Adrenaline Pro Wrestling

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Identikit rich businessman starts own promotion backstory coming up:

Young English entrepreneur Mike Andrews has announced he will be forming his own wrestling promotion. Andrews, who made his money from a successful retail chain of DVD and music stores, announced that the promotion would run it's first shows soon in the tri-state area sometime in the early new year.

Andrews was quoted as saying "This is a dream come true. Wrestling has always been a passion of mine, and to get the chance to run my own promotion is just fantastic".

Expect a further announcement soon, where the company will get a name, some dates and exact locations for its first show, and maybe some early talent lists.

Edited December 11, 2005 by Jubal Early

[Timmoru Suzuki]

APW can announce more exciting matches for the 'Championship Weekend'!

Firstly, DANNY DANIELS will be the 12th man in the tournament. A draw will be made in the next few days. There will be no seeds for the draw, so anyone can face anyone. What big matches will we see in the tournament?

Secondly, two exciting four way matches will take place over the 'Championship Weekend'. On night one, SALVATORE RINAURO, 'Sterling' JAMES KEENAN, FAST EDDIE VEGAS and HALLOWICKED will compete in what is sure to be a thrilling, action paced and explosive four way.

APW also intends to showcase some of the talented women wrestlers of today. To that end, night two will feature a four-way women's contest. ALLISON DANGER be against DAIZEE HAZE, MsCHIF and Japanese star SUMIE SAKAI! This is sure to be a great advert for womens wrestling

The APW Championship will not be the only piece of gold up for grabs over 'Championship Weekend', as APW intends to crown its very first Tag Team Champions too! More on this in the next few days.

Finally, on night one, 'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI will be in action as he faces JOSH DANIELS in non-tournament action.

[DFF]

looking good. keep us all updated.

I predict the following:

A1: Delirious vs. Matt Sydal - I would say Sydal, but I also know you're a Delirious mark. lol.

A2: Roderick Strong vs. Charlie Haas - Haas.

B1: Jerry Lynn vs. Danny Daniels - Hmmm... Lynn, maybe.

B2: Alex Shelley vs. Chad Collyer - Shelley- as he's another guy you mark for.

C1: Christopher Daniels vs. Jonny Storm - Angel.

C2: Homicide vs. Samoa Joe - Joe.

Leaving:

Delirious v Haas - Haas wins.

Lynn v Shelley - Shelley.

Daniels v Joe - tough one. Daniels' style would probably go better with Haas and Shelley, so Daniels.

Final

Haas vs Shelley vs Daniels. Hmmm... tough one, I have a suspcion it will will be Shelley, as you made a point that you're pushing the younger, lesser-known guys. Shelley's the least known out of the three, and has great potential.

Edited December 12, 2005 by Kid Britain

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Championship Weekend, Night One

Friday 27th January 2006

Edison, New Jersey.

--- In segments taped for the home release, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe both cut short promo's, hyping themselves, and the tournament. Daniels' was very good, Joe's was ok, it got the point across. On to the live action:

1)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket A, Match One

MATT SYDAL def. DELIRIOUS (15:43) in a good action packed opener. No slow exchange of holds at the beginning in this one, it was over fifteen minutes of 'balls to the wall' fast paced action that never let up for a second. Delirious got his comedy spots in, the best of which started with Delirious using a school-boy to get a two count. As Sydal got to his feet, back to Delirious, Delirious stood deadly still, as if frozen in time. Sydal turned and jumped with shock to find the frozen Delirious right up close to his face. Sydal waited a few seconds expecting Delirious to attack, but nothing happened. Sydal started Delirious in the eye, as the crowd began to laugh. Perplexed, Sydal walked slowly round Delirious,never taking a puzzled eye off him, trying to make sense of his opponents tactics. He completed a full 360 round Delirious, and still had n answer for Delirious total lack of movement. It was clear Sydal said 'What the....fuck....?' before turning to the referee to ask for help. No sooner had Sydal turned his back, Delirious sprang to life, quickly rolling Sydal up for a very close victory. As the match wore on, Delirious went for his 'Chemical Imbalance' finisher, but as he lifted Sydal up, Sydal twisted and wrapped his legs round Delirious' shoulder and neck, before rolling down to the mat in a pinning combo, 1-2-kick-out. Both quickly got to their feet, and Delirious charged at Sydal with a lariat. Sydal ducked though, and when Delirious span round, Sydal whipped Delirious into the corner. In a bid to counter, Delirious jumped onto the top rope, but before he could jump off, Sydal met him with a stunning high drop-kick to the back. Delirious fell forward, and slumped over the turnbuckle, facing the outside. Sydal went behind Delirious, as if going to back-drop his opponent, but Delirious found the strength to kick Sydal away. Delirious turned round, now sat on the top rope, facing into the ring. Sydal staggered toward him, and Delirious hooked his head, as if going for a tornado DDT. Sydal however punched his way out, then climbed the turnbuckle. He and Delirious exchanged punches, before Sydal got a momentary advantage. It was short, but it was long enough to hit the 'Belly to Belly Moonsault'! The crowd gasped at the breath-taking manoeuvre, as Sydal hooked the leg and picked up the three-count.

After the match, the pair shook hands as a sign of respect and their friendship.

2)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket B, Match One

JERRY LYNN def. DANNY DANIELS (14:05) in another good contest. Mostly a good technical wrestling affair, much slower then the opener, with more, longer holds and counters. Match sped up during the last few minutes,as the pair both exchanged and countered bigger moves for near falls. A simple but effective finish for a simple but effective match came when Daniels hit a powerbomb on Lynn. Daniels signalled for the end, and picked Lynn up for a 'Tombstone'. Lynn however swiftly countered into a piledriver position of his own by sliding over and down the shoulders of Daniels (ALA Orton/'Taker at Wrestlemania) and hit his 'Cradle Piledriver' finish for the win.

3)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket C, Match One

'The Fallen Angel' CHRISTOPHER DANIELS def. JONNY STORM (13:20)in a good 'spot-fest' style match. Very enjoyable. Daniels controlled the match about 65/35, and won with a 'Best Moonsault Ever'.

After the match, Daniels briefly got on the mic and boasted about how he was going to win the tournament and be the first APW Champion.

4)Four Corners Match

SALVATORE RINAURO def. HALLOWICKED, 'Sterling' JAMES KEENAN and FAST EDDIE VEGAS (10:39) in a so-so bout. Had some good spots, but was too dis-jointed at times, with periods of sub-par action and a few blown spots. A watchable match though. Rinauro hits his 'Phoenix Fury Leg-drop' finisher on Hallowicked for the three.

5)'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI def. JOSH DANIELS (10:32). Another not so hot bout, but it was still an acceptable match and was better than the four-way. Nothing much wrong here, just wasn't all that interesting, and the crowd didn't seem to hot for the match. Castagnoli scored a cheap win with a School Boy and a handful of tights.

6)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket A, Match Two

CHARLIE HAAS def. 'The Messiah of the Backbreaker' RODERICK STRONG (15:56) in a good match. Both men played babyfaces, so to add to the match they made a story of Haas becoming frustrated at not being able to finish Strong off mid-match before Strong came back, and was unlucky not to have Haas beat on a few occasions, including one 2.999999 count after a series of BRUTAL backbreakers. In the end, Strong fell victim to a series of quick clotheslines and a German Suplex, allowing Haas to pick up the win.

