Mark Cuban Does DaVE!

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]THE TAKEOVER[/SIZE][/B] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/markcuban.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] With hindsight, we should’ve known, it should’ve been clear, we should’ve seen it coming and been ready for it, and played him instead of him playing us – but I guess we were so used to thinking of DaVE as something continuous with the old man that the idea of life without Phil Vibert was as foreign to us as oreos without cream filling. Mark usually came in for a show when Dallas had road games against New York or New Jersey, or after business meetings on the East Coast. Towards the end, he’d even take short flights up from Boston or Philly – he started popping up at shows more often than he didn’t, and we got used to having him around in the locker room as a VIP (he’d brought Josh Howard back there a month ago and pretty much everyone adored him for it). Of course, we didn’t know about the ultra-hush hush meetings with the old man, or just how fast DaVE was losing money, or how tired he was of all of it, how desperately he wanted out. No one thought he’d be willing to sell. We had a routine, me, Dave “Nemesis” Campbell and Mark, sitting in the front row with buckets of popcorn and whatever eye-candy he’d brought in with him that day, walking him through the matches and giving him ten-cent insights on what was going on while we took our notes and Nemesis radio’d match instructions to the referee. Now I can see that he was keeping us talking for a reason – testing our knowledge of the industry, giving us the chance to air our grievances about the old man and, most importantly, to probe us for ideas, to see if we had any vision about how to clean the place up – whether we were part of the problem or part of the solution. HIS solution. And I talked, and Nemesis talked. We probably said more than we should’ve – that was part of Mark’s power. He was doofish, he seemed clueless, he asked a lot of questions. He was such a fanboy that it wasn’t hard to forget that he was a billionaire. He was so goofy that it was easy to forget he was self-made, clever, opportunistic. We were willing to forget who he was and just talk to him. In the end, it probably saved us our jobs. It was a sign of his power that we finally heard the news from him and not from Phil, but also the first vote of confidence in what was to become our administration. I still remember how he told me. He was gushing over Chris Caulfield, who had just nailed a stall suplex to put Acid through a table. Nemesis cut him off (we were familiar enough with him at this point that we didn’t much mind cutting him off). “No, Caulfield didn’t do anything. The BOTTOM half is the easier part of a stall suplex – you just have to provide a solid frame so the top guy can extend – he’s got to do the hard work of keeping you balanced, and he’s got to do it in midair, and then he has to absorb going through the table. Acid is a hundred times the wrestler that Caulfield is, but he’s spending his career making guys like Caulfield look good. That’s the tragedy of DaVE.” Mark was quiet for a second. “And that’s something you’d change?” Now it was my turn to talk too readily and say too much. “Hell yes, we would. This Fed is FULL of talent, and we’re using it the wrong way. We use it every damn night to put guys like Caulfield over in the same sort of silly, chair-to-the-face matches we were putting on in the 90’s. Do you know why Caulfield is main eventing? Because he’s been friends with Vibert since forever. Caulfield, Eric Tyler, Vin Tanner, Nathan Coleman… it just goes on and on.” It was good that Nemesis was distracted for the moment by his earpiece and not really listening. Nemesis might not like the push that Caulfield had received over the years, but guys like Eric Tyler and Nathan Coleman were old guard, and it was never smart to knock them around too much while Nemesis was listening. Mark stopped for a second, watching as Caulfield pinned Acid, and Nemesis muttered instructions into his earpiece. “Okay,” Mark said, mouth full of popcorn, watching Cat Jemson throw T-Shirts into the crowd. “but it’s easier to criticize, Jack. You’re still not telling me what you’d CHANGE. If DaVE is in trouble like you seem to think it is, what would you fix?” This was the sort of question I spent a lot of time thinking about late at night, but no one but Nemesis ever seemed interested in asking me. “Look, I’ve been with DaVE for a decade. When we started out, we were edgy. We were doing things no one else in America was doing. We were the alternative to something. Now? SWF is doing ladder matches, hardcore matches, and the audience for something really extreme like a barbed wire match hasn’t gotten any bigger – those guys have always been on the extreme fringe of mainstream wrestling, and it’s a stagnant audience. We’re not innovative anymore.” Mark nodded. “Sure, but that’s a diagnosis of a problem, not any sort of solution. You still haven’t told me what you’d do differently.” I barely stopped to inhale before responding. “Well, we need to get our edge back. Think about what we can really change. I’ll give you an example – think of the single most stagnant concept in professional wrestling – the RING. Yes, we’re used to the ring and therefore we think of it as necessary, but it isn’t. Not at all. I mean, have you ever thought of changing the ring itself? It wouldn’t be that expensive to have… say… warehouse matches or barfight matches or any number of other kinds of matches… wouldn’t you rather see Big Cat Brandon hit a Big Cat Pounce into a shelf-full of milk cartons than into a turnbuckle or those same tired steel steps? Or hell, you’ve seen Mad Max, right? What about guys on wires – two man enters, one man leaves – high-wire dual bungee weapons matches with midair pinfalls? Well, I don’t know that we could work something like that, but we could at least TRY it. We need to reinvent hardcore like we did in the 90s. I’ve got nothing against hitting guys in the face with chairs, tables, barbed-wire bats… but it’s all been done before. It’s boring. It’s lame.” Mark leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling. “Guys, I have a confession. I bought DaVE a month ago. Vibert is wrapping up his storylines, and I’ll be introducing my booking team in a couple of weeks. I’m here scouting.” Nemesis and I sat motionless in our seats, and I found myself suddenly aware of my heartbeat, the sudden clammy cold spreading through my fingers, and the realization that I’d probably just been fired. Nemesis is tough, and the guy should play poker professionally. Whatever it was he was thinking, you couldn’t read it in his eyes. When he responded, he sounded like Mark had just told him that he preferred Coke to Pepsi – total disinterest. “Scouting who?” Mark laughed. “The wrestlers, the refs, but mostly you two. See, I hadn’t decided whether I was going to try to make this work with DaVE’s existing booking team or bring in my own people. After all, if you were the reason things have been stuck in the same gear for so long, it didn’t make much sense to retain you. But I’ve spent a few months with you, and I at least want to see what you’ve got.” I exhaled. Nemesis just gave his usual half-grin, totally unconcerned. “I’m leaving the two of you in charge of booking and writing. Nemesis, your role is going to change a bit. You’ll still help out on booking, but you’ll be spending a lot of time on screen and in the locker room, and working as my main wrestling coach.” “Fine, I’ve got no problem with that.” Nemesis growled. He wasn’t angry, he always sounded like that. Nemesis had a voice like Tom Waits, only a couple of octaves lower. “Who will I be coaching?” “Me.” Mark responded, his eyes suddenly lighting up. And then he said the four words we never expected. “I want to wrestle.”

