Serena Deeb Alex Shane Michael Kovac Indies Wolfe Pit World News More

INSIDE: SERENA DEEB n ALEX SHANE n MICHAEL KOVAC n INDIES n WOLFE PIT n WORLD NEWS n MORE
thewrestlingpress.com contents
CONTENTS
THE
WRESTLING
PRESS 4 WorLd nEWs
During the UK airings of
Smackdown they had John
20 hard knocks
Hard Knocks comes hot on
the heels of applauded 2008
ISSuE 7 Cena and Sheamus cutting feature film The Wrestler,
promos about touring in which was the first
CONTACT
April. Bret Hart was also mainstream movie to
ed@thewrestling
press.com pushed as part of the tour.... approach the sport in a non
www.thewrestling- farcical way....
press.com
WRITERS
Dusty Wolfe
Phil Austin
6 Who’s on FIrsT?
As we approach another
Wrestlemania, it’s that time 22 ThE WoLFE PIT
When I started checking my
John Atkins when every wrestling fan emails, I couldn’t make
John Milner gets excited.... where every sense out of anything. Then
The CYNIC wrestling fan becomes a kid I realised. I had died in San
Froggy
David Schmida
again...where every Francisco. Problem with
Dark Kitty wrestling fan thinks back to this. I didn’t know. The
Rob Sivell all of the exciting ‘moments’ rumor of my death by heart
Darren Wood that Wrestlemania has attack had hit the internet....
Mark Allen
brought about over the
Justin LaBar
Martyn John years....
PHOTOGRAPHERS 24 TEd dIBIasE ProFILE

Younger fans of the WWE
Lee South
David Seto
Budd LaMantia
Tony Knox
14 hardcorE hoLLY
InTErvIEW
I am still learning, even
may know Ted Dibiase, Sr.
as the father of Legacy
member Ted Dibiase. Older
Tom Lancaster though those guys may be fans may remember his
green they may do days as the dastardly
The Wrestling Press is something I might learn. You “Million Dollar Man” who
an independent
publication and is in just never know.... once tried to purchase the
no way endorsed by WWE (then WWF)
or affiliated with any Championship....
wrestling group,
including WWE and
TNA. The views
expressed by the
18 WhaT ThE
WorLd Is
MIssInG dEcadE In rEvIEW
writers does not Outside the (ParT 2)
necessarily represent glamour of the When we had last left off in
the views of The 2004, new stars were
WWE and now even
Wrestling Press. No
part of this publication TNA, America is created out of Eddie
may be reproduced bursting at the seams Guerrero and Chris
without the written with independent Benoit. But in 2005
permission of the wrestling promotions; WWE struck gold with
publisher.
featuring guys and gals their own
© Riot! Promotions
2010
you’ve probably never
heard of....
homegrown
stars.... 28
2 worldwide wrestling magazine
thewrestlingpress.com contents
36 Bad nEWs BroWn ProFILE

He caused one of the biggest upsets
ever to grace British soil and now ten
52 shanE on
YoU?
Having recently
months on ‘Bad News’ Brown is still attended a Future
reigning supreme as the Superslam Shock Wrestling
British Heavyweight Champion.... show, The
Cynic wonders
if the
ThE nxT BIG FLoP?
40 Before we look at WWE’s new
brainchild, I feel it’s only fitting to
Stockport
based fed can
live up to their
eulogise ECW and its inbred spawn.... Champ’s
aspirations....
MondaY nIGhT Wars or JUsT
44 sMack TaLk?
One of the biggest elements in the
original Monday Night Wars is again
56 MIchaEL kovac ProFILE
Michael Kovac, has been a key factor
to the wrestling circuit in Germany
present in 2010’s competition. The ever since the famous Catch
aspect of lightweight / cruiserweight / Wrestling Association closed. When
X-Division wrestling. Vince McMahon promoters started to rebuild the
doesn’t promote it or hold a belt / German Wrestling circuit, Kovac was
division for it, his competition does, there. He still is until this day.....
and quite well....
48 Who Is shE? sErEna dEEB

Truth be known though, I could not
58 charLY Manson InTErvIEW
Winning the Copa Antonio Peña was
one of the greatest achievements in
imagine any other diva doing this right my career. The reason it meant so
now. Seriously, could you image much was because Sr. Antonio Peña
Maryse shaving her hair? Never gave me the opportunity to join AAA at
gonna happen.... the time....
Front cover shots of Shawn Michaels & Bob Holly courtesy of David Seto.
Special Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . TWP now bi-monthly

As hinted at last issue it has been decided that this magazine will now be published bi-monthly.
A lot of hard work goes into each edition and we try not to cut corners and 'rush out' an issue which would be
littered with mistakes. Having two months to put each issue together will result in a much better and fuller
product, with less stress!!! You will notice in this issue that we are starting to adhere to the 'worldwide
magazine' tagline, with coverage from Mexico, Germany, England and America. This is an area we intend to
strengthen and may start introducing reports from other parts of the world.
With great writers and photographers, attractive layout, coverage from all over the world - a little something
for everyone, as well as substantial commentary on WWE & TNA - TWP magazine is surely a 'must read' for
all wrestling fans.
To keep up to date with TWP developments you can follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter!
If you have any comments, letters or suggestions please direct them to me at ed@thewrestlingpress.com
Next issue will be out in May!
Thanks for reading.
worldwide wrestling magazine 3

thewrestlingpress.com news
World News n by Mike Aldren

Courtesy of
THE WRESTLING GLOBE Newsletter
The Hollywood Reporter has a story on the Eric Bischoff got into a verbal spar with Roy
financial benefits of Wrestlemania to host Ferris (The Honky Tonk Man) on his
cities. The writer said that Wrestlemania Facebook page. Nothing much to it other
revenue was comparable to the Oscars. than trading insults. Bischoff also claimed
WWE CFO George Barrios is quoted. that he just got a WWE royalty cheque for
"WrestleMania XXV was the largest- $50,000 for his 2006 book, Controversy
grossing event in company history, and we Creates Cash. Hilariously, WWEShop.com
expect this year's installment to break that has responded by reducing the price of the
record yet again as indicated by recent book from $15 to a break even price of $1.98.
strength in PPV buys and some recovery in Tremendous.
consumer spending." The story didn't
Awesome Kong wrote on Twitter confirming her
mentioned that "recent strength" was
departure from TNA. Both sides had been working
mostly due to a $5 price hike.
on an amicable split for the past few week's.
One of the new attractions this year at
Wrestlemania Axxess will be a Hart Family
Dungeon including memorabilia from Bret's
personal collection. They are also planning a
special area dedicated to Shawn Michaels with
various ring attire he has worn over the years.
During the UK airings of Smackdown they
had John Cena and Sheamus cutting
promos about touring in April. Bret Hart was
also pushed as part of the tour.
A funny story from the Antelope Valley Press out
of Palmdale, CA. Cops were called out to a
suspected armed robbery after a security guard
from a jewelry store called in four suspicious
guys in masks. The guys were actually local Chair shots to the head or any blow to the
wrestlers in Lucha masks promoting some head deemed "intentional" have now been
upcoming matches. Dispatchers from the LA banned as part of WWE's Impact
County Sheriff's Department sent seven squad Concussion Management Program. The
cars to take care of business. The cops had policy was actually instituted in January,
their guns drawn and it was quite the scene until according to WWE PR guru Robert
they realised that they weren't dealing with Zimmerman who told The Hartford Courant,
robbers. although this was news to pretty much

thewrestlingpress.com news
everyone including more than one wrestler.

The policy also states that any talent not
adhering to the new rule may be fined and/or
suspended by WWE talent chief John
TOP STORy
Laurinaitis. Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology
released on April 6 includes several
Chuck Palumbo's band 3 Spoke Wheel played
matches that have never been released
a downtown sports bar & grill following Raw in
before including some Stampede Wrestling
San Diego. Dave Batista, Rey Mysterio and
footage from the 1970s and 1980s where
Chavo Guerrero were among several WWE
Bret started in his father's promotion.
people who came out to show their support.
Matches include Bret vs. Davey Boy Smith
Tommy Dreamer noted on his Twitter that he for the IC title at the 1992 SummerSlam in
had dinner the other night with Taz, Brother London, England which is arguably one of
Ray, and Paul Heyman, stating, "Let the the greatest matches in history; The Hart
rumors start..." Heyman hasn't tweeted or family vs. Shawn Michaels & His Knights
mentioned this on his website like the others (under a mask--Barry Horowitz, Greg
so I assume it was nothing more than a Valentine & Jeff Gaylord--who is currently
personal dinner with old friends. Or maybe serving a six-year prison sentence for a
not... bank robbery last year in Colorado) from
During a recent interview Bobby Lashley said the 1993 Survivor Series; and The Hart
he doesn't see himself doing any more pro Foundation (Bret, Owen, Davey, Jim
wrestling for at least 12 months as his MMA Neidhart & the late Brian Pillman) vs.
schedule is loaded. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust &
LOD at the 1997 Canadian Stampede
There are some incorrect reports circulating which was one of the most heated
that the Iron Sheik was arrested earlier this matches of the 1990s.
month at the Atlanta airport. The real story
is far more entertaining. Sheik, who just
turned 67, was traveling home on a flight Women Superstars Uncensored, the New
from Las Vegas after attending a bong Jersey-based women's group, say they have
convention at Mandalay Bay. He was signed a deal with The Fight Network to
refused alcohol on the plane, lost his cool, launch a television show called Uncensored
and cut a typical Sheik promo on the flight in April. Each episode will be 10-15 minutes
crew. When the plane landed in Atlanta and is designed to complement the WSU DVD
waiting police officers took him to a private series. More info at www.wsuwrestling.com.
room for questioning. They searched his
David Hasselhoff was announced as guest host
bags and found a stash of complimentary
for Raw in London, England, on April 12. He is
bongs that he was given in Vegas. The
filming a new reality show in the UK.
police thought they had hit the jackpot.
Sheik eventually talked himself out of Vince McMahon has purchased a 47-foot
trouble and was escorted to his drivers car sports yacht in Boca Raton which he has
and sent home. He gave the officers a named "The Sexy Bitch." You can't make
signed 8X11 for their trouble. this stuff up and you can imagine how this
is going down with Linda's opponents in the
Former WWE Tough Enough winner Dan Puder
Connecticut Senate race.
debuts for New Japan Pro Wrestling in June.
To receive all the latest professional wrestling news and gossip direct to your mailbox send an
email to wrestlingglobe-subscribe@topica.com

thewrestlingpress.com wrestlemania
Who’s On First
By Phil Austin - PhilUK1@aol.com
A
s we approach another Wrestlemania, it’s that time when every wrestling fan gets
excited.... where every wrestling fan becomes a kid again...where every wrestling
fan thinks back to all of the exciting ‘moments’ that Wrestlemania has brought
about over the years.
Wrestling historians and To coin a phrase very carefully chosen.
journalists will be picking up made famous by After all, Wrestlemania
their notebooks and laptops Abbot & Costello, I is viewed by more
once again to write about the want to look at people each year
great histories and traditions of who’s on first. t h a n a n y o t h e r
the event, the largest crowds wrestling event, so the
You see, year after
drawn, the biggest audiences opening match may be
year, fans may leave a
that watched worldwide, the their first taste of wrestling in
Wrestlemania show talking
dramatic main events, and the some time.
about the excitement of a Rock
matches and moments that are
/ Hogan, a Money in the Bank, So let’s take time to recognise
remembered years later.
Steamboat / Savage, Hogan the unsung heroes of
But there are some very slamming Andre, or Michaels & Wrestlemania. The guys who
important people that are almost the Undertaker, but it is always had the unenviable task of
always forgotten each year. And important to make a first stepping through the biggest
these are the people I want to impression, and the people put curtain in wrestling’s calendar
make mention of in this article. on to open the show have to be first of all.
Wrestlemania 1 Wrestlemania 2
Tito santana v The Executioner Paul orndorff v don Muraco
Essentially a squash match, Santana was a Playing off the initial Wrestlemania’s main
returning hero on this night, having been out event, Orndorff was still being established
since the previous September with an injury. as a top face competitor (something that
This match was a way for the WWF to would never really come to fruition in the
showcase one of their most exciting stars, and WWF). This opener played off his allegiance
signal his return. A return that would mean future with Hulk Hogan. Hogan had recently been
Intercontinental and Tag Team championships. attacked by King Kong Bundy during a
By putting this match on first, the WWF was match against Don Muraco, setting up
Wrestlemania 2’s main event.
opening with athleticism as well as a
recognisable fan that older fans could latch onto By putting this on as the opener, it again put
(Santana had been with the WWF since 1979). two established and skilled workers in the
first match. It also gave a foreshadowing of
And lest we forget Santana’s opponent, the man the main event, reminding fans of the events
under the mask was Buddy Rose, a respected that lead up to that contest, and giving them
veteran who could be counted on to give some taster of vengeance for the evil
Santana a solid match. diabolical cohorts of Bundy and Heenan.

