MAW: 10 Simple Rules...

[Hyde Hill]

Chris Caulfield vs. [B]Joss Thompson[/B] “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero vs. [B]Ruin[/B] El Heroe Mexicano vs. [B]Trent Shaffer[/B] [B]Joanne Rodriguez (c)[/B] vs. Alicia Strong vs. Nadia Snow – MAW Women’s title [B]Kid Arachnid[/B] vs. Joe Sexy vs. Davis Wayne Newton [B]Tim Westybrook (c) [/B]vs. Jean Cattley – MAW World title

[Tigerkinney]

Chris Caulfield vs. [B]Joss Thompson[/B] [I]The Internationals seem to be getting a pretty strong push and Caulfield may well be phasing into that part of his career, where he is there to put the up and comers over.[/I] “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title [I]Sorry Mr Smith but you won't be the one to end Swoop's reign with the Traditional Title because Swoop says so. [/I] Gino Montero vs.[B] Ruin[/B] [I]Montero will put a stronger fight than Fire Fly but I think you stilll want to keep the monsterous former world champion looking strong.[/I] El Heroe Mexicano vs.[B] Trent Shaffer[/B] [I]Mexicano is like the guy who puts in alot of impressive performances but doesn't necessarily picks up the victories, I expect him to look impressive in losing again here to the Elite member.[/I] [B]Joanne Rodriguez (c)[/B] vs. Alicia Strong vs. Nadia Snow – MAW Women’s title [I]So Snow's been elevated back up to the title picture, well I guess it does freshen things up a little but she'll be the one eating the pin here.[/I] Kid Arachnid vs. Joe Sexy vs. [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] [I]Arachnid and Sexy cancel each other out, leaving DWN to steal in and sneak the victory on one of them.[/I] Tim Westybrook (c) vs. [B]Jean Cattley[/B] – MAW World title [I]The build up of Westybrook towards winning the belt, was I have to say more interesting than his title reign so far. MAW has always seemed to revolve around the babyfaces trying to topple the dominant heels and I see Cattley winning the World Title back here to leave Elite in a dominant position[/I].

[Timber]

MAW Old School Rules Chris Caulfield vs. Joss Thompson “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Swoop McCarthy (c) – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero vs. Ruin El Heroe Mexicano vs. Trent Shaffer Joanne Rodriguez (c) vs. Alicia Strong vs. Nadia Snow – MAW Women’s title Kid Arachnid vs. Joe Sexy vs. Davis Wayne Newton Tim Westybrook (c) vs. Jean Cattley – MAW World title Caulfield over Thompson Swoop over Smith Ruin over Gino El heroe over Trent J-Ro over Strong and Snow. Pins Snow Kid over SExy and DWN. (I'd take DWN as it'd be a great win for him, but i think the kid is on a roll.) Tim Westybrook over Jean Cattley. (i'm a mark for Jean but Tim's time is here.)

[Candyman]

[B]MAW Old School Rules[/B] [B]Chris Caulfield[/B] vs. Joss Thompson “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero vs. [B]Ruin[/B] El Heroe Mexicano vs. [B]Trent Shaffer[/B] [B]Joanne Rodriguez (c)[/B] vs. Alicia Strong vs. Nadia Snow – MAW Women’s title [B]Kid Arachnid[/B] vs. Joe Sexy vs. Davis Wayne Newton Tim Westybrook (c) vs. [B]Jean Cattley[/B] – MAW World title

[James Casey]