After, the two shook hands as a sign of mutual respect, and Haas reacted like Strong had taken him to the limit.

7)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket B, Match Two

ALEX SHELLEY def. CHAD COLLYER (15:00) in the match of the night. Excellent match, that was full of exciting technical wrestling, kept at a good pace. Had a familiar structure as Collyer had the early advantage before Shelley took command of the match. Eventually Collyer fought back into the match, before a further series of exchanges lead to the finish. Both men could have had the match won with any number of holds, but maybe Shelley landed more 'big' moves on Collyer. For the finish, Collyer got a 'Boston Crab' locked in on Shelley, who agonised in the hold for over half a minute before reaching the ropes. Collyer released the hold, and after taking a moment to gain his composure and formulate a plan, turned to find Shelley using the ropes to get to his feet, still mostly laid on the mat, but holding the middle rope to pull himself up. As the referee was walking behind Collyer, Shelley still using the middle rope to try and get himself up, gave Collyer a Low-Blow with his right leg! This totally blindsighted the referee. As Collyer sank to the mat, Shelly pulled himself all the way up, and went across to his fallen opponent, before locking in the 'Border City Stretch', that targets the neck he'd worked on earlier. With this prior working of the neck and shoulder, Collyer soon had no choice but to tap. Shelley wins this great match.

8)APW Championship Tournament, Bracket C, Match Two

SAMOA JOE def. 'The Notorious 187' HOMICIDE (18:46). A good match, but maybe under-whelming when compared to some of their famous ROH bouts. More solid than spectacular, it was however a very stiff match. Some such moments include a lariat from Homicide that echoed throughout the building, and Joe unloading with a series of chops and strikes to the chest of Homicide that Homicide should feel lucky to have survived. Both men survived each other finishing moves, Homicide managed to get Joe up for the 'Cop Killa' around the midway mark, But Joe just was able to get a shoulder up. Later, Joe hit the 'Muscle Buster', but Homicide wisely used the ropes to break the three-count. Joe got his usual signature moves in such as the 'Face Wash', the 'Ole Kick' and grabbed a handful of 'Cide's hair to hold him up so he could deliver a series of quick yet brutal kicks to the torso of Homicide. For the finish, Homicide went for another 'Cop Killa', but Joe countered and dropped down behind Homicide. Joe ran the ropes, looking to score with a big boot, but Homicide ducked and kneed Joe in the gut. Homicide gave a clubbing blow across the back of Joe, them unloaded with some stiff shots to the face that took Joe down to his knee's. Just as it looked like Joe may well succumb to the shots, he suddenly sprang to life, and with a vicious look on his face went bezerk hitting, chopping and slapping Homicide all over Homicide's face and upper body, in lightning speed, much to the crowds delight. With Homicide reeling, dazed from that sudden, impactful offence, Joe again ran the ropes and this time was able to hit a stiff big boot. Homicide's eyes glazed over from all the shots and the kick to the head. Homicide crashed to the canvas, leaving Joe to simply pick Homicide up and hit a second 'Muscle Buster' for the win. Solid match with some good moments.

The show ended with Joe celebrating as he made his way to the back, as Homicide finally came too in the ring.

End Show -

Quick Results:

1)Matt Sydal def. Delirious (15:43) ***1/4

2)Jerry Lynn def. Danny Daniels (14:05) ***1/4

3)Christopher Daniels def. Jonny Storm (13:20) ***1/2

4)Salvatore Rinauro def. Hallowicked, James Keenan and Fast Eddie Vegas (10:39) **1/2

5)Claudio Castagnoli def. Josh Daniels (10:32) **3/4

6)Charlie Haas def. Roderick Strong (15:56) ***3/4

7)Alex Shelley def. Chad Collyer (15:00) ****1/4

8)Samoa Joe def. Homicide (18:46) ***1/4

Attendance: 2, 545

Thoughts: Well, most of this is above average to good, even the two 'poor' midcard matches were watchable. On the other hand, only Shelley/Collyer is anything particularly special or worth going out of your way too see as the majority of the action hits the above average mark but nothing else. For the most part a solid yet unspectacular start for the promotion, but one that can be built on. Another problem was the short nature of the show, as no match surpasses the twenty minute mark, with the longest being 18:46. Still, as said, a decent start with plenty to build on.

Edited December 12, 2005 by Jubal Early

[DFF]

hmm... five out of six.

i'm going for the same final, but changed my mind to Daniels winning instead of Shelley.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Championship Weekend, Night Two

Saturday 28th January 2006

Edison, New Jersey

1) SALVATORE RINAURO def. HALLOWICKED (9:02) with his 'Phoenix Fury Leg-Drop' in a slightly disappointing match. The match was average at best, and there was also a lack of psychology. There were a few good moments however.

2) APW Championship Tournament, Semi-Final One

CHARLIE HAAS def. MATT SYDAL (15:41) in a very good match. Haas really showed what he can do, and Sydal showed why he's rapidly becoming one of the top US indy workers. A quick and crisp, well flowing match, with everything well executed. This was pretty much a 50/50 match, with neither man holding any kind of advantage over the other for any real length of time, it was a 'move-counter-move-counter' kind of match. Sydal had survived the 'Haas of Pain' earlier on in the match by reaching the ropes, but was unable to escape the move a second time Haas locked it on. Sydal taps to the 'Haas of Pain' after a few seconds agonising and struggling, allowing Haas to advance. Great match.

3) APW Championship Tournament, Semi-Final Two

JERRY LYNN def. ALEX SHELLEY (14:50) in another very good match-up. Shelley again showed just how he can make technical wrestling seem fresh and exciting, and Lynn put in another great performance in what was arguably the match of the night. One excellent sequence involved Lynn running at Shelley, looking for a clothesline, but Shelly grabbed the arm, and tried taking Lynn down into the 'Border City Stretch'. Lynn however was able to roll through, and lift Shelley up into a 'Cradle Piledriver', all in one swift movement! Shelley survived the move by being close to the ropes, enabling him to stick a leg out to break the count. Shelley wore Lynn down for a large chunk of the match, but was unable to hit the move, or lock in the hold that would beat Lynn. As the match wore on, Shelley got more frustrated at not being able to beat Lynn, and that Lynn was getting back into the contest more and more. In the end, this frustration got the better of Shelly, clouding his judgement. Shelley took a risk by going to the top rope, but his flying attack was countered when Lynn met him in mid-air with a textbook drop-kick! Shelley was quickly back to his feet, but climbed up right into a second 'Cradle Pilediver' for Lynn to get the three in a thrilling match.

