Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

[Marcel Fromage]

Fantastic show - congratulations on the A*! I'm pretty happy with my predictions too. I should do that more often!! :D

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;404677] [I]I don't think Extraordinario will lose the belt so soon and his first defence was already decent. Plus I made his picture and not the other two. So I pick him.[/I][/quote] He's good, you'll be happy to learn; in his short career he's been the misnamed EXODUS 2010 TV champ (no TV), my own TV champ and SOTBPW Campeone de Trios with Ultra Spark Jr and Swarm I. If I can get his Psych and his technical skills up that little bit higher he could well end up in the main event within a year or so. Without wanting to spoiler the rest of the year too badly, his last defence of the year blew me away. [quote]Capitao Brasil Jr vs. [B]Mr Lucha III[/B] [I]Without wishing to sound critical, because I don't often predict, but...what the hell is this bout doing on a PPV when the tag title match is on tv?! I was looking through the last few cards before predicting this. Mr Lucha has won in a dark match 10-man tag and appeared on tv a couple of times lately. Brasil I can't find save for a losing appearance in that 10-man. So I'll go with Lucha.[/I][/QUOTE] Time constraints, to be honest. I could fit a ten-minute bout onto the PPV, but knew I was going to need the full fifteen for the tag title bout. Meanwhile, the TV show needed as much solid wrestling as I could get on it - the problem is I'm essentially booking 3 1/2 hours, 4 for the Commonwealth Cup and Graduation - but trying to get two show builds in there. Things get... odd, occasionally... as a result. Tag matches are likely to start making their way back onto PPV in the future, nonetheless.

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;404777]Fantastic show - congratulations on the A*! I'm pretty happy with my predictions too. I should do that more often!! :D[/QUOTE] Champion's League has decided to go and be my biggest show despite my intentions toward Graduation. Last year showcased Davis/Dragon in what's still the best match I've ever booked. This year... well, yeah. That was card of the year. I'm still not sure how.

[Marcel Fromage]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;404778]He's good, you'll be happy to learn; in his short career he's been the misnamed EXODUS 2010 TV champ (no TV), my own TV champ and SOTBPW Campeone de Trios with Ultra Spark Jr and Swarm I. If I can get his Psych and his technical skills up that little bit higher he could well end up in the main event within a year or so. Without wanting to spoiler the rest of the year too badly, his last defence of the year blew me away.[/QUOTE] It's nice when you get new guys coming through and surprising you, therefore helping freshen up higher parts of the card. I guess...because nobody's done it in my ROF for bloody ages!!! Was really pleased to see Dragon get the main belt - well deserved.

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;404786] Was really pleased to see Dragon get the main belt - well deserved.[/QUOTE] Too right. I only managed to re-sign him all that time ago due to his spinal injury and the fact he was out of action for about eleven months to a year. And to come back from that and have the 2010 Match of the Year and headline the 2011 Card of the Year, among other accolades... it's incredible. But I have a real soft spot for my remaining ROF originals. Billy Robinson has at least one A-rated match on the books. British Samurai, Don, Merle, Dragon, all have multiple A*s. Petey Barnes has multiple As, Johnny Highspot a couple of Bs... In comparison to the 07 start date, it's unbelievable. Oh, and I'll leave you with this tease: The #1 Wrestler in the Top 100 at the end of this year is a ROF starting grappler. He has not held a top title in the past twelve months. Is that more or less surreal than Extraordinario Jr also midcarding for MOSC?

[Marcel Fromage]

Extraordinario in MOSC?! What is the world coming to!?! Likely to be Samurai or Henderson then. Both of them tend to score well in my end of year top 100s due to their incredible consistency. As for ROF originals - I love my original roster members too, although I still have most of them and have done all the way, mainly due to my restricted talent base. But I still maintain that some original members get better match ratings than guys I sign. Dragon, Samurai, O'Curle, Robinson, Henderson and Walter Morgan all get better ratings than anyone else, whether their stats suggest they should or not. Samurai and Henderson only have reasonable wrestling skills, yet often get the message 'looked good' in a match and out-perform the likes of Matravers and EXILE who on paper have better skills. Must be a fans liking their own guys thing!

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;404808]Extraordinario in MOSC?! What is the world coming to!?! [/QUOTE] MOSC currently features Extraordinario and El Heroe Mexicano. They have Luis Montero pulling road agent duty, which may explain it. They haven't yet paired them to take advantage of their chemistry and tag experience, though. Contrariwise, Championship Wrestling From Wigan, the pure shoot-style promotion, features Big Cat Brandon, Skull deBones, and T-Rex among others. I do not understand either fact.

[Phantom Stranger]

We missed a single episode of Over There the final Sunday in November, but I wasn't too worried. We've cut a deal with the company, and our Sunday show now runs a full two hours, allowing me the chance to get a lot more talent active – and the deal is for a year. Should do well by us. Busy week all told, actually; Championship Wrestling From Wigan, a UK-based company, is making a splash in the dirtsheets and building up to a debut. UCR, tragically, just went under. And 21CW looks only weeks from death. I feel particularly sorry for the European fans; they've got no shows to go to live bar the indies right now.