Wrestlemania 3
The can am connection v don Muraco & Bob orton
Don Muraco became the first man to open two Wrestlemania’s with this
match, and it was again a foretaste of vengeance for later on in the card,
as it was Orton and Muraco who had helped Adrian Adonis attack Roddy
Piper setting up that match for Wrestlemania III.
The Can Am Connection were a pretty hot young team at the time. Tom Zenk
and Rick Martel were a good pick for future champions and, although that tandem
wouldn’t win tag gold (Tom Zenk left the WWF that Summer), Martel would go on to win the titles
alongside Tito Santana as Strike Force.
Again, this match has respected veterans, working with gifted highfliers to put on a great opening
bout
Battle royal hercules v king haku
The first battle At this time, the WWF had a lot of
royal to open a feuds going on. Up and down the
Wrestlemania, card, feuds were occurring, from
this had two real the main event ‘Megapowers’
aims. Firstly, as feud, to the midcard feuds
the main bulk of such as Jake Roberts
the card was and Andre the Giant, or
taken up with Demolition and the
the tournament Powers of Pain. So it
for the world was only appropriate
title, this had the that a feud opened
effect of giving the show.
the remainder of
Hercules
the roster an
Hernandez
opportunity to
had been a
be on the show.
longtime heel under the tutelage of Bobby Heenan
It was also, as
for some time, until the previous year, when Heenan
Bret Hart states in his book, the
sold him to the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase.
first of many a promised push for
Hercules went on to have a feud with Dibiase, and
the Hitman as he ended the match
Wrestlemania was the time to turn his quest for
by turning face, beating up the
revenge on Heenan and his charge.
battle royal’s winner Bad News
Brown with the trophy. (Although Meanwhile, Haku had gained the ‘King’ moniker from
this particular singles push Harley Race, after Race sustained an injury. The
wouldn’t transpire, it was a nice newly revitalised solo career of Haku was on the rise,
taster of things to come). and this feud was a chance to give both men a push.

rick Martel v koko B Ware shawn Michaels v Tatanka
Having split with his By this point, the Heartbreak Kid
partner and turned had won the Intercontinental
heel, Rick Martel was championship. His defence
now establishing his against the undefeated native
‘ M o d e l ’ p e r s o n a American was the first title
(which he would soon match ever to open a
establish even further Wrestlemania. Again, Michaels’
by ‘blinding’ Jake The ability to provide a solid show
Snake Roberts). This opener provided a great
opening match was a start to the event.
pure showcase for Vince McMahon’s new heel. Putting But from here on in,
him against the popular, but seldom winning, Koko B Michaels would be
Ware was a way to establish that his nefarious ways could the show stopper
help him beat an established veteran. rather than the
show opener.
Wrestlemania 7
The rockers v Barbarian & haku
Despite having never (officially!) won the WWF tag titles,
the Rockers were a tremendously popular tag team. And
an exciting one at that. Once again, Vince McMahon went
with the tried-and-tested ‘pit established hardened Wrestlemania 10
veterans against young popular highfliers’ formula. And it
worked. The result was another exciting opener for owen hart v Bret hart
Wrestlemania. Michaels would soon become a major Possibly one of the best-
singles star in his own right. Jannetty less so. remembered opening matches
to a Wrestlemania, this was a
tremendous contest, and one of
the few openers to end up
Wrestlemania 8 almost stealing the show (if
Shawn Michaels hadn’t ended
shawn Michaels v Tito santana up stealing it with, ironically, Bret
Wrestlemania VII would actually be the start of a nice little Hart’s own match concept). It
run for Shawn Michaels as a Wrestlemania opening act. also established Owen as a top
It says a lot about his ability to excite in the ring that Vince contender to the title that Bret
McMahon opened the biggest show of the year with him would win later that evening.
so often. His opponent here was also a Wrestlemania One of the most important and
mainstay. Tito Santana had competed in more respected Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania’s than almost anyone else, and though his openers ever, this match still
WWF career was winding down here, he was still holds a place in many wrestling
respected by fans and the locker room. fans’ hearts to this day.

Lex Luger & davey Boy vader, owen hart and davey Boy smith v Jake
smith v Jacob & Eli Blu roberts, Yokozuna & ahmed Johnson
The Allied Powers was a last The first and only six man opener in Mania’s history, the
ditch effort to salvage Lex match again took place in the WWF’s ‘bleak’ period,
Luger’s WWF career. And there although this match did feature some of its more talented
was no better way to get them stars, especially on Team Cornette.
over than have them beat a
Cornette had led Yokozuna and his team
giant pair of mountain men that
to some success in the WWF, but a falling
had debuted in the WWF that
out with Yokozuna and Mr Fuji lead the
year in the Harris Brothers, then
angry Samoan Sumo to find some like-
known as Jacob & Eli Blu. This
minded soles to band together
match was also the only
against the villain and his
Wrestlemania appearance for a
cohorts. Those likeminded
gentleman by the name of Dutch
souls ended up being part-
Mantell, who managed the
Christian part-drunk addict
Brothers Blu under the moniker
Jake Roberts and the
Uncle Zebekiah. (As you can
unintelligible injury prone
see from this match, the WWF
Ahmed Johnson. It turns
wasn’t at its best period here!)
out the only way in which
they were ‘likeminded’
was in their hatred of
Wrestlemania 13 Team Cornette.
The headbangers v The

new Blackjacks v The
Godwinns v doug
Furnas & Phil Lafon Wrestlemania 14
Believe it or not, the WWF’s tag Tag team battle royal
division was once thriving with
legitimate tag teams, as And another demonstration of the huge tag team division
evidenced by this and next in the WWF at the time. This match allowed the WWF to
year’s opening bouts. put on a match that would showcase the depth of its tag
This match was designed to division (although given that some teams included
showcase some of the newer ‘Bradshaw & Chainz’ and ‘Steve Blackman and Flash
teams on the scene (although Funk’ this may have been pushing it a bit). Interestingly,
given that one of them featured this is the only time in Wrestlemania history that you
Barry Windham, who had last would ever have the Rock & Roll Express, Midnight
appeared at Wrestlemania 2, Express and Legion of Doom all in the ring at the same
‘new’ may be an odd choice of time (even if this version of the Midnight Express
words). Sadly the most talented consisted of ‘Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart’!). The
of these four teams didn’t last match also gave a nice surprise element to the
long, as Furnas and Lafon proceedings as the mystery tag team in the battle royal
would very soon be gone from turned out to be the returning Legion of Doom (now called
the WWF. LOD2000, and managed by Sunny).

Wrestlemania 15
hardcore holly v Billy Gunn v al snow
The Hardcore division was being established at this time, and it was felt that having a Hardcore
title match would make for an interesting start to Wrestlemania (and thankfully this was before
the ‘everyone come out and join in 24/7 rule’ kicked in). Sadly, with such ‘hardcore’ competitors
as Bob Holly, Billy Gunn and Al Snow participating, this one was never really going to live up to
its hardcore billing!
Wrestlemania 18
Wrestlemania 2000 William regal v rob van
dam
The Big Bossman & Bull Buchanan v d’Lo Brown &
The Godfather Now it was Regal’s turn to
defend the Intercontinental title
This would be consider somewhat of an odd choice to at Mania, and the formula of
open a Wrestlemania, except for one fact. Godfather’s ‘put on something exciting to
theme at the time was being ‘sung’ by rapper Ice T who start with’ occurred again, as
made a guest appearance at ringside with ‘the hos’ and Rob Van Dam challenged, and
cheered on the babyface team. This would mark the first defeated him, for the belt.
and only time that an opening match at Wrestlemania
featured a celebrity guest appearance. Van Dam had become a
tremendous asset to the
company during the Invasion
angle and, despite some
Wrestlemania 17 detractors backstage who
wanted his career (ahem) ‘dead
chris Jericho v William regal and buried’, he was a bonafide
The second Intercontinental title star for the company now.
match to open a Wrestlemania, this
match went back to the old adage of
‘start the show with something that is
Wrestlemania 19
going to be good’. It’s a simple formula. Matt hardy v rey Mysterio
If I wasn’t an avid wrestling fan, and
pretty much only bought The cruiserweights had
Wrestlemania once a year established themselves as
(as some people do) then one of the most exciting parts
my knowledge of ‘wrestling of WWE programming, so it
is just the Rock, Stonecold, was determined that the
Undertaker and Hogan’ Cruiserweight title match
would be completely blown between Matt Hardy and Rey
away by suddenly seeing Mysterio was the ideal opener
the likes of Jericho and for Wrestlemania. Again,
Regal in the ring. First seeing the likes of Rey
impressions last, and this Mysterio would totally change
was a good one! the ‘casual’ fans perception of
what WWE was all about.

John cena v the Big rey Mysterio v Eddie Guerrero
show This was one of the most anticipated, and perhaps therefore
If someone said to you one of the more disappointing, opening matches in
now that John Cena and Wrestlemania’s history. Guerrero and Mysterio had put on one
the Big Show were an of the best matches of all-time in WCW at their Halloween
opening match at Havoc event and, with that match having been featured on
Wrestlemania, and for the Mysterio’s DVD, the hype was on that this match would top it.
US title no less, the It didn’t. Partially due to a problem with Mysterio’s mask, and
uninitiated would probably partially due to the bar having been set just too high already,
think they were crazy. But the match was very good, but not at the level of their WCW
this actually happened. encounter. Still a great way to open the show though, and a
And when Cena picked up nice reminder of the terrific performer that was Eddie Guerero.
the Big Show (which was
clearly the point), it
certainly established Cena
as the future main event he Wrestlemania 22
would become. Meanwhile, kane and the Big show v carlito and chris Masters
Big Show is now teaming The fact that this match was just a few years ago, but is
with the Miz...someone got remembered by almost nobody (when I looked it up I met the
the better deal out of that result with a resounding ‘huh?!’) shows just how bad this must
match! have been. Clearly this is one best forgotten....we’ll move on...

The Money in the Bank ladder match Finlay v JBL
Great news! After last year’s horrific opener, we We are almost there. And for the 2008
got the Money in the Bank ladder match to open Wrestlemania, Vince McMahon
this year’s event. And with Edge, Randy Orton, decided to open with a good old
both Hardys, CM Punk and Booker T in the fashioned streetfight (Belfast Brawl as
match, it was guaranteed to be exciting. Exciting it was called here). Weapons, violence
it was. The usual cavalcade of crazy insane spots and a midget. Nothing says WWE like
and innovation, the match was a great opener that. And so the biggest show of the
and was won by the deserving competitor.....Mr year started with a wild brawl that
Kennedy! WHAT??? Seriously?? Yep, that year certainly kicked things off in a different
Mr Kennedy actually won the Money in the Bank manner to most years! And for Virgin
match and, has been said numerous times, the Media customers, it also kicked off a
Money in the Bank has always gone on to win the whole night of frustration as this was
championship gold...erm, except this time he the point we lost the PPV signal never
didn’t. Ah well. to get it back again!
Wrestlemania 25. The Money in the Bank

Once again last year’s Wrestlemania started with the always
exciting Money in the Bank ladder match (this year won by CM
Punk who WOULD go on to win the gold). And once again it
became an exciting start to the 25th Anniversary show.
So who will kick off this year’s event. Will Vince McMahon go
with an exciting ‘match to remember’ like the Money in the
Bank or CM Punk v Rey Mysterio? Will we get a match to
establish a newcomer, such as The Miz v Bryan Danielson? Or will it
be another Carlito & Chris Masters v Kane & Big Show disaster?
One thing is for sure. At Wrestlemania this year, no matter who has the match of the night, no
matter who closes the show, whoever opens the show could end up being just as important. After
all, first impressions last....

thewrestlingpress.com profile
© david seto
By DARREN WOOD
T
here are a lot of British wrestling companies that book overseas
talent; it gives the promotion a much needed recognisable face to
help advertise their show and attract as many fans as possible to the
event.