[B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Old School Rules Saturday, 20th May 2014[/CENTER] Joanne Rodriguez (c) vs. Alicia Strong vs. Nadia Snow[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Women’s title[/COLOR] The sensible thing for Nadia Snow to do, Rip opined, would be to let Strong and J-Ro get into it with one another – that way, she had a chance of picking up the pieces. He almost groaned in frustration, then, as Snow went after Strong from the bell, allowing J-Ro to sit out the early exchanges. On commentary, I noted that Snow was clearly still smarting from being talked down to by Strong – and that only went to show that behind the glitz and glamour, Snow was still a ferocious competitor. Rodriguez got involved whenever it seemed like a decision might be made, but for the first several minutes she was able to relax. However, it became clear that this didn’t sit well with her, and soon she was throwing herself into the action as well. The audience roared their support as she nailed Strong with a J-Rocker, but this time it was Snow who cut things off, and she surprised Rodriguez with a nifty hurricanrana that sent the champ into the corner, before following in with a low dropkick that snapped Rodriguez’ head back. Snow had the clear advantage, and she looked from one downed opponent to the other, almost surprised at her fortune. On commentary, Jerome Turner noted shrewdly that Snow was a fighter of instinct – that she had never developed a distinctive style or trademark move of her own, instead adapting to her opponents’ tactics. Now she had the match in the bag, but could she finish it? No. Alicia Strong made the recovery and nearly snapped Snow in two with a thunderous back suplex before putting the boots to the glamorous former champion. She hauled Snow up and wrapped her up like an octopus, and Rip did groan this time before proclaiming [COLOR="Purple"]“The Stronghold! Watch as Strong lifts Snow up-“[/COLOR] That she did. With Snow’s arms trapped, Strong strained to lift the smaller woman into the air. [COLOR="Purple"]“This is nearly impossible to escape. It does something to your back, and you start to lose all feeling in your body. Snow might as well give up now,”[/COLOR] Chord proclaimed. But Strong had forgotten about the champion. Rodriguez chop-blocked Strong’s leg out from under her, and let the two women fall over her back to land on the mat. The impact stunned both, with Snow landing on top of Strong, and as quick as a flash Rodriguez had rolled both women up, with the referee there to count the three. Rodriguez took her belt and made her way back up the ramp as Alicia Strong cried foul in the ring, but the champion had retained cleanly. [COLOR="Blue"]“Rodriguez defeats [I]both[/I] her challengers. What now for the Women’s champion?”[/COLOR] Winner: Joanne Rodriguez (C+) * Backstage, and Swoop McCarthy approached Brandon Smith. [COLOR="Teal"]“Where do you get off, mate?”[/COLOR] Swoop demanded. [COLOR="Teal"]“You come out of nowhere, you’ve spent the last God only knows how long in a nothing team with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. All of a sudden you think that you deserve to step into the ring with Swoop McCarthy?”[/COLOR] Smith stood up from his seat, and went nose-to-nose with Swoop. [COLOR="Blue"]“Yes, Ah do. Ah’ve been in this company almost since Ah debuted. Ah’ve fought everyone and never asked for anything in return. Ah’m a former Tag Team champion and Ah’ve stood against the worst in the business. Ah’ve never done anything to upset the applecart here – but you were coming up to this show without a challenger, so Ah talked to my partner and agreed that Ah should take this opportunity. Ah’m thirty-one years old, just hittin’ mah athletic peak. Swoop, you’re good – Ah ain’t gonna deny that. But tonight Ah’m out to remind people that the Bulldozer is good enough to compete at the top of this company.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Teal"]“Oh really? Bulldozer, you just showed everyone here your problems, right off the bat. You ‘don’t upset the applecart’. You ‘asked your partner for permission’ to come after me. You’re ‘hitting your peak’ at thirty-one. Guess what, Brandon? You don’t have the X factor to be a star. You don’t have what it takes to compete against the best. You’ve been in this company for, what, seven years and all you have to show for it is a single Tag reign. Good grief, even Priscilla’s held that belt twice.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Teal"]“But don’t get Swoop wrong. You’re a valuable member of the roster. After all, as a clear example of wasted potential, as a perfect display of how someone with all the potential in the world can end up on the scrapheap... Well, you’re hard to beat.”[/COLOR] Smith scowled. [COLOR="Blue"]“Something for you to consider, Swoop,”[/COLOR] he growled. [COLOR="Blue"]“Maybe Ah am late to the party. Maybe Ah’ve spent too much helpin’ out Phoenix and Kirk Jameson and everyone else. Maybe Ah [I]have[/I] been hoarding my potential all this time... But maybe that means that tonight Ah’m gonna realise it all in one big moment. And maybe Swoop’s gonna take a big fall tonight.”[/COLOR] The two men scowled at one another, before Swoop span on his heel and stalked away. * [B]“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Traditional title[/COLOR] ‘Dozer and Swoop had managed to get the crowd interested in what had been something of a late addition to the show. This was blood and thunder big man wrestling, lacking the finesse of the opening contest but making up for it terms of sheer impact and power, and the fans were a lot more into it than I might have hoped. The two men in the ring are both strong and fast, with Swoop possessing an impressive agility that he showed when he kipped up after evading a ‘dozer clothesline, before turning in place and catching the charging Smith with a clothesline of his own. The two thundered back and forth for a time before Swoop caught Smith with a Swoop Stunner for the win. Winner: Swoop McCarthy (C) * Joss Thompson stood in the middle of the ring. [COLOR="Blue"]“Chris Caulfield is a hack. Overweight, short on talent... He’s made a career out of being smashed in the head with chairs and honestly, it’s clear that’s left him with a screw loose. I can understand Chris going to PSW, maybe, or even USPW. But this company is all about technical excellence. It’s not a place for Cro-Magnon man. Chris, bring your tired carcass down to the ring and do the decent thing: Give up now, and save yourself another night waiting in the Emergency Room to have your scars stitched back together.”[/COLOR] Chris Caulfield made his entrance – but the fire in his eyes made clear that he was in no mood to surrender, and on commentary Jerome Turner suggested that Thompson had just made Caulfield angry. [COLOR="Blue"]“And you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry...”[/COLOR] * [B]Chris Caulfield vs. Joss Thompson[/B] At first, Caulfield bossed this match through a combination of gutsiness and experience. Thompson took a fairly hefty beating, but snuck in some cheap shots of his own to slow the former DaVE star down. Jerome Turner noted Thompson’s clever ring positioning, waiting until he was obscured by Caulfield’s body before striking low, or going for the eyes. However, Caulfield gained his fame by being implacable – no matter how hard you hit him, now matter how badly you hurt him, if he can still walk, he’s still coming for you. Even when the momentum of the match swung Thompson’s way after a well-placed boot between Caulfield’s legs, it seemed there was no stopping Caulfield as he continued to swing wildly at his opponent, keeping the well-travelled Thompson at bay. And then Haley Buck, who had been watching from ringside in unusual silence, let out an almighty shriek and collapsed. The distraction caught the attention of both the referee and Chris Caulfield, his instincts overriding twenty years of experience as he rushed to help the damsel in distress. It wasn’t even Thompson who made him pay for his mistake: It was Ruin. The big man boiled out of the crowd and into the ring, snatching Caulfield up and planting him with an almighty overhead back suplex before dropping him with a snap DDT that had Rip whistling in admiration. Ruin then lifted Caulfield up into the air with one hand – a stunning display of strength – before smashing him into the mat with a chokeslam. Thompson covered as Ruin slid out of the ring, but both men could have taken their time, as Buck’s routine still took several more seconds to play out before she’d let the referee back into the ring, her ‘recovery’ quite complete. Regardless, Caulfield was still out and Thompson picked up a massively tainted win. Winner: Joss Thompson (C+) * With Caulfield still out, Ruin stalked his prone body. He wrapped Caulfield up in a camel clutch as Thompson egged him on, before Thompson bounced off the ropes and landed a dropkick to Caulfield’s unprotected face. Thompson then grabbed Caulfield’s legs and wrapped them up in a cloverleaf as the referee tried to pry them off the unconscious hardcore icon. The crowd erupted as a new figure sprinted down the aisle and slid into the ring, but it was Davis Wayne Newton who rose to his feet and gestured for Ruin to release his hold. The big man did so, and was immediately replaced by Newton as the two young Internationals applied torque to the helpless Caulfield. Ruin slowly walked backwards, eyeing Caulfield’s head, before charging forward and punting the side of Caulfield’s skull with the full force of his boot. Newton and Thompson released their holds, and Caulfield dropped limply to the mat, broken and beaten. Ruin, Newton and Thompson stood over his body, the latter two with their arms in the air as though some great victory had been achieved. They watched in some amusement as Gino Montero charged down the aisle, chair in hand, and leisurely abandoned the ring as he slid in, brandishing the chair. [COLOR="Blue"]“I tell you that’s enough!”[/COLOR] he yelled as the three men made their way up the aisle. [COLOR="Blue"]“You three and your buddy Deeley need to learn some respect. Ruin, gringo, tonight I’m gonna start by teaching you. But I think all of you need to learn your lessons again. Maybe Chris can’t teach you, but in the name of the blessed Santa Maria I promise you that I’ll show you you’re not the best in the world – except maybe in your own deluded fantasies!”[/COLOR] * Backstage and Thompson and Newton were in high spirits. Newton turned to the camera. [COLOR="Blue"]“That’s how we Internationals roll. Big impacts, all the time. Chris Caulfield is history, unless I miss my guess. The rest of MAW can stand on notice – we’ve got each others’ backs, and we’re headed to the top. We’ve made our statement with Caulfield. There’s no need for us to have to make it with anyone else.”[/COLOR] Kid Arachnid stalked into shot and went nose to nose with Newton. [COLOR="SlateGray"]“You want to make a statement? Go on Youtube. You don’t beat up people when they can’t defend themselves.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Best time,” [/COLOR]Newton sneered. [COLOR="SlateGray"]“Here I thought that Elite were the only people I needed to concern myself with,”[/COLOR] Arachnid snarled. [COLOR="SlateGray"]“You just jumped up the list.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Oh, should I be worried? Arachnid, you’ve talked a lot since getting here, but you’ve done nothing.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="SlateGray"]“Tonight I’m gonna do something pretty damn big.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Hey!”[/COLOR] The camera pulled back to reveal Joe Sexy standing in the doorway of the Internationals’ locker room. [COLOR="Blue"]“Save it for the ring. Actually, go ahead and beat the ---- out of each other right here, right now. It makes no difference to me – I get paid regardless.”[/COLOR] * [B]Kid Arachnid vs. Joe Sexy vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/B] No-one trusted anyone in this match, which made for an intriguing dynamic as the usual two-on-one scenarios were almost completely absent. Only at one point did Newton help Arachnid suplex Joe Sexy outside the ring, but otherwise it was every man for himself. The battle raged in the ring, and around the ringside area as the opposing members of The Firm, Elite and the Internationals tore into one another, with the fans unreservedly cheering on Kid Arachnid. Sexy showed his ability and experience by outbrawling the two younger workers, doing just enough to keep them off balance so that he couldn’t be overwhelmed as it was clear that neither man was willing to trust him enough to form an alliance. However, in the end the numbers game overwhelmed him and he was forced to bail out of the ring, which left Arachnid and Newton to face one another. Sexy stayed on the outside, hand on hips, watching as the two men battered away at one another, before slyly snagging the top rope as Arachnid was whipped towards it, sending the masked man over in a spectacular tumble to the mats below. Sexy then slid into the ring and went on the offensive against Newton, trying to beat the younger man to the ground. Newton showed impressive resilience, though, as he took everything Sexy had to throw at him and was still standing, before whipping him into the far corner of the ring and following in with a leaping splash. As Sexy staggered out of the corner, Newton nailed a dropkick to the back of his head that sent him crashing forwards and into Arachnid as he climbed painfully back into the ring. As quick as could be, Newton pounced, snaring Arachnid in a Fisherman’s Suplex to score the three count before Sexy could recover, and giving the Internationals a further big momentum boost for the night. Winner: Davis Wayne Newton (B-) * A short video played featuring Ruin at his most devastating: Clips included his vicious matches with Jean Cattley and Tim Westybrook, and even his most recent assault on Chris Caulfield, including the punt to the skull. Soberly Jerome added that Caulfield had been taken to the local hospital. He had been diagnosed with a major concussion and was unlikely to feature for MAW any time in the foreseeable future. * [B]Gino Montero vs. Ruin[/B] Just... Wow. In terms of a big/little, David/Goliath scenario, this was one of the absolute best matches MAW have ever put on. Ruin was dominant from the beginning, but he just couldn’t quite find the clubbing blow to put down the resilient, quicksilver Montero. The young Firm member struck fast and, it was clear, hard – although Ruin barely seemed fazed. Montero did manage to take him off his feet with an awesome dropsault, and for a short spell every attempt by Ruin to regain his footing saw Montero nail him with elbowdrops, kneedrops, legdrops, dropkicks and even a middle rope moonsault. This last spelled disaster for Montero as Ruin held onto him, sat up, climbed to his feet – ignoring Montero’s blows – and smashed him into the mat with a chokeslam. To Montero’s unending credit, he was still moving as Ruin hauled him upright, but he could offer no significant resistance to a Descent Into Hell, which ended the match and gave the Internationals a clean sweep for the night. Winner: Ruin (B) * Before the next match, Heroe and Shaffer were both in the ring. Heroe took up a microphone. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“Shaffer, last month you beat Kid Arachnid – The Firm’s leader! You beat one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and you did it clean. Trent, [I]esse[/I], what are you doing hanging around with those [I]loco[/I] Elite losers?”[/COLOR] Trent shrugged. [COLOR="Blue"]“Dude, it is how it is.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“And you think that’s enough?”[/COLOR] Shaffer shrugged again. [COLOR="Blue"]“Sure.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“Shaffer, you got mad skills, [I]esse[/I]. You can be champion, maybe. Not just hanging around, waitin’ on the rest of those... ‘mooks’ to get their chance.”[/COLOR] Shaffer shrugged once more. [COLOR="Blue"]“Whatever, Heroe. One way is much the same as another, y’know? It’s like, I gotta fight someone. Elite, Firm, Internationals. It’s all sorta the same thing.” [/COLOR] Heroe frowned. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“Trent, you have to know what your running buddies are like, man. Be honest, is that who you want to associate with?”[/COLOR] Shaffer shrugged yet again. [COLOR="Blue"]“It is how it is. It’s, y’know, business.”[/COLOR] He shrugged one shoulder. Heroe shook his head. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“Trent, amigo, I got no real problem with you. I asked for this match because I want to see if I can beat you. But you’re not making this easy.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Sorry, man. But you gotta do what you gotta do. If you think this is your way, then you gotta follow it, y’know?”[/COLOR] The two men stared at each other, at an impasse. Eventually, the referee called for the bell, and the match began. * [B]El Heroe Mexicano vs. Trent Shaffer[/B] This was a contest of equals, with the two men being supremely talented all-rounders. The contest between the two was fought evenly, with Shaffer refraining from taking short cuts or cheap shots. It was a fierce battle, with neither man willing to surrender to the other, and it was clear that for all their talent, speed, strength and technique, it was their willpower driving them onwards as they fought for their individual causes – Heroe to save MAW, Shaffer to bury it. The action seesawed back and forth, and it seemed that the two could have fought the night out with no winner, so well-matched were they. However, Shaffer was able to land a blow to Heroe’s throat – whether on purpose or by accident wasn’t clear – and immediately nailed the masked man with a Heart Burn for the narrow victory. After the bell, Shaffer helped Heroe to his feet, before seemingly remembering himself and stalking back up the aisle as Heroe looked on in bemusement. Winner: Trent Shaffer (B-) * Jean Cattley stood in the ring, a sour sneer on his face. [COLOR="Navy"]“Thirty minutes and this whole charade will be over. Tim Westybrook in intimidating to look at, but he’s never beaten me, and the means he’s not the wrestle her pretends to be. Westybrook has come up with some wonderful mind games – he convinces people that they’re beaten before they even get in the ring, and even when they put on a good showing like Phil or Sean or Joe, they always expect him to do something to take the match.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“Not me. I know how to beat Westybrook, especially tonight. I’ve been studying the tapes, I’ve been watching his closely, and I know that I am about to become the next World champion.”[/COLOR] Westybrook’s music played and the World champ followed Katie Cameron out onto the stage. [COLOR="Magenta"]“My client-“[/COLOR] Katie began, before Westybrook closed one hand over the microphone and took it from her. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“There’s been a lot of speculation recently about my working relationship with Jean Cattley,”[/COLOR] Westybrook began, his first ever speech in MAW. He was softly spoken, his voice a deep rumble at once both commanding and warning. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“And it’s simple: I want to beat him. “You, Jean, are the one man I’ve never managed to defeat. And that does gnaw at me. It does eat me up. Tonight you say that you will beat me, that you’ve watched your tapes, that you’ve watched me. But Jean, that tells you nothing. You’ve been in the ring with me. You know how hard I can hit you and how much force I can put into a submission hold. You know all that, and yet you claim that watching tapes will help you beat me. “Jean, tonight you face the Iron Man. I cannot be beaten. I cannot be broken. It took a steel chair to get the better of me last time. You don’t have that option tonight, so I promise you that all you will feel will be the pain experienced by everyone who faces me, and the anguish as your dreams of glory are torn from you.”[/COLOR] * [B]Tim Westybrook (c) vs. Jean Cattley[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW World title[/COLOR] These two always bring the magic in the ring, and tonight was no exception. As two of our most well-recognised workers, the fans were wrapped up in their exchanges from the word go. The long history to their conflict added extra drama to the exchanges, with the commentary hyping a potential final conclusion to the issue of whether Cattley really did have a hoodoo over the Iron Man. The match consisted of two perfectly evenly matched wrestlers, with Westybrook possessing greater strength and Cattley greater technique. They were each able to cancel out the other’s advantages for much of the match, leading to counter-wrestling and even counter-counter-wrestling, to the delight of the watching fans. Cattley focused his first attacks on Westybrook’s neck, apparently believing that the piledriver he had delivered 24 hours earlier would have been enough to weaken Westybrook there. The attack seemed to work – at least, Westybrook seemed to be favouring his neck after several minutes. However, Rip noted shrewdly that in fact Westybrook was protecting his shoulder – the shoulder that Sean Deeley had nearly forced a submission from several weeks ago. With Westybrook hampered, Cattley seemed free to attack at will, controlling the match and aiming strike after strike at Westybrook’s thick neck. Rip was quick to comment that the blows seemed to be missing Westybrook’s shoulder – that Cattley wasn’t doing as much damage as he could have done. Indeed, this slowly seemed to wear Cattley out as he put everything into targeting the champion’s neck, only in the end to be shrugged off by Westybrook with his single moving arm. When Cattley charged in for a further attack, Westybrook grabbed him around the throat and shoved him to the mat. He tried to massage some life into his arm, only to be interrupted by Cattley’s attacks time and again until a mighty scoop slam put Cattley down for long enough for Westybrook to get his deadened arm moving at somewhat close to normal. Cattley then proceeded to take the bulk of the punishment for the next several minutes, although Jerome Turner noted that Westybrook was dealing out the beating with his off-hand – and therefore there would be less pain for Cattley to have to deal with. I countered that less pain dealt out by the champion was worse than more pain from almost anyone else. Rip cut in and said that Cattley would take it – he’d seen no-one in all his time in the business who needed to be on top more than Cattley. With the World title up for grabs, Rip claimed, you’d nearly have to shoot him to finish the match. Westybrook’s weakness came into play with Cattley on the ropes. The champion charged in with a clothesline but as he was on his weaker side, he was off balance and as Cattley went over the top rope, Westybrook went too. The two men tumbled over the top rope and crashed to the mat below. For several seconds they lay unmoving. To the evident surprise of those watching, Cattley was the first to stir. He dragged himself blindly to the announcers’ table, shaking his head as he tried to clear the cobwebs. He shoved Jerome from his seat, and used the steel chair to slowly push himself upright. He stood on shaky knees and turned back to face Westybrook. The champ was upright, and slowly making his way towards his challenger. The two men glared at each other, their antipathy towards one another clear on their faces. Suddenly, Cattley snatched the chair from behind him and swung up and around, aiming the steel seat at Westybrook’s head. However, Cattley was too slow – Westybrook jumped inside the swing and doubled the Elite man over with a boot to the gut. With a heave he lifted Cattley up for a powerbomb and as he held the challenger aloft it seemed to dawn on everyone in attendance that the move was only going to hit in one place: The announcers’ table. As Cattley dropped there was a flash of steel in the air and a crack like gunfire: Cattley had kept hold of the chair, and slammed it down on Westybrook’s head. But it was too little, too late. A split second later, and Cattley smashed through the table and into the unforgiving concrete floor below. Westybrook’s body lay unmoving atop him. For several seconds, no-one moved. The ruins of the announcers’ table lay around the two still men. Slowly, the shock faded and the referee approached the two bodies. He called for the bell to end the match on a draw – but more importantly, to summon the medical help that both clearly needed as they remained motionless in the wake of their battle. Winner: No-one (B) [B]Overall: B-[/B] [I]Next: Roster turnover, and another trip to the jailhouse...[/I]

[James Casey]

