NYCW: Old School 'Til We Die

[1PWfan]

NYCW Rumble in the Bronx

Live to DVD from the Ministry

Audience: 987

 

Pre-Show/DVD Extras

 

Lee Wright vs. Animal Harker

As usual with Harker this was a poor match, but for just about the first time ever it wasn’t completely horrible. I put that down to Wright, who has the name value to get the crowd interested and the experience to cover for Harker’s many, many weaknesses. This was all about Wright: Harker got maybe three moves in, and one of those was his trademark headbutt (it being a move that’s damned hard to mess up), but for the rest of the match it was all Lee, who got the win after six minutes with the Wright Stuff.

Winner: Lee Wright Match Rating: D

 

 

The Show

 

“Good evening Grappling Fans, and welcome to NYCW Rumble in the Bronx! I’m Rock Downpour, joined as ever by the Halifax Hobgoblin Hugh Dansigny, and boy have we got a big card for you tonight! In just a few moments Cameron Vessey will be facing off against Ford Gumble, Whistler will be taking on Fumihiro Ota, and in our main event Steve Flash faces Black Hat Bailey with the Empire Title on the line!”

 

“This is going to be an interesting match- both men have held multiple championships in multiple promotions, and with 57 years of combined wrestling experience between them this promises to be a real demonstration of the tactics of wrestling. For my money, though, Steve’s not got much of a chance- Bailey’s more experienced, has an unrivalled grasp of technical wrestling, and also has The Old School in his corner. It’s going to be difficult for Steve to get the edge”

 

“Don’t forget, though, that Bailey’s only just recovered from a concussion that left him unable to wrestle for most of the month. He’s going to be very cautious tonight, and given that Steve’s still capable of going into high gear when needed that could count against him”

 

“But Bailey’s whole style is based around slow, methodical technique-I don’ t think his injuries are going to be that much of a problem. And don’t forget, he’s got Herb at ringside and the rest of The Old School backstage, ready to intervene if it looks like they’re needed.”

 

“That’s true, but the only member of The Old School Flash hasn’t beaten at some point is Cameron Vessey, and that’s only because they’ve yet to wrestle one another. If they do interfere they can’t do much more than cause a DQ, and all that does is delay the decision- under NYSSAC rules if the match ends through unfair means then a rematch must be undertaken within the next three months”

 

“But a lot can happen in three months- The Old School could use that gap to pick up an extra guy to make the difference or just hit Flash outside the ring and take him out of active service. My bet is that if it looks as if Bailey’s not going to take it tonight then The Old School are going to hit the ring and take the DQ finish”

 

“But if it looks like it’ll go that way then Flash can always go to the Flash Bang- that’s a quick move to hit and has no problem keeping people down for the 3-count. I don’t think that you can give this one to The Old School so quickly”

 

“Just look at the talent in that group, though, Rock- you’ve got Black Hat Bailey, one of the finest technicians in the US. You’ve got Lee Wright, a man with 35 years of experience and the deadliest Sleeper Hold in wrestling, and Old School Principals, one of the deadliest tag teams in wrestling. Not to mention Cameron Vessey- that man is the future of wrestling, Rock, and you know it”

 

“Speaking of Cameron, it’s time for his match against Ford Gumble, so let’s get down to ringside and get this baby started!”

 

This received a strong reaction for one of our hype angles- evidently Flash/Bailey is a match people really want to see.

Rating: D

 

*

 

Cameron Vessey vs. Ford Gumble

I’d originally anticipated having more problems with this one, so the fact that it turned out really quite good was a definite bonus. There were complaints over the length (I’d set it at 10 minutes due to timing constraints), but they were comparatively minor, and overall people seemed satisfied with this match. In the end, I went with Vessey to win this one: he and Ford are currently at similar levels of popularity, and giving the first one to Gumble would make it difficult to keep things going.

Winner: Cameron Vessey Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

We go backstage to the NYCW Interview Position, where Herb is on hype duty for the main event

 

“Seems like everywhere I go, people rave about Steve Flash. Take a walk round New York, everyone goes on about how Steve Flash is one of the best veterans in this business. I go up to Rhode Island, Mike Nero’s asking me if Steve’s interested in coming up to help him work with the kids there. Hell, I go on holiday to Canada and they’re still raving about Steve’s work, nearly 10 years after he stopped working there! It’s enough to make a man puke

 

“Tonight, though, Steve, we do our bit to kill the legend. ‘Cos this man, Black Hat Bailey, is the finest wrestler on the scene today. You talk about experience, you talk about technical ability, you talk about brains, you gotta give them all to Bailey. And tonight, when he forces you to tap out to the Bailey Breaker, you will know that you’ve been beaten by the better man. And you will know, beyond all doubt, that Old School Rules”

 

This got a better reaction than usual: evidently Flash/Bailey is doing good things to our hype angles.

Rating: D

 

*

 

Marv Statler vs. Eddie Howard

Time constraints forced me to drop this one down to six minutes, and that really hit the reception hard: people hated that it went so short, and it really took away from the match. Which is a pity, as it wasn’t actually that bad: sure, these guys have radically different styles (Eddie’s all about the power game whilst Marv is much more technical), but they actually combine pretty well. In the end, Marv took this one with a well-timed Crucifix Pin (possibly the most exciting pinning move in NYCW history) to set up another tag title match next month.

