Renaissance Championship Wrestling

[rockyoursox]

OCTOBER 12, 2007

RCW HEADQUARTERS

It was 5:30 on Friday afternoon, and I was getting annoyed. There’s nothing worse than being past quitting time on a Friday and still being stuck working. I mean, quitting time was more of an abstract idea at this point, but it was all too real in my mind. I cursed Jack Sabbath for the 12th time, then flipped through the paperwork in front of me again. The resumes in front of me were sloppy, and one guy had been stupid enough to write his resume in the esteemed Comic Sans font. Nothing says professional quite like the font of choice for amateur party planners.

The resumes were necessary because of the sudden departure of RCW original Jack Sabbath, who I had hired as a writer. There had been two writers originally – Jack was one of then, and a guy named Peter Lothario was the other. Peter had been brought on board by demand of Jack, saying that the two always worked together as a team. Unfortunately, the wondrous team of Jack and Peter lasted a whole three months before Peter shipped off for California, looking for a chance at the big bucks available for people who wrote a mediocre action thriller screenplay and had no contacts in Hollywood. If Jack was devastated, I sure as hell didn’t notice. Jack kept getting all the stuff I needed done, and the wheels on the RCW Express kept turning.

The truth of the matter was, I didn’t need too much help from Jack. When RCW first opened its doors, I was terrified about how I was going to produce enough material to fill an entire show each month. I hadn’t done any creative writing since sophomore year in college, when I had transferred into a fiction writing class in pursuit of Laura Kislow and the most spectacular set of tits this side of the Mississippi. Three months, two flat-out rejections, and one C-minus later, my creative writing career was over. That was why I brought Jack and Peter on: they were my insurance policy, my muses if I couldn’t get the material put together or sounding right. But after the first couple of months, I wasn’t worried anymore. I was coming up with great ideas for all the characters, I was writing the dialogue for everyone, and everything was just clicking together. Between my time working on different characters and promos, and some input from Jack, RCW had the creative end handled just fine. Peter moved on, but I kept Jack on staff for some general writing and copy work. He did have better grammar than me, and his promotional material didn’t insult the federation constantly like Sophie’s did. He had done a great job, but when I got back from Tuesday’s taping, I found a letter of resignation from Jack in my inbox. Apparently his full-time job was transferring him to Columbus, Ohio, so his RCW career was over. And with Jack gone, I needed to find someone to replace him, and quick – with RCW still new to the television schedule, we were still working out the kinks in getting promotional material to MTV2 and other advertising outlets. We needed that extra time, so I needed somebody hired by the weekend.

As I pulled the next resume out of the pile, there was a knock at the door – must be the resume’s owner. I pulled open the door, revealing a cheerful (and chubby) man, maybe 24 or 25 years old. He was wearing the ultimate “I don’t care what other people think of my appearance” uniform – glasses, an ill-shaven goatee, a half-buttoned flannel shirt over a t-shirt of some kind, and jeans with boots. Well, he certainly LOOKED the part of a wrestling fan.

Me: Hi – you must be Derek Marlow, right?

Derek: Yes sir, that’s me. Thank you so much for the interview, Mr. Hawkins.

Me: Well, it’s my pleasure, I suppose. Why don’t you come on in?

I swung the door open, inviting him into the apartment. The place was its usual mess, with papers and pizza boxes strewn everywhere. After I had changed apartments six weeks back, I hadn’t bothered to call the maid service and update them with my new address, so the place stayed dirty. Derek didn’t seem bothered by the mess, which was unsurprising, given his manner of dress. As he took a seat, he pulled out a notebook and flipped it open to a particular page, which was covered in (as far as I can tell) completely illegible writing.

Me: What do you have there, Derek?

Derek: Well, Mr. Hawkins, this is basically my idea book. As you probably guessed, I watch a lot of wrestling, you know? And when I’m watching, the thing I’m always thinking about is what’s going on behind the scene, how the segment or match or whatever it may be was booked. That’s the thing about wrestling that always interested me, which is why I’m applying for this job, I guess. So whenever I see something a few times, or see something new that I like or don’t like, or when I have a new idea, I write it down here in my notebook.

Me: Well, I do like your dedication, Derek. It’s clear that you enjoy wrestling. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that knowledge doesn’t work in a vacuum – you have to be able to apply it, Derek. What makes you so sure you can apply this?

Derek: Well sir, I can’t entirely answer that – as you can see from the resume, I’ve never actually worked as a booker or a writer. But I have been part of several small-time wrestling companies in smaller roles, like working in tickets, or doing some advertising work. It’s given me the chance to see what wrestlers are really like, you know? I think that having had so much experience relating to wrestlers will make it a lot easier for me to work with them on different projects, you know?

Me: Well Derek, that is a good quality – but sometimes, they don’t work WITH you, they work FOR you. Is discipline going to be a problem with you?

Derek: I don’t see any reason to think so, sir. I’ve heard that there were only a couple of problems in the locker room here in RCW, and that you dealt with them very efficiently and properly, sir.

Derek thought he had fully answered the question, but my curiosity had been piqued.

Me: Exactly what problems would those be, Derek?

The follow-up caught Derek off-guard a little bit, and he took a slightly deeper swallow than usual before answering the question in a stilting, pausing style far removed from his normal mile-a-minute speech.

Derek: Well sir, um, a friend of mine works for CHIKARA, sir, and they have a guy who used to wrestle for you – Sweatsuit Steve was what you called him. Apparently he isn’t a very big fan of you, although I had to say that he seemed quite bitter about the whole thing – almost overly so.

Me: Well...Steve overstayed his welcome here in RCW when he decided it was a good idea to continually question my booking and to start shirking his duties. He was suspended twice for his bad behavior before he quit, and I don’t think he would have lasted very long before his third strike was up, if you understand my drift.

Derek: Oh, of course, sir. I’ve never actually met him, but my friend didn’t seem to like Steve very much either.

Me: That’s – that’s good, I suppose. Anyways, enough with the negative talk, right Derek?

I gave my most disingenuous smile, since Steve Unferth was still on my mind. Derek caught on quickly and gave me a nice nervous smile as he flipped his notebook to another page.

Derek: Sir, I was wondering if you could tell me what my duties would be if I was hired here?

Me: Well Derek, I’m not going to lie – it’s not glamorous work. Here in RCW, I do almost all of the creative work. Things seem to have gone well so far, so I’m keeping most of the idea stuff with me, although I do listen to input from my son Jack, who’s on staff, the rest of the employees, and the wrestlers. Your main job at the beginning would be to do more nuts and bolts work – perhaps work with a wrestler on how to word a promo and how to properly time it, or putting out a flyer each week to advertise the upcoming show. Catchphrases, slogans, stuff for merchandise, things like that.

Derek: And would I have a chance to move up the ladder a bit, perhaps get involved on the creative side?

I thought about that one for a moment – the real answer was ‘Not likely.’ I liked the way that Renaissance Championship Wrestling was booked. It was my baby, and I was taking care of it perfectly. But I liked Derek for the most part, and I wasn’t a big fan of definites and ultimatums – at least not until people were working for me.

Me: That’s certainly a possibility, Derek. You’re welcome to meet with me about some writing ideas at the shows and the like, but for now, I’d like for you to focus on getting Jack’s old items and tasks in order.

Derek: Well…when will you be able to let me know if I got the job or not? It’s just that, you know, I’ve got a couple other things I wanted to apply for, and…

Me: Derek, I don’t think there’s any need to make those calls. I have one question for you: can you start now? And I mean NOW?

===================================================

OFFICIAL~! PREVIEW FOR RCW 2NIGHT!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2007

SIX MAN MAIN EVENT!

In the biggest main event in 2Night’s history, get ready to see six of your favorite RCW superstars do battle in the first-ever RCW six-man tag team match! John Wellington recently found out that he would not only be defending his title against Twiggy, but also RCW’s resident monster, the undefeated Matt Morgan! Tonight, Wellington and Morgan will join forces, along with Fred Laney, to form an incredible gauntlet. All three men in this match have a history with the other #1 contender to the RCW World Title – the fan favorite Twiggy! Twiggy will join with former RCW champion Kid Fantastic and RCW veteran George Sand to even the sides! Twiggy, George Sand, and Kid Fantastic vs. John Wellington, Fred Laney, and Matt Morgan – which side will survive?

NICK COLLYER vs. SIMON SANDERS!

Nick Collyer hasn’t been seen since last month’s RCW Carnaval, when he was forced to compete against his one-time friend George Sand! After losing the match, Collyer has spent the last two weeks at home. However, he’ll be at the Earl Polero Arena on Tuesday for singles action against RCW mainstay Simon Sanders! Will Collyer reverse his losing ways? Will Nick have something to say about this saga? And will George Sand be paying attention?

TRIPPIN’ RETURNS!

Dave Tripps also returns to the MTV2 airwaves this week with a brand-new episode of the hottest wrestling news show on television, Trippin’ with Dave Tripps! This week, Dave will host RCW newcomer Red Hot Russ, who has already managed to ring up quite the list of enemies in his short RCW career! What will Russ have to say for his actions and for his critics? Tune in and find out!

AND MORE!

The last two weeks, Travis Finity has been on the business end of a beatdown from Adam Flash and his compatriots “The Silent Assassin” Katsushi Takemura and the ‘lovely’ Tizziana! Will Finity incur the wrath of Team Flash once again? Finity, Flash, Takemura, Ian Gomes, Sean Weldon, and many more are expected to be present on Tuesday night! Don’t miss out when Renaissance Championship Wrestling comes at you Tuesday night at 10 only on MTV2 – we’ll see you 2Night!

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL, BROOKLYN, NY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2007

RCW 2NIGHT!

[rockyoursox]

RCW 2NIGHT

OCTOBER 16, 2007

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL, BROOKLYN, NY

==================================================================

Nick Collyer vs. Simon Sanders

RCW 2Night kicks off in front of 206 fans, the exact attendance from last week, with Nick Collyer’s first RCW appearance since his match with George Sand at Carnaval. Nick keeps his focus straight ahead while walking down to the, not letting his eyes make contact with the crowd. The same can’t be said for his opponent, Simon Sanders, who goes through his normal routine of hamming it up for the crowd. As Simon scours the front row for more children to say hello to, Frank Stool orders him into the ring to get the match going. However, once Simon is in the ring, his energy level seems to drop off the charts. His attacks are sluggish and weak-looking, and Nick Collyer doesn’t have much problem shrugging them off. With his opponent looking like a shell of his normal self, Nick quickly seizes control of the match. Nick goes through with his fairly generic, straightforward offense, setting him up for his magnificent shooting star press finisher. With Sanders laid out on the mat, gassed after a German suplex, Collyer climbs the ropes, pauses for a moment – and nails a perfect shooting star! He covers Sanders: 1…………………………..2…………………….3!

With the match over, Frank Stool reaches over and raises Nick Collyer’s hand in victory. Nick acknowledges it for a moment, then yanks his hand down and calls for a microphone, which he receives.

Collyer: Look, I’m not a big talker, but I just want to say something. George, if you’re listening, I hope you talked to Francoise. She and I talked, and I really hope you listened to her. I don’t want to fight with you, George. I don’t want us to be mad at each other – I mean, I still like you! I like Francoise too – you’re both good people! So hopefully you listen to her and you want to talk. I know you have a big match tonight, so next week on 2Night, I’ll be here waiting for you. See you then, George.

WINNER: Nick Collyer

RATING: 50

CROWD: 44

MATCH: 57

NOTES: Simon Sanders didn't really sell very much, which hurt the match rating.

==================================================================

Trippin' with: Red Hot Russ!

After a moment’s delay to set up the Trippin’ set, we have the arrival of Dave Tripps. Tripps gets a solid pop from the crowd as he sets up behind the desk, and gives the OK signal to his ‘producer’ (the on-camera debut of our newest writer, Derek) before starting the show.

Tripps: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the hottest show in all of wrestling today – Trippin’ with Dave Tripps! I’m your host, Dave Tripps, and your guide to the ins and outs of all the late-breaking news in Renaissance Championship Wrestling! We, as always film in front of a live studio audience – hello, audience!

The audience, for some reason, politely applauds back, doing their back canned applause impersonation (with the exception of Earl’s cousin’s drunken hollers).

Tripps: Tonight on Trippin’, we have one of the newer faces here in Renaissance Championship Wrestling. This man has had quite an impact during his time here, and has managed to…well, impact…numerous RCW superstars! Please give a big Trippin’ welcome to RCW superstar Red Hot Russ!

Russ gets a smattering of the requested applause, a small round of boos, and a nice helping of silence as he makes his way down to the ring. He takes a seat across from Dave, continually fidgeting in his chair.

Russ: Um, Dave, by any chance do you have an ergonomically proper chair I could use? My chiropractor is a real stickler about my back, and I don’t need to get on Dr. Steve’s bad side, you know? And this chair’s way too hard, and angular – you know?

Tripps: Well…um…I suppose you could try out my chair, if you’d like…

Russ: Perfect, perfect! That should do nicely!

With that, Dave reluctantly exits his chair and switches sides with Russ, who quickly settles into Dave’s chair. Dave, now on the other side of his set, looks extremely uncomfortable as he adjusts his cards and tries to get things restarted.