KC Glenn has joined TCW, which means he leaves SWF. As that now means he’s not available on Saturdays, he can work the TV shows instead – which means he now can take a more active role in the Firm/Elite war. Having him allied with Arachnid and co. while he was [I]still under contract to SWF[/I] was always a bit of a weird thing. However, Ernest Youngman and Trent Shaffer were released by SWF before the storyline really got going, so... * I don’t know quite how I’ve come to be the guy bailing my employees out of jail. Nelson Callum got arrested during a drugs sting a while back, and used his one phone call to bring me in to try and get him out. I did him the courtesy of visiting the police station, but mainly so he could see me and appreciate how angry I was. Kristen Pearce, on the other hand... Kristen is 29 years old, with a five year old child. By and large, she’s a model employee. She’s been allied with Jefferson Stardust and the Canadian Blondes and isn’t really asked to do much except look beautiful and help her clients. She does both admirably and I’ve never had any trouble with her. Last night, however, she ended up in the cell at the local police station. Once again, it was MAW fan Sergeant Wyndham-Price who called. Once again, I waited until morning to go and bail out my employee. I wonder if I’ll ever be entirely sure how to cope with something like this: Kristen sloped out of the holding cell in a revealing dress, a pair of treacherous high heels clutched in one hand before silently leading me out to the car. She’d apparently been allowed to wash off her makeup, but her hair was a tangled mess. She didn’t say much. Our friendly sergeant had told me that there had been an ‘affray’ at a nightspot Kristen had visited the night before, and that Kristen had been picked up in the middle of it. I didn’t press for details, didn’t offer any official form of support, but when I dropped her off I did pay the babysitter the extra money she was owed. We’ll wait and see if this leads anywhere. Insofar as it’s made the papers, it’s a minor story so far. Whether charges will be pressed, whether Kristen ends up in trouble... Well, for now I’m taking a fatherly approach with her. Besides, I’m very aware that Kristen kinda needs the money from MAW to make ends meet. For some reason, the big leagues have never picked up on her talent as a potential successor or supplement to her big sister, so it’s pretty hand to mouth for her. I figure if she does end up in jail, I can arrange a downside payment to her while she serves her time. Being a single mother is tough, and having done a little asking around it seems like this may have been one of Kristen’s first nights out since her child was born. She seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time – and beyond that, who can say who was right and who was wrong? * Elsewhere, Brandon Smith looks likely to be in Japan for long stretches in the coming months as INSPIRE have made him an offer to go on tour. Smith has been out east before, although he’s by no means a regular. Still, I’m sure we can find a way to work around his absence. Despite his considerable potential, Smith has never quite broken out of the midcard. Maybe with a sustained push he could deliver more, and there’s certainly a suggestion from his time in CZCW that a singles run could be the making of him. Something for me to consider as he’s now 31 and really should be in his prime years while Kashmir Singh is 37 and must be starting to think of slowing down (although the indications are that he’s as good as he’s ever been, for what that’s worth). Right now MAW has become pretty heel-heavy as Chris Caulfield and Suzanne Brazzle have recently left. Caulfield was only ever with us on short-term contracts, and ultimately we decided we could get by without him. He didn’t cost as much as a Phil Roberts or Trent Shaffer, but he wasn’t cheap, either, and despite having decent overness and useful performance skills, he wasn’t really that good at the wrestling side of things. There were only so many matches we could run where the implacable face wins out by use of his trusty array of foreign objects, and I think we’d about hit our limit. We could have kept him on and milked his overness a bit more, but we want to make room for a few more faces. I’ve always felt that having a ‘name’ wrestler around solely to lose matches is a bit cheap, anyway. The departure of Suzanne Brazzle was a shame. Despite being the second Women’s champion, she never especially got over and I just never really clicked with her. I know that we’ve been guilty in MAW of exploiting the holy trinity of Rodriguez, Easter and Strong in the Women’s division (and that isn’t [I]quite[/I] over) but the simple truth is that Brazzle was bringing in as much as any of those three, and wasn’t performing at the same level as them. In addition, Xavi Ferrara has accepted a developmental proposal from SWF, and so he’ll be leaving the company. With him gone, there’s a definite argument for splitting up an opposing face team... and the obvious candidates to my mind are Smith & Singh, and Team Honor. Lassana Makutsi and Brandon Smith could both benefit from singles runs, so that’s an option worth considering. * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Gino Montero vs. “Enforcer” Phil Roberts (c) – MAW All Action title Lauren Easter vs. Jaime Quine El Heroe Mexicano and Kristabel Plum vs. Sean Deeley and Nadia Snow Amazing Fire Fly vs. Jean Cattley Tim Westybrook vs. Ruin – non-title[/CENTER]

[Tigerkinney]

Gino Montero vs. “[B]Enforcer” Phil Roberts (c)[/B] – MAW All Action title [I]Montero will put a good showing here, but Roberts will retain via nefarious means.[/I] [B]Lauren Easter[/B] vs. Jaime Quine [I]The women's scene could do with someone else coming back into the title picture and Quine has the talent to do so. It won't be happening here though.[/I] El Heroe Mexicano and Kristabel Plum vs. [B]Sean Deeley and Nadia Snow[/B] [I]Plum's been the least prominent of everyone lately, so Plum eats the fall.[/I] Amazing Fire Fly vs. [B]Jean Cattley[/B] [I]Yeah as much as I like Fire Fly he has absolutely no chance in this match.[/I] Tim Westybrook vs. Ruin – non-title [I]Can see this ending in some kind of chaotic schmozz brawl draw type thing...[/I]

[James Casey]

Not wanting to do this too often, but last call for predictions! I'll have the next show up tonight.

[foolinc]

Gino Montero vs.[B] “Enforcer” Phil Roberts (c) [/B]– MAW All Action title [B]Lauren Easter[/B] vs. Jaime Quine El Heroe Mexicano and Kristabel Plum vs.[B] Sean Deeley and Nadia Snow[/B] Amazing Fire Fly vs. [B]Jean Cattley[/B] [B]Tim Westybrook [/B]vs. Ruin – non-title

[James Casey]

[CENTER][B]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, May 26th 2014[/B][/CENTER] The show began backstage, with Tim Westybrook and Jean Cattley separated by a phalanx of security guards as they made their way down to the ring. Of note, Katie Cameron was at the announcers’ table, and she confirmed as the procession made its way down the aisle that Westybrook had released her from her contract. Rip chuckled to himself, but said nothing. The two men eventually came to stand mid ring, and it was clear from the look of them that neither had fully recuperated from their match six days before. Cattley had been limping into the ring, and didn’t seem able to stand up totally straight. Westybrook was sporting a big bandage over one eye, around which a purple bruise was visible. [COLOR="Navy"]“Another match, another big fat zero for you... champ,”[/COLOR] Cattley said. [COLOR="Navy"]“What’s that, four times we’ve faced now and no win for you?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Or you,”[/COLOR] Westybrook said. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“And as the current champion, I have no incentive to face you again, Jean. That must eat you up inside. It must gnaw at your guts.”[/COLOR] His tone was mocking, throwing Cattley’s own words back at him. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“It’s time for me to look at new challengers.”[/COLOR] He unclasped the World title from around his waist, and held it in front of Cattley’s face. [COLOR="Navy"]“You want to beat me,”[/COLOR] Cattley said slowly. [COLOR="Navy"]“Next month, at Fan Festival, let’s do it one last time.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“What’s in it for me?”[/COLOR] Cattley looked torn. Westybrook pressed again. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“What have you got, what can you possibly offer me to make me step in the ring with you again?”[/COLOR] Cattley stared the champion straight in the eye. [COLOR="Navy"]“I’ll put my career on the line against yours.”[/COLOR] Westybrook considered. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“If I agree... I want no interference. No-one from Elite, no-one from The Firm, no-one. This match will be me and you.”[/COLOR] It was Cattley’s turn to look torn but, at last, he nodded. [COLOR="Navy"]“Okay, you and me for the last time. We go until one of us can’t go any more, agreed?”[/COLOR] They looked at one another for a long, long moment. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Agreed,”[/COLOR] Westybrook said at last. * [B]El Heroe Mexicano and Kristabel Plum vs. Sean Deeley and Nadia Snow[/B] This was a relatively short match to give Plum and Snow a little TV time. Heroe and Deeley worked well together while they were in the ring, but the interaction between the two women dragged the crowd down. Deeley’s antics helped keep the crowd alive, as did the presence of Haley Buck at ringside for her client. In the end, Snow nailed Plum with a Plum Tucker for the win for her team. Winner: Deeley and Snow (C-) * Amazing Fire Fly was backstage, adjusting his mask in front of a mirror. He turned to the camera as he fastened the last strap in place. [COLOR="Blue"]“Jean Cattley had a hell of a match on Saturday,”[/COLOR] he said, with a broad smile. [COLOR="Blue"]“And it looked to me like he was still pretty banged up. It’s such a shame that we’ve been booked up for this match for weeks now, [I]esse[/I], or you could have had a night off to rest and recover. But never mind – I’ll make this quick, okay?”[/COLOR] * [B]Amazing Fire Fly vs. Jean Cattley[/B] This was a pleasant surprise: These two have great chemistry. That made for an entertaining catch-as-catch-can affair, with Fly evading Cattley for much of the match and striking at speed, while Cattley used his own skills to balance offence and defence. Cattley was clearly not willing to get too involved in a long, drawn out match when he was visibly still recovering from his match with Westybrook at Old School Rules. In the end, Cattley grew frustrated with the way things were going and decided to give it up as a bad job, grabbing a chair and waffling Fly with to take the official loss, but what he clearly regarded as the moral (or amoral) victory. Winner: Amazing Fire Fly (C+) * Lauren Easter was making her way to the ring when she was bowled over from behind by a somewhat familiar figure – Jaime Quine, the former MAW star. Quine put the boots to Easter before letting her half-rise into a crouch. When Easter tried to stand up, however, Quine grabbed her and threw her into a stack of packing crates. Dusting off her hands, Quine looked smug as she strolled away from the scene while severl people rushed to Lauren’s aid. * [B]Lauren Easter vs. Jaime Quine[/B] Easter was clearly hurting after the sneak attack, and struggled to get going in this contest. Quine’s return to the promotion (on loan from USPW) failed to get the crowd going, as doubtless there are few who remember her original run in the company. Easter struggled valiantly to overcome the odds, but in the end fell to a KO Kick to take the loss as I grumbled on commentary about people feeling like they could attack MAW wrestlers and get away with it. Winner: Jaime Quine (D) * With that in mind, I made an announcement about that night’s main event: As Jean Cattley had already been booked that night, it only seemed fair that Tim Westybrook have a match. And as I wanted to punish Ruin for his assault on Chris Caulfield at Old School Rules, it seemed fitting that the two men have at each other in the main event! * Gino Montero made his way down the ramp, a determined look on his face. [COLOR="Blue"]“A few weeks ago, Phil Roberts beat me for the All Action title. Well, that’s fine. I could say a lot about the match, but that’s all in the past. All that matters now is that the All Action champion can’t refuse a challenge.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Phil: You, me, submission match. Right now!”[/COLOR] * [B]Gino Montero vs. “Enforcer” Phil Roberts (c)[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action[/COLOR] title in a [COLOR="Purple"]Submission Match[/COLOR] I’d hoped that Roberts could overcome his injury (which was now really putting a crimp in my booking. How much time do you need to recover from Chronic Knee Pain anyway? It’s been six weeks!) by the time the rematch came around, but no dice. This was a spotty submission match, if such a thing can be imagined. The two were largely confined to mat wrestling, with Roberts’ knee limiting his mobility to the extent that there was very little transitional movement between moves. To an extent, the fans enjoyed that – classic mat wrestling is a good thing, after all. But when they realised that was all the semi-final match of the show was going to be, they started to cool on the match. In the end, Montero did the obvious thing (and it was so obvious that ignoring it had hurt the match) and clamped a kneelock on Roberts to force the submission and regain his title. Winner: Gino Montero (C-) * After the bell, Montero was joined by his teammates Heroe and Fire Fly and the duo hoisted Montero on their shoulders as he held the All Action title aloft. On commentary, Rip wondered what would happen if Fly or Heroe were ever to face Montero for the belt. I suggested that it would be a great match, whatever the stipulation, and maybe one day we’d get to see the title on the line between them. * Backstage, and Tim Westybrook and Ruin came face to face for the first time since their titanic cage match several months before. Westybrook looked undaunted at the confrontation, but Ruin didn’t meet the champion’s gaze, rather focusing on the bandage over Westybrook’s eye. It didn’t take a genius to speculate on what Ruin’s intent was as they headed for the ring. * [B]Tim Westybrook vs. Ruin[/B] The two behemoths slammed into one another at the bell. Westybrook was clearly still feeling the effects of his hard-fought match on Saturday, and Ruin clinically targeted Westybrook’s head and shoulder. On commentary, I asked Rip if Ruin looked better than he had when under his guidance. Rip replied shortly that he was showing more focus, which I took to mean that his fearsome natural talents were now even more of a threat then before. Indeed, Ruin seemed to be battering Westybrook without resistance in the early going, as the champion was forced to retreat from his intimidating opponent. However, Westybrook caught a second wind and began to beat on Ruin with as much force as he could muster, although it was clear that this was not as much as he might normally manage without injuries. The two titans slugged away at one another, one occasionally managing to stagger the other with a well-placed blow or series of strikes. It seemed that the two could continue battering at one another all night until Jean Cattley made his third appearance of the evening, entering the ring with a chair and going after Westybrook with it, triggering a ring invasion comprising members of Elite, The Firm and Internationals and the match coming to a no contest as the show went off the air. Winner: No-one (C+) [B]Overall: C[/B] [I]Next: Phil Vibert back on top, and a visit to the bank manager...[/I]

[James Casey]

