Well four out of five ain't bad! I hadn't been paying too much attention to the build up for the Royal Rumble but I got the entire show right with the exception of the rumble match itself. But it wasn't exactly a surprising show. The finish to the Rumble match, however, was terrific.
I heard on the radio today about a study that indicates Bloggers are lonely and insecure. Reading a few different blogs, I wouldn't doubt it. From time to time I stumble over to that Internet shit hole, myspace and read a view blogs (or even right here on blogspot, ET's blog is always good for a sad laugh). I think the thing that sticks out in my mind the most when reading blogs is how many "friends" respond and how guys put over their "friends" so much. These are the same people that bury each other behind their backs. It's like they have an unwritten rule to respond to each other and put each other over in their blogs so everyone thinks they are popular, even though they all hate each other. To quote a phrase "with friends like that, who needs enema's". lol
What's Wrong with the Wrestling Business?
A lot of people have talked about this, especially as it relates to the local industry. I'll talk about it more in depth in a future blog, but one thing comes to mind - when you have more "promotions" than good workers, that's a problem. There are "promoters" who think doing a couple of shows makes them Vince McMahon and guys who think working as many shitty shows as possible makes them a superstar. I don't know if every one has simply lost faith in the business, but it sure seems like most guys want to get whatever they can out of the business even if it contributes to the decline, rather than doing whatever they can to make it better.
Steve Corino Retires!
Steve Corino announced his retirement, effective December 31st 2007. Corino is a fantastic worker and infinitely knowledgeable about wrestling. I am determined to see his last match in Canada be right here in Winnipeg and in a PCW ring. I guess ET still wants Corino to come work for him as laughable as that may be. He's talked about it enough, but has been unable to make it happen (check out Corino's blog for the reasons why). I doubt Steve will every work for Ernie and I am sure Ernie knows it too. ET, you just can't pull it off...
Until next time...
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Royal Rumble Predictions!!
I appreciate the positive comments I've received from people I speak with at shows and on the Internet. And yes, I realise my posts are long...lol I'm the fastest two finger typer in the world.
I will write more about PCW's issues with bringing import talent into Winnipeg in the next post, but I thought I'd add a quick update with Royal Rumble predictions.
The Royal Rumble is my favourite PPV of the year or at least it used to be. The RR was at it's best in 1992 when Ric Flair won the WWE World Championship. That RR was stacked with talent and had the great dramatic finish of Sid Vicious eliminating Hulk Hogan and then being eliminated himself by Flair with an assist from Hogan. Sid was supposed to be the next big heel challenger to Hogan but the fans embraced him. If you have an original copy of that RR, watch the finish and listen to the crowd pop for Sid and heel on Hogan. Listen to the announcers call the finish accurately. And then watch any copy of that finish released by WWE after the live showing. They re-dubbed commentary and crowd noise. Funny stuff.
But on to my predictions:
Hardy Boys vs MNM
This should be a great match, but I am not sure we really care too much about it. I would guess it's the first match of the night. Hardy Boys over.
Batista vs Ken Kennedy
It's unfortunate that Batista has mostly sucked since returning from his injury and I feel the WWE dropped the ball in flipping the title back to him so quickly. Booker T had been the undisputed MVP of Smackdown and deserved to keep it. I would have had Batista chase until WrestleMania, but I guess they have a big Batista/Undertaker match pencilled in. Batista over. Undertaker probably interjects himself. MVP might as well.
Bobby Lashly vs Test
Speaking of dropped balls, is there even a point to ECW anymore? Why WWE chose the obvious uphill battle of remaking ECW in their own image and alienating a very rabid and vocal fanbase rather than simply creating a new third brand is beyond me. I understand the point of capitalizing on the popularity of ECW, but all WWE has managed to do is piss off those fans and make ECW look worse than it would if it had been branded as a third WWE show or a higher end developmental.
ECW seems mostly a vehicle to get Lashly over at this point. They just did this match last week on free TV (and drew a small rating for it too). Lashly over.
John Cena vs Umaga
I think WWE were successful in getting Umaga over after many people called him an obvious Samoa Joe rip-off. And while Joe would certainly have been able to do more in the position, Umaga is a fresh upper tier star. But I don't think anyone believes he's going to win the WWE Championship tonight. And he shouldn't. Cena over after making a superman comeback.
Royal Rumble Match
While there is certainly not as much drama and excitement for this year's Rumble as in past events, it's still a little bit up in the air as to who might win. I think the only guys with a chance are Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Edge and Undertaker. If I was the booker, this is what I would do.
Michaels wins because it's his hometown and he'd get a killer pop. He goes on to WM and defeats Cena for the title. Michaels would have possible feuds with Edge and Orton while Cena could drop down a bit and work with...probably Orton. When HHH comes back, he turns on Michaels and regains the WWE title and then is chased to WM by Cena. I hate Cena, but if I was a WWE booker that's what I'd propose.
But I think Michaels is a red herring. It's his hometown and he's very over so you have two options. Either have him go over for the huge crowd-pleasing pop or you have him get screwed to make whomever did the screwing look like the most heinous heel of all time. I think WWE will go with option B.
Officially, I will predict Orton going over. There is a possibility he could "tie" with Edge and turn WM into a three way with Cena facing two hates rivals and add some drama between Edge and Orton as well (the pop Orton got for tossing Edge from the ring on RAW last week will surely not go unnoticed by WWE). I heard a rumour that Michaels will face Booker T at WM as part of the McMahon/Trump feud and if so, I like that. Booker deserves a high profile match and a big WM bonus and I bet that match would be terrific.
Undertaker is pencilled into face Batista at WM, so he could win the Rumble. However, their issues have already begun to surface on SD so I don't see the point in having him win tonight. If they were going that route, they should have kept the two of them apart on TV. So there you have it...Orton over.
I will write more about PCW's issues with bringing import talent into Winnipeg in the next post, but I thought I'd add a quick update with Royal Rumble predictions.
The Royal Rumble is my favourite PPV of the year or at least it used to be. The RR was at it's best in 1992 when Ric Flair won the WWE World Championship. That RR was stacked with talent and had the great dramatic finish of Sid Vicious eliminating Hulk Hogan and then being eliminated himself by Flair with an assist from Hogan. Sid was supposed to be the next big heel challenger to Hogan but the fans embraced him. If you have an original copy of that RR, watch the finish and listen to the crowd pop for Sid and heel on Hogan. Listen to the announcers call the finish accurately. And then watch any copy of that finish released by WWE after the live showing. They re-dubbed commentary and crowd noise. Funny stuff.
But on to my predictions:
Hardy Boys vs MNM
This should be a great match, but I am not sure we really care too much about it. I would guess it's the first match of the night. Hardy Boys over.
Batista vs Ken Kennedy
It's unfortunate that Batista has mostly sucked since returning from his injury and I feel the WWE dropped the ball in flipping the title back to him so quickly. Booker T had been the undisputed MVP of Smackdown and deserved to keep it. I would have had Batista chase until WrestleMania, but I guess they have a big Batista/Undertaker match pencilled in. Batista over. Undertaker probably interjects himself. MVP might as well.
Bobby Lashly vs Test
Speaking of dropped balls, is there even a point to ECW anymore? Why WWE chose the obvious uphill battle of remaking ECW in their own image and alienating a very rabid and vocal fanbase rather than simply creating a new third brand is beyond me. I understand the point of capitalizing on the popularity of ECW, but all WWE has managed to do is piss off those fans and make ECW look worse than it would if it had been branded as a third WWE show or a higher end developmental.
ECW seems mostly a vehicle to get Lashly over at this point. They just did this match last week on free TV (and drew a small rating for it too). Lashly over.
John Cena vs Umaga
I think WWE were successful in getting Umaga over after many people called him an obvious Samoa Joe rip-off. And while Joe would certainly have been able to do more in the position, Umaga is a fresh upper tier star. But I don't think anyone believes he's going to win the WWE Championship tonight. And he shouldn't. Cena over after making a superman comeback.
Royal Rumble Match
While there is certainly not as much drama and excitement for this year's Rumble as in past events, it's still a little bit up in the air as to who might win. I think the only guys with a chance are Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Edge and Undertaker. If I was the booker, this is what I would do.
Michaels wins because it's his hometown and he'd get a killer pop. He goes on to WM and defeats Cena for the title. Michaels would have possible feuds with Edge and Orton while Cena could drop down a bit and work with...probably Orton. When HHH comes back, he turns on Michaels and regains the WWE title and then is chased to WM by Cena. I hate Cena, but if I was a WWE booker that's what I'd propose.
But I think Michaels is a red herring. It's his hometown and he's very over so you have two options. Either have him go over for the huge crowd-pleasing pop or you have him get screwed to make whomever did the screwing look like the most heinous heel of all time. I think WWE will go with option B.
Officially, I will predict Orton going over. There is a possibility he could "tie" with Edge and turn WM into a three way with Cena facing two hates rivals and add some drama between Edge and Orton as well (the pop Orton got for tossing Edge from the ring on RAW last week will surely not go unnoticed by WWE). I heard a rumour that Michaels will face Booker T at WM as part of the McMahon/Trump feud and if so, I like that. Booker deserves a high profile match and a big WM bonus and I bet that match would be terrific.
Undertaker is pencilled into face Batista at WM, so he could win the Rumble. However, their issues have already begun to surface on SD so I don't see the point in having him win tonight. If they were going that route, they should have kept the two of them apart on TV. So there you have it...Orton over.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Import Issues with Eddie, Honky, Beefcake, LOD and Buff Bagwell!
When independent wrestling promotions bring in "import" talent from out of the country, they often have issues with Canada Customs, over-booking themselves or with the airlines. This situation erupted the past week with four "no-shows" of import talent on Manitoba-based events.
Last Thursday NWN, promoting an event in B.C. had Billy Gunn and Road Dogg Jesse James fail to show. Their issue was apparently weather related.
This past Sunday, LPW's event in Winnipeg saw TNA's Abyss and ROH's Colt Cabana refused entry into the country by Canada Customs at Winnipeg International Airport (or whatever they're calling it these days).
In years past, the CWF booked Sabu for a show. Unfortunately, Sabu triple-booked himself all over North America and did not show up in Winnipeg. There have been rumours of "imports" being announced without ever having been booked (Curt Hennig) and some promoters (How ya doin' ET?) often brag on their website about the imports they might bring in but never do.
Issues like that hurt the business for all of us, whether it's the fault of the talent, the promoter or overzealous custom's agents.
Mike Davidson (the booker for NWN) and I discussed these issues at length on Mike Arnott's The Squared Circle radio show this past Monday. As part of our discussion, we brought up issues that we've had previously.
In five years of existence, Premier Championship Wrestling has brought in many, many imports. While we have never had a "no-show" to date, we have had a fair share of issues. Some were amusing, many were nerve-wracking but we were fortunate enough to have the issues resolved and get the guys in for the shows.
I'm going to discuss the events surrounding the "imports" we brought in to PCW and the issues we were forced to confront.
Eddie Guerrero, The Honkytonk Man & Brutus Beefcake
In March 2002, PCW launched with a major event at the University of Manitoba (which still holds the independent wrestling attendance record in this province). At the end of January, we announced the signing of Eddie Guerrero for the event. As is often the case in Winnipeg, the message boards lit up with claims from the "competition" that we would never be able to get Eddie into Canada due to his much talked about problems with drugs and alcohol.
A few weeks later, we announced that The Honkytonk Man and Brutus Beefcake were added to the event. This was historic as Winnipeg was not used to seeing any big name imports, let alone three on the same show. We were accused by our "competition" of trying to burn the business which was their way of saying "we can't possibly compete with you and lack vision."
