by Brett Schwan
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Was It Worth It?
By Brett Schwan
Greetings from the fan who, for some reason, has become a much kinder and gentler reviewer... LOL... You wish!!
The weekend of August 23rd started with Frank and I leaving Islip at 8 am (with hopes of avoiding any beach traffic) to head into Totowa, NJ to the Holiday Inn for "Fan Slam". We finally made it to the hotel (after several incorrect turns thanks to horrible directions) at 10 am. Once there we met up with former Crew member Double K (who got permission from his girlfriend to actually leave Long Island for a few hours).
When the doors opened at 11 am the vendor room immediately filled with fans. The autograph session was set to begin at 12:00 but due to a few of the stars being delayed, it began around 12:30. The "featured guests" for Fan Slam, who were all gathered in a separate room from the vendors, included Paul Orndorff, Kevin Von Erich, Bobby Heenan, Crowbar, Ricky Steamboat, JJ Dillon, and Gary Michael Cappetta. The line to get into this room was continuous until they had to cut off autographs at 3:00.
In the vendors room, other wrestlers were gathered to sign autographs. Some of them included Ox Baker, Virgil, Johnny Valiant, Joe Rules and Rick Silver (who were scheduled to have a hair v hair match later in the evening... so much for kayfabe), Johnny Thunder, Inferno and Wenzel, Miss Kara, Judas Young, Scott Chong, The DRS, Justin Credible and more.
At 3:30 they held a Q and A with all the "featured guests" and Scott Chong (why he was there, I'll never know). Bobby Heenan completely stole the show with his jokes and comments. All the guests answered questions ranging from "What do you think of Vince McMahon?" to "Who was your favorite person to wrestle?" The Q & A was taped and should be available for purchase in the near future.
Over all, it was a great Fan Slam. I got to meet and get a picture with Kevin Von Erich, which left me totally speechless (which, if you know me, is not easy). Got to get by Heenan book signed and a photo with Orndorff. The next Fan Slam is scheduled for Dec. 6th. Already announced, The Missing Link.
We left Fan Slam to drive the "15 minutes" to Boonton for Summerbash. Unfortunately, the directions didn't include the detour that was set up due to a classic car show that ran through the main street of Boonton. We finally found the Elks Lodge and decided to hit the main street and try to find some food. Along the way, we ran into EC Negro who was soon followed by Fat Frank, Ray Sagar, Inane Dragon, Alere Little Feather, and a few others. We found a sandwich shop where we got the biggest sandwiches and a soda for $6. What a deal!!
After our fine dining experience, we walked back to the Elks Lodge where we purchased our Two for $15 tickets. $7.50 a piece! Not a bad deal. Brams soon joined us for the big event.
Summerbash was a joint venture by The Great Wrestling Federation, JWA Wrestling Alliance and United Wrestling Federation.
Your ring announcer for the evening, Luscious Johnny Valiant.
Luminaries (for those with no creativity or vocabulary skills: big name, big-timer, biggie, celeb, celebrity, dignitary, eminence, leader, lion, name, notability, notable, personage, personality, somebody, star, superstar, VIP, worthy) in attendance included Fat Frank, Ray Sagar, Alere Little Feather, Insane Dragon, Evan Ginzberg and the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
The "official" paid attendance was 25.
The show opened up with what Valiant called the early bird special. Dan the Man defeated Chocolate Boy Wonder with a Downward Spiral. This wasn't a bad match to open the show with.
Next up The Soul Brothers defeated Tre Owens and T Bone (who Johnny Valiant introduced as "Here comes somebody"). The Soul Brothers both rolled up their opponents for the pin. Soul Brothers were winded before they even got into the ring.
Sienna Blaze defeated Pennywise the Court Jester with a sunset flip off the 2nd rope. Why Sienna is in the ring with a 85 lb guy wearing a bad mask is beyond me.
