I was reading Shane Madison's blog last week (go check it out at MySpace.com) and he brought up some interesting points about the last RME show he attended. Part of me hates to jump on the anti-RME bandwagon, but in a lot of ways, they represent much of what is wrong with the business and I sum it up as a "commitment to mediocrity". Angus was very involved in the Manitoba Safety Study which deemed the Manitoba industry was able to self-regulate, yet Angus can't even regulate the unprofessionalism in his own promotion. It's sad. They spent a lot of money on rings, belts, insurance and chasing venues. But they forgot talent, professionalism and accountability. I wonder who in the locker room is running things? Who is guiding the vision, or is there not one? Madison specifically talked about the match where Cutler won the RME Championship from EZ Ryder and how terrible it was. It shows a real lack of fundamental understanding of the business on the part of RME and their veteran leader EZ. Wrestling isn't rocket science but some guys, no matter how long they've been around, just don't get it. But more on that in a later blog.
The last time I posted my predictions for a WWE event, I got one wrong. I don't believe I will be so lucky this time. I am somewhat curious about Wrestlemania because I genuinely don't know what will happen in several of the matches, but on the other hand, I think the build up for many matches has been terrible.
Kane vs Great Khali - I dig the giant vs giant thing, even though Khali is terrible. Kane often draws the short end of the stick when it comes to having take shitty angles and make them work so I am curious to see what he can do with Khali.
Winner: Khali
Melina vs Ashley - It's sad that WWE doesn't have much respect for the women's division. In their mind, they can either have good workers or hot workers, which is so not true. They can have both. In this case Melina is a good young talent, but she'll have her work cut out for her leading Ashley. Melina needs a good match as she is constantly in the WWE doghouse. I would not be surprised to see nerves and frustration provide a few cringe-inducing blown spots.
Winner: Ashley
Chris Benoit vs MVP (US Title Match) - Poor, poor Chris Benoit. He is criminally under-utilized, which was evident a couple of weeks ago when he received a massive pop on RAW and then proceeded to have a pretty decent little match with Cena. It went way beyond reasonable to have Benoit tap out to Cena...but what can you do. I think WWE is using Benoit, at this point in his career, as a put over guy and a "teacher" (much like Finlay). MVP is a project. I want to say Benoit wins but I'll go with MVP.
ECW Originals vs New Breed - Who cares? New Breed wins.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match - In my mind there are only three guys who stand a chance. Orton, Edge and Kennedy. Kennedy could really use it and would likely be very entertaining on Smackdown for the next several months with the briefcase. But if WWE ends Edge's winning streak before cashing in on the obvious money match of Edge vs Undertaker, they are absolutely insane.
Winner: Edge.
Bobby Lashley vs Umaga - I still don't know why Umaga needed to win the IC title and then ignore it. Why hurt the credibility of that championship? Donald isn't getting his head shaved. But I could see him taking a stunner. Eugene will likely come out and save Vince's head, though I'd love to Eric Bischoff do it. Maybe Brutus Beefcake will be strutin' and cuttin (or is that snortin' and cavortin')?
Winner: Lashley
Batista vs Undertaker - I have a feeling Batista will get boo'ed out of the building and perhaps a heel turn is in order. WWE seems more concerned with merch sales than what makes good story-telling so probably not. There is no way that Undertaker loses his winning streak to the 40 year old and diminishing Batista. So, does he win by DQ? Maybe, but I say he takes the title.
Winner: Taker
Cena vs Michaels - this has been one of the worst build-ups to a main event ever. RAW has been somewhat decent lately but this angle has been terrible. There is a difference between the "slow burn" and "boring". Michaels went from giving the intense "I can be champion again" promo right before the RR to being all buddy buddy "I got your back" to FINALLY getting intense again. The right choice here would be to have Michaels win and since this match is supposedly going on last, that might indicate the babyface victory...but I can't see it. WWE is committed to making Cena dominant (plus, does HHH really want anyone else but him taking Cena down a peg?)
Winner: Cena
There you have it...
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Baby Needs A Bottle
I had the pleasure of finally listening to the not-very-talked-about TJ Bratt interview on The Squared Circle from last Monday. I wasn't going to respond to it because I got the impression it was frustration being vented by a guy who lost money and drew poorly on his weekend show, but since I pride myself on standing up for the boys, I feel I should clarify a few things.