4) APW Championship Tournament, Semi-Final Three

'The Fallen Angel' CHRISTOPHER DANIELS def. SAMOA JOE (16:30). Very good match, and another MOTN contender. Daniels and Joe had no time for a slow build, as they tore into each other from the get go. The fans got to see it all, as both men pulled out every move in their repertoire to try and end the match, including the BME, Angels Wings and Last Rite's from Daniels, and Joe's Face Wash, Ole Kick, Muscle Buster and choke-hold. The match also included a chop war, but Christopher Daniels soon realised that having a chop battle with Joe is never a good idea. One of the best exchanges in a pulsating quarter hour plus of wrestling started with Daniels going for the BME, but Joe rolled out of the way. Daniels landed chest first, and sprang up clutching his ribs and abdomen in pain. Joe went straight for a 'Muscle Buster', but Daniels was able to avoid the move by dropping down behind Joe, and spinning the Samoan straight into an 'Angels Wings' attempt. But Joe grabbed an arm to stop the move being executed, and ducked behind Joe to lock in the Choke-hold! The crowd applauded this great sequence of counters, but soon booed as Daniels got his feet to the ropes (though there were some cheers). The finish was slightly cheap though, as Daniels ducked under a lariat, and rolled Joe up, holding the tights for a three count. Still, it barely detracted from what was a very good match.

5) Four Corners Match

SUMIE SAKAI def. MSCHIF, ALLISON DANGER and DAIZEE HAZE (10:12). Poor match, maybe a bit too long, and not a great example of women's indy wrestling. Seemed to lack any real direction, and there were a lot of poorly executed moves. The odd good spot though, such as Haze's jumping off the top rope and landing a head-scissors on Danger. Sakai also looked good, and won with her 'Cross Arm Scissors' submission hold on Mschif.

6) APW Tag Team Championships

6-Team Elimination Match

THE STRONG BROTHERS def. THE WILDCARDS, THE RING CREW EXPRESS, SOUTHERN COMFORT, AERIAL EXPRESS and THE IRON SAINTS (17:05) in an average contest. Dunn and Marcos and The Wildcards started the contest, and Dunn and Marcos actually did a good job of getting the crowd into the match with various dives and fast paced moves, before the match slowed down. Southern Comfort entered, and for a few minutes, the match degenerated into a plodding affair, before Dunn and Marcos eliminated The Wildcards when Dunn pinned Kingston after his 'All Dunn' manoeuvre. The Strong's entered, and the match picked up again, as they delivered an ass kicking to the other two teams, combined with some good offence from the RCE, and some old-school heel tactics from Southern Comfort. They continued this tactic, as Chris Hamrick countered a back-slide attempt by Marcos into one of his own, and put his feet on the ropes to score a cheap three on Marcos to eliminate the RCE. Just a few seconds later, AXP entered, with some spectacular dives, and the match was arguably in it's best period with The Strongs, Southern Comfort and AXP providing some good action. The Iron Saints entered last, and after the four teams exchanged for a couple of minutes, it became apparent that Roderick and Sedrick Strong were dominating the match, generally kicking ass. Sedrick pinned Hamrick after a 'Diamond Dust', and barely a minute later, Roderick made Quicksilver tap to the 'Strong Hold' leaving it down to just The Strong's, and The Iron Saints, who were joined at ringside by the third Thomaselli, Brandon. The next minute or so were a decent, if underwhelming finale to the match, before Roderick pinned Sal Thomaselli after a 'CX03'. Overall, it was a below average and slightly disappointing match that just plodded along. There were some better moments, but these were still good rather than great.

Entry Order: Dunn and Marcos, The Wildcards, Southern Comfort, The Strong Brothers, Aerial Express, The Iron Saints

Elimination Order: The Wildcards (by Dunn and Marcos), Dunn and Marcos (Southern Comfort), Southern Comfort (The Strongs), Aerial Express (The Strongs), The Iron Saints (The Strongs)

7) Elimination 8-Man Tag Match

DANNY DANIELS, 'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI, BRANDON THOMASELLI and FAST EDDIE VEGAS def. DELIRIOUS, CHAD COLLYER, JONNY STORM and JOSH DANIELS (22:17). A better match, but still sub-par, which is quite surprising considering the talent involved. This could have been a sleeper candidate for match of the night, but instead was a below average match. As expected with the stipulations, there were a lot of elimination's to get thorough.

After a wild, uncontrolled opening five minutes, Chad Collyer made Fast Eddie Vegas tap to his 'Boston Crab' submission hold. Collyer's joy was short-lived however, as soon after Danny Daniels rolled him up, and stuck out an arm which Castagnoli grabbed for extra leverage, allowing Daniels to score the three. The match was becoming a bit disjointed when Brandon Thomaselli pinned Josh Daniels with a '45O Splash', leaving a 2 vs. 3 contest with Delirious and Storm up against Danny Daniels, Castagnoli and Thomaselli. Delirious levelled things, landing the 'Shadows over Hell' on Brandon, before Castagnoli pinned Storm, with yet another cheap victory (a low-blow roll-up). This left Delirious up against Danny Daniels and Castagnoli. Delirious fought well, and managed to eliminate Castagnoli with a victory roll, but fighting a lot of the match at a disadvantage (2 to 3, then 1 to 2) caught up with him, allowing Daniels to hit his 'Tombstone Piledriver' and pick up the win. Daniels the sole survivor. Match could have been a lot better, despite a good start and a strong finish.

8)APW Championship Tournament, Final

APW Championship

Triple-Threat Elimination match

JERRY LYNN def. 'The Fallen Angel' CHRISTOPHER DANIELS and CHARLIE HAAS to win the APW Championship. (25:35)

A match that was good, but could have been a hell of a lot better had it not been for the fact that Daniels and Lynn were obviously tired at this point, and not at 100%. Essentially, this was not as good as it could have been if this had happened earlier, or without the two nights of wrestling before it. This ultimately meant that some of the action wasn't as fast, and some of the moves weren't as fluid or crisp as they might have been had this had happened say, the night before. Still was a good end to the weekend though, and the crowd were especially hot for the title match. The trio used the three way style of the match to good effect, and used some three-way moves including the now standard turnbuckle backdrop/suplex combo (Its now illegal in forty-three states to have a triple threat match and not include that spot) and a cool looking piece of action that saw Haas execute a release German on Daniels, and as Daniels was falling to the mat, Lynn sprang up and drop-kicked him. About quarter of an hour in, Daniels looked to score the first elimination with the 'Angels Wings' on Haas, but Haas countered into a sudden German Suplex (with a bridge)to score a quick three. Daniels got his shoulder up just a fraction too late, and he was eliminated, leaving Lynn and Haas. The pair had a fairly decent ten minutes or so of action, and both proved how much the title meant to them by surviving each others finishers. Haas kicked out of the 'Cradle Piledriver', and Lynn made it to the ropes after an agonising minute + in the 'Haas of Pain'. In the end, in the middle of a sequence of moves, with seemingly no danger of a finisher, Lynn hit the 'Cradle Piledriver' from totally nowhere to pick up the win and become the first ever APW Champion. The crowd applauded the victory and the effort of the competitors, and as a gesture of sportsmanship, Haas handed Lynn his newly won belt. The show ended with Lynn celebrating the win and the championship in the ring, wit the crowd cheering loudly.

--- In interviews on the home release, Christopher Daniels cut a good interview, basically saying how Haas got lucky tonight, but he wouldn't again. An exhausted Jerry Lynn cut a promo about what winning the belt - and at this point in his career - means to him. He showed a great thrill at being champion, and thanked the fans for their support.

The most interesting interview however was with Alex Shelley. Shelley said Jerry Lynn was an example of the worst of pro wrestling. An old veteran who should be thinking of retirement and helping youngsters in the business being selfish and carrying on, taking the place of younger, hungrier and 'more talented' competitors like himself. Shelley said that Lynn's time a the top wouldn't last much longer.

