1PWfan Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 It’s Peanut Butter Wrestling Time! Last night on the Peanut Butter Wrestlecast I was joined by the new head booker for ZEN: Art of Wrestling, TV’s Bruce, a.k.a. Comedian and Writer Bruce Bennington. Although a lot of ground was covered, the real key discussion was on his time with ZEN, the reason he was appointed head booker and his plans for the promotion. PBW: So, you joined ZEN in what, December 2007? TV’SB: Yeah, that was my first show. I mean, I’ve known Frankie- Halloween Knight- since we were kids, and ZEN was really what we were into as kids, all his idea, but we had similar tastes and I loved what he was doing. So when he asked me to come along and do an appearance, I was like ‘heck yeah I’ll come along!’, right? Just, no way I wasn’t going to be there. PBW: Did you know what was going to happen? That first appearance, where you became involved in inadvertently thwarting Necromancer's attempt to seize the Director of Awesome position, has gone down in history as one of the silliest things ever seen in wrestling TV’SB: Well, I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be wrestling, right? But I didn’t know exactly what it was Frankie wanted. But then that was the way ZEN was back in the early days- the only guy they had who actually knew how to run a show properly was Paul Massey, and he wasn’t the type to volunteer information to a bunch of kids, right? Not a bad guy, but he wasn’t a leader. PBW: Of course it was a month later in January 2008 that you were appointed the Director of Awesome, the new man in charge of maintaining ‘order’ in ZEN. TV’SB: Here’s where it gets daft- nobody ever officially said ‘this is going to be a recurring thing’. It was just like, ‘you gonna be around next month? Bonza, we’ll get you on the show’. I love Frankie like a brother, and Cyanide was the bee’s knees when it came to shoving stuff together last minute, but they’ve got the organisational skill of…well, two guys in their mid-20’s who’ve never held a normal job. PBW: Of course you became a regular character with ZEN- your turn as TV’s Bruce, the cluelessly good-natured DOAwe, very quickly became a part of the general wackiness that comprises the average ZEN Show TV’SB: You know where that came from? I’ve watched enough wrestling to know how many heel bosses there’ve been, and me and Frankie both agreed that it’s a tedious old cliché and we wanted to do something different. Cyanide figured, why not have a guy who never quite gets what’s going on? That way you have the chance for all the usual heel shenanigans without exactly compromising the character. Okay, so you wind up looking kinda daft, but what the heck, I’m already playing an idiot so who cares? PBW: Fast forwarding a few years, at the end of 2009 you were announced as taking over the role of head booker from Cyanide, who’d been in the role since the company opened. What was the story there? TV’SB: No story, really. Like I said, Cyanide was fantastic at putting together shows at the last minute, but that didn’t always work, right? There’s a few guys we’ve got, dudes like Bile and Quick Silver who need a certain amount of help in the ring, they weren’t always getting the right opponents. Plus, his approach to storylines was kind of off- his other job is as a comic book writer, so he tends to book like he writes. Not such a bad idea, there’s a lot of common ground, but it tends to emphasise some shows over others. You get three shows of build and one of pay-off, but because of the way he tends to book on the fly people skipped the build-up shows because he wasn’t always clear where it was going. Y’know, Lone Shark would be doing something and Knight would pop up and be like ‘Mine is an evil plan! Hahahahaha!’, right? It’s a question of background, I think. PBW: It’s interesting that you bring up background, given that you’ve had a long history as a sketch writer and performer on TV. How do you see that influencing your work as a booker? TV’SB: The big thing with writing sketch comedy is, everything has to tell its own story. You can have running gags- like storylines in wrestling- but in the end, everything has to stand on its own two feet. Rather than Cyanide’s thing of using shows to build up to a certain point, I’m wanting to try and make every show a can’t miss event, with something going on that sells on its own merit. I’m not criticising Cyanide’s approach- his pay-offs could be top-notch, and I’ll definitely be building on his successes- but I’m looking at a different direction. PBW: Speaking of, what’s your next move going to be? TV’SB: I think the first thing you have to do as a booker is get to grips with the talent. There’s a big difference between the guy who’s in the locker room and the guy planning everything out, and it’s important to make sure I understand what everyone’s capable of. Other than that, we’re still figuring out where we’re going with this, so I’d advance everyone to check out TEW.com and the ZEN: Art of Wrestling website for regular updates! Roster notes and predictions will be coming soon, folks- like, next couple of hours soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEffect Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Another ZEN diary..... Please don't ever leave us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Trask Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Can I petition you to add a broom to the database for people to have matches with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJStark Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Can I petition you to add a broom to the database for people to have matches with? Would love someone to try something like this. A small promotion I used to live near actually had a wrestler called 'Shelf' on the roster, he was a 6ft x 2ft wooden board! Actually won a title, even retained it for a couple of shows! No idea how the whole thing worked in the ring (never made it to a show) but I think on Shelf's final show he suffered a career ending injury and retired (IE Someone got put through him!) Sorry, sidetracked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEffect Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Would love someone to try something like this. A small promotion I used to live near actually had a wrestler called 'Shelf' on the roster, he was a 6ft x 2ft wooden board! Actually won a title, even retained it for a couple of shows! No idea how the whole thing worked in the ring (never made it to a show) but I think on Shelf's final show he suffered a career ending injury and retired (IE Someone got put through him!) Sorry, sidetracked can you remember the promotion name..