Winner: Marv Statler Match Rating: D-

 

*

 

Once again we’re back at the Interview Position, where Southern Justice are on hype duty for their match

 

“Old School Principals, when you went after Jesse Christian last month, you forced me to do something I didn’t want to do…aw hell, I’m half drunk on JD and even I don’t believe that. Ricky, Mauler, y’all just stirred up one heck of a hornet’s nest: y’see, me and Jesse here, we got ourselves one simple rule: kick ass and drink beer, baby, YEEE-HAWWW!”

 

“Aw, brother…look, Dave Diamond might be drunker than a hollywood debutante, but you better believe that when Southern Justice gets in that ring…well, somebody’s gonna get their ass kicked tonight. C’mon, Dave, let’s take care of business”

 

“YIPPEE-KI-YAY COWBOY!!!”

 

Southern Justice are still working out how to interact as a team, but they’re both good talkers and this wasn’t a bad segment, overall.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Southern Justice vs. Old School Principals

As always with the tag division, this was a good midcard match that did it’s job without ever once grabbing the headlines. Southern Justice are very inexperienced as a unit but make up for that with good brawling and charisma, whilst Old School Principals provided the experience to give this a proper tag-team feel, rather than the old singles-guys-working-together vibe, which Southern Justice are still putting out until they’ve got more going on. In the end Southern Justice got the win here after Jesse nailed Mauler with the Flying Tackle to get the pinfall.

Winners: Southern Justice Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Sammy the Shark vs. DC Rayne

This was thrown in to give Sammy another Tri-State title defence, but I always knew that it would be a decent match. DC doesn’t get much of a chance to show what he can do in a singles environment, but he’s a solid worker who can always be relied upon to deliver the goods, especially against a promising young talent like Sammy. Deec also has the added bonus of being able to work with Sammy on his technical abilities, which are d@mn promising but still need the extra push to really get to a top level. In the end Sammy took this one, hitting Rayne with the Ace in the Hole to get the pinfall.

Winner: Sammy the Shark Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Back at the NYCW Interview Position, Whistler’s on hype duty for his match

 

“Everyone know what I think of cheaters and bullies, and Ota’s definitely one of them. He dresses in black, does all that ninja stuff, and thinks he can intimidate me into rolling over for him? Well h*ll with that, says I! Ota, you just found the nut you can’t crack! Tonight I’m going to take you to the absolute limit, hit the Rebel Yell and leave you lying on the mat! HOOOOO!!!!!”

 

Oddly enough for Whistler, the reaction here was kinda lukewarm. I’ll have to look into that, Whistler’s promo’s are his biggest asset…

Rating: D

 

*

 

Whistler vs. Fumihiro Ota

This was pretty much what you’d expect from a match featuring Whistler: very entertaining but not exactly a technical classic. In all honest I’d have been better off switching this one with Gumble/Vessey, but I was nervous about putting Ford this high up the card- not that this was a bad match, really, but it wasn’t a top level match and would have been better off in the opening slot. Still, there’s no point worry about might-have-beens, this match was our sub-main event and did a decent job there. Ota got the win here- he needs wins to stay legitimate as a main eventer, whereas Whistler can eat losses and still say up there thanks to his promo’s.

Winner: Fumihiro Ota Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Steve Flash vs. Black Hat Bailey

This is why you put Flash in the main event: not counting Flash/JJ (which I don’t on account of it being a squash and therefore irrelevant) this was our best ever match, entirely thanks to the veteran experience of both guys. Yeah yeah, I’ve heard all the ‘push young people and change it up’ ranting on the ‘net, but let me say this: do you see anybody else on this roster delivering matches this good? No, and I’ll tell you why: ‘cos they ain’t put in their damn time. Vessey gets special dispensation on account of his genetics but other than that if you’re under 28 I don’t want you in my main event. As for these guys, well, they’ll always have a place in my NYCW, and that place is at the top of the mountain. In the end, Flash got this one through DQ after Old School Principals and Lee stormed the ring, forcing Mike Bull to throw this one out.

Winner: Steve Flash Match Rating: C

 

 

Overall Rating: C-, another good show in the bank

[BHK1978]

“Everyone know what I think of cheaters and bullies, and Ota’s definitely one of them. He dresses in black, does all that ninja stuff, and thinks he can intimidate me into rolling over for him? Well h*ll with that, says I! Ota, you just found the nut you can’t crack! Tonight I’m going to take you to the absolute limit, hit the Rebel Yell and leave you lying on the mat! HOOOOO!!!!!”

 

I am glad that I am not the only one who thinks that Whistler is Jim Duggan!

 

Glad to see DC Rayne getting some single matches, and I agree he is a good worker and has the potential to put on some great matches for you.

[1PWfan]

I am glad that I am not the only one who thinks that Whistler is Jim Duggan!

 

Glad to see DC Rayne getting some single matches, and I agree he is a good worker and has the potential to put on some great matches for you.

 

Firstly BHK, thanks for your kind words- a little praise goes a long way, and it's always nice to hear from the readers. And yeah, Whistler-as-Duggan just always seems so natural to me.

