Washington Women's Wrestling

[The Third Dukes]

Note: Everything else is still happening. The BVS Classic? I'll re-post. The split with TGC? Still on. He just advised me that I should do a side project so I don't get bored. And because I need an excuse to use TEW again, I might as well make it this. Oh, and TGC: I think you won our staring contest

*****

This can't be right.

I looked at the refund check I got over and over again. $54,392.00. Fifty-four thousand dollars. I've never made fifty large in my life! I mean, it had to be a typo. $543.92 made more sense.

Still, who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I'm sure this had been processed by the IRS machine, and hopefully that meant they were expecting me to cash it. I mean, stories of rounding errors were plentiful in DC, the home of the big government. Maybe this was just another one.

Couldn't hurt to call, though.

*****

Well, their loss. The check had already gone through the computer, and all they could do was pay up for their mistakes. Fate was smiling on me today.

So what do I do with the extra money? I thought about this question as I walked around DC on a particularly cold night. My 2003 money had been sitting in the bank all this time, as I made sure not to touch it. But with the holidays, I felt like giving. Maybe some Christmas presents were in order. Or maybe...

...nah. Who'd want to see wrestling from a neophyte anyway?

It was then I got my answer. A group of militant feminists -- and in this town, there IS no other kind -- were protesting outside the MCI Center, where the WWE had just announced SummerSlam 2005 would be held. I got closer to investigate. The reason? They thought the Diva Search was an unnecessary objectification of women. Good luck, ladies. Wrestling's all about that. Who wants to see women treated as athletes in a wrestling ring anyway?

Hey, wait a second...

*****

January 1, 2005.

Just in time for the new year, all the red tape had been cut and the organization was in place. That 50 grand went to buying the ring, rental fees, contracts, everything. Now all I needed were a few wrestlers. No matter, though.

The stage was set. Those women would get what they wanted. Heck, if women's wrestling could succeed anywhere in the US, it would succeed here, where droves of women flocked to watch Mia Hamm and the Freedom or watch the godawful WNBA.

Was I playing on politics? Sure, but that's nothing new in the big city. Now, let's get some women to show up...

Edited June 5, 2005 by Dukes

[writeeagle]

Nice, I get to read a Dukes from the beginning. I haven't ever seen too much in the way of American women's wrestling here, so it's a pleasant change for me. Planning on throwing a couple Joshis in there?

[Cole]

I love a created fed diary, the possiblities are endless.

And with Duke and the helm they will be.

Good luck. (like you need it)

[Hellfire]

I like all of your diaries Dukes, so this comes as a suprise to me. I havent seen you do anything other than WWE so this will be fun to read. Good Luck, I'll defentally be reading.

[The Third Dukes]

Nice, I get to read a Dukes from the beginning. I haven't ever seen too much in the way of American women's wrestling here, so it's a pleasant change for me. Planning on throwing a couple Joshis in there?

←

Edited June 2, 2005 by Dukes

[The Third Dukes]

January 10, 2005

After a long weekend preparing ideas for the first show and simultaneously realizing that no one outside of me had a clue how to book a show, I began to get a little nervous. Thus far, I'd been focusing on workers -- fair enough, right? Well, I didn't have anything else -- no staff, no refs, no roadies, no experienced hands, nothing. Okay, so the staff would come easily enough -- two women from Kentucky who had experience in this sort of thing had volunteered to sign up at a reduced rate -- but the rest was worrisome.

The biggest decision I needed to make was: should the ref(s) be male or female? When I explained this to Kim Neilson over the phone, she giggled.

"But I'm serious. I don't know whether it'll damage the integrity of the league."

"Oh, come on. No one watches for the referee."

"Maybe not, but I've been studying how these things go in Japan, too. Everything's about women, and about athleticism. There's practically zero Y chromosomes in sight! As it is, I may be pushing it by being the ring announcer!"

"Relax, sir." It felt good to be called "sir", I'll admit. "I don't think anyone will notice."

Well, maybe not, but I'd still like to get a female ref. Maybe I could train her to be a wrestler after she got her feet wet.

*****

"What is it, really?"

I was talking on the phone with Nattie Neidhart, who I had hoped to rein in as a major draw. She was very uninterested in the prospect, unfortunately.

"Well, I just wanna make sure you're not taking advantage of my name. You know, I've run into promoters in the States who are like, 'Hey, be with us, we wanna build around you'... and they just wanna say a Hart was on the show. I... you're not established, you know?"

I was hearing that a lot, as it turned out. Many of the women were asking me to run a few shows before they'd commit. I was single-handedly keeping the recycling company in business with the amount of paper I shredded. All of it saying "Sorry". How was I ever going to get off the ground?

I checked my email one last time that afternoon. Another rejection email. I've come to expect these...

Only it wasn't. It was someone who wanted to work with us. It was another person who was seemingly coming to America to escape the fame, to be anonymous, and to be herself. I excitedly called the number she gave in the email and worked out the details. Her family was proud she was branching out, at least... but I couldn't help but wonder if things would go wrong.

*****

By the end of the day, I had added three names to the roster. They were:

21st Century Fox: There was a lot of talent to be found in the Canadian independent scene if I just looked hard enough. This was an example: a woman who was brought up and trained in the Quebec area, which I knew was worthwhile for producing talent (I was counting the days until Jenny Goulet came off her contract with the NWA). Her ability to speak French was, I knew, a bonus. A black woman in DC speaking French? That's selling out. That's heel heat.

Nikki French: She and Avalon had been rivals on the West Coast with ECCW back before cost cutting measures forced both of them to seek employment elsewhere. I wasn't ready to fire up their rivalry just yet, though: French was going to be the no-nonsense, no-allies tough customer. I had a feeling she could go far if we pushed her right.

Stacy Colon: Now here's someone I could market. While I'm a little wary of doing any business in Puerto Rico, I knew the Colons were good people from reading Mick Foley's book. Stacy was a pretty face with a decent amount of talent. Her biggest asset was that she was bilingual: it meant she could serve as an interpreter for Mary Apache when I gave instructions. To cover for this, I decided she would be Apache's manager -- famous daughters sticking together. They might even be a tag team in the future.

*****

Up to 8 talents now -- still not enough to run the two-hour debut show, I knew, but probably more than most people would have guessed I'd have at this time. Plus, there were still a few offers out there that could boost our fanbase, our potential, and our star power.

I was realistic, though: anything over 1,000 for our debut show would be a goldmine. I was expecting no more than about 100-200 for starters. But the future looked bright.

[Sabu]

Looking good so far, I haven't Read a Women's Diary before, so this should be interesting.

[daman077c]

Well, since I am a mark for women's wrestling of any type, I'll throw my suggestions into the box. Hire wrestlers like Cheerleader Melissa, and Ariel, as they are both good, and can do their stuff well. Also, if you can, hire Michiko Omukai and Mariko Yoshida, as against each other they gan have **+ matches. Overall, I love this idea, as I like any Dukes diary...

Edited June 3, 2005 by daman077c

[The Third Dukes]

All week I'd been trying to get people to sign up. All week I'd gotten rejections. Some were worried about their indy reputation, while others thought that I wasn't paying them enough as a side project. Perhaps Nattie was right: perhaps I needed a few shows before people would take me seriously.

On Tuesday, January 11, Stacy Colon came up to look at the office. I don't know whether she was impressed, but she seemed relieved more than anything else that we were a professional organization. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help. I was just about to dismiss her when the phone rang. And we got a caller. In Spanish. Whose voice was familiar.

"Stacy," I called back. "Can you take this? I don't speak Spanish."

"Si," she replied. Thanks for rubbing it in. Turns out it was Mary Apache, one of my first signings. As soon as I figured this out in between lightning-fast Spanish phrases I overheard, I panicked. She wants to quit because we don't have a show yet. I can feel it. Stacy set the phone aside to relay the news.

"She says she's been talking to some friends of hers from Japan and wants to know if there are spots available."

"Really?"

