APW: Conquering the Commonwealth

[arwink]

[COLOR=black][B]“[/B]You’ve had eight months to get yourself established. Impress me.”[/COLOR] J.J. McMinister closed the folder sitting on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “Tell me we’re close to achieving mission critical? I know you boys are fans first and foremost, but this is business for me. Tell me, in very simple terms, where the profit is coming from.” Sean Quartermainne and I exchanged a long glance. This was not the meeting we’d been expecting today, but we knew it was coming somewhere along the line. We’d just hoped it’d happen a little later, when we’d had eighteen months or so to establish ourselves and get the company moving. Sean quirked an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head. He was the talker. “Page three,” he said. “Profit and loss. For the last three months we’ve been breaking even more often than not. Given the state of the industry and the initial backlash that came when APW…ah…took over the local scene, that’s not bad. We’re still operating under the same business plan you gave us at the outset, J.J. – reclaim the faithful we alienated and convert them to our product, then push forward and start grabbing the mainstream market. The former is on track, the latter…” Sean paused for a moment, trying to figure out a way to phrase things. “…the latter is possible, but we need some time. Most of these boys have never worked anything larger than an indy show; it’ll take a year or two to knock the edges off and make sure they’re ready for a national audience.” J.J. tried to stare Sean down. It was a good attempt, cold and calculating, but Quartermainne had spent twenty years staring down some of the biggest men in the business. He wasn’t rattled by much anymore. J.J. changed tactics. He turned the stare on me. “What about you. You got anything to add to that?” I’m not the talker. Hell, I’m not even the pragmatic one. “This is bull-@#$#” J.J. blinked. For a moment he looked like he was tempted to smile. “What?” “I said this is bull-@#$%. We’re breaking even, we’re building the fan base back up, and we’re on the verge of pushing our game to the next level. Name one other business you wouldn’t be ecstatic to discover in this position inside of its first year. Short term, no, you’re not making back the money you spent buying out the local scene, but you will. You asked us for a plan and we gave you one. If you let us stick to it-“ This time J.J. did smile. “Yeah?” I faltered, my momentary burst of bravado done with. Fortunately, Sean was there to pick up the slack. “Let us stick to the plan and we’ll do what you asked us too – ride the boom and make you money.” J.J’s laughter broke the tension of the meeting a little. “Well, damn, that’s sounds like a plan.” He cracked open the bar fridge on the back wall and threw some beer over the table. “Grant’s on the money, though. You guys are doing well – better than expected. I didn’t call you in here to read you the riot act; I just wanted to make a few tweaks to the plan. Taking care of business; pushing the pace a little based on the present success; striking while the iron’s hot; that sort of stuff. Cheers.” He raised his beer. I twisted the top off mine and drank, wary. Sean settled into the conversation and took over, firing questions at J.J. every chance he got. This was business; I hated business. Australian wrestling had never been very good at it. That’s why James J. McMinister now owned the damn Australian scene, and why guys like me and Sean were left to explain our creative decisions to him in meetings and business lunches.

[arwink]

My dad used to say that you evolved or you got left behind. Australia, by and large, had been left behind when it came to wrestling. For the last twenty years we've had a couple of small feds in the major capital cities, and maybe thirty or forty decent workers who could do more than bump around the ring, but there wasn’t much out there to keep the serious wrestling fan from looking overseas for their entertainment. The infighting between the federations made things worse – Aussie Rules Wrestling was built to destroy the Melbourne Wrestling Federation. Southern Hemisphere Wrestling got heat from everyone because they always looked like they were closest to making it big, and that whole Sydney-Melbourne rivalry meant that it was near-impossible to establish a stable heel or face on a national level even a fed in one state did bother to hire someone from the other. Adelaide Pro Wrestling was putting on some of the best main-events in the country and no-one cared because, hey, it was Adelaide. Then James J. McMinister came along. He was a rich, smarmy bastard, but he had a dream. J.J. wasn’t a wrestling a fan. Hell, he’d barely even a wrestling show since SWF broadcast its shows on local free-to-air TV back in the late eighties. His dream had nothing to do with the industry - what interested JJ was money and business, and he had the kind of instincts that made him good at both. He became interested in wrestling courtesy of a short paragraph in one of the Business journal that praised Jeff Nova for taking a stale British wrestling scene and transforming it into a major money-maker via 21st Century Wrestling. That tiny blip of a paragraph set fire to JJs brain and suddenly he was researching and planning. The logic behind his choice was simple: Australian wrestling was stale; There was money to be made from sports franchising and precious few franchises left. Baseball and American football had never caught on; Soccer had a breif flirtation with mainstream appeal during the World Cup a few years back, but then it was over. Sports made money in Australia if they could find traction, and JJ knew how to make cash from liscencing and merchandising. Better yet, he had about $400,000 he could gamble on the attempt to create a viable franchise that would compete with Ruby League, Australian Rules and the cricket. Even better still, Wrestling was a sport that could make its starts and it didn’t have an off-season. J.J. liked the sound of that. If he could do as Nova did, Wrestling could well be a good investment. Six weeks later he had the paperwork and the investors ready, with sponsors in place should he get a company started. A lot of his start-up capital went on buying-out the opposition and acquiring sponsors, but he did it fast and he left APW with an opperating budget bigger than anyone expected. It had a $250,000 stake to keep itself running; it was more money than an Australian fed had worked with in three decades. Adelaide Pro Wrestling fell first, but it meant that Sean Quartermainne was on-board and I came along for the ride. Sean and I had been advising on the booking committee for most of the APW run, and we had the dynamic down: I’d provide the raw ideas, he’d shape them for public consumption and deal with the talent. After the buyout we sat down with McMinister and listened to his pitch; it was big, bold and ambitious, and it freed Australian wrestling from the infighting and lack of focus that’d been holding it down. We signed on the dotted line a few days and relocated to work in APW's Melbourne office. Sean went along to negotiate the deals in Melbourne and Sydney, talking to the talent as each promotion was absorbed and getting everyone on-board with the promise of a contract or a try-out. Sean's smarmy, but he's got the gift of the gab and he knows how to talk to talent. We signed the cream of the Austrlaian crop and hit the ground running. It was a chance to evolve, and we took it, but sometimes it made me nervouse. This was an eggs-in-one-basket kind of move: if we failed, we’d kill the Australian wrestling scene for a decade. And failure was a possibility, because JJ wouldn’t hesitate to close the whole thing down the minute it stopped making money. We’d burned a lot of bridges in the name of keeping costs down, and that could hurt us in the long run. Every creative meeting was backed with the same fear: could we evolve, or had we signed on to the meteor that was destined to wipe out the dinosaurs? After eight months we looked healthy. Attendances grew, the talent found their place in the roster, and sponsors were throwing money at us in the belief that we were going to be everything JJ McMinister told them we'd be. Now J.J. had added a few more conditions to the pile. The restrictions he put in place were pretty logical, and it hurt that they made so much sense - APW was being built as a legit sporting franchise as much as a wrestling company, so we needed to keep things athletic, avoid the injury prone, and make sure the talent sold their opponents work as legitmate offense to minimize the worked look of the product. Not a huge problem for 90% of the roster, or even the majority of the active wrestlers looking for work in Australia, but it meant that Nathan McKenzie was going to need to pick up his game or we were out one potential star. The other commandments to come out of the meeting were slightly more worrying, if only because JJ made it clear that these were the Swords of Damoclese hanging over our heads: Keep out of debt and show tangible signs of growth within the next three years or APW was done. JJ stressed the last point, loud and clear: three years. After that, if we didn't at least show signs of becoming a viable east-coast franchise, he'd write the whole thing off as a bad expriment.