 

Secondly, whilst this dynasty's been on a bit of a hiatus just recently I'm bringing it back. Basically, it got a bit much having to write up all the matches and stuff, so I took the time off and just played the game (I actually ran a UEW game into 2012). Now I want to bring this back, so expect the next update sometime soon, amigos!

[1PWfan]

From the Diary of Hugh Dansigny

 

Coming out of Rumble in the Bronx, we made 2,771 dollars- not bad, but still not up to our best (nearly 4 thou in March). Right now I figure it’s the industry- whilst the economy’s really at a peak the industry’s on a downward slope, which has hit a few of our profit areas. I’m guessing it’s also what’s been keeping us from selling out The Ministry- we’re close, but for whatever reason we’ve never quite made it to the big 1 thou. Still, with our popularity on the rise and Flash-Bailey promising big things I’m guessing it’s only a matter of time until we’re there.

 

As for going forward, I made a couple of big signings this month. The first, and probably more significant, was Freddie Datsun: for some reason USPW didn’t renew his contract, so I snapped him up. At the moment he’s not lined up for any major feuds, but I could do with another high-level face and he fits the bill perfectly. As for my other signings, I finally decided to pull the trigger on the women’s division, and brought in Tammy, Emma Bitch, Katherine Goodlooks and Nina the Psycho Ballerina to form the startings of the division. I’d debut a couple of them in the dark on RitB and then have the title match next month, although I needed at least another couple of girls to round things out a bit. I had my eye on the right talent (and not in that way, Tammy’s quite enough for this 35 year-old disreputable burnout, thank you oh so very much), but I figure it’s better to wait and see if the female version of Jared turns up out of the blue next month. I also went ahead and tried to sign a working agreement with AAA- Anne Stardust is the only name in women’s wrestling worth a damn, at least out of the ring- but typically enough Stomper put the kibosh on that one. Honestly, how Rip managed to talk him into our deal with MAW I genuinely do not know.

 

Two big contracts came up at USPW that I kept an eye on. Cherry Bomb was one of the girls I was looking at as a centrepiece of the wome’s division, whilst Nicky Champion’s a guy I’ve wanted to work with ever since I left USPW. To be honest both of them are too popular for us right now, but if they’re on PPA deals then I can at least try and get them later on when we’ve gotten a bit bigger.

 

Our next show, Wall Street Warfare, had the following card:

 

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

 

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

[BHK1978]

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

 

I am going with Whistler tough guy! Hoooo! USA! USA! Okay enough Hacksaw jokes from me...

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

 

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

 

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

 

Ford has higher popularity and that is the reason for my pick here.

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

 

Ota will probably win but I have now made it policy to never pick Ota to win in any diary because I am getting sick of seeing him.

[Dragonmack]

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

Bailey should be ready for retirement by now

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

Pure overness

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

Because you favor them more

 

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

Wright is ready to go soon and OSP are at the tail end of their time on top

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

Better

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

Ota rules

[BHK1978]

Wright is ready to go soon and OSP are at the tail end of their time on top

 

You say that, but in my personal NYCW game the old fart is still kicking around in August of 2012. In fact he just announced that he was going to retire last month.

[Timber]

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

[Regis]

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

Voting for Steve Flash is never a bad thing.

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

Strong debut.

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

There's still a Natural Storm mark in da house!

 

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

Vessey is not going to win this. No way, no how.

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

Contractual obligations ahoy!

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

JOBBER!

[1PWfan]

Right then. Firstly, welcome to Timber, it's nice to see a new face.

 

Secondly, I've worked out a broad schedule for posting (and be warned, it is quite broad). Plan at the moment is for shows to go up Sunday, probably afternoon as I'm at church in the mornings, with between-show numbers appearing mid-weekish depending on how time is going. Now, I am hoping to have the show up sometime tomorrow, but given that England are playing that may not be 'til the evening. Still, I thought I would announce that so y'all know when stuff will be happening on the dynasty, and just flag this one up in case anybody else wants to drop the prediction bomb on me.

[Rathen4]

Steve Flash & Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank

Flash is the best of the bunch and this should help his case.

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

I like Vessey more.

 

FOR THE NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

I'm still catching up on this diary, sorry. So I'll go with the safe option.

 

Larry Vessey & Southern Justice vs. Lee Wright & Old School Principals

I like Vessey, and can't work out why he'll lose here at the moment. Like I said, still catching up.

 

 

FOR THE NYCW TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

No, Fat Gumble. No.

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

The ninja is completely out of place here, but I can't see why he'd lose.

[1PWfan]

NYCW Wall Street Warfare

Saturday, Week 4, June

Live to DVD from the Ministry

Audience: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)

 

Pre-Show/DVD Extras

 

The Atlantic Connection vs. New York Insects (Ant-Man & The New York Doll)

Whilst the Connection aren’t really jobbers I tend to treat them like they are, so this was the first step in hopefully building their momentum a bit. It was a pretty bad match, but when you consider that nobody here has momentum and at least three of the candidates put together have like 5 years experience tops…well, it’ll do. CJ got the win here with a backslide pinning combo- he needs to work on a finishing move, but up until now he’s never had enough wins to make one worthwhile.