Tripps: Well, um, Russ, now that we’re settled, I’d like to know a little something about…

Russ: Dave, is it possible to maybe turn the lights down? There’s one light in particular, you know, it’s right in my eyes, and I’m having a hard time seeing, and so I was wondering…

Tripps: Sorry, Russ, I don’t control the lights.

Russ: Well, do you know who does? I mean, I honestly don’t know how you stand it back here. It’s gotta be so irritating here…and honestly, I don’t know if this chair is any better, actually. It’s softer, but the angle is still wrong, and I’m sinking down in it – there’s no lumbar support, you know?

Tripps: Um, Russ, if we could get back to the interview…

Russ: You know, I knew I would regret leaving my back brace at home, but I still did it anyways. Man, sometimes I’m just so stupid! You tell yourself to do something, and it’s totally going to help, and then….

Tripps: RUSS!

This finally gets his attention and shuts Russ up, giving the crowd a chance to interject with a “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” chant. As I add that to the list of things to edit before sending the tape to the satellite feed, a clearly irritated Tripps takes back control.

Tripps: Look, Mr. Russ, you requested this time, so how about we dispense with the pleasantries, and the chair talk, and you just talk about whatever it was you wanted to discuss, OK?

Russ: Well, I suppose that will work. You see, Dave, I don’t know if you’re aware of one man here in RCW – his name is Daniel Dallas. Well, last week, Mr. Dallas was speaking to the crowd, who seem to enjoy him for some unknown reason, and he said this:

We cut to the video clip of Danny Dallas on the microphone during last week’s 2Night:

Dallas: But that’s what it takes. Hard work is what separates guys like John Wellington and Kid Fantastic from guys like that Russ fella – just getting’ thrown out of a battle royal in the blink of an eye for managin’ to rub everyone the wrong way. Or from someone like that fella Fred Laney we just saw beatin’ up some backstage kid. Gotta keep your eye on the damn prize.

[rockyoursox]

RCW 2NIGHT

OCTOBER 23, 2007

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL, BROOKLYN, NY

=====================================================

Sean Weldon vs. Simon Sanders

We kick off the show with Sean Weldon, flanked by Ian Gomes, already in the ring. As the two of them talk in surprisingly forced, almost angry tones, Simon Sanders makes his way out to the ring, slapping hands with anyone and everyone in his path. After doing a couple laps around the ringside area, Sanders finally slides into the ring, where Sean Weldon, irritated at the long wait, quickly lays into the RCW jobber. Weldon quickly takes firm control of the match as he drops Sanders throat-first against the ropes, crushing Sanders’ vocal cords and throat. Having cut off the air supply, Weldon goes to town dissecting Sanders, with Ian Gomes yelling on advice rather loudly from ringside. After a few minutes of this, Weldon snaps and abandons Sanders’ downed body, choosing instead to argue with Gomes. Gomes hops up onto the apron, putting him on roughly equal footing with the larger Weldon as the shouting match escalates. Weldon raises his hand, threatening to strike Gomes – but Simon Sanders takes this opportunity to crash into Weldon from behind, knocking Gomes off the ring apron all the way to the ring barrier on the floor below! Weldon charges forward, trying to get his momentum back, and manages to knock Sanders flat on his butt with a spectacular clothesline. He scoops Sanders off the mat and lifts him up in the air for a powerbomb – but Sanders reverses it into a picture-perfect victory roll! Sanders holds on with all his might as Weldon struggles to free himself: 1……………………..2……………………..3! Simon Sanders has pulled off a massive upset and defeated Sean Weldon with a clean 1-2-3!

Sanders, looking even happier than normal, jumps out of the ring and into the crowd, looking to celebrate his victory with the fans. While the crowd does their best to avoid contact with the sweaty and semi-psychotic wrestler (of course, the Polero clan proves the exception to the rule, inviting him over to party with them), Sean Weldon gets to his feet, only to be confronted by Ian Gomes. Gomes and Weldon resume their shouting match, with Gomes pointing to the outside, accusing Weldon of the attack. Weldon tries to protest his innocence, but Gomes won’t hear any of it, just choosing to continue screaming in Weldon’s face. The cheap microphones we’re still stuck using (thanks, MTV!) mainly pick up a lot of noise, but one line thankfully comes through crystal-clear:

Gomes: I’ll see you on Sunday, mate!

With the match made, Gomes goes storming out of the ring, leaving behind a confused and annoyed Sean Weldon to ponder what just happened (or at least do a convincing job that he was doing exactly that).

RATING: 56

CROWD: 47

MATCH: 65

NOTES: Simon Sanders gained overness from this match.

=====================================================

A Debut & Challenge

With the ring finally vacated after the Goldon Boys blowup, the crowd applauds as Travis Finity’s music hits, bringing the oft-assaulted speedster out. He hightails it down to the ring and slides in, grabbing the microphone from Joe Wheeler in one smooth pass. As an astonished Joe tries to figure out where his microphone disappeared to, a fidgety Finity addresses the crowd in his rambling, mile-a-minute style.

Finity: OK, so the last few weeks, I’ve had the crap kicked out of me by Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura, and I don’t know why they want to fight me so much, and what their problem is with me, but they have one, and because of that problem, I keep getting hurt when all of them attack me and I’m outnumbered and I just don’t have a chance!!!! Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura are real jerks and they just kept attacking me, even though I never cheated, and I never even beat them, but they have a real problem with me, and it’s not cool at all!

The crowd tries to digest this, but Finity doesn’t even notice their confusion as he goes on.

Finity: But I wanted to keep going against them, because I wanted to prove that I was good enough, and so I kept fighting them, but they kept cheating and I kept getting really hurt and having to get a lot of ice after the matches to help. But last week, when I was out here, and they were attacking me again, then something happened, because this guy ran out, and I wasn’t really sure what was happening, but he ran out here, and he attacked them, and not me, and instead of me getting beat up, I got saved, and I didn’t need nearly as much ice last week, and it was all thanks to the new guy, and I want to introduce him to you bring out Jason W. Knight come on come on!

After what seemed to be an agonizing 2 second delay for Finity, new music hits over the PA system, and the man responsible for saving Travis Finity last week appears in front of the Polero Hall crowd. The man, apparently Jason W. Knight, slides into the ring and shakes Travis Finity’s hand before taking the microphone from the fast-talking flyer.

Knight: Thank you for the kind introduction, Travis. Like he said, my name is Jason W. Knight, and I am the newest superstar to join Renaissance Championship Wrestling. I had just finished signing my contract last week during the show’s taping, and I was preparing to join the audience and watch the rest of the show when I saw poor Travis here being assaulted by those two men for what seemed like no actual reason.

Finity: No reason, no reason at all, they just attack me again and again and again and again and again and again and…

Knight: I know, Travis, I know. And when I saw that injustice being done in the ring, it didn’t matter to me how long I had been an RCW employee – I just had to help! So I ran down here and I gave those two jerks the best shots that I had!

This gets a good pop from the crowd, and a smiling Knight gives Finity a pat on the shoulder before continuing.

Knight: So now that I know the full story between Mr. Finity here and Mr. Flash and Mr. Takemura, I’m glad I got involved. Nobody deserves to be attacked like that – this is a sport of honor, and doing nothing but assaulting a helpless man when you have the advantage is a black eye to our great business! But now, Mr. Flash, I have a note for you: you don’t have the numbers anymore!

Finity: Tell him the best part! Tell the crowd! Let them know about it! It’s so cool! So cool!

Knight: What I think Travis is referring to would be the meeting the two of us had with RCW management before the show today. You see, once I knew the full story, I made sure to have a little talk with the bigwigs, and I had one request: instead of another two on one beating, we would have ourselves a tag team match at Victory Strikes Again! Me and Travis Finity against you two!

This gets a big pop from the bloodthirsty crowd, and Travis Finity might be applauding louder than anybody else in attendance.

Knight: So get ready for a real fight, an honorable fight, Mr. Flash. And you too, Mr. Takemura. Now that you have to fight a real fight, we’ll see what you’re really made of.

Finity: And there’s no way you can keep up with me now, because you can’t catch me! SPEED SPEED SPEED!

RATING: 59

NOTES: Jason W. Knight gained overness from this segment. Jason W. Knight debuted his new gimmick, it got a positive response.

=====================================================

Plans For Sunday

We cut backstage, where Fred Laney is staring at a piece of paper and absolutely fuming – the only way he could look angrier would be to have cartoon-y smoke coming out of his ears.

Laney: First my teammates hang me out to dry and that orange freak pins me, and now I’m not even on the card for Sunday! I mean, that do-gooder loser just debuted and he’s on the show! That annoying Russ jackass is on the card! I mean, that orange twit’s in the goddamn main event! And here I am stuck doing nothing! This is bull! There’s no way I’m not gonna be on that damn card!

Laney looks around the backstage area, then spies his favorite whipping boy: Jack. As Jack talks with a couple of other backstage workers, including our new writer Derek and the omnipresent Sound Guy, Laney comes storming over. Jack seems him coming from a ways away and quickly puts himself behind the other two as Laney pulls to a halt just in front of them.

Laney: Hey, twerp, why the hell don’t I have a match on Sunday!?

Jack: Mr. Laney, I don’t know! I’m just a staff member - I don’t decide who wrestles who!

Laney: That’s crap and you know it! If you can’t make matches, then you can make someone else make the matches!

Jack: No I can’t! This is just a part-time job for me! I’m just making money for college!

Laney: Guess what, twerp? That Fantastic fudge packer, he said the same thing, but he had the balls to fight! You’re just a pansy who’s trying to screw with me! Now get over here so I can kick your pansy ass!

As Laney lunges forward, Derek and Sound Guy step up, bumping into Laney. As they form a wall, a few other staff members come wandering into the picture, along with Kid Fantastic and Danny Dallas, who stare down Laney. Surrounded by nearly a dozen people at this point, Laney weighs his odds, then backs down. As he walks away, never taking his eyes off Jack once, he has some parting words.

Laney: Guess what, kid? I’m getting that match at Victory Strikes Again one way or another! And you know EXACTLY what way that’s gonna be!

RATING: 62

NOTES: Jack Hawkins gained overness from this segment.

=====================================================

Kohl Brothers vs. Charly Manson & Red Hot Russ

After their recent losses to the Irish Drinking Team, the Kohl Brothers demanded a match against any duo willing to face them to try and get back on the winning track. With Charly Manson and Red Hot Russ answering the call, the Kohl Brothers seem positive about their chances. However, they focus in on their task with laser-precision, taking advantage of Russ whining to the referee about the springiness of the ropes with a beautiful backdrop/neckbreaker combo. With Russ thankfully silenced and incapacitated, Charly Manson can do little but watch as the Kohl Brothers give a clinic on tag-team wrestling. Keith Kohl works over Russ’ arms and legs with a series of armbars and strikes, slowly but surely weakening his elbows and knees before tagging Kent in. Kent’s role is limited today, consisting mainly of a quick power move or two to keep Russ reeling before tagging his brother back in. Manson tries to interfere on his partner’s behalf once or twice, but the Kohl Brothers are ready for this. Manson tries different ways to get involved, but even a quick springboard attempt is blocked when Kent Kohl, the outside man, jumps into the ring and spears Manson in midair, taking the gothic warrior straight to the ground! With Manson down and out, Kent scoops Russ up and delivers a stiff powerbomb while Keith climbs up top, completing the Kohl Shot with a picture-perfect senton! Keith covers Russ while Kent looks on, delighted with the result: 1…………………….2………………………3! Instead of celebrating the win, Kent calls for a microphone, which he receives.

Kent: Look, this was a statement here tonight!

Keith: The Irish Drinking Team, they might think that they’re the premiere team in RCW…

Kent: …but they’re not! We are!

Keith: Did you see that? Manson never even tagged in!

Kent: We dominated!

Keith: And guess what, Drinking Team? We’ve got you guys figured out!

Kent: We cracked you!

Keith: Yeah, easy solution!

Kent: And we’re gonna prove to you once and for all that we’re the best tag team that RCW has to offer!

Keith: You know it, brother! And where else to do it but Victory Strikes Again?

Kent: This Sunday!

Keith: You guys are in for it! Because when we see double…

Kent: …YOU see trouble!

RATING: 55

CROWD: 47

MATCH: 64

=====================================================

The Lieutenant Calls Out The General

Once all four men have left the ringside area, Nick Collyer comes walking down without his normal entrance music playing. Collyer still gets an ovation from the crowd, but Nick ignores it, sliding into the ring and taking the microphone from Joe Wheeler.

Collyer: Last week, I told you that I wanted to talk to George Sand here in the middle of this ring. Well, it’s been a week. George, can you and Francoise please come out here so we can just talk this out?

Nick lowers the microphone and waits. It only takes a few moments for Sand’s entrance music to kick up – but instead of George Sand, all we get is Francoise making her way down the aisle without her boyfriend. She slips into the ring with her own microphone, ready to reply to the confused-looking Nick Collyer.

Francoise: Nick, I wanted to come out here and let you know that George isn’t here.

Collyer: What? Where is he?

Francoise: I…I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in three weeks, Nick. He said he needed a little time to think about things, but we were supposed to meet up at last week’s show. But then I got an e-mail telling me not to come, and he hasn’t answered since then.

