Is History Repeating Itself?

2-0???

A few days ago I was excited for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially as I heard even more interesting parallels being drawn between the Oilers team that beat the Islanders dynasty after losing the previous year and our young Pittsburgh Penguins. For example, en route to the Cup, the Oilers went seven games with their arch-rival Calgary Flames in the second round and swept a then-recent Stanley Cup finalist in the Conference finals. The Pens went seven games with their arch-rival Washington Capitals and swept the recent Cup finalists (actually, winners), Hurricanes in the Conference finals.

But alas, the Pens are now down 2-0, much like last year. It would be easy to complain about the officiating - what's the point of calling all the interference all year long only to allow those plays in the final? It would also be easy to point to Henrik Zetterburgh twice covering the puck in the crease. The first one most certainly should have been a penalty shot. The second one was a bit more iffy, but I'm not even sure that puck didn't cross the line. In one camera angle, I am sure I saw the puck over the line, but they only showed that angle once.

One could also complain about the ridiculous end boards that scored the Wings' first two goals in Game 1. That shouldn't happen.

Then again, at times the Pens seem to be showing the Wings far too much respect, allowing them to walk into the defensive zone and set up plays rather than standing them up at the blue line. They were also trying to be too cute in the offensive zone and by the time they decided to just start firing pucks on Chris Osgood, no one was driving to the net. Osgood is the luckiest goalie in the world and I think if the Pens get more shots, more traffic and punish Osgood on every save, they will produce more rebounds and get him off his game.

The Pens style relies on their ability to create time and space and the stifling, interference-laden style of the Red Wings is smothering them. But if the refs don't call it, then good for the Wings for utilizing a system that is neutralizing the Pens.

We'll see what happens in Game 3 in Pittsburgh. I think if they can withstand what will surely be a hot initial outburst by the Wings, the Pens might have a better opportunity to play their style.

Onto some of your questions:

- Regarding title changes, I will go through some of them in the next blog.

- I first met Wayne Stanton at a TRCW show at the Palladium. It was the early days of TRCW at that venue and I was working as security at the front door. Our policy, as it is at many bars, was to I.D. everyone, regardless of age, and scan their ID through our video machine. Wayne entered with Louie and I had no idea who either one of them was.

Wayne was angry when I asked him to produce ID, refused to show me any and on his way out of the building, swore and yelled at me. He ended up at the front Desk of the hotel demanding to speak to the manager whom he claimed knew him (he didn't, though Wayne had appeared as a comic during one New Years Eve several years earlier). Front desk called for security and Wayne yelled at me that I didn't know who he was or who he knew and I'd be reading all about this in the Winnipeg Free Press. It was only later that I was told who he was, making the entire situation that much more amusing. Wayne ended up going on the Internet and telling some fantastic tale about challenging me to a fight and backing me down or something idiotic like that. The more things change...

- Vinko is working and just doing the personal family thing right now. I do speak to him from time to time and he has expressed an interest in returning at some point in the future.

- In regards to the Mike Davidson and Johnny Devine incident, they both told me the story but it was pretty different depending on your perspective. I wasn't there and don't know what occurred.

- As far as Mentallo leaving PCW, all I am at liberty to state is what I have previously stated - that the conditions on both our parts to continuing the relationship changed and a compromise could not be reached. The decision to part pays was mutual and amicable and I certainly wish Mentallo all the best and hope we get the opportunity to work together again in the future. He's a wonderful talent with the ability to be a successful international superstar and I still consider him to be a personal friend whom I converse with from time to time.

I will try to update this blog on a more regular basis. To my surprise, there are consistently a decent amount of hits to the blog on a daily basis, so if there are actually people out there who want to read what I have to write, then I will endeavour to write more often.

Keep checking out PCW's official website: www.PremierChampionshipWrestling.com for regular updates on the Premier Cup. ATM versus El Generico in the opening round promises to be a hell of a match. ATM is young, athletic, talented and extremely motivated to impress the fans. "Showtime" Robby Royce is confirmed for the Premier Cup, though his opponent has yet to be announced. Kenny Omega is also confirmed, his opponent not yet announced also. In all likelihood, we will have all the brackets revealed late this week or early next week in addition to another non-tournament match and some other stories for the show.

I have been surprised by the interest coming from a few non-PCW performers in regards to returning to the promotion. Even when the heat seems personal and nuclear, I always have a tough time telling guys "no" as I truly want the local industry to be one big happy family, all committed to the same goal. On the other hand, the guys who have been committed and loyal to PCW deserve more respect than to be competing for spots with some guys who seemingly didn't want to be here a few months ago. I think we'll take a wait and see approach and maybe something positive can happen on the political front a bit later in the summer.

Go Pens Go!

This Blog Has No Witty Title!

It's been awhile!



Firstly, a huge thumbs up to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Let's hope they keep it up and we can get the Stanley Cup rematch we all want to see. Sportscasters were trying to draw comparisons to a young Edmonton Oilers team during last years Finals and those comparisons will undoubtedly increase if the Pens and Red Wings meet again, 25 years after the Islanders/Oilers rematch that signified the end of the Islanders' dynasty and the beginning of the Oilers' one. Good stuff.



PCW's High Voltage was this past Wednesday and I personally feel it was a mixed bag. Now, if I was any of our "competitors", I'd tell you there were 300 people, the matches were the greatest in the history of professional wrestling since the time Abraham Lincoln wrestled a bear (or something like that) and we were "number one" (a meaningless expression being thrown around a bit lately). Fortunately, I am not any of our "competitors" and I feel we in PCW have a more honest relationship with our fans.



Two of the matches (Scorpio/Kenny & Angels/Knight) were off the charts fantastic. I honestly did not get to see a lot of Angels/Knight as I was busy in the back, but I did see most of Scorpio/Kenny and I felt it was the best match this year from any promotion. And some people felt Knight/Angels was better. That's pretty damn good.



I was particularly impressed (as I always am), by Kenny's effort. Here is a bonafide ROH performer who busts his ass every show for us. And then Scorpio returned the favour by busting his ass, rather than letting the "name" do all the work. Thats the difference between us and some of the other promotions.



There were segments that did not meet our expectations, but my feeling generally is "nothing ventured, nothing gained". The unfortunate aspect to the local industry is that there isn't a quality training or developmental circuit so some thing we try, we end up trying out on a regular show. Sometimes they are home runs, sometimes pop fouls. It happens. I felt the effort from everyone was terrific though and the disappointments were all booking related, so I take full responsibility.

I was impressed with Chris Marxwell who continues to work hard and improve. More importantly, he was aware of areas of concern which means he can improve upon them. Sabertooth is another young guy who is slowly coming along and being in the ring with guys like Robby Royce are certainly a positive way to get an education. ATM was fantastic. Even the three-way, which stumbled a bit, had some good things. Kaos/Nate was solid. But as I said, we can improve on some facets and come back stronger and I guarantee we will.



I believe we started almost on time this show too, so that's always a plus! We were trending towards an early start, actually, but apparently time flies when telling hilarious Shane Madison stories (more on that in a bit).



I suppose I might as well mention former promoter Wayne Stanton since I got a couple of text messages about some things he said on the internet. Wayne has an internet audio show and I am very happy for him that he does. I've always liked Wayne and it was a difficult decision to remove him from the Premier Wrestling Radio program when that was on the air. He has a history of telling wildly exaggerated stories to get attention, something that has seemingly influenced a couple of other guys to act in a similar fashion. But whenever I see him, he's personable and nice.

I can say quite honestly, there was no incident with Wayne at our show. I appreciate Wayne coming out and investing so heavily in the the venue's bottom line and he is certainly welcome to attend our events in the future. I believe I spoke to Wayne for about a total of 45 seconds at the show, once before it began and again during the second half. Initially, I let Wayne know that for informational purposes relating to his audio program, he was more than welcome to e-mail me should he have any questions concerning PCW, rather than being in the unfortunate position of having to make things up or have his guests make things up. I hope Wayne is professional enough and committed enough to the integrity of his audio program to take advantage of my offer in the future.

The second brief conversation began when I asked him what he thought of the show. Though he found the question confusing and asked me to clarify, he did say he found Dixon "impressive". I expressed a hit and miss feeling with the show and told him that I was disappointed in his involvement with some of the negative things going on in Winnipeg. He told me AJ Sanchez was responsible for selecting the pictures that were used in the AWEsome slide show presentation, which we all already knew and told him that at 50+ years old, he should just grow up and use his influence in a more positive manner.

Wayne gave me a basilisk stare, took a deep breath and walked out of the venue. I wished him a great night and thanked him for coming. He returned the sentiment. I assumed he was feeling ill which is why he left so abruptly. I apologize if that reality isn't as entertaining as Wayne's fictional account but remember, he is a comedian. It actually reminds me of the first time I ever met Wayne. It was at the LID when he attended one of the first TRCW shows there and I was working the door. That's a funny story but I'll save it for another time.

I recommend Wayne's most recent audio program where he had Shane Madison on air. The "Mecca of Misinformation" is an intriguing individual. Some of us were joking this week that he's actually one of the most loyal guys in the business, the only problem being he switches loyalties every other week. Currently, he's doing the company guy thing by putting CWE over while criticising PCW. If I had a complaint, it would only be that he should probably stick to things he knows about. It's a little disappointing to see him so desperate to be taken as an authority in Winnipeg that he makes things up about subjects he knows nothing about. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticise promotions without fabricating complete falsehoods.

It was entertaining, I will admit, listening to him talk about what WWE is looking for, since I am not sure what qualifies him to give that advice. I suppose pursuing a career with WWE for many years and never getting an opportunity would provide some understanding of what they aren't looking for. I found the comment that the only way to make a living in the business was to work for WWE a bit confusing though. Ofcourse, now that Jon Cutler has made it to WWE, Madison is blowing the company horn awaiting his second chance, but that's a bit of a slap in the face to all the guys that make a living without working for the WWE. I doubt Madison was trying to be malicious, but that was just a dumb comment.

If I did take exception to anything, it was his insults to Kenny Omega, Mike Angels and Mentallo. In regards to Kenny, Madison is the last guy who can speak on the subject and for many years, bashed him. I can understand people wanting to try to get a rub off Kenny's success. He's doing pretty good for a "vanilla midget". He also stated that if PCW had a ROH guy on every show (meaning Kenny), that we should draw 300 people per show, like CWE does. First of all, Madison is a great company guy, but CWE doesnt draw 300 people. One of their own top guys told me they had 150 to their first show and their draw has slowly dropped. Madison went on to call ROH a glorified indy promotion that no one cares about and said ROH guys don't draw. So he contradicted his own statement, not surprisingly.

As far as Mentallo goes, it was highly insulting hearing him say that only now does Mentallo "finally get it" and implied that "getting it" meant that working the same PCW guys over and over again (such as Kenny, Scorpio, Knight, Royce, Angels etc) was not going to be as good as working the same CWE guys over and over again (Like Chevy and Douglas I suppose). Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If Mentallo imparts any of his considerable knowledge on Madison, he should be appreciative rather than disrespectful.

Madison's version of events surrounding Mentallo's departure from PCW was incorrect as well. Mentallo had certain requirements to his continued involvement with PCW and we had certain requirements to continuing to book Mentallo. A compromise could not be reached and we parted ways. I certainly wish no ill-will towards Mentallo and look forward to working together again in the future.

Madison went back to an old favourite - holding up Mike Angels for criticism. Forgetting for a moment, that Angels just participated in a match this past Wednesday with Adam Knight that was better than anything I've seen on anyones shows this year, the constant Angels bashing is getting tired. Madison is a prideful guy, I get that, but be proud of your abilities and accomplishments. You dont have to try to tear down guys who are more talented than you to try and make yourself look good. Madison said he didn't care if Angels was the best worker in the world, he didn't take him seriously due to his look. It's a good thing that Angels isnt trying to get over with Madison then. He'll be content (as are we all) with being over with our audience.

There were many shows at the LID that both Angels and Madison were on and Angels was always more over. He's a better worker, better promo...basically a better everything, but Madison has a nicer physique. I admit that. But as much as Madison tries to spotlight the one thing he has over Angels and say he cant be taken seriously, all the guys who are better workers than Madison could say the same thing - that the guy looks good but cant be taken seriously as a wrestler. They wouldn't say that, and neither would I. Madison should know better, especially when he then said that a promotion cannot be considered number one without AJ Sanchez on their roster. I like Sanchez, I really do, but if Angels can't be taken seriously due to his look, Sanchez sure as hell cannot. But that's ridiculous, so why try to make that point?

Madison expressed that he does not attend PCW events because he does not find them entertaining. Fair enough. I would not want to book a show that appealed to Madison, to be honest with you.

And finally, what I found to be an example of desperation, was his criticism of our venue. I recall when our "competitors" criticised the LID too. Dylan's isn't perfect, but it is pretty good. Madison hasn't been there since we made some changes to our set up so he speaks from a position of ignorance on the matter. I was surprised to hear him rip apart the venue since, by his own admission he is "close friends" with the manager and they "talk all the time". Apparently this close relationship resulted in Madison learning that Dylans forced us to Wednesday nights because Thursdays is a much better night to draw a bar crowd. Unfortunately that is incorrect.

This "close" relationship also allowed Madison to reveal that Dylans is looking for "a better offer" for Wednesdays so that they could kick us out. That was news to the manager who hasn't spoken to Madison since he appeared on our show last year and only knows him as an acquaintance when they worked at a fast food joint several years ago. If you want to criticise us, you can find legitimate reasons, but lying? Come on...that's just pointless.

I hesitated to discuss all this in my blog because we've really been committed to not responding to all the bullshit these guys have been pulling (and believe me, there is a ton of it). But I wanted to illustrate that they are so competitive and desperate to "beat" us, they have resorted not only to dirty and unprofessional actions behind the scenes, but to out and out lying in public.

I like to think I am the most honest promoter in town. When we have a bad show, I'm the first to admit it. When I fuck up, I'll take responsibility. We're not infallible. We make mistakes. But we're honest and committed only to doing what is best for our shows, our fans, our boys and this business. I make absolutely no comments about our "competition" or anyone else on anyones blogs, regardless of what attention starved sociopaths would like to believe. If I have something to say, I'll say it...here, on our forum, or in person.

I'd like to conclude this on a positive. I am very appreciative of all the fans who came out to High Voltage. By my estimation, it was one of the best draws of any promotion this year. I think the other guys should be less interested in artificially inflating their numbers and be proud of what they draw. One only needs to go online and see what promotions are drawing in the US, some of them with WWE wrestlers on them, to realise that if three promotions in Winnipeg are drawing 100+ a show, that's a good thing. Collectively, we should be proud as a group rather than determined to fuck each other over.

Coming up next is the Premier Cup, featuring El Generico and Kenny Omega. Generico is an exceptional talent! It's a great thing that fans are able to see the level of talent come through Winnipeg this year and I compliment CWE on delivering top quality imports to the fans, but I have to admit it seemed to get some dicks wagging when we made the announcement. Why? Believe me, we're not bringing in Generico to compete with anyone else. It's June. It's the Premier Cup and that means top talent.

Moving forward, we have about four names on a short list to bring in if the support is there and it's financially feasible. I am optimistic in that regard. I will speak more about the Premier Cup tournament in a future blog and I encourage fans to check out the website at www.PremierChampionshipWrestling.com in the next few days. We are blessed to have an infinitely talented web developer and he is preparing to unleash his latest upgrade. In addition we will, ofcourse, have all the info on the Cup including bracketing etc.

Over the years, I have slowly begun taking notes of some PCW history as I'd like to fully explain the incredibly true story of an indy promotion's development, launch, struggles and successes over the years. With that in mind, I encourage readers to give me a subject they'd like to read about, whether it be an incident, an event, a personnel change, details surrounding the thought process of a title change or anything else PCW related and I'd be happy (and inspired) to actually write about it!

There is so much wrong with the wrestling industry in Winnipeg, but so much that is good and positive. I encourage fans to support all the promotions they can. Despite any and all of the behind the scenes bullshit, all of us, regardless of promotion, want to ultimately send the fans home happy!

GO PENS!

State Of The Business PART I

Author's Note: The below blog was written on January 28th 2009. It was after a telephone conversation with one of the boys who I respect immensely. It got me thinking about the state of the business and all my frustration and disappointment came to the surface. At the time I felt the local scene had degenerated to the point where too many people were pulling it in so may contradictory directions that it would ultimately tear it down. At the time, I could not have predicted the stupidity and bullshit would actually get worse.

I chose not to post this at the time for a variety of reasons. I felt it was incomplete and never got around to finishing it. I also felt it was emotionally honest and while I am generally a pretty open and honest guy, expressing frustration and disappointment is held up by others as either a weakness or an example that their efforts to cause unrest have been successful and it fills them with joy. I didn't want to give them that satisfaction. The reality, however, is that those people and their actions don't "bother" me - they sadden me. It hurts to see people you once respected and considered friends to fall to such depressing levels of emotional distress.

And finally, I didn't want to shine a light on some of the stupidity that was going on locally. Wrestling in Winnipeg has always existed (and sometimes succeeded) in spite of itself and the incompetence and ego of some of the people in it. I had promised certain people that we'd take the high road, that we'd sit back and absorb the bullshit and keep doing what we do without resorting to the same desperate attempts to turn the business into their personal and pathetic playground. But truly, enough is enough.

So as I sat down to write about the Manitoba wrestling industry and all the ridiculous things that go on, I stumbled across this previously written blog and felt it was a good prelude. Keeping in mind I wrote it in January, I think it sets the table nicely for Part II...If you disagree with me, no problem. If you don't want to read what I write, click away now. This blog has become a little wishy-washy - it's time to get back to throwing the light of reality back onto the wrestling business. Enjoy.


PART I - January 28th 2009

"When all is said and done, more will be said than done".

It's been an inordinate length of time between blogs but there has been some exceptionally legitimate reasons for that.

For one, I've been very busy. Not only do I like to dedicate a lengthy period of time to actually sit down and write one of these, I avoid writing anything when I'm not in the mood to do so. I have to "feel it", and that goes for website content as well. As a bit of a night owl, the times I "feel it" are generally at night, but those nights where I have had time and didn't have to get up early have been few and far between in recent weeks.

Secondly, I've really had nothing to say that I think anyone would want to read. Sure, I could comment on Barack Obama becoming the new leader of the universe or the Winnipeg Blue Bomber's intriguing off-season, but given the state of wrestling right now, would anyone really want to read that?

And finally, I've been on the fence about whether to write about the things people would likely be interested in reading. Too often over the years that I've been in the business, once has had to choose whether to avoid causing heat or to be honest. It's difficult to be honest and not cause heat.

In 2007 I made a decision (I might have stated it in this blog, I don't recall), that 2008 would be my last year in the business. It seems pretty evident that you only leave the business if you're forced out or in a bodybag. You never really leave. I wanted to have an exit strategy. The cyclical nature of the business always provides a great excuse to keep fighting. Either business is bad and you want to prove you can fight through it or business is good and you're enjoying it too much to walk away. There is never an "out". I figured if I gave myself a year, I could do all the things creatively that I wanted and wind PCW down the way I wanted to. And if I had a specific date of departure, then I would walk away regardless of what part of the cycle we were on at the time.

The LID was scheduled to be closed in 2008 and at the end 0f 2007, it looked to be towards the end of the year. If ever there was an "out" for the taking, that would be it.

When the LID did close in March and we drew the largest gate for a non-name show that I can ever recall anyone doing and went out in a very special way with guys from every promotion represented, I was ready to walk away.

PCW started for a variety of reasons. I've said repeatedly that the main hook to get me involved aside form my love of wrestling was watching someone like Mentallo be mis-used in TRCW, for the specific reason that it was a talent like Mentallo but because of what it represented - that the most talented guy on the roster at the time wasn't getting the quality opportunity to develop his skills for whatever reason, mainly because he wasn't a favourite of the booker. And he wasn't the only one.

My idea of a successful wrestling promotion was one that was providing the best place for the boys to develop their skills. Too many guys with too large of egos truly believe that just because they are in the same basic industry as Vince McMahon that he will be looking over his shoulder, concerned that they will somehow effect his business. They determine who gets pushed by who kisses their ass, buys them the most beers or whom they consider their best friend on any particular day.

When guys get past the bewildering realization that they have somehow got themselves into the same business they grew up watching on television, they might see that we are essentially a grassroots level of an industry, much like community theatre. Someone doing bad Shakespeare for free in front of handful of people might be in the same business as Tom Hanks, but they are not Tom Hanks. I think that gets lost on a lot of people.

Bad wrestling offends me because it's a hindrance to what the goal of wrestling at our level should be - to have a healthy industry where guys can develop their skills and hopefully move onto the next level. This shouldn't be to wrestling what playing road hockey on a Sunday afternoon with your buddies, joking about catching on with the Penguins is to hockey. If it is, set up your ring in your backyard, have a few beers and live out your WrestleMania fantasies where you can't do any damage to the business. Using the hockey analogy, this should be the junior leagues, where we are icing a competitive, talented roster with the intent to provide the best opportunities for guys to develop their skills. Not everyone will make the big leagues. Most won't, but a few will or could and that should be our stated goal.

I think PCW has been successful because I've never lost sight of the reasons for our existence. It was for the boys and for the fans who wanted to watch the art form of wrestling. Years later, we can look upon PCW and see Mentallo having opportunities in Mexico, Kenny having opportunities everywhere (and holding championships in three different countries at the same time), which isn't bad for a couple of guys who, not too long ago, were called "Vanilla Midgets" by someone who never had success outside of Winnipeg (not a knock, just the truth). Other guys, Adam Knight training in Japan, perhaps opportunities for Angels and several other guys talented enough to work in a lot of other places. Thankfully PCW did exist and thankfully we kept our eye on what was important about the business.

So what's the point? Well, I didn't walk away in 2008. No one ever leaves the wrestling business.

I had a long conversation with someone today who made some good points (and some not very good points too). The reality is, I don't even like wrestling anymore. Being involved in the business and being exposed to the stupidity and the anti-constructive suicidal tendencies killed any love for it I might have once had. Perhaps that is an exaggeration. Perhaps a small part of me deep down inside still loves it. Maybe not. I think what drives me is the knowledge that the local business desperately needs PCW. I cannot abandon the business, the boys and the fans to whatever would remain if we got out. I respect the guys and the fans too much.

The business creates too many "bad" people, who do and say things that would be considered absolutely unheard of in every other industry and I hate that aspect.I hate the fact a business that doesn't pay me or anyone else a living locally is a full time job. I hate the fact I share a business with people who'd just as soon make your project a failure than make their own a success. In fact, they'd probably prefer that. I hate the fact that for every inch forward you take, there is a team of people with nothing better to do than try and knock you back a foot.

But what I hate the most is the fact the business has made me do things that I wouldn't otherwise do. The person I spoke with today reminded me that I have been very honest and forthcoming about my opinion over the years. He was right. The fact is, I am probably the most criticised and insulted person in the local wrestling business, with the exception maybe of Ernie because he has a few years on me. But it's close. With success, comes the criticism. I have no problem with that. And I think it has to do with the continued existence of PCW. In some ways, I equate it to breaking up with a person you were with for awhile - you might feel it was the best decision for you, but seeing that person happy with someone else drives you crazy. A few guys "broke up" with PCW in 2003 and it still, to this day, drives them crazy to see PCW happy and prosperous with others. These people still talk about "2002" (will probably run angles based on it too), have tried repeatedly to hurt PCW and have boldly proclaimed to many their desire to see PCW put out of business. Really? It's time to get over it.

The same people that say PCW is shitty, that insult our fans, our crew and everything else we do, also desperately want our crew, our fans and our style of show. It's transparent and obvious. The same people who criticise our venue would be down there trying to secure it if we ever left.

But having said that, I've said things too. And that wasn't who I was when I got into the business in the first place. I haven't said anything overly critical in awhile. Two things jump out as reason for that, one being when the LID closed, I was out of the business. And the second, when Dick Walker attacked me on the radio show. That made me realise that a) Dick Walker is batshit crazy (which is kinda cool), and b) that my words were hurtful enough that he was willing to fight over them.

So as rare as this is, I apologize for saying Busgy couldn't book his way out of a wet paper bag (Bugsy seems to give a shit and that's more than some people). And seriously, I apologize for being overly critical of people in the business. To me, the frustration comes in having such a solid grasp of what the business should be and feeling like it's such an uphill battle to get everyone to play nicely in the sandbox. The business shouldn't be about your friends kissing your ass for a spot or putting on average-at-best shows but bragging about how they were the greatest of all time. It should be about whats best for the business, boys and fans. Period.

I got into the business to help give guys who wanted it a good place to develop their skills and work on quality shows without having to worry about sucking up to the booker. My vision of the business, where the best performers are pushed, where the good of the show is of paramount importance, where attracting fans to the art of wrestling, has turned out to be the correct one. In the grand scheme of things, the market is weak. It's the "drunken smarks" that prop up the business. Popping a number means getting our friends and family to come out and support us. This is clearly evident on certain shows.

People criticise my promoting because I was honest in saying I consider myself more of a showrunner than a promoter. Where are all the genius promotional ideas that were promised, that I am too stupid to have thought of? 3000 posters? Handing out flyers at a WWE event? Running ads on a station no wrestling fan would listen to? Perhaps I don't do those things, not because I am a bad promoter, but because I'm smart enough to know what works and does not work and because I value, at the end of the day, making back at least as much money as I put in.

PCW is not an investment for me. I am not looking at PCW to be my retirement nest egg. It needs to break even in order to survive because it exists for the boys and the fans, not for me. A show that might draw 50 more people but spent $2000 more to do so is not a business plan I would want to emulate. But the people involved in that show will brag about it until they're blue in the face. If it wasn't so sad, it would be hilarious.

In August 2003, PCW went out of business, driven out of the business by the same person who guided three other promotions to the same fate since then. My vision is to survive so the boys and the fans benefit, not to stroke my ego or to try and get a job in the business somewhere else. It's a simple vision and we've been more successful than anyone else ever has running local wrestling in Winnipeg.

On Christmas Day when no one was online to read it (except for the guy who emailed me I suppose), Danny Duggan announced his intention to start his promotion. The first person to make any public comments about it were me, wishing them luck. In truth, I thought (from what I was hearing), that Danny was tired of being a good worker surrounded by less than quality workers in SPW and RME. I thought 'finally, someone else wants to run quality wrestling, to put the show first'. I eagerly anticipated an email or phone call from Danny where we would share our vision and happily do everything in our efforts to make the local industry a success and reward the best talent in the city. But it never came. All that came was badmouthing on the Internet and badmouthing to guys behind my back.

Foolish me, to think that Danny would contact me after asking me to email Rob Stardom as a "courtesy" when I wanted him to come work for PCW. Seems rather hypocritical to me.

No, no contact. But I did hear from promoters who received emails purportedly from me, trying to set up members of my crew to look unprofessional. Fans being called terrible things for the sin of liking PCW. This 'burn the oil fields' mentality where they'd rather lose a paying fan as long as PCW does too...ridiculous.

Reading blog postings from someone attacking me when he lives in the most fragile of glass houses was more amusing than aggravating, but a great example of what this new promotion was going to be.

When people are told specifically that the goal is to put PCW out of business, why would I endorse my crew working those shows? Two other projects had the same stated goal and are now a distant memory. What's the point of that anyway?

There isn't a promotion in Manitoba that I would not gladly do business with if it was to the benefit of the business and the boys and the fans. I'm the only promoter who feels that way. The others join a "blacklist", with the intent of trying to put us out of business.

Angus emailed me in December to make a "deal" that, in his words, did not include the Danny/Davidson project. He was encouraged to remain with the blacklist and would not even respond to the response to his suggestion. All of this...all of it leads to a business worse off than it was, not better.

I was at CWE's show. It wasn't a great show. I'll apologize in advance. I suppose my opinion carries more weight than a "paying fan" (and I had comps anyway), but the truth is, I expected to be wow'ed. When you cause so much heat, say such terrible things, lie, blacklist, send fake emails, threaten people...I expect the action to back up the words. It didn't.

Speaking of which, here are more words to live by "Action Expresses Priorities". When the actions are to insult fans, insult a promoter's girlfriend, lie to achieve a result, urge a blacklist to hinder a competitor, send fake emails, cause a disturbance on a competitor's show - that shows you the priority. Don't listen to the words. Those are lies. Look at the actions.

Our actions are to continue to fight through the attacks and the efforts to hinder our business to provide the best, most consistent place for the guys to develop their skills and for fans to enjoy quality wrestling. Those are our actions. Those are our priorities.

There is a line in competition that shouldn't be crossed. There is fierce determination to be better than the competition and then there's dirty pool. There is creating success for yourself and then there's trying to deliver failure for others.

In 2003, PCW was attacked by a new competitor. We fought the good fight, stayed true to our vision and excelled as the best place to work and the best shows for the fans. We became a beacon for those that would see us fail to come back to. In 2004, it happened again. Again, we did what we do best - keep chugging along. And we welcomed back everyone who wanted desperately for us to fail, who criticised us, insulted us, lied about us. And now...yet again.

Why must we suffer the consequences of our desire to succeed, our willingness to survive for no other reason than to provide quality shows and a good place to wrestle? Why are others so determined to see us fail, that they would say or do anything to achieve that? Is it the sting of their inability to do it in the past that drives them in the present?

It's stupid. It's anti-constructive. And it's doomed to fail.

Truthfully, the efforts and extent our "competitors" have gone to to try and chase us out of the business have actually emboldened us. We won't quit.

We'll be here when the others are gone. Just as we always are.

Answering Your Short Questions With Long Winded Answers!

To those of you who check out this blog on occasion, my appreciation for your patience. Between being exceptionally busy and not having a whole lot to say, the blog has been neglected. But 200+ comments is enough and I have decided to make an effort to bang out a new, most likely boring, post.

Some of you may have heard, my trusty cell phone "disappeared" a few weeks ago. In the two days I was without it, I realised how much I used it. I quickly replaced it, taking the opportunity to upgrade to an HTC Diamond. It's sort of a smaller iPhone. Very cool, though it has taken a long time to get use to the touch interface. So, if you are someone who's number I used to have, I probably dont have it anymore. Send it to me. Thanks.

Almost bought a Jeep last week, but cooler heads prevailed. There are some great deals to be had but I think I've decided to see how the economy unfolds before making such a large purchase.

Speaking of the economy, does anyone else get the impression that if the media wasn't sounding the death knell so loudly, that the recession would not be as bad? I think it's a vicious circle - economy falters a bit, media goes ape shit, public gets scared, economy sinks even worse. And every business on the planet is using it as an excuse to cut costs and staff. Except MPIC which, if I heard correctly, is happily investing yours and my money into real estate. Awesome.

Did anyone come here for wrestling news?

Premier Championship Wrestling presents the Seventh Anniversary Spectacular, Wednesday March 11th only at Dylans On Pembina at 9PM. Yes, a very special "New Day! New Time!" I talked about this on the PCW forum (http://www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com/) so I wont go into more details here. I will simply say that the pros of moving to Wednesday were sufficient enough to give it a shot. Worse case scenario, the option of returning to Thursdays is there, plus we have had some weekend dates offered as possibilities as well.

This event comes on the heels of what was a fantastic last show. What an awesome crowd, large and hot throughout the night. I think something that escaped us a bit when we "re-started" at Dylans was that it really was a "re-start". I think going into that first show last year, we (or I) looked at it as simply a continuation of where we left off at the LID, except we really closed the book on the LID last March with Culmination of Cool. After a couple of less than stellar shows at Dylans, we took a step back, looked at what the problems were and took concrete steps to address them. Starting with the "free show", I think we have been firing mostly on all cylinders and I am excited to see where we go.

I will gladly take some criticism for lack of a huge push on the last show for this one being our Anniversary. We actually had an opportunity to bring in some exceptional "name" talent. It was a very short window to make it work and would have been later in March. At it turns out, the window was shorter than we thought and we couldn't pull it together in time. Had it worked out, we would have celebrated our anniversary later in the Month. Regardless, we will be looking to pull the trigger on those plans as soon as possible, as well, I have spoken to a terrific "name" talent about coming in as well, in the very near future. Hopefully, it all works out.

Our official website is undergoing a revamping as it does from time to time. I don't think there is a more appropriate time to do so than when we are about to celebrate our anniversary. Look for that ASAP and then we will have a lot of information on the site in the next week regarding the big show. Obviously, with the TLC match and the "big" Knight/Dixon match, the show is already shaping up to a strong one. In addition, ROH Superstar and Three-Country Champion Kenny Omega will make his return and I anticipate the return of PCW Canadian Champion Chad Tatum as well. Tatum suffered an injury in January, but more info on that will be on our website in the next little while.

In addition, we are hoping to launch a new web-based project. The target date was early March, so that may be imminent. I don't want to over-hype it as I do believe with projects like this, we are likely to start small and grow moving forward as we attract contributors. I'll talk more about it once we launch, but the idea is for a one-stop site for all your Professional Wrestling news, rumours and info with a focus on Independent wrestling and the local Manitoba industry (hopefully expanding to be a strong destination for fans looking for info on any and all Canadian wrestling). The intent is for this to shine a positive light on the local business. We have commitments from people to contribute information regarding indy wrestling, Japan and Mexico as well so it could be a really unique endeavour and I hope all promoters will get onside with it and utilize the project to enhance their business as well.

Premier Wrestling Radio was in "repeat" mode last week. My apologies as I had an engagement that I was unable to get out of. Fortunately, Mike Arnott has provided us with a large archive from his days with The Squared Circle. Already some changes occurring with Winnipeg's Only Wrestling Radio Show as my co-host Wayne Stanton has gone MIA. As much as I respect, admire and personally like Wayne, he hung me out to dry in a rather unprofessional move. I had held out hope up until just a few days ago that Wayne would continue with the program (especially as I have requested a 60 minute slot - it's being "considered"). Unfortunately, it appears Wayne does not wish to continue, which is unfortunate and hurts the show, in my humble opinion.

However, it has left more time for the incomparable Mike Arnott, who has returned as a regular contributor to the program. In addition, we are kicking around the idea of expanding PWR by way of an Internet-only edition which would allow us (mostly Mike), to be less constrained by the rules and regulations of community radio. Perhaps an uncensored, no holds barred edition of PWR...

I often receive emails from fans, some I know, some I don't, asking questions about the radio show, PCW or other wrestling-related topics. When questions arise in the comments section of this blog, I try to response right away in return. One fan asked specific questions by way of a comment and requested that I answer said questions in a new blog posting. I said I would try, so here it is. I generally try not to be political or inflammatory so I will do my best to be honest and forthright without causing needless heat.


How about filling us in on how you feel about:

- CWE bringing in ROH talent-

Anytime a promotion brings in quality wrestling talent, I am elated. When I took over PCW in August 2003 when it had essentially failed under the prior vision, I was very cognizant of the importance of a quality promotion running regularly and consistently. If we had gambled and lost, it would have hurt the local industry very badly. We had a multi-point plan and set out to achieve it. Since that time, we have brought in twelve different names (seventeen times total), in addition to the six names prior to August 2003. That represents a huge amount of superstar talent that local fans got to see and an exceptional opportunity for local talent to work with guys that could offer advice, valuable contacts etc.

So in that regard, anyone looking at our vision and realising, despite some "experts" who had predicted our talent decisions would "never draw" or result in our folding, that we were onto something and could make it economically feasible and choosing to go down a similar path, I am very happy about that. If it's good the boys, the fans and the business, then I can't complain. Which is not to say that I fully endorse the business practices or methodology of CWE or our other competitors because there is a definite disconnect between doing whats best for your promotion and the business and doing what's worst for the competition. Successfully achieving the balance between a positive endeavour for the promotion and raising the standards of the local industry should be the ultimate goal and I hold out hope that in the end, we'll all do the right thing.


- The apparent firing of Mike Davidson

In all honesty I don't care. When someone pointed that out to me, my first thought was actually one of confusion since CWE had maintained the position that Mr. Davidson had nothing to do with their promotion. But "firing" a member of the roster or management is an oft-used wrestling angle. I wish them luck with it.


-Who would be your choice to face Petey Williams

There are several options. From my roster, depending on where we were going angle-wise, any one of Kenny Omega, Robby Royce, Adam Knight, Mentallo, Antonio Scorpio Jr, ATM, Mike Angels, Chad Tatum and a couple of others could reasonably be assigned that task and make it a good one. Obviously, Williams/Omega III would be a good match and marketable. Petey defeated Kenny in a TNA World X Division Match on a CWF show several years ago, while Kenny beat Petey at the 2007 Premier Cup Tournament to capture the trophy. But I'd be more likely, with Kenny's blessing no doubt, to tap someone who could benefit more from the experience, such as Scorpio, ATM, Tatum or Angels.