[arwink]

[CENTER][SIZE=3][B]Coming up at OzFest 2008[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Boo Smithson vs. Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Dingo Devine vs. Debonair David Peterson [/B] [B]Elimination Four-Way[/B][/CENTER] APW’s traditional four-corner elimination opener pits wrestlers against one-another in a desperate scramble to improve their rankings and put themselves in a position for a title shot at an upcoming show. Stan Standish comes into this match riding on a wave of momentum after putting his former Forbes Inc. partner Alyx Macquarie out of action for thirty days after the Early Christmas Bash. David Peterson is fresh of an unsuccessful attempt at the Commonwealth Title and eager to reclaim some momentum. “The Suplex Master” Dingo Devine is hungry to prove that he deserves a spot on the APW cards after missing the last couple of shows, while stuttering Boo Smithson is struggling to break his way free of the slump he’s been in for the last six months. One man will this match and elevate themselves up the card; the other three will drop down the rankings and possibly lose their contract. [CENTER][B]Crime Wave vs. The Rising Suns[/B] [B]Number One Contender’s Match[/B][/CENTER] Four of APW’s young guns clash in an effort to secure a shot at the tag-team champions at the Big Night Out in august. The Rising Suns are the odds on favourites for this, but the hardcore antics of Crime Wave have a way of leveling the playing field. [CENTER][B]Rick Stanz vs. Big Daddy Horne[/B] [B]Nathan McKenzie vs. Blake Belushi[/B][/CENTER] Stanz and Belushi, The Melbourne Blondes, have been a thorn in the side of Commissioner Nigel Darling ever since they won the APW Tag-Team straps. Their solid teamwork has made them nearly unstoppable in the tag-ranks, so Darling has broken them apart and booked them into singles competitions against Big Daddy Horne and “Big Mac” McKenzie – two men who loom over the rest of the APW locker-room and excel at beating down their opponents with raw power. [CENTER][B]Swoop McCarthy vs. Trehawke Phillips[/B][/CENTER] Trehawke Phillips opened the very first APW show with a victory and hasn’t stopped since, picking up eight straight victories in as many months. The only man in the promotion who can match that streak is Swoop McCarthy, the current APW Australian champion. These two men will meet in a first-time ever match-up as Trehawke risks his streak for a shot at Swoop’s belt. [CENTER][B]Harry Simonson vs. Lanny Williams[/B][/CENTER] Eight months ago Harry Simonson defeated Lanny Williams in the finals of the first ever tournament to crown a Commonwealth Champion. Williams has spent six months trying to get over that defeat and earn himself another title shot, and now the chance has finally come. Two of the best on the APW roster, this clash will truly determine who is the top of the APW mountain. [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Quick Picks[/SIZE][/B] Boo Smithson vs. Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Dingo Devine vs. Debonair David Peterson Crime Wave vs. The Rising Suns Rick Stanz vs. Big Daddy Horne Swoop McCarthy vs. Trehawke Phillips Nathan McKenzie vs. Blake Belushi Harry Simonson vs. Lanny Williams[/CENTER]

[Ezuma]

Boo Smithson vs. Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Dingo Devine vs. [B]Debonair David Peterson[/B] DDP is way more popular than the other three, and although SSS is a prospect, I can't see him winning this. Crime Wave vs. [B]The Rising Suns[/B] APW's audience HATE Crime Wave with a passion, and Stratosphere and Kuroda are 10x better anyway. [B]Rick Stanz[/B] vs. Big Daddy Horne BDH may be a main eventer, but he is complete CRAP, which is proven by the APW crowd's hatred of him, and Rick Stantz is a future star as well. Just be careful when he starts arking up on you. [B]Swoop McCarthy[/B] vs. Trehawke Phillips Swoop > All. [B]Nathan McKenzie[/B] vs. Blake Belushi Blake also has some potential, but I can't see him knocking off a main eventer in Big Mac. Harry Simonson vs. [B]Lanny Williams[/B] It's about time that title changed hands. Harry's held it long enough, and although Lanny's not as all-rounded as Simonson, he is a good wrestler and he is definitely popular enough to hold the Commonwealth title.

[Richyg]

Boo Smithson vs. [B]Spiffy Stan Standish[/B] vs. Dingo Devine vs. Debonair David Peterson Crime Wave vs. [B]The Rising Suns[/B] Rick Stanz vs. [B]Big Daddy Horne[/B] [B]Swoop McCarthy[/B] vs. Trehawke Phillips [B]Nathan McKenzie[/B] vs. Blake Belushi [B]Harry Simonson[/B] vs. Lanny Williams

[Rathen4]

[B]Boo Smithson[/B] vs. Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Dingo Devine vs. Debonair David Peterson - Boo is too good not to get a push. Crime Wave vs. [B]The Rising Suns[/B] - Crime Wave SUCK. [B]Rick Stanz[/B] vs. Big Daddy Horne - I hate Horne and he doesn't fit in this promotion. [B]Swoop McCarthy[/B] vs. Trehawke Phillips - I like how you've built up Trehawk to look like a threat in your write up - but you're not fooling anyone! :D [B]Nathan McKenzie[/B] vs. Blake Belushi - Big Mac is big. Harry Simonson vs. [B]Lanny Williams[/B] - I have a feeling the heel will win. Best of luck with this - you've joined a small elite club of APW players :D

[arwink]

