TCW: A Quiet Retirement

[Phantom Stranger]

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With just a day to go before Excessive Force, TCW puts its best foot forward with what looks like an incredible show - even if we don't know exactly what's coming. Confused? Read on...

 

Sayeed Ali steps up to face Sean McFly in the opening match. Frankie Dee recently got everyone talking with his performance against the "American Tiger" - Ali will doubtless be looking to validate his association with former tag champs the Easy Riders by doing something similar. McFly, meanwhile, has his sights set on a big match on Sunday...

 

Six-man action follows; the Conquering Kings, together with Giant Tana, have apparently infuriated the Elite Express backstage, though we at tcw.com are not sure of the specifics. Either way, the Express have demanded a match to prove a point, and have hired "the Enforcer" Jack Marlowe to fill out their side.

 

Non-title action follows, as Aaron Andrews posted an "open to anyone not associated with Edd Stone" challenge backstage at Badge of Honor, looking for a warm up before his International Championship defence. Looking, perhaps, to make a leap forward the way his former tag partner did, Julian Watson has answered the challenge.

 

Chris Rockwell has found himself with a title shot tomorrow, and as such he may be regretting the contest ahead of him today; Jack Bruce is no pushover, and by the looks of what's happened this past week, Rockwell would not take well to any Painful Procedure presence.

 

Lastly, Saturday Night Showcase has three further matches scheduled by order of Mr Cornell. He has stated that the members of Generation Omega will all be involved in these contests, but has refused to tell them which match a given competitor will be involved in, promising to do so "right before they run the ****ing gauntlet, son". What is known is that the first two matches are tag contests, the last singles, in the following order:

 

The first two members of Generation Omega to compete will face the Machines.

 

The next two will lock horns with the New Wave.

 

And in the main event, Generation Omega's remaining competitor will take on Joey Minnesota.

 

Prediction Key:

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

[Bigpapa42]

You might wanna check again, Edenhoek... McFly is most definitely American.

 

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

[Zergon]

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

Maybe it isn´t complete squash but McFly gets a clear win non-the-less

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

Heels have more going on/are higher on ladders right now

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

I don´t see Andrews loosing here even in non-title match

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

Rockwell doesn´t have great wil/loss record and I don´t see it gettin g any better here.

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

Machines just kind of are there right now, I mean they still good and all and actually have a feud going but somehow I just feel that they aren´t doing all that much.

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

Not sure where to go here but I say that New Wave win via some dubious way..

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

Minnesota could well win here but I see some kind of shenanigans happening and costing Minnosota this match.

[Tigerkinney]

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Straight forward extended squash for McFly

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

Elite Express and Jack Marlow (Marlowe in particular) appear to have more upward mobility right now.

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

Julian Watson, the Marty Jannetty of The Enforcers...not that the Enforcers were ever a good team or anything.

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

Rockwell is looking more like TCW's resident Jobber To The Stars with each passing match, Jack Bruce on the other hand could do with a solid win to remain looking relatively strong as the leader of DarkWave.

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

I'll group these together, I see them splitting the tag matches, and I see the revitalised New Wave as more likely to pull out the win for Anti-Omega. However I see the G.O member winning the singles match.

[ampulator]

He works for the devil NOTBPW. HE MARRIED VICTORIA STONE.

 

Canadian.

 

...what? His in-game stat says his American. Unless YOU think he should Canadian, that's one thing, but the data doesn'lt lie-he was born in the USA.

 

And since when is the NOTBPW the devil? I know it makes sense to you, but no one understands what you are about.

[Regis]

...what? His in-game stat says his American. Unless YOU think he should Canadian, that's one thing, but the data doesn'lt lie-he was born in the USA.

 

And since when is the NOTBPW the devil? I know it makes sense to you, but no one understands what you are about.

 

Actually, I understand what he's talking about. By going to the soulless, characterless, all-conquering NOTBPW who will run roughshod over everyone and achieve ultimate Global dominance while barely lifting a finger, he's lost all right to call himself an American.

 

He's sleeping with the enemy. I can see that. NOTBPW are kind of evil.

[ampulator]

Actually, I understand what he's talking about. By going to the soulless, characterless, all-conquering NOTBPW who will run roughshod over everyone and achieve ultimate Global dominance while barely lifting a finger, he's lost all right to call himself an American.

 

He's sleeping with the enemy. I can see that. NOTBPW are kind of evil.