For the GWF Tag Team Titles, the champions Harry Acropolis and Casey Koresh defeated "Textbook" Philly Madison & Kevin Matthews. I'm not sure which one is which, but 1/2 of the tag champs weighed about 400 lbs, had more hair on him than Albert and George Steele combined and felt the need to wear tights that looked like a Speedo. Ugh. Acropolis and Koresh won when the big guy hit Matthews with the Earthquake splash. He then decided to do it again but this time, seemed to miss and hit Matthews on the hip and thigh which sent one fan into hysterics and literally rolling in the aisles.
Bill Ding defeated Foo Foo, the Suburban Gangstas, and (Dave?) Desire 2 in a four on one handicap match. Bill Ding is HUGE and was at least used properly as he destroyed all four men. After the match he had a stand off with another wrestler at ringside and the locker room emptied to pull them apart.
For the JWA World Title, Hot Rocker defeated Grand Master B. Someone couldn't come up with a better name than Bud Bundy's gimmick from Married With Children?
The next match was a hair v hair match between Rick Silver and Joe Rules (who was accompanied by Luxurious Lynne and Patricia M Steinman). Steinman tried interfering one too many times and was sent to the back by the referee. The ref soon got knocked down and Rules got a chain. He hit Silver and when the ref got up he made a two count. Silver hit a sleeper on Rules for the win. Ariel and Sienna ran to the ring to drag Lynne to the back as Silver shaved Joe Rules bald. Did I mention this was all in front of 25 paid?
After the intermission, Damian Dragon (accompanied to the ring by Foxxy Dreams) took on Just G. Note to Foxxy: Wear that outfit ALWAYS!! Holy !!! Damian was the face. Just G was the heel, with a horrible name and even worse hair. Damian took the early advantage but Just G, with some cheap shots, soon gained control. At one point, Foxxy had to get on the ring apron to set the referee straight. Just G rolled Damian into Foxxy and rolled him up (with a bad bridge) for the pin. The heel wins with a nearly clean pinfall? What? Go ahead and say I'm biased because I know Damian and Foxxy BUT this was match of the night in my book.
Next match was a six man tag featuring Mike Quackenbush and his Chikara students. I couldn't even tell you the names of the guys as we could barely hear Valiant but it was something like the Wild Cards and their partner (the masked wrestler who has the black mask with the green dildo looking thing on top) v Quackenbush, Gran something, and a guy with a tattoo of a man holding two devils by their penises. Good combination of wrestling and comedy in this match. Quackenbush scored the pinfall. Too much comedy for me. Less comedy and this one could have been the night's best.
For the UWF Championship: Jay "Zieg" Owens (who will hopefully be doing a 10 Questions in the near future) defeated Max Gator (I think that was his name) with a beautiful bicycle kick as Max was coming off the top rope. Solid match with good work by both men.
Ariel (who doesn't know Kevin Von Erich or Weebles) defended her Ladies Championship against Luscious Lily in another decent match. Ariel is one of the best women on the indy scene today and we are admittantly marks for her. Lily doesn't like us because she didn't even get an honorable mention in our Top 50 Women. Unfortunately, like we stated, we just chose from the nominated women. No one nominated Lily.. Sorry.
In the main event, Hubie Volk defeated The Great Cerenzio for the GWF Championship. Why the championship is being defended in a total comedy match is beyond me. Shouldn't your championship be something you should be proud of and want to try and showcase the ability of the person who will be holding it? Anywho... A two foot step ladder was used for such devastating moves as a legdrop. Garbage cans, cotton candy, and silly string were all used. Volk scored the pinfall with a cradle piledriver onto a chair.
A show should be considered successful if the PAYING fans enjoyed it, felt they got their moneys worth, and left happy. For the price, we all felt we got our money's worth. We enjoyed several matches, we disliked other. Isn't that the way it is at most shows? We left happy (Brams because Ariel crossbodied him, me because she kept hitting me for picking on her not knowing Von Erich LOL). Thirteen matches for $7.50. We easily got our money's worth.
For more information on upcoming events check out JWAWrestling.com
We headed south on the Parkway to Brams house where we were crashing for the night. There was no way in hell I was driving back to NY then back to NJ on Sun for the JCup so Bram's wife packed up their son and ran for their lives, knowing we were coming.