While we were excited for the event and tickets sold very well, even people within our own organization doubted that all three guys would make it in. One person stated quite confidently "I'd be happy with 2 out of 3 but there is no way all three show up."
Honky and Beefcake were flying in the night before the show. It was a Saturday. As the event was our first big show, many of the PCW talent including then-backer John Nguyen, had assembled at the LID Nightclub for a pre-show party. Mike Davidson and myself left the bar during the evening to pick Honky and Beefcake up at the airport.
To say we were nervous would be an understatement. These were 2/3 of our headline talent on our first major show. Their arrival was critical to our success. When making the flight arrangements, Davidson had seen to it that Honky and Beefcake ended up catching the same connector flight (I believe it was in Toronto). This was more convenient for us as it meant making only one trip to the airport to pick them up.
Even though both men were clearing customs in Toronto and we had not heard from them to alert us to any problems, we were not at ease. That night I became aware of an interesting fact that seems to prevail whenever I pick up imports from the airport - they are always the last guys off the plane.
Davidson and I waited impatiently at the bottom of the escalator, scanning the entrance for any sign of our guys. As the plane cleared and the passengers swarmed the baggage area, no sign of either of them. Finally, Mike said "There's Honky..." in a quiet relieved voice that made me question whether he was ribbing me or not. But no, there was Honky, coming down the escalator.
"No Beefcake," Mike said. "Where's Beefcake??"
In the few seconds it took for Honky to come down the escalator, Mike and I assumed Beefcake was a no-show. I remember saying "well at least one of them showed" in an effort to make a positive out of a negative.
When Honky came down the escalator, Mike said "You didn't happen to see Brutus on the plane did you?"
"Yeah," Honky replied. "He's taking a piss."
Which brings up an amusing side story. On a drive back from Brandon when it was just me, Honky and Beefcake in John Nguyen's Jeep, the guys enjoyed a few "beverages". Half way home, in the middle of the night, Brutus turns to Honky and says, "can you pass me a bottle." Honky obliges but Brutus hands it back. "No, an empty one."
My curiosity was piqued but I did not say anything as Honky handed Brutus an empty bottle. Brutus glanced at me and said "I gotta take a piss."
I began slowing down, "I can pull over, no problem."
"No, no, it's okay," Brutus said. "I'll just piss in this bottle."
Sitting mere inches away from me in the darkness, I hear Brutus fumbling with his zipper. In an effort to be of some use, I flipped on the dome light...which I immediately realised I probably shouldn't. Brutus politely asked me to turn off the light. More fumbling and then a sense of calmness as Brutus was evidently successful in position himself into the bottle.
Uncomfortable silence overtook the Jeep for a few minutes until I forced a conversation with Honky (I believe it was regarding the Montreal Screwjob). A few minutes passed until Brutus opened his window and tossed the bottle. He then turned to Honky.
"Can you pass me another bottle?"
But back to the Airport. Honky was a bit standoff-ish with us and we later learned that he was less than thrilled when he found out Eddie Guerrero was booked for the show, not because of any heat between them, but because Honky likes to be the top guy on shows.
We continued to watch for Brutus until Mike pointed him out.
"That's not him," I said.
"Sure it is," Mike countered. "It doesn't look like him but it is."
"Why does he look like that?" I asked.
Mike shrugged. "He looks like Kenny Rogers."
Brutus, with greying hair and a full salt & pepper beard finally joined us. He grunted a hello and seemed unhappy as well. When I asked him how the flight was, he explained that he was searched for drugs.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah," he grunted. "They made the dogs sniff me and I had to take off my boots."
With Honky and Beefcake secured in Winnipeg, we had only one guy left to come in - the headliner, Eddie Guerrero.
Eddie was scheduled to come in the day of the show, a Sunday, and we knew we were going to have problems. Despite the Internet reports about Eddie not having a chance in hell of making it into Winnipeg, he had no criminal record. However, he had been charged with DUI in Florida some months earlier. But as the charges were not yet disposed, we were under the impression we'd be fine.
Unfortunately, several days earlier I arrived at the office and Mike was in a poor mood. He told me I had to call Eddie as there was a problem with his DUI. Mike explained that Eddie had called and when Mike questioned him, he became angry so it was best that I call him.
I called Eddie immediately who was the nicest guy you can possibly imagine. He was very apologetic and said he had plead no-contest to the DUI charge and wondered if that would cause us a problem. Not good. I quickly contacted a lawyer I knew who happened to be knowledgeable in maters of immigration. He explained that we could apply for a Minister's Permit in advance, but that we would likely not get it in time to ship it to Eddie. His advice was to either a) lie or b) tell the truth and throw himself on the mercy of the custom agents. He also explained that in a case like this, it was very important that Eddie clear custom's in Winnipeg because having us present to fully explain the situation may be helpful.
We were fortunate that Eddie's travel plans did, in fact, have him clearing in Winnipeg. I called Eddie and explained to him what he needed to do, to tell the truth if asked, but not to say anything if he wasn't asked.
Mike and I attended the airport and took our position downstairs in the international arrivals area. As usual, every one on the plane exited but our guy. As we began to fear the worst, my phone rang. It was Eddie. Panicked, I asked him where he was. Fortunately, he was in Winnipeg trying to clear customs. They asked him if he had a criminal record and he explained he just had a little DUI that he just plead out. Evidently, that created a problem. But Eddie assured me, he would do what he could.
I immediately phoned the lawyer and explained the situation. He gave me some advice on what to say to the customs agents and I returned to waiting with Mike. Several agonizing minutes later, Eddie called again. He sounded totally defeated and explained that he didn't know what was happening, but that it didn't look good.
"I just want to go home," he told me.
Eddie later explained that he had had a terrible weekend. The night before, he had been booked on a show just outside Chicago. The deal we made with that promoter was he would provide Eddie with accommodations overnight from Saturday to Sunday and transport him to the Chicago airport. Following that event, the promoter simply ignored him. Eddie asked several times about his accommodations and how he was getting to Chicago, but the promoter blew him off. Finally, sometime in the early hours of Sunday, Eddie found his own ride into Chicago, but a major tradeshow had the first several hotels he tried booked solid. Eddie called a friend he knew in Chicago and crashed on his couch getting a couple of hours sleep before having to catch his flight into Winnipeg.
At this point, Eddie was totally exhausted and being hassled by Customs. I implored him to continue trying to convince the agent he should be permitted in and passed along what the lawyer told me to say. He agreed he would try.
Several more agonizing minutes passed and a custom's agent entered the waiting area and called me over. She asked about the details of the show, which I explained and then thought for a moment.
"Well, he's going to need a Minister's Permit and that costs $150 (or some figure like that)."
So, Canada Custom's was considering denying Eddie entry to Canada due to some perceived threat he supposedly posed due to a DUI charge, but that threat would be eliminated with a payment of $150. Sure. Whatever.
By that time, we were thankful to have an "out". Eddie paid for the Minister's Permit himself. When John Nguyen paid Eddie after the show, Eddie actually said "You paid me too much," until John pointed out it was reimbursement for the Permit.
The Road Warriors & Buff Bagwell
Following our March event, we soon began planning for our next major event, Boiling Point. BP was a trainwreck and would need it's own long blog just to explain the torture that event was. Every thing to do with that event was a problem, including getting the imports into Winnipeg.
John Nguyen had begin losing interest in wrestling after the March show, but still wanted to be involved. He began easing us into a relationship with his corporate public relations guy, where he would ask as John's eyes & ears while Mike and I ran the wrestling promotion. The PR guy was Hank Ross, a nice old guy who was a lot of fun to hang around with and very knowledgeable about some things. He also moved in slow motion when it came time to negotiate and somehow things never ended up quite as good as he promised.
For example, Mike and I had always planned to run BP at the University of Manitoba where we had run the March show, Commencement of Cool. Hank came to us and asked how we'd feel about running the event at CanWest Global Park, a new, beautiful 7500 seat baseball stadium. We laughed it off saying the cost would be far out of our budget.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Hank teased.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"Oh I think we can get a good deal."
"How so?"
"Oh, don't you worry," Hank responded coyly.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked again, growing impatient.
"Let's just say I know Sammy quite well."
"Sammy?"
"Sam Katz," Hank clarified. "I call him Sammy." Sam Katz was the owner of the Ball Park.
"How much would it cost?"
"Oh, I think you'll be quite please."
That back and forth went on for several minutes with Mike asking Hank the same question over and over and Hank coyly avoiding answering. Mike finally told Hank what we paid for the UofM venue and said that was our budget. Hank chuckled and said he was sure he could beat that price for the Ball Park.
"Well exactly how much, Hank!" Mike demanded.
"What would you say to...zero?"
Hank felt he could get Sam Katz to donate the Ball Park and would have meetings with him to that end. The end result of Hank's wheeling and dealing was us paying more than twice as much for the Ball Park as we did for the UofM venue and nearly going to court with Katz! That's a story for another time.
In addition to being best buddies with Sam Katz and handling negotiations for the venue, Hank offered to take care of travel arrangements for the Road Warriors and Buff Bagwell. We explained that we knew some with Air Canada, but Hank said his daughter (or daughter-in-law, I can't recall) was a travel agent and would surely get us a better deal. Because of other issues, we were booking the flights rather late and were looking for any way to get a better deal. So Hank handled the airline reservations.
BP was on a Thursday, but we had an event scheduled for the night before in Brandon, approximately three hours away. I can't recall the exact times of flights, so I'll estimate to the best of my recollection.
A few days before the event, the hard copy of the airline reservations came into the office. Knowing Hank had taken care of everything, we tossed them on a desk and didn't think about them...until something compelled me to confirm the times.
Bagwell's reservations were fine - he was coming in on the Thursday but the Road Warriors were booked on the Wednesday show in Brandon. Animal was arriving in the morning on the Wednesday but Hawk wasn't arriving until about 8:00 PM. The show in Brandon, three hours away started at 9:00 PM. A bit of a problem.
I recall vividly explaining the situation to Mike. Mike thought about it for about two seconds stood up and yelled "Hank!!! Problem!!"
Our office was open with Mike and myself in one area, separated from Hank and other employees by small partitions and space. Hank sat about ten feet away from us and leaped to his feet when Mike bellowed. He sauntered over.
"Yes?"
Mike tossed the tickets at him and said "we have to change these tickets."
"Why?"
"You've got Hawk arriving at 8:00."
"And...?"
"We have a show in Brandon at 9:00." Mike explained.
"So what's the problem?"
"Hank! Brandon is three hours away!"
"Oh, I see," Hank said. "Well, we can't change the tickets, Mike."
Mike was furious. "Well you better get on the phone and change them and it better not cost us anything!"
"No problem," Hank said. "I'll take care of everything."
Mike and I left the office to run an errand and to just "get away" for awhile. About an hour later Hank called and explained that there was nothing we could do unless we wanted to buy another ticket. On a show that was quickly going way over budget, it was out of the question for us to purchase another ticket to replace a perfectly good one.
The plan we devised was, Mike and the crew and Animal would leave for Brandon Wednesday afternoon and I would stay behind. I would pick Hawk up at the airport and drive him immediately to Brandon. Since the Road Warriors were going to work the main event anyway, we had a little bit of wiggle room. Mike would delay the start of the show as long as possible.
I don't even recall picking Animal up at the airport or if it was even me that did it. The reason being, Animal had no problem whatsover clearing Customs and entering Winnipeg. But Hawk would prove to be a disaster.