From CWE's roster, given their current angles as best I know them (from being a paying customer), I'd suggest AJ Sanchez. Since he is officially in line for a singles match against Nigel, it would be a way to clearly establish him as a legitimate threat. Plus, taking into account history and Sanchez' match with Chris Sabin, adds something to the match. If the plan is to build Danny up as the top foil for Sanchez, then he'd be another likely candidate. If I was their booker, I'd go with Mentallo. It would likely guarantee the best match and cement his CWE status as "bigger than the rest" insofar as having "name" value himself and would set up "money" matches in the future with Danny and Sanchez. I am sure whatever CWE decides, it will be a very good match. Petey is an awesome guy.


-Who in CWE/SPW/RME would you want in PCW

It would probably be easier to ask me who I wouldn't want because realistically, unless someone is really, truly offensive in the ring, if they want to come in and make the effort to contribute, then I would be glad to have them. But since one can't have a regular 50 person roster, I'd say obviously, if I had my way, from CWE, I'd be happy to have Sanchez and Danny on my shows as they would contribute in a very positive way. Rick Matthews, Don Douglas, Shane Madison and others have all been positive contributors to PCW in the past as well.

From SPW, I always liked Jean Marious. He was very over doing the Twenty Dollar Man gimmick. Aside from Danny and Sanchez who work for SPW, I cannot even think of too many guys on the their roster, let alone guys that really jump off the page at me as far as being able to concretely raise the standards of a PCW show by their mere presence. Which is not to say there aren't quality guys there, so no heat...

From RME, I have always like Moses Luke and he was actually scheduled to return to PCW for the next show but has opted to go in a different direction. In addition, I think the Dogs are a terrific tag team and would get a ton of heat on a PCW event.


-How is the March PCW show looking. Just gives us something as things have gotten quite stale.

Show looks good. It WILL be a good show. More info forthcoming in the next week or so on our official website.

- I'd also like to know what Andrew thinks of Mike Davidson telling everyone he's about to announce he's starting up again at bars.

Winnipeg most certainly doesn't need yet another promotion. And the group of talent that primarily is appearing on three or four other promotions (the non-PCW roster) really doesn't need another promotion booking them as I believe it would hurt the ability to draw and produce quality events for the other guys. But I don't really care either way, though given Mr. Davidson's past penchant for derogatory and offensive remarks about promoters who run bars and performers who appear on shows run at bars, he'd have to be a pretty significant hypocrite to actually do so himself. In other words, it's probably likely. But since it doesn't effect PCW, I don't care whatsoever. I wish him luck in all his endeavours and truly hope he finds the happiness he desires.

Please feel free to keep the questions coming.

In regards to the 2008 Year End Awards, I believe we will announce the Wrestler of the Year winner at the next show, and then probably announce the other winners on the website. If anyone has a different suggestion, I am all ears. Perhaps announcing one winner a day leading up to the Anniversary show...?

Many of the catagories were very, very close last time I checked so if you haven't voted yet or know people who have not voted yet then please do so...I'll see if I can get the direct link and post it here for y'all.

In the meantime and in between time that's it, another edition of The Deep End. Bye Now.

A

National Politics, Wrestling Politics & A Consumer Warning!

Back with another exciting blog. Before I talk about the local wrestling issues (including a non-PCW event I saw over the weekend), I'd like to touch on my other favourite subject - politics.



Just what Canada needs - a constitutional crises. It absolutely baffles me how the Liberals and NDP can be considering forming a Coalition government propped up by separatists. Talk about sore losers. I also cannot believe how the left wing media embraces this as a reasonable idea. In other countries it would be called a coup d'etat and that's exactly what it would be.



The media doesn't want to report the facts - that the majority of Canadians agree with the Conservative budget initiative to remove the taxpayer-funded subsidies the parties receive. Will that have a negative impact on the Liberals? Sure it will. Do taxpayers care? Not one bit. With the rest of us facing a downturn in the economy, we have to make ends meet. The parties should do the same thing. The media should be reporting this for what it is - the liberals and NDP pissed off that they won't be propped up by the taxpayer coupled with sore loser syndrome and the knowledge that if they bring down the government and force another election that the few people who bother to vote will punish them severely.



I think Harper should call their bluff. Let them force a constitutional crises. Maybe something good could come out of it. For example, are we really going to let the Governor General make the decision as to what happens here? Are we going to allow the losing parties, the ones the voters decided they did not want in power to snatch the government like thieves in the night, simply because they want to keep their taxpayer charity in a time of economic uncertainty?



I hope voters are paying attention.



Some interesting wrestling discussion recently. I read a blog that put forth the position that low card guys like Jerin Rose (specifically mentioned) are valuable to a show because they (or specifically he) is always over with an all-ages (kids and older folks) crowd. The argument also made mention of the fact these guys who are always over with the all-ages also work cheaper so why wouldn't you want a crew full of them.



To a certain degree I agree with that position. I disagree, however, with others. For example, to suggest that PCW should draw 1000 people if we are truly boasting the best talent is a ludicrous suggestion, though I get the point the writer was trying to make. People make far too much of "draws".



When you consider the revenue WWE generates and the money they spend on advertising their brand, for them to draw 2000 or less to some house shows paints a pretty clear picture of the reality of the situation. Obviously WWE spends many, many times what we do on promoting their brand so in that respect, what percentage of their draw should we expect to have?



When you look at WWE developmental where they routinely draw less than 100 people to free TV tapings that not only boast WWE contracted workers, but often feature current WWE TV stars in guest spots, that also paints a pretty clear picture.



So I most certainly disagree with the statement that PCW can't draw. After a long hiatus, we had four shows at Dylans. Two drew well over 100 (which I consider to be a significant and successful number, especially considering our ticket prices and the fact I give out few, if any, comps), another that was admittedly poor and the last one that was around 70. I'm comfortable with that.



In relation to that, I disagree with the statement that there are very few "smarks" and that the only way to be successful is to cater to the all-ages crowd. I could not disagree with that more strongly. In the last two weeks, a promotion had two all-ages shows in different areas of the city. They drew 40-50 for each show. There was not a "smark" to be seen. All-ages crowds are not "die hards". They are not brand loyal. They will not brave a blizzard to catch the show in fear of missing a truly great match or a critical chapter in a story they are interested in. "Smarks" will. I've seen it first hand.



Ideally, you'd like to attract both crowds. Nothing I've seen from other "local" promotions would attract the smart fan that enjoys PCW. On the flip side, the argument that "workers who work" can't get over in front of an all-ages crowd is ludicrous. The all-ages crowd will cheer for anyone. At the show I was at, they cheered or heeled as they were supposed to for everyone, whether they knew them or not. Not even the course of the match seemed to change that.

Ultimately, to me, it comes down to pride. I could cut the top five or six guys from my roster and save a significant amount of money, but I would not want to put on a show without those guys (or any of my guys really). I would not sacrifice quality to save money nor would I book unqualified individuals because they promise to sell tickets. And while the writer of that blog questioned whether PCW made any money, I'd point out that my talent expense far exceeds every other local promotion. PCW generates enough money to at least break even, with greater talent costs than others.

It's an interesting time locally. I have been informed that at least one "promoter" is attempting to encourage a blackballing of anyone associated with PCW. I think that is a testament to the quality and position of PCW in the market. There is a better way...one that would benefit most of us and especially the fans and the boys. But the shortsighted can't see it.

I attended the RME show this past weekend at Vince Leah Community Centre. It was an improved performance over previous RME shows I've been to. I hesitate to give my legitimate impressions as I do not want to seem overly critical. What I will say is, I continue to see several little things that a qualified booker could change to get the most out of his shows. No offense to Bugsy, but if he's still booking, that should be an area of concern for Angus.

I will say that the match of the night was the BSB's (Sanchez & Chevy) vs Kory Kinkade and Corey Diamond. Kinkade worked his ass off and deserves praise for stepping outside his comfort zone. I have to be honest...I thought Chevy looked completely disinterested. Sanchez was his usual top quality self.

In their main event battle royale, Danny Duggan went over and it was obvious that he was as he seemed to be the only guy in the ring "fighting" to win it. He made everything he did a Ricky Steamboat-like epic struggle. No one else seemed to fight that hard for the victory.

I like Moses Luke but his title reign has been a disaster due to no fault of his own and I hate to say that he continues to be booked poorly. I understand that there are budget concerns, especially for the first show at a new venue and you want to get the most out of matches, but my personal opinion was that Mo gave far too much to Bradley Scott, who is a low card guy, before finally getting the victory. Mo is very giving in his matches when he sometimes needs to be more selfish.

Unless there is a believable angle behind it, having a low card guy compete with your champion doesn't raise the low card guy up to the champ's level, it brings the champ down. On a show where Mo was being set up for a new program with a new challenger, I would have liked to have seen a squash.

At the end of the main event, Mo beat down Danny, which was good. But then the locker room emptied for the save and Mo scooted before the first guy had hit the ring. I just happened to be going through tapes today and came across a segment from a PCW show a few years ago when Mo returned and attacked Mentallo. A couple of refs and officials tried to intervene, but Mo shoved them away and hit his assault. The ring filled with officials and a few of the boys and still Mo would not leave, standing up and showing a willingness to fight everyone before reluctantly and defiantly leaving. Now which scenario puts over the dastardly heel stronger?

I had the chance to speak with Angus at the show (and I believe there are pictures floating around...). I am glad he took the initiative to come speak with me. I think that says a lot about his character, something I have disparaged once or twice over the years. I think I'd value sitting down for a conversation when we both have more time and less distractions.

Now for a rant. Holly and I went appliance shopping today as one of us (her) blew up the stove last night. I tried to fix it which resulted in further explosions. Long story short, we went to the Brick first, which is where we bought our furniture from. What a debacle. I've never seen a place so determined to blow a sale.

The end result was that we went to Defresne (where we got our Washer/Dryer - cheap plug, go see Josh at Defresne for all your W/D needs) and then Leons. Leons had a better model on for a cheaper price than the one we bought at The Brick. We went back to the Brick and they refused to match, even though they have a price match guarantee. The sales guy told us to go to Customer Service as they are the ones who "make the saves" but don't tell them he told us to do that. Customer Service was the exact opposite. She demanded to know what evidence we had that Leon's had a cheaper price. I advised her that it was their sticker price and she could simply call to which she said they don't do that and if we can't provide evidence, there was nothing they could do.

Prior to that, the sales guy had simply told us if we wanted the Leon's price, we should go to Leon's. So we did. This is not the first issue with The Brick who also screwed up our delivery, sold one of our items and gave us a "gift card" that was little more than a scam. Maybe it's my own fault for going back to the Brick after others told me to avoid it (right, Dixon?). Consider this a "consumer warning" about the Brick.

Until next time Canada!

Thoughts on Ernie Todd and MORE!

I'll try not to let this posting get too long, however it has been quite some time so you never know. I will get to the Ernie Todd situation and address the statements he made on his website as well as the statements he made about the fans but I'll hit a couple of other topics first.



I was surprised the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fired Doug Berry. But listening to Lyle Bauer, I have come to believe it was likely for the best. The Bombers are a good team with some great players. By no means should we be considering a "rebuilding" phase and I am sure the team isn't.



On the subject of Kevin Glenn, I read a line in the Sun that sums it up perfectly - "Kevin Glenn is just good enough to lose the game". When he's "on", he's an elite QB in the CFL, but he is rarely on. He shows very little "fire" or leadership during a game, gets clearly frustrated and is made of glass. The team shows far more fire when Ryan Dinwiddie goes in. RD also earned a lot of respect for his performance near the end of the season (against the Als, I believe) when he could barely walk but continued to play (and rush). He's a good player who deserves a chance.



I always liked Glenn and believed in him, but he's had a lot of years to become elite and he hasnt dont it. I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I'd go after Casey Printers. As far as a new head coach, it seems Bauer has his heart set on Mike Kelly and I won't argue with that. I remember when Jeff Rhinebold was hired and Kelly was banished. On the other hand, most people consider Greg Marshall a head coach in waiting. It would suck to lose him but there are only two head coaching positions open so if he doesn't coach Toronto, he'll have to be a coordinator anyway.



If I recall correctly, RME has a show this weekend, their much hyped return to Winnipeg. There is virtually nothing on their website about it and I haven't head a thing about whether it's still happening or not. You'd think with the show in two days and it being their big "return", they'd announce a match or two.



In a related note, our awesome website has changed our website slightly to allow for speedier updates. As a result, there will be more news articles and such. I would be interested to hear what kind of stories or features you'd like to see (I am considering a "Where Are They Now" type article).



Now, for the topic at hand. Ernie Todd. I could write a lot on this subject but I reserve that for a later date. What I will say, however, is that I was appalled when Ernie insulted and criticised the fans who attended his event at Wise Guys. I know it's a frustrating thing when the fans are critical or when the show is not as good as you hope, but we've all had bad shows. I hate criticism too, but I try to use it as a learning tool.



There has been some talk that I asked Ernie to "shoot" on the fans. Only an idiot would actually believe that. I NEVER asked Ernie to shoot on the fans. In fact, I emailed him after he did so to express my disappointment. I truly believe Ernie could have earned some respect if he had simply apologized for his comments rather than look for excuses.



As far as our "deal" goes, I made a commitment and I intend to honour it. I intend for Ernie to honour his end of the deal as well. If he doesn't, then I am sure my next blog will be far more entertaining.

Some questions were asked in the comments of my last posting. I apologize for not getting to them sooner:

Moses Luke, Bobby Fox and Brian Rich all work for SPW and RME. Why were they on the CWF show? I thought there was an alliance against them (meaning SPW and RME)?

The suggestion that there is an alliance against anyone is a complete myth that others have spread in an effort to manufacture loyalty towards their own interests.

Who exactly is on the CWF roster from the show on Tuesday?

As a travelling promotion, it is difficult for the CWF to maintain a regular local roster. Ernie wanted to ensure that if he ran shows in Winnipeg, he would be able to use the best available performers in this market, thus his "deal" with PCW.

What has Ernie to say about the fan comments on your website?

Ernie hasn't said too much to me about it aside from his public stance. I know he has suggested that I asked him to "heel" on the fans which, ofcourse, is ludicrous. He felt his comments generated "old school" heat, which I disagreed with.

If he hasn't seen them, why haven't you emailed them to him?

Ernie is well aware of the comments and opinions of the fans.

What will the two of you do to provide a better show to us (your respective paying fan base)?

I was disappointed in our last couple of shows and made a stronger effort to map out our direction moving forward. I believe Seasons Beatings will be a fantastic event.

Thanks!

A

Kenny's Status, CWF, US Election and MORE!

Just a quick one today.

Thank you to all those fans who came out and enjoyed our Fan Appreciation Show last Thursday. We had a great time and return to Dylans on December 11th.

For those of you who were not overly impressed with the show, all I can say is we are listening and I am certain you will be happy on the 11th. I hope to see our new ring technician and his band of rowdies at the show. He cut a pretty decent promo and I believe it was him delivering some chops to Marxwell at Mentallo's behest. That's what you call fan interaction!

PCW Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega appeared in the Battle of Los Angeles Tournament over the weekend. On night two, as he hit the ropes, the top and middle rope snapped causing Kenny to take a very dangerous tumble to the floor. He was rushed to the backstage area but later returned to cause his style of havoc in the match.

I have conversed with Kenny today and he reports that he is fine, no benefit show required. He will be appearing for Ring Honor shortly in two big matches, one against the Briscoes and the other involving Bryan Danielson. Big opportunities for Kenny!

Tonight is two big events - the CWF show at Wise Guys and the U.S. Federal Election. I wont be able to watch election returns as I'll be at Wise Guys for what promises to be a great CWF event. I suggest all wrestling fans check it out!

On the election front, I'm calling it for Obama. Not only that, but I endorsing him as well. That may come as a huge shock to those people that know me and my pro-conservative leanings, but I think Obama will make a more interesting President.

I believe McCain is an honourable guy, a true hero and would make a fine President. I trust McCain more than Obama. Obama doesn't say very much but he says it with wonderful flair. His speech writers should be proud.

I wrote in this space that McCain kissed the White House goodbye when he chose Palin as his running mate. I know some people thought it was a brilliant strategy but it wasn't (oops, I was right...). It was such a desperate and obviously blatant attempt to pander to the female vote and totally undermined his argument that Obama did not have the experience to be President.

I don't agree with a lot of Obama's positions, but him becoming President should have a "calming" influence on the world, at least in the short term. I don't think he is as much of a dove as some people accuse him of, which is good, but him as President gives the U.S. a chance to get "out with honour" as far as some of the ramped up tension-filled relationships they have with other countries. It gives them a chance to step back and an opportunity for sober second though. It also could work in the same manner for some of these other countries who have been ramping up the rhetoric in what has become a bit of a dick-waving contest. The U.S. will always have the bigger dick and other countries know that, but a new administration gives them an "out with honour" option as well.

We shall see...

It appears my "sources" were correct in my last blog. RME finally announced their venues, Vince Leah (which I revealed here) and St James Civic Centre. The St James CC is an interesting one as I have been told that was the venue they were supposed to run in May and then in August, both of which were cancelled. Angus made up some ludicrous excuse at the time and is now giving it a shot. It's a big risk for him and he is making the sacrifice of trying so I hope his crew works their ass off, not just in the ring, but in getting people out. Good business is good for all of us. Bad business is bad for all of us.

I will say I don't quite understand the business plan of RME. They tried CC's every year and every year, they failed. Why will this year be any different? I also wish them luck with their private function on the 15th at St Amant Centre.

Burton Cummings has a new solo CD out, his first in many years. I've known Burton for a long time and spent many a liquor-filled night at his very large home on Park Blvd. I even took Honkytonk Man & Brutus Beefcake there in 2002 and have some very interesting video, including Honky and Burton doing a duet to Honky's WWF theme song. At least one of the songs on the new CD is one Burton played for us years ago on the piano at his home. He was very proud of it.

I had several major interview requests this past week but I declined the main stream media in favour of the grassroots. Check out this fellow blog featuring an interview with yours truly...

http://charlenetellsall.blogspot.com/

Until next time!

Ooops, I'm Up On My Soapbox Again!

Major announcement coming out of Winnipeg today and we have it here from our network of stooges..er, sources!


RME has secured a highly-desired monthly all-ages venue as of this evening. We have also secured the previously announced 400+ seat all ages venue which we will likely run 4-6 times per year. We have one more such venue still in negotiation, though likely.


We will also be securing out-of-town shots, both adult RMEX events and all ages ones.


BTW - This is what believing in your product brings. Fans and pay, plus bonuses like travel and merch and DVD's. Anyone who says I don't care about RME or our crew just because I don't get on a soap box and act like an abusive fucking know-it-all, well, here are REAL results. REAL proof. REAL care and consideration for talent.



Now some would expect me to take the above statement personally and climb up onto my soap box and respond with an abusive know-it-all rant. But that's just not how I roll. I agree with Angus 100%. This is a REAL example...that he cares? No, not really. Of results? Uhhh, a couple of secret announcements now qualifies as "results"? Proof? Of what? Well, that's the question.



From what I have been told, Angus simply went out and bought the insurance with the intention of running CC's, including Vince Leah and, I would guess, Glenwood.



So, does Angus really care? Absolutely. Certainly he cares about his ego. But to be willing to do something you know will lose money and has failed in the past just to stay in business and give the boys a few extra shots is exceptionally selfless. My opinion (and I could be *gasp* wrong), is that this had nothing to do with caring about the boys. Angus could have kept running money-losing CC's last year. He could have run the venue they scheduled twice this year and backed out of. No, this is pure desperation. And I respect that.

I respect someone willing to make the same mistake over and over again, willing to throw good money after bad and willing to invite ridicule and scorn for his efforts, all in the name of holding on to something he loves. The hardest thing about the wrestling business is quitting it. Ask TJ Bratt. Ask Robby Royce. Ask Shane Madison. They've all said they were finished and meant it. But came back, unable to resist the allure of the business they love.

Several times I have even announced (privately) that I was finished. But I changed my mind or was talked out of it. So I respect Angus giving it one more shot.


The unfortunate thing is, some guys just can't see the forest for the trees. Winnipeg isn't big enough for three or four or five promotions. That's why Ernie Todd, Robby Royce and I are cooperating. It just makes sense. When some of these other guys realise that and get off their imaginary high horses and put the business, the boys and the fans first, perhaps Winnipeg can get back to living up to it's potential in the Canadian industry.

Competition is good. Cutting each other's balls off for no good reason is anti constructive and bad for business. The only way Winnipeg will ever rise above the bullshit is to cooperate. It's simple, really.

There are guys in this business who aren't inspired by the ability of the boys or the desire to put on the very best shows. Some are inspired merely by the thought of fucking over someone else. It's sad. It's anti constructive. It's Winnipeg.

RME is going to run some CC's. CWF will probably run some CC's. PCW might run some CC's. And in a few months, PCW will still be here. CWF will still be here. RME will be on hiatus. Wash, rinse, repeat. Who cares anymore?

It's not a race to see who can burn the city the fastest or cause the most heat. At least it shouldn't be.

But that's just my two cents. And things always look better from up here on my soap box.

Open House and More

A quick one today.

A real bi-polar show last night as we had a disappointing first half followed by a really strong second half and despite the ring issues (which was caused by an error during set up), the event wasn't terrible. But...not good enough for us. Better than everyone else. But not good enough for us.

In addition, many of us were talking in the back about how we felt something was missing since we moved from the LID, how some fans haven't made the jump. As a result of these things, we are having our first ever Open House on October 30th where it will be a great PCW show for absolutely free admission. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Bring your parents. The show will rock.

How the hell have the conservatives managed to piss away their near majority lead in the election? There really are a lot of people drinking the anti-Harper kool-aid...

How's this for intelligent. If you go to the effort and expense of putting a monitored alarm on your home, you have to pay the city $20 for some reason. Why is the city pick pocketing those people who go out of their way to hopefully ensure they won't need the city services (ie WPS) in the event of a break in? Ridiculous. What an insane cash grab. The government should be encouraging people to protect their homes.

On that subject, I recommend ProTelec Alarms. Great pricing and service and they are a locally owned company.

I received some bad news recently as my favourite teacher, Mr Smart, passed away far too young. He was an inspiring presence in the lives of a lot of students who went to Vincent Massey and I fondly recall our debates over whether Axl Rose qualified as a poet for an assignment he gave us. I was even at his daughter's wedding as she and I became friendly when we worked at the same pharmacy (my first real job). I remember asking another teacher a question and he told me "Ask Mr Smart. He knows a little about every subject imaginable. If he doesn't know, no one knows." I ended up getting a great grade on my Axl Rose paper... RIP Mr Smart.

*Sigh* Part II

I'm really earning the frequent blogger miles lately, but I think it's important to clarify reality for those that live on fantasy island.

I exchanged what I thought were a couple of positive, friendly emails with Shane Madison yesterday, only to see specific things I wrote end up on the internet. So I guess I might as well just CC Davidson and Duggan when writing to Madison now. Someone once told me, if you want to leak something quickly, just tell Madison. It's a shame because I almost believed what he was telling me.

But Madison aside (because as I said last blog, he's a pretty decent guy when he's not drinking Davidson's Kool-Aid). I have somehow been included in Danny's war of words with Ernie Todd. Apparently, we offered Rob Stardom a "deal" to come into our "alliance" if he blackballed Danny. Well, I don't even like Stardom. But if it helps Danny rally the troops to make me the big bad wolf, no problem. I always liked Danny and I helped him out in this business. He repaid me by lying to me. So be it. That's the business unfortunately.

I am most amused by how Danny seems so bothered by the fact that I have restrictions on which bookings guys can take, yet even more upset by my deal with Ernie which he and his mentor affectionately call the PCWF. Since when is getting the boys extra bookings a bad thing? I'm doing exactly what he and his friends wanted, but if he's not involved, it's bad, I suppose. Damned if I do, Damned it I don't. I'm the bad guy for asking guys to decline the once every four month RME bookings, but I'm also the bad guy for getting guys extra bookings with the CWF. What an asshole I am.

Danny also knows very well, that he and his friends fell all over themselves to drop RME bookings. We don't care about RME they said. So don't beat the RME drum now, hypocrite.

Do I want Danny blackballed? I don't care enough about Danny to care where he works. He usually burns his own bridges anyway, sooner or later. If he succeeds in the business on his own, then good for him and good for Winnipeg. I don't wish failure on him at all. People are forgetting, I asked him to come to PCW. Offered him a program with Kenny Omega. Offered his friends spots too. He's the one that agreed to it, and then backed out trying to make a better deal with another promoter. I think it's unprofessional to do that, but this is business and business is business, but don't lie about.

So before I get accused of trying to blackball anyone, Danny had a standing offer to come to PCW. Ofcourse, sending out fake e-mails and such is a good way to piss the boys off. Why anyone who claims to take the business seriously would do that is beyond me.

Now, I better get to enjoying it while it lasts. After all, Danny is going to make me pay for...well, hmmm for...hmmm, I guess for treating him with respect all these years, giving him a spot when he was 17 years old, offering him a program against Kenny etc. Make me pay. Run Coyotes in November. That has always worked well in the past. In fact, running the venue next to mine is a wonderful way to rally my troops without me having to lift a finger (and I like when I don't have to lift a finger). Danny is as tight with Davidson now as he's ever been. But Danny should remember the expression fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

There is a real burn the oil fields mentality by some locally. They want to run just to try and screw someone else. Davidson wants to run Coyotes because it's probably one of the few venues that he hasn't totally burned and because it's next to mine. If I ran regularly in Transcona, he'd try to run there. Run because you want to make money or because you want to give the boys good opportunities. Doing it to spite someone is never a good reason. Oh well...the beat goes on.

Enjoying it while it lasts

*Sigh*

I was doing my regular rounds of wrestling-related websites and came across a blog that stated that something sent shockwaves through the local wrestling industry this past weekend. I don't know how I could have missed these shockwaves but I must have. Oh well, I once again accurately predicted the take my ball and go home mentality would rear it's ugly head.

I don't want to get into a childish war of words since that only benefits the child who gets off on such things to the detriment of those around him, but I'll take a moment to address a few things and clarify this "greatest angle of all time" that was only ruined by my lack of vision and the best efforts of my inner circle who don't have anything better to do than figure out ways to undermine Shane Madison.

Firstly, Shane Madison is a strong contributor to a wrestling show. But he's a much better human being when he's not being manipulated by Mike Davidson. As I told people as recently as yesterday, I'd still be thrilled if Madison wanted to be apart of our team and committed to our team. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely to happen as we're inundated with a whole lot of idiotic bullshit that is happening locally. And I suppose I have only myself to blame.

A few months ago, at Mike's behest, I mediated a reconciliation between the two of them. The purpose of which was Mike's desire to come work for PCW and turn his "shoot" with Madison into a work. As a result of the meeting, Madison was directed by Mike to write a scathing blog about him. After he did, Mike called me, angry that Madison didn't write it the way he wanted. The backburnered that angle.

I repeatedly asked Madison what he wanted to do moving forward once Cutler had gone to WWE. Madison didn't have any ideas but did tell me he wanted to work. Great. That gave us plenty of options. Mike got in touch with me, again asking to come back and suggesting that he retire on the show and then join Madison to take over wrestling. I preferred the idea where they worked each other since I didn't see a lot of options with two guys who were essentially managers being a team. Madison kept telling me they had the greatest idea of all time but he couldn't actually tell me what it was.

I gave them the leeway to do what they wanted on the first show. I put up the announcement of Mike's return and retirement on the website. Contrary to popular belief, I think Mike can be creative but he misses the logic boat a lot of times. He was insistent that the angle play out like when Khari Jones signed a one day contract to return to the Bombers and retire. I pointed out that the idea of him signing a one day contract didn't make a lot of sense since no one has a contract and since the idea was that he would continue to work for PCW, wouldn't that violate the contract? He wasn't interested in logic, pointing out it's just like Khari Jones. Ok. No problem.

A few days before the show, Madison contacts me to say Mike won't show up unless he's in the main event. I tried to explain to him that the angle would get over more in the undercard where it could be allowed to grow into something big rather then throwing it out in the main event with the expectations that come with that. I was not remotely confident it would get over and told both of them that the crowd might not go for it. Mike sent me a text saying he was in, if they were on top. I was pretty pissed off that I was being held up in such an unprofessional manner, but I rolled with it. Ok. No problem.

Madison requested additional promo time early in the show to put over the Cutler/Knight match. I suggested the WWE contract signing (honestly, the only part of the multiple promos that got some heat...oops there I go being right again). Madison had helpfully blown the live contract signing by breaking the news on his blog that Jon had already signed it (something which Jon was very upset about as he had asked Madison not to reveal that publicly).

Knowing we were promo heavy already, I tried to convince Mike to combine his promo with the Knight/Cutler match. The idea had been that Mike would come out early, announce his retirement, bask in the adulation of the fans and then make a shocking return following the last match. Since this added yet another promo segment, I requested that he combine this retirement announcement with a stint as guest ring announcer for the main event, for old times sake. I felt this would hide the extra promo segment and give Mike a reason for being around the ring during the main.

Mike rejected the idea and insisted on a separate segment. He further insisted that the entire locker room, heel and face, empty out before the match to embrace and congratulate Jon. I brushed this idea of several times but Mike was pretty insistent. I finally just said we couldn't do it. Clearly, it was a terrible idea. Not only would it have killed the heat for the actual match and added further non-wrestling segments to the show, but it would have killed heat between other guys unnecessarily. I don't mind guys making legitimate shows of emotion like that, but not if we were going to expose it as an angle ten minutes later. It would have been sacrificing everyone else to help get Mike over in an angle that wasn't going to work anyway.

I'm wrong from time to time. Not many other promoters have made public apologies for bad shows. But if I am right about wrestling more often than I am wrong, so be it. It's just the way it is. I tried to give Mike some words of encouragement before his segment, telling him that there was a good chance he would receive silence from the crowd and not to let that rattle him. I hoped that would not happen, but I knew, being a guy that is almost always right, that it was the likely outcome. And it was. There were no mic issues. The crowd just didn't really remember Mike or care that he was retiring or they smelled the work. Whatever the case, they were mostly silent. The only thing that garnered a reaction was Mike using someone else (Robby Royce) to get a pop.

Following the segment, Mike was getting antsy because he wanted to leave. This pissed me off a bit since he had threatened to no show if he didn't get the main event. He stuck around and he and Madison joined forces. But not before another fuck up. Madison and Davidson both heavily criticised me for Jon and Knight singing after the show. They first said it broke kayfabe because they had just worked each other, forgetting that they had wanted the ENTIRE locker room to come out and embrace Jon. Then they said that Jon had to no-sell Madison's finisher to do the singing. Well, the booker of record specifically called for the finisher to be cut off. That was changed in the back by Mike because they wanted their assault to leave Jon totally laid out before he left, which ran totally counter to Madison's pissy attitude that Jon had to lay down at all.

Side note: Madison was upset that only Kenny Omega got to win his last match on the way out. Nope. Kenny lost back to back matches, laying down for Rawskillz before he left.

Long story short, the entire kick off to an angle that didn't make any sense to begin with was pretty terrible. Rather then accept that, Madison went to the internet to criticise the rest of the show and put over his segments. He hedged his bets by saying if the angle was successful it was because he and Mike got total creative control but if it failed it was because my inner circle got in my ear. What a crock of shit and a huge insult to guys far more talented and successful. My so-called inner circle (a pretty good band back in the day, BTW) are the LAST guys to pull that shit and the FIRST guys to be willing to do whatever asked of them. I knew it was going to be pretty difficult to welcome them back after that and to salvage the angle, but I considered them friends and I wanted them on the team.

It was also a crock of shit when Mike suggested the problem was the show was promo heavy and the Angels/Scorpio segment should have been cut when the Madison/Davidson angle had FOUR segments.

Frustrated, I finally demanded to know what this incredible angle was and where it was going. Madison told me I had to let Mike book the whole thing and to trust them. Trust them? He told me he didn't really know the details and to ask Mike. I asked Mike who told me he didn't really know the details either but that Madison wanted certain things. Either they were both working me, working each other or completely fucking clueless about what was happening. All I was told was that they would appear on Oct 9th and announce they were both coming out of retirement together (Madison never retired to begin with) and would wrestle as a team on the 30th against a suitable opposing team. That team would be green guys whom they would squash. They would then squash another green team at the next show before working with Knight and Kaos. Madison continued to explain to me how I didn't get the business and that we had to book shows for casual fans and not our regulars because he felt the regulars would show up no matter how shitty the show was. Maybe. But I respected my regulars.

Reluctantly I agreed but wanted to know who these green guys were. It seemed Madison didn't really want to tell me. I found out from someone else that one of them was an underage guy being trained by Danny Duggan. I told Madison he was out and he got hot over that. I asked around for second opinions and it confirmed what I already knew - the idea was bad. I tried to convince them to go right into a high profile match for their comeback and make it really mean something but they didn't want that. This was all about attracting casual fans. The idea would have turned off our regulars and the casual fans wouldn't have understood that a bad match against two green guys was a storyline "joke". Perhaps I am wrong.

In any event, I was still going to give them the benefit of the doubt. But Mike quit. Apparently the idea that I made a deal with Ernie Todd and Robby Royce to get PCW guys more bookings somehow offended him. He told me he didnt want to be on a show with Ernie, though I am not sure why. He probably didnt want to be on a show with Royce either given the hilarious look of shock on his face when I told him Royce was coming down to the show (followed by some furious text messaging as I understand it). I am not really sure why Mike was so against the guys getting extra bookings and he wasn't overly forthcoming. He would only say if Ernie was at our next show, he wouldn't be.

Actually I think Madison quit first because I didnt like the angle, then Mike quit. Then Madison came back. Then Madison ignored my emails last week. We finally exchanged emails yesterday where Madison inexplicably stated that he would not want career advice from Mike Angels. Which makes sense since Mike Angels is a teacher and Madison sells insurance.

Before everyone thinks I am shooting on Madison, I am not. I am clarifying reality. Madison sometimes gets a bad wrap because of the company he keeps which isn't fair. I don't care if he wants to work for RME or SPW or NWN or anyone else. But a professional would have told me especially a professional who has openly criticised other guys for doing the same thing. But so be it. Madison was always fairly easy to work with and pretty enthusiastic about what we were doing. Combining him with Mike was a recipe for disaster. It was a mistake honouring Mike's request to bring him back. I was wrong.

The insults and criticism are pretty hollow. You'll see Mike and others insult me and PCW when very recently they sang our praises. It exposes reality. I can understand if feelings were hurt and egos bruised because I made a deal with guys Mike doesn't like. But we're adults and we should be able to handle it rather then resorting to childish bullshit. If wrestling is all you have and it's passing you by, I can understand the insecurity. As a friend, I could be supportive. Some things are a lot more important than this business...or at least they should be.

I wish Mike the best of luck with his attempted merger with RME. I am sure Angus will regret it eventually but considering he was about to fold a month ago, you can't begrudge a guy doing whatever he has to do to deliver options for his loyal crew, even if it means selling out to guys who don't care about the success of the promotion.

In PCW, we're very used to guys changing their tune and criticising us. When you're the best at what you do, it's par for the course. I would expect the bullshit criticism to continue and the efforts to minimize our success. And if it doesnt affect us, they can always make things up. Yeah, that might work. Really, it's just same old, same old. It happened in fall 2003. It happened in 2005. And yet we're still here.

Mike's efforts have resulted in some pretty good things for local wrestling. His "highs" have been great. It's his "lows" that are sad. As a person I once considered my best friend, I really hope he gets it together.

What it comes right down to, what really kicked off the bullshit, the "ribs", and Mike's childish acting out was the informal agreement I made with Ernie and Royce to share talent on our shows. It's a win-win. Will it last? Who knows. But if it's beneficial to the boys and the local industry, I'm all for it. Even when I was pissed off at Royce during the summer, I openly suggested that RME would be wise to give Royce the book. He's a quality creative guy and I am sure his shows will be well worth it. And who knows, maybe the "deal" has a few other details designed to be beneficial to our team that no one yet knows about.

Stay tuned...

...and tune in this Thursday to see a rare appearance of the man who made Mike quit, Ernie Todd!

Sports and Politics!

PCW's biggest fan, Cybertranz, is having his wedding social this weekend. Unfortunately, I will likely be unable to attend due to work commitments but everyone in PCW wishes him great luck.

Next weekend, a PCW superstar is getting married. Can anyone guess who? Evidently, it's an open bar at the reception so I told him I was bringing Kevin Chevy as my date. He was not amused.

I saw that one of our "competitors" made a major announcement in regards to a new "regular" Winnipeg venue. Uh huh. Heard that one before. I am sure this topic will come up on the radio show this Sunday so I will save my most controversial remarks for then. I will point out how laughable the wording of the announcement was and how I genuinely felt bad for the guys who have been loyal to that promotion to read it and see the only mention of the talent was the attempt to link themselves to a guy who doesn't work there and hasn't in a very long time. Pretty sad.

