KCCW 2011: Everything Old School is New Down Under

[Regis]

TAG-TEAM MATCH- FRONTLINE VS. GOLIATH CORPORATION

Dingo Devine & Tombstone vs. Kip Rockwell & Mark Misery

Because he's Tombstone, b*tch!

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Enemy (Cyanide & Massacre) vs. The Duo (Rusty Mills & Donovan Boon)

Yeah, but no.

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur vs. Paul Parquar

Champ's advantage, although Parquar's old enough to get the NYCW push.

 

The Apocalypse (Warmonger & Hatemonger) vs. The S&M Connection (Smasher & Mauler)

Doomsday Device! No-sell the piledriver! Go The Apocalypse!

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Saul Rubennick

Because that attitude isn't getting any better.

 

Boo Smithson vs. Brodie Lachlan

JOBBER!

[1PWfan]

Foundation & Empire

Live to DVD from The Wrestleplex

Thursday, Week 4, March

Audience: 300 (SOLD OUT!)

 

The Show

 

Boo Smithson vs. Brodie Lachlan

Brodie’s one of two new signings I made in February to balance out the roster, and on the basis of this match it was definitely a good idea. This was a great match, and whilst most of that was down to Boo’s exceptional ability Brodie held up his end of the bargain as well. Admittedly he’s still learning- his psychology’s abysmal and he’s not proficient at working the crowd- but he’s got decent technical ability and the charisma to keep the crowd interested. The story for this one was simple- Brodie was the arrogant new guy out to prove he was the best, Boo was the experienced veteran looking to defend his spot. And defend it he did, faking Brodie out with an attempt at a belly-to-belly suplex before dropping him into the Crossface Chickenwing to force a submission for the victory

Winner: Boo Smithson Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Back at the KCCW Interview Position, Maurice Jackson is on hype duty for his match against Saul Rubennick

 

“You know what? I got no personal issue with you, Saul. I don’t like you, I want to hurt you, but that’s not exactly unusual, y’know? The real reason I want to wrestle you is this: you’re tagged up with Michael Rheur. Michael, you’ve got my title around your waist, and I want it back. Best way to get that match, I figure, is to make you hate me, is to make you want to destroy me. So tonight, Michael Rheur, I want you to watch what I do to your tag team partner, and I want you to know one thing. Everything that happens tonight is on you, Michael Rheur. You want me, you know where to find me”

 

M-Jack’s push has completely collapsed over the last few months, and it showed here.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Saul Rubennick

M-Jack’s in dire need of rebuilding after the last few months, so today marks what is hopefully the beginning of a big push to get him back on track. Of course there are still problems with his work- leaving aside his psychology, he hasn’t really stepped up his game since he got here. He’s by no means a bad worker, but he’s yet to round out his game beyond high-powered brawling, and I’m inclined to think he relies too much on his charisma instead of wrestling skill. It doesn’t help that morale issues are once again starting to spread in the locker room (one advantage of the alternating months plan- lots more money for bonuses), and both of these guys are among those who’re feeling stroppy. To be fair to Saul, though, even when he’s not at his most enthusiastic he works hard, and provided he’s allowed to work his kind of match (slow and hold-based) he’s a good solid worker. M-Jack got the win here, nailing Saul with the Flying Shoulder Tackle.

Winner: Maurice Jackson Match Rating: D

 

*

 

No sooner has M-Jack finished the match than he’s headed backstage, clearly making for Dan Reacher’s office. Once he gets there (and we actually had to do a jump-cut from ringside to the backstage area- our DVD team only have a couple of guys to film shows and they’re both needed at the ring), he walks straight in without knocking, much to Reacher’s chagrin

 

“Does nobody in this company know how to knock? What is it this time Jackson?”

 

“I want a match with Michael Rheur, and I want my title back. You’re the boss, make it happen”

 

“Okay, I’m putting my foot down- no. You’ve beaten one guy since you lost the title, and Saul Rubennick wasn’t even in contention. Maybe I’ll book the match against Rheur a couple of events down the line, but you’re gonna have to do more than slap around some middle-rank guy like Rubennick before you get a shot at the title.”

 

“Fine. You want me to earn my shot? I’ll earn it. But it’s on you as well now, Reacher- anything that happens now, anybody gets hurt, it’s because of you.”