Former WWE wrestler Hardcore Holly is one of

Varsity Pro Wrestling’s biggest stars but
whereas most talent coming onto these shores
just wrestle for the company, he has a massive
hand in the development of young talent at
VPW’s School of Excellence.
“I was asked if I would hold a training seminar, I
did and enjoyed it. The students really applied
themselves, if they didn’t I wouldn’t waste my
time doing it. They really took an interest in
wanting to learn and getting better.”
Holly has a very direct approach with training,
believing that getting into the ring to show the
young rookies how it is done is the best method
of helping them learn.
“You can tell somebody all day long but until they
actually do it they won’t know how it’s done or
how it’s supposed to be done. You can’t talk
somebody through it, or give them a mental
image of how it is meant to be done, they have
to physically do it.
E
I DON’T CARE IF I MAkE A DIM
AT COM PANy... . I juST
FROM TH
WANT [THEM] TO SuCCEED
“VPW is a company that gives people
opportunities to become wrestlers and they want
to see people succeed, if wrestlers come out of
“I don’t just stand outside the ring and instruct VPW and get booked elsewhere then that
them, I get in there because I have a passion for makes the school look good, the company look
what I do. good and the UK Kid look good for training
“If they don’t see that passion in me and feel like them.”
I’m not bothered with training them, they won’t Over the years Holly has seen a lot of wrestling
want to be there. I am still learning, even though promoters push talent who haven’t deserved
those guys may be green they may do their position, giving wrestling fans the best
something I might learn. You just never know.” show with the best talent possible is something
The former WWE Tag Team Champion has been he is passionate about.
asked to wrestle and to take training seminars all “Other promoters I have worked for just don’t
over the world but he shows loyalty to VPW. care about what talent they show, they are only
“It is a first class promotion.” Exclaims Holly, worried about what they are bringing in at the
“They gear everything they do towards the fans, door. They don’t try and critique the talent
take pride in the talent that they have and don’t working for them or give them tips. They go out
just put anybody out there to wrestle. there and just do whatever and that’s not how it
is in VPW.
“Everybody is critiqued night after night; The UK
Kid won’t let anybody from the school into the “The UK Kid is a very good trainer and booker,
ring, in front of people, until he feels they are he is one of the few guys I know who actually
ready and to me that is very important. can go out there and knows how to wrestle, he

knows how to go out there and put on a match give people a reason to come back and watch
and tell a story. Nowadays people like that are another show.”
few and far between, The UK Kid has what it
“My goal with VPW is that I am there to help the
takes to make it and yeah his size hurts him but
company.” States Holly, “I want to see the
other than that he has what it takes.
company become successful, The UK Kid works
“If I was a wrestler just coming in I would want his ass off for that company and there is
him to train me. I’m not saying that because I constant work that goes into a show. In those
work for VPW, I call it like I see it. He is that two or three months that the company isn’t
damn good.” running a show, he is constantly working on
trying to promote and advertise the next show
The former Hardcore Champion whose tenure
the best he can.
with the WWE ended in 2008 was a part of the
companies ‘attitude’ era of the late 1990’s which “I don’t care if I make a dime from that company
targeted the young male adult demographic with or not I just want that company to succeed.”
nudity and swearing to make the WWE more n darren can be contacted at
popular than ever before. dtwooduk@hotmail.com
Holly now believes that wrestling should be
more family orientated and this is what VPW is
catering for perfectly.
“It’s a family friendly show. It’s catered to every
one of all ages and it’s important to do that so
everyone can come and enjoy it. There is always
a good entertaining story going on which will

thewrestlingpress.com independent
What the World is Missing

By Rob Sivell
O
utside the glamour of the WWE and Lucha Libre (without having to listen to Spanish
now even Tna, america is bursting commentary) or still hold a flame for a good old
at the seams with independent fashioned bloodbath. Then the Indy scene
wrestling promotions; featuring fronted by Ring Of Honor, Chikara, EVOLVE,
guys and gals you’ve probably never heard of. Dragon Gate USA, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and
Combat Zone Wrestling will likely have the type
Why should I be bothered I hear you cry? You
of action you’re looking for.
feel WWE and TNA offers all there is? Well you
naysayers may need to broaden your horizons; If however, your wrestling knowledge currently
as the Indy scene has all a wrestling fan could extends to just the stale products presented by
want under the banners of promotions that are WWE and TNA, then be prepared to be amazed
filled to the brim with talent. at some of the spectacles these indy companies
can offer.
There are a host of current stars that are
currently some of the biggest names in the
WWE and TNA. CM Punk, Evan Bourne (Matt THE BAREFOOT, TOOTHLESS
Sydal), Samoa Joe and WWE NXT prospect A PAIN
Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) to name a few WILDMAN, SEEMINGLy HAS
OND TO NON E
have all produced some amazing matches THRESHOLD SEC
before they reached the big leagues.
So if you want hard hitting fast- paced action, big Now that I’ve preached about what Indy Wrestling
name Japanese imports, comedy wrestling, can offer, who are some of the Stars you can
watch.
davey richards - possibly the hottest thing in
the Indy’s, he brings buckets full of intensity to
the ring with a hard hitting MMA based style he
Necro rightly draws comparisons with the
Butcher legendary Dynamite Kid.
Mike Quackenbush - a guy who
might not have the traditional ‘look’,
but who can do it all. He started
wrestling on the Indy circuit in
1994, just watch in awe as he ties
his opponents in knots.
Jack Evans - he can fly better
than nearly anyone else on the
planet. A drastically improved
wrestler, who now hones his
craft in Mexico.
necro Butcher - as
crazy as they come.
Mike Quackenbush
thewrestlingpress.com independent
The barefoot, toothless Wildman, seemingly has dGUsa - open the historic Gate (aka Enter
a pain threshold second to none. Whether it’s the dragon); The Dragon Gate’s first venture to
barbed wire, thumbtacks or light tubes, he American Soil, features fantastic action from
delivers some of the craziest brawls you may start to finish, a truly stacked card featuring
ever see. CIMA, Shingo, Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino and
Dragon Kid.
Now what about the future of the business? Well
the Indy scene looks to have a few diamonds in PWG - kurt russellMania; the most current
the rough, who are the Ones to Watch. I’ll try to show on this list. The DVD is soon to be
pick out someone whose star looks set to shine released and not only is it an awesome name for
in the future each month. In the spotlight this a show, but it is filled with great talent. Such as
month is: RVD, Great Muta, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, Super
Crazy, Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Davey
Johhny Gargano “The Bee’s Knees, The Cat’s
Richards. It looks set to be a show not to be
Pyjama’s and The Whole shebang” looks as
missed.
though he could be set to be a major star within
the next few years, he has been featured on So go on, hunt down these wrestling gems and
every DGUSA show to date, which could prove enjoy what the alternative has to offer.
to be very important for him to gain some n rob can be contacted at
additional notoriety amongst fans. sivz04@yahoo.co.uk
Gargano has a good look; he’s charismatic
and has a good move-set to match. I think
2010 could be his breakout year, look out
Davey Richards © Tony knox
for him on his very funny webcam show,
www.tonyknox.org.uk
‘The Johnny Gargano Power Hour’.
Events to get you started.....
IWa Ms - Ted Petty Invitational 2004
(nights one & Two); could be regarded
as one of the best independent shows
ever, it features a stacked line-up of
indy stars and some truly great
matches.
roh - Joe vs kobashi, supercard of
honor; Two events definitely worth
getting. Joe vs Kobashi features a solid
card topped off with an epic main event
of Samoa Joe against Japanese legend
Kenta Kobashi.
Supercard of Honor II is a stacked show
coinciding with WrestleMania weekend and the
match quality here overshadows any WWE
spectacle, featuring a 5 Star Dragon Gate six
man tag match.
cZW - Best of the Best 2; An older show dating
back to 2002, that showcases high flying talent
with some crazy spots, featuring UK standouts
Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch.
“
By DARREN WOOD (dtwooduk@hotmail.com)
People praised Robert De Niro for his dedication when he gained 150
”
pounds to become Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. How come the same
compliment isn’t paid to pro wrestlers who bleed in the name of realism?
- Bret Hart
P
rofessional wrestling is a sport that is
often misunderstood by large amounts
of people. ridicule is something that
the business has had to endure for
years even though the majority that poke fun
know next to nothing about it.
23 year old Arthur Cauty is attempting to change
those perceptions with his documentary Hard
Knocks, a 40 minute film that aims to show the
passion and desire of the men and women who
put their body on the line every time they enter the
squared circle.
“I want to capture the artistry and admirableness
that has captivated so many fans,” Cauty states.
“I’m not saying I want people to watch my film and
instantly become fans of wrestling, I would just like

“I guess the reason why wrestling is badly

misunderstood is because on the one hand
people are being told ‘it’s a sport’ then on the
other that it’s ‘entertainment’ and ‘predetermined’.
People just don’t know how to approach it - is it
real or fake?
“It’s both,” Exclaims Cauty. “Wrestling is a sport,
but it’s non-competitive, it’s a performance.
Similarly when you watch a film, watching
wrestling is all about suspending your disbelief.
Nobody ever complains that films are fake.”
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF

them to come away with a better understanding INTEREST IN ME DOING
of what wrestling is and to respect it. ANOTHER WRESTLING MOvIE
“I think I have managed to achieve that, People
have spoken to me after watching saying it has Last year saw Hard Knocks screened across the
completely changed the way they see the UK, Europe and the USA, the film was also
business, which is the reaction I was looking for.” nominated for best documentary in 2009 at the
Hard Knocks comes hot on the heels of Norwich film festival.
applauded 2008 feature film The Wrestler, which Cauty has high hopes that his film can enjoy
was the first mainstream movie to approach the even more success in the coming months.
sport in a non farcical way.
“The film has been received really well; the DVD
“Countless films over the years have been made release is just around the corner. There has
about boxers and other athletes, The Wrestler been a lot of interest in me doing another
was the first drama to approach the sport wrestling movie, which is a possibility
seriously; there are people I know personally somewhere down the line.
who have come away from that film with a
“With filmmaking what matters is the story and
deeper respect for the sport.
how you tell it, it’s all about how you translate
“But as you will see in Hard Knocks, there are your vision to the screen. What I plan to do with
still people who are willing to shoot it down.” all my films is just tell good stories.”
Professional wrestling has and will forever For more information on the documentary check
bridge the gap between reality and fiction, with out www.myspace.com/hardknocksdoc
fans of the industry never quite knowing where Photos © De Cauze Films
the line is drawn.
WSuWrestling.com

thewrestlingpress.com wolfe pit
Dusty Wolfe
the Wolfe Pit

STORIES AND OPINIONS FROM AN ORIGINAL WRESTLING jOuRNEyMAN
A
returned home late last week to minimum, out of the talent. Now, a week is usually
find a few email messages from the limit. Some actually fly the talent out for a
the home office. It seemed as if weekend only. A week is perfect. Enough time to
I had missed the latest issue. make a little money without getting homesick.
When I was reassured by “M” that readers Anyone at home that cares gets a break from
would not miss my words of wisdom, I felt so having me under them, and I get home before the
much better. “miss you” becomes “**** you”.
I returned from a rasslin tour of Korea. That’s This trip started out just fine. My tickets, with
Texan for “a weeks worth of professional needed info, was in my hands in plenty of time.
wrestling shows in the country of South Korea.” Bags were packed. Dogs were provided for.
Just wanted to clear up what I meant by Ethan had plenty of frozen dinners and popcorn.
returned. Everyone that needed my info, had my info. I
Even tours today aren’t like the tours we did years drove to the San Antonio International Airport,
ago. Then, promoters wanted two to three weeks, parked in my usual spot that is safe from towing
Rumours of my death have

been greatly exaggerated

thewrestlingpress.com wolfe pit
for the first 7-10 days, with plenty of time to spare. had died in San Francisco. Problem with this. I
Both flights were on schedule. The flight into San didn’t know. The rumor of my death by heart
Francisco was almost pleasant. And the flight attack had hit the internet. My family was frantic.
from San Francisco to Seoul would have been This was news, and it wasn’t good. I found Brett,
fine, if I hadn’t been squeezed up next to some and settled everything down. I took nearly three
400 pound Korean that spoke no English. The hours calming people down, but I got the word
guy reminded me of Kubla Khan, the Marauder, out. And then, I could rejoin the living.
from the old movies.
We had a great crew. Billy Gunn, Scotty Too
We landed in Seoul and made our way to the Hotty, Kevin Thorne, Raven, Eugene, Bob Holly,
hotel. This was a very nice, very beautiful hotel in John Saxon, and a few others. We spent the
downtown Seoul. This hotel was also proud of its next four days being driven to our shows in a
telephone and internet service. Something inside tour bus. Good crowds in modern buildings that
of me prevented me from paying $5US to use my actually have running water. All in all, a
phone card, OR pay $25US to use their internet tremendous deal. Six matches a night with no
on MY computer. I decided I would find my family egos. Just a group of guys having some fun and
the next day. My son Brett was raised to know making a few dollars. This is one of the few
that no news is good news when travelling, so I times out of my 30+ overseas tours I can’t recall
wasn’t worried. Brett is my contact person and someone having some sort of major issue.
level headed.
We wrapped up the trip, and made our way
The next morning, we made our way onto the US home. Paid, no injury, flights departing and
Army base for our paperwork. All of our events arriving on schedule. There just isn’t much more
were on US military installations, and we had to to ask for.
prove we were the rasslers listed on the rasslin
I took something away from this tour much
list, if we ventured too far from the building.
deeper than any memory. I listened to the
Double 00 spy type stuff, is what I figured.
thoughts and comments of the guys that recently
Someone has gone and taken all the payphones
left TNA and WWE. So much of what I have
out of the country of South Korea, so I was down
heard through the grapevine and confirmed for
to using the internet. Having been on this base a
myself was proven true. And some of that info, I
few years ago, I knew where to go for a computer.
may share at later dates. Right now, I’m home,
When I started checking my emails, I couldn’t making sure nothing was left behind in the
make sense out of anything. Then I realised. I funeral procession. n
READ MORE OF DuSTy’S STORIES AND OPINIONS AT

n By jOHN MILNER
y
ounger fans of the WWE
may know Ted dibiase, sr.
as the father of Legacy
member Ted dibiase. older
fans may remember his days as the
dastardly “Million dollar Man” who
once tried to purchase the WWE
(then WWF) championship.
But Ted Dibiase has a long legacy of his
own, that began when he stepped into
an Oklahoma ring in June 1975 to
defeat Killer Karl Kox.

