Ring of Fire: Fighting Every Step of the Way

[Phantom Stranger]

Petey and Sammy indeed don't mesh - oh for a solid main eventer that meshes with everyone who isn't called Merle O'Curle, if only so I can have two. I should probably do a roster lineup with pushes soon - I realise they're a bit out of whack to likely perception. Unfortunately, I've reordered a couple times during August, so I'll have to just do it during the dynasty writeups and let it come when it comes. I can tell you that shortly before the Highspot/Smith rivalry kicked in K'Lee dropped out of the main event, something he's not very happy with. Arthur and Petey between them were the reasons - I'm keeping more of an eye on this sort of thing. My upper midcard, though, is really starting to look excellent.

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 3 July Norman Blue Athletic Centre 140 in attendance This time we ran two dark matches; first, Sharp & Heath demolished Absolutely Flawless, Martin Heath eventually hitting Kelly with a flying fist drop for the win. RATING: E We followed up with a second, short, dark dance; Black Eagle and Amo del Gato squared off, with El Critico in to continue their education. Amo del Gato ate a Critical Mass while Black Eagle's foot was caught in the ropes and it was done inside seven minutes. No build, little time to tell a story, and language issues, and it was still leagues better than the Martins. RATING: D+ [B] Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Johnny Highspot vs. K'Lee Hawkins vs. Stardust Phil Cox in an elimination match for the #1 Contendership[/B] Bulldozer shone like a gem in this battle. Highspot and Hawkins worked as a team in the early going, eventually hitting a slingshot suplex/cross body combo to put Stardust out of contention, at which point they ganged up on Brandon. He fought like a trooper, showing an ability to sell I'd never predicted, but then Highspot got caught in the crossface chickenwing as the lust for gold overwhelmed K'Lee's willingness to be a team player. By the time he tapped, though, Brandon had found his second wind; a running shoulderblock set up for the Backdrop Driver and another successful defence. I think K'Lee's actually picking up some tips; maybe the hunger to get back to the top will help him. RATING: D [B]Arthur T. Turtle vs. Petey Barnes vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] And another match where one man was targeted by the others. Arthur and Petey meshed their high flying talents to keep the submission specialist off balance through most of the match, but pinfalls were always broken up. Merle made a fighting comeback around the ten minute mark and produced a wonderful demonstration of how to ground two men at once; at the end, Arthur ate a Future Shock and Merle slapped the Celtic Wreath on him, but Petey broke it up just before the bell rang. Time limit draw. RATING: C- [B]British Samurai vs. UK Dragon in a two out of three falls match for the ROF Championship[/B] The crowd were fired up after the last match, and these two really made the most of it – and a shorter than usual time meant they went to work early. Dragon made the most of the early game, landing a Dragon Drop within ten minutes, but Sammy kicked out – and walked straight into an enzuigiri before Dragon went to the top rope and put him away with a beautiful hangtime moonsault. One fall down, Sammy stepped up a gear; the two battled all over the ring, shifting from holds to brawling to throws to high flying, with the man in charge shifting constantly, but eventually Sammy got the Secret Samurai Stretch in the centre of the ring and Dragon had no choice but to tap. Shortly afterward, Sammy hit that DDT of his and set up for the Fisherman's Suplex, but Dragon escaped in midair and rolled Sammy up with a handful of tights to settle the match two falls to one. We had a new champion! RATING: C Still not all we could be, but considering half of what I'm trying to do is develop talent, that's not surprising. Arthur's found a main event niche, I think; we'll just have to keep testing for combos. OVERALL: C-

[Phantom Stranger]

