CGC - Enough Is Enough...

kingjames · March 23, 2016

...and it's time for a change!

The hook for this diary is based around an angle - namely, the domination of the main event scene by the DeColts and Elite. Gameplay-wise, you can get great segment scores out of it, almost to the point of never doing anything with anyone else in the company. I've decided to change that, by having Trent Shaffer, an unaligned heel, decide he's had enough of the DeColts and the Elite hogging the spotlight, creating a third stable with the goal to depose the DeColt/Elite old guard. The threat grows as more disgrunted workers join, forcing the DeColts and Elite to team up in a fragile alliance.

The diary starts on the road to the DeColt WrestleFestival 2013 and I plan on having the story carry its way through to WrestleFestival 2014. I'll be writing in character as a blogger recapping the shows, mostly; anytime I write as me, I'll note it at the beginning of the post. Comments are welcome and I suspect in character I might ask "what do you think would be cooler?" - convince me what direction to go, and I'll most likely go that way!

This is my first diary, and I hope that it'll be an enjoyable one

KnowYourEnemy · March 24, 2016

Looking forward to this -- CGC is a fascinating company to work with.

kingjames · March 24, 2016

First Week of March, 2013

Hello everyone! The admin of this board (an old college buddy) asked me if I wanted to start covering Canadian Golden Combat, now that they've managed to get a show onto US television. Granted, it's on "National Pride TV", a station that I think got bundled along with 30 other channel I had never heard of, just so I could get USA Sports 1. And it comes on in the early evening "Wheel of Fortune" timeslot. But hey, it means I get to watch CGC without having to find...let's say, less than legal sources.

Just a little about myself. I grew up in a little town just outside of Edmonton, Alberta. My dad worked for one of the oil outfits, real blue collar guy. And every Sunday night, we'd watch CGC together. North of the Border, I liked them too, but CGC was special for us. He even scraped the money together one year to go to WrestleFestival as a birthday present when they held it in Edmonton. It was amazing.

When I got to be a teenager, I guess I started finding CGC kind of hokey. I mean, pro wrestling in general, I didn't want people to know I was a fan. But CGC, with the heroic DeColts and their family virtues of hard work, loyalty, and fair play front and center? It was almost embarrassingly sincere. Now that I'm older I realize, even if those things fail us in reality, to escape into a fictional world where those things do matter...well, if I have to be in a fictional world, that's the one I want to be in. Watching CGC is as comforting and familiar to me as putting on Stan Rogers and remembering how my dad would sing along.

Anyway! Let's get to the show!

Dark Match: Bobby Thomas defeats Skip Beau

Thanks to the magic of smartphone recordings and the internet, even though I obviously didn't see this match on TV, I still got to see it. Whether I wanted to or not is a different question. I don't know if it's because Thomas, at his core, is a tag wrestler or Beau is green or what, but this match never seemed to click. Just no chemistry. Thomas scores the easy pinfall here. (Segment Rating: 44).

Dark Match: El Diablo Del Norte & Donte Dunn defeat The Predators (Warren Technique & Nathan Black)

El Diablo Del Norte might be better known to Canadian indie wrestling scene nerds (all, like, 5 of you) as El Diablo, formerly of ACPW. Suppose adding the "Del Norte" is a good idea, as I imagine there's probably several dozen budding luchadors in Mexico who want to also call themselves "El Diablo". El Diablo and Dunn both have potential, but it's still very much potential. Not much to say other than this was a match, I guess? (Segment Rating: 48)

Dark Match: Nate Thompson defeats Whippy the Clown

Whippy the Clown seems to have really picked up his playing to the children game, a smart move given his ceiling. Nate Thompson is a CGC Triple Crown champion, although that was a few years ago and he seems mired in the midcard. Thompson beats Whippy, as he should, if anyone is going to take him seriously in the future. This match was probably too good to be a dark match, but hey, good for the fans who showed up early. (Segment Rating: 60)

CGC Title Belt Wrestling

Venue: Edmonton Expo Centre Arena, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Attendance: 3,500 (Sold out)

As if the heavens had ordained it, TBW was taped in Edmonton. This is a good omen.

Trent Shaffer defeats Thrill Seeker

The first look Americans are getting of CGC on TV, and it starts off with a bang-up match. Two men on the periphery of the main event scene and you can tell there's hunger here, even if it's just wrestling for wrestling's sake. But it's at least good wrestling for wrestling's sake, and it gets a few non-DeColt and their arch-rivals, the Elite, workers out there. Finish was marred a bit as Shaffer grabbed the tights to get the pin, but heels cheating to win is classic CGC booking. (Segment Rating: 68)

Christian Price/Gargantuan Promo

So, Gargantuan has been doing this thing over the past few months where he comes out and performs some feat of ridiculous strength. It's hard to tell, but a lot of it doesn't look like gimmicked props and camera tricks - even if there's some slight cheating, dude is still doing crazy strongman stuff. It's kind of carny, but hey, it sells the dude like a million bucks. And he doesn't have to talk much, which is definitely a plus. It also means he's not actually worked a lot of matches - probably also a good thing, especially if you like workrate. Or wrestling, really.

The build up has really been focused on Gargantuan aiming for Christian Price's Canadian title. Price is a pretty averaged sized dude by pro wrestler standards, but next to Gargantuan he looks like a child. Gargie (I'm tired of writing out "Gargantuan" every time) has wrecked shop on Price after matches a few times, too. So, as Gargie sets up for his latest act of freakish strength, Price confronts him. Gargie gets a mic (OH NOES) and delivers a very short promo (THANK GOD) of semi-intelligible, guttural growling, telling Price that he understands why Price is a coward when faced with the unstoppable force of Gargantuan. Price's response seems a little shaky and hesitant - not sure if it's because he's still feeling his way on the mic, but hey, it gets across Gargie being a menace - and says though he absolutely is aware he might get destroyed, he's no coward, and he'll put his Canadian title on the line at WrestleFestival to prove it. Gargie smirks and then lifts what appears to be a legit 500-plus pounds, eyes on Price the whole time.

The segment really worked for me. It was simple, got a title match on the books for WrestleFestival, and set up a textbook David and Goliath story. I could see the end of that match going either way at this point - maybe the next few weeks will tip off where this is going. Only problem I see is whether the match can actually hold up to the build - I'm not sure Price is a strong enough hand to walk Gargantuan through what might be his highest profile match thus far. (Segment Rating: 75)

DeColt/Elite Rivalry Video

A smart move to try and catch the new American viewers up on the feud upon which CGC revolves. The video has a lot to do with the kidnapping of Hotstuff Marie by Dan DaLay and her shocking turn against her husband, Jack DeColt, that went down a few weeks ago. Highlights include the DeColt boys chasing DaLay and Marie through the Miramichi Civic Centre (shout out to the Maritimes!), into the parking lot, where DaLay and Marie escape via car and the DeColt boys hop in their car and peel out, following them into the New Brunswick night. It's absolutely ridiculous, but everyone sells it completely seriously, and my god if I'm not totally into it as long as I don't think too too hard about it. (Segment Rating: 76)

Alex DeColt Promo

The face that runs the place, the big boss man, the Heir Ascendant. There's a vocal contingent of smarks that hate the DeColt family (even the babies!) for always booking themselves at the very top of the card and making themselves the focus of GCG. And they're right, at least about the booking strategy. The thing is, and maybe you'd have to have grown up on CGC to fully get it, is that the DeColts are, to a one, really really good at what they do. They can work the stick, they have great expressions, and they could wrestle a broomstick and get a decent match out of it. Throw in that the DeColts are legit Canadian culture icons and that a lot of us watched the DeColt boys grow up in the business, and I think CGC would be crazy not to make them the center (or centre if you will, I may have been living in the states too long) of the promotion.

Anyway, Alex DeColt addresses the video that just got screened, particularly the situation with his brother Jack. He says Jack isn't here tonight because Alex is afraid of what Jack might do. He's a man on the edge, a ticking time bomb, and Alex doesn't want Jack to do something he might regret. But, Alex says, he can't hold off Jack forever, and after what Dan DaLay's done, there will be a vengeance that will not be denied. But that's the future, and right now, Alex and his brother Ricky have a challenge tonight, as they take on the Dirty White Boys.

It's compelling stuff from one of the best talkers in the business. The crowd is INTO it. Dude is playing them like a violin. Younger workers, take notes, this is how it's done. (Segment Rating: 82)

Alex & Ricky DeColt defeat the Dirty White Boys

I may have mentioned that the DeColts could wrestle a broomstick to a decent match. Those skills sort of come in handy in a main event that's kind of pedestrian for CGC's big US TV debut. The Dirty White Boys aren't as bad as all that, but they're not exactly great either. I understand not wanting to give away PPV matches, but you only get one first impression. Anyway, the match is actually fairly decent and a good (if compressed) introduction to the "never say die", get beat up at first then make a big comeback victory dynamic of the DeColt family, even if it is a tad underwhelming compared to my expectations. (Segment Rating: 63)

Angelo & Marie Run Down the DeColts

Following the match, Angelo and Hotstuff Marie come out, sarcastically clapping. They demand the production crew cut the music, and then Angelo delivers a blistering promo about how Jack DeColt isn't there, like he's never been there for his wife. It's some harsh stuff, and to be honest, given how Marie's been treated as being an attachment on Jack's arm storyline-wise, it's got just enough truth to it to have impact. Marie, for her part, doesn't say much, but she looks real good, as if she's showing just what Jack's lost. She may be getting older (by pro wrestling standards at least), but for my money, she still surpasses both Faith and Jenny Playmate in terms of the women of CGC. COME AT ME BROS. (Segment Rating: 84)

And that's the show! The matches might have been a little less spectacular than hoped for but the promos were on fire. I'm not sure if CGC is going to appeal to American tastes in the long term, but this was a very good introduction to what CGC does. If they can keep this up, they might find themselves the first name that American fans think of when they think of Canadian promotions. I couldn't be more proud of my childhood favorite from my home and native land, and 8 year old me is jumping up and down in excitement. (Show Rating: 72)

Let me know in the comments what you think CGC should book next, because fantasy booking is the best booking.

CGC drew a 1.37 TV rating in Canada (Maple Leaf Sports) and a 0.03 TV rating in the US (National Pride TV).

combolock · March 25, 2016

Hello everyone! The admin of this board (an old college buddy) asked me if I wanted to start covering Canadian Golden Combat, now that they've managed to get a show onto US television. Granted, it's on "National Pride TV", a station that I think got bundled along with 30 other channel I had never heard of, just so I could get USA Sports 1. And it comes on in the early evening "Wheel of Fortune" timeslot. But hey, it means I get to watch CGC without having to find...let's say, less than legal sources.

I just want to say the nice touch of a Canadian wrestling promotion on a National Pride TV station is a really funny. I don't know if that was intentional, but well done! It's funny the reporter didn't seem to notice.

Dark Match: Nate Thompson defeats Whippy the Clown
Whippy the Clown seems to have really picked up his playing to the children game, a smart move given his ceiling. Nate Thompson is a CGC Triple Crown champion, although that was a few years ago and he seems mired in the midcard. Thompson beats Whippy, as he should, if anyone is going to take him seriously in the future. This match was probably too good to be a dark match, but hey, good for the fans who showed up early. (Segment Rating: 60)

How dare you have Whippy lose in a dark match. You want all the kids to cry the whole damn show? Think more, asshole.

Trent Shaffer defeats Thrill Seeker

The first look Americans are getting of CGC on TV, and it starts off with a bang-up match. Two men on the periphery of the main event scene and you can tell there's hunger here, even if it's just wrestling for wrestling's sake. But it's at least good wrestling for wrestling's sake, and it gets a few non-DeColt and their arch-rivals, the Elite, workers out there. Finish was marred a bit as Shaffer grabbed the tights to get the pin, but heels cheating to win is classic CGC booking. (Segment Rating: 68)

I hate this guy. Good luck having him lead a rebellion. Maybe if he recruits Gargantuan, he will have something going for him....but the dude is loser.

Christian Price/Gargantuan Promo

So, Gargantuan has been doing this thing over the past few months where he comes out and performs some feat of ridiculous strength. (Segment Rating: 75)

Gargantuan is the best thing going for CGC. Don't screw it up!

DeColt/Elite Rivalry Video

The video has a lot to do with the kidnapping of Hotstuff Marie by Dan DaLay and her shocking turn against her husband, Jack DeColt.

Only in pro wrestling...um excuse me: Sports Entertainment

Alex & Ricky DeColt defeat the Dirty White Boys

I may have mentioned that the DeColts could wrestle a broomstick to a decent match. Those skills sort of come in handy in a main event that's kind of pedestrian for CGC's big US TV debut. The Dirty White Boys aren't as bad as all that, but they're not exactly great either.