I attended the airport Wednesday evening knowing that, if we were to make the show, nothing could go wrong. I checked the departures/arrivals monitor and it shows a small delay of Hawk's flight which was his connection in Minneapolis. As time passed, the delay grew longer and longer and longer until the total delay was longer than the length of the flight. ie. the plane had not yet left Minneapolis.
Evidently, severe storms had caused many flights out of Minneapolis to be delayed. Mike and I spoke by phone numerous times until it became clear there was no way Hawk could make the show. Animal would have to work alone. In Brandon, the venue owner was not very happy and even refused to pay us...until Animal "explained" the situation to him.
Several hours later, Hawk's plane finally arrived and he was not on it. I confered with Mike and we agreed that perhaps he took a later flight as other planes from Minneapolis were coming close together since the weather lifted.
I waited in the airport for two more flights to arrive. At some time around 3:00 am or 4:00 am, all the flights from Minneapolis had arrived and Hawk was not on any of them. I called Hawk's home in Florida. His very nice wife explained that Hawk had left Florida as planned and had definitly made it to Minneapolis because she had talked to him. She said she was sure he would have tried to make it in. She said she'd try to find him and let me know.
I got home around 5am and tried to get a couple of hours sleep as we had an appearance on The Big Breakfast TV program very, very early . An hour or so later, Hawk's wife called to explain that after waiting in Minneapolis for a couple of hours, he decided to go visit friends and catch a flight the next day.
It wasn't ideal, but at least we knew Hawk was coming. As a result, Hawk was now arriving at around 4:00PM Thursday. That made my day even longer as I had to go pick Buff Bagwell up who was arriving around 1:30PM.
After the TV show, Mike and I went to the office to take care of last minute things. Shortly before noon, Mike's phone rang and it was Bagwell. I glanced at my clock and panicked...why was he calling when he was supposed to be on a plane?
"You know your flight leaves in three minutes, right?" Mike asked.
"No, no," Bagwell replied. "I have an hour."
"No you don't."
Yes, Bagwell had forgotten the time change and was an hour off. Mike told him to run for the flight but we knew there was no way. A few minutes later, Bagwell called back to say he missed the flight but he'd be on the next one, which just happened to be Hawk's.
Mike went home to get ready for the show and I attended the airport to pick up Hawk and Bagwell. This just added to the craziness of BP because there were so many problems arising, mostly with a jackass named Wayne Jackson who ran the Ball Park. My phone was ringing every two minutes with problem after problem. I finally had to call Tom Manos and ask him if he'd attend the venue early and take care of issues there.
As per the norm, when the plane cleared, there was no Hawk or Bagwell. As I begun to consider the possibility that both guys were no-shows, my phone rang. It was Bagwell. He was in Customs and there was a problem with Hawk. I knew there was a problem because I could hear Hawk yelling and swearing in the background.
Bagwell was trying to explain the situation to me while also calming Hawk until finally he simply hung up the phone. Now I was really worried. Finally, a custom's offical waved me over and explained that Hawk had an assault charge from many years ago. She was not impressed with his attitude but was willing to allow him in if we alleviated her concerns by purchasing a Minister's Permit. A quick payment to the credit card and Hawk entered the waiting area. But no Bagwell.
Hawk hugged me and then sat down.
"Uhh, where's Buff?" I asked.
"Oh they got him for coke or something," Hawk replied matter-of-factly.
I felt like I had been punched in the gut. "Wh-what?" I asked. "He has coke on him?!"
"No, no," Hawk assured me. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
He explained that when customs was scanning Bagwell's bag, their machine indicated the presence of cocain and he was taken away to be searched and questioned. I was not feeling positive about the entire situation.
"So you're sure Buff wouldn't try to get into Canada with illegal drugs, right?" I asked Hawk.
"Sure, sure," he said. "I'm sure it will be fine."
Several minutes later, another customs official came out. He brushed me off and went over to Hawk. It was clear he was starstruck. He asked Hawk for an autograph and Hawk didn't move.
"Are you gonna let my friend through?" he asked.
"Don't worry," the customs agent replied. "I'm a big fan. I'll take care of it."
A few more minutes later and a stunned and pale Buff Bagwell walked through the custom's doors. He had clearly been scared to death and fell into Hawk's arms.
"I thought I was going to jail!" he exclaimed. "They were gonna throw me in a foriegn jail!"
Hawk tried to reassure him, "now now, Buff, it's okay."
Hawk continued to hug and comfort Buff all the way back to the hotel. It was a tough trip, but all the imports had once again made it in.
In the next update, I'll talk more about import issues including what happens when an angry, bitter & jealous local promoter tries to get a Canadian citizen denied entry to Canada...and "Jim Neidhart's only flying in from Calgary, what could go wrong?"
Until next time...
Last Thursday NWN, promoting an event in B.C. had Billy Gunn and Road Dogg Jesse James fail to show. Their issue was apparently weather related.
This past Sunday, LPW's event in Winnipeg saw TNA's Abyss and ROH's Colt Cabana refused entry into the country by Canada Customs at Winnipeg International Airport (or whatever they're calling it these days).
In years past, the CWF booked Sabu for a show. Unfortunately, Sabu triple-booked himself all over North America and did not show up in Winnipeg. There have been rumours of "imports" being announced without ever having been booked (Curt Hennig) and some promoters (How ya doin' ET?) often brag on their website about the imports they might bring in but never do.
Issues like that hurt the business for all of us, whether it's the fault of the talent, the promoter or overzealous custom's agents.
Mike Davidson (the booker for NWN) and I discussed these issues at length on Mike Arnott's The Squared Circle radio show this past Monday. As part of our discussion, we brought up issues that we've had previously.
In five years of existence, Premier Championship Wrestling has brought in many, many imports. While we have never had a "no-show" to date, we have had a fair share of issues. Some were amusing, many were nerve-wracking but we were fortunate enough to have the issues resolved and get the guys in for the shows.
I'm going to discuss the events surrounding the "imports" we brought in to PCW and the issues we were forced to confront.
Eddie Guerrero, The Honkytonk Man & Brutus Beefcake
In March 2002, PCW launched with a major event at the University of Manitoba (which still holds the independent wrestling attendance record in this province). At the end of January, we announced the signing of Eddie Guerrero for the event. As is often the case in Winnipeg, the message boards lit up with claims from the "competition" that we would never be able to get Eddie into Canada due to his much talked about problems with drugs and alcohol.
A few weeks later, we announced that The Honkytonk Man and Brutus Beefcake were added to the event. This was historic as Winnipeg was not used to seeing any big name imports, let alone three on the same show. We were accused by our "competition" of trying to burn the business which was their way of saying "we can't possibly compete with you and lack vision."
While we were excited for the event and tickets sold very well, even people within our own organization doubted that all three guys would make it in. One person stated quite confidently "I'd be happy with 2 out of 3 but there is no way all three show up."
Honky and Beefcake were flying in the night before the show. It was a Saturday. As the event was our first big show, many of the PCW talent including then-backer John Nguyen, had assembled at the LID Nightclub for a pre-show party. Mike Davidson and myself left the bar during the evening to pick Honky and Beefcake up at the airport.
To say we were nervous would be an understatement. These were 2/3 of our headline talent on our first major show. Their arrival was critical to our success. When making the flight arrangements, Davidson had seen to it that Honky and Beefcake ended up catching the same connector flight (I believe it was in Toronto). This was more convenient for us as it meant making only one trip to the airport to pick them up.
Even though both men were clearing customs in Toronto and we had not heard from them to alert us to any problems, we were not at ease. That night I became aware of an interesting fact that seems to prevail whenever I pick up imports from the airport - they are always the last guys off the plane.
Davidson and I waited impatiently at the bottom of the escalator, scanning the entrance for any sign of our guys. As the plane cleared and the passengers swarmed the baggage area, no sign of either of them. Finally, Mike said "There's Honky..." in a quiet relieved voice that made me question whether he was ribbing me or not. But no, there was Honky, coming down the escalator.
"No Beefcake," Mike said. "Where's Beefcake??"
In the few seconds it took for Honky to come down the escalator, Mike and I assumed Beefcake was a no-show. I remember saying "well at least one of them showed" in an effort to make a positive out of a negative.
When Honky came down the escalator, Mike said "You didn't happen to see Brutus on the plane did you?"
"Yeah," Honky replied. "He's taking a piss."
Which brings up an amusing side story. On a drive back from Brandon when it was just me, Honky and Beefcake in John Nguyen's Jeep, the guys enjoyed a few "beverages". Half way home, in the middle of the night, Brutus turns to Honky and says, "can you pass me a bottle." Honky obliges but Brutus hands it back. "No, an empty one."
My curiosity was piqued but I did not say anything as Honky handed Brutus an empty bottle. Brutus glanced at me and said "I gotta take a piss."
I began slowing down, "I can pull over, no problem."
"No, no, it's okay," Brutus said. "I'll just piss in this bottle."
Sitting mere inches away from me in the darkness, I hear Brutus fumbling with his zipper. In an effort to be of some use, I flipped on the dome light...which I immediately realised I probably shouldn't. Brutus politely asked me to turn off the light. More fumbling and then a sense of calmness as Brutus was evidently successful in position himself into the bottle.
Uncomfortable silence overtook the Jeep for a few minutes until I forced a conversation with Honky (I believe it was regarding the Montreal Screwjob). A few minutes passed until Brutus opened his window and tossed the bottle. He then turned to Honky.
"Can you pass me another bottle?"
But back to the Airport. Honky was a bit standoff-ish with us and we later learned that he was less than thrilled when he found out Eddie Guerrero was booked for the show, not because of any heat between them, but because Honky likes to be the top guy on shows.
We continued to watch for Brutus until Mike pointed him out.
"That's not him," I said.
"Sure it is," Mike countered. "It doesn't look like him but it is."
"Why does he look like that?" I asked.
Mike shrugged. "He looks like Kenny Rogers."
Brutus, with greying hair and a full salt & pepper beard finally joined us. He grunted a hello and seemed unhappy as well. When I asked him how the flight was, he explained that he was searched for drugs.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah," he grunted. "They made the dogs sniff me and I had to take off my boots."
With Honky and Beefcake secured in Winnipeg, we had only one guy left to come in - the headliner, Eddie Guerrero.
Eddie was scheduled to come in the day of the show, a Sunday, and we knew we were going to have problems. Despite the Internet reports about Eddie not having a chance in hell of making it into Winnipeg, he had no criminal record. However, he had been charged with DUI in Florida some months earlier. But as the charges were not yet disposed, we were under the impression we'd be fine.
Unfortunately, several days earlier I arrived at the office and Mike was in a poor mood. He told me I had to call Eddie as there was a problem with his DUI. Mike explained that Eddie had called and when Mike questioned him, he became angry so it was best that I call him.
I called Eddie immediately who was the nicest guy you can possibly imagine. He was very apologetic and said he had plead no-contest to the DUI charge and wondered if that would cause us a problem. Not good. I quickly contacted a lawyer I knew who happened to be knowledgeable in maters of immigration. He explained that we could apply for a Minister's Permit in advance, but that we would likely not get it in time to ship it to Eddie. His advice was to either a) lie or b) tell the truth and throw himself on the mercy of the custom agents. He also explained that in a case like this, it was very important that Eddie clear custom's in Winnipeg because having us present to fully explain the situation may be helpful.
We were fortunate that Eddie's travel plans did, in fact, have him clearing in Winnipeg. I called Eddie and explained to him what he needed to do, to tell the truth if asked, but not to say anything if he wasn't asked.
Mike and I attended the airport and took our position downstairs in the international arrivals area. As usual, every one on the plane exited but our guy. As we began to fear the worst, my phone rang. It was Eddie. Panicked, I asked him where he was. Fortunately, he was in Winnipeg trying to clear customs. They asked him if he had a criminal record and he explained he just had a little DUI that he just plead out. Evidently, that created a problem. But Eddie assured me, he would do what he could.