“It'll cost us fans.” “Probably, boss. But we're pulling in four times what we used to, and in the long run this'll grab us more fans. We can afford the hit.” “I'm not sure we can.” “Boss?” “We can't break a show even until we're pulling in a crowd bigger than the Norman Blue. Adding more emphasis on the flyers is gonna delay that significantly.” “...When I got here, our champ was a high flyer. That same flyer is champ now – the difference is, now half his competition's airborne! We made Petey, we bought Arthur. And that's why, six months and change on, we've got four times the fanbase in the Midlands. Add in Johnny Highspot's work as the Contender and the undercard momentum... we need to start playing that up. It doesn't have to cost anything; we've got the footage anyway, we can start running more YouTube trailers, get the word out there. It's not like our fanbase isn't ninety per cent IWC in the first place-” “We can't afford the delay, Terry.” That pulled me up short. “We're bleeding money. Not as badly as we were when you came in, and the gate's a large chunk of that – and keeping me one of the constant workers on my flat fee has helped. But we're still bleeding money. We need to get to a point where we aren't.” “And then you'll let me stress the flyers?” “Then we'll talk about it.” “...OK, boss. I still disagree, but it's gotta be your call.” “Yeah. Now, the other stuff – what's going on with this whole Merle thing you keep talking about?” “It won't just be Merle when I'm done. I still feel a long-term storyline can do well. I mean, the whole Johnny-Brandon thing's a test, sure, but it's also setup. In case it works.” “In case what works?” “The thing with Merle and, well, the others – it's gonna involve taking the rules we've been booking by and calling them out, dealing with them. It should put a lot of heat on a chunk of our roster and give us some traction in pulling in 21CW fans. I need to figure out how it ends, too. But the stuff with Johnny's rematch demand, the delay, all that – that's getting the rules stated. Otherwise when Merle shatters them no one will notice.” “OK, I guess. Who else are you planning on?” I told him. His eyes widened. “That's a lot of the roster, Terry.” “Solidarity's gonna be needed to make the angle work, boss.” “What angle?” This time the telling took a while.

[Phantom Stranger]

And next: The Tribe vs. Davis Wayne Newton & Black Eagle Johnny Highspot vs. Walter Morgan Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Billy Robinson (in a booking error - this should've been for the title) Merle O'Curle vs. Petey Barnes vs. British Samurai

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 4 July Norman Blue Athletic Centre 142 in attendance The Tribe battled Davis Wayne Newton and Black Eagle in a dark tag match, Davis in particular shining. In just under ten minutes he locked in the STF on Gob Narfi after a surprisingly solid exchange of holds. RATING: D Johnny Highspot vs. Walter Morgan Once again these two worked really well together for what it was. I need to see about doing something with the pair of these in the long term, preferably something that lets them change up their matches; this is a good early bout, but no more, and both are capable of rising higher. After the frog splash put Walter away Johnny joined us on commentary. RATING: D+ Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Billy Robinson Brandon takes on another former champ and defeats him soundly, eventually landing a Backdrop Driver for the pin. If the pair of them can learn to sell this will be very solid in the future. RATING: D Johnny got the mic then and there and started selling an idea to me; he'd taken out half the contenders. Brandon had seen off the other half. Clearly it was time for Johnny's rematch. I told him I'd take it under consideration. RATING: E Merle O'Curle vs. Petey Barnes vs. British Samurai Dragon's both exhausted and on tour (because that's a good combination), which is good as it results in a stretch where I don't have to worry so much about multiple titles. As such, I'm allowing the main eventers to 'make their cases' for the number one contenders slot. This was a really good 28-minute match, culminating in Petey getting Future Shocks on both other competitors and pinning Sammy clean. RATING: C So another reasonable but not brilliant show. On the other hand, Davis and Eagle are both showing promise; by the time they're out of dark things should start getting very interesting... OVERALL: C- Whoo, yeah! That was the show, according to the local dirtsheets, that cemented our position as wrestling powerhouse in the Midlands region. Time to capitalise, methinks.