Collyer: Look…I need to talk to him. I didn’t do anything wrong here, and I’m tired of him being angry with me over it! You talked to him, right?

Francoise: You know I did, Nick…but I don’t know what he’s been doing since we did. He said that he’d talk with you, but that was the last I heard of it.

Collyer: Well look, I…

However, Nick Collyer doesn’t get to finish that thought as George Sand’s music plays for a second time – and this time, the man himself emerges from behind the curtain, microphone in hand! He doesn’t head down to the ring, instead choosing to set up shop in the aisle.

Sand: Francoise, I’m sorry I wasn’t in touch – I’ve been away for a while. But I’ve done some thinking, and I’m ready to say what I’ve come to.

Francoise: Oh George, that’s great, I’m so…

Sand: Please, Francoise, let me just get it all out, then the two of us can talk, OK? Now Nick...Nick, I thought about what Francoise said. And on some level, she’s right. You probably didn’t mean to screw things up like you did, and you’re not a truly bad person…I don’t think you’re a bad person.

Nick looks relived at this, but his face quickly drops as Sand continues.

Sand: However, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you. I’m still mad at you, Nick…but I think I know how we can fix that. I want one more match with you, Nick. I need one more chance to let the aggression out, and just leave it there forever.

Collyer: But George, I don’t want to fight you! I never wanted to fight you!

Sand: Look, Nick, this is different. This is us leaving our differences behind. And I know that you don’t want to fight me – but I also know that there’s some part of you, even if it’s just a little part, that wants to smack me around because of the way I’ve dealt with you the last couple months. I know I’m right.

Nick has no response to this, and George continues with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Sand: What it comes down to is that something still feels a little…wrong. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I want to leave it in the ring. So Nick, me and you, one on one, at Victory Strikes Again – with just one little condition.

Collyer: …what is it?

Sand: No, no, you’ll be OK with this one. You see, like I said, there’s something still sticking at me, and I can’t figure it out – but I want to make sure that I don’t hurt you out there, or make a mistake that I can’t take back. So I want the one person out there that I know I’ll listen to. Francoise…I want you to referee our match.

Francoise: What?

Nick: What?

The crowd seems just as lost as the two in the ring, but George Sand isn’t done.

Sand: Look, Francoise, I’ve done a lot of thinking these past few weeks. And one of our biggest problems has been me not trusting you – and that was just ludicrous. I want you to know exactly how much I trust you being here in wrestling – and I want Nick to see that the most important person in my life is going to call this right down the middle and give me no special treatment. That’s about as clear a way as I can think of to show exactly how I feel.

Francoise: Well….are you sure, George?

Sand: I’m as sure as sure can be, Frannie.

Francoise takes a moment to look over at Nick Collyer, who has a very noncommittal expression on his face, then turns back to George.

Francoise: Well….OK, I’ll do it. And once this match is over, you two are OK, right?

Sand: That’s it. I don’t know if we’re gonna be best friends, but no more of this.

Collyer: Well…then I guess I’ll see you on Sunday, George. But you better bring your A game – I’m gonna show you everything I got!

Sand: You better, Nick. Now c’mon Francoise, let’s get out of here.

Francoise leaves the ring and bounces down the aisle towards George, and the two exit together, leaving Nick there alone in the ring, ready for his chance at redemption.

RATING: 62

=====================================================

Matt Morgan vs. Danny Dallas

Tonight’s main event gets under way with Danny Dallas looking to chalk up his biggest win in RCW yet – literally, as he takes on the undefeated giant of RCW, Matt Morgan. Morgan makes his way down to the ring, but doesn’t wait for any of the pleasantries as he steps into the ring and takes the fight right to Dallas. Dallas manages to hold his own against the pure power of Morgan for a couple of minutes, even managing to take a quick advantage by ducking Morgan’s big boot attempt. Dallas backs Morgan into the corner with a barrage of fists, then charges forward and goes for a stinger splash – but Morgan catches Dallas mid-smash and wraps him tight in a bearhug! Dallas struggles to get loose, but Morgan bears down and works on crushing Dallas’ ribs. Dallas finally slumps, having given in to the hold, but before referee Mike Hunter can check on Dallas, Morgan throws him to the canvas, then covers him with one foot and demands a count! After taking a second to scoff at Morgan’s arrogance, Hunter makes the count: 1………………………….2………………………..NO! Dallas just manages to kick out, in no small part thanks to Morgan’s arrogant cover!

Morgan shrugs off the kickout and quickly picks Dallas up before throwing him into the corner. Morgan follows him into the corner and begins to choke him with his boot – just as John Wellington, armed with a certain bright-orange steel chair, slides into the ring behind Morgan! Morgan doesn’t react, not seeing Wellington creeping up on him with Senor Naranja while Mike Hunter screams at the RCW champion – maybe Morgan should get his hearing checked. Wellington ignores the screams and swings forward – but Morgan, with his back still turned, dodges the chair shot, which crushes Danny Dallas square in the forehead! Dallas drops to the floor as Wellington looks down at his crumpled carcass in shock, refusing to believe that he missed. As he looks back up, Morgan nearly decapitates the champion with a thundering lariat, dropping Wellington in his tracks. With both men down, Morgan hits the deck and covers Dallas, demanding that Hunter make the count. Hunter looks around, then drops to his knees and counts the pinfall: 1…………………………2……………………………3!

Morgan doesn’t have long to celebrate, as John Wellington, having shaken off the cobwebs, is back on his feet and ready for a battle. The two men stare the other down, with Wellington being the first to break the staredown with a right to the jaw of Morgan! Morgan retaliates in kind, and the two men break into an all-out brawl as the crowd goes nuts for the Victory Strikes Again sneak-preview they’re getting! Morgan has the early advantage, but John Wellington manages to outslug the giant, putting Morgan on the defensive! Wellington bounces off the ropes behind him and charges forward, but Morgan catches him mid-sprint with the big boot, leveling Wellington straight to the canvas! Morgan picks him up and signals for the Mount Morgan Drop – when out of nowhere, both Matt Morgan and John Wellington are drenched by a deluge from the ceiling! Morgan drops Wellington to the mat as he checks himself out – and sees a bright orange pool forming at his feet! Morgan jerks his head upwards, Wellington tilts his head towards the roof, and the entire crowd follows suit – to find the spotlight locked on Twiggy crouched in the rafters above the ring! Twiggy is appropriately dressed almost exactly like Gangrel, of bloodbath fame, and has a giant bucket in his hands with a Tropicana label on its side. The crowd explodes as Twiggy takes a bow from the rafters, and Morgan takes every chance to curse the Bizarre One from the ground below. The champion takes the chance to disappear to the outside, escaping from the pounding at the hands of Morgan with his title belt in hand. As Morgan looks on, Twiggy takes a carton of orange juice out and bites into it with a pair of fangs he slipped into his mouth, puncturing the cardboard and watching small trickles of juice fall to the ring below. As the crowd cheers this on, Twiggy puffs out his chest:

Twiggy: L’ORANGE, C’EST MOI!

With that, Twiggy goes back to drinking orange juice, Morgan goes back to cursing, and Wellington goes back to retreating as the final RCW 2Night before Victory Strikes Again goes off the air.

RATING: 60

CROWD: 54

MATCH: 66

OVERALL: 59

========================================

The official card for Victory Strikes Again will be up in a day or two, along with a backstage update, for anyone who wants to do predictions

[The Red Reuben]

... Damnit.

I was hoping I wasn't close to the end. When I saw 25 shows, I assumed they were all monthly shows. I never once considered the possibility of a television show. I was hoping I'd get to see the federation two years later.

But hey. I'm absolutely *loving* what I'm reading. I was shocked to see Chance sign with ROH as he had been my favourite wrestler in this federation. With him gone, I've yet to find a new favourite. I also liked the Sweatsuit Steve character, and actually agreed with his attitude toward the negative award. But hey. Being sluggish in the ring? He deserved to go.

Signing Matt Morgan was interesting to say the least. If you get the opportunity to bring Chance back, consider it. Also consider my other indy wrestler I PM-ed you. I'd love to see him in this diary.

Anyway, I'm loving this diary so much. I'm glad you revived it this month.

[rockyoursox]

OCTOBER 23, 2007

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL

With 2Night finished taping for the night, Sound Guy was busy doing some final editing work before sending the finished product along to the MTV broadcast center. I was going through a lot of paperwork – we still needed to finalize the payments for the building we had booked in Jersey for Sunday’s show, the first time we’d ever be running outside of the bingo hall. I also needed to take care of paychecks, which were to be handed out at the show on Sunday, and I needed to make sure Earl got the 14 comp tickets he had asked for – you gotta look after the dedicated fans, after all. After scrawling a near-illegible “Bruce Hawkins” across the 48th document, I sighed and let the pen drop to the table with a nice, heavy thud. I always loved good pens – a rare luxury that I always afforded myself.

The arena was basically empty – all the wrestlers had taken off a while back, along with most of the staffers. Sound Guy, Jack, and Earl were basically the only other guys hanging around, so I was looking forward to getting out of dodge myself and heading over to Hank’s for a nice relaxing night. I spotted Jack coming towards me with a sheath of papers in hand.

Jack: Hey dad – Derek left these for you. Said you’d be interested.

Me: Hmmm…what the heck is this stuff?

I flipped the packet open and skimmed through the first page. I didn’t pick up too many of the details, but it looked like a laundry list of ideas for characters and feuds that he had sketched out. I didn’t bother reading much further before flipping the packet closed and tossing it on the table.

Jack: What is all that stuff anyway?

Me: It’s just Derek trying a little too hard, son. I told him there’d be a time and a place for that later on – for now, he should be putting together the official card for Victory Strikes Again. Was that in there, do you know?

Jack: Umm….yeah, I think it was at the end of everything.

I pulled the last piece of paper from underneath the pile and looked it over. Derek had done a great job on that much, at least – good to see he can follow some orders, if not all of them.

Me: Yeah, this should work out well. I’ll drop this with the printers on the way back to my place. You want a ride back over to Fordham?

Jack: Nah, don’t bother – it’s only 20 minutes on the subway. It’s probably a longer drive one-way, let alone round trip.

Me: Nah, don’t worry about it, Jack. I’d be happy to give you a ride. Hop in the car.

======

As we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, I looked over to Jack, slouched in a ball in the passenger seat.

Me: So Jack, how do you think we’re set up for the show Sunday? I mean, I thought the sell might have been a little hard tonight, but I think the show should be pretty good and all.

Jack: Yeah – I think we’ve got a pretty solid set of matches. I mean, I think there’s a lot of interest in the triple threat, and I like the way everything with Sand and that whole angle is developing. But dad, there’s on thing I don’t like…

Me: Oh? What is it, Jack?

Jack: Dad, I know I’ve said this before, but I still don’t think my stuff with Fred is such a good idea, you know? I mean, I’m not a wrestler – I just work for you backstage and stuff. And I’m on-screen with Fred a lot, and…I dunno, dad, it just seems like there’s gotta be something better that we could be doing with those segments than me.

Me: Jack, I know you’re worried about that, but you shouldn’t be. I mean, you’ve held your own with Fred out there – and as far as I can tell from backstage, the fans seem to really dig you out there.

Jack: Dad, are you sure about that? I mean, I don’t think they really care about me. And I thought I was just gonna appear in the background, that sort of thing, and now I’m a recurring character, and I keep getting involved with Fred Laney, and you know that Kid Fantastic doesn’t have a match – I mean, why not put him out there in my spot instead of sticking him in an interview spot?

I really didn’t understand where this was coming from. I was getting Jack on-screen, and people were digging it. Who didn’t love a good underdog story, right? That was enough of that!

Me: Jack, c’mon! This stuff is coming across great on TV, and I think the show Sunday will really be a great way to continue all this momentum you guys have. Besides, Fantastic needs interview time to keep developing his character. Now yeah, I know I originally said that you were just gonna be a backstage character who didn’t really do anything on camera and all, but that was before we got you out there. Every time you show up, it seems like good things happen And Fred’s been careful with you, right? I mean, he hasn’t hurt you by mistake out there when you’ve had to do an assault angle or anything?

Jack: No, no! Fred’s been great.

Me: Well Jack, all I can say is that I think that it’s too late to back down on the stuff for Sunday, that’s for sure. And I think that on Sunday, you’ll get into it and you’ll see exactly how good an idea it is.

Jack: Yeah, I guess.

Me: Anyways, we’re here…I’ll see you Sunday afternoon at my place, and we can ride over the building together, OK?

Jack: Sure…it’s gonna be weird not doing this from Earl’s place like usual.

Me: Never be afraid of a little change, Jack – change is the reason that I’m doing this instead of working at Fidelity. Hey, here’s a few copies of the flyer for Sunday – why don’t you put them around your dorm?

Jack: Um….yeah, sure. See you Sunday, Dad.