I immediately phoned the lawyer and explained the situation. He gave me some advice on what to say to the customs agents and I returned to waiting with Mike. Several agonizing minutes later, Eddie called again. He sounded totally defeated and explained that he didn't know what was happening, but that it didn't look good.
"I just want to go home," he told me.
Eddie later explained that he had had a terrible weekend. The night before, he had been booked on a show just outside Chicago. The deal we made with that promoter was he would provide Eddie with accommodations overnight from Saturday to Sunday and transport him to the Chicago airport. Following that event, the promoter simply ignored him. Eddie asked several times about his accommodations and how he was getting to Chicago, but the promoter blew him off. Finally, sometime in the early hours of Sunday, Eddie found his own ride into Chicago, but a major tradeshow had the first several hotels he tried booked solid. Eddie called a friend he knew in Chicago and crashed on his couch getting a couple of hours sleep before having to catch his flight into Winnipeg.
At this point, Eddie was totally exhausted and being hassled by Customs. I implored him to continue trying to convince the agent he should be permitted in and passed along what the lawyer told me to say. He agreed he would try.
Several more agonizing minutes passed and a custom's agent entered the waiting area and called me over. She asked about the details of the show, which I explained and then thought for a moment.
"Well, he's going to need a Minister's Permit and that costs $150 (or some figure like that)."
So, Canada Custom's was considering denying Eddie entry to Canada due to some perceived threat he supposedly posed due to a DUI charge, but that threat would be eliminated with a payment of $150. Sure. Whatever.
By that time, we were thankful to have an "out". Eddie paid for the Minister's Permit himself. When John Nguyen paid Eddie after the show, Eddie actually said "You paid me too much," until John pointed out it was reimbursement for the Permit.
The Road Warriors & Buff Bagwell
Following our March event, we soon began planning for our next major event, Boiling Point. BP was a trainwreck and would need it's own long blog just to explain the torture that event was. Every thing to do with that event was a problem, including getting the imports into Winnipeg.
John Nguyen had begin losing interest in wrestling after the March show, but still wanted to be involved. He began easing us into a relationship with his corporate public relations guy, where he would ask as John's eyes & ears while Mike and I ran the wrestling promotion. The PR guy was Hank Ross, a nice old guy who was a lot of fun to hang around with and very knowledgeable about some things. He also moved in slow motion when it came time to negotiate and somehow things never ended up quite as good as he promised.
For example, Mike and I had always planned to run BP at the University of Manitoba where we had run the March show, Commencement of Cool. Hank came to us and asked how we'd feel about running the event at CanWest Global Park, a new, beautiful 7500 seat baseball stadium. We laughed it off saying the cost would be far out of our budget.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Hank teased.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"Oh I think we can get a good deal."
"How so?"
"Oh, don't you worry," Hank responded coyly.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked again, growing impatient.
"Let's just say I know Sammy quite well."
"Sammy?"
"Sam Katz," Hank clarified. "I call him Sammy." Sam Katz was the owner of the Ball Park.
"How much would it cost?"
"Oh, I think you'll be quite please."
That back and forth went on for several minutes with Mike asking Hank the same question over and over and Hank coyly avoiding answering. Mike finally told Hank what we paid for the UofM venue and said that was our budget. Hank chuckled and said he was sure he could beat that price for the Ball Park.
"Well exactly how much, Hank!" Mike demanded.
"What would you say to...zero?"
Hank felt he could get Sam Katz to donate the Ball Park and would have meetings with him to that end. The end result of Hank's wheeling and dealing was us paying more than twice as much for the Ball Park as we did for the UofM venue and nearly going to court with Katz! That's a story for another time.
In addition to being best buddies with Sam Katz and handling negotiations for the venue, Hank offered to take care of travel arrangements for the Road Warriors and Buff Bagwell. We explained that we knew some with Air Canada, but Hank said his daughter (or daughter-in-law, I can't recall) was a travel agent and would surely get us a better deal. Because of other issues, we were booking the flights rather late and were looking for any way to get a better deal. So Hank handled the airline reservations.
BP was on a Thursday, but we had an event scheduled for the night before in Brandon, approximately three hours away. I can't recall the exact times of flights, so I'll estimate to the best of my recollection.
A few days before the event, the hard copy of the airline reservations came into the office. Knowing Hank had taken care of everything, we tossed them on a desk and didn't think about them...until something compelled me to confirm the times.
Bagwell's reservations were fine - he was coming in on the Thursday but the Road Warriors were booked on the Wednesday show in Brandon. Animal was arriving in the morning on the Wednesday but Hawk wasn't arriving until about 8:00 PM. The show in Brandon, three hours away started at 9:00 PM. A bit of a problem.
I recall vividly explaining the situation to Mike. Mike thought about it for about two seconds stood up and yelled "Hank!!! Problem!!"
Our office was open with Mike and myself in one area, separated from Hank and other employees by small partitions and space. Hank sat about ten feet away from us and leaped to his feet when Mike bellowed. He sauntered over.
"Yes?"
Mike tossed the tickets at him and said "we have to change these tickets."
"Why?"
"You've got Hawk arriving at 8:00."
"And...?"
"We have a show in Brandon at 9:00." Mike explained.
"So what's the problem?"
"Hank! Brandon is three hours away!"
"Oh, I see," Hank said. "Well, we can't change the tickets, Mike."
Mike was furious. "Well you better get on the phone and change them and it better not cost us anything!"
"No problem," Hank said. "I'll take care of everything."
Mike and I left the office to run an errand and to just "get away" for awhile. About an hour later Hank called and explained that there was nothing we could do unless we wanted to buy another ticket. On a show that was quickly going way over budget, it was out of the question for us to purchase another ticket to replace a perfectly good one.
The plan we devised was, Mike and the crew and Animal would leave for Brandon Wednesday afternoon and I would stay behind. I would pick Hawk up at the airport and drive him immediately to Brandon. Since the Road Warriors were going to work the main event anyway, we had a little bit of wiggle room. Mike would delay the start of the show as long as possible.
I don't even recall picking Animal up at the airport or if it was even me that did it. The reason being, Animal had no problem whatsover clearing Customs and entering Winnipeg. But Hawk would prove to be a disaster.
I attended the airport Wednesday evening knowing that, if we were to make the show, nothing could go wrong. I checked the departures/arrivals monitor and it shows a small delay of Hawk's flight which was his connection in Minneapolis. As time passed, the delay grew longer and longer and longer until the total delay was longer than the length of the flight. ie. the plane had not yet left Minneapolis.
Evidently, severe storms had caused many flights out of Minneapolis to be delayed. Mike and I spoke by phone numerous times until it became clear there was no way Hawk could make the show. Animal would have to work alone. In Brandon, the venue owner was not very happy and even refused to pay us...until Animal "explained" the situation to him.
Several hours later, Hawk's plane finally arrived and he was not on it. I confered with Mike and we agreed that perhaps he took a later flight as other planes from Minneapolis were coming close together since the weather lifted.
I waited in the airport for two more flights to arrive. At some time around 3:00 am or 4:00 am, all the flights from Minneapolis had arrived and Hawk was not on any of them. I called Hawk's home in Florida. His very nice wife explained that Hawk had left Florida as planned and had definitly made it to Minneapolis because she had talked to him. She said she was sure he would have tried to make it in. She said she'd try to find him and let me know.
I got home around 5am and tried to get a couple of hours sleep as we had an appearance on The Big Breakfast TV program very, very early . An hour or so later, Hawk's wife called to explain that after waiting in Minneapolis for a couple of hours, he decided to go visit friends and catch a flight the next day.
It wasn't ideal, but at least we knew Hawk was coming. As a result, Hawk was now arriving at around 4:00PM Thursday. That made my day even longer as I had to go pick Buff Bagwell up who was arriving around 1:30PM.
After the TV show, Mike and I went to the office to take care of last minute things. Shortly before noon, Mike's phone rang and it was Bagwell. I glanced at my clock and panicked...why was he calling when he was supposed to be on a plane?
"You know your flight leaves in three minutes, right?" Mike asked.
"No, no," Bagwell replied. "I have an hour."
"No you don't."
Yes, Bagwell had forgotten the time change and was an hour off. Mike told him to run for the flight but we knew there was no way. A few minutes later, Bagwell called back to say he missed the flight but he'd be on the next one, which just happened to be Hawk's.
Mike went home to get ready for the show and I attended the airport to pick up Hawk and Bagwell. This just added to the craziness of BP because there were so many problems arising, mostly with a jackass named Wayne Jackson who ran the Ball Park. My phone was ringing every two minutes with problem after problem. I finally had to call Tom Manos and ask him if he'd attend the venue early and take care of issues there.
As per the norm, when the plane cleared, there was no Hawk or Bagwell. As I begun to consider the possibility that both guys were no-shows, my phone rang. It was Bagwell. He was in Customs and there was a problem with Hawk. I knew there was a problem because I could hear Hawk yelling and swearing in the background.
Bagwell was trying to explain the situation to me while also calming Hawk until finally he simply hung up the phone. Now I was really worried. Finally, a custom's offical waved me over and explained that Hawk had an assault charge from many years ago. She was not impressed with his attitude but was willing to allow him in if we alleviated her concerns by purchasing a Minister's Permit. A quick payment to the credit card and Hawk entered the waiting area. But no Bagwell.
Hawk hugged me and then sat down.
"Uhh, where's Buff?" I asked.
"Oh they got him for coke or something," Hawk replied matter-of-factly.
I felt like I had been punched in the gut. "Wh-what?" I asked. "He has coke on him?!"
"No, no," Hawk assured me. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
He explained that when customs was scanning Bagwell's bag, their machine indicated the presence of cocain and he was taken away to be searched and questioned. I was not feeling positive about the entire situation.
"So you're sure Buff wouldn't try to get into Canada with illegal drugs, right?" I asked Hawk.
"Sure, sure," he said. "I'm sure it will be fine."
Several minutes later, another customs official came out. He brushed me off and went over to Hawk. It was clear he was starstruck. He asked Hawk for an autograph and Hawk didn't move.
"Are you gonna let my friend through?" he asked.
"Don't worry," the customs agent replied. "I'm a big fan. I'll take care of it."
A few more minutes later and a stunned and pale Buff Bagwell walked through the custom's doors. He had clearly been scared to death and fell into Hawk's arms.
"I thought I was going to jail!" he exclaimed. "They were gonna throw me in a foriegn jail!"
Hawk tried to reassure him, "now now, Buff, it's okay."
Hawk continued to hug and comfort Buff all the way back to the hotel. It was a tough trip, but all the imports had once again made it in.
In the next update, I'll talk more about import issues including what happens when an angry, bitter & jealous local promoter tries to get a Canadian citizen denied entry to Canada...and "Jim Neidhart's only flying in from Calgary, what could go wrong?"
Until next time...
Monday, January 22, 2007
No Shows, LPW, NWN and PCW Saves the World!
What a week in professional wrestling locally with two Manitoba-based promotions suffering four "no shows" of their import talent.
Let's start with the New Wrestling Nation event in B.C. promoted by Winnipeg's own (and PCW Hall of Famer) Will Damon and booked by Mike Davidson.
Former WWE Superstars Billy Gunn and Road Dogg Jesse James did not make it in for the event last Thursday night. I am told Gunn's flight was cancelled or delayed due to weather and he contacted Road Dogg and told him since he could not make it, Road Dogg might as well stay home too. Despite that being an utterly ridiculous and illogical thing for someone to do, that seems to be the truth of the matter.