"From what I can gather, she means it."

"Sure... we'll take any bodies we can get."

*****

Turns out this wasn't an isolated incident on any part. Stacy talked with her father Carlos, and actually became an international scout for us. Most of the names of people she recommended were pretty bad hands -- eager, but bad nonetheless. Meanwhile, I worked with some of the US names I knew -- my old friends at EWB kept throwing names at me, and they kept saying no. It was a pattern, but not a fun one.

Things looked up, however, when I placed a phone call out to Southern California, hoping to land Valerie Wyndham as an on-screen authority figure. No, I didn't get her, but she gave me some numbers of some women who worked in the area and weren't getting picked up. She even said she'd put in a good word for me. That's the kind of business I liked.

*****

As I finished my calling and was about to head out for Wednesday lunch, the phone rang. Stacy was on the other end, excited. "Remember those girls Mary said wanted to take part? They're supposed to be coming over for interviews soon! Mary said they should be here for the holiday weekend! Isn't this great?"

"I suppose so, but... but who are they?"

Stacy told me the names, and as I wrote them down, I was getting more and more excited. One of them had US experience -- well, inasmuch as she had appeared on a US show before. Another was a name I recognized from my TNM7 days -- so these two were established wrestlers who could carry a match. The others? Not all of them seemed very interested, plus they were difficult to figure out. I would definitely have to check with the Puro Crew on EWB as to how to handle them. (OOC: Hint, hint...)

*****

By the end of the week, our rosters had nearly doubled from 8 to 15. Here were the new members:

Ana Mosity: Lousy in the ring, but a good manager. I would probably have her be a mouthpiece for one of my heels, if I ever turned any of the joshi stars. It was my plan at the time to have them be the faces, though. Anyway, she was a Floridian who would be making the car trip up for the occasional paycheck.

Bibi and Fifi Poubelle: Identical twin sisters from California. They would make a good heel tag team, especially if I put them against my Latina stars in Stacy and Mary. Plus, when/if I ran a singles tournament, I could have them do the ol' switcheroo every once in a while. They had been trained in the ways of SoCal lucha, which meant they knew how to put on a fun match, and probably would gel well with Mary.

Jessie Bell: Another name Valerie gave me, she was going to be the troublemaking heel of the group (hence her name -- a play on "Jezebel", which she went by in Southern California). You may be asking why I didn't just go with Jezebel. The answer is that that's too gimmicky. To which you reply, "Oh, and 21st Century Fox isn't?" And I have no answer for that one.

Rie Tamada: I remember about 10 years ago, everyone was talking about her as being the big crossover women's star. I don't know what happened, but apparently those plans never panned out. So here she was, taking bookings in the States and hoping to regain a new fanbase. And really, I'm always one to lend a helping hand, aren't I?

Sakura Hirota: What a bundle of excitement this girl was. She could barely sit still during the interview, and every five minutes she would whipser something to Rie and laugh. I thought she was being rude, but as it turns out, she's known for her comedic skill. Hopefully, I could make that carry over into the ring. She does impressions, so that's good.

Tomoko Watanabe: When I saw this name, I thought I'd heard of her, and the picture sure looked familiar. I went through the PWI archives and found out that, hey, she was a former WWF wrestler! Well, for all of one match, as they brought her in as part of a Survivor Series team with Aja Kong to help establish Alundra Blayze. Hey, I could live with having her around, and from what I saw, she could be a bullying heel or a technically sound babyface. A prize, to be sure.

*****

15 workers now. No refs, but we had a roster. We were halfway to our debut, and I was feeling better than ever. With Stacy in particular excited about the ability to tour the States, I knew I had at least one fan. Yeah, that and five bucks would get me a Metro ride across town.

*****

OOC EDIT: Hey, RoH fanboys, how accurate are these results?

From Honoring the Volunteers, RoH's first card in Tennessee...

Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer, and Kevin Steen d. Matt Sydal, Davey Andrews, and Matt Turner

Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana) d. Dunn (w/Marcos)

Jay Lethal d. Roderick Strong

HC Loc d. El Generico

Jack Evans d. Azrieal

Colt Cabana d. Tony DeVito

CM Punk d. Matt Stryker

Bryan Danielson d. Homicide

Samoa Joe d. Austin Aries (new champ)

That's right, in this game the Aries title win was a hotshot to pop the crowd. Well, at least with the Joe love, they've emulated Gabe well

Another thing: PM me if you can help me with how to write the moves of any of these women. I've never seen them, and I'll be doing a lot of guesswork. Either that, or covering my ignorance otherwise. But with some of them (especially Tamada and Watanabe), I'll need some advice. (There are others I can muddle through -- you know, Mary does the lucha, Hirota's the comic, the Poubelles do a lot of switching off, etc.)

Edited June 5, 2005 by Dukes

[daman077c]

Hint hint what?? How to handle them??? PM me and I'll help...

[Cole]

Liking it Dukes. I'm excited to see the first show...

You still probably need a few more people before you can run a 2 hour show...

I'm looking forward to it.

[The Third Dukes]

"And why should I sign on?"

Tracy Brooks seemed livid. We kept upping the offer and she kept demurring, but this time she snapped. I was taken aback by her ferocity -- for some reason I never expected it from her. But she did have a point.

"Because, you're the greatest women's wrestler out there. Everyone I've talked to backstage has said they want you as a part of this company. Don't you get it? You'd be champ right out of the gate."

"What gate? Look, as far as I know, you're here to make a quick buck on my name and run off with a cancelled show. You may have a few others willing to buy into your scheme, but I ain't one of them. I'm doing just fine for myself in Orlando, and I don't need to fly up just to be told I'm not needed."

I let the words sink in, all the while trying to see it from her perspective. She has a reason to be mad. I'm a nobody. There's hundreds of people out there, like me, who do hit and runs and skimp people of their checks. I'm promising her a huge payday, and there's no guarantee of a return. Why should she listen to me?

"All right... I don't blame you for being hesitant. I... I know what I look like. I just... I want this to work. We have some talent coming in from all over right now. People from Japan, from Mexico, from Puerto Rico... I'm seriously doing this."

"Yeah, yeah... you and what Nigerian businessman? I don't want a bounced check."

"Who do you think I am, Paul Heyman?"

"Nah... he's got more cred than you."

I winced. Truth hurts. "I get it, I get it. Look, we can't exactly run a first show because we're still missing a couple of key components."

"Like what, a ring? A venue?"

"No, we got those. But we need a ref."

She paused. "Really. Why didn't ya say so?"

"Oh, so you'll do it?"

"Never said that, but I do know someone who has refereeing ability and was hoping to work in the States. Her name's Tanya Armstrong -- she's currently doing some training in Quebec. Student of Lucy -- you know her?"

"Know her? I'm counting the days til I can start negotiating with her."

"Doesn't surprise me in the slightest... anyway, she's got some refereeing talent, and I'm sure she'd be willing to work on the cheap. Just sign her up and you can start doing shows."

"And does that mean you'll--"

"No! Well, not right away. Much as I'd like to see ya succeed, I don't wanna be brought in to steer ya past the iceberg. Get established... I'll keep ya on my radar, though."

"Thanks... well, hopefully we'll meet down the road."

"Oh, wait, that reminds me... there is a friend of mine who was thinking about getting back in the limelight -- worked for a while in Ring of Honor."

"Well, I already got Sumie..."

"Yeah, saw that. Nah, this is someone who might be able to teach the girls a thing or two. Lemme give you a phone number..."

*****

"Yes, this is she."

"Hello, this is Andy Goss, president of Washington Women's Wrestling. We're a soon-to-be-launched promotion in the Mid-Atlantic, and we..."

"Hang on, can I call you back tomorrow? Um, my boyfriend's over, and I wanna discuss this with him. Thanks for the interest."

"No, thank you."

As I hung up, I began to think. Her boyfriend? Well, that's not a good sign. Given how much that man's sister wanted to avoid us, I'm a little worried the same applies here. Then again, that's the way it is when you deal with the big names.

