by Brett Schwan
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Disclaimer:
The following opinions are those of Brett Schwan and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else who may write for or contribute to The Wrestling Clothesline (except possibly Frank Andreotolla who never writes for us but shares many of the same opinions).
The following comments are written by Brett Schwan, a FAN of indy wrestling. In no way, shape or form do I claim to be a "wrestling journalist" or a "reporter". I strictly tell about what I see, what I liked, and what I disliked. All comments should be taken for what they are worth. In no way are my comments meant to sway anyone away from or into purchasing tickets to any upcoming events.
If you are a promoter, wrestler, manager, valet, ring announcer or anyone who works for any promotion I write about here, I am more than happy to listen to your comments and if you wish them to be posted, I would be more than happy to. You can contact me at WresClothesline@aol.com. I do not want anyone to think I would "cut them up" on my site without reason. With that in mind, enjoy....
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JCW Returned to the Elks Lodge in Paramus, NJ for a 5pm Belltime on Sunday, July 20th.
Pre show: Hooters. Nothing worthy of writing about.
Many of the wrestlers were double booked and arrived to the show late or were unable to make it to the show at all (which forced JCW to make several last minute changes to the original lineup). One more reason for promoters to strongly consider not double booking wrestlers unless the shows are close enough together or the starting times are far enough apart. USA Pro running in NY from 12:30 - 6:30 only meant trouble as traffic from NY to NJ is bad enough let alone on a Sunday evening!!! Add to that the fact that you KNOW that some of your workers are going to be put on later in the one show, causing them to have to miss the other, and I ask.. WHY ARE YOU STILL DOUBLE BOOKING?
A small but very enthusiastic crowd was on hand. Luminaries in attendance included Alicia, Firoella, The Lethal Family, The Kruel Family, George Mayfield and Eric "Where's My 10 Questions?" Simms. (and Eric, if you still want the questions after we gave them to you yesterday... let me know LOL)
Ref Gary was one of our referees (and quite honestly, the best one there). Your TV commentators: Lord Clarence MacDougal and Mike Berkowitz. Your ring announcer: The same guy as the last 10 months who's name I still don't know but he reminds me of Tiger Ali Singh.
The opening bout saw Dave Greco (who earlier stated that "Tonight is the day we get our shot!") defeated Chris Idol. This was one of Idol's last matches on the east coast before moving to California. Good match which saw Greco in singles action trying to hone his skills prior to his JCup match next month. Greco won with his version of the DVD. Later in the show we were informed that Greco hurt his knee during the bout. Get well soon to Dave!! Hopefully he won't be sidelined for the JCup. However, think of the time you'll have to make Brams tapes!
Mike Winner and Rob Eckos came to the ring and challenged anyone in the back to come to the ring and have a pose down with Eckos. Many tried (including Lamar Porter Braxton and Devin Sturgis) but none compared. Then Noel entered the ring in her robe. Eckos decided not to hold back and removed his robe. Noel did the same. Noel's outfit made the kid behind us go completely through puberty from start to finish within 2 minutes. Noel then announced that she was back (although according to the official JCW JCup website she doesn't return till next month.)
Jay Lethal over Colt Cabana to keep his TV title. Colt Cabana came to the ring to Barry Manilow's "Copa Cabana" (where was Slyk when you needed him?). Colt seemed to be shocked that a certain crew of people knew nearly all the words. Cabana not only looked phenomenal in the ring with Lethal but he was hilarious as well. He interacted amazingly with the crowd. He even had time during the match to say that he felt the 10 Questions he answered “biased and didn’t like them”! The fact that Cabana was able to turn a failed kip up into a series of failed kip ups leading to Lethal trying to help him do a kip up (only to get two boots the to jaw) was classic!! Lethal was able to score the roll up pin to retain his title.
Ace Darling over Shawn Sheridan to keep his heavyweight title. Sheridan announced that the 80's gimmick was put aside as everyone knows that if that Shawn Sheridan came to the ring, with Foxxy and Amber, we know he'd lose. Sheridan wanted to be taken seriously as a singles competitor. Ace entered and immediately attacked Sheridan. Ace had the brightest, most confusing looking, green tights I have ever seen. Ace in the Hole for the win. Great match. Understandable that Foxxy wasn't at ringside as she was in transit from NY. If Sheridan is going to continue with the serious wrestler idea and drop the 80's gimmick it can only help show how solid of a worker he actually is. Hopefully, the 90 day separation of Foxxy and Damian can just run it's course (It's almost up anyway) and Foxxy and Damian can be put together again on the next JCW show they work on.
