PW Candle: Total Championship Wrestling

Purple Cowboy · March 30, 2011

JANUARY-TO-FEBUARY STATS

Popularity & Momentum Shifts

Swoop McCarthy behind two weeks on TV and the one PPV as colour commentator has gone from 0 popularity in the USA & Canada to 26! That was the most dramatic shift of the month. Jason Azaria (73) and Kyle Rhodes (70) stayed the same.

Eddie Peak (from 68 popularity to 61) and Sam Keith (from 70 to 62) were notable drops. Peak is actually on the rebound, his loss to Giant Tana (who jumped from 58 to 68) really stung. Keith’s loss to Joey Minnesota at the beginning of January, a weak win over Harry Allen, and the PPV loss to Rocky Golden has hurt him.

Golden, by the way, actually gained popularity from 75 to 76 in the USA, and despite the booking his momentum only dropped from 95 to 89. What do I have to do to this guy?

Otherwise, nothing really too crazy. Most gained some popularity and lost some momentum. If you have any questions about specific workers let me know.

__________

TCW Prestige: increase from 72 to 73

TCW Momentum: increase from 65 to 70

SWF Prestige: stayed at 90

SWF Momentum: decreased from 83 to 78

Notes: Encouraging.

__________

TCW Champions 1st January 2010

TCW World Heavyweight Champion: Rocky Golden (August 2009, 0 defenses, 82 Prestige)

TCW World Tag Team Champions: The New Wave (August 2009, 0 defenses, 62 Prestige)

TCW International Champion: Joshua Taylor (July 2009, 0 defenses, 52 Prestige)

TCW All Action Champion: Edd Stone (December 2009, 0 defenses, 40 Prestige)

TCW Champions 1st February 2010

TCW World Heavyweight Champion: Rocky Golden (August 2009, 3 defenses, 81 Prestige)

TCW World Tag Team Champions: The New Wave (August 2009, 3 defenses, 63 Prestige)

TCW International Champion: Eddie Peak (January 2010, 1 defense, 52 Prestige)

TCW All Action Champion: Charles Alexander (January 2010, 0 defenses, 40 Prestige)

Notes: The TCW World Heavyweight title took more of a hit than Rocky did.

__________

Storylines

[heat] January Storylines (date started):

[80] Ino vs. Law (August 2009)

[85] Golden vs. Keith (September 2009)

[78] Peak vs. Vessey (October 2009)

[89] Eradicating The Syndicate - RDJ & Joey Minnesota vs. Cornell & Hawkins (November 2009)

[83] Benson vs. Tornado (December 2009)

[heat] February Storylines (date started):

[75] Ino vs. Law (August 2009)

[82] Golden vs. Keith (September 2009)

[86] Benson vs. Tornado (December 2009)

[73] Joshua Taylor vs. Eddie Peak (January 2010)

[82] New Wave vs. Machines (January 2010)

[81] RDJ, Minnesota & Vessey vs. First Class (January 2010, evolved from Eradicating the Syndicate)

Notes: Benson vs. Tornado got a little bump from the PPV. Everything else, meh.

__________

Current Stables

unnamed alliance (90): Ricky Dale Johnson, Joey Minnesota, Bryan Vessey

THE HELLFIRE CLUB (81): Eddie Peak, Doug Peak, Genghis Rahn, American Buffalo, Floyd Goldworthy

FIRST CLASS (74): Tommy Cornell, Wolf Hawkins, Troy Tornado

__________

ROSTER POPULARITY CHANGES Jan - Feb (Note: The bold number is the updated number, the first number was the POP at 1st Jan. If no change only one number is listed.)

Aaron Andrews 55 58

American Buffalo 62

Benny Benson 67

Brent Hill 60 62

Bryan Vessey 72 77

Chance Fortune 52 54

Charles Alexander 64 62

Charlie Thatcher 51 54

Clark Alexander 48 50

Danny Fonzarelli 68 64

Doug Peak 44

Edd Stone 54 56

Eddie Peak 68 61

Flying Jimmy Foxx 45 46

Freddy Huggins 55

Genghis Rahn 65

Giant Tana 58 68

Greg Keith 21

Guide 62 64

Harry Allen 52

James Prudence 46

Joel Bryant 61

Joey Minnesota 72 77

John Anderson 62 64

Joshua Taylor 58

Koshiro Ino 65 68

Matt Keith 30

Rick Law 68 64

Ricky Dale Johnson 84 86

Robert Oxford 50

Rocky Golden 75 76

Sam Keith 70 62

Sammy Bach 64 68

Scout 62 64

Steven Parker 32

Texas Pete 60

Tommy Cornell 86 88

Troy Tornado 75 74

Wolf Hawkins 72 76

Purple Cowboy · March 30, 2011

OOC Thoughts on Month 1

Some housekeeping before back to the coverage -

Thanks again to BHK1978 & sebsplex for the nominations/kind words in the DOTM thread. Much appreciated.

I've updated the above post with the entire roster list of popularity changes for the month in case anyone is anyone is interested.

Also, not sure I like the pic I chose for Frank Jackson. Something seems not to fit there. I had actually originally thought about him being Japanese or somesuch and using his "Americanized" name. But then I saw that pic and went with it. But a change in appearance may be coming for the Editor-in-Chief. Of course, I'm always open to any suggestions. Except no rainbow clown affros. That's coming later.

The 4th writer character will probably be introduced this coming month of February, if TCW gets a second show it's certain. If not, maybe toward the end of the month with a humor column.

The dynasty has kind of gone a little differently than I thought. Rather than a proper newsletter it is more like you are receiving the Candle's VIP RSS feed and getting articles as soon as they're posted. I guess that's a good thing? Any format questions/suggestions or is this fine?

I didn't realize Swoop would be gaining popularity on the announce crew so quickly. I'm going to have to accelerate plans for him at this point and try to do it in as natural a way possible.

Thanks for reading!

Purple Cowboy · April 2, 2011

WEEK 1 February 2010

TCW Report

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/2009-04-07-businessman.jpg

QUICK HITS:

The buy rate for TCW’s Malice in Wonderland was a 1.77.
TCW say they are approaching GNN Total Sports, and America-Sports-1 about their new TV show.
After being rejected by CZCW for a developmental partnership, there are rumors that Charles Alexander is speaking with Rip Chord of MAW for a similar arrangement.
There are rumors that TCW plan to continue to hurt SWF by targeting a number of their unsecured RIPW talents.
Thanks to the help of Swoop McCarthy, TCW has announced the signing of Captain Wrestling II. The 24-year old powerhouse was recently voted the best prospect in the world in a PW Candle internet poll.
TCW apparently also have their eye on an 18-year old newcomer to the business, Donte Dunn.
In MAW, American Patriot won the Rip Chord Invitational Challenge V, beating Mean Jean Cattley in the final.

COMMENTARY:

Total Championship Wrestling actually has some momentum building for their company right now and they can’t afford any missteps heading into February.

