THE EAST COAST INDY WRESTLING UPDATE #14, by John (Saturday, November 1, 2003)

Table of Contents:

- SOURCES
- EAST COAST INDY WRESTLERS IN INTERNATTIONAL INDIES NEWS
- MISC. EAST COAST INDY TIDBITS
- UPCOMING EAST COAST INDY EVENT SHILLSS
- COMBAT ZONE WRESTLING (CZW) NEWS
- IWA MID-SOUTH HARDCORE WRESTLING (IWAA-MS) NEWS
- MAJOR LEAGUE WRESTLING (MLW) NEWS
> - NWA-TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION (NWA-TNA) NEEWS
- NWA WILDSIDE NEWS
- RING OF HONOR (ROH) NEWS
- XTREME PRO WRESTLING (XPW) NEWS
- MULTIMEDIA OF THE WEEK
- SHILLS OF THE WEEK

SOURCES

1Wrestling.com, Bob Barnett, CZWWrestling.com, Evan Ginzberg, Gerweck.net, IWAMidSouthWrestling.com, JAPW.net, Jeremy Borash, Masanori Horie, TheSmartMarks.com, MLW.com, NWATNA.com, NWA-Wildside.com, PuroresuFan.com, PWBTS.com, PWTorch, ROHWrestling.com, Wade Keller, Wrestling Observer, XPWTV.com

EAST COAST INDY WRESTLERS IN INTERNATIONAL INDIES NEWS

- D'Lo Brown, Mike "The Gladiator" Awesome, Jeremy Lopez, Malice (a.k.a. Gigantes), Bull Buchanan, and international stars Dr. Wagner Jr. and Silver King are all currently touring with All Japan. Jimmy Yang was scheduled to work on the tour, but his appearances were cancelled due to his recent signing of a WWE developmental deal..
- IWA-MS' Ace Steel will debut in Pro WWrestling NOAH later this year.
- Heartland Wrestling Alliance star Cheet "The Jet" Jablonski is currently touring with IWA Puerto Rico, as is David Flair.
- Hulk Hogan will return to Japan on 1//4/04 when he wrestles a yet-to-be-named opponent on the NJPW "WRESTLING WORLD 2004 Tour" show at the Tokyo Dome.
- The S.A.T. (Joel Maximo & Jose Maaximo) and NWA-FL stars Steve Madison and Lex Lovelett (working as Lex Meyer in Japan) are currently touring with World Japan Wrestling.
- England's XWrestling recently announcced that it had signed CZW tag team Nick Berk & Z-Barr to compete on its "Revolution" show in April 2004. This will be both wrestlers' debuts in England. Berk told XWrestling that "It's a pleasure to finally get to wrestle in England. I'm looking forward to showing my talents to a new country." Also on the Revolution show will be Road Warrior Animal (Road Warrior Hawk was scheduled to appear on the show, but won't due to his recent death), Ted DiBiase, Big Vito, Reckless Youth/Tom Carter, and many others.
- IWA-MS' 2 Tuff Tony & Madman Ponddo continue touring with Big Japan, while Super Crazy is working on a series of New Japan shows. Juventud Guerrera, meanwhile, is competing in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
- John Zandig and several other CZW worrkers will return to ZERO-ONE in December.
- On the 10/24 All-Star Promotions showw in Salisbury, England, P.N. Neuz beat "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, but Danielson won the main event Battle Royal. Also on the show, Jonny Storm beat Dean Allmark.
- Several participants in All Japan's RReal World Tag League 2003 event have been announced, and among them are the debuting Jamal (Ekmo in NWA-TNA and T.A.F.K.A. Jamal in WWE) & Justin Credible, as well as Gigantes (Malice) & Bull Buchanan and TAKA Michinoku & D'Lo Brown.
- Low Ki hasn't been offered a contractt by ZERO-ONE, contrary to recent rumors that state otherwise.
- Steve Corino, Los Angeles Giant, Justtin McCulley, and Josh Dempsey will compete on the ZERO-ONE tour that will begin this Wednesday (11/5). Low Ki isn't competing on the tour, despite stating that he'd miss tonight's ROH show due to obligations in Japan. Meanwhile, Homicide and Guillotine LeGrande will work in ZERO-ONE later this month and CZW's Nick Gage and Zandig will return to the promotion for the final two "hardcore"-themed shows that are being booked by Kintaro Kanemura in December.