...what? That has never happened to me, and if NOTBPW went Global, it never really affected me. On top of that, there are many games where I play where they fail to make National for several years, Dan Stone Jr and/or Jeremy retire, and/or them remaining at Cult despite their level of talent, and Sean McFly being stolen by either SWF or TCW.

 

I still have no idea what HE was talking about. I'm not even sure your interpretation of what he said is actually what he meant to say.

[Regis]

...what? That has never happened to me, and if NOTBPW went Global, it never really affected me.

 

I still have no idea what HE was talking about.

 

Seriously, read one of DerekB's rants about NOTBPW some time. They're quite entertaining. Go easy, fella. There are reasons for ranting, but this ain't one of them.

[ampulator]

Seriously, read one of DerekB's rants about NOTBPW some time. They're quite entertaining. Go easy, fella. There are reasons for ranting, but this ain't one of them.

I wasn't ranting. I just have no idea what he said.

[Hashasheen]

...what? That has never happened to me, and if NOTBPW went Global, it never really affected me. On top of that, there are many games where I play where they fail to make National for several years, Dan Stone Jr and/or Jeremy retire, and/or them remaining at Cult despite their level of talent, and Sean McFly being stolen by either SWF or TCW.

 

You must have a Ryland-blessed copy of the game, because for most people on this forum, NOTBPW manages to go Global quickly, and proceeds to steal the best workers in North America and horde the ones it already has quite well in most games.

[20LEgend]

Prediction Key:

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

<hr>

And I will join in on the NOTBPW hate!

[Beeker]

Hey, how about we get back to the final show before the PPV predicting.

Regis and ampulator can go play in PM.

 

***

 

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

- Pretty American for a Fly guy.

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

- The Express realize that trying to go cheap on your hired gun isn't a good idea when the Kings pay more.

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

- Sorry Julian, you might want to get a gimmick OR head back to Japan coz things aren't Totally great in TCW for you.

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

- I feel dirty and depressed picking Jobby Bruce.

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

- Machines need a map to find the ring on Saturday Night Showcase.

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

- New Wave can maybe go over GenOme - but that's not an easy task and won't happen with a Tag Match tomorrow. So it'll likely be Dubois and Hawkins coming out on top.

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

- Double DQ schmooz of an ending. Remo draws a shark, which draws the rest of Omega, which lures out RDJ and Cornell and others. To end with a big fade-to-black-buy-our-PPV brawl.

[ampulator]

You must have a Ryland-blessed copy of the game, because for most people on this forum, NOTBPW manages to go Global quickly, and proceeds to steal the best workers in North America and horde the ones it already has quite well in most games.

I've just played a lot of games. It doesn't always happen that way.

[Oregano Jensen]

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Of course. But I don't even see this going as long as the Frankie Dee fight. Dee is a disciplined fighter who knows his defensive game. Sayeed is a raw, undisciplined brawler... normally, he takes damage to do damage. Against a vastly superior opponent like McFly, that approach can put you in trouble quickly.

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

As intriguing as Beeker's storyline sounds, I don't see any indication that the Kings or Tana have bribed Marlowe, or would even be the sort to bribe Marlowe -- or that Marlowe has any grudge against the Express. On pure talent, I'm going to give this to Marlowe. Oh, and also the Canadian Jacket Men. Who had better pay up.

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

In other news, Julian Watson fails to step up.

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

Tigerkinney's reasoning seems sound here.

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The interesting thing here: the two Gen Omega guys who AREN'T much bigger individual stars than their opponents are also the two guys who have been booked as a strong tag team. Not that the Machines or the New Wave couldn't beat GenOme, but if I'm Cornell, I'm breaking them up -- put DWN in one tag match and Perez in the other. Less star power, less teamwork.

 

BUT the other interesting thing here: does Cornell still have a grudge against the Machines for deserting the Syndicate, even after they've both turned face(-ish)? Is it possible he'd throw them to the wolves -- well, to one Wolf plus Remo? Probably not, but do you KNOW not?

 

(One more interesting thing: did anyone notice the Tyler/Laura Huggins promo where they mentioned the New Wave in the same breath as a bunch of School of Tradition types? Were they.... hinting at something?)

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

If this is DWN or Perez, that's one thing. Minnesota has a shot against those guys. But I bet it's either Hawkins or maybe Remo, because that's what makes sense for a main event... with a marginal main eventer like Minnesota involved, you have to have the other guy be a legit name. And at this point, Wolf-Minnesota or Remo-Minnesota is a borderline squash. Sorry, Joey.

