptionally violent variation on the Newton's Cradle that instead ended with a release German suplex, which Davis spectacularly failed to cover after. Instead he rolled out of the ring, collecting two chairs after charming two female fans off their seats, and slid them back into the ring. Joey picked one up, grinning, and Davis picked up the other with a similar grin. They lined up... and simultaneously chair-shotted each other in the back for a double DQ. Humphrey went berserk. [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Joey Beauchamp when both men were disqualified.[/I] RATING: B+ Joey got the mic, then, and informed the crowd that he and Davis had figured out their differences, and they'd wised up, mentioning that Don and Hidekazu had the right idea. He put Davis over and warned everyone to await their 'demands' next week “when the man the Breeze is gonna blow down will be here to hear it”. RATING: C [B]Petey Barnes vs. Hugh de Aske in a two out of three falls match for the ROF Championship[/B] Weakish, this. Petey and his opponents usually check over their plans with Optimus, who's unavailable this week – 5SSW work coming first and all. Don's advce was sound but not as sound, and the difference was clear. Still and all, it worked pretty well, with Petey picking up more momentum heading toward Proving Ground by going over the TV champ in two straight falls in a good enough match. [I]Petey Barnes defeated Hugh de Aske in two straight falls[/I] RATING: B Another really solid show keeps our momentum gaining fast. I seem, however, to be stuck around 13500-ish fans tuning in and turning up per show. Gotta be a point coming where we break that barrier, I hope. OVERALL: B

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Hmm. Some interesting business this week. Matthew Gauge has agreed to tour with Burning Hammer, and he cut ties with UKW to do it rather than with us. I'll have to apologise to Ota about that. And in other UKW terms, Nicolas Lopez, who's been one of their stars the past couple of years, feels he's outgrown them – and Jack Ketch, one of the few who's been with them since the start, is signing with 21CW. At any given time, it seems, they can keep around four worthwhile workers on their books. I'm tempted to put an offer in to Jack myself, but it'll keep. Jack's a big name and I doubt he'll be with them long enough to make a difference. Petey's kicking up a stink about his contract, too. I'll fight to keep him and I hope I can, but I'm not gonna guarantee it. This requires my plans rescheduling.

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USPW Standard Bearers Sunday Week 2 August Lubuskie Arena 1000 in attendance A dark match this week pretty much precisely mirrored last week; Nigel and Remmy Honeyman, the running knee drive, and the pinfall. Same result, too, which I'm happy with. USPW's dark has become a school, and in this case they're both teaching each other until they're ready for primetime. [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]The Riot Act vs. Los Leyendas for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] Clearly, as Bernie Evans explained on commentary, Los Leyendas' performance last week had merited this title shot, and Jillefski concurred, adding that it was meant to be 'Sportsmanship' professional wrestling and he was sick of the current alternative. Bernie and Danny then sparred for the remainder of the commentary over whether or not Pit Bull Brown's recent record fell under that category, chiefly to distract from the fact that this match, while satisfactory, was nowhere near as good as their work last week. Once the undercard is over, I fear the Force and the Riot Act will fall from favour. Ultimate Phoenix did the falling this week, however, courtesy of a Rubber Bullets Bomb. [I]The Riot Act defeated Los Leyendas when Ruud van Anger pinned Ultimate Phoenix[/I] RATING: C ...And then the three members of the Force hit the ring, sabers out, and pretty much destroyed the Force. Simple formula, this, and here it worked better than last week. RATING: D- The battle kept going, and then suddenly, Chojiro Kitoaji and Seiji Jimbo slid under the ropes and joined in, driving Jed and Toby from the ring and giving the other tag team a path to safety. RATING: E+ [B]Chojiro Kitoaji vs. S. K. Walker for the USPW National Championship[/B] And this was why they joined in; the recent issues between Sergei and Chojiro, plus this match, are leading to a Force feud spilling across the lower card. Another pretty good match here to pick the crowd up as we go on leading to a Kitoaji Lariat for another successful defence by the WLW regular. [I]Chojiro Kitoaji defeated S.K. Walker by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Steve Flash vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] Suddenly I'm reminded what it was like when Merle and Don's rivalry first showed me a crowd reacting at this level. It seems like USPW has hit a new high, powered once again by good chemistry and Merle O'Curle. He and Steve battled for twenty straight minutes, brought up short only by the time limit. [I]Steve Flash drew with Merle O'Curle when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Marcos Flores for the USPW World Championship[/B] Nowhere near as good, but eminently good enough. I remain hopeful for USPW, as week after week we pick up the pace that little bit higher overall. Danny put in excellent work again and Marcos has clearly been working on his brawling game to suit our new champ, and the result was good, even though the pinfall was, as was expected, the champion's privilege. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Yep; a good show. We need a little more fame for the locker room; it'll be the only way to stop people complaining our best workers are too prominent. But that'll pass. OVERALL: C+