All eyes are on Rocky Golden and what his announcement is going to be on this week’s Total Wrestling. All of our contacts at TCW have been amazingly tight-lipped about this situation which makes me thing he’s going to announce that he has to give up the title to deal with a medical situation. Then again, as Fred Jones pointed out in our Malice in Wonderland PPV Roundtable, if Golden is as sick as we’ve all been led to believe then there’s no way he would have been allowed to be out there wrestling for the entire month of January, nevermind just at the PPV.

Is the guy getting released? Are we going to see a new, repackaged Rocky Golden in three months? You definitely will not want to miss our next Candlelight Chat where Frank Jackson will be asking Golden these and many more questions.

On to other matters, it looks for sure now coming out of the PPV that new Head Booker Charles Alexander has plans for The Hellfire Club. With Floyd Goldworthy joining as a minor member to “manage” the entire stable in the background of Eddie Peak’s leadership, if I’m predicting I’m predicting a strong month for members of The Hellfire Club. This is a group that hardcore TCW fans can get behind and I personally think it’s a nice move by the management to see them get more involved on a weekly basis because otherwise it cheapens everything about their random beatdowns and general intimidation factor.

Of course Benny Benson's increased profile at the PPV has people talking. Is he going to be elevated now to that Main Event status or is he just being set up as fodder for First Class in general, and Troy Tornado in particular? And, how will First Class get some momentum back after losing at Malice? All things I'll be watching for this month on Total Wrestling.

Don’t know what sort of month this is going to be for Bryan Vessey. If the steroid rumors are true I would expect him to be losing a lot of matches he might ordinarily win. Then again, I’ve certainly been wrong in the past. We don’t even have any verification from anywhere that the steroid story is for real. And with a new guy handling the book maybe we’ll be getting a few more odd outcomes than normal until he gets a better feel of things. Still, I’ll be keeping a close eye on Vessey this month.

The tag team division should be in for some good action this month. American Buffalo and Genghis Rahn seem to be a new regular Hellfire Club tag team and with the rising profile of THC I expect to see them get some quality wins and maybe be in a position to challenge The New Wave for the belts down the line. The Machines are still involved in the main storyline for the titles though, and I expect them to decimate The L.A. Connection and The Alexanders in the coming weeks. Will be interesting to monitor the progress of The Keith Brothers, and whether or not The Peak Brothers will insert themselves into the discussion as well.

More strange rumors from the backroom suggest that despite the strong month that Sammy Bach had with Karen Killer as his manager that he wants to leave her for a “younger, more attractive” manager that “better fits with (my) long term goals.” No confirmation if this has any semblance of reality but it is out there, and if it’s out there, we report it.

Thank you.

Purple Cowboy · April 4, 2011

WEEK 1 February 2010

TCW Update

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

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BREAKING NEWS!

TCW goes back to the Tri State area for the first episode of Total Wrestling since their successful Malice in Wonderland PPV. Tonight could say a lot about the future direction of the company, but instead of going all out for a huge blockbuster show it looks like we’re going to get a standard show with a very good Main Event. But the show might be remembered more for Rocky Golden’s expected announcement than for anything else.

The Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach match is very interesting to me and a tough one to call. Bach has been incredibly resourceful over the last month and in the eyes of some TCW fans Benson hasn’t earned his Main Event status yet. But with some rumored tension between Bach and Karen Killer backstage, I’m not sure if “The Elation Sensation” will be able to carry over the momentum from his PPV win over Danny Fonzarelli. I think if First Class doesn’t get involved in this match somehow then it’s probably a signal that they don’t view Benson as a major threat despite what he did at the PPV.

I don’t know what TCW accomplishes by having Captain Wrestling II debut against Tommy Cornell in what you expect will be an 8-minute squash, but we’ve got that to look forward to.

Former TCW International Champion Joshua Taylor looks to get back on the winning side of things against the man who has been costing him victories lately, Doug Peak. This match comes right after Ricky Dale Johnson taking on Genghis Rahn in what I guess is The Hellfire Club portion of the show.

Only one tag match on the card and it should be an evenly matched encounter between The L.A. Connection and The Canadian Animals who both could use a good shot in the arm with a victory.

Main Event of Bryan Vessey and Wolf Hawkins as I said is a very good match, quality enough for PPV. Not sure if this is going to be a “lesson” to Vessey for the steroid rumors but it will certainly be a natural progression of the upper tier faces against First Class feud. Looks like a good one no matter why we're getting it free.

Compete against me in my TCW prediction pool this year and win signed photos of your favorite PW Candle writers!

BRINT’S PICKS

TCW Presents Total Wrestling (faces listed first)

live from The Evanovich Riverside (Tri State)

Joey Minnesota vs. Charlie Thatcher

-I think Thatcher will eventually be scooped up by The Hellfire Club and have a rebound. This isn't that week.

RDJ vs. Genghis Rahn

-RDJ still doesn't really know who laid him out three weeks ago, although he's assumed it's members of First Class. THC states their case tonight, but should be a casual victory for Johnson.

Joshua Taylor vs. Doug Peak

-If THC loses the previous match, they'll need this one to save face. Expect Eddie Peak to run in.

Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

-Jobber!

Charles Alexander vs. Sam Keith

-Non-title match = job for Alexander.

The L.A. Connection vs. The Canadian Animals

-Toss up. Why not give Edd Stone a little bounce back after dropping the All Action title?

Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach

-Benson seems too strong right now and I'm buying that he's moving up the card.

Bryan Vessey vs. Wolf Hawkins

-Wolf beats Vessey, but I think it's even and the steroids thing has been a smokescreen.

Prediction Key:

Joey Minnesota vs. Charlie Thatcher

RDJ vs. Genghis Rahn

Joshua Taylor vs. Doug Peak

Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

Charles Alexander vs. Sam Keith

The L.A. Connection vs. The Canadian Animals

Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach

Bryan Vessey vs. Wolf Hawkins

OOC: I did update all of the worker popularity changes in the stats post a few back. Show will likely go up Wednesday night, with the first Candlelight Chat segment with Rocky Golden on Thursday, then back to the regular schedule with Total Wrestling on Sunday nights (IRL).

Eidenhoek · April 5, 2011

Prediction Key:

Joey Minnesota vs. Charlie Thatcher

RDJ vs. Genghis Rahn

Joshua Taylor vs. Doug Peak

Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

Charles Alexander vs. Sam Keith

The L.A. Connection vs. The Canadian Animals

Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach

Bryan Vessey vs. Wolf Hawkins

Purple Cowboy · April 5, 2011

Prediction Key:
Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

That prediction alone earns some sort of achievement in the Candle's history. Will definitely be mentioned going forward.

BHK1978 · April 5, 2011

Joey Minnesota vs. Charlie Thatcher

RDJ vs. Genghis Rahn

Joshua Taylor vs. Doug Peak

Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

Charles Alexander vs. Sam Keith

The L.A. Connection vs. The Canadian Animals

Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach

Bryan Vessey vs. Wolf Hawkins

I think this makes more sense, because Bryan is older. Although if the outcome is different I can understand.