[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]APW: OzFest[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]Marv’s Sports Central (Eastern Australia)[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]Attendance: 276 people[/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER] Max Forbes hits the ring, golf-club in hand and client Spiffy Stan Standish as his wingman. Standish is dressed for action and Max Forbes is busy basking in the hisses and boos of the crowd. Forbes cuts a promo about how much he enjoys the crowds hatred [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/MaxForbes.jpg[/IMG] W/ [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SpiffyStanStandish.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Forbes: [COLOR=darkred]Go on, jeer. Hate us. We love it. Every boo and hiss is another dollar in the coffers of Forbes Inc. [/COLOR] The crowd obliges him and Forbes amuses himself by taking practice swings with his Three Wood until they burn themselves out. Forbes: [COLOR=darkred]You know, when I first brought Stan Standish and Alyx Macquarie into this company, we expected to be treated like heroes. They were young, strong, athletic – the very paragons of what it means to be a champion and a superstar. And you booed them, you hated them, and that stuck like a stone in Alyx Macquarie’s gut. He couldn’t handle being hated, so he turned on us. Turned on me, the man who signed his paycheques.[/COLOR] [COLOR=darkred]Well, so what. It doesn’t matter. All it did is cull the wheat from the chaff. Alyx Macquarie is gone, kaput, and Spiffy Stan Standish remains. HE is strong enough to withstand the jeers of morons. He is good enough to revel in your hatred. Because Stan understands the same thing I do – you jeer because will never be as good as he is, and he understands that the hatred of your lesser is an excuse to laugh all the way to the bank. The more you hate, the more money we make. And baby, I gotta tell ya, we’re getting ready to generate a whole lot of hater-[/COLOR] Forbes is cut off when the opening chords of ZZ-Top’s Sharp Dressed Man play over the loudspeaker and Sean Quartermainne struts into the centre of the ring with Debonair David Peterson. Quartermainne rips the microphone from Forbes’s hands and starts strutting about the ring like he owns the place. [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SeanQuartermainne.jpg[/IMG] W/ [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DebonairDavidPeterson.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Quartermainne: [COLOR=red]Wait, wait, wait, I think I know this song. Blah blah blah, [I]fans hate me[/I]; blah blah blah, [I]stupid hicks[/I]; blah blah blah, [I]I’m money and I know it; give me damn title shot Commissioner please[/I]. I’ll give you one thing, Forbes – you steal from the best.[/COLOR] Forbes and Standish are fuming. Quatermainne doesn’t appear to have noticed, but Debonair Dave discretely moves into a position to intercept. Quartermainne: [COLOR=red]Of course, me and Debonair, we know a little something about being hated by the fans. If I remember correctly we gave that exact damn speech about ten years back, when you were just a whippersnapper. The good news is that you’re right, kid; being hated it is worth a damn pretty paycheque at the end of the week, especially if you’ve got talent. Unfortunately for you, there’s a problem – I figure there’s only room for one top heel in this damn company and there ain’t no-one these people are going to hate more than Debonair Dave Peterson and me. ‘Course I’m sure one of these days you two may equal us in talent, even if I despair of your ability to ever match our sartorial acumen – hell, kid, where’d you get that suit, K-Mart?[/COLOR] This starts brief tussle between Forbes and Peterson that ends when Forbes is thrown into the ropes. Quartermainne is busy strutting across the ring, ignoring the ruckus. Quarermainne: [COLOR=red]Anyway, like I was saying, I’m sure that one of these days you’re going to equal us in talent, but you ain’t there yet and you ain’t going to be taking that spot until me and Peterson are done with it.[/COLOR] Quartermainne cross the ring and looms over Forbes as the young sports-agent tries to untangle himself from the ropes. Dave Peterson stands guard, blocking Stan Standish when he tries to break things up. Quartermainne grabs Forbes by the hair and gets in real close. Quartermainne: [COLOR=red][B]This is our time, junior, and you don’t get to break through the glass ceiling in this company until we’re damn-well done standing on it. This is our damn company, our damn ring, those are our damn fans that are waiting to hate US and, whether he knows it or not, Harry Simonson is wandering around with our damn title around his waist. [/B][/COLOR] [COLOR=black]Quartermainne stands and straightenes his jacket, snapping back to calm and collected.[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]Don’t waste your time and money tonight. Tell your client to lay down and let Dave pin him, otherwise Debonair is going to break your clients freakin’ nose and kill your pay-day once and for-all.[/COLOR] This is enough for Spiffy Stan – he elbows past Dave Peterson and starts assaulting Sean Quartermainne, kicking him through the ring-ropes. Peterson takes offense to that and the brawl is on… [CENTER][B]Dueling Manager’s Leading to a Brawl Rating: E[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BooSmithson.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SpiffyStanStandish.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DingoDevine.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DebonairDavidPeterson.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Boo Smithson vs. Spiffy Stan Standish (w/Max Forbes) vs. Dingo Devine vs. Debonair Dave Peterson (w/Sean Quartermainne)[/B][/CENTER] The brawl between Standish and Peterson gets this match started even before the faces are in the ring. Even when Boo and Dingo run in, Standish and Peterson seem dead-set on ignoring them. They shove Dingo and Boo through the ropes and go at one-another, brawling back and forth. The crowd is behind the Peterson at first – he’s so good at playing heel that it’s easy to pretend he’s a face when it’s necessary – but Standish surprises everyone by fighting fair and avoiding the cheap tactics that have marked his run in APW thus far. [I]Elimination One:[/I] The two heels start the match off, but Dingo Devine makes himself an early target during the next tussle that sees all four men in the ring. Dingo takes out all three of his opponents with a series of quick suplexes that leads to a two-count on Peterson. Peterson rolls out of the ring, feigning injury, but Standish takes his place and puts Dingo away with a Brainbuster. [I]Elimination Two:[/I] Standish wants Peterson, but the Debonair One is busy limping around the ringside area. Boo and Standish struggle for a time and Standish is worn down by Boo Smithson’s stiff offense and strong-style submissions. Standish earns a lot of respect from the crowd as he fights out of a guillotine choke, then pins Boo with a quick roll-up. [I]Elimination Three:[/I] Peterson and Standish face off as their managers screaming at one-another outside. The crowd is obviously behind Spiffy Stan Standish and we get a series of old-school exchanges. Peterson is the fresher man courtesy of his long spell on the floor, but even when this is combined with his heelish tactics it isn’t enough to put Standish away. Spiffy Stan actually gets everyone behind him as the fight goes on, then blows it the accumulated credit with the fans as he hits a low blow and goes for a ****y cover. Big mistake- Peterson kicks out, hits a quick DDT and rolls Standish up with both feet on the ropes for leverage. [CENTER][B]Result: Debonair David Peterson defeated Boo Smithson, Spiffy Stan Standish and Dingo Devine in 12:39.[/B] [B]Rating: D+[/B] [B]______________[/B] [B][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DOA.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/Switchblade.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JimmyStratosphere.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/MottyKuroda.jpg[/IMG][/B] [B]Crime Wave vs. The Rising Suns[/B] [B]Number One Contender’s Match[/B][/CENTER] The Rising Suns are fast-moving and technically competent high-flyers which immediately gets the crowd behind them, especially against the rough-and-tumble brawling of Crime Wave. Crime Wave fight dirty and stiff, though D.O.A’s hard-hitting elbow strikes do little to cover the fact that he’s not entirely sure what to do after busting open Jimmy Stratosphere’s nose – DOA counts on everyone else to remember the story of the match and tell him what to do, which earns him some static given that he’s not great at hiding the fact. This turns into a solid match for our undercard, and the static DOA started with is nothing compared to the heat that’s generated when “Bogan” Vance Stuart runs out to pull Motty Kuroda off the ring and start laying in with big rights and lefts at ringside. [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/VanceSturt.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Sturt beats Kuroda into a bloody mess at ringside, leaving a tired Stratosphere to try and keep the double-teams of Crime Wave at bay. It isn't long before he's take down by the double Yakuza-kick finisher that Crime Wave has dubbed the Western Suburbs Drive-By. [CENTER][B]Result: Crime Wave defeated The Rising Suns in 8:54 when Switchblade defeated Jimmy Stratosphere by pinfall with a Western Suburbs Drive-By. [/B] [B]Rating: E+[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/RickStantz.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BigDaddyHorne.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Rick Stantz (w/ Stephanie Drucker) vs. Big Daddy Horne[/B][/CENTER] Stantz is something of a tag-team specialist and one-half of the APW tag-team champions The Melbourne Blondes. Horne is a big heavyweight monster and one of the largest wrestlers in Australia, one of those monster heels you could build a federation around if only he wasn’t in his forties and still relying on the same four-move arsenal he’s used for his entire career. The crowd has a love-hate relationship with Horne – he gets a lot of static for his plodding style – but he’s showing the first real signs of improvement in over a decade thanks to getting consistent work in APW. Stantz carried the match, building a story around his attempts to bring the big-man down and earning a cheer every time he ducked a clumsy strike or kick. Unfortunately Horne only needs one good move to convincingly win a match and he picked up the victory via a side-walk slam. [CENTER][B]Result: Big Daddy Horne defeated Rick Stantz in 6:24 by pinfall with a Sidewalk Slam.[/B] [B]Rating: E+[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SwoopMcCarthy.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Swoop: [COLOR=darkred]I know you saw it on the posters when you came in: Trehawke Phillips versus Swoop McCarthy, Streak versus Streak. Tonight, Phillips, you have the chance to make history – you have the chance to be the first man to take a title off Swoop McCarthy. [/COLOR] [COLOR=darkred]Sadly for you, I don’t see that happening. I mean, I’m Swoop McCarthy. I’m That Damn Good. I’m not worried about you beating me; I’m worried that you don’t have it in you to give me the kind of victory that I deserve. [/COLOR] [COLOR=darkred]You see, Trehawke, this match should be a headline. It should be bigger than anything else on this damn card. And since it’s not, and since I’m in it, I can only assume that the problem is you. Don’t come in here trying to win the title, Trehawke; you don’t have what it takes to beat me. Just come in here gunning to prove all the haters wrong. Prove to them that you are good enough to be more than just another statistic on the dominating career of Swoop McCarthy. Prove that you can make history and get this whole damn crowd out of their seats before I break you and half and put you away. Prove to them that you’re not going to crumple under the pressure or give in before we get started. Because you’re only going to get one shot. After this, you don’t have a winning streak to keep you warm at night. All you got is a one-way trip to the bottom of the card. [/COLOR] [CENTER][B]Swoop McCarthy Promo: D+[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SwoopMcCarthy.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TrehawkePhillips.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Swoop McCarthy vs. Trehawke Phillips[/B] [B]APW Australian Title[/B] [/CENTER] Swoop McCarthy is an average heavyweight with charisma to burn, automatically making him the first Australian likely to get picked up by an international major since Bruce the Giant went to SWF. Trehawke Phillips is an enigma to me; a sub-par brawler playing a bland babyface personal who’s some accumulated momentum courtesy of a nice European uppercut and some fairly impressive mutton-chop sideburns. No-one is entirely sure why the crowd is so eager to see him wrestle, especially since he’s got a lot of static from the hardcore smarks, but the fact remains that Trehawke versus McCarthy was one of the most anticipated matches of the last nine months. No real surprises in this match, primarily because Trehawke hasn’t quite worked out the psychology of calling a match in the ring even when teamed with someone like Swoop. It’s a solid match and Trehawke does surprise everyone by pulling out all the stops and giving us the match of the evening thus far, but Swoop is still the better wrestler of the pair and he puts Trehawke away with a running powerslam. [CENTER][B]Result: Swoop McCarthy defeated Trehawke Phillips in 10:50 by pinfall with a Running Powerslam. Swoop McCarthy makes defence number 7 of his APW Australian title.[/B] [B]Rating: D+[/B] [B]______________[/B] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/NathanMcKenzie.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BlakeBelushi.jpg[/IMG] [B]Nathan McKenzie vs. Blake Belushi (w/Stephanie Drucker)[/B][/CENTER] Nathan McKenzie is 300 pounds of muscle, a top-of-the-line athlete, and 19 years old. He’s green as hell in the ring, but it’s the kind of combination that makes a booker drool in anticipation of what might be. Blake Belushi isn’t dwarfed by McKenzie, but the young Melbourne Blonde is certainly a much slimmer man and can’t match his opponent pound-for-pound. Fortunately the youngster makes the switch to playing [I]babyface in peril [/I]well and the pair mesh in a way that few members of our roster have. While the match seemed to drift occasionally, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this would one day be a main event caliber match once the two youngsters had developed into something a little more well-rounded. Belushi put up a strong fight and came close to winning it, but the Commissioner’s Pitbull appeared at ringside and distracted the referee long enough to block the three-count. McKenzie took control after that and started the beat-down, eventually ending things with a spear. [CENTER][B]Result: Nathan McKenzie defeated Blake Belushi in 10:57 by pinfall with a Spear.[/B] [B]Rating: D[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/HarrySimonson.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/LannyWilliams.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Harry Simonson vs. Lanny Williams[/B] [B]APW Commonwealth Championship[/B][/CENTER] Williams and Simonson are main-event wrestlers by default – a pair of guys who are competent at everything and know how to tell a story in the ring, but lack the kind of excitement and fire that would transform them into true superstars. Their match was hot in the lead-up – Simonson has held the championship since April 2007 and he beat Williams to claim the belt. Williams has been angling for this rematch for eight long months – his desire for the Commonwealth title is all-consuming – and he didn’t disappoint now that he’s had his second chance. This was a solid match, easily the most entertaining and engaging of the night, but it lacked the that added spark you get when someone’s exceeding your expectations. Williams and Simonson are competent and experienced veterans of the game, so the day they don’t turn out a solid match is the day we’re in trouble. Williams takes control early and holds onto the lead, but he gets increasingly frustrated by his inability to put Simonson away. Simonson rallies again and again, breaking William’s attempts to lock in the figure-four. Williams gets the hold locked in three times over the course of the match – twice Simonson claws his way to the rope, and on the third Simonson reverses and Williams comes dangerously close to tapping to his own finisher. The ending is almost a mirror image of the way Simonson won the title – a frustrated Williams bumps the ref, grabs for the title and tries to clock his opponent. Simonson ducks, trips, and locks in the Boston Crab just as the ref comes to and sees William’s tapping. Simonson retains in a near identical victory that leaves Williams howling with rage in the middle of the ring. [CENTER][B]Result: Harry Simonson defeated Lanny Williams in 13:51 by submission with a Boston Crab. Harry Simonson makes defence number 9 of his APW Commonwealth title.[/B] [B]Rating: C[/B] [B]______________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Overall Show Rating: D+[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]