Don't forget that the Dirty White Boys are immediately recognizable in the states, because of their SWF fame. Maybe that is why the booker did this. Are you sure you are the right man to be the reporter of this promotion? Maybe ask to swap with Sarah?

Let me know in the comments what you think CGC should book next, because fantasy booking is the best booking.

CGC drew a 1.37 TV rating in Canada (Maple Leaf Sports) and a 0.03 TV rating in the US (National Pride TV).

Whippy the Clown should face Gargantuan and be killed, like dead for 3 months.

combolock · March 25, 2016

Oh, I saw your post on the diary thread about your plan of The Elite and the Decolts coming together. Since, Delay stole Jack's wife, I think it would be cool if Jack sided with Shaffer after Alex and Ricky side with Elite to stop the threat. You can have Jack feud with Alex over Alex siding with the man that ruined his life. He would add a great talent to the Shaffer Stable.

But, that is just me.

kingjames · March 25, 2016

Out of character, writer's post!

I just want to say the nice touch of a Canadian wrestling promotion on a National Pride TV station is a really funny. I don't know if that was intentional, but well done! It's funny the reporter didn't seem to notice.

Of course it was intentional! It totally wasn't that NPTV was one of like, two companies small enough to carry CGC's TV show in America and I hadn't really considered the irony. No, sir, 100% intentional, nothing to see here move along.

...I'm lying. I totally missed it and I am suitably shamed.

How dare you have Whippy lose in a dark match. You want all the kids to cry the whole damn show? Think more, asshole.

IT WILL JUST GET THEM ACCLIMATED TO THE CONSTANT DISAPPOINTMENT THAT IS LIFE. No, no, you're right, the kiddos should be happy. After all, CGC, like many great groups in history, is for the children.

I hate this guy. Good luck having him lead a rebellion. Maybe if he recruits Gargantuan, he will have something going for him....but the dude is loser.

I may have to quote you when the Elite start doing promos about Shaffer's antics, before they take him seriously. That being said, I kind of love Shaffer's stats? He could use a little more work in his Mic skills, but he's really strong in Acting, Star Quality and especially Charisma. And he starts the game at 65 overness across Canada, which gives me another tool to work with. Also, I had him switch to an Arrogant Heel gimmick and he managed to pull it off with a 100 rating. He's really just a perfect asshole, which exactly what I need.

Gargantuan is the best thing going for CGC. Don't screw it up!

Gargie is...man. His Psychology is utter garbage, he couldn't Sell if you legit hit him with a truck and his Stamina isn't much better. Plus he drags the locker room morale down. But he does have solid Basics, along with really good Charisma, and stupid amounts of Power, Star Quality and Menace.

At this point in his career, he's unable to put on more than a "meh" match, in which his opponent is carrying him. But my god, give him a Menace angle and he's gold. He's gained 2-3 points of overness in three months on Menace angles alone. Figuring out how to use him effectively is going to be one of my biggest goals. I suspect he absolutely is going to wind up in the "Bodyguard" role for someone.

Only in pro wrestling...um excuse me: Sports Entertainment

CGC strikes me as an outfit that is old-fashioned enough to use "wrestling" and hate the term "Sports Entertainment", while completely being a SE company in how they book. I don't know, you could argue WCW 1991-1994 managed to pull that particular combo off, so I suppose there is real world precedent.

Don't forget that the Dirty White Boys are immediately recognizable in the states, because of their SWF fame. Maybe that is why the booker did this. Are you sure you are the right man to be the reporter of this promotion? Maybe ask to swap with Sarah?

The Dirty White Boys kind of remind me of the Nasty Boys in some ways. I mean, you'd recognize them, you just might not recognize them having been particularly good. That's a bit harsh on DWB, though. They have some uses, and again, got some really solid Menace and surprisingly good Stamina on Grease Hogg.

Whippy the Clown should face Gargantuan and be killed, like dead for 3 months.

A distressingly likely possibility, given that Whippy has been in a "jobber to the stars" position for me. Though I also consider his decent Mic skills, his Acting skills, his Charisma and his surprisingly good Star Quality and I can't help but wonder if he shouldn't get one final push before his body starts breaking down.

Also, I mean, at least ONE of the DeColt boys HAS to join the upstarts, right? And one of Elite too. The question for me is figuring out who's got the best reasons for doing so. You make a compelling argument for Jack DeColt.

Tiberious · March 25, 2016

Nice first show, I like your reporting style and I'll definitely be following this.

kingjames · March 26, 2016

Second Week of March, 2013

Hey there Golden Boys and Girls! Welcome to the second recap of Canadian Golden Combat's "Title Belt Wrestling". Last week, Alex DeColt spat hot fire, the DeColts beat a couple of angry bikers, and Adrian Garcia ripped on somebody's marriage. Also, I nicknamed Gargantuan "Gargie" and I now live in fear that he'll find out somehow and punch all of my blood out.

Onto the show!

Dark Match: Donte Dunn & Joey Poison defeat Prometheus & Blockbuster

Donte Dunn is kind of infuriating as a wrestler. On one hand, the guy seems like he’s got the tools to be at least a steady upper midcarder. On the other hand, his in-ring work is super hit or miss, and this match is a miss, even as he goes over two dudes that each look to be twice as big as him. Also, how weird is it that two of CGC’s jobbers are these huge friggin’ dudes who look like they might be Gargantuan’s even-less-talented cousins? Who knows, though, maybe one or both of them will pick up some much needed experience and become the rare monster heel that can actually work. (Segment Rating: 45)

Dark Match: Greyson & Maxmillion Promo

Dark match promo? Dark promo? Anyway, Zeus Maxmillion is definitely the better talker of the two. Stevie Greyson...he’s been in two tag teams where his partner has gone onto much bigger things while he languishes in the midcard, or worse. Might have to start calling the partner that gets left behind when you split up a tag team “The Greyson”. The promo is a call-out of the Soldiers of Fortune, suggesting a possible match at WrestleFestival. The tag division has been so heavily de-emphasized in CGC I kind of forgot they were the champs, to be honest. (Segment Rating: 50)

Dark Match: Whippy the Clown defeats Brett Fraser

Whippy actually gets a win! Like a real, honest-to-goodness pinfall victory! Unfortunately, he looked completely off doing so! What was going on with these dark show matches? Working with an increasingly creaky Brett Fraser maybe didn’t help the match, but Whippy’s timing just looked off from bell to bell. I dunno, maybe actually winning a match has become so foreign a concept that he forgot how to do it? (Segment Rating: 56)

CGC Title Belt Wrestling

Venue: Rogers K-Rock Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Attendance: 5,700 (Sold out)

Promo: Trent Shaffer, God’s Perfect Asshole

This week’s show opens with Trent Shaffer complaining that WrestleFestival is three weeks away and he still doesn’t have a match scheduled. He says since apparently everyone’s too busy to set up a match for the hottest prospect in CGC, he’s laying out an open challenge for both nights of WrestleFestival. The challenge is open to anyone in the world who wants to get a little shine from losing to the best wrestler in CGC.

This is some top-shelf heel work from Shaffer. Technically, he’s got a legitimate beef - he’s a former Canadian champion and three weeks away from the biggest event of the year he’s less than an afterthought. The genius comes in airing that grievance in the single most condescending, overblown, and, most of all, arrogant way possible. Last week, I didn't care that he didn't have a match. Now, I definitely want to see Trent Shaffer in a match at WrestleFestival, where at the end he gets his head removed like a Sub-Zero fatality victim. This right here? This is how you heel, folks. (Segment Rating: 78)

Match: Gargantuan defeats Shane Nelson

Remember my concerns last week about the hype for the Gargantuan-Price Canadian Championship match being far, far better than the actual resulting match we’re going to get? My fears are only fueled by this match. Shane Nelson, whose default expression unfortunately seems to read “I’m a goober”, takes the pin in a match so obviously scripted it might as well be a reality show. I don’t know if Gargantuan actually knows how to sell anyone’s offense, possibly because the man is actually an escaped secret government testing project to create a supersoldier who cannot feel pain. Though if that is true, said supersoldier shouldn’t look like he’s on the verge of blowing up in a match that lasts just under ten minutes. The Ultimate Backbreaker is a damned cool finisher, though, credit where it’s due. Seeing an actual, real-life person performing Bane's Bat-Breaker, without the help of strings or CGI, is by definition crazy awesome. (Segment Rating: 55)

Promo: Price to Pay

And now we get to the good part of Gargantuan appearing on the show, as he sets up a table and prepares to powerbomb the thoroughly defeated Shane Nelson through the table and into one or possibly all of the Nine Hells. Before he can do it, Christian Price runs out, chair in hand. The distraction’s enough that Gargantuan lets Nelson drop to the canvas. Nelson rolls out of the ring, in what may be the single smartest decision he's made in his entire life. Gargantuan keeps his ground, but so does Price, and when Gargantuan realizes Price isn’t going to back down he smashes the table with a single clubbing forearm before going stomping his way to the back. Price sells the moment like he just played chess with Death and won. Or maybe checkers, I get the sense chess probably isn’t Gargie’s speed. Anyway, another good segment of build to a potentially underwhelming match. (Segment Rating: 70)

Match: Nate Johnson defeats El Diablo del Norte

What happens when you take an underused veteran, put him in a match against a high-flying indie darling up and comer, and let them go all out in a 6-minute match? Apparently, nothing terribly compelling. The weird thing is, these two had a dark match in Diablo’s first CGC appearance that was notably better than this match. Maybe the kid withered under the lights and needs a little more time getting used to the...well, not maybe BIG time, but bigger than Prince Edward Island. That reference probably doesn’t mean anything to anyone in the United States, does it? Anyway, Johnson gets the pin and Diablo probably goes back to working dark matches for a while. (Segment Rating: 50)

Promo: The Inevitable Jack DeColt Call-Out

After being absent last week, Jack DeColt cuts a hellacious promo this week. Alex DeColt setting Jack up as being mad enough to do something he might regret pays off in a promo where Jack doesn’t confuse being angry with acting heelish. He talks about being betrayed, losing the only thing that matters to him. The only thing he’s got left is his pride. He says he’s tired of chasing Dan DaLay, he’s tired of the run-ins and the triple-teaming. He demands a match with Dan DaLay at WrestleFestival to settle things, once and for all.

Looks like we’ve got another match set up for WrestleFestival, and this one ought to be doozy. You don’t usually talk about multi-time world champions as being overshadowed, but I’ve felt like Jack DeColt’s excellent career has been somewhat in the shade of his older brother Alex. Ricky’s young enough that he’ll have his time when he’s the last DeColt brother working and won’t have to share the spotlight. Jack might get a couple of years when he’s the oldest DeColt brother working, but his body will probably be giving out almost as much as his older brother’s by the time that happens. It’s just bad timing that sucks, because I think you can make a legitimate argument that of all the DeColts left in CGC, Jack’s actually the best of the bunch. (Segment Rating: 80)

Match: Jack & Ricky DeColt defeat Soldiers of Fortune (Tag Champs), by DQ

Is this going to be a thing now that CGC is broadcasting to American audiences, that the main events are going to be a DeColt Brothers tag team against a veteran heel team in underwhelming matches? The crazy thing is, both teams have really good chemistry with their partners, but the Soldiers of Fortune are noticeably slowing down with age. Fate of the Soldiers of Fortune seems particularly bit by the old age bug. Still, Jack DeColt is operating on another level right now and he looked fantastic out there, which made this match a lot more watchable than I thought it was going to be. The ending sees Dan DaLay interfering in the match for a DQ victory for the DeColt Brothers, which I guess means DaLay wasn’t particularly moved by Jack DeColt’s earlier admonition against Elite run-ins. (Segment Rating: 68)

Promo: The Elite’s Weekly Exercise

Shooter Sean Deeley and Eddie Chandler soon join DaLay in the post-match beatdown. The Decolts manage to hold their own for a minute or two but the damned numbers game is just too much. Just when it looks like it’s going to turn ugly, Alex DeColt hits the ring. With the odds evened, the DeColt Brothers manage to turn the tide and clear the Elites from the ring. Vintage CGC booking! (Segment Rating: 77)

Promo: The DeColts are Ready to Rumble

Immediately following the previous segment, the DeColt brothers (mostly Alex and Jack, Ricky’s still not quite to the level of his brothers on the stick) issue a challenge to the Elite - one night of WrestleFestival, the DeColt want Elite as a group, and the next night they want them each, one-on-one. The crowd roars its approval and it looks like you’ve got the top of the WrestleFestival cards set for each night. Sometimes the obvious booking decisions are the right booking decisions, and given how bananas the crowd goes as the show ends, I think you have to say this was the right decision. (Segment Rating: 80)

Final Thoughts

Another solid show building up to WrestleFestival, though it does feel like the desire to save really good matches for WrestleFestival means we’re getting less than marquee matches on free (well, kind of free) TV. The promos are doing a great job of selling the PPV, even if the matches might otherwise make you question shilling out for the Biggest Show From Coast to Coast.