At that moment, I received an email from wwe.com. Uh-oh, whose toes am I stepping on now?

"Dear Mr. Goss:

Thank you for your interest in contacting Melissa Coates for independent, third-party bookings. Unfortunately, at this time, she will have to decline, as she has recently been signed to a full-time deal with World Wrestling Entertainment and will be appearing on RAW very soon. We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely..."

My heart sank. There goes my monster heel. I wonder if Tomoko can be convinced to work as Zap-T now...

*****

"Yeah, I'd love to. Sounds like a great chance. How much is it worth to me?"

"In what sense? I'm paying you a lot more than market value."

"I know, but... I mean, am I the star?"

"You'll be up there, but I can't guarantee you'll be the top dog. I mean, we have a ton of other big names coming in. We've got one of the Colons in the business, we got Kim Neilson, we got a few Japanese stars..."

"Right, right... but off the top, who's ahead of me?"

"Honestly? I think Neilson is, but beyond that, I don't see who would step on your toes."

"...yeah, I figured. So what's the creative got lined up for me?"

*****

When it was all said and done, we had the newest member of our roster:

"Simply Luscious" Ronnie Stevens: Another Ring of Honor alumna, her presence would allow me to try to market to a few Tri-Staters. The boyfriend I spoke of -- Steve Corino -- was actually quite supportive of my venture, but cautioned that odds were I was going down hard.

While on the phone with Steve, I asked again about Allison -- meaning, Allison Danger, his sister.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't count on it," he said. "She's got a lot goin' on. She's been asked to help Quacky with Chikara's booking. I... I told her to wait a while before adding anything new. I hope she listens. She's a good kid."

"I know."

*****

After hanging up with Steve and Ronnie, I placed a quick call to my alma mater, TJ High School. I let them know we would indeed be using the booking I had made a week or so earlier, so there was no need to cancel. With that, it was on.

*****

WASHINGTON WOMEN'S WRESTLING

presents:

3-W KICKOFF!

LIVE, Sunday, February 6, 2005

Bell time is 1:00 PM -- plenty of time to get home for the game!

FEATURING:

Former TNA superstar KIM "DESIRE" NEILSON!

Ring of Honor stars "SIMPLY LUSCIOUS" RONNIE STEVENS and SUMIE SAKAI!

Former Survivor Series performer TOMOKO WATANABE!

Puerto Rican sensation STACY COLON (sister of Carlito -- that's cool)!

Second-generation luchadora legend MARY APACHE!

All this and more!

Live at Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA!

*****

As I left the office, two work weeks ahead of the opening show, I could think of only two words:

It's on.

[TGC]

See Dukes, this is the kind of thing I meant. This is something different. This is about as far away from BVS as you could possibly get, and I am damn intrigued. Good luck with this.

TGC

[GoGo Yubari]

Man, I'm liking this. It's very rare that these kinds of diaries really go anywhere, but if you stick with this it could really go places. Can't wait to see the first show.

[Beeker00Zero]

Dukes,

This diary has me more intrigued than most, and there are few writers on this board who I think has the ability to use TEW well. You're one of those people Dukes. If EWR is checkers, then TEW is chess.

Even if you never run a show, the drama and conflict and diverse egos and motivations has me actively hoping for an update. This isn't as easily accessible to the masses as BVS because of it being an indy diary AND a woman's promotion, but that's what I'm loving about this federation.

PS: Push Tracy Brooks... after you're able to hire Tracy Brooks that is.

[The Third Dukes]

Amazing what announcing a show will do.

After the fliers had gone out, a few names I had been trying to land agreed to take part. Apparently, commitment is something they value very highly.

Alere Littlefeather: This is someone who, oddly enough, I had been pursuing from the beginning. With the recent opening of the Museum of the Native American near the Smithsonian, I figured now was the time to strike while the iron was hot. I explained to her that she would be featured quite a bit on the shows, with the hope that it would entice her to come along. It worked.

Cindy Rogers: I had seen her work in WXW, with which we were sharing a lot of workers (I hoped they wouldn't mind). She was a tough-as-nails biker chick up there, but around here, I was going to make her a wild card: basically someone who would back up whoever paid them.

Genesis: Another one of Stacy's friends from the WWC, she agreed to take part after Stacy convinced her I was legit. I began to wonder if I should team her with Apache or with Colon, or whether letting her be on her own was better.

*****

February 5, 2005

The night before the event, I received a call at my place. I feared it was an injury or a no-show, but not this time. This time, it was something even better.

"But I thought... I mean..."

"I know, I know, but there's been a power play. I'm out. So I figured I might as well show up with you guys."

"Well... well, that's great, but... I mean... it's too late to advertise you."

"I know. So don't. I'll be the big surprise."

"Oh, yes you will. Okay, then, I guess we'll bring you on board."

*****

February 6, 2005

Backstage

"Okay, ladies," I began. "Um... how many of you speak English?"

Most of the locker room raised their hands. Just my luck... everyone but the booking team.

"Okay, ladies... we got the schedule for the first hour, and we're going to have a 10-minute break before the second hour. All I can say is, the first hour will end in a surprise, so I don't want to go into much detail. Those who need to know, already know. That's all I can say.

I expect everyone to stick around after the show for autographs... I don't know if anyone's going to want them, but it's worth a shot. So please, stick around. There's a lot of people here who came to see their old friends -- Ronnie, Kim, Sumie -- and I hope they make new ones too.

Um... this is a high-pressure situation for me, as you can imagine. I don't want to fail. I don't want to wind up blowing the best chance all of you have, really... to be stars. I'll level with you -- I'm nervous. I'm very nervous. There's a lot of people out there, and they want to see whether this is for real. And if it ain't, it's my head. So please... let's just... all do our jobs, and we'll enjoy the day together. And let's come back and do this again sometime, huh? Okay, I'm obviously at a loss for words, so Ronnie, you take it from here."

Miss Stevens handled the rest as I headed to the door of the gym, hoping no one would see me. I looked out into the crowd -- I expected maybe 200 people would show up, or as much as 1000 if I was lucky. After all, the first show is always the strongest. Even then, though, I stood to lose heavily on this show -- $8 ticket prices just weren't high enough to cover the expenses. I'd be about $7,000 lighter when we were done.

As I tried to count, Sakura Hirota tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me," her interpreter said. "Miss Hirota does not understand why she is going on first. She assumed she would be a major part of the show."

Ah, the cultural divide strikes again. "Tell her she is. In America, being the first person to wrestle is an important job, because it means you have to get the crowd warmed up. Most shows in America start off strong, then ride the momentum for a few matches before building up to the big finish. It's not an insult that she's opening the show -- it's an honor."

As the interpreter spoke to her, Hirota cocked her head to the side, almost in disbelief. I could tell she probably thought I was blowing smoke. Not that I blamed her. In most places, the earlier you were on, the less important you were -- and, generally, that was true. But the opener meant something.

When the interpreter finished, Hirota turned to me as if trying to study me. It was as if I could hear the thoughts in her head. Is he putting me on, or is this really how it works over here? I almost wished she spoke English or had been to America before. Some things you just had to see to believe.

I checked my watch. 12:57. "I gotta go -- it's showtime."

I stepped out from the back, taking in the applause and cheers from those who knew who I was. I wouldn't say I was a big draw or anything, but just knowing an alumnus of the school was running things brought a few students around to watch. I made sure I was going to check if they paid full price.

"Welcome, everyone, to the opening show of the only women's wrestling organization in America today -- Washington Women's Wrestling!! Tonight, I can promise you a stellar main event. It will feature one of the top women on the East Coast today, the simply luscious Ronnie Stevens..."

The crowd booed.

"Taking on former NWA superstar Kim "Desire" Neilson!"

Cheers. Well, the crowd was willing to play along. "But first, some standard rules." I ran through the list of things I expected -- stay on your side of the guardrail, no recording devices allowed, be respectful of our performers, etc., etc. After a special recording of the National Anthem, it was time to begin the event.

