Chris Kable - British Booker Journals

[Chriswok]

[CENTER][IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/CKbookCover1.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [SIZE="3"][FONT="Verdana"]I had finished my media degree, they told me for years it was going to be a waste of time. Hell, I even did the cliché 'Art House' student movie, so pretentious that it even made me want to gouge my eyes out. Now here I was working in a call center for some British Phoneycommunications Company, and I had a MASTERS! What a waste. The only salvation in my life was TV, Movies, Video Games and my friends. One of which I had kept a childhood tradition up with, despite now being in my early 20s, we still both watched and tried to catch every wrestling show we could. The great journey's over to America to catch SWF's Greatest Event of the Year to the cramped bus trips down the motorway between MOSC, ROF and 21CW. We were just wrestling obsessed, hell, we had even tried a few training classes once, but that didn't last long, we were wimps. Ah bugger, where's my manners, I better introduce myself. Here I am talking away, well typing away I guess since this is a diary or something, and you don't even know who I am. I'm [B]Chris Kable[/B], 23 and I'm a Bachelor of Arts. Heh, even I have to laugh at that. What's this got to do with wrestling I hear you say? Well, everyone has to start off everywhere, I'm sure if you're reading this it means you're a wrestling fan, as I can't imagine anyone else wanting to read it - and of course, thank you for buying it! (Even if it was out of the bargain Bin) I was born in Newcastle, England, and I've been a wrestling fan since as far back as I can remember Sam Keith. Anyway, I got my first job in wrestling as 'Second Unit Director', though in truth that's not what it was at all. I was the camera man at ring side, the 'First Unit Director' was the hard camera, and he didn't even really do that very well. I was hired by the English promotion [B]21st Century Wrestling[/B], who had formed back in 2001 under [B]Tyler Baker[/B] as a cutting edge wrestling show. That all changed when [B]Jeff Nova[/B] took over in 2006 and changed it into an English American Wrestling show, lots of glitz and glamor only really English - so instead of pyros there were lame Disco/DJ lights. I had joined the company in 2008, hot on the back of their most successful year as a company. 21CW had came on leaps and bounds since Nova took over, using his fame within British Sport, mainly World's Strongest Man, to broker a TV deal with UK Broadcasting Digital channel - it wasn't mainstream but it was a start. [/FONT][/SIZE]

[Chriswok]

[CENTER][B][U]Wednesday Week 1 January 2008[/U][/B][/CENTER] Why week 1 and not the date of the day? Well, this is some 30 years ago or so you're asking me to try and remember. How come you remember the shows so well, you ask? Call me a nerd but I have most, if not all of them on DVD still stretching right across my career. Just ask if you want to borrow them one day! Anyway, my first day with [B]21CW[/B] was an eye opener, I was still working during the day at the Call Center, and had became a dab hand at fixing phones over a phone. I had became so bored of the job, and so fed up of not having my foot in the world of production, that I had pretty much shoved my CV down every letter box I could see. There's probably some old women out there now with a CV for Chris Kable framed and hung up above her fireplace - probably. I had contacted agency and pretty much begged anyone who knew anyone who might know [I]SOMEONE[/I] to just give me a chance. That chance came when 21CW, based down in London, had struck a deal with a PPV carrier to show their events on Pay Per View - they needed some CHEAP extra hands to help cover the work load. I was cheap, and I had hands, I would do. In all honesty, I think it was extra bonus that I had a media degree and knew how to actually operate a camera. Like I said earlier, the hard camera operator was pretty poor, and was lucky it was a hard shot and didn't need much operating or movement save turning it on and off. To try me out they invited me down, from Newcastle at my own expense, to be the 'Second Unit Director' for their TV taping on the Wednesday night. I think at the time the show went out on the Thursday night, giving about 12 hours post production to clean things up, looking back while writing this book, it shows. [CENTER][SIZE="3"][B]21st Century Wrestling presents: The Best of British Wrestling[/B][/SIZE] 2,000 people at Edgeware Hall Match [B]Mister King[/B] v [B]Pit Bull Brown[/B] [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Mister King in 7:50 by pinfall with a Dog House Piledriver.[/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]21CW World Champion Jonathan Faust[/B] can be seen backstage sitting in his familiar no descript office, where he has been plotting over the last few months since winning the title. "For weeks," He says. "The Assassin's Guild have been attacking people backstage and outside, wherever they please. And people have been fearing for their safety, wondering why? WHY!" He chuckled softly. "I didn't become the Mastermind I am today, without a bit of... insurance policy, without a bit of guile." He smiles as The Assassin's Guild step into camera shot behind him, their shades reflecting the soft light in the room. "Without knowing who to hire." He continues to chuckle softely, before turning in his office chair to show his back to the camera. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]C-[/COLOR][/CENTER] We return to see The Assassin's Guild are in the ring with a young Nate Manchester. [CENTER] [B]1-v-2 Handicap Match[/B] [B]Nate Manchester[/B] v [B]The Assassin's Guild[/B]. [I]The Assassins' Guild defeated Nate Manchester in 2:48 when Louie Peyton defeated Nate Manchester by pinfall with a Predator Bomb.[/I] The match was terrible, 3 youngsters in the ring at once, The Steamroller, who had been the Road Agent for a year or two now, tried his best to run them through the match before the bell. However, from what I could see through the camera lens it was terrible, just terrible. Nate and Stefan were off their game, and despite Jonathan Faust's best efforts at ringside, he couldn't keep the crowd interested at all. The crowd pretty much ripped into them, I wouldn't be surprised if they ran some dark matches with these guys now, as they'll have been murdered on TV. [B] Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]F-[/COLOR] After the match Jonathan Faust and The Assassin's Guild stand in the ring, Louie to the right of Faust, and Raynor to the left. It made a nice shot on the camera, but the crowd just weren't interested after the state of the match. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B] Singles Match[/B] [B]Davey London[/B] v [B]Rolling Johnny Stones[/B] [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Davey London in 7:33 by pinfall with a Brainbuster.[/I] Stones and London just didn't click in the ring, I'm not sure if it had anything do with the uncalled for promo after the match and Stone's genuine attitude towards London, but it didn't look well on the camera at all. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]Rolling Johnny Stones[/B] shoves [B]Davey London[/B] out of the ring with the sole of his boot, before taking a microphone. "Francis! You better be listen. I'm sick of having to fight the bottom rung of this company, while the UK Title sits around your waste. It makes me turn, that someone as commercially friendly as me, with Movie Star looks and winning personality gets over looked for an easy going, happy go lucky no body like yourself." [I]The crowd boo at RJS. [/I] "I want a title shot Francis, I want to propel this promotion forward. I want to be on the cover of magazines holding that title! I'll give you one match to decide, before I come looking for your laid back rasta arse." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"]D-[/COLOR] [B]Singles Match[/B] [B]Davey Celtic[/B] v [B]Luke Cool[/B] [I]Luke Cool defeated Davey Celtic in 7:45 by pinfall with a Cool Cutter.[/I] Again the crowd turned on the match from the off, to be honest, as a fan I wouldn't have been too excited to have sat through an exhbition of Jobbers so far this show. Brown, the booker since the formation of 21CW, must have had it in mind to bring up some of the younger talent. It wasn't my job to ask - at least, not yet. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]Daniel Black Francis[/B], current [B]21CW UK Champion,[/B] stands at the entrance way with the title around his waist hung loose like a gunslingers holster. "Hey Brudda, I is got no problem fight'ing, you, star." Crowd cheer for DFB. "Only t'ing is, I be figt'ing already, aight, tonight. Next, star, I and I for the title. Peace out!" [B] Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]Tag Match[/B] [B]The Ivanoff Brothers[/B] v [B]The Elimination Agents[/B] [I]The Elimination Agents defeated The Ivanoff Brothers in 9:49 when Genocide Agent defeated Ivan Ivanoff by pinfall with a Hanging Powerslam.[/I] As a cameraman its your job to be in the thick of the action, however, after three 'jobber' matches in a row, there's 'action' and 'action'. The crowd had taken it upon themselves to start and throw things at the wrestlers during the match. It has to be said, it was mainly at Igor who seemed to be way off his game, something told me he wasn't impressed with being booked to lose. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] We return back to 21CW Best of British Wrestling as [B]The Takeover[/B] make their way the ring, with a chorus of boo's from the fans. [B]Kathleen Lee[/B] takes a microphone and speaks on behalf of her clients; [B]Joss Thompson[/B] and [B]Leo Price[/B]. Thompson leans against the ropes. "[B]Jeff Nova[/B]," Lee starts, despite the crowd cheer for their hero Jeff Nova. "Last week, I demanded on behalf of my client Joss Thompson, that he be given a title shot, or you'd face a law suit for breech of contract." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]Jeff Nova[/B] gets up from his commentary booth to huge cheers from the fans, the broad Scottish former World's Strongest Man commentator and entrant has a huge following within 21CW. "Ah, laddy, you think you can just waltz into ma'company, bringing with you, your Yankee ways of crying and whining and threaten to sue people until you get what you want?" [I]Crowd cheer and start to chant 'Jeff'.[/I] "Listen, if you think hiring that no good turncoat lawyer, Kathleen Lee, is going to make me change ma'mind. You've got another thing commin'." [I]Crowd keep chanting 'Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!'[/I]. "Ever since you lost your title, you've done nothing about it to get it back, other then run your mouth and avoid getting into the ring. You want a title shot, you want your title back? Then you'll do like everyone else; you'll step into the ring and fight for it... or by god, I'll step into the ring and tan your arse so red people think you're'a Baboon!" [I]Crowd cheer![/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] [B]Kathleen Lee[/B] steps forward. "Mr. Nova, don't talk to my client directly like that, or you'll find yourself in court!" [B]Thompson[/B] pushes Lee to one side and steps forward, to be face to face with Nova, speaking into his mic. "I accept." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Yellow"]C[/COLOR] [B]Match[/B] [B]Nightmare[/B] v [B]Red Dragon[/B] [I]Nightmare defeated Red Dragon in 4:39 by pinfall with a Darkness Choke Slam.[/I] The fans HATED seeing Nightmare on the card, they totally ripped him apart, which is a brave move as that guy was big. He was HUGE. 21CW had never really been a promotion to book someone on size alone, but in this case Pit Bull Brown really was taken the American approach to wrestling at heart with giving Nightmare screen time so high up on the crowd. Especially, considering Nightmare ripped apart an old 21CW favorite, and former World Champ, Red Dragon, who seemed rather blasé about it all. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]F+[/COLOR] [B]21CW UK Title Match[/B] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_UK.jpg[/IMG] [B]Chuck Frisby[/B] v [B]Daniel Black Francis[/B](c) [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Chuck Frisby in 12:42 by submission with a Rasta Lock. Daniel Black Francis makes defence number 1 of his 21st Century United Kingdom title. [/I] It was a fun match, and one I remember having a lot of fun capturing on camera at the time. Say what you want about Chuck Frisby back then, but he was a performer, and his ultra camp gimmick in the ring was funny to watch - a throw back to old UK wrestling days where the Grannys would Gasp at his antics. One spot I remember well was Frisby going for a Sunset Flip pin, only to pinch DFB's bum instead. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] made his way to the ring, with [B]The Assassin's Guild[/B] taking up flanking position along side him. He stepped into the ring, removing his robe to reveal the [B]21CW World Title[/B], and took a microphone. "You're a brave man [B]DJ Reason[/B]." He began as the crowd started to boo Faust. "Last week it took some balls for you to ask for a title shot - but I'm not giving that, its enough that I've agreed to take time out from my plans to step into the ring with you." Crowd boo that they won't see a title defense tonight. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]DJ Reason[/B] v [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] [I]Jonathan Faust defeated DJ Reason in 17:47 by pinfall with a Devil's Drop.[/I] From what I remember this was Pit Bull Brown testing out DJ Reason to see how he'd handle the Main Event scene, and from what I saw he blew it. I mean it wasn't a bad match by any means and the two worked as well as you'd expect together, but Reason just blew his spots. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR][/CENTER] [B]Final Rating[/B]: D- [B]TV Rating[/B]: 0.8 I was sitting with them, them being Jeff Nova, the Owner, and Pit Bull Brown, the Booker, during post production helping them edit and add graphics to the screen. Nova wasn't happy, I'm not sure if it was a move on his part to say this in front of me to make Brown uneasy, but he told him straight up - 'Your job is on the line if we drop in popularity, if we lost our 'cult' status'. I thought it was harsh at the time, I was new to the business, but I'd later learn that it was Jeff being Jeff. He was as kind as kind could be away from the business, but once he was in the office he was ruthless. Business Needs came first.