[Candyman]

Prediction Key:

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

[Regis]

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

JOBBER!

 

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen vs. Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

Marlowe's push continues.

 

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson (non-title)

JOBBER!

 

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

JOBBERS TO THE STARS!

 

The Machines vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

Random guess... The Machines will happily job again.

 

The New Wave vs. TWO MEMBERS OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

Can't have them clean house.

 

Joey Minnesota vs. THE REMAINING MEMBER OF GENERATION OMEGA w/ Phil Vibert

And Joey can get a big win here, possibly with a massive load of interference.

[Phantom Stranger]

Alanis is totally the type that would buy out Marlowe.

 

Man, we've barely established the gimmick. The stuff we can do with it has to wait, surely?

[ampulator]

Man, we've barely established the gimmick. The stuff we can do with it has to wait, surely?

You know, Phantom Stranger, I think he is unable to do that.

[Phantom Stranger]

Sharp-eyed readers may already have noticed, but Shawn Doakes has been replaced with the LoNdOn version.

[Phantom Stranger]

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TCW Presents Saturday Night Showcase

 

Saturday Week 4 June 2009

 

Live on CBA (Rating 14.92)

 

Held at the H. Jones Building (Great Lakes)

 

Attendance: 21,185

 

Announcers:

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Duane Fry – Jasmine Saunders – Alanis Springsteen

 

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/SayeedAli.jpg w/ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/CarlBatch.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/SeanMcFly.jpg

Sayeed Ali w/ Carl Batch vs. Sean McFly

McFly looks confident coming into this; Ali less so, but boy, does he look hungry. As the bell rings, Ali lunges forward with a right jab – and there's no give to that at all; McFly's head snaps backward off the impact, and Sayeed, encouraged by that, follows up with a series of blows to the gut and a whip to the ropes, following that with a half-lariat, half-shoulderblock.

 

Then he makes the mistake of slowing down enough to pick McFly up. The American Tiger's comeback starts with a hold that flows neatly into a series of three rolling underhook suplexes, followed quickly by a neckbreaker, a DDT, and a release full nelson suplex, all working over the upper back and neck to set up for the inevitable Delorean Driver at the 5:30 mark.

Sean McFly defeated Sayeed Ali

Rating: B+

 

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Back to the interview room goes the camera, and as ever Autumn Gleeson is standing by. Beside her stand Sean Deeley and, as ever, Laura Huggins.

 

“From one Sean to another,” Gleeson beams. “Sean, I think we all know you've been having trouble lately with Jeremy Stone and Eric Tyler.” Laura Huggins frowns, and Deeley puts a reassuring hand on her arm.

 

Gleeson raises a hand, reassuringly, and smiles. “Don't worry, Laura, I'm not asking you to badmouth the man who pays your wages... but I think you can admit, given Sean's had to wrestle him on Pay-Per-View – at Total Mayhem, no less – that the two of them have issues.”

 

Huggins half-smiles, but not in a way that looks pleased about the way this conversation is going. Sean pats her arm. “We don't see eye to eye,” he says. “Leave it at that.”

 

Gleeson nods. “Well,” she continues. “Either Eric Tyler or Jeremy Stone would be a major obstacle to overcome. You've gotten entangled with both.

 

“Are you looking for help? And who would you be looking for?”

 

Sean simply smiles. “I should have help soon enough. But this is about making my own name – I hope by the time I'm done, I won't need help.”

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/BarryKingman.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/ClarkAlexander.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/TanaTheMighty.jpg w/ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/Seduction.jpg

Conquering Kings & Giant Tana w/ Alanis Springsteen

vs.

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Elite Express & Jack Marlowe

The Kings and the Express can, at this point, put on some extremely good, competitive contests. Marlowe and Tana's first matchup got a fair amount of traffic from the online community after their performances. The six-man is about what you'd expect for that; there's a massive pop when Tana hoists both of the Express across his shoulders for a double Samoan Drop, but equally, when the Kings double-suplex Marlowe and when the Express deliver a double dropkick to take the big Samoan off his feet, the tag teams get a good response.

 

Kingman even manages to set Marlowe up for the Crippler Bomb, but the “Enforcer” kicks out afterward, provoking a strong reaction from the crowd – as Springsteen exclaims, that's the first time anyone's kicked out of her charges' speciality double-team. Pacing up and down, she hammers on the ring apron, willing Kingman back into the match, and he uses that as fuel, reaching the ropes to break Thomas' submission.