I have been told the event drew about 1000 people which is a fantastic number any way you slice it. It is my understanding that the promotion expected and budgeted for more and I think that is a by-product of having a grand vision that just isn't feasible at this time. In many ways, NWN simply replaced AWE as far as producing big, expensive shows featuring former WWE wrestlers.
While I am fully supportive of the intent to provide a great show and good opportunities for the boys, it is my opinion that that vision is wrong and unsustainable in the long term. When AWE began running shows, I hoped for the best but I knew it would have a short shelf life. I truly wish I had been wrong. I have a different vision, one I believe would have long term sustainability, financial success, critical success and be a bigger and better opportunity than that which has been previously provided. I'll outline that vision in a future blog.
Onto the LPW event from last night at Coyotes. ROH star Colt Cabana and TNA star Abyss were "no shows", having been denied entry into Canada by customs agents in Winnipeg. It is my understanding (as detailed by Mike Davidson on The Squared Circle radio program) that Cabana & Abyss misrepresented their reason for wanting access to the country.
There exists a very real fear by professional wrestlers that if they admit why they are entering Canada (to wrestle for money) that they will be denied. As a result, some guys (and girls) give a different reason for entering than the truth. In the internet age and with some disgruntled and embittered guys sending "stooge reports" to Customs, it's very difficult to pull one over on agents. Evidently, Cabana and Abyss were "caught" in their lie and denied entry.
I've had a lot of experience importing talent into Winnipeg for wrestling shows the past few years. The most gut-wrenching, nerve wracking part of producing a major show is waiting at the airport to see if the import made it in. In a future blog I will detail my experiences, both bad and good, and discuss why PCW continues to have an incredible record of success when bringing imports in and why that is.
Today, I'll talk in more detail about the LPW event and the events surrounding PCW's involvement in the show. If you haven't read my previous blog, go read it first as it discusses at length the political turmoil that existed between LPW and PCW in recent weeks.
Shortly after 17:00 Sunday, I received a phone call from Adam Knight. Knight, ofcourse, had been originally booked to work Abyss on the LPW event and then de-booked because 1) LPW couldn't trust that I would "let" him do the show (according to Shane Madison) or 2) LPW did not want any PCW guys on the show because I featured the CWF in a "rib" on my show (according to Ryan Wood).
Knight explained that Cabana and Abyss were not in town and he was asked to fill in. I believe Woody, Darren Dalton and Jon Cutler all contacted him to implore him to do the show. The truth is, my initial response was to say to LPW "Go fuck yourself". I don't think I am betraying any confidences to say that Knight was not overly enthusiastic about helping them clean up the mess either after the way he was treated.
So why did we help the "competition"?
I had two reasons for doing it. 1) As a favour to Jon Cutler and 2) because Woody was man enough to call me himself and ask for help. Cutler's involvement was, I believe, Knight's strongest motivation as well. We felt bad that he was already getting a major curve ball thrown his way by having a match against a "name" fall apart at the last minute and was now facing the prospect of performing against a far less than suitable replacement (whomever that might have been).
The truth of the matter is, when Knight and I spoke, the answer was no. We agreed it was a "no" and left it at that. But then Woody called me. And I really wanted to say no. But he asked for help and I have to say I felt really bad for the position he was in. I don't know if I, in the same situation, would have been able to humble myself and call him. The fact he was willing to do that to improve his show changed my mind.
My greatest concern in saying yes was that it was unfair to all the guys who had previously declined the show because we as a team decided we weren't going to be involved. But my thought process was, given a choice with little time to considerate the options of a) taking the path of "go fuck yourself, it's what you deserve, it's karma" etc or b) take the high road, help someone out, contribute to disappointed fans getting a better show than they otherwise would and hopefully letting this be a a strong example of working for the greater good being better than every one trying to fuck each other over.
A couple of guys in the "office" of LPW said some arrogant, condescending things in recent weeks. Such as "we don't need PCW guys to have a good show", "The show will be fine without any PCW guys on it", "I won't use PCW guys if it's a hassle" and "I wouldn't even waste my time asking those guys". I never wanted anyone to kiss my ass. When Woody called me and explained the situation, I was silent because I was thinking. In that moment of silence, he began to implore me to help him out and I cut him off because my ego doesn't need that and it's not why I'm in the business. It's never been about that for me.
In five years, PCW has been the reason the business in this province has not fallen into shambles. We've provided the most shows with the best talent, a great venue and a place where the best guys get the opportunities. When someone runs a spot show, I don't expect them to blow smoke up my ass or "beg" me to endorse their show. I expect respect for who and what we are in the business.
There is only one reason PCW runs weekly shows and that is so the boys have a good place to work on a regular basis. It's not for money, ego or bragging rights. If I cared about ego and money, I would only run big shows. It's amusing to me when spot show promoters like to compare their best show to any recent regular PCW show as if there is a comparison. 90% of the time, regardless of our draw on a regular show, the quality is better than other promotion's "big shows". I think, for the contribution, effort and sacrifice we make for the betterment of the industry and the opportunity for the boys we create that we deserve to be treated with respect.
A show without PCW talent can be good, but it could always be better. PCW is not a charity and benefiting from our efforts should not come without a compromise. Some idiots in the business (I'm looking at you E.T.!) refer to that position as a "dictatorship" or "Nazi-like".
If the phone rang at 17:00 under the same circumstances and a Nazi Dictator answered, what path do you suppose he would have taken?
As far as the show goes, here are my thoughts. And please keep in mind that this is my personal blog and my personal opinion. Although, after nearly six years in the business, you can say what you want about me, but I might know a thing or two (in contrast to some guys who still know nothing after 12 years).
The show began on time (don't you hate when they don't?). Ryan Wood cut a promo with one of the HOT 103 guys which basically amounted to them arguing that wrestling was fake, which I didn't understand. Why start a show with a gimmick like that? But it was effective in establishing Woody as the arrogant prick heel and that his real issue was with the HOT 103 guys.
Triple Threat: Danny Duggan vs Donny Douglas vs Jeff Tyler. The DJ is either an idiot or perhaps he was drunk (which I doubt as who would want to get drunk paying $4/beer - how much of that jacked up price went to charity...?). The DJ issues were hilarious though as Tyler entered to Danny's music and Danny entered to "All My Ex's Live in Texas". Everyone knows Danny has ex's all over the continent, not just Texas.
Douglas had a heel promo and gimmick which was "cool heel" and resulted in the fans cheering for him which wasn't exactly the desired effect.
Three ways are tough and this one suffered a bit because of it. There were many times when one guy was sitting around while the other two engaged in spots. There were a few whiffed spots too. I spoke to a different worker after the show and pointed out that I thought he could be crisper, especially on a "big show". Lay the shit in.
Danny and Douglas did some really nice things. Douglas over with a handful of tights and he leaves to "All My Ex's Live in Texas". Douglas had some nice new gear and was obviously looking forward to working with Cabana. He could do more in the gym though. So could I, but I'm not a wrestler working a name...
AJ Sanchez & Kevin Chevy vs TJ Bratt and Eddie Watts. Probably the match of the night. The fans got into it. I don't recall details, but it was good. Sanchez and Watts are always good. Sanchez gets the pin.
Mike Davidson was out as the "wrestling liaison" to reveal that Abyss and Cabana were not there. Honestly, the fans didn't really seem to care. And actually, I found the crowd less that "hot" throughout the night. The pop of the night went to the Indianapolis Colts. The second biggest pop went to Zack Mercury who clearly sold a ton of tickets. It seemed to be a crowd of "Family and close friends", but they did react a few times to some good wrestling spots (the tag match and a couple of things Woody did). That leads me to believe that they would have been into a show with more "wrestling". But what do I know?
Davidson did a good job of making Canada Custom's the heel (hmm, a Canada Custom's gimmick? That might work...).
Wavell Starr vs Zack Mercury. I was rough on Merc in my last blog, but I didn't catch any blown spots in this match. Then again, there really wasn't any spots at all. Wavell is smart and talented and obviously knew that "less was more" in this case. The fans, who popped like mad for Merc upon his entrance, did not really react much during the match until the finish. I would call this match a good example of new "old school"...which isn't a compliment (and that will also be a topic for a future blog). I know Wavell can do so much more and hopefully we'll get a chance to see him work with someone who can do a bit more than Merc. But to be fair, Merc help up his end of the deal in this match and got the pin.
At some point during the first half, they took an extended break to do some ring repairs. I've heard people complain that the ring was the shits and it was. Ring issues crop up from time to time, but that ring not only was the shits, it looked even worse. It was helpfully provided by Ernie Todd who was on hand to supervise (no word on whether he served Coyotes with papers in his breach of contract suit). The ropes were far too lose and I feared that Watts was going to snap them and kill himself and possibly some ringside spectators. The apron was hanging off, there were no turnbuckle pads and the canvas was bunching up a lot.
To be fair, Ernie himself (in a move he's just about qualified for) actually repaired the ring himself. It was a bit better after that, but the ropes continued to be loser than they should be (which is not a rare thing in Winnipeg for some reason). But seriously, if you want to go on websites and brag about your "equipment", invest in some turnbuckle pads - they make the RME and PCW rings look far better.
After the intermission, it was time for a bikini contest. Strangely, the crowd didn't really react too much to it, but it may have been because the contestants were walking around the bar in their bikini's all show, so it was a bit anti-climactic.
The contest is interrupted by Buddy Body. I guess he's someone from a few years ago, but I don't know him and I thought the gimmick was lame. A casual fan would think it was a cheap and poorly executed rip off of Big Dick Johnson, but it was somewhat funny. That is cut off by Adam Knight who attacks one of the bikini contestants for a reason that is never established. She is saved by Mike Hammer who is promptly murdered by Knight. He is saved by John Cutler who is joined by a ref and the match is on.
Cutler and Knight had a solid match (though I know they can both do even better). I almost think the match was just a bit too short and needed more time to develop. The finish saw Merc and Wavell run in for the no contest. I hate to see that on a spot show and I guess there was some discussion in the back about who was going over, but there were other options. I thought it was going to transition into a tag match, otherwise it didn't make a lot of sense. Although I guess sending Merc back out to get a big pop was something the fans appreciated.
Main event saw Woody take on Dalton in a hardcore match. It was a basic garbage-style hardcore match which Chris Raine and I both agreed we could do better (lol). They did some fan-friendly spots and bled buckets to make everyone happy (everyone but Ernie that is). My preference would have been for a great wrestling match with hardcore antics rather than a straight fight. The crowd perked up for some athleticism by Woody and popped for some of the spots.
The show ended with the announcer teasing a return in April and challenging Woody who declined the challenge.
I wont harp on the sight lines and what not so much. Everyone knows Coyotes is not a great venue for wrestling but what are you gonna do? I estimated about 150. And yes, I did count...I got 120-ish when the show began but a bit later someone I was with said 150. Is that important? Well, only to the promoter. The layout of the venue forces the fans to pack in around the ring so it looks good from that standpoint. Too many more people and a lot of them would have had a lot of trouble seeing.
I always harp on production. We're lucky to have a venue with great lighting and a video wall, but it's important to set the emotion right off the start. Rather than giving a two minute warning until bell time and then having the announcer just climb in the ring and start the show, having a change in lighting and a loud, exciting theme song would do a lot to fire up the crowd.
All in all, a good show and I am happy we could have helped. A thank you from the two guys in the office would have been nice, but not really expected.
I had a chance to finally meet Wavell in person and had a great conversation. He's a real nice guy and has some more opportunities on the horizon. I wish him a lot of luck and hope we can bring him into PCW in the near future.