[Chriswok]

[B][CENTER][SIZE="4"]21st Century Newswire[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] Rumors are flying around the United Kingdom that 21CW have signed several new stars, after 'industry experts' claimed their roster was too small and 'unprofessional' looking? How are these stars, will they debut at this Thursday's 21st Century Wrestling's Best of British Wrestling? - Last week The Takeover set their stall out against 21CW owner Jeff Nova, claiming that if Joss Thompson wasn't given a title shot, they'd launch a law suit against 21CW and Jeff Nova. Nova didn't back down and demanded that Thompson wrestling his way to a #1 Contender's Spot like everyone else on the roster. Who will be Thompson's opponent this Thursday? Will Kathleen Lee issue the law suit like she threatened? [B]21CW UK Title on the line![/B] That's right folks, the ever willing champion Daniel Black Francis is going to defend his title AGAIN this week. This makes it almost week in week out since Francis won the title back in December 2007. Almost in complete contrast to Jonathan Faust who has only defended his title 3 times since winning it in July of last year. Assassin's Guild, as it was reveal last week it has been 'The Mastermind' Faust issuing the attacks of The Assassin's Guild, usually on the #1 Contender for his title, which is one of the reasons he hasn't defended it that often over the last 6 months. Now their alliance is out in the open, what lays in store for Faust?

[Liamo]

Nice start pal, I've been thinking of doing a 21CW diary for a while and I think this has just made me want to do it even more :D I like your style and the idea of this being a published book - good luck with it.

[Chriswok]

[QUOTE=Liamo;444636]Nice start pal, I've been thinking of doing a 21CW diary for a while and I think this has just made me want to do it even more :D I like your style and the idea of this being a published book - good luck with it.[/QUOTE] Thanks :D I thought I'd do it as a published book since I've seen two 21CW diaries fail already due to them being fired (it does seem hard to get that magical 'D'). I thought, if I got fired, I'd at least be able to continue on with another promotion or something.

[Richyg]

I got fired from my 21CW dynasty by April... its shockingly hard to get yourself a grade where you simply stay put! Best grade I achieved was a D+ so good luck :) Nive idea of the published book tho, very original!

