by Brett Schwan
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The WXW Weekend Excursion. (8/16 & 8/17)
By Brett Schwan
Saturday, after doing the laundry in the only open Laundromat within a 10-mile radius (and boy was it not a good neighborhood), I started my trek at 10am, hoping to avoid the inevitable traffic on the Southern State and Belt Parkways. Luckily, I must have beaten the beach traffic, as I made it to Franks house (in Union, NJ) around 11:45. We headed to Allentown, PA where we would be staying at the lovely Red Roof Inn. We made it to Allentown by 1:30 so we took a little tour to see what we had in our area.
Leave it to Frank to find “Erv’s”. Frank can find any “nudie bar” in any city, in any state. For the record, (and due to financial reasons) we did not go to Erv’s. We checked in to the Red Roof at 2pm and called Paul.
Paul decided he’d take the caddy for a ride and pick us up at 3:10. Luckily, we left early because instead of using the directions we had, Paul decided to take his own route. His route added about an hour to the normally 90 minute ride. Add to that, the only bridge it Mt Carmel was under construction so we had to follow several detours and stop twice for directions before we were able to find the place. (Keep in mind, all we knew was that on the WXW site, it gave the address as Post 91 Avenue and Maple… Avenue?? What avenue??)
Pre show dinner… a total of seven slices of pizza. Why the hell didn’t we just buy a whole pie? We find the Post 91 that the show is being held at. As we wait on line, I notice that the corner street sign says Maple and AVENUE. The street IS called Avenue! Welcome to the boonies.
Doors opened at about 6:30. The show began at 7:30. My only thought is how come none of the wrestlers at the WXW shows come out before the show, or at intermission, to sign or sell their gimmicks. The ONLY wrestler selling merchandise was Supreme Lee Great.
Luminary in attendance: Eric Shaffer.
The opening match, and best match of the night, saw Smooth Tommy Suede (STS) defeat The Dynamic Sensation (TDS). TDS was supposed to wrestle Supreme Lee Great but due to an injury from an autograph signing. His replacement, STS. Great match with tons of chain wrestling as well as some nicely placed high spots. Suede won after a powerbomb off the top rope and a running moonsault.
The Puerto Rican Hurricane Havok defended his TV Title against Boogalu and Crazy Ivan in a Three Way Match. The end came when Ivan tried to hit Havok with the gas mask. Ivan missed, hit Boogalu, and was rolled up by Havok.
The WXW Ladies Champion, Cindy Rogers defended her title against Tracy Brooks. Tracy started by congratulating Cindy on her winning the title but tonight, Tracy would show Cindy why she is Not Just Another Pretty Face. A great, yet short (too short for my liking) match by both women. Tracy went for a small package but Cindy reversed it for the pin. After the match, Frankie V. attacked Cindy. Four referees came out to pull him off. Tracy ran in and had to fight her way through the refs to beat on Frankie. All three were pulled apart. PLEASE!! NO MORE FRANKIE INVOLVEMENT IN WOMEN’S MATCHES!!
Nick Destiny defeated Weave in the next match. Weave faked an injury and went for a small package but Destiny reversed it for the pin. Deja vu?
Next up was a tag match with Johnny Thunder and Vic Divine against Moondog Molsonn and Mana the Polynesian Warrior. Mana and Moondog controlled the start of the match. Out on the floor, Thunder hit a nice superkick to Molsonn’s jaw. Back in the ring, Mana hit a Samoan Drop off the second rope on Divine. Moondog climbed to the top and hit a semi swanton (basically it was a somersault). Thunder grabbed a chair and hit the Moondog with it. He then put Divine on top and the ref counted three. Keep in mind, the ref watched the entire chair shot and cheating by Thunder. Good match by all four men involved.
Jason defeated Sinn by DQ. Jason spent the majority of the match running out of the ring in an attempt to not have to actually wrestle. Finally, Sinn got the upper hand but he accidentally clotheslined the referee. Jason hit Sinn with a chair and leaned Sinn in the ropes, placing the chair in Sinn’s hands. Jason laid down. When the ref awoke, he saw Sinn with the chair and disqualified him. Sinn challenged Jason to a Hardcore Title bout at the next show.