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 1 December Middlesbrough Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 1.29 Beautiful dark match kicks things off, as Billy Robinson, SK Walker and El Mitico Jr square off. What interested me here was that Billy took the fall for Walker, not the young luchador. Still, it was good, and working with Billy is doing Walker's technical prowess good. SK Walker defeated Billy Robinson and El Mitico Jr when he pinned Billy Robinson RATING: B- Our second dark match was an awful intergender tag, with Anna Ki partnered with Ernest Youngman and Cherry Bomb partnered with Remmy Honeyman. Anna and Ernest were just all over the place as a team, and it hurt things. On the plus side, Anna's throws are getting pretty crisp, and Ernest landed The Hit on Remmy, debuting his finisher for the first time in his young career – and scored the pin. So... well, a little bit of history. Possibly worthwhile, depends what Ernest ends up amounting to. Anna Ki & Ernest Youngman defeated Cherry Bomb & Remmy Honeyman when Ernest Youngman pinned Remmy Honeyman RATING: D+ The broadcast itself picked up with a highlight package from the championship match last week, showcasing the biggest spots and the title change. RATING: B- East and West vs. Blood & Bling for the ROF Tag Titles Nice stuff in the new champs' first defence and it confirms my theory that you just need to push tag bouts out to a long enough length to get them to work for the crowd. The extra half hour on our new European broadcasts should really help with that. Excellent work by both teams ends with Speed's Cross Armbreaker applied to Blood Raven halfway through the seventeenth minute. East and West defeated Blood & Bling when Marc Speed made Blood Raven submit RATING: B- Extraordinario Jr vs. Black Eagle vs. Daniel Black Francis vs. Nigel Svensson for the ROF TV Championship Ah, and the undercard continue to develop well. I'm contemplating making multi-man matches the norm for the TV Championship, except that it'll somewhat undermine credibility to have long reigns at that point. This was a very smooth quarter-hour match culminating in simultaneous Dreadlock Drop and Siempre Peleando; but Extraordinario covered Nigel Svensson marginally faster than Daniel covered the Eagle – so Humphrey counted the win for the champ, not for DBF, who didn't look happy afterward. Extraordinario Jr defeated Black Eagle, Daniel Black Francis and Nigel Svensson when he pinned Nigel Svensson RATING: B- Another video replay of last week's PPV, this time showing assorted highlights of the other winners; Davis, Joss, and Matthew, culminating in the announcement that tonight's main event would be a triple threat Number One Contendership match. RATING: B- Dean Daniels vs. Don Henderson This was really just intended as pure filler; Dean's good and needs exposure, and I want to keep Don strong. He's only thirty and I do hope to have him in position to be a viable champion before the end. And he just signed our written deal, so the investment seems wise. Which also tells you who's going over here, but I just wanted a pretty good match out of the fifteen minutes I didn't know what to do with; they delivered in grand style, producing in just over thirteen minutes bell-to-bell an excellent match. At the end of the day, Dean's rep has been boosted by taking this loss. Don Henderson defeated Dean Daniels by submission RATING: A Davis Wayne Newton vs. Joss Thompson vs. Matthew Gauge in a Number One Contendership Match More lovely stuff as Joss in particular continues to show improvement. You'd expect excellence from these three and they delivered – they delivered beyond the level I expected them to, truth be told. The near-falls and near-taps came fast and furious, almost all of them failing only by interference from the third man. Eventually Joss Thompson made a fatal mistake; with Gauge reeling in the centre of the ring, he went up top to deliver the flying Clean Cutter we've seen him popularise in recent weeks – and Davis ran up and dropkicked him from the top to the outside before capitalising on the dazed Gauge with the Newton's Cradle to score the win. Davis Wayne Newton defeated Joss Thompson and Matthew Gauge when he pinned Matthew Gauge RATING: A* Damn. Really good stuff again, and I'm glad; it keeps us on our roll forward. Weak rating; I think I needed to advertise more matches in advance. OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

Well, Luis Figo Manico turns out to be the man behind CWW, migrating to the UK – which admittedly seems to be showing the ability to support wrestling – for his new endeavour. Good luck to him, I say. No word yet on his booker of choice. Congratulations are also due to El Heroe Mexicano, who this week became MPWF's main champion. A first taste of gold for the young man... Good grief, it's all change! Black Hat Bailey has left NYCW, and they're on the hunt for a new booker. Word has it inside man David Mack is in consideration.