[Chriswok]

[CENTER][B][U][SIZE="3"]21st Century Wrestling presents Best of British Wrestling[/SIZE][/U][/B] [I]836 in Attendance at the Ashton University Sports Hall[/I] [SIZE="2"][B]Dark Match[/B] [B]Harry Wilson[/B] v [B]Nate Manchester[/B] [I]Harry Wilson defeated Nate Manchester in 7:32 by pinfall. [/I] That’s right, I was there for Harry Wilson’s first 21CW match, ok it was only a dark match, but this was as match a ‘practice’ match for Harry Wilson as it was for me and my camera work. I’m not saying Jeff thought I was a bad cameraman, but I didn’t have that ‘Sports Entertainment’ instinct about me that SWF cameramen had – you know, always being at the right place at the right time. ‘You’re just too ‘arty’ kid’, Jeff had told me the previous week during post production – damn that Media degree, huh? As for the match itself, I’m not sure if Nate was still smarting from his handicap last week, but he seemed a little sore against Wilson . I’d later learn that Wilson was laying some big stingers down on Nate during that match. Strangely, my friendship with Nate would grow as we continued to work on dark matches together. Our common ground being we were both from Newcastle and both liked Redheads. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E-[/COLOR][/SIZE] [B][SIZE="3"]TV Show[/SIZE][/B] [B]The Takeover[/B] were out from the opening and the crowd didn’t like it one bit. [B]Kathleen Lee[/B] led out her clients [B]Joss Thompson[/B] and [B]Leo Price[/B], who seemed to flirt with a lady at ring side along the way from what I remember. It has to be said that the former ‘Rock Chick’ Kathleen Lee had developed leaps and bounds since becoming a would be ‘Lawyer’ for The Takeover. “Mr. Nova.” She begun but had to pause due to the insane amount of cheers for the mentioning of 21CW’s Owner [B]Jeff Nova[/B]. “Last week you lay down a verbal threat to my client, Mr. Thompson.” The crowd booed but Kathleen went on regardless. “How dare you boo Mr. Thompson, you xenophobes!” The crowd booed some more. “Last week Mr. Nova you threatened my client with both verbal and physical abuse. This matter won’t be over looked, and I will be going to court in regards to a restraining order.” The crowd continued to boo, as Thompson moved forward to take the microphone. “You’ve only bought this one upon yourself, Jeff.” The crowd started to chant ‘Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!’ Jeff wasn’t much of an actor but I remember he did a got job of looking like he was restraining anger; he certainly had a face for television. “Now, Mr. Nova, if you’d be as kind to explain to my client who his ‘Mystery Opponent’ is tonight? He doesn’t appreciate being left in the dark about who he is fighting” [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="DarkOrange"]D[/COLOR] Jeff had got to his feet and moved around from behind the announce desk, to enter the ring. “Bare in mind the pending restraining order, Mr. Nova!” Kathleen said, as Thompson goaded Nova. “Laddie, ye wanna know who ya’fghtin’ later on t’night, aye?” Nova said, despite his Scottish tones, the fans ate up every word he had to speak. To be honest, he played up his Scottish accent when he was in front of the camera, at least a wrestling one. He could speak near perfect Queen’s English when he was hosting The World’s Strongest Man. “My client would like that.” Kathleen replied rather sheepishly. “Well then, I suggest ya get ya’sell into the ring t’night for the Main Event, and you’ll find out, eh?” The crowd chanted ‘Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!’ again. It wasn’t spectacular by any means, but Jeff, Joss, Kathleen and even the silent Leo had the crowd caring, at least chanting. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Yellow"]C[/COLOR] -- [B]Tag Match[/B] [B]The Assassin’s Guild [/B]v [B]The Elimination Agents[/B] [I]The Assassins' Guild defeated The Elimination Agents in 9:41 when Stefan Raynor defeated Suicide Agent by pinfall with a Single Arm DDT.[/I] I think it was this match that Pit Bull Brown finally caught on the crowd just weren't interested in The Elimination Agents anymore and they were in need of a gimmick change to freshen them up. After all, this wasn't the 80s and it wasn't America, despite Jeff's best attempts to portray it as such. I don't remember much about the match, it was just another throw away early card match. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E-[/COLOR] [B]Faust[/B] met his ‘Hired Guns’ in the ring after their match, his role as ‘The Mastermind’ had really got the fan’s back up. That and the fact he hadn’t defended his title regularly over the last 6 months. “With me stand [B]The Assassin’s Guild[/B], they, for the last few months, have systematically taken out foes bigger then themselves, with their ruthless efficiency. Where one lacks in skill, the other covers for it tenfold. They are the perfect killers.” The crowd boos, causing Faust to smirk from underneath his hood. [B]Rating[/B]:[COLOR="Red"] E+[/COLOR] [B]Match[/B] [B]Red Dragon[/B] v [B]Chuck Frisbee[/B] [I]Red Dragon defeated Chuck Frisby in 7:41 by pinfall with a Moonsault.[/I] A better performance from Red Dragon in this match, and the Moonsault he hit to win it is still one of the better moments I caught on camera during my early days with 21CW. He just seemed to glide down into the impact. Dragon was a good guy, he'd work hard when he worked, though he was just a bit inconsistant. I never talked much to him, he kept himself to himself in the locker room, though I had my feelings he still had a LOT of wind knocked out of his sails from his 'failed' World Champion run a few years earlier. [B]Rating[/B]:[COLOR="Red"] E[/COLOR] [B]Rolling Johnny Stone[/B] appeared backstage to give an interview, it’s interesting to note that all the backstage segments were done the day after the previous shooting in a warehouse that Jeff Nova owned and had converted into something of a ‘soundstage’. So we’d shoot the TV shows on the Wednesday, then on the Thursday, while it was being shown on TV, we’d be shooting the promos in the warehouse. “Tonight, I will become the Poser boy for UK wrestling when I defeat Daniel Black Francis for the UK Title. My looks, charm and ability will propel a new era upon Professional Wrestling in the UK and Europe .” The crowd booed intensely. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"]D[/COLOR] [B]Tag Match[/B] [B]The Ivanoff Brothers[/B] v [B]The Anglo-Scots[/B] [I]The Ivanoff Brothers defeated The Anglo-Scots Connection in 7:45 when Ivan Ivanoff defeated Davey Celtic by pinfall with a Red Curtain.[/I] Man, I remember this match again, as at the time I couldn't believe Brown had the balls to put them midcard again after what had happened the week before. Once again the crowd ripped into the two teams for being on the show, they were livid they were having to sit through the match. I think it was the hate that put Davey London off his game that night, as he seemed to struggle to get any rythmn going with his move set. I was already cringing at what I knew was coming next... [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"][COLOR="Red"]E-[/COLOR][/COLOR] -- The [B]Ivanoff Brothers[/B] grabbed a mic. "We won for Mutha Russia!" They proclaimed with great joy, the crowd dumped on them. I'm surprised they didn't walk out, then came the Russian Bomb Shell. "We have beat champions, now we must have gold next week!" They weren't Russian and their poor Russian accent wasn't fooling anyone. That with the fact they demanded a Tag Title shot next week, which meant they'd be on TV 3 weeks in a row with intense hate from the crowd made my mind spin - Brown's decline had started. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]The Anglo-Scots[/B] grabbed a mic and accepted with a coy smile on their faces. They were suppose to go through a routine about how they had something special planned for the Ivanoff Brothers, but I think they could sense they weren't really popular or cared about and just wanted to get out of there. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]Match[/B] [B]DJ Reason[/B] v [B]Mister King[/B] [I]DJ Reason defeated Mister King in 4:46 by pinfall with an Edge Of Reason.[/I] It wasn't a bad match, it wasn't great, but I remember being surprised it just wasn't better. It was so middle of the road it was unreal. I think DJ felt disappointed and sorry with himself that he had blown his chance the week before to impress Pit Bull and get that nod into the Main Event he had been after for a while. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]Match[/B] [B]Adam Matravers[/B] v [B]Don Henderson[/B] [I]Adam Matravers defeated Don Henderson in 10:08 by pinfall with a Mile High Moonsault.[/I] This match surprised me for a number of reasons, firstly the unhyped debut of Don Henderson just put into the card, and how great the match was. I don't know if you remember Adam Matravers and Don Henderson very well, but Matravers was a cruiserweight and Henderson was a Technical wrestler, yet they matched up pretty well and put on an entertaining match. Henderson had spent most of his career with Men of Steel Combat up North, and ironically had got his break with MosC due to the amount of people who left to join 21CW. Now, a year later, here he was joining the 21CW roster and leaving MosC behind. I could never understand how the Highland Warrior kept his cool and friendship up with Jeff over all the talent he raided. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"]D-[/COLOR] Oh man, the [B]Red Dragon[/B] segment where he was backstage and felt something through the 'Dragon Force', I had almost forgot about that before it came on the screen I'm watching trying to remember my past as I write this. It was such a silly idea, but Jeff and Pit Bull we convinced it would be funny to tie in Red Dragon with what would happen later on in the show. Looking back I don't think the tie in worked very well at all, as there had never been any reference to the 'Dragon Force' in all the time Red Dragon had been with 21CW, so it just made no sense. I remember Dragon himself wasn't that keen on filming the segment in Nova's Warehouse the Thursday before hand. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]21CW United Kingdom Title Match[/B] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_UK.jpg[/IMG] [B]Rolling Johnny Stone[/B] v [B]Daniel Francis Black[/B] (c) [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Rolling Johnny Stones in 14:41 by submission with a Rasta Lock. Daniel Black Francis makes defence number 2 of his 21st Century United Kingdom title. [/I] All I remember about this match is Pit Bull screaming down my monitor earpiece to try and make the match look better and cover up Johnny Stone's sloppy ring work. It wasn't a miss match between Stone and Black, they'd go on to have much better matches, and it was a program Pit Bull was really keen on at the time, but this match - the first one - was ruined by Stone's poor timing. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]Jeff Nova [/B]excused himself from his commentary position causing the crowd to cheer, as he stepped into the ring with a mic. “Thompson, ya’wanted to know who you were fightin’ t’night, aye? Well get out here now, and I’ll let you in on the secret.” The crowd cheered, and started the ‘Jeff’ chant again. [B]The Takeover’s[/B] music played again as they made their way to the ring, Joss in his wrestling gear. The crowd booed, Thompson ignored the abuse that was being thrown his way. They stepped into the ring, but kept their distance from Nova. “Well, Mr. Nova, here we are you. Who is my client fighting tonight?” “All in good time lass.” Nova replied, turning to face the hard camera. “First of all I want to thank all the fans for turning up in their thousands last year, and for keep on coming to our shows, despite the political alignments happening in front of their very noses – such as those by the The Takeover.” The crowd who were cheering Jeff Nova’s words, started to boo as he mentioned The Takeover, they seemed oblivious to the change in Jeff’s voice, as he dropped the broad Scottish tone, to a more ‘generic’ English one. “You see, as far back as wrestling goes, it’s always been about fighting for pride, fighting for titles and all that fighting took place in a ring. Not outside of the ring, not in front of a camera crew and not in law courts.” The crowd continued to listen. I remember that I zoomed in on Jeff as he talked during his speech, it must have been a good shot, as Nova commented on it later during Post Production. “And yet, here we are – trying to get a title shot through blackmail and court orders, it makes me sick. It’s why I had to bring in… [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Yellow"]C[/COLOR] That was our cue, for once the old guy on the hard camera, would have to swing it around to the entrance, Jeff wanted multiple angles to edit in Post Production. The lights went out, smoke poured out of the smoke machines highlighting the red and blue lights beaming across the entrance. Then it happened a plume of fire lit up casting a red hue across the smoke as [B]UK DRAGON[/B] made his debut in 21CW. It was amazing, it truly was. I had been a fan of UK Dragon for a number of years going up and down the country with my friend James to watch whatever we could with the money we scrapped together from paper rounds and working in retail. Thompson’s reaction was priceless and perfect. [B]Rating[/B]: D -- [B]Main Event[/B] [B]Joss Thompson[/B] v [B]UK Dragon[/B] [I]Joss Thompson drew with UK Dragon in 19:50 following a double count out. During the match we also had Leo Price distract UK Dragon.[/I] It was a good match, despite the fact that afterwards UK Dragon went up to Nova and Pit Bull and apologized for being 'a bit nervous out there'. Despite all his years working the UK scene, UK Dragon had just made his first UK TV match and it got to him. Here he was a UK Indy legend, who was from Newcastle just like me and Nate - we'd later become travel buddys on the train bouncing between Newcastle and London and various Airports - nervous about his first UK TV taping. That encounter that told me one thing - be prepared for anything and everything to surprise you. [B]Final Rating[/B]: D [B]TV Rating[/B]: 0.9([COLOR="SeaGreen"]+0.1[/COLOR])[/CENTER]