[arwink]

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][B]APW Newswire: January, Week 3[/B][/SIZE] [B][CENTER]All the news you need to know from behind the scenes at APW.[/CENTER][/B] [B][SIZE="3"]OzFest Fallout[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Australian Pro Wrestling opened the year in style with one of our best shows to date, but at least one match saw a victory that was surrounded by controversy. Backstage reports suggest that Motty Kuroda and Jimmy Highspot are livid at Vance Sturt’s interference which cost them the number-one contenders spot for the tag-team titles. Kuroda has promised to get even with the Bogan from Perth, but Commissioner Darling has publically stated that the Rising Suns will have bigger problems to worry about at the Big Night Out [CENTER][SIZE="3"][B]Alyx Macquarie on the Road to Recovery[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] Alyx Macquarie has been out on the injured list for over a month now, courtesy of the injuries he suffered in his match with Stan Standish in December. APW Fans ill be pleased to know that the high-flyer is mobile again and promises to return to action at March’s Fight Night extravaganza. You can bet Alyx will have vengeance against his former Forbes Inc. allies on his mind when he returns. [CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]APW Big Night Out[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Our next show has been booked for Saturday, Week 3, in February. We’ll be returning once more to Marv’s Sports Central in Sydney and look forward to putting on another quality show for our fans. Commissioner Darling has already announced the main event for the Big Night Out – APW Commonwealth Champion Harry Simonson will defend his title against the Debonair Devastator – David Peterson. We’ll also see the duo of DOA and Switchblade taking on the battered tag-team champions The Melbourne Blondes.

[machinesxe]

Dude how the hell are you able to book anything other than matches? I am only able to get like 1 hype angle if that before the crowd ****s on me.

[arwink]

[QUOTE=machinesxe;444400]Dude how the hell are you able to book anything other than matches? I am only able to get like 1 hype angle if that before the crowd ****s on me.[/QUOTE] Easy: Bite the bullet and accept the fact that the crowd is going to crap all over the angles; keep the angles short to ensure that it doesn't completely kill the show rating as a result. My rule of thumb is simple - the only people on the roster talking for longer than 3 minutes are the managers and the authority figures. Everyone else gets over in the ring and any talking they do is purely designed to advance a story, get the used to working the mic, or simply generate momentum for their match (see [I]McCarthy, Swoop[/I]).

[arwink]

[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]APW Newswire [/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]February, Week 1[/SIZE][/B] [B]____________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Commissioner Darling is Hiring[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Commissioner Darling makes his return at Big Night Out, along with the Kiwi Enforcer Pitbull NZ. Darling has announced that he’s now scouting for a second enforcer, and there are three potential names on his list: Nate McKenzie, Big Daddy Horne, and the Sensational Australian champ Swoop McCarthy. Each of these men will be watched very closely over the coming months to determine who will join the commission. With a the huge signing bonus, pay increase, and a guaranteed tag-team title shot with Pitbull at May’s Caged Showdown show on offer, you can be guarantee that the competition will be fierce. [CENTER][B]____________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]New Blood: Francis Burke[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] APW is pleased to announce that Francis Burke, the cruiserweight sensation making waves on the Queensland Indy scene, has been offered a three-match trial to prove that he deserves a space on the APW roster. Currently slated to take part in the opening four-way elimination at Big Night Out, you can be sure that he’ll be trying to impress. [CENTER][B]____________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Spiffy Stan in the Four-Way[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Max Forbes has secured his client Stan Standish the second spot in the four-way opener at the Big Night Out, confident that Spiffy Stan will repeat his near-total dominance of the match. Standish eliminated two of his three opponents at OzFest, coming up short against Debonair Dave Peterson in what Forbes assures us was “a fluke finish, never to be repeated. Standish is taking this opportunity to prove what I’ve been saying all along – he is the best pure athlete and the most determine competitor in Australia today. Once he wins the four-way, we’re going to take that momentum and ride it all the way to the top.” [CENTER][B]____________[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Swoop McCarthy: In Search of a Challenge[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Despite being one of the three men Commissioner Darling named as a potential hire, Swoop McCarthy has categorically refused to participate in a match at Big Night Out. “I’m not defending this title until APW provides me with a worthy challenger, and I don’t need to wrestle to prove that I’m the best Darling’s got to work with. Darling doesn’t scout me – Swoop McCarthy is going to be at Big Night Out doing a little scouting of his own. I want a challenge, dog, and thus far Darling ain’t done squat to challenge me. I’m going to pick my own damn number-one contender, so everyone better step-up and prove that they’re going to give the folks a show if I let them step into the ring and fight for my title.”