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: European Showcase Sunday Week 1 December Held at Hall Green Cricket Club 2000 in attendance RATING: 2.56 Only a moderately good first dark match this week; KC Glenn faces off with Capitao Brasil Jr and El Leon, scoring a win with a pinfall over Capitao Brasil Jr in a match that saw all participants show further development and forward motion. It'll do for development, though. KC Glenn defeated Capitao Brasil Jr and El Leon RATING: C The second dark bout was significantly better, however – Nate Johnson and Steve Flash working together, and both of them are capable of great things. In the dark and without much time they still put together something very smooth and enjoyable, and Steve Flash scores another pinfall with the Flash Bang. Steve Flash defeated Nate Johnson by pinfall RATING: B- Wanda Fish vs. Kristabel Plum for the ROF Womens Championship I'd hoped that this would do a little better than it actually did. It was... good enough, I guess, and I'd hoped the title change with Kristabel getting the upper hand would give us a pop, but it didn't quite happen. Still, once again – the womens' division is developing and I'd like to think that there is, now, a market for womens wrestling in the UK that there never had been before. I do like to do something on shows to Europe every so often that reinforce that they do mean something even if the UK won't see them. Kristabel Plum defeated Wanda Fish by pinfall RATING: C+ Chojiro Kitoaji vs. Nigel Svensson Fortunately, the second show on tonight's card makes much better use of the chemistry between opponents. These two haven't met in singles competition in quite some time, and I thought it might make for a nice barometer of how far they've come, particularly as they're both picking up a lot of experience in the house show circuit – and they've come pretty far if this is anything to go by; a good solid match with a lot of back-and-forth ended only when the Kitoaji Lariat felled Svensson effectively. Chojiro Kitoaji defeated Nigel Svensson by pinfall RATING: B A hype video for our champion ran next. Man, for only a video this got a hell of a pop. RATING: B+ Extraordinario Jr vs. Daniel Black Francis for the ROF TV Championship Good lord, Daniel's finally starting to display results! I threw this in after the neat finish the four came up with on Tuesday, and Daniel was actually able to help make the champion look pretty good and look OK himself. A good quarter-hour match the fans got into. Extraordinario Jr defeated Daniel Black Francis by pinfall RATING: B- Our second hype video of the evening; highlights of all the UK Dragon/Davis Wayne Newton matches to date, capped off by the date of Passing the Torch. RATING: B Joss Thompson vs. Matthew Gauge Now for only a quarter of an hour, this was an excellent match. Matthew managed to keep the upper hand in this payoff match from Tuesday and in the end converted a Clean Cutter into the Proton Lock. Matthew Gauge defeated Joss Thompson by submission RATING: A Buff Martinez vs. Hugh de Aske Hmm... not as good as I'd hoped. It'll do for a quarter-hour contest for now, though. The Skull and Crossbones ended a match otherwise most notable for Buff's sterling development. Hugh de Aske defeated Buff Martinez by pinfall RATING: B Hugh's making his way back from the ring, and Don Henderson appears on the ramp. After a brief staredown, Hugh walks backstage. Moments later, nodding to himself, Don follows. RATING: B British Samurai & Buff Martinez vs. Joey Beauchamp & Davis Wayne Newton Yes, Buff wrestled a second bout on the card, and this half-hour tag match was the best thing going – point of fact, for tag fans this will be the Match of the Year, no question. For the rest of us it's still a potential candidate. A massive quantity of terrific back-and-forth finally culminated with a hot-tag Breeze Block combo to lay Sammy out and give the former champ the big win. Joey Beauchamp & Davis Wayne Newton defeated British Samurai & Buff Martinez when Joey Beauchamp pinned British Samurai RATING: A* I finished the show off interviewing Buff about his decision to wrestle two matches. He admitted that in the long run it hadn't done well for him, but pointed out that he'd taken Hugh nearly to his limit and still had it in him to wrestle half an hour of tag action. “Frankly, I think I did pretty well,” he smiled. “It's why I asked for the challenge; to prove I could wrestle that long. That was what, forty-five minutes all told?” RATING: C+ Another good solid show, then, and another big stride in European development. Which is good; we'll be able to run these shows there soon, I think. Our first two-hour show yields another record rating. OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 2 December Edgeware Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 1.34 Another weakish first dark match; Ruud van Anger and Ernest Youngman work each other over until Ruud chances himself a rare pinfall victory. Still, some development in the ring, and what else is dark time really for? Ruud van Anger defeated Ernest Youngman by pinfall RATING: C Our second dark bout was a tag outing, setting Dos Phoenix against The Disrespected (Chojiro will be getting a workout tonight, given our advertised main event, but this seemed a good idea in any case.) They're two of our weaker tag teams, Dos Phoenix because they're not well-known here and are yet to win fans and The Disrespected due to their comparative lack of familiarity with each other. And they didn't have much time. But this was still a pretty good dark match which showed further development by Chojiro and allowed Keith to score a sweet pinfall following a slingshot suplex. That man probably does need a finisher, though. The Disrespected defeated Dos Phoenix when Keith Adams pinned Phoenix II RATING: C+ Dean Daniels vs. Steve Flash Well, this opening contest for our show was a touch disappointing – the two men don't work too well together. Still, they put something together that was a lot of fun to watch and Steve's still, even at this late stage in his career, improving his punches and slams. I'm glad it went nice and fast, though; Dean scores the fall here to give CPW a bit more of a spotlight (I feel guilty about taking so many of their uppercard off them as the written contracts spread.) Dean Daniels defeated Steve Flash by pinfall RATING: C+ The big screen went red for a moment, then resolved into some red-tinged silhouettes wrestling in rings. The date of Passing The Torch showed, then DREAD THE DAY scrolled across the screen. More action continued, still in silhouettes, but it was just possible to see that the original ROF ring apron designs were underpinning some of the action – we've changed them a couple of times as our image has needed upgrading. The caption returned: MATTHEW GAUGE WILL FALL FIRST. RATING: C+ Extraordinario Jr vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. El Heroe Mexicano vs. Mario Heroic vs. Mr Lucha III vs. SK Walker in an elimination match for the ROF TV Championship You know, virtually no one in this match went out to just one finisher; the moment someone seemed under attack someone else would make sure of it. Mr. Lucha III, for example, fell foul to El Heroe Mexicano and Mario Heroic acting in concert. A Kessel Run then blindsided El Heroe before an inverted piledriver from Brandon finished him; next up Brandon countered a second Kessel Run into the Backdrop Driver before the current Champion splashed SK Walker to ensure he was put away too. Siempre Peleando and Hero Attack concurrently put Brandon away, leaving Extraordinario facing off with Mario Heroic for the last three minutes of the match; the champ barely squeaked out a win with a sunset flip out of a tigerdriver predicament. Surprisingly good all round, and to be honest, one of the better uses of the psychology of the elimination stip I've seen in some time. Extraordinario Jr defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith, El Heroe Mexicano, Mario Heroic, Mr Lucha III and SK Walker by elimination RATING: B Buff Martinez vs. Edward Cornell Man... this was not as good as I'd hoped these two were capable of. But then, both these two need work before they're going to be main eventing our PPVs. Given a quarter hour, I'd hope that my main event scene and surroundings would match the prior contest at least; here that just wasn't the case, and the El KO finishes a lacklustre but acceptable match to Buff's advantage. Buff Martinez defeated Edward Cornell by pinfall RATING: B- Don Henderson appears, backed up by Nadia Snow, and issues a challenge; he feels Hugh de Aske is angling for the spot occupied by Don Henderson, and he means to show him that it's still very much taken. Maybe at Passing the Torch he can show him why that just ain't happening? RATING: B- Hugh promptly appears himself to accept, laying down the law and warning Don that by next year his challenge will have proved Hugh deserves more consideration than he does. RATING: B- Chojiro Kitoaji vs. UK Dragon Our main event, an old-school Japanese style bout given half an hour as... well, as something of a gamble on my part. I know Dragon can hold up his end. I wasn't sure about Chojiro but, well, we've been testing our midcard of late. It... turns out they have fantastic chemistry together, just knowing everything they need to. Chojiro never wants to sell and Dragon feels the champ should get away without too much (plus he's leery of certain bumps to the back, though I've found there to be a lot of leeway in that) This blew the crowd – and me – away significantly; Dragon adds another MOTYC to his resume for 2011, and Chojiro looks incredible even if he did take the Dragon Drop at 29:45 to be put away. UK Dragon defeated Chojiro Kitoaji by pinfall We closed the show out with hype for Dragon and Davis. RATING: B+ Fantastic show. Complaints online that Chojiro shouldn't have been presented as so strong against the champ – chiefly his lasting so long – but the match was good enough that no one actually cared. OVERALL: B+