Near the end of the interview, Bratt compared himself to Vince McMahon. Throughout the interview, I was thinking "Bratt thinks he's Vince", so I was glad he made the comparison. Unfortunately, he's not Vince. And IWM isn't the WWE and I think that is something Bratt really needs to grasp.
For some reason, Bratt disrespected regular venues in Winnipeg in favour of regular venues outside Winnipeg. I don't really see the difference other than the Winnipeg venues' staff and management has given back to the business on a regular basis over the years. Bratt ran Doubles for quite some time, but it was only after he stopped running there that he suddenly doesn't like regular Winnipeg venues. Yet he also claimed he would run the Park Theatre on a regular basis. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
I take great offense to Bratt's assertion that the PCW roster isn't a team. Bratt has to realise, his shows aren't PCW shows. His roster isn't his roster. He runs a handful of shows a year, brags about all the incredible things he's done for wrestlers (like what, exactly, aside from an extra 4 bookings?) and then criticises guys when they don't blow smoke up his ass. Perhaps guys don't act like they're part of Team IWM in his promotion, but for the most part, they are 100% committed to PCW when they're at my show. So these "problems" that Bratt alluded to, I don't experience them. Must just be him.
One PCW guy who worked an IWM event e-mailed me with this quote: "His locker room is a festering bullshit heap of negativity...you should have seen how racist and disrespectful it was"
Not everyone in my locker room gets along or are friends outside the business. I routinely bring together the largest crew on Manitoba shows, but their is professionalism. Guys work together for the betterment of the show. I have never experienced the locker room morale in any other promotion that I've been to that we have in PCW.
I also found it amusing that Bratt criticised the guys for wanting to drink after the show when he often provided the liquor during the show. I don't care whether he allows drinking in his locker room, but don't by a hypocrite. And for the record, I don't every recall Bratt taking down a ring, so don't criticise the boys for not taking down your ring. If you don't have a ring crew or you haven't specified with guys a head of time that you expect them to do so, and you're left to do it, don't cry about it, either do it or stop running shows. I do agree that rookies and trainees should be doing their part, but if they don't, don't use them.
Now, Bratt painted all local guys with the same brush before singling out a few of his friends for the big put over. I think some guys have a difficult time being disrespected. There are some terrific talent's in Winnipeg who Bratt books to have kick ass matches in the undercard so his friends can often times stink up the joint in the main event. The guys know that. They know they are being paid to make sure the fans enjoy themselves because if they weren't there, it would be one long snooze fest.
Bratt claiming IWM is the top promotion in Manitoba is school-yard dick waving. Get over yourself. Firstly, you don't run enough shows to be considered a promotion. You don't have a crew that anyone could point at and say "those are IWM guys". You don't bring in names that can help guys learn or develop as professionals. In short, this feeling on Bratt's part that he is doing some heroic thing for local guys is a complete and total fabrication. Run your shows, have some fun, but don't piss and moan about it after the fact and blame the boys because you lost money. I've lost money plenty of times. Don't like the risk? Get out of the game.
And for point of clarification, Bratt and Madison did not "draw 400 people" at the Palladium in 2001 like Bratt likes to think. What a selfish thing to say. There was an entire crew working that night. Bratt doesn't think the boys act like they're part of a team, yet whenever there is success locally, it was all because of him, right?
As for why our "working relationship" came to an end, Bratt says I began to "dictate again." Laughable. I love this reputation I have as a dictator. I'm such an asshole, yet the best crew in town works for me and doesn't cause the plethora of problems that Bratt seems to experience in his locker room. Bratt came to me quite some time ago wanting to use PCW guys on his roster. I sat back and listened while Bratt pitched his offer to use PCW guys against PCW guys, I would have clearance of the finishes and no champion would ever be asked to lay down. Hey, if you don't like the deal, don't make the offer.
As it was, I did not demand he live up to his end of the deal. PCW guys worked other guys. Bratt offered to always protect my guys and my champions. He made the offer. Why would I say "no, no Bratt, have my champions all lay down to shitty workers"? He made the offer. I don't give two shits about IWM or any other promotion in Manitoba. I care about PCW. Period. I don't care about making it easier on other promoters to book talent. I don't care to help them put on great matches. I don't care about their business at all. I care about my business and my boys. Period. So shoot me.