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 3 August Aston University Sports Hall 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.27 A weak dark match, 21CW chiefly due to chemistry issues; Extraordinario Jr continues his slow rise in respect when he tangles with Amo del Gato and puts him down with the Siempre Peleando. So-so stuff. Again from del Gato; it's a shame from Extraordinario. [I]Extraordinario Jr defeated Amo del Gato by pinfall[/I] RATING: D+ Davis kicked off the show in the ring, a broad grin on his face. “Demand one, boys and girls,” he says. “I know you've all been waiting. Let's kick off – Petey, I'm demanding a title shot. Like I said last week, I've gotten you figured out. You love this whole every-week-a-defence crap. And you're just not taking on anyone might risk that for you. So the title shot's when you'll give it. Next week. Proving Grounds.” RATING: C+ [B]Nate Johnson vs. Roy Edison[/B] Oh, this'll hurt ratings. I went into detail on the 'trade' Jillefski and I had arranged for Roy, who is, quite simply, not going to get his Sundays free any time soon, and that was another cover commentary ploy. These two shouldn't work together again; poor chemistry kept us at 21CW levels until Roy locked down the Arm Bar to finish. [I]Roy Edison defeated Nate Johnson by submission[/I] RATING: D+ Petey then shooed Roy out of the ring. “First of all,” he began, sounding furious. “You got a deal, Newton. Second of all, you may well not be fighting me for the title. Because like it or not the men I challenge are damn dangerous men, and my choice this time is Matthew Gauge.” RATING: C+ [B]Jonathan Faust vs. UK Dragon[/B] So Jonathan has chemistry issues with someone else, too. This isn't good, man, it just isn't, and the Midlands is somewhere I really don't want to have a weak card, but I'm going to. Dragon put Faust away early, and we moved on. [I]UK Dragon defeated Jonathan Faust by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Hidekazu vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Ah, this was more like it. Slightly. Hidekazu got a handy and fast win over Mario Heroic with the tilt-a-whirl bomb, and the match itself was entertaining and kept the crowd cheerful. This is what we needed. [I]Hidekazu defeated Mario Heroic by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- Hidekazu followed that up by laying down a challenge to Hugh de Aske. RATING: D- [B]Daniel Black Francis vs. Don Henderson[/B] And better again! I just hope the rest lives up to this; a solid win for Don to push him back up in the ranks. Good work all around by both men, and Daniel's finding a place to shine. [I]Don Henderson vs. Daniel Black Francis by submission[/I] RATING: B+ Joey then trotted out his demand; as far as he was concerned Dragon had taken 'his spot' and he wanted to punish him on Proving Grounds. RATING: D [B]Petey Barnes vs. Matthew Gauge for the ROF Championship[/B] Ahh, this was fantastic. Better than I expected, anyhow. It took a little under twenty-five minutes to get the Future Shock and put the challenger away, but there were times along the way I think the entire arena and possibly even Petey expected Matthew to get the shock win. [I]Petey Barnes defeated Matthew Gauge by pinfall[/I] RATING: B+ Damn good show overall, then. Very happy about that. OVERALL: B

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Yeah. That's all of my tricks exhausted. Petey's leaving in just a couple weeks. It's a real shame. On the other hand... it happened with Gino. With El Critico. With Merle and Dragon, both of whom have returned. I have to recast that part of the card, just as I did before. I think it's doable.

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USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 3 August Plaza La Navarre 1000 in attendance Same dark match as the last two weeks. I'm curious to see whether I can get the reaction to go up noticeably purely by keeping them on at each other. [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]The Riot Act vs. The Force for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] I want to punch something. Even with a Ray script the best we could get out of these guys was a 21CW match. Jonni got Toby with the Rubber Bullets Bomb this time. [I]The Riot Act defeated The Force when Jonni Lowlife pinned Toby Juan Kenobi[/I] RATING: D+ Jed immediately launched into a vicious assault on Ruud. RATING: D- [B]Billy Robinson vs. Steve Flash[/B] This picked things up a little Billy's getting a bit better at the whole ring general work himself, which is all to the good, but they could only pull out something reasonable here. [I]Steve Flash defeated Billy Robinson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Chojiro Kitoaji vs. S.K. Walker for the USPW National Championship[/B] Better. Much better, in fact, and more prove that Sergei may be the best thing going around here. Around a quarter of an hour's work saw Walker once more unable to get the win without resorting to shenanigans. [I]Chojiro Kitoaji defeated S.K. Walker by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- The rest of the Force promptly joined Walker in the ring and unleashed an assault on Chojiro. RATING: E+ ...and were promptly headed off by Dean Daniels and a pair of baseball bats. RATING: E+ [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Bairei Yasujiro, Merle O'Curle and Rolling Johnny Stones for the USPW World Championship[/B] We persevere. This should be garnering better reactions; it isn't. But it will. Danny helped the Pit Bull again, eventually ensuring that the ref's attention was directed to Brown pinning Bairei rather than Johnny tapping to Merle. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Bairei Yasujiro, Merle O'Curle and Rolling Johnny Stones when he pinned Bairei Yasujiro.[/I] RATING: C+ Getting there... Not a bad show. OVERALL: C+

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Prediction key for Proving Grounds: TV: Capitao Brasil Jr vs. Extraordinario Jr British Samurai vs. Mario Heroic The Stunners vs. Hot Fuzz for the Tag Titles Nate Johnson vs. Johnny Highspot Don Henderson vs. Matthew Gauge PPV: Extraordinario Jr vs. Nate Johnson Hidekazu vs. Hugh de Aske Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon in a Last Man Standing match Petey Barnes vs. Davis Wayne Newton in a 30 minute Iron Man Match for the ROF Championship