[arwink]

[B][SIZE="3"]Interlude: The Problem with the Tag-Team Division[/SIZE][/B] Quartermainne’s perspective on booking has always been pretty simple: accent the positives and hide the negatives. The other big part of his success was knowing when to pass the decisions off to someone else – a big part of his reputation came from deferring decisions to his buddy David Peterson when it came to nailing down the in-ring guidelines or working out the finer details. These days he delegated to me – he’d see a problem and pitch it to me, then I’d come back with solutions. Our current problem was Crime Wave. People hadn’t been a fan of seeing them go over the Rising Suns, and there was a whole thread on the Australian Pro-Wrestling forums about how much they sucked. This one guy, Azuma, had even gone so far as to say that the Suns were 10x better than Crime Wave could ever hope to be. This was a symptom of our larger problem within the tag-team division. We'd been running the tag-belts for seven months now and the Blondes had spent most of that time fighting in singles competition rather than going into matches as a team. The war with Commissioner Darling was a stall to hide the simple fact that the Australian scene just wasn't deep enough to be running the tag belts, and both Sean and I had argued against it since JJ had brought them up. We had a sum total of four fueds that could revolve around the belts with any chance of success: Crime Wave vs. the Rising Suns; Crime Wave vs. The Melbourne Blondes; The Melbourne Blondes vs. The Rising Suns; all three going head-to-head. Even if we turned each team, running tag-team matches every show was going to start getting reptitive and there was always one team left out in the cold. Quartermainne wasn't too worried about the entire division just yet, but he was worried about the static Crime Wave was getting from fans. Of courwe, with JJ pushing hard to get us some TV time and the possibility of having to produce regular programming on the horizon, the simple fact of the matter was that we needed to get the current teams over and find some new teams that could add diversity. [B][CENTER]Booker's Thoughts: Crime Wave (DOA and Switchblade)[/B] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DOA.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/Switchblade.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Crime Wave come out to the ring with cigarettes hanging from their mouths and a rough kind of stoner-thug charm, giving the crowd the finger and screaming abuse. It’s a charming act, made all the more ineffective by the fact that the pair are skinnier than the cheap cigarettes they’re smoking and stand out at about 5’ 8” apiece. For a pair of gangster from the back-streets of Sydney they have all the menace of a twelve-year-old with his pants hanging over his butt quoting Snoop Dogg lyrics and threatening you with a water-pistol and telling you to “step off the gat” The boys have got their act down once the ring-work starts, even if D.O.A is a little rough around the edges. Switchblade provides the charisma and solid fundamentals that holds the match together, and D.O.A is the angry bantam who goes out and stiffs his opponent because he doesn’t know any better. They’re the only team on the roster that can claim to be as consistent as the Melbourne Blondes, which makes them the go-to guys when we need to build a decent tag-team brawl. Hiding the negative for Crime Wave was simple: Keep DOA out of the ring as much as possible. It wasn’t that he was a bad wrestler, but he’d been wrestling for a year and a half now and still only had the vaguest idea about ring-psychology – he really just wanted to get in there and brawl for all he was worth. There were parts of the crowds that loved him for that, but as long as APW was focused on bringing in the smart marks there would be a vocal part of the fan-base that gave him static. He needed time to develop the instincts as a wrestler, not just a tag-team specialist. We also needed a new hook for them, since the underworld gimmicks they were playing wasn’t going to hold for much longer. There was also one positive we had up our sleeves: Switchblade was one of the better talkers among the active competitors, even if he was no-where near the level of Swoop. We'd largely gotten the tournament for the tag-belts over by letting Switch and Blake Belushi go at one another on the mic, and that was something to keep in mind as I planned for the pair's future.

[arwink]

[CENTER][B][SIZE=3]APW Newswire[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]Full Card for APW Big Night Out[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] The final line-up for next week’s Big Night Out has been announced, and it looks like it will be a scorching card to round-out the summer. [CENTER][B]Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Francis Burke vs. Dingo Devine vs. Big Daddy Horne[/B] [B]Elimination Four-Way[/B][/CENTER] Dingo Devine and Francis Burke are both fighting for a spot on the APW roster, trying to prove their worth to the officials backstage. Devine has earned some respect courtesy of his explosive chain of suplexes at OzFest, but he was eventually cut short and eliminated by Stan Standish. Francis Burke will be in his first showing, but the young cruiserweight shows signs of being a prospect to watch and may yet pull off an upset. The odds are stacked against them this month however, with the brutal bully Big Daddy Horne coming out to establish his dominance and Spiffy Stan Standish demanding a spot in the opener to prove that Dave Peterson’s win in last month’s match was nothing but a fluke. [CENTER][B]Boo Smithson vs. Vance Sturt[/B] [/CENTER] Sturt and Smithson have two of the worst win-loss records in APW at present, seeing defeat at every turn over the last few months. Smithson is one of the finest submission specialists working in Australia today, but hasn’t yet found the elusive victory he needs to catapult himself up the rankings. Sturt is a veteran of the Australian scene whose violent interference in the tag-team contenders match has forced the booking committee to take notice. One man must turn his luck around with this match – will it be the reclusive Smithson or the mullet-haired brawler from Perth? [CENTER][B]Nathan McKenzie and Pitbull NZ vs. The Rising Suns[/B][/CENTER] The Rising Sons are looking for a victory here after their loss at OzFest, but Commissioner Darling’s search for an enforce has seen Big Mac McKenzie throw his lot in with Pitbull NZ to prove that he has what it takes to fight as a team-player. A loss to the Suns will all but sink McKenzie’s chances of taking the coveted spot with the Commission, but the Suns know that a loss here could keep them out of title contention for months. [CENTER][B]Crime Wave vs. The Melbourne Blondes[/B] [B]APW Tag-Team Title[/B][/CENTER] The dominate Melbourne Blondes go up against the young thugs of Crime Wave in a clash for the Tag-Team titles. The Blondes are still hurting after their matches with the big bruisers of APW at OzFest, which makes Crime Wave’s talent for bending rules and random brutality even more worrying. With Commissioner Darling continuing his vendetta against the blondes we may finally see the weight of numbers become too much for the champs from Melbourne. [CENTER][B]Lanny Williams vs. Trehawke Phillips[/B][/CENTER] Phillips and Williams rode a wave of momentum into OzFest last month, but now find themselves at loose ends after their defeats at the hands of Simonson and Swoop in their title defenses. The process of building the necessary wins to get back into title contention starts here and you can be guaranteed that both men will put it all on the line as they attempt to impress the booking committee. [CENTER][B]Harry Simonson vs. Debonair David Peterson[/B] [B]APW Commonwealth Title[/B][/CENTER] David Peterson made claim to being the top heel in APW last month, then sealed the deal with a victory in the hard-fought opening four-way. He now steps up for a shot at the APW Commonwealth Title, but Harry Simonson has been in dominating form of late and refuses to back down from any challenge. [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Quick Picks[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] [CENTER]Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Francis Burke vs. Dingo Devine vs. Big Daddy Horne Boo Smithson vs. Vance Sturt Nathan McKenzie and Pitbull NZ vs. The Rising Suns Crime Wave vs. The Melbourne Blondes Lanny Williams vs. Trehawke Phillips Harry Simonson vs. Debonair David Peterson[/CENTER]

[Ezuma]

Haha, YAY! I was quoted! :P Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Francis Burke vs. Dingo Devine vs. [B]Big Daddy Horne[/B] [B]Boo Smithson[/B] vs. Vance Sturt [B]Nathan McKenzie and Pitbull NZ[/B] vs. The Rising Suns Crime Wave vs. [B]The Melbourne Blondes[/B] [B]Lanny Williams[/B] vs. Trehawke Phillips [B]Harry Simonson[/B] vs. Debonair David Peterson

[Rathen4]

Is this dead? :(

[arwink]

Nope, just sleeping. I've got about half of the Big Night Out written up, and I'll have the rest done as soon as the day job is done putting the chokehold on my life :)

[arwink]