Missouri Championship from Express for the Mid-South Tag

Dick Murdoch before teaming Team titles, going on to
with Murdoch to win the NWA become one of the top teams
U.S. Tag Team titles. in Mid-South/UWF history.
In December 1976, Dibiase’s In 1987, Dibiase left the UWF
first of five North American and joined the WWE. His
Championships began with his character was said to be the
defeat of the Spoiler. His type of wrestler Vince
success earned him an NWA McMahon would have been
World Title match against were he to have stepped into
Harley Race, but a neck injury the ring at that time. When
robbed him of the opportunity. Dibiase made his debut he
was accompanied by his
Dibiase’s first stint in the WWE
bodyguard Virgil (Mike Jones,
would come years before he
who had been known as “Soul
Born in omaha, nebraska on became “the Million Dollar
Train” Jones in Memphis’s
January 18th, 1954, Dibiase Man”. In 1979,
Championship Wrestling
was the adoptive son of “Iron Dibiase arrived as the North
Association).
Mike” Dibiase. The elder American Champion, a title he
Dibiase was a former lost to Pat Patterson on June Dibiase’s character lived by
champion in the Pacific 19, 1979. (The title was a fore- the credo “Everybody has a
Northwest, Chicago, AWA runner to today’s price” and used his wealth to
Midwest, Central States and Intercontinental get what he wanted. However,
Florida before his tragic death Championship). Remaining in by the end of 1987 he found
in the ring in July 1969. the WWE, Dibiase was Hulk that it couldn’t buy Hulk
Hogan’s opponent for what Hogan’s championship. So, he
After her husband’s death, would be the first of many tried to do the next best thing,
Helen Hild (Ted’s mother and a Madison Square Garden buy the services of Andre the
wrestler in her own right) fell appearances for Hogan.
into a deep depression and
turned to alcoholism, forcing For most of the early 80s,
the young Ted to live with his Dibiase would wrestle in Mid-
grandparents in Willcox, South Wrestling (later the
Arizona. After attending high Universal Wrestling
school in Willcox, Dibiase Federation), with trips to
received a football scholarship Georgia to feud with “Wildfire”
to West Texas State University. Tommy Rich, and Japan where
he teamed with Stan Hansen.
He would never graduate from
West Texas, however, turning In Mid-South, however,
his attention to pro wrestling Dibiase would continue to
instead. Trained by Dory and maintain the North American
Terry Funk, Jr, Dibiase’s early title, defeating Mike George,
career would take him to Paul Orndorff, the Junk Yard
Japan and back to North Dog and Brad Armstrong,
America to the Central States before losing it to Terry Taylor
and Mid-South Territories. in March 1985. Two months
Dibiase would win the Central later Dibiase teamed with
States Championship from Steve “Dr. Death” Williams to
Sgt. Slaughter and the defeat the Rock ‘n’ Roll

Check out 45 Minutes with The Million dollar Man on Evan Ginzburg’s Legends
Radio show at www.legendsradio.net
Direct link: www.smashedmedia.us/031710.mp3
Giant, who defeated Hogan on February 5th,

1988 (with the help of a corrupt referee) and
handed the title over to Dibiase.
Dibiase’s “reign” as champion was short-lived and
the title was held up, pending a Wrestlemania VIII
tournament. Speculation has it that Dibiase was
to win that tournament, but backstage drama
forced a re-booking of the event. Dibiase would,
however, spend the summer feuding with eventual
winner, Randy Savage.
Dibiase would feud with Hercules, Jake “the
Snake” Roberts, the Big Boss Man, Dusty
Rhodes, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and even Virgil.
Although never winning the WWE Championship,
Dibiase became an unofficial champion in his own
right with the unveiling of the diamond-encrusted
“Million Dollar Championship” belt.
As the 80s ended and the 90s began, Dibiase
switched from singles wrestling to tag team
competition, forming “Money Incorporated” with
Irwin R. Schyster. Schyster was the former Mike
Rotundo, who had won tag team gold with former manage the former “Stunning” Steve Austin,
partner Barry Windham. As Money Inc, Schyster dubbed The Ringmaster and given Dibiase’s
would win the WWE Tag Team Championship Million Dollar Championship. In 1996, Dibiase left
three times, feuding with the Natural Disasters, the WWE for WCW, becoming the fourth member of
Nasty Boys, the Legion of Doom, the Steiner the NWO before leaving the group to manage the
Brothers and make-shift teams such as the Steiner Brothers.
Ultimate Maniacs (the Ultimate Warrior and Randy
Savage) and Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. After leaving pro wrestling, he became a Christian
minister and motivational speaker. In 1999, he
After leaving the WWE in 1993, Dibiase wrestled founded the Heart of David Ministry.
in Japan for a short time before quietly
announcing his retirement. But while his in-ring Since 2005, Dibiase has made sporadic
career was at an end, he remained active in pro appearances in the WWE. Initially he was a
wrestling. Returning to the WWE, he began creative consultant and road agent for
forming the Million Dollar Corporation, which SmackDown but would make appearances at
included I.R.S., Bam Bam Bigelow, Nikolai Volkoff, Wrestlemania 22, the Raw Family Reunion in
Kama (Charles Wright, later the Godfather), King October 2006, and the Raw 15th Anniversary
Kong Bundy, the 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman, later Special in December 2007 (paying off former
Syxx and X-Pac) and Tatanka. At one time, partner IRS to win a battle royal). After introducing
Dibiase claimed he had recruited the Undertaker, his son, Ted Dibiase Jr., on Raw in May 2008,
only for it to be revealed an imposter, played by Dibiase returned a year later to guest-host the
Brian Lee. Dibiase would also lead Bam Bam show.
Bigelow into battle against NFL star Lawrence At Wrestlemania 26, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted
Taylor at Wrestlemania XI. Dibiase was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
While the Million Dollar Corporation would n John can be contacted at
eventually dissolve, Dibiase would continue to jmilnerresume@gmail.com

thewrestlingpress.com update
More photos
& videos at
www.myspace.com/codydeaner
Photo by casey Lessard
www.caseylessard.com
NEW LOOK FOR

CODY DEANER

Decade in
review (Part 2)
| By MARK ALLEN - markallen@insidepulse.com |
W
elcome back as I continue opener between Rey Mysterio and
my exhaustive look at World Eddie Guerrero and the closest
Wrestling Entertainment Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak
over the first ten years of came to ending when he took on
the new millennium. Randy Orton. The show also
When we had last left off in 2004, new stars featured an appearance from Hulk
were created out of Eddie Guerrero and Hogan, a Rowdy Roddy Piper-
Chris Benoit. But in 2005 WWE struck gold Stone Cold Steve Austin
with their own homegrown stars. confrontation and a fun
Hollywood theme that was
The year started out with the ascension of highlighted by movie trailer
Batista and John Cena to the main event parodies.
stratosphere in WWE. The two men were the
final two in the Royal Rumble match and it While at the time of their wins
was a dead heat on who would be the winner. Cena was on SmackDown
Batista won the match to earn the and Batista was on RAW, a
WrestleMania World Title match, but Cena, month long draft lottery
after winning an eight-man tournament on between the two brands
SmackDown, earned his way to the saw them swap places.
WrestleMania main event as well. And in When the draft had
back-to-back matches, Cena and Batista finished at the end of
walked out of WrestleMania 21 as the WWE June, Cena and his
Champion and World Heavyweight Champion WWE Championship
respectively. From that point on it would truly were now on RAW
be the year of Cena and Batista, as neither while Batista and the
man lost their Championships in the calendar World Title were home on
year. SmackDown.
Cena and Batista’s victories capped off what Meanwhile another young
ended up being a phenomenal WrestleMania. star, Edge, found success
In addition to the crowning of new superstars, in an unlikely way. After
the show hosted the first ever Money in the winning the inaugural
Bank ladder match, a incredible Shawn Money in the Bank at
Michaels-Kurt Angle one-on-one match, a fun WrestleMania 21, Edge

looked to be on the track to superstardom. However a real-
life affair with Lita, the girlfriend of his good friend Matt
Hardy, broke on the Internet thanks to Hardy and Edge’s
wife. The Internet was abuzz in regards to the story, and
Hardy (who was injured at the time) lost his job over the deal.
WWE tried to ignore the scandal on screen at first but crowds
who were hip to the room hurled derogatory slurs at Lita and
Edge. Striking while the iron was hot, they were quickly paired as
an item on screen and Hardy was re-hired. The
story was played out on-screen as real-life
bad blood transferred onto an on-air
story. Over the course of the summer
and fall, Hardy and Edge battled in
a standard match, a Street Fight, a
Cage Match and a Ladder Match
before the rivalry was resolved.
Edge parlayed that villainous heat
into main event superstardom
while Matt fell back into the mid-
card position he had previously.
Hulk Hogan also made a return
to WWE in 2005. After being
inducted into the WWE Hall of
Fame at WrestleMania 21 he
became a semi-regular character
once again. The mini reunion tour
culminated in a battle of icons with
Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam.
Hogan won the match with his
usual formula and routine, but a
surly Shawn Michaels did his best
to drag a really fun and
entertaining match out of the loss
regardless.
With all this chaos going on in
WWE at the time another revival
was starting up across both
SmackDown and RAW. Based on
the massive success of the Rise &
Fall of ECW DVD documentary
that was released in 2004, talk
turned to a reunion PPV for
Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Much of the former company’s top
stars were already working in WWE
so the idea seemed easy to pull off.

Thanks to Vince McMahon actually listening While a lot of premature wrestling deaths had
to former ECW mainstay Rob Van Dam’s already unfortunately happened in the decade,
ideas, it was decided that on June 12 the Eddie’s death was the one that rocked the
ECW One Night Stand revival pay per view hardest. At the time of his death he was one of
would be held from ECW’s old stomping SmackDown’s top stars and in line to regain
grounds at the Manhattan Center in New the World Championship at some point soon.
York City. He had just finished a lengthy feud with Rey
Mysterio that produced a lot of quality
The show featured a mix of WWE contracted
television and pay per view matches
ECW alumni combined with former ECW
throughout the spring, summer and fall of 2005
stars from around the independent circuit,
and had now moved onto a friendly rivalry with
converged into a series of nostalgic reunion
Batista. His death continued to play a role in
matches. The show was a rousing success
WWE well into 2006, but at that moment the
in every sense of the word thanks to WWE
wrestling world stopped and wept.
personnel staying pretty much out of the
way, and let the ECW faithful run the show
from top-to-bottom. Many ECW alumni got
WWE contracts out of the deal and talk even
turned to reviving ECW as a third brand
under the WWE umbrella, but more on that
later.
After WWE’s five-year partnership with
2006
Spike TV had wrapped up, the company
moved back to their long-time home on the World Wrestling Entertainment was still
USA Network, where they re-embraced with reeling from the death of Eddie Guerrero
open arms. To commemorate the return, from late 2005, but rather than let Eddie
WWE hosted a three-hour Homecoming rest in peace, he became the focal point
special in October, featuring talent from both of the promotion.
brands, pay per view quality matches and
His nephew Chavo Guerrero essentially
appearances from numerous wrestling
became an Eddie Guerrero tribute wrestler
legends. These three-hour specials would
while Rey Mysterio dedicated his every
become a staple for RAW in the years to
match to the memory of Eddie.
come.
Mysterio started off the year by winning the
Despite the great high WWE was riding all
Royal Rumble match and did so from the
year, it all came crashing down on
number two position, lasting the longest of
November 13 when Eddie Guerrero was
anyone in history. He went on to win the
found dead in a hotel room in Bloomington,
World Heavyweight Championship in a
Minnesota on November 13. The wrestling
phenomenal triple threat match against Kurt
world was in shock and went into an
Angle and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 22.
immediate state of mourning. That night
He became the lightest and shortest World
Guerrero and the entire roster were to
Champion in history. Although his entire run
participate in a double television taping in
(which lasted until July) was considered
downtown Minneapolis. The show still went
pretty much an entire failure, it was still
on that night, but all the matches were
historic in a number of ways.
done without storyline and all in tribute to
Eddie. Meanwhile over on the RAW brand, Edge
became a superstar in every way. While

Mysterio was the focal point of SmackDown, ECW alum Rob Van Dam defeat John Cena
Edge became the new star of RAW. After for the WWE Championship in front of a
winning in the inaugural Money in the Bank rabid ECW-friendly crowd in downtown New
at WrestleMania 21, he cashed in at New York City.
Year’s Revolution in January, pinning WWE
Van Dam’s victory led the way for the re-
Champion John Cena after he survived an
launch of Extreme Championship as the
exhausting Elimination Chamber match.
company’s third touring brand. ECW gained
Edge only held the belt for a month before
a one-hour timeslot on the Sci Fi network on
losing it back to Cena, but he became a true
Tuesday evenings. Originally the show
superstar with that victory. Edge would battle
featured many ECW stars of the past and
Cena off/on throughout the entire year of
highlighted new WWE wrestlers who had yet
2006 before finally losing to John Cena in a
to debut on television. With Van Dam as
great TLC match at Unforgiven in
WWE and ECW Champion the new brand
September.
gained immediate exposure. Unfortunately,
Amidst all the other chaos a feud between in July Van Dam and Sabu were arrested in
Shawn Michaels and Mr. McMahon led to a Ohio for possession of drug paraphernalia.
reunion of one of the most influential teams Van Dam immediately dropped both the
in WWE history, as Michaels and Triple H WWE and ECW Championships in
reformed DeGeneration X. With both consecutive nights on the RAW and ECW
Michaels and Triple H having individual television tapings, and was then suspended
problems with the McMahon family during thirty days for the incident and the course of
the spring of 2006 it hinted at the reunion. the new brand was changed.
The two men reunited officially in June,
While new stars were being created on WWE
complete with the old music and new
television, the top stars of the company’s
merchandise, and they ran roughshod over
women’s division were saying goodbye. Both
WWE through the rest of the year, defeating
Trish Stratus and Lita, arguably the
Vince & Shane McMahon, The Spirit Squad,
two most popular “Divas” of the
The Big Show and a host of other
WWE in the 2000s, left the
henchmen. They finally met equal
company within two months of
opponents at the end of the year when they
each other. Stratus, who had
began feuding with Rated-RKO (Randy
been the poster-girl for the
Orton & Edge) in a rivalry that led into 2007.
women’s division since
But the other real story of the year in WWE 2001, was allowed to
was the resurrection of Extreme leave the company
Championship Wrestling as the third brand with her head held
under the WWE umbrella (besides RAW and high as in her final
SmackDown). Based on the unexpected match she defeated
success of the Rise & Fall of ECW DVD in Lita to win the Women’s
2004 and ECW One Night Stand pay per Championship at Unforgiven,
view in 2005 it was determined ECW would which was conveniently held
come back as its own entity. A one-hour time in Stratus’ hometown of
slot on the Sci Fi Network (sister network of Toronto.
the USA Network, which hosted RAW) was
Meanwhile her contemp-
procured in the summer of 2006 and the
orary Lita, who had been
brand was underway. One Night Stand II
drawing the fans’ scorn
happened live on PPV in June and saw
since becoming the valet of