=================================================================

OFFICIAL~! PREVIEW FOR RCW VICTORY STRIKES AGAIN

MAIN EVENT

RCW WORLD TITLE MATCH

JOHN WELLINGTON © vs. MATT MORGAN vs. TWIGGY

John Wellington, the always-arrogant RCW World Champion, predicted that he’d be long gone from RCW before this match rolled around, but to nobody’s surprise but his own, none of the big names have come calling for him. However, instead of only fighting Twiggy, the winner of last month’s 10 man main event Battle Royal at Carnaval, he must also do battle with the undefeated monster of RCW, Matt Morgan! Wellington has failed to gain the upper hand in several attempts this month – will Morgan’s win streak bring him all the way to the RCW World Title? Will Twiggy’s bizarre antics somehow allow him to prevail? Or will John Wellington retain his title and tighten his claim as the greatest star RCW has to offer?

GEORGE SAND vs. NICK COLLYER

SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE: FRANCOISE

Last month, George Sand pinned Nick Collyer at Carnaval, looking for revenge after Collyer inadvertently cost George Sand two huge matches against Adam Flash and John Wellington. However, Sand has come to his senses, with the help of his girlfriend/manager Francoise, and has offered to forgive Collyer – after one more match. In order to keep his temper in hand, Sand has asked that the one person he truly trusts and will listen to, Francoise, will referee the match herself. On Sunday, George Sand and Nick Collyer look to bury the hatchet once and for all.

IRISH DRINKING TEAM vs. KOHL BROTHERS

The Irish Drinking Team have quickly made a name for themselves in Renaissance Championship Wrestling with two victories over the Kohl Brothers, the self-proclaimed greatest tag team in wrestling. The Kohl Brothers, who pride themselves on their clean approach and teamwork, are still in disbelief at the pair of losses, and claim that the IDT have been cheating during these matches. The two pairs will do battle one final time at Victory Strikes Again, with the Kohl Brothers claiming to have cracked the Drinking Team’s secret. Will the third time be the charm for the Kohl Brothers?

DANNY DALLAS vs. RED HOT RUSS

Red Hot Russ has done nothing but annoy everyone he comes into contact with since his debut in Renaissance Championship Wrestling some weeks ago. After his prompt elimination from the Carnaval main event on the wrong side of a 10-on-1 beating, Danny Dallas pointed out Russ as an example of the kind of man who couldn’t succeed in the world of pro wrestling. Russ took offense to this and challenged Dallas, another RCW newcomer quickly becoming a crowd favorite, to a match. Will Russ prove that he can, in fact, succeed in RCW, or will Danny Dallas have something new to ‘holla’ about?

TEAM FLASH vs. TRAVIS FINITY & JASON W. KNIGHT

Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura have made names for themselves in RCW with gaudy win-loss records, but the two have also proven an ability to ignore the rules whenever it suits them. No RCW superstar is better aware of this than speedster Travis Finity, who spent undue time on the business end of 2-on-1 beatings from the duo. However, two weeks ago on 2Night, just-signed roster member Jason W. Knight felt compelled to intervene, evening Finity’s odds against Team Flash. Now that Travis Finity has backup, will Flash and Takemura prove to be quite as intimidating, or will the new duo teach them that 2+2 = pain?

IAN GOMES vs. SEAN WELDON

These two men, referred to as the “Goldon Boys,” have been lurking in the background in RCW in recent months, with George Sand their ultimate target. However, in recent weeks, the two men have been at each other’s throats, with each man costing the other a match in singles competition. After the latest such incident, where Ian Gomes accused Sean Weldon of hitting him, and Weldon accused Gomes of costing him a match against Simon Sanders, a challenge was thrown down for Victory Strikes Again. Has the union of these two villains broken apart, or is this just another step in their maniacal game?

TRIPPIN’ WITH: KID FANTASTIC

The former champion may not have a match at Victory Strikes Again, but Kid Fantastic still figures prominently in the RCW universe. Still incensed at losing his title to Wellington and being denied a rematch, Fantastic surely has words for current champion John Wellington. When he sits down one-on-one with Dave Tripps, will Kid Fantastic betray his next move?

AND MORE!

Like Kid Fantastic, Fred Laney was left off the card for Victory Strikes Again. However, unlike Fantastic, Laney has promised to make his presence known at Victory Strikes Again in a very physical sense. Backstage staff member Jack Hawkins has taken several beatings from Laney before, and received another threat last week on 2Night – will Laney be after his favorite prey once again?

Tickets are only $20 as RCW hits the road for the first time in its history! Victory Strikes Again will take place LIVE in Bergenfield, NJ, at Bergenfield Hall. Tickets are going fast, so come and see all your favorite RCW superstars from MTV2’s “RCW 2Night” live and in person!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2007

BERGENFIELD HALL

BERGENFIELD, NJ

RCW PRESENTS: VICTORY STRIKES AGAIN!

[The Red Reuben]

Here we go.

MAIN EVENT

RCW WORLD TITLE MATCH

JOHN WELLINGTON © vs. MATT MORGAN vs. TWIGGY

I love Twiggy, but can he be champion? Maybe in the future, but I don't see it right now. Morgan was a *huge* addition to the roster, and I think he'll hold it in the near future. Just not yet. I'll go with Wellington because I love the character.

GEORGE SAND vs. NICK COLLYER

SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE: FRANCOISE

Who knew Nick Collyer would get to the #2 spot on a big event? Anyway, George Sand is *by far* my favourite wrestler on the roster, now that Chance Beckett is gone. (What was George Sand's name originally? He isn't in any EWR files.) I see Francoise turning on Sand here for some reason, giving Nick the win. I'll be hoping otherwise.

IRISH DRINKING TEAM vs. KOHL BROTHERS

The Kohl Brothers are a joke right now, and it'll be interesting to see if you keep them this way, or make them credible wrestlers. I'll go with the Kohl Brothers.

DANNY DALLAS vs. RED HOT RUSS

Red Hot Russ is in for a heap of trouble against Dallas ...

TEAM FLASH vs. TRAVIS FINITY & JASON W. KNIGHT

The only thing I don't like about this stable is the name. Katsushi and Flash are amazing, and I hope they beat Finity/Knight. I don't think I should be a huge fan of such a stable, but I have to be. They are just *that good*.

IAN GOMES vs. SEAN WELDON

Obviously part of the plan. I just picked Gomes, because I have more storyline ideas if he wins, than if he loses.

This is going to be a great show.

[rockyoursox]

RCW VICTORY STRIKES AGAIN

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2007

BERGENFIELD HALL, BERGENFIELD, NJ

========================================================

Team Flash (Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura) vs. Travis Finity and Jason W. Knight

In front of a surprisingly good crowd here at Bergenfield Hall, numbering 409 people, the show gets underway with tag team goodness. Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura, flanked by Tizziana, make their way out first, getting a loud, long, and negative reaction from the raucous crowd. I guess the MTV2 exposure was doing a lot of good for us – basically everyone in the crowd knew exactly what was going on, and who was doing it. When Kid Fantastic pitched in and helped us put up the crowd barrier an hour before showtime, he was even getting pestered by a couple of kids for autographs. I gotta say, I was really liking the publicity we had going now. Even with the increased publicity, there was almost no reaction for the newest RCW star, Jason W. Knight, who came out looking pumped up for his in-ring debut in Renaissance Championship Wrestling. He stands just outside the entrance and waits for Travis Finity to make his way out – but isn’t prepared for Travis to come flying out and sprint right by him on the way to the ring! Knight takes a second to identify the blur as Travis, then goes sprinting down the aisle and slides into the ring behind Finity. The two don’t waste any time, immediately taking it to Flash and Takemura as referee Frank Stool calls for the ring bell, getting the proceedings underway.

Stool takes a few moments to get things sorted out, but finally forces Knight and Flash to their respective corners, leaving Travis Finity and Katsushi Takemura in the middle of the ring to start things out. Travis Finity outmaneuvers Takemura early on as the Silent Assassin tries to pin down the energetic Finity. Takemura takes a chance and tries to hit Finity with a running shoulder block, but misses by a solid two feet. Finity doesn’t let the opportunity pass him by, hopping off the second rope before somersaulting forward into Takemura with a body block, taking Takemura to the mat. Finity is instantly back on his feet, and grabs the rising Takemura before whipping him into the ropes. Takemura reverses the whip, but Finity bounces off the ropes, leaps over Takemura going low for a takedown, bounces off the opposite ropes, then charges forward and leaps into the air before taking Takemura down to the mat with a running headscissors takedown! The crowd pops big as Takemura takes his time getting up this time, only to be met by Mr. Energy once again. Finity once again whips Takemura off the ropes, then catches him with a drop toehold, sending Takemura to the mat on all fours. Finity takes a couple steps backwards, bounces off the ropes, then charges forward and drills Takemura with a thundering dropkick to the side of the head!

Finity charges to the opposite corner and knocks an unsuspecting Adam Flash to the floor on the outside, then turns his attention back to Takemura. Takemura, still reeling, just goes along for the ride as Finity backs Katsushi into the corner, then begins laying into Takemura with chops. The crowd fills in with the mandatory “WHOO!” chant after each chop, even when Takemura blocks a chop, throws Finity into the corner, and starts a series of chops of his own. After a few chops, Takemura capitalizes on Finity’s mistake of getting too close by locking in a sleeper from behind. Having learned from his several matches with Finity before, Takemura refuses to let go, clamping down squarely on the speedy Finity. Travis struggles to free himself while Takemura backs into his own corner, where Flash tags himself in. Flash lands a few blows to Finity’s midsection, then takes control as Takemura leaves the ring. Finity is clearly losing steam, and Flash capitalizes, taking his time. He bats Finity around for a few minutes, alternating basic strikes with restholds to keep Travis grounded. However, Flash makes a critical mistake as he whips Finity off the ropes. He grabs the rebounding Finity, looking for a spinebuster, but Finity slips free of Flash’s grasp while planting a dropkick squarely in the chest, pushing Flash to the canvas! The crowd, dormant during Team Flash’s run, explodes as Finity uses one last burst of adrenaline and leaps to his corner, tagging in Jason W. Knight!

Knight quickly clears house, taking both Flash and Takemura down to the mat repeatedly with forearm shots. However, Takemura manages to stun Knight with a thumb to the eye, letting Flash regain the balance of power with a bridging German suplex from behind on the unsuspsecting Knight, which he holds for the cover: 1…………………..2…………….and Knight kicks out, much to Flash’s annoyance! Flash is in full-on kill mode now, and he pulls Knight up, setting him up for the Flashdance. Flash connects with his punches, then dances to the crowd’s annoyance – but Knight turns the boos to cheers with a lariat of his own, flooring Flash before the move’s completion! Flash manages to tag in Takemura before Knight can capitalize, but Takemura runs into the same problems. Takemura grabs Knight, looking for an uranage suplex, but Knight manages to elbow his way out of the move, staying alive. Flash comes charging into the ring, looking to hit Knight from behind – but a flying Travis Finity cuts him off with an awe-inspiring springboard dropkick from his own corner, which levels Flash! In the confusion, Knight grabs the stunned Takemura and pulls him down, hitting a downward spiral! As announcer Joe Wheeler informs us that Knight refers to the move as the Knightfall, Frank Stool drops into position and makes the count: 1……………………..2……………………..3! Jason Knight and Travis Finity have pulled off the upset, and beaten two of the best wrestlers in RCW today, and in Jason Knight’s first match, no less!

WINNERS: Jason W. Knight and Travis Finity

RATING: 66

CROWD: 55

MATCH: 77

NOTES: Adam Flash lost overness from this match. Katsushi Takemura lost overness from this match. Travis Finity gained overness from this match. Jason W. Knight gained overness from this match.

STAR: **

========================================================

Danny Dallas vs. Red Hot Russ

The action continues early as the first singles match of the night gets underway, with Danny Dallas taking on Red Hot Russ. Russ, of course, manages to find something complaint-worthy as he enters the ring, mentioning in an overly loud and annoyed voice to referee Frank Stool that the ring steps seem to be loosened, and that he nearly fell because they shifted. Stool just shrugs off the comment and calls for the bell, much to Russ’ annoyance. However, he quickly forgets about the ring steps as Danny Dallas comes flying at Russ, getting the match underway. Early on, Dallas more or less controls the flow of the match, which is almost pure brawling. After holding his own in the opening minutes of the match, Russ soon slumps under the superior strength and size of Dallas. Russ goes on the defensive, rolling to the outside to try and escape Dallas, but Danny quickly slips to the outside as well, going face to face with Russ. Russ slides back into the ring, but Danny is right on his tail, giving Russ nowhere to run as he backs into a corner. Russ hops backwards onto the middle turnbuckle, looking for a springboard attack, but Danny kicks Russ’ leg out from under him, sitting Russ down on the top turnbuckle. Dallas climbs up onto the middle turnbuckle himself, hooks Russ, then pulls him off the top with a superplex! Dallas climbs over Russ and makes the cover: 1………………………2………………NO! Russ kicks out, and Dallas pounds the mat in frustration briefly.