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][B]THE LIMIT OF MY "AUTHORITY"[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] The last few weeks have been a blur – trying to prepare the federation for the reality of life after Phil, trying to prepare myself for life working under Mark Cuban. I’d already screwed up once. After the news had sunk in and we realized that we really were going to be given the chance to implement some of the ideas we’d been tossing around, we got trigger happy. I immediately sent out offers to a few wrestlers I’d been eyeing, and it was just after we agreed on terms with a Coastal Zone employed cruiserweight named Black Eagle that Mark called me into his office. He was angry, and he didn’t hide it. “Jack, look. You’re the head booker, and you’ve got all the space you need to come up with and pitch booking ideas. That’s your job, and you’re better at it than I am. That’s why it’s your job. But I’m trying to build a brand. That’s my job. That’s the part that I do better than you do. And hiring? That’s part of building a brand. If you want to hire someone, you ask me. You don’t go out and do it. And while we’re on the subject… DaVE won’t be hiring workers who have PPA deals with other feds.” I argued with him, and to his credit, he let me. I explained that this meant that we wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the smaller feds to sign talent like Black Eagle, that we would essentially be forfeiting our right to guys like Hell Monkey and Champagne Lover, that we would have to rely on completely unknown guys, and that the competition would have no such qualms about signing OUR guys. He wouldn’t relent. “Do you know how we found Dirk Nowitski, Jack? We went looking in Germany. See, now everyone looks for talent in Germany, but we thought of it first. That’s innovation. Yeah, we could do what everyone else does and dig into the same tired talent pool that everyone else uses. We could trudge out names like Hell Monkey that everyone recognizes, or we can build our own stars, find our own Germany. That’s what I want out of you. I already know all about Hell Monkey, Jack. Go find me a Dirk Nowitski.” I nodded and smiled, but inside I was furious. Talent doesn’t grow on trees, and there was no good reason I could see for us to turn our back on the old watering grounds like CZCW. And besides, I’d love to see Dirk Nowitski last three minutes in the ring with Eddie Peak.