Final Show Rating: 70

Rating 1.41 on Maple Leaf TV (Canada), 0.03 on National Pride TV (US).

combolock · March 26, 2016

Alex Decolt beats Eddie Chandler?

Dan Dalay beats Jack?

Ricky beats Shooter?

Don't think Alex loses to Chandler or Shooter, and Elite has to win one match to not look like crap, so I believe Dan will squeak one over on Jack, even though Jack's promo kind of means otherwise.

Good show.

kingjames · March 27, 2016

March, Week 3

We're back and hoping third time's the charm! Welcome to the third of our recaps of Canada's second-favorite export (after poutine), Canadian Golden Combat. Last week we saw Trent Shaffer managing to be right and yet still be wrong, we set up a match at WrestleFestival for the Canadian Championship, and somehow Elite managed to sneak attack the DeColts after a match, which you think the DeColts would expect in the same way you or I expect to see the sun rise each morning.

Oh, one more thing - After next week's recap of "Title Best Wrestling", we should know the card for Days 1 and 2 of WrestleFestival. I'd love to get your predictions. Let's get to it!

Dark Match: Ozzie Golden defeats El Diablo Del Norte

Ozzie Golden’s a bit of a mystery to me. He seems like he’s got some very serious star potential, but he just doesn’t seem to have a “hook” to get his momentum going. Which is why he’s doing dark matches with an even-younger promising rookie. Short, competently executed match. I hope in a few years we’ll see this pairing again competing for the Canadian Championship. (Segment Rating: 51)

Dark Match: Thrill Seeker defeats Prometheus

Going from promising rookies to...something entirely else, we got Prometheus in the second match of the night. He looked like, to put it bluntly, booty. But man, Thrill Seeker looked clean, crisp, and like he had something to prove. Maybe that something was dragging a decent match out of Frankenstein’s less graceful brother, because I semi-secretly liked this match more than the Golden/Diablo match. IWC CARD: REVOKED. (Segment Rating: 56)

Dark Match: Gargantuan defeats Donte Dunn

Speaking of lumbering piles of meat, Gargantuan defeats Donte Dunn, who looked good tonight. Unfortunately, this match did not. Just how friggin’ long do you need to take to set up a chokeslam, Gargie, for crying out loud? (Segment 46)

Dark Match: Ryan Powell defeats Skp Beau

Holy crap, I forgot that Ryan Powell even worked for this company! Seriously, I feel like it’s been a month or more since I saw him. That rust was very evident in this match, because Powell did not look like a steady veteran hand. (Segment Rating: 51)

Dark Match: Shane Nelson & Christian Price defeat The Predators (Nathan Black & Warren Technique)

The last of the dark matches and possibly the best of the bunch. Even still, Nathan Black and Warren Technique are still a couple of vanilla midgets compared to other, more charismatic workers, or more exciting cruiserweights. Technique’s got a little upside, but I can’t help but think he’s more of a NOTBPW guy than a CGC star-in-the-making. (Segment Rating: 57)

CGC Title Belt Wrestling

Venue: Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec, Canada

Attendance: 5,000 (Sold out)

Promo: Alex DeColt Sets the Table

Even though WrestleFestival is the biggest match of the year, there’s still a lot of the CGC roster that doesn’t have anything to do. The Boss changes that with two big announcements. The first is a $25,000, over-the-top rope battle royale for the first night of WrestleFestival. The second is another battle royale the next day - but this time, he says, the prize is richer...the number 1 contendership for the Canadian Championship! But, a prize as rich as that has to be earned, so this battle royale isn’t over-the-top rope, but pinfall or submission only!

I think it’s safe to say the DeColts have figured out a way for the roster to earn their WrestleFestival bonuses. People like battle royales, and the hook of $25,000 gives a sufficient reason for the first to occur. It’s also now canon that we can set the minimum value of the number 1 contendership for the Canadian title at a minimum of $25,001. I say we Kickstart getting Whippy the Clown a shot at the belt. (Segment rating: 76)

Promo: Chandler Makes It Official

Last week we heard there was going to be both a group match between the DeColts and the Elites, as well as individual match-ups at WrestleFestival. What we didn’t get was who was going to take on who. It seemed fairly obvious Jack DeColt is going to take on Dan DaLay but that left two DeColts and two Elites. Of the two remaining Elites, Shooter Deeley is hell of a worker but Eddie Chandler is a more complete package. Deeley might have delighted people who think CGC focuses more on pagentry than in-ring work, or would have shaken things up, but Chandler is a hell of a worker too and if the DeColts are going to shake things up, they won’t do it at WrestleFestival. CGC is not a company to mess with a winning formula without a very good reason.

Chandler interrupts Alex DeColt’s promo about WrestleFestival, probably a good idea, it was starting to feel a little long. He says he gets that the DeColts own CGC, but he says the Elite run this place. So, if The Boss is going to book him into a match at WrestleFestival without talking to him, that’s fine. But he wants two things. One, he wants the CGC World Championship. Two, he wants to prove to the world that the Elite can and will outlast the DeColt dynasty. So he not only wants the World Championship on the line, but he wants it to be a Last Man Standing match! DeColt considers it for a moment and then says, “You’re on.” The crowd pops and we’ve got ourselves a WrestleFestival main event. (Segment Rating: 81)

Promo: Grease Hogg is Growing On Me, Wait, That Sounds Kinda Gross

Two weeks ago, the main event was a tag match between Alex and Ricky DeColt against the Dirty White Boys, in a match that I enjoyed more than I expected. This week, continuity happens as Grease Hogg slams shut Ricky DeColt’s locker right as he opens it. Greasy growls he doesn’t think Ricky is so tough when he doesn’t have his big brothers there to save him, and says he wants to prove it in a match tonight, if Ricky’s got the nerve. Ricky opens his locker, cool as a cucumber, then tells Hogg to meet him out in the ring. Simple stuff, but providing context for why two guys are fighting beyond “they are good at wrestling” is one of the most fundamental things about pro wrestling that I feel a lot of “modern” feds don’t get. (Segment Rating: 65)

Match: Ricky DeColt defeats Grease Hogg

As alluded to in the previous title, I may have been a little harsh on at least one half of the Dirty White Boys. Grease Hogg wrestles a big man’s wrestling style, but he knows how to piece it all together with remarkably solid fundamentals. Hogg comes out with Lead Belly, the other half of DWB, but DeColt comes out alone. I note this because it actually pays off later. This match features the inevitable Lead Belly attempting to hit Ricky and hitting Hogg instead, but it’s not used as a finish, which gives Ricky a clean victory. I wound up liking this match more than I thought I would, and I don’t know if I’m ready to live in a world where Grease Hogg is someone whose matches I wind up really getting hype about. (Segment Rating: 70)

Promo: Send in the Clown

It’s a Whippy the Clown sighting on television! Not only that, but Vin Tanner, too. That old buzzard must be, what, 100 years old? Anyway, they’ve got Tanner playing chess with his tag partner Brett Fraser, itself a fairly hilarious image. Tanner is about to make a move when Whippy passes, sucks in his breath, and says, “Oh, you don’t want to do that. Move the bishop”. Tanner gives him a look like he ripped a nuclear fart, and completes the move. Fraser makes his move immediately and says “Checkmate.” Whippy giggles and Tanner shoots him a look that, if Tanner had laser eyes, would have incinerated the clown.

That’s all we get out of this segment, but hey, I got at least a little chuckle out of it even if it was a bit high school drama club in its acting subtlety. Besides, if you’re going to have a clown character on your roster, he either needs to be doing funny stuff or be the stuff of pure nightmares, right? (Segment rating: 50)

Promo: Shoot to Thrill, Ricky

Ricky’s back in the locker room after his earlier match when Adrian Garcia and Shooter Sean Deeley walk in. Ricky immediately jumps to his feet and puts up his dukes, which, given how Elite’s been giving away post-match beatings like it’s Halloween candy, makes total sense. Garcia tells Ricky they’re not there to fight, at least not yet. Ricky keeps his dukes up because he’s not a total idiot, but he’s listening. Garcia says he’s here to propose a match between his client, the Old School Warrior, Sean Deeley and Ricky DeColt at WrestleFestival. I want to highlight the best parts of the segment from from Garcia:

“You know, Ricky, we watched your match against Grease Hogg. You went out there all by yourself, without your brothers. We were impressed, legitimately impressed. Now, I know a lot of people out there look at you as the “kid tagalong” of your older brothers. A lesser star whose brightness is lost in the glow of the rest of your family. Someone who no one would care about if you weren’t part of your family. But we don’t say that. We think you might actually be the most talented of the bunch. Which is why my client, the Walking Wrestling School, Shooter Sean Deeley, told me he wanted you in a thirty-minute Iron Man match at WrestleFestival! You ready to prove to everyone you’re not just getting by on your family’s name?”

Ricky simply says, “You’re on” and we’ve got ourselves the second DeColt/Elite solo match. I love this promo by Garcia. I love it because there’s nothing he says that isn’t, at least on some level, true. Ricky is definitely the third of the three DeColt brothers in popular view. There are internet nerds (pot calling kettles here) who, because Ricky doesn’t cut promos like his brothers, like him much better than his brothers. And the best part of the promo is that you could take everything he says about Ricky, change “family” to “stable”, and apply all of it to Deeley just as well. This Iron Man match has the got the potential to be a show-stealer between two overshadowed but very, very good talents. (Segment Rating: 71)

Match: Shooter Sean Deeley defeats Joey Poison in a Submission Match

Following the promo from Garcia, we get Deeley in a submission match against Joey Poison. Poison doesn’t seem like he’s giving it his all, possibly because he’s being fed to Deeley in order to build toward someone else’s match. Still, I think it’s impossible for Deeley to wrestle a bad match and a submission match plays directly to his strengths. Deeley puts on a clinic and gets Poison to tap to a seated stretch armbar in a solid 11 minute match. (Segment rating: 64)

Promo: All Angelo, All Night Long

Angelo Garcia finds Nate Johnson backstage before his strap match(!) for the CGC Championship. He tells Johnson that if he can beat Alex DeColt for the title tonight, he is definitely elite. He offers to accompany Johnson out to the ring tonight and says if Johnson wins, he’s not just elite, he’ll be Elite. Johnson accepts the offer.

Now, on one hand, I get the motivation here. Garcia’s been trying to pry the CGC Championship off Alex DeColt for over a year. The last thing he wants to have happen is for someone else outside of Elite to wind up with the belt. So of course he’ll want to offer Johnson membership in Elite, but only if he wins the belt. If Johnson doesn’t win, he’s useless to Garcia. On the other hand, I’m not sure what Johnson’s motivation to accept is. Maybe he thinks he’s going to get Elite’s help in the match? It’s not well explained. I can come up with reasons but if I have to start making my own explanations based on pure speculation, then something’s missing from the segment. (Segment raing: 57)

Match: Alex DeColt (CGC World Champion) defeats Nate Johnson in a Strap Match

Apparently my complaints about TBW episodes ending with the DeColts vs. midcard heel teams were listened to because we get a one-on-one title match this week. It’s a long one, too - 20 minutes or so, not counting the commercial break. Down deep, Alex DeColt is a brawler so a strap match is in his wheelhouse, but Nate Johnson, normally incredibly reliable, seems a little lost in this main event. I’m not sure how many of these he’s actually done, maybe that’s why he seemed a bit off. Not that he looked really bad, of course - Johnson may be lacking on the entertaining segments, but even when he’s off his game he’s still more fundamentally sound than most of a generally sound roster. Angelo Garcia makes his presence known but does not interfere in the match at all, not even a distraction - good to see they kept up the pretense of an “audition” to join the Elite, so of course Garcia wants to see if he can win without help.