 

This was a solid segment, but I don’t know that it worked as well as it could have.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Back at the interview position The Duo are on hype duty for their match

 

“TONIGHT DADDY!…”

 

“Can you believe it? I mean, really, can you believe it? One year and three months and The Duo are challenging for the Tag Team Titles! This…this could be the best day of my life! Our lives, even! But you know what? There’s one problem in our way. Cyanide, Massacre, you’re bigger than us, you’re stronger than us, you’re probably better wrestlers than we are. So, really, when you think about it, we don’t have a chance of winning”

 

“BUT YOU KNOW WHAT DONOVAN? Tonight, we’re giving it our all. The Enemy might be the favourites, we might be the underdogs, but we’re Under-Rottweilers daddy! Today the tag team titles are coming home with us babeh! OOOOOH YEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

 

This was just a quick promo to help establish The Duo’s promo style, so the not-great reaction wasn’t a big deal.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

The Duo vs. The Enemy

I don’t think it would be unfair to state that KCCW has one of the finest tag divisions in the world right now- certainly there’s not much competition in Australia at the moment- and these two teams are a big part of the reason why. This was a great match, one of the best the division’s ever produced, although if you really wanted to be critical you could say that it was a tad formulaic. The Enemy dominated things in the early going, scoring the first fall in the 3rd minute after Massacre hit Donovan Boon with the Descent Into Hell. However, a beleaguered Boon managed to even the odds at the seven minute mark with a shock schoolboy roll-up on Cyanide, and a minute later made a white-hot tag to Rusty, who went to town on his opponents as only Captain ‘ARMBAR!’ can. Unfortunately for Rusty, Donovan was effectively out of the match (8 straight minutes of getting duffed over will do that to a man), and The Enemy were able to use their effective 2-to-1 advantage to score the win, nailing The Black Veils of Melancholy at the 12 minute mark to score the victory.

Winners: The Enemy Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Back at the Interview Position, Victor Goliath is on hype duty for the main event

 

“Tonight, I’m going to keep it brief. Tombstone, Dingo, get out of this company. I don’t want you here, I don’t want you acting like you deserve anything other than a pink slip! I want you out, understand me?! Tombstone, how dare you think you have the right to beat Mark Misery? Did I okay it? NO! So he doesn’t lose! YOU UNDERSTAND? MARK MISERY ONLY LOSES WHEN I SAY SO! IF I SAY IT DIDN’T HAPPEN, IT DIDN’T HAPPEN! YOU UNDERSTAND ME? DO YOU?!!”

 

Vic gets annoyed so rarely that it makes more of an impact when he really flips out like this. Of course, this would’ve come off better for a bigger match.

Rating: D

 

*

 

The Apocalypse vs. The S&M Connection

There’s been times this match-up has lifted our cards up a level, but those times were back when the S&M Connection weren’t just colourful jobbers and The Apocalypse were big deals and not in dire need of rebuilding. As it was this was a solid match, lots of good double-teams and brawling, but not much of a story and even less bumping. Highlight spots (and these teams have a habit of providing good highlight-reel moments) included Smasher and Mauler going for stereo lariats only for The Apocalyspe to simultaneously catch them and hit stereo spinebusters; and The S&M Connection hitting a neat double baseball slide to Warmonger that sent him into the barricades at ringside. In the end, though, The Apocalypse’s power proved too much for Smasher and Mauler, and the end came when Warmonger hit the Spine Shatterer on Mauler for the 1-2-3.

Winners: The Apocalypse Match Rating: D

 

*

 

Once again we’re headed to the Interview Position, where Paul Parquar is on hype duty for the ANZAC Title Match

 

“There aren’t a lot of veterans left in Australia, are there? Most of the talent you see now, they don’t remember the 90’s, the days of Sharky George, Kayin Puro, Justin Erinsborough, Rameses Street. The days when Aussie wrestling was born in blood and violence. Which is why I have a lot of respect for you, Michael Rheur. You were there at the beginning, you know what it was like when The Warhorse first rode out. But that doesn’t mean I’m taking it easy on you tonight- quite the opposite. You were there when we began, and now you’ve gone corporate, you’ve joined up with profiteering hacks like Victor Goliath and that Limey Scumbag Mark Misery. Well, tonight, the early days are coming back, The Warhorse is riding into town, and Michael Rheur? When I ride out again, it’ll be with the ANZAC Belt around my waist”

 

This is the first time Paul’s cut a promo in KCCW, and the crowd still need to adjust to his style (and his lack of momentum probably hurt this one too).