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 4 August Kent Racecourse 3856 in attendance RATING: 0.30 Nice dark opener this week as Extraordinario Jr takes on Capitao Brasil Jr. With Optimus laying out the match beforehand we get results I'd never expected from Capitao, and the EXODUS TV Champion continues to look good in front of the UK crowds. [I]Extraordinario Jr defeated Capitao Brasil Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Petey opens up the show proper with a heartfelt promo regarding tonight's title match. He admits he won't be with us long and promises he'll keep the belt right until he walks out the doors one last time. RATING: B [B]British Samurai vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Lovely work from these two as ever, and the two battle for a long time before the DaVE stalwart lands the Hero Attack and successfully overcomes Sammy. [I]Mario Heroic defeated British Samurai by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- Davis then returns fire on Petey, pointing out that Merle O'Curle didn't beat the odds and leave with the belt round his waist, that UK Dragon didn't beat the odds, and that no one managed to take a Ring of Fire belt to USPW. He then goes on to note that while ROF has changed enough that Merle's wrestled here again, that won't be enough of a change to keep the belt on Petey. RATING: B [B]The Stunners vs. Hot Fuzz for the Tag Titles[/B] Weakest match of the night thus far, but good enough. Try as they might the Stunners can't put the tenacious Fuzz away, and the match runs to a satisfactory draw. [I]The Stunners drew with Hot Fuzz when the time limit elapsed.[/I] RATING: C Joey then cut an interview of his own, laying out his issues with the UK Dragon and guaranteeing a victory to reestablish the Breeze as the top of Ring of Fire. RATING: C [B]Nate Johnson vs. Johnny Highspot[/B] Finally we put this match on TV and we were rewarded when both men stepped up their game. In only seven minutes Johnny put on one of the best matches of his career and walked away with a revitalising win. [I]Johnny Highspot defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Don Henderson vs. Matthew Gauge[/B] This truly established Matthew as one of our main event calibre talents in a brilliant half-hour battle of technical traditions. While Matthew ate the loss, he did such a good job beforehand that the crowd popped like seldom before. [I]Don Henderson defeated Matthew Gauge by submission[/I] RATING: A Damn good PPV pre-show. Here's hoping the PPV – and buyrate – live up to it. OVERALL: B

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ROF: Proving Grounds Tuesday, Week 4, August Kent Racecourse 3856 in attendance BUYRATE: 0.07 Nate and Extraordinario met in the dark to kick things off, in a match which left the crowd wishing they'd just bought double the snacks before the TV show. This was very good stuff for a dark match, with Nate triumphing through the Natural Order. [I]Nate Johnson defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Hidekazu vs. Hugh de Aske[/B] Good chemistry, great match. This being a PPV, the TV Championship wasn't on the line, which would ultimately allow Hidekazu to pick up the win via tilt-a-whirl without ending up stuck in the midcard defending a title. One of the best matches Hidekazu's ever had and no slouch by Hugh's standards either.[I] Hidekazu defeated Hugh de Aske by pinfall[/I] RATING: B+ Hidekazu then cut a promo announcing that, to him, this proved he was beyond Don and able to once more present himself as his own man. RATING: C+ We then ran a quick hype video recapping Joey and Dragon's rivalry since Dragon's return some months back. RATING: C+ [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon in a Last Man Standing match[/B] More fantastic work taking advantage of more great chemistry. Now we just have to hope that the weaker chemistry in the main event won't hold us back too badly after all this build. Joey and Dragon threw absolutely everything at each other, but in the end after a Breeze Block from the top to the outside went awry Dragon was able, injured back and all, to beat the ten count and walk away with the win. [I]UK Dragon defeated Joey Beauchamp when Joey could not answer the count of ten.[/I] RATING: B+ Another hype video played next, this one recapping Petey and Davis' respective paths through ROF and their career heights to date. RATING: B- [B] Petey Barnes vs. Davis Wayne Newton in a 30 minute Iron Man Match for the ROF Championship[/B] All doubts I had were dispelled. Davis and Petey just went out there and pretty much destroyed the place, blasting beyond fan expectations to boot. Davis in particular seemed to have a new fire lit under him, and with three falls to nil looks on paper to have been an utterly dominant winner. This would be unfair; this was a great farewell bout for Petey. One day I still hope to have him return. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Petey Barnes by three falls to nil.[/I] RATING: A Terrific show. Petey's requested that, if we do a retrospective DVD of his work at some point, that match be the capstone, which tells you something. It wasn't the best match we've ever shown, but it took pride of place on the best card we've ever run. And that's probably even the case if you factor in the TV beforehand. Tonight also saw our biggest TV audience and our biggest PPV audience ever, even though we didn't break attendance records.

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I'm away from the computer with TEW (and my writeups) on it until the 27th, so this diary's running silent until then. Up to the next big event is already done, though, so I'll be able to come back strong, and I'll be reading the boards in the meantime.