[Gozer]

Whoa, that's a weird backstory. I guess it isn't totally out of the realm of possibility, what with all the stuff about The Benefactor and all that. I suppose Mark Cuban is just enough of a total media parasite that he'd buy a wrestling fed just so he could get more time on camera. I dig the fusion of C-Verse/Real World events stuff, too. Will we be seeing Dirk Nowitzki wrestle Eddie Peak then, ala Hulk Hogan vs Karl Malone? I'm curious to see where this goes. Nice start. And dude... THUNDERDOME match? Count me in.

[D-Lyrium]

This is brilliantly written, and it also makes my mind up about which dynasty idea to do myself (and just when the DaVE idea started winning, too! :P Gah). I don't know who Mark Cuban is, other than "rich American Football guy that everyone uses when they need a rich guy to buy their fed in wrestling diaries" ¬_¬, but you've given him a character for me to follow, so that's cool. Still have no idea who YOU are though, although that's probably coming in due course. And hey, no phone call. It must be a good dynasty :p

[Gozer]

Oh, and P.S.: I've already started a thread complaining about how that limitation on hiring workers is the most unrealistic of the blocks, and I even used DaVE as my example of a Fed that would never sign up for something like that, and you've just... about... made it sound realistic, even if you had to invoke Dirk Nowitski to do it! (Oh, by the way, D-Lyrium... Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an absolute media monger and, in my opinion, a complete tool. He's one of those guys that wants to not only own the basketball team but be friends with everyone on it. It'll be interesting to see if Monkeypox shares my totally rancid perception of the dude.) Are you gonna follow existing trends with DaVE and spend a lot of time hating on USPW?

[mvargus]

Great start. And a good job turning the hiring restriction into a part of the storyline. I hope you have luck finding the next Dirk Nowitski.

[Jehovah]

Really great backstory, and I can't wait to see what you do with your first show, and most importantly, putting Cuban in the ring. I'm a subscriber.

[Monkeypox]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, though it's gonna be a few more posts before we get to a full-fledged show. Stick with me and it won't hurt a bit, promise!