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberious Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Awesome diary! I really enjoyed your NYCW diary even though I had never played that promotion, and ZEN happens to be my favorite C-Verse promotion, so this is like a dream come true for me! Would love someone to try something like this. A small promotion I used to live near actually had a wrestler called 'Shelf' on the roster, he was a 6ft x 2ft wooden board! Actually won a title, even retained it for a couple of shows! No idea how the whole thing worked in the ring (never made it to a show) but I think on Shelf's final show he suffered a career ending injury and retired (IE Someone got put through him!) Sorry, sidetracked That reminds me of DDT in Japan, they had a 24/7 Hardcore belt that in addition to normal wrestlers has been held by a dog, a ladder, and an inflatable blow up doll among others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJStark Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 can you remember the promotion name..... Triple X Wrestling, put on shows at JB's Nightclub in Dudley in the West Midlands EDIT: Sorry, got some facts wrong The didn't run regular shows at JB's & as far as I can tell Shelf only won the title once, although cagematch.net never has all a promotion's shows up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1PWfan Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 From the diary of Bruce Bennington Finally managed to get a look at the roster- Cyanide’s notes turned out to be behind a filing cabinet in Frankie’s basement, which seems fairly typical of the way things are run round here. Must remember to find somewhere good to lose these… Main Eventers http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/HalloweenKnight.jpg Halloween Knight Age: 25 Billed From: Halloween Town Entrance Music: This is Halloween- Danny Elfman Finisher: Pumpkin Patch (Bridging Cobra Clutch) Our current ZEN Master, Halloween Knight’s also probably our best worker. Okay, so he punches like a girl (and I’ve actually girls with better punches), but in every other respect he’s a talented, capable wrestler with a very strong upside. Oh, and he hits people with a Jack O’Lantern, which is just awesome. The big problem I can see with Knight is keeping his attention; he’s bound to get picked up by RAW or APW soon, and if that happens we might struggle to use him as much as we need to. Right now, he’s feuding with Lone Shark, which should run and run. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/LoneShark.jpg Lone Shark Age: 24 Billed From: The Depths of the Sea Entrance Music: Theme from Jaws- John Williams Finisher: Blood in the Water (Shooting Star Press) ZEN’s top face, Lone Shark’s a solid flyer who can actually brawl, thereby standing out from most of our roster. He’s a competent talker, albeit not an especially amazing one, and has good fundamentals considering his age. It’s also worth mentioning that, unlike the Knight, he’s not so outstanding that he’ll get picked up by RAW or someone and we’ll lose him although given his age I could see that maybe coming into play down the line. At the moment, though, he’s in the title chase and looks set to continue that for another few months. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Necromancer.jpg Necromancer Age: 22 Billed From: The Dark Side Entrance Music: When You’re Evil- Voltaire Finisher: Death Scream (Straight Jacket) Halloween Knight’s tag partner and number two in F.E.A.R, Necromancer’s scrappy but capable, and given some time could become a really good worker for us. Right now, though, he’s too inconsistent to really stick it out as a top guy. That being said, he’s got the charisma and star quality to stay near the top of the card, so whilst I don’t see him holding the title again until he improves soon I’m willing to give him the chance to prove me wrong. In any case, his feud with Devilfish looks promising, and his character (whereby he’s actually far more evil than his riddler-esque partner and constantly frustrated by the antics of the rest of F.E.A.R) makes for a couple of good laughs. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Devilfish.jpg Devilfish Age: 19 Billed From: Devil’s Island Entrance Music: Under The Sea- Alan Menken & Howard Ashman Finishers: Deep Sea DDT (Flying DDT), Fish Finger Shuffle (Running Palm Strike) At age 19, Devilfish is probably our hottest prospect, although in all honesty he’s more prospect than hot. His fundamentals are very rough (although to be fair he bumps well and isn’t going to injure anyone), and he lacks the charisma to really cover for that. When he goes on the offence, though, he can pull out some of the most spectacular moves you’ve ever seen, and there’s no denying that he looks like a star. Current plan is to continue his feud with Necromancer, then look at putting him up against a stronger competitor to help him improve. Upper Midcard http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Cyanide.jpg Cyanide Age: 24 Billed From: Skull Island Entrance Music: The Pinky and the Brain Theme Song. Finisher: Skull Splitter (Brainbuster) My predecessor as head booker, Cyanide’s a talented technician who serves as the chief henchman in F.E.A.R, essentially the weasel to his partner’s Massacre big dumb guy. Admittedly he stands out a bit in ZEN, as we don’t have a lot of technical wrestlers and he’s no flyer at all, but he’s got good fundamentals and at 24 is young enough to maybe pick up a bit more aerial offence. I’m not sure if he and Massacre will go after the ZEN Harmony titles or get stuck into another tag feud, but as half of one of my top teams expect Cyanide to stick to the tag division. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Jester.jpg Jester Age: 23 Billed From: The Evil Circus Entrance Music: Pink Elephants on Parade Finisher: The Punchline (Short-Line Jab to the Face) Jester’s an interesting prospect. As with a lot of ZEN’s guys, he’s got a good solid offence that’s undercut by fundamentals that need work, offset by the fact that at his age improvement seems more than likely. What’s worth pointing out, though, is that he’s a bit more physical than most of our guys; his offence is still built around flashy offence and high-flying, but there’s a very solid brawling component that gives him a vicious edge which plays off of his psycho character. Given some time, and a masterclass on how to bump, I could see Jester doing very well for us. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/SuperZero.jpg Super Zero Age: 20 Billed From: Century City Entrance Music: Holding Out for a Hero- Bonnie Tyler Finisher: Holding Out for a Zero (Diving Corkscrew Moonsault) One half of our current ZEN Harmony champs, Super Zero’s part of our generally solid midcard. It’s easy to see why he’s currently a champ, as he’s one of the few guys we’ve got with good fundamentals in addition to his high-flying moveset (it’s also worth pointing out that he’s got some decent technical skills in there). He’s also brought his girlfriend along, which makes for a slightly happier locker room. I could see Super Zero rising up the card and challenging the ZEN Master, although his tag role will probably prevent a protracted singles run as we don’t have the quality teams to cover for his absence. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/X-Calibre.jpg X-Calibre Age: 23 Billed From: The Future Entrance Music: The Time Warp- Richard O’Brien Finisher: Springboard 450 Splash If you can look past the weak stamina, terrible psychology and inconsistency, X-Calibre’s really quite a good worker. Certainly his offence is strong, if confined to the usual aerial antics, and his star quality and charisma will hopefully cover for his weaknesses (plus, as always, he’s got time to improve). As of December 2009 he’s also come back from the future, in one of those classic storyline twists ZEN loves so much- Guru Vishni sent him forward in time to stop him preventing Cyanide and Massacre from interfering in the main event, only for X-Calibre to come back in time from The Future with the aid of a mysterious someone who’s yet to be revealed (as we haven’t decided who it is yet). Midcarders http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/CWA.jpg C-W-A Age: 27 Billed From: The Big Top Entrance Music: Entry of the Gladiators- Julius Fucik Finisher: Clown Killer Deluxe (Powerbomb), Custard Pie C-W-A’s the closest thing we’ve got to a veteran, as he’s worked the Australian independent scene prior to arriving in ZEN. Which might explain his funny attitude, as not many indy wrestlers out there would go for being asked to play an evil clown who finishes his opponents off with a custard pie to the face. Still, when you’re a master of the comedy match and as solid a talent as C-W-A I can overlook a bad attitude, and with no major weaknesses outside of a lack of flying offence I can see C-W-A becoming a big deal down the line for us. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Eraser.jpg Eraser Age: 19 Billed From: An Undisclosed Location Entrance Music: Pink Elephants on Parade Finisher: Rub Out (Diving Reverse DDT) One of our youngest workers, Eraser’s a solid brawler who’s benefitted from an association with FEAR and Jester that’s allowed him to develop as a talent. He’s still got some rough edges, but at 19 he’s more than young enough to allow room for improvement, and I plan on putting him up against our top face teams to help speed that along. Only problem is his fundamentals- as always they’re ropy, and that ‘as always’ should make it clear why getting them to improve could be problematic. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/ManOWar.jpg Man O’War Age: 25 Billed From: The Seven Seas Entrance Music: The Sailor’s Hornpipe Finisher: Neptune’s Trident (Missile Dropkick) Man O’War’s one of those guys that has the basic skills to become a top guy but is too bland at the moment to really make it. His fundamentals aren’t bad, although they’re certainly no better than any other member of the roster, and his mic work makes him a very useful member of the team. His big problem, though, is that his offence isn’t anything special, just some fairly bog standard high flying, and in a company built around some real spectacular flyers that could be a problem. Still, given time he should improve soon, and that charisma could really carry him a long way. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Massacre.jpg Massacre Age: 26 Billed From: The Giant’s Causeway Entrance Music: The Pinky & The Brain Theme Song Finisher: Black Descent (Big Splash) The fourth member of F.E.A.R, Massacre’s also probably the weakest. A bog-standard brawler, albeit one who can toss people around like rag dolls, he’s not a tremendously exciting worker to watch and that’s reflected by his card positioning; it’s taken a lot of effort to get him this far up the card, and he’s unlikely to go much further on his own merit. That being said, while he’s kinda dull he’s not actually a bad worker, and he’s got time to improve. Right now, though, he’s rehabbing an injury he picked up gardening (still not quite sure how one does that in a garden environment, though…) http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Shaolin.jpg Shaolin Age: 21 Billed From: The Land of the Rising Sun Entrance Music: Ninja- 7 Seconds of Love Finisher: Death Touch (Vulcan Nerve Pinch with Theatrics) Shaolin’s our current Conceptual champion and a promising young worker. Okay, so he’s not especially good at anything, but he’s got a solid skillset and the potential to go further, especially given his young age. Right now, though, he could do with a solid feud to really push him, and he’s also stuck carrying one of our weakest workers in a tag team that I’m not entirely sold on. He’ll need to be carefully nurtured, but given the right amount of work there’s no reason why he shouldn’t become very popular for us. