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Our Weekend in MA
By Brett Schwan
On Saturday, March 4th, Ron and I headed out to Somerville, MA so we
could attend the debut WWW show on Sunday, March 5th. We figured, as it
is approximately a 6 hour trip, we would head up the day before so we
wouldn't have to leave at a ridiculous hour Sunday morning.
After arriving at the La Quinta at 3pm we awaited the arrival of crew
member, Joe Velez. Of course, Joe emailed me Saturday morning even though
I told him several times I was going to try and catch the 11am ferry from
Orient Point. Needless to say, Joe arrived around 5pm.
We met Rob Marco at the 99 Bar and Restaurant for dinner prior to heading
out to the MWF show (more on that here).
We got back to the hotel around 10pm where we headed up to the 5th floor
where wrestling superstars extraordinaire, Amy Lee, Cindy Rogers, Missy
Sampson, and Amy Lee's friend (who will be referred to as that since none
of us can recall what her name was. For that, I apologize).
Cindy was suffering from Bronchitis but still made the trip up to work
the show. I'm sure Missy's smoking habit helped with Cindy's recovery
while in the room.
Since Good Time was charging admission to get in (as the UFC fight was
on) we decided to head over to 99 for some drinks. (sand Cindy who was
not feeling well and Missy who, I guess, is just to good to hang out with
those of us who drove 6 hours one way to see her!! LOL)
We ordered some drinks. We learned, when Amy lee tried to order 2 drinks,
that "Corporate Policy" only allows patrons to have one drink
at a time. Evidentally, "Corporate Policy" is to also have last
call at 12:20 then, when trying to order at last call, they tell you that
you can not.
La Quinta Room - $132 plus tax
Bar tab - $67
An evening of Amy Lee's one liners - PRICELESS
(to see some of her more memorable quotes, check out our Quotes
page!)
As Amy Lee got off the elevator on the 5th floor, she made sure to hit
every damn button so we would have a nice ride to the 7th floor.
I will not mention the air conditioner being on all night, thanks to Joe.
Free continental breakfast on Sunday morning. A wake up call from Missy
Sampson that scared the shit out of Ron while he was in the shower (as
there is a phone in the bathroom).
Now, onto the show.. (for pictures from the show, click here)
On Sunday, March 5th, New England Championship Wrestling presented the
debut show of World Women's Wrestling at Good Time Emporium in Somerville,
Ma.
The scheduled 12:30 Press Conference did not take place at 12:30 (foreshadowing?)
so the Bumper Car Challenge took place instead (and from what I hear,
that drew a bigger crowd than the press conference did).
For the Wrestling Clothesline it was Joseph Velez Jr., Ronald Warren Beider,
and myself.
For the women it was Amy Lee, her friend who's name I can not remember for the life of me, Della Morte, Missy Sampson, and Cindy Rogers (who was suffering from Bronchitis yet STILL was up to the challenge).
Now granted, I am biased, and keep in mind it was FIVE on THREE, but I think the WC Crew was victorious.
Missy S could not even get her car to move for a good 5 minutes, leaving her open for an easy attack. Della Morte was too busy complaining that Ron's car moved too fast (However, she did get some good shots in on some of the Crew). Amy Lee was able to get a few shots in on me but no fewer than I was able to get in on everyone else.
Joe's pre challenge theory of "Let's all gang up on Amy Lee" soon died as I don't think I even saw Joe once the entire time I was on the Bumper Car Track!!
I think the winners were the 30 - 40 people who suddenly gathered to
watch this melee... some with video cameras!!
When the Challenge was over, we headed inside as we were told the Press
Conference was going to start momentarily. Once inside, we were asked
to wait outside as they set up the ring. No problem. Unfortunately, we
didn't know that on the other side of the room that the wrestling was
being held in was a podium for the Press Conference. We went out the door
to the arcade and watched Ron play Mat Mania.
Needless to say, we missed the Press Conference.
Doors were scheduled to open at 2:30. They finally opened around 2:45.
There were two types of tickets for this event. VIP Front Row Tickets
cost $20. All other tickets cost $16.
I ordered my tickets in advance, through PayPal. The cost for three tickets
was $64. Now I completely understand that PayPal charges merchants a percentage
of the sale, etc. While I understand that, the average person who is not
familiar with PayPal may not. I discussed this with Sheldon Goldberg in
an email after I purchased the tickets. He said that all my comments have
been "noted". We'll have to see if "noted" actually
means anything! LOL
When ordering via PayPal, I was told "Shipping and Handling"
was $3. By the time I got to the payment page, the charge was now $4.
