THE EAST COAST INDY WRESTLING UPDATE #16, by John (Friday, November 21, 2003)

Table of Contents:

- APOLOGY
- 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

APOLOGY

First off, I'd like to apologize for not posting an edition of this column last week. I wish I had a better excuse, but all I can say is that I had a ton of stuff going on and was unfortunately too busy to get a spare moment to sit down and construct this NHB feature. For that reason, I'm going to try my damnedest to make it up, although it's kind of already too late. Nonetheless, here's an extra-large version of the East Coast Indy Wrestlng Update.

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

Abbreviations used in this edition...

CWT - (the) promotion's Cruiserweight (title)
HWT - Heavyweight
JHWT - Junior Heavyweight
LHWT - Light Heavyweight
LWT - Lightweight
Tourney - Tournament
TT - Tag Team
TV - Television

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.
- 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, TAKA Michinoku & D'Lo Brown, and La Parka (the original one [Adolfo Tapia], the one that worked in WCW) & NOSAWA, who will competing under a mask as "Parka Guerrera." NOSAWA competed briefly in AJPW last year under the guise of "Dark Guerrera."
- IWA-MS' 2 Tuff Tony and Madman Pondo continue touring with Big Japan. C.W. Anderson, Tom Howard, Steve Corino, and Mikey Henderson are currently wrestling for ZERO-ONE. Low Ki's previously scheduled bookings for the tours have been cancelled. Speaking of Ki, his past appearances in the promotion hasn't sparked a contract offer from ZERO-ONE, contrary to recent rumors that have stated otherwise. Also, Homicide and Guillotine LeGrande will work in ZERO-ONE later this month and CZW's Nick Gage and John Zandig will return to the promotion for the final two "hardcore"-themed shows that are being booked by Kintaro Kanemura next month (December).

Meanwhile, "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson - who can be considered the complete opposite type of wrestler as Gage or Zandig - will return to NJPW when he competes in the promotion's "BATTLE FINAL 2003" tour, which will last from 11/24 to 12/14. Besides being scheduled to compete vs. - among others - Jushin Thunder Liger ((in a tag team match, nonetheless), Danielson will team with Katsushi Takemura to participate in the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament that will occur on selected shows throughout the tour.
- Two IWA-MS stars and one of the promootion's former performers will compete on upcoming Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) events in Germany. On 1/31/04, 11 months after their famous rematch in IWA-MS, Chris Hero and C.M. Punk will face off against each other in a rematch of *that* rematch and like in their last match, the stipulation will make their bout a ONE HOUR LONG IRONMAN MATCH. Hero has been working for wXw and other promotions in Germany during the last few months, while Punk - besides serving as a powerful figure in ROH and NWA-TNA - made his debut in England a few weeks ago for the FWA. This is guaranteed to be quite a contest and it most certainly will not disappoint. 1/31 will be The Night Hero Met Punk...Again.

Also, Jimmy "The Barbaric Berzerker" Jacobs - another IWA-MS star (and recent CZW debutee, also) - will wrestle in Germany for the first time in his career, as he competes on the 12/27 wXw show.
- The XWrestling "Revolution"; show in Yorkshire, England on April 10, 2004 will feature Ted DiBiase, CZW's Nick Berk & Z-Barr, Chad Collyer, April Hunter, Slyk Wagner Brown, D'Lo Brown, Bam Bam Bigelow, Road Warrior Animal (Road Warrior Hawk was scheduled to appear on the show, but won't due to his recent death), Big Vito, Harry Smith (the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith's son), and the immensely controversial Teddy Hart. Also, Reckless Youth/Tom Carter vs. Matt Striker vs. Shark Boy has been the first match announced for the event, which will feature a Meet & Greet session in which fans can meet some of the wrestlers.
- IWA-MS' Ace Steel is currently tourinng Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH, as I've been hyping in the past few additions of this column.