I sat down at the table, where I'd be doing double duty as both PA announcer and DVD PBP man. My partner in crime, a local DJ, was trying her best to stay up with the action, but it was clear she wasn't worth the fifty bucks I paid her for her work. Next time, I'm going solo. Meanwhile, Tanya Armstrong, our overworked referee, entered the ring for the first time. We were going to begin.

*****

3-W KICKOFF!

Hour 1

Match #1: Misty Avalon vs. Sakura Hirota

Avalon was just another midcard heel -- one I didn't necessarily have high hopes or anything for. She yelled at some members of the audience to establish her heeldom -- important, since I figured that the crowd would by default boo the foreigner. Amercian crowds tended to do that.

Before the show, I talked to some of the talent about the music I had in mind for them. Some had brought their own music, but those who didn't appreciated the gesture. Among those was Hirota, who at least knew that entrance music was a part of American wrestling. For her, I chose a Japanese pop song I had heard on my FIFA video game called "Wanna Rock". It sounded karaoke-esque, and it just seemed to fit the light-hearted character I wanted her to portray.

Hirota started us off well, firing off armdrags and controlling Avalon with a headlock. Avalon fought out of it before demanding a lockup with Hirota. She obliged. Hirota won the lockup, gave Avalon a clean break... and a love tap. Avalon fumed. She charged, but Hirota side-stepped and gave her the same love tap, jumping around as Avalon kept charging out of frustration. After three of four such charges, Avalon crashed into the turnbuckle, where Hirota... kicked her butt. Literally. The crowd laughed as Hirota playfully skipped away. Avalon rubbed where she had been kicked, so Hirota did the same thing while giving an exaggerated look of pain.

These antics went on for a while, with Avalon getting more and more frustrated. Eventually, she went to Armstrong and demanded Hirota play serious. This led to the big laugh of the match: there was Avalon pointing and stomping her feet, practically yelling at Armstrong. And behind her, miming her every move, pointing at her and shaking her head, was Hirota. Unfortunately, Avalon turned around, and Hirota was caught mid-point. She smiled, waved, and tried to run, but Avalon caught her by the hair and yanked her down.

Avalon began brutalizing Hirota around the face and shoulders with punches. She kept it basic, getting two counts off of beginner's moves like slams and clotheslines. Hirota kept kicking out of them and trying to sucker Avalon into making a mistake, but no dice. Finally, Avalon hit a DDT, which should have ended it, but it was too near the ropes and Hirota got her foot on them at two.

As Avalon argued the count with the referee, Hirota sat up and looked at her. She then turned to the crowd and put her finger to her lips, as if letting them in on a secret. Before Avalon could turn around, Hirota flopped back to the prone position, as she had been before Avalon argued -- including her foot on the ropes.

It worked. Avalon came over to finish Hirota off and found herself face-first on the mat after a drop toe-hold. Hirota mounted Avalon from behind and delivered forearms to her neck and head before picking her up and shoving her into the turnbuckle. The comeback was on, Avalon stumbled out into a suplex and Hirota went up. She caught Avalon with a missile dropkick and stopped, back to Avalon, bowing. As Avalon staggered up, Hirota spun in place before blasting Avalon with the back of her fist. Avalon was down and out, and Hirota covered for the pin.

1. Sakura Hirota defeated Misty Avalon with a spinning Uraken (11:54)

Match #2: Alere Little Feather vs. Demonica

I'm not sure how I talked either one into this, but I used some old WWF music for both of them. Demonica, being the one into the darker stuff, was accompanied by Gangrel's music, not to mention her gothic manager, Ana Mosity. Any implication the two were possibly into the S&M stuff would've been out of character, but Demonica wore the devil horns and carried the whip anyway. Little Feather, meanwhile, was actually honored to use the music of one of the more famous Native American wrestlers -- Tatanka. It was either that or "Cherokee Nation", I figured, and she didn't bring her own, so it worked for me.

Anyway, this was an exhibition for Alere. She opened up with a hot start, sending her opponent flying around the ring. A cheap shot from Mosity seemed to turn the tide, but that didn't last long. As Demonica went for the Demonizer (a hangman's neckbreaker), Alere reversed to a backslide for two, then began the comeback. In the grand tradition of Jay Strongbow, she knocked her opponent down with a slam, then signalled the end by going on the warpath. Again, don't ask me why she does this -- I guess there are certain things you do if you portray a Native American wrestler. At any rate, it explains why Strongbow's a Hall of Famer. Where was I? Oh yeah, so into the corner goes Demonica. Alere climbs the same corner and nails a flipping stunner she calls the Aleredust. It looks pretty painful, and it gets the three rather easily.

2.: Alere Little Feather defeated Demonica (w/Ana Mosity) with the Aleredust (4:55).

Match #3: Bibi and Fifi Poubelle vs. Team WWC (Genesis and Stacy Colon)

Yeah, yeah, the identical twin heels against the spunky Puerto Rican faces. Indy booking 101, I know. There was no sign of Mary Apache at ringside yet, as she was scheduled to face off against Amber O'Neal in the next match. So anyway, this was a standard tag formula match, and we all know it by heart by now: faces clean house to start, look like they're going to finish, cheap shot turns the tide, and someone (in this case, Genesis, though I picked one at random) plays the face-in-peril.

I'll give the twins this much: they have good teamwork. I know, what else would I expect? They were doing all the things heels should do -- feet on the ropes, switching off, double-teaming -- I mean, really, this was a boring, basic match. I should've seen it coming, but from my position at the announce booth, I was in no position to tell them to speed it up. The referee was too inexperienced to realize things were artistically troubling. The only thing I could do was watch them as they went through the motions before a half-bored crowd.

So much for the heavy Puerto Rican segment.

I was just about ready to write off all four of them when Colon got the hot tag and the crowd got excited again. Ah -- it's all about the Colons, eh? Fair enough. We went to the finish, where Genesis hit a crossbody on Fifi, then rolled off as Stacy DDTed her. The referee tried to remove Stacy so that the pin on Fifi could count, but Bibi used that opportunity to drop a leg on Genesis. She rolled her over and covered as Fifi instinctively crawled to keep Colon out, and the Poubelles stole one. Colon and Genesis argued the call, but to no avail. And no heat.

3.: The Poubelle Twins defeated Team WWC when Bibi pinned Genesis after an identical twin switch-off (10:20).

While Colon argued, a voice was heard from ringside, and it sure wasn't mine. It was Amber O'Neal's.

O'Neal: "Hey... Hey Stacy... I know you can understand me, lady. Now I was told I would be facing someone from a legendary family, as if that was supposed to scare me. But looking at what you just did, I'd say legend is a currency that doesn't carry far here in America. Around here, you earn it on your own -- not because of what your padre did. So bring on your other client... maybe I'll send her back to what ever shack south of the border she belongs to."

Ooh, fighting words. I like it. The crowd, which had been indifferent before, started booing her. There were quite a few "Apache" signs in the crowd. Apparently, the Latinos were here in full force for Gran Apache's daughter's US debut.

Well, they didn't have to wait any more.

Match #4: Amber O'Neal vs. Mary Apache (w/Stacy Colon)

Apache charged the ring and it was on like I never thought it would be. Say what you will about the lucha style -- it produces people who are insanely over. And Mary Apache is one of them. Armdrags and headlock takedowns kept O'Neal at bay through the opening minutes. After one too many charges resulted in an Apache takedown, O'Neal rolled to the outside. She began to argue with Stacy about whatever -- doesn't really matter, because it was an excuse for both women to be nearby as Apache launched herself in a tope con hilo at both of them. The crowd was loving them some cruiser-style action.