Eidenhoek · April 7, 2011

That prediction alone earns some sort of achievement in the Candle's history. Will definitely be mentioned going forward.

*fistpump*

Seriously though, I've been trying to think how he wouldn't CC-block it.

Uh...

Tommy Cornell Dominate

Cheap Win

Screwy Ref

Interference x7 ME guys

??? It still wouldn't happen, but...anything els that would make him seem better?

Purple Cowboy · April 8, 2011

WEEK 1 February 2010

LIVE COVERAGE! of TCW Presents Total Wrestling

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/2009-04-07-businessman.jpg

Week 1 February 2010

Venue: The Evanovich Riverside (Tri State)

Attendance: 10,000 - SELL OUT!

Live! on GNN Total Sports

Coming off of a successful Malice in Wolderland PPV, Total Championship Wrestling returns to SWF territory in the Tri State area for the first post-Malice episode of Total Wrestling. Big things expected tonight with a huge Main Event, and also TCW World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Golden making a statement about his future status with the company. Before the show went on the air there were two dark matches:

D1 – Prudence & Parker vs. The Keith Brothers

A strange match here with Steven Parker picking up the win in 8:02 with a Future Shock (tornado face slam) on Greg Keith. Some weak "Jimmy P" chants for James Prudence from the TCW crowd. The Keith Brothers seem to have natural heat with the audience just for being who they are. First win for Prudence & Parker in TCW.

My rating: 69: If this if the future of TCW's tag division they better come up with a plan for these teams because there was virtually no heat for the contest. That said, I guess it is always tough to tell the reaction from the live crowd, especially right before the show when people are anticipating a big night coming off a PPV. Decent match overall.

D2 – Harry Allen vs. Troy Tornado

Tornado milked the moment to massage the crowd and get them ready for the show. Tornado totally dominated Allen and got the pin after a Star Maker at 7:58.

My rating: 68: No doubter this one, fans were checking their watches for the top of the hour for when the finish would come. Overall, this was one of the stronger pre-shows lately. Got people in the mood for some action.

-Show begins with a video package recapping Malice in Wonderland which shows Benny Benson hitting the Shockwave From Next Year on all of the First Class members and then RDJ getting the pin on Troy Tornado. Quick shots of Rocky Golden exhausted after retaining the TCW World Championship against Sam Keith, Eddie Peak smiling maniacally with the International belt on his shoulder, The New Wave celebrating after their successful tag title defense, and Charles Alexander’s TCW All Action title win are shown in succession. .

Jason Azaria introduces everyone to the first Total Wrestling since a "highly successful Malice" and tells us that we are in store for a night that will go down in Total Championship Wrestling history. Azaria introduces his announce colleagues Kyle Rhodes and Swoop McCarthy. He then says it’s a jammed show so time to get right into the action.

1 – Joey Minnesota vs. Charlie Thatcher

The live audience knew that Joey Minnesota was going to be on the card, and he got a nice pop for his entrance. They seemed to have forgotten that his opponent was Charlie Thatcher though, as there was a collective groan as the big man goonishly made his way to the ring. It wasn’t actually a terrible match, and was a step up from the dark matches I think just because of Minnesota. Joey looked really crisp and got the victory at 8:07 after an Empire Spiral.

My rating: 73: I don’t get the fascination with having Thatcher on TV every week, especially if he’s just a straight up jobber at this point. It’s going to be extremely difficult for TCW to do anything with Thatcher without a total repackaging because he’s pretty much been damaged beyond repair in terms of being a credible threat in the ring.

2 – Ricky Dale Johnson vs. Genghis Rahn (with Floyd Goldworthy)

This match was actually going along pretty well with Rahn getting in some believable early offense and RDJ eventually taking firm command. But, from out of nowhere, Doug Peak ran down to the ring, spoke briefly with Floyd Goldworthy, then jumped into the ring and punched Rahn right in clear view of the ref. Sam Sparrow rang for the bell, and Rahn got a DQ victory. THC members all smiled afterward with Goldworthy pointing to his head to show how smart he is as RDJ just stood in the ring looking stunned.

My rating: 62: Classic old school heel ending, but it didn’t go over well at all. More positioning of The Hellfire Club and to steal one from RDJ is a big deal. Heavy commentary from Jason Azaria after the match making a forceful case that TCW needs a General Manager to deal with situations like this.

3 – Joshua Taylor vs. Doug Peak (with Floyd Goldworthy)

It seemed like a similar match to Giant Tana vs. Eddie Peak where Eddie kept looking to the back for support but none came. THC left Doug Peak on his own, and Taylor took him out in 7:58 after a swinging neckbreaker.

My rating: 64: Fans certainly wanted to see Doug Peak take a beating, but apparently not from Joshua Taylor.

4 – Captain Wrestling II vs. Tommy Cornell

Swoop McCarthy really gave Captain Wrestling II a lot of business from the announce table throughout the match. He kept asking where Captain Wrestling I was and told Kyle Rhodes he should check under the ring to see if he’s hiding there. Rhodes tried to ignore McCarthy but Swoop became more obnoxious as the match went on. Cornell with the unsurprising win at 8:13 by submission after the Guilt Trip.

My rating: 69: Pretty good rating considering Captain Wrestling II is COMPLETELY unknown. He showed he could work a little bit, but was introduced as “the #1 prospect in the world” which was kind of odd for a face. There was one fan out of the 10,000 that was cheering hardcore for Captain Wrestling II, and he happened to be in the front row so it was quite visible. Odd encounter here all around.

5 – Charles Alexander vs. Sam Keith

Good match here between the new TCW All Action Champion Charles Alexander and legend Sam Keith, with Keith picking up a relatively easy victory with a submission around the 8-minute mark after clamping on the Proton Lock.

My rating: 70: Seems like Keith’s Proton Lock finisher has been getting a bit of a push recently. I wonder if Keith is going to become a submission machine. No surprises here in a non-title match, and good action throughout.

6 – The L.A. Connection vs. The Canadian Animals

Big cool down match here, The L.A. Connection have been fed to The Machines and Troy Tornado & Wolf Hawkins in recent weeks, put picked up a big win over The Keith Brothers at Malice in a bid to turn their fortunes around. Aaron Andrews used his flying body press on Edd Stone for the win at 8:08.

My rating: 61: Some good action, bathroom break for a lot of the crowd members. I don’t know where The Canadian Animals are headed, but they haven’t done much of anything at all except lose since Alexander took over. Will be interesting to see if Edd Stone re-signs with TCW.

-Jason Azaria said that now was the moment that wrestling fans around the world have been waiting for, Rocky Golden’s big announcement. Golden came out wearing the TCW World Heavyweight Championship around his waist to some good cheers, but there was a sense already in the arena of what the announcement would be. Golden took his time getting to the ring and slowly ascended the steps, showing through his facial expressions his appreciation for the crowd.