MISC. EAST COAST INDY TIDBITS:

- Mark Magnus, Chris Cage, Demond "Morris" Thompson, and John "Tank" Toland (all of OVW) are the newest four signees of WWE developmental contracts. All four had been working for OVW. Also, two other performers - Brent Albright and Bobby Lashley - have been told by WWE talent scouts to report to OVW for training, starting 1/1 of next year.
- In a dark match before this week's RAAW in Boston, ROH star "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson made his second appearance in WWE in that many weeks. Danielson wrestled Arch Kincaid and although he was announced as being from Boston in order to garner him a face reaction, much of the crowd turned against him when he started to use too many scientific holds and didn't perform any major "sports entertainment"-style spots. This is just one more case of the general fanbase of this industry not knowing true talent when it's right in front of their eyes.
- The Toryumon wrestling clinic schedulled in Palos Hills, IL has been moved to January 2003. Call 219-588-1139 for more info.
- Rick Steiner will be headlining Harleey Race's WLW show on 12/5 in Eldon, MO.
- Some very exciting news for East Coasst 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 TT Titles - The Great Muta (a.k.a. Keji Muto) (maaking 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, 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. Also, Josh Daniels will compete on this show, having decided earlier this week to work this show rather than the 3PW (which is also in Philly) one, which he was previously booked for.

Before the 12/27 show, ROH will hold a fan convention (it will cost $5 for admission), which will feature autograph and photo opportunities with both ROH and AJPW stars, along with some amtches, the first of which to be booked is Trent Acid vs. Sonjay Dutt. Others on the convention card will include Johnny Kashmere, Josh Daniels, Justin Credible & The Carnage Crew, SAT, all of Special K including Deranged, Joey Matthews, Izzy, Dixie, Angel Dust, and Hydro. 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, entitled "Texas Explosion 2003," with Texas indy promotion River City Wrestling in San Antonio, TX at the Westside YMCA. That show will feature: AJPW TT titles - Muta/Arashi (c) vs. Pete Lothario & ?, an RCW title defense by champion and Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy graduate Jeromy Sage, Kojima vs. Krusher Kong (formerly of WCW's Awesome Kongs), Hayashi vs. ROH's Homicide, Honma/Miyamoto vs. Biohazard (the former-ROH performer)/Blue Angel, and more action featuring Great Koji and others. A Fan-Fest event will be held before the show. Please visit RiverCityWrestling.net for more info.
- 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.
- For more info on the re-location of WWalter "Killer" Kowalski's highly-acclaimed pro wrestling training school, please visit KillerKowalskis.com and/or ChaoticTC.com.
- Joe Blackburn's Heritage Wrestling Allliance (XPW's former-"developmental territory") will resume running shows in 2004 at the Murphy Recreation Center in Philly.
- 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.
- 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 champ), 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 Tourney] 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