MISC. EAST COAST INDY TIDBITS:

- Some very exciting news for East Coast indy wrestling fans was released earlier this week. None other than ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING will come to the US to hold a mini-tour throughout the East Coast! The first show on the tour will be an interpromotional supercard featuring stars from both AJPW AND Ring of Honor. That show - which will be promoted under the ROH banner as "Final Battle 2" - will occur on 12/27 at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia, PA. The current card for that show is: AJPW Tag Team Titles - The Great Muta (a.k.a. Keji Muto) (making his in-ring return to the US!)/Arashi (c) vs. Chris Daniels/Dan Maff); Homicide vs. Satoshi Kojima; AJ Styles vs. Kaz Hayashi; CM Punk/Colt Cabana vs. Tomoaki Honma/Kazushi Miyamoto; Samoa Joe, Izzy/Dixie, "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, The Briscoes, Xavier, Matt Stryker, John Walters, BJ Whitmer, Backseat Boyz, Carnage Crew, Justin Credible, Special K, Slyk Wagner Brown, and April Hunter will also appear. Before the show, ROH will hold a fan convention, which will feature appearances by both ROH and AJPW stars. For ticket info, please visit ROHWrestling.com.

The very next night (12/28), AJPW's tour will continue, as it participates in an interpromotional show with Texas indy promotion River City Wrestling in San Antonio, TX at the Westside YMCA. That show will feature: Muta/Arashi vs. Mr. X/Pete Lothario, Kojima vs. Krusher Kong; Hayashi vs. Homicide (of ROH); Honma/Miyamot vs. Biohazard (the former-ROH performer)/Blue Angel.
- Please visit SSCWWrestling.com for moore info on the recently-formed agreement between Stars & Stripes Championship Wrestling and Weiss Wrestling Promotions that wi ll allow for SSCW PPVs to air in both the U.S. and Canada in the future.
- Joe Blackburn's Heritage Wrestling Allliance (XPW's former-"developmental territory") will resume running shows in 2004 at the Murphy Recreation Center in Philly.
- According to Evan Ginzberg, Californiia-based independent filmmaker Dwayne Walker's documentary about the U.S. indy wrestling scene is in the final stages of editing and will be released soon. The documentary includes appearances by Ginzberg, Louie Ramos, Homicide, Nikolai Volkoff, Nikita Breznikov, Don Arnold, Kid USA, Frankie Starz, LXW co-owner and XPW executive Slash, Mambo King, Steve the Teacher, Tiger Khan and more.
- A new independent wrestling promotionn called the Eastern Wrestling Alliance has formed in Baltimore, MD. In addition to running shows in the area, it owns a wrestling training school. Free tryouts for the school are being offered Monday thru Thursday from 6 - 7 pm. For more information, call 443-858-2755 and check out the promotion's web site at EWAMD.com.
- Raven's new official web site has beeen launched and can be viewed at TheRavenEffect.com. Jimmy Rave has also lauched a new web site, which can be found at JimmyRave.8m.ru .
- NON-EAST COAST INDY WRESTLING TIDBIT:: On the 10/22 Ultimate Pro Wrestling Possession show in Santa Ana, CA, several MAJOR names were added to the upcoming UPW 5th Anniversary Show that is scheduled to occur on 12/17/03. Firstly Sylvester "The Predator" Turkay said that he wanted to do something special for the 12/17 show, so he challenged Ken Shamrock to a match on it. Shamrock came out and cut a promo, saying that he accepted the match.

Later on in the show, a three-man match between Frankie Kazarian (UPW Lightweight Champion), Mikey Henderson, and LOW KI (making his UPW debut and only his third West Coast appearance EVER [at least to my knowledge; his first two were vs. Super Dragon in MPW and four matches at the 2001 APW King of the Indies Tournament] for the UPW Lightweight Title. That match will also occur on the anniversary show.

After the show's main event ended, a match for the anniversary show was booked betweek Tom Howard and none other than STING for Howard's UPW Heavyweight Title. So, on the 12/17 show, Sting will return to the California territory in which he began his legendary career.