Los Lunatics (Guapo and Low Ryda) were defeated by AMIL in a great tag match. All four men put on a great show with a combination of chain wrestling, aerial moves and psychology. The finish saw a small package by Guapo, reversed by AMIL.
Afa comes to ringside and thanks everyone for coming. He talks about his USO foundation and how the next show in Mt Carmel, on Oct 18th will be for the National Food Bank and asks for fans attending to please bring a can of food as a donation.
The main event saw Xtreme Billy Dream defend his WXW Hvyt Title against Mean Gene Snisky. FINALLY, someone hit the ceiling fan as Snisky suplexed Dream into it. On the floor, Snisky threw Dream toward the ringpost but Dream reverse it and Snisky landed on top of Paul. Back in the ring, Dream with a rollup for the pin. Snisky snapped and chokeslammed Dream (whos hand hit the ceiling fan). He then powerbombed Jessica Dally and knocked out the ref. All this time, no one came to help. However, ALL THE REFS came to break apart Frankie and the girls?? What logic! LOL.
Afa thanked everyone for coming and said next time he would try to book a rematch in Mt. Carmel.
Another fun show by WXW. The building was a pain to get to and was as far into the woods and mountains as you could possibly get, but a good show nonetheless.
I had a chance to speak to Johnny Thunder after the show. It was my first time meeting him after seeing him wrestle for many years. It’s nice to meet someone in the business that reads the site and doesn’t attack me with verbal threats over comments I may have made in the past. More wrestlers should look at it the way he does and realize, as a paying FAN, I have the right to my opinions. If I don’t like a match or someone (in my opinion) messed up more than their fair share of spots, I’m going to say it. On the other hand, if you had a phenomenal match, I’ll say that. Just remember if the fans don’t like what they’re seeing, why would they come back next time to see you again?
Also had the chance to talk to Tracy Brooks (HELLO! Why do you think we went to WXW for the weekend?). She is as down to earth and as sweet as anyone I have ever met. Hopefully, with her and Sinn’s move to Tennessee, they will start getting some more bookings in the US. (Good luck settling in and with all the travel back and froth from Canada in the upcoming months!)
Back to Allentown, the caddy headed. Luckily, we were able to follow Sinn and Tracy, who were following Afa and family, out of the woods and into civilization.
9 am we are awoken by the Waltons all greeting each other outside with a “Good Morning!”. We head over to Denny’s to have breakfast, served by a waitress who was WAY to happy for 10 am.
1pm showing for Freddy vs Jason. Luminaries in attendance: Crazy Ivan and Boogalu. If you haven’t seen this movie, I HIGHLY recommends it. Not only do they do a great job of recapping the history of the two title characters but they actually have a storyline that makes sense. (My biggest worry was how are they ever going to explain how these two come together in the first place).
40 minute ride to Sciota. As soon as we arrived, the downpour began. I soon cleared up, the sun came out, and it stayed that way for the remainder of the evening.
World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) made its debut in Sciota, PA on Sunday, August 17, at the Wholesale Beer Warehouse. You would not think from the sound of this place that it would make for a good wrestling setting but it was awesome. The Warehouse is in a setting that is reminiscent of the Wild West. Along with Rick’s Sciota Barbecue, the buildings form almost a U shape around a gravel parking lot. The ring was set up in the middle of the parking lot, with the buildings and the distant woods making for a great backdrop.
Two WXW TV shows were taped at this event. IF you live in an area that gets WXW TV and do not wish to know what will be happening on some of the upcoming shows, you may not want to read this. With that in mind.. SPOILER ALERT!!!
The show opened with the National Anthem being played to the crowd of about 100 vocal fans.
The opening match saw The Dynamic Sensation (TDS) defeat Weave after a split leg corkscrew moonsault off the top rope. TDS has great potential. I’m not quite sure if Weave (or if that’s even his name) is a face or a heel as I’ve now seen him several times and still can’t figure it out. Good match to open the show with.