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Vertigo.jpg Vertigo Age: 23 Billed From: Century City Entrance Music: Holding Out for a Hero- Bonnie Tyler Finisher: Radar Legdrop (Diving Moonsault Legdrop) Super Zero’s partner in The Sky Kings, and the other half of our current ZEN Harmony Champions, Vertigo would be an amazing talent if he wasn’t so darn aware of it. Good high flier, some solid technique and great fundamentals for his age and our size, Vertigo has all the tools but none of the personality to make it big in ZEN: Art of Wrestling, and for that reason I don’t see him moving too far up the card without eating some losses along the way to hopefully curb the worst excesses of his attitude. Lower Midcarders http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/MirrorUniverseJonGordon.jpg Mirror Universe John Gordon Age: 21 Billed From: An Evil Alternate Dimension Entrance Music: When the World Falls Down- David Bowie Finisher: Goatee Driver (Double Underhook Piledriver) It’s a proven fact that anything Guru Vishni does turns into an awesome angle, and this one’s no exception. Originally a charming, well-mannered babyface, John Gordon’s switched places with his evil opposite, who is clearly evil on account of the goatee. He’s also a talented young worker, albeit in need of the usual seasoning all our roster needs, and at least his fundamentals aren’t the wasteland most of our roster indulge in. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/NightmareStalker.jpg Nightmare Stalker Age: 23 Billed From: The Midnight Showing Entrance Music: Science Fiction Double Feature- Richard O’Brien Finisher: Frightmare (Moonsault Double Knee Drop) One half of our inaugural ZEN Harmony Champions, I was never a huge fan of Nightmare Stalker or his partner but they do have potential. Stalker in particular shows signs of developing into a good worker, even if right now he’s at best a work in progress. That being said, Stalker’s a great guy to have around, and his presence in the locker room means that his job’s safe for a long while yet. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/QuickSilver.jpg Quick Silver Age: 19 Billed From: The Highest Reaches of the Atmosphere Entrance Music: Theme from Airwolf- Sylvester Levay Finisher: Silversault (Double Rotation Moonsault) Shaolin’s occasional partner in The Shadows, Quick Silver’s one of our hottest prospects but got into wrestling without any real training, and that shows in fundamentals that are worse than poor. Really, there’s almost nothing we can do with him short of putting him through an intensive course of training at Knight’s new dojo (and don’t think I’m ruling that out), and even then that might not do a lot. He is, however, saved by two things- one, he’s just about the nicest guy in the locker room, and two, that entrance theme. I mean, c’mon people, it’s Airwolf, what’s not to like? http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/TheAnarchist.jpg The Anarchist Age: 23 Billed From: The Insane Asylum Entrance Music: Theme from Terminator- Brad Fiedel Finisher: A-Bomb (Two-Handed Choke Bomb) As with most of our undercard, Anarchist spends most of his time in tag competition, which is probably a good thing as he basically sucks. Okay, so he’s probably not our worst wrestler (that would be his partner) but he’s got no aerial offence and very scrappy brawling, making it difficult to find an opponent that’ll help him improve. He does at least have solid fundamentals, though, so with a bit of luck he’ll develop into a halfway decent jobber. Openers http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/Bile.jpg Bile Age: 29 Billed From: The Insane Asylum Entrance Music: Theme from Terminator- Brad Fiedel Finisher: Mind Trip (Guillotine Choke) One of the big problems Knight had when he opened ZEN was that the talent pool in New Zealand is pretty small, forcing him to sign up guys that hadn’t really got a lot going for them purely so he had enough guys to fill the roster; Bile was definitely one of those guys. The guy has no upside of any kind, outside from a vague suggestion that he might have a lot of potential, and I’m really struggling to come up with any decent ideas for him. Right now I’ll give him a chance, but once we start to bring in other talent I don’t see him lasting a long time. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/NightmareSlasher.jpg Nightmare Slasher Age: 21 Billed From: The Midnight Showing Entrance Music: Science Fiction Double Feature- Richard O’Brien Finisher: Shower Scene (Diving Double Axe Handle) Stalker’s partner, Slasher is a nice guy but a scrappy brawler who needs to improve quite a bit before he moves up the card. He’s got a good chance of making it that far, though, and whilst I don’t quite get why The Horror Show were chosen as the inaugural ZEN Harmony Champions another reign isn’t out of the question provided they show improvement. Non-Wrestlers http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/SparkySparks.jpg Sparky Sparks Our resident announcer and backstage caterer, Sparky’s one of our key guys in holding the show together. Not only is he a solid announcer, he’s got the kind of enthusiastic, hard-working personality that makes him a pleasure to be around, and also brings doughnuts to every show. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/TheAlexArturroEx.jpg The Alex Arturro Experience I’ve worked with Alex on TV a couple of times in our regular jobs, and he’s another nice guy. A big fan of Mexican lucha libre, he’s actually surprisingly knowledgeable for a guy who got the colour gig on the basis of his gag-spewing funny-man persona. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/GuruVishni.jpg Guru Vishni Our only heel manager, the Guru is currently associated with Mirror Universe John Gordon but has an ‘understanding’ with F.E.A.R and The Inmates (Anarchist and Bile) that means he crops up everywhere an evil plan is brewing. He’s also our go-to guy for awesome angles, as his alleged supernatural gifts mean literally anything can happen, and frequently does. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/MollyCuddle.jpg Molly Cuddle First thing’s first: yes, that really is her name. Molly’s basically just a pretty face we keep around because she’s Super Zero’s girlfriend and Vertigo’s manager, and occasionally manages to keep V from shooting his mouth off. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/StevenYale.jpg Steven Yale Other companies have refs who merely act like they’re blind; ZEN’s actually is. Steve’s a solid ref who does his job without complaining, so I see no reason to get rid of him or upgrade to someone else. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/ClassyPaulMassey.jpg Classy Paul Massey One of our two road agents, Paul’s been around since day one but is merely competent rather than extraordinary. He also very much keeps himself to himself, so there’s no point looking to him to control the locker room. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/OwenOldacre.jpg Owen Oldacre I brought Owen in myself, as we need a roadie with a bit more about him that Paul. In all honesty Big O’s better than Massey in every way- he’s better at putting matches together, and has a big presence in the locker room that makes him invaluable in keeping order. The only black mark against him is that we’re paying him a lot of money, but hey, everyone’s got something wrong with them. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g165/Looneyboyo/ZEN%20Art%20of%20Wrestling/DannyFonzarelli.jpg Bruce Bennington Aka ‘TV’s Bruce’, Director of Awesome and me. Frankly, the most notable thing about me is that I don't seem to have noticed that lava lamps went out of fashion 20 years ago. *** Card for ZEN Way of the Dreamer FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © Devilfish vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon All matches are contested under lucha libre rules unless otherwise gimmicked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnightnick Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © Devilfish vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Roguey Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © Da Boss Guy. Da Winner. Devilfish vs. Necromancer Setting up a match with da boss guy. FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) Titles go to the happiest people in ZEN. BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide It's Pinky, It's Pinky and the Brain, brain, brain, brain, brrrraiiiiiiiin. CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A C-W-A is a clown. It is Clown Rules. 'Nuff said. The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) Ninjas > Anarchists. Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Goatees rule. And some Mirror Universe Legal Tactics (cheating) should come in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © HK is the boss, and is never going to leave. Plus, he's the best you've got in terms of stats. Devilfish vs. Necromancer Gotta give the people a big Face win. FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) Not gonna see a hotshot on show one. BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide Cheaty cheaty cheating. CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A No duh, it's his match! The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) The Conceptual Champ can carry this one. Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Tag guy wins in Tag Contest, Singles Guy wins in Singles Contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWF Fan Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Triple X Wrestling, put on shows at JB's Nightclub in Dudley in the West Midlands EDIT: Sorry, got some facts wrong The didn't run regular shows at JB's & as far as I can tell Shelf only won the title once, although cagematch.net never has all a promotion's shows up Side tracking but at some stage I do believe Triple X introduced El Hijo De Shelf, sure I saw that. They're also back running in Coventry now with their usual stupidly awesomeness, a poster on here that's very well known for creating an Awesome Alliance wrestled for them. But anything ZEN I'll read, and this is a great start so far 1PW, I'll be adding this into my bookmarks for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingo Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © Devilfish vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsplex Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 There can never be too many ZEN diaries. Good luck with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberious Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 FOR THE ZEN MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP- REACH FOR THE SKIES MATCH Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight © Halloween Knight is your best worker, and I see no reason to hotshot the title. On the other hand Lone Shark is the top face, so I see this feud continuing. Devilfish vs. Necromancer Necromancer is better rounded than Devilfish, so I'll take him winning here even though that has two top heels winning. FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) The champions should retain, and you need some faces to win anyway. BALL-PIT MATCH X-Calibre vs. Cyanide Could go either way, but X-Calibre became the top face on the roster in the longterm game I played, so I'm partial to him. CLOWN RULES MATCH Man O’War vs. C-W-A Clown rules favor the clown. The Shadows (Shaolin & Quick Silver) vs. The Inmates (Anarchist & Bile) Shaolin is a competent worker, and Quick Silver at least has upside; which is more than I can say for their opponents. Nightmare Stalker vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Mirror Universe John Gordon is an awesome character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1PWfan Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 