Golden said that before he began he wanted to congratulate Sam Keith for a great match at Malice which brought some boos that quickly turned into polite applause. Golden then said that he was here to address the recent speculation about his health. He slowly undid the belt and looked at it for a long time as cheers and dueling “Rocky” - “Golden” chants broke out.

Golden waited it out and nodded his thanks again. He then motioned for referee Ray Johnson to come to the ring steps and Golden handed him the TCW World Heavyweight Championship belt. He then addressed the crowd saying that he needs to take a leave of absence from TCW to deal with a serious issue that is causing rapid muscle deterioration and that he needs to officially surrender the title back to TCW. He professed his love for Total Championship Wrestling, and thanked the crowd for all of their support before vowing to come back. The crowd was a mixture of shocked and emotional, but were also appreciative that they were witnessing history.

7 - Benny Benson vs. Sammy Bach (with Karen Killer)

A very good, open match here with Benny Benson using the Shockwave From Next Year on Bach to get the pin at 16:09. Bach and Karen Killer seemed to have very cool body language between them and it was definitely noticeable. Bach admonished Karen after the loss for not getting involved. Hard to tell if it was a work or a shoot but he seemed genuinely frustrated.

My rating: 82: Great action and good crowd; perfect setup for the Main Event. This match also featured a “communication breakdown” between Bach and Karen Killer for the first time, no doubt because of the backstage heat coming from rumors that Bach wants a younger manager.

8- Bryan Vessey vs. Wolf Hawkins

A fantastic match here by all accounts, one of the best TCW has put on this year and some think it was even better than the Main Event at Malice. A nice slow build, no interference from First Class members or Benny Benson or any of the resistance group that includes Joey Minnesota and RDJ, just a good old fashioned 35-minute war. At the end of the day, it was Hawkins with a clean victory after a Full Moon Rising.

My rating: 94: This is the way to do it. The loss for Vessey might be a little payback for the steroid rumors that just keep dogging him. TCW are excited to see the ratings for Total Wrestling and I don’t blame them. This was a fine follow-up show from the PPV with tons of things to talk about leading into next week.

My Show Rating: 89: It’s still only February, but this was another very strong show with great feedback. Of course the Rocky Golden announcement was huge news and the Main Event was great. But lots of things seemingly in the works for The Hellfire Club, Sammy Bach, and others lower down the card. Will there be a tournament for the World Heavyweight Championship? Will TCW announce a General Manager? All things that need to be looked at as we move ahead. This may very well be the fifth consecutive week were TCW has outdone SWF.

Thanks all for following, and for the picks this week. I'll be back soon with further analysis of the comments, show and other industry reaction.

Purple Cowboy · April 12, 2011

OOC: I find it interesting that just three days after Rocky Golden shockingly abdicated the TCW World Heavyweight title that WWE pulled the same thing with Edge.

Should be back on regular schedule this week. Part 1 of the Candlelight Chat with Rocky Golden up later today!

Thanks again for the votes in the DOTM Rookie Poll, much appreciated.

BHK1978 · April 12, 2011

I like that you are going after some of the Australian stars. When I play as eiteher the SWF or TCW I usually mine Australia and get their top stars.

Purple Cowboy · April 12, 2011

I like that you are going after some of the Australian stars. When I play as eiteher the SWF or TCW I usually mine Australia and get their top stars.

Thanks. I'm trying to stay away from the typical signings although I already have the Keiths, Parker & Prudence. Keiths little swerve coming up next show though. Been pondering bringing in Donnie J. Won't be going after Jay Chord anytime in the near future, even if a MAW developmental is agreed. Thinking of signing up some of the RIPW guys too "strike a blow" against SWF.

Purple Cowboy · April 12, 2011

WEEK 1 February 2010

Candlelight Chat w/ Rocky Golden

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Part 1 of 2

by Frank Jackson - PW Candle Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s Note: We’ve had this one in the works for a couple of weeks now, and after the shocking announcement on the last episode of Total Wrestling I had a chance to sit down with Rocky Golden for a nice candlelight supper and chat. Rocky didn’t eat very much, looked frail, and explained he was already receiving treatment for his medical condition which may cause him to be incoherent from time-to-time. Here’s Part 1 of my exclusive VIP chat with the former TCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Frank Jackson: Welcome everyone to the second Candlelight Chat of 2010, and for the second straight month we’re featuring a wrestler from Total Championship Wrestling. Now, with all of the big news coming from TCW in the last couple of weeks many might say how could we not shine the candlelight on the #2 promotion in the world. Fair point, and I agree. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce former TCW World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Golden. Rocky, thanks for being here with us today.

Rocky Golden: No problem, Frank.

Frank Jackson: I’m not sure how detailed you want to get into this but I have to lead off with a few questions about your health. And again, please don’t feel like you have to reveal more than you want to. But, how are you doing? When did you first learn of your condition and when did you make that decision in your mind that you needed time away from professional wrestling?

Rocky Golden: Well, (laughs) I’m not prepared to talk about this.

Frank Jackson: Oh, oh, sorry I didn’t mean…

Rocky Golden (laughing): I’m just kidding, man. Relax. You know me, I have to keep a positive attitude. Yes, reality sucks for me right now. But I have a lot of consolation in the fact that I’m doing the right things right now for myself so that I can keep an eye on getting back to work in the future.

Frank Jackson: Well you certainly seem to be taking things in your stride, aren’t you?!

Rocky Golden: No one at 26-years old and maturing into their prime years wants to get the kind of medical news I received. But what can I do about it? I just have to fight it straight-on like I’ve always done and hope for the best. I’m doing well though, Frank, and first figured out something was wrong back in December when I was getting numbness in some of my fingers that wouldn’t go away after a couple of days. In January after some tests I let Tommy (Cornell) and Chuck (Charles Alexander) know what was happening and they kept my load fairly light while I figured out my next step.

Frank Jackson: Wow, so you mean all of the speculation around the New Year when you weren’t booked on the first TCW card of the “Charles Alexander era” was wrong and you were left off out of concern for your health?

Rocky Golden: Yes. And the following week I had a quick dark match with Jimmy Foxx as my tag partner and we let Jimmy do most of the work there so I could just rest.

Frank Jackson: So that was actually “nice” what they were doing for you instead of it being some sort of slam against you because from an outsider perspective it looked like they were purposely booking you to look weak? Or maybe make some sort of comment about you being a ‘Joel Bryant guy.’

Rocky Golden: I really respect Tommy a lot; we’ve spoken about this before off-the-record Frank, the fact that I feel it was a great honor to win the TCW World Heavyweight title from him last August at Hotter than Hell. That is a moment I will never forget no matter whatever else I go on to do in this business or life. Symbolically, I thought it was the ultimate sign of respect from Tommy and so how could I not fully repay him with my loyalty and respect?

Frank Jackson: Ut-oh, we’re getting into symbols now!

Rocky Golden (laughs): I’m being serious though.

Frank Jackson: I know, I know. Just trying to bring up the mood.

Rocky Golden: Nah, I’m good man. Keep the questions coming. And while I respect Joel Bryant I would consider myself a ‘TCW guy.’