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ROF: European Showcase Sunday Week 2 December Middlesbrough Hall 2000 in attendance RATING: 2.54 A really good first dark match (I seem to be saying that a lot at the moment) saw Johnny Highspot take on, school, and put away Ernest Youngman.with the frog splash. But it was highly enjoyable, and more proof that our latest developmental project is doing extremely well for himself. Johnny Highspot defeated Ernest Youngman by pinfall RATING: B- A weaker second dark bout saw Blood & Bling defeat European Union. The EU are probably our weakest team, and thus need the work, but this was still pretty poor. A rare pinfall victory for Blood Raven here following a Raven Driver III on Crusher von Steinberg – an impressive sight, and probably the reason the match came across as well as it did. Blood & Bling defeated European Union when Blood Raven pinned Crusher von Steinberg RATING: C Extraordinario Jr vs. Billy Robinson vs. Dean Daniels vs. Jonni Lowlife for the ROF TV Championship Well, Jonni wasn't on form and Extraordinario's perhaps feeling his oats a little as he made himself look sufficiently better than the others for it all to be a bit awkward. Despite that this was, for an opening contest, acceptable, and Billy is the one who this week takes the Siempre Peleando and makes the champion look good. Extraordinario Jr defeated Billy Robinson, Dean Daniels, and Jonni Lowlife when he pinned Billy Robinson. RATING: C+ The DREAD THE DAY video ran again, this time longer, with more shots of the silhouetted wrestler, but again taking care to keep his identity unclear. RATING: B- JD Morgan vs. Steve Flash Well, this was pretty good. Not as good as their dark contest together, but easily the best thing out of the show thus far. They got a quarter-hour, and by the end the Flash Bang got a scorching pop after the two legends' old-school contest. Steve Flash defeated JD Morgan by pinfall RATING: B East and West vs. The Disrespected vs. The Stunners for the ROF Tag Titles Another of those big matches where everyone shows off how much they've developed, this was kept surprisingly taut by the combatants involved as they made frequent tags and all played to the multi-man nature of the match very well. No one even tried for a pin or submission until ten minutes in, and after the fifteen minute mark attempts came thick and fast – but kickout after kickout, breakup after breakup, blind tags, hot tags, heat segments and double teams all ultimately cancelled out when the bell rang at the end of the twenty. Not too shabby. East and West drew with The Disrespected and The Stunners when the time limit elapsed RATING: B- Backstage, Joey Beauchamp and Joss Thompson were seen arguing over which of them most deserved a title shot in the near future. It was delivered pretty coldly and they kept themselves in control, which made the eventual pause and “Passing the Torch?” “Passing the Torch.” ending work significantly better. RATING: B- Joey Beauchamp vs. Mario Heroic The former champ needs his winning ways back; Mario continues his testing against the uppercard. This was a pretty good match, with Mario doing his best and edging closer to what I need from my main event. He's not quite there yet, but he's hardly very far behind at all. Joey ducked a Hero Attack, hit the ropes, and finished him with a Breeze Block after seventeen minutes. Joey Beauchamp defeated Mario Heroic by pinfall RATING: B+ Another hype video next; more development for the championship match at the pay-per-view, this one showing even more highlights from Davis/Dragon contests of the past. And dear God the pop... those two men are loved in the North. RATING: B+ Don Henderson vs. Joss Thompson Quite some time ago I had a show end with the final match ending while the credits began to superimpose over it, with me already apologising that we weren't going to see an ending before the three count. That set a Chekhov's Gun up I've been waiting to pull the trigger on for some time, and Joss and Don were my chosen implements here. They put on a hell of a show and closed the broadcast out without a winner, still going at it hammer and tongs. The pops were incredible, and the home crowd were chanting 'Ten More Minutes' when, after broadcast end, we stopped the match, telling them we needed to start packing to get all our kit out of the arena in time. Don Henderson drew with Joss Thompson when the show ended RATING: A* A good solid show maintaining the kind of quality we've been working toward. I'm happy with this. OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 3 December Bayern Stadion 2000 in attendance RATING: 1.32 A first here; the first-ever televised ROF card to originate from Europe. Following the Over There and European Showcase broadcasts, our polling bods felt we could make as much money here in Bayern as we can through our more popular UK venues, so we're giving it an irregular go. Good little first dark contest, designed to test how our undercard's coming along; KC Glenn faces off with Ernest Youngman for the first time out of house shows, unguided, and the two put together something we could have happily aired – and may, in future. KC gets the win here, but Ernest's star is rising despite his near-constant losses. If only I could get Remmy Honeyman on as smooth a climb (though Remmy's just joined our house show loop, so that may happen soon.) KC Glenn defeated Ernest Youngman by pinfall RATING: B- Man... once again, the second dark contest fails to live up to that promise. Ruud van Anger, JD Morgan and Daniel Black Francis all do battle and, while Daniel and Ruud are showing new tricks, this just wasn't that good. Daniel pins JD to keep some form of momentum, though. Daniel Black Francis defeated JD Morgan and Ruud van Anger when he pinned JD Morgan RATING: C As the show started off, we trusted to our biggest European name; former UCR star Joey Beauchamp. He cut an impassioned promo on what ROF stands for, what it means to wrestle for the company, and what it means for British and European wrestling that we've taken this step out here. The reception's only lukewarm for what he can do, sadly. RATING: C+ Extraordinario Jr vs. Capitao Brasil Jr vs. El Leon vs. El Mitico Jr for the ROF TV Championship More development visible in this match; everyone involved is pulling out new tricks, even Capitao, making me a happy man. It's El Leon who eats the pinfall when the champ retains here, but the whole thing was just well worthwhile all round. Extraordinario Jr defeated Capitao Brasil Jr, El Leon and El Mitico Jr when he pinned El Leon RATING: B- East and West vs. The Stunners for the ROF Tag Titles Oh good God. This is our new tag division high water mark. In seventeen minutes this quartet displayed new moves, new ingenuity, new savvy and new intensity that had the crowd roaring approval like never before. The last time an ROF crowd popped this loud for a tag contest it involved four main eventers. Beautiful, beautiful work, ending with Nichiren Amagawa's Five Point Stretch forcing the usually indomitable Brandon to tap out. I don't know what made this suddenly go up a gear, but go up a gear it did; this was phenomenal. East and West defeated The Stunners when Nichiren Amagawa made Bulldozer Brandon Smith submit. RATING: B+ Following that, a hype video for the last USPW World Champion; Don Henderson. Wow – what a pop! RATING: B Billy Robinson vs. Edward Cornell UGH. A real stinker of a contest for these two despite scripting, as these two couldn't stay on the same page. Their timing together is off, their understandings bad... After the prior contest this was like crashing back to earth. Billy got the win. Ten squandered minutes. Billy Robinson defeated Edward Cornell by submission RATING: C+ British Samurai vs. Joss Thompson Continued poor chemistry in the subsequent match leaves me suddenly worried despite the excellence of the tag contest. Sammy and Joss did their best but just couldn't quite rescue this to the degree I'd have hoped; it was better than the previous outing, but then you'd hope so. The Clean Cutter finished. Joss Thompson defeated British Samurai by pinfall RATING: B- Hugh de Aske vs. Matthew Gauge This, too, was merely good enough. They didn't have as much time as you'd hope for in a main event, and couldn't quite produce a great match in eighteen minutes. Really, this makes the tag match all the more remarkable; a contest that outdid the main event! Matthew picks up the win here with the Proton Lock and I console myself with the thought that the show was, overall, not too bad. Matthew Gauge defeated Hugh de Aske by submission RATING: B Yeah, barely good enough for what we're doing. The last show to return only this level of enthusiasm was about three months ago. OVERALL: B-