Anyone who knows me would never call me a financial genius but I am baffled by the financial crises in the US. It seems to me, and this is the matter in the most simple of terms, if the financial institutions granted loans and mortgages to people at a "special" interest rate, knowing that they were unlikely to be able to afford the "real" rate when it went up, shouldn't that be the bank's problem, not the taxpayers? I understand why the government is bailing them out, but if it was me, I'd be directing the banks to lower the interest rates on these mortgages until the crises was over. Really, how many billions of dollars of profit do banks need?

Looks like the Conservatives are slipping away from majority numbers. That's what I thought would happen, but I hold out hope the voters will be smart enough to realise we need a majority government to get something done in this country.

Nice to see the CFL subscribe to the too little, too late method of handing out discipline. After the vicious and clearly intentional hit on Kevin Glenn, the CFL hands out as many fines to Bombers as they did to the Eskimos. Ridiculous. And now they announce that future attempts to injure will be met with a suspension??? What about last week? I think this is clearly an effort to avoid the Bombers seeking revenge. If the CFLPA won't play ball, then the CFL should simply change the rules on the field. That hit last week should have received maximum penalties for roughing the passer, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, major foul and whatever else they could come up with. If the team committing the infraction ends up putting the opposition on their goal line, the CFL won't have to worry about fines and suspensions - the player's team will take care of him themselves.

In addition, the CFL should have fined the officials for blowing the call. To kick out Romby Bryant while leaving the Edmonton player in was not only flat out wrong, but it created the the environment for the fight that happened later. If that was hockey, with that little time remaining, those players would have all been booted.

I got together with friends this week for our hockey pool. This one consisted of eight of us, including former Commissioner Tom Manos, the remarkable Chris Marxwell, most decorated champion in PCW history Rawskillz, myself and a few others.

For those interested, I got the worst spot, picking 5th. Skillz picked sixth and Marxwell went 8th, giving him two back to back picks per round.

Here are my picks:

Joe Thornton
Marian Hossa
Daniel Alfredsson
Mike Ribeiro
Paul Stastny
Mira Satan
Ray Whitney
Marc-Andre Fleury
J.P. Dumont
Pavol Demitra
Saku Koivu
Jordan Staal
Kimmo Timmonen (we had to pick two D-men)
Daniel Cleary
Ed Jovanovski
Ruslan Fedotenko

Here were Skillz picks (he usually loses bad at these pools):

Henrik Zetterburgh
Marian Gaborik
Brian Campbell
Daniel Briere
Scott Gomez
Zach Parise
Johan Franzen
Chris Osgood
Patrick Elias
Chris Drury
Petr Sykora
Milan Michalek
Marco Sturm
Zdeno Chara
Mikko Koivu (after telling me it was a terrible pick, he picks him...)
Brandon Dubinski

Sidney Crosby did not go first, Alex Ovechkin did.

PCW's Back to School Bash goes next Thursday, Oct. 9th at Dylan's and will be an awesome show. At least a couple of new faces will be on hand and rumour has it, even Ernie Todd might make an appearance!

More to come...

Shuffle It All Part II

October 9th is fast approaching. It will be our first Back to School Bash held outside the LID and should be a fantastic show.

Contrary to some "reports" I know exactly what the line up is for that show. The website should be updated in detail shortly so keep checking it out.

There will be a couple of new faces at that show as well and I'm really happy to have these guys on board. They are young, talented and certainly seem committed.

I've been getting calls and texts about a couple of issues. One, I won't go into great detail on because it has nothing to do with me. I will say that if any member of Joe Public called up any local wrestling promotion and asked to buy a show for a certain amount of money, we'd all do it. When talent and creative control is maintained by the promotion, thus ensuring a certain standard of quality, then it's really a no brainer. I am sure the show in question will be a good one and the boys who are committed to the health and quality of the local industry will benefit from it.

The second issue has been my "relationship" with Ernie Todd. One Internet journalist recently broke the news that Ernie knew in advance that Robby Royce and The Artist Formerly Known As Ozz were returning to PCW. Uhhh yeah. Huge news there.

I have absolutely zero formal relationship with Ernie or the CWF. I have been ready, willing and eager to have a positive relationship with any promotion that was committed to the success of the local industry and to doing what was beneficial for the fans and the boys. More than any other promoter, I have reached out and "worked with" my "competitors". In fact, I was often criticised for that. But to me, whatever is good for the boys and the business is worth exploring, pride and whatever else be damned.

In fall 2003 Ernie and I had a good relationship and decided to do what we thought would be good for the local scene. At the time, I had a few guys leave PCW for bigger and better things, which turned out to be one show. Ernie was running Winnipeg on a somewhat regular basis. It made perfect sense for us to do something.

What really struck me at the time was how much that "relationship" bothered certain people. They were really choked about it. Ernie and I agreed to have a select group of CWF guys (Kerry Brown, Rob Stardom and TJ Bratt) appear on PCW shows leading up to the CWF's big show that December. The day before it was set to begin, someone posted a scathing commentary on one of the local fan forums exposing the deal and calling it the end of PCW. I was called numerous negative names and it was suggested that the deal was a desperate effort on my part to replace the guys who had left.

I recall reading that with tremendous amusement. I know the people locally who put a lot of emphasise on "stooging". I recall how proud people were to expose our angle the day before the show. I loved it. I gave the show a bit more electricity. When the CWF guys showed up in the venue, there was a buzz through the audience...what will happen? It was great.

On a related note, when we decided to bring Chris Sabin as a surprise last year to work AJ Sanchez, I was asked 'what if someone stooges it off?' Either way it worked to our advantage.

The point here is, in August 2003, the deal obviously didn't mark the end of PCW. It wasn't a long angle but it did result in several more bookings for guys who were apart of our team. And I had a lot of fun doing it too. Truthfully, the deal was ended as the guys who had previously quit PCW (and some of whom had touted the CWF Invasion as the end of the promotion) suddenly wanted back in.

As an aside, PCW died in August 2003 and was re-born at the same time. It had to happen or there would be no PCW today.

In short, I have no formal deal with Ernie. I had a conversation with him that was very similar to many I have had with other promoters. The difference is, Ernie wants to run with a certain standard of quality. He wants the boys who are committed to us to be the ones who benefit from more shows. My only interest is in doing whats best for the boys, the fans and the show. Period. Anyone who says any different doesn't know me or is lying. So no invasion. Just a willingess to make the scene a better one for the boys and the fans.

I hate to use a blog as a method of communication when I prefer e-mails, text messages, face to face meetings and phone calls (in that order). But it came to my attention that Shane Madison remarked about my opinion. I don't really care but I might as well clarify. Firstly, I most certainly did not tell anyone that my previous blog posting was about Madison or anyone else. It shouldn't surprise me but it does, that people can just make things up and pass it off as fact.

Secondly, Madison went on to say that I don't value or appreciate him. Here's a reality check. How many times has Madison left PCW? How many times have I welcomed him back? How many times have I booked Madison in a strong role doing pretty much whatever he wanted during those stints? It's ludicrous for him to say he hasn't been appreciated. If he feels tension in the locker room or feels unwelcome, that is his issue to deal with. There are guys who stuck around through the bad times, gave up bookings, money etc to stay committed to PCW. It's THEIR promotion now, THEIR locker room. Madison has had every opportunity to be apart of our team and he still does. But it's his decision to make. I do not want anyone on our show who is not a team player and not committed to what we're doing. If he's a team player and is committed and demonstrates that, then he's an asset to our promotion, friendship or no friendship.

Any assertion that I haven't valued him is utterly ridiculous. Not many other guys come into an indy promotion with their own personal booker. I have always treated him with respect and lobbied for him to play a significant role in our promotion. So, will Madison be at the next show? Well that's entirely up to him.

I love this business but I'm not cut out for it. I love politics, don't get me wrong. I love the creative aspect. I even love performing though I do it infrequently. But the reality is, there are so many guys in the business who don't know what friendship is. I'll agree with Madison on that point. Listening to guys who are supposedly close friends badmouth each other is sad. Watching guys take joy in causing grief for others, especially their so-called friends, is depressing. The attitude of if I dont get my way, I'll take my ball and go home is so counter productive. Or worse, if I dont get my way, I'll take my ball AND fuck with your ball too. Wrestling isn't hard. People make it a struggle. Winnipeg could so easily be the shining light of the industry in Canada but too many of us sabotage it for stupid, selfish, immature reasons.

If everyone simply stopped to ask themselves 'will this decision/statement/action/rib help the local industry? Will it benefit the boys or the fans?' If the answer is no, don't do it. Simple. If they did that, we could get back to doing what's best for everyone. All of us, rather then a few of us.

The bullshit that gets spewed on a daily basis is asinine. It's like a giant game of telephone where one person says something slightly stupid and within hours, it's grown to preposterous levels of idiocy. For example, I have been accused of hating a certain local wrestler, and of trying to keep him out of PCW. The same guy who was offered a gig in PCW and a program with one of my top guys. What more did he want, a hand job after every match?

Random ramblings:

- I have a bad feeling about tonight's Bomber game. But I will predict a Bomber victory anyway. 34-23.

- I heard Ric Flair might be appearing for an Ontario promotion this year. Very cool. I'd be lying if I said I never wondered about how cool it would be to have Flair in Winnipeg and I did mention his asking price to a potential investor. If someone, anyone, brings in Ric Flair, good for them. I am sure even that would bring out the naysayers...

- Impact has been better than RAW the past few weeks. Sting is hitting home runs every single week. I have to wonder though, does he look at the few hundred people in the TNA soundstage every week and wonder what it would be like to be in front of 20,000 screaming fans one last time? I'm not sold on the idea of Jeff Jarrett leading the charge of the young brigade though. His promo was "real" and very good, but didn't garner the reaction I would have expected. He had a stranglehold on the TNA title at a time when the young guys were the main challengers so his words now seem to ring hollow. Plus, having more than one "veteran" standing up for the young guys diminishes that role in my opinion. Mick Foley can stand up for the young guys and be believable. Jeff Jarrett can't.

It's like when, during the Invasion, WCW was led by longtime WWE guys. It takes something away. One of the problems with TNA is the fact that Samoa Joe doesn't cut a great promo and doesn't come across as a big time star. When his "elders" are all better promos, better performers and in far better shape it makes them justified in their position. AJ Styles is a hell of a performer but has been booked as a comedy act but now we're supposed to take him seriously...and beyond those two, who is fighting for the young guys? It should be Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley but politics have cut their balls off to the detriment of the promotion.

I am sure Sting will put over Joe at Bound For Glory. He'll embrace him and give him the rub. But his promo on this week's Impact, talking about how Ric Flair "made his career" twenty years ago means that when Sting puts over Joe, it's not so much Joe beat a legend, it's that the legend did the honours for the kid. I don't think it makes Joe any more special. TNA should go back to the drawing board on Joe before they destroy him completely.

- When John McCain announced Palin as his running mate, I immediately knew he had gambled away the White House. I listened to my good friend Marty Gold on his radio show talk about how brilliant the move was. I disagreed and still do. There is no doubt that Karl Rove is a political genius and if he was, as rumoured, behind the decision, I can respect the gamble. But it didn't work. Two things blew it: 1) Obama being smarter than McCain thought and 2) The economy changed the election.

It was simple pandering, trying to get Hillary Clinton supporters to jump ship. But that strategy relied on the fact that Clinton supporters were just dumb, uneducated women who would vote for anyone in a skirt. Not only is that not true, but it's highly insulting. It also undermined McCain's position that Obama was too young and inexperienced to be President. Given McCain's age and health issues, if he were President, there is a very strong possibility that Palin would be thrust into the top spot, even temporarily. It was an easy target for Obama to question McCain's leadership when picking a potential successor with less experience then his opponent.

What it DID accomplish was to temporarily change the focus of the election from the Obama revolution to Palin being the fresh choice for America. But Americans will always choose strong leadership they trust and McCain undermined his own position as the best leader in tough times. It also DID accomplish the goal of making Palin untouchable. Any criticism of her could easily be spun as sexism. Word was that Obama's camp instructed everyone to lay off Palin and rightfully so. They don't have to beat her. She has nothing to stand on. Attack McCain and they will win.

The move might have worked if not for the economy which has struggled at the worst possible time for McCain. He openly admitted in the past that the economy was his weak point. The election started out with Iraq and the War on Terror as the main issue, but that is far down the list now. Had he chosen someone like Mitt Romney, he'd have a better shot at gaining voter confidence during the economic crises. Only racism and the Clinton's can keep Obama from the White House now.

Don't get me wrong though. Obama made a huge mistake with his choice too. He should have chosen Clinton. He put ego ahead of what was best for the party and even his own best chance to win. Had he chosen Clinton, he would have united the party and when the economy fell apart, he'd have the team that was in the White House during strong economic times on his side. He would have easily won the debate on who was better to manage the economy with Hillary at his side. And, should he have lost, it would have set them up for another run in four years. Should they have won, it gave Hillary the inside track on the White House in 8 years, something unheard of for the Democrats.

The conspiracy theorist in me predicts a major military operation within the next month, likely with Iran, to bring War on Terror back to the forefront. This recent with skirmish with Pakistan might be the start of it. Pakistan is supposed to be an ally but they're not doing their part. Bin Ladin is believed to be hiding in the mountains of Pakistan. McCain might try to get the focus off the economy and back on the war by diminishing Obama as a military leader, one who needs to be tough with countries like Pakistan. We shall see...

- Could we finally see the Conservative majority this country so desperately needs? I hope so, but I'll predict a Stephen Harper victory with a strong minority but just falling short of a majority. And that sucks because it means Dion gets dumped, a new Liberal leader gets elected and we go through this all again in spring 2010. What were the liberals thinking...?

Shuffle It All

It's been awhile. I haven't had anything to say. Or more accurately, I wasn't sure if I should say what I wanted to. In the end, who really cares?

Just over five years ago I had a very difficult decision to make - walk away from the wrestling business which I truly loved or undertake the responsibility of keeping PCW going when it had sunk to it's lowest depths. Those that attempt to re-write history would have you believe they walked away from PCW when it was doing well. Truthfully, the second lowest draw we ever had at the LID (Then Stratosphere), was the last show before the big split in August 2003.

As I contemplated my options, it became clear that the future of PCW rested with my decision. The venue told me quite clearly that they were not interested in indy wrestling if they couldn't trust the promoter, meaning either I stayed or PCW would lose it's regular home, meaning I kept the band together or the boys would be scattered in the wind at a time when there was no other option for regular gigs in Winnipeg, let alone quality gigs in Winnipeg.

The story has been told in detail before but it crossed my mind recently as the fifth anniversary came and went. It was a critical point for the local business. Truth be told, I wanted out more than I wanted in. Only the encouragement of the boys changed my mind, not because they made me want it but because I felt I owed it to them to give it a shot. I stuck it out for the same reason I got involved in the business in 2001 - because I wanted the boys to have a quality place to do what they do, where they would be treated fairly and honestly.

At the time, I had no idea how long PCW would last. I probably didn't think it would still be going strong (and stronger) five years later. I did think in time the market and those involved in the business would come to truly appreciate and respect the existence of PCW and what it meant to indy wrestling in this city. Five years later I often catch myself wondering if it was worth it.

I don't consider myself to be one of the boys nor do I really consider most of the boys to be friends of mine. Some of them, absolutely. Unfortunately, it's a depressing moment to realise that a couple of the guys you thought were your friends turned out not to be so. You can forgive. You can feel sorry. But in the end, you can't change people. Those that are insecure, that crave attention to the detriment of everyone around them will probably always be that way. There comes a point when you have to stop taking them back and giving them the opportunity to disappoint you over and over again.

There is an old expression (which I first heard on an episode of Star Trek when Chekov claimed it to be a Russian proverb), fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Surprise, Surprise! Never Say Never Again!

Several issues on the agenda this time around.

First up, the seventh annual Beat The Summer Heat this past Thursday at Dylans On Pembina. I was much happier with this event than our first show at that venue in July. I think, over all, it was a strong show and set several things in motion for the future.

Obviously, the two big surprises were the return of Robby Royce and Anderson Tyson Moore & Mentallo. It's nice to see that we can still manage to keep a secret in this business. Mentallo's return was only confirmed a few days before the show while Team Impact's return was secured as soon as I got back from Vegas (more on that in a moment).

I have no idea how long Mentallo will be available to us, but we'll certainly consider ourselves fortunate for as long as he is here. He looks fantastic and had an awesome match with Nate Hardy.

The venue continues to be very happy and we continue to iron things out in regards to production. The lighting was much improved this time around. In regards to seating, I have some ideas for the future. I read a comment on our forum that expressed an opinion of disappointment with Dylans as a venue due to sightlines and posed the question, are there not better places to run in Winnipeg?

Well, without going into specific details, Dylans was at the top of my short list when the LID closed. It's a wonderful venue for wrestling for many reasons and I think the sightlines are likely an issue for a minority of spectators. Securing a venue is not simply a matter of choosing a place and running a show. When you consider cost, location, and such things as being able to house the ring and having sufficient clearance above it, there aren't a lot of really attractive venues.

We have to accept that the LID was the best venue ever for indy wrestling in Winnipeg and it's gone. We were blessed and spoiled to have it as long as we did (remember all those experts who said we should quit the LID for the simple fact we had run there so long?). It was likely as close to perfect as you could get. Dylans isn't that far off and, as I wrote, we will endeavour to make it an even more positive experience in the future.

When I think of some of the other venues we've run over the years, such as Rookies, Georgies and Sociables...now those were some venues with limitations!

The questions I have been asked several times over the past few days are why did Team Impact return to PCW? How did it come about? What does it really mean? Are we working with RME or CWF and have I relaxed by policies?

Firstly, I absolutely have zero interest in any sort of positive or mutually beneficial relationship with RME. There is zero point. It would be like an established restaurant "working with" a sporadically displayed hot dog stand serving up questionable Maple Leaf products. It is my understanding (and I could be wrong), that several workers have quit RME and that RME itself has cancelled their Winnipeg event scheduled for this weekend and have only one show booked the rest of the year.

In regards to the how's and why's of Team Impact's return. I did say "never" several months ago when Royce and The Artist Formerly Known As Ozz quit. But I have said repeatedly that you can never say never in this business and if I was going to be involved in a heat-filled situation like this was, I might of well have said "never" than "probably not" as it's far more dramatic. Privately, I told many people, including Royce, that their return was inevitable. I'm glad it happened. Then again, maybe all the heat and Royce "quitting" was a work to begin with. Who really knows?

But how did it happen? It seemed like there was so much heat and Royce was going to be booking the CWF takeover of Winnipeg...I suppose one must attempt to discern where the shoot ends and the work begins (or vice versa). The truth is, this all comes down to commitment and a desire for a vision of the local industry that is beneficial to the industry and those who truly value quality over winning a self-induced pissing contest, a contest where the goal seemed rooted in ego-driven principle rather than professional reality.

I should also clarify the situation with Danny Duggan and his friends since I am sure many people are reading this blog looking for those comments. I like Danny personally and respect him as a talented performer. But I don't see him as deserving special treatment greater than what guys like Mentallo, Kenny Omega, Adam Knight, Robby Royce, Antonio Scorpio Jr, Mike Angels and others have received and expected. If something is good enough for them, it's good enough for Danny. Ofcourse, he is well within his rights to disagree and choose anywhere he desires to perform and attempt to make the best deal he can for himself and anyone who chooses to let him negotiate on their behalf.

It would be easy to say "Danny doesn't want to work for PCW" and quite frankly, I would almost have preferred to receive an email or phone call that indicated that. But that isn't what he told me. In fact, he told me the opposite. As did AJ Sanchez and Kevin Chevy. But, like Ernie Todd expressed on his blog, I try to see the big picture in regards to building a brand and drawing a crowd in a market occasionally riddled with third rate (at best) promotions attempting to compete for fan dollars.

The fact is, Danny and I agreed on a "deal" that gave him virtually everything he wanted. It was a compromise. I was greatly offended to have that agreement broken so quickly simply at the suggestion or revelation that Royce would be booking some Winnipeg shows for Ernie and that there might be an opportunity to trigger a bidding war. It shows a lack of character to back out of an agreement for that reason and demonstrates a lack of commitment to either promotion or a willingness to try and make them better.

And truthfully, it shows a lack of understanding of the political game too, to actually think that strategy would be effective. The reality is, Danny told Royce I made an offer that I hadn't made and he told me that Royce made an offer that was also inaccurate. The purpose was obvious - hoping that Royce and I, in our competitive desire to screw each other over, would give Danny anything he wanted to secure his services. Instead, Royce and I compared notes, realised we were being worked and decided to have a long conversation. End result, Team Impact back in PCW.

Had Danny and his friends simply honoured the agreement they made, they would have been on last week's show and moving forward in some fun and exciting angles. They chose not to work with PCW. Their "just want to work" mentality did not extend to just wanting to work for PCW. That's their choice and I'm perfectly accepting of that, as unfortunate as it may be.

I think the entire situation is somewhat overblown, but warrants clarification. I'd love to have Danny, Sanchez and Chevy in PCW (for those that have inquired, my interest in Douglas is minimal at best), but the situation they hoped would exist on Friday morning didn't. And now other considerations are in play. We had a good show on Thursday that didn't include four significant performers who will appear in the future. From a financial perspective and fitting everyone on a show, there are now challenges to adding any more guys. I've reached out for the last time. If they "just want to work", I am sure they will make that known. Unfortunately, working occasionally on bad SPW shows is not becoming of guys of their talent level. If they enjoy that, then I am happy for them. I wish them luck and have absolutely no heat with them.

As it relates to working with Ernie...well, as I said, whats shoot and whats work? I work with no one. What's the point. The best shows, best talent, best fans. Why would I prop up a competitor who genuinely wants to gain a competitive advantage? But IF I was in some sort of agreement with the CWF AND they ran Winnipeg on a regular basis, that sure sounds like a pretty positive development for the boys who are committed and loyal and professional and who do not try to manipulate a situation to a self serving advantage.

We have two events confirmed for October and are working on a third, which would give us more shows in one Month then some promotions have had all year!

Kenny Omega will be returning home later this week.

Mike Davidson must have set a record for shortest retirement ever as he announced his intention to quit this past Thursday and then announced he was back a few minutes later. I really enjoyed that segment with him and Shane Madison and while my input was minimal, I thought they made it work very well. They are certainly both very entertaining.

Jon Cutler made it official on Thursday, announcing his deal with WWE. He had a terrific send off, singing a duet with Adam Knight. We wish him all the luck in the world. He's a great guy who truly deserves it.

A

Sin City Vacation, River City Craziness!

So I go away on vacation for awhile to return to a packed in-box and a lot of crazy developments in the local scene. I had numerous e-mails and voice mails from multiple promoters all asking to "talk" or questioning my "talks" with other promoters.



Where to begin...?



Well, if you've never been to Las Vegas, I suggest you go. To be honest, I know several people who have gone and raved about it but I never felt the desire to go. A friend of mine wanted to go and encouraged me so I went. I am very glad I did. It's not the "sin city" party town I thought it was. Well, it IS the "sin city" party town I thought it was, but it's a lot more. It's become very family oriented as well. I saw many, many families with small children as well as older couples in addition to the young 20 and 30 -somethings.



I actually didn't make it to any of the nightclubs. I simply didnt have time. We'd usually be out of the hotel by 10:00-ish in the morning and not return until the wee hours. I had planned to go to LAX which was in my hotel (Luxor) but most nights I was too exhausted to bother.



I had heard mixed reviews on the Luxor and had a mixed experience. But I recommend it. It's truly unlike any other hotel in Vegas (and we went to most of the hotels on the strip). It's unique and massive and has a lot of things to do right inside the hotel ( don't go to the IMAX ride...terrible).



We went to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, which was an amazing experience. Standing at the very edge of the Canyon, an inch away from an incomprehensible drop was indescribable. The Skywalk was over-rated, however, and not nearly as cool as the experience at Batshit look-out. You can climb up to the top of a large rock formation and get a 360 degree view of the canyon...and one wrong step and you're gone.



The Vegas-style serving was also much over-rated. On the Strip, the service was terrible. I even had one bartender watching to see what I put in the machine. Downtown at the Plaza, the service was much, much better. I didn't even gamble at the Plaza, but I watched my buddy play cards. If my drink was almost finished, the server would bring me another one. I got drunk for free watching my buddy play. Good deal.



I would suggest however, not to go in August. 45+ degrees every day with the most intense sun I've ever felt. At night, it would cool off to 30. It's really a heat you can't fathom unless you experience it. And you can certainly tell the locals...they're the ones walking around in long pants, not sweating and not remotely bothered by the heat. I was surprised by how many people knew where Winnipeg was, though the girl at the Ferrari dealership at the Wynn asked if Canada was on the east or west coast.



I'm not much of a gambler but my buddy likes to play cards. He lost several hundred on the Strip and ended up a couple hundred up at the Plaza (I heard downtown pays out more because they want to get more people to that area). Speaking of odds, while we were at the Grand Canyon, on the Skywalk with about ten other people, a woman walks up to and asks "Are you Andrew? Andrew Shallcross?" Turns out to be a girl who dated a friend of mine in high school. My friend was so amazed at the coincidence that he suggested it was a sign that we should gamble...or that the plane going home would crash.



Well, we didnt win at the tables and on the way home, who should happen to be on my plane? Antonio Scorpio Jr. As I contemplated what exactly these two strange coincidences meant, a girl who works with my friend happened onto the same plane. Fortunately, the odds were in our favour and we had a great flight.



Long story short...go to Vegas.



When I returned, I waded through the copious amounts of spam in my in box and was somewhat surprised and confused at the number of emails I received concerning local wrestling...politics etc. It seems my previous blog somewhat "broke" the news of Robby Royce returning to the CWF (I see Ernie Todd mentioned this on his website today).



(I also checked out the local FAN FORUMS to see another example of a worker/promoter insulting a loyal paying fan. My question is, what the fuck is wrong with you idiots? This particular fan does not hide behind an unknown alias. He's easily identifiable. He has spent more money on indy wrestling then probably any other single fan. He supports the business through the good times and bad. And he has been threatened and insulted repeatedly. It's one thing when Zack Mercury does it because Zack is in an idiot. But Bobby Jay? Come on. You're supposed to be a fairly savvy promoter. This fan has every right to state his opinion. I don't always agree with him, but he has the right to state it. Further, he not only states his opinion, he justifies it. In this specific case, he was 100% correct. I can respect Bobby for standing up for his friend, but insulting the person rather then logically disputing his position just makes you look bad and validates the opinion you disagree with. Regardless, fans should be appreciated not crucified.)



As near as I can tell, Ernie Todd and Rob Stardom had some sort of falling out. Stardom and RME might have had a falling out too as I was led to believe that Rob was quitting. In fact, the big loser locally seems to be RME. Their much hyped (*cough* sarcasm *cough*) return to Winnipeg this past May was "postponed" until September. You might recall RME's reason for the cancellation being that they had so many venues that wanted them that they had to hold off on making any announcements or Winnipeg "re-launches" until they could do them all at once...uh huh.



Well, now they've cancelled their September Winnipeg date...or I suppose postponed it. I am sure they will announce another Winnipeg date in a few months and then postpone that one too. Winnipeg dates aside, it is my understanding (and I could be wrong), that several wrestlers either have or intend to give RME their notice. I heard even Dick Walker quit (I am sure that had nothing to do with him criticising Angus on the radio show...)!



As I suggested might happen in my previous blog, the supposed return of the CWF is bad news for RME. There simply isn't enough talent locally for five or six promotions to run the same market. It's anti-constructive to say the least. Knowing my roster is loyal and committed, the only "talent" available to fill these new spots for all these promotions are the guys who have been working for RME. That's a pretty weak roster to spread over three or four promotions.



Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, Ernie and I are not suddenly "friendly". We are neither more friendly or unfriendly then we have been for quite some time. We might exchange emails every month or so. As I reported last blog, we did discuss the possibility of sharing talent but he indicated to me his intent was to run "a couple of Winnipeg shows". I suspect a couple of shows would satisfy his ego, shut up some of his critics and, if he had access to the PCW roster, not embarrass himself. As always, I have no interest in sharing talent with promotions who run the same market regularly. It doesn't make sense from a business perspective.



This brings me to another point - why is it so many guys in this business dishonest? How difficult is it to simply "talk" in good faith with honesty, integrity and professionalism? What was the point of Ernie "talking" to me if he was bringing Royce on board to book his shows, especially after the "retirement" debacle? And why do other guys feel the need to lie and manipulate their way to trying to make a "better deal"? This is local wrestling. Relax. I pride myself on being as straight and honest as I can. Anyone talking "deal" with me is going to be treated with respect and honesty. It's not a difficult concept. We should all be working towards the same goal, not working against each other.



At least once a year Ernie suggests we "work together". I've told him before that since the AWA debacle, I simply could not trust him. Would I be willing to endorse PCW guys working "a couple of Winnipeg shows"? Sure. But that seems like a moot point anyway as with Royce seemingly back with Ernie, I would suspect most of the RME crew will follow. One positive thing I got out of "talking" with Ernie is that he has zero intention of using anyone on his shows who is associated with RME. Does that mean Royce and his little buddy have jumped from RME to the CWF? That would be highly amusing, though I doubt Yogi & Boo Boo are what the CWF has been missing...



Let me be clear, I don't dislike Ernie. But his propensity for always trying to make a better deal and thus, stab someone in the back is a big red flag to me. Why can't we be adults and act in a professional manner that is not counter to good business? Well, I didn't make the rules. My best advice to Ernie is a) don't bother me with "talk" if you have no intention of living up to what you're saying, b) come to my show next week - perhaps you'll get a bit of a wake up call to this dream you have of "taking over Winnipeg".



In fact, I'd invite Angus to come to my show next week too (I am sure he'll see something he "likes"), but from what I understand, he doesn't even attend his own shows anymore.



I wrote in my previous blog that I was not overly impressed with our first effort at Dylan's but that this one would be much better. Before I went to Vegas, I thought I had a "deal" with a couple of guys to come in and contribute to our events. It has always been my desire to bring together the best available talent and utilize them in the best possible way to produce the best possible shows. It's frustrating to me when something so simple gets fucked up by ego. But...there will be a surprise or two next week and I am very excited about the show.



It seems like the local chess game has really picked up with multiple promotions (except RME) moving their pieces around the board. It's an exciting time. It seems Angus has already been 'checkmated' by Ernie, leaving himself as the only queen left to fall. The website should be updated soon with more information concerning the show including details on Jon Cutler, Chris Stevens, Scorpio and another big surprise...



I don't expect to see Ernie or Angus (or EZ) at my show, but I'll put your names on my guest list anyway. Should be a "fun" show...!

I'll make my return to The Squared Circle radio show this Sunday and I expect it to be a rather interesting edition. I have a lot to catch up on!



A

Winnipeg is SAVED!

Thought I'd update this while I had some time.

The Squared Circle finally returned from exile this past Sunday. It was a fun show and very enjoyable from my perspective as we got to talk about a lot of positive things in the industry.

There seems to be quite the lull locally right now as we're right in the middle of Summer. But big news on the horizon. Just what Winnipeg wrestling needs to "save" it - another local promotion! Or more accurately a re-vamped local promotion. Apparently, the CWF will "re-launch" with a new website and a focus on doing local shows. Ernie Todd has hired Robby Royce to be booker and run the promotion...yes, you read that correctly.

I find this all rather interesting as it contradicts everything Ernie was saying to me recently and I find it rather difficult to believe he and Royce will manage to co-exist long enough to make it worthwhile, but if the end result is a promotion replacing RME, then I support it. If the idea is to add another local promotion fighting over the small piece of the pie and fighting over workers, then what's the point? If it's the latter, it sounds like nothing more than an ego thing.

I have already been told that this new CWF feels no relevance to forging a positive relationship with PCW, that they have "their guys" ready and that no one should be working both promotions. Oddly, that's the exact thing I am often criticised for.

Quite frankly, I agree with the position that if two promotions are running and competing in the same market, the boys should commit to one and work as hard as they can to make it a success. I will admit to being somewhat surprised at the attitude displayed to me, indicating a desire for competitive battle. I've heard it all before, numerous times. In the end, PCW is always the one still there, welcoming back anyone who left for "greener" pastures and putting on the best shows. My honest feelings on this are, if the "new" CWF can knock PCW out of top spot then I can happily retire. But the reality is, anyone else in my position would have quit a long time ago. I've always been there for the boys and the business and probably always will be.

One of the things PCW has going for it is that I have final say in every aspect of the promotion and we own our equipment. Having the guy who actually runs the promotion having to answer the the person who "officially" runs the promotion is a recipe for disaster. In fact, Ernie and Royce have been down this road before. In RME, it's a similar situation.

I was going to write a long blog about what the local industry could do to better itself, but I see no point. I'll cover it briefly. I've actually discussed this with a few guys locally and we all agree it's really a no-brainer which is likely why it's never happened.

RME struggles to run Winnipeg. They want to run Winnipeg because it's the largest market, it's where most of the boys live and it's where you need to be to run episodic shows and draw a regular audience. Running the big market with the most committed fans is where a promotion gets judged and is really the measuring stick. I think Ernie struggled with this for a long time, in that he worked very hard to build a profitable touring company but wanted the "respect" and "press" of running the big market. Largely, the CWF was ignored and I really think that's what bothered Ernie. He'd go on these long tours, make lots of money and then come back to Winnipeg and no one really cared.

In the past year or so, that seems to have changed. Ernie finally seemed at peace with what he was doing in the business. Truthfully, he deserves all the accolades in the world for building his touring business. I know he teased running Winnipeg multiple times in the past and has even talked with others about becoming his booker and show runner. He certainly has the means to produce quality events if he chooses to. But as a businessman, he's been smart enough not to bother trying for very long.

What Ernie proposed to me recently was that he wanted to run the occasional show in town and have access to good talent. I readily agreed to that. In return, the guys we can count on would be given first option to work our shows and go out of town with him. That's a good framework for what Manitoba could be.

Back to my point, RME is very much like the CWF (though not successful), in that they are primarily an out of town promotion. But they want to run Winnipeg. They don't have to run Winnipeg. They could be content with their shows out of town, but they aren't. Angus vowed to the boys that he'd provide a regular Winnipeg gig this year. We're mid august and it hasn't happened. They do have a show scheduled for Sept 6th in Winnipeg at an undisclosed location, but have offered no details. If that show was confirmed at the time they posted it to their website, one would have expected some information by now.

For the very few local shows that RME runs, the end result is a competitive "anger" between promotions that isn't productive. On the flip side, PCW is primarily an in town promotion. I've made no attempt to hide my lack of desire to do many out of town shows. But we could. But I'd just as soon not.

I guess my dream scenario would go like this: PCW would continue to run Winnipeg as usual. Another promotion (whether it's RME or CWF or whatever) would run out of town. RCW would continue to be dedicated to developing young workers. We'd all get along. We'd all deal with issues in a mature professional manner. We'd all utilize the same pool of talent. It's a good scenario for the boys as well it protects the promoters from individuals acting in counter-productive ways. It's an easy and obvious solution. But it wont happen. Mostly, ego is to blame.

Royce is a talented, intelligent person. When he's focused, he's as driven and committed as anyone. He has good ideas. In fact I think he and I worked together particularly well, fine tuning each other's ideas and making them better. The call of the ego can be a hard thing to ignore, however. It's why a person would "jump" while holding a title...to make a splash, to go on the Internet the next day and read people talking about it. But as Marsellus Wallace said, "Pride has a way of fucking with you." And once the pride wears off, what are you left with? Often times, regret.

I view this "new" promotion with cautious optimism. I hope it's not another "fly by night", drop a bomb and then go away leaving it to us to pick up the pieces, scenario. The feeling I get is certainly of a desire to hinder PCW. I'm fine with competition. But if the goal isn't to do something better for the business, then don't bother. At the end of the day, I can be in the business until I choose not. I have a loyal roster. I own my equipment. I have a very dedicated support staff. I don't answer to anyone.

Wanting to be like ECW or, I guess, ROH is interesting. The latter is really an endorsement and compliment to what PCW has been. But finding the talent to support that vision will be difficult. Finding venues is likely even more difficult. I have been told they have 3-4 venues booked already. I'm not sure if I find that surprising because I can't possibly believe there are 3-4 venues that want wrestling that no one else has discovered or that if Royce knew of 3-4 venues that wanted wrestling, why he didn't tell his current promoter...I would guess Coyotes maybe (which is a whole other story...), maybe Doubles...maybe some C.C's.

That alone says to me that the plan isn't too well thought out. When Royce was on the radio show, he said if I really made the effort, I could have multiple monthly venues in Winnipeg. My response was, I don't want multiple monthly venues. Why would I? If you think about, it doesn't make a lot of sense outside of the ego-driven need to say "we have more shows". I'd rather have one great show in front of a great audience then risk watering that down, burning out the boys or splitting the audience. At one time, PCW ran three in town venues per week, as far apart as possible. It was not successful.