ZEN Way of the Dreamer Live to DVD from The ZEN Temple Saturday, Week 2, January 2010 Audience: 96 Pre-Show/DVD Extras The Shadows vs. The Inmates I put this one in the dark as I figured it’d be pretty rough. Turns out I was right, as this wasn’t a great match even for a company our size. Shaolin did his best to hold things together but whilst he’s not a bad worker he’s nowhere near good enough to carry either of these guys. As for his partner, Quick Silver’s only really interesting when he’s hitting big spots, and against guys like The Inmates he didn’t have as many opportunities as he needed to really make an impact. As for The Inmates, Anarchist wasn’t great but managed to hold his end up competently enough when Shaolin was in the ring, but Bile? Well…he totally sucks, and I’m now looking for a full-time replacement for him. After all, it’s one thing to look a bit lost when the action’s going really quick and everyone’s pulling out rapid-fire spots, but it’s quite another to look last 10 seconds after locking up. The Shadows took this in two straight falls, with Shaolin pinning Bile for the first one with a quick roll-up before Quick Silver put him away a minute or so later with the Silversault. Winners: The Shadows Match Rating: E- The Show Mirror Universe John Gordon vs. Nightmare Stalker This was a solid match given our size and the quality of the competitors. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the most exciting thing you’ve ever seen, but both guys brought a lot of enthusiasm to the piece, which carried them through the frequent ropy moments. Plus, of course, Guru Vishni was awesome, ‘meditating’ at ringside in order to bring Johnny victory before deciding to go with his usual tactic of low-blowing someone, in this case Stalker (naturally enough he also tip-toed in order to avoid alerting Stevie boy to his presence). That gave Gordon the first fall, but when he went to continue the assault Stalker pulled him into a (butt-ugly) Small Package to even the falls, leaving it with all to play for in the last fall. Naturally enough the Guru went to his usual well of interference, but for once Steven was able to curb it; he swung round at the wrong moment (or the right one, depending on your perspective) and caught Vishni in the face with his cane, leaving Nightmare Stalker free to up-end Gordon and nail the Frightmare for the second fall. Winner: Nightmare Stalker Match Rating: E * It’s promo time now, as Man O’War’s on hype duty for his match “Avast Shipmates! Now, there be a mighty strange conflabaration of events currently afoot, with that scurvy landlubber the Clown with Attitude lookin’ to scupper your old shipmate Man O’War amidships and send him down to Davy Jones’ Locker, ah harrrr. Well, I say no nay never and a bottle to rum to that! It be time for the salty seadog that is I to take this scoundrel, give him a damn good broadside and hang him from the yard-arm, ah harrrr!” Given his name value this was a good solid promo from Man O’War. Rating: D- * Man O’War vs. C-W-A This was a good match, for a company our size anyways, and reflected well on both guys’ ability to get it done in the ring. As you might expect from a match featuring the usage of balloon animals and squirty flowers as weapons the action was silly from the outset, with Sparky and Alex doing a good job of treating the match as somehow incredibly dangerous (apparently this has only one fall due to ‘the incredible damage a custard pie can do to a man’), whilst the fans were clearly having a great time for the most part, particularly when Man O’War kicked out a Custard Pie to the face and responded by catching C-W-A with a handshake buzzer and a balloon to the gut. In the end, though, C-W-A was never going to lose his signature bout, and was able to take the win after catching Man O’War with a double custard pie to the face and the old soda-sprayer to the nuts routine. Winner: C-W-A Match Rating: E+ * The Sky Kings vs. The Mercs This was the best match so far, as you might expect from two our top tag teams, although it re-emphasised the fact that Molly and Vertigo really don’t go well together; we’ve stuck with it in the hope that she’ll curb Vert’s excesses backstage, but the truth is they have absolutely no chemistry as a pairing. The rest of this match was good, even with Eraser struggling to hold his end up in a match that played up the others’ high-flying skills. The Mercs took the first fall when Jester hit Vertigo with The Punchline whilst Eraser restrained Super Zero at ringside, only for Vertigo to make the hot tag after the fall to bring his partner in. Zero came in like a house on fire, tossing both his opponents around with lucha arm drags and headscissors, taking the second fall and evening the odds with a hurracarana pin on Eraser. The Mercs retook control with a swift tag to Jester and some vicious double-teaming, but Zero was able to dive over Eraser and bring in Vertigo for the second hot tag. Vertigo was quick to isolate Eraser, dropkicking Jester off the apron before outmanoeuvring Eraser and dropping him a springboard arm drag and leg lariat. One Radar Legdrop later, and The Sky Kings were able to retain their title. Winners: The Sky Kings Match Rating: D- * We go backstage to the DOAwe’s office, where TV’s Bruce is relaxing on a La-Z-Boy Sofa-bed and apparently deep in study of a lava lamp. He’s soon joined by X-Calibre “G’day Boss-man. What you up to?” “Yo Calibre. Communing with a Lava Lamp.” “Cool. Listen, I’ve just heard from my guru…” “The guy who sent you back from the future last month? Groovy” “That’s the one. Anyway, I’m supposed to ask for a match with C-W-A in….three, two, one…now. Can I have a match with C-W-A?” “I dunno man…did your Guru say what would happen?” “Actually yeah, he said you prevaricated, asked me a question, then said it was okay.” “Groovy. Well then, I ain’t gonna deny the future, right? That’s all kinds of paradoxicality, man. You got the match, man. Groovy, yeah.” Personally I wasn’t thrilled with this one- it felt a little too bizarre- but it got the best reaction of the night so far, which can’t be argued