When Bratt wanted Mentallo to drop the IWM title to Merc, he kept trying to justify it to me. I kept saying I didn't care. I told him it would be a shitty match and to think about why he took the title of Merc in the first place but I specifically said I wasn't going to dictate what he did with his championship. That was his business, not mine. And it was a shitty match. And it made the championship look like garbage out of spite. If I was such a dictator, I would never have allowed Mentallo to work a guy who shouldn't even be strapping his jock on in the LR before the match.
And any time any promoter criticises paying fans, he needs to quit the business because his bitterness has taken over. Bratt seems to think drawing strong crowds are a thing of the past. Well, 300 people to see Samoa Joe a few weeks ago (and it was a hot crowd, not a "friend and family crowd") says otherwise. For our big shows, we consistently draw very well.
Before this turns into a "hang TJ" blog, let me say this. Bratt is a passionate guy. His problems are that he thinks too big and often falls short of the goals in his mind. The boys have seen so many fly by night promotions come and go that they are loyal to who is loyal to them. Consistency and longevity are important. Talented guys like to be treated like they are talented guys. Working the opening match so an untalented guy can work the main event because he's the booker's friend is not respect and it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what makes good business.
And I am so sick of hearing shitty workers hide behind "old school" as the defense to their shittiness. You are not old school, any of you. Get a fucking grip. Punch, kick, punch, kick, ten minute headlock is not old school! Old school is an excuse used by guys (and some promotions like RME) to hide the fact they are lazy bums who don't study the business, don't work out, don't try to get better and don't care. You don't have to be a great worker, but don't pretend you're "bringin' old school back". It's laughable.
Believe me, the "politics" and the "talent issues" that are important are not the best workers actually trying to hold the industry to a certain standard. Just because good workers dont want to be made to look like shit in the ring with a shitty worker is no reason to cry about how they don't care about teamwork. Why would a guy want to get hurt working a stiff? The problem with talent is when they act unprofessional, no-show, say shit on their way out of a promotion and then make sure they aren't in the same place as the guy they are shooting on (I'm looking at you Kinkade, you cowardly fuck).
I like Bratt. He gives guys extra bookings. But his repeated attacks on everyone in the business for not towing his line and blowing smoke up his ass is totally misplaced. PCW has been the top promotion since March 2002. We've changed and evolved with the business. We've developed quality talent and brought in great imports. And I am proud that smart fans love our product. If Bratt or anyone else hates the business as much as it seems, they should probably quit or go to RME where no one but maybe two guys either take the business seriously or know how to work (my two choices being Cutler and Mo).
So in closing, Bratt was mostly wrong in his interview, shot on the wrong guys and displayed a lack of understanding of the business (and name dropping means shit). I agree with some of the things he said in principle. But if you don't like the shitty aspects of the business, don't contribute to the decline. Honestly, Bratt puts some terrible, terrible guys in the ring who have very nearly seriously injured guys in the past due to their shittiness.
I wish Bratt luck on his future shows and, as a fan, I hope they are very good. I always support anything that is good for the business.
Near the end of the interview, Bratt compared himself to Vince McMahon. Throughout the interview, I was thinking "Bratt thinks he's Vince", so I was glad he made the comparison. Unfortunately, he's not Vince. And IWM isn't the WWE and I think that is something Bratt really needs to grasp.
For some reason, Bratt disrespected regular venues in Winnipeg in favour of regular venues outside Winnipeg. I don't really see the difference other than the Winnipeg venues' staff and management has given back to the business on a regular basis over the years. Bratt ran Doubles for quite some time, but it was only after he stopped running there that he suddenly doesn't like regular Winnipeg venues. Yet he also claimed he would run the Park Theatre on a regular basis. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
I take great offense to Bratt's assertion that the PCW roster isn't a team. Bratt has to realise, his shows aren't PCW shows. His roster isn't his roster. He runs a handful of shows a year, brags about all the incredible things he's done for wrestlers (like what, exactly, aside from an extra 4 bookings?) and then criticises guys when they don't blow smoke up his ass. Perhaps guys don't act like they're part of Team IWM in his promotion, but for the most part, they are 100% committed to PCW when they're at my show. So these "problems" that Bratt alluded to, I don't experience them. Must just be him.
One PCW guy who worked an IWM event e-mailed me with this quote: "His locker room is a festering bullshit heap of negativity...you should have seen how racist and disrespectful it was"
Not everyone in my locker room gets along or are friends outside the business. I routinely bring together the largest crew on Manitoba shows, but their is professionalism. Guys work together for the betterment of the show. I have never experienced the locker room morale in any other promotion that I've been to that we have in PCW.