Winners: The Atlantic Connection Match Rating: D-

 

Tamara McFly vs. Nina the Psycho Ballerina

Okay, as debut matches for the women’s division go this wasn’t what I’d hoped for. Tammy was kind of off form, but I figure the real problem here was Nina: she’s got charisma and star quality to spare but her fundamentals are pretty poor, especially her basics. In the end this one went to the future Women’s Champion, who nailed Nina with the McFly Roll (Rolling Fireman’s Carry Slam)

Winner: Tamara McFly Match Rating: D

 

 

The Show

 

Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins

I’d booked this one a few weeks ago to make sure Ota got his momentum back up, hence CJ pulling double duty. To his credit he shrugged it off pretty well and turned this into a decent squash match, although given that he worked like 12 minutes total it probably wasn’t all that demanding. You can guess how this one wound up- Ota at the six minute mark with the Ninja Strike.

Winner: Fumihiro Ota Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

We then go to a video highlighting the history of Flash-Bailey and Whistler-Frank ahead of the main event. Usually I’d have put in some chat from me and Rock to get this over, but to be honest there’s only so much you can say about these four before you repeat yourself.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Lee Wright & Old School Principals vs. Southern Justice & Larry Vessey

This was the first six-man tag we’ve run in NYCW outside of Gang Wars, so I wasn’t quite sure how people would react to it. Fortunately they cared more about the wrestlers than the format, and with the exception of Larry Vessey everyone in this match can carry their weight. As for Larry, he’s not that bad, really, just too damn old, so as long as the other guy in the ring can hold up his end of the bargain he can usually contribute something. In the end, I went with The Old School on this one, since they’re the actual stable and all.

Winners: Lee Wright & Old School Principals Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

‘Slow Ride’ by Foghat heralds the arrival of The Ring Generals for their match. No sooner have they got in the ring, though, than Natural Storm jump them from behind and lay on a fierce beatdown, though not without resistance. The reaction to this one was pretty bad, but I only put it in to fill time so I don’t really care.

Rating: E-

 

*

 

The Ring Generals vs. Natural Storm

Whatever ratings their angles may get, these guys know how to deliver a good tag match, and it showed tonight. This was a really good tag match, maybe a bit formulaic (I try to avoid the face-in-peril routine with our booking but even then there’s only so much the average tag team can do) but well executed and with a decent storyline. Said storyline was simple: the Storm attempted to out-muscle their opponents (at 310 and 260lbs both Eddie and Deec have a considerable size advantage on the Ring Generals, who come in a small but compact 238lbs each), whilst Statler & Waldorf stuck to their technical ability and tried to out-wrestle the champions. In the end we went for the classic time-limit ending with the faces just about to win it for the finish.

Winners: None Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

In the familiar NYCW Backstage Corridor of Happenings Ford is headed to the ring when he encounters Cameron, sneeringly watching his old foe. Before either man can get their hands on the other a crowd of wrestlers and backstage workers gets between them. Reaction to this was muted, but generally okay.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Ford Gumble vs. Sammy the Shark

This was an experiment to see how well we could work a face-face match: needless to say, it didn’t go well. Ford and Sammy are both solid workers but with the fans not sure which way they were supposed to go they just sat on their hands, and in this business that pretty much wrecks the whole show. In the end JJ hit the ring and nailed Sammy with a baseball bat when Ford and the ref’s backs were turned, setting up Ford for the victory and his contractually obliged title run.

Winner: Ford Gumble Match Rating: D

 

*

 

Back at the NYCW Interview Position Herb’s on hype duty for Cameron’s match

 

“Tonight, the future of the Old School takes on Freddie Datsun, a man so old even USPW didn’t want him. I gotta say, how broken down can you be that even they don’t want you? Freddie, I’m only going to say this once: tonight, Cameron’s probably gonna kill you. And you know why? ‘Cos of Old School Rules, baby”

 

I’m going to have to have a word with Herb about the age comments- Freddie’s actually comparatively young for our main event (he’s only 41, as opposed to Flash’s 44, Whistler’s 48 or Bailey’s 49), and we can’t go around attacking a company up the chain from us.

Rating: D

 

*

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Cameron Vessey

Given that these two are considered our biggest stars this was pretty much what you’d expect: a good match with equally good heat that probably should have been our main event. Given that both men are good brawlers this stuck this stuck to being pretty much a fist-fight with the occasional bit of technical work to liven things up. Cameron bust out what looks to be his first trademark spot, an running high knee that knocked Freddie for six, whilst the veteran fought back with the rugged punches that made his name back in DaVE. As for the finish, we decided to mix it up a bit: with Herb distracting the ref, Cameron went for a chair shot, only to learn that you don’t try and out-hardcore a three-time Extreme Champion when Freddie grabbed the chair and whacked him with it.

Winner: Freddie Datsun Match Rating: C

 

*

 

Whistler & Steve Flash vs. Honest Frank & Black Hat Bailey

This wasn’t a bad match, but after Freddie/Cameron it did feel like a bit of a comedown. To be honest, I don’t think Whistler’s going to see many more main events- he’s almost 50, and unlike Bailey doesn’t have the fundamentals to make up for it (or the title, but that’s another story). That’s not to say Whistler was the weak link here, as he still has the charisma and brawling skill to do okay, but compared to the other three he’s definitely not an A-list competitor. As for said others, Flash is awesome and always will be, Bailey’s a reliable main eventer and Frank’s aging rather better than you’d think. In the end this one went to the heels, thanks to Frank doing what he does best (i.e. cheating), and Bailey forcing Whistler to tap out to the Bailey Breaker.