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Paul Parquar vs. Michael Rheur

In and of itself, this was a good match. As a semi-main, I think it was a bit disappointing- over the last couple of months of 2010 we started to really step up the semi-mains, and this one was really just a good midcard bout. We went with a fairly simple story here- Michael wrestled essentially the same kind of hard-hitting match he always does, setting up for The Munich Stretch, but every time he came close to locking it in Paul was able to get clear, either through rope breaks or breaking the hold before he could fully lock it in. Paul’s offence, meanwhile, was full of his usual combination of veteran tricks and puro-style brawling, and he managed to score the first fall with an O'Connor Roll. Once again, though, Victor and Lilian’s presence at ringside proved too much for The Warhorse to overcome, as Lilian distracted the ref whilst Victor threw powder into Paul’s face, leaving him open for a Gator Roll and pinfall to even the falls, and then the Munich Stretch. Paul fought hard, but in the end he couldn’t break the hold and passed out from the pain.

Winner: Michael Rheur Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

Mark Misery and Kip Rockwell vs. Tombstone and Dingo Devine

This wasn’t one of the best main events we’ve ever had (don’t think it cracked the top 10, for a start), but it was a good solid match that helped solidify both feuds. The story for this one was the classic cowardly-heel-partnered-with-big-bruiser routine: Mark spent most of the match hiding on the apron trying to avoid the faces, and only came in for double-teams and back jumps when the ref’s back was turned, whilst Kip handled the heavy lifting and brawled with both his opponents (with substantial help from Vic and Lilian). As for the faces, Dingo was more than happy to throw hands with Kip, whilst Tombstone was focussed on getting to Misery and could usually be counted on to chase after the champ every chance he got. Of course this didn’t always work in The Frontline’s favour, and as the match went on The Goliath Corporation increasingly worked to distract Tombstone and keep his focus on Mark Misery, whilst Kip also took out Mac Guffin with a vicious lariat at ringside. That left a four-on-two advantage in favour of the Goliath Corporation, and when Mark was able to lure Tombstone into a lariat from Kip Rockwell, that left Dingo open to a faceful of powder courtesy of Victor Goliath. One brass knuckles shot from the champion later, and The Goliath Corporation had picked up the victory.

Winners: Mark Misery & Kip Rockwell Match Rating: C-

 

 

Overall Rating: D+, in our usual range but not on the level of The Anniversary Special (that made #7 on the top 10, this was only #9)

[1PWfan]

Time for the follow-up folks! Let's see how the predictions went this time, shall we?

 

Oregano Jensen: 6/6, though I should tell you that Paul Parquar's pretty heavily edited and virtually nothing like his default self.

Midnightnick: 6/6

Mistaken: 5/6

MJStark: 5/6

Rathen4: 6/6

MichiganHero: 4/6

Regis: 5/6

 

So, Oregano, Midnight and Rathen are all joint winners and have the right to ask a question of any KCCW wrestler they wish (I know ordinarily I'd give second-placed guys the option too but with so many winners that's not really an option given my current workload). Not sure when the next post will be up, but look for it in the next few days.

[Big Roguey]

Is it wrong that The Duo remind me of 2.0/Badd Brothers/3.0?

[1PWfan]

Is it wrong that The Duo remind me of 2.0/Badd Brothers/3.0?

 

Considering that it's entirely deliberate- nope, not at all. I'm a big fan of 3.0 ('cos they're AWESOME), and wanted to see if I could write something in that style. It's difficult, and with a few other guys now stepping up there's not much promo time (especially given that I'm running fewer shows this year as a result of the sort-of alternating months plan), but that's very much their influence.

[Midnightnick]

Question to Michael Rheur:

 

We know the Munich Stretch is unbreakable, but the question is, do you have a hidden move lined up for the strongest of the strong, for those who could potentially break the lock?

[Rathen4]

Question to Mo Jackson, with a slight nod to my diary - There is a large rumour amongst the internet that you are related to Nathan Mackenzie of APW fame. You look like him, you're built like him, and you could wreck people like he does. Please confirm whether or not this is all claptrap!

[1PWfan]

Sorry about the long delay here, folks- got way busy, so I haven't been posting. Writing is still going on though, so don't worry about that.