 

Johnson cuts off the tag, however, sailing from the top turnbuckle with a blockbuster, and Marlowe then tags himself in, beating down Kingman for a while before Alexander actually rushes the ring.

 

Jack DDTs him and presses him over the top rope, but Alexander's efforts weren't in vain; Barry has the time he needs to tag in Tana, who clotheslines Marlowe over the top before stacking both of the Express in one corner and hitting the Big Fat Samoan Squash to a good, solid pop – before turning around to a boot in the gut and another huge Jackhammer from Marlowe to pick up the win.

Elite Express & Jack Marlowe defeated Conquering Kings & Giant Tana

Rating: B

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/AaronAndrews-1.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/JulianWatson_FIN.jpg

Aaron Andrews vs. Julian Watson

Julian Watson gets in some good offence here and kicks out of Andrews' spinebuster, but the result still doesn't seem to be in doubt; the Rising Star has the Great Lakes crowd in the palm of his hand the whole time.

 

After Watson clears the spinebuster – and even mounts a comeback for a while – Andrews uncorks something of a flashback to his older finishes, dropping Watson over the top rope with a standing hot shot then hitting the ropes on the far side, meeting Watson on the rebound with a flying cross body to score the pinfall. The sequence gets a surprisingly loud response.

Aaron Andrews defeated Julian Watson

Rating; B+

 

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I Touch Myself by the Genitorturers hits and Aaron spins around, checking anywhere but the entrance ramp for an ambushing Edd Stone – but in the end, that's not what happens. With every fan staring at the big screen, Andrews turns around and watches....

 

...watches...

 

Set to Edd's theme, the video revolves around a 3-D wireframe of Aaron Andrews, with text boxes and dotted lines springing up to highlight weakness after weakness:

Game Breaker Arm – Solution: Break Arm

Right Handed Leading Punch – Solution: The Splits

Durable Midsection – Solution: Dump Head On Canvas

Thick Skull – Solution: Not A Problem, He's a Dumbass

Easily Kickable Head – Solution: Also Not A Problem

Genitacular Region – Solution: Too Many To Count

 

The video then cuts across to the same CG model of Andrews – alongside a similar model of Joey Minnesota – inside a gameplay clip from Team Fortress 2. A reskin of Edd Stone as a pyro promptly burns them both to the ground.

 

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/LobsterWarrior_PS.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/JackBruce_alt8.jpg

Chris Rockwell vs. Jack Bruce

A good, entertaining back-and-forth match ensues here; nothing particularly special, but with Rockwell still commanding the respect of a smallish group of smarks and Bruce maintaining a lot of support – and antagonism – with his charismatic approach.

 

He's reliably outwrestled by Rockwell, but Bruce knows what he's doing, and can turn the tide in an instant – an ability that serves him well on a number of occasions, notably when Rockwell, on the apron, runs Bruce's head into the turnbuckle in the ring; as Bruce staggers away, bent double, Rockwell leaps from the turnbuckle himself, crashing down with a legdrop across the neck – almost, but not quite, a parody of the New York Minute.

 

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Bruce blocks whatever Rockwell had planned next, however, shoves him clear, and as he comes in with a clothesline Rockwell ducks it – and Sam Sparrow doesn't. With Sparrow reeling, Harry Allen rolls in, springs up, and nails the Gunslinger's Revenge in what is getting to be a single fluid action, no wasted motion whatsoever, a sequence so fast it's almost unstoppable due to lack of response time.

 

Rockwell turns in time to see Allen land the move, however, and his expression cracks as that temper slips its leash once again. With Fry bringing up Rockwell's reaction to Texas Pete getting involved before now, he lariats Allen to the ground, picks him up, and literally hurls him out of the ring – a big two-handed biel over the top rope that sees Allen slam into the guardrail with an audible clatter.

 

Turning, however, and seeing Sparrow starting to get up, he does at least take advantage of Allen's help, going to the repeated knee strikes to soften Bruce up before guaranteeing himself the pinfall.

Chris Rockwell defeated Jack Bruce

Rating: B

 

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Even as the match is ending, Cherry Bomb is charging down the ramp, going straight for a beleaguered Allen. She throws some nasty punches, whips him into the corner of the guardrail, and runs in for a knee strike – and Allen manages to avoid that one, leaving her winded.