I also found it amusing that Bratt criticised the guys for wanting to drink after the show when he often provided the liquor during the show. I don't care whether he allows drinking in his locker room, but don't by a hypocrite. And for the record, I don't every recall Bratt taking down a ring, so don't criticise the boys for not taking down your ring. If you don't have a ring crew or you haven't specified with guys a head of time that you expect them to do so, and you're left to do it, don't cry about it, either do it or stop running shows. I do agree that rookies and trainees should be doing their part, but if they don't, don't use them.
Now, Bratt painted all local guys with the same brush before singling out a few of his friends for the big put over. I think some guys have a difficult time being disrespected. There are some terrific talent's in Winnipeg who Bratt books to have kick ass matches in the undercard so his friends can often times stink up the joint in the main event. The guys know that. They know they are being paid to make sure the fans enjoy themselves because if they weren't there, it would be one long snooze fest.
Bratt claiming IWM is the top promotion in Manitoba is school-yard dick waving. Get over yourself. Firstly, you don't run enough shows to be considered a promotion. You don't have a crew that anyone could point at and say "those are IWM guys". You don't bring in names that can help guys learn or develop as professionals. In short, this feeling on Bratt's part that he is doing some heroic thing for local guys is a complete and total fabrication. Run your shows, have some fun, but don't piss and moan about it after the fact and blame the boys because you lost money. I've lost money plenty of times. Don't like the risk? Get out of the game.
And for point of clarification, Bratt and Madison did not "draw 400 people" at the Palladium in 2001 like Bratt likes to think. What a selfish thing to say. There was an entire crew working that night. Bratt doesn't think the boys act like they're part of a team, yet whenever there is success locally, it was all because of him, right?
As for why our "working relationship" came to an end, Bratt says I began to "dictate again." Laughable. I love this reputation I have as a dictator. I'm such an asshole, yet the best crew in town works for me and doesn't cause the plethora of problems that Bratt seems to experience in his locker room. Bratt came to me quite some time ago wanting to use PCW guys on his roster. I sat back and listened while Bratt pitched his offer to use PCW guys against PCW guys, I would have clearance of the finishes and no champion would ever be asked to lay down. Hey, if you don't like the deal, don't make the offer.
As it was, I did not demand he live up to his end of the deal. PCW guys worked other guys. Bratt offered to always protect my guys and my champions. He made the offer. Why would I say "no, no Bratt, have my champions all lay down to shitty workers"? He made the offer. I don't give two shits about IWM or any other promotion in Manitoba. I care about PCW. Period. I don't care about making it easier on other promoters to book talent. I don't care to help them put on great matches. I don't care about their business at all. I care about my business and my boys. Period. So shoot me.
When Bratt wanted Mentallo to drop the IWM title to Merc, he kept trying to justify it to me. I kept saying I didn't care. I told him it would be a shitty match and to think about why he took the title of Merc in the first place but I specifically said I wasn't going to dictate what he did with his championship. That was his business, not mine. And it was a shitty match. And it made the championship look like garbage out of spite. If I was such a dictator, I would never have allowed Mentallo to work a guy who shouldn't even be strapping his jock on in the LR before the match.
And any time any promoter criticises paying fans, he needs to quit the business because his bitterness has taken over. Bratt seems to think drawing strong crowds are a thing of the past. Well, 300 people to see Samoa Joe a few weeks ago (and it was a hot crowd, not a "friend and family crowd") says otherwise. For our big shows, we consistently draw very well.
Before this turns into a "hang TJ" blog, let me say this. Bratt is a passionate guy. His problems are that he thinks too big and often falls short of the goals in his mind. The boys have seen so many fly by night promotions come and go that they are loyal to who is loyal to them. Consistency and longevity are important. Talented guys like to be treated like they are talented guys. Working the opening match so an untalented guy can work the main event because he's the booker's friend is not respect and it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what makes good business.
And I am so sick of hearing shitty workers hide behind "old school" as the defense to their shittiness. You are not old school, any of you. Get a fucking grip. Punch, kick, punch, kick, ten minute headlock is not old school! Old school is an excuse used by guys (and some promotions like RME) to hide the fact they are lazy bums who don't study the business, don't work out, don't try to get better and don't care. You don't have to be a great worker, but don't pretend you're "bringin' old school back". It's laughable.