- Upcoming "Toys For Tots" Benefit Shows: TONIGHT at the Forrest City Civic Center in Forrest City, Arkansas (Yes, I know - that's not East Coast...but still...); Saturday, 12/6 at Burlington County College Gymnasium in Pemberton, NJ (UWCWrestling.com) and the Fairgrounds in Hazlehurst, GA; Sunday, 12/7 at the Fairgrounds in Hazlehurst, GA; and Saturday, 12/13 at the Swainsboro Recreation Department Gym in Swainsboro, GA.
- USA Pro Wrestling "End of an Eraa" will be held on 11/29 at Elk's Lodge in Queens, NY. "The Madhouse of Extreme" - has it has been called - was where a host of famous ECW shows occurred. Elk's Lodge was recently sold to new ownership and after 11/29, it will not serve as a pro wrestling venue anymore. USA Pro celebrates the legacy of Elk's Lodge on that date with what looks to be a fantastic show that will feature: A new era of The Triple Threat faction - an ECW phenomenon - will begin when its former-members Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, and Shane Douglas - along with several other former-ECW stars - are in the same building together; HWT Title - Raven (c) vs. Al Snow; Shane Douglas vs. The Sandman; Low Ki makes his return to Elk's Lodge; TT Titles - The Flock (Wayne/Mikey Whipwreck) (c) vs. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz; Ladder Match for the X-Treme Title - Deranged (c) vs. Grim Reefer vs. Sonjay Dutt; U.S. Title - Billy Reil (c) vs. Crowbar (a.k.a. Devon Storm); Madhouse of Xtreme Death Match - Balls Mahoney vs. Axl Rotten; Simon Diamond vs. Mike Kruel; Striker vs. Slyk Wagner Brown; The Solution vs. Prince Nana/Monsta Mack; more action including D'Lo Brown, Mike Tobin, Louie Ramos, Christopher St. Connection, and MANY more.
- International Wrestling Cartel (TONIGGHT; Coraopolis, PA): Shane Douglas in a tag team match; AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin; TT Titles - M-Dogg 20/??? vs. Devil's Advocate vss. Dunn/Marcos; outside talent like Jimmy Jacobs, Super Hentai, Alex Shelley, and Shark Boy, along with all of the regular IWC regulars.
- NWA-FL "Hostile Takeover" ((TONIGHT; St. Petersburg, FL): NWA-FL HWT, X, and TT Title defenses; 6-Way Last Man Standing Match; more featuring Scoot Andrews, Steve Madison, Mikey Tenderfoot, Justice, Sedrick Strong, Naphtali, Mike Sullivan, The Shane Brothers, Chaos, and more.
- New York Wrestling Connection (TONIGHHT; Deer Park, NY): Six-Man Tag Team Match main event featuring MIKEY WHIPWRECK; LHWT #1 Contenders Match - Dan Barry vs. Grim Reefer vs. Damian Dragon vs. Jay Lethal; action featuring Johnny Ova, Mike Tobin, Guillotine LeGrande, Livewyre, Tara Charisma, and more.
- 3PW - Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PWresttling.com) (TONIGHT; Viking Hall in South Philly, PA): 3-Way TLC Match(!) for the vacant HWT Title (Justin Credible was stripped of the belt about a week ago) - Sabu vs. The Sandman vs. The New 3PW Commissioner, who was responsible for stripping Credible of the belt and whose identity will be releaved tonight at the show; Homicide vs. Xavier; appearances by Low Ki (making his Philly return), Juggalo Championsh*t Wrestling's Rudeboy (debuting in 3PW), Gary Wolfe, Jasmin St. Claire, Tod Gordon, Roadkill, Blue Meanie, Rob Eckos, Striker (a.k.a. MLW's Matt Martel), Monsta Mack, Damian Adams, Ricky Vega, CJ O' Doyle, and CZW's Ruckus. Due to injuries suffered at yesterday's IWA-MS show, Ian Rotten has pulled himself from tonight's show, on which he was scheduled to wrestle Rudeboy (who will still be on the show, despite Ian's abscence). Ian will be competing on the IWA-MS show tonight, nonetheless. The full card for that event can be found in the IWA-MS News section below. Tickets from the 11/3 3PW show that was cancelled will be honored at tonight's show.
- 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

- On it's show tonight, 3PW announced the main event of its next show on 12/27 as being a DREAM MATCH pitting SABU & ZANDIG vs. The MESSIAH & JERRY LYNN.
- The biggest CZW news of all is the faall out from last week's Night of Infamy II show. ROH's Allison Danger and freelance valet Becky Bayless were in attendance for the show, the first major angle of which saw Johnny Kashmere return to CZW after temporarily quitting the promotion a few weeks ago. He initially returned as a face, but later in the night re-turned heel. It was the aftermath of the main event, Double Dog Collar/Fans Bring The Weapons Match pitting The Messiah & Nate Hatred vs. Wifebeater & Nick Gage (w/ John Zandig as the special guest referee), however, that sparked the most surprise. Wifebeater was wrestling for the first time in a year, after the many serious injuries he had suffered throughout his career forced him to take a break from the industry. The heel stable Hi-V ran out and attacked Wifebeater & Gage as they were about to win the match, but out came none other than LOBO to make the save for the faces. Lobo - like Wifebeater - had been forced to retire due to very similar injuries. Not too long after his last in-ring performance in CZW, which was at last year's Cage of Death show (shortly before which he received a cortisone shot to prevent excessive inflamation of the cuts he would suffer), he received reconstructive knee surgery.