Dallas quickly gets back on track, however, pulling Russ up to his feet and throwing him into the corner. Russ doesn’t react much as Dallas lays into him with a few knife-edge chops, then back up, positioning himself for the stinger splash. He sprints forwards and connects, jamming Russ into the turnbuckes! Russ slowly falls forward out of the corner, landing face-first on the mat, before Dallas rolls him over and covers: 1………………………..2………………..NO! Russ still manages to kick out again! Dallas pulls Russ up, only to scoop slam him back to the mat. Dallas lays a few kicks into his midsection, forcing Russ to ball up in the fetal position. A sharp toe kick square into Russ’ exposed back sends a shrill scream rushing out of Russ’ mouth, and Dallas pulls the often-pathetic RCW star up to his feet again. Dallas doubles Russ over, then lifts him up before powerbombing him to the mat with a surprising display of power! Instead of going for the cover, Dallas heads to the middle rope, looking for an aerial attack. He prepares to leap – then pauses, choosing to head for the top rope instead! The crowd roars its approval as Dallas scales the extra 18 inches, then leaps off – but misses the big body splash, as Russ rolls out of the way! Before Dallas has finished crashing to the mat, Russ scoots over and rolls up Dallas, grabbing a handful of tights in the process, while Frank Stool makes the count: 1………………………………..2…………………………3! Somehow, Russ has pinned Danny Dallas in a shocking upset! As Russ slides out of the ring and celebrates by himself on the way up the aisle, a quickly-revived Dallas just looks on, still in shock that the match he dominated from start to finish didn’t go his way.

WINNER: Red Hot Russ

RATING: 55

CROWD: 51

MATCH: 59

NOTES: Danny Dallas lost overness from this match. Red Hot Russ gained overness from this match.

STAR: 1/4*

========================================================

The Hunter Becomes The Hunted?

We cut backstage, where Jack Hawkins is going through a batch of paperwork at a table. As he scribbles notes in the margins, he notices Danny Dallas walking back through the curtain, and he hurriedly looks down at his watch.

Jack: Oh crap – I gotta make sure Ian and Sean are ready.

Jack hops out of his chair and jogs over to the locker room, where he knocks once on the door. Not getting a response, he swings the door open gingerly and peeks his head inside. Seeing nobody, Jack takes a few steps into the locker room, looking around for any signs of either of the next match’s competitors.

Jack: Hello? Ian, Sean? Are either of you here? It’s time for your match!

As Jack ducks his head into the bathroom door, once again coming up empty, the door to the locker room swings open with a loud ‘BANG!’ Jack jumps in the air just a little and turns around…where his shoulders slump, seeing Fred Laney standing there with referee Mike Hunter, who hasn’t finished getting into his ring clothes for the night.

Jack: What do you want? Mike, what’s happening?

Mike tries to answer, but a brutal glance from Laney shuts his mouth. With the referee silenced, Fred Laney turns his full attention to Jack.

Laney: Hey kid, I told you that I was gonna get my damn match tonight. I wasn’t quite sure how, but I was thinking about last time you and me got together, I had to count my own pinfall. This time, I got a real live referee here with me, so now I’m gonna be on record as winning a match here at Victory Strikes Again, you got it?

Jack: But…but there’s no contract, and I’m not even a wrestler! And I didn’t do anything!

Laney: Exactly – you didn’t get me a damn match like I wanted! And since all our wrestlers are apparently too damn busy to fight me, I’ll just have to settle for you! Now Hunter, get this ‘match’ underway!

Mike Hunter looks confused for a minute, then raps his hand against the metal lockers, doing his best to mimic a ring bell. As Hunter looks at Jack with an apologetic look, Fred Laney squares up on Jack, setting up for the showdown. Jack looks around frantically for any sort of weapon he can use in his defense – when his eyes fall on a bag half-open on the ground, with John Wellington’s RCW World Title belt sticking out of it. As Jack stares at it, Laney charges towards him, looking for a spear. In one smooth move, Jack yanks the title belt out and swings it blindly forward, aiming for what he hopes is Fred Laney’s skull! A sickening ‘CRACK!’ fills the room as the title belt hits its target dead-on, and Fred Laney goes crashing to the locker room floor like a sack of potatoes.

Jack just looks at the seemingly-unconscious Fred Laney with total shock as the title belt falls out of his hand. Jack finally looks over at Mike Hunter, who has a similar expression on his face. The two make eye contact, and after a moment, Mike Hunter gestures towards the downed Laney. Jack starts to give him a look of total disbelief, but reconsiders and slides down over Fred Laney, hooking his leg. Mike Hunter drops to the floor and makes the count while a half-panicked Jack stares intently at Laney’s closed eyes, expecting them to open at any moment: 1…………………………2…………………….3! As soon as Hunter’s hand hits the floor for a third time, Jack shoots to his feet, possibly setting a world land-speed record in the process. He and Mike share a small smile with each other, then the two high-tail it out of there, leaving the motionless Fred Laney on the floor.

RATING: 51

NOTES: Fred Laney lost overness from this angle. Jack Hawkins gained overness from this angle.

========================================================

Doubting George...

We quickly cut to another backstage area where George Sand is walking along, with a purposeful stride. He turns a corner – and comes face to face with Ian Gomes, sitting on top of an anvil case relaxing.

Gomes: Hullo, George. Getting ready for your match tonight?

Sand: Yeah…and you? Isn’t your match up next?

Gomes: Yes…yes it is. I probably should be stretching myself out and all, but I’ve just been sitting here, thinking about that despicable ingrate Sean. You saw what happened last week, I’m sure.

Sand: Yeah, I heard about it. Tough breaks, Ian.

Gomes: It’s just so horrible to have somebody you think is trustworthy, and who supports you, suddenly turn out to be quite different from what you expected…oh, but of course you know all about that, mate.

Sand: Yeah…yeah, you could say that.

With George Sand somewhat lost in thought, Ian hops off the case he’s sitting on and approaches George with an understanding smile on his face.

Gomes: You and I, we’ve gone through quite the ordeal. Well, you’ve had it much worse than I have – I’ve been rather lucky enough to not have my fair lady stuck in the middle of things. And at least Sean Weldon hasn’t been doing everything possible to make me look like a sneaky, jealous bloke like Nick has with you, right?

Sand: What do you mean?

Gomes: Well, him and your Francoise – they’ve spent an awful lot of time together, and they’re both putting a lot of pressure on you. The whole ‘if you don’t forgive him, you’re the villain’ sort, you know? And it worked – he even got Francoise onto his side. I’ve always said that many things can be stolen from me, but the man who filches from me my good name robs of that which does not enrich him, but makes me quite poor indeed.

Sand: I don’t think that Nick’s trying to do that…and Francoise would never do anything like that. She’s the only person I really trust – and why would she try to ruin my name anyways?

Gomes: An excellent question, George, an excellent question indeed.

George looks up at this, and Ian Gomes stares back with a sinister sparkle in his eye. After looking Ian over for a moment, George follows with a carefully measured response.

Sand: Ian, are you implying something? Because if you are, you had better be very, very careful with where you’re going.

Gomes: Oh no, heavens no. But be careful of jealousy, George – it is the green-eyed monster which mocks what it feeds upon. Be careful of many things, most of which that is worth the most to you – whatever that might be.

Sand: OK Ian – I’ve gotta get going.

Gomes: Before you go, George – I hope you consider that what I spoke comes solely from my admiration. I mean no offense.

Sand: None taken, Ian – but I think your match is just about up.

Gomes: Heavens, I think you’re right! And here I am, still blabbering away! Good luck tonight, George – and keep your eye out.

With that, Ian goes running off towards the entrance while George takes Ian’s old seat on the anvil case, losing himself in thought while the hustle and bustle of Victory Strikes Again walks by.

RATING: 65

========================================================

Ian Gomes vs. Sean Weldon

The match begins with an ultra-long staredown between the two, which has to last for a solid 30 seconds as Ian Gomes and Sean Weldon pace around each other. Finally, the two men lock up, with Sean Weldon quickly overpowering Gomes and shoving him backwards head-over-heels to the mat. Gomes quickly bounces up and resumes the staredown with Weldon, who seems content to let his physical intimidation do all the talking early. After another overly long staredown, they lock up once again, and we get the same result, with Gomes flat on his back. Gomes takes a moment getting up this time, but Weldon just looks on. Gomes doesn’t take quite as long this time before going in for a third lockup – and before Weldon can overpower him again, Gomes throws a few quick headbutts straight into the skull of Sean Weldon! Weldon stumbles backwards, and Gomes charges forward and hits Weldon with a twisting neckbreaker, taking the bigger man down to the mat! Gomes quickly lays a series of boots into Weldon, trying to keep him down, but Weldon powers himself up and takes the fight to Gomes, laying into him with a series of punches, which he caps with a spectacular lariat that floors Gomes.

With Gomes momentarily incapacitated, Weldon goes on the attack. He backs Gomes into the corner and lays into him with a series of lariats across Gomes’ chest and neck, then raises his boot and begins to choke Gomes. Gomes finally struggles free, but doesn’t get much of a respite as Weldon gets him up in a gorilla press before dropping him face-first to the canvas. Weldon covers: 1……………………2……and Gomes kicks out! Gomes slides out of the ring, and Weldon lets him escape, taking a moment to catch his own breath. However, Weldon gets impatient quickly and comes out after his ‘former’ partner – but Gomes turns the tables, felling Weldon with a drop toehold into the ring steps! With the big man now woozy, Gomes rolls him into the ring and immediately goes for the cover: 1………………….2………….NO! Weldon still has enough energy in him to kick out, keeping the match going. Gomes tries to whip Weldon into the ropes, but Weldon reverses it, then lifts Gomes up for a spinebuster, but Gomes reverses it into a tornado DDT, spiking Weldon’s head into the mat! Gomes covers again: 1…………………….2………………..NO! Gomes almost had the win there! Gomes gets up to his feet, looking rather emotionless, and signals for the Teardrop, looking to end the match. He tries to hoist Weldon into the air, but the larger man stays stuck on the ground before fighting his way free. Weldon pounds away at Gomes, then tries to lift him up for the Wake Up Call – but Gomes fights out of it as well!

The two men stare each other down once again, with the crowd actually responding a little bit this time. Weldon shoves Gomes, who bounces backwards off the ropes, then hits another lariat that floors Gomes. Weldon shakes out his right arm, sore from all the lariats in the match, then scoops Gomes off the mat. He picks Gomes up for a suplex, but Gomes slips out and lands behind Weldon! Weldon whirls around, but Gomes leans in with another headbutt, stunning Weldon! With Weldon dazed, Gomes leans in and goes for the Teardrop again – and this time he manages to lift Sean into the air and dump him to the mat! Gomes crawls over and covers: 1…………………………2……………………….3! Ian Gomes has pinned Sean Weldon! Gomes stumbles up to his feet and stares down at Weldon. As Sean Weldon pushes himself up onto his side, trying to get to his feet, he looks up and makes eye contact with Ian. The two keep their eyes locked on the other for several moments before Ian Gomes stretches out his hand to Weldon, still on the canvas. Weldon studies the gesture for a moment – then accepts it, allowing Gomes to help him up. The two of them say something softly to the other, which the camera can’t pick up, and then the two exchange a hearty handshake. A few bleeding hearts in the crowd cheer this, but this is met with significantly more booing as the two dislikeable characters seemed to have reunited.

WINNER: Ian Gomes

RATING: 53

CROWD: 42

MATCH: 64

STAR: 1/2*

========================================================

Kohl Brothers vs. Irish Drinking Team

The Kohl Brothers are the first two out to the ring, getting a generally tepid response from the crowd. However, the Irish Drinking Team, complete with bottles of Harp, gets a stirring response from the New Jersey crowd, despite the overwhelming Italian nature of the crowd. I think half these guys are extras on the Sopranos. Still, Chris Stylez and Ian Knoxx get a solid round of applause as they slide into the ring – but before they can even put their beers down, Keith and Kent Kohl go on the attack, plowing into Stylez and Knoxx! Referee Mike Hunter, now on duty for the rest of the night, calls for the bell to get the match started while trying to sort out the four men. Stylez and Knoxx quickly get into the spirit of the match and go on the attack themselves, with an all-out brawl spreading throughout the ring. Finally Mike Hunter manages to corner Stylez and Keith Kohl, leaving the larger Kohl, Kent, in the ring with Ian Knoxx.

Kent goes after Ian Knoxx and has quick success, winning a war of punches. Kent whips Knoxx off the ropes and nails him on the comeback with a shoulder block, then drops an elbow across Ian’s chest. He goes to cover, but Ian Knoxx slips out and quickly hops to his feet. Kent is up too and lunges at Ian, who backs away. As Kent stumbles forward, Ian Knoxx grabs his head and DDT’s him to the canvas, getting a nice pop from the crowd. Ian picks up Kent and puts him back into a front facelock before dragging him into the IDT corner and tagging in Chris Stylez. Stylez springboards over the top and drops an elbow across Kent’s exposed bent-over back, then grabs both legs from behind, pulling his legs out from under him. Kent Kohl crashes to the mat face-first, and Stylez rolls him over for the pin attempt: 1………………2………NO! Kent kicks out, and Style gets to his feet – only to be rolled over by Keith Kohl, who has stormed the ring! Ian Knoxx yells at Mike Hunter, who has his hands full with Keith, to get him out of the ring. As Stylez gets to his feet, he gives Keith an odd look, remembering the Kohl Brothers’ reverence for clean tag-team wrestling.