Jonathan Taylor, our referee, was once more spreading rumours – this time about Jean Cattley. It’s a bit daft: Rip and I both pretty clearly mark for Jean. It’s no secret from anyone, so to try insinuating daft nonsense about his relationship with the two of us, well... He got chewed out, and promised that it wouldn’t happen again. Yeah, right. I think that it’s time to start checking the availability of other referees – just in case. * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: On Tour Saturday, 27th May 2014[/CENTER] Lauren Easter and Kristabel Plum vs. Thea Davis and Brooke Tyler[/B] This was an evenly contested match for the most part, but the difference-maker was Easter. The former Women’s champion just had too much for her opponents, and pinned Davis after a Belly to Belly Suplex. Winner: Easter and Plum (D+) * Easter cut a promo, challenging Jaime Quine to get back in the ring with her at Nationwide – singles or tag was fine by her. She had a very good partner in mind if that was how Quine wanted to play it. * [B]The Canadian Blondes (0pts) vs. The Sure Things (0pts)[/B] Stuck on zero, both teams were seeking that first step on the way to a tag team title shot. The Blondes used their huge experience advantage to control the match, and although Caballero and Ferrara fought hard, in the end Ferrara submitted to Savage’s Canadian Crab. Winner: The Canadian Blondes (1pt, E+) * Lady Anne Sidious led the Adepts down to the ring. As Wraith and Pyre each dropped to one knee on either side of her, she eulogised their toughness and experience – and their ability to accept pain and suffering and use it to drive themselves on. * [B]The Party Animals (0pts) vs. The Adepts (0pts)[/B] Neither Pyre nor Wraith wasted any time in chasing after their opponents, while Anne Sidious showed that she was willing to get her hands dirty as she occupied Sensitive’s chimpanzee. In the ring, Sensitive seemed unable to handle the Adepts, and fell victim to a Mou Kei. Winner: The Adepts (1pt, E+) * Antonio and Cameron Vessey were backstage, yelling at each other. Antonio accused Vessey of stealing his partner – but Vessey said that Casey Valentine had been his partner first. They agreed to show what they could do in the ring in an effort to prove who was the better wrestler. * [B]Phoenix vs. Cameron Vessey[/B] Vessey showed his talent in this match, going move for move with the veteran masked man. He also showed his wiles, going behind the referee’s back with a set of brass knucks to pick up the cheap win – but a win nonetheless. After the bell, Vessey yelled at Antonio, hoping that he’d seen Vessey’s victory. Winner: Cameron Vessey (D) * Nadia Snow cut a short promo, claiming that she was bringing glamour and style to the hick towns that MAW visited On Tour. Wendy Summers took exception to this, saying that she’d met a lot of great people today, and wasn’t about to let Nadia talk down to them like that. * [B]Wendy Summers vs. Nadia Snow[/B] Snow continued her recent impressive form in this match. The always-cheery Summers troubled her in the early going, but Snow showed her veteran wiles by turning the tide against her opponent and finishing her off with a Strong Arm Tactic. Winner: Nadia Snow (E) * Joss Thompson cut a promo hyping his ‘demolition’ of Chris Caulfield at Old School Rules, and claiming that he was now looking for new challenges. Fumihiro Ota was first to respond to the call, which Thompson didn’t look too happy about. * [B]Fumihiro Ota vs. Joss Thompson[/B] These two don’t have much in the way of chemistry, which really dragged down their exchanges. Both veterans did their best to overcome it, and put on a decent match, capped by a Shining Wizard from Ota as he took the win over the International. Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D+) * Gino Montero stood in the middle of the ring, All Action title around his waist. He said that he intended to be a proud champion: Not only would he accept any challenge for the title, as he was contractually obliged to do, he would openly invite challenges. Tonight, he’d accepted a challenge from Antonio for a ladder match! * [B]Gino Montero (c) vs. Antonio[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action title[/COLOR] in a [COLOR="purple"]Ladder Match[/COLOR] Antonio pushed Montero hard in this match, which included some innovative use of the ladder. However, no-one seemed to buy Antonio’s chances of capturing the title and this dragged on the match’s entertainment value. In the end, a Montero Press put Antonio down long enough for the champion to scale the ladder and reclaim the title belt. Winner: Gino Montero (D+) Overall: D+ * And Jonathan Taylor continues making friends: This time, Dazzling Dave Diamond was the target of the rumours, and the two nearly got into a fight. Taylor got fined – 25% of his fee going to the local orphanage, who’ve been without much in the way of patronage from us of late. Taylor needs to up his game – next time I might decide to cut my losses and just fire him. * It’s eighteen months since Farrah Hesketh replaced Peter Michaels as the head booker of SWF, beginning her second stint in charge of the company. Her previous stint lasted a shade over two years before she was released for poor performance, a rise to Global in 2009 followed by a crash to Cult in 2011. In November 2012 Peter Michaels left Supreme for NOTBPW and their plum announcing gig, along with some booking duties. Hesketh came took his place, more for a lack of viable alternative options than anything else. In saying that, Hesketh has always operated in a professional manner – not easy when Richard Eisen is your immediate boss. Professional wrestling has more than its share of hotheads. There’s a lot of alpha maleism, of course. In SWF there’s only one alpha male – Richard Eisen. Trying to pretend otherwise will get you sacked. Farrah Hesketh knows how to work under Richard Eisen, and its how she keeps getting the job. Still, doing well in being Richard Eisen’s underling is one thing. Doing well as head booker of SWF is another – and its something Farrah has struggled with of late, with more and more workers leaving and the main event being shorn, time and again, of their most over workers. Three months ago, SWF fell to Cult. In the absence of any signs of progress in that time, Richard Eisen has taken a familiar path: For the fourth time since I joined MAW, the Supreme head booker’s position is open to applicants. Why was Farrah given three months after the fall to Cult to sort things out? Two words: Phil Vibert. Vibert returned to wrestling at the end of 2012, making the odd appearance here and there on various indy shows to help old colleagues and the like. Six months later, he joined SWF as a commentator and, alongside Wanda Fish and Jerry Eisen, comprised a very enjoyable trio at the announcers’ desk. Of course, the idea was always out there on the Internet that Phil would, somehow, once more become involved in the booking side of things. Three months ago it seemed that the time was right. But, as I noted above, alpha males like to rule all they survey. Richard wasn’t ready to give Phil the reins because everyone and their grandmother knows what that means: Creative control. Richard Eisen doesn’t like the idea of Phil Vibert with creative control. It might mean DaVE. It probably means something different. I look forward to seeing what Phil comes up with. I’m only sorry that Kirk Jameson and Hugh de Aske are likely to get their long overdue pushes, which means that when their contracts come up (in eleven and seven months time, but who’s counting?) they won’t be available to us even if SWF are still not in a position to offer written deals. * “You do realise, Mr. Casey, that this is not a good time to be liquidating your assets and investing in a risky, financially insolvent enterprise.” My bank manager’s voice was paper dry. He peered at me over the of a pair of half-moon spectacles that were attached to a thin chain around his neck. He was balding, his hairline running neatly across the crown of his head, the hair beyond the line being thick, luxurious and a pure white starkly at odds to his jet black suit. His most prominent feature was his nose. Long and thin, it was designed for poking into other peoples’ business. In effect, that’s what this man was – the bank’s ultimate authority, the final judgment, the last call. If the bank really wanted to keep your money, you saw this man: A man who rejoiced, incidentally, in the name Ebeneezer J. Rockingfeldt. The bank really wanted to keep my money or, rather, they wanted to keep the amount that I was trying to withdraw. [COLOR="Green"]“Yes. I know. On the other hand, the potential return on this investment is significant.”[/COLOR] “I am reminded of a story about a man who wanted to invest in holiday tours to the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.” Mr. Rockingfeldt said, sitting back in his chair, hands clawed around the end of the armrests. “It was a promising venture with considerable prospects of munificent reward.” He crossed his right leg over the left, his ankle resting on his knee as he peered off into the distance. “He raised the funds throughout the latter years of the 1980s and intended 1990 to be the year that he consolidated the project in preparation for trips to commence in early 1991. I am sure, Mr. Casey, that I do not need to tell you where the modern day site of the Hanging Gardens is.” His gaze shifted to me. It was as though I was back in secondary school, being spitted by my teacher over a matter of some misplaced homework. [COLOR="green"]“Iraq,”[/COLOR] I replied. I was familiar enough with the story. “Indeed. And that was a venture that promised much in the way of returns. I understand that in six years in charge of Mr. Chord’s company, you managed to double the initial investment. That of course is laudable. In the intervening six months, the company has lost some eight hundred thousand dollars. That is not so laudable. You now wish to invest in this company a considerable sum of your own money. Mr. Casey I would be remiss if you were to leave this institution today in any way under the impression that such fiscal practise is condoned by myself or this Bank.” [COLOR="green"]“I understand, Mr. Rockingfeldt. Nonetheless, it is my money and my choice.”[/COLOR] “Indeed, and we are grateful that for so long you have entrusted us with its management. In order to return that trust, I feel obliged to put this in its plainest terms: Mid Atlantic Wrestling will fail by the year’s end unless you begin to cut costs.” [COLOR="green"]“I thank you for your candour, Mr. Rockingfeldt. However, I am not to be dissuaded, sir. I already am invested emotionally in this company-”[/COLOR] “If you will forgive me, sir, that is just one reason why this is a bad move. To allow your heart to rule your head...” He shook his head. Faintly, I imagined I could hear his joints creaking. “No, sir, I cannot condone this. I consider this to be the height of irresponsibility.” I felt stung. Clearly to Mr Rockingfeldt there was no greater sin than to be irresponsible with money. “We are just now beginning to emerge from the worst financial crisis for eighty years-“ [COLOR="green"]“Which is why I consider it a good time to be investing,”[/COLOR] I said, forcing brightness into my voice. [COLOR="green"]“I want to encourage the local economy, and this is my way of doing so.”[/COLOR] Mr. Rockingfeldt peered intently at me over steepled fingers. “Mr. Casey, I think that you want to spend the money to keep this company alive. You are an intelligent man, and I am sure you understand the theories of economic drip-down well enough, but you know that the benefits to other companies – who, I may say, are gouging you – are far from your main concern.” I clasped my hands lightly in my lap. [COLOR="green"]“Mr. Rockingfeldt, I appreciate your concern. However, I have made up my mind. The money is mine to spend as I wish, and in this injstance I am choosing to spend this part of it on supporting the company of which I am currently joint owner.”[/COLOR] We concluded our discussion shortly thereafter. The money was due to be transferred shortly but, because of the size of the investment involved, it would take longer than usual to go through. That meant we had to book a smaller venue for Nationwide that Friday, which I wasn’t pleased about. The owner of Perry Hall took one look at our bank balance and refused to sign on to rent to us again – in spite of his always having got paid before. I was seething – but when I got back to the office, Reese had some good news... * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Lauren Easter and Joanne Rodriguez vs. Jaime Quine and Thea Davis Smith & Singh vs. Team Honor vs. Trent Shaffer and Joe Sexy Kid Arachnid and Gino Montero vs. Deeley & Thompson KC Glenn vs. Swoop McCarthy (c) – MAW Traditional title Tim Westybrook vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/CENTER]

[James Casey]

OOC: I'm starting to feel a way to wind down this diary. With '10 on the horizon, and a clear vision in my mind on how certain events right now should play out, I [I]think[/I] we'll be finishing up before '10 arrives. I'm keen to start a new diary when '10 comes out - obviously depending on what surprises Adam has for us - and I don't think that I have much more to say about MAW. I'd hoped that I could take them to National, but I don't think that'll happen before diary end. I'd settle for turning a profit, but somehow I can't see that happening either. ;) Anyway, there's a few months left to run, and plenty of storylines left to write, but I think that we're beginning to get there. Oddly, when I started writing this diary, I did so with the express intent of getting to the Rip/Casey backstage fight that happened almost three years ago in-game. I had no vision for the game after that (you may have noticed :D) I have every intention of finishing up this diary, though. After all, there's a few questions left to be answered before we're done - not the least of which is the question that really started all this of some eighteen months ago: [B][CENTER] [IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/Random_Male241.jpg[/IMG] Who is Kid Arachnid?[/CENTER][/B]

[Timber]

Well, i know i love this dynasty and it's one of the reasons i bought 08. It's been a fun ride and i can't wait to see out it plays out. Great stuff here well worth rereading. I know that i play alot of MAW because of the way you've written the starting guys. I always know that if i play MAW Jean is always the champ and the Firm are always kicking someones butt. :) Lauren Easter and Joanne Rodriguez vs. Jaime Quine and Thea Davis Smith & Singh vs. Team Honor vs. Trent Shaffer and Joe Sexy Kid Arachnid and Gino Montero vs. Deeley & Thompson KC Glenn vs. Swoop McCarthy (c) – MAW Traditional title Tim Westybrook vs. Davis Wayne Newton Lauren and J-ro over Quine and Davis. Team Honor over Smight/Singh and Shaffer and Sexy Kid Arachnid and gino over Deeley and Thompson Swoop over KC. Hiow long has that guy had the belt! Westybrook over DWN. I'm a huge DWN mark but Westybrook is too tough.