The drama of a strap match kicks in when you’ve got three posts touched and someone’s looking to seal the deal with a fourth. Interestingly, the booking here sees Alex DeColt get to three posts no less than three times only to have Johnson make a desperate break, while Johnson accomplishes the feat only once in this match. Normally, it’s the heel that gets close to winning and then the face manages to overcome all odds. That said, given how dominantly booked Alex DeColt is (seriously, he’s not lost a match this year, not even a tag match), I think putting him in a position where he’s just inches away from losing probably wouldn’t be bought by fans. By reversing the usual dynamic, the match is more about whether Johnson can sneak in an unexpected win. He doesn’t, of course, because WrestleFestival is two weeks away and are you really going to have Nate Johnson holding the gold going into the biggest show of the year instead of Alex DeColt? (Segment Rating: 71)

Promo: Caged Heat

Following the main event, Jack DeColt comes to the ring and calls Dan DaLay out. DaLay obliges, with Hotstuff Marie (looking fine as always) and Angelo Garcia (not so much) in tow. Jack says he never had anything else in mind for WrestleFestival than a match between himself and DaLay. DaLay says he didn’t either. DeColt says he’s tired of chasing DaLay, tired of the post-match ambushes, tired of being blindsided in uneven fights. Garcia claims Elite is only protecting themselves, coming together in a group, staying cohesive...unlike Jack’s marriage, the Elite sticks together. Ice cold, Garcia.

DeColt does a perfect tranquil fury moment, and then says, he wants this settled with DaLay, man to man. No interference, no cheap count outs or DQs. Two men, in the ring, with only one man stepping out victorious. So that’s why he’s gotten approval for a cage match, DaLay vs. DeColt, at WrestleFestival. The crowd pops at the idea, Garcia stomps his feet in rage and disbelief, Hotstuff Marie gives the stink eye (sexily too; how, I don’t know) and DaLay merely says, “You’re on” as the show closes. (Segment Rating: 77)

Final Thoughts

The WrestleFestival card definitely got fleshed out tonight. We know the participants of the three DeColt/Elite matches, and each one of them has a stipulation. Is that overbooking the event? Maybe. At the same time, I feel like each of the stipulations is thematically appropriate. DaLay and Jack in a cage is an obvious environment for a blood feud. Alex and Chandler in a last man standing match fits with the idea that the DeColts endure, and Elite wanting to show they’re as human as anyone else. Ricky and Shooter in an Iron Man match gives the third-wheel of each group a platform upon which they can stake their claim as something more, with the inherent pressure and drama of the clock elevating what might have been seen as the least of the three matches.

We’ve also got not one but two battle royales, one each night. There’s a David champion vs. a Goliath challenger on the books at this point as well. Trent Shaffer’s got an open challenge set for both nights. We’re still missing something involving the tag belts, which you have to think will be defended at WrestleFestival, even if they are clearly the least important championship in CGC. Whippy and Vin Tanner’s beef is either going to get resolved next week or it’ll get incorporated into WrestleFestival. There’s definitely room for some of the undercard to solidify, but the marquee match-ups are locked in going into the final airing of Title Belt Wrestling before CGC’s biggest night of the year. This is like being two weeks away from Christmas as a kid, when it feels like time has slowed to a crawl. I want it to be WrestleFestival NOW, damn it!

Final Show Rating: 74

CGC Title Belt Wrestling drew a 1.41 on Maple Leaf TV (Canada) and a 0.03 on National Pride TV (US)

MisterRomanini · March 28, 2016

I'm really digging your "dirt sheet" style of writing. Makes me believe that the WrestleFestival is bound to be a great event.

kingjames · March 30, 2016

March, Week 4

It's time, once again, for everyone to get aboard the CGC train! This is the fourth of these recaps, and the go-home show before the biggest two days wrestling festival in the world, WrestleFestival! Last week we saw two battle royales announced, the DeColts and Elites got their matches set up, and we discovered a wrestling clown is better than an old dude at chess.

Dark Match Round-Up

Since they don't actually count, as far as canon goes, I'm going to only summarize dark matches from here on in.

Gargantuan def. Skip Beau

Joey Poison def. Prometheus, Blockbuster & Warren Technique

Bobby Thompson, Nate Powell, & Nate Johnson def. Nathan Black & the House of Old School (Vin Tanner & Brett Fraser)

CGC Title Belt Wrestling

FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Attendance: 17,400 (Sold Out)

Interior of FirstOntario Centre: http://musictour.eu/data/uploads/media/halls/1810/47c65aeca6b819fd456c7b6d4e5267fa.jpg

Exterior (under previous name "Copps Coliseum"): http://assets3.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/copps_colisuem_big-640x350.jpg

That's right, we're getting fancy and providing pictures of the arenas, because why imagine something you can see with your own eyes, right? Right! Anyway, let's get to the go-home show just a day before WrestleFestival.

Promo: Everyday He's Doing the Hustle

Trent Shaffer starts the show in the ring, and demands someone come out and lose to him. Ridiculous funk music - like, 45 year old white balding white dads with ponytails playing at your corner pub ridiculous funk music - plays and we're introduced to a new member of the CGC roster, KC Sunshine! Apparently he's done some indie work in the US and did a tour of Japan under the name KC Glenn. I assume he was not running a "Disco Stu" (or "Funk Stu", I guess) gimmick at that time. I will say, though, the kid absolutely is owning the gimmick. There's just enough self-awareness of how ridiculous it is for it to become incredibly endearing. And he is definitely werkin' those star-shaped sunglasses and disco-ball boots.

Match: Trent Shaffer def. KC Sunshine

I cannot say the gimmick prepared me for how good this Sunshine kid is. It's a short match and Shaffer definitely never looks to be in any serious trouble, but you can really see even at his young age - what I could find on him says he's only 21, which is bananas that he's this good if that's true - how he does all of the little things right. There are veterans who don't have those things down. Combine that with someone on the cusp of greatness like Shaffer and you get a hell of a match out of nowhere.

Shaffer wins and continues to beat on the kid for a little bit after the match because, as we have noted previously, Trent Shaffer is a magnificent, unbelievable asshole. (Segment Rating: 61 match, 71 angles)

Match: The Soldiers of Fortune (Fate & Destiny; CGC Tag Team Champions) def. Donte Dunn & El Diablo del Norte

A tune up match for the CGC tag titles match at WrestleFestival between the Soldiers of Fortune and the team of Zeus & Stevie. The Soldiers look old in the ring, and even in their prime they weren't exactly technical geniuses. They beat the hell out of Dunn & El Diablo, but everything looks kind of clunky even if it also looks legit stiff. But it's that kind of stiff where it hurts more than it should while also looking less like it actually hurts, which is the polar opposite of what you're aiming for in pro graps. Luckily, the match ends in just under five minutes, so no one got a legit injury or had their knees disintegrate. That is, sadly, the highlight of the match. (Segment Rating: 48)

Promo: Not Clowning Around

Last week Whippy the Clown was found to be an abnormally good chess player. We also discovered crusty veteran Vin Tanner and took-hat-wearing backwoods nutter Brett Fraser apparently play chess backstage. It's honestly one of the most absurd visuals I've ever seen watching professional wrestling, and given the general absurdity of professional wrestling, that's saying something.

This week, we get much more mundane, as Tanner & Fraser sneak attack Whippy backstage and say they'll see him at WrestleFestival. Mundane, you know, because a middle-aged man and a flannel-clad backwoodsman physically assaulting a clown on national television is definitely totally normal and perfectly explicable. God, I love pro wrestling. (Segment Rating: 55)

Promo: Teasestuff Marie

Next we go to Elite's locker room, where Dan DaLay is getting ready for a match with Hotstuff Marie's assistance. Marie, you may recall, was kidnapped by Elite a few weeks ago and went all Patty Hearst, joining up with the men who kidnapped her. DaLay says he's going to destroy Zeus Maxmillion in tonight's hardcore (!) match. He then says a kiss for good luck can't hurt and goes in for the kiss, only to be blocked by Marie. She reminds him of their deal - nothing until he destroys her husband, Jack, at WrestleFestival. DaLay looks like he might ignore their deal and go for it anyway, but he grunts his assent and says it's a done deal.

It's a good sequence, well-performed by both DaLay and Marie, and it definitely builds up the heat for the DaLay/Jack DeColt cage match at WrestleFestival. Also, I love how they establish no hanky-panky (because CGC is the kind of organization that might still use the term "hanky-panky") has gone on between DaLay and Marie, because we're a family outfit at CGC. A family outfit running stories involving Stockholm Syndrome. (Segment Rating: 77)

Segment: You Should Be Worried

We get one more segment before the hardcore match between Zeus and DaLay. Stevie Greyson, Zeus' tag partner, says he's worried about Zeus taking on a hardcore match with WrestleFestival just a day away. Zeus says he'll be all right and there's nothing that will stop them from becoming the new tag champions.

Greyson and Zeus' sequence is hurt by coming right after Marie and DaLay, who have a hotter story and are generally better at the backstage stuff than either Greyson or Zeus. Still, it advances the story of the tag team championship match, which is good since it's at times almost forgotten on TV. (Segment Rating: 59)

Match: Dan DaLay def. Zeus Maxmillion in a Hardcore Match

You ever hear people talking about the movie where Julie Andrews went topless after years of wholesome family entertainment, and how though Julie Andrews was a very attractive woman, it just felt wrong, somehow? This match is the equivalent of that. CGC is just not a hardcore promotion. The performers looked uncomfortable in that environment, plus the weapon usage was not terribly believable, nor was it well-incorporated into the story of the match. I think the idea here was to sell Dan DaLay as a brutal monster while upping the drama for the tag title match at WrestleFestival, which maybe happened, especially with DaLay continuing to assault Zeus after the match ended. What definitely happened, however, was a stinker of a match, which will probably be the last hardcore match we see in CGC for some time. To which I say, thank god. (Segment Rating: Match 47, Promo/Beatdown: 58)

Match: Eddie Chandler def. Thrill Seeker

As bad as the previous match was, is how good this match is. Thrill Seeker, formerly Lee Rivera, is definitely under-the-radar good. He's not great in promos, which holds him back, but he's got tons of in-ring charisma and just has an aura about him in the ring that makes him watchable. Eddie Chandler is the most complete, well-rounded member of Elite, and the right choice to be the challenger for the CGC World Championship in the main event of WrestleFestival.

Chandler and Thrill Seeker are given 18 or so minutes to stretch their legs and tell a story, and they absolutely manage to do so. Garcia's a pest at ringside and we get a distraction spot or two during the match, but the interference is not central to the match. Chandler's got a good main-event style, mix of some brawling, and some very basic but very well-executed maneuvers. Thrill Seeker takes to the air, getting in dropkicks and hurricaranas, but also showing he can go move-for-move in the technical department. We get a few near-falls for each, including one 2 3/4ths count on a roll-up by Rivera, before Chandler ends it with an armbar reversal into a Fabulous Stretch submission hold in the center of the ring, where Thrill Seeker taps out.

A very solid match. Performances like this could help Thrill Seeker finally break that glass ceiling out of upper midcard status and into the main event, if he can keep the momentum up. Props to Eddie Chandler, too, wrestling a long main event the day before the biggest shows of the year have him in both days' main events. Putting Thrill Seeker over as a legit challenger didn't have to happen, but it did, and it makes me excited to see both at WrestleFestival. (Segment Rating: 70)

Promo: And We're Off!

After the match, Chandler is joined by the remainder of Elite. They call out the DeColts, who oblige. The factions trade barbs back and forth, and there's a ton of great tension, but no one makes the first move. It looks like we're going to get out of the promo without a fight as the DeColts leave the ring, but as soon as all three DeColts have their backs turn, their WrestleFestival opponents all rush them and start the attack. The crowd erupts as there is utter chaos in the ring, referees and backstage officials are trying to regain order, and it's an absolute mess in the ring as the show goes off the air. They'll continue this at WrestleFestival, so if you want to see what happens, buy the PPV! Perfect booking to get people to buy the card. (Segment Rating: 78)

Final Show Score: 70

CGC Title Belt Wrestling did a 1.44 on Maple Leaf Sports (Canada) and a 0.05 on National Pride TV (US).

Final Thoughts

The wrestling on the show was very mixed, as we got a surprisingly good opener and a very good main event, but two stinkers sandwiched in between. But the show got done what it was supposed to get done, as it advanced storylines leading into WrestleFestival, leaving enough unresolved to make you want to buy the PPV to see how things get resolved. Not the best episode in the world, maybe a tad underwhelming lead into the two biggest days of the year for CGC, but then again, maybe they were just holding back knowing they've got two days of wear and tear coming up.

So, between what was announced and what I've picked up from online rumors, here's WrestleFestival, Day 1's card. Give me your predictions, and I'll ask for your predictions for Day 2 in my next column. Person with the most right answers gets a No-Prize and my eternal admiration

Your Predictions!

Trent Shaffer vs. ??? in an Open Challenge

$25,000 Over-the-Top Rope Battle Royale: Gargantuan, Thrill Seeker, Nate Johnson, Joey Poison, Bobby Thomas, Ozzie Golden, Grease Hogg, Lead Belly and some other jobbers with no chance of winning

Whippy the Clown vs. Vin Tanner

Christian Price (CGC Canadian Champion) vs. Debuting Worker

The DeColt Brothers vs. Elite in a 3-on-3, one-fall tag match

Bonus Question 1: Which member of which faction in the main event will pick up the win, and who will be the loser?