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USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 4 August Lubuskie Arena 753 in attendance Fourth straight week of the same dark match. I think the crowd are beginning to get interested in what, if anything, I'm doing here. [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Steve Flash[/B] An explosive opener that turned out to get an even better response than I'd expected. I knew this was going to be good, let me clarify, but felt that it'd be held down by their relative lack of overness here. On the contrary; Bairei and Steve put on a fantastic show that may well end up being the best thing on the card, concluding with a Flash Bang for the pin. [I]Steve Flash defeated Bairei Yasujiro by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- We then hyped a match for next week; the full three-man Force against Chojiro and the Riot Act RATING: D- Simona and the original Force were then shown backstage as she worked them into a fury. RATING: E+ [B]The Force vs. Seiji Jimbo & Dean Daniels[/B] Not too bad. Ray's script has something to do with that, again. A good relatively quick match keeps the WLW boys in the public mind while setting up for Jed to hit the Star Destroyer on Dean, picking up the pin. [I]The Force defeated Seiji Jimbo & Dean Daniels by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Chojiro then stumbled through the curtain and it was revealed he'd been thrown through it by S.K. Walker, as the man followed, while in the ring the waiting Force triggered their 'sabres'. The resulting beatdown was short-lived, however, as the Riot Act charged down and headed them off. RATING: D- [B]Billy Robinson vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] One of the weaker matches Merle has wrestled in quite some time, but acceptable. No real contest to this match, just ten minutes that needed filling and a candidate to keep in our minds. [I]Merle O'Curle defeated Billy Robinson by submission[/I] RATING: C [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Rolling Johnny Stones for the USPW World Championship[/B] Well, this was a weak way to use half an hour. Can't be helped, I suppose, but I guess it happens. Brown's title run may not be set to last much longer at this rate, however, but this time around he gets the win with the Dog House Piledriver. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Rolling Johnny Stones by pinfall[/I] RATING: C So a fairly mediocre show. As has been noted before, however, it ain't like it's being televised somewhere that being weak matters; this is good stuff to a Europe that only sees us and UCR. OVERALL: C

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Well, I don't know what's happened with Burning Hammer, but Haruki Kudo is out as booker. It's almost tempting... but I really don't feel like I'm done here, and I like speaking the relevant language. Looks like EXODUS2010's brief burst of publicity and extra training for our workers will be just that; brief. They're having serious cash issues.

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 1 September The Cobra Den 831 in attendance RATING: 0.28 Slowly but surely we're getting more people into the Den. And the dark match this week continues to allow me to test my luchadors; the match between Extraordinario Jr and El Bestia Purpura was perfectly acceptable. It's looking more and more like it's Gato and Sandoval who're the problems here, which is a real shame. As a reward for helping with these tests, Extraordinario picks up another win. [I]Extraordinario Jr defeated El Bestia Purpura[/I] RATING: C Davis kicked off the TV broadcast in the ring with the belt over his shoulder, putting on a heck of a celebration. Petey came out to run him down and sulked somewhat that he hadn't fulfilled his goal. Davis laughed it off, ducked a punch, and took Petey to the mat with the STF as Humphrey tried to separate them. RATING: B- [B]Jonathan Faust vs. Nate Johnson[/B] A bad decision on the opening match, however. I'm not renewing Faust's contract; denying him to 21CW might be a plan as far as the war's concerned, but he's just not pulling his weight. Nate routinely has better matches than this. Still, Faust got the win with the Devil's Drop. [I]Jonathan Faust defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Hidekazu[/B] This was much more worthwhile, on the other hand. The Bulldozer proves weak in singles competition right now but holds on against his long-term rival for a long time before the tilt-a-whirl powerbomb finally sinks him for the pin. Good work by both of these men, and I remain sure there's hope for Brandon yet. [I]Hidekazu defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- UK Dragon hit the ring next, picking up the mic. Short but sweet; he won in the second-last match at Proving Grounds, he beat a three-time champion, so he wants his title shot at Knights of the Ring. RATING: C Davis hits the ring himself, there, and tells him he's sorry, but he'll have to tell him no – part of the deal with Joey to get Dragon out of the way for Proving Grounds was that Joey got the first defence. And since he isn't as stupid as Petey, that's not happening until the Knights. RATING: B- [B]Hugh de Aske vs. Johnny Highspot for the TV Championship[/B] Weaker than I'd hoped for, but Okish. Hugh gets the win and continues his title reign with the usual Cut Throat Driver, which is starting to get pops. Johnny continues to make me wonder what I can do to develop him right now. [I]Hugh de Aske defeated Johnny Highspot by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]British Samurai vs. Don Henderson vs. Joey Beauchamp vs. Matthew Gauge in an Elimination Match[/B] A good solid battle here, I thought. Matthew Gauge was clearly here to make a name for himself; early on he went straight after Sammy, assaulting him viciously and taking the former champion to the mat with a lethal-looking Proton Lock to make him tap. A series of other assaults on the remaining wrestlers went well for quite a while, but eventually Joey recovered well enough to hit a Breeze Block that sent Matthew staggering backward into Don's tilt-a-whirl powerbomb and thence into the Scottish Deathlock, bringing us down to two men left in contention, and Joey knew he'd have to be careful with the Breeze Block as Don could easily turn that kind of charge into another tilt-a-whirl. In the end he came up with something new here, throwing out a homage to Pit Bull Brown with a Dog House-esque piledriver. [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated British Samurai, Don Henderson and Matthew Gauge by elimination[/I] RATING: B Poor show, theoretically, but once again it's good enough to keep our momentum up and get more folks interested in us – hopefully. I didn't expect to maintain last week's record rating, and to be honest I'm glad we did as well as we did given we were back in the Cobra Den, but I'm glad to see that our rating's up on two weeks ago. OVERALL: B-