[Tigerkinney]

[B]Lauren Easter and Joanne Rodriguez[/B] vs. Jaime Quine and Thea Davis [I]Easter gets her win back against Quine[/I] Smith & Singh vs. Team Honor vs. [B]Trent Shaffer and Joe Sexy[/B] [I]Can't see past anything other than a elite win in this one[/I] Kid Arachnid and Gino Montero vs. [B]Deeley & Thompson[/B] [I]Could go either way, flipped a coin and I landed with the Internationals[/I] KC Glenn vs[B]. Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title [I]Swoop continues to find a way to keep hold of his title[/I] [B]Tim Westybrook[/B] vs. Davis Wayne Newton Westybrook will just be that bit too strong for Newton

[James Casey]

[I]OOC: Swoop's now at a year with the title, and he does keep finding a way to keep the belt. The thing I like about Swoop is that he can be a kickass brawler and a pragmatic coward pretty much in the same match, so there's always a way for him to retain, depending on how he feels about a given opponent...[/I] * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, June 5th 2014[/CENTER][/B] In a different take from normal, we opened the show with a promo video highlighting some of the biggest names in the company: Rip Chord, of course, but also Jean Cattley, Tim Westybrook, Joe Sexy, Davis Wayne Newton, Kid Arachnid and others. The video highlighted some of the biggest moments in MAW history: The Invitational winners, Westybrook’s World title win, Jay Chord’s unmasking, the epic Kirk/Aaron feud... It ended on a series of flashed images of our best and brightest before flashing up with the following message: [CENTER][B][COLOR="Blue"]Mid Atlantic Wrestling comes to pay-per-view Call your cable provider now!![/COLOR][/B][/CENTER] * [B]Lauren Easter and Joanne Rodriguez vs. Jaime Quine and Thea Davis[/B] This one-time reunion of the former XX Factor team-mates saw Quine and Davis throwing everything they had at the BFFs. But Rodriguez and Easter were on fire, handling their opponents with relative ease. Quine enjoyed some success in going after Easter, and had a spell of working over the neck of the former Women’s champion. Easter fought back with speed and precision, however, and put Quine away with a Belly to Belly Suplex to gain some revenge for her defeat the previous week. Winners: Easter and Rodriguez (C-) * [COLOR="Green"]“Congratulations, Lauren,”[/COLOR] I said. [COLOR="Green"]“You exacted justice on Jaime Quine for beating you last week. I’m impressed. So impressed in fact, that... “Wait, let me back up a bit. The last six or eight months here in MAW have seen yourself, Joanne and Alicia Strong holding the Women’s title and competing against each other. The three of you have faced off in singles, tags, triple threats, pretty much every kind of match under the sun. The results have always been impressive but... I can’t help but feel that it’s time to open up the field a bit, and after Fan Festival, that’s what I intend to do. At Fan Festival itself, though, I thought we’d have our first Pay-Per-View feature the first ever match for the MAW Women’s title between Joanne Rodriguez... and Lauren Easter!”[/COLOR] J-Ro and Lauren looked at one another a little warily as I sat down, before shrugging and shaking hands. [COLOR="Purple"]“So, kid,” [/COLOR]Rip growled. [COLOR="Purple"]“You’ll get involved in that match, but you’ve been sitting around doing nothing while Elite run around and try and destroy my company?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“It’s [I]my[/I] company, Rip. And just because I’m not out there in a hooded robe, don’t think I’m not doing anything. Right now, though, I’m impressed that so many people have lined up to defend MAW without my prompting. If I need to play my hand, I will, but for now I’m enjoying the shows these guys are putting on.”[/COLOR] * [B]Smith & Singh vs. Team Honor vs. Trent Shaffer and Joe Sexy[/B] Shaffer and Sexy attacked their opponents before the bell, sowing confusion in the ranks of the two teams. Brandon Smith and Lassana Makutsi were thrown out of the ring and, with the ref distracted, Jean Cattley sprinted down to ringside and took them down with hard clotheslines while Shaffer and Sexy worked over their partners. As Cattley prowled on the outside, Sexy nailed Johnson with a One Night Stand for the impressive win. Winners: Shaffer and Sexy (D+) * After the bell, Joe Sexy and Jean Cattley brought chairs into the ring. They took their time setting up as Jared Johnson slowly got up after taking the fall, but when he was upright they both swung their chairs, sandwiching Johnson’s head between the steel. Makutsi tried to come to his partner’s aid but got a chairshot to the gut for his troubles. Smith and Singh charged the ring to help the Team Honor duo, but Smith got a shot to the back as he was climbing through the ropes and tumbled to the mats outside. Singh found himself alone and surrounded by the Elite trio. Shaffer hadn’t moved from his corner but was obstructing Singh’s escape and the Indian hesitated just long enough for Cattley and Sexy to catch him with a con-chair-to as well, leaving him down on the mat alongside Johnson. Cattley and Sexy laughed as they strutted up the aisle, Shaffer trailing in their wake and throwing a concerned look over his shoulder before disappearing behind the curtains. * [B]Kid Arachnid and Gino Montero vs. Deeley & Thompson [/B] This was a much more competitive match than the previous effort. Deeley and Thompson make for a good team, while Arachnid and Montero are so talented that they were able to keep pace with the Internationals in spite of their lack of experience. The two teams fought back and forth, with each man getting a spell in the spotlight. Near falls came thick and fast in the last few minutes as everyone seemed to land – and take – a big move. In the end, however, Kid Arachnid caught Sean Deeley in a Cradle Piledriver to score the pin. Winners: Arachnid and Montero (C+) * Before Arachnid could even stand up after the bell, Davis Wayne Newton slid into the ring and launched himself at the masked man. Deeley and Thompson stopped Montero intervening by clotheslining himover the top rope as Newton battered Arachnid. Newton finished his foe off by drilling him with a Fisherman’s Suplex to leave Arachnid down on the mat as the three Internationals stood over him, smirking. * [B]KC Glenn vs. Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Traditional title[/COLOR] Swoop resumed his frustration tactics in this match, perhaps sensing that his opponent was talented enough to cause him a serious threat. The two men showed some skill, but Swoop begged off time and again, leading to Glenn becoming frustrated. He pursued the Traditional champion with gusto, causing Swoop in the end to bail out of the ring, collect his belt, and walk to the back, taking the countout defeat but retaining his title in doing so. Winner: KC Glenn (C) * Backstage, and Jean Cattley seemed delighted about the way the earlier attack on Team Honor and Smith & Singh had gone. He was positively bouncing around the Elite locker room as Joe Sexy talked on the phone and Trent Shaffer skulked in the corner. Sexy hung up, and turned to Cattley. [COLOR="Blue"]“Jean, that was the boss.”[/COLOR] Cattley calmed down a little. [COLOR="Navy"]“I bet he was impressed. Two of MAW’s top teams down in just a few minutes, and more to come in the coming weeks.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“He didn’t say,”[/COLOR] Sexy said. [COLOR="Blue"]“His exact words were ’What the hell is that dumb ---- Cattley doing putting his career on the ----ing line for?’ You know the big man, he’s always go his mind on the job.”[/COLOR] Cattley scowled. [COLOR="Navy"]“Westybrook needs taking out.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“We can do that. Hell, we can take it to the mattresses if we need to.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“We’re Elite. We don’t do that. When we take someone out, we do it in the ring, where everyone can see. That way everyone knows what happens when you go up against supreme opposition like us.”[/COLOR] Sexy didn’t look too impressed. [COLOR="Blue"]“We do what works – and the boss isn’t impressed. If you lose at Fan Festival, you’re out and Elite are down a man. He can’t afford to send anyone else down – you know that things are tight right now. Phil’s back up in New York tonight anyway, so we can’t afford to lose nobody, see?”[/COLOR] Cattley shrugged. [COLOR="Navy"]“Look, Westybrook is as good as done. A couple more weeks, and I’ll have the World title.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“So? What good is that to Elite?”[/COLOR] Sexy replied, his voice noticeably louder. [COLOR="Navy"]“It gives us leverage. You think Casey is going to sit back and let us destroy his company? He fought for this place last time. He’ll do it again. If we have the World title, he has to listen to us. You could try getting yourself a title shot, Joe. You and Phil both got punked by that Montero kid for the All Action title, didn’t you?”[/COLOR] Sexy got right in Jean’s face. [COLOR="Blue"]“What the hell do titles matter? We’re here to bury this company, not rule it, remember? You’re gonna get yourself kicked out of this company, ya mook, and what happens then? You think the boss’ll have any use for someone who can’t do what he wants?”[/COLOR] For the first time, Jean looked uncertain. [COLOR="Navy"]“You mean...”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“I mean that the boss is a bad person to have angry at you, Jean. You do what’s right for Elite, you do right by him. Start going into business for yourself, well, go ask Joey Calzone how that turned out for him.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“Joey Calzone? Who’s Joey Cal-“[/COLOR] Jean stopped, and his face dropped. [COLOR="Navy"]“Oh.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“’Oh’ is right. This is Elite, Jean. You thought you found yourself a pretty sweet gig? You thought that being in the big leagues made you a big-time player? You’re just a goombah like the rest of us. The big man calls the shots. It’s a hell of a lot better bein’ on the inside than the outside, but don’t start thinking that you’re running this show. Now, if I were you, I’d make damn sure I still had a job in a few weeks time.”[/COLOR] Jean nodded slowly, and walked out of the room, looking thoughtful. As he left, Sexy turned to Shaffer. [COLOR="Blue"]“And what the hell’s your problem, anyway?”[/COLOR] Shaffer looked up, seemingly startled out of a reverie. He looked at Sexy for a long moment before shrugging. [COLOR="Blue"]“Y’know...”[/COLOR] he managed, before abruptly standing up and following Jean out of the door. Sexy scowled. [COLOR="Blue"]“What a buncha -“[/COLOR] The camera cut to another location where Jean Cattley was pacing back and forth outside a locker room door, a baseball bat in one hand. The door cracked open, and Jean threw himself flat against the wall, bat raised and ready to swing. Tim Westybrook stepped out into the hallway and stretched, only to take the baseball bat straight to the face as Cattley swung like he was going for World Series glory. Westybook slammed back into the locker room door, crying out in pain before crumpling to the mat, his hands clasped over what was clearly already a badly bloodied nose. Cattley leaned over the World champion. [COLOR="Navy"]“See you in two weeks, champ,”[/COLOR] he growled, before throwing the bat down and walking away as a slew of backstage workers charged in to look after the incapacitated Westybrook. * [B]Tim Westybrook vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/B] We came back from the break with Newton already in the ring, demanding that the referee call the match a forfeit in his favour. The referee looked set to do just that when Westybrook’s music hit. Even so, it was several seconds before the World champion made his entrance, and the hastily applied bandage over his nose was, as Rip put, more of a target than anything else. He made his way down to the ring on shaky legs, and Newton’s glee seemed to grow even more. I pointed out that a win over Westybrook in a real match would be worth even more than a forfeit – even if Westybrook was clearly badly injured. Rip asked if I was happy to let the match go ahead. I replied that Westybrook seemed willing, and I wasn’t about to argue with him. Rip snorted in amusement. The referee seemed reluctant to let the match go ahead, and called for the bell only after checking on Westybrook several times. The World champion was slow to react to Newton’s first attacks, and at one point swung at open space several feet to Newton’s left. Newton’s grin only grew wider. However, Newton made a significant mistake in his pursuit of the win. He took Westybrook to the mat and tried to turn the contest into a mat wrestling exhibition. At first, it seemed like a reasonable tactic as Newton is a tremendous technician. But then Newton made the mistake of putting himself within reach of Westybrook, and his gasp was audible as Westybrook clamped on a bearhug and squeezed, bringing his undiminished strength to bear on his opponent. For the next several minutes, Westybrook proceeded to batter Newton to the best of his abilities. He wasn’t always able to land his strikes, which kept Newton in the match, but when he did the Triple Threat was staggered. It was almost a game of cat and mouse, with the two chipping away at each other, gradually wearing each other down. As the clock passed nineteen minutes, Newton found himself behind Westybrook after a clumsy charge and jumped on the World champion’s back, clamping on a sleeper. Westybrook immediately began to fade, dropping to his knees, his eyes glazing over as Davis cinched in the hold. The referee checked Westybrook closely, raising his hand once and letting it drop. He raised the champion’s hand a second time, and let it drop, Westybrook offering no resistance. As he raised the hand a third time, the bell rung and Newton released the hold, already celebrating a momentous victory. Westybrook toppled forward, hitting the mat flat on his face as the ring announcer informed the crowd that the match had gone to a time limit draw. Newton went ballistic as the show went off the air, the camera closing in on Westybrook’s battered, bruised, bloodied and completely unconscious face. Winner: No-one (B-) [B]Overall: C+[/B] [I]Next: Talking 'bout a revolution...[/I]

[James Casey]