The most difficult thing for the "new" CWF will be Ernie and Royce getting along. Ernie hates RME and certain comments Royce made seemed to indicate a peaceful co-existence with RME wasn't at the top of his list of priorties. I'd find that amusing, I must admit. But really, there isn't enough talent to support three or four "local" promotions anyway. If the shows are good and the promotion successful, Royce will get the credit. That will bother Ernie. If the shows are bad or the promotion amounts to RME under the CWF brand, Ernie will likely get the criticism. That will REALLY bother Ernie.

It's an interesting concept. I wish them well.

PCW returns to Dylan's On Pembina August 28th. This show will be better than our initial effort at Dylans, I guarantee that. While things seem "quiet", they aren't. We have several iron's in the fire and several new pages to turn. I would look at the first Dylans show as sort of setting up the chess board. Now we begin to play.

In all honesty, I was so-so in my opinion of the first show. Some segments were awesome. Some were terrible. There will be some changes made. But mostly, as I said, we've set up the chess board now. I don't consider myself a "promoter" per se, more of a show runner. Booking is what I enjoy the most. And I'm really, really excited about the next show!

Check out our website now and in the coming couple of weeks for some significant updates!

Lastly, HUGE congrats to Kenny Omega for his successes in ROH and Japan's DDT recently. The audience feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In my humble opinion, Kenny is a natural fit in ROH and Japan. If TNA could book their way out of a wet paper bag (settle down, Dick), he'd be a natural fit there too. When you look at WWE and their willingness (however hesitant it might be) to give guys like CM Punk, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Jamie Noble etc the chance to get over, then one could certainly see Kenny being a big star there too.

I'm very proud of him as a PCW "original" and as a friend. For someone of his calibre and success to continue to be so committed to PCW and to see the importance of our vision, it's very humbling and much appreciated.

www.PremierChampionshipWrestling.com

A

The Radio Show "Dick-bacle" or "Dick Screwed Dick"

I suppose I am expected to detail the events of the Squared Circle this past Sunday and reveal what really happened and what I think about what happened. I will do so (including a transcript that is pretty amusing) but before I begin, the reality of life interjected itself on Sunday and brought a sobering reminder that the immaturity of the wrestling business really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

As I was driving home from the radio show, I received word that Greg Romijn's little brother had passed away following a tragic car accident. Most certainly, our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with Greg and his family.


Premier Championship Wrestling returns to Winnipeg this Thursday July 10th at Dylan's On Pembina! The main event is PCW Champion Kenny Omega vs Jon Cutler. In addition, PCW Canadian Champion Chad Tatum defends against a former Canadian Champion. We won't release much more in the way of detailed matches. This is a new beginning...who will be there? Who won't? You'll have to come down to find out! Tickets are only $10, available at the door at 8PM. Bell time is 9PM and this is adult's only!

My previous blog turned out to be one of my most popular since I began keeping stats. The hits went through the roof as people were clearly interested in my dissection of the RME Canada Day show. A similar thing happened last year when I wrote my review of the same show, though I didn't have a stats counter on the blog back then. I believe it was that review that resulted in an actual threat of bodily harm!

No threats this year, though the end result was the attempt to inflict bodily harm! This past Sunday's Squared Circle radio show was probably the most boring show I've been on for the first 45 minutes and then turned into the most ridiculous displays of ignorance and unprofessionalism I have ever seen.

Let's start at the beginning. A couple of weeks ago, Mike Arnott had informed me that Dick Walker was interested in appearing on the radio show with Bugsy Slugg. My response to Mike was that Bugsy had merit as the head booker of RME (although Justin Tyme is also a booker with RME and wasn't particularly insightful on the show), but that I saw no relevance to Dick as a guest. As far I we knew, he wasn't involved in the management or booking of RME and didn't perform at a high level. I didnt think the show really needed one hour of opinion from a low end after-thought wrestler who's desire to be on the show was simply due to his ridiculous assertion that he had more knowledge and love for the business than anyone else on the show.

However, after reading his email, which I spoke of briefly in my previous blog, I was looking forward to having Dick and Bugsy on the show. Interestingly enough, a few people contacted me to tell me that Dick is easily angered and would likely embarrass himself and RME without much encouragement. I held out hope that we'd engage in a healthy debate and insightful discussion. I couldn't have been more wrong!

For whatever reason Bugsy didn't make it. Unfortunately for Dick, that meant he didn't have any back up. Although from what I have been told, Bugsy never would have let Dick act the way he did.

When the show began, Mike's first question to Dick was "Who is the booker of RME". Dick's helpful response of "Uhhhh, I...Uhhhh...I don't care!" told me that we were in for one long show. I don't expect everyone that appears on the show to be a great public speaker (though you'd think a 17 year veteran would be...), but if you didn't intend to answer any questions and repeatedly made it clear that you didn't care about anything, why ask to come on the show...unless ofcourse your goal was to act unprofessionally in an effort to hurt the show.

I remained mostly quiet during the show, frequently glancing at my watch and trying to keep myself awake. Most people are talking about the "fight" that ended the show but to me the highlights are as follows:

- Dick contradicting himself by saying he neither knew nor cared who the booker was, then admitting that yes, in fact, his best friend Bugsy was the booker. I would suspect that even Dick knew the Canada Show was bad and was feigning ignorance in an effort to protect his buddy from further shame and embarrassment.

- Dick over-reacting to a criticism of his best friend Bugsy's booking and then admitting that "maybe you have a point".

- Dick offering up Zack Mercury as an example of someone who can't work

- Dick trying to ask Kenny Omega a question when Kenny was not on the show, and then questioning Kenny's "logic".

- Dick admitting that some RME's shows are terrible and put the blame squarely on Angus' shoulders, going so far as to essentially agree with Mike when he asked if Angus was a "piece of shit".

I actually feel bad for Angus. Since he agreed to be a guest on the program several months ago, the show has boasted Robby Royce, Ozz, Justin Tyme and Dick Walker as guests representing RME. In contrast to those guests, when Mike Angels was on the program he said "If anyone in Winnipeg takes the business seriously, they work for PCW. If they dont work for PCW, they don't take the business seriously, even if they say they do, because PCW is the best place to be for guys who are serious".

When Royce was on the program, we had a professional discussion, but he was asked point blank by Mike which promotion was the better place to wrestle and he refused to answer, making the answer an obvious one. Ozz was asked why he chose to go to RME and admitted he was just going wherever Royce went. Tyme openly criticised RME's shows and admitted he was trying to improve them. And then ofcourse, we got the Dick Walker debacle (or Dickbacle) of this past Sunday.

I can only imagine how Angus must feel. I certainly respect the honesty of the guests and I believe they tell an important story. That RME is a mess. That getting a few better guys on the roster (many of whom wrestle there in spite of the fact it is RME, rather then because it is RME), hasn't made the promotion any better. And that the biggest issues impacting the success of the promotion is the management structure. And if one promotion in the market that operates a semi-regular schedule, has a semi-regular roster and operates in a semi-professional manner is a mess, that hurts the entire local industry.

Contrary to popular opinion, I neither consider myself all-knowing nor a genius. I have an open mind and am learning the business all the time. I seek advice from multiple sources and have had my opinion changed many times by someone who disagreed with me and did so in a logical manner that could not be questioned. In a prior blog, I called Angus (and RME), the emperor with no clothes. Well, now he has "subjects" who are publicly pointing out his nakedness.

It has been stated recently that Angus and I might get together for a meeting. I've made the offer numerous times. I think what changed my opinion of Angus from one of a respectful difference of opinion was when he attempted to drum up support for his position by lying to guys about me, telling them things I "demanded" that were totally untrue. It was then that I became angry and realised he wasn't a very likable nor honourable person. But the truth is, on some levels, I still do respect him. He has positives he brings to the table. He just cant admit his weaknesses and thats what's killing his promotion and stands in the way of us doing something better for everyone.

So I won't hold my breath on a meeting any time soon. But let it be stated, if we don't discuss our issues and the issues important to the local industry, it is because he doesn't want to.

Back to Dick. Radio doesn't generally make for a very good forum for a physical altercation. And while Mike did the right thing in turning up the music to drown out the skirmish, I sort of wish he hadn't. It would have been more amusing to hear the entire thing uncensored.

For those who have not been able to hear the show or had trouble figuring out what happened, I present to you a transcript (helpfully submitted by a listener) of the last 15 minutes of the show:

Aprox. 16:45PM

Wayne Stanton: Could I ask you a question Mike?
Mike Arnott: By all means, Wayne, by all means.
Wayne: Because I think here's the whole concept. Andrew thinks of itlike the way I used to think of it. Your promotion is your team and this is your team and every body's team wants to be the best whether it's sports...and when your using all these Steeltown and Bobby Jayshows and our shows and these shows and the same guys are working all these shows and you don't have a team anymore. And where are you going to get that passion to continue. Dick's right here, you have that core group of guys, that's your team. All due respect to Jon Cutler but he's not part of your team. Your team is guys you can count on.
Mike: Let's not talk about Jon Cutler...
Dick Walker: Those guys are ringers.
Mike: But you've gotta guy like Jon Cutler and pardon my language but a guy like Jon Cutler gets shit on for no particular reason other then the fact, that ok he works for you and he works for Ringmasters and he works for PCW and a guy like that gets shit on...
Dick: Look where he is now...
Mike: Look where he is now, exactly Dick. Look where he is, he's on Monday Night RAW...
Dick: He's doing the right thing. And he did it himself. He did it all by himself.
Mike: I agree 100%.
Dick: and, and, and....
Andrew Shallcross: But that has nothing to with him working on..him working SPW shows had no impact and working for Ringmasters had no impact on getting him booked anywhere...
Mike: And I agree with that as well
Andrew: So the whole idea of you taking this philosophy that guys should work everywhere is ludicrous...
Mike: I'm gonna chime in here...
Dick: working with lesser talent makes you better
Andrew: No it doesn't. It doesn't make you better to work with lesser guys than you...
Dick: Yes it does
Andrew: No it doesn't. It makes you better to work with guys better than you.
Mike: Okay stop, stop, stop, because this a point I've tried to make on this show. Does this, in fact, make a guy a better professional wrestler, working with guys who are below your calibre make you a better wrestler? I think it does. I think working with a guy who is sub par to your abilities makes you a better wrestler because...
Dick: You have to work harder...
Mike: Exactly...
Andrew: I'm talking about guys who are...I'm not talking about a top guy working with a mid card guy or a mid card guy working with an entry level guy, I'm talking about guys who are really bad, who are consistently bad, bad, bad. For example...
Dick: Like Zack Mercury?
Andrew: Nobody can learn anything from Zack Mercury except how not to work.
Dick: God Bless you, I agree with you.
Mike: But Andrew you have yourself given these guys a chance, and I hate to drop names here but I'm going to and I'm going to regret it,but you've given a guy like Chris Dion, you allowed him to work with a guy like Kenny Omega...
Andrew: I don't recall him working with Kenny Omega...
Mike: I don't recall that either but I'm just using that as an example...
Andrew: And here's the reason why. People have said to me, when I talk about a crew using terrible workers, they'll say 'but you have this guy, this guy and this guy who are green guys' and I say look at the over-all crew. If you've got a 25 man crew and five are pretty green and maybe a couple who shouldn't be in the ring, that's a pretty good average. But if you have a ten man crew and five are pretty bad, 50% of your guys shouldn't in the ring, that's bad. That's very bad.
Mike: You're right.
Andrew: But as far as getting better working a guy lower down, if Kenny Omega works with Nate Hardy is he gonna get better? Maybe. It certainly wont hurt him. But if Kenny works with Zack Mercury, he's taking his career in his hands.
Mike: Do you not think though, that a guy like Kenny Omega can help...
Andrew: Absolutely.
Mike:...a guy like Zack Mercury?
Andrew: And that's why if anybody wants to work with Kenny Omega in this province on an independent show, they'll have to work for PCW and be committed to us. Never again will Kenny step foot in the ring with a non-PCW guy on an indy show in Manitoba.
Mike: But how much longer will that hold true?
Andrew: Maybe a week, maybe a year.
Dick: I gotta question for Kenny though...
Mike: Let's not ask Kenny questions because he's not on the radio show Dick...
Dick: I know, I know but Kenny has to question himself with that logic. I'm not saying come work for us. As a matter of fact he should stay where he is. I mean honestly the truth is his style and our style...it has to do with styles too...
Andrew: What is RME's style?
Dick: We're all over the map.
Mike: What is Kenny Omega's style? Please define for me Kenny Omega's style on the radio show for me please right now. Define his style for me.
Dick: He's supposed to be going down to ROH right?
Mike: Yes, Ring of Honor, yes he is supposed to.
Dick: I hope it works.
Mike: I hope so too. But what is his style though?
Dick: Uhhh, he'd be more of an aerialist if anything
Mike: But do you really think so? Because in the two years I've been...
Dick: Well, I...
Mike: Wait wait wait Dick, Dick, Dick, in the two years I've been watching Kenny Omega, I have seen him go to the ropes maybe four or five times. Not very often for a guy you might consider an aerialist.
Dick: You know what, you're absolutely right. I'll step back there. I haven't seen him work in a couple of years. That's the honest truth. To be fair, if he's more of a ground based wrestler, that's the way the trend is going in the business.
Mike: I see Kenny Omega as a ...okay, I'm going to throw this name out there. I see Kenny Omega as a Ted Dibiase.
???: I don't know...
Mike: That's how I see him. Because he is a wrestlers wrestler. He can do the aerial maneuvers but he can do the technical ground wrestling maneuvers. I see Kenny Omega as an all over wrestler, as the type of wrestler than everyone in Winnipeg wrestling should be striving to achieve, they should be striving to achieve Kenny's style
Andrew: ???
Mike: No, no wait Andrew, you need to hear this. I am not a fan of Kenny Omega. You need to hear this. I am not a fan of Kenny Omega's work. I love Kenny Omega as a human being. I see him on the shows I work. He's a great guy. He's an unbelievable wrestler. I can't even describe how fantastic he is in the ring, but you have to, you have to, absolutely strive to be like Kenny Omega in this business at this level. If not, you are friggen kidding yourself, you are kidding yourself. Because he is unbelievably amazing. He does, in that ring, things that people 10, 20 years his senior can't do and could never do and that's what people are lacking at this stage at this time.
Dick: Well okay. That's great. He can have that talent and that's awesome. But here is where the promoter lays and here is where the marketing behind his character. I use character because this business has always been and will always be about characters. This business is about entertainment. You know, yes there's...
Andrew: Whats the point? Get to the point please! We're running out of time
Dick: Oh, oh
Mike: We have less then 15 minutes.
Dick: Oh ok (laughs).
Andrew: You've made no points on today's show. Lets get to the root of the issue here.
Dick: Well, well, Andrew how many matches...as a worker, as a worker, I'm a worker okay?Mike: Okay
Dick: I'm not a promoter okay? I will not question his promoting ability, I will not do that, that's not my style. But what I will question is, if you're going to have a bloody opinion on wrestling, be a wrestler.
Mike: Buddy! I don't have an opinion! I am not a wrestler! I've said this for two years on this radio show that I should not have an opinion on what happens in that ring between wrestlers because I am not a wrestler. You know what, fuck that! I don't care. I do not care. But I should have an opinion on this business because, you know what, I've been watching it closely...
???: You're a fan
Mike: No, I am not just a fan! I am not just a fan. I have been obsessed, obsessed with professional wrestling since I was nine years old, watching Mr Perfect win a battle royal in 1990 against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Demolition, etc, etc, etc
Dick: He was a good worker
Mike: You're God damn right. Mr Perfect was...you know what, Mr Perfect Curt Hennig was the man who made me a wrestling fan. Where is that? Where is the the Mr Perfect of todays wrestling? Please, please don't interrupt me, because you know what, I love this friggen business! And I don't give a shit what you, you, you or you say about it!
???: I love you
Mike: I don't care. I don't care if you like the fact that I say you should work together or not. I don't care. I love this business, whether Andrew Shallcross if you want to work with a friggen Andrew...or Angus MacFarlane, I don't care. I don't care. Because you know what, I think that no matter what Andrew Shallcross says, no matter what Wayne Stanton says, Dick Walker, Angus Macfarlane, Ernie Todd or Mike Davidson says, I know this business can succeed whether any one of you sons of bitches are in it or not! I don't care! I love this business and I will continue running this radio show until this friggen business is successful to the best of its ability. I don't care! Fucken say what you wanna say before I go off the air! I'm done! And if this is the last squared circle radio show in the history of this station, I don't give a shit! You guys can all go straight to hell!
Andrew: I think that comment was more directed to myself but...
Mike: Not at all Andrew because I love you.
Andrew: No, not yours, his. I'd like to know why you question whether I have an opinion...
Dick: ???
Andrew: I've had the top promotion, the top show in the province for the past seven years. I think my opinion means a fuck of a lot more than yours, excuse my language. So I'd like to know why you think...
Dick: No ones making any money.
Andrew: Pardon me?
Dick: I don't think any ones making any money, so...
Mike: He IS making money!
Andrew: Your judging your life in the wrestling business by how much money your making? Are you kidding me?
Mike: There are only two people in the history of the business...
Dick: Any wrestler in the world will tell you, the best workers make the most money. It's all about money.
Andrew: You're an idiot.
Mike: Both of you! Stop, stop stop. There are only two promoters in the history of this...actually three pardon me, in the history of the business to make money in this city. They are Tony Condello, Andrew Shallcross and Mike Davidson. Like it or leave it. That's the way it is.
Dick: Well, Uhhh, you know...if they were making money...well, PCW's got legs, I'm not knockin it...
Andrew: Got legs?! We've been around seven years.
Dick: That's what I mean
Andrew: It's not like we're not an up and coming young promotion, man. We've been number one since the day we started.
Dick: Not at all. It's like the CWF, depending on when he promotes. But, I'm just saying, you're around, you've been around. Wayne's promotion keeps rising like a Phoenix. You know, it keeps coming up. It keeps getting over. That's his thing. I'll put Wayne over cause I'm telling you the truth, he's the guy that gave me an opportunity.
Andrew: When you sent an email to Mike Arnott, you made reference to wanting to come on this show because of people with no knowledge or the love of the business like you and you're talking about either Wayne, Mike Arnott or myself and quite frankly I don't think you've done anything in the business to question Wayne or myself...
Dick: I'm not questioning Wayne.
Andrew: You want to question me?
Dick: Yeah I am because you question the boys...
Andrew: Question me on what?
Dick: You question the boys all the fuckin time.
Andrew: What boys do I question?
Dick: Everyone...
Andrew: In what way? Because the show is the shits? Because your best friend, your best friend couldn't book his way out of a wet paperbag and the boys lose...
Dick: fuckin say that again and I'll fuckin strangle you...
Mike: We are losing control here on Winnipeg's only wrestling radio show.
Andrew: Your best friend couldn't book his way out of a wet paper bag. Okay? And you have yet to strangle me.
Music begins playing
Andrew: Oh you wanna go?
background yelling
Mike: This is Winnipeg's Only wrestling radio show. It is the most uncontrollable show on radio today.
Dick: Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are?
Mike: Thank you for joining us here on the squared circle
Andrew: Dick Walker is a never was, never going anywhere...
Dick: I know that! I know! I'm a local flunky!
Andrew: You come on here and act like...and do nothing and when I bitch slap you you still do nothing.
Mike: This is live folks! Live on Winnipegs only wrestling radio show.
Andrew: Come on Dick...
Mike: Wayne, get outta the way! Hey, Hey!
Music continues, some yelling in the background
Mike: Ladies and gentleman, I am not kidding you, we have an actual fist fight breaking out in the studio here.
???: I have a question...
Mike: Dick Walker, Andrew Shallcross sit down, sit down for two minutes because we still have five minutes left on this radio show and you guys are coming to blows...wait wait...Dick Walker, I have no problem with you. I think...I've only known you for an hour...
Dick: He insulted my fuckin friend
Mike: I have no problem with you...
Dick: He insulted my friend..that's why people hate his guts because he gets insulting...
Mike: Why? Wait, wait wait Dick, Dick...
Andrew: He's the booker and he can't book
Dick: Don't insult people.
Mike: Wait, wait wait, two minutes.
Dick: Don't insult people. Don't make it personal.
Andrew: It's not personal! He's the booker and he cant book. That's not a personal insult.
Dick: He's booked two shows, prick!
????
Dick: I don't know, he booked Canada Day
Andrew: The boys didn't even like it
Dick: I don't care if the boys didn't like it. The boys aren't important. The fans, the fans are important.
Mike: Okay, you have a point there, Dick. The fans are more important. Okay you guys, I didn't want this...
Andrew: The development of the guys is also important. You know Dick, you come here and you huff and puff but you really have nothing to say.
Dick: You wanna say shit? You spout shit all the time.
Andrew: I'm not spouting shit. I'm not spouting shit.
Dick: Come on...!
Andrew: There's nothing personal in what I say. The show was bad, it was poorly booked and if you read my blog you saw me outline exactly why.
Dick: Why? Why was it poorly booked?
Andrew: The matches didn't make any sense, there was no emotion, no cause and effect to the booking
Dick: You're talking about the Canada Day show?
Andrew: Yeah
Dick: Did the kids pop? Did the kids pop?
Andrew: Yes, the kids enjoyed it.
Dick: That's all that fuckin matters.
Andrew: No it isn't.
Dick: yes it is, because if you give the fans...if you give the fans enjoyment
Mike: Gentlemen, gentlemen...
Dick: ...doesn't matter if its booked for kids... I don't book for adults, I admit it.
Andrew: What about the boys in the ring who don't get the benefit of a...
Dick: Take your payoff! Take your payoff and stop squakin'...Take the money, do the show
Andrew: This is the fundamental problem in wrestling...
Dick: Whats a problem?
Mike: We are officially out of time...
Andrew: guys like you who don't care...you don't care
Dick: Cause it's about dollars!
Andrew: It's not! There's no money in local wrestling. How much money are you making? If this is your primary career then you need to find a job.
Mike: Gentlemen, why didn't you get into this 45 minutes earlier? Dick Walker, Dick Walker.
Andrew: Are you kidding me?
Mike: Andrew, shake his friggen hand.
Dick: We're making peace.
Andrew: We're making peace?
Mike: No, you don't have to make peace. Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, you don't have to make peace. Shake his hand. You know what, he's not the one responsible for RME's shitty product.
Andrew: Why does he come on here...
???
Mike: Shake his hand. He's defending his friend, not his product. He has said nothing about RME being superior to PCW...
Dick: Cause it's not! Everybody, everyone, everybody, every promotion, everybody I have worked for or anybody I have experience with and let me give it to you right now. I mean, Jesus Christ, you're arguing over local wrestling.
Andrew: No we're arguing because some of us actually give a shit about local wrestling and we want it to be better.
Dick: I'm pissed off because you insulted my fucking friend.
Andrew: I didn't insult your friend.
Dick: You did!
Andrew: I insulted the book. I said he was a bad booker.
Mike: Dick, Dick, Dick, Andrew Shallcross has said on this show, he has defended you and Bugsy Slugg as characters in this business. He has gone on record saying you guys are the only worthy characters on Ringmasters Entertainment roster. He is not an unreasonable person. I'll say that right now, he is not unreasonable. He has defended you and he has defended Bugsy Slugg. Whether or not Bugsy Slugg can handle the responsibilities of booking a wrestling show is neither here nor there because Busgy is not here to defend himself.
Dick: He's actually new at the job. I don't know what he can do...I'll be honest with you, there is a point there. You've got(???) to deal with. I hate to say this, you've got Angus to deal with.
Andrew: Wasn't he booking several months ago when it was him, Mo Luke, Justin Tyme booking with Angus, Collins and EZ?
Dick: He booked two shows.
Andrew: Well...
Dick: I'll be honest with you and this is probably going to hurt a lot of friends, but when we were out in Plumas that wasn't his show. That was Angus. I'm a little pissed at Angus lately, I'll admit it.
Andrew: So you're saying the show was poor or good?
Dick: Well, lets put it this way, it was meeehhhhhh.
Mike: Where does Angus fit into this? Dick Walker, tell me before we go off the air, where does Angus fit into this? Is he a good booker or a piece of crap? Tell us on the squared circle right now. Is he a good booker or is he a piece of shit? Tell us right now!
Dick: well he's uh..he's uh, a half...
Mike: He's in between, exactly! He's in between! This is Winnipegs only wrestling radio show. We will, in fact, be back next Sunday at four o'clock!

So there you have it. I won't fill in the blanks with great detail other than to say that it has been my experience that in a fight, gouging a person's eye is not particularly honourable.

There has been some question of RME guys attending our show on Thursday. I doubt that will happen. I just don't see it. But tickets are $10 and they are more than welcome to come. I would certainly look forward to their unbiased, educated reviews of our show!

Due to the Dickbacle, I have had to hold off on detailing what I think the local industry could do to improve. Hopefully I'll get to that next time.

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40 Minute Drive, 40 Minute Show!

In the past 24 hours I have been asked repeatedly about whether I would blog about my experiences at the RME Canada Day show. That fact, coupled with the hits to my blog going up the day after the show, leads me to believe there is actually an interest in what I think. Whether it's due to a legitimate desire to read my opinion from a contructive feedback perspective or simply for amusement, I don't know.



Either way, I aim to please!



First up however, some comments on PCW's return to live events this past Saturday in Morden. It was a great show with a below average draw but an above average crowd in terms of their enjoyment and boisterousness (is that a word). The people in attendance were white hot and that always creates a wonderful atmosphere for a wrestling show.



I think Morden could become a regular gig for us and we're currently in the midst of examining all aspects of the event and speaking with sponsors to determine if/when we shall return. However, I think a fall date looks good.



PCW returns to Winnipeg next Thursday July 10th for Resurrection at Dylan's On Pembina! With Kenny Omega vs Jon Cutler as the main event, it's already shaping up to be an excellent, interesting event! Don't miss it!



For those of you coming directly to this blog, check out http://www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com/ for more details!



Now onto the RME show. I felt strongly that I should go to this particular show since I watched last year's event and called it the worst show I had ever seen.



In fact, here's the link if anyone wants to refresh themselves: http://pcwaction.blogspot.com/2007/07/paperbag-time.html


This years show was a vastly improved event over last years show, but it was entirely due to having better workers on the show and benching some of the RME "originals". However, it really exposed the most pressing issues RME has, namely booking and management. I'm not even talking about booking in the creative sense as it was a spot show and you wouldn't expect to see much in the way of episodic angles (they don't have regular fans to follow along anyway). I mean the basic things, like figuring out the best match ups with the available talent, the structure of the show (which matches go in what segment), finishes etc. But I'll get to that in a bit.



On the management side, RME seems to know they need better talent, but don't know what to do with them when they manage to actually attract better guys. On one hand it's nice that they essentially have acknowledged that depth was an issue, but I wonder how guys who were loyal to that promotion feel about being benched for some guys who likely don't really care about RME (and some of whom have already been talking to me about PCW...). I guess it's okay because they make the new guys "pay their dues" when they start...(insert eye rolling emoticon here).



Last year the show started late. This year it started early. Not having the correct time on the website is a pretty stupid oversight so I arrived near the end of match three. From what I understand, the opening match was "Mr Love & Knowledge" Dick Walker vs "I have a notebook so I'm the booker" Lou Natic. Only a sadistic individual would select that as the opener. From what I understand, management failed to inform the boys about the change in start time as well and some arrived late, causing the switch from the Royce/Nevada planned opener to this one. If you're going to have a shitty match on first, at least give the fans something to cheer about...but lets be honest, that is a match that should never, ever happen.



When I arrived, Stardom was wrestling Danny Duggan. I arrived in time to see Danny's hot comeback which appeared to be in slow motion (and I'm not criticising Danny). The finish came when Stardom cut him off with a boot to the gut, hit a suplex and pinned him clean. Yes, you read that right. I was standing with a couple of the boys who openly groaned.



I became engrossed in a conversation and didn't see a lot of the BSB's Bobby Sharp/Matt Fairlane match, but what I did see was good as expected. BSB's over. See a trend?



Ozz was out to face Bobby Collins. Ozz cut a good promo, looked good and worked hard. So ofcourse he lost. I suppose this is where the booker tried to earn his "booking" pay by coming up with a plan that wasn't needed and was stupid. Ozz wins, decision reversed. In fact, it looked to me like the ref just stopped a sure three count and announced Ozz as the winner. Then they did a reverse finish gimmick and Ozz got laid out. What the fuck was the point? More on this later...



Again, I didn't get to see much of EZ vs Mo but it was slower paced then the other matches, as expected. The crowd was not nearly as hot for it either. I believe it was a DQ victory for EZ...in the main event...of a spot show that happens once a year.



There are many examples one could use to be critical of the booking on this show. Looking at the main event, I understand why they put EZ over on top - it's his town and I guess he's involved with the local fire department or something. But who is the target audience? Is it the adult fire fighters in attendance who didn't really give a fuck about the show anyway or the kids who surrounded the ring? This shows that the bookers are terribly under qualified for what they're being asked to do because they didn't give any logical consideration for what they did.

In addition, you had the main event babyface being protected by a group of firefighters who must have had a call since they were no where to be found when Mo's manager began interfering. At a DQ finish?? Are they hoping all the 8 eight olds in attendance will drive to Dryden? Or are they building heat for next year's Canada Day show?? lol

There were examples of RME trying to book angles and characters but the lack of regular venues and regular fans really makes that a futile and pointless effort. They want Ozz to be a heel, but in front of kids, mostly young girls, he makes a better face, especially against Collins who was put over as the face on Canada Day despite his American red neck gimmick. As he walked to the ring to music that celebrated fighting the British, the crowd didn't react. He had to ask them to pop for him with his promo, all the while waving a Confederate flag...on Canada Day. That was a golden opportunity to present Ozz as the face, win the match, and drape the evil American rebel in the Canadian flag.



The choices of matches was head scratching for sure. It definitely did not maximize the available talent. The heel-centric booking (aside from the idiotic main event and the convoluted, cliched "reverse decision") was ill-advised for a spot show like this. Walking around with a "booker's notebook" does not a booker make. But what do I know? All of PCW's success was "because of the LID", right Bugsy? With the exception of the tag match, you had guys like Royce, Ozz and Danny, all athletic "workers" who were wasted in matches that didn't utilize their talent. Getting better wrestlers is one thing, but if you're going to dumb them down and make them work your "old school" (ie. lazy, boring) style then why bother?

I know of at least a few guys on this show who were unhappy with it. Thats good to hear because it shows they give a shit. It's also a good thing Angus wasn't there to see the show. After calling last year's horrible event "the best show" he's ever seen, this year's improvements, however slight, would likely have killed him.

It's nice to see RME taking some advice and trying to improve their roster. It's unfortunate that the people in the "office" are the biggest problems in that promotion. They've shot themselves in the foot so many times, one has to wonder if this latest effort is their last chance to get it right.

As always, my e-mail in box remains wide open...

Next time, I will write about what I think the local industry could do (including everyone getting along and working together) to make things better for everyone!

Let's Get Ramblin'!

It's been awhile so this might be one of those long ones you all enjoy so much!



First of all, the big news in Manitoba is that PCW has found a new home for our monthly live events. We didn't tease anything for countless months and play bait and switch with our fans. Once the decision was made to continue running the best shows in this province, we went out and made a deal with the venue that was at the top of our list - Dylan's On Pembina!



One of my "competitors" recently stated: I don't play the "high level negotiations" game because...well...you end up looking like an idiot when things don't happen. I agree. That's why we didn't play that game on our website for nearly a year. We talk about the things that ARE happening, not the things we wish WOULD happen.



Dylan's On Pembina is a beautiful venue in a great location with an enthusiastic staff and will be a wonderful facility for our events and our fans. I have not been as excited about a show in a long time as I am about the show on July 10th! PCW's Resurrection (the news of our demise was, apparently, premature!).



I am so looking forward to our Winnipeg relaunch. It's nice to be excited and passionate again and to have a group of guys on our roster who are just as excited to get back to what we do best. I think the show on July 10th will be very well received.


Speaking of the website, we have once again unveiled a new design. This is in keeping with our philosophy of not stagnating, of wanting to grow and evolve and expand. We have been blessed with an amazing webmaster and now director of business development. His efforts and expertise have been a fundamental reason for our continued success. The website is second to none in the industry and the graphics and logos are awesome.



We've released new PCW merchandise, including a classic logo shirt. As well, Vinko, Shane Madison and PCW Canadian Champion "Priceless" Chad Tatum have merch online at the PCW store. More merch is forthcoming.



Michael Arnott's The Squared Circle radio show has been rather interesting and entertaining the past couple of weeks. After RME CEO Angus told Mike he'd come on the show, he evidently changed his mind since he brushed Mike off and ignored his e-mails. At least someone involved in management at RME saw the benefit to discussing their business and engaging in a healthy debate as RME booker Justin Tyme ended up appearing on the show two weeks in a row.



I respect Tyme for having more balls than Angus for being willing to respond to questions and criticism. Unfortunately, many of the questions were such that Tyme didn't have the answers. I look forward to the day Angus fulfills his agreement to Mike to appear on the show. I am sure it would be a very interesting discussion.


The question of "why do you care"" came up recently. It's not politics or ego. The word "politics" is an over-used excuse to dismiss whatever it is the person using it doesn't agree with. If I don't want to book guys who work on every show, that's not politics. It's good business. If fans want to see certain wrestlers and have to buy a ticket to a PCW show to see them, that's not politics. It makes sense. Again I point out, what is good for the boys is not always good for the business, but what is good for the business is always good for the boys.

But it's not just that. Winnipeg boasts some truly talented workers. There are guys that work hard for the good of the local industry. If everyone was committed to doing what was best for the business as a whole, this city could be something really special. If I'm going to be involved and run shows, I have to know our team is working towards that goal. I hold out hope, however faint it might be, that the industry will come together for the same purpose. But until it does, I feel strongly that what we're doing is different and better than what everyone else is doing. We should all be on the same page working towards the same goals. Guys who pride themselves on their ability to work should feel the most strongly about that - if you think about PCW and what it has meant and what it has provided the past few years, leaving personal feelings and bullshit out of the equation, we created an environment where "workers" were pushed and appreciated and could develop their abilities.

Some of the things I hear really amuse me. People should simply contact me to clarify matters rather than walk around with an ignorant perception of reality. One thing that was said recently was that in PCW, it's the same few guys that get the push, get the names etc. I find that insulting because I pride myself on the opposite being true.

15 different guys have worked names 29 times. Think about that. That's remarkable. Before PCW, what was the count? Aside from PCW, what is the count? That is something to be proud of and something to be respected.



Too often guys get caught up in the bullshit, listening to lies from people who cant talk about their own accomplishments in the business because they have none. Or listening to guys who failed to live up their potential years ago and now offer hypocritical "advice" in a desperate effort to remain relevant. PCW stands on it's own. It's not about the three letters and it's not about me. It's about a vision shared by a group of guys who got together in 2001 and a vision put into motion in 2003 where guys who worked hard, were committed, talented and passionate would be given the stage and the opportunity to grow and develop. It's about recognizing a segment of the fanbase who weren't getting what they wanted and giving it to them and in return drawing a crowd that is loyal, intelligent and appreciative.

The things that I complain about, blog about, bitch about - it's all those things that bother me, that bring the business down, that deny our local industry it's rightful and deserved position in the business. I see, hear and read what others say, taking shots at me or our team while being committed to average-at-best bullshit that is forgotten three seconds after it happens.

Just this week I was told of an e-mail sent to the radio show from Dick Walker, wanting to be on the air. He mentioned "someone who doesnt know anything about the business", presumably talking about me and insinuated I don't love the business like him. Are you fucking kidding me? if I was Dick Walker and I loved the business, I'd quit. Perhaps that's not fair. I don't know Dick Walker and I have defended him and his partner Bugsy (who's claim to fame is being carried to a good match by Robby Royce about 20 years ago). But fuck you if you question my love or my "knowledge". If guys like Dick Walker, Angus and RME as a whole were able to recognize their position in the business and were able to have a reasonable conversation, we'd get a lot further.

I hope Dick and his partner come on the show. I'd love to hear about this "love" they have and be astounded by their "knowledge". If the line-up for Canada Day I saw is the one they go with, Bugsy's "knowledge" isn't something to be overly proud of. Good talent. Not a great line-up. You'll see what I mean if nothing changes between now and then.

As it stands, RME has existed for years and done nothing of note in that time. They evidently listen to the radio show and certainly took seriously my suggestion that fans go to their Canada Day show and then our Dylan's show and compare the two. They have benched most of their long time loyal roster in favour of booking every guy they could who had previously worked for PCW. Good for them. It's about time. But I wouldn't feel very good about that if I had been any of the guys that stood by RME over the years and are now being thrown aside after waiting for months and months for a show. And why? Because even though they state the opposite, the management in RME know that their roster isn't good enough and they have been trying to replace them for a long time.