[Chriswok]

[SIZE="3"][FONT="Verdana"]So I had survived two weeks in the wrestling world, travel back and forth between my home in Newcastle and 21CW's base in London. Like I had mentioned earlier, Nate Manchester and UK Dragon were both from Newcastle, so we'd often ride together on the train or in Nate's little white Nissan Nova, if I remember correctly it was his Mother's car. So here I was in a car with a veteran of the UK and International Indy scene, UK Dragon, and a young would be hoping to make it even half as much as Dragon, Nate Manchester. Our natural ties as Geordies made it easy to strike up a report and friendship as we traveled, that and the fact that UK Dragon is the nicest person you'll ever meet (and one of the most hard working). Dragon was a guy was loyal, not to a stupid sense, but loyal in that if he said he'd work 3 dates for you, worked two, then broke his legs, he'd come back 8 months later work the final date. When he came to 21CW he was already working for Ring of Fire and WLW (A Japanese Touring company). I asked Dragon if he was leaving the other two to work for 21CW, as was Nova's style, and Dragon said he couldn't do that to people who had gave him a job, paid him to see the world and ultimately live a dream. It would have been a wonderful statement if we weren't lost in the middle of the Midlands trying to look for Birmingham Airport, as Dragon was heading back over to Japan for a Tour date. He had a cycle on any given week he could be going to work for ROF on the Tuesday, coming down to London to work for us on the Wednesday, shooting promos on the Thursday (he'd stay even if he wasn't on the run sheet), then flying off to Japan to hit their weekend tour date. Did Dragon complain? Not once. I'd later find out that, sadly, not all guys were as cool as The Dragon. [/FONT][/SIZE]