with. Rating: D * X-Calibre vs. Cyanide The Ball Pit match is another one of our specialities, essentially an absurd variant on a casket match. It generally makes for a pretty satisfying match, and this one was no exception, even if Cyanide’s not best suited to comedy matches (as if a match featuring a ball pit could be anything else). It’s not so much that Cyanide can’t work comedy matches- on the contrary, he’s one of the best we’ve got at it- but the way his gimmick’s set up at the moment he’s just the wrong side of that line between deadpan and just too serious to sell the match right. Even with that problem, though, this was one of our best matches yet, with Cyanide’s technical skill matching up well with X-Calibre’s speed and lucha-style assault. Of course there was also some comedic spots as well, with Cyanide trying to snake-eyes X-Calibre into the ball pit whilst the Mean Green Springboard machine acted like it was made of barbed wire. That fed into an extended sequence of reversals as each man tried to get his opponent into the pit, one that eventually culminated with X-Calibre turning an attempted trip into an amazing backflip from one edge of the ball pit to the floor on the other side, behind Cyanide. The Merciless Mat Masochist caught him in a side headlock, but X-Calibre rolled out of the hold and caught his opponent with a flurry of forearms that left F.E.A.R.’s mat specialist on the edge of the pit. Cyanide went up to the apron to try and get some space, but when a guy moves like X-Calibre you get maybe a couple of seconds before the Springboard Machine’s back on you, and this time Cyanide fell victim to a big running dropkick that dropped him straight into the ball pit. Winner: X-Calibre Match Rating: D- * It’s peanut butter promo time, as Halloween Knight is on hype duty for the main event “Tonight my evil plan comes to fruition! Yes, you might have beaten The Dark Knights last month, but that was part of my plan! And yes, my plan to send X-Calibre to the future failed, but I planned that too! Honest! And tonight, when I beat you through the sheer power of my evil, and maybe some cheating as well, I don’t know, you will see the true power that is Halloween Knight’s evil nefarious planning! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!! Okay, now I need a lozenge. Cyanide, Massacre, lozenges? Over here? Great. Oh, Lone Shark, I’m kick your teeth in” Halloween Knight is probably our best talker, and can always be relied upon to deliver something good (and usually insane as well). Rating: D * Devilfish vs. Necromancer This was definitely a disappointment, although coming out of it I see what the problem was. Good though both of these guys are, they don’t have any idea how to build a match in the ring, and even with a very definite script they still struggled to keep this logical. It was still a good match for us, mind, as both guys have the spectacular aerial ability to hold the crowd’s interest, but there was a lot of random aerial spots and little long-term selling (although what they did sell they sold well). This doesn’t bode well for the long-term viability of their feud- we need main eventers who can step up in terms of match quality, and if this is the level we can expect from these two together then it might be time for the feud to end and them to move into other angles (who with, I’m not sure, but we’ve got a few guys on the face side who look promising). Still, this wasn’t a bad match, and if I can get these two to improve then they might yet carry the feud through to the end of the year. Devilish took the first fall with the Fish Finger Shuffle at about four minutes in, before Necromancer evened the odds with an O’Connor Roll and a grab of the ropes that Steven, naturally, completely missed. The last stretch of the match was all spots, as both guys unleashed every single one of their best top-rope moves, culminating with Devilfish unleashing the Deep Sea DDT to claim the third fall and the victory. Winner: Devilfish Match Rating: E+ * Lone Shark vs. Halloween Knight A Reach for the Skies match is a combination ladder/overhead wires match, which makes for an awful lot of loony aerial spots and not a huge amount of logic (why go across the wires when the ladder’s quicker, other than the fact that it’s slightly too short to comfortably reach the object? In which case, why not get a bigger ladder?). In all honesty Knight’s not necessarily the best fit for a match with such a focus on high-flying as this one, but he held up his end well, and Lone Shark’s always a solid bet in a match like this. It’s also contrasting this match to its predecessor- both featured a huge amount of spots and little actual story-telling or logic, but whereas Devilish/Necromancer just threw the spots in at random, these guys tried to escalate and build to something really spectacular. This also featured a lot of interference, as both Massacre and Cyanide interfered in the early going, keeping Lone Shark from getting his hands on the ladder and keeping him at ringside whilst Knight went for the wires. It didn’t work, though, as Lone Shark was able to get into the ring and pull Knight down to the mat before taking down his minions with a somersault Plancha and grabbing the ladder. Knight was quick to take advantage when he got back in the ring, dropping an elbow across Shark’s back and setting up the ladder himself, but before he could get a hand to the belt The Daredevil from the Deep was back on his feet and dropkicked the ladder out from under Knight. Both men went down from that, before it became a race to the wires which Lone Shark seemed to be winning. Unfortunately for our hero Necromancer was quick to interfere, spearing him off the wires and dropping him down to the mat. That left a triumphant Halloween Knight free to unlock the belt, although he somewhat spoiled the moment by promptly dropping on top of Necromancer. Winner: Halloween Knight Match Rating: D Overall Rating: D, with our strong angles covering for the weaker matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEffect Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 