Winners: Black Hat Bailey & Honest Frank Match Rating: C-

 

 

Overall Rating: D+, largely due to a mixed-up undercard and some poor angles. A trifle disappointing, but it kept up our growth so who’s complaining?

 

Follow-up to this (predictions results etc.) will be up tomorrow, with the next full post up Wednesday

[1PWfan]

Right, let's see how the results fell this week:

 

BHK1978: 2/6, although in fairness you said Oa was going to win

Dragonmack: 3/6

Timber: 2/6

Regis: 4/6

Rathen4: 1/6, though as a newer reader that's fair enough

 

So, Regis wins, thereby earning himself the new 'Old School Rules' T-Shirt. And I'm surprised by how low most of the predictions were, I'd honestly thought this oen was really predictable.

 

As announced previously, next post up Wednesday, folks!

[1PWfan]

Buddy Rogers’ New York Minute

 

Normally around this time I’d be previewing Gang Wars, talking about the teams NYCW had put together, the history of the feuds going in and how I thought the show was going to pan out. Well, not this year folks: Hugh Dansigny has (as reported on this site a couple of months ago) dropped the Gang Wars concept. This is hardly surprising, as Hugh’s always been a critic of the show format (those of you who heard his interview on the site a couple of years ago will probably remember his exact thoughts on the show in decidedly colourful detail), and given his increasing influence in the company it was only a matter of time before the show was dropped. As for my personal sentiments on the issue, I never hated Gang Wars but I think the company did the right thing in dropping it. Gimmick shows can really spice up a promotion’s calendar, but I don’t think NYCW ever had the depth of roster to cover the demands of a show featuring nothing but six-man tag matches. Plus the replacement show, apparently titled The Showdown from Staten Island, is apparently being positioned as a major event in NYCW’s year.

 

As for promotion news, the biggest news has to be Black Hat Bailey’s imminent retirement. The 49 year old veteran has been one of the cornerstones of the NYCW main event ever since he arrived, as well as running the book for the past four years. Hugh, his successor as booker, has always been very fulsome in his praise of Bailey, who he’s always described as one of the two most reliable main eventers in the company alongside Steve Flash, and the pair’s feud for the Empire title has delivered some of the company’s best matches over the first half of this year. His last match is apparently set to be a one-on-one encounter vs. Steve Flash at The Showdown (see? It’s been a couple of weeks since the name came out and already it’s got it’s own nickname), which should be a match of the night if the pair’s previous pedigree is anything to go by. And don’t be so sure that Bailey’s going to lose: given the esteem both Hugh and The Stomper hold him in, it’s possible that he’ll go out with the title in hand and they’ll cheat it onto Cameron Vessey or Honest Frank to give them some added heat.

 

In other news, Hugh’s finished building the women’s division, with the addition of rookie Amber Allen, a protégé of former NOTBPW star Stephanie Hazel (aka Principessa); and AAA star Gorgon. Both of these signings are pretty obvious, given the pair’s potential and Hugh’s preference for workers with links to NOTBPW- don’t forget, Gorgon’s been courted by the Stones on and off for years now- but I’m still surprised at the size of the division. At six workers it’s larger than any other women’s division in the world, although large women’s division have been a trademark of Hugh’s all the way back to NOTBPW. The first women’s title match is scheduled for The Showdown, and looks to feature Gorgon and Tamara McFly. Hmmmm…promising young talent vs. the booker’s wife. Three guesses who’s going to win this one?

 

Oh, and Shane Sneer’s been approached to replace Herb Stately in The Old School. Nobody can deny Shane’s ability, or the amount of bad chemistry Herb’s had with the other members of the stable, but I’m not sure if this is a good idea. For one thing, Shane’s got such a strong independent identity that you’ve got to wonder if he’ll fit in with the stable, not to mention the fact that there’s no guarantee he won’t have the exact same chemistry issues Herb’s had. As it happens, Shane’s refused to negotiate until his status with USPW is confirmed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hugh made another attempt to sign him after that’ s sorted out.

 

And as for those rumours concerning NYCW’s plans for Eddie Howard: I got in touch with Hugh himself, who’s confirmed that whilst Natural Storm are seen as the cornerstones of the tag division and will be for a long time to come, there are no plans to split them up, and I’m quoting Hugh here, ‘any time before the end of the universe and the second coming’.

 

The card for The Showdown from Staten Island is currently as follows:

 

FOR THE EMPIRE TITLE

Black Hat Bailey vs. Steve Flash

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

 

FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

 

INAUGRAL NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

 

Show will be up either Saturday or Sunday, depending on how predictions pan out

[Regis]

FOR THE EMPIRE TITLE

Black Hat Bailey vs. Steve Flash

Speaking of which, no, BHB will not take the title home with him. This promotion is too old-school for that.

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

Cammy's a top heel, and will look good challenging Steve.

 

FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

He'll cheat. Fumi's too damn good for his own good!

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

No sh*t, sherlock.

 

FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

The odour of Natural Storm mark has permated this arena permanently now.

 

INAUGRAL NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

This is her women's division. It's like Alicia in USPW.