After several months of trying, American Option had finally succumbed to the temptation of putting MAW onto their schedules. I wasn’t expecting it to be the solution to our financial woes (holding steady at some $130,000 a month losses) but it couldn’t really hurt. We weren’t getting much from the deal, but anything was better than nothing. I was more hoping that the lure of attending a pay-per-view would bring in a bigger attendance for the show. That could make a big difference – even a thousand extra people showing up once a month would be good (not least because we had to go for the 1,000 rather than 2,000 seat venue for Nationwide this week). * Dinner was on Rip as we talked over a few things. Top of the list was show scheduling. At the moment, we were basically booking around USPW, CGC and TCW. The three of them had their hands on most of our uppercard and were the priorities for our roster. I was also concerned about SWF. At the moment, we were the more prestigious company, and therefore the favoured choice for our roster. That would almost certainly change in a few months when Vibert had settled in to the head booker post and was able to control the company and roster. A lot of ex-SWF workers were now with TCW and NOTBPW, locked up on long written deals. I wouldn’t have put it past Vibert to launch a raid on MAW in the near future – not to mention recalling some of the workers already under contract. Joe Sexy had just re-signed with them on a PPA deal, and Richard didn’t tend to authorise new deals for workers until the old one was expiring. That meant that a lot of workers would remain on PPA deals even if the company did rise back to National/International/Global. However, a lot of our workers were on three contracts. A talent raid by SWF might not affect us too much right now as we were first or second choice for many workers. However, there had been a few workers lately who’d moved up the rankings enough to attract bigger employers, and for those workers we were number three on their list. MAW has always been vulnerable to roster raids, and until and unless such time arrives that we can lock talent down to written deals, that’s not likely to change. However, being a Cult-level fed carrying a lot of workers who’d enhance the midcard and above of a number of companies higher up than us? Yeah, vulnerable. The scheduling issue came up because there are very few days where we have a full roster available. A couple of Fridays a month is all there is, hence putting Nationwide there. We have a little more latitude with the pay-per-views. GCG, TCW and CGC run on our favoured third Saturday of the month, meaning that Phil Roberts, KC Glenn, Ernest Youngman and Lassana Makutsi are unavailable, as is Sean Deeley. If we moved to the fourth Monday, we’d be missing Lauren Easter from the usual main event crew. That’s about as much as we can do, but it’s worth considering. For now, we’ve decided to go with it as it is currently, but July’s big show could be moved to take this into account. The shame of it all is this: In order to exploit written contracts (or, at least, most-favoured-promotion status) and get first dibs on all our workers, we’ll have to get to Global and overtake TCW, NOTBPW and whichever Japanese feds are touring on any given day we might want to run a show. * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: On Tour Saturday, 6th June 2014[/CENTER] Sara Marie York vs. Brooke Tyler[/B] Tyler disrespected York before the match, slapping the veteran and claiming that she was a nobody. York shrugged it off and said Tyler was entitled to her opinion – before slapping the taste out of Tyler’s mouth! York tore into the youngster, and dominated the match before putting her away with an Energy Burst for the win. Winner: Sara Marie York (D+) * After the match, York picked up the mic. She said that she wanted to embody American values here in MAW – hard work, fair play and having fun! * [B]The Young Americans (0pts) vs. The Adepts (1pt)[/B] The Young Americans were just about able to remove their ring jackets this time, before being jumped by Pyre and Wraith. The Rule of One duo threw their opponents around the ring with practised ease, before Hocking was polished off with a Mou Kei. Winner: The Adepts (2pts, E+) * Antonio challenged Phoenix to a match, claiming that after Cameron Vessey beat the masked man last week, he was determined to do the same. Phoenix replied that a tainted win like Vessey’s was no win at all – but if Antonio wanted the match, he was ready! * [B]Phoenix vs. Antonio[/B] Unusually for Phoenix, he threw his all into a fast-paced brawling match that seemed to leave Antonio on the back foot throughout. In the end, Phoenix picked up the win with a Firebird Splash. Winner: Phoenix (D) * The arena was plunged into darkness, with a single spotlight falling on the stage. A huge figure, full 6’10” tall, stood poised at the top of the ramp. He was shrouded in a black cloak that he shrugged from his shoulders, revealing a thickly muscled frame. The video screen flickered to life as a camera zoomed in on the man’s face. A ghoulish mask covered his features. As he made his way down the aisle, the video screen flashed up with a single word in Gothic script: [B]Scythe[/B]. [CENTER][IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/Scythe_alt2.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] * [B]Sam Cannon vs. Scythe[/B] Sam Cannon was the luckless first opponent of Scythe, a worker who’s full of potential and who has an attitude that reminds me of Jay Chord. We’ve looked at bringing him in before, but always baulked because of his contract demands. Well, on the basis that sound financial practise would be akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic... Basically put, Scythe demolished Cannon before drilling him with an Underworld Spike (tombstone) for the win. Winner: Scythe (D-) * Anne Sidious led Null down to the ring, and issued a challenge on behalf of her associate to anyone who dared to stand against the Rule Of One. Fumihiro Ota answered the challenge, saying that he was ready to take on anyone. * [B]Fumihiro Ota vs. Null[/B] This was an even contest, with Null trying to keep the well-rounded Ota on the mat. In the end, Ota’s talent shone through and after managing to escape a Canadian Backdrop attempt, he drilled Null with a Ninja Strike for the win. Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D) * After the bell, Ota proclaimed himself to be MAW’s gatekeeper, the testing ground for anyone who wanted to move up the rankings. To make it in this business, he proclaimed, you had to be able to compete against him! * [B]Bradford Peverell vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/B] This was Bradford Peverell’s best match in a while, as he went up against a Davis Newton who took the World champion to the limit 24 hours before. Peverell pushed Newton the whole way, but ended up short when he fell to a Fisherman’s Suplex. Winner: Davis Wayne Newton (C-) * Gino Montero said that he welcomed Cameron Vessey’s challenge for tonight – that Vessey and Antonio were trying to prove themselves, and he was happy to help them out. However, we hadn’t heard from Casey Valentine about who he wanted to team with. Montero decided to challenge Valentine next week, and that way everyone could compare the three men’s performances against each others. * [B]Gino Montero (c) vs. Cameron Vessey[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action title[/COLOR] Vessey fared a little better in this match than Antonio had the week before. He pushed Montero hard, and it seemed that the absence of a gimmick played to Vessey’s strengths more than the ladder rules had the week before. However, Montero weathered Vessey’s attacks to come back and score with a Montero Press for the successful defence. Winner: Gino Montero (D+) [B]Overall: D+[/B] * Over in SWF, Xavi Ferrara has been called up to the main roster after just a few days in development. It’s not at all impossible to imagine that new World champion Steve Frehley, who’s just taken the belt from Lobster Warrior, may have his new challenger. The current SWF uppercard scene has just two workers under 34 – Frehley and Robbie Retro. * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. “Enforcer” Phil RobertsJoanne Rodriguez vs. Brooke Tyler Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. Swoop McCarthy (c) – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero (c) vs. Jean Cattley – MAW All Action title[/CENTER]

[Bigpapa42]

[B][U]MAW Nationwide[/U][/B] Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. [B]Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong[/B] [B]“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith [/B]vs. “Enforcer” Phil Roberts [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] vs. Brooke Tyler Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy [/B](c) – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero (c) vs. [B]Jean Cattley [/B]– MAW All Action title Via some shenanigans that don't invovlve Mr. Cattley getting the belt.

[Candyman]

[B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. [B]Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong[/B] “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. [B]“Enforcer” Phil Roberts[/B] [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] vs. Brooke Tyler Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title Gino Montero (c) vs. Jean Cattley – MAW All Action title [I]Draw[/I]

[smurphy1014]

MAW Nationwide Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. [B]Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong[/B] [B]“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith[/B] vs. “Enforcer” Phil Roberts [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] vs. Brooke Tyler Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title [B]Gino Montero (c)[/B] vs. Jean Cattley – MAW All Action title

[Tigerkinney]

Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. [B]Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong[/B] [I]There are few dead cert picks when it comes to predicting what will happen on MAW Nationwide...this is one of them.[/I] “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. [B]“Enforcer” Phil Roberts[/B] [I]Another match to keep Elite looking strong[/I] [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] vs. Brooke Tyler [I]Routine win for your current women's champ[/I] Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] – MAW Traditional title [I]Swoop's reign has been so long now, that it deserves to be ended at one of the major shows. [/I] Gino Montero (c) vs. Jean Cattley – MAW All Action title [I]Montero dropping the belt to Cattley just wouldn't really achieve anything, but I just don't see Montero getting the win over Cattley either. This has schmozz draw leading to some chaotic stable vs stable brawl to close out of the show written all over it.[/I]

[James Casey]