Evan Marriott a.k.a. Joe Millionaire also made his return to UPW on the 10/22 show and cut a promo and participated in a runin after the main event.

UPCOMING EAST COAST INDY EVENT SHILLS

- The second Lucha Xtreme Wrestling (LXWrestling.com) show in Jamaica, Queens, NY on 11/5 will feature: Chi Chi Cruz/All Money Is Legal vs. Los Lunatics; Josh Prohibition vs. Vic Grimes (winner faces Supreme and Corporal Robinson in a three-way match for the Suicide Title); Shark Boy vs. Zokre; Scorpio Jr. vs. Justin Credible; Angel vs. Justice Pain; Mexico's Most Wanted (Damien 666/Halloween) vs. The Aerial Express (QuickSilver/Scorpio Sky); a one-night, eight-man, single-elimination tournament to crown the inaugural LXW Heavyweight Champion, with "100% Guapo" Shocker vs. Ultimo Guerrero already announced(!); appearances by Phoenix Star, TARO, Supreme, Smoke Dawg (formerly Smokey Charmichael), Grimm Reefer, AWC, The Solution, and others!
- Also on 11/15, several East Coast inddy stars will compete on the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla "An Inch Longer Than Average" show in LA, CA: *M-Dogg 20 (a.k.a. Matt Cross)* vs. Jardi Frantz; Non-Title Match - Hardkore Kidd vs. ROH World Heavyweight Champion *Samoa Joe*; Adam Pearce vs. *Colt Cabana*; Heavyweight Title - *Frankie Kazarian* (c) vs. ROH star American Dragon (a.k.a. Bryan Danielson) (making his So-Cal return).
- Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW) (11/22; Viking Hall in South Philly, PA): TLC Match(!) for the 3PW Heavyweight Title - Justin Credible (c) vs. Sabu; Ian Rotten vs. Juggalo Championsh*t Wrestling's Rudeboy (debuting in 3PW); Homicide vs. Xavier; appearances by "Pitbull" Gary Wolfe, Jasmin St. Claire and Tod Gordon, Roadkill, The Blue Meanie, Rob Eckos, Striker, Monsta Mack, Nick Berk, Damian Adams, Ricky Vega, Josh Daniels, and CJ O' Doyle.
- The Sixth Anniversary Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW.net) show will occur on Saturday, 11/8 in Secaucus, NJ. The show will feature: No DQ/Countout Match - Raven (taking the place of Terry Funk, who was originally scheduled to team with Sabu, but had to pull himself from the show due to "a scheduling conflict" [JAPW.net])/Sabu vs. Homicide/Dan(ny) "Mafia" Maff; JAPW Heavyweight Title - Al Snow (c) vs. Jerry Lawler, w/ none other than MICK FOLEY as the Special Guest Referee(!!!); Tag Team Titles - April Hunter/Slyk Wagner Brown (c) vs. The D.R.S. vs. H Effect; County Whippin' Match for the Television Title - Crazy Ivan (c) vs. Jay Lethal; L-H Title - Azrieal (c) vs. Insane Dragon; Six-Man Best of the Light Heavyweights Match - CZW's Ruckus vs. NWA-FL's Roderick Strong vs. Neo Spirit Pro Wrestling (Canada)'s Derek Wylde vs. three other participants who will be announced soon.