Edge in 2005, left in a far worse fashion. As would be expected, World Wrestling
After winning a tournament to win back the Entertainment took a sound thrashing in the
Women’s Championship that Stratus retired, media. They quickly distanced themselves
she lost the belt to Mickie James at Survivor from Benoit, pretty much erasing him from
Series. Rather than being able to leave with history like he was never there. The
her head held high like Stratus, she was company was on the defensive and spun
humiliated and booed out of the building. their story as well as everyone else was
Such is the life of playing on live TV week in spinning their own stories about the tragedy.
and week out. They claimed Benoit was a “monster” that
wasn’t in the right frame of mind. He was
stressed about his family, and he became a
different person. According to WWE, they
2007
had nothing to do with Benoit’s state of mind
or well being. Under the newly intense
scrutiny WWE became harsher with their
Wellness Policy and ended up suspending
ten men in late summer for various drug
violations. Meanwhile the mainstream news
On the weekend of June 23-25 it was and entertainment media created a
declared that Chris Benoit had murdered proverbial storm out of the whole mess. The
his wife, Nancy Benoit, and then later his 24-hour news networks devoted their quiet
seven-year-old son Daniel. He then took June days to Benoit. Every aspect of the
his own life via hanging. entire ordeal was dissected and re-
On June 24 he was scheduled to wrestle CM dissected. The first hours and days were
Punk for the vacant ECW Championship at devoted to just the shock of the case,
the Vengeance: Night of Champions pay per combined with the unraveling thoughts and
view, but he no-showed the event due to news. Then talk shifted to every other thing
“personal reasons.” Twenty-four hours later they could think of. Chris’ son may or may
it was determined Benoit and his whole not have had Fragile-X syndrome. Pro
family were dead. That night’s Monday Night wrestling is a brutal industry that can lead to
RAW was cancelled in favor of a three-hour life-altering physical and mental injuries.
Benoit retrospective. By the show’s end it There were the consequences of a child
was determined that it was a case of double being killed by a father. Then the fall out of
murder-suicide. Chris being a role model and hero to millions
of people who watched him on television or
saw him live in person. There were
revelations of Chris’ personal life with his
friends, co-workers and his immediate
family. He fought with wife constantly, and
apparently never got over the untimely death
of his best friend Eddie Guerrero. And of
course, there was the talk about drugs and
steroids.
Every talking head had his/her own analysis
on the situation. Everyone quickly formed
opinions and it soon became a media circus.
Pro wrestlers and former pro wrestlers came

out of the woodwork in droves trying to supposedly featuring Mr. McMahon.
reclaim their fifteen minutes of fame. Men Thankfully it was stopped due to the Benoit
who had been out of the public spotlight for tragedy.
years, men like Steve Blackman, Brian
That transitioned into a soap opera-like story
Christopher, Marc Mero and Marc Bagwell
about Mr. McMahon having an illegitimate
all of a sudden had opinions of their “friend”
son. That son was rumored to be Mr.
Chris and had a worldwide platform to
Kennedy, but due to an untimely suspension
broadcast them. Dr. Phil Astin, Benoit’s
for Kennedy the “son” ended up being
personal doctor, was pretty much thrown
Hornswoggle, the diminutive person who
under the bus and took a beating in the
portrayed Finlay’s leprechaun sidekick up
media. He was placed under house arrest,
until this point.
had all his professional records seized and
pretty much lost all credibility in the medical Kennedy’s suspension was part of a larger
field, as well as gaining a nice criminal rap scandal that saw eleven wrestlers
sheet. suspended for the month of September due
to receiving prescriptions from an online
Everything else in World Wrestling
Signature Pharmacy. The investigation and
Entertainment that year became a watershed
suspension came on the heels of feeling the
moment surrounding Benoit. In the first half
heat of the Benoit tragedy just weeks earlier.
of the year John Cena continued to become
Among those listed in the scandal were
the face of the entire company. He was WWE
Kennedy, Sho Funaki, Umaga, Chavo
Champion from September 2006 until an
Guerrero, John Morrison, Edge, Santino
injury in October forced him to vacate the belt.
Marella, William Regal, Gregory Helms,
He brought stability to the entire company
Booker T, Charlie Haas, Randy Orton and
with his wholesome image becoming a
Mike Bucci. Bucci, who had wrestled
perfect front for WWE in promotional and
previously as Simon Dean and Nova, had
public relations situations. His WWE
become a front office person in charge of the
Championship reign, at 380 days, was the
company’s developmental territories by the
longest since Hulk Hogan’s first reign in 1984.
time of the scandal. Instead of being
Meanwhile on SmackDown, two unlikely suspended like the majority of the on air
opponents like Batista and The Undertaker wrestling talent, he was released altogether
ended up having fantastic chemistry. The two from the company.
powerhouses, angry about not getting the
main event slot at WrestleMania 23, tore the
house down in their World Championship EvERy ASPECT OF THE
match. The match was much better than ENTIRE ORDEAL WAS
TED
expected and it led to an extended rivalry DISSECTED AND RE-DISSEC
between the two men, including a cage
match on SmackDown in May, a singles The one bright spot that came out of the end
match officiated by Stone Cold Steve Austin of 2007 in WWE was the return of Chris
in November and a Hell in a Cell match later Jericho to the company. Jericho left WWE
in the month. under his own accord in 2005 to rejuvenate
As for everything else in the company it was his love of the wrestling business while
greatly affected by the Benoit situation. Just working on his music and acting careers as
a week before Benoit’s death the company well. He also took time to write a memoir, a
started a “Who Killed Mr. McMahon” look back at his life up until that point.
storyline, complete with an exploding limo Mysterious viral code that would randomly

appear on bumpers on WWE programming Michaels, and he became the hated bad guy
that hyped his return got fans talking about that the story needed. By the middle of the
who was behind it ad nauseum. The summer the rivalry had evolved into a heated
mysterious coding was reminiscent of and bloody feud between Michaels and
Jericho’s first WWE arrival in 1999 and it Jericho that went well beyond Flair’s
kept fans guessing right up until his return retirement and into something much more
that November evening. The coding personal. By the late fall of the year Batista
guesswork was a great distraction to get had re-emerged as a challenger to Jericho,
fans’ minds off of Benoit and the abysmal who was now the World Heavyweight
McMahon storylines and gave hope to WWE Champion. And remarkably Jericho came out
fans that things would improve. of the entire mess as the victor, having beaten
Batista in a cage match to regain his World
Championship and then defeating Shawn
Michaels shortly thereafter in a Last Man
Standing match. This feud carried seven
2008 months of quality programming for the RAW

brand, and involved not only the three men
but numerous tertiary participants as well.
The matches were great, the promos were
entertaining and believable and the storyline
The over-reaching story in WWE that led was realistic and easy to follow.
to a yearlong, interlocking storyline was In another effort to drum up interest and
the retirement of Ric Flair. ratings for WWE and Monday Night RAW the
After a decree from Mr. McMahon that said chairman would come out on live TV and give
Flair would retire once he lost his next match away money to viewers watching live at home
all eyes pointed to WrestleMania XXIV, or in the arena. The gimmick ran for weeks
where it was predicted Flair’s retirement during the summer months and gained some
would happen. Flair himself chose Shawn fans serious money. While in the long run it
Michaels for his last match and the two men didn’t do anything for the company, it
put on one of the best matches of not only provided some unpredictable entertainment.
2008, but of the decade. The next night Flair Other than Chris Jericho, no one had a better
got a hero’s farewell from WWE, including a year in WWE in 2008 than CM Punk. He
long in-ring segment where wrestlers past entered 2008 as the ECW Champion before
and present got their chance to say goodbye. losing it to Chavo Guerrero in February. But
What developed from Flair’s retirement was he rebounded quickly and won the Money in
one of the best WWE storylines of the the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 24. It
decade. Batista, who considered Flair his was in June when Punk became a true
mentor, was upset that Michaels would international star. On a live edition of Monday
knowingly retire him. Michaels felt compelled Night RAW Punk came out to cash in his
to do what he was asked to do. It was a great Money in the Bank contract on the World
story as both men had legitimate arguments Heavyweight Champion Edge, who was
that the fans could get behind, yet were still already in the ring and incapacitated. Within
able to remain good guys in the fans’ eyes. moments Punk hit his patented Go To Sleep
Chris Jericho was inserted as a third wheel, and pinned Edge to become the new
trying to stir up trouble between the two. It Champion. The victory was wholly and
really picked up when Jericho turned on completely unexpected and was validation

not only for Punk but also for his legion of fans
that had followed him on the independent
circuit and worried that he would never get a
chance at superstardom under the bright
lights of WWE.
Punk lost the Championship a couple months
later after a fairly underwhelming Title reign
but remained a prominent part of WWE. By
October of 2008 he had won the World Tag
Championship with Kofi Kingston and
entered 2009 as the Intercontinental
Champion. In January 2009 he picked up the
Intercontinental Title. Within a ten month
period Punk had won a World Title, the
Intercontinental Title and a Tag Title reign, If it weren’t for the Ric Flair saga, Undertaker
making him the record-holder for picking up and Edge would have run away with the
that trifecta of Championships in the quickest company’s feud of the year. The feud started
amount of time. in 2007 when Edge cashed in his Money in
Jeff Hardy also began his meteoric rise to the the Bank briefcase in early 2007 to defeat
main event in early 2008 by challenging Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight
Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Championship. Due to injuries to both men,
Royal Rumble, a match many viewers and their feud didn’t truly pick up until late 2007.
analysts pegged Hardy to be victorious in. But it was in 2008 when they battled non-stop
After a very untimely Wellness Policy violation over the World Heavyweight Championship.
kept him out of WrestleMania XXV, Hardy At No Way Out, The Undertaker won an
rebounded. He soon found himself a major Elimination Chamber, to become the number
player on the SmackDown brand after the one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight
June 2008 Draft. His dreams came true at Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. He
Armageddon in December 2008 when he defeated Edge at WrestleMania with his Hell's
became the 38th person to win the Gate submission hold, to win his second
prestigious WWE Championship. World Heavyweight Championship. Then at
Backlash Undertaker defeated Edge once
Infamous boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather again to retain the World Title. SmackDown
played a high-profile part of 2008’s general manager Vickie Guerrero announced
WrestleMania XXIV. He was a guest of the that Hell's Gate was an illegal hold and
company during February’s pay per view No stripped him of the belt. The two men battled
Way Out, only to encounter the 7’2, 500 lbs. for the vacant title at Judgment Day, which
Big Show. During the confrontation Undertaker won by countout, but the Title
Mayweather clocked Big Show and broke his remained vacant due to the count out finish.
nose. It set up a one-on-one match between They met again for the vacant championship
the two athletes at WrestleMania XXIV, which at Extreme Rules in a TLC match, which
naturally Mayweather won via knock out. The Edge won. Then they had one final match at
size differential between the two men made SummerSlam inside Hell in a Cell, which saw
for an outstanding visual and brought a lot of Undertaker emerge victorious.
mainstream coverage for WWE during the
build-up to the match. To be continued . . . . …

.u k
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o x .o
kn
ny
.to
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-w
ox
kn
yn
To
os
ot
Ph
36 worldwide
digital magazine
wrestling
for magazine
pro wrestling fans
By DARREN WOOD (dtwooduk@hotmail.com)
H
e caused one of the biggest upsets Brown himself admitted: “I’m still surprised that
ever to grace British soil and now I am the champion; I don’t really believe it to this
ten months on ‘Bad news’ Brown day. I am happy and humble.”
is still reigning supreme as the
The Superslam Heavyweight Championship has
superslam British heavyweight champion.
a rich, vast history and for a 25 year old who had
Back in May last year Brown competed for All the dream of becoming a wrestler since he left
Star Wrestling in a four way elimination match school, this is a remarkable achievement and
that would determine a new heavyweight one that Brown himself never thought would
champion. The former title holder Robbie come true.
Brookside forfeited because of injury.
On his way to championship gold he defeated
experienced grapplers such as Karl Kramer,
James Mason and TNA superstar Doug
Williams.
I’M STILL SuRPRISED THAT