Since a stamp costs .39, where does the $4 come from? Hell, I bought three
$10 tickets through PayPal for the MWF event the night before. The total
cost was $30. Does that mean they lost money since they didn't charge
an extra $4? Is PayPal charging that much of a surcharge? Would I have
saved the $4 if I went to a Strawberries location and bought my ticket
in advance? Hell, I'm willing to pay the extra money to sit front row.
I'm willing to travel a hell of a distance to see the show. Why am I being
punished for buying online and in advance? (I understand, you are probably
saying to yourself "why is he bitching about $4?". It's not
the money, it's the principle. It's the stupid little things that are
overlooked or ignored by promoters, bookers, etc. that drive me, and other
fans, crazy about this business. Either tell me in advance tickets are
more than $20 or explain to me before I buy them why they suddenly aren't).
My suggestions:
- If you are going to use PayPal, explain that the extra charge is NOT for shipping but is for the PayPal surcharge. Otherwise, a .39 cent stamp on an envelope looks bad after a $4 shipping fee.
- Don't use PayPal. There are several other sites available that do not charge the vendor.
- Suck it up. How much of the $20 ticket price is PayPal really getting?
It can't be more than $1. Would it kill you to cover that small fee?
For the record, Amy Lee got tired of hearing me complain about it and
gave me the $4 on Saturday night!
Back to the show. 3:00 came. 3:00 went. At 3:20 the show finally began.
Pet Peeve number 2. Why can't promoters get a show started on time? All
the workers were there. The ring was set up. The fans weren't allowed
in until 2:45 (so I will assume any last minute issues were taken place
up until then). Belltime is 3:00, start the show at 3:00. (For the record,
nearly every promotion I have ever attended has started late. This is
not strictly an NECW/WWW thing. I still can not get a straight answer
from anyone as to why that is. The only person whose shows consistently
begin on time is Jim Kettner of the ECWA).
Pet Peeve number 3. Why are "VIP Front Row Tickets" basically
general admission? There was no one there checking to see if the people
sitting in the front row actually held these tickets (not all did). By
the time we were allowed in, there were no three seats together. We were
able to find a few people without VIP Front Row Tickets, and got three
seats. Again, a very stupid thing to overlook that is so simple to fix.
The tickets were numbered, why not number the seats? There couldn't have
been more than 20. Would 20 post-it notes or little stickers break the
budget? Would a person from WWW coming by and checking tickets, even once,
do any harm? Just curious.
Approximate attendance: 100
Luminaries in attendance: Kid Mikazee, Makua, Pul Richards, Grizzly Adams,
Wrestling Wally and more NE indy workers than I could name.
Your ring announcer is Chris Norman (and he didn't even want to tell us
his name until we told him we couldn't include him in the recap if he
didn't!)
Opening contest saw Alexa Thatcher w/ Missy Sampson defeat Synndy. Alexa
does a great job at playing the heel. Of course, having Missy in her corner
doesn't hurt. Some interference by Missy throughout the match. At one
point, Synndy hit a backslide on Alexa but Missy pulled the ref out of
the ring as he was making the count. The finish saw Alexa distract the
ref as Missy came in, liften Synndy into a suplex but dropped Synndy face
first onto her knee. Alexa then covered Synndy for the pinfall. The played
Synndy's music. Missy let the sound guy know that "traditionally,
they play the winner's music, not the losers".
Amy Lee destroyed Jana in a good match. I haven't seen Jana since the
Glory Convention. Jana tried to get some shots in whenever she could but
Amy overpowered her. Jana went for the $10,000 bodyslam challenge but
Amy didn't budge. Amy slammed Jana and followed up with a leg drop. Amy
Lee nailed Jana in the face with a knee that made the entire Clothesline
Crew cringe. Amy Lee won via submission with a camel clutch. After the
match, Amy would not let go of the hold until the referees came out to
force her. Even then she didn't want to relinquish the hold. Jana hurt
her leg during the match but was up and around after the show and informed
me that she would be ok.
Alicia was up next as she faced Amber. Amber was accompanied to the ring
by Bad Boy Billy Black. Prior to the match Black got on the mic and apologized
for "accidentally" hitting Amber at the last NECW show. (Yet
more foreshadowing?) Both girls fought back and forth with numeros pinning
combinations until Amber came off the ropes and was tripped by Black.
(He didn't even make it look like an accident). Amber got up and began
arguing with Black which allowed Alicia to attack from behind and hit
the A-Bomb for the pinfall.
The next match was Ariel as she defended her PWF NE Women's Title against
the "Definition of Technician" Cindy Rogers. Phenomenal match.
Cindy, who was suffering from Bronchitis, not only came to the show (which
is more than I can say for others who "called in sick" with
lesser conditions) but put on one hell of a match. Who would expect anything
less from the two women who tied at #2 in our Top 50 Women of Indy Wrestling
list? Very even match up with Cindy going for numerous submission attempts.