End Show -

Quick Results:

1)Salvatore Rinauro def. Hallowicked (9:02) **1/2

2)Charlie Haas def. Matt Sydal (15:41) ****

3)Jerry Lynn def. Alex Shelley (14:50) ****1/4

4)Christopher Daniels def. Samoa Joe (16:30) ****1/4

5)Sumie Sakai def. Mschif, Allison Danger and Daizee Haze (10:12) *3/4

6)The Strong Brothers def. The Wildcards, Dunn and Marcos, Southern Comfort, Aerial Express and The Iron Saints (17:05) **1/2

- Dunn and Marcos def. The Wildcards (5:03)

- Southern Comfort def. Dunn and Marcos (8:45)

- The Strongs def. Southern Comfort (14:02)

- The Strongs def. Aerial Express (15:10)

- The Strongs def. The Iron Saints (17:05)

7)Danny Daniels, Claudio Castagnoli, Brandon Thomaselli and Fast Eddie Vegas def. Delirious, Chad Collyer, Jonny Storm and Josh Daniels (22:17) **3/4

- Chad Collyer def. Fast Eddie Vegas (5:32)

- Danny Daniels def. Chad Collyer (8:13)

- Brandon Thomaselli def. Josh Daniels (12:27)

- Delirious def. Brandon Thomaselli (14:18)

- Claudio Castagnoli def. Jonny Storm (16:26)

- Delirious def. Claudio Castagnoli (19:25)

- Danny Daniels def. Delirious (22:17)

8)Jerry Lynn def. Christopher Daniels and Charlie Haas (25:35) ***1/4

- Charlie Haas def. Christopher Daniels (15:52)

- Jerry Lynn def. Charlie Haas (25:35)

Attendance: 1,263

Thoughts: A Mixed bag. The tournament matches were all to a high standard, with all three semi's being **** or more, and a decent, solid final to boot. Alex Shelley finds himself with two MOTN's in two days, after as stellar match with Lynn, with Daniels vs. Joe right behind and a great performance from Haas and Sydal. However everything else was either below average and nothing at all worth making a real effort to see. Some was simply poor (the womens match). The opener and the tag team championship match were on the whole watchable at best, but entirely forgettable, and not a plus point for the show at all. The elimination tag, with the talent involved could have been a great match, but some of the talent didn't bring their A game, and the match – average at best – was a disappointment, though it did have some good moments. On the whole then, mixed. Four good to very good matches, and nothing else. Maybe the four tournament matches are worth buying the tape – the question is, if half a show is good, and the other isn't, is it worth seeing the show?

Edited December 16, 2005 by Jubal Early

[Timmoru Suzuki]

More matches for 'The Plot thickens...' February 10th 206 in Philly:

--- 'Lighting' MIKE QUACKENBUSH' will debut. The CHIKARA head trainer will face 'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI'

--- Mike Quackenbush won't be the only new face to APW fans. 'Slyk' WAGNER BROWN will face DANNY DANIELS

--- AERIAL EXPRESS (SCORPIO SKY and QUICKSILVER) will face THE IRON SAINTS of VITO AND SAL THOMASELLI.

--- THE STRONG BROTHERS have promised to defend the APW Tag Team Championships when and where ever. THE WILDCARDS, EDDIE KINGSTON and 'Black' JACK MARCIANO have challenged The Strongs to a title match at 'The Plot Thickens...', and the Strongs have accepted! At 'The Plot Thickens...' it will be the Strong Brothers vs. The Wildcards for the APW Tag Team Championships

--- ALEX SHELLEY and CHAD COLLYER will have a re-match from their encounter at 'Championship Weekend, Night One'. Shelley cheat to beat Collyer, and Collyer want payback.

--- Speaking of rematches, DELIRIOUS burst into the APW offices and demanded a re-match with MATT SYDAL, as he is desperate to get a win back on the man who beat him at 'Championship Weekend, Night One'.

Of course, not fluent in gibberish, we can only guess that's what Delirious as after. He might have been threatning to kill us for all we knew.... Anyhow, the rematch is signed! Delirous vs. Sydal at 'The Plot Thickens...'

--- The UK's JONNY STORM returns to do battle with the as yet un-defeated SALVATORE RINAURO.

---Things are hotting up for two of 'The Plot Thickens...' biggest matches, SAMOA JOE has re-iterated his promise to get revenge on CHRISTOPHER DANIELS for Daniels cheap tactics last time out, and CHARLIE HAAS has said he will make amends for the final of the APW Championship tournament, by getting his win back on JERRY LYNN, and take the APW Championship belt with him.

--- After 'The Plot Thickens', APW will return twice in March. March 10th APW will be in New York City! Then, on March 24th, we will be back in our home of Edison, New Jersey.

[stonecoldfan12345]

I'm likin where this is goin already....hope u push Haas all the way, baby! lol.....

APW Championship

Jerry Lynn © vs. Charlie Haas

APW Tag Team Championships

The Strong Brothers (Roderick and Sedrick Strong) vs. The Wildcards (Eddie Kingston/Jack Marciano)

Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels

Alex Shelley vs. Chad Collyer

Matt Sydal vs. Delirious

Danny Daniels vs. 'Slyk' Wagner Brown

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush

The Ring Crew Express (Dunn/Marcos) vs. Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers/Chris Hamrick)

The Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky/Quicksilver) vs. The Iron Saints (Vito and Sal Thomaselli w/Brandon Thomaselli)

Salvatore Rinauro vs. Jonny Storm

[DFF]

I'd agree with that except for Castagnoli and Sydal.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

The Plot Thickens...

Friday 10th February 2006

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

--- In interviews taped for the home release, Christopher Daniels cut a very good interview, basically on hype duty for his match with Samoa Joe. Charlie Haas cut a passable interview, talking about how he respects Jerry Lynn's achievements, but tonight, he's taking the title. Lynn himself cut a promo, saying he has nothing personal with Haas, but tonight is business, and Jerry Lynn gets business done. He also mentions Alex Shelley's promo from last month, which called Lynn selfish, amongst other things. Lynn says that he is helping the younger talent by working with them and passing on his experience and by setting examples of leadership, locker-room etiquette and respect -something Alex Shelley needs to learn a lot about.

1) THE AERIAL EXPRESS def. THE IRON SAINTS (10:46) in a good opener. A good, solid match to kick the show off. Good tag team wrestling, with good technical wrestling, and some great high-flying spots. After the inevitable 'break-down', Scorpio Sky pins Vito with the 'Fatal Answer' as Quicksilver and Sal fight on the outside.

--- After the match, The Thomaselli's are joined by brother Brandon. They verbally attack the AXP, saying its wrong that two SoCal wokers get booked in the north for 'no reason' and take the places of midwest starts trying to break into the Tri-state area. AXP call The Iron Saints hypocrites, citing that SoCal was one of the places where the Thomaselli's first got exposure, and that talented workers should be able to work anywhere. The Thomaselli's challenge to the AXP for some further matches to prove who are the most talented workers. AXP agree. The Thomaselli's say they will have worked out some 'details' at next months show.