I AM THE CHAMPION; I DON’T
DAy
REALLy BELIEvE IT TO THIS
17 stone Brown who hails from Leeds was

considered a rank outsider and shocked
everyone when he won the championship, but
nearly a year on he has rose to every challenge
put before him.
“What a great honour to hold this belt” states
Brown. “I didn’t see it coming at the time and it
was a really big moment in my life to win it.”
The former Champion Brookside commended
Brown for winning the title: “Like most people I
thought one of the former holders Doug Williams
or James Mason would come through, but fair
play to Brown, he took everyone by surprise.”
I will certainly treat him with the greatest respect
if I can get a title shot.”
digital magazine
worldwideforwrestling
pro wrestling fans 37
magazine
© darren Wood
“With no ring to train in, the first time I ever ran
the ropes was before my first professional
show. I arrived at the building during the day
and the promoter of the company said ‘get in
the ring and show us what you got’. So I went
in there and kinda picked it up so it was alright.
I learnt the hard way.”
It wasn’t until working for All Star Wrestling that
things really took off for Brown; he saw an
advert for All Star Wrestling and sent in
pictures in the hope of gaining a match with
them.
“Eventually they gave me a call asking me to
go to a show so I did. I got lucky and must
have done something they liked, they gave me
a match and it went on from there.
The name ‘Bad News’ was given to Brown
“Winning the belt was an extremely humbling
when he started out for All Star Wrestling and
experience, My experience and my time in the
while it has stuck with him, Brown is quick to
business is not a scratch compared to people
point out that it is in no way associated with
who were in that tournament and also it doesn’t
wrestler Allen Coage, who performed under
compare to who has held the belt before.
the name ‘Bad News’ Brown in the WWE
“The promoter of All Star Wrestling Brian Dixon during the mid 1980’s.
must have some confidence in me because the
“The ‘Bad News’ moniker has kinda stuck with
proof is in the pudding, I have the belt. So he
me and to be fair I liked watching ‘Bad News’.
obviously saw something.
He was on his own, he didn’t need anybody’s
“There is immense pressure on whoever holds help and I loved that when I was a kid, I
this belt, pressure from your peers and the thought he was a bad ass.
fans. But I feel the most pressure is from
In a sense I’m proud to have his name but on
myself to be honest. I just gotta keep my head
the other hand I would rather not live in
above water and give them a reason to keep
somebody else’s shadow.”
the belt on me.”
On Saturday 6th March Brown notched up
Submission specialist Brown started his career
another successful title defence by toppling
training under the watchful eye of Chris Curtis
Gladiator Warrior.
at GBH wrestling based in Stoke-on-Trent and
while he didn’t stay with them for long he learnt The former champion Brookside is his next
the necessities. challenger and that match will take place in
Liverpool on Friday March 19th.
“Training was OK but it was pretty basic. You
always learn the most when you are in the ring Brookside will be hoping to retain the belt that
and in front of the crowd. I was taught how to was cruelly taken away from him and the
put on a headlock and things like that but it match could prove to be the downfall of
was just a starter really. Brown’s illustrious reign on top of All Star
Wrestling.
“We had no ring, just used blue mats and took
bumps on them all day. By the time we finished For more information on All Star Wrestling visit
we were pretty beat up. www.bigtimewrestlinguk.com

© Tony knox - www.tonyknox.org.uk

thewrestlingpress.com wwe
The Big Flop?

By Martyn john
S
o after four painful years, vince
McMahon has finally switched the
life support machine off and let
WWEcW die. The sad thing is that
I would have loved to add “with dignity” at
the end of that sentence, but every attempt
at typing the word was viciously interrupted
by my own constant sniggering. regardless,
just like EcW, WWEcW is dead and gone. so
I guess the real question is what’s nxT?
Before we look at WWE’s new brainchild, I feel
it’s only fitting to eulogise ECW and its inbred The Miz shares some wisdom with ‘rookie’
spawn. There is no doubt that ECW was a great Daniel Bryan!
wrestling company and did feature some of the
stood a chance against the original, after all how
best angles, matches and competitors the
do you compete against something “perfect”?
wrestling business has ever seen. As a result it’s
easy to see why wrestling fans hold the original Now WWECW is dead and gone, maybe it’s
company in such high regard and why the time we focused on some of the positives of the
WWE’s reincarnation of it was doomed to fail. brand. But the problem with that is, there was
only really one positive aspect of WWECW; it
gave new talent a platform. Talent like CM Punk,
TNA HAS BEEN AROuND FOR Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston these guys had
yEARS AND I STILL HAvE NO their real “shot” at getting over with the WWE
IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON fans on WWECW. If WWECW had one saving
grace it was that it gave airtime to new talent that
But for all the good memories ECW gave us, it they never would have gotten had they made
had its fair share of Hector Guerreros (plus ten their debut on SmackDown! or RAW. It was a
brownie points if you got the Gobbledygooker place where new talent had a chance to develop
reference). Of course just like anything or and work on the enormous WWE scale; it took
anyone who has passed away, most of the bad the risks the other brands couldn’t have taken.
stuff has been forgotten and instead many
wrestling fans hold ECW up as the holy grail of Luckily for us then, WWE has taken WWECW’s
professional wrestling, the Valhalla of greatest strength and revolved an entire new
federations. Now I’m not here to rip ECW apart, show around it; WWE NXT. The question is
nor am I trying to highlight the problems it had; whether it is ‘the NXT big thing’, or ‘The NXT big
the point I’m trying to make is that ECW wasn’t flop’.
as perfect as many (most of who weren’t there So what exactly is WWE NXT? Well, NXT sees
at the time) seem to remember it being. That’s new WWE Superstars – ‘Rookies’, work their
why when WWE revived ECW in 2006 it never way into the WWE, under the guidance of

mentors who are established Superstars; ‘Pros’. the ring and the microphone seems like a hit or
The ‘Pros’ serve to give guidance to the miss concept. Indeed, WWE’s penchant for not
‘Rookies’ on how to cut it as a WWE Superstar, acknowledging anything outside of WWE seems
whether that is on how to improve in the ring or like a recipe for disaster in building up the
how to improve on the microphone. ‘Rookies’ credibility.
Now, if you’re thinking this sounds familiar, rest Although NXT is a hit or miss concept, I feel
assured this is no Tough Enough. All the happy to report that it could be the NXT Big
‘Rookies’ compete in matches against each Thing and that the risks have for the most part
other and ‘Pros’, with the in ring competition paid off. So what is it that makes WWE NXT a
presented in full Kayfabe, ie wrestling as a real success?
fight sport. In addition we do not see the
The most obvious feature is the format of the
‘Rookies’ being taught on how to take bumps,
show. WWE NXT capitalises on the success of
plan spots, work the crowd or job to Triple H.
shows like UFC: The Ultimate Fighter whilst still
Instead all the ‘Rookies’ are presented as the
appealing to the traditional wrestling audience.
characters they are on screen and in the ring.
The result creates a refreshing hybrid between
Effectively treating the show as a Kayfabe,
the two programmes and a welcome change to
scripted reality/ wrestling show.
a product that has become stagnant in recent
Don’t worry, I’m confused too, especially since years. The fresh feel of the show is supported
we haven’t been formally told what the rules of by the WWE’s always incredible production
NXT are, or what the goal of NXT is. For values, the show feels vibrant, exciting and high
instance, on numerous occasions ‘Rookies’ budget; giving the impression that a huge
have said that they will ‘win’ NXT and become a amount of effort and money has gone into the
WWE Superstar. But aren’t they already show. A special mention goes to the ‘Rookie’
Superstars as they are competing in a WWE promo videos which feature a candid style
ring on a regular basis and picking up victories interview mixed in with clips from the ‘Rookie’s’
over established WWE Superstars? If NXT is a FCW days. The idea works very well and boosts
race to become the next WWE Superstar then the ‘Rookie’s’ credibility as well as letting us
is there only going to be one winner? How long know what they’re about.
does the competition last? Who decides the
winner, the WWE Universe? Why is it that to be
a Superstar these guys have to compete in NXT,
but Santino Marella can just jump the rail and
win the Intercontinental championship?
It seems NXT does indeed have a few
uncertainties that surround it. With that said,
NXT is still in its early stages and TNA has been
around for years and I still have no idea what’s
going on, so maybe I’m expecting a little too
much out of NXT.
So let’s focus on what NXT does give us. Well, Christian with his protégé Heath Slater
on paper NXT does present a bit of a paradox.
On the one hand, brand new wrestlers The way the show is laid out is also different to
showcased in a brand new format seems like an other wrestling shows. Matt Stryker serves as a
exciting prospect and a step in the right direction backstage interviewer who interviews the
towards pushing new talent and creating new ‘Rookies’ after their matches and offers advice
stars. However, on the other hand a show to them. Though this sounds pretty simple, it is
revolving around ‘Rookies’ that are green to both extremely effective in creating a ‘live’ feeling to

the show and works well in building up the WWE’s favour, as it not only establishes the
importance of matches and the significance of ‘Rookies’ as a big deal, but it also reflects well on
becoming a WWE Superstar. WWE as the ‘major league’ (the most obvious
example comes in the form of Daniel Bryan). By
The WWE Superstars themselves work well in
establishing the ‘Rookies’ as a big deal in the
their roles as ‘Pros’. In particular, Christian, The
reality show format, WWE can effectively run a
Miz, CM Punk and Chris Jericho all do a brilliant
show that revolves around previously (for the
job in building up their ‘Rookie’ to be somebody
most part) unknown wrestlers without them
the audience should care about (either by
getting buried in the midcard. This effectively
helping or hampering them). As the ‘Rookies’ are
creates a protective bubble around the ‘Rookies’
being mentored by the ‘Pros’ (often sharing the
that lets them develop without getting the rug
same camera time as them), the performance of
pulled out from under their feet ala Dolph Ziggler.
the ‘Pros’ is vital to the success of the show.
Luckily, WWE seem to have picked the right The NXT ‘Rookies’ themselves seem to be using
people for the job as the ‘Pros’ have successfully their opportunity well and are producing decent
put the focus on the quality promos and (admittedly green) matches.
‘Rookies’ and not on There are obvious standouts ie Daniel Bryan (the
themselves. former Bryan Danielson), Wade Barrett and
Justin Gabriel, however there is no real
WWE NXT works
deadwood amongst the bunch. In short, if you
because all the
take away all the glitz and glamour of WWE’s
aspects of the show
production, it is ultimately the talent that drives
fall in o place and
WWE NXT forward.
work together really
well. However, its But if NXT’s biggest strength is that it showcases
biggest triumph is new talent and is willing to take risks, aren’t we
its focus on new back to stage one with WWECW? Ultimately, you
talent. It’s all well could argue that all of the ‘Rookies’ could be just
and good to have as successful in WWECW. However, the radical
pl e` a show with high new format change acts a draw to watch the
by exam
Jericho leads production values, show and therefore facilitates a draw to watch
and interesting the ‘Rookies’ perform.
concept, but if the talent being showcased isn’t
NXT is confusing, contrasting and has a focus on
up to scratch, then it’s just putting lipstick on a
unknown wrestlers. But it works. All the risks
pig (or Piggy James...). Luckily for WWE the
taken have paid off and every single person on
NXT ‘Rookies’ don’t disappoint and most of them
the show seems to want to make it work. NXT is
do have the potential to become big stars. This
the most interesting thing that WWE has done
works thanks to a two way system with each end
since the brand separation and it’s very
doing their part properly. Firstly, the NXT
existence proves that WWE can still be cutting
‘Rookies’ are all bringing something new to the
edge and innovative in the PG era. Will WWE
plate and as a result are being pretty
NXT stand the test of time, or will its ratings
entertaining to watch. Secondly, WWE are
dwindle? Will any of the ‘Rookies’ become
utilising them correctly.
Superstars? Will WWE pull the rug from under
WWE are pushing the NXT ‘Rookies’ as well- NXT’s feet? Will we ever see the Cattle Mutilation
established wrestlers or fighters outside of the again? Will R-Truth ever be interesting? I guess
WWE, breaking from the tradition of the only time will tell, but in the mean time; WWE’s
independent scene being in the Bermuda latest venture looks like The NXT Big Thing.
Triangle and therefore not existing within WWE’s n Martyn can be contacted at
Universe. This break from tradition works in mart@thewrestlingpress.com