We woke up, recorded Danny (Brams 2 year old son) saying "Booooooorrrrrring" a few hundred times (for use later if needed) and headed out for the JCW J Cup. Amazingly.. We DID NOT GET LOST!!!! We arrived at the building at about 12:20 to see Clothesline Columnist Lawrence Kleber driving out of the parking lot. Lawrence, you are WAY too nice. Stop it! LOL
The show began at 1:40 with a moment of silence for the late Johnny Moyer.
Luminaries(once again.. feel free to use any of these: big name, big-timer, biggie, celeb, celebrity, dignitary, eminence, leader, lion, name, notability, notable, personage, personality, somebody, star, superstar, VIP, worthy) in attendance: Luscious Lily, Alere Little Feather, Zach Gowen (who mysteriously didn't appear at WWE Summerslam for his match with Matt Hardy), Killer Kowalski Jr., Johnny Thunder, Fiorella, Kara, Wenzel, Inferno, Vic Divine and Ricky O's wife and daughter!
Ring Announcer Joe introduced Mike Berkowitz, Lord Clarence MacDougal, and Queen of the Catfights: Noel (who was ready for prom) are introduced and they hype up today's event.
Due to Ace Darling being in the hospital, Sure Thing John Shane announces that he has pulled some strings and the Disciples of Darling will be getting a title shot against Los Boricuas. DOD (K Brawlik and J Static) lost by DQ when Shane hit Los Boricuas with a chair, while all four men were brawling on the floor. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels run into the ring (to a nice pop from the crowd) and attack Los Boricuas. The Solution soon run in (to an even bigger pop) and attack the DRS. Striker also runs in and they clear the ring. Striker challenges John Shane to a match later tonight.
The first match in the first round saw Jay Lethal defeat Rob Eckos with a Dragon Suplex. Good, solid opening match with Lethal not surprisingly, getting the win to advance in the tournament.
Next match in the first round saw Homicide defeat Grim Reefer. (Side note: at this point most of the guys who just brawled in the opening match are all sitting in the balcony watching the match. DRS alongside Solution alongside Striker, etc. Hmmm. Kayfabe? No, wait! Many of them trained with Homicide. That must be the reason). Grim Reefer with a double springboard dive to Homicide on the floor followed by a Frog Splash from the ring apron to the floor on Homicide. They make their way back into the ring where Homicide is able to apply an STF on Reefer for the submission victory.
The Barbaric Beserker Jimmy Jacobs defeated Dixie in the next match in the first round with a bad version of the Sliced Bread #2. Jacobs is maybe 5 foot tall and looks as if he weighs 150 lbs soaking wet. What made him think he should try and rip off Bruiser Brody (and later John Nord's) gimmick? Dixie did what he could but Jacobs advanced. Evidentially, John Walters was busy today and unavailable. (By the way, all those guys who brawled in the opener were still watching this match... hmmm.. I guess Kayfabe is dead.)
Alex Shelly defeated Ruckus in less than five minutes by submission to what looked like a front chancery. This match had such potential as Ruckus is a great worker. Ruckus hit some beautiful moves then tapped out to what didn't even look like a submission move. Bad booking. (And I do not want to hear about any "story" behind the finish. Fans don't know the behind the scenes stories. They know what they see IN the ring and this just plain sucked!)
Next up, CM Punk defeated Sonjay Dutt, by submission with a sharpshooter. This match also started off strong but ended quite abruptly with a submission. Two submissions in a row? Three in the first round alone? Why?
Johnny Ova defeated Dan Barry BY PINFALL!!!. At one point, Dan Barry went for the Irish Car Bomb but was knocked to the mat by Ova. Ova hit the circumcision for two. Ova with the Ovadrive for two. Barry finally hit the Irish Car Bomb (which should be a finisher PERIOD) for two. Barry goes for another Car Bomb but loses his footing and Ova falls onto him for the pinfall. A great match by two men who always work great together. However, the finish was anti climactic.