[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]APW: Big Night Out[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]Marv’s Sports Central (Eastern Australia), Attendance: 276 people[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/NigelDarling.jpg[/IMG] w/ [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/NewZealandPitBull.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Nigel Darling hits the ring, flanked by the Pitbull whose dressed to the nines in a black suit jacket over an All-Blacks rugby jersey. Nigel cuts a short promo about his position as general manager and his long history of working with the Australian Sporting Commission to give the APW fans quality matches that they don’t really deserve. The fans, as they are won’t to do, start their F**k off Kiwi chant. Darling: [COLOR=red]And yet, after all this work, Nigel Darling and the Australian Sports Commission doesn’t get the respect it deserves. I leave this company alone for one night…one night!...and when I read the reports there’s nothing but anarchy. Wrestlers interfering in the matches of others; complaints about our referees doing an improper job; hell, Swoop McCarthy has even refused to defend his belt on tonight’s show. After my absence at the last show, one thing was obvious: we need to flesh out the commissions ranks, and that means I’ll be offering a new contract to one man who proves he’s worthy and willing to help me keep the damn peace. Fortunately Australia is full of willing souls who welcome an opportunity of this type, and tonight you’re going to see one of them – Big Mac Nathan McKenzie – proving his worth in a tag-team match with my enforcer Pitbull NZ. I wish their opponents luck in what’s going to be a great match, and I give Nathan one word of warning – the commissions eyes are upon you tonight, son; don’t disappoint me.[/COLOR] [CENTER][B]Darling cuts a promo: E[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SpiffyStanStandish.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FrancisBurke.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DingoDevine.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BigDaddyHorne.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Spiffy Stan Standish vs. Francis Burke vs. Dingo Devine vs. Big Daddy Horne[/B][/CENTER] Standish and Burke started this match off with some solid chain wrestling, punctuated by the occasional high-spot from Burke that popped the crowd. The three smaller competitors went at it like young bulls, eager to prove themselves, but the ring cleared quickly when a winded Standish tagged out to Horne. There are parts of the crowd that hate Horne with a passion due to his lack of in-ring skills, but the man has size and menace to spare which carries him as long as he doesn’t actually have to do something with it. [B][I]Elimination One:[/I][/B] The first elimination is Francis Burke, who puts up a good show and gets some crowd support with his high-spots but finally makes the mistake of trying a trio of flying cross-body blocks on Horne. The first is no-sold, leaving Burke to slide off the big man and puddle at his feet. Burke rallies, dodging the clumsy attacks of Horne, and eventually climbs to the top rope and hits a second that actually causes the big man to stagger backwards. The third time should have been a charm, but Horne is ready and catches Burke in both arms, squeezing him in a bear hug before hitting a basic power-slam the pin. [B][I]Elimination Two:[/I][/B] There is a brief tussle between Horne and Dingo after Burke is eliminated, but the giant is gassed and it isn’t long before he tags in Standish. Dingo and Standish are in great form, trading the advantage back and forth,, and they build up some drama when Dingo hits his trademark Triple-Threat Suplex chain and gets two-count. Standish takes the advantage back courtesy of a distraction by Max Forbes. Standish low-blows; Brainbuster! He goes for the three-count…then gets distracted as his former Forbes Inc. partner Alyx Macquarie emerges from the crowd and lays out Max Forbes with a superkick. [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/AlyxMacquarie.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Standish may be a heel, but he’s loyal to the boss. He’s up on the ropes and jawing with Macquarie when Dingo recovers and takes advantage. Northern Lights Suplex. Three-count. Standish is eliminated. [B][I]Elimination Three:[/I][/B] Dingo Devine is still groggy, running on instinct as he squares off against the man-monster Horne. Horne cracks his knuckles and gets down to business, raining sluggish rights down on Devine’s head. Devine takes the punishment but doesn’t go down, fighting back with a few rights of his own. Horne shoves Dingo away, but the youngster staggers back into the rope and uses the momentum to come back with another forum that rocks Horne. The crowd watches as Horne sways, ready to go down, and Dingo shoots in for a suplex attempt to put the big man on the mat. Big mistake; Horne is the immovable object who goes no-where when Dingo tries to flip him overhead. Dingo’s attempt gives Horne the opening he needs – the big man bell claps Dingo across the ears uses a big headbutt to put him on the matt and claim the win. [CENTER][B]Result: Big Daddy Horne defeated Spiffy Stan Standish, Dingo Devine and Francis Burke in 13:23.[/B] [B]Rating: E+[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BooSmithson.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/VanceSturt.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Boo Smithson vs. Vance Sturt[/B] [/CENTER] Sturt took advantage early, laying Boo out with a shot to the back of the head and stomping the nervous hobo into the mat. Boo whimpered as the blows rained down on him, scrambling back towards the ropes. He eventually finds the leverage he needs to hit the takedown and gets Sturt on the mat, giving Smithson all the advantages he needs to start tying Sturt into knots. Sturt is put in a dozen submission holds in the space of a few minutes, but refuses to tap. He eventually manages to regain the advantage by pulling into a MMA style mount and hammering Boo across the face with a series of punches. Referee Virgil Mann pulls Sturt off but the damage is done – Boo is bleeding under one eye and he spits blood onto the canvas. Thing gets nasty in their exchanges after that, with the shabby hobo Boo getting a chance to show off some of his under-rated Strong Style abilities as he forgoes mat-wreslting in favor of an all-out brawl with Sturt. The pissed-off babyface comes dangerously close to getting DQ’d when refuses to let go of an ankle lock after a five-count. Sturt takes the advantage, hammering Smithson for all he’s worth. He goes to end it with a lariat…Boo ducks, gets Sturt from behind…crossface chickenwing in the centre of the ring. Sturt starts crawling for the ropes; Boo’s got the chickenwing locked in tight and drags him back. Sturt struggles, trying to break free; Boo pulls the hold tighter. In a last, desperate move, Sturt swings his head back and catches Boo across the face. Blood gushes from Boo’s nose, joining the crimson claret flowing from his earlier wounds, but he keeps pulling the hold tighter. Sturt starts to turn blue and he passes out; a bloodied Boo Smithtson is declared the winner. [CENTER][B]Result: Boo Smithson defeated Vance Sturt in 8:56 by submission with a Crossface Chickenwing.[/B] [B]Rating: D+[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/NathanMcKenzie.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/NewZealandPitBull.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/MottyKuroda.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JimmyStratosphere.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Nathan McKenzie and Pitbull NZ vs. The Rising Suns[/B][/CENTER] The Rising Suns play for laughs at the outset, setting off a series of quick tags as they both try to avoid squaring off against Big Mac McKenzie. Eventually the bit gets old and they knuckle down to some real wrestling; the Suns give up size to both their opponents, but their fluid tag-team tactics quickly give them the upper hand. The pattern of the match is set: the Rising Suns string together a series of quick offensive moves, but their momentum is interrupted by an explosive power move from McKenzie or one of NZ’s brutal takedowns. McKenzie proved to be a weak-point, as you’d expect from a green rookie. He’s suited to rampaging through the ring like a monster and looming at ringside, but he’s still got a long way to go before he earns the respect of the marks. Jimmy Stratosphere gets the pop of the match when he hits a standing drop-kick and gets enough height to catch the 6’ 2” McKenzie in the face, then tags in Kuroda to hit a Missile Dropkick on the staggered heavyweight. McKenzie hit the mat hard, but did a poor job of selling the injury and no-one was surprised by the kick-out. As the end approached we left it to Pit Bull to do most of the heavy lifting; he chain wrestled with Stratsophere and Kuroda, foaming at the mouth as his offense edged towards the hardcore. Victory came via a brief sequence at ringside when Pit Bull hit a drop toe hold that send Stratosphere face-first into a chair while Big Mac distracted the referee. Stratosphere was rolled back into the ring, visibly wobbling, and Pit Bull hit a spear to take him down. McKenzie cut off Kuroda he came in for the save, leaving Pit Bull to claim the three. Nigel Darling emerges from the backstage area and applauds his wrestlers, but Nate McKenzie just shakes hands with Pit Bull NZ and walks off, snubbing the Commissioner. [CENTER][B]Result: McKenzie and Pit Bull NZ defeated The Rising Suns in 9:10 when Pit Bull NZ defeated Jimmy Stratosphere by pinfall.