- Maximum Pro Wrestling (MXPW) (11/4; BBroward Community College in Coconut Creek, FL): Texas Bullrope Match - Dusty Rhodes vs. Barry Windham; Heavyweight Title - D'Lo Brown (c) vs. Raven vs. Shane Douglas; B.G. James vs. Glenn Gilberti; Tag Team Titles - Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger (c) vs. Konnan/Norman Smiley; Hardcore Match - Mideon (Dennis Knight) vs. New Jack vs. The Sandman; Television Title - AJ Styles (c) vs. Chris Sabin; Chaz (Headbanger Mosh)/Julio Dinero vs. David Johnson/Vampire Warrior (Gangrel); Scoot Andrews vs. Michael Shane; Antonio Banks vs. Hack Myers.
- The scheduled Jersey Championship Wreestling show for tomorrow in Paramus, NJ has been postponed due to emergency surgery on JCW owner Ricky Otazu. According to Eric Walker, "Reports from the company state that a previously undetected cyst of an undetermined nature in Otazu's chest ruptured while Otazu was loading the ring truck earlier today." Ticket's for the 11/2 show will be honored for the 11/23 show in Garfield, NJ.
- Heartland Wrestling Association "t;Conviction" (TONIGHT; Batavia, OH): Mike Slade/Monty Fabulous vs. The Hussla/Mystery Partner; Capture The Flag Match - Big Al vs. Brother Clay; European Title - Hoss (c) vs. Johnny Riggs vs. Jason Riggs; TJ Dalton/JT Stahr/Drew Johnson vs. Numbers One/Three/Four of The Militia (w/ Patrick Black and Number Five); Chad Collyer vs. Number Two of The Militia; Ace Steel vs. Shark Boy; Women's Match - AJ Sparx vs. Leilani Kai vs. Hellena Heavenly vs. Miss Natural; Rory Fox/Crash Holly (Mad Mikey) vs. High IQ Quinten Lee/Human Time Bomb (Special Guest Referee - Ricky Steamboat); appearances by Harley Race, Superstar Steve, and Trevor Rhodes of Harley Race’s WLW.
- The SSG Promotions/World Wrestling Coouncil show that was scheduled for tonight at Viking Hall in Philly was announced by Rockin' Rebel this past Thursday as being cancelled.
- National Championship Wrestling "t;Brutality Is Our Business" (TONIGHT; Red Lion, PA): WWE's Al Snow vs. Romeo Valentino; NCW Heavyweight Title - Adam Flash (c) vs. Salvatore Sincere; Special Attraction Sicilian Stretcher Match - "Mukie" Muscarelli vs. "Playboy” Jonathon Luvstruk; Ladder Match for the vacant NCW Tag Team Titles - Kid Kattrell/CZW's Ruckus vs. Rob Eckos/CZW's Nick Berk; "Mr. Black Entertainment Television" Jermaine Jubilee vs. Master Andrew Bates vs. Smasher LeBlanc; 15-man "King of the Hill" Battle Royal; The Bad Crew will be trying to collect the $5,000 bounties on the heads of "Dirty Deeds" Darren Wyse/Hungarian Barbarian; appearances by Luvbug/Marshall Law, The Golden Falcon, The Masked Medic/Rodney X, the NCW 2003 "Hotties And Bodies" Calendar Girls (including Denine Mercedes, former WWE Hardcore Champion Bobcat, and Priscilla), and the "official" Policeman of NCW.
- Ohio Valley Wrestling will run a showw in London, KY TONIGHT and Indianapolis, IN TOMORROW.
- Please note that the upcoming events of promotions with their own news section in this column (CZW, IWA-MS, MLW, NWA Wildside, NWA-TNA, and ROH) will not be posted in this section, but rather below in the section of that respective promotion.
- For the cards to All Japan Pro Wrestlling's upcoming US tour, please scroll up to the Misc. East Coast Indy News section.