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USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 1 September Plaza La Navarre 1000 in attendance And guess the opening event? Nigel and Remmy have been changing up the act as the weeks have gone on, for (I rather suspect) their own sanity as much as anything else. It's interesting me, though, because if these two ever develop to the point it's worth putting them both on TV, they'll have an entire feud's worth of developing spot and counter-spot sequences. This time around, for example, Remmy was ready for the running knee drive, hitting a dropkick to the knee and eliminating Nigel's mobility as an advantage. The resourceful Svensson promptly turned to his submission repertoire, however, and eventually got the win with the Hyper-Extension Arm Lock [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by submission[/I] RATING: C- [B]East and West vs. Los Leyendas[/B] Because sometimes you just have to showcase your better tag teams, or they'll never get over. All four of these men went all out to show what they can do, with Phoenix and Marc being the focus – they've wrestled each other a lot in CZCW, after all. Beautiful work here eventually saw Marc Speed take down El Leon with the Cross Armbreaker. [I]East and West defeated Los Leyendas when Marc Speed made El Leon submit[/I] RATING: B- Simona then took a minute to further hype the Force. RATING: D- [B]The Force (inc. S.K. Walker) vs. Chojiro Kitoaji & The Riot Act[/B] Surprisingly OK. Walker was the real standout star of this bout, which makes sense when Ruud's off his game and the tag half of the battle therefore suffers. This was, however, essentially just a breakdown-into-chaos matchup, with the whole thing devolving into a brawl outside the ring leading to a double countout just before the quarter hour mark. [I]The Force drew with Chojiro Kitoaji & The Riot Act when both sides were counted out[/I] RATING: C [B]Marcos Flores vs. Steve Flash[/B] There isn't much in the way of chemistry here, but that doesn't stop this being a good match. Steve took some time to help Marcos with his brawling style as the match went on, and the pair of them had a good solid bout that went back and forth, but Marcos couldn't keep Steve down for long enough to get to the ropes for the Heaven Elbow; as a result, eventually the Flash Bang had a clear run. [I]Steve Flash defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Jonni took a moment to hype Ruud. RATING: E+ We then cut backstage to see Danny Jillefski taking the time to psyche Pit Bull Brown up for his title defence. RATING: F+ [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Merle O'Curle in a 30 minute iron man match for the USPW World Championship[/B] An iron man bout plays to Merle's stubborn streak and really highlights his strengths; even if your opponent gets a fluke roll-up, the work you've done on his leg or arm isn't lost and he's just as vulnerable to a submission. That kept the fans in it all match as the chance of Merle retrieving the title was always there; but in the end, Danny Jillefski's interference was just too much. Merle got two falls, and Brown also only got two – but that was enough. [I]Pit Bull Brown drew with Merle O'Curle with two falls apiece[/I] RATING: B- A worthwhile card to put on. We're getting there, if slowly. OVERALL: C+

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 2 September Aston University Sports Hall 1000 in attendance RATING: 0.33 Nate finds himself back in the dark this week, facing new signing – and wrestling newcomer – KC Glenn. The crowd reaction is a little weak, but acceptable given how little known these two are. After ten minutes Nate gets the Natural Order and covers Glenn for the win. [I]Nate Johnson defeated KC Glenn by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- Kicking off the show we saw Joey and Dragon both approach me at my desk, both demanding they get the title shot at Knights of the Ring. Eventually, I told them they could settle this one in the ring, and gave them two out of three falls to make sure of it. RATING: D [B]Hugh de Aske vs. Daniel Black Francis for the TV Championship[/B] Not bad work from these two, though Daniel, once again, got a little too tired to keep the pace up. Hugh promptly rewarded him with the Cut-Throat Driver, though, so that was OK. [I]Hugh de Aske defeated Daniel Black Francis by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Don and Hidekazu were shown backstage following that, engaged in a heated argument with each other. The fans were OK with this; I think they've been waiting a while for the split to happen. RATING: C [B]El Critico vs. Extraordinario Jr[/B] A welcome return by the veteran luchador, I think, who got a pretty good pop for someone we hadn't seen in so long. He still didn't have a great deal of momentum, however – most of our fans even in the Midlands postdate Critico's last match with us – which I think hurt the match, but the fans got some fantastic lucha libre demonstrated for them before the Critical Mass got the win. [I]El Critico defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Davis then cut a promo where he assured us that it didn't matter which man he faced at Knights of the Ring, the man he liked or the man he couldn't stand – he was our champion, and he was here to stay. RATING: B- [B]Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon in a two out of three falls match[/B] This ran a little too long; it was the longest match we've put on outside a PPV at nearly thirty-nine minutes, and both men were flagging by the end, though it was still a great match. Their flagging played to the ending, however, where with a fall apiece the action went to the outside with a Breeze Block going too fast for Joey to keep himself in the ring. Both men were, quite simply, too drained and beaten to make it back to the ring. [I]Joey Beauchamp drew with UK Dragon at a fall apiece, with the final fall drawn by double count out.[/I] RATING: B+ Another good show, hopefully backed up by further development. Quite how we got the rating we did is a mystery to me, however. OVERALL: B

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While we're at it, Marcos Flores is apparently done with his European oddysey. I wish I could blame him. The good news is that we've made the PPV jump to Euro Your Demand. We'll now be showing our PPVs across Europe – across a wider footprint than we currently get TV. I anticipate something of a buyrate spike. Robbie Retro reached a new high this week, claiming the SWF belt. Interesting to see what Eisen's doing nowadays.