Apache returned it to the ring and chopped away on O'Neal. A whip into the corner led to a Stinger Splash try, but O'Neal ducked and Apache crashed into the post. O'Neal rolled her up for two before taking over. Now O'Neal took over, working the ribs of Apache with gut busters and abdominal stretches. I didn't know where she was going with this, other than to maintain control, but the crowd seemed not to care -- Many "A-Pa-Che" chants went up. I wonder if Galavision would be interested...

If the goal was to slow Apache down, it seemed to work. Even when she broke out of the holds and stretches O'Neal had, she was a step slower and could be countered. Things looked hopeless for her, until O'Neal became to confident and went for the Hollybury. Apache blocked it, turning it into a small package for two. O'Neal became frustrated and tried a kick to the gut, but Apache caught it and knocked O'Neal on her back. She then catapulted her into the corner... where referee Armstrong was standing and watching. O'Neal capitalized on the momentum she had and threw a forearm, knocking the referee down. Whoops.

At this point, the astute fan would've noticed Stacy Colon had been seated at ringside most of the time, and that somehow she had procured a box lunch for the occasion. Both of these are incredibly important, as you might imagine. O'Neal headed to the outside and knocked Colon out of her chair, sending her lunch flying. She went back into the ring with the chair, ready to knock Apache out. But before she could, Stacy hopped on the apron behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. O'Neal whirled around...

...and got a face full of apple, straight from Stacy's mouth! The crowd popped for the well-recognized interference from Stacy, while O'Neal staggered around, dropping the chair and trying to clear her face off. She walked right into Apache's Michinoku Driver as Stacy removed the chair from the ring. Armstrong slowly made her way to her feet as Apache covered, and the two daughters of legends teamed up to win one.

4.: Mary Apache defeated Amber O'Neal after a Michinoku Driver (11:17).

As everyone slowly cleared out, I stepped up from my announce position to enter the ring. This was the finish to the first hour -- and I hoped it would be a good one.

Me: "All right, ladies and gentlemen, at this time let me bring out the lady who will be participating in today's main event. She is a former NWA weekly Pay-Per-View hero and was at one time given a tryout with World Wrestling Entertainment before injury derailed her chances. Now, she is here in 3-W hoping to take women's wrestling straight to the top. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Kim Neilson, AKA Desire!"

As "Desire" by U2 played (my personal favorite choice), Kim Neilson walked out from the back to the loudest ovation of the day. She shook hands with people all around ringside before climbing into the ring and waving to the crowd. I called her over, and we began.

Me: "Okay, Kim. Later today, you will be taking on one of the most in-demand names in women's wrestling, Simply Luscious Ronnie Stevens. Are you nervous at all about this daunting task?"

Desire: "Nervous? Well, I guess I am a little. I mean, to be the main event in the biggest women's wrestling show of the year -- it's such an honor. But I'm not going to be going out there with my head in the clouds. I have a very tough opponent, and I'm going to make sure I do my best. I'm not scared of her. We'll see who wins later tonight."

Me: "Not exactly oozing confidence, I guess."

Desire: "Why not? I'm not an arrogant person. I've worked hard for everythign I have accomplished, and it's not going to be taken away from me any time soon. I was out for a year from what I love. You just never know any more. But I know one thing -- I'm not about to let her intimidate me, if that's what you want to know."

Just as I'm about to ask for more details, I hear a voice over the PA. "Yeah, we do wanna know!"

Both of turned to the entranceway, where Ronnie Stevens was making her way to the ring, mic in hand. She seemed none too happy with the ovation Neilson got.

"Lemme ask you somethin', Kim. Who put you in the big spot around here? How have you earned it? I don't recall seein' you bust your butt up and down the East Coast. I don't recall ever seeing you in any major promotions. Russo just walked on in and handed you a spot, right? So why are you suddenly the big thing around here?"

"Hey, it's not my decision. Ask the people here. Do they wanna see me?" Cheers. "Now... do they really wanna see you?" Boos, but some cheers from the ROH crowd making the trip. Bastards just won't play along. "I'd say my fanbase has spoken, Ronnie. I'm here because they want to see me here. What's your excuse?"

"My excuse? Hey, I don't make excuses. I make statements. And here's a statement: I am here because I bring credibility to this organization. The brass around here begged me, they pleaded with me to show up. They said, Ronnie, baby, you will MAKE this place, and whatever is necessary, we'll take care of it. You ever noticed the show went on because I signed up?"

I hid a smile. I told Stevens we were going to make her the Jeff Jarrett of the group -- the one who had the pull backstage. She was certainly playing it well enough.

"Oh, so what you're saying is it's all about you, huh? That you get all the breaks around here. And just how do you earn them? It can't be because you're a good wrestler, is it?"

"You damn well know it is! What else could it be?"

Neilson simply smiled and licked her lips. It got the message across to the more astute in the crowd, while allowing the parents to explain to the kids that she just kissed up to the owners. Whichever meaning was meant, it ticked off Stevens pretty bad.

"Oh, no! Don't you DARE go there! You, of all people! You're nothing more than an object in tights anyway! I got where I am today by working hard every day of my life! What happened with you? Like I said, Vince Russo picked you out of a lineup. Wouldn't surprise me if you did what you just said I did!"

You know how hard it is to be racy with a family crowd? I mean, we gotta live by the code.

Kim cocked her head to the side. "So I can't fight, huh? Is that what you're trying to say? Fine. I guess we got nothing to talk about. But I do got this for ya..."

And before anyone could react, Neilson pulled Stevens in and delivered... well, okay, I guess it could pass for a Rock Bottom. At any rate, she then held her hands up and spoke her final words into the microphone.

"You wanna prove I'm nothing? Well, I'll see you later."

She stepped out of the ring and made another lap of the ringside area, coming to a stop near one particular group of fans. She was signing an autograph at ringside (which made sense, since I was in the ring trying to tell everyone we were about to head to intermission) when another "fan" leaned over to yell at her. This fan was wearing a baseball cap and long coat. Indoors. Oh, and sunglasses. You know, the usual get-up that might as well be a big neon sign that says "PLANT", right? Well, Desire had her talk to the hand as she walked by, which caused the plant to reach out and yank her down by the hair! The crowd went into surprise as the fan leaped over the guardrail and threw her into the ring!

She followed her in, but by this time her cap had fallen off, revealing jet-black hair... well, except for one blond streak near the front. The more astute (read: ROH) fans began cheering, knowing exactly what was going on, but most of the fans were booing their star getting double-teamed. Stevens lifted Neilson up in a back suplex position, and the other woman grabbed her in a reverse neckbreaker -- a double-team variation of the Old School Expulsion! At this, the woman removed her coat and glasses so that everyone could get a good look.

Me: "Hey, wait a second... I know you! You're... you're Alison Corino! What are you doing here?"

Corino: "It's simple, ya fool! I'm here to make sure that real wrestlers stand tall at the end of the day! And this piece of garbage here ain't no real wrestler! Now stand aside!"

She shoved me into the ropes. I took the message and left. Meanwhile, Corino raced up the turnbuckles and planted Neilson with a Tornado DDT. Stevens dove off the second rope with a big splash on her, and the two women left with their arms raised in mock victory. While we may have had the shocking debut of another big name, it sure looked like our main event was in jeopardy as we hit the intermission.

*****

Hour 2

As the bell rang, Armstrong and I returned to our locations. I told the audience that Neilson was getting attention as we spoke, but wanted to go forward with the main event as planned. In the meantime, it was time to continue providing the hard-hitting action that only 3-W could achieve, and I introduced the next match as an exhibition put on by Japanese all-star organization AJW! (Of course, it wasn't. In fact, they didn't know we existed. Hopefully, no one knew we existed. I mean, I'm not telling if you're not. Besides, both women were from over there at one time. I think. Maybe. Close enough. They'll play along.)