[Dragonmack]

FOR THE EMPIRE TITLE

Black Hat Bailey vs. Steve Flash

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

 

FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

 

INAUGRAL NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

[mad5226]

Just read this cover to cover man and I gotta say I love it. You have managed yo really catch the old school feel here and its a great and entertaining read, keep it up

[BHK1978]

FOR THE EMPIRE TITLE

Black Hat Bailey vs. Steve Flash

 

In my personal NYCW game I spamed this match over and over again, and BHB never won.

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

 

Honest Frank mark right here, plus like I said I am not picking Ota to win ever again and if Flash wins Jim Duggan is not going to be getting a title shot.

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

 

FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

 

INAUGRAL NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

[1PWfan]

Just read this cover to cover man and I gotta say I love it. You have managed yo really catch the old school feel here and its a great and entertaining read, keep it up

 

Thanks very much for the praise, Mad- probably the biggest thing for me in this dynasty has been keeping NYCW as Old School as possible. There've been two or three times I've wanted to bring a guy in but didn't due to his being the wrong kind of worker for us (KC Glenn and The Canadian Blondes are probably the best examples).

 

Anyway, show will be going up Sunday, so there's still time for those predictions folks!

[Guest KingOfKings]

FOR THE EMPIRE TITLE

Black Hat Bailey vs. Steve Flash

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

 

FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

 

FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

 

INAUGRAL NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

[1PWfan]

NYCW The Showdown on Staten Island 2010

Saturday, Week 4, July

Live to DVD from the Ministry

Audience: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)

 

 

Pre-Show/DVD Extras

 

Emma Bitch vs. Katherine Goodlooks

With the women’s title on the line in the main show I decided to give the next tier of names in the division a workout in the dark. In all honest, I could’ve put this on the main show with no worries: Emma and Kathy both have potential, star quality and charisma, so outside of Emma’s sometimes inadequate selling there was nothing really wrong with this match at all. Kathy got the win here due to popularity, putting Emma down with the Pretty Fly (Diving Splash)

Winner: Katherine Goodlooks Match Rating: D+

 

The Ring Generals vs. Ant-Man & The New York Doll

This was a surprisingly rough match, given the quality of the guys involved. Alright, so The Doll is surviving by the skin of his teeth at the moment, but The Ring Generals are a great tag team, and Ant-Man’s a solid young guy with some great power moves. Ultimately, though, there were complaints over length (a surprise, but maybe the Doll's more over than I thought), and some scrappy work from the heels that meant this didn’t come off quite as well as I’d hoped. Naturally enough Statler & Waldorf took this one, nailing Ant-Man with the Squared Circle Assault to score the pin.

Winners: The Ring Generals Match Rating: D-

 

 

The Show

 

Whistler vs. Honest Frank vs. Fumihiro Ota

This was about as good as you’d expect, given that there were complaints over the length (at 10 minutes it was a bit short for a match featuring three of our top guys). In terms of action it was pretty good, although I’ll have to remember to slip Whistler a bonus after the show: he’s been losing a lot and it’s clearly starting to get to him, although he did show some improvement in his fundamentals. As for Frank and Ota, well they’re both pretty good, and Frank also improved his fundamentals, whilst Ota had to be satisfied with winning the match. I’m not sure if he’s the best choice to feud with Steve, but he’s the only option we’ve got at the moment: Frank and Cameron are both still in feuds of their own, and whilst I could finish Frank’s quite soon I’m not sure I want to just yet.

Winner: Fumihiro Ota Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Back at the NYCW interview position, Herb’s on hype duty for the main event

 

“Tonight, Steve Flash is challenging for the Empire Title…again. Y’know, I can’t decide whether you’re brain damaged or just dumb, Steve, because you’ve got to have realised by now that every time you take us on you come off second best. There is no way, no way, that we are going to let you hold the Empire Title, Steve, because it belongs to us. This is the Old School’s title, and we’ll be holding it for a long time to come, because Old School Rules”

 

As is always the case with Herb, this didn’t do great business.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Tamara McFly vs. Gorgon

This was a disappointing match. Tammy was as good as ever, and Gorgon held up her end pretty well, but the chemistry was off and that really affect things here. We’d kept the story simple- battling underdog babyface against monster heel- but with the chemistry being so off it came across as a very tentative match, as Gorgon’s still a little green and can get very hesitant if things aren’t going well. In the end Tammy got the win with a Crucifix pin.

Winner: Tamara McFly Match Rating: D

 

*

 

Once again we’re back at the Interview Position, where Whistler, Freddie, Ford and Steve are on hand to cut a promo

 

“Y’know, ever since I arrived in NYCW a month ago, I’ve been noticing The Old School. Seems to me that these boys…well, they’re good wrestlers, but they’re bullies. They talk about their Old School Rules, they talk about how you have to fight all of them at once, but basically they’re just a bunch of bullies. And I know how to deal with bullies

 

“Y’see, you can’t just try and stand up to ‘em on your own, they’ll just gang up on you. No, what you gotta do is get together a bunch of your buddies and take ‘em all on at once- that way you can kick all their asses together. So, I got me The All-American Whistler, a man who knows a thing or two about kicking ass…”

 

“Sure do Freddie! Old School, we’re taking you on American-Style! HOOOOOO!!!!”