2) JONNY STORM def. SALVATORE RINAURO (9:40) in an enjoyable cruiserweight style match. The usual fast paced, lightning speed offence, mixed with a few dives to the floor. Action was good though. Storm wins with the 'Rewind Stormin' Steiner'.

After, Rinauro is visibly angry at being beat, and at loosing his winning record in APW.

3) 'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI def. 'Lightning' MIKE QUACKENBUSH (11:31) with a roll-up and a handful of tights. Quack had an arm submission on Castagnoli, but Double C was able to counter into the pinning combo, hooking the tights for the three. A surprisingly bland technical match, that was neither good nor bad, just lacking any real excitement factor. A match of holds and counterholds, that seemed also lack any direction. Nothing bad, just a match that was 'there'.

4) DANNY DANIELS def. 'Slyk' WAGNER BROWN (10:22) in a fairly poor match. Just really bland, non-descript wrestling, with some obvious blown spots. The match also just plodded along at times. Daniels wins with his 'Tombstone Piledriver'

5) SOUTHERN COMFORT def. THE RING CREW EXPRESS in a below average tag team bout (10:34). Followed a standard tag pattern. As the faces, RCE dominated the opening exchanges, and gave the match some life with a couple of crowd pleasing dives to the arena floor. The heels isolated Marcos, and wore him down with some passable offence, before the hot tag, that lead into the finish. Just one of those matches that didn't have anything particularly bad, just outside of those dives to the floor early on there wasn't anything really worth mentioning either. It just 'happened'. For the finish, Dunn picked Hamrick up above his shoulders, but Smothers, who was on the arena floor, reached into the ring, and tripped Dunn up, so Dunn landed on his back, Hamrick spread out on top of him. Smothers held down Dunn's leg to make kicking out harder, and Southern Comfort gained the cheap three. After the match, Comfort made their way to the back, celebrating with cocky grins. Dunn and Marocs stayed in the ring, but watched Comfort leave, and could be seen shouting after Comfort, challenging them, and saying that 'this isn't over'.

6)APW Tag Team Championships

THE STRONG BROTHERS def. THE WILDCARDS to retain (8:27), in a poor tag team match. A lot of the match seemed 'clumsy', and a mess in places - none of the four really brought their A-game to the match. The Wildcards didn't look too good at all, and Sedrick Strong didn't put in a great performance. Only Roderick Strong had a decent match, but he didn't put in the kind of performance that he has done in the past. The Strongs dominated 70% of the match, but didn't do anything innovative or exciting. When the Wildcards did have the advantage, they wore Sedrick down with poor, and lack-luster moves. The whole match was really kinda boring. Eddie Kingston had taken a lot of back-breakers from Roderick, and so his back was weaker for when Sedrick locked in the 'Strong-Hold' just over eight minutes in. Kingston taps, and The Strongs have their first title defence unde their belts via a submission win.

7) DELIRIOUS def. MATT SYDAL (16:45) in a good, but not great match. They tried another 'balls-to-the-wall', 50/50 match with a move/counter/move/counter style to keep the match to a fast pace that never let up, with plenty of high-flying moves in a similar vein to their first match at 'Championship Weekend, Night One'. This however, wasn't quite as good, as some of the sequences didn't come off as well as they might, and and it maybe seemed like a lot of their main ideas for a match of this type had been used in the first encounter, which also meant a few spots were re-used. The odd botched spot didn't help the match either, which didn't flow quite right. Still a good match though, and the MOTN up to this point. Another Golden comedy spot from Delirious. Sydal was pounding on Delirious near one of the turnbuckles. Delirious whipped Sydal across the ring into the opposite turnbuckle to buy himself a few seconds. Delirious however turned his back, and didn't see Sydal counter the moves by acrobatically jumping up onto the turnbuckle. Delirious, expecting Sydal to be slumped against the turnbuckle suddenly turned and charged toward Sydal, before suddenly realising that Sydal wasn't there. Delirious looked up, and saw Sydal perched on the top rope. As a joke, Sydal flung his arms out and made a loud roaring sound and pulled a scary face. Delirious wet himself with fear, his eyes wide with terror, he turned and ran back the way he'd come, before leaping out of the ring, and running round ring-side screaming with fear. Only, he kept going. And going. And going. Constantly running round the ring shrieking, entering the ring only to break the ref's count, and stopping shrieking only to take a deep breath and then start again. Sydal's laugh at his practical joke faded, then turned into worry for Delirious's sanity. After a good couple of minutes of Delirious running round the ring screaming, Sydal had enough, and went to the outside to try and grab Delirious. Delirious however, was like a frightened beast, and kept shrugging off any attempt to capture him. In the end, Sydal outsmarted him by hiding under the ring until Delirious ran past, then leaping out and jumping on him from behind.

The match finally continued in the same way as before with quick reversals and neither competitor having an advantage for longer than a few seconds. They played on the finish to the first match, with Delirous on the top rope, looking for a 'Tornado DDT', but Sydal countering and climbing the turnbuckle, before setting up for his 'Moonsault Belly to Belly'. The crowd thought this was it again, but unlike the first time, Delirious countered with shots to the kidneys and ribs of Sydal, before shoving Sydal off the top rope. Sydal landed hard on the canvas, stomach first. Delirious waited for Sydal to stagger half to his feet, clutching his ribs, before launching himself off the top rope with the 'Shadows over Hell'. The move landed perfectly, and Delirous picked up the three-count. After the match, the pair again shook hands, and Delirious made random 'happy' noises.

8) ALEX SHELLEY def. CHAD COLLYER (16:04) in a very good technical contest. A lot of fast counters to holds,with some high-spots thrown in. A very exciting technical wrestling contest, fought at a good pace to keep the crowd interest high. Like Sydal/Delirious not quite as good as the match at 'Championship Weekend, Night One', but still a very good match. Collyer was building momentum up, having had Shelley in a 'Boston Crab' for a few seconds until Shelley made the ropes, and had scored a couple of clotheslines, and then some more impactful moves, creating a chain of increasingly bigger moves and momentum that Shelley had no answer for. It was now a couple of minutes since Shelley last had any way of escaping Collyer's offence, when out of nowhere, Collyer locked his arms round Shelley's waist like he was going for a 'German Suplex', but Shelley countered with a go-behind then span Collyer round into the 'Shellshock' for a win out of nowhere! Shelley went up the ramp, very happy with his pulling a win out of nowhere, as Collyer came to his feet in the ring, wondering how the hell he had lost, and where the hell Shelley found the energy and the chance to hit his finisher from. Very good match.

9) SAMOA JOE and 'The Fallen Angel' CHRISTOPHER DANIELS go to a double count-out draw (14:53). Great match for what was there, but the finish and the short nature of the match angered some fans. Still an excellent match, and both men put everything into the quarter hour. Probably the MOTN, but the length of the match may go against it. The double-count out occurred when the action went to the arena floor. Joe took the advantage, and got Daniels sat in a chair by the crowd barrier, set up for the 'Ole kick'. Daniels however ducked the kick, and gave Joe a hard shot to the face. Joe retaliated with a hard shot of his own. The pair traded some hard punches, until Daniels tried settling it with a brutal shot to Joe. This however backfired, and only made Joe madder. Joe returned with A STIFF shot that knocked Daniels senseless. The pair allowed the contest to disintegrate into an ugly, clumsy, but brutal streetfight style with both men exchanging stiff shots and just ignoring the match entirely. It just resembled a pub brawl. They did a really good job here of making it seem like Joe and Daniels really didn't like each other. With the match now an un-controlled brawl, neither man cared about the ref's count, and the pair just carried on brawling in the arena floor, the aisle, and the action later spilled out into the crowd, before a swarm of people, including other wrestlers came down to separate the two. Still a great wrestling contest while it lasted, and an interesting 'streetfight' style brawl.