Shawn Sheridan defeated Deranged. A few shows back, Sheridan came out and announced that he was going to focus more on the wrestling and less on the comedy. We were all for it as Sheridan is a very good worker who, many times, wasn't given the credit he deserved because his comedic antics overshadowed his wrestling. Well, this match, he comes out with a bottle of water, spills some water, slips on the water. I guess the comedy is back? Deranged hit all his signature moves and high spots on Sheridan. A great match by both men. Deranged dropped Sheridan on his head at one point. Sheridan got the pin with his much better than the rock bottom like finisher.
Slyk Wagner Brown, accompanied to the ring by April Hunter defeated Dave Greco in the final match of the first round. Greco was scheduled to have surgery last week but put it off so he could compete in the J Cup (the only man to ever compete in all four). Greco's knee was hurting from the outset. Unfortunately, anyone who was unaware of his knee injury had no clue. As Greco went for his DVD, his knee buckled and he wasn't able to get Slyk up. Since there was no focusing on the knee during the match, many didn't know why his knee couldn't take the weight. He went for it a second time and was able to hit it. Slyk was able to score the pinfall.
Round 2 started with Jay Lethal defeating CM Punk by submission (surprise) with a Fujiwara armbar. Jay Lethal is now a submission wrestler? CM Punk is tapping out to a guy who we have never seen using submission moves? WHAT?? Punk gets on the mic and puts over Lethal as not only being a hell of a wrestler but a hell of a guy outside the ring. Up until the finish, the match was solid though.
Homicide defeated Alex Shelly with a version of the Snow Plow. Fairly short match (thankfully). Evidentially, Doug Williams was also busy today which left an opening for Shelly in the Cup (which by the way is actually a trophy).
Shawn Sheridan was beaten by Jimmy Jacobs after a Wild Bill Irwin boot. The match started with the two men brawling throughout the building. Sheridan hit a blockbuster off the ring apron to Jacobs, on the floor. Back in the ring, Sheridan took the advantage until, out of nowhere, the 5' tall Jacobs hits the boot on Sheridan for the pin. Brams is still in tears from laughing.
Slyk Wagner Brown (with the lovely April Hunter) defeated Johnny Ova in the match of the night. At one point Slyk press slammed Ova, dropped him to the mat and immediately hit a standing moonsault for a two count. DAMN!! That could have been a hell of a finish! Ova goes for a hurracanrana off the top but Slyk blocks it and reverses it with a spinning rock bottom off the top for two. Ova goes up to the top rope for a moonsault but April trips him. Slyk grabs Ova and hits the "Holy Slyk" for the three count. This match was awesome. Looking at the two men and the difference in their size and technique, one could be a little concerned that it would be a match totally dominated by Slyk. However, Ova kept Slyk on his toes with his aerial assault. Phenomenal job by both men.
The Semi Finals started with Jay Lethal defeating Jimmy Jacobs with a Dragon Suplex. Jacobs went for his finisher but Lethal blocked and hit him with a Snake Eyes, followed by the Dragon Suplex for the pin.
The other Semi Final match was Homicide v Slyk Wagner Brown (in the 2nd best match of the night). The two brawled outside the ring where Homicide was whipped into Brams (who enjoyed it a little too much). The two men brawled back and forth. On the floor, April put the boots to Homicide who was able to hook her legs with his and knock her down momentarily. Back in the ring, Homicide hit a spinebuster onto his knee for a two count. Homicide confronts the ref in the corner. Slyk rolls Homicide into the ref then into a pin but Homicide reverses but the ref is down and can't make the count. Slyk hits the "Holy Slyk" but misses a shooting star and Homicide gets the two count. The two do a series of reversals where Homicide suddenly gets the three count. He then clotheslines the ref. Feeling bad, Homicide hugs the ref. He then clotheslines him again before hitting him with a chair. Great match. The ref seemed to have screwed up one too may time. Work or not, Homicide stiffed him nicely.