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]ALL NEWS IS BAD NEWS[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] [I]Week 4, January 2007[/I] Phil Vibert broke the news of the takeover during today’s Danger Zone TV, and broke the news to the locker room a few hours before. I wasn’t present and didn't know much about how it had gone over yet, as Mark Cuban had literally locked me in my office (I can only hope there isn't a fire) to consider the three slips of paper that he says hold the key to my future with the organization: 1. A copy of our roster, with the names of everyone over 32 years old circled angrily with a red pen. 2. A copy of our projected balance statement for January, with the estimated 250k loss for the month circled, again angrily, in what I assumed to have been the same unlucky pen. 3. A copy of the printed letter from East Coast Today informing us that while they had appreciated Danger Zone TV’s generally successful tenure on their station, an increasingly conservative management had decided that our show would not be renewed for any additional seasons. The first two were no surprise. Our roster was graying at the same pace that the rest of America was, but our fanbase had stayed the same age. Hardcore competition favors the young and the durable, and our roster didn’t have enough of either. One of our wrestlers, and I won’t say who, actually missed a match because of a painful hemorrhoidal inflammation. Injuries like that are only funny to guys like Richard Eisen. I guess it would’ve been funny to me if it had been ABOUT Richard Eisen and not about one of our main eventers. Mark had enclosed a note asking me to spend some time thinking very hard about how I was going to make this roster younger without making it worse. I’d thought briefly about shooting back a sarcastic E-Mail about just hiring Dirk Nowitski, but I’d already learned the hard way that Mark Cuban’s legendarily easy going demeanor dries up in a hurry where money is concerned. The hard but honest reality was that our roster was a mix of old men and young talent who we were likely to lose as soon as they ran through their vestigial written contacts, hung over from the ecstatic signing binge of 2004, back when things still looked promising. Absently, I pulled the files of some of our more talented younger workers. [B]Big Cat Brandon[/B] was everything DaVE could want – homegrown, nasty, durable, athletic, and, most importantly, still relatively young. He’d taken more than his look from his old tag team partner, [b]The Wolverine[/b], matching his pure intensity and solid footwork while far surpassing him in pure physicality. I figure we have about a 15% shot at resigning him. He’s still tight with Wolverine, now working as our main road agent, and I already know we’re prepared to all but guarantee him a title run if he’d agree to stick around. Unfortunately, he has nowhere to go but up and he knows it. TCW or SWF would be happy to take him off of our hands, and all we have to pin our hopes on is the idea that some sort of loyalty or misplaced nostalgia could be enough to convince him to turn down a huge pay raise and a real chance at the bigtime. Not a one of us believe that this will happen. We will lose him, I figure, in approximately 3 months. We were only slightly more optimistic about our DAVE Unified Title holder, [B]Eddie Peak[/b]. Eddie's been around for a long time, and his rise to the top hadn’t been quite as meteoric as Brandon’s, but his title defenses had been, for back of a better word, nasty. Eddie plays a psychopathic character a little [i]too[/i] well. He had a title defense in December that I still watch on YouTube occasionally… 19 minutes into a match with [b]Art Reed[/b], he grabs Art in a bearhug, arms pinned, and starts headbutting the hell out of him, WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! until they’re both covered in blood – he must’ve headbutted him 20 times before the ref pulled him off. The ref called a draw, but Eddie just stood there, licking the blood off of his lips, with those scary blue eyes all a-sparkle, looking genuinely pleased with himself. Our only hope is that SWF and TCW will be too scared of him to pick him up and decide it would be safer to leave him down here with the rest of the degenerates. Otherwise, we’ll lose him too, in a little over two months. And it doesn’t stop there. Given enough time, I figure we’ll lose technician [b]Art Reed[/b], our newly crowned Brass Knuckles champion, [b]Jack Geidroyc[/b], both halves of our best tag team, [b]New Wave[/b], and the woman recently voted the best manager in wrestling, [b]Emma Chase[/b]. We had some hope that our employing of her boyfriend, lightweight [b]Sammy Bach[/b], would be enough to keep her with us, but it’s more likely that she’ll leave and take both Sammy and tag partner [b]Teddy Powell[/b] with her when she does. Maybe the worst prospect of all, though not a prospect we will be facing immediately, is the possibility of losing [b]Acid[/b], a great Super Junior with an absolutely unique fighting style fusing wonderful matwork and rocksolid fundamentals with a delivery that looks almost… robotic. This possibility hurt mostly because Acid was easily in our top five best prospects, but all the more so because we had to do everything short of rubbing his feet to get him to sign with us in 2004. The upside was that Acid is stuck with that contract, like it or not, until well into 2008. But the news wasn’t good. [b]Vin Tanner, Eric Tyler, Chris Caulfield, Shawn Gonzalez, Alex Braun[/b]… easily half of the top side of our roster was old enough to think credibly about retirement. Our finances are a joke. We were locked into a dozen written contracts with old men that we signed in the heyday of big profits, and most of them wouldn’t run out for another six months or more. At the current rate of loss, we’d be totally underwater by then, and while I imagined Mark was financially capable of bailing us out of a jam, I doubted I’d be around to enjoy the aftermath. And now we’d lost our TV show. The elation at having been chosen, the intoxication at being able to put my ideas into practice, any optimism I might’ve had about this acquisition was drying up, disappearing like a good dream, or my memories of the girls I dated in college. I let my head drop into my hands. The red ink didn’t lie. There was no good news, only expectations. Better to be locked in my office.

[mad5226]

I love the back story so far! You have a great writing style thats very easy to follow. I've subscribed to this and can't wait to find out more later.

[Monkeypox]