Ariel with a nice cradle suplex. Cindy applied a step over toe hold into
what looked like a Cobra Clutch at one point. Ariel hits the stunner for
a two count. Ariel then hits the Dariel for 2. Ariel then applied a reverse
full nelson into a bridge, which forced Cindy to tap out. (We're working
on a name for that finisher).
Intermission followed. Most of the women were out to sign autographs and
pose for photos. Mark out moment of the day... Nikki Roxx still knew me
after not having seen her in a year! (It's the little things in life that
make me happy).
First match after intermission saw the Diva Killaz (Kayla Sparks and Miss
DeVille) defeat the team of Alexa Thatcher and Missy Sampson. Lots of
double teaming by Alexa and Missy. Alexa had Kayla in a headlock but then
twisted her head down to drop her on her knee only to follow up with a
knee lift. I know it sounds confusing but it was impressive. They beat
down Kayla for quite some time before Kayla was able to make the hot tag.
Miss DeVille came in to clean house. Double clothesline on Alexa who ducks,
so it hits Missy, knocking her from the ring. This allowed Kayla to lay
out Alexa while DeVille climbed to the top rope to his the Senton for
the pinfall. Post match: Missy argued with Alexa and pushed her.
Della Morte (who has a new found respect from me after the Bumper Car
Challenge) defeated Kacee Carlisle. It was my first time seeing Kacee.
Della hit several nice cradle suplexs. The finish came when Della climbed
to the top rope and hit a flying clothesline on Kacee for the pinfall.
5:00 pm and your main event is next. For the NECW Women's Championship.
Violet Flame defends the title against Mercedes Martinez and Nikki Roxx.
Thankfully, this was set up as an elimination match. Simply awesome bout
from top to bottom.
Being an elimination match, Mercedes took that as meaning she didn't have
to wrestle just yet. She sat in the front row for a little while. She
followed that up by going to the bar to get a drink. She even shared the
drink with anyone who may have been thirsty. I think, had we given her
a pad, she would have taken orders as well.
Mercedes finally got into the match and, surprisingly, pinned Violet Flame
with a fisherman buster.
It was now down to Mercedes and Nikki.
Mercedes with a beautiful spinebuster on Nikki. Nikki hit a nice off
the top rope body block but Mercedces rolled through and got a two count.
Mercedes attempted a fishermanbuster but Nikki rolled her up in a small
package. The two girls then rolled around the ring, each trying for a
pinfall, to no avail. Mercedez hit Nikki with a superkick and followed
up with the Three Amigos. On the third suplex attempt, Nikki reversed
it into a DDT. Some stiff chops by Mercedes that turned Nikki's chest
bright red. Nikki with a northern lights suplex for a two count. Nikki
hits her finisher on Mercedes.
The winner and new NECW Women's champion.Nikki Roxx!!
Post match, as Nikki was celebrating her victory, Amy Lee and Missy Sampson
attacked her and set up a table in the ring. Ariel made the save, running
them off. Ariel then helped Nikki up. Nikki climbed to the second rope
for one last fanfare but Ariel attacked her and powerbombed her onto the
table. I say onto because the table didn't break. OUCH. If at first you
don't succeed, try try again. Ariel picked up Nikki and powerbombed her
again. This time, onto the table (which didn't break again). DAMN that
hurt! Ariel left the ring with both belts.
The referees came out, as did Mercedes and Violet, to check on Nikki.
Nikki was able to make it to the back, with help, to a standing ovation.
Overall, the matches were excellent. The show ran just about two hours
which worked out perfectly because I was able to make my 8pm ferry out
of New London! Not one bad match in the bunch. (and for me to say that,
is rare). All the girls seemed to put forth 110% (as if anyone expected
anything less). The crowd was hot for all the matches. It was great getting
a chance to see Jana in action once again, even if Amy nearly killed her!
Alexa is great as a heel. It was also the first time for me seeing Amber
and Kacee. Always a pleasure to see new faces in the ring. I am enoying
Della Morte more each time I see her work. The Triple Threat match and
Ariel v Cindy stole the show.
Outside of my pet peeves, which to be quite honest take place at more
promotions that I can even mention on this site, the show was solid. WWW
returns on May 7th with a 7pm belltime. I hope to be there, depending
on how much the shipping on tickets is and if my VIP Ringside ticket will
actually allow me to get a ringside seat without having to move people
myself! LOL
Seriously, if WWW continues to book talent of this quality and continues to put on matches of this standard, I would be more than happy to make the 6 hour drive to see another WWW show.