However, Stylez pays for ignoring the recovered Kent Kohl, who hits Stylez with a low blow from behind while Mike Hunter shoves Keith Kohl back into his corner. The cries from Ian Knoxx in the corner fall on deaf ears, as Hunter tells Knoxx to stop causing trouble. With Stylez down, Kent tags in his brother Keith, getting the fresher man into the match Kent scoops up Stylez and holds him up while his brother crashes into Chris’ legs from behind, taking them out with a vicious chop block. The crowd is booing a little bit now as Kent exits the ring, leaving Keith to kick away at Stylez’ right knee, which seemed to take the brunt of the chop block. While not normally a technical wrestler, Keith zeroes in on the knee. He slams it repeatedly into the canvas, drawing a recurring howl from Stylez. He even slaps on a single-leg Boston crab, keeping Chris Stylez planted firmly in the middle of the ring. Stylez tries to drag himself towards his own corner, but Keith keeps him firmly planted. Mike Hunter asks him repeatedly if he wants to tap, but Stylez ignores him.

After a minute, Keith Kohl drags Stylez, still in the crab, to his own corner, where he tags his brother back into the match. Kent steps onto the second rope, then leaps off, crushing Chris Stylez with a big splash! Kent covers Stylez: 1…………………….2……………….NO! Stylez’ hand shoots into the air, and the match continues. Kent, quickly up to his feet, sprints across the ring and knocks Ian Knoxx off the apron, then quickly suplexes Chris Stylez, putting him right back down on the mat. Kent picks back up on the injured knee, grabbing the leg and pulling it out from Stylez’ body at an awkward angle. The low-skill submission hold doesn’t last too long, as Stylez manages to shake his way out of it, but his right leg seems to be in even worse shape. Kent Kohl grabs Stylez off the mat and carries him over to the ropes – then drops him on the ropes, with the crook of his knee hanging him from the ropes! Stylez cries out in pain as his entire weight hangs awkwardly from his knee while Kent Kohl stands there, enjoying the pain on Stylez’ face. Ian Knoxx tries to charge into the ring and free his partner, but Mike Hunter stops him – giving Keith a chance for a few unnoticed shots on the prone Stylez.

Finally Kent grabs Stylez off the ropes, but simply picks him back up before hooking him in a similar position in the Kohl corner. Keith fires a few forearms into the injured knee from the ring apron, drawing a censure from Mike Hunter, but Kent’s kicks to the same knee are perfectly legal. Kent backs up, looking to charge Chris Stylez, still trapped in the Tree of Woe. Kent charges forward – but as he dives forward, Chris Stylez does a sit-up, leaving Kent Kohl to crash head-first into the turnbuckle and ringpost! Kent drops to the canvas and rolls out of the ring, loopy from the blow – but Keith Kohl reaches out and tags his prone brother in one smooth motion! He smugly whirls around to take care of Stylez – but Stylez is waiting for him! Still in his situp position, he reaches out and grabs Keith’s head before freeing himself and dropping out of the Tree of Woe, guillotining Keith in the process!

With both Kohls down, Stylez crawls across the ring, heading towards his partner, Ian Knoxx. He makes excruciatingly slow progress towards the goal. He gets closer, with the crowd going nuts – then finally reaches out and makes the tag! Ian Knoxx comes charging in – then comes to a halt as Mike Hunter is on the outside, arguing with Keith Kohl, who has pulled out a chair and is trying to get into the ring! The two argue as Ian Knoxx just watches – until Kent Kohl, who has snuck around the edge of the ring, slides into the ring and creams Knoxx with a chair of his own! Knoxx staggers, then falls after a second brutally stiff chair shot from Kent Kohl. Knoxx falls to the mat, and Kent pushes him out of the ring. On cue, Keith stops his protest and returns to the ring. Chris Stylez, having collapsed in his own corner, finally seems to get wind of what just occurred and tries to stop it, but before he can protest to Mike Hunter that he made the tag, Keith Kohl is on top of him. A spinning roundhouse kick leaves Stylez on his back, only to eat a Northern Lights suplex upon being stood up. Finally, Keith calls for Kent to slide into the ring, setting him up for the Kohl Shot. Kent grabs Stylez and powerbombs him to the mat, and Keith puts the capper on it with a senton bomb off the top rope, completing the Kohl Shot! Keith makes the cover as Ian Knoxx, on the outside, gets to his feet and sees the pinfall: 1………………………………………….2………………………………………3! Knoxx is just a second too late as the Kohl Brothers steal a victory! Keith and Kent Kohl quickly slide to the outside and begin to celebrate like they won the World Series, taunting Stylez and Knoxx from the outside while Ian checks on Chris and his injured knee.

WINNERS: The Kohl Brothers

RATING: 68

CROWD: 51

MATCH: 86

NOTES: Keith Kohl debuted his new gimmick (Cheater), it got a positive response. Kent Kohl debuted his new gimmick (Cheater), it got a positive response.

STAR: **3/4

========================================================

George Sand vs. Nick Collyer

Special Guest Referee: Francoise

George Sand’s music hits first, but instead we get Francoise, dressed in a nicely-fashioned referee shirt making her way down to the ring. Nick Collyer’s entrance serves as a buffer between a second playing of Sand’s entrance music, this time bringing out the man himself, George Sand. Sand slides into the ring and goes to talk to Francoise, but she pushes him away, instead choosing to take her duties seriously and go over the rules with Nick and George. George looks briefly hurt, but adjusts to her role, listening intently. Francoise orders Collyer and Sand to shake hands, and the two shake after a moment’s hesitancy, exchanging an odd look of apprehension in the process. With that, Francoise looks over and calls for the bell, getting the rematch underway.

Sand and Collyer quickly lock up, with the two trying to trap each other. Nick grabs Sand’s wrist, trying to tie him up, but George quickly slips behind Nick, grabs him in a rear waistlock, and shoves him face-first into the ground. Sand tries to lock on a camel clutch, but Collyer rolls out from underneath Sand. Collyer does a backwards somersault into a standing position, then charges at Sand, who deflects Nick with a hiptoss, sending the youngster crashing to the ground. Collyer hops right back up and charges again, and Sand counters the same way, but Collyer flips through the somersault and lands on his feet before arm-dragging George Sand to the mat. Collyer drops an elbow across Sand’s chest, then charges off the ropes before driving a second elbow across Sand’s chest. Sand rolls over onto his side and pushes himself up, but Collyer charges from behind and grabs him in a rear waistlock, looking for a German suplex. Sand grabs the ropes, blocking the move, then elbows his way out. He grabs Collyer and whips him into the ropes, then catches him with a picture-perfect leg lariat on the way back. Sand quickly drops to the mat and covers Collyer, and Francoise drops into position before making a somewhat-tenative first count of the match: 1……………………2…and Nick Collyer easily kicks out at two.

Sand gives Francoise a deliberately obtuse look after the count, then goes back on the attack, finally seeming to have gained the upper hand. Sand slugs away with a few well-placed right hands, then whips Collyer off the ropes, catching him with a knee to the stomach on the way back. With Collyer down, Sand heads for the top rope, looking to get high-risk early on – but the move backfires, as Collyer gets to his feet quickly and catches Sand on his upward climb. Nick kicks out Sand’s leg in an impressive display of flexibility, crotching Sand on the top turnbuckle. Francoise winces a little at that, and Nick turns and mutters an embarrassed “Sorry” to the special guest ref before climbing the turnbuckles. Nick grabs George, looking for a superplex, but George hooks his leg around the ringpost, blocking it. After a tussle, George Sand gets the upper hand and shoves Collyer off the ropes to the mat below. Nick gets up quickly with his back to Sand, but before he can right himself completely, George Sand leaps off the second rope, nailing an unsuspecting Collyer with a picture-perfect flipping jawbreaker! The crowd pops for the move as George makes the cover again: 1……………………………..2…………………NO! Nick Collyer gets the shoulder up! George Sand keeps the pressure on, immediately shoving Nick back to the canvas and covering again: 1…………………………2…………….and again Nick Collyer kicks out, expending even more energy in the process.

George pulls Collyer up once again, then out of nowhere tries to scoop him up for the Sands of Time, looking to finish the match! Collyer quickly figures out what Sand has in mind and squirms out as Sand lifts him, managing to wriggle free from the devastating maneuver. Collyer grabs Sand by the neck and delivers a nice reverse neckbreaker to Sand, getting momentum behind him for the first time in a while. Collyer debates heading up top for the shooting star, but decides against it. Instead, he just lays a few boots into Sand – but George grabs Collyer’s leg and twists, toppling Collyer straight to the mat! Sand mounts Collyer and lays into him with a series of punches. He gets up and tosses Collyer into the corner, then lands a running lariat before lifting Nick Collyer up onto the top turnbuckle. He climbs up and grabs him for a fallaway slam – then leaps off with a moonsault, crushing Collyer into the canvas! Francoise, recognizing the move, is immediately in position to make the cover as Sand hooks the leg: 1……………………………..2………………………NO!

George Sand can’t believe it, but Francoise’s hand is stopped six inches above the canvas, and Nick Collyer’s left shoulder is off the mat. Sand slams his hand against the canvas, perhaps completing the three count in his mind, then decides to end the match right then and there, calling for the Sands of Time. Collyer gets pulled to his feet, but for a second time manages to wiggle free of Sand’s attempt to hit the Sands! With his plan foiled again, Sand angrily charges at Collyer – who catches him with a drop toehold, then jumps up in the air before crashing down across Sand’s raised neck with a legdrop, flattening Sand to the mat! Sand is slow to get up, and by the time he gets back to his feet, Nick Collyer is on the top rope, and comes flying off with a picture-perfect missile dropkick, sending Sand tumbling across the ring into the far corner. Collyer looks over – and sees Sand lying diagonally in the corner, set up perfectly for the Shooting Star! The crowd pops a bit as they notice this as well, and Collyer quickly heads for the corner. Francoise looks on with a little bit of concern as Nick climbs and perches at the top, looking to end the match and get a measure of revenge for himself. He pauses, then leaps off, flying through the air – AND CONNECTS WITH THE SHOOTING STAR! The crowd is buzzing as Francoise obediently drops into position and starts to make the count: 1……………………………………..2………………………….George Sand gets his foot on the rope………………………but Francoise doesn’t notice!............3!

The bell rings, and Nick Collyer gets to his feet, a look of pure disbelief on his face, unable to comprehend his victory. Francoise comes over, looks Nick in the eye, and gives him a firm handshake, which Nick counters with a big hug….which is the very first sight that George Sand sees upon looking up! As Nick climbs the turnbuckles to celebrate his win, George gets to his feet, and Francoise comes over to check in on him. George doesn’t say anything as he gets up, and Francoise calls for Nick to come over so the three can have a big reunion hug, or something along those lines. Nick comes bounding over, looking at George with renewed appreciation, and puts his hand in, with Francoise putting hers on top of Nick’s. The two look at George, waiting for him to join in – but he just whirls around angrily and leaves the ring, leaving a confused and hurt Francoise and Nick Collyer in the ring to wonder what happened.

WINNER: Nick Collyer

RATING: 62

CROWD: 53

MATCH: 72

NOTES: George Sand lost overness from this match.

STAR: *1/4

========================================================

Trippin' With: Kid Fantastic

Before the main event gets underway, the Trippin’ set gets rolled out and set up in the ring, getting set for the self-titled “Hottest Show In Wrestling Today.” As the news music hits and Dave Tripps makes his way down to the ring, he gets a big ovation from the crowd. He slides in behind his desk and gets things underway immediately.

Tripps: Hello all, and welcome to Trippin’ With Dave Tripps, hosted by me, Dave Tripps! Well folks, welcome to RCW Victory Strikes Again, where tonight’s eagerly-anticipated main event is just minutes away! We have a very special guest joining us tonight, but before we do, I have a very special breaking news story to report! This is breaking news, and Trippin’ has an exclusive on this story – not even those bastards at Wrestling Observer heard about this one first! Starting on Tuesday night, RCW 2Night on MTV2 will be moving to a prime-time slot and expanding to a two-hour format each and every Tuesday night!

The crowd gives a big ovation for this news, which is music to my ears.

Tripps: And RCW has recently reached an agreement to extend our contract with MTV2 for six months, meaning that everyone out there will be able to enjoy all the hard-hitting, exciting, pulse-pounding Renaissance Championship Wrestling action that they’ve come to know and love well into 2008!

The crowd pops once again, with a nice “R-C-W! R-C-W!” chant kicking up in the crowd. Dave, acting as RCW’s representative, accepts the applause, then turns it back to interview mode.

Tripps: Of course, breaking exclusive news stories is only half of what Trippin’ is about – we also let you, the viewer, get to better know our charismatic and lovable superstars! And tonight, Trippin’ is proud to welcome back a fan favorite and friend of the show. He is a former RCW World Champion, and has fans across the country – I give you Kid Fantastic!

Kid Fantastic gets a huge pop on his way out, with a strong “KID FAN-TAS-TIC!” chant echoing through the arena. Fantastic slides into the ring and shakes hands with Dave Tripps before taking a seat at the table, looking around a little nervously as he sits.

Fantastic: Thanks for having me on the show, Dave. I am a little nervous, though – last time you had me on as a guest, you had Kurt Lauderdale show up and he beat the crap out of me. Nothing like that this time, right?

Tripps: Of course not, Kid! In the early days of Trippin’, there were occasionally a lack of professionalism, but these days, nothing like that.

Fantastic: Good, good.