Match #5: Rie Tamada vs. Tomoko Watanabe

They shook hands to start the match. After going through a chain-wrestling sequence to establish equality, Tomoko took over with a lariat to Rie. She immediately powered her down and worked on the arm, but Rie popped up and chopped away. Neither woman was able to have an advantage for more than 30 seconds at a time, as Tamada threw forearms and elbows at Tomoko, who responded with brutal shots to the head. The fans began to cheer as the two got into a strike-fest that lasted well over a minute, with neither girl backing down. Tomoko seemed to get the better of it, sending Rie reeling into the ropes, but Rie fired back with a roaring forearm to knock Tomoko to the outside! Tomoko had barely gotten up when Rie dove off into a crossbody... but Tomoko caught her and threw her back into the ring from the floor!

The tempo was set. This was a speed/power match. Tomoko tried to hold down Rie with slams and throws, but every time she had an ounce of control, Rie would reverse with a rana or cradle into hiptosses. Some of the stuff they were coming up with was really neat -- at one point, Tomoko set Rie up for a superplex, but got kicked until she had to step off, at which point Rie dove with a missile dropkick! I kept putting over on commentary that these two knew each other inside and out, and that there was no way one could pull something out the other hadn't anticipated. As if on cue, Rie went for a dragon screw on Tomoko, but Tomoko rolled with it, got up, and splatted Rie in the corner with an avalanche for two. Wow.

At this point, Rie seemed out of answers. Tomoko tossed her to the outside and began to fish under the ring, teasing going for a kendo stick (which went right over the heads of the audience). Fortunately, Armstrong ordered both women back into the ring, and inside, Tomoko lifted Rie up, hoping to hit her version of the Screwdriver -- a back suplex into a powerbomb. However, Rie went with the flow and flipped over the top of Tomoko, catching her head on the way down for an Asai DDT! It got a very close two. Rie cringed at the near fall before lifting Tomoko up. She was setting up to finish with a Dragon suplex! I sold it all on commentary...

"She can't possibly... Tomoko is too big... she's been through too much... WHOA!"

Not because Rie succeeded, mind you; in fact, she didn't. Tomoko landed on top and appeared to have this one in control. One... two... but no! In one swift motion, Rie hooked the arms again and yanked Tomoko backwards as though she had completed the move. She kept rolling, bridging herself into a cradle on Tomoko. Although the struggle was evident, it was just barely enough. Armstrong counted the three, and Rie had pulled a win out of nowhere.

5.: Rie Tamada defeated Tomoko Watanabe with a rolling reverse cradle into a bridge (15:22).

No sooner was the match over than Corino and Stevens stormed back into the ring. As Tomoko and Rie hugged in celebration (and the crowd cheered their MOTD display), Corino found what Tomoko was looking for -- the kendo stick. She whacked both women in the back of the head with it, as Stevens grabbed Rie and nailed the Luscious Landing in the corner. Corino choked Tomoko down with her kendo stick. The two women forced the joshi stars out of the ring. Hardly fair, considering the war the two had been through.

Corino demanded the mic from me. "All right, get those two has-beens out of here! Kim, you better come on out right now! We all know you're milking the sympathy for all it's worth, and we aren't about to have you keep it up. Where are ya? Huh? Show your pretty little face out here before we go back there and drag it out!"

No response. Corino showed impatience. Finally, she left the ring, yelling, "All right, Kim... last chance... come on out..." But as she rounded the corner and opened the door, Kim dove onto her and began slugging away. She stood up and threw Corino into the wall, then ran over Stevens (who had come out to help). She dove into the ring and faced the both of them. They quickly regrouped as I headed into the ring.

Me: "Okay, hang on here, ladies... Kim... you still going to go through with your match today against Ronnie Stevens?"

Desire: "You better believe it... but on one condition. That freak friend of hers stays the hell away from the ring at all times!"

Corino shook her head as Stevens shook her fist.

Me: "Oh, really. Is that a no, Alison?"

Corino: "You know damn well I have every right to be at ringside just as much as anyone else in this company! At the very least I'm going to be right back in my seat, watching the whole thing."

Desire: "Hold it, hold it! If that's the way it's gonna be, I'll take you both on! You give me time, I'll find a partner, and we'll settle this right here, ya got that?"

Corino and Stevens turn to each other. They both smile.

Stevens: "Sure, whatever you want. But none of those folks in the back is goin' against me if they know what's good for them. Plus, everyone's bein' used tonight! Who you gonna find on short notice? But hey... go for it, girl. Try your best. We'll see you for a handicap match, then."

Everyone began shouting with each other. Neilson left through the crowd, attempting to make the long way around to the dressing room, avoiding her foes. Corino and Stevens simply smiled. They figured they had Neilson right where they wanted her.

Match #6: Nikki French vs. 21st Century Fox

Fox doesn't get music. So clearly she's a jobber until further notice. French simply takes over in the match, throwing her Quebecois foe around the ring at will before putting on the French Kiss for the pin. Not even much of a competition as a slaughter. Really, this should've been earlier. I'll learn.

6.: Nikki French defeated the 21st Century Fox with the French Kiss (3:44).

Match #7: Jessie Bell vs. Cindy Rogers

Bell took the mic before the match began. "Now I understand that there's a few people out there who don't know who I am. My name is Jessie Bell. And if you try to hurt me, I'll take you out the only way I know how. Around here there's too many people trying to stab others in the back. I am not like that. Cindy... c'mere... I'm gonna tell ya right now that there are people here who want to see you fail. I'm willing to offer you a chance... no, a first-rate OPPORTUNITY... to get the jump on them. Whaddya say?"

Rogers looked at Bell. "So let me get this straight. You're offering to rat out your friends and co-workers to me? Let me tell you something, girl... I don't need your help, and I don't need your little tattling. I'm big enough to handle this on my own, and if you don't shut the hell up and get out of my way, I'll make an example of you!"

Bell staggered back into the corner, nervous. "W... well... if that's the way you want... then... I... uh..."

She tried to jump in with an attack, only to get knocked over by Rogers. From there, a press slam and spinebuster made quick work of Bell. Move along. Nothing to see here.

7.: Cindy Rogers defeated Jessie Bell with a spinebuster (0:54).

I rolled back into the ring. "Well, folks, we're out of warm-up matches, so the following contest is a tag team affair scheduled for one..."

"Whaddya mean, tag?"

"Well, Ronnie... I'm assuming there's gonna be two of you and two of them, right?"

"Oh, come on. Who in their right mind would team with that stuck-up prima donna? Look at who she's up against here. We got Alison Corino here -- one of the most successful women on the Eastern seaboard! She's fought the toughest there is from here to Minnesota to Boston all over! And then you got me, the real star of this promotion! You know I'm the reason we're here today, right, buddy?"

"Well, I guess you can say that... but still, aren't you being a bit presumptive? After all, I know of two women who might want to get a hand on you."

"Who, those Japanese weirdos? Ha! We sent 'em packing. They're running with their tail between their legs -- probably off to drown their sorrows in some rice wine or something. Please. We got nothin' to worry about. Now bring on Kim, and let's get this mauling overwith!"

"Very well... Kim, come on out."

"Desire" by U2 played again as Kim Neilson emerged... alone. Kim entered the ring and waited by her corner -- keeping her distance from her opponents. I slowly walked over, making sure to keep one eye on the heels lest they try to attack.

"So, does this mean it's a handicap match?"

"Oh, no... I have a partner for tonight, and it's someone who really wants to get their hands on you two. Someone you're very familiar with."

The heels both shrugged. I pressed on. "Okay, Kim, so who would it be?"

"Eh... I don't have tell."

At this, Corino grabbed the mic. "C'mon, girl, stop faking! You ain't got anyone and you know it!"

At this, familiar Japanese music (well, familiar to the ROH people) began to play. They let out a roar that, thankfully, the rest of the crowd picked up on. Meanwhile, out came a very recognizable wrestler who, for the first time that I could remember, was being asked to play face. She didn't talk, so Kim was going to have to introduce her.

"Ladies, I'm sure you know this person. We'll be teaming up against you now."

"Whoa, wait, wait, wait..." Stevens stepped forward. "Who is this? I don't think we met."

"Oh, this? This lady is named Sumie Sakai. She's another person out of your precious Ring of Honor."