[Chriswok]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]21st Century Wrestling presents[/SIZE][/B]: [B]Best of British Wrestling[/B] [I]1,856 in attendance at Edgeware Hall[/I] [B]Dark Match[/B] [B]Nate Manchester[/B] v [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] [I]Jonathan Faust defeated Nate Manchester in 4:46 by pinfall with a Devil's Drop.[/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]Pit Bull Brown[/B] v [B]Nightmare[/B] [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Nightmare in 7:50 by pinfall with a Dog House Piledriver.[/I] Wise move by Pit Bull to try out Nightmare on a Dark Match after what happened on his last TV appearance. Once again the crowd ripped into him. I remember afterwards that Brown was totally pissed off that the crowd wouldn't accept Nightmare, but then, these were 21CW fans. They had been brought up on a diet of actual wrestling, and slowly weened off it towards 'Sports Entertainment'. It was safe to say their roots remained. I don't think it helped that Nightmare and Brown couldn't work together in the ring either, which was odd considering they had pretty similar styles. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B][U][SIZE="3"]TV SHOW[/SIZE][/U][/B] I'm not sure if they crowd were expecting it but for the third week in a row [B]The Takeover[/B] came out first, [B]Kathleen Lee[/B], [B]Joss Thompson[/B] and [B]Leo Price[/B]. They stood in the ring and 'ignored' the boos and chants for 'England' - a dig at the American, Joss Thompson. "My Client, Mr. Thompson regrets to inform you, [B]Mr. Nova[/B], that he will be unable to compete here tonight in a rematch with [B]UK Dragon[/B], as he has plans else where." The crowd started to boo and chant what they thought of the statement. "However, he is willing to allow his tag team partner Leo Price to take his place, and if Mr. Thompson is satisfied with UK Dragon's performance, and that fighting him is worthy of his busy schedule, he'll then fight him." The crowd went mental, they really knew how to gain heel heat it had to be said. [B]Rating[/B]:[COLOR="SandyBrown"]C-[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_Tag.jpg[/IMG] [B]21CW Tag Title Match[/B] [B]The Anglo-Scots Connection[/B] v [B]The Ivanoff Brothers[/B] [I]The Anglo-Scots Connection defeated The Ivanoff Brothers in 7:58 when Davey London defeated Igor Ivanoff by pinfall with a London's Bridge. The Anglo-Scots Connection make defence number 1 of their 21st Century Tag Team titles.[/I] The crowd just love to dump on [B]Davey Celtic[/B] and [B]Igor Ivanoff.[/B] Their lack of 'skill' really did make the crowd angry, similar to Nightmare earlier on during the Dark Match. However, 21CW had put themselves into a catch22 situation regarding the Tag Titles, they put them on two young guys to try and help them get established, yet they weren't good enough for them. Sadly, the teams around them were also pretty weak. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E-[/COLOR] [B]Rolling Johnny Stones[/B] appeared backstage to cut a promo. He wasn't the best, but he was better then most people on the 21CW Roster at the time at hyping up matches. "Tonight, I have to face [B]Chuck Frisb[/B]y to earn another title shot at the UK Title. ME? PROVE MYSELF?! I'm the Poster Boy of wrestling, I don't play with Frisby's anymore, and tonight I'll PROVE that by destroying Chuck Frisby." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Chuck Frisby[/B] v [B]Rolling Johnny Stones[/B] [I]Rolling Johnny Stones defeated Chuck Frisby in 10:13 by pinfall with a Brainbuster.[/I] There was nothing wrong between Frisby and Stones, it was just a poor match. Stones could be great on the night, but sometimes the stars just didn't align for him - I don't think it helped that Chuck didn't get up to his usual antics. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] "FRANCIS!" Stones shouted down a mic after the match. "Once again the Poster Boy of British Wrestling has washed away the competition. I want another title shot, I WANT THAT TITLE! It makes my stomach churn to see it around your waist - when it could be propelled into the next level being around mine." [B]Daniel Black Francis[/B]' music played and the crowd cheered, it always amazed me how good of a reaction he'd get from the crowd considering he'd often speak in a faux Jamacian accent despite not being Jamacian at all. "Ezee, Star, aight. I be givin' what ya'want, aight. On da Paypurvue! Am Ezee, Am chillin, just relax, mon. You be da Star, aight." Like I said, it really made little sense, but the crowd loved DBF for being, well, DBF. He made a good UK Champion, and just had that little extra 'it' about him. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Phillip Cooper[/B] v [B]Don Henderson[/B] [I]Phillip Cooper defeated Don Henderson in 9:41 by pinfall with The Cooper Fly Splash.[/I] It always made me wonder in the early days of Henderson arrival at 21CW as to why he left ROF to work exclusively for 21CW. He was a Main Eventer at RoF, pushing for the title when he left to come over on Nova's terms. And here he was, no hype to his arrival into his second match with the company, jobbing out again. It could explain why he didn't seem really 'turned on' during this match, maybe there had been false promises made to him. Cooper on the other hand, I'm not sure where he came from but he was another fan favorite, I didn't see much in him at the time other then his hat. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]Luke Cool[/B] flirting with [B]Phoebe Plumridge[/B], that was a fun segment to film. Luke Cool is great at playing up his 'Teen Idol' style gimmick where all the girls fancy him, so much so that a few jealous boyfriends really do want to kick him all over around the streets of London. This is what made him turn from face to heel to begin with. I wasn't surprised when they started it off in 21CW as well with him flirting with 'Double P', causing Matravers to get a bit jealous. All the boyfriends in London were no doubt behind Matravers during that segment and the following feud. Hey, it might have been booking 101, but sometimes its the simple things that work best. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]Adam Matravers[/B] appeared behind Luke Cool, with 'Double P' giving a warming 'Hi, Honey'. and that's what started the match. [B]Rating[/B]:[COLOR="Orange"] D+[/COLOR] [B]Adam Matravers[/B] v [B]Luke Cool[/B] [I]Adam Matravers defeated Luke Cool in 9:45 by pinfall with a Mile High Moonsault.[/I] ...which sucked. They just didn't click. Pit Bull suggested telling Matravers that Cool was actually sleeping with his girlfriend to try and inject some fire into the matches, but it just wasn't meant to be. It didn't stop Pit Bull from trying though. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] The Takeover appeared backstage talking amongst themselves. "Why do I have to fight him?" Price whined. "Because I'm too busy?" Thompson relied nonchalantly. "Besides, he's just a guy in a mask." "I'm sorry, but, he's the UK Dragon. He's an Icon across the UK and Japan." "Yeah, well, in America, we ain't heard of him. Just make sure you break him tonight, so its easier for me when I can be bothered to face him." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Stevie Stoat[/B] v [B]DJ Reason[/B] [I]Stevie Stoat defeated DJ Reason in 15:11 by pinfall with a Super Kick.[/I] Stevie Stoat doesn't have much charisma, he does however like the film Terminator, and short of calling himself a cyborg from the future, he plays a 'Terminator' role pretty well. He's just a machine, goes into wrestle, shows no emotion, just wants to destroy. The fans love to hate him for it, as he picks apart crowd favorites. Tonight it was DJ Reason, who seemed to over came feeling sorry for himself, at blowing his chance to be a Main Eventer, and sold some killer moves from Stoat. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] The Mastermind [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] appeared at the entrance way. "Stoat, you're a machine. You're ruthless and efficient. You're the kind of wrestler who should have the 21CW World Title around their waist, like me." He revealed the title under his robe. "And I would like to guide you there - come and join The Assassin's Guild..." Stoat glared back at him, his shades still on - they never seemed to come off even during matches. He never spoke, though that was nothing knew, I think it was part of his gimmick, or might have actually been a mute. Faust left an Assassin's Guild calling card on the ramp way and walked away. As Stoat left, he picked it up. Again it was a simple booking that worked well with the wrestlers involved. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]Jeff Nova[/B] appeared in the ring, and the crowd popped, and started to do their usual 'Jeff!' chant. He urged them to quiet down, he wasn't one to milk the crowd too much, he never wanted to be the #1 attraction since he wasn't a wrestler, and credit to him he stuck to that. "Thompson, you've put your buddy in to tonit's match with nee notice. So, Laddy, its only fair that UK Dragon as a say in the matter as well. If Dragon wins tonit' then he can choose when he fights ya, where he fights and how he fights ya. You know... I don't want to be accused of discriminating." The crowd cheered like crazy. They had really taken to UK Dragon and anyone that wanted to give Joss Thompson a tough time was an ok guy in their book. It was never really stated out loud, but it came down to UK v America. UK Dragon v Joss Thompson. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] [B]MAIN EVENT[/B] [B]UK Dragon[/B] v [B]Leo Price[/B] [I]UK Dragon defeated Leo Price in 17:53 by pinfall with a Dragon Drop.[/I] Leo didn't have the legs for the time the match was given, but I think his physically tired body going limp around the still fresh and fighting UK Dragon helped establish Dragon as a threat. IF anything, Dragon taught Price a thing or two during the match on how to wrestle. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]Final Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]TV Rating[/B]: 0.8 ([COLOR="Red"]-.1[/COLOR])[/CENTER]