I woke up hours later, doors still locked: [QUOTE][b]From:[/b] Nemesis [b]To:[/b] Jack Hagen [b]Date:[/b] January 28th, 2007 11:59 PM [b]Subject:[/b] Danger Zone TV/Announcement Results Hey dude. I stopped by your office earlier this evening but the door was locked. I tried yelling to you a couple of times but all I heard was this weird knocking noise, like you were slamming yer face on yer desk. Knock that **** off, you don’t know who might hear you. Anyhow, I thought I’d send you my notes from tonight’s show. I know you’re busy doing the booking for the transition and you didn’t have much to do with this one, but I thought you’d be curious how it booked out. I didn’t include much on the angles – that’s really more your thing. Also – you probably know that Vibert announced the sale to the locker room before the show was taped. I'm gonna be honest with you on this and I hopeyou appreciate me for it, but the guys are equal combinations P.O’d and scared right now. A lot of the older guys don’t like that they’re gonna hafta spend their time bowing and scraping to some billionaire technerd fanboy who ain't much older than they are, and the younger guys aren't sure what's going on or what it means for them, so they jump to all the wrong conclusions. There are already rumours that we're gonna be letting some people go. [b]Eric Tyler[/b] is stirring up a lot of the noise – he’s come up with this great Mark Cuban impersonation that he does and this skit involving a condom and a rubber chicken… I’m not saying I endorse it, but the guy [i]is[/i] funny. Anyhow, we’re gonna wanna keep a tight watch on morale in the locker room. Eric is the most vocal about not liking the new boss, but [b]Chris Caulfield[/b] and [b]Shawn Gonzalez[/b] didn’t seem happy either. Chris is probably worried that he’s gonna fall out of the main event spotlight now that he doesn’t have Vibert to prop him up and force us to push him… I don’t know what’s eating Shawn. Maybe he’s a Spurs fan? Anyhow, here are the shortform results of tonight’s show… not much to say about it – we’re on schedule to wrap up Vibert’s run at Counter Culture, next week. Phil and Mark agreed that the major titles won’t change hands, though apparently Phil finally capitulated and agreed that the [b]New Jersey Devils[/b] WILL drop the tag titles to either [b]New Wave[/b] or [b]Adrenaline Rush[/b]. Remember, you promised me that I could fire Tank Bradley after the old man checks out and we split that team up! I’ve been writing practice letters for months. I was thinking of something classy, like “Dear Tank, don’t let your total lack of talent hit you on the *** on your way out…” But enough of that, here are the results: [QUOTE] [SIZE="2"][b]Danger Zone TV[/b][/SIZE] McGaw Arena (Tri State) 4,032 attending of 5,000 possible [i] New Jersey Devils d. McWade Brothers to retain Tag Team Titles: D Joey Minnesota d. Art Reed, Johnny Martin and JD Morgan: C- Jack Giedroyc drew w. Acid: C Big Cat Brandon d. Guide: B- Show Rating: C[/i][/quote][/quote]

[Monkeypox]

Just to be clear, the ultra-short recap style of the last entry won't be the norm... it's meant to reflect that Jack is busy, not to establish a style. The first true "show" will go up in a couple of entries, after Vibert says goodbye at [b]DaVE: Counter Culture.[/b] Thanks again for the kind words and feedback.

[juggaloninjalee]

This is pretty good. I am sorta turned off by the mix of Cuban being used in this but the write up of the backstory is very good.

[Derek B]

Excellent stuff so far although I know nothing about American real-life culture so I'm likely to miss out on all sorts of fun things when I'm reading this. Keep up the good work so far! :)

[Astil]

Excellent backstory.

[Ping von Erich]

"I don’t know what’s eating Shawn. Maybe he’s a Spurs fan?" Great line. Hehe. Awesome diary, love the twist of putting the C-verse smack dab in the middle of the "real world" with the addition of Cuban. Very cool idea. Just take the "world" we know and substitute WWE, TNA, NJPW, CMLL, FWA, etc. etc. with SWF, TCW, PGHW, SOTBPW, 21CW, etc. etc. Can't wait to see where this goes.

[D-Lyrium]

I'm rapidly beggining to wonder why Jack is so worried ¬_¬ The fed has been taken over by a millionaire, and now the one thing that's pushing it so far under water - the fact it had to run a weekly TV show - has just evapourated. Jack's got it easy ¬_¬

[D16NJD16]

I'd prefer if this were real world, with Cuban involved and all, but still a good idea none the less. I like everything so far

[Monkeypox]

That's an interesting theory, D-Lyrium, and since you're sort of the original encyclopedia of this series, I'm going to take that insight pretty seriously. I think I'm going to try and force DaVE to adhere to the once-a-week TV model, if only because I want to cleave close to DaVE's structural problems and because I just... can't... imagine that Mark Cuban would buy DaVE and then let them go off the air. Thanks for all of the good feedback - I'm glad that you're enjoying this and pleased by the reactions about the realworld/C-Verse mixing... both positive and negative. I'm glad this diary is getting some positive feedback, though I'm down to three stars! I was at five! That means a lot of 1s and 2s! But enough complaining - time for Phil's farewell address!

[SageFury268]

[QUOTE=Monkeypox;177711] Thanks for all of the good feedback - I'm glad that you're enjoying this and pleased by the reactions about the realworld/C-Verse mixing... both positive and negative. I'm glad this diary is getting some positive feedback, though I'm down to three stars! I was at five! That means a lot of 1s and 2s! [/QUOTE] Spurs fans.