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USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 2 September Lubuskie Arena 1000 in attendance Nigel defeats Remmy again, to much the same reaction as ever. No significant change yet, other than Nigel being back to the running knee drive. Good cheap dark match to get the crowd psyched, though. [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]Marcos Flores vs. Seiji Jimbo[/B] Well, one of these guys is on the way out, so the winner is going to be no surprise. The quality of the match, however, reminds us why it's a shame Marcos is on the way out; sure, we all know Seiji's really good, but it takes two to tango and these two dance divinely before the Jimbo Driver at 16:44 [I]Seiji Jimbo defeated Marcos Flores by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]East and West vs. Los Leyendas[/B] Not as good as last week by any stretch, sadly. Good enough, mind; another match with double count out shenanigans as both teams bail to stand ready against a threatened Force incursion. [I]East and West drew with Los Leyendas when both teams were counted out[/I] RATING: C A quick hype video followed for S. K. Walker RATING: E+ [B]Chojiro Kitoaji vs. S.K. Walker for the USPW National Championship[/B] I'm not 100% sure, but this time limit draw might just be the best match USPW's ever put on. Very nice work including some innovative armbar sequences from Walker. [I]Chojiro Kitoaji drew with S.K. Walker when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B [B]Billy Robinson vs. Dean Daniels[/B] And naturally this was never going to be as good, but again it proved good enough, with Dean getting the cradle piledriver and the pin after twelve minutes. [I]Dean Daniels defeated Billy Robinson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Steve Flash for the USPW World Championship[/B] This match was short and sweet, as there were only fifteen minutes' in-ring time left on the card – but sweet is right. Steve proved a worthy challenger and got some massive pops, but Jillefski and the Pit Bull contained him and put him away. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Steve Flash by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- Weak reaction to the package, though. This was an experiment – I knew the fans were used to vignettes, but could we put on matches good enough to make them forget that while we slowly forced our workers over to the point that vignettes don't hurt? The answer was no, and we got slated for it on the forums. I'll live, though; word of mouth was still reasonably positive all round. OVERALL: C-

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 3 September Hall Green Cricket Club 1514 in attendance RATING: 0.34 The now-tradional 'undercard' Fighting Fit as PPV preamble. Let's hope it's still good enough to make the grade in the Midlands; I want to keep our climb going. A decent enough dark kickoff sees Extraordinario Jr and KC Glenn face off with fast-paced high-flying action that peps the crowd well before we actually start the show, and Extraordinario continues his slow climb. [I]Extraordinario Jr defeated KC Glenn by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ Kicking off the show, Davis comes out and addresses the controversy left after last week's main event – by telling us there's no controversy; he'll wrestle Joey Beauchamp just like the deal. RATING: C+ I come in on the tail end of that to correct him, revealing that just like when Petey took the title, it's going to be three men in that ring – Davis, Joey, and the UK Dragon. RATING: C+ [B]Johnny Highspot vs. Nate Johnson[/B] Just a little too long here, as Johnny was pretty tired. That meant Nate stayed down longer than you'd've hoped before the frog splash finished things, making this their weakest match to date. Ah, well... [I]Johnny Highspot defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Matthew Gauge was next up, offering a challenge to the British Samurai. “Until a man can beat you, he doesn't know if he can make it in the Ring of Fire.” RATING: D+ [B]Hugh de Aske vs. El Critico for the TV Championship[/B] We finally get out of first gear with this (which, ultimately, you'd expect – it's these two) Critico does his level best and busts out a lot of moves we never saw in his first ROF run, but Hugh just won't stay down. Eventually the bell rings; the time limit finishes this match. [I]Hugh de Aske drew with El Critico when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: B- Hidekazu then comes out, politely requesting a match against Don on PPV, to deal with the disputes they've been having. I agree, but the crowd aren't enthused. RATING: D [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Edward Cornell[/B] Vigilante Justice in action again, and while he wasn't exactly performing at his best these were still seventeen very well spent minutes. The crowd were popping pretty steadily, especially when Bulldozer twisted clear of a 'Rough Ride' style move, and they popped for the Backdrop Suplex too. I'll take this. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Edward Cornell by pinfall[/I] RATING: B- [B]Daniel Black Francis vs. Mario Heroic[/B] Sadly, this really isn't how to end a show. Mario dominated and we kept it to just the earliest phase of Daniel's flagging before the Hero Attack hit, but it still just wasn't good. Part chemistry, part other issues. Can't be helped. [I]Mario Heroic defeated Daniel Black Francis by pinfall[/I] RATING: C Good enough show, I guess. Won't help us too much in the Midlands themselves, but the northern half of the country are likely to find it appealing. And, of course, there's always Europe. We once again broke ratings records this week. OVERALL: C+