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ROF: European Showcase Sunday Week 3 December Hall Green Cricket Club 2000 in attendance RATING: 2.58 Another weakish dark tag, but good enough; The Disrespected overcome Dos Phoenix with Chojiro pinning Phoenix III. They're getting good, evidently, as this was round about what I used to expect from tag contests. The Disrespected defeated Dos Phoenix when Chojiro Kitoaji pinned Phoenix III RATING: C+ Jaime Quine and Raven Nightfall faced off in our second dark bout, and I discovered they actually work pretty well opposite each other, something I'd previously failed to discover purely, I think, due to the sheer lack of work I've put into much of the women's division. While this was nothing I'd want to put on TV, it was still something worth nurturing. Jaime scores the win with the KO Kick. Jaime Quine defeated Raven Nightfall by pinfall RATING: C El Heroe Mexicano vs. Nate Johnson Poor chemistry strikes again here, and they barely produce something good enough to open with as a result. For a quarter-hour's work I'd hope for a better return; still, it's something, and gives them both something to do. The Natural Order carries the day here and the former TV champ scores a rare win. Nate Johnson defeated El Heroe Mexicano RATING: C+ Once again the Dread the Day video starts rolling. Another pretty decent pop; speculation's pretty good on the for a about who this man could be. I think including the recognisable old-ROF imagery was a sound plan here. RATING: B- East and West vs. Blood & Bling for the ROF Tag Titles Oh, we're seeing definite improvement in the tag ranks now! East and West are really starting to grow into their tag team role and their challengers are both very sound competitors. It takes the champs nearly eighteen minutes to finally put paid to the challenge, Marc Speed making Blood Raven tap, and it seems to have been well worth doing. East and West defeated Blood & Bling when Marc Speed made Blood Raven submit RATING: B Extraordinario Jr vs. Edward Cornell for the ROF TV Championship I've remarked before that Edward doesn't yet have the talent for the main event, and this proved it as far as I was concerned, as the TV champ looked easily the better man. Cornell has the basics down pat, but his actual moves just lack a certain something, while the champ, as always, had a barrage of inventive offence to offer, eventually wrapping Cornell up with the Siempre Peleando and the pin. Extraordinario Jr defeated Edward Cornell by pinfall RATING: B- Our second video of the evening; Davis and Dragon. We're really playing up the potential quality of the match based on these two's history; the fact both men are three-time ROF champions is what we're counting on to sell the competitive question. Judging by the pop here, it's working. RATING: B Davis Wayne Newton vs. Don Henderson More build for the PPV, and more of a demonstration of the quality to come; Davis and Don put together a great twenty-minute show of technical wrestling. They played with the time limit stip and with respect, neither man really looking for a finisher, neither man looking for a sneak win; this was just sequences of moves, with both wrestlers trying to definitively win in a given exchange, more a twenty-minute technical masterclass than a match. Still, with the time limit causing the ringing of the bell, we'll call it a draw. Truth be told, I'd expected the inconclusive ending to drag this down a little more than the pop suggests it did. Davis Wayne Newton drew with Don Henderson when the time limit elapsed RATING: A* Following that, a quick moment was taken to hype Don/Hugh at Passing the Torch. RATING: B- Buff Martinez vs. Mario Heroic Buff needs positioning strongly for his PPV build, and nothing makes Buff look better than a battle with Mario Heroic. They were given twenty-five minutes and change here and made full use of it, both men giving the contest absolutely everything they've got, and the crowd got behind it as a result, fairly roaring their approval – especially when the El KO signalled the end of the match and, with it, the end of the show. Buff Martinez defeated Mario Heroic by pinfall RATING: A* Another very, very good show all round. We've three shows to the end of the year and this is how I want to end it. OVERALL: B+