COMBAT ZONE WRESTLING (CZW) NEWS

- Adam Flash, Ruckus, and Nick Berk will compete on the tonight's National Championship Wrestling "Brutality Is Our Business" show in Red Lion, PA. Scroll up to the Event Shills list for more info on the card. Also, Ruckus will compete on the JAPW Sixth Anniversary show later this month. The full card for that event can also be found above.
- John Zandig and Nick Gage will returnn to ZERO-ONE in December for the final two "hardcore"-themed shows that are being booked by Kintaro Kanemura.
- Nick Berk & Z-Barr are gaining a lot of press lately. England's XWrestling recently announced that it had signed the CZW tag team to compete on its "Revolution" show in April 2004. This will be both wrestlers' debuts in England. Berk told XWrestling that "It's a pleasure to finally get to wrestle in England. I'm looking forward to showing my talents to a new country." Also on the Revolution show will be Road Warrior Animal (Hawk was scheduled to appear, but obviously won't due to his recent death), Ted DiBiase, Big Vito, Reckless Youth/Tom Carter, and many others. Also, Z-Barr is rumored to be working for NWA-TNA next month (November). Plus, Z-Barr is asking fans of himself and Berk to e-mail him at [email protected] with suggestions for what they think their tag team name should be.
- Johnny Kashmere recently quit CZW. Thhis news item was originally reported by 1Wrestling.com on Sunday, 10/12. Although one source within CZW simply stated that Kashmere would be "take time away from CZW," many Internet sources insist that he is entirely done with the company. Kashmere currently co-holds the CZW Tag Team Title and - up until this past Thursday night - the ROH Tag Team Title with his Backseat Boyz partner, Trent Acid (who is also the current CZW Ironman Champion), and was not present at the CZW 10/11 show at Viking Hall, despite being promoted as appearing at it. Friends of Kashmere are stating that he actually quit the promotion a month ago after the 9/13 CZW show (also at Viking Hall) due to being discouraged about his role in CZW storylines. If this is in fact true, it makes CZW's mistake of hyping him as being on the 10/11 show all the more irresponsible, considering they apparently knew that he wouldn't be there for almost a month before that show. There is no word yet on what CZW is planning to do with the tag team titles, which Acid appears to be the sole holder of now that Kashmere is gone. Also, Kashmere's name has been removed from the "Roster" page on CZWWrestling.com. There is no news on what Kashmere's departure from CZW means for his future in ROH. For more information on Kashmere or Trent Acid, please visit BackseatWeb.com.
- CZW will return to Viking Hall in Souuth Philly on 11/15 for "Night of Infamy 2," which will feature: Double Dog Collar Match w/ Zandig as Special Guest Referee - Nick Gage/The Wifebeater (making his in-ring CZW return) vs. Nate Hatred/Messiah; Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Chris Hero vs. Homicide; Sonjay Dutt/Ruckus vs. Derek Frazier/Rockin' Rebel; Z-Barr/Nick Berk vs. The D.R.S. (making their in-rinig CZW debuts); B-Boy vs. Jimmy Rave (winner wrestles Trent Acid for the Ironman Title at Cage of Death V); Aerial Assault Match - Deranged vs. ROH's Azrael.
- The reason that Truth Martini missed his scheduled match vs. Sonjay Dutt at the most recent CZW show at Viking Hall was because he suffered a neck injury a few nights earlier at a show in Michigan.
- Rebel's Army stable member and originnal WWE Tough Enough participant Greg "Tough Enough" Matthews has been sidelined with an ankle injury for 3-6 weeks.
- Tickets for CZW Cage of Death V (scheeduled for Saturday, 12/13/03 at Viking Hall) can be reserved by going to http://www.czwwrestling.com/Tickets/cod5.html .
- You can download part 2 of the traileer of the upcoming "Nick Mondo: Unscarred" documentary on NickMondo.com.
- Dover, DE - home of CZW's Racks &; Billiards event venue - has enacted legislation that has banned CZW from running there anymore.

IWA MID-SOUTH HARDCORE WRESTLING (IWA-MS) NEWS

- The first round matches for the second annual IWA-MS "Ted Petty Invitational" Sweet Science Tournament (scheduled to occur on 11/7 and 11/8 in Salem, IN) have been announced as: Chris Sabin-Alex Shelley; Jimmy Jacobs-Salvatore Rinauro; Chris Hero-Arik Cannon; Nate Webb-Sonjay Dutt; Danny Daniels-Ken Anderson; Jimmy Rave-Colt Cabana; Jonny Storm-M-Dogg 20; Michael Shane-Jerry Lynn; AJ Styles-Todd Sexton; JC Bailey-B-Boy; Truth Martini-Nigel McGuinness; Josh Prohition-BJ Whitmer. Night two's non-tournament matches will feature a Ian Rotten vs. Tracy Smothers and a women's match between Mickie Kncukles and the returning Rain. Like what was done at the 2003 KOTDM Tournament, a Q&A session with the IWA-MS stars will be held during the TPI weekend. For more info on the TPI show, please visit IWAMidSouthWrestling.com.
- Nigel M(i)cGuinness will make his seccond appearance in ROH TONIGHT in Elizabeth, NJ. For the full card of this show, please scroll down to the ROH News section.
- On 11/27, IWA-MS will return to the NNational Guard Armory in North Vernon/Salem, IN with Danny Daniels defending his Heavyweight Title vs. the returning HOMICIDE, among other matches to be announced! Also, IWA-MS will return to Illinois as it makes its debut in the city of Lafatette the National Guard Armory on Saturday, 11/22. More information on this show will be announced in the coming weeks.
- Rollin' Hard has been sidelined with a foot injury.
- 2 Tuff Tony and Madman Pondo continuee touring with Big Japan.
- IWA-MS' Ace Steel will debut in Pro Wrestling NOAH later this year.
- For info on Chris Hero's recent appeaarances in Europe, please scroll up to the EAST COAST INDY WRESTLERS IN INTERNATIONAL INDY INDIES NEWS section.