[/B] [B]Rating: E+[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DOA.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/Switchblade.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/RickStantz.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BlakeBelushi.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Crime Wave vs. The Melbourne Blondes[/B][/CENTER] Switchblade and Belushi start things off, with Switchblade getting into Belushi’s head by – ahem – “flirting” with the man’s girlfriend and manager, Stephanie Drucker. We get several minutes of solid tag-team wrestling between the two teams, but Switchblade’s steady stream of smack-talk and innuendo is clearly getting on the Blonde’s nerves. Eventually Belushi looses it and charges the motor-mouthed thug, but Switchblade ducks the clothesline and catches Blake with an enziguri. ‘Blade tags and DOA is on the dazed Belushi, hammering him with a series of stiff elbow shots that drive him towards the corner. Belushi weathers the storm, switches positions, then repays the assault with series of hard chops before charging across the ring and knocking Switchblade off the ring apron with a flying forearm. DOA is the weak-link of Crime Wave and everyone knows it; Belushi tags in Stantz to take care of the legal opponent and turns his attention back to the loud-mouthed Switchblade whose just picking himself up off the floor. Belushi charges, goes over the top rope with a big dive and takes Switchblade out. They brawl on the floor, with Belushi holding the upper hand until ‘Blade sends him shoulder-first into the ring post. In the ring DOA is taking a beating from Rick Stantz, staying in the fight through sheer tenacity and the occasional wild haymaker that connects hard enough to rattle the tag-team champion. Stantz gives a little ground, leaving a woozy DOA to stagger about the ring. Stantz works the crowd, lines his opponent up…Superkick. DOA goes down in a heap, but kicks out at two. Stantz isn’t phased; he heads to the top rope while DOA struggles to peel himself off the mat. Stantz steadies himself; jumps; Flying Elbow Drop on DOA. Another cover and another two count as the spark-plug brawler refuses to be put away. DOA can’t tell a story in the ring, but he sure as hell knows how to take a beating and not let it phase him. The brawl between Switchblade and Blake Belushi comes back into the ring, with Switchblade holding the upper hand. Referee Virgil Mann is trying to gain control, but it’s obvious that this one is breaking down and no-one wants to see the title match end in a DQ. Everyone’s at everyone else’s throats. Crime Wave hits a Western Suburbs Drive-By on Stantz to gain control, but an angry Blake Belushi holds them both at a stand-still. Switchblade decides to ante-up his early tactic and moves onto threatening Stephanie Drucker physically. Belushi comes screaming across the ring and lays ‘Blade out with a gut-shot/Axe Kick combo. Switchblade goes down hard, clutching at his neck. DOA lays into Belushi with a series of stiff elbows, but Stantz has had time to recover. The tag-team champions double-team DOA, finally hitting the Blonde-on-Blonde to finish things. Mann makes the count…it’s three. The Melbourne Blondes retain their championship The Blondes haven’t even had their hands raised when the heavy thwack of steel on skull echoes across the arena. [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/VanceSturt.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Vance Sturt is at ringside with a steel chair, Stephanie Drucker unconscious at his feet. He’s in the ring and laying out both Blondes before they even have a chance to react, caving in Belushi’s skull with the chair before laying an exhausted Stantz out with a stunner. DOA and Switchblade are back on their feet, joining in the beat-down on the Blondes and making liberal use of chairs. The crowd isn’t impressed, alternating between “this is bulls**t” and “we want wrestling” chants. It’s at the point when Crime Wave drags Drucker into the ring to join the beat-down when sanity prevails and Boo Smithson comes charging out of the backstage area to make the save. Boo’s face is a mess of cuts and bruises after his match with Sturt, and the wounds are immediately opened up again when Sturt meets his charge into the ring with a chair shot. Boo takes the bump, blood pouring over his face. He liberates Sturt’s chair and clears house, sending Crime Wave fleeing backstage with a bunch of taunts and threats. The Melbourne Blondes and Drucker recover and Boo fidgets nervously as the crowd cheers, suddenly a bashful and nervous wreck now that the fighting is done. Stephanie Drucker makes things worse by leaning over and planting a kiss on the bloodied hobo’s cheek. [CENTER][B]Result: The Melbourne Blondes defeated Crime Wave in 10:14 when Blake Belushi defeated D.O.A. by pinfall with a Blonde on Blonde.[/B] [B]Match Rating: D-[/B] [B]Beatdown w/Save: F[/B] [B]Drucker thanking Boo for the Save: E-[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/LannyWilliams.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TrehawkePhillips.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Lanny Williams vs. Trehawke Phillips[/B][/CENTER] No blow-by-blow for this one, because remembering it makes me weep. Phillips versus Williams was either one of that matches that would go gangbusters or it’d be a horrible mess; sadly, it turned out to be the latter. The main redeeming feature was Swoop McCarthy signing on to join the commentary team, running down both opponents with his witty repartee. Williams is a veteran who rarely turns in a bad performance, but Trehawke seemed blind to Lanny’s cues and the gradual lack of timing saw the story of the match fall apart. Williams carried things as best he could – which made this better than most of our matches – but ultimately it boiled down to Trehawke relying on his trademark European Uppercuts while Lanny Williams threw everything but the kitchen sink at him. Eventually Williams managed to string together a gimmick to salvage the match, refusing to go down to the uppercut. It was simple, but it played to Trehawke’s strength and actually got a pop from some of the more borderline fans when he was forced to bust out his old Sleeper-Hold finisher, a move that was massively over with the kids even if no-one else liked it. Williams sold the move like a champ and tapped out, but it’s a safe bet that no-one involved with this match was happy with how it went down. [CENTER][B]Result: Trehawke Phillips defeated Lanny Williams in 8:51 by submission with a Sleeper Hold.[/B] [B]Rating: D-[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] ZZ Top is piped through the arena speakers and Sean Quartermainne leads his client David Peterson out into the ring. Quartermainne cuts a shot promo about Peterson’s victory in the four-way last month and his obvious talents as a wrestler, all of which have lead him to this point. [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SeanQuartermainne.jpg[/IMG] w/ [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DebonairDavidPeterson.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Quartermainne: [COLOR=red]Last month I laid some simple truth on Max Forbes and Stan Standish that I think deserves to be repeated: this is our house; this is our damn ring; and Harry Simonson has been walking around wearing the title that, by any sensible measure, belongs around the waist of Debonair David Peterson. Harry Simonson, it’s time for you to suit up, man up, and get ready to go down at the hands of the most sartorially significant and obviously magnificent wrestler in Australia today. All the main man is missing is one vital piece of bling, and tonight we’re going to take it from you.[/COLOR] [CENTER][B]Quartermainne cuts a promo: E[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/DebonairDavidPeterson.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/HarrySimonson.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Debonair David Peterson vs. Harry Simonson[/B] [B]Commonwealth Title Match[/B][/CENTER] Peterson spent the opening of the matching strutting and posing, taunting Simonson rather than getting down to the serious business of wrestling for a title. Quartermainne backed his client up with a steady stream of patter, and the pair quickly wormed their way into Harry’s head and had him brawling – a tactic that played directly to Peterson’s strengths. It was nearly five minutes in before Simonson took things down onto the mat and actually started to gain the upper hand, displaying the solid wrestling skills that would eventually give him an edge over the challenger. It quickly became obvious that Peterson would never match the champ on the ground, but he always managed to scramble for the ropes or break himself free of a pinning predicament through some good ol’ fashioned heelish offense – eye rakes, shots to the groin, and carefully orchestrated distractions of the referee kept putting Peterson back on top. The end came after a rapid chain of near-falls, many of which saw Peterson just a half-second away from picking up the belt. When Sean Quartermainne climbed onto the ring apron and distracted ref Mann the fans thought it was over, but a scrappy Simonson was in place to take Quatermainne down with an “accidental” elbow shot as he hit the ropes before hitting a lariat and locking in the Boston Crab for the win. [CENTER][B]Result: Harry Simonson defeated Debonair David Peterson in 12:50 by submission with a Boston Crab. Harry Simonson makes defence number 10 of his APW Commonwealth title.[/B] [B]Rating: C-[/B] ______________________[/CENTER] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3]Overall Show Rating: D[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]