10) APW Championship

JERRY LYNN def. CHARLIE HAAS to retain (21:18). Very good match. They started slow, with a lot of mat based work, before upping the pace and the pair had a n even exchange of moves and counters for a few minutes, before Haas began to dominate. Haas wore Lynn down for a while, but the match was kept interesting, mostly due to a faster pace and some interesting moves and combinations. Lynn tried to fight back a few times, but was always cut down. One time, Lynn as able to hitt he 'Crade Piledriver', but due to the punishment he had received, was unable to make a cover right away, giving Haas time to recover enough to kick-out when Lynn was finally able to make a cover. Around the fifteen minute mark, Haas hit a 'German Suplex', and many thought the match was over, but Lynn somehow kicked out. Haas went right back to work on Lynn, but just over a minute later, Lynn came back again, and this time stayed in the match. The rest of the match was an excellent, nail-biting affair, as it was an all-out, counter-counter-counter style match that swung either way seemingly every other second. Both men had near falls from pinning combinations, countered each other finishers, kicked out of big and hard-hitting moves, and went for aerial attacks to try and end the match in a great finale. For the finish, Haas tried to put a front waist-lock on Lynn, as if going for a 'Belly-to-belly', but Lynn fought out with a knee to the gut. Lynn then delivered a couple of kicks to the chest of Lynn. Lynn went for a third, but Haas caught the foot, thrust Lynn down to the mat, and tried to lock in the 'Haas of Pain'! Lynn however fought and struggled, and kicked Haas off. Haas went across the ring, and came back off the ropes. Lynn, was right up however, and turned at lightning speed. When Haas came back off the ropes toward him, Lynn scooped him-up in one movement into the 'Cradle Piledriver'! 1-2-NO! Haas gets a shoulder off the mat, just! The audience groans in shock at Haas kicking out of the move. Lynn has a look of pure astonishment on his face. Lynn runs his fingers through his hair, before pounding the mat in anger. After a few seconds, Lynn picks Haas up, and whips him into a corner, but Haas, who had appeared nearly out, reverses the whip suddenly, sending Lynn crashing face first into the turnbuckle. Haas takes a few seconds to try and get some energy from somewhere to finish the match, before going across the ring, and putting a waist-lock on Lynn. Haas goes for a 'German Suplex', but Lynn counters, landing behind Haas. In a split second, Lynn puts his hands on Haas' shoulders, and leapfrogs onto Haas shoulders, then rolls down into a 'Victory Roll', 1-2-3!!! The victory roll wins the match for Jerry Lynn! Very good defence, with an excellent last few minutes.

--- After the match, both men slowly make it to their feet. Haas looks angry, most likely at the way he lost. Eventually, he offers his hand to Lynn, and the pair shake hands. Lynn is handed his title belt, and Haas shows signs of respect for Lynn as champion, before leaving the ringside area, to leave Lynn celebrating with the title.

Just as Lynn is about to leave however, some familiar music hits, and HOMICIDE and LOW-KI appear at the top of the ramp. Homicide congratulates Lynn on his title defence. He says that APW has built up a nice regular roster, and the Lynn, as champion is at the head of that roster. But, Homicide and Low-Ki are an invasion force! And they're here to reek as much havoc as possible.

Lynn by saying hell fight anyone to keep his belt, and he'll work to stop people like Homicide and Low-Ki that aren't even APW roster members from taking the spotlight. Homicide cuts him off, by simply asking wether Lynn would ever step in the ring with him. Lynn says hell yeah, he'd fight Homicide any day. Homicide says it's good the Lynn is so up for a fight..... Homicide and Low-Ki attack Jerry Lynn! Lynn tries to fight them off, but the numbers game works against him, and once 'Cide and Low-Ki have him grounded, they just stomp away on Lynn, kicking the hell out of him, until CHARLIE HAAS comes back to make the save! Haas sends Homicide and Low-Ki running from the ring.

The show ends with Homicide and Low-Ki at the top of the ramp, happy and laughing – they've got attention for themselves, made a statement, and have had a challenge accepted. They have started their 'invasion' They celebrate a job well done. Haas helps Lynn to his feet, and the two of them stand ground in the ring.

- End Show -

Quick Results:

1)The Aerial Express def. The Iron Saints (10:46) ***

2)Jonny Storm def. Salvatore Rinauro (9:40) ***1/4

3)Claudio Castagnoli def. Mike Quackenbush (11:31) **2/4

4)Danny Daniels def. Wagner Brown (10:22) **1/2

5)Southern Comfort def. The Ring Crew Express (10:34) **3/4

6)The Strong Brothers def. The Wildcards (8:27) **1/2

7)Delirious def. Matt Sydal (16:45) ***1/4

8)Alex Shelley def. Chad Collyer (16:04) ***3/4

9)Samoa Joe drew with Christopher Daniels (14:53) ****1/4

10)Jerry Lynn def. Charlie Haas (21:18) ****1/4

Thoughts: Mostly a good show, though it does rely on the last two matches. Daniels and Joe is excellent for what is there, and Lynn and Haas have a great title match. Shelley/Collyer is good, but not up to the standards of their first encounter, and the same is true of the Delirious/Sydal bout. The opener and Storm/Rinauro are good, but nothing to rush out and buy the tape to see. Castagnoli/Quackensbush is passable. What really lets the show down is the run of matches mid-tape. Beginning with that passable Quack/Double C match, the next three matches are all, by and large, poor, and really lower the overall quality of the tape. With this in mind, and with the 'Championship Weekend' re-matches good, but not matching the originals, it could be one for hardcore fans only, as the rest will find most of it decent, but only the final two matches anything special.

Edited December 23, 2005 by Jubal Early

[stonecoldfan12345]

hmmmm....7 out of 10 aint all that bad.....liked the main event! Can't wait for the tag match at Face/Off! Also liked the Samoa Joe/Daniel match, except how it ended.....wish it would of ended via pinfall...not a double count out...but oh well......also lked Shelley/Collyer.....2 great technical wrestlers fighting each other=great ratings! lol.....but yea, u have ur self a reader! Can't wait for the next show! Good Luck, man!

[DFF]

I liked Joe v Daniels. Hopefully a no count out stip on the next one, with them going to a time limit draw, to go to a deciding 3rd bout with no count-out, no dq, no time limit match.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

LOW-KI has left APW to sign a written contract with the NOAH promotion. This is obviously a loss to APW, as Low-Ki was scheduled to be a part of the main-event of the upcoming 'Face/Off' show, teaming with Homicide to face APW Champion Jerry Lynn and Charlie Haas. The actual tag team match will still go ahead however, as Homicide is frantically ringing round practically everyone he has ever teamed with in an effort to find a partner for the match. APW will tell you who Homicide's partner will be ASAP.

We wish Low-Ki good luck in his new full-time career with NOAH.