To that end, there is a better way. Think about it. Grow up. Put the business first. There is a better way.

Enough about that which doesnt really matter. PCW returns after an excruciating eight month hiatus...oh wait, it's only been three months, with Blaze of Glory this Saturday in Morden! I know many fan are making the drive from Winnipeg to the event and I much appreciate the support. Having a fanbase like that is critical and makes what we do worth all the hassles along the way. It will also create a great atmosphere as having fans who are familiar with us will energize the new viewers.

It's unfortunate that Steve Corino was injured an unable to attend the event. Steve is an awesome guy and I feel terrible for him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery and will endeavour to bring him in at some point in the future. An odd stat - the three issues we had with getting names to Winnipeg (Milano, Sabin & Corino) were all events scheduled in June. So you can be sure we will never book a name in June again.

In the absence of Steve, we will have a one night tournament to determine a new number one contender to the PCW Championship. That person will challenge Kenny Omega in the main event of PCW's Resurrection at Dylans On Pembina on July 10th. The only released match up thus far is Adam Knight vs Jon Cutler. Others scheduled to appear include Antonio Scorpio Jr, Nate Hardy, Chad Tatum, Mike Angels and more! You'll have to be there to find out!

If everything goes according to plan, Morden could be a regular stop for us. And perhaps will lead to a more regular out of town touring schedule.

It was revealed last week that Kenny Omega will be appearing for Ring of Honor this summer. Kenny and ROH are a perfect fit and it's very exciting. Kenny is rapidly becoming one of the most well known and sought after indy talents in North America. He's a fantastic ambassador of the business and of the Winnipeg industry and remains committed to doing whatever it takes to make PCW a success. We've been blessed to have him as long as we have. Who knows how long that might be, so come out and see him in Winnipeg while you can.

In my humble opinion, Kenny, Mentallo, Rawskillz and Robby Royce blazed a trail for the "workers" in this city. I wonder, though, who will step up and take their position when they've all moved on?

We will continue to do what we do, but the time is ripe for the bullshit and egos to be put aside and for the industry to do something special, to do what is best for the business. I won't hold my breath.

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Website Updates, Why Steve Corino, and MORE!

The NHL Playoffs are too close to call in my humble opinion. I've been a Penguins fan for many, many years and will be cheering them on but it's going to be tough. I'll take the Pens in 6 games. If it goes 7, it's Detroits.

In Hockey Pool news, the ex-Commish has first place in the bag as he leads with 150 points and lost his first players when the Dallas Stars were eliminated. He's still got seven guys (all Wings) left. I'm looking good for second place with 120 points and five players (all Penguins) remaining.

Rawskillz made a the big hot comeback (for him) and sits in fifth place, twelve behind third. He only has two guys left, but they're Zetterburgh and Datsyuk.

Marxwell is last with 58 points and has one player left, but it's Hasek...better luck next year.


I said previously that I would touch on the inclusion of Steve Corino for the Morden show. The way this event came about is, NWN went out there and put on a good show that was well received. Some business people who were in attendance knew one of our crew members who lives out there and asked him if he could bring PCW to Morden because they really wanted a "name" and knew our history of bringing big stars in.

Obviously, we were very interested. To secure the main sponsor, we had to provide a name. No name = no sponsorship money (or at least not the main sponsor). They actually requested Brutus Beefcake. I like Beefcake and he looked great at the WFX show. I talked to him and his schedule did not allow it. The sponsors asked for suggestions and we gave them a short list that included several guys, including former WWE workers like Beefcake, ROH/TNA style guys and others. Everyone liked Steve for his price tag, his "known commodity" aspect, his name value and tie-in to ECW. For me, it came down to this - if we're going to put money in someones pocket, I'd like it to be a guy like Steve.

In a place like Morden, a name with direct WWE ties is likely the initial thought. But in many cases the idea of the "name" is as valuable and marketable as the actual name. And in Steve, he's got name value and we know he'll work hard and be great to deal with. I'm very happy to have him back and he will not disappoint. We've raised further sponsorship monies following the announcement (although we have had some issues in getting sponsors due to some heat over the antics of a performer at the NWN show). We also have had many Winnipeg fans inquire about tickets as they'd like to see him and see PCW in action again.

If everything works out, we'll have something else with Steve that week as well.


There was a question posed on fan forum about our recent minor website changes. I would not say that removing certain guys means they are not going to be apart of PCW moving forward. I think most guys have a tendency to be non-committal. In most cases over the years in Winnipeg, it's a wise move. I will admit to feeling somewhat disappointed that certain guys have not maintained 100% commitment to our team. I have never wavered in my loyalty to the guys and I had hoped that was a two-way street. For a lot of guys it is...and those guys are on our website and it's a team I'd be thrilled to showcase. For others, they need some time to consider their options. I'm generally fine with that with the only condition that guys don't work for RME. If they don't work for RME, they are more than welcome to join or re-join our team in the next few weeks when things begin to unfold. I am sure the usual handful of out of town shows RME will run are somewhat attractive from an 'easy work for good PO' perspective, but guys should consider long term viability and quality.

The comment about Mentallo being on our site while he's in Mexico - well, I consider Mentallo a huge part of PCW's success and I suspect he'd consider himself apart of our team as well.

Of the guys discussed on the forum, a couple have told me they ARE 100% with PCW, others have said they very much want to be apart of PCW moving forward. I think it's a matter of getting to the place where they can embrace PCW and knowing thats the best option without feeling like they are humbling themselves...which they shouldn't feel at all. Choosing the best place to work is a wise choice, nothing else. As far as RME goes, I've extended the olive branch too many times to recount. The fact PCW and RME will never have a relationship that would be a positive to the local business, boys and fans is due to their lack of interest, not mine.

I will be honest in saying that I did "fire" one person, but I hope we can do business again in the future. He's extremely talented and I like him as a person. But running a new venue where I don't have unlimited stroke and goodwill, we can't take the chance of burning it with bad behaviour. It was a business decision.

I value all the guys who have worked with PCW over the years and I'd love to continue having all the most talented guys in Winnipeg on our shows. I know the time will come where those guys that choose to move on will want to be apart of the shows too. I've always had the desire to be inclusive and build the best team, welcoming back to the fold anyone who commits themselves to our vision. For the most part that won't change. But looking at our website right now, thats a team I'd be very proud of working with and would still be the best team locally. And when you combine that roster with our support crew and knowledge in producing quality shows, I'm not at all concerned about losing our six+ year title as best promotion in Manitoba.

As wrestling fans in Manitoba, we currently live in interesting times...


The WWE Wellness policy is really kicking the ass of quality wrestling over there. I guess it's a good thing. But losing William Regal for 60 days sucks. He was one of the best things going on RAW. Watching WWE try new things and enter "panic" mode is somewhat interesting, but it's clear they don't know whats wrong with their product. They really need a creative over-haul.

On that topic, who was the best booker ever in wrestling? Or at least the past 20 years? It's easy to say Paul Heyman or Jim Cornette. What about Chris Kreski? He may be arguably the most successful booker in wrestling history (as far as ratings and buyrates) but he also likely started the trend of hiring Hollywood writers instead of wrestling bookers.

TNA continues to be almost unwatchable, except for Booker T. He's exceptional!

EDIT: I wanted to add a quick thought on the return of The Ultimate Warrior. I'll admit that Warrior was once my favourite wrestler. His match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI was epic. His match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII even more so!

I'm curious as to what people think of his return and the rumours he is in talks with TNA. Lance Storm discussed this very issue on his website and mentioned that he felt Warrior would result in a one time nastalgia pop and that was it. He also said that he felt wrestling fans were much younger than the 30-40 who would remember Warrior from his prime. I might have to disagree with that. RAW's ratings have produced a median age of 35-36 in recent weeks. I'd be more worried about Warrior simply being a great bit of nastalgia for current fans and NOT new fans.

What do you think??

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NHL Predictions, WWE/TNA Problems and More!

First and foremost, a big congrats to Jon Cutler. To anyone minimizing his accomplishment, they really are jealous, bitter or simply ignorant. Jon obviously impressed someone enough to earn a spot on a live show. He's a great guy and deserves the recognition.



This really speaks to those people who constantly whine about how shitty the Winnipeg wrestling scene is. Certainly, many aspects of the local industry ARE shitty. RME comes to mind (more on their latest gaffe in a bit). But when you consider Jon's RAW match, Kenny's WWE contract and continued success in the US, Mentallo in Mexico and Adam Knight getting the opportunity in Japan it really shows the high level of talent we have here. That is something we should be celebrating and supporting.





We briefly touched on WWE and TNA on last week's The Squared Circle radio program. I think it's worth mentioning that both promotions have been producing some of the most boring, cookie-cutter shows in a long time and both have been "rewarded" with rapidly plummeting ratings.



Paul Heyman made mention of TNA's ratings issues in a recent newspaper article. He made a great point in saying that TNA hasn't really seemed dedicated to branding themselves and marketing that brand to a wide audience. When you consider the vast millions of dollars the have spent to garner a 1.0 rating, a greater investment with a reputable marketing firm might have produced better results.



I think one of their biggest problems is that they don't have a brand. What is TNA? It used to be the alternative to WWE. Before they had the big monthly PPV's and prime time weekly TV, they had a lot of positive wrestling press. They had momentum. They were the anti-WWE, pushing athletic guys in high impact matches, showcasing the type of wrestling you couldn't see in WWE. Now, they are WWE-light.



You will never be successful being WWE-light. Their booking is atrocious and bi-polar, all over the place. You have multiple angles that are essentially the same. You have multiple comedy routines. You have lame rip offs of WWE characters from years ago. I don't care how nice of a guy "Super Eric" is, he doesn't belong on Television at this level. It's embarrassing. The majority of Kurt Angle's most recent title reign was terribly sad with him doing bad comedy with a spotlight on Karen more so than Kurt's opponents.



The biggest example of TNA's problems has been the rise of Samoa Joe to TNA World Champion. This is a move that is about two years two late. Joe should have been pushed to the top when he was on fire and unique and fresh, not now that he's been exposed as over-rated and lazy and his once sterling reputation on the indies has been somewhat soiled. TNA fans spoke with their remotes in rejecting Joe as top guy. It's that simple. And it's not Joe's fault. It's TNA's.



Adding a guy like Booker T is great. He's one of my all time favourite wrestlers. And it's awesome that he's willing to put over a guy like Bobby Roode. But months later, has Roode been elevated to Booker's position or has Booker been dropped to Roode's level? Bad booking, plain and simple. I really think TNA should ditch the X Division title and replace it with a more general secont teir championship. I dont think they understand the purpose of the X title anymore and dont know how to market or book it. A secondary title would help guys like Roode.



TNA's PPV buys have actually decreased as their TV viewers increased over the past few years. What does that tell you? They need a serious over-all. They need to release a bunch of guys, including their entire creative team. Most importantly, they need to decide what they are...what their brand is. If they want to succeed, they should be an alternative to WWE. Imagine if TNA had actually been growing as a company and was pulling in ratings close to a 2.0. With WWE sinking towards a 3.0...suddenly you'd have the makings of another wrestling war. TNA's failings have kept WWE from looking far worse than they do.



But make no mistake, WWE sucks right now. Bad. When was the last time ratings were consistently in the low 3's for RAW? The usuaally strong period right before WM was flat, indicating fans just weren't interested in what WWE was selling. Randy Orton has been the lowest rated WWE champion of the last few years (statistically, ratings averaged 3.47 for his two reigns while Edge drew a 4.07 average for his two reigns). It seems WWE finally panicked a bit and shotgunned the title onto HHH, resulting in...even lower ratings.



This isn't a sudden thing. There has been a very clear downward trend for awhile. Ratings usually take a while to respond to good or bad TV and they finally are in a big way. Reading recaps of RAW from ten years ago is depressing. How can a company that got it right so much in the past, have it so wrong now?



I'd love to hear people add their two cents to this question: What is wrong with WWE right now?





In the comments section of this blog, I was asked about RME's use of the word "Premier" on their website in relation to their announcement of Ozz joining them. I find it amusing, especially when they used "Premiere" instead and still haven't fixed it. They even had Robby Royce's name wrong on their site until Royce asked them to correct it. How can you be in the business this long and not know the guys you're bringing in?? What a mess. It's all fine and good to make talent announcements...but having Ozz and Royce on your website isn't the same as having them on your shows. You have to actually have shows for that to happen. RME will announce a bunch of out of town shows this summer and make a big deal out of it, even though they run those same shows every year. They've been bragging about running Winnipeg since last fall...shit or get off the pot.



Quite honestly, I'd love to see RME run Winnipeg. Watching their shows reinforces to me that I know what I'm doing. If you produce a show and it does not look anything like an RME show, you're doing something right. Plus, I'd love to see Wayne Stanton embarrass RME at their own game. Wayne did in a two week period what RME bragged for months and months they were going to do and never did - he ran a great show in Winnipeg. And he had better talent and a larger crew than RME ever has. Good for Wayne.



I had a brief conversation with Ryan Wood today who wanted to let me know that he has no idea why he's on RME's website and has let Angus know to remove him. RME got one thing right - Woody does want to work for the best promotion in town. It's just not them.



As I have repeatedly stated, my e-mail in box is wide open. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather fail on their own than to be apart of something better.





Well I was 2 for 4 in my Playoff picks this past round. I can't believe San Jose choked again. Colorado was squashed by Detroit but they were decimated by injuries and had no hope.



Here are my Conference Finals Predictions:



Detroit vs Dallas: Detroit in six. The Stars' only hope is to expose Detroit's goaltending. I have a feeling Chris Osgood will be pulled at some point, only to have Hasek steal a game. Call me crazy, but thats what I see happening. The Wings are too deep and talented.



Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia: My Penguins continue to role and overcame a lot of adversity against New York. I was glad to see them lose a game and deal with that. Rumours are that Sidney Crosby is injured. This is the match up the Pens didn't want in the opening round. The Flyers will attack and pound the Pens and play them hard and dirty. This round will show what the Penguins are really made of - they cant let Philly push them around. And if the Flyers come after Crosby, Briere should have his head taken off. Pens are too deep, fast, talented and on the verge of a new dynasty. Penguins in 6.



In Playoff Pool news, I enter the Conference Finals in Third place with eight players (all Penguins and Flyers). Second place has only one guy left so I should overcome him. First place is still Manos who, remarkably, has all his guys left.



The hockey-confused Rawskillz began making his move, rising to seventh place with 3 players left. Markswell fell to last place and only has Hasek remaining.

Two "Wars", Merc Stories and MORE!

Shane Madison has a good blog entry listing ten things he hates to see on an indy show.

Check it out: http://www.meccaholic.blogspot.com/

I'll add a couple to the list:

- When all the matches on a show look the same to the point of having the same finishes and same sequence of moves. That was something I criticised on a couple of RME shows last year.

- When guys repeatedly do the pre-match Larry Z-like stalling tactics. This often happens when the guys know the match will suck and are trying to drag out the time without actually having to wrestle.

- When guys have been around a while and still have no clue how to cut a promo. I realise some guys just won't have the promo skills as others do but the ability to talk and convey issues to the crowd is important.

- When guys rip off signature moves or blow finishers of other guys on the same show, especially when those guys are in higher profile matches. It's difficult enough for indy guys on local shows to get over without having other local guys cherry pick their spots. It makes everyone look bad.

- When their is no rhyme or reason for anything to be happening on the show or when an event is poorly produced by bad bookers. Again, using RME as an example, the shows of theirs I have seen suffered due to this. There are reasons why certain matches and segments should happen in certain spots on the show but that is something the booking team in RME have not yet grasped.

I am sure there are many, many more.


I suppose I should comment on the "War on Marks" that Shane Madison, Chi Chi Cruz and a few others are engaging in. This all erupted as a result of an older, terribly out of shape, untrained "wrestler" named Omar repeatedly getting in the ring. He recently inherited some money and purchased his own ring to ensure he would be able to continue working.

I can certainly respect and appreciate the opinion of those who speak out against guys like Omar. He absolutely has no place in a wrestling ring. But I disagree on the methods utilized here. Madison and Cruz attended Omar's first wrestling event, sitting in the crowd. Omar apparently tried to attack Madison in the crowd and was restrained by Ernie Todd. Danny Duggan, who wrestled on the show, pulled Omar's pants down as did Madison. Cheech slapped Omar and then cut a promo on the mic. Either this is one of the worst worked shoots ever or another sad example that as good as wrestling can be in Winnipeg, it can be very, very, very bad.

Omar was totally wrong for going after Madison, who was sitting as a fan, in the crowd. But both Madison and Cheech were wrong for getting involved in the show. If Cheech was wrestling and a "a fan" slapped him, he'd kill him. There have been examples of fans hitting the ring and they are usually met with several stiff shots. But when the boys are demonstrating to the fans that it's okay to interject themselves into the shows, how can we blame them when they do it? To any legit fans at this show, they would not have understand that Madison and Cheech were against Omar's actions, especially if they were observed coming and going from the locker room area. It would seem that Madison and Cheech were involved in the show and thus, endorsing what occurred at the event.

We've all seen examples of backyard wrestling and while we all agree it's wrong, we mostly ignore it, rather than give the kids the attention they crave and are unwilling to train for. Ignore Omar and he will eventually go away. Getting worked into taking part in his show is only going to endorse it and create interest in seeing it.

Omar appears to be a lost cause. Where Madison and Cheech could do more good would be questioning the legitimate talent that appeared on the show as to why they accepted the booking. If you don't want Omar in the business, don't help him. There is a serious lack of pride in this city amongst far too many of the boys. I've been criticised in the past for requiring a certain level of commitment to PCW events by the guys I booked - can anyone blame me now?

So, I agree with the "war" in theory, but differ in practice.


RCW "re-launches" in Winnipeg today and promoter Wayne Stanton has declared the event to be the first shot in a war on RME. It amazes me that Wayne could make the decision to have this event and two weeks later he puts together a show that on paper looks better than anything RME has done in the past five years while RME cant even make good on their promise to run Winnipeg after teasing it for about seven months.

On a related topic, former RME booker Ryan Price was a guest on The Squared Circle last week. He offered quite a bit of insight into RME and his own reasons for leaving the company. It's easy for RME to try and dismiss my opinion or the opinion of other intelligent people like Wayne and Mike Davidson, but I wonder how they deflect the opinion of one of their own guys like Price. He summed it up well when he simply said there were too many cooks in the kitchen at RME and the lack of depth on the roster hurt them.

I know RME will make some announcements eventually, though they will likely not be anything beyond the hand full of out of town shows they do every summer. Today was supposed to be the launch of their new Winnipeg venue after many months of promising to deliver. The reasons RME gave their roster for not doing the show:

Wanting venues that:

- are expected to turn everyone a profit
- Are attractive to fans
- Are a decent capacity
- We can establish a long-term agreement with it so that we can build through stability

Cut the bullshit! Just be honest and say "hey, it fell through". Anyone on the RME roster who believes that Angus has been negotiating for seven months is an idiot. I'd love to see the venue that is naive enough to guarantee RME a profit and a long term deal. If you want a profit, you have to draw fans. To draw fans, you have to produce good shows. To produce good shows, you need good talent and good booking...oh, I think we've found the problem!

An interesting side note to remember as RCW "relaunched" today, when RME started back in, I believe, 2003, they had one stated goal - to "show Ernie and Wayne how it's done". In their defense they didn't really specify what "it" was, but presumably, it was a successful wrestling endeavour. Well, Ernie is far more successful than anyone else in Manitoba at producing financially profitable out of town shows and Wayne has shown he can put together an in-town show superior to RME.

I'd wish RCW luck, but it's RME that needs it more.


- Third place and rising in my hockey pool. Rawskillz has started to make his move, rising to seventh place.

- I'm officially cheering for Hillary Clinton in the US Presidential race.

- Interesting idea: Eliminate federal income tax in favour of increased consumption taxes.


http://www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com/ has been updated. Check back soon for a major announcement concerning our event in Morden.


There seems to be some interest in Zack Mercury as indicated by the comments on my previous blog. By popular demand, here are a couple of Merc-related PCW stories.

Most people know Merc was the first person every fired by PCW back in 2001. In December of that year, we had our first official PCW meeting. John Nguyen, Mike Davidson and myself met with the prospective crew at the Holiday Inn Astoria to explain our vision for the promotion and invite them all to take part. After most of the meeting, John asked for a show of hands as to who was "in". There were a few people who did not raise their hands.

Mike continued to make his pitch and John again asked for a show of hands. This time everyone but Merc indicated their commitment to the project. Merc asked for some time to consider the offer. John replied that he wanted a crew that understood the vision and was 100% committed right now so he refused to let Merc think about it. They discussed the matter for a few more minutes before Merc reluctantly agreed that he was "in".

As part of the meeting, Mike distributed information packages to each person indicating what their guaranteed pay per show would be. There were two pay options that differed by $5. Two of the boys were offered more based on increased responsibilities.

The next day, Mike received an e-mail at the office from Merc. He disagreed with the offer made to him, comparing himself to the guy sitting beside him at the meeting and taking exception to the fact that person was offered $5 more. I believe that person was Donnie Dicaprio. Merc felt he deserved more than Dicaprio and attempted to explain why. Mike exchanged replies with Merc and I believe he had agreed to give Merc's concerns some thought.

John was consulted and immediately instructed Mike to fire Merc. John was insulted that Merc was trying to negotiate and offended at his methods, especially in criticising Dicaprio. I think Mike would have salvaged the deal with Merc but John was totally opposed.

I remember being disappointed as I thought Merc could have been developed into a positive contributor to the crew. To argue over $5 because you think you're better than the guy beside you is a revealing character trait.

Some time later, probably in late 2003 or early 2004, I exchanged e-mails with Merc about him coming into PCW. I found the negotiations quite frustrating as, again, the issue of compensation became a sticking point. Also, before he would agree to join the crew, Merc wanted me to explain in detail exactly how I intended to book him. I gave him a general idea of where I saw him fitting in, but he wanted specifics. It just wasn't worth it.

I still like Merc and to this day, I'd be perfectly happy to work with him. I like a challenge.

Follow-ups, Merc, TSC, NHL Picks and MORE!

A few follow ups before I get into some hockey pool news.

In regards to the individual who took the time to explain his/her point regarding guys "jumping" and the fact it's likely not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things of local wrestling - generally I agree with you. I also agree that in most cases of anything occurring in Manitoba, it's dismissed as "just local wrestling" except to whomever it impacts negatively.

I think I have been fairly consistent throughout my time in the business as far as what I consider to be the proper way to conduct business in the local industry and what my personal vision is. And I certainly agree that people are welcome to their opinion and can disagree with me and my vision, but my point is, I believe I am consistent.

I don't think there should be 50 "workers" working for 6 promotions. Essentially, they're all the same show with three (or four) different letters and I honestly cannot fathom why anyone would think that is a positive for the business. Perhaps it's not so much a terrible negative in most cases, but if the goal is to build the local market, it's not the right way to do it. That's one of the main reasons I really do not want "PCW guys" working for other promotions, especially within our market. Another reason is level of commitment. I'm of the opinion PCW has invested more time, energy, risk and money into performing at a high level than our competitors. We've done more to attract and keep a loyal fan following. If a "competitor" embraces mediocrity and spends only enough energy to sustain their existence, I don't think they should benefit from our efforts.

Those promoters who now speak out against "dictators" like me and "exclusivity" do so because they have no choice, not out of an evolved sense of standing up for the boys. Those same promotions had "exclusivity" requirements with their crew until their crews refused to honour it due to a lack of shows, a lack of quality or both.

More than any other promoter, I have attempted to reach out and develop positive relationships with other promotions in an effort to improve our local market for the fans and the boys. But to truly have a positive impact, promotions must all be willing to embrace the same goals, make difficult decisions, make sacrifices and compromise. The attitude of most is "what can you do for me?" not "what can we do together?"

Specifically in regards to Robby Royce and Ozz "jumping", I have not tried to make it into a bigger deal than it is. Certainly, it would have mattered more to local wrestling a few years ago. The purpose of my previous blog was to explain in one place and one time, what transpired and why, rather than to continue responding to the numerous e-mails I was receiving on the subject. I spent most of the blog being complimentary of Royce, which he absolutely deserves. Perhaps I took it too personally when Royce "jumped" to RME (for the second time in less than a year), but it impacted me on a personal level, not just because of our friendship but because of my love for the business. Royce is one of few guys who's credibility means he could have a positive effect on the local scene by helping to broker a desire amongst promoters and the boys to do what is best for the industry. Other veterans have told RME "I'd love to work your shows, but make a good faith deal with Andrew and do whats best for the business". RME refused and those veterans stayed true to their positions.

I really do not think the local industry will ever come together. If PCW ceased to exist, the high quality of shows we've produced would also cease to exist. Most of our loyal fans would stop supporting local wrestling. Pay, opportunity and crowds would decline. Not because we're the only ones that know what we're doing, but because we're the only ones that insist on being better than everyone else (though I do have serious doubts that RME have any clue...after four or five years to have their workers have to request the office to hold booking meetings before shows is proof of that).

As for the Zack Mercury hilarity that erupted over on that other "fan forum", the vast majority of Merc's statements can be dismissed as irrelevant and ignorant simply by pointing out they were made by Zack Mercury. As much as I like Merc (and I do), he's quite possibly the worst worker to perform in Manitoba for an extended period of time. Not just bad, but dangerous to himself and anyone he steps into the ring with. Whats worse, he dismisses criticism and advice and truly believes he's a great professional wrestler and thus he continues to work, blissfully unaware of the snickers, head shakes and eye rolls of the workers around him. It's not often that I would go out of my way to critically bad mouth a worker - anyone making the effort to perform in this business deserves respect on some level. But Merc doesnt make an effort and he's a walking time bomb threatening to explode our industry right back to the days of a Commission every time he steps into a ring.

His perception of PCW as amounting to nothing is not only ignorant but laughable and exposes his sense of bitterness or cluelessness...or perhaps both. I wish Merc all the luck in the world, but I wish any potential opponents even more luck. They'll need it.

I should quickly comment on The Squared Circle radio show from last week. I enjoyed the debate with Robby Royce and Wayne Stanton and hope that Angus was being truthful when he told Mike Arnott he would appear on the show. I felt bad for Ozz and still do. He's letting blind loyalty for a friend and his own lack of confidence hurt his credibility and career. I can appreciate the fact he's loyal to Royce and I am glad he finally admitted on the show that he made the decision to go to RME for no other reason than to follow his friend. His disparaging comments before getting off the phone were out of character for him and I think he made them out of anger and didn't really mean them. Ozz has always been respectful to me (aside from last summer), easy to work with and eager to develop and get better. It's a shame his PCW career ended on such a sour note.

As for Ozz' brother who was in the business just long enough to appear on two shows, well...who cares? In his brief appearance on TSC, he managed to accuse me of not showing him respect or taking the time to speak to him as well as telling him how good he was. Which is it, I ignored him or took the time to offer thanks and words of encouragement to the lowest guy on the roster? I think we know the answer. On a related note, I received a fantastic e-mail from one of the boys who simply wanted me to know he was 100% behind me and PCW. He stated his belief that he was a "low card guy" but told me I was the only promoter/booker who had ever taken the time to speak with him and go over what I wanted out of his performances and to encourage him and to come up with things for him to do other than be squashed. It meant a lot to me.

I disagree with Ernie Todd's assertion that TSC has become a "bash other promotions" show. I would disagree that I am maliciously bashing RME at all. In my opinion it's of the utmost importance that the industry acknowledge that it could be better and be willing to make the effort and sacrifices to achieve that goal. I will bash all "bad wrestling" because it's bad for the business, the boys and the fans. Like I said on the show, whats good for the entire industry is good for the individual but whats good for the individual isn't always good for the industry.

Ryan Price is scheduled to be on this Sunday and I encourage everyone to check it out. I have no idea what he will say but I am eager to hear his insights.

Rawskillz continues to maintain his position in last place of our hockey pool. I am in 7th place (out of 9), but am only 13 points back of the lead and have played almost 20 games less than everyone else due to the Penguins' sweep of Ottawa. I enter the second round of the playoffs with 10 players left (out of 13), while Skillz has 9 remaining. Chris Marxwell, who was in first place at one point last week, is all but out of it with only three players left (he went big on the Wild). Tom Manos is in third place (Big Joe is in the lead on the strength of taking J.R. for some reason), but enters the second round with all his players remaining.

My first round picks were pretty good, going 7 of 8 with only the lifeless Ducks ruining a perfect score.

Here are my picks for the second round:

Colorado vs Detroit: Should be a great, long series and goaltending will definitely be the story, with the Wings having announced Chris Osgood is now their starter and Jose Theodore playing way above his abilities.

Call me crazy (or maybe just because I have Avs players), I'm picking Colorado in six,

San Jose vs Dallas: I would have picked Dallas going into the post season, but I think the series with Calgary have shown the Sharks what it takes to win. SJ in 6.

Montreal vs Philadelphia: I can't imagine many people taking the Flyers, but they are more than capable of upsetting the Canadiens here. In fact, I think they will...unless Carey Price puts forth several Con Smyth Trophy performances. Flyers in 7.

Pittsburgh vs New York: Will the Pens be rested or rusty? Will Jagr have something to prove to his old team? I think the domination of the Senators demonstrated the Pens maturity and passion and desire to go a long way. Unless Avery gets into the head of M-A Fleury, the Pens take this one in 5.

PCW will be making a major announcement concerning our Morden show shortly. I know some people will be somewhat unhappy with the announcement and some other details of the event, but my feeling is, if we go out there and have a great show, it's a positive for that market and much easier for wrestling to draw in the future whether it's PCW or otherwise. There are easy ways for different promotions to work together to build a market so everyone benefits. We're also working on something significant for Winnipeg...stay tuned.

A

This Business isn't the Same Anymore & RME's "Team Impact"!

It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, working pretty much day and night. The hotel renovations are moving along and I spent a lot of time helping clear out the LID to make room for the destruction crew.

I currently sit in third place in our Hockey Pool, one point behind second and five behind Manos who leads the way right now. I will likely drop down a few spaces before the second round as I have five Penguins on my team and they knocked off the terrible Ottawa Senators last night.

Rawskillz is doing as well as expected, sitting in second last place. His favourite phrase is "just wait til next year!"

In addition to the several posts on this subject that have been made on the PCW forum, I've responded to a few emails and texts as well, some from the boys, a few from fans. I'll set the record straight as best as I can.

Some people may disagree with my opinion on this, but facts are facts and my opinion is just that. It is true that Robby Royce has once again joined RME. Yes, the same Robby Royce who "retired" from wrestling late last year and "officially" ended his in-ring career with one last victory three weeks ago.

Some comments I made on Mike Arnott's Squared Circle radio show last Sunday have caused some unhappiness. Royce sent me an angry email a few days ago, referencing those comments, claiming to have listened to the "last ten minutes" of the show. I could not disagree with Royce's position any more strongly.

He accused me of badmouthing him on the show, which I certainly don't recall doing. I answered the questions that were put to me and explained my opinion (he also accused Wayne of heeling on him too). No matter what anyone thinks of Royce, they have to respect his career and the immense talent he has demonstrated over the years. While always the politician, I don't believe Royce's actions should diminish his accomplishments.

When PCW formed in December 2001, I disagreed with Mike Davidson's decision not to bring Royce in initially. Several times in the early days of PCW, I pushed to bring him in and it nearly happened on a couple of instances. I recall watching a TRCW show where they had a young, inexperienced crew working and you could see the frustration on Royce's face as he stood at ringside. Eventually, I was able to pave the way for Royce to come to PCW. I remember the conversation quite well.

Royce attended a PCW show at the Stratosphere and I went over to shake his hand. I wont get into specifics of what he said to me, but it caused me to go to Davidson and indicate that I believe Royce would be interested in coming in. I guess enough time had passed and Mike agreed, telling me to go make the deal. It was as easy as making the offer. Royce was loyal to his friends and asked that we also bring in JP Kaos. I was happy to do that since I had wanted to bring Kaos in to continue his tag team with David Dixon from the beginning.

There is no doubt that Royce made some very big positive contributions to PCW during his time there. His Best of Five series with Kenny Omega that took place during the transition period between Mike leaving and my assuming full responsibility for PCW set the pace for what our vision would evolve into. Never once did Royce ever refuse an idea, direction or job. He was definitely a politician...always, but I'm just as politically savvy and if the end result was a positive for our shows, than I had no problem letting him or anyone else think were driving the show (and contrary to a question posed to me on the weekend, never ever ever was Royce a booker with PCW).

Having respect for Royce as a performer and a person and considering him to be a friend and a confidant in the business, I would disagree with the assertion that I badmouthed him on the radio show. As I later explained, TSC is not kayfabe radio...there would be no point in that. I was asked questions and answered them to the best of my knowledge, never once moving into the realm of getting personal. As I stated on the show, Royce had made the decision to work for RME.

His unhappiness with my comments centred on a few things - that I a) revealed he was going to RME, b) that he intended not to work as "Robby Royce" and c) that I briefly discussed an angle idea I had proposed to him if he had stayed. Oh and that I was of the opinion that he swerved the fans with his "retirement".

As far as revealing his intention to go to RME, I most certainly was not the only person that knew. In fact, the way I find out was from a third party source. I then asked Royce who confirmed it was true. And ofcourse, the "booking team" in RME most certainly would have known he was going in if he was being booked on their Plumas show. I had no idea it was to be kept a secret, nor would I have done so. If RME intended to make a big splash by announcing Royce had once again jumped back, it is certainly not my job to help them market that scenario.

If there was anger over my making the announcement instead of RME, it was because they likely wanted me to first become aware of it when Royce appeared on their website (he is on there now anyway...so much for the secret). That's what happened last summer.

Winnipeg is a pretty small city and the wrestling industry is even tighter. There was no way Royce was going to appear for anyone, as "Robby Royce" or otherwise, without it being fairly common knowledge. I have no doubt he intended to work as "Robby Royce" anyway, but trying to put heat on me is easier than looking foolish a month after retiring.

As for discussing the angle, it was a great angle. Royce agreed. But it was designed for Royce and no one else and would only work in PCW. It was my idea, which Royce had declined and I was certainly free to discuss it. Wayne Stanton asked me what it was and I answered.

It is absolutely my opinion that Royce did a dis-service to the fans. When he approached me about the retirement, he told me it was 100% legit, that he was walking away for good and wanted to give Ozz the rub on the way out. I pointed out to Royce recently that the fans bought it, saluted him, gave him multiple standing ovations and honoured his commitment to the business. And he swerved them. There is no doubt about that. I'm not angry at Royce for doing it, but I am very, very disappointed. We asked the fans to pay to see that. We did a HOF ceremony. We presented it as being legitimate. While it is true that the vast majority of guys never really retire in this business, they usually wait more than a week before taking another booking.

Imagine if Ric Flair had done the retirement thing at WM and RAW and ended up on TNA's website a week later. That would be a slap in the face to the fans.

When Royce casually mentioned to me that he'd like to do something in the business from time to time, I told him he was more than welcome to whatever he wanted. When he confirmed to me his intention to go to RME, I spent the time developing a fantastic angle for him that would not insult the fans, but would draw them into a highly emotional and dramatic story and continue the retirement while preserving the integrity of the situation. It wasn't that Royce wanted to keep doing something in the business - he wanted to go to RME. And just like last summer, he didn't have the courage to be honest and upfront with me about it.

By refusing to be honest with me, he preserved his high profile position on our last LID show and the positive way that match ended. Obviously, he suspected if he was professional in quitting PCW, he would be expected to do business on the way out. He refused to that last year and he refused to do it this year. That disappoints me.

What disappoints me even more is that Royce chose to use his influence to manipulate others into acting dis-loyally and breaking their commitment to PCW. Within hours of getting the angry email from Royce, I received two "resignations", one from JP Kaos and one from Ozz, both close personal friends of Royce's. I respect Kaos' position and his honesty in his email. Ozz, on the other hand, grasped for excuses and wound up looking foolish. I lost a lot of respect for him upon reading his email.

Everyone has the right to make choices and I'd respect those choices even if I did not agree with them and even if they were so clearly wrong. At this stage of his career, a very relaxed, easy schedule is fine for Royce. But slumming it in RME will essentially end the forward development of Ozz and that's a shame. If I was as close to Ozz as Royce is and in a position to influence him, I most certainly would not let him cut his own balls off in a mis-placed sense of loyalty.

What I find most frustrating about this situation is what it reveals about the character of a few of the guys. I mistakenly thought the PCW crew were committed to a better product, to producing the best shows we could, to working with the best talent, entertaining the fans and giving them their money's worth. And certainly, most of the guys feel that way...they WERE committed to our vision. But the THREE WEEKS we've been "on hiatus" have exposed those guys who were only committed to themselves.