MAJOR LEAGUE WRESTLING (MLW) NEWS

- MLW's "Hybrid Horror Show" event - which was scheduled for yesterday in Jacksonville, FL, has been postponed and - according to MLW.com - will be rescheduled for a later date. The web site also has information on how to obtain ticket refunds for the Hybrid Horror Show.

Originally scheduled to occur on tonight's show was an MLW World Heavyweight Title Match between champion Terry Funk and challenger Steve Corino, Barry Windham's MLW in-ring debut, "Justin Credible" PJ Walker vs. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams in a Taped Fist Match, Homicide vs. Jerry Lynn in a Loser Leaves MLW For 90 Days Match, and more. There is no word yet on what matches will occur on the rescheduled version of the show and how identical they will be to the original card.

Check out MLW.com for more info on MLW.

NWA-TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION (NWA-TNA) NEWS

- Next Wednesday's PPV (11/5) will feature: NWA World Heavyweight Title - Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. the returning STING; Raven finally gets his hands on James Mitchell; live AJ Styles promo; America's Most Wanted vs. Sonny Siaki/Ekmo; Shane Douglas vs. The Sandman; Michael Shane's Triple Chance X Invitational begins with a Battle Royal featuring Low Ki, Chris Sabin, The Fallen Angel, Sonjay Dutt, Johnny Storm, Sharkboy, Chad Collyer, and a soon-to-be-announced newcomer. Check out NWATNA.com for more info.
- Elix Skipper lost to Horshu of UPW inn a WWE dark match on 10/28 in Atlanta, GA before the taping of SmackDown! (which aired yesterday). During the bout, Elix blew his signature ropewalk huracanrana and eventually was pinned following a modified powerslam.
- The 10/30 "Bound For Glory"; mega PPV was recently postponed, as many of you readers already probably know. TNA officials learned that Hulk Hogan - who was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on the show - would be undergoing knee surgery on 10/31 after apparently re-injuring his knee during his 10/13 NJPW match vs. Masahiro Chono. The event - if it does end up occurring - will probably not happen until sometime next year. Many Internet sources are even suspicious of whether or not Hogan's "re-injury" is legitimate, saying that it's quite possible that he just didn't want to go through with the TNA appearance because he was sure that the PPV would fail miserably, due to a lack of promotion. In the mean time, TNA officials will apparently be looking to obtain a promotional license to run shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they are interested in holding the event, if it does end up transpring.
- Fans can expect an interpromotional aagreement between TNA and the Mexico-based AAA or EMLL promotions to be announced soon. AAA owner Antonio Penã has had several meetings meetings with TNA officials and appearances on TNA PPVs as of recent, while Paco Alfonso - owner of AAA's primary rival, EMLL - was scheduled to attend this past Wednesday's TNA PPV, but no-showed. He will apparently be attending one of the future TNA PPVs, though, in order to advance a possible working agreement between EMLL and TNA.
- Tiger Mask IV of New Japan Pro Wrestlling will be flown into the U.S. to compete on the 11/30 TNA PPV. This appearance is being credited to the recent interpromotional discussion between TNA and NJPW regarding each promotion's use of Hulk Hogan. Tiger's appearance in TNA is expected to further the growing relationship between TNA and NJPW.
- CZW wrestler Z-Barr is rumored to be working for TNA this month (November).
- The group that accompanies Chris Daniiels to the ring for his matches includes indy wrestlers "Spyder" Nate Webb (IWA-MS), "Devilish" Lee Handsome (formerly XPW's GQ Money), and Delirous (NWA Wildside).
- TNA commentator Don West has been hirred as the brand-new afternoon talk show host on Nashville's Sports Talk 560 Monday thru Friday from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.
- TNA recently announced the release off three special DVDs: Best of NWA-TNA Title Matches, Best of the X Division Matches, and Best of Bloodiest Brawls. The Title Matches DVD will be available the week of October 13, while the others will follow soon thereafter (all in time for this year's holiday season). The matches featured on the DVDs are all complete and uncut and each DVD will also contain bonus footage and interviews with TNA performers. Check out NWATNA.com for a complete match listing of each DVD.
- The TNA Volume 2 theme song CD is avaailable for pre-order on NWATNA.com. A full track listing is also available for view on the TNA web site.