In a Divas Tag Match, Tracy Brooks teamed with WXW Ladies Champion, Cindy Rogers to face Tara Charisma and Frankie V. Unfortunately, Tracy and Cindy have proven track records and wrestle on a regular basis. Tara wrestles sporadically and has had some good matches but needs a little more ring time to hone her skills. Frankie shouldn’t be wrestling with the women, period. Nice flying headscissors by Tracy and a STIFF clothesline on Frankie. Frankie and Tara then double teamed Tracy until she made the hot tag. Double punches in the turnbuckles by Tracy and Cindy. They whip their opponents into each other and roll up both for the pin. Nice to see a side of Tracy that we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing before.
Next up was the WXW TV Title Match. Havok defended his title against Smooth Tommy Suede (w/ Arial (spelled this way by me as to not confuse you with Ariel the wrestler). Good match by both men. STS did a sick running corkscrew suicide dive over the top rope, to Havok at ringside. Suede landed hard on the gravel parking lot. That HAD to hurt!. Back in the ring, a nice 450 splash by Suede but he hurt his ribs. Both men got up but Havok hit a spear for the pin.
All Money Is Legal (AMIL) defeated Los Lunatics (Low Ryda and Guapo) in a great tag match. Just as good as last nights match. Great combination of mat wrestling and high flying. AMIL are both hilarious when waiting for the tag. The pin came with a small package. After the match, Los Lunatics beat down AMIL.
Mana the Polynesian Warrior defeated Boogalu after a Samoan Drop and a double arm under hook powerbomb. Boogalu didn’t want to lock up at first and would duck and punch. Mana started to fight back but Boogalu retaliated with punches, kicks, and a nice Boogalurana. Mana overpowered him and scored the pinfall.
Afa was then introduced to the audience who gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. Afa thanked everyone for coming, introduced his daughter, and talked about how the kids who step in the ring always put forth 100%. Afa was choked up while talking about how guys like Tommy Suede go so far as to even do stuff like fly out onto the gravel and take risks. Afa then left with the crowd chanting his name.
The next match was announced as a Hair vs Beard match between Moondog Molsonn and Samu. Samu came to ringside with a sling. He said he was unable to wrestle but he would bring out some guys that Moondog could choose from to wrestle. Out came Low Ryda and Guapo. Moondog chose to wrestle both men. Los Lunatics attacked from behind but Moondog soon got the upper hand and dominated both men. Moondog started to climb to the top rope but Samu, no longer in a sling, hit him with a chair. All three men beat down the Moondog and shaved his beard. The bell then rang. Why didn’t it ring 10 minutes ago when the chair was used?
Sinn (aka Tugboat the luckiest man in the world) defeated Crazy Ivan in what I think was one of the best matches I have ever seen Ivan have. Great wrestling by both men. He ref even went so far as to count in German for Ivan to understand! LOL! Ivan went for the gas mask but Sinn kicked him and grabbed it. Sinn then went to hit Ivan but Ivan knocked the gas mask from Sinn to the ref. The ref then threw it up in the air and as Ivan went to catch it, Sinn rolled him up for he pinfall.
The main event say Xtreme Billy Dream w/ Jesica Dally defeat Mean Gene Snisky by DQ. Good match by two BIG men. Match went outside the ring where Snisky whipped Dream toward the ringpost, Dream reversed it and Snisky nearly killed a poor fan in the front row. The fan then nearly killed his friend trying to get out of the way. Back in the ring, Snisky grabbed a foreign object and hit Dream while the ref was distracted by Dally. Snisky made the cover and the ref counted to three. The new champion… Mene Gene.. wait!! The foreign object fell out of his tights and the ref DQ’d him. Snisky then went nuts and beat up Dream and most of the refs who came in to assist him.
Another enjoyable WXW show. Great venue. The weather held up beautifully and once the sun fell behind some trees, it was a great night for wrestling. Afa, Lynn and the entire WXW crew put on great shows that the entire family can enjoy. All the wrestlers take time to pose for photos and sign autographs for the fans after the show and are all around nice people. Next WXW show is Saturday, August 23rd in Hazelton.