[Chriswok]

It was leading into the last week of TV before 21CW's first PPV event, Nova had struck up a deal with United Kingdom Choice, it rightly so it meant alot to him. I might have only there 3 weeks by this time, and I was officially only the 'Second Unit Director' - fancy name for 'another cameraman', but 21CW was such a small knit group of guys, as it had been from the start, that that basically meant I was part of the booking team... in a way. Nova appreciated by eye and, strangely, my media degree. Old Man Joe, who was the 'First Unit Director' aka 'Hard Camera', wasn't technically gifted, but he had been doing sports events since the dawn of time and was always happy to share his knowledge with me - even if I was slowly replacing him. Credit to him, he never said a bad word against anyone, even me. I've got a lot of respect for Old Man Joe, and if I'm honest, I owe him a lot of gratitude for getting me settled into the business and the job quickly, more so then making friends with UK Dragon and getting my foot in the door of the 'booking team' due to my post production skills - and that cursed Media Degree. So were heading into the first PPV, and Nova wanted to make sure I was comfortable, ready and up to speed to 'nail this one in the bag, laddy' - basically his way of saying 'You're not going to balls this one up, are you?'. Which I wasn't, 3 weeks might not seem like a long time to be in wrestling, and it isn't, but its more then enough time to find out what works and doesn't work and generally, the less I tried to be arty with the camera, shots and angles, the better it worked for Nova. 'Leave the arty farty stuff till post-production, eh?' were some of the first words he said to me. Basically, the program 21CW had going into this PPV was 'The Takeover' had been doing things in an unbritish and unwrestling way, going to the court rooms and getting court orders for this and that. Joss Thompson wanted a title shot, but he didn't want to earn it in the ring, he wanted to blackmail his way to the gold. It worked well, I mean, it says a lot that basically he got booed for being American in an English promotion. If that isn't a billboard advertisment for discrimination, I'm not sure what is. But, no one complained, not even Joss, who was happy he was gaining as much heel heat as he was, as he wanted to be the #1 heel. So, because of The Takeover's untraditional ways, Jeff Nova bought in UK Dragon to uphold the 'law of wrestling' and basically stand up for the United Kingdom, though this was never mentioned. So Thompson would have to prove himself against Dragon to get a title shot against Faust. Faust on the other hand hadn't actually defended his title, apart from maybe 3 times, in the last 6 months. And this drove the fans stir crazy. They wanted to see the title, they wanted to see it defended, but mostly, they wanted to see Faust get such a good kicking for skirting and diving out of endless challenges. Sometimes he'd feign injury, sometimes the challenger would strangely get beaten up by the Assassin's Guild - who later aligned with Faust. I wasn't sure how Nova was going to get Faust and the title on to the PPV, as for the 3 weeks I had been there he hadn't really been involved in much of a build up. This was my first lesson in booking - the slow build. Pitbull informed me that he had all planned out on a big board back in the warehouse, and it was all going to work fine. He asked if I ever read comics, which I replied 'Yeah'. He said 'You ever read Cival War?' And it started to dawn on me what might actually be in store for 21CW, more so when Pit Bull ran through his promo that night, that he was going to cut on next week's 'Best of British Wrestling', the last one before the PPV. [B][SIZE="3"][CENTER] 21CW Presents: New Millennium [/CENTER][/SIZE][/B] [CENTER][B]21CW World Title Match[/B] Jonathan Faust(c) v TBA UK Dragon v Joss Thompson [B]21CW UK Title Match[/B] Daniel Black Francis(c) v TBA[/CENTER] That's how the card looked going into the last week of TV, they had a lot to build up on. I remember Pit Bull saying don't worry, the under card will take care of itself, we'll put some of the young guys into some matches and tell them to 'wow' the crowd. Sadly, TV segments worked well, the matches tended to nose dive a little until the main event. However, I didn't realize it then, but I had just been let into the booking team of 21CW. My first step into becoming a wrestling booking and promoter.

[Chriswok]