The following tidbits are courtesy of the PWTorch:

- After his WWE contract expires next summer, Rob Van Dam is rumored to be leaving the promotion due to frustration about his current storyline role and exploring several options, including returning to Japan to wrestle and joining TNA.
- AJ Styles is unhappy about his currennt push. There's no news on whether or not that's because he dropped the NWA title to Jeff Jarrett this past week on the PPV or if his frustration was present even while he held that title.
- Jimmy Hart has helped obtain former-WWCW ring announcer David Penzer the part-time duty of attaining non-TNA indy bookings for TNA talent. Apparently, each wrestler who is interested informs Penzer of their asking price and Penzer in turn relays that info to the promoter who wants to book the wrestler. Hart appeared on this past week's TNA PPV and will also appear on next Wednesday's PPV on 10/29.

NWA WILDSIDE NEWS

- Tonight's Wildside TV taping will feature: Bunkhouse Brawl - Bulldogg Raines/Tank vs. The Dobbin Brothers; Jeremy V/Brandon P vs. Nemesis/Shadow; Rematch - Todd Sexton/Masada vs. Nick Halen/Jay Fury; Junior Title - Ray Gordy (c) vs. Slim J; Caprice Coleman/Gabriel vs. Rainman/Azrael; Murder 1 plans to hurt somebody; Seth DeLay vs. NWA-FL's Jerrelle Clark; Onyx makes his first Heavyweight Title defense, vs. Mikal Adryan; Jacey North wants Jeff Lewis one-on-one; and more.
- Two Wildside stars have been entered into the IWA-MS "Ted Petty Invitational 2" Sweet Science Tournament that will occur on 11/7 and 11/8. Todd Sexton will replace Matt Stryker and Salvatore Rinauro will replace Michael Shane. For the full brackets of the tournament, please scroll up to the IWA-MS News section.
- Ryan Ash and the returning Matt Sydall will be on the 11/15 show.
- Frankie Capone and Kevin Matthews willl be working some upcoming TV tapings.
- Iceberg will be returning in a few weeeks after suffering a stinger at the Gauntlet for the Gold event a two weeks ago.

RING OF HONOR (ROH) NEWS

- Announced in the past week was that ROH would team up with none other than ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING to hold an interpromotional show later this year in Philly. For more info on this show (which is part of a US tour by AJPW), please scroll up to the East Coast Indy Wrestling News section.
- TONIGHT, ROH will return to Elizabethh, NJ with the following card: AJ Styles vs. the returning "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson; Steve Corino vs. CM Punk vs. Chris Daniels vs. Samoa Joe (w/ the returning Jim Cornette); Scramble Cage Match - Special K vs. Backseat Boyz vs. Carnage Crew vs. the returning Teddy Hart/?; first-ever Fighting Spitit Match - BJ Whitmer vs. Homicide; Tag Team Titles - Izzy/Dixie (c) vs. The Briscoes; Field of Honor Match - Colt Cabana vs. Dan Maff; Rematch - Justin Credible vs. Matt Stryker; The Purists vs. Xavier/the returning Nigel M(i)cGuinness; the pre-event Showcase Card will feature Luis Ortiz vs. Jose Perez and appearances by Slyk Wagner Brown, April Hunter, Dunn/Marcos, The Outcast Killazs, Special K, and others, while the main show will also include Julius Smokes, Allison Danger, and the ROH-debuting Guillotine LeGrande.