[Astil]

[QUOTE=Monkeypox;177711]That's an interesting theory, D-Lyrium, and since you're sort of the original encyclopedia of this series, I'm going to take that insight pretty seriously. I think I'm going to try and force DaVE to adhere to the once-a-week TV model, if only because I want to cleave close to DaVE's structural problems and because I just... can't... imagine that Mark Cuban would buy DaVE and then let them go off the air. Thanks for all of the good feedback - I'm glad that you're enjoying this and pleased by the reactions about the realworld/C-Verse mixing... both positive and negative. I'm glad this diary is getting some positive feedback, though I'm down to three stars! I was at five! That means a lot of 1s and 2s! But enough complaining - time for Phil's farewell address![/QUOTE] That's 3 more stars than mine XP. Anywho, I too am liking the way this is going. Would love to see a Cuban vs. Dolan for Worst Owner in NBA Match. Dolan would win hands down. F'n Dolan...

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]"Phil Vibert's Long, Bloody Farewell"[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] It goes without saying that we'd pushed this show to the moon. I'd missed most of the best action, having spent the entirety of my week frantically scribbling plotlines and intermittently weeping over our financials, but Mark had seen fit to let me out of prison long enough to say goodbye to the old man with the rest of America, and I found myself front row, in our usual seat. Nemesis, who would be part of the action tonight, was performing his road agent duties from a special console backstage. Mark was in a foul mood. In a burst of apparent good spirits, he had given Phil Vibert the ability to book anything he wanted, and Mark and I were both more or less clueless as to how things would go down. We knew that Eric Tyler and Chris Caulfield would be main-eventing in a "Phil Vibert Tribute Match", with the actual title match between Big Cat Brandon and Eddie Peak operating as the undercard, but no one besides Phil, Chris, Eric and Nemesis knew the stipulations of the match, and it was clear from his muttering and fidgeting hands that Mark feared the worst. The crowd was loud, the mood was emotional, the lockerroom was tense as we realized that this really was it for the old man. After tonight, we'd see him only occasionally, and in the audience, like everyone else. By then, it'd be a totally different DaVE. Mark's ideas were piling up in my in-box, barely stopping short of total revolution. Tonight was to be the final tribute to not just Phil, but DaVE itself. [CENTER][SIZE="4"][B]DAVE: COUNTER CULTURE[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE] [b]McGraw Arena (Tri-State), 5,000 attending[/b] [COLOR="Red"]SOLD OUT![/COLOR] [CENTER]***MAIN SHOW***[/CENTER] The show opens with footage of the handover between Phil and Mark Cuban at the end of last week's Danger Zone TV, the two men shaking hands, posing together for the audience, the confused mix of cheering and boos (with the boos taking the upper hand), people asking eachother whether they thought it was a hoax. The camera pulls back to Eric Tyler, leaning back in a chair, watching the footage on a backstage TV, lazily flicking popcorn at the faces on the screen. "Fat fat spank, fat fat spank", he sings to himself, "Phil's a spanker, Mark's a spanker, fat fat spank." Laughing, he kicks the TV over. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Taunt. Rating: B-[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]DARK MATCH: Johnny Martin v. Black Eagle[/B][/COLOR][/CENTER] Result: Johnny Martin d. Black Eagle w/ a "Twist on the Rocks" in 6:52 [i]Jack's Notes: This was Black Eagle's introduction to DaVE, as the first signing of the Mark Cuban era. He looks good out there, especially in the air. He carries the attack well, and he has a slow, stalking sort of demeanor. He doesn't rush things, but his turnbuckle stalls were almost too slow - everyone in the arena knew he'd miss that last plancha. He might've flipped his hair back too many times. Johnny Martin did a good job selling Black Eagle, good come-from-behind win for him and a better-than-expected debut for Eagle.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: C+[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]DARK MATCH: Art Reed v. Travis Century[/B][/COLOR][/CENTER] Result: Art Reed d. Travis Century in 9:11 w/ a Dreadlock [i]Jack's Notes: I don't like these two together. Art tries to work the mat but Travis isn't the right kind of opponent. Find myself wondering if DaVE will ever be the right place to try an inverted wristlock. Travis looked a bit lost without a chair in his hand. Art is a wonderful technical worker but isn't showing a lot of personality out there.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: C-[/COLOR] Phil Vibert runs into Emma Chase backstage. Emma slaps on her best smile and oozes for a few seconds about how bad she's going to miss Phil, how much she enjoyed working [i]under[/i] him, how much she appreciated his [i]firm leadership[/i]. She gives him a goodbye hug that lasts way too long, and when the camera pulls away, we see her real life and kayfabe boyfriend, Sammy Bach, fuming in a doorway with a cup of coffee in either hand. He storms off, pausing only long enough to trash one of the cups. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Compromising Situation. Rating: C[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]The New Wave v. The New Jersey Devils v. Adrenaline Rush[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]DaVE Tag Title Match[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Scout.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Guide.jpg[/IMG]v[IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/TeddyPowell.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/SammyBach.jpg[/IMG][/IMG]v[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/TankBradley.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/AlexBraun-1.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: Adrenaline Rush d. The New Jersey Devils and New Wave in 11:02 when Sammy Bach pins Tank Bradley following interference by Emma Chase. Adrenaline Rush are the new Tag Champions! [i]Jack's Notes: Guide is in his own world out there - Scout is a more than capable wrestler, but Guide was taking scalps - he's one of those rare guys that can follow a standing spinebuster with a flying legdrop (which he missed, but his elevation was superb and the miss was worked). Teddy Powell and Sammy Bach looked a bit too spot monkeyish and can't do much with straight fighting, though the leapfrog dropkick that took Scout out of the ring for the win was something to see. Watching Tank Bradley is like watching Jello wrestle - all wiggle, not hard to cut through. The crowd hates him and that just takes him further out of his game. I couldn't get the belt off of that guy fast enough. I just pity his partner, who at least held his own with some solid grappling, even if his feet never left the ground. This is the last match I'll be letting ye ol' bellyfat screw up for me.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: D+[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]Acid v. Shawn "Lone Wolf" Gonzalez[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]TABLE MATCH[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Acid.jpg[/IMG]v[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ShawnGonzalez.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Acid d. Shawn Gonzalez in 13:21 after Shawn Gonzalez was put through a table. [i]Jack's Notes: Ending was phenomenal - Shawn Gonzalez nails a belly to belly suplex on Acid that barely misses the table. Frustrated, Shawn rolls him on the table and hits the turnbuckle to put him through with a splash. Acid rolls off, and Shawn manages to adjust in midair to miss the table. Acid gets up first and puts Gonzalez through with an Acid Rain Bomb. Great, physical match from start to finish. My only regret is that this was a midcard match - from a technical standpoint, this could very likely be the match of the night.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: B-[/COLOR] Eddie Peak and Nemesis give a joint interview about the storm that is gathering over DaVE, the storm that is Eddie Peak and the thunder that is Nemesis. They've developed a strategic alliance and this angle reinforces that they'll be looking out for eachother going into tonight's title defense. Both men get good heat, Nemesis does a good, subtle job of helping Eddie through the talking parts and for the thousandth time, I'm grateful we have him. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Alliance. Rating: B+[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]Joey Giedroyc v. Joey Minnesota[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]DaVE Brass Knuckles Title Match[/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]LADDER MATCH[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/JackGiedroyc.jpg[/IMG]v[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/JoeyMinnesota.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Joey Giedroyc d. Joey Minnesota in 13:41 after retrieving the title and defends the Brass Knuckles Belt. [i]Jack's Notes: I saw the future with this match. Almost as good as the last one. I'm not totally sold on Joey Giedroyc - it seems like he's gotten over a little too fast, and his development as a wrestler seems to have plateau'd a bit as a result. Joey Minnesota puts in another typically solid match, using his elbows like cudgels, using lots of takedowns, keeping a legit, old-school shoot wrestling posture throughout. Giedroyc takes spot of the evening so far for a backflip plancha off of the top of the ladder that leaves both men on the canvas. I could watch the battling Joeys go all night.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: B-[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]Big Cat Brandon v. Eddie Peak[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]Dave Unified Title[/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]CAGE MATCH (USA)[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/BigCatBrandon_alt.jpg[/IMG]v[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EddiePeak.