 

“And I got me The Sharpshooter Ford Gumble…”

 

“Old School, we’re gonna kick your asses”

 

“And, to cap it all off, I got me the best wrestler in NYCW, the most experienced, most skilled, most downright dangerous man out there, Steve Flash!”

 

“That’s right Freddie. Old School, you better get ready to Feel the Bang, because I’m Steve Flash and I don’t back down”

 

“Together, we’re forming The Frontline against The Old School’s antics. Boys, y’all better beware, because we’re ready, we’re willing, and we’re gonna kick your @ss”

 

Even with the entertainment black hole that is Steve Flash on the stick, this was a good segment. As for the Frontline, they’re largely here to provide counter-interference to the Old School- I don’t see them becoming a major presence outside of that (kind of like The Rebellion in the TCW Syndicate storyline- they fight the bad guys, team up occasionally, but aren’t what you’d call a real stable per se)

Rating: D

 

*

 

Natural Storm vs. Southern Justice

As always with the tag division this was a great match, and also served tonight as a great example of how to do a good tag-team brawl. Jesse’s momentum is still a bit low, and Deec wasn’t on top form, but when you’ve got Dazzling Dave going crazy in one corner and the experience of Natural Storm in the other you’re not going to have a lot of problems. In the end The Storm took this one, nailing Dazzling Dave with A Storm is Coming and then clobbering Jesse when he tried to make the save. To be honest, though, I could see it going the other way: Jesse’s got a contractually obliged title run in his future, and Southern Justice show a fair bit of promise.

Winners: Natural Storm Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Backstage in the face locker room Steve’s getting ready for his match when Lee Wright & Old School Principals burst in and attack him. Steve puts up a valiant fight, but the odds prove too great and he’s beaten down in short order. The reaction to this…wasn’t great.

Rating: E+

 

*

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Jared Johnson

Now this is just getting silly. This was meant to be a simple squash match, nothing too fancy, just something to give JJ a bit of face time against one of our bigger names. And guess what? It turned into one of the best matches on the card. Okay, so I should have guesses Jared would produce a great match, it’s pretty much what he does, but it looks like I’m going to have to start putting him up against Animal Harker if I want to get anything less than main-event quality out of him. Freddie took this one, after Sammy interfered and hit Jared with the Ace in the Hole, setting him up for the Patriot Press (Pumphandle Drop)

Winner: Freddie Datsun Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Once again we’re back at the Interview Position, this time to join Cameron Vessey

 

“It’s almost an insult. Me, Cameron Vessey, the future of The Old School, the greatest rookie wrestler the world has ever seen, taking on a burnt-out nobody like Ford Gumble? Puh-lease. Ford, you have no chance against me, Frontline or no Frontline. Tonight, I’m going to squash you like a bug. Because I’m The Best there is, The Best there was, and The Best There Ever Will Be”

 

This was pretty good: Cameron’s a solid if unexceptional talker, and with his ring skills as solid as they are I could definitely see him at the top of the card by the end of the month.

Rating: D+

 

*

 

Ford Gumble vs. Cameron Vessey

Gumble’s nerves may have undermined his status as a top guy, but they haven’t affected his actual talent and against a worker as promising as Cameron that was always going to make for a good match. Sure enough, tonight was a decent main event level match, and whilst it wasn’t anywhere near the peaks we’ve reached in the past I don’t think we can nail those kind of matches on a regular basis at the moment. In the end I went with Gumble to win this one, via DQ after Michael Bull managed to catch Cameron swinging for Ford with a baseball bat (what with all the chair shots we’ve been doing we’re running out of usable chairs backstage).

Winner: Ford Gumble Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Steve Flash vs. Black Hat Bailey

The last match of Black Hat Bailey’s career wasn’t quite as good as his previous matches with Steve, but I think when you’re 49 and retiring in a couple of weeks you’re entitled to have your best years behind you. This was a decent match that played a bit like Bailey’s Greatest Hits: we had his trademark backbreaker drop, the hard knees to the back and the eye rake and bow-and-arrow hold to soften the back up. Flash, meanwhile, nailed his trademark forearms and dropkicks, but spent most of the match selling like crazy for Bailey’s offence. In the end, we went with Steve to win this one, nailing a quick Flash Bang to score a flash pinfall at the ten minute mark.

Winner: Steve Flash Match Rating: C-

 

 

Overall Rating: D+, a bit harsh given how good most of the card was.

[1PWfan]

So, let's take a rundown of the predictions this month, shall we?

 

Regis: 5/6

Dragonmack: 6/6, but then this guy knows his NYCW

BHK1978: 5/6

KingOfKings: 4/6, still not a bad showing for the newbie.

 

Nothing from Rathen or Timber this month, but then I don't predict on the dynasties I read every show either.

 

Anyway, D-Mack get's the big W this time round, and as prize he gets...the satisfaction of being the most consistent excellent dynasty writer on this board.

 

Anyway, next in-game post up Wednesday, but I'll be on tomorrow to answer any questions you may have, and probably talk a bit about the overall direction on the dynasty, now we've reached my first major milestone (that being the change of top champ and the intro of the women's division).

[BHK1978]

I have never gotten that high of a grade with BHB vs. Steve Flash! I must really suck at this game. But in all seriousness that was a great show.

 

I liked the Cameron Vessey interview a lot.