As the show came to an end, the main event for the 12/13 Cage of Death megacard in Philly (at Viking Hall) was announced: a 5-on-5 Double-Ring, Double-Steel Cage (one of which would be the electrified Cage of Death structure), 1,000,000 Thumbtacks Scaffold Match! On one team will be Ian Knoxx (yes, you read correctly...), Lobo (making his in-ring CZW return), Wifebeater, Zandig, and Gage, while their opponents (Hi-V) will be represented by The Messiah, Nate Hatred, Adam Flash, Johnny Kashmere, and most likely B-Boy, although it may instead be Trent Acid. Also already booked for the show is an Ironman Title defense by Acid against Jimmy Rave, so it's unlikely that Acid will compete in the C.O.D. match, but he's wrestled several matches in one night on more than a few occasions, so it's not out of the realm of possibility.

The announcement of the aforementioned main event immediately sparked an extensive array of questions, ranging from, "How will the fans be able to fit into Viking Hall with all of the cages and scaffolding?" to "I'm really confused - what in the hell is the structure even going to look like?" to a bunch of other inquisitions. I did some research, talked to some people, and read several different reports and have derived the following in response to many of these such questions:

First of all, the Cage of Death Match will be the final match of the event, unlike last year's C.O.D. show, on which it was the first bout to occur. In the regular ring area will be the standard, yellow electrified Cage of Death structure. Behind that and closer to the stage will be another ring. These two rings will be set up five-to-ten feet apart from one another. Hanging from the ceiling over the second ring will be a steel cage, which please note will NOT be lowered from the ceiling like the WWE does, but rather will just hang from the ceiling so that it will shake when the wrestlers move around within it. Also, the second ring will be filled with 1,000,000 thumbtacks.

Then, a scaffolding will also be hung from the ceiling and will be situated so as to reach from the balcony/stage, over to the Million Tacks Cage, and continue over to the actual C.O.D. A wrestler will have to cross the Million Tacks Cage to get into the Cage of Death. Also, the scaffold will swing, just like the second cage, which will be hanging from the ceiling. That way, the second cage will have a little bit of a swing to it, making it harder to climb. Both rings will be set up all night, likely. The object will be to get from the stage to the Cage of Death. Falling off the scaffold means falling into a cage filled with 1,000,000 tacks and then trying to climb out of the suspended cage, which will be no easy task. Regarding seating at the show, there will likely be no "A" section seating, but this may be made up by having additional rows run parallel with the rings, which is a possibility. There is, however, no word yet on how in fact one team wins this match. Is it by pinfall? Submission? Knockout? Elimination rules? Death doesn't sound too unreasonable...LOL.

In other fallout from Night of Infamy II - In an extremely predictable angle, Ruckus turned heel and attacked his tag team partner, Sonjay Dutt, setting up a match between them at C.O.D.; Dan "Mafia" Maff made his CZW return; and Greg Matthews returned to CZW after suffering an ankle injury. Speaking of Matthews, he and his Rebel's Army partner, Rockin' Rebel, will participate in the tag team tournament on the debut World Class Independent Wrestling show on 11/29 in Shillington, PA). Other CZW workers on the show (which will also feature Johnny Valiant and Road Warrior Animal) will be Ruckus, Joker, and newcomer Scotty Matthews, who debuted in CZW at N.O.I. II. More info on Scotty can be found by scrolling down.

So, the current card for C.O.D. looks like this: "5-on-5/Two-Ring/Steel Cage/1,000,000 Thumbtacks/Scaffolding" Cage of Death Match - Ian Knoxx, Lobo (making his in-ring return), Wifebeater, Zandig, & Nick Gage vs. Hi-V (The Messiah, Nate Hatred, Adam Flash, Johnny Kashmere, and either B-Boy or Trent Acid); CZW Ironman Title - Trent Acid (c) vs. Jimmy Rave; an unconfirmed, yet very likely, hoomecoming appearance by the recently-retired "Sick" Nick Mondo; By the way, Homicide will not be at C.O.D. due to competing on a tour in Japan for ZERO-ONE on the same day as the show.

Recent evidence points to the upcoming C.O.D. show as being the final CZW show at Viking Hall. This was alluded to by Zandig at N.O.I. II and seemed to be confirmed by Robby Mireno on the most recent edition of CZW Fake You! TV, although Mireno wasn't perfectly clear. Nonetheless, with CZW's attendance at its Viking Hall shows decreasing very much over the last few months (as Zandig pointed out at N.O.I. II), it appears as if CZW is unable to continue renting out the prestigious building in South Central Philly and that it will likely be forced to search for another venue. Again, this is not confirmed beyond an absolutely shadow of a doubt, but all evidence points toward it.