The truth is, following the last LID show, I had several conversations with guys on our roster and I knew that, moving forward, we'd absolutely want a smaller crew. I didn't want to have to make those tough decisions, who would get the spots and who wouldn't. Those guys that are so fearful of losing a chance, any chance no matter how utterly pointless and irrelevant it is, to wrestle in Winnipeg looked at every opportunity and booking they were provided over the past few years and decided that loyalty is a one way street. Good riddance and thank you.

The ironic thing here is that RME seems to be desperately trying to do what I and several other people have told them to do for a long time now - get better! I respect that. Good for RME for making a play for better talent. No doubt, Royce and Ozz became the two best workers in RME the second they agreed to go there. As an outside observer, I find it amusing that they feel the need to be dishonest with guys to get them to "jump". One person told me they made the decision to go to RME because they "don't wait for shows" and that "RME is running Winnipeg monthly." They are? News to me (and most of their crew).

I am sure in the bizzarro world that RME lives in, that their workers and management consider drawing a couple of PCW talent to be a major coup. I look at it a bit differently. Only the belief that PCW would never run again resulted in a couple of guys going to RME. If I was RME, I wouldn't feel very good about it. And one of those guys told me "I'll be happy to come back when PCW runs regularly".

More and more I realise that the business today, as it exists in Winnipeg is not at all the business I love nor is it the business I and several other have been so committed to the past few years. PCW and RME are not competitors because we're simply not in the same business.

I am not angry at Royce or Ozz. Let's be honest, if I was able to "punish guys", the worst thing I could do would be to force them to go to RME anyway. But I am disappointed. I made a commitment that guys going to RME would not be able to jump back to PCW. So, the moment either guy appears on an RME show, they make it impossible to ever, ever come back to PCW.

Great local talent, big names, great shows, fair treatment, good PO's and big, smart crowds - all things that MOST guys value. And all things you can't get in RME.

I'll miss Royce and Ozz's contributions to PCW. I consider Royce to be a friend and wish him luck in the future. It just really saddens me that that future can never include PCW.

Stay tuned for a major announcement concerning the next Guest Superstar to come to PCW!!

A

First Round Playoff Picks!!

I'm been very busy this week so I will bang out a quick one with my first round NHL Playoff predictions.

Western Conference:

Detroit vs Nashville:

- Nashville is probably happy with this match up and will play Detroit hard. I think it comes down to goaltending. Detroit is vulnerable in that regard.

Prediction: Detroit in six.

San Jose vs Calgary:

- Could the Flames beat San Jose? Sure, if SJ flops. But they won't. They can't this time. Joe Thornton has something to prove.

Prediction: SJ in 5.


Colorado vs Minnesota:

- I went back and forth on this one several times. But since I picked a couple of Colorado players in my pool, I guess I feel Colorado should win. Wild are a very good team with good goaltending. Avs are a very good, experienced, skilled, deep team with questionable goaltending. But Forsberg came back to win a cup and he knows what it takes. Plus, I have him in my pool, so...

Prediction: Colorado in 7


Anaheim vs Dallas:

- Dallas is good but Ducks are better. Much better in my opinion.

Prediction: Ducks in 6

Eastern Conference:

Montreal vs Boston:

- Unless Price chokes this is an easy one.

Prediction: Habs in 4.


New York vs New jersey:

- I had the Rangers as my sleeper pick but never got to take any of them in my pool. So I picked Devils. But I think New York is too good right now and Jagr is beginning to play like he gives a shit. Is Jersey threatens an upset, it will be because Martin Brodeur steals 4 games.

Prediction: Rangers in 6


Washington vs Philly:

- I'd love the Caps to advance. Who wouldn't?? But Philly is pretty hot right now as well and dirty as hell. They will pound Ovechkin every chance they get. My heart says Caps but my head says...

Prediction: Philly in 6


Pittsburgh vs Ottawa:

- I love the Pens and they will steamroll over a lame Ottawa team.

Prediction: Pens in 6.


Here are my players in the draft I did last night:

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Sergie Gonchar
3. Peter Forsberg
4. Mike Richards
5. Marc-Andre Fleury
6. Zack Parise
7. Ryan Smyth
8. Patrick Elias
9. Joffery Lupol
10. Ryan Whitney
11. Brian Gionta
12. Gary Roberts
13. RJ. Umberger

And for those keeping score, here are the picks of the hockey-challenged Rawskillz:

1. Pavel Datsyuk
2. Henrik Zetterburg
3. Chris Drury
4. Evgeni Nabokov
5. Scott Neidermeyer
6. Craig Rivet
7. Brendan Shannahan
8. Zdeno Chara
9. Brandon Dubinski
10. Doug Weight
11. Scott Hartnell
12. Phil Kessel
13. Mike Grier

There are nine of us in the pool including Joe and the former Commish and Chris Marxwell...I'll keep you all posted on my march to victory. I came in second last year even though I had no players playing in the final.

Let's go PENS!!

A

The Horsemen Ride One Last Time, WM Thoughts and MORE!

Just a quick one today.

To answer a couple of questions first:

I might discuss in the future what I would do if someone came along and wanted me to run a well-invested wrestling promotion. That would certainly be a long blog for another time. I don't have all the answers, but I think I have a few.

In regards to Rob Stardom's promotion, I'd have to see a show before I really commented in depth. I do fear it will be a "development" venture, which is a nice way of saying he might use the "cheap - free" guys to cut down on costs. I hope that's not true. If you have to cut costs to run, don't run. There is certainly a place for "role players" and those guys that promoters book for a variety of reasons, but they shouldn't be the top guys. The top guys should be the top guys and if you can't book them, don't run.

But I certainly wish Rob luck and I hope I can check out his show.

I was told there were some mixed feelings in regards to my last blog. Some people felt I sounded either "on the fence" about continuing or reluctant to move forward. I've always been honest with people, even competitors (even when those so-called competitors happily work me, as if I don't know I am being worked or care in the first place). The fact is, on any given day, I am on the fence. On any other given day I am dying to continue. I think it comes down to what kind of deal I get from the venues I am talking to (I'll try not to take eight months to announce it like some people...and when I say it's confirmed, it really will be confirmed) and the commitment of the team.

Culmination of Cool would definitely be a great way to go out and it's doubtful we could ever top that as far as farewell shows go. It was an end of an era. But this could be the beginning of a new one. It amazes me that, even with the mere possibility of the end of PCW, no promoter stepped up to fill the void...the seize the moment. Sure, they may have used my private honesty with them to email my crew and try to convince them to take bookings, but it's not the same. I don't want to leave the business behind and abandon the guys who deserve a great place to work unless I know it and they are in capable hands. I certainly don't feel that way right now.

Stay tuned...

Wrestlemania almost didn't happen for me. I considered my options and headed over to a friend's house. He lives outside the city but just bought a brand new 46" HD TV, surround sound etc. When I walked in the door (cutting it close at 5:55), he informed me his cheat card had just been zapped. Karma I guess.

He worked on it for 45 minutes before we gave up and went home. I wouldn't have wanted to start watching it an hour in anyway. Fortunately, our former Commissioner was recording the event. I got my copy at 10:00 that night and sat down for a long night of wrestling action.

I thought the show was okay. In most cases WWE Pay Per Views have been underwhelming for a few years now. Nothing ever happens at them. They are a collection of matches with no surprises or storyline developments. The good stuff happens at TV now.

My predictions were way off this year. In retrospect, I can see why I did so poorly. I should never have bet against JBL winning. He's practically a McMahon. I don't know what they see in him. I like him, but top guy he isn't.

Flair/Michaels was a tremendously emotional match. I was very disappointed in the finish, feeling that nothing was gained for Michaels with the win, but a Flair victory would have felt right. I would not be surprised to learn that Flair insisted on losing. I read that he was offered the main event spot but turned it down. I was surprised they didn't do anything special post match, but when I watched RAW, I realised it was the right decision.

The triple threat match was okay. WWE seems determined to change their own booking plans at the last minute to throw off the smarks. But, again in retrospect, Orton is the only one of the three who needs the strap.

Edge/Undertaker started off slow but built to a great finish. Edge was booked as strong as a person can be when they're losing.

I didn't mind CM Punk winning MITB. I think he's over-rated, but he's over and the McMahons supposedly love his clean lifestyle.

RAW was exceptional. It was an amazing segment when they honoured Flair. I was stoked to see Tully Blanchard back as well as JJ Dillion. It was wild seeing the Four Horsemen back together one last time. Too bad Arn Anderson didn't get to talk though. What a waste it is, having one of the all time great talkers in the company and he's kept in the back. The glaring omission was, ofcourse, Sting for obvious reasons.

I heard Marty Gold mention today on his radio show how Flair seems to be the last guy left who can generate genuine emotion. Some of the most "real" emotion in the business has been centred on Flair - the backlash against WCW when he jumped to WWE in 1991, his "homecoming" when he went back, his remarkable performance in the Royale Rumble 92, his "retirement" match with Vader, his return to Nitro after the war with Eric Bischoff, the heartbreaking look on his face as he stood in the background when Arn retired, the night he nearly beat HHH for the World Championship, his "I will never retire" speech on RAW and ofcourse, last night. Just amazing.

There is magic to Ric Flair. I became a hue fan back when we didn't even get Flair on TV. I read about him in all the mark mags as a kid and got to see one match on US television when I took a trip to North Dakota. When he jumped to WWE, I was wholly on his side. I watched the Four Horsemen DVD last week - amazing.

I know Flair will be back on TV, but I hope it's sooner, rather than later.

Culmination of Cool, the Local Scene, and Where Do We Go From Here?

Where to begin?

It's been awhile since I wrote one of these.

Firstly, PCW's Culmination of Cool. I can truly say it was perhaps the most memorable event we've ever produced. Around 60 workers took part, including a 50 man Rumble and 400 fans turned out. We had about seven refs, four ring announcers and several promoters take part. It was a four hour epic event. To have that kind of support from the market and the industry is remarkable, even more so when you consider it all came together in less than two weeks.

I was honestly, overwhelmed by the support of the fans and the boys. It almost gives me hope for the local scene when so many guys can come together without any political in-fighting. I've said this to some people and it's worth repeating - guys not only were willing to take part, they wanted to take part. I had several guys contact me to be involved. It was amazing.

For the two weeks leading up to the show, I went back and forth on whether I wanted to be in the Rumble. I knew who I wanted to win from the beginning - Greg Romijn. That was the original plan. One idea kicked around was for Mike Davidson to enter number one and myself to enter number two. When Mike declined, I changed myself to number three so I could interact with every guy coming in before being dumped near the end. Thank goodness that plan didn't come to fruition as I might have had a heart attack if I had to be in there that long.

I ultimately chose not to be in the Rumble for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I knew the music would be a nightmare for Joe and if we were going long (which we were), adjustments would need to be made. I could best handle that from the sound booth. More importantly though, I thought the Rumble was something for the fans and the boys and I would have felt out of place. I've only ever been involved "on screen" in an effort to help get others over and I didn't feel comfortable changing that now.

I did have an idea to do something quick and easy on the show with Mike, but he declined. Obviously, something did change and I ended up not just in the Rumble, but winning it. Evidently, for almost two weeks prior, e-mails had been circulating amongst much of the crew in regards to putting me over as a surprise. I was told it was Kenny Omega's idea and that everyone was in agreement. I threw a wrench into those plans by taking myself out of the Rumble so they had Mike Arnott simply introduce me. I nearly threw a wrench into those plans as well by refusing Joe's offer to take over playing music. Rawskillz lured me out of the booth, Joe cued the music, Mike announced my name...and in I went.

Almost immediately, I tried to get myself eliminated. I knew something was up when I called a spot with Romijn that we'd done in our previous two matches and he agreed and then simply didn't follow through on the elimination.

I was very touched that the guys felt it important to put me over at the end and even more touched by what Kenny said in the ring to close the show. He was much too kind. The highlight of my "career" will always be the success Kenny and Mentallo have had and whatever tiny, probably insignificant part I played in giving them the platform to develop as professionals.

Few people knows this, but I gave very serious thought to calling it quits when Kenny signed his WWE contract. I felt there would be no greater accomplishment. When I continued PCW after Mike left in August 2003, it was to give the fans quality wrestling, but more importantly, to give the best talent the best place to develop their abilities. In retrospect, I am certainly glad I didn't quit. But truthfully, the success of those guys is all I ever needed in the business to feel satisfied.

In addition to Kenny's comments, a few things stuck out in my mind from the show:

- It was great having Bobby Jay there. Perhaps a backhanded compliment, but if not for Bobby, none of the last 6 years would have happened. He found the venue, assembled the crew, drew the smart fans and made indy wrestling cool. He's a nice guy and it sucks what had to happen for PCW to develop, such is life. But Bobby deserves all the recognition in the world for planting the seeds that would later grow into PCW.

- Having Wayne Stanton there was awesome as well. Wayne is such an elder statesman of the business. His mere presence is a calming influence. To have shared a mic with him is truly an honour.

- Speaking of which...man do I ever miss ring announcing! I was selfish in choosing the Kenny/Angels match to intro but I am glad I did.

- It was great having TJ Bratt kick off the Rumble and get closure on his remarkable career. It had to happen at that venue, and all prior heat aside, I would have been disappointed if it didn't happen there.

- MVP one last time! I was surprised and excited when Shane Madison and Will Damon wanted to do the match. Very cool.

- Chi Chi Cruz! He was almost unable to make it, but I am so glad he did. It wouldn't have been the same without our first Heavyweight Champion. And there's something ironic about him presenting the PCW title to Kenny!

I think we really accomplished what we intended to...to honour the past and bring everything full circle. From MVP and Perfect Balance and Cheech...to Kenny vs Angels for the title and Royce and Ozz doing some insane things...it was a PCW show that spanned the ages.

I could go on and on...from Perfect Balance challenging for the PCW Tag Team Championship one last time, to Ryan Wood putting in more time than anyone all night to that amazing, amazing, amazing crowd that stuck with us until the bitter end four hours after the opening bell...there will never be a show like that again.

The worst thing about the show...the fact Mentallo wasn't there. Ofcourse, he was absent for the very best of reasons - his continued success in Mexico. But he was definitely on my mind during the show. Fans will recall myself and Kenny mentioned him during the event. He was one of the few reasons I got involved in indy wrestling in the first place. He contacted me prior to the show to wish us all luck - such a kind and classy guy. He has worked so hard for everything he's accomplished in the business and deserves much success. I'm glad he wasn't there under the circumstances, but I felt a huge void by his absence.

To all the boys and all the fans...my heartfelt and sincere thanks!

And let me throw out a special thanks to Marty Gold, who is an awesome ambassador of the business because he treats wrestling with legitimacy. He pushed our event on his radio show so much...you cant buy advertising like that.

So...where does PCW go from here? I'm not entirely sure. We have the best crew. We have a ring. We have the ability to put on the best local show anyone can produce. But is the desire still there? I told some guys that I probably wouldn't know what I wanted to do until I was standing in the ring at the last show. And I can honestly say, I felt like it was far from over. In fact, some aspects of the booking changed slightly as a result of my feeling that PCW was going to continue as it always had, rather than ending with that show. We obviously set some things up for the future.

Prior to the show, I was leaning towards throwing in the towel. Before we announced the last show, the two-four weeks leading up to it were really stressful with a lot of bullshit politics and unprofessionalism. Knowing the possibility of a last show at the LID was coming, I asked myself numerous times "are these the guys that I really want to make the effort, spend the money, put up with the headaches for"? For every guy who "gets it" and is 100% committed, there are two who simply don't understand the business. Maybe that's not true. Maybe it's a vocal minority.

And while I genuinely appreciate the involvement of everyone in our last show, there are a handful of guys who I will have a difficult time in the future booking on my shows. I'm sure they know who they are. But that's a blog for another time.

I've spoken to a couple of venues. I have my first choice for a regular venue to run and it's a bit of a slow process in getting there. But at the very least, I'll take a month or so off...unless ofcourse the construction at the hotel continues to be delayed. In that case, we might run one or two more shows at the LID.

Another option would be to take a hiatus until the renovations are complete and run in the fancy new banquet rooms. That would create a lot of desire on the part of the fans and the boys to see a quality show...something they aren't used to with most every other show that isn't PCW. If we go that route, we may only run big shows with names and go 4-6 times per year rather than every month. We're also working on an out of town gig in early Summer that could be really exciting and a lot of fun.

The local scene seems to be in a state of flux right now. A year ago, when we went from weekly to monthly, I felt some pressure from our "competitors". Right now? Not at all. A few guys have even told me they'd rather retire than "have" to work for whats out there right now.

One promoter, who I was being friendly with in recent weeks, wasted no time in contacting most of the PCW roster to get them to work some shows...shows they don't even have, I might add. I emailed this person and said "man, we haven't even run our last show yet and you're picking through the bones". Maybe he was trying to inspire me...in a way, it worked.

A lot of guys put heat on me in February over some of the inter-promotional heat. How sad for them to be so clueless.

I saw a couple of responses to a post I made on Shane Madison's blog regarding NWN's cancellation of their event in Morris this week. From what I was told, they cancelled this event due to lack of interest from local businesses to sponsor the event. That should be a wake-up call to many of the boys. If every promoter ran their promotion purely as a business, with the bottom line being the bottom line...there would be no wrestling in Manitoba. If I relied on sponsorship or a guaranteed profit before I ran a show, PCW would have died many years ago. There's a way to make wrestling work...but it requires effort on the parts of everyone, not just one or two promoters and a handful of guys who understand.

RME continues to tease their new Winnipeg venue. This stopped being news several months ago when they began teasing it. No promotion is more internally dysfunctional than RME. From their booking to their depth of talent to talent relations to promotion, to website and everything in between, they do everything wrong. Absolutely everything. If I didn't own PCW and was somehow "fired" from the promotion, the first place I'd go looking for a gig would be RME...just for the challenge. And for all their problems, they are really only one person away from turning it all around....but they don't realise it or won't accept it. And if someone like me pointed that out, I'm an arrogant jerk. Forget my success in the business in Winnipeg...and by one person, I mean a specific person, of which there is really only 2 or 3 guys in Manitoba who could go there and immediately turn it around.

Who knows what is up with WFX. I have no inside information and everyone probably knows as much as I do. But I guess Mike Davidson left the organization (which is no secret to anyone who checks out his Facebook or MSN). I would suspect that is only temporary as my feeling is, the powers that be in WFX won't go into battle without Mike but probably see their efforts until now as a lost investment if they don't continue. As a result, I'd bet Mike ends up running the show again shortly.

I really enjoyed the last few WFX shows (especially the last one). I get what they're trying to do, though Mike and I will always have fundamental differences in how we see the business. The thought has occasionally occurred to me, what would I do with Mike's resources? What a grand vision it would be...

I have to mention Kenny Omega. He lost and regained the PCW Championship (for a record fourth time), won the extremely well respected JAPW Championship by doing what very few people have ever done - tapping out Low-Ki, pinned Jerry Lynn en route to the finals of a 12 person tournament and nearly added another title to his collection...and he did all this in the span of two weeks!

I think it's fair to say Kenny is the hottest prospect in NA right now.

I think, over the next few weeks, I will post some stories about PCW's past. Some of them have been posted before in other places, but I feel I'm in a position now to be very honest about PCW from the beginning. Maybe it will inspire to keep fighting the good fight...or give me closure on the whole thing. Who knows.

Expect an announcement on our future within a month at the latest.

Thanks!

A

PCW, WFX Thoughts and MORE!

I've been neglecting the blog lately so this might one of those long ones...

Firstly, PCW's Rising Spirit: Enter The Dragon.

I want to thank everyone who came out and supported us. It was a great crowd. I thought it was a very good event as well. We started at about 9:05 and ended around 12:10 or so which is an accomplishment.

Ultimo Dragon and Brian Christopher were class acts. I didn't even get much of an opportunity to speak with Ultimo and, really, he's the type of guy who doesn't need a lot of attention. Brian was his usual funny, out going self. When I mentioned there would be streamers in the main event, he thought I said strippers and I've never seen a more excited guy!

Ultimo and Mentallo had a really good match. I agree with some that it was a bit on the short side, but we were running a bit over time anyway. It was a quality match. I am sure those two will be seeing a lot more of each other. Mentallo can hang with anyone in the business and I was personally proud to be able to make that match happen for him. He deserved it.

Brian and David Dixon had a good match as well. It was exactly what I expected it to be. I think Dixon definitely held up his end of the deal in that one. Brian is hilarious.

Match of the night goes to Mike Angels and Kenny Omega. Poetry in motion as always with those two. I for one would love to see a rematch.

I'd like to thank Mike Davidson and WFX for their gracious assistance with our show. Here's to a long and prosperous relationship.

Speaking of which, I was fortunate enough to be asked to help out behind the scenes at the WFX event. It was a big time show with a huge crowd and some mega stars performing. I'll always remember the pop Jerry Lawler got when he came out and the look on HIS face when it happened. It reminded me a bit of the first time we had Samoa Joe in town and the pop was rocking the LID to the point even Joe was taken aback.

I left right before the finish to the Rumble so I did not see what happened, though I understand it has been heavily criticised. All I can say is, I have faith that when the story is fully told, everything will make sense.

I enjoyed debating with Virgil whether or not the nWo theme, which he wanted to use, constituted licensed material...lol

Next week I will break my vow of never seeing a "pro" hockey game at the MTS Centre (or arena) until the NHL comes back. As part of a work outing, I'll be at the Moose game next Sunday as they face the Baby Leafs.

If I was Cliff Fletcher, I'd send down to the minors anyone who refused to waive their no-trade clause. See how they like playing for the Marlies.

I was surprised to see Mitt Romney quit the US Presidential race today. I heard one of his advisors saying that he's a young guy and intends to have a long career in the Rebublican party. I wonder if perhaps there has been a backroom deal for him to endorse John McCain in return for being named the Vice-Presidential nominee.

I changed my mind and am now not a supporter of Obama. I'm pulling for Hilary.

In case it wasn't already clear, TJ Brooks is no longer with PCW. I don't dislike him, but the way left sure as hell rubbed me the wrong way. He wasn't man enough to talk to me about his gripe and now he lost a good gig. Not sure where he'll go from here...back to RME I would assume.

Speaking of TJ's...Bratt is not, nor will he ever be, associated with PCW again. Again, not a guy I dislike, but a few hours before a major show is not the time I need to get a terse email backing out of a show and a major angle.

I believe RCW will be holding an event on Monday, Feb. 18th which is a holiday. It should be a great event and I'll hopefully be there to enjoy it.

"Entourage", Adam Knight, TNA in Winnipeg and MORE!

I want to thank all the fans who supported our event last week. I was very impressed with the triple digit turnout and truly did not expect it with the show being so close to the holidays.

We very much appreciate the turnout and the crowd was "hot" too.

Many of us were very proud of last week's show. We started as close to "on time" as ever, finished right around the midnight mark and put together a very tight show. Some great matches and some very solid "story" developments. There is a big difference between being "unpredictable" and "nonsensical" (ahem, TNA). I think we accomplished a lot and set many things in motion that are unpredictable but logical. "Entourage" was one of my favourite shows ever and the huge promo segment involving M-Assignment, Entourage and Kenny Omega & Mentallo was a rare "epic" moment in PCW.

PCW returns Jan 31st for "Rising Spirit" featuring legendary Ultimo Dragon. Ultimo will face Mentallo in as much a dream match as any other you could see in Winnipeg. We are very close to announcing another "name" for that event as well.

I want to take this time to thank Mike Davidson and WFX for their contribution to that event.

We're leaning towards a "Ladies Night" in February where all females will be admitted free of charge.

Allow me to take this time to comment on the "Adam Knight" situation. Those that have read Knight's Facebook or Shane Madison's blog know that Knight went to All Japan on Boxing day for a three month stint but returned home last week after blowing out his knee in training.

Knight explained the situation in a far more honest and forthright manner then I certainly would have. The way I see it, regardless of whether the experience was more than Knight bargained for, he worked hard, got hurt and had to come home. Shit happens.

I hope Knight is extremely proud of the fact he earned an opportunity in the big leagues and joins a very, very, very exclusive club of Winnipeg born, raised and trained who earned an opportunity with the big time out of our little city. I'm very proud of Knight and hope he is not permanently injured or emotionally wrecked by the situation and continues to contribute to the industry in the elite manner we have come to expect.

I had an interesting exchange of emails with TNA employee Bill Behrens recently. I won't get into the details yet (But I will in time...), other than to say that, according to Bill, TNA is considering bringing a houseshow to Winnipeg in April. I have my doubts about that actually happening however.

I do take the consideration of a TNA houseshow in Winnipeg as a compliment. I am certain that PCW's ability to draw 400 people to a show featuring Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, a local crew and very little mainstream advertising raised some eyebrows in TNA. However, I don't think TNA understands the Winnipeg market. If they think PCW drawing 400 people with two TNA names means TNA can come here and draw 2000 with a full houseshow, they might be over-estimating their market penetration and brand awareness.

I actually inquired about a year ago about bringing a TNA houseshow here. I think it can be done and be done successfully, but with a very slim margin for error. They will definitely need a local promoter to make the event a success.

On the non-wrestling front, I find the entire Stadium debate to be aggravating. There are so many self-proclaimed experts in media and politics that simply don't "get it". I'm not a Gary Doer supporter at all, but he has a pretty firm grasp on the situation. Winnipeg is such a do-nothing city. Whenever we have the chance to do something, we instead talk about it forever and decide that we simply don't deserve it.

What the ignorant people don't understand is public money is not in an "either/or" category, where we either get a new Stadium or we fix roads, clear snow and feed the homeless. This would be a new and separate investment. And thats exactly what it is - an investment. As Doer pointed out, the province recouped it's entire investment in the MTSC in quick fashion. Every tax dollar the province makes off the MTSC and associated spin off revenue is profit we would not otherwise have made. The same will be true for a new Stadium.

The people that say "If David Asper wants to build it, then let him pay the whole thing" are anti-business. With such an attitude, I am surprised the Asper's have been so committed to Winnipeg over the years. Asper is willing to make a considerable investment of his own money into the project. Sure, he'll benefit and make millions, but why shouldn't he? He's not running a charity. The public will make considerable money as well in increased tax revenue, not to mention the positive effects a new Stadium and a new business development will have on existing business.

The fact is, currently, the Bombers and Stadium are owned by the public. At some point in the next 10-15 years, the Stadium will be unusable. At that point in time, as sole owners, the government will be on the hook for 100% of replacement costs of a new Stadium. Even if the government decided to spend $30 million to renovate the existing Stadium, it would not extend the life of the Stadium to a large degree nor would it create the taxable revenue a new Stadium and business development would.

Asper's plan really is a no-brainer.

I'm surprised to admit this, but I am slowly becoming a Barack Obama fan...

2007, PCW's "Trainwreck", RME's Evolution, Wrestler of the Year & More!

It's been awhile...so here's a long one!

Premier Championship Wrestling ended 2007 with another good show but a production trainwreck!

This past show was probably the least satisfying of the year for me personally as I spent the entire show frustrated and angry. Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong (though, to be fair, many other things could have gone wrong too).

When I arrived, several of the boys were working out in the ring as they often do before shows. Ozz pulled me over to show me something he had been working on with one of the other guys and thankfully he did. To make room, he kicked the crash mat the guys had been using, out of the ring. It fell to the floor beside the ring.

A few minutes later while Drezden was coming off the ropes, the top rope gave way, sliding out of one of the turnbuckles and he flipped over backwards landing on his head but thankfully landing on the crash mat. I recall TJ Bratt experienced a similar accident out of province a few years ago, but in that case the rope actually snapped and it occurred during a show.

Though clearly shaken up, Drezden's a trooper and was okay. I would have cancelled the show for safety reasons if we were unable to sufficiently repair the ropes but the guys pulled together and managed to move some around and get it safe. As a result, the bottom rope was very loose and looked terrible.

While dealing with that, we began the crew meeting late. But I was determined to start the show on time as it was booked long in the first place. One thing I almost always do as soon as I get to the venue is check the mic, check the computer and make sure the music and videos are functioning. As a result of the ropes and some other running around, I neglected to confirm the mic was working, but why would that be a problem? The mic always works. Not this time.

At about 9:30 I gave the signal to start the show and Mike Arnott reiterated to me (he had told me once a few minutes earlier) that the mic was not working. Angry I muttered something about having to do everything myself, swore at the sound guy Joe (he's used to me being an asshole on show today, though I make it up with beers on my promo tab) and marched up to the sound booth to get the mic working.

Then I realised the trouble. Somehow, the mute switch on the mic was not working. The switch had become broken inside the mic. No mic. No problem, I think, I'll plug in our second mic that I dont use often. But wait...for some reason, that mic won't receive power.

It was probably 9:45 or so at this point and I'm going crazy. I frantically search for yet another mic I have that I never use because it's pretty shitty. Low and behold, I can't find it. Fantastic. I went to the locker room and told the guys what happened and they shrugged and simply pointed out that only meant no promos....(some fans might be cheering on the mic trouble as I have been accused of being a little promo heavy at times). Unfortunately, this show had some very, very important promos scheduled. But...the show must go on.

Mike Arnott was forced to announce from the DJ Booth (Mike was ribbed when someone grabbed his cell phone and wouldn't give it back until late in the show...Mike was pissed).

By the time we got to the second half, the late start had pushed the show back enough to cause us to change the main event. I was hot and got into a verbal dispute with Kenny Omega and Mike Angels over the plan, feeling we should go with what we originally planned because it was critical to the story we wanted to tell. They felt no one would be there to see it and they had a back up plan. I don't often admit this, but I was 100% wrong and they were right and the finish was great.

To make matters worse, Shane Madison's music mysteriously disappeared from the computer forcing us to use his old MVP music.

So while we ended the year with "one of those shows" that happen from time to time, I look back very fondly on 2007. Truth be told, around November 2006, we first began seriously discussing moving the shows from a weekly format to a monthly format. Initially, I was against the idea feeling it would be impossible to book angles and tell stories in the episodic manner I like and would take the fun out of it for me. I also felt that the boys might look at a reduced schedule and decide to take every shitty booking they could rather then continue to be committed to the team and our vision.

Others felt a monthly schedule could be done successfully. The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. Having someone like Jay come on board as our webmaster (and I'll talk more about him later) helped a lot as well, as we were able to do more things with our website which is important with a monthly schedule.

I decided, rather than begin 2007 with the monthly schedule, we'd wait until our anniversary. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and legacy and I wanted to make 5 years running every week at the same venue, an historic and unmatched accomplishment in Winnipeg.

There was some resistance from guys in changing the format, but my position was, Winnipeg had been over-exposed with weekly wrestling. That's not the norm in most markets and when Winnipeg ran weekly, the industry was different. I felt we'd draw better monthly, generate more revenue monthly, pay better and be able to book "bigger" shows.

Looking back, I wish we had gone monthly years ago. I do miss being able to "experiment" with match ups that may not appear on "big" shows and some of the more subtle detailing in the episodic writing I favour, but the benefits have more than made up for it. We drew some terrific houses on the strength of our local crew and solid word of mouth and we set a ticket price that was much more reasonable than the old give-a-way of $5. I'm happy to be able to pass that on to the boys. I think every show we've done has been very good. There have been no bad shows at all.

Behind the scenes, the format change ignited a little mini war between PCW and RME. That entire thing has been well documented on this blog so I won't recap the entire thing. But I think when RME heard we were moving to a monthly schedule at the same time they were ready to announce a pretty good summer touring schedule, they thought the time was right to go after the so-called "exclusivity" deal I had with my roster (which isn't exclusive at all, by the way).

At the behest of several members of my roster, I contacted RME with an offer to share talent (I had previously offered to discuss this numerous times in the past as well to no avail). Angus blew me off and said he didn't need to discuss any sort of agreement to fairly and professionally run shows in the same market and then proceeded to misrepresent our discussions to members of his crew. Jon Cutler, Adam Knight and Mentallo offered to act as mediators to get us both talking again but after several email exchanges that were all essentially me saying "hey, why don't we sit down and talk about this thing" and Angus replying "I don't have to, I'll book your crew no matter what you say", the discussions finally ended with Angus telling me to go fuck myself, which only served to harden my stance.

In March, I was in a position where Angus could have pushed me into a great deal for RME but instead, he miscalculated and sparked my competitive edge. RME did have some success on that front getting Mentallo to work one out of town show, getting Royce and Ozz to jump ship while holding the PCW Tag Team Championship (Royce worked two or three shows before realising he didn't want to be there while Ozz never even worked one!).

I remember telling people that while RME had a nice little summer tour, it was six weeks of shows and that was it. I said "I guarantee their weekly CC schedule won't last. They won't make the year without cancelling them". I was right.

And that brings me to "The Evolution of RME" as stated on their website. I'm not above plugging them - check it out at their site. What I find most interesting about their proclamation is they almost have the courage to admit they suck, but that 2008 will be better. But it reminds me of when they started and said similar things. There comes a time when the expression "don't tell me, show me" needs to be taken seriously. RME has always been in the position to be a strong alternative in the Manitoba industry, but they've never really wanted it enough to do what was necessary to see that come to fruition.

Angus and I exchanged constructive emails a couple of months ago. I'm certainly not trying to trash them, but doing things like teasing a "name" and then revealing the "name" to be an indy guy from Alberta does nothing to excite the market. If RME is content appealing only to kids, then bringing in anyone from anywhere is needless. The kids don't care. Run cheap, poorly booked, poorly worked shows and be content to be "in the business". But the impression I get is RME wants to be respected. Their website message is not for the kids that go to CC's as they likely don't read their site nor would they care - it's for the industry, the workers in it and the loyal smarks that will pay to see quality wrestling. If that is whom they want to draw and impress, they have to change their entire mindset of doing business and promising to bring in new talent when there isnt any in Manitoba is an interesting promise. Consider me curiously hopeful...Good luck!

PCW's Year End Awards 2007 will be available online for fan voting in the next week or so (hopefully and I'll try to dig out last years award winners which I dont think were ever announced...). I don't want to influence voting by picking my choices in every category, but here is my personal choice for Wrestler of the Year:

Mike Angels. Without a shadow of a doubt Mike rose to the occasion in a huge way this year. As a "performer", he's an easy pick. He reminds me a lot of Christian in the way he combines great in-ring work, great promos (delivery, execution and the intelligent way he structures his words), charisma and personality with a guy who doesn't exactly look like he should be a top guy.

Behind the scenes, Mike is an incredibly intelligent and committed professional who earned every single opportunity he ever got in PCW and won over the fans person by person. The only people who would every criticise Mike as the top guy in Manitoba this year are those who haven't seen him perform.

I will also mention a "behind the scenes performer of the year": Webmaster Jay. Jay has been a Godsend to us with his contributions to our website, graphics, videos etc. Jay came to us wanting to get involved, telling me his main interest was in the creative aspect of the business. In that sense he reminded me of me. I didn't know him at all but I invited him to be apart of our team, ref the shows and learn and develop and grow into whatever role it is he wanted. One day he came up to me and said "I heard you were looking for a new webmaster. Well, I threw a website together if you want to look at it..." I did...and it was beautiful and the rest is history.

Jay didn't always have an easy time acclimating to some of the shittier aspects of the wrestling business but I am grateful he stuck with it.

As for 2008, I'll discuss that in more detail in the near future, but I will tease that, in addition to the guys that have joined (or rejoined) PCW in 2007, we have at least three more scheduled in the new year.

Last but not least, 2007 really gave me a feeling of pride directly attributable to a few of our guys. Firstly, Robby Royce retired (and I think he's really retired this time...more or less). Royce and I had a major conflict when he up and left for RME in the summer, but we settled as wrestling people often do - we got together and drank. And by the time we were finished drinking, our differences were behind us and Royce was back in the fold. I had always wanted Royce in PCW from the beginning and it almost happened in the summer of 2002. But both he and Mike Davidson have strong personalities and it just wasn't going to happen.

When it did, it was the easiest "negotiation" in the world and I'm glad we made it happen. Royce was always a committed performer and contributed immensely behind the scenes. He will certainly be remembered as one of the best workers to ever come out of Manitoba who didn't quite make the major leagues, but he did help make the local industry and we should all be grateful for that...and proud he was here.

When Mike left in 2003, once the decision had been made to keep PCW going, I really wanted it to be a place where the best workers would get the best chance to develop their skills. I think we've been that. And the one thing I really wanted to see happen in my time was for one of "our guys" to make it. When Kenny signed, I thought "it's done. I have nothing left to do in the business." But that wasn't true...

Not only did Kenny show incredible courage to leave WWE on his terms and incredible selflessness to return to PCW as a regular performer, he continued to make a name for himself in North America in 2007. Can a stint in ROH or TNA be in store in 2008? Surely...

In addition to Kenny, Mentallo finally got the recognition he so richly deserved and was far overdue when he, without any guarantee of anything whatsoever, ventured to Mexico. While there, his hard work, incredible talent, intelligence, terrific look and personality obviously endeared him to the right people as he worked for CMLL.

Mentallo has outgrown Winnipeg so much. He's a guy that has always made his own opportunities - nothing has been handed to him at all. The skies the limit in 2008.

