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Once again, if you don't want to read about the pre ECWA road trip and want to cut right to the ECWA show, click here.
The roadtrip this weekend began on Friday afternoon. I headed out after a long meeting at work, at around 3:30. The usual 90 minute ride to pick up Frank in NJ was dragged out to three hours thanks to rubbernecking idiots, a car stopped in the left lane of the two lane entrance ramp for the Verazzano Bridge and bumper to bumper traffic through Staten Island. At 6:30 we left Union, NJ and headed across I-78 towards Reading, PA. Why were we headed to Reading? Why else? Cherokee was featuring at Al's Diamond Cabaret!!
We made it to the hotel at 8:30 and quickly checked in and dropped off our bags. Back to the car and over to Al's. For a Friday night at 8:45 the place was dead!! The great selection of "house dancers" was a measly 8 girls (and I'm not even going to comment on them). A little after 9:00 Cherokee hit the stage. Highlight of this set was Cherokee dancing to Oukast's "Hey Ya" and, taking a cue from the song, took a Polaroid picture of her hoo-ha and shook it. She then gave it to one of the perverted, disgusting, sick men at stageside (and no, it wasn't me). She did that with two Polaroids then gave away a few 8x10's as well.
Cherokee then posed for Polaroids, signed autographs and sold some DVD's. Cherokee, who I had met for the first time in Las Vegas in January, is a sweetheart and even offered me a neck massage for driving the 5 hours from Long Island to see her. She is one of, if not the most, down to earth people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in the industry. I got my Polaroid and an autographed photo and she was nice enough to sign a photo of me and her from Vegas. We talked for a while longer before I told her that I should had back to my seat and let Frank have a chance to come and get a photo. She asked where we were sitting and I tried to point it out to her but she can't be much more than 5" tall and couldn't really see over all the people sitting at the stage.
It didn't take any convincing from anyone for us to hang around for the 11:00 show. Hell, just Cherokee telling us that it would be messy was enough for me. The second set opened with Cherokee in full headdress!! YES!! Did I mention that she is very limber? Cherokee graced a few more people with a Polaroid and some 8 x 10's and then rolled out a huge blanket. She covered herself in some lotion before pouring candle wax onto herself. OUCH!!! Well, she said it would be messy.
Frank and I headed over to say good-bye and thank Cherokee. She threatened me with physical violence if I don't e-mail her and hopefully she can come back to the area (maybe a little closer to NY) in the near future. If not, hopefully she will be in Vegas in January once again.
Cheap plug time: Cherokeexxx.com for all your Cherokee needs. The site is currently being overhauled but you can sign up to be informed when it is fully functional and reopened.
The long awaited conclusion of my Retirement From Fandom Tour was finally reached on Saturday, May 1st when the East Coast Wrestling Association returned to St. Matthew's Parish Center in Wilmington, DE on for it's annual "Night of Unusual Matches". This show is Jim Kettner's way of giving something to his loyal and regular fans for having to sit through the Super 8 Tournament. (Hey, I didn't say it!)
Luminaries in attendance included CoFro, Nick Yannucci, The Kruel Clan, and Killer Tim Brooks on crack.
Pre show music was finally decent!! Thank you Flyin Ryan!! Where else can you here the Runaway's "Cherry Bomb" prior to a wrestling event?
After the "Countdown to the May 2004 edition of ECWA" and the National Anthem, the show began at 7:00 as usual.
The opening match was a 6 man Texas Tornado "Shoe on a Pole" match with the trio known as "Night Shift" (Big Sky, Mayhem and Lucian) taking on The Japanese Pool Boy and the Shaolin Wrecking Crew. Pool Boy was decked out in Wrecking Crew attire, complete with a Stiletto hanging around his neck. The match was a complete brawl until Pool Boy was able to use Big Sky and Mayhem as stepping stones to grab the shoe off the pole, hit Lucian with it and cover him for the three count.
In a 3 Way Match, Johnny Maxx defeated Mozart Fontaine and Mike Tobin who was making his ECWA debut. Mozart is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the indy scene as he could probably wrestle a lampshade and make it look good. Tobin made a good impression in his debut match for the promotion. Mozart and Tobin tried to double team Maxx for most of the match but their egos got the best of them as they constantly argued over who should be trying to make the pin. The finish saw Mozart get knocked to the floor by Tobin. Tobin came off the top rope with a dive only to be hit with a Johnny Maxx Diamond Cutter for the pinfall.