With that in mind, let's hope that CZW doesn't go down the road that XPW followed over the last year, because that's what it's starting to appear they're modeling themselves after. Also, there's no news on whether CZW - if it does in fact leave Viking Hall - will continue running in the currently oversaturated Philly wrestling market, or if it will proceed to run in other parts of the city or state. Although it's not likely with it's generally stable - yet not too great - financial status, expanding to other regions of the East Coast is also a possibility.

In other Viking Hall-related news, 3PW will run there tonight (the full card for the show can be found above in the Event Shills section). This will be the first 3PW show in the last few months, after the controversial (but still memorable, nonetheless) fiasco surrounding the last show. CZW employee "WHACKS" (before you flip out, that's only his nickname...although, I'll admit...it is quite...wierd, to say the least...) and a few other members of CZW management will be passing out flyers promoting December's C.O.D. event (scroll up a bit for more info on this) at tonight's show. WHACKS stated that he has already OK'ed doing this with 3PW co-owner Brian "The Blue Meanie" Heffron. And also, it was announced only a few days ago that Ruckus would on tonight's show.

Meanwhile, Ruckus' former-tag team partner and upcoming opponent at C.O.D., Sonjay Dutt, will be busy battling JC Bailey in a Best 2/3 Falls Match for the IWA-MS Light Heavyweight Title tonight at an IWA-MS show in Lafayette, IN. Sonjay lost the title to Bailey yesterday in Highland, IN and this will be his chance to win it back. The full card for this show can be found below in the IWA-MS News section. Sonjay will also compete on next Saturday's USA Pro "End of an Era" show, which will be the last pro wrestling event to be held at former-ECW venue Elk's Lodge in Queens, NY. The full card for that show can be found in the Event Shills section above.
- There are several tidbits related to Nick Berk & Z-Barr. Berk & Z-Barr will compete on the XWrestling "Revolution" debut show in Yorkshire, England on April 10 of next year, as I've hyped in previous editions of this column. This will the first wrestling appearance of each man in England. Also, the duo will team up on the 12/6 NWA Wildside TV taping in Cornelia, GA vs. Jeremy V & Brandon P.

Furthermore, it was announced in the last few days that Berk will regularly write a column called, "The Berkocet," for XtremeProWrestling.com. In it, he'll talk about his wrestling career and answer fan questions, which can be directed to him by visiting XtremeForums.com. Furthermore, there is a profile of Berk that is in the newest issue of "Total Wrestling Magazine" (RVD is on the cover). It's on sale now in the UK, while fans in America will have to wait until January before it's on store shelves. And lastly, Z-Barr is asking fans of himself and Berk to e-mail him at [email protected] with suggestions for what they think the duo's tag team name should be.

- Scotty Matthews - who looks sort of like a larger version of IWA-MS' BJ Whitmer and lost to Tony Mamaluke at N.O.I. II last weekend - is a Southern indy wrestler who - under the names of both Scotty Matthews and Malakai - has worked for several different promotions in that region, including Virginia Championship Wrestling, United Pro Wrestling Coalition, Southern Championship Wrestling (North Carolina). He's also participated in a few matches for NWA Wildside and Jim Kettner's ECWA (East Coast Wrestling Association) and in some of the NWA-TNA Xplosion tapings before the PPVs.
- Trent Acid vs. Sonjay Dutt is the firrst match to be booked for the Convention Card that will occur before the 12/27 ROH/AJPW interpromotional show in Philly. For more info on that event, please scroll up to the Tidbits section.
- After its successful showing with &quuot;Shockwave," CZW - in conjunction with Nu-Wrestling Federation - will hold its second event in Italy, entitled "Aftershock," on 3/26/04. More info will be released in the coming months.
- John Zandig and Nick Gage will returnn to ZERO-ONE next month (December) for the final two "hardcore"-themed shows that are being booked by Kintaro Kanemura.