 

He stalks for a second, looking for another Gunslinger's Revenge, but the Bomb – stunningly – catches it and turns it into the Blue Thunder Driver move known as the Cherry Bomb. She pops straight back up to stomp -

 

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Mayhem Midden appears on the entrance ramp, Charlie Thatcher beside him, and at a nod from Midden Thatcher takes off down the ramp at a sprint. He grabs the Bomb by the midriff and shoves her backward, away from the brawl; as Allen recovers slightly, launching himself toward her, Thatcher turns lazily and cuts off his charge with a single punch.

 

By this stage Mayhem Midden is in the ring, microphone in hand.

 

“Pack it in, you two,” he growls, but nothing changes. Midden sighs. “Charlie, get them in here...”

 

Thatcher pulls off a furious Bomb and rolls her into the ring. She rises up, turning on wrestler's reflex inside the ring – and Midden's head snaps forward. There's an audible crack from the headbutt, but it does put the Darkwave woman down for a second as Thatcher pitches Allen in too.

 

Harry springs to his feet, turns – then backs off. Midden grins.

 

“That's right, Harry,” he says. “You've been running around for way too long now, drawing more people into all this – and the bottom line is, you push it too far and we're going to butt heads.

 

“Harry, you've got a passion for Painful Procedure. I respect that, I do. And I'm almost grateful for it; your attacks on Darkwave have had the fans talking on the website, have had people wanting to see more. No one can make up their mind whether you're a noble hero defending TCW from newcomers playing crappy music... or a has-been rocker who doesn't understand the new sound.”

 

Allen doesn't look happy at all, and Midden shrugs.

 

“Hell, I can't make mine up, either. But the way you guys have been acting... it's actually been music to my ears.

 

“People are talking about you, Harry, for the first time in getting close to a year. And they're talking about Cherry here... and Darkwave and Painful Procedure.

 

“People are willing to pay to see you two go at it.

 

“And instead, you're brawling the most dangerous way you can... and you're doing it without using it to earn yourself something. Here's Aaron Andrews apologising to Joey Minnesota he won't get a shot at a Pay-Per-View winners' purse, and Joey promising he'll find a way to make that money... And here's you two... beating the crap out of each other, risking injury... for nothing.

 

“Time I changed that. Tomorrow night, you two go one on one... and because I want this settled, I'm gonna say anyone from Painful Procedure or Darkwave who interferes will get lined up by Charlie there... and I will personally take my head to theirs until they bleed.”

 

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After a few moments, as the fans digest that announcement, Breakin' The Law hits. Tommy Cornell makes his way down to the ring to stand beside Mayhem Midden and Charlie Thatcher. With a grin, Midden hands Cornell the microphone.

 

Cornell turns, for a moment, to regard Allen, making his way up the ramp, and Cherry Bomb, a few paces ahead. “Nice one,” he says to Midden. “Let 'em make us some money.”

 

He turns away, then, taking in the crowd – a hushed crowd, waiting for his announcement.

 

“Right, then,” he says. “How many of you lot know what's coming for the rest of tonight?”

 

There's a reasonable cheer, but it's far from the whole crowd. Cornell grins. “That's alright,” he says. “You don't have to stay on the website the whole time to know what we're about...

 

“But for those of you who don't know, you know it's Excessive Force tomorrow. You know Generation Omega have a ****load of matches ahead of 'em.

 

“And you know something else?

 

“I don't much like Generation Omega. I got the better of Vibert picking Nemesis, not me, for his company when we came free, but a snub like that – and I ain't been snubbed often – still kind of rankles. I could do without Marc DuBois.

 

“I'm not happy that Remo's part responsible for the fact we gotta cough up for a new Total Wrestling set, and as for Frankie 'kick the belt to pieces' Perez and his buddy... well, they're not worth me wasting my breath on. That leaves...” Cornell's trademark smirk springs to life. “Just one little wanker, right?” The crowd all wake up for that one.

 

“Yeah, well, less said about that the better and all,” Tommy shrugs. “Now like I say, I don't much like 'em. So Ricky, Sean, Johnny, Eddie, and all those eager tag teams – consider this an early bonus. Don't come out and interfere, let the arseholes wear 'emselves down ahead of your matches, then beat the crap out of 'em tomorrow.

 

“GenOme, you're tag team champions. I had to find some good competition for you, so I picked the best tag team I've ever had the privilege of siding with – the Machines.