Next up was the "French Bastille Match". The match was going to be 2 out of 3 falls. Prior to each fall, a type of match would be drawn from a hat to determine the rules for that fall. Mr. Ooh La La, accompanied by Carlton P. Hightower, made his way to the ring. After pointing out several fans to the camera man, he made sure everyone knew who would or wouldn't be invited to any parties in the future. The usual pre match antics of Ooh La La tripping while trying to get into the ring and being knocked down in some manner after his striptease never seem to get old as they are always different. Ooh La La's opponent for tonight... Xero.
The first match was a Blindfold Match. Both men spent several minutes attacking turnbuckles and trying to listen to the crowd's directions. Ooh La La even tried putting his ear to the canvas to see if he could hear where Xero was. Carlton got on the ring apron to distract the referee. Ooh La La lifted his blindfold, superkicked Xero (yes, I said he hit a superkick!!!) and covered him. As the ref turned around, he made the three count. Who knew that Ooh La La could get his leg that far off the ground to hit an actual superkick?
The second fall was drawn and announced as a "Hair v Hair" match. Carlton was furious, as Xero would have nothing to lose. He declared that he was allowed one "freebie" and that he was going to use it. Another match was drawn and it was a Hardcore Match. Carlton ran to the back and came out with a bag with a broom, mop, water gun, plunger, and toy starfish. Ooh La La had trouble working the water gun as he continuously squirted himself and fans at ringside. Ooh dominated most of the match, hitting Xero with every weapons possible. Xero plungered Ooh's face. Xero was able to catch Ooh with a chokeslam and win the match.
The third, and final fall, was to be held under Bullrope match rules. Each man was tied to the bullrope. Ooh La La continuously nailed Xero with the cowbell. He even rang it in Xero's ear to deafen him. As Ooh La La made his way around the ring touching turnbuckles, Xero did the same (without him knowing). Ooh La La touched 3 (Xero had touched 2) and was going for the fourth one when Xero pulled the rope and clotheslined Ooh La La. Xero then touched his third turnbuckle and was declared the winner. No one said that referees in Delaware could count past 3. Why do you think it doesn't require a 4 count for a pinfall in wrestling?
The next match was Canada vs USA as The "Canadian Sensation" J Busta (with Sebastian Knight) took on USA's Nick Malakai. Even with the "USA" in front of his name, Malakai could not get a pop from the crowd. The loser would have to sing the National Anthem of the winner's country. Malakai defeated Busta with a face slam. Busta refused to sing the national anthem (lucky for us). Thankfully, it was a short match.
The special "Pose Down" was next. Hosted by Commissioner Neagle (who turned 60 today) and judged by ECWA Hall Of Famer, Barry Casino and a female fan, Striker and Heartbreaker had a posedown. After 5 poses, the judges had to decide a winner. The female fan selected Striker. Casino selected Heartbreaker. Neagle had to break the tie and chose Heartbreaker. Heartbreaker then got on the mic and ended up challenging Striker to a match. (Note to Heartbreaker: it's "The crowd goes mild", not "The crowd goes wild")
Heartbreaker dominated the opening minutes of the bout but Striker was able to make a comeback. Striker with the lungblower followed by the Overdrive on Heartbreaker for the pin. Good match along with a good setup for the match. The female fans in the crowd loved the whole thing from start to finish.
The Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match was next. The Maximos and Mike Fury faced The Valedictorians and Freak Nastty (with/ Carlton P Hightower). Special referee for the match was Jim Kettner. The stipulations were announced as if the Maximos and Fury won, Maximos would get a future title shot and Fury would be declared the true ECWA Rookie Sensation. If the champs won, they would never have to face the Maximos again and Nastty would be declared Rookie Sensation. What an excellent match. The 6 men brawled all over the building. Kettner had his hands full trying to keep Hightower from interfering. Some highlights saw Jose hit a Death Valley Driver off a ladder on Billy Bax; Mike Fury threw Rob Eckos off the top of the concession stand (under the ECWATron) into the locker room area; Fury with a crossbody off the same platform onto his opponents on the floor. The men made it back to the ring where Hightower tried using a chair. Kettner took the chair away and Hightower became enraged. He got on the mic and ripped Kettner apart. After slapping Kettner, Hightower hightailed it and Kettner chased after him. They lapped the ring then ran through the crowd. Hightower ran to the back of the building and climbed some scaffolding in the rear. The sign clearly stated "Stay off" so I don't know why he didn't heed the warning. Kettner tried to follow but Joel made it to the top first. Joel prepared to throw Hightower but Hightower held onto the scaffold for dear life. Meanwhile, Freak Nastty was laid out on a table by Fury, as Jose and Bax battled on a lower section of the scaffold. Joel hit a beautiful moonsault, off the scaffold and through Nastty and the table for the victory. An amazing match and effort by everyone involved including the manager and referee.