[I]OOC: Some interesting predictions - mostly people were right on the money, and one had 100%. This was a show that, I think, was relatively easy to pick - only one real trap. It's a bit of a trial to see who might be ready to step up in a way, although no-one who's given the chance tonight is exactly a shock or anything...[/I] * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, 12th June 2014[/CENTER] Bradford Peverell and Wendy Summers vs. Joe Sexy and Alicia Strong[/B] Sexy and Strong spent way too long canoodling in the corner before they agreed to begin the match. Strong then taunted her opponents by demanding that Peverell get in the ring with her, before finally the match began with Sexy and Peverell going at it. Peverell and Summers were making rare television appearances, and seemed to be slightly intimidated by the cameras. Either that, or Sexy and Strong were just too clinically ruthless in their assault and clever cheating to be taken down. In the end, Sexy drilled Peverell with a One Night Stand for the win. Winners: Sexy and Strong (C-) * After the bell, Ernest Youngman, Phil Roberts and Jean Cattley all charged down to the ring. Peverell was dragged to his feet before being nailed with a string of finshers, including a Strong Arm Tactic from Alicia. With Peverell down and unmoving, the group turned their attention to Wendy Summers. The normally cheerful woman looked terrified – frozen in place as Elite advanced on her. Fortuantely for her, the cavalry arrived as Gino Montero, Brandon Smith and Lassana Makutsi charged down to the ring. The trio were all carrying weapons with them, and even though they were outnumbered, they were able to make Elite back away. [COLOR="Blue"]“You want to fight? You do it fair gringos,”[/COLOR] Montero snarled. [COLOR="Blue"]“Three of us, three of you tonight, you got it?”[/COLOR] Phil Roberts was the first to step up to the plate, pointing at Brandon Smith and sporting an eerie smile as he did so. As the ring cleared and Roberts and Smith took their places, I announced that later in the night we’d see Youngman and Makutsi in a triple threat against Swoop McCarthy, while Gino Montero would take on Jean Cattley – and the All Action title would be on the line! * [B]“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. “Enforcer” Phil Roberts [/B] This was a relatively even contest, although Roberts was still hampered by his knee injury. The two showed no mercy for one another, with Roberts subjecting Smith to a series of wrenching armlocks designed to blunt Smith’s superior strength. However, Smith came back with a series of tackles and spears, playing off his NFL background. In the end, Joe Sexy snuck back to ringside and tripped Smith as went to the ropes, allowing Roberts to trap him in the centre of the ring with an RCT for the submission win. Winner: Phil Roberts (D+) * After the bell, Sexy entered the ring and leaned over Smith. [COLOR="Blue"]“Not ready for the big leagues, Smith? I tell you what, if you manage to make it through next week, what do you say to getting in the ring with me at Fan Festival?”[/COLOR] He smirked as he stood up. [COLOR="Blue"]“Maybe when you wake up, someone can pass the message on.”[/COLOR] * [B]Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman vs. Swoop McCarthy (c)[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Traditional title[/COLOR] On commentary, I noted that as Swoop had originally been scheduled to take on Youngman anyway, I’d decided to throw Lassana a shot at the Traditional title. Rip asked if I was condoning the sort of gang violence that had been threatened at the start of the show. I replied that I appreciated chivalry. The action consisted of Swoop constructing a series of shifting alliances as he played off the hatred between his two competitors. Swoop kept a shrewd eye on the changing momentum, and was swift to switch sides when it suited him – safe in the knowledge that the other two men would sooner have conceded defeat than worked together. However, when Youngman nailed Makutsi with The Hit and turned his attention to Swoop, the Traditional champion was quick to grab his title belt from ringside and waffle Youngman with it, leaving his challengers down and out, and the referee no choice but to rule the match a no contest. Winner: None (C+) * Youngman and Makutsi continued to brawl after the bell, and the referee could do nothing to stop them. In the end, it took a whole squad of security guards to break them up. I commented that it seemed like a good idea for them to face off the following week to see if they could get it out of their system. * Backstage, and Joe Sexy was on the phone again. This time he seemed to be calling Trent Shaffer. [COLOR="Blue"]“Damn answerphone... Listen, it’s Joe. Where were you tonight? You’re supposed to be here with us. Whatever your problem is, get your head on straight – the boss doesn’t tolerate slackers, see?”[/COLOR] He hung up and scowled. [COLOR="Blue"]“The boss is not going to be pleased...”[/COLOR] * Brooke Tyler hit the ring, an intent expression on her face. [COLOR="Blue"]“It’s been over a year since I came to MAW. This is supposed to be the place where the best of the young stars can shine, but I’m always left off the big shows and never make it on TV. Tonight I’m demanding a match against the Women’s champion so I can show what I can do. If Rodriguez doesn’t come out now, I’ll take it as proof that the big names are avoiding me and maybe I’ll have to channel my father to make an impression...”[/COLOR] She left the thought hanging. Of course, Eric Tyler isn’t so well known – and his relationship to Brooke isn’t so well known either – that this made much of an impression. She did get J-Ro to come down to the ring or the match, though... * [B]Joanne Rodriguez vs. Brooke Tyler[/B] This show was – not wholly deliberately – a bit of a gamble on the talents of a series of workers who’ve been On Tour and out of the TV spotlight. Brooke Tyler may have passed the test the best of all, as she constructed a genuinely entertaining match with Rodriguez just a few days after pushing newcomer Sara Marie York hard On Tour. Although Rodriguez was clearly the stronger fighter, Tyler was able to trouble her repeatedly by dipping into her technical skills and breaking the momentum with well-timed wear-down holds. In the end, Rodriguez was able to build up enough steam to hit a J-Rocker for the win, but even as her hand was raised in victory she clearly knew that she’d been in a fight. Winner: Joanne Rodriguez (C-) * Jean Cattley stood in the middle of the ring. [COLOR="Navy"]“Seven days ago, I took out Tim Westybrook. The World champion isn’t here tonight because of my actions. We don’t even know if he’ll be here in eight days time when he’s defending the World title against... me. To make things worse for him, in his absence I came up with a proposal for the title match. Since normal singles matches haven’t been able to separate us, Tim, we’ll be facing each other in an Iron Man match! I hope you’re in shape, champ, because I have no problems in spending all night beating you into a pulp, just like I’ve done everyone else who’s dared face me in this company.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“I could go on and on about the list of impacts I’ve made in this business. This company was built around me, and for years I held it together. Now the time has come to let go, but I want a last hurrah. Gino Montero, some nobody midget from Mexico, thinks that he has a chance against me. That’s laughable, frankly. In eight days time I’ll be standing in the middle of this ring, the World title on one shoulder, the All Action title in the other.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“Gino, tonight’s match is a straight wrestling match. No gimmicks, no screwing around. You saw last week what I can do with a weapon when I want to, but tonight I’m going to show that I’m even better than ‘McFly Mk II’. [/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“As for that sham you associate with, this so-called Firm... Well, I don’t see them here tonight. After I ripped Fly apart that’s no surprise. And Arachnid must still be hurting after his run in the Internationals. I thought Heroe had more guts, though. Apparently you’re not a patch on Elite.”[/COLOR] Montero’s music played, and the All Action champion made his entrance. [COLOR="Blue"]“Jean, amigo, you talk a really good fight. And if ambushes and sneak attacks were how this business ran, you’d be the World champion instead of just talking about it all the time. You’re right, though – Arachnid is resting up this week, but he’s got Newton at Fan Festival, so don’t worry about him. Fly and Heroe are training today, you see they’ve got Joss Thompson and Ruin at the pay-per-view, and Fly’s finally gonna get some justice after Ruin put him on the shelf for all those weeks. That’s where my homes are, Jean.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“As for taking my title... I think you got that backwards, esse. You see, come next Saturday, I don’t think you’re gonna have either title. In fact, I think you’re gonna be walking out of this company, tail between your legs and no job. And then...”[/COLOR] Montero smiled, grimly. [COLOR="Blue"]“Elite have been getting serious this month, huh? Jared Johnson and Kashmir Singh out injured for a long time, maybe Bradford Peverell following them, and I hear next week that Shaffer’s signed to take on Sam Cannon. Well, Sam’s gonna have backup, Jean. From here on in, The Firm get serious too. Wherever you go, whatever you do, we’ll be there. And Jean, if by some miracle you walk out of the ring with the World title next week... Best get ready to see a lot of us, because the line for challengers starts behind The Firm!”[/COLOR] * [B]Gino Montero (c) vs. Jean Cattley[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action title[/COLOR] This was full-paced technical wizardry from bell to bell as Cattley pitted his reputation as the best pure wrestler against the young ‘McFly Mk II’. MAW fans being notorious mat-hounds, they lapped this up. Cattley grew frustrated at his inability to put the youngster away, and instead switched up to brawling-based offence. Montero, however, is not reckoned to be the best all-round youngster for nothing. He kept pace with Cattley, even overshadowing him with a back flip before launching a roundhouse punch that dropped Cattley for a long two count. Cattley kept trying to find a way through the youngster’s defences, but then Montero went airborne and Cattley found himself unable to keep up as Montero switched seamlessly between styles, leaving Cattley almost in the dust before the champion nailed a Montero Press for the win, dealing a huge blow to Cattley’s momentum ahead of his World title career vs. career match in just eight days time! Winner: Gino Montero (B-) [B]Overall: C[/B] [I]Next: Equal opportunities, a snake and a big win for Giant Redwood in USPW...[/I]

[D-Lyrium]

I thought Cattley was smart. So your career's on the line, and it's down to you to pick a stipulation (apparently), so you choose to take on the Iron Man in an Iron Man Match? Bye, Jean! Nice knowing you.

[James Casey]

Ah, there's method in his madness. I mean, yeah, Westybrook in an Iron Man match is potential career suicide, but Jean's savvy enough to at least think he has a few tricks up his sleeve. Either that, or he's deluded enough to think he can get away with it...

[James Casey]

I had to slap down Jonathan Taylor again after this last show. That’s eight times in five months – and it means he’s on his last chance. We’ve already begun scouting for a replacement referee and have turned up an odd candidate: BSC make-up girl and general dogsbody Heather Halo has done some refereeing work for the Vegas promotion. She’s a competent referee, indeed she’s as good as Taylor was when he started here. We’ll have to see if the fans buy into a female official, as there was a distinct coolness towards female competitors when we tried that... * [CENTER][B]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: On Tour Saturday, 13th June 2014[/B][/CENTER] Raphael came down to the ring. He proclaimed that he and his allies were dominant in MAW, a controlling presence whose influence spread far beyond anything that could be seen on screen. When the Rule of One spoke, everyone listened. He was interrupted by a newcomer to MAW: T-Bone Bright. He claimed to be a friend of Brandon Smith’s who was following his buddy into wrestling after being a success on the gridiron. And like Brandon, he wanted to show that success came down to hard work and talent – not how much stroke you have backstage! * [B]T-Bone Bright vs. Raphael[/B] Raphael looked to Anne Sidious on a number of occasions during the match, but thr Dark Lady seemed to be at a loss as to how her associate could handle T-Bone’s sheer power and explosive strikes. In the end, a thunderous Powerslam put the Rule of One leader down for the three. Winner: T-Bone Bright (E+) * Phil Jerome and Quentin Queen came down to the ring. They claimed that they had been overlooked for too long – but rather than complain about it, they wanted to make their names honestly and make up for all the trouble they’d caused. So they were going to team up and go after the tag titles under the name Divine Intervention. Ernest Forthdyke-Hume led Marshal Dillon and Sheriff Blaze to the ring and claimed that Queen and Jerome were the stupidest thing he’d ever heard – and his wrestling cowboys would show them the error of their ways! * [B]Divine Intervention (0pts) vs. The West Texas Lawmakers (1pt)[/B] The newly-formed team wasted no time in getting on the scoresheet in this match. The Lawmakers attacked from the off, but the youngsters weathered their assaults before mounting a comeback worthy of Lazarus to pick up the win when Queen pinned Blaze. Winners: Divine Intervention (D-, 1pt) * Nadia Snow and Brooke Tyler, who’ve former a loose alliance in recent weeks, were strutting through the backstage area when they came upon Wendy Summers and Ariel Breaks. They taunted the younger duo, claiming that they weren’t capable of performing in MAW. Summers and Breaks seemed a little cowed by their aggressors, but challenged them to a match to show they could perform as well as Snow and Tyler could. * [B]Wendy Summers and Ariel Breaks vs. Nadia Snow and Brooke Tyler[/B] Snow and Tyler are the more experienced pairing, and wasted no time in bossing around their opponents. Summers and Breaks tried hard, but couldn’t find an answer to their foes offence – not all of which was legal. In the end, Tyler trapped Breaks in the Brooke Breaker to score the win. Winners: Snow and Tyler (D-) * Scythe made his impressive entrance again as Oscar Golden looked on from the ring. On commentary Rip noted that Oscar was a tag wrestler, and maybe branching out into singles against Scythe wasn’t the best of ideas. I pointed out that our roster had taken a beating lately, thanks to Elite, and there weren’t that many wrestlers left for Scythe to face. * [B]Oscar Golden vs. Scythe[/B] Golden tried – but for all his experience and talent, Scythe nearly flattened his nose with a crushing big boot to the face barely a minute into the match. Golden attempted rallies, but Scythe was dominant, eventually finishing him with an Underworld Spike. Winner: Scythe (D-) * An unknown woman made her way through the backstage to find Kristabel Plum trying to cheer up Ariel Breaks and Wendy Summers. The woman introduced herself as Tracy Brendon... [CENTER][IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/TracyBrendon_alt2.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] ...and proceeded to trash-talk Plum. Brendon claimed that Plum had no business being in MAW either as she lost every match she was in. Plum laughed her off and said that she’d show her that she could win out in the ring – right now! * [B]Kristabel Plum vs. Tracy Brendon[/B] I’m somewhat mystified by this – Plum and Brendon are talented workers, but I guess the fans just don’t care that much. In the end, Brendon wrapped up her opponent in an Idaho Crunch for the debut victory. Winner: Tracy Brendon (E) * A dark-haired man with a handlebar moustache and goatee stood in the centre of the ring, a tarpaulin bag at his feet. Unsettlingly, the bag was moving as though something living was inside it. [CENTER][IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/Cobra.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] He introduced himself as Cobra, and claimed that he was able to defeat anyone – that he could strike with the speed and viciousness of the snake from which he took his name. Phoenix took this as a challenge, which Cobra was quick to accept. Phoenix, however, didn’t seem worried by the newcomer’s eagerness, noting that above all other creatures snakes fear phoenixes. * [B]Phoenix vs. Cobra[/B] Cobra showed low cunning in this match, catching Phoenix time and again with cheap shots. The masked man stuck to the honourable approach, which seemed to throw his opponent, and in the end after catching Phoenix with an opportunistic clothesline he opened the tarpaulin sack and withdrew a huge king cobra – fully fifteen feet long! Before Phoenix could climb back up to his feet, Cobra dropped the gigantic snake across his chest. The DQ was academic as there was much more concern as the highly venomous snake reared up and watched Phoenix carefully, before Cobra carelessly picked it up and carried it back up the aisle, clearly satisfied with the reaction he’d drawn. Winner: Phoenix (D-) * Gino Montero and Casey Valentine faced one another across the centre of the ring. Montero asked if Valentine had made up his mind about who he’d be tagging with. Valentine replied that it was still under consideration. Antonio and Cameron Vessey were both good friends, and that it only confirmed how great a wrestler he was that two wrestlers of their calibre were fighting to be his partner. But then, maybe Casey wouldn’t need a partner. Maybe he’d walk out of the arena tonight as the new All Action champion! * [B]Gino Montero (c) vs. Casey Valentine[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action title[/COLOR] From bell to bell, this was an all-out brawl as Valentine sought to keep his talented opponent off-balance. For a time, he seemed to succeed as Montero seemed stymied by Valentine’s offence. However, slowly but surely Montero began to make his way back into the match, culminating in a Montero Press as he scored his third consecutive win over a member of the C-V-2/Second Sons triad. Winner: Gino Montero (C-) [B]Overall: D[/B] * It’s been a quiet week out in the business, with the big news being the likely departure of Angry Gilmore from SWF as his contract has come up at the wrong time for him to re-sign with them. SWF are still some way short of regaining National (or better) status even if there weren’t the enforced six-month gap that the accountants insist on for any company dropping to Cult before they’re allowed to hand out guaranteed contracts again. Although it’s not something I’ve exploited very much since joining MAW, not being required to offer guaranteed money is a good thing for us. If we have a bad time – JD Morgan’s broken leg, for example – we can cut that worker loose without any cost to us. We haven’t done – even when it’s been a case of bad performances. It’s useful to know we can dump Divine Intervention, to pick an example at random, if things don’t work out. * Erik Strong had a one week, no defences reign as Shooting Star champion in SWF. He took the belt from KC Glenn, and dropped the belt to Donnie J. You have to go back to December 2011 to find the last time that the SS belt wasn’t worn by a former or current MAW worker. MAW – feeding the SWF undercard since 2008. * The downside of talent trades: We sent KC Glenn to USPW so we could bring in a guest for Fan Festival. There wasn’t a lot of choice, but we got someone. Sadly, for Glenn that meant a loss to semi-retired Giant Redwood on national TV. * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Sam Cannon vs. Trent Shaffer Amazing Fire Fly and El Heroe Mexicano vs. Davis Wayne Newton and Joss Thompson Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman Kid Arachnid vs. Ruin ??? and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jean Cattley and Joe Sexy [I]I'll be honest - Smith's partner isn't exactly hard to guess...[/I][/CENTER]

