It's Monday, I'm Camel, and this is your Backstage Pass to the NYSWF PPV weekend. What happened? Who won? Who lost? Who debuted, who returned, and who hates who? Well, I'll be trying my damndest to tell you that right now.

The Academy's Caged Fury hit the airwaves on Sunday, and it was as good as we've come to expect from these newcomers. Taut matches, pretty good storylines... all in all an above average Academy PPV. Let's hope these guys can keep it up. The results were as follows:

~ Retribution d. Al Coholic - Both men were in their first matches in the NYSWF this week, and they did not disappoint. Keep a close eye on Retribution, he looks like he's going to advance very quickly.

~ Mark Niles d. Sean Kaos - It may just be a rumor, but from what I've heard, this was Niles' last match. If that's the truth, then good luck to him, wherever he's headed next. He's a good talent, and he will be sorely missed.

~ Johnny Bomb d. Kevin Rampage and Paranoid Perry for the NYSWF Jr. Heavyweight Title - All I have to say is "wow." Bomb is one sick bastard, slicing up his opponents post-match and spreading their blood all over the title... kinda creepy. As for Rampage and Perry... well, their workrate has gone down in the past couple of months... if they don't get their act together, they may not find themselves in the Academy for very long.

~ Angels and Insects (John Iley and Christian Cruz) d. DJ Deadly and Shane Carter - The Main Event, and not surprisingly, the match of the night. I will publicly say this: I mark for John Iley. He knows what he's doing, and he does it well. It's a shame to see him holed up in the Academy like this, the man deserves a spot on the NYSWF roster.

And on to the NYSWF proper. The Big Japan Classic '01 was a night of returns, apparently. Not one, not two, but THREE returning stars on the roster. It also was a night of surprises, as a new commissioner was put in place, and HATE lost every match it was involved in. Let's take a look at what happened last night at the Tokyo Egg Dome:

~ Virus d. Julian Dreamwalker. And what a match, to say the least: Virus has shown me a lot in the past couple of weeks. He's got the pure, raw talent that one needs to get started, he just needs to refine it into something he can market. And this match took him one step closer to doing just that. The real surprise came at the end, however, as Sean Boden made a dramatic entrance, putting out a cigarette in the face of Julian Dreamwalker... and starting a trend that would go on throughout the night.

~ The Krow and Xtreme d. Spyke and Shawn Hunter. I did not see this one coming. Granted, Krow and X do have some talent, but with Shawn Hunter in the mix, I really thought the match was over from the get go. A pleasant surprise, to say the least. Keep an eye on Spyke, I see bigger and better things in his future.

~ Commissioner Battle Royal. Well... not the highlight of the show, in wrestling terms, but quite funny. The ending was quite a surprise, as it would seem a new entrant in the match ended up winning: Tony Bondaga, formerly of the Academy. This could be interesting.

~ Sigel Phoenix d. Spiral. This was one for the record books, as Spiral fell to Phoenix in a street fight, no less. Phoenix is not just a good wrestler, he's starting to get over, much to the chagrin of HATE, I'm sure. Once again, the end involved Sean Boden, Spiral's skull, and a broken beer bottle.

~ Dark Messiah d. Angel to advance in the World Title Tourney. A good, respectable match. Angel has shown herself to not be afraid of taking some big bumps, to say the least. But, Jack, Carson, PLEASE stop with the comparisons to Laura, unless you want to kill her career. Two former stars made their returns after this match, as Jason Phoenix came out to thunderous applause... apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought he was dead. He called out Julian Dreamwalker, and HATE absolutely clobbered him, until... Execution returned to the ring! They seem to have formed an alliance, at least against HATE.

~ Nightmare d. Loco Martinez to advance in the World Title Tourney. I cried after this match. I really really really wanted to see Loco with the belt, but it didn't happen. You win some, you lose some, I guess... but dammit, I really wanted to win that one.

~ Jonathan Storm d. NOTHING to retain the Lightweight Title. I expected a lot out of this match, and was not disappointed. The OCW Death Match is not something to be taken lightly. A barbed-wire wrapped cage, a scaffold over a sheet of plate glass on top... a scary, scary situation. I think either NOTHING or Storm got injured here, because the match was pretty short in comparison to other matches of the sort. And, as everyone had predicted after Spiral and Julian, Sean Boden made his way up the barbed wire cage, and onto the scaffold, hitting a huge 450 splash on NOTHING in what may have been the spot of the night (in competition with the DDT through plate glass that happened 30 seconds before). He trapped NOTHING in the Wrath (Kajihatime), and whether Storm just wanted NOTHING to himself or was trying to protect his brother isn't clear... he tried to break up the move, and Boden hit him with a Vengeance Slam... which probably effectively ended their friendship. We'll see where this goes.

~ Azazel d. Rune Robertson for leadership of the Fellowship and the TV Title. THIS MATCH SURPRISED THE HELL OUT OF ME. I really thought Rune would take it in the long run, but Azazel won, becoming leader of the Fellowship, just as he wanted. Of course, that Fellowship would not include Rune, who has made a new alliance with Virus to form another incarnation of the Underground Evolution. I'm sorry, but UE will always be Rune and DJ, no matter what anyone says... you're sorely missed, bro.

~ Dark Messiah d. Nightmare for the World Title in the Four Corners of Pain. The match itself is sickening to begin with. What it turned into was a huge, bloody, spotfest culminating with Messiah lighting the pit of rubbing alcohol on fire... scary scary match. Messiah should look good with that belt around his waist, but he's no Loco, dammit!

So there you have it, folks... the NYSWF PPV weekend. While not quite as up to par with last year's BJC (but what is, with the Grady/Cash/Daniels Iron Man Match?), this year did put on quite a show, and came away with it's share of surprises.

Now, I know I promised a sneak peek at this weekend's cards, but my source on the inside seems to be looking for a beatdown. In other words, I don't got 'em. Hell, that's why this post probably won't go up until (gasp) Tuesday. But you'll just have to forgive me.

Camel out.