Bonus Question 2: Who will win the $25,000 Battle Royale, who will be the second place finisher, who will be the other two finalists, and who will score the most eliminations?

combolock · March 30, 2016

$25,000 Over-the-Top Rope Battle Royale: Gargantuan, and some other jobbers with no chance of winning.

Comment: Fixed this for you. Look at 2015 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale.

Whippy the Clown vs. Vin Tanner

Comment: Whippy is main event material. I hate Vin with a passion.

Christian Price (CGC Canadian Champion) vs. Debuting Worker

Comment: If an Uppermidcard Title is being given to a a debuting worker...CGC would jump the shark.

The DeColt Brothers vs. Elite in a 3-on-3, one-fall tag match

Comments: Marie is going to distract Jack. Duh...Alex and Ricky are pissed.

Bonus Question 1: Which member of which faction in the main event will pick up the win, and who will be the loser?

Comments: Shooter Deeley will pin Jack Decolt. I have no idea why this is my prediction.

Bonus Question 2: Who will win the $25,000 Battle Royale, who will be the second place finisher, who will be the other two finalists, and who will score the most eliminations?

Comments: Will not attempt this question.

kingjames · April 1, 2016

WrestleFestival, Day 1

Thanks for sticking with these recaps through to the first PPV we've covered, and what a big one we're covering - the biggest two day wrestling festival in North America, and probably in the world, WrestleFestival. Let's get right into thing.

WrestleFestival, Day 1

FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Attendance: 17,400 (Sold Out)

In what I'm sure was both a logistically and financially smart move, the first day of WrestleFestival was held at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, same location as the go-home episode of Title Belt Wrestling. Day 2 is moving down the road to the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto.

Dark Match: Thrill Seeker & Shane Nelson def. KC Sunshine & Skip Beau

A bit of nostalgia and a bit of the future in this match. Thrill Seeker & Shane Nelson were once Youth Energy, 3-time CGC Tag Team Championship winners. They’ve been split up for a few years but I’ll be damned if they don’t still have great chemistry. It’s like riding a bike, these two. For their part, the young guys look good, especially Sunshine. One day they’ll decide he’s ready to step it up past opening jobber, and hopefully that day will also be the end of a ridiculous gimmick he’s still managing to get over super hard. (Segment Rating: 64)

Promo: This! Is! WrestleFestival!

We open with a video segment talking about the history of WrestleFestival, old clips, all that. Good idea for the Americans who are new to CGC. Really solid video editing here, props to the production crew. The voiceover work on the video, done by Adrian Garcia, Davis Ditterich, and Jenny Playmate, is suitably epic yet totally serious. A good way to kick off the show. (Segment Rating: 64)

Promo: No Toolbox Big Enough for This Tool; or, What’s Jacob Jett doing in the WrestleFestival Zone!?!?

Looks like Trent Shaffer and his open challenge is getting the opening match slot. Shaffer starts in the ring with a mic, talking about how he’s had this challenge open for two full weeks and no one in that locker room wants to get embarrassed on the biggest stage of them all. Shaffer says it’s not just the locker room, either - that no man in Canada wants to face him. The arena is booing him hard enough to take the roof off. Previously unheard music shuts him up, and he stares confused at the entranceway, where we finally see Shaffer’s opponent: “The Amazing” Jacob Jett!

For those not hooked into the Canadian scene, this is a choice signing. There had been rumors that Jett had given his notice to his former employers 4C, but no one was talking. Looks like not only were the rumors true, but it’s CGC that poached him. Jett’s a major talent in the making, one of the biggest names if not the biggest name 4C had. He’s got a natural, can’t take your eyes off charisma, which is crucial to going up the ladder in CGC, plus really good on-camera work. But he can also really go in the ring, which this crowd is about to find out. (Segment Ratings: Shaffer Promo 76, Jett Debut 61)

Match: Trent Shaffer def. Jacob Jett

Jacob Jett does not get the upset in his first match, the first match of WrestleFestival 2013. But he and Trent Shaffer don’t leave ANYTHING on the shelf in this 10-minute barnburner of a match. Even with the loss, Jett looks fantastic - he goes move for move, hold for hold with Trent Shaffer. He gets to show off some of his top-rope arsenal and does a fantastic plancha. Shaffer’s character work, a supreme mix of fear, that this rookie nobody might actually beat him, and anger, that this rookie nobody thinks he can beat him, is top-flight in this match-up, especially after a handful of near-falls. The end comes as Jett goes to the top rope once too often, goes for his Jett Take Off (high angle senton bomb) and gets caught in midair with a dropkick by Shaffer, which puts Jett down for the three. Shaffer doesn’t even let the ref raise his hand before attacking the prone Jett, and only once he’s done literally kicking him out of the ring does he go to the turnbuckle and raise his own arms in triumph.

This match was unbelievable. CGC gets knocked as old-fashioned for having a lower intensity than outfits like CZCW or PSW, and for better or worse, it does tend to put on less intense matches. This match was buzzing from bell to bell. And it didn’t require tons of flippy stuff, dropping dudes on their heads in legitimately dangerous ways, or blood and weaponry. Just great workrate, psychology and storytelling. Magnificent stuff, and this match really sets the bar high for the next two nights of wrestling. (Segment Rating: 77)

Promo: There's Brave, And There's Stupid

Coming down from that high, we catch Canadian Champion Christian Price with interviewer Jenny Playmate. Jenny says CGC received an anonymous challenge for the Canadian Championship earlier this morning. She also notes Price’s contract states he may choose to reject the challenge. Price says that he’s a fighting champion and no matter who it is, he’s ready to defend his title against all comers, and he’ll take on this challenger tonight.

I’m not sure how I feel about two mystery opponents on a single show. Especially since the debut of Jett was a house on fire. Also, apparently there’s a clause in Price’s contract that allows him to reject challenges to his belt? How does that work? Can he just invoke it all the time? Could he just sit in the stands and eat nachos and develop a nacho gut and never defend his title? If the mystery challenger wins, does Gargantuan still fight Price tomorrow, or does he get the new champ? If my brain is getting stuck on a detail like this, it means things didn’t get thought all the way through. Still, I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining about getting to see two Canadian Championship matches, right? Right? (Segment Rating: 57)

Match: Nate Johnson wins $25,000 Battle Royale. Runner up was Joey Poison, three and four were Ozzie Golden and Grease Hogg. Gargantuan got the most eliminations.

Here’s the first of two battle royales at this year’s WrestleFest. You’ve got a motley crew in the ring. You can scan the ring and pick out the jobbers who the announce team try to hype up as being a real contender but are there basically to be props to get thrown out by the real competitors. Gargantuan is in the match, and playing to the way professional wrestling works, the man who seems to be the one most likely to win doesn’t actually win. He doesn’t even make it to the final four. He does, however, get the most eliminations, including ones on Blockbuster and Prometheus, which kind of felt like Gargie dumping his defective clones out of the ring.

The final four winds up being Nate Johnson, Joey Poison, Ozzie Golden and Grease Hogg. It’s a three-on-one for Poison, being the babyface, but the inherent inability for heels to work together when they have an opening to take advantage of each other sees Hogg go out via a dropkick from Golden. Golden celebrates by the ropes too long and gets clotheslined right over the top. This sets up a five minute mini-match between Johnson and Poison. The end comes as Johnson reverses what looks like another clothesline over the ropes into a back body drop, sending Poison way, way up and over and down to the floor. Johnson wins the black briefcase that I am 100% certain has real money in it as a prize.

It’s hard to tell what comes next. Is this the sign of a sustained push for Johnson? Or maybe it’s Poison, seeing as how he keeps coming up short despite great performances? Is CGC pulling the trigger on a push for Golden? Or is it just that a battle royale is a great, relatively low-risk way to eat up a bunch of airtime, and someone had to win it, but don’t think too hard about it? I guess we’ll have to see. (Segment Rating: 63)

Promo: Elite Beatdown Agents

Elite - Eddie Chandler, Dan DaLay, Shooter Sean Deeley, and manager Adrian Garcia - get a chance to cut a promo here. Chandler and Garcia get most of the lines, which is good, because they are much better on the stick than DaLay or Deeley, who can get over based on being physically intimidating (DaLay) or really, really good at wrestling (Deeley). The promo is pretty standard heel boasting about how they’re better than the DeColts, but standard heel boasting being done by two of the best at doing so in CGC. A few lines, for example:

Chandler: “First, we took your woman. Then, we take the victory tonight. Tomorrow, we each, every one of us, take the victory against you one-on-one. Tomorrow, Alex, I take your title. And once each and every one of these idiotic hero-worshippers you call ‘fans’ sees how we can simply take whatever we want from you, we’ll take them away from you too. You will be left with nothing, because you are nothing, and the Elite, we are everything!”

Not sure I feel awesome about a woman being discussed in terms of “taken”, like she’s a lamp you can just swipe, but Chandler is playing the heel and as such, so long as he and his crew eventually get what’s coming to them, I will assume it’s a work comment meant to make us hate these guys even more. (Segment Rating: 70)

Match: Whippy the Clown def. Vin Tanner

After getting to see each man heading from backstage to the ring, we get the blow-off to the short Tanner/Whippy feud. I can’t help but feel like this was a popcorn match, because you can’t keep an audience hyped for three straight hours. I also suspect it was intended as one last go for Tanner at WrestleFestival. He’s 45 years old and his ring work is definitely showing it, but he’s a man who’s given his best years to the business, and I can’t dump on this match for that reason. You can tell Tanner’s old fashioned because he takes the three-count here after getting clocked by a misaimed punched from Brett Fraser, leading right into a Joke’s on You facebuster. Tanner puts forth the best effort I think his body’s capable of at this point, and if this is his last WrestleFestival, it’s a fairly good swan song. (Segment Rating: 58)

Promo: Staying Hyped

We get a promo with Zeus & Stevie. Zeus has some bandaging from his hardcore match last week, and Stevie is nervously pacing. He’s saying this may be the biggest chance of their careers and Zeus isn’t at 100%. Zeus finally puts a hand on him and tells him not to calm down, but to focus that energy. Zeus says even if he’s not at 100%, their team is more than the sum of their parts. Stevie agrees, and Zeus tells him, “C’mon, let’s go make history”.

Zeus & Stevie aren’t exactly great speakers, and the delivery is stilted and flat. Plus, I think the crowd watching was still getting back to their seats, or leaving them. Still, sometimes you need a bridge to get from Point A to Point B. (Segment Rating: 48)

Match: Greyson & Maxmillion def Soldiers of Fortune for the CGC Tag Team Championship

Fortunately, the match is better than the promo. To be honest, this match exceeded my expectations. The Soldiers of Fortune are definitely on the downside of their career, and this is probably their last rodeo with the CGC Tag Team Championship belts. In their prime, they were big, unpredictable engines of destruction, and in this match, you can see their old selves coming through. The big guys take turns back and forth, working over Stevie Greyson for most of the middle of the match. Fate and Destiny take advantage of their height and weight advantage to pull a really great “face in peril” dynamic where Stevie nearly makes the hot tag to Zeus but gets pulled back at just the last second. The crowd pops really nicely when Greyson finally makes the hot tag, and Zeus comes in throwing clotheslines like he’s got a whole warehouse full of them he’s got to clear out. He manages to take Fate over the top rope and hit Destiny with the Thunder Bolt (vertical suplex into powerslam), at which point he tags in the recovered Stevie, who goes assisted by Zeus off the top rope for the 1-2-3, and new Tag Team Champions.

This marks the second run for Zeus & Stevie with the tag belts. It’s possible the tag belts haven’t been seen much because the Soldiers of Fortune couldn’t handle a full workload. If so, then this is a fine last major match for the old guys. What I wonder is, what do you do now? The tag division isn’t terribly strong right now. Unless you go with a combination of the DeColts or Elite, the only other team of any note are the Dirty White Boys. The tag division needs some new blood desperately if they want to something other than let the tag championshp be an afterthought. (Segment Rating: 63)

Match: Christian Price def. Derek Frost to Retain CGC Canadian Championship

We find out who the new signee to CGC is as Christian Price waits in the ring - it’s Derek Frost, who was released from North of the Border Pro Wrestling earlier this month. I think CGC was expecting a bigger pop from the reveal, given the blue lights and the fake snow effects, but it seemed like the fans didn’t have much of a reaction. If I had to guess, it’s because we don’t know anything about Frost. Do we root for him, or not? Why is he here? What does he want? I mean, if they got Dan Stone Jr. to show up (never going to happen), sure, he can show up without any explanation and blow the roof off the stadium. But Frost is an upper-midcarder who was deemed surplus to NOTBPW. Just not in the same league.