shouldn't nightmare stalker have won his match against john gordon? Sorry just going by the description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Nice one. But you've got MUJG as the winner in the first match, while the write-up indicates Stalker was the one to take the victory. Still, good to see the comedy Kiwis doing well. EDIT: Jinx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1PWfan Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 You're both right- originally I had John booked to win, but Stalker had less momentum so I switched the booking but not the write-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEffect Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I reckon together we could all make this dynasty readable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1PWfan Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Anyway, let's look at the predictions and see how it went, shall we? Midnightnick: 2/7 MichiganHero: 4/7 Regis: 5/7 Jingo: 6/7 Tiberious4: 5/7 So, Jingo takes a close victory, and gets the right to ask any question he likes of a ZEN superstar (Or The Anarchists, if that's what he wants). Next post will go up soonish, with the question on the 24-hour bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1PWfan Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Wake Me Up Before You ZENcast A-Go-Go The Scene is set- a mysterious dark room somewhere. Two shadowy figures are deep in conference MF1: Your plan is ready? Funnily enough, he sounds a lot like Halloween Knight MF2: Absolutely Mr. Mysterious Figure who in no way I recognise and who is definitely not Halloween Knight, I am prepared at your order to destroy your opponent, who may or may not be Lone Shark, but might not be because I don’t know who you are. Honest. And how many South Africans do you know? MF1: Exactly, my friend, who might be Eraser but probably isn’t because really I know loads of South Africans. Now, when I give you the signal, you will attack my arch-nemesis, who might be Lone Shark but might not be, and take him down with your signature move, which probably isn’t The Rub Out, because you’re probably not Eraser. You understand, my definitely-not-Eraser- friend? MF2: Ermm…not really, no. What exactly am I supposed to be doing? MF1: Look, when I give the signal, you hit Lone Shark! Or whoever I tell you to hit, it might not be Lone Shark, because after all we don’t know who I am, right? MF2: Oookay, I think I’ve got it. I hit whoever you tell me to hit, correct? MF1: YES! MF2: Well then, why all the secrecy? It’s not like you’ve never asked me to beat someone up before! MF1: It’s all part of the plan, my mysterious friend, all part of the plan! TV’SB: Yo, what’s going on, dude, where’s the lights? The lights are switched on, revealing TV’s Bruce and the two mysterious figures who are in fact…Halloween Knight and Eraser. TV’SB: Oh hey guys, what’s up? HK: Erm, Ah…look, a tram! TV’s Bruce looks away, and Halloween Knight promptly flees out of shot. Eraser, meanwhile, is left standing about looking as baffled as a man wearing sunglasses and a banadana can. E: I don’t think I understand anything that guy does, at all. TV’SB: Don’t worry man, the lava lamp knows the answer. I tend to find it always does, y’know? Eraser sighs, and promptly exits. TV’SB: Wonder what’s gotten into that guy? Ah well, back to Lava-land dude… *** Card for ZEN Way of the Scholar FOR THE TITLE OF ZEN MASTER Devilfish vs. Halloween Knight © Lone Shark vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES- LADDER MATCH The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Enemy (Cyanider & Massacre) CLOWN RULES MATCH X-Calibre vs. C-W-A FOR THE ZEN CONCEPTUAL TITLE Shaolin © vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon The Horror Show (Nightmare Stalker & Nightmare Slasher) vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Roguey Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 FOR THE TITLE OF ZEN MASTER Devilfish vs. Halloween Knight © Lone Shark vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES- LADDER MATCH The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Enemy (Cyanider & Massacre) CLOWN RULES MATCH X-Calibre vs. C-W-A FOR THE ZEN CONCEPTUAL TITLE Shaolin © vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon The Horror Show (Nightmare Stalker & Nightmare Slasher) vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnightnick Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 FOR THE TITLE OF ZEN MASTER Devilfish vs. Halloween Knight © Lone Shark vs. Necromancer FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES- LADDER MATCH The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Enemy (Cyanider & Massacre) CLOWN RULES MATCH X-Calibre vs. C-W-A FOR THE ZEN CONCEPTUAL TITLE Shaolin © vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon The Horror Show (Nightmare Stalker & Nightmare Slasher) vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberious Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Card for ZEN Way of the Scholar FOR THE TITLE OF ZEN MASTER Devilfish vs. Halloween Knight © Halloween Knight retains, Devilfish doesn't have the psychology to really be the champion. Lone Shark vs. Necromancer Lone Shark is your number one face, so I think he can take on the number two heel with Eraser botching his interference. FOR THE ZEN HARMONY TITLES- LADDER MATCH The Sky Kings (Super Zero & Vertigo) © vs. The Enemy (Cyanider & Massacre) This could go either way, but I think a ladder match favors the high fliers. CLOWN RULES MATCH X-Calibre vs. C-W-A I like X Calibre and would normally pick him, but it's hard to go against a clown in a clown rules match/ FOR THE ZEN CONCEPTUAL TITLE Shaolin © vs. Mirror Universe John Gordon Mirror Universe John Gordon lost last week to Nightmare Stalker, so I don't really see him beating the champ here. The Horror Show (Nightmare Stalker & Nightmare Slasher) vs. The Mercs (Jester & Eraser) The Mercs are more interesting then the Horror Show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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