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Passing the Torch's prediction card: TV: Team-Up Marvels vs. European Union Cherry Bomb vs. Huntress Makiko Ernest Youngman vs. KC Glenn Extraordinario Jr vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. El Leon vs. Mario Heroic for the ROF TV Championship Edward Cornell vs. Steve Flash British Samurai vs. Buff Martinez PPV: Kristabel Plum vs. Wanda Fish for the Womens' Championship Don Henderson vs. Hugh de Aske Matthew Gauge vs. 'Dread the Day' (guess the identity!) Joey Beauchamp vs. Joss Thompson Davis Wayne Newton vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit Tuesday Week 4 December Euston Road (South UK) 8985 in attendance RATING: 1.30 Our first dark match in our biggest yet venue saw the European Union do battle with the Team-Up Marvels, once again coming up short. There's a lot of work to do before the EU is really TV-ready, which this proves; they do, however, provide a useful gauge against which to measure other competitors. And in any case, this is the dark; Johnny Highspot scores the fall with an excellent frog splash, the high point of a disappointing contest. The Team-Up Marvels defeated the European Union when Johnny Highspot pinned Nigel Svensson RATING: C Our second dark match saw Cherry Bomb lock up with Huntress Makiko, putting together something of equal value only, sadly – I honestly think that part of it is the lack of exposure these girls have, by and large, had in the UK. I hope so, anyway. Cherry scored the win here with a Cherry Bomb, but this was solely good enough. Maybe I need to rely less on the girls' ability to call it in the ring? Optimus has been with 5SSW for longer than he's been with us, he should know a lot of these girls. Cherry Bomb defeated Huntress Makiko by pinfall RATING: C Ernest Youngman vs. KC Glenn Man, these two youngsters just aren't yet comfortable under the camera's eye – but that's not something I can teach them without getting them out under it. They had a quarter of an hour, so I could see what they'd do with it, and this was good, but... perhaps, as yet, neither man has enough in their repertoire to sustain a quarter-hour of one-on-one, which weakened things. They'll learn it yet. KC scores the pinfall again. KC Glenn defeated Ernest Youngman by pinfall RATING: C+ The DREAD THE DAY video ran again. But it's today, and the music intensified. Matthew Gauge, we were promised again, would only be the first to fall. RATING: C Extraordinario Jr vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. El Leon vs. Mario Heroic for the ROF TV Championship Another lovely contest from the TV champ and his opponents; El Leon in particular is developing, but Brandon is learning more technical tricks for handling the faster-moving folk, not just leaning on his strength when he can actually reach them. That didn't help, however, when the Siempre Peleando came toward him, and he fell before the TV Champ this time. Extraordinario Jr defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith, El Leon and Mario Heroic when he pinned Bulldozer Brandon Smith RATING: B A second hype video for the evening, not that they're doing as well as I'd hoped in the larger arena; Don and Hugh. RATING: C+ Edward Cornell vs. Steve Flash ...Ugh. Still bad between these two and this show is going to be our new worst in some time. I just hope the PPV can make up for it... Cornell's contract is out for renegotiation, but he's also with UKW so I hold out little hope. Accordingly, loyal Steve Flash manages to triumph over the younger Cornell. Steve Flash defeated Edward Cornell by pinfall RATING: C+ British Samurai vs. Buff Martinez Well... the main event, as always, pulls things back. A good solid match with Buff's more flamboyant style pitted against our owner's down-to-earth catch wrestling sways the crowd a little before the Fisherman's Suplex gives Sammy the shock win following a very enjoyable twenty-five minutes. A little Christmas present to the boss. British Samurai defeated Buff Martinez by pinfall RATING: B+ The championship battle hype closes out the broadcast, and my God – apparently we CAN get a video pop in Euston Road. RATING: B+ Well... the TV title match, Sammy and Buff saved us, I think. This was actually better than the last Fighting Fit, according to our critics. OVERALL: B