[stonecoldfan12345]

Looks to be an awesome card, man! I can't wait!!!

Tag Team Main Event:

Jerry Lynn (APW Champion) and Charlie Haas vs. Homicide and Ricky Reyes

APW Tag Team Championships

The Strong Brothers © vs. The Ring Crew Express

Four Corner Match

Winner gets a future APW Championship match

Alex Shelley vs. Samoa Joe vs. 'The Fallen Angel' Christopher Daniels vs. ???

Four Team Elimination match

Winners face The Strong Brothers immediately after

The Ring Crew Express (Dunn/Marcos) vs. The Iron Saints (Vito/Sal Thomaselli) vs. Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers/Chris Hamrick) vs. Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky/Quicksilver)

Jay Lethal's APW Debut:

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Sydal

Delirious vs. Danny Daniels

'Double C' Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chad Collyer

Allison Danger vs. Sumie Sakai

'Lightning' Mike Quackenbush vs. 'Sterling' James Keenan

[DFF]

Tag Team Main Event:

Jerry Lynn (APW Champion) and Charlie Haas vs. Homicide and Ricky Reyes

no sense having the faces win if this is developing into something biggger. unless the heels beat them down post bout.

APW Tag Team Championships

The Strong Brothers © vs. ???

.... cos there arent any opponents? lol

Four Corner Match

Winner gets a future APW Championship match

Alex Shelley vs. Samoa Joe vs. 'The Fallen Angel' Christopher Daniels vs. ???

Four Team Elimination match

Winners face The Strong Brothers immediately after

The Ring Crew Express (Dunn/Marcos) vs. The Iron Saints (Vito/Sal Thomaselli) vs. Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers/Chris Hamrick) vs. Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky/Quicksilver)

Jay Lethal's APW Debut:

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Sydal

Delirious vs. Danny Daniels

'Double C' Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chad Collyer

Allison Danger vs. Sumie Sakai

'Lightning' Mike Quackenbush vs. 'Sterling' James Keenan

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Face/Off

Friday 10th March 2006

New York, New York (It's a hell of a town......)

--- In interviews for the home release, Alex Shelley, Christopher Daniels, Jerry Lynn all cut interviews. Shelley cut a basic interview, saying how he was going to win the four-way contenders match tonight, then go onto beat Jerry Lynn for the title. He went on to say that Lynn would have no choice to 'let the youth in' after Shelley has won the belt.

Daniels re-capped the Daniels/Joe match from last month, and basically insulted Joe some, before saying how HE was going to be the man to win the contenders match, and said how he didn't care who the mystery opponent is, he'd still get beaten down by 'The Fallen Angel'.

Jerry Lynn cut a promo on Homicide, saying that he and Charlie Haas were going to stop the 'invasion' before it got started, and vowed revenge on their attack on him last time out. Haas came to Lynn, and checked Lynn was fired up for tonight. Lynn said he was, then asked Haas if Haas was OK teaming with Lynn after Lynn beat him last month. Haas said he was, and he was eager to kick the asses of Homicide and Reyes. The two went off together to prepare for their match.

1) 'Double C' CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI def. CHAD COLLYER (13:37), with a pinning combination, and holding the ropes. Castagnoli had kicked out of a 'Northern Lights Suplex', and was on all fours, trying to scramble to his feet. Collyer came up the side of Castagnoli, and wrapped his arms around his waist. Collyer tried rolling Castagnoli over and to the side, to pin his shoulders to the mat in a cradle like pin, 1-2- Castagnoli gets a shoulder up, and in one movement, rolls Collyer into a pin of his own, and holds the bottom rope for extra leverage to pick up the win. Castagnoli celebrates yet another cheap win, and Collyer sits down in disbelief at losing another match in APW. Great match, fantastic opener.

2) 'Sterling' JAMES KEENAN def. 'Lightning' MIKE QUACKENBUSH in a passable match (11:08) with the 'Razorblade Kiss'. A match that was neither boring nor exciting, just so-so slightly more ground based action that just went along until the finish.

3) SUMIE SAKAI def. ALLISON DANGER (9:15) with her 'Cross Arm Scissors' submission hold. Generally a poor match, but a good women's match by the usual standard.

4) DELIRIOUS def. DANNY DANIELS (14:41) in another passable match. Just some really bland action for the most part, until the match livened up a bit in the last few minutes. No large comedy skits from Delirious, just a few little things, like making gestures to the referee that Daniels was pulling his fair, when Daniels had him in a leg based submission hold, and again telling the referee Daniels had given him an 'eye-rake' when Daniels punched him in the stomach. Delirious squirms out of the 'Cradle Piledriver' before ducking under Daniels and hitting the 'Chemical Imbalance' to pick up the win.

5) JAY LETHAL def. MATT SYDAL (15:30) in a good match. The match was a technical affair with a few spots thrown in. A tad boring in the odd place, but some very good wrestling in other parts of the match, and an exciting end. Lethal had got a two count from a 'Diving Headbut' earlier in the match, and went up top for another, but Sydal rolled out of the way. Sydal then executed a quick and impressive 'Standing Shooting Star Press' 1-2-No! Lethal gets a shoulder up at 2.999. Many in the crowd thought that was it. Sydal looks bemused at the match not being over, then goes to pick Lethal up, but Lethal quickly pulls Sydal into a 'Small Package'! 1-2-Sydal just rolls out in time. Both men climb to their feet, a bit slower than normal as the match takes its toll. Lethal goes for Sydal, but Sydal quickly drop-kicks Lethal, sending him into a turnbuckle. Sydal runs toward Lethal, looking to clothesline Lethal against the turnbuckle, but Lethal ducks under it. The very moment Sydal runs into the turnbuckle, Lethal hits the 'Dragon Suplex'! 1-2-3! Lethal gets the pin, Sydal not quite able to kick out in time, but not totally 'out' from the finisher. Lethal wins his APW debut, good match.

6) Four-Corner Elimination Match

Winners face The Strong Brothers in an APW Tag Team Championship match next!

THE AERIAL EXPRESS def. SOUTHERN COMFORT, THE RING CREW EXPRESS and THE IRON SAINTS (13:22)

Not too bad a tag match, but a below average one, so not particularly good either. Match was a bit of a clusterfuck to begin with, and the action seemed to lack rhythm or flow. About six or seven minutes in, Dunn pinned Tracy Smothers with a roll-up to eliminate Southern Comfort. The match continued with some dives to the floor to liven proceedings up, but the actual action didn't improve a great deal, until a good sequence of moves ended with Marcos seemingly having Vito Thomaselli pinned, but the ref was down, allowing Southern Comfort to return to interfere! Smothers cracked Marcos in the back of the head with a vicious chair shot, then dragged Vito on-top of Marcos, allowing The Iron Saints to eliminate The Ring Crew Express around the nine minute mark, maybe a bit more. The rest of the match was the better part of the match, as The Aerial Express and The Iron Saints worked a solid tag team effort, before the AXP again beat The Saints via pinfall to again claim a win over the Saints. AXP to face The Strongs Next.