I'll reveal here for the first time that our very own Adam Knight will be going to Japan later this month to work for (I hope I get this right...) All Japan. I think some people could have criticised Knight over the years for not fully chasing his dreams...that changed this year. He's in the best shape of his life and in a very positive frame of mind and I have no doubt he'll be successful overseas.

Three guys from Winnipeg "making it" in three different ways! Not bad for the toilet bowl of wrestling...!

The question now is...who's next?

PCW returns shortly, Thursday Jan. 3rd at the LID Nightclub. We ask for your full support as this show is so close to the holidays but we will be making a major announcement concerning our next "Big" show scheduled for Jan 31st! You really, really won't want to miss that one!

RME Show, Taking Pride & Winnipeg Is Not a Toilet!

Just a quick one today. I'm still irate over Saskatchewan playing so poorly against Toronto and costing Winnipeg first place in the East. We really needed that extra week to get healthy. But I guess it was our own damn faults. Montreal should be easy pickings for the Bombers...so we'll probably lose. We need to win three in a row to win the Grey Cup. When was the last time we won three in a row?

Looks like Toronto/BC.

A few people have told me they were looking forward to my blog today since I attended an RME event last night. I won't give an in depth review because I don't have the patience and I'm not in the mood to bury anyone. Truth be told, it was an improved performance over the last two events I saw.

The house at Glenwood was really good, about 60-70. From what I understand (and I could be wrong), RME is not running CC's anymore at all and last night was the last one. If that is true, that is unfortunate because they had a good crowd. I think RME maybe tried to do too much by equating quantity with quality. ie. they wanted to run as many CC's as possible and pat themselves on the back for having so many shows. In reality, three bad shows are not better then one good show and I think if they had focused on Glenwood from the beginning (which I was told was considered their premier venue), then perhaps the success would have warranted keeping the necessary insurance to keep running. Ofcourse, it is entirely possible that I don't know what I'm talking about and they planned to drop CC's no matter how well they did there. Perhaps one show would not warrant the expense of the extra insurance, I don't know.

I kind of feel for Ryan Price. From what I understand, he's not in the office anymore, but he seems to really take pride in what he does. He watches the matches closely and you can tell by his expression when something is going well or when it isn't. On the other hand, Angus seems mostly blissfully unaware of when things are going poorly, though I could not see him very much last night. Talking to Price a bit, I think his opinion should carry more weight in RME and I say that having had a few disagreements with him. But he has a good grasp of the realities of the situation and means well.

I thought RME did a great job of cutting out the Larry Zbyszko bullshit. I complain about that a lot. If you're going to do the repeated heel stalling, you better know what you're doing. There was method to Larry Z's madness...he wasn't stalling because they had a short crew. So good job there.

I thought everyone did their thing in the ring and I didn't really see a bunch of blown spots. Every show will have some fuck ups etc, so I wouldn't rip someone apart for acceptable errors. I would say what stood out the most to me was that the show was repetitive and boring.

Nothing really exciting occurred and the booking wasn't building to anything. It had a real spot show feel in that none of the matches, it seemed, were pre-announced and set up by the previous booking. They didn't need a booker last night. Perhaps that's because of the small crew and trying to get enough guys together, I don't know. But I'm not saying the show was bad. It wasn't bad. Compared to our shows, I would say, sure it was fucking terrible. But the RME crew isn't the PCW crew and while they may take exception to that, I live in the real world and you have to grasp reality and realise you have limitations. It didn't help that their best worker, Gene Swan appeared to be hurt and could only work a two minute match.

The big issue and something that came up in the group I was with was the repetitiveness. Numerous spots were repeated in match after match. I would attribute that to guys just picking the easiest manner to accomplish their goal, rather then using some creativity and "spicing" up the show. Kids might not notice, but I hate this argument that "it's a kids show" to excuse poor work or whatever. Good work is good work. Period.

At the first Glenwood show I went to, Rob Stardom seemed ready to take on the world, like he wanted the pressure of trying to improve the product. It looked to me last night like even he was a bit deflated...uninspired. And that's not a knock on Stardom. It's a comment on the appearance of morale. I have no idea how morale is. When I used to read their hidden board, they always seemed like they thought they were on top of the world, so what do I know, but I don't see inspired, passionate, prideful work.

Bubbles looked to be working as hard as he could, but he was out of his league and trying to do more then he should have been asked. Mo, a talented guy in my opinion, was wasted because of the short match with Gene.

I really felt, as I thought about it after the show, that they could be better then they are. Everyone says RME sucks and RME keeps on letting people think that. Then they put on an uninspired show with a way too small crew and people say "see, we were right". Well, fuck guys, you should take more pride. Work harder. Have more creativity. Know your limitations. I don't ask Dave Dixon to go 20 minutes in the semi-main event with Scotty Raver. And if I did, they'd both look at me like I was crazy. Know your limitations.

The office has the responsibility of fielding a quality crew. If you have 6 guys, and none of them are elite level performers, then how can you expect them to look around and feel really positive about the show? They know they can't hit a homerun. The office has to give the crew the tools they need to go out there and put on the best show they can. That means the booker (or 10 man booking team) needs to work harder to showcase strengths and hide weaknesses and they have to get more guys available. If you use a small crew because you lose money and you dont have the talent or the ability to pull it off, then don't run the fucking show. It's a dis-service to the business, the boys that give a shit and the paying public.

On the flip side, the boys have a responsibility to do the best they can. That doesn't mean lower card guys go extra long and try things they know they can't pull off. It means being a leader and speaking up when you have a valid opinion. If it doesn't make sense, say so. Protect the business and have some pride. Don't say to yourself "well, I think my match will be okay and thats what matters". No, the show matters. You're a part of the entire show and everything reflects on everbody. Know your limitations and make sure other guys know theirs. If 90% of the guys are sitting around after the show wondering why one of the shittiest guys in the locker room got the longest match, maybe you should stand up and tell the booker. Take pride.

It's frustrating to go to shows and see a group that should be better and for whatever reason, they aren't. And then I feel like I shouldn't say anything because I'm a competitor or I don't want to be judged the same way. Judge my shows. I don't care...I welcome constructive feedback.

RME apparently has a great new venue for their regular shows in the new year. I have no idea where it is. But it's either no big deal or perhaps they secured a great venue that could be a positive for the local industry. The problem is, if you take your current product to a great new venue, it's still the same uninspired product that will either not draw, not do the industry proud or get a guarantee pulled as soon as the owners realise they're getting a second rate product.

And excuse me for insulting RME, but dont take offense...take note of reality. If you go into the greatest venue of all time with the same product and the same tiny crew, it's going to be the same result. So the boys in RME, if you're excited about a new venue, you should look around and ask yourselves what you're excited about? A venue that hasn't been burned yet? A fanbase that doesn't know RME isn't very good? What happens when that venue doesn't work out? Then what? Get on Angus' ass to make sure the office is doing their part. Get more guys, get quality guys, do what needs to be done. Get a booker (one, not 10) with a vision, right or wrong, who can take charge and give guys the feedback they need to hear whether they like it or not. If the office won't do their part, fuck 'em then. They can't expect the boys to either. If the office comes through, then do your part - work hard, take pride, know your role and be happy with it, know your limitations and get asses in the seats.

Things can be better in this town. RME made, in my opinion, a strong improvement last night over the last show I saw. But they can be better. You can't ride Stardom and Mo into the ground and thats what's going to happen.

And one last thing, Ernie Todd and I are on decent terms right now, or at least I think we are. But I am so fucking sick of reading him shit all over the Winnipeg industry, calling it a toilet every chance he gets. Fuck you. Why is Winnipeg a toilet? Because the best guys won't work for you? Because you havent had any success in Winnipeg in 7 years? Tell Kenny Omega who went to WWE and has an incredibly bright future that Winnipeg is a toilet. Tell Mentallo who just came back from Mexico that Winnipeg is a toilet. Tell Mike Angels, who is the hottest act in the city, that he represents a toilet. It's bullshit. It's an insult to those guys that work their asses off and it's a big insult to fans who pay money to see a product. Maybe the CWF is in the toilet in Winnipeg, but Winnipeg has some fine, fine wrestling. No offense, Ernie, but you're better than that. Give the devil it's due...Winnipeg has quality workers, quality shows and quality fans.

And that's one guys' opinion...

Go BLUE

A

Mentallo, The Competition and MORE!

A few plugs to begin...



Shane Madison's blog is http://www.meccaholic.blogspot.com/ It's a good read because we often disagree and get into friendly debates.



Mike Davidson's blog is http://www.davidsonsrandomrants.blogspot.com/ He hasn't updated in awhile but he's always an interesting read.



Huge kudos to Mentallo for what was by all accounts a great performance in Mexico this past Tuesday. I could write volumes about Mentallo and his talent and what he's meant to the local scene but I'll try to keep it brief.



Mentallo was one of the reasons I got into the business in the first place (so thank him or blame him, depending on your perspective). I vividly recall watching him work for TRCW at the Palladium, teaming with Johnny Malibu and thinking to myself 'Mentallo is better then this'. I have never spoken to him about his time in TRCW so I have no idea what he thought of it and he's always been easy to work with, but I felt he was being misused.



When Mike Davidson and I began talking about what would eventually become PCW, one of the driving forces to me was giving Mentallo and guys like him a positive place to work and develop where their talents would be respected and utilized.



We haven't always agreed or seen eye to eye, but I think there is a strong mutual respect between us. Mentallo is a guy that could never be buried because he is simply too good and too over. It meant a lot to me to book him to win his first PCW title because he deserved to be on top and to be recognized as the best guy in the territory.



Mentallo has long been one of the most professional and loyal guys I've ever worked with. He's the most knowledgeable guy I've met in the business and has achieved everything he has through sheer determination, hard work and talent. Looking back over the years, you can easily follow his development as he put it all together, spent a lot of money, made a lot of sacrifices and went after his opportunities.



I know he's been well-received in Mexico and I would wager that he will go on to great success there. No one deserves it more!!





In addition to Mentallo in Mexico and Kenny Omega's well-known success, there is another PCW Superstar who might have a career opportunity in the new year. I am not at liberty to disclose any more information than that, but it really shows the level of talent that has existed in Manitoba. It's not easy to make it in Winnipeg as we're an island in the business with no major cities for hours and hours. Compare Winnipeg to Southern Ontario where they have so many major markets within driving distance (and how much cheaper it is to work with "established" talent).



Any success that guys in Winnipeg enjoy is testament to the hard work, determination and abilities of the guys in question. It's especially significant when you consider that for the most part, these guys have gone from Winnipeg to the big time (or close to it) without having to travel the continent, living out of their car.





Our website continues to undergo development. Keep checking it out. http://www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com/





PCW is booked for Whitemouth next month. We've wanted to add a few dates to our calendar by heading out of town so hopefully this is the first of a few more...!





Some changes to the local wrestling scene appear on tap. Wayne Stanton's RCW has begun running regularly again. Wayne is an always entertaining, often controversial, very passionate ambassador of the business. I wish him much success.



RCW's return might mark the beginning of the end for RME. While I would never suggest that they are on the verge of going out of business (I believe they could keep running for as long as they choose given the amount of workers and venues that exist in Manitoba), I've been told all is not well over there. Losing venues, having trouble getting a crew together and uninspired performances could certainly cause stress. I understand there is some uneasiness within the office in regards to the ego of one of their top guys and the power he has (or thinks he has).

One piece of uninvited advice I would give is that I am a strong believer that the booker should not be an active member of the crew for obvious reasons. Perhaps the power-sharing nature of RME is due to a lack of confidence, a lack of vision or perhaps it's indicative of some internal strife, I don't know. But I will say that I think, rightly or wrongly, someone needs to have a vision and make the decisions. Just my opinion...



I won't "expose" anything, and I'd hate to see anyone go out of business, but I would be lying if I didn't think back to spring when several RME guys bragged about how they were on the rise and PCW was on the downfall. Being told to go fuck myself by Angus back then when I offered to forge a positive relationship at the time is somewhat amusing now as I think back to it. In any event, I wish them luck and if anyone over there is interested in making a change, now might be the best time to email.



As I say quite often, my e-mail in box is open!



PCW's Halloween Special is next Thursday night at the LID and will be a fantastic event. Don't miss it!!

"What Were You Thinking?", TNA & WFX

Well...where to begin?

Now that some of the over-hype (and over-sell) is dying down in regards to my last blog, I can take a step back and comment.

I found the whole thing rather amusing, as I am sure many others did. I thought my last blog post was a first rate tirade but pretty fair in retrospect. The only people who really reacted the strongest to it were TNA, which I also find pretty amusing. On one hand, we're just a little indy show in a bar, but on the other, we're important enough to warrant numerous emails flying back and forth with several people being CC'ed.

I've always defended TNA and urged people to support their product. A viable second option in North America is great for the boys and the business. I've also always defended TNA representative Bill Behrens. I can't think of one person I have ever spoken to in the business who has said one good think about him, but since I always had a positive relationship with him, I would stand up for Bill.

Those two thinks may have changed, unfortunately.

Firstly, as it related to TNA. A couple of years ago something changed and that was that TNA insisted on taking over the third party booking for their talent. I understood why they wanted to do it, although in retrospect, the only thing that seemed to change as far as getting guys was prices went up and TNA got a piece of the action.

There were some other changes too. While I generally found Bill easy to deal with in regards to booking talent (I would give a name and date and he'd give me a price and availability), the corporate climate added a few wrinkles with time.

For starters, prices went up significantly. I always felt a bit offended that we'd be told we'd have to pay $200-$300 more for a guy that we just booked a few months earlier, but what could I do? It would have been understandable if TNA's ratings and buyrates had shot through the roof and it could be said the sudden increase was due to the increase in name recognition, but since those things have remained fairly stagnant, that can't be it.

Another issue was TNA restricting media interviews. Okay, I get that, but when indy promotions are booking your talent, you HAVE to make them available to help promote the show. Mainstream (or even wrestling-related) media is not the easiest thing to come by, so when you get it, the business should be supportive of it. If one guy in TNA is giving off-the-wall interviews, then restrict him, but to hold everyone else back is ridiculous, especially when it's like pulling teeth to get clearance.

TNA actually has a department to deal with this issue and when booking talent, we're told "no problem" when it comes to interview requests. But it's never "no problem". In most cases, you're lucky to even get a response. There were shows where the PR department didn't even bother to return my emails. I finally had enough when it came to this past show and I insisted that we had to be able to do interviews with the guys. I sent several emails this time and was finally asked to provide details of the stations in question. I did that. For one of them, I provided numerous dates and times when an interview could be pre-taped. Every single date went by without clearance being given.

Rather then get angry, I finally gave up on the first one and turned my attention to the second, which would be very easy as it was scheduled to take place the day of the show while the talent was in town and could simply phone from his hotel room. Sounds easy right? No response. No response. No response. Frustrated, I finally called the TNA office direct and found out that the entire department was unavailable. After leaving an urgent voice mail, I assumed I would not hear back.

This was the day of the show, mind you, and after being told "no problem", the talent arrived and said they knew nothing of interviews but would be happy to do them, so long as they got the okay from TNA.

I finally got a call back from the assistant of that department, whom I had previously been told via email would be contacting me to approve the requests. We had half an hour until interview time. She said she'd talk to the talent and try and get clearance. Aprox. five minutes before the interview was scheduled, she got back to say there was no one to give clearance. What? Okay.

Now I don't know if other promotions have had this problem, or if we're just "lucky", but it was very frustrating. When it comes time to book talent, everything is "no problem". But in practice, it's nothing but.

While it's an obvious issue for our little indy bar show, the bigger picture is TNA's lack of desire to promote their product. When their talent actually appears in the market, what better way to promote the brand? Up here, who else was promoting TNA but us? Bringing in talent on a fairly regular basis, showing Impact, urging fans to buy the PPV's etc. It would seem a no-brainer to clear interviews in those markets and help spread the word. I just don't get it...

There were a few other minor issues that I over-looked because they weren't particularly impactful. Things such as PO's changing from time to time (ie. I'd ask about a guy and get one quote and then ask a month later and get a different one and then it might go back again), getting different info on availability ("Yes you can book Kurt Angle, no you can't", "Yes you can book Christian, no you can't") and one that almost became a huge issue was guys having bookings added to their schedule and not being told until it was too late. For example, if you book a guy and you're told to go ahead and book his round trip airfare (something you want to do ASAP for the best rates), then you're told that the guy's schedule changed and his airfare needs to be changed...that can turn into a costly headache. It never did for us, but almost did...

In regards to Mr Behrens, I don't want to suddenly go back on everything I have previously said in defense of him. Overall, I have had a positive relationship with him. Then again, I've never had to complain about anything either. In our most recent dealings, I can see how the things everyone else says could be true.

Being the consensus builder that I am, I like to make sure the decisions I make are on the right track. This case was no different. I had the unique opportunity to discuss this matter with several big name performers, in person and via email. I discussed it with those workers close to me as well as other promoters, both here and in the US. The general consensus was that I was well within my rights to say what I did and the fact is, my Samoa Joe blog was not a burial of him. If it was, I would not have taken the time to put over Joe's previous performances. I was very specific about what my complaints were for a reason - I'm a fair guy.

One "name" told me that Bill is a "drama queen" that often blows things out of proportion and that he also tries to bully people and I definitely shouldn't back down. Backing down isn't generally something I do, though I will absolutely apologize for something if I am wrong. In this case, I wasn't wrong and certainly would not apologize or back down from my position.

What upset me more then the actuall issue was TNA's reaction. They didn't care that I was unhappy or that one of their performers performed poorly. Ofcourse, why should they care about our little indy bar show? Well, TNA insisted on taking over third party booking for their talent. That made them responsible for the service they were selling.

TNA seemed less angry about what actually occurred (or even the fact I wrote about it) then the fact it made the rounds of the wrestling news sites. I can understand that. It doesn't paint them in a very positive light. On the other hand, if a person actually reads the blog (and I have a strong feeling Bill didn't since he was angry about things that didn't appear in it), they would see how thrilled we were with Chris Sabin, Joe's prior appearances and TNA in general. The blog was mostly a put over with a serious gripe about a specific incident, and designed as an open letter to our fans, not something meant for the entire North American market.

And though Bill insinuated that I distributed the blog, that is most certainly not the case. In addition to that insinuation, Bill made a few other "suggestions" (or threats as some might call them). One was that Kenny would take the heat for MY comments. Second was that we might not be able to book TNA talent in the future.

Obviously the Kenny comment is so asinine it does not even warrant a response. But the second is interesting. I really feel it was a childish statement. It was akin to a school yard disagreement with one party stomping their feet and announcing they were taking their ball and going home. For all Bill's assertions that they only act in the most professional manner, I felt that kind of threat or promise or suggestion or whatever you want to call it was neither helpful or particularly effective.

The bottom line is, I would love to bring back Sabin. We had Chris Daniels and Jay Lethal on the short list too, but it doesn't break my heart or hurt our promotion if we can't book them. In fact, I would suggest Bill's decision is more of a punishment to his own guys. With morale in the toilet (and yes, it really is), why would you say to your guys "you can't take an easy Thursday night booking"? And again, this is an issue of TNA insisting on controlling guys' bookings. They want the control, but not the responsibility that comes with it.

Unfortunately, that is what it has come down to. In essence I was being told "we don't care what happened. We don't care if you were unhappy. We don't care if your paying fans were disappointed. We don't even care if there was something that occurred that was unprofessional. You must take the bullet, absorb the hit and protect our guys or you can't book them anymore." Oh really? Grow the fuck up.

There are a ton of great talent on the market, some of whom I have already spoken to and others that are definitely on our radar. If TNA wants to lose a regular customer and the only promoting of their brand in this area of the country, then that's their "business" decision to make. It's interesting how much American's (and everyone who knows me knows I am a flag-waving American supporter) embrace the First Amendment...but only when you're not saying something they disagree with.

In the grand scheme of things, the entire fiasco will only put more money in our pockets. We've had requests from third parties to sell the DVD and we might make some merch or build an angle off of it. Why not?

I value my previous experiences with TNA and with Bill and wish them luck in the future. I will whole-heartedly endorse to any promoter in the world that they should absolutely book Chris Sabin (with all seriousness, he should be your first choice, hands down), Petey Williams, AJ Styles (who had a great match AND did business), Chris Daniels and Johnny Devine. There are other guys like Steve Corino that I'd highly endorse as well, but from TNA, there you have it. We had great experiences with all of them.

I hadn't expected to write such a long blog, so I'll discuss my thoughts on TNA as a product next time (and when I get a chance to finish watching their two hour debut).

I'll try to be quick...

WFX. I had the pleasure of being asked to help out and was thrilled to do so. It was a totally different experience then I am use to, both with different things going on backstage (green screen production etc) and to be involved in a major show where I had absolutely no stress because it wasn't my show.

All the names were very cool to deal with, though Brian Christopher ribbed me that if I didn't find his WWE music he wasn't going out. I probably spent most time with Brian who is a hilarious guy and very cool to hang with. He also had some unique advice on certain things.

Ultimo Dragon might be the most professional guy I've ever come across. The way he dresses, carries himself, everything. Class act.

All the guys were cool though and in great moods.

The show itself was great. It wasn't a show where you go in expecting ROH type, wall-to-wall non-stop action. These were mostly former WWE guys working a WWE style. It was at least as good as some house shows I have seen.

The Vanilla Gorillas were very impressive. I've never seen them work before but they can move like you'd never expect for guys their size.

It was cool seeing some PCW talent sprinkled in and doing a fine job. It was very amusing to see the fans chant "P-C-Dub" whenever a PCW guy was in the ring!

Ultimo/Kenny was the match with the highest expectations. It also garnered the most interest backstage as a lot of the boys crowded around the curtain to watch. Just seeing Ultimo and Kenny in the ring together was one of those unforgettable moments in the business that gives you chills. It was a great match too and really showed what a classy guy Ultimo is. He worked with Kenny to put on the best match they could. From what I was told, Ultimo wanted to work with someone that could work - he wanted his trip to be worth his time. It was.

I know from my own brief conversation with Ultimo that he had nothing but good things to say about Kenny. A few of us in the back were talking about how cool it would be to have Ultimo in the main event of a PCW show in front of 300 smart fans that would go absolutely ape-shit. We have to make that happen.

All in all, a great effort by Mike Davidson and his guys and a great experience. I hope I can be apart of the next one too.

OUT!

Samoa Joe Can Go Fuck Himself

Anyone who read my comments on the message board in regards to the Back to School Bash last night know that I was very unhappy over-all.

I wanted to take some time and calm down before I posted a blog. Some time has past but I am probably more angry now then I was last night, especially as more details emerge regarding the situation.

What Joe did last night was unprofessional, idiotic, self-centered and ego-driven. Over the course of six years, I have had the pleasure of working with many, many "names" and never have I seen a guy with such a "diva" complex and such a chip on their shoulder. Nor can I imagine a decision that was worse for business (and THE business) then the choices Joe made last night.

First, allow me to express two things. 1) Chris Sabin continued to demonstrate why he should absolutely be getting a bigger, better push in TNA and why his schedule should be booked solid. He's a class act and a fantastic performer who "gets" the business and had the match of the night. I could not have asked for anything more from Sabin and I certainly hope he will be apart of PCW in the future.

2). On previous occasions, Joe has been a joy to work with and gave exactly what was asked of him. I am sure it is no coincidence that "what was asked of him" was to look strong against our talent. When it came time for Joe to do something that didn't involve him looking like Hulk Hogan circa 1985, suddenly, he's not so accommodating.

I owe our fans a huge apology. Rest assured, Samoa Joe will NEVER be back in PCW unless he intends to come and give us the other half of the match he was paid for.

Allow me to explain in detail exactly what transpired. To be fair, I did not specifically speak with TNA in regards to Joe putting Kenny over. I did not care either way and said to a few guys in the past few days that I hoped Joe would put him over but if he didn't want to, it wasn't a big deal. In the past, whenever I have specifically checked with TNA on whether their talent would be willing to do business for our guys, I have been told "no problem. The business is a work."

Exactly.

And to quote a certain someone last night..."I don't care who wins or loses, I just want to have a good match." I wonder who said that.

After being told by Joe that he'd be "right down" to the locker room for forty minutes (and thus, I was unable to begin the show when I wanted to), I finally went up to his room. I told him he was free to take his time coming down since it would be some time before his match, but I just wanted to get on the same page with him. I told him he was booked against Kenny Omega and asked him if he knew of him. Joe shrugged. Since Joe had spoke to me earlier in the day about his previous two trips to Winnipeg and seemed to have a fairly solid recollection of them, I reminded him that Kenny had worked with AJ Styles on this show last year.

Joe shrugged and said "yeah, so?" I shrugged too and said "would you mind putting our guy over?"

"No way," he scoffed. "I don't do that. I'm a top guy on television. It's company policy that we don't put over anyone but TNA guys." Now, I was totally fine with that up until the line about "company policy" which I knew to be untrue. Tell me you don't want to lay down. Tell me you feel it will impact your position and reputation (even if it wouldn't), but don't lie to me.

I said "really? Styles put him over last year and they put together a match and a finish that made sense for both guys." Joe said "No way" again. He turned to walk away from me saying "there is no way that's happening."

Let me be VERY clear. I had absolutely NO problem with that. Ofcourse I was going to inquire as to whether he minded putting our top guy over, but I thought he likely would have declined. No problem. I thanked him for his time and told him to come down whenever he wanted.

There is a huge difference between beating a guy and eating a guy. There is a huge difference between having a great match and trying to destroy a territory. Joe doesn't "get it". It makes a lot of sense to him when guys sell their ass off to make him look like a million dollars and an unstoppable killing machine. But it apparently makes "no sense" to ask him to "not kill our top guy."

I won't speak for Kenny at all. He's a class act and encouraged me to forget about it and move on. But I will mention that I am fully aware of the poor attitude Joe demonstrated in the back and his insults. There is more to the story that I won't reveal here that clearly indicate that Joe made a deliberate and malicious decision to go to the ring and make our top guy look bad.

For that, Joe can go fuck himself.

And from what I understand, I am hardly the only promoter that feels this way and our fans are hardly the only ones to walk away from a Samoa Joe match disappointed.

The match was too short and did absolutely nothing to enhance our talent or promotion. In retrospect, if Sabin/Sanchez had been the top match, I would have been thrilled. Sabin "gets it". Joe doesn't. How nice it must be for Joe to be so independently wealthy that he can execute a piss-poor match and then say "save your money and don't book me again."

When we book "names", there are certain obligations on both sides. We're expected to pay the PO, trans and accommodations and act in a professional and respectful manner. In return, we expect the talent to show up, work hard, enhance our talent and promotion and act in a professional and respectful manner. Part of that means interacting with the fans and giving them their monies worth.

On previous occasions, Joe did that. Last night, he left many fans who wished to shake his hand or get a picture, disappointed.

That fact coupled with his terrible in-ring performance angered me greatly. I'm not one to shy away from confrontations and fortunately, I had to pay my crew so I did not get the chance to go speak with Joe immediately. I was encouraged by some to go talk to him and by others to let it go. "What can you do?" was an oft-repeated question. I made the decision to let it go.

But as I thought about it further, I didn't want to be accused of being a guy that didn't have the balls to express my unhappiness face to face. I promptly marched up to Joe's room where he was enjoying his third or fourth quarter pounder of the day. I reminded him of his flight information and informed him that someone would be at the hotel in the morning to drive him and Sabin.

I then asked to speak to him. Sabin walked into the next room, clearly sensing that I wanted to speak with Joe about a serious matter. I asked him if he was unhappy or upset with anything. He said "not at all" and asked why I was asking. I said "well, Joe, I guess I was wondering why you ate my top guy."

He said "what did you want me to do, get dropped on my head?" I said "no. I wanted a good match that was a positive for our talent and promotion. That match killed our top guy and hurt my ability to draw moving forward."

Joe invited me in and asked me to sit down. He asked me to explain what I would have wanted different out of the match. I politely explained that I expected the match to go longer and I expected our guy to come out of it looking good and I expected the fans to be willing to pay to see Joe again in the future. I explained that none of that happened.

Joe didn't agree to disagree. He didn't express that perhaps their was a misunderstanding. He proceeded to bury Kenny in the most ridiculous way possible. One guy in that match moved around. One guy was not blown up and huffing and puffing. One guy gave a shit. Guess which guy that was?

While Joe took the time to pay me lip service and try to placate me, he contradicted himself several times. He made ridiculous and lame excuses. The one honest thing he repeatedly said was "I'm not going to give you the answer you want."

I explained that I was not looking for a certain answer. I, as the guy paying the bills, was simply looking to express my unhappiness. It made no sense to kill our top guy. It was bad for business. If Joe had any sense, he would have realised that. We could continue to book him and make money or we could do what happened last night.

Joe rejected my opinion that the match was too short. I explained that I'd rather have a good 10 minute match then a bad 20 minute one, but that was a bad 8 minute match. After a few more excuses which Joe usually contradicted on his own without my help, I said "look, good work is good work. That wasn't good work." Sabin, Petey and Styles can come in, have a great attitude and have a fantastic match with Kenny. But Joe couldn't. That says a lot about Joe.

I expressed my feeling that the fans didn't get what they paid for. Joe scoffed and pointed out that it was a long show. I said "yeah, WE gave them what they paid for but YOU didn't. They paid for Samoa Joe." His reply "and they saw Samoa Joe." I said, "They didn't pay to SEE Samoa Joe, they paid to experience a quality Samoa Joe match." They didn't get that.

Joe actually said to me "if you wanted your guy to look good, then you shouldn't have booked him against me." I didn't make Joe the highest paid guy on the show because I wanted him to make our talent look bad!

From a business perspective, I asked him how that match was a positive. How was that going to help PCW draw? How was that going to set up Joe or any other TNA talent to return to Winnipeg and draw a crowd? Again, Joe's response was that I shouldn't have booked him then. I shook my head in disbelief.

When Ric Flair was NWA World Champion, he travelled the US making every home town guy look like a million dollars because it was GOOD for business, built up the territory and ensured repeat bookings and money for everyone.

One thing Joe said was that he was doing what he felt was best for his promotion. Wrong. Wherever you go, you're a representative of TNA. Everything you do, you're selling PPV's. All Joe did last night was show that he's not a very good worker and, unless a faster and better worker makes him look good, he's got nothing.

Quite honestly, Joe forgot where he came from. Who would Joe be if guys hadn't been willing to make him look good or help him out? Joe made a name for himself squashing smaller guys. Well that gimmick is getting old.

I haven't been around 20 years. I've been around six. Worked with a lot of good talent, names and produced some pretty big shows. Don't give me the "I think I know better" bullshit. I agree - you SHOULD know better.

If other promoters ask for my opinion I will tell them honestly - Joe is over-rated, out of shape and not worth his asking price. Book Chris Sabin. Book AJ Styles. Book Chris Daniels. Book Petey Williams. Don't book Samoa Joe unless it's a "going out of business" show. He'll successfully give you what you need in that regard.

I'm not writing this to bury Joe. I respect TNA and their talent. I don't respect Joe. Not anymore. I owe an explanation and apology to our fans and this is it. Our show was good - very good. Better then anything else you'll see in this city. Some promotions would kill to have our worst match on top of their card. But it wasn't good enough for PCW and it wasn't good enough for us.

For that, I sincerely apologize.


A few notes on last night.

AJ Sanchez had a fantastic match with Chris Sabin. That speaks volumes about Sanchez as a talent and about Sabin as a person. My sincere thanks to both guys.

Due to Chevy's injury, Don Douglas was put in a position where the match changed on him. I thought he worked very hard and put forth a great effort.

Mike Angels and Adam Knight had another great match as did Antonio Scorpio Jr and Nate Hardy. Scorpio and Nate had a ton of crowd heat. This was their third straight match working face/face and to keep getting that reaction says alot about them. I remember being against the idea of them working three shows ago and I was VERY wrong.

I'm an honest guy and I felt we should have drawn better. We drew great, but could have been better. Though, with Chris Sabin as a surprise, we sold tickets based on Joe alone. Thank GOD we brought Sabin in!!

Kenny never, ever has to defend himself to anyone. If a guy like Joe or anyone else doesn't want to come to work when given the chance to work with a talent like Kenny, then so be it. It's their loss. Kenny's future lays waaaay beyond Winnipeg. I feel really bad for him and am sure he is disappointed. But fortunately, he's got a match with Ultimo Dragon this weekend and I encourage everyone to go see that show. That match alone is worth the ticket price.

Our DVD of the Fifth Anniversary show is now available. Our production guy upgraded his equipment, including a boom cam (which, by the way did have a video monitor so he knew exactly what he was filming).

I take complete responsibility for the negatives on last night's show. I don't want to read anyone being critical of the talent. For the most part, they worked very hard and had great performances. Everything that was not as tight as it should have been from booking to pacing to technical issues all fall at my feet. I'll make it up to you all next show. I promise.

I also don't want to get too 'down' on the show. For those "competitors" who couldn't bring themselves to check out our event, trust me, you couldn't put that show on in your wildest dreams. It was very good. But not good enough.

This is a personal blog and my personal opinion. I'm frustrated. I appreciate the support of the fans and I hope you'll come back on Oct. 25th and let us erase the memories of Samoa Joe with a show that will do just that. I fucking guarantee THAT!

NWN, Parity and MORE!

The one positive I can say about the increase in Winnipeg wrestling shows is I get the chance to see what others can do when given the chance to produce their vision of a wrestling show.

Today, I chose to watch the NWN event as part of a downtown street fest. I respect and like NWN owner Will Damon but I wonder if he will be very happy with the event.

I left during the semi-main event, so perhaps I did not get the full experience. Outdoor shows are fun but can be a real challenge from a crowd heat perspective and this was no difference.

The event was well attended though it didnt seem like there was much else going on at this street fest aside from the wrestling event.

I won't get too in-depth into some of the political considerations but I will say if you allow politics to hurt your show, then you're doing something wrong. Damon didn't book the show but he was responsible for hiring the person who did and if you're not going to hire an experienced booker then you should be keeping a close eye on the inexperienced one you chose. The show suffered because of decisions the booker made.

The opening match ended on a very heat-killing double countout. The finish was changed to accommodate someones ego ( and certainly not mine!) and hurt the entire show as a result. Rob Stardom told me he was not going to the show if he had to put over Antonio Scorpio Jr who is a much better worker. I promised someone I would not make a big deal out of "scooping" guys or "jumps" but I will say that I consider giving into Stardom's demands a fair trade for the two guys who just quit RME for PCW.

I don't mind Stardom as a person but he can be bad for business because he thinks he's better then he is. The reality is, he's a decent worker and a decent talker but he needs direction. When left to his own devices, he's a small guy who works like a big guy, doesn't have much of a look and cuts his one promo (but cuts it's well). He suffers from Bobby Collins syndrome a bit. He'd be a solid addition to anyone's low to mid card, but I can't see him carrying a show.

My biggest complaint with the show would simply be that it was a bit lacklustre.

A couple of things, however. The two out of town guys...it seems clear they were booked so the booker could get a return booking of his own. There are better guys locally that would have likely been cheaper too. One of the guys worked face, lost and then proceeded to hop up on the turnbuckles and work the fans, which rubbed me the wrong way, though he didn't have a bad match.

I will also say without getting specific, that while you should have fun in the business, you shouldn't be making fun of the business. Guys are paid to entertain the fans not themselves.

But I dug the Kelly J Davoe entrance music.

I guess what really hindered my enjoyment of the show (aside from people constantly standing right in front of us), was one of my usual complaints - way too much cheap heat nonsense and Larry Zbysko style stalling over and over and over again. I left after the third "chicken" chant started by one of the boys and directed towards his opponent who was stalling on the floor. Three chants, three different matches on a five match show. Too much. And I know EVERYONE involved can do MUCH better then that.

Kudos to Damon for putting together a good show in a great location on such a beautiful day. It's shows like that that promoters should be trying to "work together" on to contribute positively to the overall local industry.

Speaking of RME, I would be remiss if I did not mention them in my blog. I intend to try and check out their show tomorrow (Sunday). While perusing their website and seeing their depth continue to be hampered, I am actually surprised (though I probably shouldn't be) that they have not contacted me to end the heat. It's entirely in their best interests to do so and I wonder if their crew really feels good about the stubborn decisions by their management.

I am under the impression one of their management members has quit that role in the promotion and while I certainly don't know all the reasons behind it, I wonder if frustration with the direction of the company played a role. I like the guy who quit and he seems passionate and knowledgeable. He's a loss to RME for sure.

I've only ever wanted a positive direction for the industry. As always, my email in-box is wide open...


The Canadian dollar hit parity with the US Dollar this week and I am thrilled. If the trend continues, by the time I pay our import talent next week, I may actually save money on the exchange. Perhaps guys will want to get paid in Canadian currency now...