So the day of the tv taping came along, the last one before the PPV. The taping was on the Wednesday, the program would be aired on the Thursday on the Digital Network, ok so it wasn't in EVERY house hold, and it was on in the middle of no where, but at least Nova had got some TV time. The PPV was on the Friday night, so there was three days to go, and three days of madness from Jeff Nova. He was running around like a headless chicken trying to make sure all their children looked smart for their first day of school. It was pretty funny - imagine a big burly Scottish bloke, respected as a hardman and World's Strongest Man, acting like a Mother Hen. Go on, imagine it. Funny isn't it? [CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]21st Century Wrestling Presents: The Best of British Wrestling[/SIZE][/B] [I]1,000 The Cobra Den[/I] [U][B] Dark Matches[/B][/U] [B]Nightmare[/B] v [B]Harry Wilson[/B] [I]Nightmare defeated Harry Wilson in 2:38 by pinfall with a Darkness Choke Slam.[/I] Nightmare will just never get a break in 21CW, at least, not until he learns how to wrestle. To this day it still amazes me the patients and willingness Nova and Pit Bull had in putting the big man out there to get slaughtered by the crowd. However, they saw the potential in him, and they wanted to train him up. They even had The Steamroller out there as his 'manager' to try and help divert the flack, it kind of helped. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B][U] TV SHOW[/U][/B] Ah the first appearance of Joey Beachump, it was pretty decent, they just gave him a mic and let him go out there and talk. Joey was, and still is, a great talker. In fact, he's such a great talker, both in front of and behind the camera, that most promotions take what he says with a pinch of salt, as he tries to power play himself into situations. Don't get me wrong, he's not big headed, but he will try and play people off each other get a better situation for himself. "I'm Joey Beachump, and I'm here to wrestle." Beauchamp said, the crowd listened. He had a voice that you wanted to pay attention to. "I've been wrestling across Europe, won titles and held promotions together with my in ring abilities. I've came here to wrestle. I'm the Breeze, I'm Joey Beauchamp." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Don Henderson[/B] v [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated Don Henderson in 9:38 by pinfall with a Breeze Block.[/I] Don Henderson's jobber run continued into this match, it was the curse of being a very solid worker. There was no doubt about it, Henderson had the ability to put on a good match with almost anyone. I quickly learned, as no doubt Don had, that that was why he was brought in. To work with other guys make them look good, he was an old school 'mechanic', and in truth, there aren't that many guys around like Don that are willing to just go out there, get beat, and make someone else look good. Truth is, he knew that, he knew his job was safe as long as he kept lying down. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]DJ Reason[/B] v [B]Chuck Frisby[/B] [I]DJ Reason defeated Chuck Frisby in 9:40 by pinfall with an Edge Of Reason.[/I] There really isn't much to say about this match, other then DJ Reason has to be one of the most fustrating wrestlers to have on the card. Even though I had only been there for just under a month, I could see why Pit Bull and Nova were reluctant to pull the trigger on DJ getting a good push. He just couldn't guarantee he'd deliver 100% on the night. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] Phillip Cooper appeared with his huge Hat on, some of the crowd had begun to bring their own large hats with them to the shows and wave them around when he appeared. "Daniel, my friend. I know you never back down from a challenge, but this isn't a challenge, more of a request to a friend. Me and you; one more time - for old time's sake?" [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_UK.jpg[/IMG] [B]21CW UK TITLE MATCH[/B] [B]Daniel Black Francis[/B] v [B]Phillip Cooper[/B] [CENTER]Daniel Black Francis defeated Phillip Cooper in 10:28 by submission with a Rasta Lock. During the match we also had Rolling Johnny Stones run in and attack Daniel Black Francis. Daniel Black Francis makes defence number 3 of his 21st Century United Kingdom title.[/CENTER] With the way Nova and Pit Bull had been booking the 21CW World Title, it meant that Daniel Black Francis had been working over time defending his title. He had basically defended it every night since winning it. I'm not sure if that was 100% wise or not, as I think the fans grew tired of seeing it, but one thing was for sure; DFB was one of the most hard working members of the roster back then. However, he was prone to the odd off night, and tonight was that night. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] Jonathan Faust appeared in the ring, with the Assassin's Guild flanking him. "Cretins, let me introduce the newest member of the Elitest group in Professional Wrestling - The Machine Stevie Stoat." The emotionless Stevie Stoat, joined them in the ring and stood next to Faust in between the flanking Assassin's Guild. It was a great shot, and it was becoming a great stable and they hadn't even done anything yet. Jonathan Faust really was a 'Mastermind' as his character portrayed. Most of things he did with his character he came up with and went to Pit Bull with, who would usually agree with it. He originally started off as Rod 'The God' Todd before 21CW got a TV deal. It was a great gimmick from what I remember from the few events me and my friend went to. However, it was far too risky for TV, so he toned it down and became 'The Mastermind'. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] "Take a look, go on take a look at the formation of The Future of Professional Wrestling." Faust paused as the crowd booed. "Your pathetic boos are nothing but fuel to my greatness. There is nothing that can over come this group. Where one might be weak, the others are stronger. How can you break down that which has an ever changing face, an ever changing location. We are The Assassin's Guild; and you are our targets." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] Pit Bull Brown appeared at the top of the ramp way causing the crowd to bark like dogs. It was cliché, but they loved doing it. "This is exactly what Jeff Nova was on about last week. Too much political alignment within the Company. Well, I'll tell you what. I'm drawing a line in the sand, as I'm sick and tired for you, The Assassin's Guild, and 'The Takeover'." This was it, this was the moment that Pit Bull said would ignite the beginning of his grand storyline. I remember as he traced a line across the floor with his foot, thinking that he was on to something. "I'm saying it now, and I'll say it every week if questioned. I'm with 21st Century Wrestling; I'm with Jeff Nova." He stood there silently as the crowd cheered insanely for him. He looked cool, he was cool, the atmosphere was just wow. I was there with my camera taking it all in, and on the screen it just looked great. It was probably one of the best moments I had caught on camera so far. By this time The Assassin's Guild has left the ring via the 'back exit' ie the crowd, leaving it empty - ran off by Pit Bull's bold proclamation. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"]C-[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Pit Bull Brown[/B] v [B]Leo Price[/B] [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Leo Price in 15:17 by pinfall with a Dog House Piledriver.[/I] I'm not sure why this wasn't a good match, to this day watching it back I still can't work out why this wasn't a good match. Both men work well brawling it up, both men are good workers, but it just wasn't a good match. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] Jeff Nova stood up from his announcer's position after the match, to his 'Jeff!' chant, and entered the ring to stand next to Pit Bull Brown. "Since Leo Price didn't defeat UK Dragon last week, Dragon has decided that he'll face Joss Thompson at the first PPV this Friday." The crowd cheered. "There's no getting out of it, the contracts all done and dusts, your legal mumbojumbo ain't gonna save ya hear, Laddy." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="SandyBrown"]C+[/COLOR] The Takeover came down to complain, the crowd booed them wildly. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] "Nothing will stop us, Nova." Thompson said, getting right into Nova's face. "Your promotion will be held to ransom. The Takeover will own all your Gold, we will have all the stroke, we will have controlling power over who we face, when we face them - if we WANT to face them. WE WILL TAKE OVER!" [B][COLOR="SandyBrown"]Rating[/COLOR][/B]: C- "I'm glad that nothing's going to stand in your way, Thompson, as that means you'll be there on Friday to face UK Dragon. All I want from you is to compete like everyone else, like the fans pay to see. To stop hiding behind contracts, clauses, lawyers and arrogance." [B][COLOR="SandyBrown"]Rating[/COLOR][/B]: C- The Assassin's Guild walk down to the ring with Stevie Stoat, but JD MORGAN appears and chases them off, leaving Stoat to work the match alone. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] JD Morgan chased Jonathan Faust backstage, with The Assassin's Guild chasing him, leaving Stevie Stoat alone to face the match. His emotionless face and stride looked good as the chaos around him ensued. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B]Stevie Stoat[/B] v [B]Adam Matravers[/B] [I]Stevie Stoat defeated Adam Matravers in 19:59 by pinfall with a Super Kick.[/I] The timing on this match was amazing, and a joy to capture on camera. It had a 20min time limit, and Luke Cool managed to distract Matravers by flirting with his girl at ringside, just as Stevie Stoat snapped off his Super Kick and got the 3 count, just as the the last second ticked over. Was great match to watch through the lens of a camera, and one I had fun editing in post production. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]Final Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B]TV Rating[/B]: 0.08[/CENTER]

[Chriswok]

So that was it, that was the final show before the first PPV. Just for a bit of fun, I thought I'd throw up the official card and you could read it, see who you thought would win - see if you were inside the mind of Pit Bull Brown, or if had swerved you all. [QUOTE][CENTER] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_World.jpg[/IMG] [B]21CW World Title Match[/B] JD Morgan v Jonathan Faust - UK Dragon v Joss Thompson - [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_UK.jpg[/IMG] [B]21CW UK Title Match[/B] Rolling Johnny Stones v Daniel Francis Black - Adam Matravers v Luke Cool - Red Dragon v Nate Manchester v Joey Beauchamp v Harry Wilson - [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_Tag.jpg[/IMG] [B]21CW Tag Title Match[/B] The Anglo-Scots Connection v The Ivanoff Brothers v The Elimination Agents [/CENTER][/QUOTE]

[Liamo]

JD Morgan v [b]Jonathan Faust[/b] UK Dragon v [b]Joss Thompson[/b] Rolling Johnny Stones v [b]Daniel Francis Black[/b] [b]Adam Matravers[/b] v Luke Cool Red Dragon v Nate Manchester v [b]Joey Beauchamp[/b] v Harry Wilson The Anglo-Scots Connection v The Ivanoff Brothers v [b]The Elimination Agents[/b] Looking good buddy :D

[Richyg]

D Morgan v [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] [B]UK Dragon[/B] v Joss Thompson Rolling Johnny Stones v [B]Daniel Francis Black[/B] [B]Adam Matravers[/B] v Luke Cool Red Dragon v Nate Manchester v [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] v Harry Wilson The Anglo-Scots Connection v [B]The Ivanoff Brothers[/B] v The Elimination Agents