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Knights of the Ring prediction card: KC Glenn vs. Roy Edison British Samurai vs. Matthew Gauge in a Submission Match Don Henderson vs. Hidekazu Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship

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ROF: Knights of the Ring Tuesday Week 3 September Hall Green Cricket Club 1514 in attendance BUYRATE: So it's down to this to actually gain traction in the Midlands, and you only have to look at the physical attendance to realise we need that. Roy Edison takes on KC Glenn in the dark, more to keep Roy in people's minds than anything else, and KC gets lucky and nails the Tune up the Sunshine Band from absolutely nowhere to get the win. [I]KC Glenn defeated Roy Edison by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- The PPV proper kicked off with a retrospective video, charting submission wrestling's history in the UK and the USA, connecting back to Matthew and Sammy at the end. RATING: C [B] British Samurai vs. Matthew Gauge in a Submission Match[/B] Poorer than I'd expected, but good enough to be called acceptable for a PPV. A real back-and-forth bout saw both men try a wide variety of holds and stratagems, but in the end Matthew managed to hook the Proton Lock in and force Sammy to tap after a full minute in the hold. [I]Matthew Gauge defeated British Samurai by submission[/I] RATING: B Matthew Morris ran the interview with Hidekazu this time, drawing from him a list of criticisms of Don. Chief among them appears to be 'he's taught me everything he can, so he's useless to me'. RATING: D+ [B]Don Henderson vs. Hidekazu[/B] A good smooth match here; weaker than I'd hoped it would be, again, but these things do happen. At the finish Don backflipped out of the tilt-a-whirl bomb, double-legged Hidekazu and by the time he stood up the Scottish Deathlock was cinched in. Hidekazu fought valiantly, but had no counter. [I]Don Henderson defeated Hidekazu by submission[/I] RATING: B- [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship[/B] Now this was good. This was very good indeed, as everyone pulled out all the stops. For quite a while there it honestly did seem like it would never end, but as the match wore on Dragon's back became a primary target for both his opponents. As Dragon fought back, Davis meandered – apparently clumsily – into the perfect position to eat a Dragon Drop, but as the UK Dragon went for it Davis snapped back to life and locked in that vicious STF, further assaulting the veteran's spine. Joey moved in to try to pull Davis off, however, and Davis responded with a Newton's Cradle – and the Dragon just couldn't recover in time to break it up. [I]Davis Wayne Newton defeated Joey Beauchamp and UK Dragon when he pinned Joey Beauchamp[/I] RATING: A Knights of the Ring ended with Davis in the ring talking to the fans and promising them a championship reign to remember. RATING: B- Yeah, the main event saved it – not that either prior match was actually weak. We can safely assume more interest next time. OVERALL: B+

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Oh, for pete's sake! I have no idea how this slipped through the cracks, but Knights of the Ring got lost during the PPV provider switch. We didn't actually get it broadcast. So much for a new record buyrate this month. Mind you, NEXT month...

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USPW: Standard Bearers Sunday Week 3 September Lubuskie Arena 1000 in attendance Hey, guess how we opened this show? That's right, the running knee strike carries it for Nigel again. Still pulling in good reactions, still not quite popping the crowds. But they're getting a rep. [I]Nigel Svensson defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall[/I] RATING: C- [B]The Riot Act vs. Los Leyendas vs. East and West for the USPW Tag Titles[/B] Better than we've had out of the champs before, and I'll let you draw the obvious conclusions as to why. Jonni got the pin on Nichiren Amagawa to retain, but this was mostly about making the Riot Act look that little bit better. [I]The Riot Act defeated Los Leyendas and East and West when Jonni Lowlife pinned Nichiren Amagawa[/I] RATING: C+ A promo video then ran with the Force hyping themselves. As USPW angles go, this was pretty good. RATING: D [B] Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Steve Flash for the USPW National Championship[/B] Another good match as we continue the process of boosting the belt back into the realms of the respected. Chojiro was the man who came out with the upper hand, as you'd expect to be the case given the whole Walker/Kitoaji feud. [I]Chojiro Kitoaji defeated Steve Flash by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ A backstage shot shows Pit Bull Brown demonstrating his power as he works out before the match. RATING: E+ [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] These two can do better, but this was still pretty good, and will keep us looking strong around here. The Celtic Cross took Bairei to the mat after around thirteen minutes, and that was all she wrote. [I]Merle O'Curle defeated Bairei Yasujiro by submission[/I] RATING: C+ A quick hype video for Merle ran next. Bad idea. RATING: F+ [B]Pit Bull Brown vs. Rolling Johnny Stones for the USPW World Championship[/B] Weak. Weak, weak, weak. I just keep telling myself that this is about getting Danny's activities out in the open to help get him over, and pray that it'll work soon. Stones and Brown put up a... well, weak... fight with the usual Jillefski interference before the Dog House Piledriver. [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Rolling Johnny Stones by pinfall[/I] RATING: C And... we're getting there. Fewer and fewer complaints about our wrestlers not being over enough to justify the time they're getting. Slowly but surely we move on. OVERALL: C+