[arwink]

Nate McKenzie put his fist through the front of one of our lockers; the sick crunch of it echoed through the arena, letting me know that we had trouble. Sean Quartermainne had already bailed for the evening, heading off to have dinner with JJ and some TV execs who were interested in signing a deal, so that meant that any trouble was going to be my problem. Great. I sprinted to the locker room, thanking god that most of the veterans were still around to help smooth things over. Unfortunately, our oldest veteran was at the source of the trouble – David Peterson was smirking in the corner while half the roster was trying to hold Nate McKenzie back. I skidded to a halt and glared at Peterson; he raised an eyebrow and shrugged, affecting smug innocence. There was blood on Nate’s knuckles, but most of it was his own. He’s busted himself open when he put the dent in Peterson’s the ancient locker. “Explanation,” I said. “Now.” Everyone traded guilty glances, but eventually Boo Smithson stepped forward. “J-j-j-just a disagreement, c-c-c-chief. D-d-d-d-d-“ “David,” Peterson said. “D-d-David was r-r-r-r-running t-t-t-through M-m-m-ma-ma-mac’s m-m-m-m-“ “Bloody hell.” Peterson shook his head. “Listen, I was telling the kid how to improve his match.” “He insulted me,” McKenzie said. “He said ya were goin’ to replace me with a shaved gorilla if I didn’t work on my skills.” I turned towards Peterson. “It was a rib,” he said. “The kid took it personal.” I shook my head. “Boo, can you and Jimmy get Nate out to a hospital and get someone to look at that hand. It’s probably nothing, but these lockers are ancient and we don’t want it getting infected. Everyone else, clear out. We’ve had a good night and a good show; go kick back and enjoy yourselves. Dave, you’re with me. We need to have a chat.” The tension eased off a bit, but I could tell the boys were on edge as they filed out. Nate kept throwing Peterson dirty looks as he was ushered away, a basketball jersey wrapped around his bleeding hand. Peterson sat on the bench opposite me and waited. I held my tongue until we were alone: “Christ, Dave, you’re meant to be setting a good example for these kids. What do you think you’re doing picking a fight with Mac?” “I didn’t pick a fight, kid.” This was my first time working in the same locker room as Peterson, but everyone had heard the stories about his attitude. “Yeah, right. This is a team effort, Dave. We’re working to make sure everyone takes home a good paycheck from this, to build Australian wrestling into something bigger than its ever been. We needed someone who could keep the locker room in line, and Sean said you were the man for the job.” “Yeah, okay, whatever you say Kid.” “No, not whatever-” Dave leaned in and looked me in the eye. The amiable ****iness was gone, and his expression was cold. “Shut. Up.” I shut my mouth. Peterson smirked and smoothed down the wrinkles in his suit jacket. “Listen up, Junior Mint, you’re Sean’s s**t kicker, not a booker. Don’t even pretend you’ve got any authority with me. Fool the rest of the boys if you want – some of them are dumb enough to believe your opinion matters – but if it comes down to brass tacks who do you think Sean Quartermaine is going to listen to?” I did my best imitation of a goldfish while I searched for something to say, but nothing came. Dave picked up his bag and left me standing there, alone in the locker room trying to ignore the lingering fugue of sweat.

[Rathen4]

Hahah that was awesome. I HATE that guy for some reason, so seeing him come across like that made my day. Why do you think I let him leave the APW :D

[arwink]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="4"]APW Newswire[/SIZE] [SIZE="3"]February, Week 3[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] [CENTER]______________[/CENTER] [B][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Big Daddy Horne to Challenge the Champ[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] Horne has been used as an instrument of Commissioner Darling several times over the last few months, and he’s publically stated that an opportunity to join the Commission just isn’t going to cut it as a reward. “Baz Horne isn’t a bodyguard; Baz Horne is a F@#$#’n monster. I’m 6’ 6”; 360 pounds. I dominated four other men in the opening four-way. At Fight Night, I’m going to get what’s coming to me - I cornered Darling in his office and told him exactly how this would be – Harry Simonson and Big Daddy Horne, one-on-one. Darling can talk to me about contracts and enforcement *after* I’m wearing the strap around my waist.” [CENTER]______________[/CENTER] [B][CENTER][SIZE="3"]New Blood[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] APW is pleased to confirm that they have offered “Tax Man” Angus McMiller an opportunity to join the regular roster. McMiller is a veteran of the Australian scene and brings a wealth of experience to the company. Expect to see him in action at March’s Fight Night show. Officials have also confirmed that they have offered Queensland rookie Cole Taylor a series of dark match try-outs that will take place over the coming months. [CENTER]______________[/CENTER] [B][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Belushi Wants Vengeance[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] Blake Belushi is out for blood after Vance Sturt took out Stephanie Drucker with a chair shot during the tag-team title match against Crime Wave at Big Night Out. This is the second time Sturt has gotten involved in one of Crime Wave’s matches, fueling speculation that there is some relationship between the three. Belushi he promises to resolve the mystery and get some payback: “At Fight Night, I’m going to get answers. After that, I’m going to crush everyone involved in the attack on Stephanie.” [CENTER]______________[/CENTER] [B][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Bad Blood Behind the Scenes[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] Rumors of a backstage clash between APW wrestlers Dave Peterson and Nate McKenzie have now been confirmed by company officials. “The matter has been dealt with and resolved,” said APW booker Sean Quartermainne. “It was a minor incident revolving around a misunderstanding, and there were no significant injuries related to the event. The APW wrestlers remain, as ever, committed to working as a unit in order to build this company into something bigger and better.” It appears that Commissioner Darling has other ideas: “These two men are wrestlers, hardened fighters who put their body on the line. If they want to go at it, we’re going to let them – but it’ll take place in the ring where it belongs.”

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[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]APW Newswire[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE=3]March, Week 1[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] [CENTER]The Line Up for APW Fight Night[/CENTER] [CENTER][B]Angus McMiller vs. Trehawke Phillips vs. Alyx Macquarie vs. Jimmy Stratosphere[/B][/CENTER] The traditional opening four-way features four wrestlers who are all desperate for a win: “The Tax Man” Angus McMiller, the companies newest signing, will be looking to put his stamp on the APW territory; Trehawke Phillips will be looking to start a new winning streak and place himself back in the title picture; a win for Jimmy Stratosphere could see the Rising Suns going for tag-team gold; and the returning-from-injury Alyx Macquarie will be looking to prove that he has what it takes to succeed without the help of Forbes Inc. [CENTER][B]Boo Smithson vs. DOA[/B][/CENTER] Boo Smithson got involved in Crime Wave’s business when he stopped their attack on the Melbourne Blondes at Big Night Out. DOA will be looking to teach the Strong-Style Hobo a lesson about minding his manners in this match, which has been signed under the Aussie Rules No-DQ stipulation. [CENTER][B]Dingo Devine vs. Spiffy Stan Standish[/B][/CENTER] Standish and Devine have put on outstanding matches in the opening four-ways of late, but neither has been able to pick up the elusive win that their performances deserved. At Fight Night one of these two gladiators will pick up a vital win as they clash in what’s destined to be one of the finest displays of mat-wrestling in APW’s history. [CENTER][B]“Big Mac” Nate McKenzie vs. Debonair David Peterson[/B][/CENTER] Rumors about the backstage clash between Peterson and McKenzie have proven to be true, and APW official Nigel Darling has ordered the two men to settle the matter in the ring where it belongs. [CENTER][B]Pit Bull NZ and Swoop McCarthy vs. The Melbourne Blondes[/B][/CENTER] After Swoop McCarthy’s bold public statements, Commissioner Darling lured him into the try-outs for the commission with the chance to add the tag-team titles to his Australian National Title. The Blondes have held off all the Commission’s attempts to gain gold thus far, but will the addition of one of Australia’s hottest wrestling prospects be too much for the tag-team champions. [CENTER][B]Harry Simonson vs. Big Daddy Horne[/B][/CENTER] Horne has been used as an instrument of Commissioner Darling several times over the last few months, and he’s publically stated that an opportunity to join the Commission just isn’t going to cut it as a reward. “Baz Horne isn’t a bodyguard; Baz Horne is a F@#$#’n monster. I’m 6’ 6”; 360 pounds. I cornered Darling in his office and told him exactly how this would be – Harry Simonson and Big Daddy Horne, one-on-one. Darling can talk to me about contracts and enforcement *after* I’m wearing the strap around my waist.”