That said, I think Frost won some fans with the ensuing match. It was a longish one, 18 minutes or so, that allowed Frost to work in most of his spots. Given that Price has been having to work with Gargantuan recently, I’m sure having someone whose technical skills were polished in NOTBPW was an absolute dream. Frost established he’s working heel, working in a low blow as well as a spot where he continued hammering on Price while the referees tried to get Price’s arm untangled from the ropes after Frost ducked a running jumping clothesline. The end came when Frost whipped Price to the ropes, who used the opportunity to set up the Price Check (springboard spear) and the pin.

A good match, not quite on the level as the Jett/Shaffer curtain jerker but definitely a match worthy of WrestleFestival. It’ll be interesting to see how the Canadian Championship match tomorrow between Price & Gargantuan goes. If Price can win again tomorrow, it sells him as a champion that overcomes outrageous odds to retain. If Gargantuan wins tomorrow, it gives Price an out even if Price gets destroyed by Gargantuan, because he’s fighting the day after a grueling, and unexpected 20-minute match. We’ll have to wait and see.

Well, maybe not wait that much longer. As if the 20-minute match wasn’t enough, Gargantuan runs out (jogs, more accurately) and obliterates Price after the match. Nasty choke slam, followed by a nastier ultimate backbreaker. Gargantuan then turns his gaze to Derek Frost, who’s been watching the whole time. They meet at the center of the ring, eye to eye (with significant neck-craning on Frost’s part) and...then Frost raises Gargantuan’s arm in victory. Gargantuan pounds his fist against his chest as the crowd boos. At this point, I think the only way the odds are stacked worse against Price is if they let Gargantuan use a chainsaw, while Price has angry badgers sealed into his tights. (Segment Rating: Debut 48, Match 67, Post-Match Beatdown 70)

Match: The DeColt Brothers def. Elite in a 3-on-3 Tag Match

The capstone to Day 1 of WrestleFestival is another chapter in the ongoing saga of the DeColt family fighting off a stable of those who want nothing less than to destroy them, whose present form is the Elite stable. Each team gets suitably epic entrances, though unsurprisingly, the DeColt family’s bigger and the crowd pops much, much harder.

The match itself is pretty damned good. If I’m going to quibble (which, of course I will, I’m someone on the internet writing about wrestling), we saw this same match-up just two months ago at the Elimination PPV, so it’s not the freshest matchup in the world. But on the other hand, for big match excitement, there are few things like a DeColt Brothers match, even if we have seen them in these matches for years on end. Elite is an excellent foil for the DeColts, coming across as legit enough to be a threat, which can’t be said for all of the heels thrown at the DeColts over the years.

We get a lot of combinations through the match of legal men, but the booking is set so that we don’t see a lot of the match-ups on Day 2 of WrestleFestival. Smart move, not wanting to give away the big matches tomorrow. The end of the match averts this, however, putting Ricky DeColt and Shooter Deeley into the ring by themselves after their tag partners have brawled their ways out of the ring. Shooter goes for a crucifix powerbomb with Ricky seated on the top rope. Ricky unhooks his arms, scores a kick to the back of Deeley’s head and then nails him with the Colt 45 (diamond dust, as it is called elsewhere). Ricky goes for the cover and despite Elite’s best efforts to get back into the ring in time, they get there at 3-and-a-half, giving the DeColts the victory.

The DeColts celebrate in the ring together, with Alex and Jack lifting Ricky up on their shoulders and taking him to each corner of the ring to celebrate. The crowd’s screaming their heads off and when the DeColts try to leave the ring, the audience demands a second curtain call, which the DeColts grant with the three brothers - with Ricky in the center - lifting their arms together and bowing to all four sides of the ring. (Segment Ratings: Elite Entrace 62, DeColt Entrance 80, Match 72, Post-Match Celebration 86)

Final Show Score: 79

PPV Buy Rate was 0.38

Final Thoughts

This was definitely a show of peaks and valleys. The Shaffer/Jett match was absolutely amazing, a match you could take to any audience, anywhere in the world, who like any style of wrestling, and they’d all admit it was excellent. Shaffer makes another play as being the single most overlooked worker in CGC, while Jett has one hell of a first impression on CGC crowds. Match of the night in my book.

The main event delivered as promised, and if it didn’t have the electricity and freshness of the opening match, it was as perfect of a CGC-style main event you can get. The DeColts wrestle fantastically together, and the Elite has really gelled, too. The proof is in the pudding - the cheers when the DeColts won the match were probably making the entire building shake. The image of Ricky on his brothers’ shoulders is going to be used in highlight video packages for decades.

The other matches ranged from pretty good (Price/Frost) to so-so at best (Tanner/Whippy). The lack of pop for some of the segments made me wonder if there might have been some fat needing to be trimmed. Still, this was an excellent first night of WrestleFestival and a solid platform to build toward Day 2.

Your Predictions

We only had one brave soul give their predictions for Day 1 of WrestleFestival. combolock, you win the No-Prize by default (the two sweetest words in the English language) with a 2/4 on match predictions. Here's the card for Day 2 of WrestleFestival. Step up folks, and let me know who's going to win on the biggest stage of them all!

Trent Shaffer vs. ??? in an Open Challenge

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10-Man Mayhem Battle Royale for #1 Contendership for CGC Canadian Title: Thrill Seeker, Derek Frost, Joey Poison, Ozzie Golden, Nate Johnson, or Other

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Christian Price (CGC Canadian Champion) vs. Gargantuan

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Ricky DeColt vs. Shooter Sean Deeley, 30 Minute Iron Man Match

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Jack DeColt vs. Dan DaLay, Cage Match

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Alex DeColt (CGC World Champion) vs. Eddie Chandler, Last Man Standing Match

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Bonus Question: How many victories will be scored by Ricky DeColt and Shooter Sean Deeley during their Iron Man match?

MisterRomanini · April 1, 2016

Trent Shaffer vs. ??? in an Open Challenge

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10-Man Mayhem Battle Royale for #1 Contendership for CGC Canadian Title: Thrill Seeker, Derek Frost, Joey Poison, Ozzie Golden, Nate Johnson, or Other

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Christian Price (CGC Canadian Champion) vs. Gargantuan

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Ricky DeColt vs. Shooter Sean Deeley, 30 Minute Iron Man Match

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Jack DeColt vs. Dan DaLay, Cage Match

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Alex DeColt (CGC World Champion) vs. Eddie Chandler, Last Man Standing Match

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Bonus Question: How many victories will be scored by Ricky DeColt and Shooter Sean Deeley during their Iron Man match? 3. 2 - Ricky / 1 - Deeley

combolock · April 1, 2016

I hate trying to use logic in wrestling. A guy that competed in a hardcore match a few days ago wins the Tag Titles. The biggest, most popular guy in the battle royal loses to a second fiddle Elite member. Whatever....

Trent Shaffer vs. ??? in an Open Challenge

Comments: Vampires are cool.

10-Man Mayhem Battle Royale for #1 Contendership for CGC Canadian Title: Thrill Seeker, Derek Frost, Joey Poison, Ozzie Golden, Nate Johnson, or Other

Comments: Thrill Seeker vs Gargantuan seems like a great title feud.

Christian Price (CGC Canadian Champion) vs. Gargantuan

Comments: Only way to save what the booker did on the first night. Nobody will care that Gargy lost the Royale if he is the champ.

Ricky DeColt vs. Shooter Sean Deeley, 30 Minute Iron Man Match

Comments: Tie, the only way to make the Elite/Decolt feud seem equal is if this match ties to make it 1-1 at the end of the night, even though Decolt won on day 1.

Jack DeColt vs. Dan DaLay, Cage Match

Comments: The woman will stick brass knuckles through the cage.

Alex DeColt (CGC World Champion) vs. Eddie Chandler, Last Man Standing Match

Comments: #NeverGiveUp

Bonus Question: How many victories will be scored by Ricky DeColt and Shooter Sean Deeley during their Iron Man match?

2 for Decolt, 2 for Deeley.

kingjames · April 3, 2016

WrestleFestival, Day 2

Welcome back campers, for Day 2 of WrestleFestival! The previous night was a blast, capped off with a DeColt Brothers three-man tag victory. Can the DeColts make a clean sweep? We'll find out.

WrestleFestival, Day 2

Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Interior: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/a3/2f/1c/the-air-canada-centre.jpg

Exterior: http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/toronto-cityscape-picture-id89460042

Attendance: 19,750 (Sold Out)

For Day 2 of WrestleFestival, we move 45 minutes northeast, to the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto. They managed to sell it out, too, which is a pretty impressive feat.

Match: Trent Shaffer def. Shane Nelson in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, 2 Falls to None

We open Day 2 of WrestleFestival with deja vu, as Trent Shaffer is in the ring once again, begging for someone to actually make him break a sweat before he beats them. He says he’s generous enough that he’ll take someone in a best two-out-of-three falls. He gets in a dig saying he doesn’t want “some indie kid”, he want a real competitor. Shane Nelson’s music hits and we have our opening bout of Day 2

There’s no question in my mind they have got to have a program for Trent Shaffer in mind. Another opening match, another unbelievable performance in the ring, and Shaffer is the common denominator here. Shane Nelson is never going to be anything but midcard, but he can work, and this is easily the best match I’ve seen out of him, possibly ever. Shaffer gets a sneaky roll-up for the first fall within the first two minutes, and after eight nearly non-stop minutes, nails the Heart Burn (lungblower double knee backbreaker) for the second pin and the win. I don’t know what I can say about this match, beyond saying something I never thought I’d say, which is that a Shane Nelson match might just be match of the year material.

Shaffer follows up with a promo in which he demands respect from the locker room, from these fans, everyone watching at home...everyone, really. The promo seemed a little rambly, perhaps a little less fleshed out than the promo before the match. But man, it still worked. If CGC keeps putting Shaffer on curtain jerker duty, they’re wasting talent, which given the age of their biggest draws, is not something they can afford to do. (Segment Ratings: Opening Promo: 76, Match 77, Post-Match Promo 68)

Match: Thrill Seeker wins 10-Man Mayhem Battle Royale for #1 Contendership for CGC Canadian Championship

Here’s an interesting match. Maybe not so much in terms of in-ring action, which wasn’t bad if a little quick given they had nine pinfalls and submissions in about seventeen minutes of action. No, what is interesting to me is that Thrill Seeker won this match. I know, especially if you’re getting sucked in, keeping track of the metaplot and trying to accurately predict what’s coming isn’t the most important thing. But smark that I am, a victory for Thrill Seeker, who’s played face for years, suggests Christian Price isn’t keeping that belt. Derek Frost, the newcomer from NOTBPW, comes up as the finalist, also scoring the most eliminations (3 of 9). So maybe they go with something there. Or maybe I’m overthinking this. No, I’m definitely overthinking this. (Segment Rating: 61)

Match: Gargantuan def. Christian Price for CGC Canadian Championship

Before the match, we get an excellent hype video package highlighting Gargantuan as an absolute beast. We get clips of him hitting the Ultimate Backbreaker on jobbers left and right, guys put through tables, and the beatings he’s been putting on Price leading up to this match. Never let it be said CGC doesn’t know how to edit.

After following Christian Price from backstage, through the entrance and into the ring, we get into the match. Regular readers of this column may remember my worries that this match would be, to put it in fancy terms, butt. For the most part, it is. Price is selling the post-match beating from yesterday, but in practice it means he’s moving slower to accommodate Gargantuan’s slow pace. Price gets some moment at about the 7 minute mark, making the comeback and a near-fall, but he gets distracted by Derek Frost coming to ringside. The distraction is enough that when Price goes for the springboard spear he calls the Price Check, Gargantuan steps out of the way and lands a hammer blow on him in midair. He slowly, painfully slowly, picks Price up, takes forever to setup the chokeslam, and finally gives Price the goozle. A three count later and Gargantuan is your new CGC Canadian Champion.

Derek Frost steals the title belt out of the referee’s hands as he goes to give it to Gargantuan, and instead Frost hands over the belt. Gargantuan poses with the belt high above his head, standing over the broken body of Christian Price. Derek Frost, meanwhile, shouts at the audience, telling them they are looking at a real champion now. The crowd boos heartily, which means they’re doing their jobs as heels. The match itself, I may never want to watch again - I mean, Gargantuan was starting to look gassed in a 12 minute match - but as is usually the case with things involving Gargantuan, the out of ring stuff works really well. I don’t know if I want to watch months and months of Gargantuan title defenses, but giving him the number 2 title at this point gives him some championship success that can be used when building him up as a legitimate challenger for the CGC World Championship, which seems like the inevitable end point of all this. (Segment Ratings: Video Package 78, Match 52, Post-Match Celebration 68)

Match: Shooter Sean Deeley wins 30-Minute Iron Man Match, 3 falls to 2.