 

Fans questions now- Oregano, if you get one up it'll go out with the next set

 

**********************************************************

 

Firstly, from Midnightnick:

 

Question to Michael Rheur: "We know the Munich Stretch is unbreakable, but the question is, do you have a hidden move lined up for the strongest of the strong, for those who could potentially break the lock?"

 

Michael Rheur: The problem with a supermove like you suggest is that you need to work on it, to make sure it will do the job 100% of the time, and given the success of the Munich Stretch I don't get that opportunity a whole lot. Most of the time, when someone breaks the Munich Stretch I work back to reapplying the hold- only two men have only broken the hold, and I've beaten Harry Simonson with it since. The only man to have a perfect record against the Stretch is Swoop McCarthy, and given his record I think I can live with that.

 

 

Second question today is from Rathen4:

 

Question to Mo Jackson- "There is a large rumour amongst the internet that you are related to Nathan Mackenzie of APW fame. You look like him, you're built like him, and you could wreck people like he does. Please confirm whether or not this is all claptrap!"

 

Maurice Jackson: It's a common question, and the best answer is that we are related, kind of. Not close enough for it to matter, but we're something like cousins twice removed- my grandfather on my dad's side is his mum's dad's cousin I think. As for our style, that's more a question of training- we both trained with Ollie Freedman, and I think we got both our power games from him.

[1PWfan]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/KCCW/KCCW.jpg

 

Chapter Three: March 2011 (Or: On Booking, Storylines and why I don’t like talking about either)

 

 

A common topic of discussion amongst wrestling fans is the nature of a company’s storylines, the backstage goings-on that influence what they see onscreen and how it all fits together. Partially this is generally nosiness- wrestling fans have a surprising amount in common with gossipy old women- but there’s also a genuine interest in the mechanics of wrestling. Owen Oldacre is fond of banging on about how ‘today’s teenage fans are tomorrow’s wrestlers’ but given that he’s trained more than a few of today’s wrestlers and has an eye on getting in with the next generation (and their wallets) it’s fair to say that he’s got a rather biased perspective. In any case, someone at TCW Press clearly thinks that a discussion of my booking philosophy and the way I put storylines together will interest fans enough to boost sales. And seeing as I’m actually getting some money out of this one, it seemed like a good idea actually do what they tell me.

 

There’s only one problem with that idea, and boy is it a doozie. You see, to discuss my booking philosophy I’m fairly sure you actually have to have a philosophy to talk about, and I really don’t. It’s probably due simply to experience- having a philosophy suggests a level of self-reflection that comes with time on the job, and at the point of writing this particular entry I’ve been a booker for exactly 14 months. Not really enough time to develop any kind of grand, over-arching statement about my methodology, at least along the lines of Phil Vibert’s over-quoted ‘show the strengths, hide the weaknesses’ approach or Tristram Day’s ‘Athletic Drama’ (like Sports Entertainment, only with less sports and more 'entertainment'). The closest I’ve ever come to describing my approach to booking is to call it Old School, and that’s more a product than a philosophy. Okay, you can point to certain booking tricks that are distinct to Old School wrestling- long feuds, distinct differences between faces and heels, and minimal numbers of stipulation bouts (although we do have our regular two-out-of-three-falls title defences)- but to me that’s not so much a distinct individual philosophy as simply copying other people’s ideas. And whilst there’s nothing really wrong with that approach, provided you throw in enough originality (or your fans aren’t too familiar with what you’re copying), it doesn’t qualify as your own philosophy, right?

 

There’s also the question of my booking methodology- now we’ve established that there’s no real guiding principle behind the decisions I make, we can move on to discuss the mechanics of putting our shows together, how I come up with storylines and all that. Unlike philosophy, I think all bookers have their own distinct methods of putting together shows and storylines- get two bookers with two similar philosophies to book the same storyline and they’ll do it in two completely different ways. There’s a dozen different ways of putting storylines together- Horatio talks about his methods quite extensively in his book, and there’s interviews out there with a dozen other bookers talking about how they do things- but when I’m putting a storyline together, I generally ask two questions:

 

1) Which two wrestlers do I want to feud?

 

2) Can I think of a reason for them to feud?