[Chriswok]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"][B]21st Century Wrestling presents: NEW MILLENNIUM[/B][/SIZE] [I]4,944 people at Kent Racecourse[/I] Dark Matches [B] Nightmare[/B] v [B]Don Henderson[/B] [I]Nightmare defeated Don Henderson in 5:11 by pinfall with a Darkness Choke Slam.[/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]Louie Peyton[/B] v [B]Phillip Cooper[/B] [I]Phillip Cooper defeated Louie Peyton in 3:41 by pinfall with The Cooper Fly Splash.[/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]Stefan Raynor[/B] v [B]Pit Bull Brown[/B] [I]Pit Bull Brown defeated Stefan Raynor in 4:43 by pinfall with a Dog House Piledriver.[/I] I have no idea where this came from but Stefan and Pit Bull just seemed to click in the ring. Stefan was moving around Pit Bull like it was a fight from the Matrix. Pit Bull swinging trying to grab and punch Raynor, while Raynor ducked and dived out of the way. Pit Bull finally caught him and pulled out the Dog house Piledriver for the win. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B][SIZE="3"] PPV TIME![/SIZE][/B] The lights dimmed as a spot light centered on the center of the ring where [B]Jeff Nova[/B] was standing. "Ladies and Gentlemen... welcome to... 21st CENTURY WRESTLING's NEW MILLENNIUM!" You could see the pride on his face and hear it in his voice, Jeff Nova was thrilled that night to be able to stand up there and welcome people to his promotions first ever Pay-per-View. Old Joe did the honors that night, taking it all on the hard camera, while I stood and watched. I couldn't help but wonder if Tyler Baker was sitting at home watching this, watching his 'child' that he gave up for 'adoption' take another first step - something he wasn't able to offer it. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="YellowGreen"]C+[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_Tag.jpg[/IMG] [B]Tag Title Match[/B] [B]The Anglo-Scots Connection[/B] v [B]The Elimination Agents[/B] v [B]The Ivanoff Brothers[/B] [I]The Elimination Agents defeated The Anglo-Scots Connection and The Ivanoff Brothers in 9:42; the order of elimination was The Anglo-Scots Connection first, and finally The Ivanoff Brothers. The Elimination Agents win the 21st Century Tag Team titles.[/I] I thought it was strange that Pit Bull and Nova went with these guys to open their first ever PPV, considering the hostile reactions some of them had been getting on TV the month before. I wasn't surprised that it wasn't the most amazing of matches. I was surprised that the titles changed though. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E[/COLOR] [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] appeared in the ring, to a small reaction. He had only made one appearance but the crowd already seemed interested enough to give him some response. That was his power. He could have been the biggest star in England, if it wasn't for his politics behind the curtain. "Tonight is a night of History of 21st Century Wrestling, a night of firsts. So tonight, to feed my desire for competition, there's going to be the first Open Invite Night. With some of the best competitors in the business today competing against each other." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [B] MATCH[/B] [B]Red Dragon[/B] v [B]Nate Manchester[/B] v [B]Joey Beauchamp[/B] v [B]Harry Wilson[/B] [I]Joey Beauchamp defeated Red Dragon, Nate Manchester and Harry Wilson in 9:52 when Joey Beauchamp defeated Harry Wilson by pinfall with a Breeze Block.[/I] [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] "Last night" [B]Pit Bull Brown[/B] started. "I announced to the whole of the UK, that I was with 21CW - that I was with Jeff Nova." He pulled on a 21CW Tee, a cheap way to plug the merchandise, but an age old method. "However, that's only 3 people standing up against a growing number of men who want to achieve things through political mind games - The Takeover and the Assassin's Guild." The crowd booed. "If we don't step up to stop them, then there will be no 21CW... step up and be counted for. I'm with 21CW, I'm with Jeff Nova... are you?" [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D[/COLOR] [B]MATCH[/B] [B] Adam Matravers[/B] v [B]Luke Cool[/B] [I]Luke Cool defeated Adam Matravers in 14:48 by pinfall with a Cool Cutter after a distraction from Phoebe Plumridge.[/I] The crowd just didn't like it, they didn't like Luke Cool and they didn't appreciate the mess these two put on trying to wrestle each other. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_UK.jpg[/IMG] [B]UK TITLE MATCH[/B] [B]Rolling Johnny Stones[/B] v [B]Daniel Francis Black[/B] [I]Daniel Black Francis defeated Rolling Johnny Stones in 19:54 by submission with a Rasta Lock. Daniel Black Francis makes defence number 4 of his 21st Century United Kingdom title.[/I] A good match between the two, with the only downside being that DFB looked tired towards the end. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] Joss Thompson and The Takeover appeared in the ring. "Tonight, against my will, against my rights as an American, I will fight UK Dragon. In something of an insult, I'm being forced to 'prove' myself at the request of Jeff Nova, who is a racist and a bull." The crowd booed heavily at Joss Thompson. "However," Thompson continued. "As I do have honor, as I do show respect - like any true American would I will face UK Dragon tonight and I will do it... alone." [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="YellowGreen"]C-[/COLOR] [B] MATCH[/B] [B]UK Dragon[/B] v [B]Joss Thompson[/B] [I]UK Dragon defeated Joss Thompson in 24:49 by pinfall with a Dragon Drop.[/I] It was a good match between the two, and just like Thompson had declared, it was a straight up 1v1 affair. However, as I'd later find out when me and Dragon would drive up to the airport, Dragon was starting to feel the affect of working for 3 promotions and the constant travel. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] Jonathan Faust talked about how great the Assassin's Guild was. [B] Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D+[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/Chriswok/Kable/21CW/Titles/21CW_World.jpg[/IMG] [B]WORLD TITLE MATCH[/B] [B]JD Morgan[/B] v [B]Jonathan Faust[/B] [I]JD Morgan defeated Jonathan Faust in 29:56 by count out. The match also had a lot of interference: Stefan Raynor targeted JD Morgan, Stevie Stoat attacked JD Morgan, and finally Louie Peyton interfered against JD Morgan. [/I] I'm not sure what actually happened in the Main Event but it was terrible, I had no idea Pit Bull and Nova had that huge run in blow out planned at the end. Everything was on course for a perfect build up to cap off the PPV with a great Main Event, when the complete cluster attacked ruined everything. It was an important lesson for myself watching that. Never blow away the Main Event with a run in, let alone 3. It took a while for Pit Bull to get over the fan reaction to that, and the 'internet reviews' it would receive later. [B]Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Red"]E+[/COLOR] [B]Final Rating[/B]: [COLOR="Orange"]D-[/COLOR] [/CENTER] -- After the show there was an incident between Harry Wilson and Red Dragon. Wilson got right up in Dragon's face, and of all things made a comment about how stupid he looked wearing face paint. I had to take a double take - Harry Wilson, younger brother of the famous Dark Angel, famous for his face paint wearing character, says someone looks stupid for wearing face paint. Nova pulled him to one side and told him straight up that kind of crap just wouldn't happen in his locker room or promotion. I remember the words he used; "I'm doing you a favour, kid." I wasn't sure what was meant by that, but he told Wilson straight up in front of all the guys to grow up.

[Chriswok]

We went for a drink and a bit of a party after the PPV that night, it was around 10, maybe 11 at night on the Friday. Most of the guys were knackered, some didn't show up - Harry Wilson comes to mind. Fresh from his verbal shut down from Jeff Nova - but everyone seemed in good spirits and mixed well. Imagine, an assortment of wrestlers, most in good condition and in their prime, going out for a night on the town. Only this town was Soho in London. Strangely we mixed in well and had a good time, the only person that got a few odd looks was Nightmare due to his towering presence over everyone else. That was the thing about 21CW the guys were pretty much normal guys, most of them had jobs outside of wrestling, and they looked like normal Joe's most of the time. It was a form of escapism for them and the fans when that Wednesday, now Thursday Night rolled along for the TV taping. The TV tapings themselves, from what I remember, where changed around due to the TV Network being unsure about 21CW. It had been drawing in steady ratings of 0.09 or so since I had been there, and that was the norm. I'm not sure what they were expecting with the time slot and the channel they had put us into. Nova came up to me later to tell me that the TV Network had renewed 21CW, but they had to cut 30mins from the show. I'm not sure but I think that was probably a good thing. Not to take anything away from the guys, but I thought to myself 30 less minutes of airtime a week was going to be taken away from the 'lesser' known workers. I was right. Some understood, some were unhappy. However, more importantly for myself, this was the beginning of 21CW's reshuffle. The start of the slow slide down that would lead to Pit Bull Brown being put under pressure to book better shows, to me being cold shouldered from production/booking meetings. It would come to tapings and I'd be given a run sheet and told to do my job. This was the start of 21CW's demise.