 

“DuBois, you got the mindgames. Remo, you got the strength, assuming you healed up from Tuesday. I needed a pair who could outwrestle you and hit hard themselves. I chose some of Vibert's old favourites.” A grin. “I'm sure the New Wave want to show Phil he was wrong to write 'em off.

 

“And then we come to the bastard-in-chief.” He pauses, as the crowd again sound their approval. “Wolf, the sooner you lose that title the better, far as I'm concerned. I want you good and drained. So I figure you get to go up against a man who took you to the limit not so long ago... Joey Minnesota.”

 

He glances back to Midden and nods. “Alright,” he says. “Made my point. Brent, John, Joey, Guide, Scout – break some faces.”

 

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/DavisWayneNewton-1.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/FrankiePerez-1.jpg w/ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/PhilVibert.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/BrentHill.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/HumanArsenal.jpg

GenOme w/ Phil Vibert vs. The Machines

As the Machines make their way to the ring, GenOme vault over the guardrails, rushing them on the ramp, leading to a big brawl right from the off. Perez leads the charge, but after a while Anderson gets the better of him, dumping him on the steel with a release fisherman's suplex. Newton, meanwhile, sends Hill over the guardrail and into the fans.

 

Anderson takes a tilt-o-whirl headscissors on the ramp as Newton pops up to hit it out of nowhere.

 

Eventually, things cool down enough that everybody's finally in the ring. Newton starts off for GenOme and tosses Hill out of the ring, leaving Anderson to start for his team.

 

Perez starts the double-teaming early, rushing Anderson from the side. As Hill picks himself up GenOme tosses Anderson out onto him.

 

Eugene Williams does a good job of separating the teams and Anderson – bleeding slightly from something, maybe the crash to the outside, maybe the headscissors on the ramp – corners Perez, allowing the Machines to trap him in their corner and work him over. Out of almost nowhere, the P-Dawg comes back with a hook kick; Anderson gets an arm up but he still takes some of the impact.

 

Frankie crawls to the tag, but Brent scrambles and just barely blocks it, front-facelocking Frankie to control and bring him back to their corner. John comes back in; Perez goes for the hook kick again and Anderson steps in, wrapping his arms around him to set up and unleash a leg trap suplex.

 

The P-Dawg kicks out, but an attempt at a comeback gets shut down when Brent clotheslines him. Frankie breaks a Complete Package setup and launches himself into a Pele kick to put Hill down, then dives for the corner and tags out at last.

 

Newton cleans house and gets his own fisherman's suplex on Brent. A delayed vertical suplex gets two, but Anderson makes the save. Perez gets two on Hill with the Arabian moonsault. GenOme set up for a stereo DDT on Brent, but Anderson again breaks it up, vaulting over his partner with a diving double-clothesline to a huge reaction. He tries to continue the momentum, but Frankie has his next suplex attempt scouted, blocking the double-underhook and reversing to a tiger driver before whipping his tag partner across the ring, with Newton doing a front flip into a dropkick with the momentum to send Brent rolling from the ring, dazed.

 

Anderson blocks the P-Clutch and rolls Frankie into a cradle, but Vibert yanks Williams out of the ring before he can count to three. Furious, Anderson hip tosses Frankie over the ropes and into his manager as Phil argues with Williams, wiping him out. Newton rushes him but Anderson's ready, blocking him with a boot to the gut and an Ammo Dump. Vibert again moves to stop Williams getting into the ring, and Anderson rolls out, grabbing the Generation Omega manager into a bearhug. Hill comes round the corner at speed with a flying lariat to put Vibert down.

 

As one, the Machines roll back into the ring and set up to do the same thing to Newton, only for Perez to land the hook kick off the apron as Hill hits the ropes.

 

Frankie tags in to hit a helicopter slam on Anderson and then go for a kneedrop from the second rope, followed by another Arabian moonsault into a pin. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO!

 

Perez' next kick misses and Anderson responds with an exploder suplex. Newton rolls back into the ring, dropping Anderson with a quick neckbreaker and backdropping Brent as he tries to save his partner.

 

With Frankie recovering, Davis beckons him over. Newton DDTs Hill to make sure and scoops Anderson onto his shoulders, setting for a Samoan drop. As he falls backward Perez leaps up, hooking the Arsenal's head and delivering a neckbreaker simultaneous with the Samoan drop impact. The crowd erupt as Davis covers - ONE, TWO, THRE-NO!

 

If the crowd had sounded crazy before, there's no word to cover the level of reaction now. “That was the end,” Saunders says starkly, summing up the mood. “That was... the end. How John Anderson kicked out, I'll never know.”