Looks like the DeColts aren’t going to get a clean sweep at WrestleFestival after all.

CGC is, very much, a babyface-centered promotion. The core story that animates CGC is the immovable DeColts, fighting off collections of heels bent on ending their winning ways, and ultimately triumphing in the end. Maybe it’s hokey, but it’s what CGC is. It’s part of the fundamental makeup of CGC. This is not a promotion that deals much in moral ambiguity, nor is it one that thrives on babyfaces chasing a heel that holds onto the belt through dirty tactics. It was not entirely impossible that the DeColts would win last night and then win all three solo matches tonight.

Ricky DeColt scores the first pinfall in the opening five minutes, but Deeley manages to get catch Ricky in a victory roll for the flash pinfall pin. Deeley gets the next point through his trademark seated stretch armbar, with the announcers playing up Ricky tapping because he can’t risk damage that will leave him vulnerable for the remainder of the match. Ricky hits a Colt 45 (diamond dust) at 25 minutes to even the score 2 to 2. We get to the last seconds of the match, looking like we’re going to have a tie, when Deeley, who’s wrestled a fairly clean and technical bout up to this point, grabs the tights on a schoolboy pin and gets a three-count with less than five seconds on the clock. Ricky protests but the clock runs out - Deeley gets the win.

The crowd is pissed. The boos after the Gargantuan match are nothing compared to the nuclear heat Deeley’s getting. Deeley and manager Adrian Garcia go to the back, arms raised in victory, while Ricky DeColt is grabbing his tights and pulling, as if showing the ref what happened will change the outcome. Backstage, Adrian Garcia cuts a promo on Ricky, saying he’s just the first of the DeColts to fall. The crowd is so busy booing that I don’t know the promo had the impact it might have otherwise had. After the interview, we cut to Ricky in the walking through the hallways backstage, head in his hands, alone.

It’s a very good match. It’s not a great match. The spot to get the final pinfall was awkward, and I think having to make sure to hit that spot might have resulted in a loss of focus, particularly for Ricky. But as the first of three big bouts on this card, it’s definitely a great kick-off and gives all the momentum in the world for the next two matches. (Segment Rating: Match 69, Garcia Promo: 60)

Match: Jack DeColt def. Dan DaLay in a cage match

I really wanted to like this match. If I’m writing this, then it means I didn’t. But I really, really wanted to do so.

The first twelve or so minutes goes really well. The cage is padlocked in a nice, theatrical moment. Jack DeColt stares at his wife, now aligned with his greatest enemies. Electric stuff. Once the bell rings, the action is stiff, but flows nicely. Dan DaLay isn’t going to be known as a technical wizard, but in a brawling environment he’s in his element. Jack DeColt is pretty great all around, so he can go with the fisticuffs as well.

At the twelve minute mark, Adrian Garcia goes under the ring and comes out with a pair of bolt cutters. He signals to Hotstuff Marie to pull something out of her purse. She pulls out a stun gun, firing it off so the cameras catch it. They climb the ring stairs, Adrian knocking the referee out of the way. He cuts the lock and motions Hotstuff Marie inside, where DaLay’s got Jack pinned against the cage. Hotstuff Marie takes a too-long moment, and then shocks Garcia with the stun gun, with Garcia taking a bump off the stairs. DaLay throws Jack away and gets into Marie’s face, gesticulating wildly. He looks like he’s going to slap her, but she hits DaLay with the stun gun. DaLay stumbles back into the center of the ring, where Jack DeColt is waiting to hit him with the Jack Hammer (Falling side slam) for the pin. After the pinfall, Jack leaps up and embraces Marie, and they kiss in the center of the ring.

I think they were hoping for a big, emotional catharsis here, but it didn’t happen. This just did not work. This angle has only been going for a month and a half, which is not enough time for the payoff. The match itself had been fairly slow-paced, and hadn’t really taken shape when they stun gun got introduced. Maybe someone missed a cue and went for that spot too early? And then there’s the ending. The DeColts are booked as fairly unambiguous faces who do not take shortcuts to win, even at their own detriment. To have the match end as the direct result of a stun gun being used works against every bit of character development and booking of the DeColts. Finally, maybe most of all, I’m not sure this made sense. Was this all a plan by Jack and Marie? If so, that’s way more heelish than CGC ever portrays the DeColts, and way more heelish than the announcers played the moment.

I wanted to like it, but I just didn’t. (Segment Ratings: Match 62, Post-Match Reunion 55)

Match: Alex DeColt (CGC World Champion) Defeats Eddie Chandler in a Last Man Standing Match to Retain CGC World Championship

If the previous match failed to deliver, the main event made up for it. We get high production value entrances for both Chandler (notably without Garcia) and Alex DeColt. We're at one victory for Elite, and one for the DeColts. The crowd is fired up from the get go, and Chandler and DeColt get to work. There’s several great spots in this match - Chandler gives Alex an eye poke, leading to Alex laid out on stairs detached from the ring. Chandler does a double foot stomp from the announce table onto Alex, resulting in a nine-count. Alex gets a nine-count off powerbombing Chandler into the (thankfully padded) crowd barrier, sending Chandler through the barrier in the process. It's a stiff match overall. Chandler decides to go for the stairs spot in the ring, but DeColt fights back and manages to land the DeColt Driver (kneeling piledriver) to Chandler on the stairs, which is enough to get the ten count.

Each man made each other look like a million bucks. They told a great story and didn't go for too many long nine counts, which can really mess up the flow of a Last Man Standing match. They also didn't go for a "cute" finisher, like tying someone's feet to the ropes. The back and forth made it seem like the match could go either way, even as you knew deep in your head that there's no way CGC could end WrestleFestival with an Elite win. It wasn't fancy, but the crowd was hot, the psychology terrific, and the action very physical. This was the archetypal WrestleFestival main event.

The other DeColts in CGC - Ricky, Jack, and Marie - all come out and join Alex in the ring. Alex grabs a mic and says:

"From everyone in Canadian Golden Combat, from the DeColt Family, thank you for being with us these past two days. I would say this championship is the most important thing in the world, but it's only the second-most important thing. Family is the most important thing in the world. Whether it's by blood, marriage, or otherwise, whoever you consider family, that's the most important thing in the world. And everyone in the audience, everyone watching at home tonight, everyone who's ever been in the audience, all the boys who worked for this company, everyone who's supported us since my father George started this company 23 years ago...we're a family, too. The biggest, loudest family in all of Canada! Without you, we are nothing. With you, we're unstoppable. Thank you all, and good night!"

The crowd eats it up. Why shouldn't they? Every last bit of it, even through the television screen, feels sincere. And that sincerity, under all the ridiculousness, is why we keep coming back. (Segment Ratings: Match 80, Closing Ceremonies 86)

Final Thoughts

I don't want to belabor things, so I'll make this quick. WrestleFestival generally serves as a kind of "hard reset" for CGC, the start of a new year. So I expect we'll see some changes to the status quo being made over the next few months. Secondly, there are 7 - seven! - TV episodes before the next PPV. It gives plenty of time to develop the new stories, but it can also throw the storytelling for a loop to not have a PPV on the "normal" schedule.

Final Show Rating: 80

PPV buy rate was 0.44

Your Predictions

We're going to do predictions a little different this time. Instead of predicting match outcomes, let's go a little more meta.

1. Who will be the next contender for the CGC World Championship?

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2. Will that contender defeat Alex DeColt and win the World Championship?

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3. Will Jacob Jett have an on-air match at the next PPV?

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4. Will Trent Shaffer lose a match by pinfall or submission between now and the next PPV?

Comments:

combolock · April 3, 2016

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kingjames" data-cite="kingjames" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41061" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Match: Shooter Sean Deeley wins 30-Minute Iron Man Match, 3 falls to 2. grabs the tights on a schoolboy pin and gets a three-count with less than five seconds on the clock. Ricky protests but the clock runs out - Deeley gets the win. The crowd is pissed. </div></blockquote> I was in attendance. Great show BTW. We're going to do predictions a little different this time. Instead of predicting match outcomes, let's go a little more meta. 1. Who will be the next contender for the CGC World Championship? Comments: Shooter Deeley 2. Will that contender defeat Alex DeColt and win the World Championship? Comments: No 3. Will Jacob Jett have an on-air match at the next PPV? Comments: Yes, the roster is kind of low quality and Jacob is high quality. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> 4. Will Trent Shaffer lose a match by pinfall or submission between now and the next PPV? Comments: No, but he will lose by 10-count

MisterRomanini · April 4, 2016

1. Who will be the next contender for the CGC World Championship?

Comments: Sean Deeley

2. Will that contender defeat Alex DeColt and win the World Championship?

Comments: Nope

3. Will Jacob Jett have an on-air match at the next PPV?

Comments: Yup

4. Will Trent Shaffer lose a match by pinfall or submission between now and the next PPV?

Comments: By DQ or other shenanigans

flat_doughnut · April 4, 2016

This has been decent so far - Gargantuan v Thrill Seeker could be fun.

1. Who will be the next contender for the CGC World Championship?

Comments: Shooter Sean is the obvious guy to step up.

2. Will that contender defeat Alex DeColt and win the World Championship?

Comments: No.

3. Will Jacob Jett have an on-air match at the next PPV?

Comments: Ideally - yes please.

4. Will Trent Shaffer lose a match by pinfall or submission between now and the next PPV?

Comments: I expect not - but as the others have mentioned, let's have some shenanigans.

kingjames · April 5, 2016

Out-of-Character Post

Hey everyone, thanks for following along. I hope you've been enjoying following along. I know I have enjoyed writing these up, but knowing other people are enjoying them is even more satisfying. I'm learning and refining as I go, so if there are things that you think might make these more enjoyable for you to read, I appreciate any constructive advice you might have. This is a really great community here and I am thrilled to be part of it.

I'm finding a few things as I write. I'm finding I am enjoying writing the DeColts. I'm imagining that if this was a real fed that internet denizens like me would be bemoaning how the DeColts are burying the Elite and how they cannot be taken seriously, but the popularity gains the DeColts get even for just showing up in a segment give me a mechanical reason for keeping them at ridiculous popularity levels - Alex DeColt is over 90 pop in a few areas of Canada, and in the extremely high 80s in the others. Jack DeColt is in the high 80s in all of Canada. Even Ricky DeColt is in the mid-70s everywhere. If they show up in a segment, the segment rating pops, in some cases by 10-20 higher than without one of them. It makes me understand on a first-hand level exactly why, when you find a Hulk Hogan or a John Cena, you push them front and center, above everything. It's a good way to slap around my inner know-it-all smark and make me remember why you create and then sustain icons.

I find my booking style is not dissimilar to WCCW or Stampede wrestling, which makes sense, because the DeColts are either a Canadian version of the Von Erichs with less personal tragedy, or the Hart Family with stronger mic skills. I also find that I use the Elite as a less-charismatic version of the Fabulous Freebirds (minus the deeply unfortunate, but of its time, stars-and-bars motif).

That said, I am looking forward to eventually pushing Trent Shaffer. His popularity gains are quick, and he's at the same pop as most of the Elite - exceeding it, in the case of Dan DaLay. I look forward to introducing him also as an avatar of the IWC, complaining about the white hat/black hat nature of CGC, the pushing of the DeColts over everyone else and the focus on over-35 performers instead of younger guys. I think I can have a lot of fun working through my own feelings on those kinds of subjects, and tell some good stories to boot.

Anything you'd like to see? Performers you'd like me to flesh out a little more? Story hooks you think might work? In-game characters you think would be a great fit for CGC's popularity & entertainment driven booking style? I'll put up the next post sometime tomorrow, but feel free to add your thoughts at any time, because I look at this as a learning experience and plan on doing a TEW 2016 diary once this one has taken its course.

Thanks, everyone

/end of out-of-character

combolock · April 5, 2016

I just want to say that Dan Dalay has no right in the main event. I overestimated his skill. I guess I thought 10 years in a major company being pushed he would learn a thing or two.

kingjames · April 6, 2016

April, Week 1

Welcome back and I hope you're recovered from a pretty damned good WrestleFestival! Tonight we see how, or if, the status quo in CGC has changed, who gets pushed up the card, who gets pushed down...it's a whole new year in CGC terms! Let's get to it.