Frank Jackson: How much longer do you have on your contract with TCW, by the way?

Rocky Golden: About 7 months. But as I’ve said, I love this company and think we’re headed in the right direction.

Frank Jackson: OK, so let me follow up on something you just said and segue into Joel Bryant. Joel Bryant brought you into the company in 2006, but by the end of his tenure he had decided that the company’s main titles weren’t going to be defended. So after your historic victory over Tommy Cornell last year, you had exactly zero titles defenses coming into 2010. What was the opinion backstage of this unusual move by Bryant, and what did you in particular think about it?

Rocky Golden: “Unusual” is being pretty kind there, Frank! (laughs) Everyone thought it was a joke except for a few guys who were really hardcore into the idea that not having the titles defended would make them more of a spectacle when they did go back on the line. That was the company line. I’m not going to name names aside from myself, but most of the backroom was against the decision including me. I would have loved a little victory tour of sorts but it never came to pass.

Frank Jackson: Do you like how Charles Alexander handled reintroducing title matches to TV with little fanfare?

Rocky Golden (looks incredulous): Are you kidding? I don’t think it’s any secret that there’s so much more that could have been done. He says he just wanted to get them back into rotation to close the book on the “no defense” era and get things back to normal. The belts hadn’t been defended in so long he really should have held off until Malice, in my opinion. What difference would it have made holding off for a few more weeks aside from the fact that it could have been a huge event? I think that really would have worked.

Frank Jackson: Do you have any aspirations of becoming a booker or creative team member if you can’t return to ring action?

Rocky Golden: I’m nowhere near thinking about anything like that. I’m just trying to stay focused on the here and now. I have my opinions but I know I’m a worker and don’t always see the big picture for one reason or another. I really value the input of the creative team and even a guy like Chuck who might be green but has some ideas and is willing to let you take those ideas and run with them. Trust and respect are huge factors for me and I think the current creative team is giving a little more latitude to the workers than Joel did. Joel is old school. He feels he knows what works. Chuck is an information-age guy so is much more receptive to criticism and ideas. At least, that’s how I feel.

Frank Jackson: The backstage atmosphere seems to have really improved over the last month, do you think it’s because Alexander is allowing workers to have more input in their characters?

Rocky Golden: That’s part of it. He’s doing a good job managing the back right now. He tightened up in a couple of areas and gave some slack in others. I like that, like I said it feels more like being treated with respect and having trust from the management.

Frank Jackson: I know your time is limited here for Part 1, so we’ll get to a lot more in Part 2 including some more of the memorable moments in your career aside from your title win over Tommy Cornell, what the plan might have been for you if you were able to continue, and your TCW World Tag Team title reign with Koshiro Ino. But one last question for now, what do you think should happen with the TCW World Heavyweight title?

Rocky Golden (grins): This would be where a new General Manager would come in handy, eh?

Frank Jackson: Wait a second…

Rocky Golden: I’m not saying anything. Actually, instead of a tournament or some silly challenge I think the title should revert to Tommy Cornell. What do you think of that?

Frank Jackson: I don’t think I agree. I think if this is the top championship in the company it needs to be battled for by the best that TCW has to offer and be won in the ring. As we like to say around here, we shall see. I think TCW will announce a GM on the next show to help straighten a few things out including reining in The Hellfire Club a bit. Thanks Rocky for joining us and we’ll be back with Part 2 after the next episode of Total Wrestling.

Purple Cowboy · April 13, 2011

WEEK 2 February 2010

TCW Report

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

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QUICK HITS:

TCW popped a 6.08 rating (effectively 6.1) for this week’s Total Wrestling on GNN Total Sports, the first time above 6.0 in 2010. SWF’s Supreme TV did a 6.85 this week, slightly up from their 6.83 last week.
GNN Total Sports has agreed to launch a revamped TCW Saturday Night Showcase as a “B” show. The one-hour show will tape on Tuesdays after Total Wrestling and air late night on Saturday.
Shawn Doakes and Jasmine Saunders have been named as the announce team for Saturday Night Showcase.
TCW apparently tried to approach CBA about a new show but CBA rejected negotiations.
These developments probably mean that the rumored “concept show” has been postponed, at least until the fall.
TCW has announced the signings of 18-year old Donte Dunn, and former Ring of Fire roster member Nigel Svensson.
TCW has announced the signing of a developmental partnership with Mid Atlantic Wrestling.

COMMENTARY:

It was a huge week for TCW coming off a successful PPV and they closed the gap in the TV ratings war with SWF by nearly getting a 6.1 on Total Wrestling. The last three episodes have scored 5.94, 5.85, and now 6.08, a definite improvement from the 5.22’s we saw in early January. Meanwhile we’ve seen 6.83 and 6.85 from SWF in recent weeks, way down from the 7.66 range we saw at the beginning of the year. Way too early to draw any conclusions but these are great signs for Total Championship Wrestling.

The TCW World Heavyweight Championship and Rocky Golden were huge stories this week with Golden giving up the title. Our sources have been reporting that indeed a General Manager will be named in the very near future. We’ll probably get the old “announcement about an announcement” on air at some point next week so that they have a little build for whoever it’s going to be. All kinds of names are being bandied about for the position including Rocky Golden himself. I’m sure we’ll get more information the closer we get to the actual moment. Personally I have no guesses but seeing how Charles Alexander has operated recently it might be someone from outside the company that he believes will be loyal to him.

What does that mean for this coming week? I suspect we’ll see little about what the fate of the TCW World title will be until a GM is named. Do they even mention it at all this week? Maybe they’ll tie all of that into the GM announcement but it would seem weird to me if you have Jason Azaria or someone like that setting up the tournament this week and then a General Manager coming in the following week.

More big news this week with the announcement that GNN Total Sports was going to carry a revamped, one-hour edition of Saturday Night Showcase starting next season and that TCW and MAW had agreed a developmental partnership. Some scuttlebutt about the “concept show” that we had been hearing about, apparently it was super close to happening and was going to be broadcast on USA Sports 1 but TCW pulled out at the last moment. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a show of loyalty to GNN or if the new management just wasn’t ready yet for a full-blown reality-type show. More likely they want to take a look a lot of younger talent and giving them TV time will make them more valuable when they do make appearances on Total Wrestling.

The signings of Donte Dunn and Nigel Svensson are probably for Showcase but it’s unclear if they’ve been asked to report directly to TCW or if they’re going to spend some time in MAW first. The Murderous Mikey rumors won’t die either, and if he does sign he will likely be some sort of masked monster and go straight to TCW. I know it’s a new era and everything but I also know that this is TCW and I’m am really fretting what they might have in store for us with Mikey.

Fred Jones gives his thoughts on the Rocky Golden situation and I’ll have my TCW Update with picks and comments coming up soon.

Thank you.

Purple Cowboy · April 15, 2011

A Fred Jones Flashback

Is TCW On The Move?by Fred Jones - PW Candle Senior Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/Fred.jpg

Are they doing it? Is TCW making a legitimate run at SWF this time, after so many failed attempts in recent years? Will the name that we’ll mention when we talk about the cutting edge or the trend setters of the entire professional wrestling industry be Total Championship Wrestling in the near future?