[1PWfan]

Thanks as always for the praise BHK. For everyone's info, next show will be up Saturday rather than Sunday- I have a very busy weekend as is, so I'm putting the show up a day early to fit it round my schedule

 

Hugh had been at a few wrestlers’ parties in his lifetime, and had rapidly learned just how boring they actually were. To be honest, if there weren’t drugs around there wasn’t much to interest him, and given that he was now NYCW establishment whatever drugs there might have been were being kept firmly out of his sight. Not that he’d have touched the stuff anyway- he had one junkie ex-wife to dissuade him from dabbling- but he could’ve at least gone crazy and yelled at someone to cheer himself up.

 

“This must be the most boring thing in the world for you, right sweetie?”

 

Tamara knew him far too well. Which was, Hugh supposed, the reason he’d married her in the first place.

 

“Tammy, you do remember how I don’t like people don’t you? And how Stomper, in his infinte crotchety old b@stard wisdom makes me come along to these stupid parties?”

 

“C’mon Hughie, we just made regional. That’s pretty big reason to celebrate, y’know? More money, bigger names, everything’s on the up and up, right?”

 

“Tammy- all the bigger names I would sign are locked up at USPW or Canada, I need to find you a new opponent because Gorgon can’t work with you and Emma’s the female equivalent of Cheech and f*cking Chong, and that rat Jeremy stole North of the Border out from under Vicky’s nose”

 

“Oh. Is that what this is really all about?”

 

“For pete’s sake Tammy, we both know Dan was grooming Vicky to take over. She’s the best of the bunch, and okay she is my best friend and I am famously nepotistic but it’s still true. Jeremy? He’s the worst of the bunch. Hell, only way they could’ve gotten somebody worse in was if Edd took over, and that would’ve at least been funny. So yeah, I’m kinda pissed off right now”

 

“Hugh, I realise that this maybe kind of out of place, but I’m your wife and if you ever try and get smart with me I will beat the hell out of you. You don’t have to worry about North of the Border, ‘kay? I realise you and Jeremy haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on, well, anything, but he knows what he’s doing and he’s not going to drive the company into the ground just because he’s not quite a genius like my sister-in-law.

 

“Oh, and Vicky’s invited us up for Roger’s birthday”

 

Roger Stone-McFly, Victoria and Sean’s younger child, was also technically Hugh’s godson. Not that Hugh saw him a great deal since the Stone-McFly family lived in Canada and Hugh was based out of Long Island most of year, but still, every time a birthday rolled around Vicky invited him and Tammy up to Halifax for the celebrations. And every year he found a creative reason to not go.

 

“Oh no. I am not going up there just to listen to lecture #234 on how I should retire and stop perpetuating this image of me as the burnt-out has-been who doesn’t know when to quit. I’ll retire from this business when I die and not before, and it is starting to annoy me that Vicky insists on telling me how to run my life”

 

“Be fair, Hughie, she does that to everyone. It’s a booker thing- you did the exact same thing to me when I went to Vegas”

 

“You were signing on to wrestle strippers in some sleazy dive. Of course I told you not to go”

 

“Okay okay, so BSC isn’t exactly the greatest wrestling company in the bunch. They’re trying to get better, okay?”

 

“The only reason they’re getting better is ‘cos they can’t get any worse. Look, Tammy, I appreciate you wanna see your nephew, and okay I wouldn’t mind going up there again, but I’m really busy at the moment running the book, okay? I’m afraid I can’t get away”

 

“I already talked to Stomper, he says that you can do the job just as well in Canada for a few days as you can down here. There’s nothing you need to do that you can’t do over a phone line or the ‘net, and if anything does come up you can always catch a flight back. I’ve booked a flight for the day after Summer in the City, we’ll be in Halifax for a couple of weeks and then back in time for the next show- whatever you decide to call it”

 

“What have I told you about organising my life when I’m not looking?”

 

“That I should feel free because you couldn’t organise a shoebox, that it could never remind you of your first wife because the only thing she organised was a line of coke, and that it was one of the many, many things you love about me?”

 

“I gotta learn not to say things to people that actually remember stuff.”

 

But then, Hugh thought, he’d probably end up never talking to his wife. And call him stupid, but he kind of wanted this marriage to work.

 

 

***

 

Card for NYCW Summer in the City:

 

FOR THE NYCW EMPIRE TITLE

Steve Flash vs. Fumihiro Ota

 

FOR THE TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Honest Frank

 

Whistler vs. Lee Wright

 

FOR THE NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE

Tamara McFly vs. Emma Bitch

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Eddie Howard

 

Sammy the Shark vs. Jared Johnson

[Regis]

FOR THE NYCW EMPIRE TITLE

Steve Flash vs. Fumihiro Ota

Ota isn't old enough to take this. Also, he's not Steve Flash.

 

FOR THE TRI-STATE REGIONAL TITLE

Ford Gumble vs. Honest Frank

No hotshots!

 

Whistler vs. Lee Wright

Lee is EEEEEEEEEVIL and will cheat.

 

FOR THE NYCW WOMEN’S TITLE

Tamara McFly vs. Emma Bitch

God Push.

 

Freddie Datsun vs. Eddie Howard

Time Decline = Push.

 

Sammy the Shark vs. Jared Johnson

Woo! Go talent!