 

Obvious questions, but the key here is the order. Some guys think of a storyline and then find the workers to fit, I pick the workers and then come up with a storyline. Admittedly it’s a lot more intuitive than that- feuding Boo and Tombstone through 2010, for instance, was an obvious decision to make given their movesets, and that left Mark and Dingo to feud over The King of the Ring title. In fact, that’s another keynote of my booking methods- title as MacGuffin (not to be confused with Mac Guffin, who is an entirely different kettle of fish).

 

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/KCCW/MacGuffin.jpg

Not that kind of Mac Guffin

 

A MacGuffin, for those of you not familiar with the term, is a device that drives the story forward but generally doesn’t have much of a purpose beyond that. Which, as I say, is pretty much the way I use titles- everybody knows that wrestling’s scripted nowadays, so titles have lost a fair bit of their lustre. Plus, and this is my main reasoning, the title ostensibly goes to the best worker, but if that were actually true then Boo Smithson would hold the title for the next ten years at least- no disrespect to Mark Misery or Tombstone but there’s nobody in the company, and precious few in the whole of Australia, who can match him in the ring. So it’s therefore pretty reasonable to say that titles don’t really mean the same things they used to. Fortunately for me, though, wrestling fans are willing to buy into the idea of titles being important, which makes for an effective reason for feuding. To use a practical example, The Apocalypse/Enemy feud started off over the simple fact that they both wanted the tag team titles. Over time, though, and this is important, you can build up more history and develop the issue into something more personal. That’s really the key thing- feuds can start over just about anything, but in the end you have to give people a reason for the feud to continue, and nine times out of ten that has to be something personal.

 

As for putting shows together, that’s a rather more complicated issue- at any given time you have to keep track of who’s available, what your current feuds are, how many times you’ve run any given match and whether you’ve got a guy who only works tag matches in a singles bout (Hatemonger and Vance Sturt are probably the best examples but there’s half a dozen guys in Australia like that). That’s part of the reason why I keep KCCW’s roster so large-the greater the number of people you have to work with, the more chance you have of avoiding repetitive booking and the wider variety of feuds you can run. I’m also a big fan of tag team matches- leaving aside the emphasis we put on tag team wrestling, it’s a great way of combining feuds and keeping things fresh. That’s also the reason we put together The Frontline and The Goliath Corporation- Stable Wars are an awesome way to knit a whole bunch of different storylines together, and even set up potential matches down the line (if I can’t find a way to get Caged Warfare into this feud then I’m not the booker I thought I was). There’s also the pacing to consider- I’m nowhere near as obsessive about it as some people are but it’s definitely true that the best shows build to their main events. Truth is, that’s probably the hardest part of my job; predicting what matches will go well and what won’t is something that needs experience to really work, and I don’t have that yet. Plus there’s a level of roster knowledge you need, and whilst I think I have that down now there’s always the chance that something will go wrong (like Kip’s tendency to blow main events in his babyface days, or Boo’s tendency to overshadow championship matches left, right and centre).

 

Looking back over what I’ve written, I’ve just realised this has come to way more space than any one entry needs, and my ride is pulling into Fremantle as we speak so I’m winding this up here. Hopefully this entry is actually worth publishing, but even if it ain’t I’m done here.

 

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/KCCW/KCCW.jpg

 

Card for Rendezvous with Rama

 

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[Regis]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

He's just too good. Rockwell isn't.

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

Not time for a change yet. Especially not with Rusty.

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

Because they're awesome, that's why!

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

It's not Donnie's time yet.

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

John Gordon? Who the hell is John Gordon?

EDIT: Wait a second, isn't he in the mirror universe?

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

Because.

[Midnightnick]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[1PWfan]

Just a quick bump to say that the show will probably go either tomorrow or the day after, depending on workload.

[ajcrible]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

Boo's 'scary' good.

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

Sorry Rusty.

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

Love me some Apocalypse.

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

Unless Boon quickly learns a variation of the Munich Stretch. Watch out for the Berlin Stretch!

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

Eat his baby Dingo.

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

Unless Mauler sneaks a ball-gag into the ring and uses it on M-Jack...

[MJStark]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy © (by DQ probably, with The Apocalype going nuclear on their asses)

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[NewZealandfan]

Nice to see somebody going so deep into detail in the down under seen, Love it dude keep it up.

[Big Roguey]

Card for Rendezvous with Rama

 

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[1PWfan]

Show will definitely be going up tomorrow folks- still writing an event and it's taking up my time (December 2011, in fact: it didn't go as well as I'd hoped so it's harder to get inspired).