CGC Title Belt Wrestling

Medicine Hat Arena, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Exterior: http://www.city.medicine-hat.ab.ca/modules/showimage.aspx?imageid=3326

Interior: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rRVz5Skp04/U_XV4NQofII/AAAAAAAAwU0/MIgl3mNXLdI/s1600/medicine%2Bhat%2Barena%2Bmh%2Btigers%2Bhockey%2B(14).png

Attendance: 4,005 (Sold Out)

It Can Think

We kick off the first episode of “Title Belt Wrestling” after WrestleFestival with new signee Derek Frost and new Canadian Champion Gargantuan. Frost does most of the talking, which is a good idea. He’s not a wizard on the mic, but he’s compelling enough, and selling Gargantuan as the unholy offspring of the Incredible Hulk and the Juggernaut is pretty easy.. Some of the promo here:

“Do you people know why I’m here? It’s not just because I was tired of being overlooked in that other company. No, I came here because I knew this was the place to be, the fastest growing company in this country, with the soon-to-be biggest star (gestures toward Gargantaun) in the business. Yeah, go ahead, boo. You bought your ticket, you do what you want. But his guy, Gargantuan, he does what he wants, whenever he wants, to whoever he wants to do it to! That’s right. But even the Unstoppable Force needs someone to watch his back. And that’s me. I watched his back at WrestleFestival, when I evened the odds against that phony cheater Christian Price to make sure he didn’t walk out with the title around his undeserving waist. That’s just the start! So we are putting everyone in this company on notice, because the Unstoppable, just got even more unbeatable.” (Segment Rating: 80)

Eddie Chandler def. El Diablo Del Norte

After losing in the title match at WrestleFestival, Eddie Chandler gets an easy squash on El Diablo del Norte. The crowd knew it was a squash, and so they weren’t super into it. It seemed like Chandler and Diablo basically felt the same, because both of them looked like they were holding back. Still, gotta get Chandler a rebound after that loss. After dispatching of his opponent, Chandler addresses the elephant in the room. A sample, if you will:

“Yes, it’s true, I lost at WrestleFestival. On the biggest stage of them all, I came up short. I came up short by one second. That’s a heartbeat away from a whole different outcome. And that’s the thing, Alex. A heartbeat is the difference between you and your idiot family celebrating in the ring, or you all crying in the back, opening up a two-four of Molson to try and drown away your sorrows! We are the Elite, and we will NOT give up until we have what is rightfully ours. We’re a cerberus, a beast with three snarling, snapping heads. You take care of one, you still got two more to deal with! This is not over, Alex, Jack, baby Ricky. Not by a long shot.” (Segment Ratings: Match 58, Post-Match Promo 76)

Shooter Sean Deeley def. KC Sunshine

Following that promo is another quick victory for Elite, as Shooter Sean Deeley - the only member of Elite to actually score a win at WrestleFestival, let me remind you - has a barnburner of a match with CGC’s secret superworker, KC Sunshine. The two of them start the match at 60 miles an hour and don’t stop. Both men looked loose, but focused, and there is very evident chemistry between them. Deeley gets in almost all of the offense, but Sunshine has several nice moments where he gets in a good reversal or evasion. The match closes when Sunshine goes for a superkick, which gets caught by Deeley, who then spins Sunshine around, grabs Sunshine’s extended arm, and then takes the Disco Kid down to the mat with his trademark seated stretch armbar (fujiwara armbar) submission (

). Sunshine taps quickly, really selling panic when he realizes he’s been trapped in the hold.

I have to say, this match makes me think KC Sunshine has got a bright future in this business, goofy character or not. He’s almost wasted as an enhancement talent, but given how young he is, I suspect CGC is trying to get him used to a much bigger stage than he might be used to. I just hope they don’t wait so long to pull the trigger on him that we can’t take him seriously when he starts getting into the midcard. (Match Rating: 76)

Jacob Jett def. Vin Tanner

Before the match, Jett cuts a promo, saying he’s confident he’ll beat Vin Tanner. I mean, he probably should be, given he had a hell of a debut against Trent Shaffer at WrestleFestival, while Vin Tanner got beat by a literal clown. Still, it’s the thought that counts.

The match itself is...well, it’s pretty bad. Vin Tanner’s physical degredation is starting to get pretty pronounced. It doesn’t work very well with Jett’s fast-paced, high-impact offense. They never seemed to get on the same page, and toss on top of that everyone knowing there’s no way Jett would lose this match? Well, let’s just say the crowd excitement during this match would best be compared to the heat death of the universe. Jett thankfully ends it with one of his beautiful Jett Takeoff high angle senton bombs (

), which is probably the only pop the entire match got. Not exactly the performance you want your new rookie sensation to be part of, this one. (Segment Ratings: Pre-Match Promo 56, Match 46)

(Not) Good Sportsmanship

Jenny Playmate, who seems to have been moved out of the valet role and into a backstage interview position, interviews Shooter Sean Deeley and Adrian Garcia about Shooter’s WrestleFestival victory. Garcia handles the heavy lifting, as he should, while Shooter interjects lines as necessary. Playmate seems to have a real knack for the gig, which makes me wonder if this will become a recurring thing for her. As the interview wraps up, Garcia promises he and Ricky have a surprise in store, but everyone’s just going to have to wait if they want to hear it. (Segment Rating: 63)

Thrill Seeker def. Dan DaLay

If Chandler got the opportunity to recover from his loss, and Deeley got to boast about his win, Dan DaLay seems to be the Elite member hit hardest by WrestleFestival fall out. He works a 15-plus minute match with the new #1 Contender for the Canadian Championship, Thrill Seeker, and it’s becoming clearer with each match that DaLay’s entering into physical decline. DaLay’s never been an iron man, but he was getting visibly gassed during this match. Much as with Jett and Tanner, Thrill Seeker’s high flying style definitely exposes DaLay’s lack of stamina.

Still, the match is actually pretty good, all things considered. Maybe the body is starting to give out, but DaLay’s still the man the DeColts have trusted in the main event for years, still the man they gave the semi-main to at WrestleFestival. Thrill Seeker’s definitely got some serious upside, particularly with his in-ring work. The story of this match is Thrill Seeker having the advantage as long as he can keep moving, keep making DaLay expend energy, but DaLay having the upper hand anytime Seeker makes the mistake of trying to go toe to toe with him. Seeker hits an enziguri, setting up his Daredevil Drop (Blockbuster falling neckbreaker) once a disoriented DaLay gets to his feet (

).

It’s fairly well known that backstage, Dan DaLay is a very close friend of Alex DeColt. A lot of people have grumbled over the years that DaLay didn’t deserve the spot he had, and that he only had it because of who he knew, not what he could do. I think that’s selling DaLay short; he’s limited in what he can do, but what he does, he can do pretty well. He’s served as a fairly good “big man” for the Elite for several years. But the true test now is whether Alex DeColt continues to put his friend over younger talent and keep him in the main event despite his ever-decreasing physical ability. This match suggests that DaLay might be willing to pass the torch. But a single victory is too small a sample size to tell for sure. (Match Rating: 68)

How to Redeem a Poorly Received Angle

Speaking of DaLay, the kidnapping/Stockholm Syndrome/stun gunning and reunion angle at WrestleFestival did not exactly go well. The whole angle was rushed, the blowoff match was an overbooked wet fart, and it introduced shades of grey into Jack DeColt’s victory that CGC doesn’t really do. At least we get some follow up on it on this show.

Jack says he appreciates Marie remaining “undercover” with Elite these past several weeks, to figure out what shenanigans they had planned for WrestleFestival. Which finally explains why Marie "turned" and why she did what she did at WrestleFestival. Jack then says he’s looking forward to things getting back to normal again. Marie has a look of hesitation, and then tells Jack that not everything Elite said was untrue. Jack gives her a look of alarm, and she continues to say that Elite was right about her - that she’s been nothing more than eye candy, an accessory for Jack to wear on his arm. Marie says she’s more than that, and moreover, she wants to be something more than that. Jack tells her he understands, and kisses her forehead. They embrace as the segment ends.

I really liked this development. It absolutely is a fact that Hotstuff Marie has been nothing more than eye candy for years. I mean, for crying out loud, look at her name! There’s a lot of places this can go, and I want to see what happens. That said, I am cautiously optimistic about this, and about Jenny Playmate getting interview duties. CGC does not have a women’s division, and the women of CGC have never been terribly important. They’ve been human props, mostly. I don’t foresee CGC starting up a women’s division, but giving women more active roles than “damsel in distress” or “sex object” is something they needed to do yesterday. Several yesterdays ago. CGC is often delightful in how old-fashioned it can be, but this is one area in which CGC absolutely should evolve. We may be on the verge of change coming to a company that doesn’t so much do change. (Segment Rating: 82)

Alex & Ricky DeColt def. Dirty White Boys

Before the match, we see a very dejected Ricky DeColt alone in the locker room. Given this is the approximate state he was in when we last saw him at WrestleFestival, I’d like to think he’s had this same expression on his face for days. Alex DeColt enters the locker room and gives him a fairly decent pep talk, saying he’s got to put the past behind him and focus on tonight’s match against the Dirty White Boys. Ricky sighs, but then says Alex is right, and that he’s ready to pull his weight as part of their team.

The match itself is pretty good. The Dirty White Boys are definitely more than the sum of their parts, and Alex and Ricky show a timing and aptitude that only years of training together can give. This match goes a good 15 or so, with Ricky taking a hell of a beating, but fighting out everytime it looks like he may give out. He gets close to the hot tag on several occasions before finally tagging in Alex, who comes in like a house afire and knocks around a couple of bikers like the world’s balliest bouncers. Alex whips Lead Belly into the corner, perfectly setting up Ricky’s Colt 45 (Diamond Dust) finisher, letting Ricky get the 1-2-3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh3UrzJu3Lk).

You had to figure they weren’t going to let a DeColt have an L without looking strong as soon as possible, you know? I do have to say, I’m starting to feel like Ricky’s character could have used the loss for some character development, because even by DeColt standards, Ricky is getting really two-dimensional. Can’t help but feel an opportunity was missed here. (Pre-Match 72, Match 72)

It’s Not A Surprise If Everyone Knew It Was Coming

Following the match, the Elite theme plays, cutting short the celebration. Deeley and Garcia appear at the top of entrance ramp. Garcia congratulates the DeColts on their victories tonight and at WrestleFestival, just dripping with sarcasm and insincerity. He says he’d like to remind everyone that the DeColts did not win every match at WrestleFestival, and that his client, one Shooter Sean Deeley, defeated one of the supposedly undefeatable DeColt brothers. As such, he says that if his client, Sean Deeley, can defeat one DeColt, well, he can defeat ANY DeColt. Such as DeColts holding the CGC Championship belt. Garcia says he’s issuing a challenge to Alex DeColt - one on one for the title against Shooter Sean Deeley. The show ends before we get an answer. Guess we’ll have to tune in next week if we want to know the answer! Gosh, it’s almost like they’ve done this episodic television thing before. (Segment Rating: 77)

Final Show Rating: 75

TItle Belt Wrestling drew a 1.47 rating on Maple Leaf Sports (Canada), and 0.05 on National Pride TV (US).

Final Thoughts

This was a pretty solid post-WrestleFestival episode of Title Belt Wrestling. We didn’t move forward a ton of stories, but we do have seven shows before the next PPV, so we have time to let things develop. Looks like the Elite will remain the primary antagonists as we start the “new season” of CGC. Change does come to CGC, we’re seeing it with how they’re using their female talent. It just doesn’t come very fast, nor does it come in radical, seismic ways.

Your Predictions

I’m going to list out what IWC scuttlebutt has as next week’s matches. Card subject to change and all that, but let’s see your predictions anyway.

Eddie Chandler vs. KC Sunshine

Comments:

Jacob Jett vs. Brett Fraser

Comments:

Ricky DeColt vs. Nate Johnson

Comments:

Jack DeColt vs. Trent Shaffer

Comments:

Pteroid · April 6, 2016

Eddie Chandler vs. KC Sunshine

Comments: I forsee cloudy days ahead...

Jacob Jett vs. Brett Fraser

Comments: We'll see how well Fraser's Ushanka cushions kicks to the head.

Ricky DeColt vs. Nate Johnson

Comments: Call it a hunch, I figure it'll further Ricky's angle.

Jack DeColt vs. Trent Shaffer

Comments: DeColt versus a pale blowhard? Always bet on DeColt.

combolock · April 7, 2016

Eddie Chandler vs. KC Sunshine

Comments: Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!

Jacob Jett vs. Brett Fraser

Comments: Sure

Ricky DeColt vs. Nate Johnson

Comments: Pterer hit it on the head

Jack DeColt vs. Trent Shaffer

Comments: Trent has been on a winning streak, but Jack just won one of his biggest matches of his career, or that's what CGC would have you believe. Don't think CGC would waste it on national tv.

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