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Eddie Peak d. Big Cat Brandon in 23:44 after Nemesis interferes. Eddie Peak retains the DaVE Unified Title. [i]Jack's Notes: Brutal match, pure power display. Eddie Peak continues to play the crazy card perfectly, laughing as he crushed Brandon's face against the side of the cage with his knee, playing it for all he can, leaving even the booking team wondering if maybe he really IS enjoying it as much as it looks like he is. Big Cat Brandon makes a fantastic comeback rally, slamming Peak's head into the turnbuckle a good 15 times in retaliation and hitting a huge Big Cat Pounce into the side of the cage a moment later to leave Peak slumped and lifeless in the center of the ring. Nemesis runs down the isle with a bamboo pole when Brandon is about halfway up the side of the ring, however, and pokes it through in what looks like a direct hit on Brandon's left eye. Brandon falls backwards and lands hard on his upper back, still clutching his eye. Peak escapes for the win and keeps the title. A great title match. The decision to move it down the card was a hard one and not something Cuban is likely to be happy about. Tyler and Caulfield will be good for some good pops, but neither can manage the sort of high-risk athleticism shown by Peak and Brandon. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: B+. Note: HIGHEST MATCH RATING IN DaVE/TEW 2007 HISTORY[/COLOR] Another hype interview for Eric Tyler, putting down Vibert and Caulfield. "I'm gonna beat him down and spit in his eye, then I gonna beat you down and spit in yer eye. I wish you was gone already." [i]Jack's Notes: Tyler is charismatic and he plays his irritated hick egomaniac gimmick pretty well because it's... well... pretty autobiographical, but if he can't draw better heat than this I'll stop giving him talk time this far down the card.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Interview. Rating: C+[/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="Black"][B]Eric Tyler v. Chris Caulfield[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]Phil Vibert Tribute[/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]BARBED WIRE MATCH (USA)[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EricTyler.jpg[/IMG]v[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ChrisCaufield.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: Eric Tyler d. Chris Caulfield in 18:10 by braining Caulfield with the ring bell after a ref bump. [i]Jack's Notes: These guys are hardcore. There's no other explanation for how two guys covered in blood and needing forty stitches in fifteen places could look like they were having so much damn fun. They gave it all for the old man, and the barbed wire venue was perfect for concealing the fact that neither of these guys have much of a moveset. Both have good psychology, though, and managed to make this match look impossibly painful and gleeful at the same time. Caulfield almost made the comeback win, backdropping Tyler across the barbed wire, but getting smacked in the face with the ring bell chasing him out of the ring for what would've been the pin.[/i] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rating: B-[/COLOR] Eric Tyler continues the beatdown on Caulfield and, true to his word, spits in his eye. Bleeding from a thousand cuts, he leaves the ring to where Vibert is sitting, grabs him by the shirtfront, and rolls him into the ring. Stained with the blood of the competitors, Vibert gets to his feet. Tyler hits the mic and tells Vibert that he's going to send him out of DaVE with a face full of stitches. To massive heat, he moves to whip Vibert into the wire but... it's Nemesis! Shedding the heel persona that has made him famous for one night only, Nemesis steps over the barbedwire (which was itself a VERY hardcore thing to do), covers the ring in one long step, and levels Tyler with a lariat. Still an amazing force after all these years, Nemesis hoists Tyler in a full military press and flings him over the wire and to the concrete below. He helps Vibert to his feet and, after a brief hesitation, shakes his hand. The two men help Caulfield together and stand together, arms raised, for the last time - DaVE's greatest hero, greatest heel and greatest mind together for a final standing ovation. As the houselights go dark, I can feel the smile creep across my face. My love for the place is back. Screw the financials. This, right here, is what I'll always come home to. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Assault. Rating: B[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]Angle: Celebration. Rating: B[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]SHOW RATING: B-[/COLOR] Quick Results: [quote][i]Johnny Martin d. Black Eagle: C- Art Reed d. Travis Century: C- Adrenaline Rush d. New Wave and New Jersey Devils to win Tag Titles: D Acid d. Shawn Gonzalez: B- Joey Giedroyc d. Joey Minnesota to defend Brass Knuckles Title: B- Eddie Peak d. Big Cat Brandon: B+ Eric Tyler d. Chris Caulfield: B- Show Rating: B-[/i][/quote]

[Jehovah]

Great stuff! Really loving the write-up style, and what a great way to send Vibert out. I'm on board for the long haul.

[mad5226]

I really like the detail you put into your shows it makes it very entertaining. 'm anxious to see how you revamp DAVE

[mvargus]

great writing style. Keep it up. Looks like DaVE is on their way to growth and financial success.