"Didn't cross my path. But hey... if you wanna get a little schoolgirl to do a woman's job, fine. We'll take her out too."

Stevens laughed, but Alison was more hesitant. "Uh, Ronnie, I wouldn't take her so lightly. She's legit. She's a martial arts star. She's..."

"Nothin' to worry about. She doesn't stand up to us. Look."

Stevens walked to the center of the ring and called Sakai over. While Stevens isn't exactly an Amazon -- her height of 5'5 is about normal for an American female -- but she towered nicely over the 5' 1/2-if-she's-lucky Sakai. She smiled as she looked down and turned to Corino.

"See this? She's nothin'. Look, I don't know why you're so worried. If ya want, you take Kim over there, and I'll put this little midget out of her mis..."

Main Event: Kim Neilson and Sumie Sakai vs. Ronnie Stevens and Alison Corino

Stevens walked straight into a judo throw and a series of martial-arts strikes. She backed into the corner and begged off as Sakai stared her down, but Corino struck from the blindside. She pounded on Sakai's back until Neilson raced over and knocked her down. Neilson went for a slam, but Stevens yanked her down by the hair and Corino fell on top for two. Stevens and Corino went for a double suplex, but Sakai hit a roundhouse to the back of Corino's head, and Neilson wound up tackling down Stevens. Soon, the faces cleared the ring.

Stevens and Corino consulted on the outside as Sakai waited in the ring and Neilson on the apron. Both heels insisted the other enter the ring, until finally Corino just gave in and started things off. She cautiously approached Sakai, who had adopted a fighting stance. Corino tried to lock up and throw Sakai, but Sakai reversed. Corino charged, so Sakai sent her to the mat and worked the arm. It became clear that everything Corino did haphazardly was going to play straight into Sakai's judo style. She quickly got back to her vertical base and maintained distance from Sakai, meaning she backed right into Neilson. Neilson reached over and slapped the back of her head, causing Corino to whirl around. Sakai charged in with a choke throw, and Corino wisely tagged out to Stevens, who demanded Neilson. Neilson obliged, as did Sakai.

Neilson kicked away at Stevens early on, sending her into the ropes and hiptossing her. She charged in, looking for a kick to the head, but Stevens moved aside (in such a way that indicated sheer luck -- Stevens would've never seen it coming). Neilson charged again, but this time Stevens was facing her and tripped her. She cranked on a headlock as Neilson became face-in-peril.

Stevens and Corino had to utilize a lot of double-teaming to keep Neilson at bay, though, even in the face-in-peril segment. When it was one-on-one, Neilson would show signs of life, firing off a chop or turning a move into a cradle for a two-count. All this trouble, though, seemed to get the heels angrier and angrier. They began pummelling Neilson -- landing harder and harder shots to the head as I winced at ringside. I really hope they don't hurt her.

As the match wore on, the crowd began stomping and clapping every time Neilson would break out of a hold and make the long crawl to her corner. It was clear the crowd WANTED the hot tag, but I didn't know if we'd get there. Neilson was taking longer and longer to get up. She wasn't thrusting her shoulder up with as much energy on each 2-count. I worried she'd be done before the time was right. I checked the school clock. 3:00 -- about 5-10 minutes to go. She may not make it. I looked to the near corner -- but it was the face corner, and Sakai stood there. There was no way to communicate to her to speed it up. I've gotta learn Japanese.

Fortunately, at least one other person recognized the problem -- Stevens. She whipped Neilson into the ropes and slapped on a sleeperhold, seemingly whispering something to Neilson as she did so. I didn't see what it was, but when Stevens relayed it to the referee, all seemed to be going fine. Neilson faded and faded, first to one knee, then to both knees, then to the ground. It was only then that Stevens yelled "CHECK HER, CHECK HER!" Armstrong obliged. One up, one down. Two up, two down. Three up... not down! The whole sequence ate up 90 seconds or so. How simple.

Neilson fired back and threw Stevens into the ropes as they both got up. She charged, but all she could do was run into Stevens, and the two banged heads. Both Corino and Sakai begged for the tags as Armstrong began the Double KO count. Stevens moved first, crawling to Corino and getting her in. Corino charged, but Neilson finally flung herself the last few feet she'd been missing. Neilson's last ounce of strength -- in the ring as well as, perhaps, in reality -- was used to reach her hand to Sakai, who tagged it and charged in.

Neilson rolled to the apron as Sakai began tossing both women all over the place as if in a martial arts exhibition. I lifted the headset up and called to Kim off-mic, and she replied with a thumbs-up. She'd be fine in a couple of minutes -- just enough time for Sakai's momentum to wear off. Indeed, as Sakai hit a Greco-Roman throw on Stevens and covered, Neilson pulled herself up to see Corino break the count. The duo began double-teaming Sakai, but were too close to the face corner. Neilson dove off the top with a move that I on commentary called the Desire Dive -- a crossbody that wiped out all the competitors.

Now all four women were fighting it out as the crowd became more and more excited. Sakai tossed Stevens from the ring, and Neilson headed outside as those two fought it out. Back in the ring, Corino tried a suplex on Sakai, only to have her roll her up for two. Sakai set up for a big throw, but Danger blocked it with a knee to the gut and hit a headscissors on Sakai. She then got an Oklahoma Roll for two as Stevens returned. Stevens picked Sakai up and set up for the Luscious Landing, but Sakai shoved her off as Neilson crawled back in. In a move that really seemed contrived, Stevens stumbled backwards over the crawling Neilson and into a cradle, but Corino broke it up at two.

By now, all heck was breaking loose, and one person had had enough -- Stevens. One quick kick by Sakai, and she was over the top rope and to the outside. Corino wanted to head out to help, but Neilson dragged her back in with a rollup for two. By this time, it was clear Stevens was remaining on the outside, and not because of fatigue. She slowly got up and watched as the faces caught Corino and delivered a double Rock Bottom to her. Sakai covered, and that was that.

Main: Kim "Desire" Neilson and Sumie Sakai defeated Ronnie Stevens and Alison Corino when Sakai pinned Corino after a double Rock Bottom (17:38).

Neilson and Sakai celebrated while Stevens remained on the outside, indicating clearly that she was still gunning for Desire. As Sakai left the ring, Stevens tried to charge, but Neilson was ready. Stevens backed off and walked to the back. Soon afterward, Neilson followed, then Corino. As everyone left, I gave the announcement that everyone could stick around for autographs and a meet'n'greet with the 3-W stars before I, too, headed to the back to unwind a tad from the high of producing my first ever wrestling show.

*****

3-W KICKOFF!

February 6, 2005 - Alexandria, VA

Attendance: 1080 paid

1. Sakura Hirota defeated Misty Avalon with a spinning Uraken (11:54)

2.: Alere Little Feather defeated Demonica (w/Ana Mosity) with the Aleredust (4:55).

3.: The Poubelle Twins defeated Team WWC when Bibi pinned Genesis after an identical twin switch-off (10:20).

4.: Mary Apache (w/Stacy Colon) defeated Amber O'Neal after a Michinoku Driver (11:17).

5.: Rie Tamada defeated Tomoko Watanabe with a rolling reverse cradle into a bridge (15:22).

6.: Nikki French defeated the 21st Century Fox with the French Kiss (3:44).

7.: Cindy Rogers defeated Jessie Bell with a spinebuster (0:54).

8.: Kim "Desire" Neilson and Sumie Sakai defeated Ronnie Stevens and Alison Corino when Sakai pinned Corino after a double Rock Bottom (17:38).

Workrate MOTD: Tamada/Tomoko

Crowd and Overall MOTD: Main event tag

*****

I sat back and looked at the numbers. Down $6500 or so from my first show. At this rate, I'd never make it to the end of the year. At least I could say I tried, which is more than most people have done. And who knows -- maybe someone would come along and be a sponsor of the league, to help keep it afloat. The politicians around here would certainly love it if I played it as an Equal Opportunity deal, right?