Nah.

When I was a young soot-faced street tough and I first started attending what they called “The Punches” back then, you were the best when you beat the best. Didn’t matter what your reputation was or which particular group of immigrants were supporting you and creating buzz. And it didn’t matter where you were. The Punches could happen at work, at a wedding, in the park with your children, or pre-scheduled in an abandoned warehouse, nothing was off limits.

And there were some characters involved in that scene alright.

On one foggy night, The British Knuckler Frinky Mitts went up against Hamrahand FitzMartin, the local New York The Punches champion. This particular fight happened on a St. Patrick’s Day and by the end of the day in inebriated confusion about the names of the fighters, many punters laid a lot of misplaced bets with various bookies. Well, after the fight, FitzMartin had won, but big investors had money behind Mitts that had been placed on Mitts in drunken confusion. When they tried to get their money back, they got beat up right in the streets of the city, and Hamrahand FitzMartin was leading the charge.

That little incident led FitzMartin to have an increased level of fame. But he was knocked clean out in his very next fight by a 600-pound carnival man called The Cannon. Nobody beat The Cannon until The Cannon died.

That’s a true story; and the reason that why TCW has a long, long way to go before they can even think that they're starting to get somewhere.

Stay tuned good people, this should be interesting.

Purple Cowboy · April 17, 2011

WEEK 2 February 2010

TCW Update

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/2009-04-07-businessman.jpg

BREAKING NEWS!

Six matches announced heading into the next episode of Total Wrestling, and all eyes are on TCW to see if they can build on their great TV ratings last week or if it was only a temporary spike coming off of a successful PPV.

TCW returns to the 10,000-seat Louisiana Auditorium in the South East, which is the only venue they’ve appeared at in 2010 that didn’t sell out. Obviously someone in the head office thinks it’s a good idea to be running shows in the Tri State and South East areas which are important regions where TCW is definitely an afterthought. Some of that might have to do with the perception, correct or incorrect, that Total Championship Wrestling lacks big name stars. Who’s in the company beyond Tommy Cornell? Especially now that Rocky Golden - a guy that they had made into a star - is gone dealing with health issues. Maybe we’ve hit that time where Wolf Hawkins and Joey Minnesota need to put this promotion on their backs and headline for the next couple of years.

There are two title matches on the card which are rematches from Malice in Wonderland – The New Wave will defend the TCW World Tag Team titles against The Machines, and Charles Alexander will put the TCW All Action title on the line against former champion Edd Stone. Rick Law also gets a chance to avenge his Malice loss to Koshiro Ino.

So a lot of storylines look to either wrap up or heat up heading into the final two weeks before The War to Settle the Score. Don’t groan too much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some of these matches again at the PPV if they come off well this week. Why people would buy it is beyond me.

Prediction Pool

Some general standings which might be slightly miscalculated:

BHK1978 (25/38) 6/8 last week

Eidenhoek (10/23) 4/8 last week

ChrisKid (9/13)

Woodsmeister (4/4)

Rathen4 (3/6)

We had the fantastic prediction by reader Eidenhoek last week of Captain Wrestling II over Tommy Cornell, which we’ll always remember fondly. Even though I think I’m doing a little better than BHK1978 in the pool (I haven’t gone back and tallied mine), we might call it a day after this week and give him the signed picture of his choice and reopen the competition from scratch next week. We’ll see how it goes.

Compete against me in my TCW prediction pool this year and win signed photos of your favorite PW Candle writers!

BRINT’S PICKS

TCW Presents Total Wrestling (faces listed first)

live from Louisiana Auditorium (South East)

-Alexander’s first defense. Maybe botched interference from Freddy Huggins.

Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

-Vessey needs a bounceback win after his loss to Hawkins last week.

-If we’re going to see this match again at the PPV the title won’t change hands on TV.

Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

-Tana has a cult following. I think some kind of screwy draw finish.

Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

-Can’t have Law chasing Ino into the PPV, this will make it one win for each guy leading to a showdown match.

Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

-Taylor only has one win in 2010, over Doug Peak last week. An audition of sorts for him.

Prediction Key:

Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

Eidenhoek · April 17, 2011

Prediction Key:

Charles remains champ, though.

Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

Vessey's one of my favorite guys in TCW; getting him off steroids isn't that hard.

They need work on their psychology. It's their one failing.

Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

I don't much like Tana.

Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

I guess I agree with the writer in his thinking.

Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

I think my gimmick now is to never pick Cornell.

BHK1978 · April 18, 2011

I never gave two craps about either of these guys when I play as TCW (or for the All Action Championship for that matter) so I guess I shall go with Charles.

Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

Can they really be called New Wave if they do not come out to a Duran Duran song?

Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

Purple Cowboy · April 25, 2011

While I love my family, they just kept lingering and lingering yesterday so, alas, I didn't get to run "this week's" Total Wrestling last night as planned. The good news is that I shall run it tonight/tomorrow morning EST!

Huzzah.

Spud1305 · April 26, 2011

Just read through this.Excellent work. Loved the way you explained the "0 defenses" on the belts. Interesting to see where you go now that Golden has "Vacated" the Title.

Thought I'd chip in with some predictions as well.

Think Alexander keeps the belt in this one.

Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

Hmmm. Could go either way, Vessey is involved in the "Alliance" so I think Vessey wins.

I think the belts will stay on the New Wave for now but I see a future match with the Keiths.

Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

Tana is a Jobber so Tornado all the way in this one.

Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

Law gains revenge for the loss at the PPV

Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

Cornell is far too good for Taylor

Purple Cowboy · April 27, 2011

Just read through this.Excellent work. Loved the way you explained the "0 defenses" on the belts. Interesting to see where you go now that Golden has "Vacated" the Title.

Thought I'd chip in with some predictions as well.

Thanks much! Always good to have a new "contributor" to the Candle!

The prediction pool will reset as well after this week so it's good timing to jump in now.

Purple Cowboy · April 27, 2011

WEEK 2 February 2010

LIVE COVERAGE! of TCW Presents Total Wrestling

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/2009-04-07-businessman.jpg

Week 2 February 2010

Venue: Louisiana Auditorium (South East)

Attendance: 10,000 - SELL OUT!

Live! on GNN Total Sports

TCW looks to keep up the momentum and continue to put pressure on SWF in areas where SWF is traditionally strong. Some events took place this week before the show went on the air:

-Sam Keith was seen running into Robert Oxford and Joel Bryant backstage. Keith said that The Keith Family hadn’t been doing as well as he thought they would. Then he said he had an idea. Since Oxford and Bryant are supposedly tag team experts, he challenged them to see if they could mentor his sons to become a great tag team. The Tag Team Specialists smiled and Oxford said they’d need to break Matt & Greg down first before building them into a great team. Keith said “do what you have to do.” Bryant quickly snapped “I got Greg,” to which Oxford nodded and said “first ones to the belts win!” Sam Keith said that the arrangement was good and his sons were brats so don’t hold anything back, and finally the inevitable Greg and Matt stumbled into the scene which faded out with the Keith Brothers looking none too pleased.