Intermission was up next and we had a great conversation with Bodyguard For Hire.
The ECWA Mid Atlantic Title was on the line next, in a lumberjack match. Ace Darling lost his title to Prince Nana when ES Easton hit Ace with the title. It was kind of hard to see the finish as there was so much brawling at ringside amongst the lumberjacks. Good match however from both Ace and Nana. Ace dominated the majority of the match only to be screwed out of the title at the end. Nana then got on the mic and announced how no one, not even some of the lumberjacks, were worthy of a title shot.
An explosion then took place on the ECWATron and the music hit as Mega entered the ring. Mega has returned to the ECWA to get revenge on Prince Nana. The crowd popped huge. This immediately led into the next match...
The Battle Royal. Every wrestler from the show was in the battle royal. Quickly, one by one, they were all eliminated until it got down to Mega and Big Sky. Mega quickly eliminated Big Sky to win the Battle Royal. Nice moving, fast battle royal, the way they should be.
The main event of the evening was next. The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels was to defend his title in a 4 way elimination match against Mike the Shooter Kruel, Hurricane John Walters, and Austin Aries. All I can say is WOW. This match was nothing less than awesome. Austin Aries is quickly becoming my favorite wrestler. He worked on the arms of Daniels and Walters which set them both up to be weakened for any of Kruel's submission moves. Calling all the spots in this one is impossible. You have to get the tape of this one.
The match went 45 minutes but felt like 10. Kruel eliminated Daniels first when Daniels tapped out to a submission maneuver that I have never seen Kruel use before. Kruel was then pinned by Austin Aries after arguing with the referee and being rolled up from behind. John Walters and Aries then traded moves until Walters nailed Aries with a face first slam off the top rope for the victory. Your winner and new ECWA Heavyweight Champion... Hurricane John Walters.
The ECWA's next shows are:
June 24, 2004
Greater Newark Boys and Girls Club
Rt 40 and Positive Place
Newark, DE
July 31, 2004
Greater Newark Boys and Girls Club
Rt 40 and Positive Place
Newark, DE
As usual, Jim Kettner comes through again. While many people wouldn't be able to pull off a show of all "gimmick" matches, Kettner does it (on a yearly basis) and does it well. The matches that need to be kept short are kept short. The matches that will draw crowd response, draw a response. The matches that have to leave you speechless, leave you speechless. As I have said 1,000 times before, the ECWA and Jim Kettner are the only promotion and promoter that consistently put on a quality show month after month after month. For 8 years I have been making the drive from Long Island to Delaware to see ECWA shows (having missed only a handful) and I have never left the Parish Center disappointed. No other promotion can claim to produce half the talent Kettner does. Nor can any consistently book storylines and angles that tell a story (correctly) over a series of shows. Hell, many can't keep their own storylines straight over a three hour show let alone three months or more.
Thanks to Jim for 8 years of phenomenal shows. I wish him nothing but the best and I know he will continue to put on some of the most talked about shows in indy wrestling in the future.
For the time being, as I stated before, this will be my last live wrestling event for some time to come. With the exception of one show in June that I plan on going to (and even said I would come out of retirement if the match was ever booked) I am now officially retired from my road trips to wrestling matches. Unless there is some kind of phenomenal card that sparks my interest, my days of driving 5 hours for matches the caliber of Kodiak Bear v Metal Maniac are over. Call it a Terry Funk retirement. Don't believe me like Chuck Ristano. I don't care. For those who can't read, don't come yelling at me in June when you see me at the show that I have now said I would be going to. Yes, I will be going to the Wrestling Convention on June 5th. You think I'm going to miss out on missing one of my all time favorites Stan Hansen?? Yes, I will be going to North Carolina in November. These conventions allow me to relive the days when wrestling was fun, unlike the majority of it today.
Finally, for those who think this site is going anywhere. THE WRESTLING CLOTHESLINE WEB SITE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Just because I am cutting back on the number of wrestling events I attend does not mean that this site is not going to remain the premier site for independent news, information, press releases, interviews, and more.
Thanks to everyone for their support (and/or hatred) over the years and I look forward to your continued support in the years to come as WrestlingClothesline closes in on it's 10th Anniversary.