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

- The post-injury update after yesterday's show in Highland, IN (on which JC Bailey regained the LHWT Title from Sonjay Dutt in a three-way TLC Match that also featured Nate Webb) is as follows: Jaimy Coxxx is sidelined with a shoulder injury suffered during his match vs. Corporal Robinson; BJ Whitmer aggravated the shoulder injury that he suffered at an ROH show a week before the T.P.I. Tournament and is therefore will not compete on tonight's show in Lafayette, IN. Also, Balls Mahoney was stretchered out to the backstage area after receiving a spike piledriver on the ringside floor from Jim Fannin and Carmine DeSpirito in his main event matchup. He had been unable to get back to his feet and temporarily lost feeling in his legs.

However, Balls was walking around the locker room less than 30 minutes after that match ended and it appears his injury was just a stinger. He was said to have expressed interest about competinig on tonight's show, despite the injury. It's not certain whether or not he'll be on the show, but he will be in Lafayette, regardless. Due to injuries suffered at yesterday's show, Ian Rotten has pulled himself from tonight's 3PW show in Philly at Viking Hall, on which he was scheduled to wrestle the Juggalo Championsh*t Wrestling debutee, Rudeboy. He'll compete on tonight's show in a match listed below, nonetheless.

The full card for tonight's show is as follows: Ian & Axl Rotten vs. Brad Bradley & Ryan Boz; HWT Title - Danny Daniels (c) vs. Nigel McGuinness; Best 2/3 Falls Match for the LHWT Title - JC Bailey (c) vs. Sonjay Dutt (this will be JC's first title defense since winning the title back from Sonjay yesterday); Chris Hero vs. Steve Stone: Arik Cannon vs. Nate Webb; appearances by Corporal Robinson, Trik Davis (who made his IWA-MS debut yesterday in a loss to Steve Stone), possibly Balls Mahoney, and more.
- The scheduled appearances of NWA Wilddside's Iceberg and Ray Gordy for yesterday and tonight's IWA-MS shows were cancelled. No reason on why, yet.
- Ace Steel is currently touring Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH, as I've been hyping in the past few additions of this column. Meanwhile, 2 Tuff Tony and Madman Pondo continue touring with Big Japan.
- For the full scoop on Chris Hero's uppcoming Ironman match vs. CM Punk in Germany and Jimmy Jacob's debut in that same country, please scroll up to the Indy Wrestlers In International Indies section.
- Rollin' Hard is currently sidelined wwith a foot injury.
- 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

- After recently postponing its "Hybrid Horror Show" and "WrestleFest" supercards due to what it termed as "ongoing reconstructuring," MLW announced yesterday information regarding its return to live action. First of all, the promotion will hold its first two shows since its hiatus not in Florida, it's former stomping ground, but rather in the Northeast. The two shows, which will be a part of its Reloaded Tour, will feature the MLW debuts of several indy stars, including New England standouts Josh Prohibition, M-Dogg 20, Bryan Danielson, and Low Ki, Canadian sensations The Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith & TJ Wilson) and the "King of Controversy," Teddy Hart, and finally So-Cal luminaries Mike Modest and The Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero). Former-ROH valet Persephonie will also make her MLW debut on the Reloaded Tour.

The Reloaded Tour will consist of two back-to-back shows, the first of which will be on January 9, 2004 at Philadelphia, PA's National Guard Armory and the second of which will occur the very next night at the RexPlex in Elizabeth, NJ. The main event to night one will pit Homicide vs. Ki, while the second night of the tour will be headlined by an MLW World Heavyweight Title Match between Terry Funk and champion Steve Corino. That match will also have tacked onto it a stipulation picked by each participant. Funk has already announced his choice for a stip, that being a No DQ, "I Quit" Match. Meanwhile, as a strategy to throw Funk off of his game, Corino will not reveal his part of the stip until the night of the show. The 1/10 show will also feature an MLW Global Tag Team Crown Title defense by The Extreme Horsemen (CW Anderson & Simon Diamond) against a duo yet to be revealed. Other performers on the Reloaded Tour who weren't named above will include Justin Credible, Chasyn Rance, JHWT Champion Sonjay Dutt, Da Hit Squad, Chris Daniels, CM Punk, Matt Martel, and Vampiro.