D1 – Clark Alexander & Running Wolf vs. Joel Bryant & Greg Keith

No one knew what to think of seeing Running Wolf in a TCW ring, nevermind that he was teamed with Clark Alexander who the fans certainly didn’t want to see. Bryant made a big deal of trying to “instruct” Greg during the match and Keith got the win at 8:02 by submission on Running Wolf with the Proton Lock.

My rating: 58: Some good action here, but just a weird match. The surprise signing of Running Wolf and he gets buried in a dark match? I’ve seen smarter booking.

D2 – “The Dancing Fool” Flying Jimmy Foxx & Joe Benning vs. Robert Oxford & Matt Keith

Almost an identical match in every way to the previous one except that the action was solid all-around. In this version, Matt Keith got the Proton Lock on surprise signing Joe Benning at 7:32 for the submission win. Less obvious “instruction” and more chemistry shown between Oxford and Matt Keith than Bryant and Greg.

My rating: 61: Slightly better than the first match. That’s about all.

-Show begins right on Jason Azaria introducing everyone to Total Wrestling and that there’s a ton of action to get to tonight so they’re not going to waste any time and instead get right to it. Kyle Rhodes and Swoop McCarthy quickly recap the events that happened prior to the show and lay out plainly the fact that Joel Bryant & Greg Keith are racing Robert Oxford & Matt Keith to the TCW World Tag Team Championship. They are interrupted by the bell ringing for the first match…

Great action right from the start but the crowd wasn’t that into it. Swoop McCarthy commented that he heard from his sources that there was going to be a TCW General Manager named next week on Total Wrestling and he hopes that the powers that be keep his name in mind for the position. Rhodes seemed exasperated about that statement and questioned if Swoop was pandering for a job from the announce table. Swoop said he’s just letting it be known he’s multi-dimensional.

My rating: 65: It was actually a good match but the announcers hardly spoke about it. Their whole banter was to establish that a General Manager would be named next week. A waste of a good performance. By the way, Chuck Alexander retains at 7:45 by pin after moving out of the way of a Stone moonsault.

2 – Captain Wrestling II vs. Wolf Hawkins

This unannounced match was a little too long for the crowd’s tastes considering Captain Wrestling II is virtually unknown, but it was still a good contest and Hawkins got the inevitable win by pin after a Full Moon Rising at 8:21. It was a complete domination for Wolf who toyed with the Captain for far too long before getting the victory.

My rating: 69: Swoop was back to his funny self actually commenting on the match at hand, exaggerating the ineffectiveness of Captain Wrestling II’s attack and putting Wolf Hawkins way over even for the way Wolf walked around the ring. Should have been shorter, obviously.

-Bryan Vessey, Joey Minnesota, and Ricky Dale Johnson are backstage. Vessey tells RDJ that they still aren’t sure who put him in the hospital last month, First Class or The Hellfire Club. Minnesota suggests that since they are being hit on one side by First Class, the other by THC, and yet another by The Keith Family, that they need to formalize their group for their own survival and for the survival of TCW as a whole. The three agree and Resistance is born. RDJ asks about including Benny Benson in the group, commenting that Benson has helped them in recent weeks. Minnesota says he’s against it because he wanted a clean victory over First Class at Malice in Wonderland and Benson prevented that from happening. Vessey pipes up that there’s still The War to Settle the Score coming up and he’ll get another crack at First Class, and Benson was probably just trying to help. Minnesota says he’ll think about it.

3 – Joey Minnesota vs. Doug Peak

A second straight unannounced match here featuring Joey Minnesota of Resistance against Doug Peak of The Hellfire Club. The episode has certainly had a strange feeling of parallel or maybe even repeating storylines thus far. This one was a straightforward win for Minnesota with an Empire Spiral at 8:17.

My rating: 73: Not much to say here… probably a good rating for a random match with little heat with Doug Peak.

-Tommy Cornell, Wolf Hawkins, and Troy Tornado are backstage. Hawkins says that with Resistance formalizing their group they might need to think about recruiting another member and suggests Rick Law, who has helped them in recent weeks. Tornado says that while he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, they could use Law to do their dirty work for them. Cornell says to contact him.

4 – Giant Tana vs. Troy Tornado

Great action here and an average response from the crowd. The South East crowd seemed happy to see Tana get dominated and eventually pinned at 8:05 after a Star Maker. More good stuff from Swoop McCarthy on colour commentary, playing up the fact that First Class is not going to sit around and let Resistance dictate things and that they were willing to take action too.

My rating: 66: A little cool down before a four match home stretch.

This is the second straight time these teams have put on a very strong match, and the first match on the card to stretch beyond 9 minutes. The New Wave make their 4th successful title defense after some great action at 15:41 when Scout made John Anderson submit to the Special Force.

My rating: 84: Another great tag match by these two teams, good heat on this feud right now with still two more weeks to build for the PPV.

6 – Bryan Vessey vs. Sam Keith

Great action again and a pretty big surprise as Sam Keith comes away with the win at 16:18 with a Proton Lock after interference from Robert Oxford and Joel Bryant. Shocked reaction from the crowd who eventually regrouped and gave a lot of heat to Sam Keith celebrating with Oxford & Bryant.

My rating: 80: I don’t know what this was. Surely they’re not still punishing Vessey behind-the-scenes are they? And, I just don’t think TCW are using Keith effectively by having him wrestle all the time it should be special matches only for Keith at this stage of his career. Vessey will need some big wins in the coming weeks if he's going to get over at the PPV.

7 – Koshiro Ino vs. Rick Law

Just more really good action in this contest and Rick Law would end up getting the revenge victory over Ino at 15:53 with a handful of tights after a run in by Troy Tornado. Swoop McCarthy said that this match was a clear example to Rick Law of what being in First Class could mean for his career.

My rating: 80: I didn’t think they’d “make contact” with Rick Law so quickly, thought any sort of thing would be next week. But the way this show has just been rolling along like a freight train it seems appropriate.

8 – Joshua Taylor vs. Tommy Cornell

This is the first time in the Charles Alexander era that the Main Event match was less than 35 minutes, with Cornell getting a Guilt Trip on Taylor at 15:36 for the submission win. Nice open match with great action all around, good rub for Taylor even in the loss.

My rating: 90: Great match. Almost a bit of lazy booking on TCW’s part to throw random matches together and then hope for a good Main Event with Tommy Cornell. But Taylor gets a rub as mentioned, and Cornell is on top of his game right now. People will get tired of this eventually though.

My Show Rating: 87: Some pieces coming together in my opinion. Lots of wrestling on this card with good spots thrown in as well. They blew a couple of new signings right out of the water but it was in dark time so no major harm done I suppose. Still not a great way to introduce them to a new audience. Azaria reminded fans at sign off that TCW will announce a General Manager next week. I like Resistance as an official group. Interesting that Minnesota has a “moral objection” to Benson joining the group. We’ll learn more next week.