[Phantom Stranger]

I'd been waiting to reach the point where I could announce our going Regional. To celebrate, we lined up this card: Amo del Gato vs. Black Eagle vs Tigre Salvaje Jr Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Johnny Highspot for the #1 Contendership Don Henderson vs. Merle O'Curle Arthur T. Turtle vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes

[Marcel Fromage]

Amo del Gato vs. [B]Black Eagle [/B]vs Tigre Salvaje Jr [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith [/B]vs. Johnny Highspot for the #1 Contendership Don Henderson vs. [B]Merle O'Curle[/B] Arthur T. Turtle vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. [B]Petey Barnes[/B]

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 1 August Norman Blue Athletic Centre 188 in attendance The dark match this week pitted Amo del Gato against Black Eagle and Tigre Salvaje Jr. Needed work; they went the time limit but didn't really get the crowd rolling the way I'd hoped. Hopefully our newest signing can help change that. RATING: E+ [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Johnny Highspot for the #1 Contendership[/B] This was much better; in fact, this may have been the best performance by these two while paired up yet. In a two out of three falls match these two let it all hang out; Brandon got the first fall at seven minutes in with an inverted piledriver, only for Johnny to battle back magnificently. Unfortunately toward the end of the thirteenth minute, as Johnny set up for the frog splash, Brandon rallied, crotching Johnny on the top rope and taking the opportunity to hit a backdrop driver. I didn't specify the finish, but for what I have coming this was perfect, and the fans ate it up. RATING: C- [B]Don Henderson vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] This was the long match, because... um... we screwed up on booking. I'll have to explain that somehow; probably put a YouTube piece out explaining that the timekeeper was distracted by the action and so wasn't watching for the time limit. It was Don and Merle's usual brilliance, more so than usual if anything – but it turns out Mitch has problems when these two really go for it, too. Which is gonna be fun, natch. Shockingly, Don picked up the win with a Scottish deathlock at 25 minutes in. RATING: C+ Merle and Don faced each other for a long time after the decision, both appearing stunned, before Merle came over and offered Don his hand, and Don took it. The crowd weren't as happy with this as I'd hoped. RATING: E [B]Arthur T. Turtle vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes[/B] These guys only had twelve minutes to roll it, but roll it they did; I think much of the weakness of the match was the language barrier, but hopefully by next week the other Japanese speakers will also have signed on. Hopefully. Petey got the win with a superkick and pinfall on Yasujiro. RATING: D Not a bad show; if I'd not bungled the order, I think it would've done better. Don and Merle should've capped off the show. OVERALL: C- Stunningly enough, we continue to trounce everyone except UKW in the ratings. I know, I'm shocked.

[Phantom Stranger]

Hey, Marcel - strategy for getting my popularity high enough to get a TV show? And next week: Johnny Highspot vs. Eric Future Hidekazu vs. Davis Wayne Newton Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes Arthur T. Turtle vs. Black Eagle Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson

[Marcel Fromage]

[B]Johnny Highspot [/B]vs. Eric Future Hidekazu vs. [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] Bairei Yasujiro vs. [B]Petey Barnes[/B] [B]Arthur T. Turtle [/B]vs. Black Eagle [B]Merle O'Curle [/B]vs. Don Henderson TV shows...I've kind of not even bothered with them in my game, so don't really have any suggestions. I did look into it once or twice but could never get any negotiations. I know that I was 50% in one area and nearing 30% in the others and still couldn't get negotiations even with the lowest ranked UK and European networks. I haven't bothered trying since. I have to say that economy has been in the toilet throughout my game, never rising above E- and currently at F. Problem with ROF (I find) is always money. I had 80,000 to start with and had got down to my last few thousand when I started turning a profit (when my gates rose to around 500). I then made steady profits for a while, getting my money up to around 400,000. Then I started to move to other areas of the UK to build overness, and since then I've stayed around the 400,000 mark. With 60% overness in the South, I can still only fill a 1,000 arena. If you put these shows on tv, the money will diminish even further. So I've not worried too much about tv. I'll try to get PPV when I hit cult though, as I'll soon be bankrupt if I don't! Talking of money, I still don't know how you're surviving with weekly shows using that many people!! I had 6 people per show, with Samurai on every show, for about the first 6 months. My user character was the sole announcer/commentator. And that still nearly bankrupted me. So I don't know how you're managing it, unless you gave ROF a little extra cash at start-up. I'll be interested to see how you get on looking for a tv show.