Mike Davidson vs Jean Marious in the night's "bonus match", which I had the pleasure of breaking up while the 6 bouncers were distracted by...well, nothing. I thought Marious was going to get killed by the bouncers which would have meant I would have been killed too because I would have had to jump in and defend him. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.
Until next time...
Let's start with the New Wrestling Nation event in B.C. promoted by Winnipeg's own (and PCW Hall of Famer) Will Damon and booked by Mike Davidson.
Former WWE Superstars Billy Gunn and Road Dogg Jesse James did not make it in for the event last Thursday night. I am told Gunn's flight was cancelled or delayed due to weather and he contacted Road Dogg and told him since he could not make it, Road Dogg might as well stay home too. Despite that being an utterly ridiculous and illogical thing for someone to do, that seems to be the truth of the matter.
I have been told the event drew about 1000 people which is a fantastic number any way you slice it. It is my understanding that the promotion expected and budgeted for more and I think that is a by-product of having a grand vision that just isn't feasible at this time. In many ways, NWN simply replaced AWE as far as producing big, expensive shows featuring former WWE wrestlers.
While I am fully supportive of the intent to provide a great show and good opportunities for the boys, it is my opinion that that vision is wrong and unsustainable in the long term. When AWE began running shows, I hoped for the best but I knew it would have a short shelf life. I truly wish I had been wrong. I have a different vision, one I believe would have long term sustainability, financial success, critical success and be a bigger and better opportunity than that which has been previously provided. I'll outline that vision in a future blog.
Onto the LPW event from last night at Coyotes. ROH star Colt Cabana and TNA star Abyss were "no shows", having been denied entry into Canada by customs agents in Winnipeg. It is my understanding (as detailed by Mike Davidson on The Squared Circle radio program) that Cabana & Abyss misrepresented their reason for wanting access to the country.
There exists a very real fear by professional wrestlers that if they admit why they are entering Canada (to wrestle for money) that they will be denied. As a result, some guys (and girls) give a different reason for entering than the truth. In the internet age and with some disgruntled and embittered guys sending "stooge reports" to Customs, it's very difficult to pull one over on agents. Evidently, Cabana and Abyss were "caught" in their lie and denied entry.
I've had a lot of experience importing talent into Winnipeg for wrestling shows the past few years. The most gut-wrenching, nerve wracking part of producing a major show is waiting at the airport to see if the import made it in. In a future blog I will detail my experiences, both bad and good, and discuss why PCW continues to have an incredible record of success when bringing imports in and why that is.
Today, I'll talk in more detail about the LPW event and the events surrounding PCW's involvement in the show. If you haven't read my previous blog, go read it first as it discusses at length the political turmoil that existed between LPW and PCW in recent weeks.
Shortly after 17:00 Sunday, I received a phone call from Adam Knight. Knight, ofcourse, had been originally booked to work Abyss on the LPW event and then de-booked because 1) LPW couldn't trust that I would "let" him do the show (according to Shane Madison) or 2) LPW did not want any PCW guys on the show because I featured the CWF in a "rib" on my show (according to Ryan Wood).
Knight explained that Cabana and Abyss were not in town and he was asked to fill in. I believe Woody, Darren Dalton and Jon Cutler all contacted him to implore him to do the show. The truth is, my initial response was to say to LPW "Go fuck yourself". I don't think I am betraying any confidences to say that Knight was not overly enthusiastic about helping them clean up the mess either after the way he was treated.
So why did we help the "competition"?
I had two reasons for doing it. 1) As a favour to Jon Cutler and 2) because Woody was man enough to call me himself and ask for help. Cutler's involvement was, I believe, Knight's strongest motivation as well. We felt bad that he was already getting a major curve ball thrown his way by having a match against a "name" fall apart at the last minute and was now facing the prospect of performing against a far less than suitable replacement (whomever that might have been).
The truth of the matter is, when Knight and I spoke, the answer was no. We agreed it was a "no" and left it at that. But then Woody called me. And I really wanted to say no. But he asked for help and I have to say I felt really bad for the position he was in. I don't know if I, in the same situation, would have been able to humble myself and call him. The fact he was willing to do that to improve his show changed my mind.
My greatest concern in saying yes was that it was unfair to all the guys who had previously declined the show because we as a team decided we weren't going to be involved. But my thought process was, given a choice with little time to considerate the options of a) taking the path of "go fuck yourself, it's what you deserve, it's karma" etc or b) take the high road, help someone out, contribute to disappointed fans getting a better show than they otherwise would and hopefully letting this be a a strong example of working for the greater good being better than every one trying to fuck each other over.
A couple of guys in the "office" of LPW said some arrogant, condescending things in recent weeks. Such as "we don't need PCW guys to have a good show", "The show will be fine without any PCW guys on it", "I won't use PCW guys if it's a hassle" and "I wouldn't even waste my time asking those guys". I never wanted anyone to kiss my ass. When Woody called me and explained the situation, I was silent because I was thinking. In that moment of silence, he began to implore me to help him out and I cut him off because my ego doesn't need that and it's not why I'm in the business. It's never been about that for me.
In five years, PCW has been the reason the business in this province has not fallen into shambles. We've provided the most shows with the best talent, a great venue and a place where the best guys get the opportunities. When someone runs a spot show, I don't expect them to blow smoke up my ass or "beg" me to endorse their show. I expect respect for who and what we are in the business.
There is only one reason PCW runs weekly shows and that is so the boys have a good place to work on a regular basis. It's not for money, ego or bragging rights. If I cared about ego and money, I would only run big shows. It's amusing to me when spot show promoters like to compare their best show to any recent regular PCW show as if there is a comparison. 90% of the time, regardless of our draw on a regular show, the quality is better than other promotion's "big shows". I think, for the contribution, effort and sacrifice we make for the betterment of the industry and the opportunity for the boys we create that we deserve to be treated with respect.
A show without PCW talent can be good, but it could always be better. PCW is not a charity and benefiting from our efforts should not come without a compromise. Some idiots in the business (I'm looking at you E.T.!) refer to that position as a "dictatorship" or "Nazi-like".
If the phone rang at 17:00 under the same circumstances and a Nazi Dictator answered, what path do you suppose he would have taken?
As far as the show goes, here are my thoughts. And please keep in mind that this is my personal blog and my personal opinion. Although, after nearly six years in the business, you can say what you want about me, but I might know a thing or two (in contrast to some guys who still know nothing after 12 years).
The show began on time (don't you hate when they don't?). Ryan Wood cut a promo with one of the HOT 103 guys which basically amounted to them arguing that wrestling was fake, which I didn't understand. Why start a show with a gimmick like that? But it was effective in establishing Woody as the arrogant prick heel and that his real issue was with the HOT 103 guys.
Triple Threat: Danny Duggan vs Donny Douglas vs Jeff Tyler. The DJ is either an idiot or perhaps he was drunk (which I doubt as who would want to get drunk paying $4/beer - how much of that jacked up price went to charity...?). The DJ issues were hilarious though as Tyler entered to Danny's music and Danny entered to "All My Ex's Live in Texas". Everyone knows Danny has ex's all over the continent, not just Texas.
Douglas had a heel promo and gimmick which was "cool heel" and resulted in the fans cheering for him which wasn't exactly the desired effect.
Three ways are tough and this one suffered a bit because of it. There were many times when one guy was sitting around while the other two engaged in spots. There were a few whiffed spots too. I spoke to a different worker after the show and pointed out that I thought he could be crisper, especially on a "big show". Lay the shit in.
Danny and Douglas did some really nice things. Douglas over with a handful of tights and he leaves to "All My Ex's Live in Texas". Douglas had some nice new gear and was obviously looking forward to working with Cabana. He could do more in the gym though. So could I, but I'm not a wrestler working a name...
AJ Sanchez & Kevin Chevy vs TJ Bratt and Eddie Watts. Probably the match of the night. The fans got into it. I don't recall details, but it was good. Sanchez and Watts are always good. Sanchez gets the pin.
Mike Davidson was out as the "wrestling liaison" to reveal that Abyss and Cabana were not there. Honestly, the fans didn't really seem to care. And actually, I found the crowd less that "hot" throughout the night. The pop of the night went to the Indianapolis Colts. The second biggest pop went to Zack Mercury who clearly sold a ton of tickets. It seemed to be a crowd of "Family and close friends", but they did react a few times to some good wrestling spots (the tag match and a couple of things Woody did). That leads me to believe that they would have been into a show with more "wrestling". But what do I know?
Davidson did a good job of making Canada Custom's the heel (hmm, a Canada Custom's gimmick? That might work...).
Wavell Starr vs Zack Mercury. I was rough on Merc in my last blog, but I didn't catch any blown spots in this match. Then again, there really wasn't any spots at all. Wavell is smart and talented and obviously knew that "less was more" in this case. The fans, who popped like mad for Merc upon his entrance, did not really react much during the match until the finish. I would call this match a good example of new "old school"...which isn't a compliment (and that will also be a topic for a future blog). I know Wavell can do so much more and hopefully we'll get a chance to see him work with someone who can do a bit more than Merc. But to be fair, Merc help up his end of the deal in this match and got the pin.
At some point during the first half, they took an extended break to do some ring repairs. I've heard people complain that the ring was the shits and it was. Ring issues crop up from time to time, but that ring not only was the shits, it looked even worse. It was helpfully provided by Ernie Todd who was on hand to supervise (no word on whether he served Coyotes with papers in his breach of contract suit). The ropes were far too lose and I feared that Watts was going to snap them and kill himself and possibly some ringside spectators. The apron was hanging off, there were no turnbuckle pads and the canvas was bunching up a lot.
To be fair, Ernie himself (in a move he's just about qualified for) actually repaired the ring himself. It was a bit better after that, but the ropes continued to be loser than they should be (which is not a rare thing in Winnipeg for some reason). But seriously, if you want to go on websites and brag about your "equipment", invest in some turnbuckle pads - they make the RME and PCW rings look far better.
After the intermission, it was time for a bikini contest. Strangely, the crowd didn't really react too much to it, but it may have been because the contestants were walking around the bar in their bikini's all show, so it was a bit anti-climactic.
The contest is interrupted by Buddy Body. I guess he's someone from a few years ago, but I don't know him and I thought the gimmick was lame. A casual fan would think it was a cheap and poorly executed rip off of Big Dick Johnson, but it was somewhat funny. That is cut off by Adam Knight who attacks one of the bikini contestants for a reason that is never established. She is saved by Mike Hammer who is promptly murdered by Knight. He is saved by John Cutler who is joined by a ref and the match is on.
Cutler and Knight had a solid match (though I know they can both do even better). I almost think the match was just a bit too short and needed more time to develop. The finish saw Merc and Wavell run in for the no contest. I hate to see that on a spot show and I guess there was some discussion in the back about who was going over, but there were other options. I thought it was going to transition into a tag match, otherwise it didn't make a lot of sense. Although I guess sending Merc back out to get a big pop was something the fans appreciated.
Main event saw Woody take on Dalton in a hardcore match. It was a basic garbage-style hardcore match which Chris Raine and I both agreed we could do better (lol). They did some fan-friendly spots and bled buckets to make everyone happy (everyone but Ernie that is). My preference would have been for a great wrestling match with hardcore antics rather than a straight fight. The crowd perked up for some athleticism by Woody and popped for some of the spots.
The show ended with the announcer teasing a return in April and challenging Woody who declined the challenge.