[funkyzafara]

Card for Rendezvous with Rama

 

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

 

Dann it's hard to dó this on an iPhone.

[Boltinho]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

 

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[Rathen4]

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

FOR THE KING OF THE RING TITLE

Mark Misery © vs. Rusty Mills

 

FOR THE KCCW TAG TEAM TITLES

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy ©

 

FOR THE KCCW ANZAC TITLE

Michael Rheur © vs. Donovan Boon

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

 

Maurice Jackson vs. Mauler

[1PWfan]

Rendezvous with Rama

Live to DVD from The Wrestleplex

Thursday, Week 4, May

Audience: 300 (SOLD OUT!)

 

Pre-Show/DVD Extras

 

Brodie Lachlan vs. Tombstone

There’s something vaguely absurd about not having one of my brightest prospects and our biggest star on the show, so I put this match in the dark time to give them a match on the card. Of course, that was before I remembered that neither guy has much psychology to speak of, so what we actually got was a fairly random exchange of holds and chain wrestling: good stuff, just d@mn all story to go with it. Really, though, the lack of story was the only major problem- Brodie’s a decent wrestler, and aside from his psychology Tombstone’s one of the best we’ve got. He got the win here, nailing Brodie with the Rest In Peace.

Winner: Tombstone Match Rating: D

 

 

The Show

 

Mauler vs. Maurice Jackson

Last month was another one of my morale blitzes- half the roster got big payouts- so tonight M-Jack was back to his usual form, and whilst I’m still a little uncertain about his workrate it’s easier to forgive that when he’s producing matches like this one. As for Mauler, he’s a solid worker but doesn’t always work as hard as he could, and tonight was one of those times: he wasn’t bad but seemed a little half-hearted. The story was a simple one: M-Jack was angry, and was more interested in venting his frustrations on Mauler than going for a win, whilst Mauler was…well, he’s always angry. This one was definitely more of a brawl than a wrestling match, and ended at the 12 minute mark with M-Jack hitting the Flying Tackle for the pinfall.

Winner: Maurice Jackson Match Rating: D+

 

*

 

No sooner has the match ended than Victor Goliath emerges from behind the curtain, mic in hand.

 

“You know what Jackson? I’ve been watching your match from backstage and I have to say, I’m impressed. There’s not many people could get that angry about a match that hasn’t happened yet, so how’s about this? Next month, at Triplanetary, you and Michale Rheur go at it, one-on-one, with the ANZAC Title on the line. You get a chance to get your title back, and Rheur gets a chance to prove why that isn’t ever going to happen”

 

“You honestly think I’d ever turn that match down, Vic? Next month, you tell Rheyr to bring his war shoes, because I’m gonna kill him”

 

I wonder what war shoes look like? Regardless, this was a good segment that helped further the Rheur/M-Jack storyline and kept the crowd at a reasonable level.

Rating: D

 

*

 

Dingo Devine vs. John Gordon

John Gordon’s another ZEN talent, where he works as Mirror Universe John Gordon, an evil twin from another dimension with a beard (have I mentioned how much I love ZEN’s gimmicks?). Here in KCCW we don’t go in for that kind of cartoonishness so he’s sticking with essentially the same gimmick whilst dropping the Mirror Universe tag. In terms of talent, he’s a rookie and it shows, but there’s a lot of potential to work with there and he’s the kind of talent that could really fit in with what we do in a few years time. As for Dingo, he’s a good chance to work with John- the pair are both technical wrestlers with a little brawling, and Dingo’s a big enough star to compensate for John’s weaknesses with some name value. Naturally enough the Red Belt Warrior got the win here, nailing The Toxic Trio at 7 and a half minutes to get a three-count.

Winner: Dingo Devine Match Rating: D

 

*

 

Back at the Interview Position The Apocalypse are on hype duty for the Tag Title match

 

“CYANIDE! MASSACRE! Tonight, we’re bringing the full fury of The Apocalypse! Me and Hatemonger, we’re mad as hell and we ain’t gonna take your cr@p no more! No Retreat, No Surrender, death or Glory, and it’s gonna be you death!”

 

“Simple facts: Cyanide, Massacre, you done p*ssed us off. Tough luck for you!”

 

If there are two scarier men in this company than The Apocalypse I don’t want to meet them of an evening.