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;301074] Talking of money, I still don't know how you're surviving with weekly shows using that many people!! I had 6 people per show, with Samurai on every show, for about the first 6 months. My user character was the sole announcer/commentator. And that still nearly bankrupted me. So I don't know how you're managing it, unless you gave ROF a little extra cash at start-up. I'll be interested to see how you get on looking for a tv show.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure I rounded it to 100K when I went in, but I'd imagine that doesn't really explain the difference. It may just be that I'm receiving more sponsorship, or went to higher ticket prices earlier, or something, and am thus taking less of a loss than it looks (also, my luchadors work for sod all, they really do. So far, anyway.)

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 2 August Norman Blue Athletic Centre 208 in attendance For the first time audience broke 200; we're almost filling Norman Blue. Their first exposure of the night wasn't great, though; Johnny Highspot trashed Eric Future in the dark in just under ten minutes, putting him away with a frog splash. Not much chemistry here; fortunately Johnny and Petey Barnes are both moving beyond tag teaming (will have to do something about the tag belts, therefore, and soonish). RATING: D- [B]Hidekazu vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/B] Davis is starting to get more exposure now, and spent much of the match working hold exchanges and high flying standoffs with our new signing. Both seem to be learning off the other, but Hidekazu won through with a victory roll in 9:46. RATING: C- We ran a quick video recap of Don and Merle's match of last week; while it was playing I informed the audience in the arena and online that they'd decided to settle their rivalry with a Best of Seven series, kicking off tonight. RATING: E [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Petey Barnes[/B] Yasujiro is a truly fantastic high flyer, and while the prima donna beat him (sunset flip at 13:38) he's basically here to teach my flyers more of the craft until he can become a contender himself. That said, these two have really solid chemistry. If I can teach Yasujiro to improve his technical skills, a main event between these two down the line could blow the roof off. RATING: D+ [B]Arthur T. Turtle vs. Black Eagle[/B] I went to four main card matches tonight to help Don's stamina. Black Eagle thus saw the highest position he'll see on the card for a while and spent his five minutes of fame being handily overmatched by the main eventer. Still, he showed promise and even scored a long two count off a springboard DDT, laying the seeds for well into the future. RATING: D- [B]Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson[/B] Bout One in the best of seven series kicked off really well. This time around Mitch was prepped and kept up with the action as two fantastic technicians tore it up. By the end the crowd were going berserk as Don hooked Merle into an abdominal stretch with nineteen minutes on the clock, but after spending about twenty seconds Merle twisted it into a Celtic Wreath and Don tapped at 19:56. When you can run a full minute of two submission holds and not lose the crowd you know you're in the presence of greatness. RATING: B- Very definitely worth it; Merle and Don in particular stole the show, and we walked away with our best reviews of the past couple months. RATING: C This time around we put on as good as show as UKW, too. I have to believe this program will work. On the other hand, half the networks won't take us on because we're not popular enough yet and a lot of the rest say we just don't fit their style. Which is always fun, y'know. In the trippiest news of the week, the Net's running stories about me claiming I'm going to get back into in-ring competition. Now don't get me wrong, in ROF – though pretty much nowhere else – I could probably get a solid midcard career rolling on my technical ability. But I have a lot more to offer ROF as a colour commentator, and going all sports-entertainment and assaulting me isn't on my priority list yet.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: The Tribe vs. Amo del Gato & Black Eagle Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Hidekazu for the #1 Contendership Bairei Yasujiro vs. Arthur T. Turtle British Samurai vs. Walter Morgan Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson

[Marcel Fromage]

The Tribe vs. [B]Amo del Gato & Black Eagle[/B] [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith [/B]vs. Hidekazu for the #1 Contendership Bairei Yasujiro vs. [B]Arthur T. Turtle[/B] [B]British Samurai [/B]vs. Walter Morgan [B]Merle O'Curle [/B]vs. Don Henderson