After the Reloaded series, MLW will launch its Burning Crush Tour and it will also feature two back-to-back shows, the first of which will be on February 13 at the National Guard Armory in Philly and the second of which will transpire the following night at the RexPlex in NJ. The RexPlex will also host a yet-to-be-named MLW event on March 12 of next year.

Also, MLW has launched a brand new looking version of MLW.com and a new message board for its online fans to interact. The forum can be found at http://www.mlw.com/board.

NWA-TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION (NWA-TNA) NEWS

- Right now, the top date being aimed at for the PPV featuring Hogan vs. Jarrett is 2/29/04. Las Vegas and Tampa are still being focused on as the primary choices for a venue.
- The entire TNA locker room was said tto be very surprised about Luger being brought in. Sting had asked management to let him to Luger this one favor and bring him in for an appearance, because he really wanted to help Luger get back into wrestling. He even arranged for Luger's flight from L.A. to land in Atlanta so that they could drive to the show together. The entire goal of the tag match with Luger was to give Styles a "superstar rub," which many don't view as a success. (courtesy of the Observer)
- Starting in January 2004, TNA will offfer its PPVs as a monthly package deal for the suggested retail price of $34.95. So, for those whose cable or satellite providers carry TNA programming, you'll be able to view four or five TNA PPVs for the same price of ONE WWE PPVs. Also, TNA is planning to offer deals to view its PPVs via Internet streaming video in the near future.
- TNA recently announced the release off three special DVDs and the TNA Volume 2 theme song CDs. Check out NWATNA.com for full info on how to purchase any of the aforementioned items, along with other TNA merchandise.
- Rumors have been swirling that - oncee his his WWE contract expires next summer - Rob Van Dam may leave the promotion due to frustration about his current storyline role and begin exploring several options, which - according to the Torch - may include returning to Japan to wrestle and joining TNA.

The following tidbits are courtesy of the Pro Wrestlng Torch:

- Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel are currently writing the shows and Jimmy Hart is sitting in on the creative meetings, which also include Glenn Gilberti, Scott D'Amore, and Dixie Carter. While Jeff has final say over everything and Dutch is clearly right below him. Meanwhile, Vince Russo is said to be upset about being demoted from the creative team, but he keeps in contact with Dixie Carter. There's mutterings that Russo is Carters' fallback plan, just in case, but others oppose that by insisting that Jeff just kept him on the payroll because of their friendship. Hogan had demanded that Russo have nothing to do with the creative department or else he wouldn't do any business with TNA. Russo, though, is telling friends that he assumes he'd have been sent home anyway, since Jeff and himself weren't "butting heads a lot." A lot of the wrestlers agree in Russo's assertion that Dutch is just a "yes-man" for Jeff and that he doesn't really oppose any of his ideas. Russo also apparently thinks that the shows have noticeably decreased in quality since his influence ended.
- Much of the roster is unhappy that TNNA will be doing their PPV live the day before Thanksgiving. The show's right before Christmas and New Year's - on the otherhand - will be taped.
- In a recent creative meeting apparenttly, Dutch said something to the effect that David Young is a more profitable talent for the company than Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, Chris Daniels, and Jerry Lynn. A lot of people logically assumed that he just isn't a fan of thhose four, but others insist that Dutch is just really high on Young. Regardless, several wrestlers were laughing after hearing about what he said, since Young clearly isn't a money-maker like the other guys mentioned are.

NWA WILDSIDE NEWS

- On yesterday's IWA-MS show in Highland, IN, three Wildside stars were in action. Delirious defeated IWA-MS debutee Matt Sydal, who was said to have gotten in most of the offense and even received a "Please Come Back!" chant from the fans. Following that match, a females match saw Micky Knuckles gain the victory over Wildside's Daizee Haze, making her IWA-MS debut. The finish came on a bridging German Suplex. After the bout, Mickie accepted longtime rival Rain's challenge for a rematch, following their bout at the Ted Petty Invitational Tournament a few weeks ago. Mickie thanked Daizee for giving her such a tough challenge and asked her to be her tag team partner for the upcoming tag team rematch vs. Rain on 12/20. Daizee accepted, leaving Rain to pick a tag team partner of her choice, who will be revealed in the coming weeks. Iceberg and Ray Gordy were both scheduled to make their IWA-MS debuts on the show, but their appearances were cancelled a few days before the show, although no word on why has been revealed yet.
- Texas Death Club member Masada had a pair of WWE dark matches earlier this week in Texas. First, he wrestled Maven before RAW on Monday and the next night at the SmackDown! tapings, he battled former-Wildside Cruiserweight Champion Jeremy Lopez.
- CZW's Nick Berk & Z-Barr will teaam up on the 12/6 Wildside TV taping in Cornelia, GA vs. Jeremy V & Brandon P.
- 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