Well, let's hope. In the meantime, let's get around to booking the next show...

TEW Rating: 30.8%

Overness increase in USA: 12.8 to 12.9

[InfernalMIKO]

Interesting show. Two hours eems a little long for the level of overness you have. But I'm sure it spiked alot more where you held the show. Good to see Sakura pick up the win, though her finisher is a little redundant. An uraken is basically a spinning backfist. Hmm...a few more losses for Tomoko and she might just snap and show up in her ZAP T mask. The rest was mostly interesting because it was women I've not seen wrestler so there was a certain surprise factor.

Looking forward to the next show.

[Hellfire]

I'm not a fan of woman's wrestling, but I did enjoy the show, just because its something that really has never been done before. Good job, I'll defentally check this out again.

[The Third Dukes]

February 23, 2005

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me... I didn't tell the girls it was my birthday, because I know what happens when you get a bunch of girls tipped off about a birthday. This was not the time for celebrations. This was a time to work. With a successful first show under our belts, and another one already scheduled for the comeback, I had to try to get more workers and have a flow. We still didn't have a champion, but that was to be handled soon enough. The only question was, who should it be?

"Look, Alison, I'm asking you because you've done booking before. Who do you think should be our champion? Should I start with a heel or with a face?"

"And I don't want to answer that. I mean, right now I'm near the top and anything I say would just be seen as looking out for myself."

"So you want the belt?"

"It would be nice, but it doesn't have to be that way. You're building Ronnie as the top heel. She could wear it. Or maybe Desire could. It all depends on which way you want to go."

"Well, it's hard... the Japanese girls are pulling for Sakura, but she's my comedy girl. It just wouldn't fit into the niche of things, you know?"

"Right, but did you see the match? She has talent. I guess if you don't pigeonhole her, it could work."

"Wait... am I doing that?" This could be trouble. Since we were a new group, I couldn't afford to get anybody out of the main event scene who I knew could draw. And after seeing Sakura's performance, I knew she had the talent to be a main eventer if necessary. But she did such a great job warming up the crowd that I didn't know whether to keep her there and doom her to an RVD-like existence of being stuck beneath a glass ceiling -- even if no politics were involved.

"It's possible. Still... I'd keep her around and build her up. For my money, though, Desire's your #1. She's the biggest name and one of the best on the mic. Steve thinks so."

"Wait, how does he--?"

"We got a tape of the show. He wanted to see his sister and his girl in the main event. He liked the stuff you did. He thinks you're a good interviewer too."

Wow -- I may have missed my calling. "Ummm... thanks. So about this title thing..."

"Look, I don't want to be seen as a politician. I'm too close to Ronnie. People will think I'm pushing my future sister-in-law or something. Just go with what you think."

*****

Desire, Sakura, Desire, Sakura, Desire, Sakura...

I was still debating this later in the day when Sakura herself hopped into my office. "Hai," she said, trying her basic English from the courses she and the others had been taking. "I got news."

"Good or bad?"

"News. I have new contract."

Uh oh. "R... really? Who with?"

"Osaka." Figures. Osaka Pro, a fed I was only tangentially familiar with, was the home of Japanese comedy wrestling. I knew its biggest star was Ebessan, one of the funniest wrestlers in the world, and I knew she would fit right in.

"Well, good luck. It was nice having you around."

"You no want me?"

"Aren't you leaving us?"

"No... I still here. I just work them too."

Oh, thank heaven. I needed to hear that. "Oh. That's wonderful. So, how often will you be able to come over here."

"What? Too fast."

"Sorry... I said, how often can you work for us?"

"Oh... whenever, but... I want them first. Japan my home."

"I understand. Congratulations."

"Con...?"

"Good for you."

"Oh... thank you, thank you. See you show time. Bye!"

She walked off, skipping the whole way. I smiled. I wonder if she'll do any recruiting while she's over there. On the other hand, this does complicate the matter of who to make champ. If I go with Sakura, she might not always be available for our shows, which is bad. On the other hand, she could defend our title overseas, which is very good for our reputation and could allow us to bring in more joshi. Maybe I'm overthinking this. I don't know.

*****

As I headed home that day, I looked over the newest signings for the next show.

Krissy Vaine -- Really, it was inevitable. Amber O'Neal had put in such a good word with us that her old tag-team partner was easily convinced to come along for the ride. Now I had a dilemma: two heel tag teams out of three (and that's if the WWC girls wanted to stick together). Oh well -- it's too soon to have tag gold anyway.

Miss Talia -- Another WXW co-signing. She was a very bitchy girl on-screen, and I planned to continue that, but with a twist. To be honest, though, I didn't know much more about her. Amber invited her in.

*****

3-W PRESENTS

MADNESS!

March 13, 2005

Thomas Jefferson, HS

Alexandria, VA

After only one show, 3-W stands as the biggest, and only, women's wrestling promotion in North America today! Now, we stand on the brink of finding out who will enter the history books as the first ever 3-W Champion, and at Madness!, we'll come a lot closer. The 3-W Championship Committee will have the Championship Tournament set up by that date, and the world will know by the end of the show! It's Selection Sunday for 3-W!

Kickoff! saw Sumie Sakai emerge from nowhere to help Kim "Desire" Neilson defeat the cocky duo of Alison Corino and Ronnie Stevens. Well, one person is unhappy with this development -- Stevens. She can't believe she lost to a little girl like Sakai, and now she's going to show the world how much of a fraud little Sumie is! It's Ronnie Stevens and Sumie Sakai on March 13!

Amber O'Neal made a rather unspectacular debut at Kickoff!, losing to Mary Apache and Stacy Colon's apple. She wants Colon in the ring, and that means a tag match with her Puerto Rican partner Genesis! To back her up, O'Neal has gone to her old friend Krissy Vaine! Team Blondage rides again, and it rides in 3-W against the WWC duo!

Jessie Bell claimed to know about people disrespecting Cindy Rogers. Cindy may not have been interested, but Bell is certain other people are! At Madness!, she's going to name names. Who is it that thinks Cindy is unworthy of 3-W stardom? Find out when we do!

All this, plus Mary Apache, Sakura Hirota, Alere Little Feather, the Poubelles, and many more! Bell time is 1PM for this performance!

(credit: 3wwrestling.com)

*****

Time for another ROH card, and another laugh at AI booking.

* Diablo Santiago beat Matt Turner

* Davey Andrews and Vordell Walker (w/Shane Hagdorn) beat Rockin' Rebel and Cheech (w/Lacey)

* Azrieal beat Delirious

* Ring Crew Express beat The Embassy (Fast Eddie & Jimmy Rave)

* Ricky Reyes (w/Rocky Romero) beat Dixie (w/Izzy)

* B-Boy beat Roderick Strong

* The Prophecy beat The Carnage Crew to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles

* Colt Cabana beat Austin Aries

* Samoa Joe beat CM Punk to retain the ROH title (MotN)

Go ahead, laugh. I am.

*****

Well, more matches may be announced later, but right now, there's just two. No prediction contests in this diary -- yet.

Your matches known are:

Ronnie Stevens vs. Sumie Sakai

Team Blondage vs. Team WWC

And on that note, I'll WWCya soon! God, I'm lame...

[TGC]

Just wanted to take a quick moment to praise the work being done on this diary. We've all seen the occassional Women's Wrestling Diary, and more often than not it's comedy, sometimes intentional and sometimes not, or pornography. It's nice to see an American Women's Wrestling Diary that is neither. It's nice to see one that is a serious look at what this kind of a fed would look like and maybe be in North America. I'm still getting into it after the first show, but I think what really has me excited is the backstage stuff. It's early yet, but something tells me that the man that gave us BVS is about to unleash some storytelling gold on us in the guise of 3W. I am looking forward to it.

And for what it's worth, Desire or Ronnie Stevens seem to me to be the best bets for your initial champion, but then I am on the outside looking in, so what do I know.

TGC