Tripps: Now, Kid, you asked to be on the show because you had something you wanted to say to the crowd. What is it that…

But before Tripps can hand the floor over to Kid Fantastic, familiar music hits over the speaker system, signaling the entrance of Kid Fantastic’s arch-nemesis and the current RCW World Champion – John Wellington. The champ is greeted with boos, and lets the crowd know exactly how he feels about them too as he makes his way down to the ring and slides in underneath the ropes. John Wellington raises his microphone, looking with contempt at the two men at the desk, who have risen to meet the intruder.

Wellington: Now, I’m sure that hearing about Kid Sucktastic’s revelation that he’s having a sex-change operation, it’s time for the main event to get underway here.

Tripps: Excuse me, Mr. Wellington, but if you’d just look at the event schedule, you’d clearly see that Trippin’ was given this time slot, and…

Wellington: Hey, Katie Couric, shut the fuck up, huh!? I wasn’t talking to you! Why don't you leave?

Tripps: Um...OK then. What a long, strange tri...

Wellington: GO!

Tripps doesn't even finish his catchphrase, scurrying off, which gives Wellington a nice sick smile before turning his attention back to Kid Fantastic.

Wellington: Now, like I was saying, Kid Sucktastic, you’ve got nothing to say out here, and I’ve got my match where I will ONCE AGAIN defend my title – so why don’t you go backstage, get the Kleenex box, a tub of Ben & Jerry’s, and get ready for a good long cry when I retain my belt?

Kid Fantastic just stares a hole through Wellington, whose aggressive front doesn’t waver for a moment. Finally, Fantastic raises his microphone, ready to reply.

Fantastic: Well, John, you really felt it was necessary to come out here and interrupt my interview to start your match a couple minutes early, huh?

Wellington: You see, Suckboy, after my incredible performance, this match should be the final nail in the coffin for my RCW career. After I win this match again that nutjob Twiggy and that overgrown freak Matt Morgan, the WWE or TNA is gonna come a-knockin’! Of course, you’ll be delighted – it’ll give you a chance to get your title back, since you won’t have to beat the one guy who really deserves it!

Fantastic: What a shock – talking big about ‘your big contract with WWE.’ You’ve been saying that shit for months now, John, and guess what? YOU’RE STILL HERE!

Wellington takes a step back, clearly hit hard by the blow, but Fantastic isn’t done.

Fantastic: And you know what’s really sad? That you don’t WANT to be here, John! You represent this company, which has worked itself up from nothing into a nationally televised company, in just a year and a half! You did the same thing, John – you were nothing before you got here! RCW made you what you are, John, and you can’t wait to abandon this place! You run it down every chance you get, you call it second-rate – well John, you are this place. And if it’s second-rate, then so are you!

The crowd explodes for this speech, and Fantastic lets the crowd cheer itself out while Wellington sits back silently. However, Wellington finally seems to have had enough, and fires back.

Wellington: First of all, you never, ever, EVER compare me to this place again! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? And SECONDLY, if you’re so convinced I’m second-rate, Kid ‘Fantastic’, then answer me this – how come I beat your ass and took your title when we fought, huh? I walked out a winner, and you walked out a loser!

Fantastic: And you didn’t give me my damn rematch! You’re a champion – act like one and give me the rematch that you know I deserve!

Wellington: You don’t deserve anything! You’re not in my league and you know it, Fantastic! And besides, I didn’t get anything handed to me – I had to jump through hoops nonstop to get what I wanted!

Fantastic: Oh, here we go with the ‘woe is me’ speech again! More whining from a man who knows that if you had to fight me, and fight me clean, you wouldn’t have a chance!

Wellington: You can say whatever you want, but I had to earn my title shot! I was undefeated in singles matches when I got my title – so you know what? If you want a title shot, you’re gonna do the same damn thing. You get yourself scheduled in a singles match for every episode of 2Night between now and Category 5, and win all of them, and then win a match OF MY CHOOSING at Category 5, and you can have your damn title shot whether I’ve still got the belt, I’ve lost the belt, or I’ve gotten that well-deserved big payday in Stamford! You’ll have ‘earned it’, I suppose.

The crowd half-boos and half-cheers this, and Fantastic’s facial expression perfectly represents that equal divide between happiness and annoyance.

Fantastic: Now you’re not gonna go back on your word here, are you John? This is a legitimate deal?

Wellington: It’s a deal – I’d swear it on this title, but it’s not worth the gold-painted aluminum it’s made out of.

Fantastic: I’ve had enough of your shit, Wellington. If you’re lucky enough to squeak out of this match with the title, it’ll make it all the sweeter to take it from you. And if Twiggy or Matt Morgan gets the pleasure of kicking the shit out of you and taking your title, then all the better – you’ll get put in your place either way!

Wellington: This has been a great chat, Sucktastic, but some of us have World Title matches now.

Fantastic: Oh, by all means, proceed, John. And good luck – you’re gonna need it very, very badly.

RATING: 61

========================================================

RCW WORLD TITLE MATCH

John Wellington© vs. Matt Morgan vs. Twiggy

With the champion already out in the ring, Matt Morgan is the next one out, making his way down to the ring at a very slow, methodical pace. Morgan steps over the top rope and takes a look at John Wellington’s RCW World Title belt wrapped around his waist, his eyes filled with longing. Wellington undoes the title belt and hands it to the referee as Twiggy’s music kicks up – and a spotlight comes up on a far corner of the arena, where Twiggy is standing on a rafter, dressed in an orange version of Robin’s costume, complete with his orange afro wig and Senor Naranja in hand. The crowd pops as Twiggy unattaches a rope from the side of the building, then swings into the center of the ring, landing perfectly on two knees! The crowd explodes – but John Wellington and Matt Morgan simultaneously deliver incredibly powerful kicks to Twiggy’s chest, leveling the tiny weirdo! With that, the bell rings, and the main event is underway.

Wellington and Morgan immediately turn their attention to each other, slugging away. Morgan gains the upper hand and throws Wellington into the corner, but before he can charge, a revived Twiggy runs at him with a dropkick, knocking him off-balance, but staying on his feet. Morgan staggers back, then comes back at Twiggy with a barrage of fists. Twiggy sinks to a knee from the force of the onslaught, but Wellington catches Morgan from behind and tries to lock a sleeper on the bigger man. Morgan spins to fight Wellington, but Twiggy takes advantage of the giant’s inattention. Twiggy hops onto the second rope, then springboards off and bulldogs Morgan, while simultaneously taking Wellington down with a leg lariat! With both men down, Twiggy goes for the cover on Morgan, with senior referee Mike Hunter making the count: 1…………………and Morgan picks Twiggy up, pressing him up off the ground! Not releasing Twiggy, Morgan gets to his feet, with Twiggy still in the gorilla press position. Morgan walks over to the ropes and guillotines Twiggy off the ropes, with the Bizarre One falling backwards to the canvas. John Wellington quickly rolls over and tries for the cheap cover: 1……………………..2..and Morgan grabs Wellington by the leg, pulling the champion off of Twiggy!

Morgan grabs Wellington’s leg and smashes his kneecap into the ground, then pulls him up off the canvas. Morgan grabs him and front slams him back to the mat, then smashes Wellington’s head into the canvas face-first. Morgan repeats the maneuver again, then a third time, trying his hardest to scramble the champion’s brains. He goes to do it a fourth time, but Twiggy jumps onto Morgan’s back, latching on a rear choke. Morgan stands up with Twiggy’s weight on his back, then pulls him forward off his back, sending Twiggy crashing across the downed John Wellington. However, Twiggy stays on top, and Mike Hunter makes the cover: 1……………………………..2…………..and John Wellington kicks out just as Morgan, realizing what happened, delivers a hard boot into the side of Twiggy. Morgan grabs both men off the ground and slams their heads together, further antagonizing the champion, then grabs both in suplex position, looking to suplex both of them at the same time! Morgan strains under their weight, but lifts – and pulls it off, sending both Twiggy and John Wellington overhead before they crash to the ground! A small “HOLY SHIT!” chant comes up from the crowd at the sight of Matt Morgan’s incredible strength, but Morgan takes no time to acknowledge it. Instead, he grabs Wellington by the waist and tosses him through the ropes, leaving him alone in the ring with the dazed Twiggy.

Twiggy, however, is fresher than Wellington, and manages to evade the giant’s grasping hands. Morgan keeps coming for Twiggy, but the Bizarre One dodges around the ring, staying just one step ahead of Morgan. Unfortunately, Twiggy backs himself into a corner, giving him nowhere to go – until he goes sliding through the giant’s legs to escape! As Morgan bends over, Twiggy grabs him and school boys him, giving Mike Hunter another chance to count: 1………………………………2………..NO! Morgan kicks free of the quick pinfall attempt, and immediately gets to his feet, still extremely annoyed by this. Meanwhile, John Wellington is up on the outside and gets onto the ring apron, but stands there, content to watch Morgan go to work on Twiggy. Morgan grabs Twiggy and whips him into the ropes – where he collides with Wellington, who goes tumbling right back to the floor below on the outside while Twiggy crumples in a heap. Morgan goes over to Twiggy and lifts him up in a gorilla press position again – then launches him over the top rope onto the half-standing Wellington, which sends both of Morgan’s competitors crashing into the crowd barricade with a resounding “THUD!”

Morgan climbs out of the ring and to the outside, where he grabs Twiggy from the human pile of carnage and tosses him into the ring steps, which go clattering across the floor from the impact. However, John Wellington is up now, and goes crashing into Morgan from behind, sending him head-first into the steel ringpost! Morgan is busted open, bleeding from the forehead, and incredibly woozy after the blow, giving Wellington a chance to grab Morgan from behind and hit a Russian leg sweep on the floor! Wellington is the only man on his feet at the moment and slides into the ring while demanding that Mike Hunter begin counting, looking for a countout win. As the crowd looks at both men, waiting for them to stir, Hunter begins the count. As he reaches a booming “FIVE!”, Twiggy and Morgan both start to get their feet, and Twiggy is the first to make his way back into the ring at the count of “SEVEN!” Wellington immediately goes on the attack, trying to throw Twiggy right back out of the ring, but Twiggy reverses the Irish whip, sending Wellington running into the ropes. Wellington bounces back, where Twiggy catches him with a Samoan drop! He goes for the cover: 1……………………………2………………and Matt Morgan breaks up the count! Morgan is again in a position of power, with Twiggy and Wellington both in a bit of a daze. Morgan grabs Twiggy and tosses him into the corner, then lifts him up onto the top turnbuckle, looking for a superplex. As Morgan readies himself, he suddenly feels something below him – it’s John Wellington, who has gotten between Morgan and the ropes! Morgan bellows out and tries to fight Wellington off, letting go of Twiggy in the process, but Wellington lifts up and runs two steps forward before planting the giant with a huge powerbomb that shakes the ring! Almost immediately Wellington is up, and he looks behind him – only to have Twiggy catch him with a flying cross body off the top rope! Twiggy rolls through, looking for the pin – but Wellington rolls through it himself, cradling Twiggy’s legs and screaming for the count, which Mike Hunter quickly provides: 1……………………………………2………………………………3?

NO! Twiggy manages to break free JUST in the nick of time, and Mike Hunter screams out that Twiggy has broken free, much to the chagrin of John Wellington. Wellington pushes himself up with some effort and grabs Twiggy by the arm, twisting it into an uncomfortable position. He pulls Twiggy in for a lariat, flooring the orange-loving fool, then pulls him up for a second lariat. With Twiggy down and out on the mat, Wellington goes for the cover: 1………………………..2…………..and Twiggy kicks out! Wellington pulls Twiggy to his feet and goes for a punch, but Twiggy blocks it and lashes out with a kick – which Wellington catches in stride! Wellington just laughs at Twiggy and starts to lecture him – until Twiggy swings around with a spectacular enziguri that connects with the side of Wellington’s head, dropping the champion into a ball! Before Twiggy can follow up, Matt Morgan plows into him from behind, recovered from the powerbomb earlier. Morgan grabs Twiggy and calls for the Mount Morgan Drop, looking to end the match once and for all! Matt Morgan grabs Twiggy and lifts him up into the air, suplex-style, setting him up for the Drop. As Morgan pauses just a moment for effect, Twiggy swings his arms wildly, and his elbow connects with Matt Morgan’s temple. Morgan staggers a little and his grip loosens, and Twiggy takes advantage. As he begins to fall backwards the way he came up, he grabs Morgan’s head in a front facelock and torques his body, planting Morgan with an absolutely monstrous DDT!

The crowd explodes as Morgan crashes into the mat, but Twiggy chooses not to cover! Instead, he heads for the top rope, signaling for the Orange Crush! Twiggy makes it to the top and readies himself, adjusting that trademark orange afro wig – when John Wellington, on his feet, makes a desperation charge across the ring and leaps into the air, headbutting Twiggy squarely in the groin! Twiggy doubles over and falls backwards, landing awkwardly on the crowd barrier and lying there motionless. Wellington is about to follow Twiggy to the outside when he notices Morgan still lying motionless on the ground. Wellington pauses for a moment, then heads to the top rope himself. He gets to the top and pretends to adjust his hair, mocking Twiggy, then leaps off – connecting with the Orange Crush himself! The crowd is stunned as a clearly-woozy John Wellington crawls forward and drapes his arm over Morgan, and Mike Hunter drops into position to make the count: 1……………………………………2………………………………..3! The crowd erupts in boos as Wellington staggers to his feet in triumph, demanding his title belt from Mike Hunter. Wellington grabs the belt and wraps it around his shoulder before rolling out of the ring, leaving the now-defeated Matt Morgan woozy in the ring and a still-unconscious Twiggy on the outside. Once again, John Wellington keeps his title.