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thewrestlingpress.com monday night wars
Monday Night Wars

or just
By justin LaBar
Smack Talk?
F
or the first time since 2001, the WWE years ago, Vince McMahon’s company is
is going to have professional wrest- starting this Monday night war in the number one
ling competition ever week on position. The question everyone has, is can the
Monday nights. competition that is once again headed up by Eric
From September of 1995 to March of 2001, Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, knock the Stamford
WCW and WWF had to bring their best to be empire off of the top spot? In September of ‘95,
considered the top company. Just as it was 15 most had their doubts but were soon standing

thewrestlingpress.com monday night wars
corrected. History repeats itself, we learn from such an image attached to it that resembled
the past, what goes around comes around, take southern wrestling during the 80’s and they
your pick at what cliché sets the most exciting needed to get people to see the changes they
atmosphere for your specific taste! were making.
The tale of the tape is quite similar. So many of Today the reason for fans to watch TNA is
the roster who oppose McMahon, are former already there, the reason being so many are
guys who established themselves in the WWE. frustrated with the WWE product and were
Guys such as Kurt Angle, Ken Anderson, Mick spoiled with the grand competition they got in
Foley, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, the 90’s that they want it back. The desire for
D’Angelo Dinero, all are prime faces on TNA competition is great for TNA as many wrestling
who have had storied and in some cases fans, no matter which “side” they will take, want
negative departures from the WWE.
One of the biggest elements in the original
Monday Night Wars is again present in 2010’s
competition. The aspect of lightweight /
cruiserweight / X-Division wrestling. Vince
McMahon doesn’t promote it or hold a belt /
division for it, his competition does, and quite
well.
In many wrestling fans, historians, and wrestlers
themselves, WCW having a well represented
cruiserweight division was one of the big
weapons in their eventual move to the
number one spot. This would be where the
learning from the past cliché comes in for
WWE. Internet geeks, casual fans, boys,
girls, young, old, it doesn’t matter which
demographic a person falls into, the fast
paced high flying action appeals to a large
majority of paying customers. Think of all the
guys who get huge pops and fans cry out to
see win a major belt, guys like Jeff Hardy who
for years was subject to just the tag titles. Evan
Bourne, RVD, even Rey Mysterio had to fight
their way to the main event level. Fans never
chant boring at these type of performers
matches.
Looking back I feel WCW’s biggest challenge
going into the Monday Night Wars was giving
people to have a reason to watch their program.
As documented by Eric Bischoff, WCW had
Pssstttt....
Click here for FREE goodies!!!

professional wrestling audience, at the end of that

day Angle made his debut, they went to sleep not
knowing anything more than what they did when
they woke up, which was that Angle wasn’t in
WWE.
Today is a different scenario. The addition of
Hogan and Bischoff, along with more time of being
in existence, more travelling and shows, more
established names on the roster, the letters TNA
are more recognisable to more people than they
ever were. Now if a top level WWE star shows up
on TNA unexpectedly, it will have a much bigger
positive impact for TNA. All it takes is a few clicks
of the channel button on the remote and the large
(by standards of how many had been watching
TNA) audience that watches RAW, now have their
eyes on TNA Impact.
The internet is another interesting aspect of this
TNA to be a serious competitor to bring out the
war. In the 90’s, the use of getting wrestling news
best product each company can deliver.
and gossip online was not nearly as popular as it
The hardest aspect that is working against TNA is is today. The “intelligence” the internet provides
that WCW was able to use the element of today makes for an interesting factor that can not
surprise, which his a huge punch in the art of war, be classified as a weapon for either side, but
but 15 years later, the list is extremely small on simply a new boundary line in this battle of
things that you have never seen before. All of the surprise and ratings.
points that were key battles for WCW becoming
Its easy to get excited and speculate that TNA
number one, like the New World Order, like one
versus WWE on Monday nights will be as good
of your top stars being a free agent and coming
as the war of the 90‘s, but it remains to be seen.
down from the ceiling, have all been done and if
We do know that Vince is once again going to be
done by TNA will only hurt them because
up against Bischoff, competition brings out the
everyone rolls their eyes and says they are
best, and Hogan/Flair is going to still be in the
copying off of WCW.
main event picture.
This war can only really be lost by the WWE. They n Justin can be contacted at
are in the top spot and can be knocked off. TNA is Justin.LaBar@yahoo.com
only going to get some benefit out of a head to
head battle with the WWE. To what level of benefit
and new viewers they get is to be determined. So
what weapon(s) does TNA use in this war? One
thing that never changes in the war of professional
wrestling companies that are going up against
each other on the same night, same time.
Big stars that are established on the top company
appearing on the other show. Kurt Angle making
his debut for TNA in what I consider to be one of
the best kept secrets in professional wrestling
history, was a shocker, for the 1 million people that
actually knew about TNA. To the rest of the

thewrestlingpress.com divas
Who is she?
Serena Deeb n By Froggy
wwe.com
I
t’s not often that the women in WWE surprise me
anymore, not least the creative team’s ideas for their
female stars.
With that in mind, it has been refreshing to see a certain
Serena being pushed into the limelight. Granted, she hasn’t
done much yet as a member of CM Punk’s Straight Edge
Society besides getting her bonce shaved. Yet speaking as
a woman very fond of her hair, it was this simple act that
caught my eye.
I struggle to tell so many of the divas apart nowadays, all
long blonde hair (extensions and very desperate roots),
implants on near anorexic bodies (yes maybe I do have
some jealousy issues emerging), so seeing someone take
such a step was a welcome change.
SERIOuSLy, COuLD yOu

HER
IMAGINE MARySE SHAvING
NE vER GO NNA HAPPE N
HAIR?
Yes I know it’s not totally original either, we’ve had the
adorable Molly Holly with a shaved head after losing
a match, and TNA’s Roxxi Laveaux was also
shaved in similar fashion, so no, I accept it’s not
a fresh gimmick. Truth be known though, I could
not imagine any other diva doing this right now.
Seriously, could you image Maryse shaving her
hair? Never gonna happen.
Rumours flying around online suggest that Serena
was only brought up due to her being the only diva
willing to actually go ahead with having her head
shaved. So what if that’s true? It’s gotten her noticed hasn’t it?
Born Serena Deeb, she has an impressive wrestling CV despite
being all of 23 years old. It’s more impressive when you consider
© Buddy LaMantia
s.lamantia@comcast.net
Serena vs MsChif
© Buddy LaMantia
s.lamantia@comcast.net

she only began training at

the age of 18, whilst studying
full time for her Bachelor of
Arts and ultimately
graduating.
Serena was a sporty child
with a love of adventure that
has not left her. Initially
soccer was her calling until a
chance viewing of the still
then WWF made a big
impression – it was in her
blood from that moment on.
Serena was intent on
following her dream of
© Buddy LaMantia
becoming a wrestler and Although her actual s.lamantia@comcast.net
moved from Indiana to graduation did not take place
Louisville Kentucky to begin until 2008, she made her her mark and ODB was firmly
her training at Ohio Valley wrestling debut in tag action in her sights. When ODB
Wrestling, and has been with Fuji Cakes during announced herself as the
trained by some of the best November 2005 at OVW. inaugural Women’s
around such as Danny Unfortunately for Serena, her Champion, claiming she had
Davis, Al Snow and Lance debut came with a loss won the title during a
Storm. against the hands of Shelly tournament in Rio De
Martinez and Beth Phoenix. Janeiro, Serena did not take
wwe.com
it lightly. It was all a ruse on

Most of Serena’s early
ODB’s part as the show had
matches were predominantly
never taken place and
tag bouts, and her luck did not
Serena constantly called her
seem to sway much from her
out on this. At first it seemed
debut, despite changing tag
she would not get to
partners often. Yet she would
challenge ODB one on one
eventually pick up singles
as ODB had aligned herself
victories over both Martinez
with a bodyguard in the form
and Phoenix in later months.
of Charles The Hammer
Events turned when she Evans, who towered over
began a feud with ODB and Serena and was at ODB’s
gained some impressive beck and call. It all came to a
wins; finally she was making head in September 2006
WSuWrestling.com

when Serena got the pin in a four way battle
wwe.com
against ODB, Beth Phoenix and Katie Lea.
She held onto the title until October when it
was lost to Beth Phoenix. Serena spent the
next few months trying to get it back, but never
quite getting close enough. Throughout this
time she continued to feud with ODB whilst
also trying to get to Phoenix. The following
year was spent with much of the same format.
Serena was absent for almost four months at
the start of 2008, making a surprise return to
answer an open challenge from the current onto a winning streak. In August she pinned April
OVW champion Josie. Her comeback was Lee in another four way match to win the Queen
successful and she won the title for a second of FCW crown, and kept hold of it until February
time. Serena proclaimed that she would defend this year when she lost it to AJ Lee (this time being
the title at all times and a 24/7 rule came into billed as Serena Mancini due to her head already
play. This decision lead to her losing the belt being shaved after asking Punk to save her).
back to Josie two months later when she So what is next for Serena? She was popular
attacked Serena, who just successfully with the fans from the beginning of her OVW
defended her title against Reggie. career and has proved herself in the ring, both
technically and as an entertainer on the
microphone. Her in-ring skills are exceptional
HER IN-RING SkILLS ARE given her fast track into the business and she
ST
ExCEPTIONAL GIvEN HER FA can only get better. She looks as if she wants to
TRACk INTO TH E BuSINESS
learn and is willing to do it the hard way by
proving herself, not by flaunting her body or by
The following months were chaotic with the 24/7 association with a male counterpart.
rule as the belt changed hands more times than I am hopeful that the creative team appreciate the
they could lace their boots. Come August 2008, dynamite that they are sitting on with Serena. She
Serena won the title back for a unprecedented needs to be given more to do other than run into
sixth time and the 24/7 rule was scrapped. She the ring to cover CM Punk from attacks, she’s
held onto the belt until November that year when gritty and not afraid to take risks, and they should
she lost it in another four way match to Melody. make the most of this. Personally I would love to
Not being one to shy away from tough matches, see her in a feud with Beth Phoenix, though for
she would challenge Melody in a steel cage now I think it’s in her best interest to stay with
match the following February, but once again Punk and get the fans even more accustomed to
failed to regain the belt. her being in the picture, though she will need to
leave him at some point. I’d hoped for big things
Throughout her time in OVW, Serena competed with the women’s division what with Gail Kim
in various other promotions also, such as TNA, coming back to the WWE, though once again I’ve
Shimmer and ROH. Unfortunately her beginning been left very disappointed. Maybe Serena
run of losing streaks in OVW seemed to follow breaking away and getting into battle will spark
her around, though she found strength and some enthusiasm back into this division, and I
support through the likes of MsChif. seriously doubt she will let us down with her
Things took a turn again in July 2009 when she dedication and determination.
became billed as Mia Mancini upon arriving at n Froggy can be contacted at
Florida Championship Wrestling. At last she was FroGGYLLLc@aol.com

HAN E
S yOu?
ON
thewrestlingpress.com shane on you?
Having recently attended a Future shock Wrestling

show, The Cynic wonders if the Stockport based fed can
live up to their Champ’s aspirations....
Photos: Tony knox www.tonyknox.org.uk
T
o Manchester to interview spin up the name and find an icon of the decade.
doctors. a sort of “Fib Idol” or Feels good to have taken some action? Then
“Britain’s Got arseholes”. The let’s talk about your pasty and Curly Wurly
latter of the two you’d know, of addiction. I am a mountain. The venue is
course, bearing in mind the clubs you go to. completely right for a small promotion that can’t,
Manchester, the place I studied, where I fell but doesn’t really want to.
in love with the hacienda, the place I spent a
Except that now they’ve got aspirations. Why?
year using an alphabet comprised entirely of
Because their Champ is none other than the
one letter. come on, this is not Woody
Showstealer, Alex Shane. Shane was an icon, a
bleedin’ allen, put your George osborne-
big player in NewBrit wrestling Fed FWA and
sized brains in gear...no, not there yet? It’s e,
matchmaker with balls of steel, bringing Funk et
you bozos.
And being back in the North West, I wasn’t going
to pass up the chance of a taxi to the Masonic
Hall in Stockport (their Groucho Club, I’m told)
to see Future Shock Wrestling. If I told Adorable
Alistair about my secret passion or Partyboy Dirk Feelgood
Peter about grappling glory, they might both
flash me an indulgent smile. And then never
speak to me again.
Masonic Hall, here I come. Does one wear tails?
One doesn’t. Standing in line (how refreshing!
Like being a nobody all over again!), there were
a wide variety of ages, styles and waistbands on
view. I like Stockport, it’s like a more realistic
Manchester, but it has challenges. Note to GB;
we need to do something, something more than
cabinet’s interesting idea to give the Hat
Museum a Peaked Cap Annexe.
But FSW is Northern-based, faithful to Stockport
and it’s fans rightly love it for that. A poster for
the Masonic Grand Wizard (oh wait, that’s the
Ku Klux Klan isn’t it - totally different) on the way
in tells us how the Masons will be a part of the
community; thus probably changing the very
basis of the Masons. ‘Bout time too.
Simple venue, bit 60’s but charming in a Rita
Tushingham way; Google it, printophobics, look
al to our table. Don’t let his Vaughan (something like that, man with the appallingly -
recent self-improvement role he wasn’t interesting enough to named Vitamin C, so we didn’t
fool you (just looks to me like memorise the name) seems to see much of it) but he needs to
hokey conspiracy theory think a small beard and a big supercede his gimmick. Mind
mixed with the bleeding hat is enough to excite us. It you, people still like Mad Man
obvious, like “do things really isn’t. And he yawned several Manson, so who knows?
well and you’ll be successful”), times as he watched the action.
he was important once. And If you don’t care about the
he can work a crowd like few matches mate...
others in Blighty.
But they have some real
possible stars as well. Dirk
TOO MANy TuBBy Feelgood stands out as a
MEN WEARING cheeky heel who will be booked
TIGHT LyCRA to lose constantly because
that’s what he’s best at; he has
The trouble is, he seems to the skinny physique and
work them too early. I was bargain-basement duds of a
present at an FWA event a few bullied schoolboy, but his
years ago when he appeared shouted imprecations to the
as we were buying our tickets, crowd are prime Jim Breaks. Elsewhere, there is an
looking like he wanted a rub That good. Don’t know him? unwelcome manager in a black
and hanging around chatting. And you call yourself a suit and white socks that simply
Now, I don’t want kayfabe, but I wrestling fan. shouts everything in an effort to
do expect a bit of mystique. create heat. He’s so low rent
Chris Egan, similarly skinny,
He’s supposed to know that. even squatters have more
resolutely Mancunian, bills
rights. He has a stable. A tall but
The problem with the FSW himself as from Basle
thin Norseman type (no, not
event was that the bathroom (Switzerland, numbskulls) and
John Nord) and a risible Papa
was through the entrance hall. enjoys his Walter Mitty heel
Shango rip off. Very few people
So what did we get? AS coming work. His grappling may need
seemed to care about him.
out, through the punters, to get work, but it’s going to get better.
Except me. And that was just to
to the bog. Not once, but twice. Jack Toxic is as good as he
hate every minute of it.
He’s our star, I want him to always was, but wasted in a
keep us waiting. If you have to curtain jerker. Team Blossom are just a couple
crap, do it hours before. If you of conventionally good looking
For Egan and Feelgood, main
need to slash, do it in a bottle. girls. As satisfying as a Lorraine
event status beckons. Either
Seems like a small point? Kelly interview. They try. They
that or a comedy double act.
They’re what make the show fail. They look good doing it.
“do come” rather than “ho Stockport loves Raynaldo. He’s
The main event is the Heel
hum”. a local lad and yes, it’s exactly
Stable of Stixx, Dave Breaks (I
what you think. He has a
So, the show. I took up an arms- refer you to my earlier
football gimmick, wears a
crossed, seen-it-all-before comment), Feelgood and Mr
football kit, carries a football.
pose, my default position. And Shane. Stixx is big, looks right
Bored yet? You might be, if his
had a pretty good night. Not as but his shtick is sub-Shane. Ah,
chirpy good humour and
good as Sid Little’s strip so we get to it. Shane.
slightly odd adlibs didn’t keep
lacrosse evenings, but good. you watching. Can he go any In the ring he is superlative.
The main issue hits you early. father? His wrestling’s ok Even I will give him that. And I
Hate to say it, but Stevie Ray (although here he was in a 6- saw Big Daddy. He sells
need him? On balance, yes. Their heat magnets