Just for shits and giggles, I looked up the exchange rate back in 2002 when we brought in Eddie Guerrero, Honkytonk Man, Brutus Beefcake, LOD and Buff Bagwell and it was around 63 cents. What an incredible amount of money we were losing on exchange! Insane! If we had parity back then, I wonder how different things would have turned out!

Now let's see how long it takes for businesses to stop gouging us on everyday items which, with parity, should not be more expensive then the same product in the US.

Shane Madison has a good blog up right now discussing the backyard wrestling group. Check it out here: http://www.meccaholic.blogspot.com/

I recently sat down with Madison for a few hours and discussed a plethora of issues over a few wobbly pops as he would call them. It was great to catch up.

Tickets continue to sell very well for our show this Thursday. I encourage fans to get there early. Doors open at 8PM and we always have a line-up of people waiting to get in at that time. So get there early to get the best seats (though there is not a bad seat in the LID). We'll have TNA on the big screen before the show for you to enjoy and low drink prices and a great bar food menu!

For more information, check out the website at www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com As an aside, the old domain should be directing to the site shortly. We'll have an in depth preview of the Back to School Bash on the website early in the week with details on every match!

And don't forget the WFX event next Sunday, which I will definitely be attending.

Mythbusting!

If you haven't read Shane Madison's most recent blog in which he discusses Mike Davidson, AWE etc, then please do so as this blog will reference and response to statements he made.

Madison's blog can be read here:

http://www.meccaholic.blogspot.com/

Madison qualified his statements by pointing out that they are his opinion just as I will state my opinion on my blog. Somethings, however, are a matter of fact and fiction, black and white, regardless of opinion. Perspective can change as time passes.


Firstly, in regards to Mike Davidson's contributions to the business, allow me to state that I believe Mike has done some historic and impressive things for the local industry. In the most general of terms, I can state that Mike does positive things - I just happen to disagree 100% with his vision (or the vision of projects he associates himself with). There is a saying "you have to learn to walk before you can run" and I believe Mike and those around him try to sprint right out of the gates. The problem with that is, if you fall, you're no longer moving forward at all. It's the old story of the tortoise and the hare...But I'll get to the WFX show a bit later.

I won't comment on RCW or anything else predating TRCW's debut at the Palladium as I was not there to witness it and I don't care anyway. The local business changed considerably when the Palladium got hot.

Brace yourselves, as this will be one of those marathon blog entries. I intend no heat, only to share a counter perspective on history from someone who was there and a difference of opinion on current events.

MYTH: Mike Davidson "kept the Stratosphere's head above water".

This might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Firstly, it implies that Mike was the only reason anyone came to watch PCW which isn't true, and secondly, it implies that without our weekly show, the Strat would have been bankrupt which is about as far from the truth as you can get.



For the record, Mike never kept the Stratopshere's "head above water" nor did PCW being there on Thursday nights. While the Strat went through a dry spell on Fri and Saturdays, the profit generated on Thursday's when one considers staffing costs and product costs was minimal. A small point, but neither Mike nor Madison can claim that PCW kept the bar afloat and actually be serious!



And as an aside, not only do many bars have live bands on Fridays and Saturdays with great success, the LID was built as a band bar. They had bands for many years before transforming to a "university" club.

MYTH: Mike never had "his boys" and only pushed guys on merit, not friendship.

In regards to "Mike's boys", Madison stated that Mike pushed whomever "drew". Well, how do you know if someone is a draw before you give them a chance? And a "chance" is not one main event without any steam behind it. The fact is, no local guy could really be considered a serious draw. Mike never put anyone's name on a booking sheet with the expectation that the mere thought of Shane Madison or Chi Chi Cruz or anyone else would put asses in the seats.

As Madison also said in the same blog, "the boys move tickets". That's not a new concept that I created... It's also not a new concept which was thrown out the window simply because Shane Madison was booked to work Mike Davidson! The boys spread the word and attract their friends. There was always a certain aspect of the show drawing fans who came because they wanted to, not because the boys asked them tom but indy wrestling is, at it's heart, a grassroots venture. That was the truth then as it is now.

Commencement of Cool drew a huge portion of it's audience from advanced tickets sold by the boys. I have no doubt that Mike expected the boys to move tickets for AWE events as well. That's a fundamental requirement of an industry like ours and you're cutting your own financial throat if you don't expect the boys to move tickets.

MYTH: Shane Madison vs Mike Davidson drew nearly 500 fans.

I will also say with 100% certainty that Shane Madison vs Mike Davidson at the first Back to School Bash absolutely did not draw 468 people. Let's pretend the draw that night was 468 people (which it wasn't). To say that Madison and Davidson drew that number is a slap in the face to the other boys mostly and certainly to Mike who was booking more than one match that night and the rest of the support staff. And if the draw is directly attributable to those participants in the main event, then perhaps the special guest ref that night drew a considerable amount of those fans (a ridiculous statement to be sure).

I recall quite clearly that Mike and I were very happy with the gate that night as it was the best gate we had. But it was not nearly $2500 as it would have had to have been to draw nearly 500 people. And I don't say that in an effort to diminish Mike's contributions. On the contrary, he should be as proud as me and the rest of the crew for what was a fantastic draw. But the draw was closer to 300 then it was to 400 and has taken on increasingly mythic proportions depending on the perspective of the story-teller.

And while, Madison vs Davidson was an interesting story and something fans were surely interested in, it hardly "drew the house". The best match of the night (and the one that had the most heat if I recall correctly) was a Fatal Four Way involving Kenny Omega, Mentallo, Rawskillz and Ronnie Attitude. I am sure none of the people that night had an interest in seeing that match (especially the people who were chanting "Mentallo, Mentallo"), right...?

My opinion has always been that the show draws the house, not one match. It's a group effort and everyone shares in the success.




MYTH: Houses fell when "Mike's boys" left and the "juniors" were on top.




Madison commented in his blog about guys "bitching about Mike's boys" and then getting a push when Mike and his "boys" left, only to result in a reduced house ("no one was there to see it"). Unfortunately for that rather creative story, it is absolutely untrue.


To listen to certain people tell the story, Mike up and quit PCW because he had built this magnificent promotion that had an abundance of riches in both draw, storytelling and talent. According to this story, he left to build something even bigger and better. A heart-warming, but untrue, bit of revisionist history.


As Madison stated, Mike subsidised the gate with his own money (as I and the venue did the previous year). If the houses were so good, there would have been no need for Mike to reach into his own pocket. Unfortunately, the business is cyclical. No matter how popular or cool something is, it eventually wanes and we definitely waned in the summer of 2003.

I recall two horrific draws - the week of Oktoberfest 2003 (which is the only time I almost cancelled a show due to lack of interest) and Mike's last week in August 2003. Would houses be expected to drop when several people left? Ofcourse they would because you suddenly had several guys not shilling the show to their friends, family and co-workers. You even had some guys openly disparaging the show to fans and advising them not to go anymore.

The rest of August and much of September maintained the lower then hoped for summer draws. They also continued to boast Chi Chi Cruz as heavyweight champion, someone who would most assuredly be described as one of Mike's boys. By the time we hit the Back to School Bash 2003, we had re-established ourselves and the houses were on the way up. As Mike remarked to me in January "this is a pretty good house."

It's easy to compare apples and oranges, but unfair and illogical. It's also illogical to compare the best houses that Mike booked to the lowest houses that I booked. Comparing apples and apples, we both booked some shitty shows with some shitty draws and we both booked some fantastic shows with some fantastic draws. The best draw in PCW's history at that venue was last last years Bash featuring Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.

As an aside, for Mike to compare a show featuring himself in the main event to Kenny in the main event is rather absurd, when you consider that Kenny's audience paid three times as much money to see him perform.

To analyze the point even deeper, if I recall correctly, the only guys to leave with Mike were Shane Madison and Adam Knight. Will Damon had been injured and off the shows anyway. Other guys left later in the year, but if we're talking about the period of time when Mike left, only a couple of guys went with him. Cheech was still champion and worked every week. The top program for several weeks was Kenny Omega vs Robby Royce which had been started by Mike before he left.

If we're talking about the period of time where several of "Mike's boys" left, then we're speaking about late November. By January, they were all back, so to attribute a drop in attendance to that very narrow period of time surrounding Christmas would be dubious at best. And, in fact, we did pretty good around Christmas.

MYTH: Mike doesn't have "boys:

Okay, this is very closely related to a previous "myth", but let's dig deeper.

Does Mike have his "boys" he takes care of? Absolutely. Do I? Absolutely. Does every booker/promoter on the planet? Fuck yeah. We have guys we trust, guys we like, guys we count on and guys we see as being the best for a specific position.

When PCW started, the plan was to continue to push MVP (Madison, Damon and Dicaprio) since they had been pushed on top of TRCW at the same venue. But the plan was also to elevate the most athletic guys on the roster (Kenny and Mentallo) and eventually book them into the top positions and create new "top guys".

I would say with much certainty that MVP were "Mike's boys". They were his friends and they had supported him in the past and he had always pushed them. Mike can argue that they were the most deserving of the push and he won't get an argument from me on that point either. I've said before that it was a Damon/Dicaprio promo on an early TRCW show that first made me a fan of indy wrestling. MVP held up their end of the deal as far as being good in-ring talents, good promos, good characters and developing an emotional connection with the audience. And Mike held up his end of the deal by rightfully recognizing that and pushing them accordingly.

For most of 2002, guys like Kenny, Mentallo, and Assisted Suicide were booked, seemingly randomly, against each other week after week. And week after week, they had arguably the best match of the night with tremendous crowd heat. If they became a bit put off that they never got a push, I certainly would not blame them. It's easy to sit back and say they didnt get a push because they didn't draw, but they never got a chance on top. Period. Need a great match? Book the "juniors". Need to blow the fans' minds? Book the "juniors". Give someone the top spot or a lot of steam? Not the "juniors". Those guys were over with little assistance from the office. And I was the "office" too so I can take the blame as much as anyone. The first thing I did after Mike left in 2003 was to get rid of the junior title.


I also believe there was a definite personality conflict between Mike and some of those guys. I think there was a feeling that the "juniors" could have good matches but would not excel in positions that required promos and "character moments". But the were never given the chance. I won't specifically criticise Mike often, but I believe this was a definite oversight on his part.

The point is, Mike has his boys. I have mine too. I also have no problem pushing guys I don't like if they deserve it, if it's a good story or if the fans want to see it. Whatever is best for the show is what I want to do, hence the reason Mike and his boys came back in January 2004 (and I took a lot of heat for making that decision too...)

MYTH: AWE was a failure.

MYTH: AWE was the greatest opportunity in the history of the business.

Both myths are related and both are just that, myths. AWE was not a failure by any stretch, but it also wasn't the golden opportunity that some people would have you believe.

Mike had an idea to do something different in our market, to run shows and show them on PPV. I think it was a great concept that ultimately failed to live up to it's own hype or to achieve the goals the company set out for itself.

Adam Knight had a WWE try-out in 2004, before AWE's PPV concept.

Kenny Omega signed a WWE contract that was in absolutely no way helped by his one AWE show.

Mentallo has had an extended stay in Mexico and worked several times for WLW and was scouted by Japan and NEVER worked an AWE show.

None of the indy guys that appeared for AWE ever got an opportunity out of the experience that I know of. So when Madison calls guys stupid or says he laughs at them for declining the spot, I have to disagree. If there was no PCW, I am certain everyone would have gone to AWE. But in the political hotbed of Winnipeg, guys made a choice and many guys chose to stay in PCW. Had they all left, there would have been no PCW. They recognized the importance of a consistent product where they would have the chance to consistently and regularly develop their skills.

I know many guys who felt AWE would not last. They were right. They made a choice and that choice not only didn't hurt them, it kept PCW alive which helped them by providing regular work with the best talent in the market. It was a selfless decision by those guys who could have put a PO ahead of loyalty or marked out for the concept of being on a PPV hardly anyone watched rather then investing in their own futures by committing to a promotion that was running high quality, regular events.

And saying those guys who declined to appear did not deserve it is pure idiocy. Those guys that did not appear were asked, some of them multiple times and they declined.

But AWE didn't fail because "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Everything is a learning experience. What those guys learned during AWE's time, they will put to use for WFX. And, to be truthful, the "war" inspired me. I looked at AWE's concept and decided it would not be successful because it was the wrong vision. While dissecting what they were doing, I developed my own vision, a concept I would put into motion if someone like Jeff Dyck offered me X amount of dollars to run a wrestling promotion. In the end, it inspired me to initiate my vision, but on a much smaller scale and it's been very, very successful. In short, without AWE, I may very well have not brought in names, especially names that can work.

But as far as AWE, it wasn't a failure but it wasn't a success. It lost a boatload of money and produced some pretty forgettable shows. I'm of the opinion that a show with great production, a beautiful set, a TV deal, PPV and big expensive names is not better then a stripped down event with some fucking fantastic wrestling. There's a reason why ROH is so successful and it has nothing to do with anything that AWE tried to do...think about it.

MYTH: WFX features the best talent available.

I am surprised Madison would state that. WFX features a lot of mainstream stars, but hardly the best talent available. Is Test better then Samoa Joe? Is Eugene better than AJ Styles? Is Buff better then Kenny Omega? There is one guy on that show that I could see working his ass off and that's the local guy, Adam Knight.

Test, Rikishi and Eugene are all well-known former WWE workers. But none of them will make anyone expect an incredible match. Ultimo Dragon can be awe-inspiring, but it will also depend on his opponent.

If anyone runs a show in Winnipeg and doesn't do everything possible to have Kenny Omega and Mentallo on it, then they are not trying to put on the best show possible.

MYTH: WFX will fail/will succeed.

Obviously, it is too early to tell. I hope it has a positive impact on the Canadian industry. It's a vision that I don't share but those who are spending the money and making the effort deserve respect and appreciation for doing so.

I intend to be at the show and I anticipate a lot of other people will as well.

A Show Review...and MORE!

Where shall I begin...

PCW's Back to School Bash is two weeks away! There has been a very strong interest in tickets and we're all very excited about the show. Samoa Joe is a fantastic performer and the card looks great!

Kenny Omega recently returned following a couple matches, most notably with JAPW. All accounts are that Kenny blew away the fans and management. Kenny told me that he thought it would take a few trips to really get his foot in the door, but apparently, one was all the needed. Good for him!!

I conversed with Mentallo earlier today and he advised me to plan to not have him back anytime soon which is fantastic news for him and his fans because it means he's staying in Mexico longer then anticipated. I couldn't be happier to "lose" a guy!

PCW announcer (and host of The Squared Circle) Mike Arnott and I took in the RME show last Friday night. From what I understand Glendale is their "premier" venue and I was looking forward to a "stacked" card and a great show.

I won't get as detailed as I did for their Canada Day show because at that time, I was witnessing the event mostly on a dare by their promoter Angus. Last week, Mike and I went because we wanted to check out a wrestling show. It's good to see what your competition is doing (though no member of RME management has seen a PCW event in years for some reason...).

I will say that it was a stronger effort then their Canada Show but they are hindered by their obvious lack of depth. Oddly enough, I still haven't heard from Angus who continues to pursue members of my roster who continue to decline or advise him to "talk to Andrew".

Depth aside, the show was notable for two seemingly legit retirements - TJ Bratt and Justin Tyme. Though Bratt and I have been at odds more often then not, I wish him luck in his post-wrestling life. He certainly made an impact on the local industry. I was surprised that the retirement happened when it did as I was under the impression he was planning to work the rest of the year. And if he is really retiring, I am surprised he didn't request it to happen at the LID.

Bratt will be remembered by many as "lightening in a bottle" - a guy who was the right person booked in the right angle at the right time back in TRCW in 2001 at the Palladium. I don't think it would be unfair to describe Bratt as somewhat self-destructive but perhaps he fell victim to "too much too soon". He definitely helped make me a wrestling fans back in 2001 and put on some fantastic performances over the years.

His "Doin' it Alone" gimmick and angle against MVP was gold, though it ultimately suffered due to a change in booker. I recall being somewhat confused when Bratt lost the climactic encounter with Madison and then disappeared for awhile. When he came back, Rob Stardom had become the top babyface attraction doing hardcore every week and TRCW was declining every week.

Justin Tyme won't be missed by many in the business. His career began with a lot of promise. I remember hearing about this kid as having a ton of potential, but he never lived up to it. We recently exchanged emails where he expressed his shrinking desire for the business and how he had often been encouraged to take steroids to improve his look. My advice was, 'you don't need juice, but a gym and some training wouldn't hurt'. I think Tyme was a guy who never really wanted it as much as others wanted it for him. When he was in PCW briefly, it was clear he just didn't have the commitment to live up to his hype or the push he was getting. At the RME show, he was so totally lost in his match with Rob Stardom, I was embarrassed for him. Following the pin, he immediately jumped to him feet and no-sold. Brutal. Bye bye.

Some other observations about the show (these are my opinion, afterall, what do I know):

- A too-long promo to start the show. Especially with kids, it's best to start with a fast paced opener. But the promo did set the stage for the show. However, what was the point of stripping Jon Cutler of the title if you're going to have a tournament a month later when he's healthy? Why not just wait for him to get healthy or drop the strap that night or do an injury angle building to a big match with a major issue? It didn't make sense to me and, in my opinion, hurt the belt and hurt the next guy to get it. I'd be very interested in hearing the shoot reasons behind that decision (someone in the know please educate me) or why that decision is good for business.

- Another lack of depth issue is the fact RME was forced to use guys in positions far above their pay grade. For example, Bradley Scott. Scott needs a gimmick. I'm not going to say he sucks and should be out of the business at all. He's been around awhile, he's training, he seems like a nice guy. He needs a gimmick. Generic, babyface isn't cutting it and exposes him as bland and uninteresting. What bothered me about this match is that he worked Moses Luke who is supposed to be their top heel, yet Mo struggled to win. I realise this was likely a matter of needing the matches to put in some time to give the fans a reasonably lengthy show, but Mo should have squashed him (and there are ways to drag a squash out for timing issues). The other problem was Scott's hot comeback. When Mo missed a second rope leg drop, the fans popped. He kicked Mo in the back and the fans popped. He then applied a chin lock, killing the heat. Chin locks should not be used in hot comebacks in my humble opinion. But I suppose it's a learning experience.

Dick Walker is the spitting image of Paul Giamatti. He even sounds a bit like him. There's got to be a gimmick there...

Speaking of separated at birth, how about Robby Royce and John Ferguson Jr??

Putting Kory Kinkade and Cory Diamond together is at least something...but what else can you do with those two? There doesn't seem to be any other tag teams, especially babyface ones, so maybe doing a program where The Two Cory's get closer and closer before finally upsetting the champs might get the kids behind them, I don't know.

Gene Swan worked the hardest of anyone on the show though his match was short. He actually did something other then a kick, punch, or chop. And his match was booked smartly as a glorified squash. He may be their best option for a top face since they have no one after Cutler. Merc can't be a top guy because he can't work and looked terribly lost in his match with Bratt, though he got the biggest pop of the night from the 40 kids in attendance.

My only beef with the main event would be, if you're going to promote a no-DQ match, you should probably do something that might normally garner a DQ, otherwise, just work a straight match.

The best match was probably Stardom vs Chris Dion because it was booked smartly. ie. it was a glorified squash to get Stardom over as he was winning the strap later in the show. It's the same thing they should have done with Mo - let him destroy some guys and get over.

I'm pretty hard on RME, but why wouldn't I be. If you're going to make bold statements about being a "growing company" or claim that everyone is jumping ship to work there or that PCW is on the decline and RME is going to surpass it, then you better be able to put your money where your mouth is. So far, RME has failed miserably to do that. I noticed their depth issues have caused them to be unable to even post a top ten ranking on their website.

I spoke to a member of their management and I must say, their entire way of thinking is warped. They claim they work the way they do because it was a kids show and if they had an adult-oriented event, the show would be different. Really? How so? Dropping F-bombs and bleeding does not make a show great. Great work makes a show great. Good work is good work regardless of what the audience looks like and bland, boring work is bland, boring work. I think the management team over there could really benefit from checking out our upcoming show and seeing what the best work in Manitoba is. It might open their eyes a bit.

I'm always open to constructive feedback and anyone who offers to help. The feeling I get from RME is that they have a very defensive, closed-minded attitude. Angus is like the emperor with no clothes.

All in all, I enjoyed the show as it was an experience. I like to watch live shows and it's nice to have someone run Winnipeg other then us. I'll probably try to check out their next couple of shows too.

For those that enjoy blogs, check out: http://meccaholic.blogspot.com/ the official blog of Shane Madison.

If you have the movie channels, you have to watch Californication. Starring David Duchovny, it's probably the smartest written show on TV right now and produced by Showtime.

I've always been a huge fan of Sid Vicious, who appears for Mike Davidson's WFX later this month. I would expect to see him in WWE again shortly and I question those people that think that's a bad idea. He was always super over and has mainstream appeal since he was well known during the Monday Night Wars. WWE might want to look at Scott Hall and X-Pac as well. Mentallo was working out with X-Pac this month and passed his information along to me actually.

One thing I miss about not conversing with Davidson as much is our spirited discussions regarding soap operas. He's much more educated about daytime then I as I am only a diehard Y&R fan. Y&R is a great example of how a bad booker with a great crew can kill a show. How anyone could take over that show and write it into the ground is beyond me, but it's happening. I'd like to hear Davidson's opinion on that.

I understand there will be a NWN show in Winnipeg later this month with some PCW Superstars.

http://www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com/

Website Update

Quick update:

PCW's Official website can be found here:

www.premierchampionshipwrestling.com

PCWaction.com will point to this same place when it's active as well.

Site will be updated regularly until the big show.

Thanks.

Some Random Thoughts

A quick update to respond to a few questions I've been asked recently (and seen on other forums).

- In regards to TNA talent being allowed to appear on DVD releases, they are absolutely allowed to be filmed and featured on DVD's we distribute. TNA contracted performers are not permitted to be featured on television, Pay Per View or DVD's distributed by a major third party.

For example, if an indy promotion had a deal with Wal-Mart to sell DVD's, they would not be able to feature TNA contracted talent. If an indy promotion had their DVD's distributed by a major third party such as High Spots, RF Video etc, they would not be able to feature TNA contracted talent. However, we are permitted to sell DVD's featuring TNA contracted talent through our website and at our events.

The only other restriction I am aware of is concerning Kurt Angle who is not permitted to be filmed in any way, shape or form.

- On the DVD front, I realise I have said this before but it IS something that will become a major part of our business plan moving forward. The delay is due to the schedule of my producer and my desire to add commentary and multi-camera editing to our productions. I have Premier Cup 2005 ready for sale and the 5th Anniversary Show should be ready shortly. Premier Cup 2006 and Back to School Bash 2006 are awaiting final voice overs. We have a few other productions in the works as well such as Boiling Point 2002, Commencement of Cool, a Best of Netvidtv and more.

- My congrats to Mike Davidson and the WFX team. You can say a lot about Mike, but he dreams big and pursues the dream as long as he can. I anticipate some PCW Superstars making appearances for WFX and look forward to the events. As I told Mike, I stand ready to assist in any way I can or simply as a ticket buying fan enjoying a quality event.

- Concerning our website, our host agreement expired (I was not provided notice and was of the belief it expired in September). Our webmaster wishes to switch hosts and that process is taking place. There has apparently been some technical issue in switching hosts. If we were willing to change domain names, the site would be online right now, however I do not wish to do that. I anticipate the site will be up very, very soon. Our webmaster has the site built and it's simply of matter of the two hosting companies getting onside with our wishes.

- Prior to the website issues, we were working on a new, enhanced merchandise page. This will be a work in progress but will feature multiple merchandise designs, many of which have already been created.

- Our expectations are that the Back to School Bash will be a huge show for us. We've had tremendous interest in tickets thus far. The show will be very exciting.

- We feel we are hitting our stride right now as it relates to our new monthly format. The crowd response has been fantastic. For the "fans" that concern themselves with such matters, we drew just a hair under 150 people to the last show and almost 200 to the show prior to that.

- On the talent front, as has been mentioned on other forums, three-time former PCW Heavyweight Champion Mentallo is currently in Mexico. This is a huge positive step for Mentallo and he is most deserving of any and all opportunities that come his way. He asked that we not make a big deal out of it on our site prior to him leaving but I expect and encourage the fans to give him a heroes welcome when he returns home...whenever that might be.

Kenny Omega also continues to travel. Kenny made the right decision for himself when he chose to leave Deep South Wrestling. My opinion is, he got out when the getting was good. Kenny's dream leads to places that aren't WWE, at least at this time, I believe and he needed to have the option to make his own career decisions. His upcoming travels will help his notoriety grow and create more opportunities in the future. The last time I spoke with Kenny on this subject, he was keeping in regular contact with high level WWE contacts and that door has always remained open. Kenny vs Samoa Joe at the Back to School Bash should be exceptional.

Kenny was always popular with the people that mattered in WWE. I don't believe it was a coincident that Kenny was paired with the WWE's big project at the time, Oleg Prudius. If I recall correctly, there was talk of Kenny working the circuit as Oleg's opponant when he was called up. Kenny chose to pursue other interests instead.

"Outlaw" Adam Knight, who will face Mike Angels for the PCW Heavyweight Championship at the Back to School Bash, has some upcoming opportunities as well that I am sure we will discuss in more details when the time is right.

As I mentioned last blog, we're happy to have Team Impact back. One of my "competitors" criticised me for being willing to take back guys that left on bad terms. I explained to him that my purpose in running PCW is not to surround myself with my friends, but to surround myself with the best talent available to us. I've spoken to 3 or 4 other guys, not currently regular PCW Superstars, about joining our team.

Until next time...

"Would You Like a Receipt With That?"

Once again, thanks to everyone who took the time to read and respond to my blog. And to all those who e-mailed harassing me to write another, here you go.

I'll try to hit on as many current topics as possible to tide you all over until the next one (ie. this will be a long blog).

Firstly, my sincere thanks to all those who came out to our last show and those who spread the word about it. We had a fantastic show with a killer crowd that absolutely surpassed expectations for a "non-name" show in the middle of a heat wave.

And yes, I realise we started late. And most people have no idea how angry I was about that. I have been considering writing a detailed behind the scenes "anatomy of a supershow" to give people a little glimpse into what goes into the planning and production of a major event. Our last show would have been a good one to detail as it featured some frustrating developments. But at the end of the show, when we're sitting back having a beer, those obstacles make our successes that much sweeter.

Hopefully we can continue to buck the trend that other local promotions have experienced this summer and continue to draw well on our next show on August 23rd which features perhaps the biggest main event we've ever done - Mike Angels vs Aj Sanchez vs Kenny Omega vs Adam Knight! Following that, the Back to School Bash is September 27th featuring the return of the incomparable Samoa Joe!

By the way, Christian Cage is still on the short list for a date next year. Christian had been contacted by another local performer to headline an event this fall but declined. We have a date and show in mind for him in the future and hopefully that comes together, so long as we continue to be successful and the market responds in a positive way, hopefully it will become a reality.

RME...I hope the majority of their crew get a chance to read this (and do so with an open mind). Back in February and March when we announced our switch to a monthly "big show" format rather then weekly format. some guys expressed an interest in picking up "spot shows". At the same time, RME was contacting PCW performers hoping to upgrade their roster. As one RME worker told me, several of the crew had confronted their promoter Angus and encouraged him to add better workers to the roster.

As a result, Angus and I conversed with the intent of forging a positive relationship that would be of benefit to our promotions, the boys, the fans and the local industry. At least, I conversed with that intent. It seemed clear to me that Angus felt he was in a position of power due to our reduced schedule and his announced summer tour, which looked pretty appealing.

I have all the email exchanges saved to confirm my accurate recollection of these conversations. In every exchange, I encouraged Angus to enter into what should have been a quick and easy dialogue to ensure a positive relationship moving forward. Angus' response was always "I don't need to talk to you. I'll book whomever I want to anyway." Now, I know Angus has said a lot of stupid things and tried to spin the situation to his advantage by telling members of his crew that I insisted on a bunch of crazy demands and that they "tried" and I was unreasonable. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was probably more reasonable then I should have been, but truthfully, if I ever felt in an underdog position that would have been the time. It was the perfect opportunity for a promotion like RME to look at the situation and see how they could have used it to their advantage. But Angus is most certainly not a tactical genius.

We never got the chance to discuss specific details of any "agreement" because Angus flat out refused to discuss having an agreement, even when his own champion and two well respected veterans in Manitoba encouraged him to do so.

Interestingly, while rejecting the notion that we should agree on certain perimeters to ensure peace in the valley, Angus informed me that he had a condition to any RME workers being booked on a PCW show - that RME not be utilized in any way, shape or form on live shows or the website. That was the only "demand" exchanged between us. In regards to the idea that champions should be respected within the same market (if for no other reason then a respect for the title-holders and the fans who follow the business on the internet), Angus' enlightened response to that suggestion was "are you a mark?" No, Angus, I just give a shit, something that is painfully obvious you do not if your recent shows are any example. Several of his top guys shared my opinion. I hope they realise now that Angus was looking out for the interests of his ego earlier this year and not what was best for them or their promotion.

"Why do you need an agreement?" you might ask. The easy answer is "we don't." And I'm happy with the current arrangement...very happy. Our crew, our depth, our abilty to put on a first rate show are Manitoba industry leading. Can RME say the same?

To make a long story a little less long, now that Angus' bargaining chip, namely his summer tour, is over, let's review the situation.

Because I valued my crew and I truly hoped for an opportunity to forge a positive relationship with the only other regularly running promotion, I was willing to compromise to do something that was in the best interests of all parties. Angus felt he was in a position of power and, as he so arrogantly put it "would book anyone he wanted" regardless of what I had to say about it. He would also book them, regardless of championship or "top guy" status to job if he wanted to. As he put it "if I book Mentallo to job to Justin Tyme, he'll do what he's paid to." I suppose in theory that's true. Unfortunately for Angus, he didn't realise his position in the business is pretty much the bottom rung of the ladder and his arrogant bravado was seriously under-earned.

It came down to the usual political pissing contest. Angus drew a line in the sand and dared me to watch one of his shows, insulted me and our promotion and vowed he would book anyone he wanted. He dared me to ask guys to refrain from working for RME and bragged that he'd book whomever he wanted. Put in a corner, I had to inform him that he was not permitted to utilize PCW talent. He didn't believe me, obviously, feeling that he, with his exceptional wrestling experience, would do what others have tried and failed to do - break our team. So what did Angus gain with his arrogant, ill-advised pissing contest? Given the chance to book anyone he wanted, he refused if it meant making compromises that would benefit him more then it would benefit us. Did he "book anyone" he wanted? Nope. He ended up with Robby Royce. I won't minimize Royce as a loss to us and a gain to them, but if Royce was expected to be the catalyst for exponential positive change in RME, well...he's good, but he's not a miracle worker.

Obviously, Angus assumed Royce would be the first of many guys willing to "break ranks" and for what...? To work in slow motion with talent that was mainly not deserving of being in the same ring with them on boring, poorly booked shows in front of sparse crowds? Where do I sign up? (And that's not a shot at all their guys - a couple are really good, and a few others have a place in the business, but no one is in RME because they are being challenged to excel).

One would expect Angus to have learned from the humbling experience of losing yet another pissing contest, but nope. He continued to make aggressive and predatory moves against PCW and those associated with us.

He recently e-mailed the radio station that features The Squared Circle wrestling show, insinuating possible legal action if host Mike Arnott was not forced to divulge his source of a question posed for CWF owner Ernie Todd regarding a show on Jack Head First Nation. It must have escaped Angus that the information was on message boards and RME's own website prior to that edition of The Squared Circle taking place. Attempting to cause heat for Arnott who tirelessly invests his time to ensure the existence of a tool the local industry can use to promote themselves and potentially risk the future of that show was pathetic, cowardly and desperate.

When you take that into consideration with other actions on the part of RME, a disturbing picture appears. I recently had a few email conversations with a member of the RME management team who shares my opinion on some matters. I pointed out to him that Angus' endorsement of unprofessional behaviour changes the landscape somewhat. Would Angus be fine if the roles were reversed and guys jumped without notice, with straps or no-showed bookings on their way out? Royce jumping with a strap was almost the most unprofessional thing I have ever witnessed (second only to the infamous Chi Chi Cruz no-show in 2003). It would be easy to blame Royce and his ego (and he deserves the bulk of the responsibility for his own actions), but I know for a fact Angus happily endorsed the move.

Several days before the Premier Cup, which would have been our last chance to take the straps off of Royce and Ozz, Angus informed his crew that Royce was booked for some upcoming shows and ordered them to keep the information quiet "until after this week's PCW show". What a terrible slap in the face to the business. And every one of the guys in a position of power who complied bare some responsibility for that slap. Competition is competition and business is business, but that showed the desperation of RME was so prevalent, they were willing to sell out their own sense of pride and honour to take a shot at us. If Angus wants to take the position that all is fair in love and war, no problem. But then he turns around and complains when Jon Cutler was booked to lose to Chris Impact in a way that definitely protected the RME Champion. Amusingly, some of the RME guys also complained. Are you guys that fucking dense? I'd love to hear those guys justify the behaviour of Kinkade, Royce etc...(side note: Is Kinkade actually a mute and is his only form of communication spouting off on the "hidden" message board?) Did any of them turn to Angus and complain and say "hey, we wouldn't like it if any of our guys no-showed on the way out, so we shouldn't do it either" or "it's disrespectful to the entire business for a guy to jump shit with a strap with no notice". Did any one there have the courage, pride or respect to do that...?

In summary, Angus' strategy this spring was to thumb his nose at the promotion that boasts the best talent in the province. He felt he had a plan to improve RME. Was it successful? Perhaps RME needs a change in management. Unless ofcourse the crew over their supports a vision that boasts such philosophical gems as "would you rather WORK a name or BE the name?" and such insightful learning tools as "think of X amount of moves you do better then anyone else" and "no more schoolboy finishes".

One great illustration of the difference between myself and Angus in this business is my opinion of their Canada Day Show (which can be read by scrolling down a couple of blogs) which Angus heralded as "the best show of the year." If that's true, God help the fans who had to sit through the worst! Is this the vision that crew is following?

Mike Angels made a great statement on The Squared Circle this week. He said if guys take the business seriously in Winnipeg, they'd want to be in PCW. If they're not in PCW, then they either burned a bridge or they don't give a shit. And if your promotion is one that simply and happily doesn't give a shit, what's the point?

I had the pleasure of speaking to RME management member Ryan Price a couple of weeks ago. He's a nice guy and "gets it", at least more so then Angus. I think Price could be a guy that has a positive influence on the business, but I think his "wrestling mind" has been hampered by the RME environment a bit. When he's ready to have a truly rewarding experience in the business, he's welcome to contact me.

I know Price recently had the courage to tell his crew that their performances on a show were "less than stellar" and was immediately criticised for that opinion. I hope that doesn't discourage him, though. It's a refreshing change from the usual smoke blowing by Angus and EZ Ryder. Now, I don't know EZ personally, but I've heard stories of his bullying nature in the business. I know he recently proposed an idea where the crew would babyface a guy who had been making disparaging comments about them and book him in a battle royale for some payback. Not very courageous if you ask me. If those guys would look at the big picture, then perhaps PCW wouldn't be the only promotion trying to move the business forward in this province. As always, my email box is open...though I doubt they'll ever use it.


A few weeks ago, I had Marty Gold on The Squared Circle as a guest to discuss a TV deal in B.C. to showcase wrestling. I believe Marty is the booker for that promotion. Getting positive mainstream tools like television are difficult and rare in Canadian wrestling and it represents an opportunity for anyone getting the chance to appear on the show. I respect Marty and consider him a friend, but I have to disagree with the direction of their vision.

As Marty stated on the radio show, Chi Chi Cruz would be the top guy on the show and be programmed with The Honky Tonk Man. Last time I checked, this was 2007. I think one of the issues effecting the industry is the failure to attract young wrestling minds to the business. It may be a matter of experience and the young guys of today may be the power brokers of tomorrow, but it seems the people who wield opportunity are guys that have been around a significant amount of time (no surprise there) and have a "blast from the past" perspective on the business.

There is so much good, young talent in Canada that could make a name in the future if given the opportunity. Kenny Omega, Scotty Mac, Mentallo, Adam Knight and many others who could, if given the ball on top of a television program would wow the viewers. But time and time again, I am dismayed that bookers often tap their friends for opportunity rather then the guys that would be best served by the spot and be better for business.

Honky could certainly be a positive part of an event, but THE headliner?? Not in today's business. The way I see it, Honky might attract some fans, but his fan base is never going to grow. Anyone who wants to see him will show up to the first show, get their hit of nostalgia and possibly not come back. Featuring hot, young future superstars might attract a few people less, but your market-base is unlimited and fans will leave the show, dying to buy a ticket to the next one and insistent to their friends that they give it a try.

That's just my opinion and I hope Marty and his group proves me 100% wrong. I respect Cheech to a certain deg