I wont harp on the sight lines and what not so much. Everyone knows Coyotes is not a great venue for wrestling but what are you gonna do? I estimated about 150. And yes, I did count...I got 120-ish when the show began but a bit later someone I was with said 150. Is that important? Well, only to the promoter. The layout of the venue forces the fans to pack in around the ring so it looks good from that standpoint. Too many more people and a lot of them would have had a lot of trouble seeing.
I always harp on production. We're lucky to have a venue with great lighting and a video wall, but it's important to set the emotion right off the start. Rather than giving a two minute warning until bell time and then having the announcer just climb in the ring and start the show, having a change in lighting and a loud, exciting theme song would do a lot to fire up the crowd.
All in all, a good show and I am happy we could have helped. A thank you from the two guys in the office would have been nice, but not really expected.
I had a chance to finally meet Wavell in person and had a great conversation. He's a real nice guy and has some more opportunities on the horizon. I wish him a lot of luck and hope we can bring him into PCW in the near future.
Mike Davidson vs Jean Marious in the night's "bonus match", which I had the pleasure of breaking up while the 6 bouncers were distracted by...well, nothing. I thought Marious was going to get killed by the bouncers which would have meant I would have been killed too because I would have had to jump in and defend him. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.
Until next time...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Exclusivity, LPW, Steve Corino, and George W. Bush
As I stated in my profile, I have no intention of utilizing this blog simply to cause heat or offend anyone. However, I have chosen this forum to share my thoughts, feelings and opinions at an arms-length from PCW's official website. I have come to really enjoy Jim Ross' personal blog for that reason and his willingness to share his thoughts on many matters he would never discuss in an official WWE forum.
Exclusivity
One of the "debates" I hate the most is about so-called exclusivity. I've discussed this subject before in multiple forums and multiple times, but I wanted to touch on it briefly as I am sure it will come up constantly as this blog moves forward.
There is no exclusivity in pro wrestling in Manitoba. Those that argue against it do so for selfish political reasons and probably because they are under the mistaken impression that the entire industry lives and dies by their opinion. In the early says of PCW, Mike Davidson and myself certainly did use the term "exclusivity" to describe the relationship we required from the wrestlers who worked there. But we hardly invented the term or the concept, even in Manitoba. At the time of PCW's inception, TRCW and the CWF both had "exclusive" relationships with their talent and when someone "jumped" it was a big deal. It was the world we lived in when we started the company.
Fast forward to today and some people will argue that I make Nazi-like demands on talent and insist they remain "exclusive" to PCW. That is totally untrue. What I request is guys buy into the team concept and dedicate themselves to making a positive contribution to the local industry. Quite simply, without PCW having existed the past five years, the local industry would be in shambles. I cannot imagine anyone being able to make a logical argument against that statement.
In 2006, PCW talent appeared locally for the CWF, IWM, ACW and others. How is that exclusive? We insist that PCW be the priority in Manitoba and why wouldn't we? PCW provides the best shows, the best talent, the most shows, the biggest shows, the best "names" and a mostly political-free environment where "pushes" are given to guys who deserve it regardless of whether they're my personal friend or not.
With so many "promotions" (and really, these sporadic spot shows are mostly the same "promotion" under different names) running in Winnipeg, no show would ever be "special", no program or match would ever be "special" and the fans would never care about where they went to see a show if we at PCW did not "demand" a buy-in to the team concept. The sacrifice and contributions that myself, Tom Manos and many of the boys make come with only one price tag - be apart of the team.
And that brings me to my next topic for discussion...
LPW
As I write this, we are only a few short hours away from the "Live Pro Wrestling" event at Coyotes Nightclub. Maybe this is a nitpick but as an aside, is that really the most creative name they could come up with? If anyone asked me (and they didn't of course), I would have suggested "Red Hot Wrestling", but what do I know?
With wrestlers such as Wavell Starr, Jon Cutler and Danny Duggan wrestling, I have no doubt there will be some solid performances. But those three guys alone cannot make a show great and the LPW show will not be as good as it could have been had politics and ego not intervened to give the fans less than they deserve for their money.
I bring this up because I've been asked about it, argued with about it and read some mis-truths concerning why PCW talent are not on the show. The simple answer is, I was asked, I agreed but no compromise could be made that would be fair to PCW to see their talent contribute to a competitors success on a spot show down the street from our venue.
Two days after Ryan Wood announced his show on the Internet, he left me a voice mail asking me to call him to discuss the inclusion of PCW talent on the show. As it was a Thursday, I wanted to sit down with Adam Knight who had been announced as taking part, to discuss the details. Knight explained that he was asked to work TNA star Abyss. I have never, ever denied any PCW talent the opportunity to work with a "name". Even at the height of the acrimony between Mike Davidson and myself during the AWE days, I told guys they had my full endorsement to work for the "competition" if they were working a "name". I told Knight the same thing. My only request was that he decline the spot if he was only going to be working another local guy on the show unless Woody and I worked out a suitable compromise to make it happen.
The next day I called Woody. I told him I had three main concerns: 1) That Ernie Todd was involved in the show in any capacity. 2) That a couple of guys that left PCW on bad terms would stand to benefit from the inclusion of PCW talent. 3) That the show was taking place at a venue that was competition to our own and it was an insult to Tom Manos who has contributed more to the local industry than any other venue owner in history.
Woody tried to put my mind at ease saying that Ernie Todd would have absolutely nothing to do with the show. He would not be on it, he would not promote it, and his ring would not even be used for it. (More on Ernie and why I steadfastly refuse to ever do anything that is remotely associated with him in future blogs). Woody's position on the guys that had recently left PCW under bad terms was the classic "They didn't do anything to me" line. That is one of the most over-used excuses in the local industry. In this case, I believe it to be true, but it doesn't change the fact that anyone hurting the local industry through their actions is a negative to us all. My feeling was, if those two guys wanted to work with PCW talent, they should have been professional and mature when they were in PCW. The third concern of mine was not something easily reconcilable. I explained that if I went to Tom and said our guys were working a spot show at a competing venue, that I should have a damn good reason for endorsing it. And quite honestly, I have my doubts that Tom would really care. But that's beside the point. I would care and the guys who had a true appreciation for the contributions Tom has made would care.
Woody explained that he only wanted to use Knight and AJ Sanchez and maybe Mentallo. He told me that Knight was "absolutely" working Abyss and that he wanted Sanchez to win a mini-tournament involving Danny Duggan, Kevin Chevy and Don Douglas. I was fairly strongly against the idea of PCW talent working with Chevy or Douglas due to their actions when recently leaving our promotion even if we did agree on talent working the show. I told Woody I doubted I could endorse it but I would give it some thought. I did say that I had absolutely no problem with Knight working Abyss no matter what and that I looked forward to seeing that match.
I conferred with some members of my "inner circle" and e-mailed Woody, letting him know again that Knight was fully endorsed to work the show against Abyss but as far as anyone else goes, I would like some sort of compromise that made it mutually beneficial. I made a few suggestions including Woody working a show for me or him not using Chevy and Douglas but other PCW guys instead (which my "inner circle" advised me to be willing to compromise on).
Woody said he'd work a PCW show but "would not lay down", and needed a finish that "made the CWF look strong" which was obviously not going to happen on my show (and really, is there any way to make the CWF look strong at this point?). Woody was totally against de-booking Chevy or Douglas, which I can respect actually. He explained that they were important "for other reasons", which I later learned meant "setting up the ring". I asked Woody if he had any ideas for a compromise. He suggested that I buy a sponsorship ad in his program which I didn't see as being a beneficial compromise at all or otherwise, he could send Douglas and Chevy to work a final PCW show (both of them having no-showed their final bookings). I felt no desire at all in paying those two guys to work my show (again, that seemed to benefit everyone but me).
At that time, I again reiterated my full and complete endorsement for Knight working the show and suggested that we "agree to disagree" for now and talk in the future concerning other shows. My point was, if we were only talking about one guy at that point (Sanchez), it was something we could all live without. I wished him luck with the show.
While those discussions were happening, I was being sent repeated e-mails from multiple sources explaining that Knight was not working Abyss. Zack Mercury and Jon Cutler were also offered the same spot. I shudder to think of a Mercury/Abyss match (Merc is a great guy who I like personally, but a terrible worker and totally undeserving of a match against a "name"). I was specifically told that Shane Madison had "guaranteed" that Cutler was getting the spot. I ofcourse, let Knight know what I was hearing and he confirmed with Woody that he was, in fact, working Abyss.
Woody was now painted into an uncomfortable corner. He knew he had no intention of having Knight work Abyss, but how would he break the news to him without looking terrible? Simple - blame it on me! Unfortunately, Woody and Madison failed to get their stories straight before commenting publicly. Madison said in a Slam! wrestling story that they had to de-book Knight because they could not trust me to "let" him work the spot. I have never, ever asked anyone to "no-show" a booking they had committed to nor would I. Madison cannot say the same thing, by the way. And of all the people not likely to be one of my "boys" and no-show a match against a "name" at my request, Knight is the guy. He simply would not have done that even if I asked, which I did not. Woody's position was that he de-booked Knight because I was "unprofessional" in filming a "rib" on Ernie Todd (once again, when stupid shit happens, Ernie somehow factors in). As a result of my "unprofessionalism", Knight was being de-booked and there would be "no PCW" talent on the show. Sound plausible? Nope. Ridiculous is more like it. And Woody ended up asking 5 or 6 PCW guys to be apart of the show after the "rib" (they all declined, by the way).
Now this entire story might sound stupid and serve as a perfect example of how bullshit politics can adversely impact a show and the local industry and I would agree with that. However, the politics were most certainly not coming from our end. I have always said I would support anything that is a positive for the local industry or the boys and PCW's continued successful existence is the biggest contributing factor to that. If I only ran one show and wanted to use guys that wrestled for another promotion, I would compromise with that promotion to make it happen and appreciate their contribution to my event.
I wish all the boys luck with the show and hope it is a rousing success. I might even buy a ticket myself to support them. My hope is that in the future, a compromise can be struck so that the fans paying $15 for future shows get to see the best show possible in this market.
Steve Corino
I had the chance to converse with Steve Corino the past couple of weeks. He's a terrific guy and a fantastic worker and continues to enjoy a lot of success in the business. I remember when we booked him the first time in August 2005, many people said we were crazy. Two other promoters in the business said he "wouldn't draw flies". Not only did he draw very well, he did it twice. But more important than the draw, Corino had two fantastic matches and imparted his considerable wisdom on myself and the guys he worked with.
Steve and I have talked ever since his last appearance about his next one. We've had a couple of ideas kicking around and I have no doubt Steve will once again appear in a PCW ring in the future.
George W. Bush
Most people that know me, know I am a devout Conservative (and you'll see Stephen Harper's name in this blog many times in the future). I strongly believe George Bush is not only a good thing for the world, but he was necessary for the world. I hate when politics get put before the greater good. Every single democrat in Congress favoured the war. But now it's not popular so they change their mind. It must be nice to have that luxury. Bush doesn't have that option - he has to consider the greater good.
I don't really mind if people disagree with Bush's policies if they have a logical reason for doing so, but the idiotic rhetoric that Bush started the war on terror to get a hold of the world's oil supplies or that Bush was responsible for 911 are laughable at best and terribly, terribly pathetic and sad at worse.
I don't blindly follow Bush - he's made mistakes and his team greatly under-estimated the will of a group of people who believe it's a Godly honour to die for their cause and take innocent victims with them. But imagine if Al Gore had been President when 911 happened...I shudder to think (but in fairness, Gore is an intelligent and thoughtful guy - check out his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth").