According to ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, Canadian standouts Jack Evans and Teddy Hart were unable to fulfill their scheduled appearances on last Saturday's ROH show in Spencerport, NY. Both were planning on staying in the U.S. after their match yesterday for MLW, but that MLW show was postponed (please scroll up to the MLW News section above for more info on that matter) and Evans therefore won't be able to afford to pay for his own flight to the ROH show (MLW was planning on flying him in, apparently). With Hart, he must miss the ROH show due to having to attend the funeral of his family member, the recently departed Stu Hart. However, Hart will appear on the Thanksgiving doubleheader weekend events in Fairfield, CT and Wakefield, MA.

Also in significant news, LOW KI has left ROH. He initially posted on his official web site that he would be unable to fulfill his scheduled appearance on the 11/1 ROH show due to scheduling conflict. Sapolsky denied that he has heard any such news directly from Ki, but promised that he will inform the Internet indy wrestling community as soon as he receives a confirmation on whether or not Ki will appear on the show. However, earlier this week, Sapolsky made it official that Ki had in fact left ROH.
- The winner of Block A of the Field off Honor Tournament will be determined on 11/25 in Fairfield, CT when Xavier and Matt Stryker collide.
- Samoe Joe will defend his ROH World HHeavyweight Title on 11/29 in Wakefield.
- Carnage Crew member HC Loc recently rreceived the position of being ROH's first backstage agent. In addition to this new job, he will continue his duties of wrestling.
- After its recent successful debut shoow at the venue, ROH will return to Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD on January 12. Also at the recent Glen Burnie show, it was announced by former-MCW promoter Dan McDevitt announced that ROH would continue the tradition of the recently folded MCW promotion by holding the annual Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup (a one-night, single-elimination tournament that resembles ECWA's Super 8 event) in July 2004.
- "American Dragon" Bryan Dannielson will attempt to win the PWG Heavyweight Title from Frankie Kazarian on the 11/5 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla "An Inch Longer Than Average" show in Los Angeles, CA.
- ROH will return to Ohio on 1/10/04 inn Wilmington at the Roberts Centre on 123 Gano Road, which is right off I-71. The building is located about 30-40 minutes from Dayton, Cincinnatti and Columbus. Tickets for the show will go on sale next week.
- Abdullah the Butcher will make his ROOH return and his first appearance in the Boston area in several years on the 11/29 show.
- ROH will hold a fan convention beforee its Elizabeth, NJ show on 3/13/04, the day before Wrestlemania. There will be special guests at the convention that won't be on the show. For dealer table info, e-mail [email protected].
- Tryouts for the the ROH Wrestling Traaining School in Langhorne, PA have begun and will cost $50. Serious 18 or older applicants only.

MULTIMEDIA OF THE WEEK

- Shiny-Pants.com features a downloadable video tribute for the recently retired Jody Fleisch and a video preview of FWA British Uprising II, which occurred a few weeks ago. Both files are in .mpeg form.
- The Multimedia section of NickMondo.ccom - the official web site of CZW star "Sick" Nick Mondo - features various video clips of Mondo in action in CZW and even IWA-MS. Among the clips is a music video of CZW TOD2 and of a Mondo vs. Ric Blade match. NickMondo.com also features the second downloadable part of a trailer for the upcoming "Unscarred" documentary about Mondo's career.
- Be sure to check out the Video Clips section of Assault Championship Wrestling's web site, AssaultWrestling.com. The section, which can be found at http://www.assaultwrestling.com/clips.htm, features a variety of video clips in various formats pertaining to the history of ACW. AssaultWrestling.com also provides fans with the opportunity to view past and present ACW TV episodes. The current episode can be found at http://www.assaultwrestling.com/thisweek.htm , while past episodes are archived at http://www.assaultwrestling.com/tvarchives.htm .
- Lucha Xtreme Wrestling's web site (LXXWrestling.com) has posted an awesome downloadable video clip of it's first TV commercial.

SHILLS OF THE WEEK

- Check out the ONLY IWA Mid-South fansite, IWA Primetime, at http://www.freewebs.com/iwaprimetime/index.htm . It features news, wrestler bios, tape reviews, downloadable theme songs, info, polls, and more.
- The VHS versions of Best of XPW TV Voolume 1, the VHS and DVD versions of Best of XPW Deathmatches Volume 1, and the VHS and DVD versions of XPW New Year's Revolution 2002 are available for pre-order from Best Buy.

Feedback, suggestions, etc. about this column may be sent to [email protected].