--- The Iron Saints got on the mic. They say they have the 'details' of their challenge to the AXP worked out. They will present the 'Midwest vs. SoCal Series' to determine who is the best team, from the best area. They will be joined by brother Brandon, and the AXP have to find a partner from SoCal for the series. The series will include a re-match of Vito and Sal vs. AXP, Three one-on-one matches drawn at random that will feature all three members of each team, then finally, a six-man elimination tag team match to end the series. The AXP accept the challenge immediately. They say they will have no problems finding a partner, as there are plenty of young, hungry wrestlers in SoCal, who want and deserve more national exposure. As a condition, The Saints promise to stay out of AXP's tag team championship match next.

7) APW Tag Team Championships

THE STRONG BROTHERS def. THE AERIAL EXPRESS to retain (9:56) in another just below average, but not too bad match. Strong's dominated a substantial period of the match, continuing their 'ass-kicking' style of late. Strong's controlled about 65-35% of the match, Aerial Express having a mini 'comeback' about two thirds in, and a slightly more even finish. Roderick pinned Scorpio Sky with the 'CX03' to win the match.

8) Four Corner Match

Winner gets a future APW Championship match

ALEX SHELLEY def. 'Classic' COLT CABANA, SAMOA JOE and 'The Fallen Angel' CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (23:33) in a very good match. Cabana was the mystery opponent. Some fantastic action in parts of this one. They played off the troubles Joe and Daniels have been having quite a bit. A few such incidents include Daniels trying to avoid been tagged in with Joe unless Joe was at a dis-advantage, and one moment of fighting on the outside, where it appeared the two would be involved in another uncontrollable brawl, before Cabana broke up the fighting with a perfect 'Asai Moonsault'. The finish saw Daniels and Shelley fighting at ringside, as Cabana and Joe were wrestling in the ring. Daniels gained the upper-hand as Joe hit Cabana with the 'Muscle Buster'. More determined to stop Joe winning the match, Daniels slid in the ring, and charged at Joe, clotheslining Joe over the top rope, but momentum meant Daniels went with him. This left Shelley to crawl into the ring, pick up the downed Cabana, and hit a 'Shellshock' on his near defenceless opponent for the win. Shelley celebrates his win, and his earning a future APW Championship match. Very good match.

9) HOMICIDE and RICKY REYES def. APW Champion JERRY LYNN and CHARLIE HAAS (22:24) when Homicide pinned Lynn with the 'Cop Killah'. Very good tag match, but not the must-see it might have been. Lynn and Haas were off on a flyer, and it seemed Homicide and Reyes would have no answer for their offence. After a good few minutes though, Homicide and Reyes found a way into the match, before wearing Lynn down. Lynn got a 'hot-tag' to Haas, but in the end, it was Haas who got worn down for a longer period of time, Homicide and Reyes using both good tag team skills, and some cheap tactics to keep him isolated. In the end, Haas got a tag to Lynn, and for the final few minutes, the match was an action packed affair, with plenty of finishing moves, counters, last-gasp saves and attempts at quick pins to end the match. With the referee having lost track of the legal man, Haas had Reyes locked in the 'Haas of Pain', and Reyes was seconds away from tapping out. Homicide however made a last-gasp save, before downing Haas with the 'Ace Crusher'. Homicide rolled Reyes out of the ring, so the downed Reyes couldn't be pinned or made to submit on the outside, and so he couldn't get in the way. Homicide turned round, to find Lynn running at him. The two fought for a few moments, before Lynn went for the 'Cradle Piledriver'. Homicide countered with some hard shots, then used some very brutal knees to the face, before running against the ropes and hitting a 'lariot'! Everyone thought that was it, but Lynn was able to get his shoulder up at the very last moment, but showed no other signs of movement. Homicide banged his fists on the mat in anger, before picking the practically unconscious and helpless Lynn off the mat. With Lynn barely able to stand, and basically out on his feet, he was easy pickings for the 'Cop Killah', allowing Homicide to pick up the clean three on the APW Champion. The live show ends with Homicide and Reyes celebrating their win in the ring. Homicide pins the Champion.

--- In some final interviews for the home release, Colt Cabana cut a quick promo, basically saying how he was looking forward to his future APW career. Christopher Daniels cut a quick anti Samoa Joe promo, and Alex Shelley cut a promo boasting about earning a APW Championship match, and saying that now Lynn's selfish reign is over, and that youth will win through over 'past-it' performers like Lynn.

- End Show -

Quick Results:

1)Claudio Castagnoli def. Chad Collyer (13:37) ***3/4

2)James Keenan def. Mike Quackenbush (11:08) ***

3)Sumie Sakai def. Allison Danger (9:15) **1/2

4)Delirious def. Danny Daniels (14:41) ***

5)Jay Lethal def. Matt Sydal (15:30) ***1/2

6)Aerial Express def. Southern Comfort, The Ring Crew Express and The Iron Saints (13:22) **3/4

7)The Strong Brothers def. Aerial Express (9:56) **3/4

8)Alex Shelley def. Colt Cabana, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe (23:33) ****

9)Homicide and Ricky Reyes def. Jerry Lynn and Charlie Haas (22:24) ***3/4

Thoughts: Not the greatest show ever. Only one match hits four stars, but the tag main event, and in particular the Castagnoli/Collyer match do come close. To be fair, nothing is bad, it's just there's a lot of average here. The main event isn't quite the blow-away classic it could have been, but the company was let down slightly by Low-Ki's exit. All in all, it's far from a classic, and there is an overall sense of it being a 'filler show', but there is some good stuff here. Maybe has the feature of being a show without any real great or classic matches, but without any bad ones either. Whether or not that's a good thing, is up to you.

Edited December 30, 2005 by timmayy mars

[DFF]

Nice show dude. I like how you've got a slow build on the Joe/Daniels feud. (Read one my previous posts for how I'd like that to go).

Not sure whether Homicide is ME material but, if you push him right, you could MAKE him ME potential. Just wondering whether you are going to go for a Reyes v Haas feud or a three way with Haas, Lynn and Homicide. Maybe go with Reyes to use them both up, then add Haas back to the picture after a short feud. This could lead to Lynn v Haas v 'Cide. Homicide winning the title at that point may be a good move, storyline wise.

I think you'd benefit from a second tier singles title, maybe. Or set-up a KOTR style tourney - like your own version of the X/J Cup. Maybe the A-Cup?

[stonecoldfan12345]

That was a good show, in my opinion...liked the Four Way....also likin how the Daniels/Joe feud startin to heat up a little bit as each show rolls along. Have no clue of whos gonna win the Homicide/Lynn match, but hope Lynn doers, that way we can see Shelley/Lynn at the April show, and see him finally get shut up, lol.......

[Timmoru Suzuki]

JONNY STORM today signed an exclusive written deal with the UK's FWA promotion. This means Storm will be unavailable to fulfil his commitment to face SALVATORE RINAURO at 'Retribution'. Rinauro will now face the debuting international superstar MILANO COLLECTION AT. APW wishes Jonny Storm good luck in his future career with the FWA.

Edited January 3, 2006 by timmayy mars

[NobBe Nobbs]

I'm pleasantly surprised at how well this has turned out. From the backstory - which, while solid, wasn't original - I had fairly low expectations, but the short, smarky style of the write-ups and among others, the rivalry between the RCE (one of my favourite teams, just because) and Southern Comfort has made this a real undiscovered gem. Well done, and don't stop here.

(By the way, it's the FWA, not FAW)