Rating: D+

 

*

 

The Apocalypse vs. The Enemy

These two teams always deliver good matches, so this bout was hardly surprising. Okay, so the match wasn’t much more than a fist fight with the odd bit of technical work from Cyanide, but The Apocalypse make a point of being as intense as possible to keep it interesting, and Massacre’s sheer power always makes for a couple of cool moments (stupidly awesome power spot this month: a huge spinebuster on Hatemonger that damn near broke a hole in the ring). As for Cyanide, he spends most of these matches bumping for The Apocalypse (he has a very grounded submissions-based style that wouldn’t wash against workers the size of Warmonger or Hatemonger) but manages to avoid being overshadowed by sheer dint of selling everything more. In a weird way that keeps him on a level with the others- sure you remember how much The Apocalypse beat him up, but you also remember that he kept on going and wouldn’t back down. Of course you also remember the number of dirty tricks he pulled (don’t want him turning face on us just yet), and for the amount of interference Vic and Lilian pulled throughout the match. In the end, though, that counted against them- with one fall each, Vic attempted to distract Gene Perry whilst Lilian slipped Cyanide her clipboard, only for Gene to turn around and catch Cyanide weapon in hand. Badda Bing Badda Boom, one DQ later and The Apocalypse came out on top but without the titles.

Winners: The Apocalypse Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Back at the Interview Position, Mac’s on hype duty for the main event

 

“Kip Rockwell is like a bad cold- no matter what I do, sooner or later he turns up again and makes my life difficult. Well, tonight, I say no more! Tonight you’re in the ring with the King of the KCCW Mat, and boy you ain’t walking out of there. H*ll, when Boo’s done with you you’ll be lucky if you can crawl away”

 

Mac’s starting to really develop this very terse, to-the-point style, and it helps him stand out from the rest of the roster, even if he’s not getting a great reaction at the moment.

Rating: D-

 

*

 

Michael Rheur vs. Donovan Boon

With both members of The Duo getting more over at the moment I decided to give them both high-profile singles matches this month to see what they could do. This one wasn’t too impressive, but it wasn’t a bad match either. The problem wasn’t with the workrate- both guys are solid workers, though Donovan’s got room for improvement- but the ancillaries, stuff like charisma and star quality that add that extra dimension to proceedings. Neither man has much by way of star quality, and Michael has all the charisma of…well, if it’s him or watching paint dry, then the paint’s got real chance of taking it. As for the story, it was fairly predictable: Michael took control early on, taking the first fall with a charging European Uppercut, whilst Donovan staged a high-speed comeback at the halfway stage and captured the second fall with a drop toe hold and Oklahoma Roll. With the match all level going into the final fall Michael went for the Munich Stretch, and once he had it locked in there was no way Donovan was getting out.

Winner: Michael Rheur Match Rating: D

 

*

 

Back at the Interview Position, Vic’s on hype duty for the King of the Ring match

 

“Tonight, Mark Misery has the night off. Oh, I know he’s theoretically wrestling that bum Rusty Mills, but come on, who really thinks Rusty’s got a chance of winning this one? Rusty, you might be part of a good tag team, you might have three hundred different ways of applying an armbar, but one-on-one you’ve got nothing on Mr. Wrestling Mark Misery. Tonight, Rusty, it’s going to be Mark Misery 2 falls, Rusty Mills, None. And whilst we’re at it, Rusty, I know you and Donovan must be thinking of going for the Tag Team Titles in the future, but that ain’t happening either. The Enemy will be KCCW Tag Team Champions ‘til this company dies, because We are the Business…and Business is good”

 

This was a solid promo from Vic, although he’s yet to get near the level of heat he got at The Anniversary Special.

Rating: D

 

*

 

No sooner has Mark finished on the mic than Kip Rockwell takes it, on hype duty for the main event

 

“You’re probably expecting me to say something funny, drop a load of Bush slang in, something like that. Well, I hate to disappoint you but all I’ve got to say is this. Boo Smithson, I am a bad, bad person, and tonight you’re going to feel all the pain I can inflict upon you. And Boo, you of all people know that’s a lot. Embrace the pain, Boo- once I hit the Lariat, it’s the only way you’ll know you’re still alive”

 

Kip’s still finding his feet as a talker, so this was a touch generic. I like his style though- when you tell a guy to amp up the menace they tend to go shouty, like The Apocalypse or The S&M Connection, but Kip’s approach is more calm and upfront.