 

Back up, Brent hits a front Russian legsweep on Perez, jumping him from behind, and ducks Davis' dropkick, nailing the youngster with his own DDT. Perez starts to rise, using the ropes to claw his way up, and Brent dropkicks him in the back of the head to cut him off.

 

The King of the Hill splash follows on Newton. Hill hooks the leg – ONE, TWO, NO!

 

Newton's resilience gets its moment to shine, and Brent looks utterly shocked. He calls Anderson back in, and the pair set for a double-team suplex; Davis elbows loose from Hill's grasp, though, and as Anderson lifts the GenOme man uses his momentum to turn it into a tornado DDT.

 

Brent charges Newton, who ducks the shot – and Frankie Perez nails the rushing Machine with a superkick as he goes past Davis. John Anderson is halfway back to his feet – Perez goes for a full nelson suplex – Anderson elbows free, turns to face him, and Newton vaults up – huracanrana, hooks the leg – ONE, TWO, THREE!

 

At the end, Duane Fry sums it up perfectly. “People must think I've been asked to say it more often since I got signed away from my old job, but this really was a barnstormer.”

GenOme defeated the Machines

Rating: A*

 

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/Guide.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/Scout.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/MarcDuBois-1.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/Remo.jpg w/ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/PhilVibert.jpg

New Wave vs. Marc DuBois & Remo Richardson w/ Phil Vibert

DuBois spends much of the early game in, facing up against Guide. A little slower than the Wave's high-flying brawler, he nonetheless holds his own, slowing the match down and dishing out a fair amount of offence before tagging in Remo.

 

The Wave promptly double-team the big guy as hard, as fast, and as determinedly as they can. It works – for a little while – Scout applying a sleeper that Remo can't quite power out of before Guide spears him, and so on – but it can't work forever, not against Remo. DuBois comes in to cement things, rushing past and raking the eyes of Scout to prevent him making a challenge. Remo promptly powerbombs Guide into the turnbuckle, turns around, and hits the Destroyer on Scout before making the pin to a reasonable reaction.

Marc DuBois & Remo Richardson defeated New Wave

Rating: B

 

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http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/JoeyMinnesota_alt.jpg vs. http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/WolfHawkins.jpg w/ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/PhilVibert.jpg

Joey Minnesota vs. Wolf Hawkins w/ Phil Vibert

The last time these two fought was quickly – and fairly – acknowledged as one of the best TV main events TCW has put on this year, which is saying something. This match is not on that level, but it's only a notch below.

 

There's a definite sense here that both men want, not so much to win this match, but to prove a point with the victory; to say they're the better. Fry frames it as Vibert's current Chosen One against a man who formerly filled that role back in DaVE, both of them headhunted by Vibert, both of them among the best in the business, both of them young enough to have more than a decade left before they're past the best years of their game.

 

Saunders takes that and runs with it, talking about how good they might become, taking moments from the match and showing how they're part of the mind game of wrestling, showing that both men are on their way to being intellectual wrestlers – and with Jeremy Stone and Sam Keith on the active roster, it's easy to say these men might have as much as twenty-five years ahead of them before they start to lose their edge.

 

The whole thing feels like an echo down the corridor, a shade of future main events; the strange thing being that neither Hawkins nor Vibert seem willing to cheat, to gain the upper hand by dishonest means. The match is about respect, or seems to be...

 

Despite that, Minnesota can't put Hawkins away. In the end – the very end – while he kicks out of the Full Moon Rising, Hawkins is able to turn an Empire Spiral attempt into a victory roll, and with nineteen minutes and change on the clock... Joey is just a few heartbeats too exhausted to kick out.

Wolf Hawkins defeated Joey Minnesota

Rating: A

 

Show Rating: A

[ampulator]

Woah, another A* match! That's cool.

 

Sayeed Ali vs. Sean McFly at a B+... what are Sayeed's popularity and skills at?

[Phantom Stranger]

Woah, another A* match! That's cool.

 

Sayeed Ali vs. Sean McFly at a B+... what are Sayeed's popularity and skills at?

 

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/alisnapshot.jpg

 

McFly is better in both, but you already knew that. (As of this past week, McFly is at 100% overness through the US and Canada and has entered the HoI, actually.)

[ampulator]

That's what I love about "performance equals popularity" promotions. If I did a "Popularity is rated more than Performance" promotion, this would have not likely reach a B+ (because of Sayeed Ali's low popularity).

