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The following report was written and posted late Friday evening. For whatever reason, when uploading the file to the server, it never made it to the actual site. I apologize for the inconvenience. Anyhooo... here it is...
Prime Time Wrestling came to the Labetti Post in Staten Island, NY on Friday night June 27th for "Summer Sizzle".
As I begin writing this, it is 12:20 am. I have just arrived home and must say THANK YOU as this is the earliest I have ever been home from a show that didn't start prior to 5 pm. What a thrill to have a show, within the same state that I live in, that while it took 3 hours to get to due to the great Belt Parkway traffic, I can make it home at a decent hour. (considering the other area show is probably just at intermission).
Pre show "Sidekick" Ron and I caught up with Robert Payes. While enjoying the momentary breeze of cool air we were soon greeted by the artist formerly known as Lord Zieg, who I haven't seen in ages. Great to see him again and a pleasure to see him in action a little later on.
It's 6:45 so we head inside. Upon entering, there is a table with the owner of the Post. He informs us that he is the beer and soda table and the ticket table is inside the next area. While he is talking he mentions that he saw a cute little brunette inside that is a wrestler. Immediately, being the mark I am, I start thinking (since I saw Joey Matthews outside earlier) could it be Alexis Laree? I mention her name but the man wasn't sure. He then mentioned that she came up from Virginia and she is going to be a big star in the near future. Robert and I are now pretty sure it has to be her. Then, we saw her heading toward the dressing room and we were like two pigs in $h!t. Then I remembered I didn't bring my camera. STUPID STUPID BRETT!!!
As we are making our way in, Denise was kind enough to inform us that Tom Brandi and Chris Hamrick were unable to make the show due to injury. Also, Reckless would not be there as his wife was in labor. Three big names missing. This could hurt.
Luminaries in attendance: Evan Ginsberg and Bodyguard for Hire
First off, the PTW entrance way is quite possibly the most professional looking on the indy scene. A large steel entrance, with PTW curtains on wither side, multi colored spotlights and a fog machine.
At 8:07 (not the scheduled 7:45 belltime), our ring announcer Outlaw Frankie G welcomes us. We then rise and face the flag for Lee Greenwood's rendition of "God Bless the USA", well the first stanza of the song. Hey! At least it was something!
First match of the night saw Rob Eckos take on Matt Striker with referee John Finnegan (of former ECW fame). Very solid opener with the two me battling back and forth. Striker hit a vicious inziguri and a huge Bill Irwin boot to the face for a three count. Great opening match. The crowd was hot and strongly behind Striker.
Next up, Mike The Ref Kehner makes his way to the ring. For the PTW Cruiserweight Championship, Kruel defended his title against Josh Daniels. Kruel worked on the arm for most of the match. Both men traded stiff chops before Daniels hit a clothesline from hell. Daniels went for a roll up, into a pin but Kruel counterd with a fujiwara armbar. Daniels managed to make it to the ropes. Daniels went for a belly to back suplex but Kruel reversed it into an armbar for the submission. Another great match AND the first I ever saw Kruel make it through without bleeding from the nose.
X Rated then faced The Owens (Jay and Trey). Good outing by both teams. Jay (fromerly Zieg) hit a big boot to one of X Rated. X Rated then double superkicked Jay, while he was on all fours, for a two count. The Owens regain control. Jay with a splash off the top but X Rated's manager distracted ref Finnegan. The Holy Rollers and Church run in and take out Jay and run to the back before Finnegan ever saw them. By the time the ref turned around, X Rated was on top and the ref counted 3. The Owens seem like a very good team. X Rated, with the exception of a horrible manager, also seemed to have potential.
Gregarious Greg Spitz then faced off against Slayer. Slayer, who decided to make fart noises with his armpit, was attacked by Spitz from behind. Spitz missed the off the top rope legdrop. Slayer followed up with 2 atomic drops and an Acid Drop for the pinfall.
Our ring announcer then intrduced the crowd to 2 legends of professional wrestling, Johnny Valiant and Johnny Rodz. As Johnny V was talking to the crowd, Church's music hit and he came to the ring. Church grabbed the mic and told them that between them they wrestled 5000 matches but the didn't win 5. LOL. Johnny Rodz then got on the mic to see who remembered him. He then said he's going to throw something he hasn't done in a long time. Rodz then threw some punches and a hip toss on Church.
Church then got on the mic and said he made an open challenge and not one clown had the guts to accept. Doink's music hit and enter Doink for the rematch from Sussex that the world wasn't waiting for. Doink walked around the ringside high fiving everyone. He stopped in front of us, put his hand out, but for whatever reason was looking the other way. His hand remained out as Ron and I sat there scratching out heads. A good 30 seconds went by and Doink finally turned and realized he was being dissed. Doink didn't look pleased. Ron cried. During the bout, Church threw Mike the Ref into the corner. Mike then pushed Church into the corner and chopped him a few times. Church went for a clothesline on Mike but Mike ducked and Doink hit Church with a clothesline. Church tried to leave the ring but Johnny V blocked the aisle. Church ran at Doink but got a boot to the face followed by the Whoopee Cushion. Johnny V and Doink danced in the ring after the match. The crowd pop for Doink, Johnny V and Johnny R was great.
Outlaw Frankie G then reminds us that pizza is still available and the PTW website is now open. (It took him 5 minutes to explain, very slowly, to open your browser and in the browser window type in ptwrestling.com).