Speaking of "real" politics, the 2008 Presidential election could be the most interesting in history. It's early, but I see Hillary Clinton getting the Democratic nomination. The Republican side is a bit tougher but Rudy Giuliani is the popular choice (but may not be the favourite of the party). John McCain might be the best choice for Republicans but in an election with younger, more dynamic people on the opposition side, his age might work against him. I really like John Edwards as a Democrat and I think Barack Obama is a flash in the pan (though pairing him with Clinton on the same ticket might create an unstoppable duo).
I spoke to a staffer for a local Conservative MP who told me they believe an election in the near future is a real possibility. Personally, I don't see it. I don't Stephane Dion will win over western voters and I question whether he'll get enough support in Ontario. If we don't get a Conservative majority in the next election (and we should if the voters have any sense), it will be a minority either way. The Liberals have a lot of experience and veteran savvy...not much character, but savvy.
Feel free to email me questions or comments or discuss here.
Exclusivity
One of the "debates" I hate the most is about so-called exclusivity. I've discussed this subject before in multiple forums and multiple times, but I wanted to touch on it briefly as I am sure it will come up constantly as this blog moves forward.
There is no exclusivity in pro wrestling in Manitoba. Those that argue against it do so for selfish political reasons and probably because they are under the mistaken impression that the entire industry lives and dies by their opinion. In the early says of PCW, Mike Davidson and myself certainly did use the term "exclusivity" to describe the relationship we required from the wrestlers who worked there. But we hardly invented the term or the concept, even in Manitoba. At the time of PCW's inception, TRCW and the CWF both had "exclusive" relationships with their talent and when someone "jumped" it was a big deal. It was the world we lived in when we started the company.
Fast forward to today and some people will argue that I make Nazi-like demands on talent and insist they remain "exclusive" to PCW. That is totally untrue. What I request is guys buy into the team concept and dedicate themselves to making a positive contribution to the local industry. Quite simply, without PCW having existed the past five years, the local industry would be in shambles. I cannot imagine anyone being able to make a logical argument against that statement.
In 2006, PCW talent appeared locally for the CWF, IWM, ACW and others. How is that exclusive? We insist that PCW be the priority in Manitoba and why wouldn't we? PCW provides the best shows, the best talent, the most shows, the biggest shows, the best "names" and a mostly political-free environment where "pushes" are given to guys who deserve it regardless of whether they're my personal friend or not.
With so many "promotions" (and really, these sporadic spot shows are mostly the same "promotion" under different names) running in Winnipeg, no show would ever be "special", no program or match would ever be "special" and the fans would never care about where they went to see a show if we at PCW did not "demand" a buy-in to the team concept. The sacrifice and contributions that myself, Tom Manos and many of the boys make come with only one price tag - be apart of the team.
And that brings me to my next topic for discussion...
LPW
As I write this, we are only a few short hours away from the "Live Pro Wrestling" event at Coyotes Nightclub. Maybe this is a nitpick but as an aside, is that really the most creative name they could come up with? If anyone asked me (and they didn't of course), I would have suggested "Red Hot Wrestling", but what do I know?
With wrestlers such as Wavell Starr, Jon Cutler and Danny Duggan wrestling, I have no doubt there will be some solid performances. But those three guys alone cannot make a show great and the LPW show will not be as good as it could have been had politics and ego not intervened to give the fans less than they deserve for their money.
I bring this up because I've been asked about it, argued with about it and read some mis-truths concerning why PCW talent are not on the show. The simple answer is, I was asked, I agreed but no compromise could be made that would be fair to PCW to see their talent contribute to a competitors success on a spot show down the street from our venue.
Two days after Ryan Wood announced his show on the Internet, he left me a voice mail asking me to call him to discuss the inclusion of PCW talent on the show. As it was a Thursday, I wanted to sit down with Adam Knight who had been announced as taking part, to discuss the details. Knight explained that he was asked to work TNA star Abyss. I have never, ever denied any PCW talent the opportunity to work with a "name". Even at the height of the acrimony between Mike Davidson and myself during the AWE days, I told guys they had my full endorsement to work for the "competition" if they were working a "name". I told Knight the same thing. My only request was that he decline the spot if he was only going to be working another local guy on the show unless Woody and I worked out a suitable compromise to make it happen.
The next day I called Woody. I told him I had three main concerns: 1) That Ernie Todd was involved in the show in any capacity. 2) That a couple of guys that left PCW on bad terms would stand to benefit from the inclusion of PCW talent. 3) That the show was taking place at a venue that was competition to our own and it was an insult to Tom Manos who has contributed more to the local industry than any other venue owner in history.
Woody tried to put my mind at ease saying that Ernie Todd would have absolutely nothing to do with the show. He would not be on it, he would not promote it, and his ring would not even be used for it. (More on Ernie and why I steadfastly refuse to ever do anything that is remotely associated with him in future blogs). Woody's position on the guys that had recently left PCW under bad terms was the classic "They didn't do anything to me" line. That is one of the most over-used excuses in the local industry. In this case, I believe it to be true, but it doesn't change the fact that anyone hurting the local industry through their actions is a negative to us all. My feeling was, if those two guys wanted to work with PCW talent, they should have been professional and mature when they were in PCW. The third concern of mine was not something easily reconcilable. I explained that if I went to Tom and said our guys were working a spot show at a competing venue, that I should have a damn good reason for endorsing it. And quite honestly, I have my doubts that Tom would really care. But that's beside the point. I would care and the guys who had a true appreciation for the contributions Tom has made would care.
Woody explained that he only wanted to use Knight and AJ Sanchez and maybe Mentallo. He told me that Knight was "absolutely" working Abyss and that he wanted Sanchez to win a mini-tournament involving Danny Duggan, Kevin Chevy and Don Douglas. I was fairly strongly against the idea of PCW talent working with Chevy or Douglas due to their actions when recently leaving our promotion even if we did agree on talent working the show. I told Woody I doubted I could endorse it but I would give it some thought. I did say that I had absolutely no problem with Knight working Abyss no matter what and that I looked forward to seeing that match.
I conferred with some members of my "inner circle" and e-mailed Woody, letting him know again that Knight was fully endorsed to work the show against Abyss but as far as anyone else goes, I would like some sort of compromise that made it mutually beneficial. I made a few suggestions including Woody working a show for me or him not using Chevy and Douglas but other PCW guys instead (which my "inner circle" advised me to be willing to compromise on).
Woody said he'd work a PCW show but "would not lay down", and needed a finish that "made the CWF look strong" which was obviously not going to happen on my show (and really, is there any way to make the CWF look strong at this point?). Woody was totally against de-booking Chevy or Douglas, which I can respect actually. He explained that they were important "for other reasons", which I later learned meant "setting up the ring". I asked Woody if he had any ideas for a compromise. He suggested that I buy a sponsorship ad in his program which I didn't see as being a beneficial compromise at all or otherwise, he could send Douglas and Chevy to work a final PCW show (both of them having no-showed their final bookings). I felt no desire at all in paying those two guys to work my show (again, that seemed to benefit everyone but me).
At that time, I again reiterated my full and complete endorsement for Knight working the show and suggested that we "agree to disagree" for now and talk in the future concerning other shows. My point was, if we were only talking about one guy at that point (Sanchez), it was something we could all live without. I wished him luck with the show.
While those discussions were happening, I was being sent repeated e-mails from multiple sources explaining that Knight was not working Abyss. Zack Mercury and Jon Cutler were also offered the same spot. I shudder to think of a Mercury/Abyss match (Merc is a great guy who I like personally, but a terrible worker and totally undeserving of a match against a "name"). I was specifically told that Shane Madison had "guaranteed" that Cutler was getting the spot. I ofcourse, let Knight know what I was hearing and he confirmed with Woody that he was, in fact, working Abyss.
Woody was now painted into an uncomfortable corner. He knew he had no intention of having Knight work Abyss, but how would he break the news to him without looking terrible? Simple - blame it on me! Unfortunately, Woody and Madison failed to get their stories straight before commenting publicly. Madison said in a Slam! wrestling story that they had to de-book Knight because they could not trust me to "let" him work the spot. I have never, ever asked anyone to "no-show" a booking they had committed to nor would I. Madison cannot say the same thing, by the way. And of all the people not likely to be one of my "boys" and no-show a match against a "name" at my request, Knight is the guy. He simply would not have done that even if I asked, which I did not. Woody's position was that he de-booked Knight because I was "unprofessional" in filming a "rib" on Ernie Todd (once again, when stupid shit happens, Ernie somehow factors in). As a result of my "unprofessionalism", Knight was being de-booked and there would be "no PCW" talent on the show. Sound plausible? Nope. Ridiculous is more like it. And Woody ended up asking 5 or 6 PCW guys to be apart of the show after the "rib" (they all declined, by the way).
Now this entire story might sound stupid and serve as a perfect example of how bullshit politics can adversely impact a show and the local industry and I would agree with that. However, the politics were most certainly not coming from our end. I have always said I would support anything that is a positive for the local industry or the boys and PCW's continued successful existence is the biggest contributing factor to that. If I only ran one show and wanted to use guys that wrestled for another promotion, I would compromise with that promotion to make it happen and appreciate their contribution to my event.
I wish all the boys luck with the show and hope it is a rousing success. I might even buy a ticket myself to support them. My hope is that in the future, a compromise can be struck so that the fans paying $15 for future shows get to see the best show possible in this market.
Steve Corino
I had the chance to converse with Steve Corino the past couple of weeks. He's a terrific guy and a fantastic worker and continues to enjoy a lot of success in the business. I remember when we booked him the first time in August 2005, many people said we were crazy. Two other promoters in the business said he "wouldn't draw flies". Not only did he draw very well, he did it twice. But more important than the draw, Corino had two fantastic matches and imparted his considerable wisdom on myself and the guys he worked with.
Steve and I have talked ever since his last appearance about his next one. We've had a couple of ideas kicking around and I have no doubt Steve will once again appear in a PCW ring in the future.
George W. Bush
Most people that know me, know I am a devout Conservative (and you'll see Stephen Harper's name in this blog many times in the future). I strongly believe George Bush is not only a good thing for the world, but he was necessary for the world. I hate when politics get put before the greater good. Every single democrat in Congress favoured the war. But now it's not popular so they change their mind. It must be nice to have that luxury. Bush doesn't have that option - he has to consider the greater good.
I don't really mind if people disagree with Bush's policies if they have a logical reason for doing so, but the idiotic rhetoric that Bush started the war on terror to get a hold of the world's oil supplies or that Bush was responsible for 911 are laughable at best and terribly, terribly pathetic and sad at worse.
I don't blindly follow Bush - he's made mistakes and his team greatly under-estimated the will of a group of people who believe it's a Godly honour to die for their cause and take innocent victims with them. But imagine if Al Gore had been President when 911 happened...I shudder to think (but in fairness, Gore is an intelligent and thoughtful guy - check out his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth").
Speaking of "real" politics, the 2008 Presidential election could be the most interesting in history. It's early, but I see Hillary Clinton getting the Democratic nomination. The Republican side is a bit tougher but Rudy Giuliani is the popular choice (but may not be the favourite of the party). John McCain might be the best choice for Republicans but in an election with younger, more dynamic people on the opposition side, his age might work against him. I really like John Edwards as a Democrat and I think Barack Obama is a flash in the pan (though pairing him with Clinton on the same ticket might create an unstoppable duo).
I spoke to a staffer for a local Conservative MP who told me they believe an election in the near future is a real possibility. Personally, I don't see it. I don't Stephane Dion will win over western voters and I question whether he'll get enough support in Ontario. If we don't get a Conservative majority in the next election (and we should if the voters have any sense), it will be a minority either way. The Liberals have a lot of experience and veteran savvy...not much character, but savvy.
Feel free to email me questions or comments or discuss here.
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