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 3 August Norman Blue Athletic Centre 185 in attendance I'm really hoping the industry pulls back up soon. Attendance is yo-yoing around by twenty people. Hopefully it'll not only stabilise but rise again soon. The dark match this week pitted the Tribe against the two lowest men on the totem pole; Amo del Gato and the Black Eagle. Eagle got the win in ten minutes with a New Jersey Turnpike, and we managed to not bicker about the American finisher name on commentary. Well, not for more than fifteen seconds. It... was solid. Except Rhys Vali, ever the weak link. Everyone who knows him tells me after each match he's off his game, leading me to wonder whether he has one. RATING: D- [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Hidekazu for the #1 Contendership[/B] Man, what a difference. We brought purest puroresu to the Norman Blue Athletic Centre and the crowd loved all fifteen minutes of it – you can't decide puro bouts in so short a time, really. You'd never have known these two had never wrestled before and the only thing that capped them was the time limit. It's a crying shame this went out online, not on TV. RATING: C- [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. Arthur T. Turtle[/B] It was too much to hope Yasujiro would mesh as well with Arthur as with Petey, I suppose. And that did kinda make things awkward as Arthur rolled through to the ten-minute win; Brandon and Hidekazu should've followed this rather than lead into it. RATING: D- [B]British Samurai vs. Walter Morgan[/B] This made up for it, though. Again, these two didn't have long, but a really solid bout made both men look like champions before Sammy ended it with the Fisherman's Suplex for the pin in just under nine minutes. RATING: C- [B]Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson[/B] Bout Two, now. And with only eighteen minutes to run, Don looked less tired than he had, and repeated shots at the Scottish Deathlock drove the crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately Merle countered all of them and finally hot shotted him off the ropes and caught him into the Celtic Wreath on the rebound. RATING: B- Another really solid show overall. I'm going to be sorry when the Best of Seven series finally ends, I think, though it'll let me shift back to the three match format I'd gotten used to. We're definitely building our fanbase higher, though. Hopefully that'll take us through the industry slump and the economic issues... OVERALL: C

[Phantom Stranger]

It's probably worth noting that now is when I had what will likely be a really stupid idea if I don't talk myself out of doing it. Anyway. This was also the week I really sat down and took stock of how Ring of Fire's roster was stacking up: Main Eventers: Petey Barnes UK Dragon British Samurai Merle O'Curle Arthur T. Turtle K'Lee Hawkins Upper Midcarders: Don Henderson Walter Morgan Bulldozer Brandon Smith Bairei Yasujiro Johnny Highspot Billy Robinson Midcarders: Jonni Lowlife Kelly Martin Martin Heath Lance Martin Jon Michael Sharp Eric Future Hidekazu El Critico Lower Midcarders: Stardust Phil Cox Velocidad Gob Narfi Rhys Vali Openers: Amo del Gato Tigre Salvaje Jr Davis Wayne Newton Enhancement Talent: Black Eagle Congrats are also due to Merle O'Curle who bested Joss Thompson to claim UKW's premier title at their PPV 'Rulers of the Ring' this week.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next up: Stardust Phil Cox vs. El Critico Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Johnny Highspot vs. Jonni Lowlife in an Elimination Match for the #1 Contendership Arthur T. Turtle vs. K'Lee Hawkins vs. Petey Barnes British Samurai vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship Don Henderson vs. Merle O'Curle

[Phantom Stranger]

I'm ahead by about a month, by the way. The show after the one I just previewed was... ...disastrous. I decided to job everyone who's leaving and bolster the card with a lot more matches; while this made it still a crowd-pleaser, financially it was horrific. I'm not sure, as I've said before, how I'm still solvent, but I've still got a bit before I go under. I think. Hopefully I'll get attendance up enough in time.