Lamar Braxton Porter over Killer Kaos. Two HUGE powerbomb by Porter put Kaos down for the three count. I've seen Porter work for NYWC and he's a very talented big man. Kaos hasn't shown me much in his sting in JCW thus far.
Rob Eckos over Damian Dragon. Damian came to the ring, still completely distraught by not having Foxxy at his side (Foxxy who made me have the urge to go on a three hour tour). Eckos started to mock Damian and Damian snapped throwing punches. Damian controlled most of the match. Some outside interference by Mike Winner gave Eckos the upper hand. Damian went outside the ring and got a chair. As he was entering the ring, Winner distracted the ref. Eckos with a superkick into the chair, into Dragon. Eckos made the pin, with his feet on the ropes. Eckos and Winner ran to the locker room. Good match. Too short for my liking. Honestly, the booking of it made no sense to me. Damian pretty much destroyed his last opponent due to his state of mind without Foxxy. Now, he not only loses BUT he never gets to "snap". What is the point of having Damian destroy Dickie last month and this month he doesn't even get the chance to exact revenge on Eckos. Makes no sense to me. I am anxiously looking forward to see how the JCW Powers That Be decide to bring this story full circle. After this outing, I'd hope something big is in store for the reunion (and since everyone knows the two are legit getting married in Oct., it would be nice to see the happy in ring reunion PRIOR to then).
Los Boricuas vs. Bobby Vee & Eric Cooper turned into Los Boricuas
vs. the
Disciples of Darling when John Shane offered Vee and Cooper an envelope
"with some green inside". The DOD then attacked Vee & Cooper.
Los Boricuas are SO OVER. Even in front of 100 people, they get the place
to pop. The DOD got the win (when the illegal man was pinned). Commissioner
Fred The Elephant Boy took the belts away from the DOD since they did
not sign a contract for a title match which means the belts were not on
the line. The DOD & Ace attacked and laid out the Boricuas, Fred,
& Nicky.
EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, in the building saw that the wrong Boricua was pinned. Half of them were chanting it when the match ended. Wouldn't that be a strong enough case for the match to either continue OR for the belts to be returned? Instead, for whatever reason, they chose the more confusing, "you match wasn't a title match" angle. Another bad move in my opinion. Great move if it was to give Fred the opportunity to get on the mic. Speaking of which, Fred as Commissioner is great IF he got you some publicity. I haven't heard him on Stern in months (I don't listen that often either). Does Fred sell a lot of tickets or is his name on the marquee so strong that it draws bigger crowds? Sure, it was funny the first time or two. Now, it's just old. Just make Nick the commissioner (since he is the one that always ends up explaining what Fred just said) or make someone with some mic skills the commissioner if you're going to continue doing angles that require one.
Johnny Ova over Black Superstar to keep his Lightheavyweight title. Black Superstar bared a striking resemblance to Jay Lethal. Ova pretty much dominated the match and won with his OvaDrive. Good match with Superstar acting goofy throughout.
Striker over Slyk Wagner Brown (with April Hunter) and Dirty Money in the Main Event, 3 way elimination match. (Second show in a row where the Hvyt Title match was not the main event). Evidentially, Devin Sturgis felt that taking back the markerboard that he gave Sign Guy last month would make everything in the world honky dorey. Instead, he did exactly what Jim Brambilla pointed out in his last JCW review should NEVER be done. Que Sera. Dirty Money was eliminated early. Striker hit Sturgis with a street sign, tossed the sign to Money, then laid down. The ref saw Striker down and Money with the sign, causing the disqualification. This left Slyk (who stole my goatee gimmick) and Striker. Great performance by both men. Striker hit his Lung Blower. Slyk with some great suplexes. Striker went to the top rope only to be tripped by April. Slyk got the pin with his feet on the ropes. I wish Striker and Slyk had gone a little longer. Two great wrestlers and they only went about 5 minutes against each other. April, who now has her name on her shirt in case she forgets, shouldn't stick her tongue out at "fans" unless she is planning on using it! (you know I love ya, April!)
Taking into consideration the fact that most of the guys double booked hadn't even arrived by the 3rd match, JCW had to do a LOT of last minute booking changes. Ace v Shawn going on that early was strictly because there was no one else there to wrestle. The match was still outstanding. The Eckos pose down was a cute way to stall for time and Noel's premature return was almost necessary.
JCW Returns to Garfield, NJ on August 24th with the JCW JCup. Click here for full information on the event.
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Contact Brett Schwan at WresClothesline@aol.com