[ampulator]

How the hell did I predict the last three matches?

..are you serious? Come on, if YOU don't know how you managed to predict them, how would we? We don't know how you think, or what you were thinking. *facepalm*

[Phantom Stranger]

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Tuesday 23rd June 2009

Ricky made a point of grabbing the seat next to me on the coach back to the hotel after the show. Wanted to talk to me about the main event we'd just had. You could tell by the look on his face that he knew that tag match had... I don't want to say failed; it was still a good match, still better than any main event put out by other North American companies that week. But it wasn't what we'd normally hope for from a #1 Contender, not so close to the show itself – and when your tag partner is Tommy Cornell, no one's ever going to argue that you aren't the weak link.

 

Ricky basically wanted to apologise, and to thank me, privately, for putting Jeremy in and making it a triple-threat – an idea he'd outright hated when Tommy and I first told him about it. (Cowardice on my part, roping his boss in to tell him? Probably.)

 

Now, though, Ricky's relieved... it gives him a little while longer looking like a top challenger, before he starts to shift into a gatekeeper role.

 

He made something of a joke about it by the end. Originally, back before we found out DuBois' contract would be coming up at the end of 2008, the plan was to have Ricky turn heel, leading Remo, Pete, his offscreen choice to build Sayeed Ali, and others against a face Cornell – and see what we could shake out from that new spin on things. Ricky's had to admit that he's no longer able to carry that role in the ring – though out of the ring, I personally think he'd do just fine. And, of course, he still sells tickets as well as anybody – which is a lot of what matters.

 

Saturday 27th June 2009

I'm beginning to wonder how soon I can get a replacement on Total Wrestling who'll be able to cover the job I'm doing there – planting seeds for angles. Jason, Duane, Shawn, Jasmine, and Sara all refuse to be told the outcome of matches – they'd rather be able to react spontaneously. But I enjoy Saturday Night Showcase a lot more, because I experience it from backstage.

 

Take this latest exchange, going on as I write. Sean McFly, Sayeed and Carl are stood together talking over the opening match. Sean's opening gambit was “I want you to stiff the hell out of me on this one.”

 

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/SayeedAli.jpghttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/SeanMcFly.jpg

STRAIGHT JAB: Could Ali's opening shot be a sign of great things in the future?

 

His explanation, basically, is that Sayeed's going to get his ass handed to him as the booking demands – but RDJ's politicking on Sayeed's behalf, and frankly he's got what it takes to be a more prominent member of the roster, which is why he's slowly allying with the Easy Riders. If he just loses, then Sayeed's stock falls – but if he can hurt Sean, show some fire, look legitimately dangerous, before he goes down, then seeds are planted for what's coming later.

 

Sunday 28th June 2009

Morning, and everyone's settled in for this evening's PPV. Tommy calls me over to see the new Total Wrestling set, finally – it looks good; good enough that I call Eddie and Remo over to see it. After a few jokes, they agree it was worth the crazy spots demolishing the old one (strategically weakened) all month. Eddie asks why we trashed the screen into the bargain; Remo snorts in amusement and utters two simple syllables.

 

“Hi-Def.”

 

I wasn't hugely keen on the Total Wrestling makeover, I'll be honest, but when it was handed me as something that's going to happen I resigned myself to making the most out of it. The thinking is simple; Badge of Honor's set debuted last year. Saturday Night Showcase was this year. Both of them saw us spend the extra and they're wired for HDTV, but we've been waiting on a full overhaul of Total Wrestling before we do anything with it – and that led Tommy to consider that the set deserved an upgrade; it hasn't been changed since the revamp from HGC. So... now everything's more or less on par.

 

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm75/trenchcoatbrigand/TCW/One-Offs/TCWHD.jpg

Adoption of any technology is a problem as much as an opportunity.

 

Tonight promises to be an interesting night. I head over to where the members of Generation Omega are gathered, with Davis checking the internet for guesses as to who's going to face Sean McFly – a current member, a new recruit, all that sort of thing. Most of the roster have taken in part in a betting pool about who it's going to be, but the fans are offering all sorts of other ideas. I ask Davis to drop the list of suggestions to me in an email; by and large, these are people the fans want to see in TCW. We should at least think about obliging them.

 

Time to settle the question; no one's going to concentrate on their own matches until they know whether they've won or lost their money. I head over to the whiteboard to write up the show's card.