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 4 August Norman Blue Athletic Centre 194 in attendance As of today, Stardust has 31 days remaining on his contract. He meets longterm rival El Critico on the ring, and turned in the kind of awkward performance that reminds me why I don't intend to re-sign him. With 9:31 on the clock the Critical Mass ends things. RATING: D- [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Bairei Yasujiro vs. Johnny Highspot vs. Jonni Lowlife in an Elimination Match for the #1 Contendership[/B] Not too bad; the tag champs picked their targets evidently by prior agreement. Jonni went to assault Brandon, brawling with him rather than trying to get the advantage – evidently setting him up for Johnny – while Johnny went spot for spot with Yasujiro. Brandon held his own against Jonni who, by the end, was displaying a love of puro tapes I hadn't expected from the lad as he matched up comfortably with Brandon until Yasujiro hit a Sadaharu Jimbo trademark, the strong enzuigiri, in an opportunist mode and scored the pin. Brandon clotheslined Yasujiro to the floor before bieling Johnny toward a turnbuckle; showing phenomenal agility, Johnny landed on the ropes and bounced off, hitting the frog splash on Yasujiro to pin him. And then, as the saying goes, there were two, and in typical fashion they tore it up; a little repair work to do after the two men who'd distinguished themselves thus far had been eliminated, but that's the test of a fourteen-minute four-way match; the story gets compressed. Eventually the Backdrop Driver was waiting, though, and Brandon retained. RATING: D+ [B] Arthur T. Turtle vs. K'Lee Hawkins vs. Petey Barnes[/B] Arrrrrrgh. Horrible! Absolutely bloody horrible. Petey has a terrific upside, but that goddamn attitude's a killer. He didn't even take the loss; Arthur ate the crossface chickenwing at 7:35. RATING: E+ [B]British Samurai vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship[/B] Leave it to the boss to show professionalism, though. A textbook little match saw him eat the Dragon Drop and the clean pin at 11:08, and they did beautifully. As a result, Sammy shines too. RATING: C [B] Don Henderson vs. Merle O'Curle[/B] And this shows it, too. Merle's having to lose to a non-main-eventer, and while he's objected (not unreasonably) he still went out there and put on an absolutely fantastic show, leaving Don looking like a god when he got the win. Merle, consequently, at least demigodly. Even the announcing didn't bring this down; can it bring us up? RATING: B- ...Hell, yes it can. One of our best. Ever. That's down to Sammy and Dragon, Don and Merle, and arguably the boys fighting over the Contendership. (Which I've been meaning to get round to renaming for months.) OVERALL: C+ Lotta contract negotiations kicked off this week. Martin Heath refused to re-sign. Stardust and Absolutely Flawless weren't given the option.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next: Davis Wayne Newton vs. El Bandito vs. Martin Heath in an elimination match Hidekazu & Velocidad vs. Absolutely Flawless Black Eagle vs. Stardust Phil Cox British Samurai vs. Fumihiro Ota Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Billy Robinson vs. Walter Morgan for the #1 Contendership Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson Bairei Yasujiro vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 1 September Norman Blue Athletic Centre 184 in attendance Two dark matches: Davis Wayne Newton and El Bandito, a new signing, duelled with Martin Heath in an elimination match. No surprise that Martin ate mat, right? Really good match, though; and Martin was allowed to outlast Bandito. RATING: C- Following that, still in the dark, Hidekazu and Velocidad dismantled Absolutely Flawless. This wasn't as good, but I didn't expect it to be; one side is close to useless. The Velocidad Tornado cut off Kelly's sudden discovery of how to throw punches in under five minutes. RATING: D- [B]Black Eagle vs. Stardust Phil Cox[/B] And into the open, the Job Series continues. Eagle needs the exposure more than the other winners right now, but Phil was off his game. Again. In just under seven minutes the New Jersey Turnpike brought a merciful end to a lacklustre affair. RATING: D- [B]British Samurai vs. Fumihiro Ota[/B] A new signing debuting, and he's one who's been positioned well to reign – thanks in part to a position in UKW. He took Sammy down with a Ninja Strike after a battle that was refreshingly good. RATING: C- [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. Billy Robinson vs. Walter Morgan for the #1 Contendership[/B] I have too many workers active this week, but I knew that the Job Avalanche was gonna hurt us. I'll still regret it when I look at the bank statement, though. Brandon got the nod over Billy, eventually, hitting an inverted piledriver after dropkicking Walter over the top rope – which surprised me; Brandon going airborne? Looked good, though. RATING: D+ [B]Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson[/B] This was nice. Mitch couldn't keep up, but he did a better job than Justin used to, and the two of 'em worked it well. Don got a win in just under eight minutes with the Scottish Deathlock, and the crowd went berserk. RATING: B- [B]Bairei Yasujiro vs. UK Dragon for the ROF Championship[/B] Neither man was too keen to sell, and it hurt. But this was still a wonderful demonstration of a super junior match. Dragon ended it in 12:35 with a Dragon Drop. RATING: C- Yeah, not so good. Gonna have to concentrate on fewer job-outs but use the guys who make it look better, I think. Solid show overall, though, and we're still on our way up. OVERALL: C ...Holy shazbot. We had a better week than UKW! Been a while since that happened... In other news, TCW has collapsed abruptly in much the same way SWF did. I have feelers out. Brandon's working for CZCW now, too.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: El Bandito vs. Black Eagle Fumihiro Ota vs. Petey Barnes Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. UK Dragon Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson

[Marcel Fromage]

El Bandito vs. [B]Black Eagle[/B] [B]Fumihiro Ota [/B]vs. Petey Barnes Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. [B]UK Dragon[/B] [B]Merle O'Curle [/B]vs. Don Henderson If Ota is beating Samurai already, I can see him beating Barnes too. O'Curle needs a win now in the best of 7 series (still haven't managed to put one of those in my own diary 2 and a half years in!). Dragon to beat Smith, but I don't think the belt will change hands. Black Eagle is further up the pecking order than El Bandito.

[Phantom Stranger]

Friday Week 2 September Norman Blue Athletic Centre 176 in attendance Damn economic slumps. Still, we're still doing far better than we were when I started working here. El Bandito and Black Eagle worked our dark bout; it was pretty solid, though not brilliant, and they may've felt fourteen minutes of match time was too much for the Bandito; he hasn't got a following here yet. In the end Black Eagle got the New Jersey Turnpike for the win. RATING: D+ [B]Fumihiro Ota vs. Petey Barnes[/B] I'm not sure what it was about this match, but it wasn't all it could've been. Still, not too bad, and their time limit draw worked out OK. I don't have to worry about either side's downside this month, either. Not now. (Damn downsides.) RATING: D We ran the bulk of last week's Merle/Don match as a highlight video. It didn't go down nearly as well as usual; I think our audience must've all been there for it. RATING: E [B]Bulldozer Brandon Smith vs. UK Dragon[/B] Time for a champion's match, I felt. And I'm glad I did; these guys clicked well. If either of 'em could sell worth a damn this would have a shot at being one of my favourite matches. Needless to say, Dragon picked up the win after a fierce struggle with a Dragon Drop at 11:53 RATING: C [B]Merle O'Curle vs. Don Henderson[/B] And the main event, bout number four in the Merle vs. Don series... and oh, hell, yeah. This went 21:05 and the tired Don still managed to believably cinch in the Scottish Deathlock at the end, capping what is without a doubt our best received match to date – and our best. This was fantastic. RATING: B Yeah, Bandito was on too long for the audience's taste. Beyond that, they loved us. Another great week, and hopefully more great gains. If we had TV time we'd be roaring ahead now. OVERALL: C+ Beat UKW again. I could get used to this – assuming we can do it.

[Phantom Stranger]

Next week: Tigre Salvaje Jr vs. Stardust Hidekazu vs. Walter Morgan Don Henderson vs. Merle O'Curle UK Dragon vs. Petey Barnes in a 30 minute iron man match for the ROF Championship I can wholeheartedly recommend a best of seven series, by the way. Storyline heat hit B- after the first two stages and stayed there the whole way.