- Next Friday's show at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT will feature: TT Titles - The Briscoes (c) vs. AJ Styles/Samoa Joe; Lottery From Hell Match - CM Punk vs. Raven (the conclusion of their incredible feud!); Chris Daniels vs. Jimmy Rave; Homicide vs. John Walters; Steve Corino vs. Josh Daniels; Field of Honor Block Finals - Xavier vs. Matt Stryker (Block A), Dan Maff vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana (Block A); Scramble Match - Carnage Crew vs. The S.A.T. vs. Fast Eddie/Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Special K's Izzy/Dixie; more with Slyk Wagner Brown/April Hunter, Backseat Boyz, and others; pre-event Showcase card featuring Dunn/Marcos vs. Special K.
- Next Saturday's show has been changedd from Wakefield, MA to Framingham, MA, specifically Framingham State College. That show will feature none other than a NO-ROPE, BARBED-WIRE MATCH between Homicide and Steve Corino. Also on the card will be: HWT Title - Samoa Joe (c) vs. AJ Styles; TT Titles - The Briscoes (c) vs. Chris Daniels/Dan Maff (if The Briscoes retain the night before); John Walters vs. Xavier; Gauntlet Series Match featuring CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Rave, BJ Whitmer and Matt Stryker; Scramble Match - Carnage Crew vs. The S.A.T. vs. Special K; Backseat Boyz vs. Fast Eddie/Don Juan (debuting as a tag team); more w/ Dunn/Marcos, Special K, and others. All tickets marked for the show that was previously scheduled for that night in Wakefield will be honored at the door. If you can't make it due to the venue change, e-mail [email protected].
- ROH will team up with none other thann 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 Misc. Tidbits section.
- As has been well documented in the paast few weeks, both Teddy Hart and Low Ki have permanently left ROH. Both, though, will debut for MLW upon the promotion's return to live action in January 2003.
- 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 tourney that resembles ECWA's Super 8 event) in July 2004.
- 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 last month (October). 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 and a video retrospective memoralizing Mondo's recently ended career. Another tribute video for the "Sick" one can be found in the Media section of CZWWrestling.de.
- 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 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 AssaultWrestling.com/ThisWeek.htm , while past episodes are archived at 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

- ObsessedWithWrestling.com - the web site that became a sensation on the Internet after just a few months of being online - has been reactivated, after its webmaster was forced to shut it down due to bandwidth issues. The web site features the most extensive array of pro wrestler biographies on the planet.
- Check out the ONLY IWA Mid-South fanssite, 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.

- The new RF Video update is now online in the New Release section at www.rfvideo.com with 3 brand new exclusive shoot interviews including:

Shoot Interview with Vince Russo - One of wrestling's most controversial figures sat down with RF Video for this exclusive Shoot Interview. Some call him a genius, many say he ruined the wrestling business, either way everyone has an opinion of Vince Russo. Now Russo finally gives his side of the story and answers his critics.

Jim Cornette Live Shoot Interview Q&A - Fans were given a rare opportunity on 11/1/03 to sit down with legendary manager Jim Cornette and ask him the questions in this shoot interview.

Shoot Interview with CM Punk - CM Punk has become known as one of the most brash and outspoken independent stars today. He holds nothing back in this shoot interview, as he goes into detail about his entire career, from IWA-MS to ROH to MLW to ZERO-ONE in Japan to TNA to everywhere in between.

Check out the New Release section at www.rfvideo.com to read the complete list of topics discussed in the interviews listed above. RF Video has also released new Best of videos, indy shows, the latest from Japan, & more!

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