shine like diamonds in a bucket of slurry – too
many tubby men wearing tight lycra; one of them
even had his nasty briefs showing through. The
roster is thin, the grapplers won’t travel well, the
action is often ordinary. They need Shane to prop
it up; he does, adding a bit of magic.
FSW is a strange beast; when I partook a year
ago, the wrestling was better. This time, they
favour a combination of homely gimmicks (and
they know their crowd inside out) and big dogs up
top. The cossies could do with an upgrade, the
ring needs attention (it was tipping at one corner –
”Hello, injury lawyers for you?...”) and the
resolutely village hall performances need
knocking up a few notches.
A small Fed with a small crowd would be fine, if
that’s what they’re happy with. The appearance
of Shane would indicate that they have plans. A
big personality needs a big Fed; they’d better
start growing.
wonderfully, takes it out of the ring, makes us

almost believe that his also ran opponent Danny
Sensation (oh come on, buy a Thesaurus or
something!) could pull off a surprise. It’s the most
seamless putting over I’ve seen for years. And his
chat is still in place. You know he’s not breaking
new ground, you know he’s reusing lines, you know
it’s a cliché. And yet his mastery of it is peerless.
And when he comes back to beat down Raynaldo,
he deals with the unfortunates in the front row who
have been calling out all evening. They think
they’re funny, like French and Saunders do.
Guess what?
Shane makes sure he’s close to them and every
time they sally forth with a rib-tickling funny, he hits
the ball-juggling grappler. He tells the funsters that
every time they speak, he would hit him. They
hear it. They keep shouting. He keeps hitting. Until Or they might find themselves Shanefaced.
he tells them “you’re hurting him”. They keep it up.
Couldn’t help it. Raynaldo gets walloped. Shane The Cynic
gets over. Hilarious.
He’s not exactly ready for a Sunshine Retirement n The cynic can be contacted at
Home yet, but Shane is a veteran. Does FSW hearditallbefore@hotmail.com
Michael
kovac
n By David Schmida
The people behind GSW knew

that when they put together their
first show in September 2001, they
needed a strong charismatic main
event guy. Kovac was their man and
so it was no wonder that he headlined
the inaugural show in a match against
Crazy Sexy Mike, an opponent he
would meet many more times and with
whom he had a bitter feud. When GSW
organised a tournament to crown their first
© www.dragonhearts.de
Heavyweight Champion, Kovac was one of the

competitors of course. But things didn’t quite work
out as planned for him. After beating his
opponents in round one and two, he was screwed
out of the strap and Ares won the title.
Meanwhile GSW was heading towards their biggest
event until then. At International Impact in October
M
ichael kovac, born as 2003 Kovac was facing his biggest challenge so far,
Martin hutter, has been the then reigning NWA World Heavyweight
a key factor to the Champion AJ Styles. It was one of those matches
wrestling circuit in which had no loser. Ok, Styles pinned Kovacs
Germany ever since the famous catch shoulders for a three count after a Styles Clash from
Wrestling association closed. When the second rope, but both of them came out strong.
promoters started to rebuild the "The match against AJ Styles is one of my top
German Wrestling circuit, kovac was five favourite matches on German ground. It
there. he still is until this day. during also elevated the promotion to a new level."
that time, the austrian veteran, who
He finally won the crown at International Impact 2 in
debuted as a wrestler in 1993, has
October 2004. But first things first. To be able to face
been very important to one particular
the champion he had to beat Doug Williams and
p r o m o t e r – G e r m a n s t a m p e d e
Eric Schwarz. And beat them he did so later that
Wrestling (GsW). "GsW has always
night, after Ares pinned Steve Corino, he challenged
been very good to me, we helped each
the Swiss for the title right after and beat him with a
other. at the beginning I brought them
beautiful top rope powerslam. He lost his title later
credibility, in return I got good
to Steve Corino in a Four Nations Tournament which
opponents and was able to hold their
also saw the turn of Kovac to the dark side of
title often. GsW will always be my
wrestling with an attack on Eric Schwarz's already
favourite promoter in Germany."
injured knee.

thewrestlingpress.com german wrestling
Something that seemed to be a long time coming

was his feud with tag team partner and real life
friend Eric Schwarz. They held the Tag Belts
together, but as we have seen so many times,
jealousy and pride turned good friends into bitter
enemies. All this would lead up to a bloody Brawl
between Kovac and Schwarz at International
Impact 3 in 2006. Due to Schwarz's great amount
of blood loss, the referee stopped the match and
Kovac was announced as the winner. But the
rivalry hadn't reached its peak yet. In July 2006
the former friends would meet in a brutal Fans
bring the weapons match which saw Schwarz as
the winner. "It's great fun to work with your
buddies because you know each other inside
and out. You can pull a little joke here and
there without the audience even noticing it."
In 2006 and 2007 Kovac was very busy beating
every wrestler from North America that the
promoters put in front of him. His character didn't
like how the stars from overseas where treated
and celebrated while the European wrestlers
busted their asses to build a strong scene. Kovac vs Daniels © www.dragonhearts.de
Christopher Daniels was among them. After the
Fallen Angel had beaten Doug Williams in beat Claudio Castagnoli to win the vacated
September 2006 he was attacked by Kovac and Heavyweight Championship. But the night
a long lasting feud began. "This was my true wasn't over. Daniels went on to win the Battle
attitude. Everyone kisses the US Wrestlers royal that same night which guaranteed him a
asses because they see them jump around on shot at the title.
tv. They are very good wrestlers no question. Finally a feud which had been boiling for almost
Anyway, I don't see the point in paying them a year would culminate in a match at
a lot more than the stars from Europe since International Impact 5. Kovac retained his title
they are not better. I was able to put my true with a devastating DDT which Daniels didn't
feelings and thoughts into that program." come back from. "This is also one of my Top
That leads us to the question of how much of the five favourite matches. It was a great match
real life Martin Hutter we can actually find in the with a very long build up. "
wrestling character Michael Kovac. "A lot While knowing that his active career will be over
actually, it depends on the day though and one day he is sure that "when that day comes
how I feel. I either let out my good side or the they are going to have to scrape me off the
dirty pig. Letting out the dirty pig is much mat. Wrestling is not just a job for me it's a
more fun though.” lifestyle, a calling. I already work as coach
In January 2007 GSW put together yet another and promoter besides my active career and I
Four Nations Tournament which saw will do that as long as I can move. It's so
Christopher Daniels lose his 1st round match much fun to help new talents breaking into
against Bryan Danielson. You may see what’s the business and supporting them."
coming. Kovac was responsible for that loss, so n david can be contacted at
they wouldn't meet in the finals where Kovac dschmida@hotmail.com

thewrestlingpress.com mexico
By Dark kitty
D
ark kitty goes to Uruapan
Michoacan on behalf of The
Wrestling Press to
interview Mexico’s
heavyweight champion charly
Manson of Perros del Mal. Upon
arrival she was treated with the
utmost respect from the people
of arena coliseo Molina and all
of the wrestling personnel that
was present there.
The evening was filled with excitement as there were

two title bouts to be defended. The first scheduled
match was Superchapulin and Aeroking vs Poison
and Black Monster. This bout ended with the victory
going to Superchapulin and Aeroking, even though
Superchapulin did suffer some injury to his knee and
head during this very aggressive match.

Prior to this event Dark Kitty had the

Dark Kitty congratulates
the new Champion opportunity to conduct an interview with
Perros Del Mal wrestler Charly Manson....
dark kitty: In what year did you start your
wrestling career?
charly Manson: I started my wrestling
career in 1990.
dk: Who would you say was the biggest
influence to make you want to be a wrestler?
cM: I would have to say my brother Electro
Shock was my largest influence and support
for me to enter wrestling.
dk: If you had the opportunity to wrestle any
wrestler in the world who would you pick and
why?
cM: If I were to pick a wrestler I would most
want to wrestle I would have to say Santo,
because he is the biggest idol in the sport.
dk: In 2001 you suffered a severe injury,
could you share some of your thoughts
during that time?
Match number two was Signo Solar and
cM: Yes, I suffered the most severe injury in
Danger vs Justicia and Relampago Azul with
my career doing a ladder and table match.
the best two of three falls going to Signo
Solar and Danger.
Third match of the evening was a title bout
of the Welterweight championship of
Michoacan. Arhgo vs Manico Crazy. This
again was a very aggressive match with the
champion hitting his head against the solid
concrete floor. Despite this, Arhgo bravely
managed to get through the match and
retain his Welterweight Championship .
The main event was none other than
Heavyweight Champion Charly Manson
defending his title against challenger
Maniac. This was a two out of three falls title
match that proved to be everything it was
hyped up to be. Manson came out knowing
he had a very tough competitor in Maniac
and these two excellent wrestlers battled to
a best of two falls victory for the challenger,
and new heavyweight champion, Maniac in
front of his hometown fans.

After we already won the match I decided to

climb on the ladder, and unfortunately
psychosis pushed the ladder and rather than
falling onto a table, I fell straight to the
concrete causing me a very severe injury.
dk: In 2007 what was it like to win the Copa
Antonio Peña and what did that mean to
you?
cM: Winning the Copa Antonio Peña was
one of the greatest achievements in my
career. The reason it meant so much was
because Sr. Antonio Peña gave me the
opportunity to join AAA at the time.
dk: You have held several titles such as
Copa Antonio Peña, Mexican National
Atomics Champion along with May Flowers,
Nygma and Picudo, Mexican National
Heavyweight Championship, and the UWA
world heavyweight Championship, What is
you next move for a title shot? dk: Would you ever consider doing a tag
team match with your brother Electro Shock
cM: First of all I want to recover the full
as your tag team partner?
National Championship I lost to x-fly on
February 20 in Ecatepec, and then going for cM: At this point I do not think it is possible,
his hair in a match. but we are not closed to that opportunity,
although it would be impossible momentarily.
dk: Over the years of your wrestling career
you have worked for many different dk: You have represented both sides being
organisations, in your mind are there large a heel and a face, in your mind which do you
differences in the way each organisation prefer and why?
reacts with the wrestlers, and if so could you cM: Well I must admit I like to be a heel, but
name a few? right now I’m enjoying the great support that
cM: Each company has its own way of people give me for being a face.
working, there are some that give you more dk: As there are many upcoming wrestling
opportunities, and there are others who stars in the future, what words of advice
unfortunately do not give you the place you would you give to that upcoming wrestler?
deserve and do not know how to appreciate cM: You have to work at it very hard and
the work you do. put in a lot of work in training, because this
race is difficult but with effort and discipline
you may become the idol of an entire
nation.
dk: Thank you for this interview with The
Wrestling Press
n dark kitty can be contacted through her

website at
http://mexicodaniellakaylin.webs.com

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INSIDE: SERENA DEEB n ALEX SHANE n MICHAEL KOVAC n INDIES n WOLFE PIT n WORLD NEWS n MORE

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Former WWE wrestler Hardcore Holly is one of

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“I guess the reason why wrestling is badly

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