The next match was scheduled to be Striker v Sure Thing John Shane. Shane came to ringside limping. He seemed to have tore his hamstring severely while doing squat thrusts in the back. However, he put in a call and got a suitable replacement. He then introduced Johnny Storm! (Shane pulled a hamstring, called England, and got Storm here all in a matter of hours! That's impressive!) Very good match by two exceptional wrestlers. At one point, Shane accidentally threw powder in Storms eyes. Striker pulled Shane into the ring where he removed his jacket and put it on. Storm couldn't tell it was Striker. Striker put Storm in a Camel Clutch while he simultaneously put Shane on his back and stretched him. Storm is able to mount an offensive but Stiker hits the Lungblower for the pinfall. After the match, Storm and Striker hug. The DOD attack but Los Boricuas make the save.
The finals of the JCW J Cup saw Jay Lethal pin Homicide. The match started out slowly and built the story throughout. Lots of mat wrestling to start followed by some stiff punches and forearms by both men. The two men continued to exchange moves until Homicide hit a belly to back suplex. The referee counted three and declared Jay Lethal the winner. Lethal was able to get his shoulder off the mat, while Homicide was not. Good match with the only downside being that many didn't see Lethal get the shoulder up off the mat. If he has lifted it more so everyone could tell, it wouldn't have been as confusing near the end. Noel got in the ring to present the JCup (which had to be carried to the ring by 2 refs, yet Ref Gary held it up with one hand). She got out of the way FAST when Homicide looked as if he was going to break it! Homicide grabbed the trophy and threatened to break it. He didn't and he hugged the J Cup winner.. Jay Lethal.
Overall, another enjoyable JCW show. Slyk Wagner Brown once again ignites the question: "Why the hell hasn't someone pushed this guy to the moon" as he had the two best matches of the night, first with Ova, then with Homicide. Slyk has truly become one of the best on the indy scene. While I wasn't too thrilled with the amount of submission finishes (especially one after the other) nor the performance of a few of the guys who not only one once, but twice, the majority of the guys did a great job. Homicide v Reefer was the highlight of Round 1 followed by Ova v Barry. Greco has to be commended on the sheer size of his heart for getting in there with a severe injury (he has surgery on Saturday.. best of luck, Dave!!). Personally, I picked Jay Lethal to win when the brackets were first announced. He is a solid worker and an all around nice guy. My only problem with any of his bouts was that submission victory over Punk. Ruckus has to be brought back and given the chance he deserves to show the fans who haven't seen him how good he is. Two other guys, shouldn't be brought (nor should the person who suggested them ever be listed to again LOL) back and I'm pretty sure Ricky and Bob know who they are. The show ran close to 4 hours and 30 minutes and the crowd of 112 that we counted (including Rob Feinstein and a baby) was sadly not a very vocal one.
Why the crowd was so dead and only popped for individual spots is beyond me. The question remains, did the PAYING fans get their money's worth? Overall, yes. Were there some duds as far as matches go? HELL YES! Did the good matches overshadow them? For the most part, yes. Was it worth the $20 or $15 the fans had to pay? I say, for me, yes. (Although a few seemed pissed at the finish for the final match)
After the show The Pollution (Hemlock and PopTart) led the motorcade of DRS, April and Slyk, Frank and I, and Brams to TGI Fridays. Slyk decided to run a light which left me with no choice but to follow. Brams didn't but he caught up. Brams and Frank headed home around 8:30 just in time to miss the great TGI Friday's staff sing and clap their Happy Birthday song to me (for the record.. My birthday is in April) thanks to Havik and PoppaDan. The place was packed with people from John Shane, Clarence MacDougal, Inferno, Kara, Wenzel, Sign Guy, Lawrence Kleber, Paul, Dani, Noel (who orders great chicken), Ricky (btw.. You STILL owe me a dinner or two) and Nick. We watched the fiasco that was SummerSlam. Ugh. HHH with a sledgehammer for the win? Will the ever learn?
For more info on JCW Check out the official JCW Website at JCWWrestling.com.
Be sure to check out Brams and Lawrence's write ups coming later today.
Contact Brett Schwan at WresClothesline@aol.com