BHK1978 · April 27, 2011

My rating: 58: Some good action here, but just a weird match. The surprise signing of Running Wolf and he gets buried in a dark match? I’ve seen smarter booking.

I would not say that is bad booking. Running Wolf is not at the level of the others in that match. So he should be on the losing end.

Also I really like that Keith Brothers/Oxford & Bryant storyline. Robert Oxford is my favorite TCW worker so anything that features him is great.

Purple Cowboy · April 28, 2011

Did some proofreading and edits above. No more sentences that just have no

I would not say that is bad booking. Running Wolf is not at the level of the others in that match. So he should be on the losing end.

That's just Brint's reaction, what does he know he probably bleaches his hair?!

Also I really like that Keith Brothers/Oxford & Bryant storyline. Robert Oxford is my favorite TCW worker so anything that features him is great.

Thanks, this was the plan from the beginning but I just wanted to make sure I got the B show first so that I could guarantee the storyline on TV every week. I think they'll be getting a lot of cross-over time on both Showcase & Total Wrestling.

Have to sort out the GM thing. The way things have played out I'm presently undecided. I won't sign Eric Tyler, sorry for the spoiler. But if I am going outside the company I need to send offers today. We shall see, as they say!

Also, if anyone ever wants to contribute a column or some other idea as a "specialist" or somesuch, please shoot me a PM I think it would be a great add to the dynasty (even if anonymously!).

Purple Cowboy · May 2, 2011

WEEK 3 February 2010

TCW Report

by Brint Williams - PW Candle TCW Columnist

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/gratefulcowboy/pw%20candle/2009-04-07-businessman.jpg

QUICK HITS:<ul><li>TCW Presents Total Wrestling did a 6.22 on GNN Total Sports last Tuesday, the highest rating to-date in 2010. SWF Supreme TV rose slightly to 6.90 but essentially remained the same (from 6.85) on the same night on C.A.N.N.. </li><li>TCW have officially announced the signings of 23-year old lightweight Justin Sensitive, 20-year old middleweight Regular Joe (who will appear as Joe Benning), 22-year old heavyweight Running Wolf, 38-year old Canadian big heavy Murderous Mikey (who will appear as Mr. Powerful), 35-year old lightweight Oscar Ozymandias (who will appear as Shades McGinty), 22-year old Canadian lightweight Raphael, and 20-year old Japanese middleweight Omezo Shikitei. </li><li>Shikitei, along with 18-year old Barbadian middleweight Donte Dunn and 21-year old Swedish middleweight Nigel Svensson were assigned to MAW for development. </li><li>SWF announced the signings of 34-year old Canadian big heavyweight Mick Muscles (formerly of USPW), and 25-year old lightweight Remmy Skye (CZCW). </li><li>SWF’s Nothing to Lose PPV did a 3.92 buy rate. The PW Candle PPV Roundtable gave the show a solid B, score of 80, with Eric Eisen retaining the world title in the main event against Jack Bruce. </li><li>Internet chatter has it that TCW will stay inside the company with their choice of General Manager. A growing number of fans are predicting that Swoop McCarthy will be named General Manager. Sam Keith, Tommy Cornell, Charles Alexander, Jasmine Saunders, and road agent Archie Judge have all been mentioned as possibilities. </li><li>The General Manger’s first act of business is widely believed to be the announcement of a tournament for the TCW World Heavyweight Championship that will culminate in the final match at The War to Settle the Score at the end of the month. </li></ul>

COMMENTARY:

So we had our emotional Rocky Golden moment two weeks ago on Total Wrestling, and then this past week we had the old “announcement about an announcement” storyline which was really gripping (and yes, I’m being sarcastic). We also had a couple of repeats of matches we just recently saw (and are likely to see again in the near future), and then TCW signs the jobber squad to end all jobber squads and if that’s the enhancement talent for Saturday Night Showcase then that show is shaping up to be a potential disaster.

Yet, Total Wrestling pulled a 6.22 rating this week, which continues an upward trend since the beginning of the year. People are watching, for now.

I guess this past episode wasn’t all bad. The Keith Brothers/Keith Family storyline should prove interesting over the next couple of months as the boys split up to form new tag teams with the members of The Tag Team Specialists and race to the TCW World Tag Team Championship. Was really surprised that Sam Keith went over Bryan Vessey… maybe the thought there is that Vessey can get stronger more quickly in time for the PPV.

The new alliance of Bryan Vessey, Ricky Dale Johnson, and Joey Minnesota became known as Resistance, and pondered if they should allow Benny Benson into the group. Meanwhile already established First Class did the same kind of wondering about Rick Law, and seemed ready to make the former Syndicate enforcer some sort of offer.

Troy Tornado improved to 5-0 in singles matches in 2010 with his win over Giant Tana (his only loss coming in the 6-man match at Malice in Wonderland). Joey Minnesota remains unbeaten in 2010 in all competition with his victory over Doug Peak (6 wins, 1 draw). Doug Peak has now lost both of his matches since signing with TCW, but losses to Minnesota and Joshua Taylor aren’t too damaging for him considering his role on the roster right now.

All eyes are ahead for the week to come. I suppose there will only be one question – who is the General Manager? And after that, we expect the GM to get right to business and announce either a 16-man or 8-man tournament for the TCW World Heavyweight Championship. If they go 16 and start it immediately that would probably mean having all 8 1st round matches on the show, with the four quarterfinal matches the following week, and then the semi-finals and finals at the PPV. I think that probably makes the most sense.

If 16 TCW wrestlers in a tournament sound like a lot, it does so because the statement is true. Partly because people have been trading losses and no one except for the couple of workers mentioned above have established themselves. What are they going to include Genghis Rahn in the tournament? Charlie Thatcher? Boy, I bet those two have got a great chance of walking out with the gold in the end, right? Right? We might be walking into the first “down” week of the Charles Alexander era, despite the GM shenanigans, and it will be interesting to see if it is a down week how they recoup before the PPV.

I had no feeling as to who the new GM was going to be going into this week’s show. And I’m just not buying into the Swoop McCarthy hype. My pick for the TCW General Manager is Sam Keith. It makes sense when you think about how his win over Vessey makes no sense. And he’s at the point in his career where as GM he could cherry pick his matches for himself, keep himself on TV without the wear and tear on his body, and cause all sorts of havoc for the Resistance and grant favors to his spoiled sons in the process. Sounds solid if you ask me.

That’s all from me for now. Frank Jackson will have Part 2 of his Candelight Chat with Rocky Golden after the next episode of Total Wrestling, Fred Jones will also have his unique predictions as to who the new General Manager will be in the next day or so, we have a new guest specialist who will be joining the roster, we also have a new Saturday Night Showcase columnist who will give a rundown and analysis of his predictions for the show later in the month, and much, much more.

Since we likely will not have a lineup for this week’s card, your feedback on who you think the new General Manager will be is greatly appreciated.

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