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ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 4 September Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 0.35 A surprisingly good dark opener as we return to the days of tag openers; Los Hijos narrowly went over The Animals after ten minutes when Capitao Brasil Jr was able to lock in the Inverted Figure Four on Amo del Gato to force a tapout. Optimus' handiwork is all over this, but it was still good work by these men's standards. [I]Los Hijos defeated The Animals when Capitao Brasil Jr made Amo del Gato submit[/I] RATING: C We followed the match up with a hype video for new signing Buff Martinez before the broadcast began. RATING: D Davis kicked off the show in the ring, as ever, talking himself up and telling everyone who hadn't seen it what had happened in the Knights of the Ring main event. He was soon interrupted, however, by an aggrieved Joey Beauchamp who demanded a solo title shot so he could prove his worth. Davis pointed out that I'd overridden it last time, and in any case Davis had pinned Joey – but he was willing to offer Joey a main event match tonight, and if he won that, Joey would get the Code of Honour title shot. RATING: C+ [B] Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Edward Cornell[/B] A long match that was also a pretty sound contest to begin the broadcast with. Edward and Brandon both seem to feel they have something to prove and the match really reflected that, with a number of close falls on both sides. Around sixteen minutes in Edward went to the top rope to imitate his father's feared 'Three-Inch Shrink' jumping double sledge, but Brandon caught him, twisted him to one side, and laid him out with a fallaway slam before setting up the final Inverted Piledriver to get the win. The fallaway slam got a surprisingly large pop; Brandon's just got the power to make the thing look lethal. [I]Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Edward Cornell by pinfall[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Hidekazu vs. UK Dragon[/B] Continuing to show his development, Hidekazu stayed in this one against the multiple-time ROF champion until the time limit settled matters for them. I'd hoped for better from these two, with so much shared WLW experience, but needless to say I didn't get it. I got a very passable match, however, and Hidekazu got to showcase some new moves – but this still needs some thought before it goes further. [I]Hidekazu drew with UK Dragon when the time limit elapsed[/I] RATING: C+ Don and Nadia promptly hit the ring, Don challenging Hidekazu to another match next week. RATING: C [B]Buff Martinez vs. K.C. Glenn[/B] Just a quickie to give Buff some ROF exposure and K. C. some TV time. I'm sacrificing a lot, and I think this is going to be a fairly weak show as a result – comparatively – but with Petey gone I'm back in a place where most of what needs doing here is groundwork. Buff put KC away after a surprisingly competitive match when he hit the El K.O. [I]Buff Martinez defeated KC Glenn[/I] RATING: C+ [B]Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joey Beauchamp[/B] I don't think I've ever asked either of these two to defer to Optimus; all of their ROF contests have been called on the fly. That said, Davis and Joey are particularly noteworthy for having been given odd guidelines on the match. This was no exception, and they delivered; while they came across as friends the whole way through, Davis kept up a running stream of goads and taunts, exhorting Joey to show him that he deserved the title shot as Joey became more and more unhinged. After almost every major exchange one or the other man would glance across at where I sat while Matthew and I speculated about what this meant, leaning to the conclusion that both men were trying to show me that the match would be worth putting on PPV. Truth be told, I almost wish I'd put this one on PPV; great work that ended with Joey and Davis both losing it, going all out into an insane spotfest that didn't actually see either man trying to end the match. Humphrey threw it out in the end when it became clear that Davis was passing up chances to put Joey away to get the PPV partner he wanted. [I]Davis Wayne Newton drew with Joey Beauchamp when the refereee threw the match out[/I] RATING: A At the end of that I rose and gave my judgement; since Joey hadn't won, he wouldn't get the title shot at Code of Honour. Since Davis had tried dubious means to ensure his opponent, he would be facing two men – the man he didn't pin at Knights of the Ring, UK Dragon, and a man who impressed at that same show, Matthew Gauge! RATING: C+ Thank goodness for Davis and Joey, as ever. That pulled the show up considerably and gave us something to be proud of, with our best ever TV rating to boot. OVERALL: B

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“Sorry, boss,” Buff mumbled as I made my way backstage. I stopped short, looking across at a talented wrestler who stood before me, his head bowed, avoiding eye contact. “What for?” I asked. “I know that wasn't great,” the former Barcelona Bull continued. “I'll do better, I promise.” I blinked. “Buff, half our fans don't know you and the other half weren't expecting to see you. I'm not expecting perfection first time out of the gate.” “Yeah, well...” Buff nodded uncomfortably and walked out. I glanced up at Joey, bewildered. “What was that all about?” Joey grinned. “You don't have the best rep for keeping 21CW hires on, boss,” he said. “Might wanna watch that.” I sighed. “Yeah,” I said. “Here's hoping we can recover from that.” Joey nodded. “Plus he's got other things on his mind.” “Mm?” “He expected to drop the title on his last show,” Joey said. “Ain't happened. Tyler was happier to pretend he hadn't even existed than to acknowledge you stole their champ.” I winced. Stole? Well, yes...

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Well, I... hadn't expected that. WLW has evidently been falling in popularity for some time; it's being disparaged as a regional promotion in the dirtsheets right now. Promotions seem to be in trouble everywhere.