Rating: C-

 

*

 

Mark Misery vs. Rusty Mills

This was the second of The Duo’s singles matches, and went much better than the first one. To be honest, though, I’m more inclined to put that down to Mark than any superior skill on Rusty’s part- not to say that Mills is a bad worker, but he’s not appreciably better than Donovan. Mark, meanwhile, thoroughly earns the soubriquet Mr. Wrestling, and did an excellent job of making Rusty look like a credible challenger without damaging his own position on the card (that’s always been Boo’s problem- he can make an opponent look like a million bucks but has a tendency to make himself look weak in the process). The story was a good one as well- Mark went into this match very complacent, only for Rusty to instantly make an impact by taking him to the mat and punishing him with a vicious series of arm and wrist holds, apparently weakening him up for a new move. That turned out to be correct, as Rusty scored a shock first fall with his new finisher, The Cross Armbreaker, at the 6 and a half minute mark, taking control of the match and shocking the Goliath Corporation at ringside. Of course that didn’t last for long, and Vic was quick to get involved, giving Mark a chance to go for the brass knuckles and even the odds with a shot to the jaw with 10 minutes gone. Unfortunately for the champ Rusty’s arm work had left him weakened and struggling to get up for the Pain Killer (he needs the arm to pull himself onto the shoulders), putting him at a disadvantage that started to tell as Rusty started to take over, clearly working to nail another Cross Armbreaker for the win. In the end, though, Mark was able to claim the win with a modified Pain Killer, going from a wheelbarrow hold rather than off the shoulders.

Winner: Mark Misery Match Rating: C-

 

*

 

Kip Rockwell vs. Boo Smithson

This was the first match from 2011 to make our top 10 matches ever, making it to number six, which was kind of a surprise. Kip’s really taken off since he turned heel, and seems to have found that added spark that’s kept him near the top of the card- I’m not always a believer in the idea that heels are allowed to be more vicious than faces (just look at The Apocalypse for one), but it’s certainly true in Kip’s case. As for Boo, every month he just keeps banging out the same quality matches, especially when someone like Owen’s around to make sure he doesn’t oversell and end up looking weak. Tonight’s match told a simple enough story- Kip was the dominant heel, overpowering Boo with sheer muscle whilst the King of the KCCW Mat held on and tried to fight back with the occasional puro-style striking flurry. It looked, though, like Kip had it won as he nailed The Lariat, but complacency kicked in and he left it too long before making the cover, giving Boo a chance to kick out at almost three. Kip, enraged by Boo’s fortitude, made his biggest mistake of the match: he charged right into a drop toe hold, dropping him onto the mat and straight into Boo’s domain. From there the ball was firmly in the court of The King of the KCCW mat, and for a while it looked like he was a dead cert for the victory, especially when the Crossface Chickenwing was locked in and Kip was just out of range of the ropes. Once again, though, Victor Goliath got involved, and after he threw a handful of powder into Boo’s face Lilian was on hand to slip Kip the clipboard. One clipboard shot and a thunderous Lariat later, The Goliath Corporation had come on triumphant again.

Winner: Kip Rockwell Match Rating: C-

 

 

Overall Rating: D+, same as always.

[1PWfan]

So, time for the follow-up ladies and gentlemen:

 

Regis: 5/6

Midnightnick: 4/6

ajcrible: 5/6

MJStark: 4/6

MichiganHero: 6/6

funkyzafara: 4/6

Boltinho: 4/6

Rathen4: 5/6

 

So, Michigan is the clear winner and has the right to ask a question of any KCCW superstar he wishes, as do joint second-placed Regis, ajcrible and Rathen4

[Big Roguey]

QUESTION! To Rusty Mills.

 

Other than an armbar, what submission moves do you like to use?

[1PWfan]

Just to let you guys know, posting here may slow down a little bit for a while as my laptop can't get on the net (I've picked up one of those fake virus-scan programes that blocks me from using the 'net unless I buy it). Everything's backed way the hell up (my entire GDS folder is on a memory stick, so I shouldn't lose the save or anything), but I'll have trouble posting for a while until this is sorted out.

[1PWfan]

Okay, Computer's all fixed and next post will be going up tomorrow. That means if ajcrible. Regis and Rathen4 want to post questions then they need to be up by tomorrow- if you can't get them up by then, though, then post them with your predictions and I'll put them up before the show