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Passing the Torch Tuesday, Week 4, December Euston Road 8985 in attendance BUYRATE: 0.30 Significant dark match here as Kristabel Plum defends her belt against Wanda. And they're off to a good start, recapturing what they lost when it changed hands. Very enjoyable work as Kristabel retains. Kristabel Plum defeated Wanda Fish by pinfall RATING: B- Double-P returns to shirts duty dressed in a sexy Santa costume. Why? Because Petey Barnes wanted to give long-term tag partner Adam Matravers a Christmas treat and Petey and I are buds. Matravers and Petey were in the front row in attendance, Matravers' girlfriend now has, compliments of ROF, skimpy seasonal attire, and Adam's treating Phoebe to a London hotel stay tonight. Wrestling, the old boys' network. RATING: C As the PPV opened, it opened to a skit lifted from the movie 'White Christmas' recreated by Davis, Joey, and Jaime Quine. The fans got a laugh out of it, though not much more. RATING: C+ Don Henderson vs. Hugh de Aske We start hard and fast tonight; Don and Hugh put together a sweet little doozy of a match here inside twenty-three minutes. While not quite an all-time classic, it's a match no promotion on Earth would be ashamed of and it's won by the longer-standing ROF original. Yes, it's looking like a feelgood Christmas booking spree tonight. Sue me for sentimentality; this is our twenty-fifth pay-per-view and I'm feeling my anniversaries nearly five years into my employment. Don Henderson defeated Hugh de Aske by submission. RATING: A Matthew Gauge comes out next, runs his mouth on the scare tactics espoused by these 'Dread the Day' videos and demands to know who he's facing. The video reruns, this time with the filters folding out partway through to reveal the identity of the silhouetted wrestler... ART REED. He's BACK, gang. RATING: C Art Reed vs. Matthew Gauge Well, this twenty-five minute stretch was not what I'd hoped for. But no debut, no matter how hyped, ever seems to bel I'm sure I can make Art into a legit ROF main eventer. He's already got the UK backing from his UKW run, and they don't come much more legitimate, but the fans hadn't quite gotten into it in time for the Dark Matter ending. Art Reed defeated Matthew Gauge by pinfall RATING: B Another quick video segment; Joey and Joss' 'feud' recapped. RATING: B- Joey Beauchamp vs. Joss Thompson Now this was the kind of Christmas present I'd hoped to give the fans. Simply beautiful stuff with both men displaying new tricks, quite apart from Joss showing Joey that he, too, can hit the 450 splash... which doesn't do it, as the man who once held the Iron Man of ROF reputation kicks out! Our only four-time champion got free of that impact and others, battling back or simply avoiding Thompson's best offence, while Thompson gave as good as he got, ducking the Breeze Block and a return 450 at all times. In the end Joey got it with a shocking Newton's Cradle. Joey Beauchamp defeated Joss Thompson by pinfall RATING: A* Davis Wayne Newton vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship Simply beautiful. If anything, the pops were louder during this match, a match which we kept clear of all the stipulations and all the outlandish spots in an attempt to recapture the lightning in a bottle of thirteen months ago by providing the absolute opposite style of perfect match; pure and simple down-to-earth wrestling. And yet there were spots; it wasn't the early Dragon Drop countered into an STF. It wasn't the first Newton's Cradle attempt countered into a Samoan Drop. It wasn't the fisherman's superplex, even – it was what Dragon did the moment he kicked out of that; the third and final Dragon Drop. That was what ended this wonder of a match. UK Dragon defeated Davis Wayne Newton by pinfall RATING: A* It wasn't the wondershow of last month – November, I'm starting to believe, being possibly our golden month – but it was a great Christmas present to the fans and to ourselves. We were rewarded with a record live attendance and a record buyrate. 15,000 paid to watch at home. Happy Christmas, guys. OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

I should mention it here as well, as The Sun broke the news the following morning; a few months ago I got together with Sherie Guthrie – Cherry Bomb to most of us, including (if I'm entirely honest) to me half the time. It's taken this long for any wrestling fans with eyes in the media to catch up with us on that. And yes, in part her dark win yesterday was a Christmas present.

[Dragonmack]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;405878]I should mention it here as well, as The Sun broke the news the following morning; a few months ago I got together with Sherie Guthrie – Cherry Bomb to most of us, including (if I'm entirely honest) to me half the time. It's taken this long for any wrestling fans with eyes in the media to catch up with us on that. And yes, in part her dark win yesterday was a Christmas present.[/QUOTE] Sweet! Join the club of user characters with girlfriends! I believe both Scap & Wanda in his diary and me and Fern in mine both got the "dating" relationship. :D

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Dragonmack;405884]Sweet! Join the club of user characters with girlfriends! I believe both Scap & Wanda in his diary and me and Fern in mine both got the "dating" relationship. :D[/QUOTE] This I know - I follow both. ;) Was... something of a surprise, I have to say. But since I'd booked her getting the win the previous day, I figured I'd write it this way. Made more sense...

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: European Showcase Sunday Week 4 December Hall Green Cricket Club 2000 in attendance RATING: 2.55 A lovely first dark match; Billy Robinson picks up a quick win over Ernest Youngman. Good stuff, though. For a start, we're not scripting these two anymore. Billy Robinson defeated Ernest Youngman by pinfall RATING: B- The second dark bout was disappointing, but we expected it to be. It was another 'gauging' encounter as El Mitico Jr defeated Remmy Honeyman. Weak, but... well, there's promise. El Mitico Jr defeated Remmy Honeyman by pinfall RATING: C- East and West vs. Dos Phoenix vs. The Disrespected vs. The Stunners for the ROF Tag Titles Well, Phoenix III phoned it in and everyone else looked to be developing well. What else? Good stuff generally, and a shocker ending with Black Eagle beating Keith Adams with the New Jersey Turnpike. Fun way to kick off the last show of the year. The Stunners defeated East and West, Dos Phoenix and The Disrespected when Black Eagle pinned Keith Adams RATING: B- A hype video for the defending champ following Tuesday. BIG pop for the Dragon. RATING: B+ Mario Heroic vs. Johnny Highspot Another of those merely 'good enough' matches. Though if you'd told me five years ago I'd look at a Johnny Highspot match of this level and call it only good enough I'd have laughed. Mario scores the pin here as a thank-you for being a designated job boy for the main event. Mario Heroic defeated Johnny Highspot by pinfall RATING: B- Art Reed vs. Daniel Black Francis At the start of the match, they didn't click. At the end, they didn't click and Daniel was blown up. That being the case, I'll more than take this match and the pop that came with it. Art pinned Daniel following the Dark Matter. RATING: B- Art followed up with a very short promo on the mic. “Gauge down. Francis down. Everyone else with a UKW contract... look out. I'm still pissed, and you will dread the day your name matches mine.” I don't think this one-man-promotion war's going down too well so far. RATING: D+ Extraordinario Jr vs. Nigel Svensson for the ROF TV Championship ...Holy ****. Seriously. I'm sorry for swearing, but as New Year's Eve efforts go this was breathtaking. Nineteen minutes of excellent chemistry and good midcard work, capped off with a title change, actually gave us an MOTYC, believe it or not – I wouldn't have. Nigel Svensson defeated Extraordinario Jr by pinfall RATING: A* Joey cuts a promo about the main event's number one contendership stip and promises a return to gold at the Commonwealth Cup. RATING: C+ Don Henderson vs. Joey Beauchamp OK. My most reliable champ and longtime pillar of excellence Don Henderson were just outdone by Extraordinario and Nigel despite having half an hour. I'm going to chalk that up to the anticipation for tonight's New Year's party. Still, it was good stuff and hard-fought – and to the astonishment of many, it was Don Henderson and the Scottish Deathlock who scored the final ROF win of 2011. Don Henderson defeated Joey Beauchamp by submission RATING: A A very, very fine show with which to close out the year. More to come tomorrow afternoon, when I crawl out of my hangover. OVERALL: B+

