The return of River City Wrestling to the airwaves has brought its
fair share of "big names" back into the fold. Guys that were leading
the way in RCW before its closure back in 2002. Devon Case, Chris
Courtade, Luke Kinsey, Alex Extreme, Juan Vasquez, Madison J.
Valentine and Tommy Stephens were all leading names back then, and
they're back. Add to that list Shane Destiny, who in 2002 was a
leading junior-heavyweight in RCW, but in the two years since has
bulked up and become one of the top heavyweights in the sport.
There's also Lenny Getz, who remains to be mildy amusing but not
really much of a force in RCW, just like before.
But what really interests me about the revamped and returned RCW is
the newcomers. The guys who are getting their first taste of RCW.
The intriguing thing is that while there are a few rookies, most of
these "newcomers" aren't really newcomers at all. They're guys
who've come up through the ranks in the past couple of years (during
RCW's absence of course), so while they're new to RCW, they're not
new to fans around the world.
With that in mind, let's examine these RCW newcomers one at a time,
concentrating on the heavyweights (I'm going to talk about the
junior-heavyweights in my next column) and see what kind of impact
they're going to make in the River City:
Hannibal Carver:
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I'm thinking back to 2002, before RCW closed, and to the best of my
knowledge Hannibal Carver wasn't even on the radar as far as
the "big leagues" go. It's amazing what a difference two years can
make. The "South Boston Strangler" has won world titles in NEO and
GLCW, and seems to have wrestled in just about every major wrestling
organisation around. He's considered by many to be the "Next Big
Thing", and for good reason. Whether he's face or heel, this guy is
great on the mic and a solid worker in the ring. His introduction to
RCW has been solid - his angle with Miss Cherry is hopefully a sign
of big things ahead for TEH CARVEH~! He's been successful in every
organisation he's wrestled for (as far as I know), and there's no
reason why he can't do the same in RCW.
Griffin James:
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I've watched both of RCW's shows since the return, and to me this
guy has easily been the most entertaining part of Impact on both
occasions. Now, I'll admit that before he showed up on the first
Impact, I'd never heard of Griffin James. Rob James, Tommy James,
Casey James...yes, but not Griffin James. He hasn't really had much
of a chance to show what he can do in the ring so far, but his
promos are damn entertaining. RCW's best plan of attack for him
would be pairing him up with an established name for a feud, and let
James show his in-ring skills. If he can wrestle as well as he can
cut a promo, we're looking at a future star here folks.
Raidon Kentaro:
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The reigning champ in SPW when the takeover went down, and in his
time in the South Pacific, Kentaro earned a reputation as a master
of garbage-style matches. Anyone who's brought SPW tapes (which I
have) knows that the Kentaro-Barton matches in SPW were among the
bloodiest and most brutal you'll ever see. The problem is, this
isn't SPW. Kentaro won't get the opportunity to have barbwire/broken
glass/fire/whatever matches week in and week out. And without them,
can he make a name for himself in front of fans, most of whom don't
know of his past exploits? I really doubt it, to be honest. He's
also dodgy at best on the mic, which won't help here in the US.
Chad Grimsson:
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Another of the SPW crew who've made the move up to RCW. But unlike
Kentaro, Grimsson is better suited to the RCW style. For a start,
Grimsson's not a one-trick pony. He's huge, can wrestle hardcore,
but is also adept at technical wrestling. So far so good for the big
Detroit native, who splits his time between RCW and UWF up in Canada
(where he's predominantly a tagteam wrestler). Grimsson's got the
size and skills to succeed in RCW.
Magnus Colby:
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Just like RCW has been out of action for two years, so has Magnus
Colby. Colby turns 30 in April, and in wrestling terms that's not
that old, but his body has taken a beating over the years, and then
there's the ring rust that he's gotta shake off after so long out of
the sport. Colby attained legendary status in the New York-based
UEW, winning a bunch of titles and being voted onto their hall of
fame. I don't want to take anything away from Colby's prior
accomplishments, but let's face it....that was a long time ago, and
this isn't the UEW.
Alex Martinez:
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Okay, I marked my ass off when Alex Martinez walked into RCW. This
guy's been a favourite of mine for years, whether in EMWC, UEW or
even during his short stint in G-Pro (his battles with Katsumura in
Japan were incredible). From what I saw of Martinez in the ring, and
admittedly it was only a squash victory over Tripp Shade, the "Last
American Badass" looks to be in great shape. A lot of people had
written off Martinez during his last run in EMWC, saying that he
didn't have it what it takes to get to the top again. But was that
true, or was Martinez just mis-used in LA? Personally I hope RCW
uses him better than that, and Martinez gets a chance to show that
he's still one of the best out there.
Rum Barton:
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Another who might suffer from the transition from SPW to RCW.
Barton's forte is garbage-style bloodfests, and he'll get the chance
to wrestle in them in RCW, but not as often as in the South Pacific.
And again, he has to build from the ground up, in terms of fan-base.
Sure, some fans will have seen SPW stuff, but to casual fans he's a
new face. Still though, Barton's style - both in wrestling terms and
in personality/gimmick - should make him popular with the fans.
Maybe not to the extent of rabid worship like in SPW though. His
current "don't want to wrestle" angle with Miss Cherry isn't really
doing it for me, because it doesn't give the fans a reason to cheer
for him, but put him in a solid programme with a decent opponent and
there's no reason why Barton won't succeed in RCW.
Gabriel Thorn:
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How's this for interesting? Thorn's a rookie, who prior to joining
RCW had wrestled for just one organisation, the semi-indy New Blood
Wrestling. In NBW, he was undefeated and reigning as their World
champion. So here he comes into RCW, and so far he's winless. Okay,
so technically Thorn hasn't been pinned or submitted yet, but he's
already found out how big of a step up it is from a place like NBW
(where his strongest challengers are Oeste Neblinoso, Ryan Howard
and Matt Harris....um, who?) to the big leagues. Still, all the
insider reports I've read mention that Thorn is well liked in the
lockerroom, so it seems that he hasn't got the bad attitude that
some "indy kings" have when they make the move up. That's gotta be a
good sign for Thorn, but I'm still waiting to see how he can
transition from "big fish in a small pond" to "small fish in a big
pond". Only time will tell.
So there you have it. There remain a bunch of question marks, and
it's still really too early to tell how these newcomers will do. The
coming weeks should give us more of an idea of how things pan out,
but for sure it's going to be an interesting time.
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