WINNER and STILL RCW WORLD CHAMPION: John Wellington

RATING: 61

CROWD: 54

MATCH: 68

NOTES: The RCW World title has gained in image.

STAR: *

OVERALL: 59

[The Red Reuben]

4/6. Not too bad.

I asbolutely loved this event, and I'm curious about the Jack/Laney stuff you're doing. Will it work? I'm not sure. It's entertaining though.

Every match delivered, and congratulations on the prime time slot. Very well deserved.

Yes, I've been checking the DD everyday to see when this would be updated. Looking forward to the backstage update.

[rockyoursox]

MONDAY, OCTOBER 29

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL

Me: FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK!

CRASH!

As the object formerly known as a desk lamp shattered against a wall, I knew the other shoe had finally dropped. Of course it had dropped. Things had gone way, way too well lately, right? And when things go well, that can never last, because karma’s a goddamn bitch that wants to fuck you over. And karma had clearly handed me a gigantic, gigantic bitchslap.

Things HAD been going well, too. Victory Strikes Again had been a real success – we were finally getting into the flow of the ‘build to a big show’ model, and I think Victory Strikes Again had reflected that. We even had a professional reviewer in the house to recap the show for his website, and although the ratings weren’t our highest, and the star ratings were a little punitive in my eyes, the show had really moved the stories along.

And then there was the news that Dave Tripps announced during his Trippin’ segment. It was true – MTV2 was thrilled with the audience that 2Night had quickly developed, and that it was managing to hold its numbers each week. With the success of the show, I had felt confident enough to go to MTV2 and ask them for an improvement in our time slot, and more specifically, a longer time slot. I was just hoping for one of the two, but MTV really came through for us. We got a prime time slot on our normal Tuesday, and had our show bumped up to two hours. One problem with the TV show format was the lack of segments, and with the need to build to a big show each month, I had to let character development for some of our less-key performers fall by the wayside. Hopefully the additional time would let us develop more characters – if we didn’t, RCW could be in some long term trouble.

And hell, things had even been going well with me. Whatever I did with RCW was a giant success – our ratings improved, our timeslot went up, our attendance went up, our public profile was increasing. I was basically untouchable right now, and every other promotion wanted a piece of me. I got my third job offer from another promotion, this time from SHIMMER. Amazingly, a female-centric promotion, even one that was uncharacteristically being run around The Sandman, wasn’t whetting my appetite, and I sent out yet another ‘thanks, but no thanks’ letter. Having asked around, SHIMMER’s books weren’t in great shape anyways – I wasn’t betting on them surviving into 2008.

So, yeah, things had been going great. And now – now we were fucked. I had come in to help set the ring back up for the TV taping tomorrow and to do all the stupid little things that nobody besides me ever seemed to recognize needed doing. I had some help from Earl, Sound Guy, and Derek, who I hadn’t invited, but had showed up anyways. I supposed I should get every ounce of labor out of his salary, so I dealt with his conversation and just worked. I had finally sat down, covered in sweat, to look over some contract info when the phone at my desk rang with perhaps the worst news I had received during my run in RCW.

George Sand had left.

I couldn’t believe it – but Sand, who hadn’t been interested in an exclusive written contract, had signed a full-time deal with the International Wrestling Cartel. And unlike Full Impact Pro, SHIMMER, CMLL, ECCW, and the other promotions in financial trouble, IWC didn’t look to be struggling with money. They had somehow signed Brock Lesnar, had brought in Sid Vicious, and were doing just fine. George Sand was gone, and gone for good, it seemed. And with Sand gone, the most complex angle in RCW history had seemingly come to a crashing end.

And furthermore, I had been thinking of letting Sand challenge for the title this month. He was a face, and he was over. With Fantastic tied up in his challenge, and with Sand gone, there was a bit of a gap for upper-level challengers. This was gonna require a heck of a fix – and sadly, one man thought he knew the answer.

Derek: Hey, boss, I just heard about George. That’s horrible news.

Me: How the hell did you already hear about this?

Derek: Oh, Sound Guy got a text from Nick Collyer – he had already heard.

Me: Well, this is just fucking horrendous.

Derek: I don’t know – if he was gonna leave, at least it happened right after a big show. It won’t be too hard to explain things away now, and…

Me: No, Derek, what would have been convenient was if he left when his goddamn storyline was over! Now we’ve got a huge gap at the top of the card, an unfinished storyline, and a lot of loose ends to tie together!

Derek: Well, actually, I had an idea or two for how to do that. You see, with George gone now, it seems like Ian’s succeeded in his plot, and…

Me: Derek, I’ve got it under control. I’m going to sit down tonight and figure out how we’re going to do it. OK?

Derek: Oh, I know you’ve got it, but you know, two heads are better than one and all that…

Me: Then I’ll call Jack, OK? For now, why don’t you focus on typing up that show preview I asked you to put together and get it up on the website ASAP so we can have some promotion for tomorrow night’s show.

Derek: …OK, boss. I’ll get that done for you, no problem. Maybe I’ll drop you an e-mail tonight thought, see how it’s going. I’ll see you later, Mr. Hawkins.

I just sighed as Derek walked away. But I didn’t have time to dwell on that annoying attitude of his. It was time to save RCW. And I had to make some phone calls.

======================================================

OFFICIAL~! PREVIEW FOR RCW 2NIGHT

OCTOBER 30, 2007

THE CHAMPION SPEAKS!

Despite having not one, but TWO, challengers to his title, John Wellington snuck out of Victory Strikes Again with his World Title still around his waist. Now that he has successfully fended off this set of challengers, who is next in line for a title shot? And will John Wellington’s self-proclaimed prediction of his impending hiring by either the WWE or TNA come true? Tune in to 2Night and find out!

TAG TEAM TURBULENCE!

At Victory Strikes Again, the Kohl Brothers finally beat the Irish Drinking Team – but to do so, they turned to the dirty tactics they railed against for so long! How will Ian Knoxx and Chris Stylez react to this moral hypocrisy on the part of Keith and Kent Kohl? And what will the victors have to say in their defense?

KID FANTASTIC’S JOURNEY BEGINS!

At Victory Strikes Again, John Wellington finally softened – just a little bit – in his stance against Kid Fantastic’s request for a rematch for the RCW World Title. Wellington promised Fantastic a shot at the belt – if Fantastic could win a match every week through next month’s Category 5 event! Tonight, Kid Fantastic will be in singles action – who will be the first challenger that Fantastic must overcome in his quest to finally get the title rematch he deserves?

ANOTHER MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!

Dave Tripps, the host of Trippin’, broke the news at Victory Strikes Again that RCW 2Night had been promoted to a prime-time slot on MTV2. However, one breaking news story doesn’t seem to be enough for RCW’s roving reporter and talk show host extraordinare. Dave Tripps has promised another exclusive announcement, and will open the show with it – will this announcement reverberate throughout RCW as well, or is Tripps simply blowing smoke?

AND MORE!

Expect fallout from everything at Victory Strikes Again – how will Fred Laney react to having been embarrassed by backstage staffer Jack Hawkins and referee Mike Hunter? Will Red Hot Russ have something to say after his tainted victory over Danny Dallas? Adam Flash and Katsushi Takemura came up short in their effort against the energetic Travis Finity and the newcomer, good Samaritan Jason W. Knight – but as RCW fans know, Team Flash won’t take their loss lying down. All this and much more will be awaiting you as RCW 2Night moves to 9 PM EST on MTV, and debuts its two-hour format! Make sure to tune in as a new era in RCW history begins!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL, BROOKLYN, NY

RCW 2NIGHT

[LittleDaniel]

Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! Danny want more!

That means that I am enjoying this diary and hope that you provide your fans with a new update, sooner rather than later.

----------------------------------------

Well now I feel like a little bit of an ass. As I was reading the last few shows, it appears you have updated this all of 13 minutes ago. Yay.

Edited April 12, 2007 by LittleDaniel

[The Red Reuben]

GEORGE SAND LEFT?!

GOD DAMNIT.

Ugh. My two favourite RCW wrestlers of all time are gone. I'm afraid to start liking a third, because they may leave too.

[SyxXtreme]

Wow this is awesome, i'm suprised you haven't got a ton more feedback. I haven't read a diary in full in years, but i'm LOVING this one, it inspired me to get back into EWR.

Great job!

[rockyoursox]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007

EARL POLERO BINGO HALL

OK. With the help of a half-pack of cigarettes, a twelve pack of Miller High Life, and a dizzying night’s sleep, I had gotten past the George Sand debacle. And thankfully BEFORE I got drunk, I sat down and rebooked the entire RCW main event scene on the fly. Derek had called that night, but in my inebriated state, there wasn’t a chance in hell that I was going to pick up and deal with more of his peppy “look at me I have ideas!” attitude. In his defense, I hadn’t invited Jack into the planning either – this was 100% pure Grade-A Bruce Hawkins work. And I was sure it was going to work out. It wasn’t the original plan, but I liked my chances of Plan B being a massive success.

However, while I was in a creative mood, I decided to take a look at the rest of RCW and look at some of the smaller problems we were having. There were a couple of areas that needed some fixing, so I decided to take care of it ASAP before the show today. Some I could – some I couldn’t.

First, our commentary situation. Joe Wheeler had been handling the ringside introductions, and he and Dave Tripps had worked as our announce team. However, they would dub things over after the taping was done and before we sent it along to MTV2. That setup was just awkward, and was adding a ton of work to an already-hectic production setup. Furthermore, while I liked Dave’s work on commentary, Joe left a lot to be desired as anything more than a ring announcer. He didn’t have much knowledge of wrestling, and it showed – everything was either a ‘slam’ or a ‘crushing blow’ or an ‘amazing maneuver’ to Joe. Time for a new plan. Joe would stay on as a ring announcer, but he’d leave the booth. Meanwhile, Dave Tripps would become our play by play man, and we would bring in a new color man to pair with him. Furthermore, Tripps and his new partner would be sitting at ringside live, so we would be recording our commentary as the show went on.

In hiring the guy to replace Joe in the booth, I needed to make sure it was someone that could handle solo commentary duties when Dave got into the ring, either for Trippin’ or one of his rare matches (or for any other investigative reporting he would do). He also needed to have a little bit of an edge to him, since Dave was a fairly vanilla and likeable guy. After some hastily-arranged tryouts with people that Sound Guy knew through the business, we settled on a guy named Doc Daniels to sit alongside Dave as the color man. It wasn’t a strict play by play/color dichotomy, but the two would more or less play those roles. Doc, as usual, would take a more heelish role in the commentary, admiring people who would go ‘above, beyond, and through the line of duty’, in his own words – in essence, cheaters. Seemed like a good fit for commentary. And the best part of the whole announcing shakeup – we now had an official announce table at ringside. Time for everyone small enough to be put through such a table to look out.

With commentary settled, I wanted to expand the roster a little bit. With the TV show increasing to 2 hours per night, I wasn’t sure I could always book it with just 25 or 26 guys on the roster. I made a list of some of the guys who I thought could be a good fit, but the top of my list was another full-time face tag team. With the Kohls having turned, and with the future of guys like Finity and Knight a bit up in the air, I wanted to make sure I had a second option for the tag team titles. I looked through the lists of talent that I had made contact with before in one way or another, sifting through all the regular-ish tag teams out there. Eventually, I found something I thought could work as an option. A regular contact of mine highly recommended a worker named Chi Chi Cruz, who had been working in a tag team called The Latino Connection with a guy named Rapid Fire Maldonado. I went to see them in action, and Cruz was impressive – but, after doing a little research, his profile was much, much bigger than his partner’s. It was enough of a problem that I really didn’t have any interest in Maldonado as an option for RCW – but I did have interest in both Cruz and the gimmick of a Latino tag team.

I met with Cruz face-to-face and let him know the deal. He was a little hesitant at first, but agreed to confer with his partner and figure out exactly what to do. After a couple of days, Cruz got back to me – Maldonado had agreed to let Cruz keep the name “The Latino Connection” for use in RCW, and had agreed to step aside. Cruz even had the name of a potential replacement lined up – a worker named Averno, who had a more national profile, and was roughly on Cruz’s level in both skill and reputation. And just like that, RCW had its newest tag team.

Chi Chi Cruz (49 Over, Show Stealer) – one half of the newly-formed Latino Connection, they would debut as faces in RCW’s burgeoning tag team division. Cruz was highly recommended by RCW scouts, and could have a bright future in the company.

Averno (48 Over, Luchadore) – the other half of RCW’s newest tag team, Averno would be the first masked member of RCW’s roster, and the first true luchadore brought into the fold.

These weren’t the only two guys who I had been in contact with…but that’s another story. Now, time to get those last details ready for 2Night, which is just five hours away now.

[The Red Reuben]

Latino Connection?

I wonder if this is the same Chi Chi Cruz. Regardless, this could be awesome. Thanks for adding him to the roster.