[Phantom Stranger]

Well, for one thing our rating tells me a lot of people chose to catch our show before their New Year's party themselves. There's dedication. Awards-wise, it's less of a worry this year. My buddies and I gathered in – Steve, Sammy, myself, and, this year, Sherie – to flick through the pages. [B]Davis [/B]as [B]Wrestler of the Year[/B] surprised none of us; we'd figured him for a lock. Part of my personal goals this year had actually been ensuring a repeat. [B]Matthew Gauge[/B] picking up [B]Young Wrestler of the Year[/B] got us grinning, if anything, more – not that all of us weren't incredibly happy and merry in any case. Pistol Pete Hall deserved his Veteran's award. Fuyuko Higa, Sherie tells me, deserves the first non-Sensational Ogiwara Woman of the Year award since 1834, and NOTBPW securing Promotion of the Year was no surprise. 5SSW, of all places, scooped Most Improved this year, but I hadn't expected that for us, truth be told – considering where we were last year, anyway. We've come far, but not relatively so. [B]Match of the Year[/B] went to a triumph [B]Joey[/B] had over [B]Dragon[/B] on Fighting Fit in June – surprised me, given some of the output in the latter stages of the year, but I'll take it. [B]Show of the Year[/B], unsurprisingly, was our incredible [B]Champion's League[/B] of November. I'm more than a little happy with that one, as Champion's League has now been show of the year two years running. What was shocking was the Top 100. Number one was the man not known as Robert Brown – yes[B], British Samurai[/B] occupied the top spot, presumably getting that total nod via a) the fact Davis' non-ROF work pushed him down the list a way and b) his business savvy as evidenced by ROF being where we are. You only had to scan down to number 7 for [B]Nigel Svensson[/B], the next ROF staffer resting a slot above Sean McFly. [B]Buff Martinez[/B] had the 12 spot, our brief TV champ [B]Burning EXILE[/B] was 21, [B]Hector Montez[/B] clocked in at 35... [B]Matthew Gauge[/B] made the list next at 56, but the next gap was shorter, with [B]El Leon [/B]at 64. [B]Merle O'Curle[/B], no longer with us (like Hector) occupied the 76 spot and [B]Mr. Lucha III[/B] (also recently departed) placed number 80. At that point, however, we finished; but with 5 of the Top 100, Match of the Year, Card of the Year, Wrestler and Young Wrestler of the Year I'd say my fifth year was a rousing success. And the tears in Sammy's eyes when he found out he was number one on the list... my God, I saw a man's life dream realised. If I could bottle that...

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF Roster January 2012 MAIN EVENT Joey Beauchamp Don Henderson Davis Wayne Newton UK Dragon Buff Martinez Joss Thompson Matthew Gauge Art Reed UPPER MIDCARD Hugh de Aske SK Walker Daniel Black Francis Edward Cornell Nichiren Amagawa British Samurai Billy Robinson Mario Heroic MIDCARD Nigel Svensson Jonni Lowlife Johnny Highspot Marc Speed Extraordinario Jr Keith Adams Nate Johnson Bulldozer Brandon Smith Steve Flash Chojiro Kitoaji Dean Daniels Black Eagle El Heroe Mexicano LOWER MIDCARD Capitao Brasil Jr KC Glenn Groucho Bling Ruud van Anger Phoenix III JD Morgan OPENERS Blood Raven Crusher von Steinberg Ernest Youngman El Leon ENHANCEMENT TALENT Phoenix II El Mitico Jr Remmy Honeyman WOMENS DIVISION Raven Nightfall Anna Ki Miss Information Cherry Bomb Nadia Snow Jaime Quine Huntress Makiko Wanda Fish Kristabel Plum MANAGERS Simona Cox Phoebe Plumridge ANNOUNCERS Matthew Morris Danny Jillefski COLOUR COMMENTATOR Terry Roberts (Head Booker) REFEREE Humphrey Woolsey ROAD AGENT Optimus INJURED LIST Ultimate Phoenix (about a week) HOUSE SHOW TALENT: Art Reed Billy Robinson Black Eagle British Samurai Bulldozer Brandon Smith Capitao Brasil Jr Chojiro Kitoaji Crusher von Steinberg Davis Wayne Newton Don Henderson Ernest Youngman Hugh de Aske JD Morgan Joey Beauchamp Johnny Highspot Joss Thompson KC Glenn Keith Adams Marc Speed Mario Heroic Nate Johnson Nichiren Amagawa Nigel Svensson Phoenix III Remmy Honeyman Ruud van Anger SK Walker UK Dragon DEVELOPMENTAL CONTRACTS Bradley Blaze Davey London El Orgulloso Hercules Johanssen Igor Ivanoff Jeff Amazon Luke Cool Pavel Vanzycha Super Apprentice Wade Orson

[Marcel Fromage]

You have Jeff Amazon on a developmental?! Are you seeing something I'm not there?!?!