Intermission lasted about 20 minutes which was more than enough time for me to go over and tell Alexis that I am a complete mark for her. For the record, Alexis, all of my emails to you have gone unanswered (all being 3 in a 2 year period). Thank you anyway! LOL
First match after intermission saw Joey Matthews vs Damian Adams. Matthews and his manager announced to the crowd that tonight was Joey "Matthew's Fan Appreciation Night" and if Joey Matthews did not win the match, he would refund all our money. Unfortunately, this pretty much gives away the ending to the match (just as it did in PWF last month). If the hicks in Pottstown didn't fall for the gimmick, the people in NY sure as hell weren't going to. The finish saw Damian go for an atomic drop but Joey KO'd him with a chain. SHOCKER!! Matthews wins. No refunds!
The next match was a handicapped match featuring the Suburban Gangsta Scotty E and BJ Lupture (???) v Bill Ding. The crowd popped huge for Bill Ding who is the size of one. The man must weigh AT LEAST 500 lbs. Bill Ding!! LOL Get it?? The match itself, quite honestly, sucked. What do you expect? What should have been a complete squash wasn't. Too much offense by Scotty and BJ. At one point, both men fell to the floor and a small "suicide dive" chant erupted. Bill's comeback.. "you're crazy". Hell, at least Don Montoya fakes a suicide dive. Bill Ding wins when he falls on Soctty for the pin. No splash, he just fell on him.
The PTW Tag Team Titles were on the line as The Holy Rollers with Church faced The Ballard Brothers. The Ballard Brothers were SO much more impressive then the last time I saw them in person (at the Haas Cup). Very good match. Church had some hecklers at ringside but was able to hold his own with a few "low blow" comments. Ballards kept doing the switcheroo from under the ring to confuse The Holy Rollers. Lots of double team moves by the Ballards. As the ref goes for a 3 count, Church pulls Finnegan out of the ring. Earl the Pearl then sest up for a side russian leg sweep ans Earl came off the top with a blockbuster for the pin. Very nice finish. Great tag match. I was impressed not only with the Ballards but with The Holy Rollers who seem to have been around forever yet haven't seemed to slow down inside the ring.
As the Holy Rollers attempt to leave, the aisle is blocked by the Owens Brothers. The Ballards block from behind. Church and The Holy Rollers then get beaten down. Jay Owens challenges the Holy Rollers to a title match at the next Staten Island show.
The main event is next, for the PTW Heavyweight Championship. The Bruiser faced off against Julio Dinero w/ Ryan Maher and Kara. Julio spent WAY too long on the mic prior to the match. Normally he is quite funny. Tonight, he was more boring and annoying. The match finally began. Kara and Ryan constantly interferred to the point that Bruiser left and went to the back. Bruiser returned with Alexis Laree!! Did I mention.. DAMN SHE IS HOT. Alexis gets on the mic and reminds Julio that last Wed he superkicked her on NWA TNA and she wasn't going to wait till next Wed to get him back. The match continues. Julio goes for a flying forearm but hits Mike the Ref. Bruiser goes for the pin but the ref is out. Maher comes in and gives Bruiser a low blow. Alexis comes in, as does Kara. Spear by Kara and the two ladies begin to catfight and WHERE THE HELL IS MY CAMERA!!!??? STUPID STUPID BRETT!! Alexis with a stunner on Kara before Maher tosses her from the ring. Julio goes for a spin kick (which he completely missed). He climbs to the top but Alexis crotches him on the top rope. Alexiscanrana off the top rope on Julio. Bruiser hit a T Bone suplex on Julio for the pinfall. Your new PTW Heavyweight Champion, the Bruiser.
Overall, a very enjoyable show with nearly every match being a solid one. The opening two matches were great (and with the talent in them, would you expect less?) Considering the talent that was scheduled but unable to appear, this show was great. Nobody complained about the missing talent. The crowd was hot all night and was strongly behind every face and against every heel. A good combination of actual wrestling (Kruel/Daniels, Striker/Eckos, Owens/X Rated, etc.), comedy (Doink/Church), and a guy named Bill Ding!! The show ran just under 3 hours.
In Lance Storm's recent commentary on his website (stormwrestling.com)
he says the following about his "ideal house show":
A house-show card should be between 2-hours 15 to 2-hours 45 minutes.
Less than a 2 hour show and fans aren’t getting their moneys worth.
When the show approaches 3 hours you start burning out your crowd. I know
a lot of you will disagree with that but remember that the internet using
wrestling fans are your more die-hard fans and don’t represent our
whole audience. We need to cater to our more casual audience as well,
even more so, really. What? Cater less to our most loyal fans! Surely
I jest? No I don’t. Let me explain.
Wrestling is a business, and our shows are designed to make money. I know that sounds bad but this is a basic fact of ALL forms of entertainment. The point of a show is to entertain the audience in such a way that they enjoy themselves and want to buy another ticket to come back. To that end our most loyal fans, the die-hard internet going, can’t get enough of wrestling, fans are going to do that regardless (barring us giving you a really bad show). If we give you a good 2-hour show or a good 3+hour show isn’t going to prevent you from coming back. The more casual fans the ones that don’t come to every show are the ones my need to please the most. To that end my time frame works.
At the end of the show you want the crowd, happy, excited, and wanting to see a little bit more. You don’t want them exhausted and glad the show is over because they are tired. More over you want them still lively come the main event. The show is meant to build around the main event and it’s that match that, theoretically, draws the crowd. If the crowd is burned out by that time, the main will seem flat and leave a bad taste in the people’s mouths.
With this in mind, PTW put on what Mr. Storm would consider the "Ideal
show". The show went 2 hours and 45 minutes, it entertained the audience,
the crowd left happy, excited, and wanting to see a bit more. (by the
way, it's now 1:30. An hour to write this?) Thanks to Denise and Joe for
a fun night. PLEASE come to Long Island!!
PTW Returns to Staten Island on Friday Night, September 5th. PTW returns to Brick, NJ on July 11th!
For further information call 866-846-9928 or e-mail primetimewrest@aol.com and don't forget to check out the website at www.ptwrestling.com