[James Casey]

[I]OOC: I'm sure most of you are aware of the [URL="http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57268"]Must Read List 2009[/URL]. Thanks to all who voted for this diary to place high on the list (4th!). If you're ever looking for a new diary to read, now you have a place to take a look and see what we all think are the best ones around.[/I] * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, 19th June 2014[/CENTER] Sam Cannon vs. Trent Shaffer[/B] Sam Cannon spent the early moment of this match watching the entrance way warily, apparently expecting the arrival of Elite at any time. Shaffer hung back, apparently not wanting to take advantage of his distraction. In the end, Cannon focused on the job at hand and took the fight to Shaffer. However, the former Calamari Kid couldn’t put Shaffer away, and eventually fell to a Heart Burn. Winner: Trent Shaffer (C) * Joe Sexy and Ernest Youngman charged down to the ring and jumped on Cannon before he could get to his feet. They each grabbed an arm and dragged him upright as Shaffer stood watching, his expression blank. Without a word, without any warning, the two Elite men nailed Cannon with a brutal Russian legsweep that saw Cannon’s head bounce sickeningly off the mat. They then dragged him to his knees and turned him to face Shaffer. Sexy barked at him to attack the helpless Cannon. Shaffer didn’t move – or, rather, he took half a pace backwards. The fans erupted, and Youngman and Sexy spun around to see the cause: It was The Firm. El Heroe Mexicano, Amazing Fire Fly and Kid Arachnid had charged down to ringside and as they slid into the ring, Sexy and Youngman dropped Cannon and backed off towards Shaffer. The masked trio checked over Cannon, who didn’t seem to know where he was, or what was happening. As medical personnel made their way into the ring, the Firm representatives faced down the Elite trio. Sexy and Youngman looked to be spoiling for a fight, but when they realised that Shaffer wasn’t about to join them, they quickly changed their mind. They bailed out of the ring, with Shaffer following them lacklustrely. Heroe, Arachnid and Fly returned their attention to Cannon, who was being eased onto a backboard. As the members of Elite made their way up the aisle, Youngman grabbed his arm and spun him around to face him. [COLOR="Blue"]“What the hell is wrong with you, Shaffer? Do you think that being Elite is something you can choose when you want and drop when you don’t? Being Elite means you’re the best – you’re supreme.[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Being Elite means that you follow the boss’s orders, Trent. So either get ready to take out ---- like Cannon and Peverall or you can go back to New York and tell him what gives you the right to be your own man when the rest of us have to follow orders.”[/COLOR] Shaffer scowled, clearly not liking what he was being told. For a moment, he looked like he might hit Youngman, but in the end he shoved past his colleagues and made his way up the aisle alone. Sexy’s glare burned a hole in Shaffer’s back as their ally walked up the aisle, his expression a far cry from his usual laid-back neutrality. [COLOR="Blue"]“Damn it, Trent, you’d better be ready tomorrow night!”[/COLOR] Sexy yelled at Shaffer as he disappeared through the curtain. * After the break, Amazing Fire Fly and El Heroe Mexicano were preparing in The Firm’s locker room for their tag match when the door opened and their opponents came in. [COLOR="Blue"]“I’m disappointed,”[/COLOR] Joss Thompson said. “This locker room isn’t as nice as ours. It’s just a clubhouse. It’s not international standard.” [COLOR="Blue"]“You’re right. I think we can forget the plan where we take this palce over after winning tonight,”[/COLOR] David Wayne Newton replied. Heroe and Fly exchanged irritated glances. Newton and Thompson smirked as Lisa Bowen moulded herself against Newton’s right side, and Haley Buck stood behind Thompson, clearly taking in every detail of the room and mentally writing a dollar total under the list. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“I suppose you’re going to here to tell us how badly you’re going to beat us, or that we might as well give up on beating Ruin and Thompson tomorrow because of the big dumb ape’s strength,”[/COLOR] Heroe said, walking over to stand nose to nose with Newton, who grinned smugly. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]“All I know is that you’re like a bad smell, amigos. You’re supercilious, and overbearing, and you give a bad name to good people who’re in this business to work hard and give their all.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“We work hard,”[/COLOR] Thompson said. [COLOR="Blue"]“All over the world. Not Mexico, of course. Nothing for us to learn down there.”[/COLOR] Fly snapped to his feet. [COLOR="Blue"]“Thompson, you’ve got two matches against me and Heroe in the next twenty-four hours. Just how much do you want to lose them both?”[/COLOR] Newton pushed Heroe back a couple of steps. [COLOR="Blue"]“We’re the Internationals, Mexican insect person,”[/COLOR] he replied dismissively. [COLOR="Blue"]“The finest wrestlers anywhere. I assure you, we’re not about to lose any matches – against you, or anyone.”[/COLOR] * [B]Amazing Fire Fly and El Heroe Mexicano vs. Davis Wayne Newton and Joss Thompson[/B] This was a formula tag match, although the International duo did little to suggest they could work well as a team, several times almost allowing Fly to escape their clutches due to miscommunications. At ringside, Lisa Bowen and Haley Buck, the respective International managers, also seemed to be getting in on the act as they bickered amongst themselves. In the end, Newton had to resort to desperate measures as Bowen slipped him a pair of brass knuckles that he used to knock Heroe out for the pin. Winner: Newton and Thompson (C) * Backstage, and Ernest Youngman was walking arrogantly through the halls, snarling at anyone who crossed his path. As he passed a hallway, Lassana Makutsi stepped out of the shadows and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around. [COLOR="Blue"]“Ernest, we must talk. Last week you and I fought Swoop McCarthy for the Traditional title, and he walked out of the arena having cheated his way to retaining. Such actions do not sit well with me.”[/COLOR] Youngman shrugged. [COLOR="Blue"]“If Swoop can keep that title, good for him. In fact, he’s an impressive fighter. He knows when to pick his spots, and when to cut things short. If anyone in this company has impressed the boss, it’s McCarthy.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“I see. Well, I would have challenged you tonight to face me to determine a number one contender to McCarthy’s title. Perhaps, however, you are not interested.”[/COLOR] Youngman appeared conflicted. [COLOR="Blue"]“I didn’t say that. McCarthy’s still on the other side. He should have been sucking up to Elite like everyone else – not acting like the biggest deal in town. Maybe I will take you on. I’m part of Elite. Maybe we deserve to hold the titles, like Jean’s been saying.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Good. I have yet to see adequate recompense for your part, and the part of your colleagues, in the injuring of my tag team partner. When Jared returns, I am sure he will seek his own justice, and I will gladly assist him with that. For now, and to your misfortune, you and I will fight.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“My misfortune?”[/COLOR] Youngman laughed. [COLOR="Blue"]“What your partner went through a few weeks back is going to seem like a vigorous massage compared to what’s in store for you. I am Elite and you, little man, you are nothing.”[/COLOR] * [B]Lassana Makutsi vs. Ernest Youngman[/B] to name the [COLOR="Purple"]#1 contender[/COLOR] to the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Traditional title[/COLOR] This was an enjoyable match, improved by the flawless understanding between the two men. The sequences flowed seamlessly into one another, and it was clear early on that Youngman had underestimated his opponent. Rip called Lassana’s performance a breakout moment, and that might not be too far from the truth. Youngman tried to up his game to overwhelm the young African, but Makutsi seemed to be there to meet him every step of the way, eventually drilling Youngman with a Lassana Stunner to score the upset and guarantee him a shot at the Traditional title! Winner: Lassana Makutsi (C-) * Kid Arachnid was backstage, looking a little troubled – in so far as could be told beneath the mask. He was approached by Dawn. [COLOR="Magenta"]“Kid Arachnid? Can I have a few words?”[/COLOR] Arachnid still seemed lost in thought, and it was several seconds before he looked around. [COLOR="SlateGray"]“Sorry, there. What did you say?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Magenta"]“Could I have a few words, please? You’re facing Ruin tonight, and Davis Wayne Newton tomorrow. You brought together The Firm to face Elite, but it seems that of late they’ve been distracted by Newton and the other Internationals.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="SlateGray"]“Yeah... It’s funny, but I was thinking the same thing. The Firm want to save MAW from Elite, but it seemed like they weren’t actually doing too much to bring it down. Then they ‘got serious’ this month, and we haven’t been in a position to stop them. We’ve been distracted – and that’s bad leadership on my part. I can’t let that happen. Did you hear Youngman before that last match?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Magenta"]“Yes.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="SlateGray"]“He said that there’ve been people sucking up to Elite. I think I know who. I think I need to make my presence felt more – make The Firm’s presence felt more. After tomorrow night, it’s time for us to ‘get serious’ as well. Wherever they are, we’re going to be. On TV, On Tour, at the pay-per-views... From now on, we’re dogging their steps.”[/COLOR] * [B]Kid Arachnid vs. Ruin[/B] Ruin dominated the early exchanges, throwing Arachnid around the ring. Arachnid was dogged in his pursuit of the bigger man, taunting him and trying to rattle him – and mostly taking more pain for his efforts. Ruin was visibly growing frustrated at his inability to put Arachnid down, and nearly walked into a Super DDT at one point. However, he was ‘saved’ a short time later as Davis Wayne Newton charged down to the ring and attacked Arachnid, drawing the DQ. Winner: Kid Arachnid (C+) * Newton watched as Ruin hoisted Arachnid up into a torture rack. As the former World champion torque down on the move, Newton smirked. [COLOR="Blue"]“Arachnid, don’t go getting ahead of yourself. Whoever you are, you’re good – you wouldn’t have lasted five minutes again Ruin if not. You shouldn’t forget about me tomorrow. I definitely want to be able to claim that I beat you, whatever happens after that. If Elite shut this place down, I’ll go on someplace else and be the best there. If not, I’ll be the World champion here. Whatever happens, though, you’ll just be another name on my record.”[/COLOR] * Jean Cattley and Joe Sexy were backstage in the Elite locker room. They sat facing away from each other, and it was clear that they had not entirely resolved their issues with one another. [COLOR="Navy"]“Alright, why does Smith want us in a tag match tonight?”[/COLOR] Cattley said at last. [COLOR="Navy"]“You I can understand, but you always tag with Phil.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“I don’t know,”[/COLOR] Sexy replied. [COLOR="Blue"]“All I know is that Casey came to me today and said that the match was made.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Navy"]“It’s a stupid-ass way of doing things. Why do we have to obey his rules when we’re tearing this place down, anyway?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“You know why – if we don’t, the boss loses face. We have to do this by the rules. We come in here, we smash the place up and break everyone in half, but we have to do it by the rules. That means if we get put in a match, we haveta fight. Doesn’t mean we can’t take someone down in an alley or at a tollbooth, but-“[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“But you have been kinda unlucky at findin’ me at any of those places, haven’t you, Sexy?”[/COLOR] Brandon Smith stood in the doorway, a tight scowl on his face. [COLOR="Blue"]“Why’d Ah ask for this match, Jean? Shame on you. You’ve been around long enough to know how this business works. Tomorrow night Ah have Joe over there in the ring, so me and him being on opposing sides is only natural. As for you... Well, who have you got at the show, Jean?”[/COLOR] Smith stood aside, and suddenly the doorway was filled with the 320lb frame of Tim Westybrook, looking almost completely healed from Cattley’s attack with a baseball bat. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“I mend quick,”[/COLOR] he said. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Too quick for you, Cattley. Tomorrow night you’ve taken advantage of my absence to arrange an Iron Man match. I guess you thought that I couldn’t last thirty minutes after you nearly caved my face in two weeks ago. But Jean... I mend quick. Tomorrow night I’m going to break you so very badly that I’m sure you’re going to mend slow...”[/COLOR] * [B]Tim Westybrook and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jean Cattley and Joe Sexy[/B] Westybrook was hardly a ‘surprise’ partner, but Cattley and Sexy seemed thrown by his presence and healthy appearance. We used that explanation to cover their lack of chemistry in the ring, which was disappointing – two new discoveries in one night, no less. Despite that handicap, the Elite duo managed to hold their foes at bay as they tried to isolate Smith. That approach was blunted as Smith was continually able to power out of their double teams, and keep his side’s momentum up. However, some skilful sneakiness on the part of Sexy allowed Team Elite to take the advantage, and soon after Smith fell victim to a One Night Stand – as Cattley and Westybrook glared at one another from across the ring. Winner: Cattley and Sexy (C-) [B]Overall: C-[/B] [I]Next: Fan Festival preview...[/I]