Believe me, the "politics" and the "talent issues" that are important are not the best workers actually trying to hold the industry to a certain standard. Just because good workers dont want to be made to look like shit in the ring with a shitty worker is no reason to cry about how they don't care about teamwork. Why would a guy want to get hurt working a stiff? The problem with talent is when they act unprofessional, no-show, say shit on their way out of a promotion and then make sure they aren't in the same place as the guy they are shooting on (I'm looking at you Kinkade, you cowardly fuck).
I like Bratt. He gives guys extra bookings. But his repeated attacks on everyone in the business for not towing his line and blowing smoke up his ass is totally misplaced. PCW has been the top promotion since March 2002. We've changed and evolved with the business. We've developed quality talent and brought in great imports. And I am proud that smart fans love our product. If Bratt or anyone else hates the business as much as it seems, they should probably quit or go to RME where no one but maybe two guys either take the business seriously or know how to work (my two choices being Cutler and Mo).
So in closing, Bratt was mostly wrong in his interview, shot on the wrong guys and displayed a lack of understanding of the business (and name dropping means shit). I agree with some of the things he said in principle. But if you don't like the shitty aspects of the business, don't contribute to the decline. Honestly, Bratt puts some terrible, terrible guys in the ring who have very nearly seriously injured guys in the past due to their shittiness.
I wish Bratt luck on his future shows and, as a fan, I hope they are very good. I always support anything that is good for the business.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Blackballing & The AWA Swerve
I have another long blog today, one that details the relationship between the "new" AWA and Manitoba over the past couple of years. However, before I get to that, I feel the need to comment on this ridiculous accusation of "blackballing". Well I am certainly flattered at any suggestion that I have enough control, power and respect to have the vast majority of the Manitoba industry blackball one promoter, it's simply not true.
Now, I know what ET will say. He'll say that I won't "let" my guys work for him under threat of being de-booked from my show. Over the past five years PCW has run the most shows in Winnipeg and the best shows, I might add. I feel we've done the most to rebuild the industry in Manitoba with our events. It is true, I ask for a form of "exclusivity" (which isn't even really exclusive) from my guys and for the most part, they are all content with that arrangement.
On the subject of running a regular local show, ET's own opinion is:
"I know there are a few out there who fit this mould (sic) who would like to lend their creativity to rebuild the local scene. However, the roster will have to be "exclusive" if I am going to do this."
In fall 2003, ET began running Coyotes for a short run. He insisted on guys working exclusive and, I believe, tried to get guys to sign contracts with him. Neither myself nor anyone else cried "blackballing". The boys make a choice, whether it is to work for me, ET or someone else. Exercising their right to make that choice is not blackballing. So in short, ET and I agree that guys should make a decision to be committed to a primary promotion in their market. The difference, a lot of really good talent wants to work for me.
And on a side note, I popped for ET's gimmicking of his own blog, posting replies himself and signing other people's names. Awesome!
I've often credited ET with putting together a solid business plan for himself, pursuing out of town shows where having a deep and talented roster aren't required. This plan was a "homage" to Tony Condello. I am not sure why that success is not good enough for ET. He should be happy with what he's got.
The last time I had an overly friendly relationship with ET was about two years ago and that brings me to my thoughts on the AWA.
I realise some people might be a bit upset with this accounting of events, but please understand that I mean no disrespect to anyone (okay, I do mean a bit of disrespect to Dale Gagne for reasons which will become evident). In my opinion, this blog is an accurate and factual account of events concerning the relationship between the AWA and Manitoba at a time when about 4 or 5 promotions were actually interested in becoming an affiliate of that organization.
Gagne wants people to respect the AWA as this internationally recognized promotion, yet he attempted to defraud me and rob me, lied in his effort to steal from me and even lied to his own champion. By the end of this blog, that won't be an explosive accusation, it will be fact.
The AWA was essentially the same thing as the NWA (a loose association of indy promotions pretending to be big time), except rather than be governed by a board, they were run by one person (some would say asshole) named Dale Gagne. This "new" AWA, which had no lineage to the original, respected American Wrestling Association that drew big numbers in Manitoba back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, had a local affiliate in Manitoba owned by RCW. I'm not sure what RCW's plans were for the affiliation, though it would seem Winnipeg would be a likely place for something good to happen due to the past legacy of the original AWA operating here. And RCW's promoter Wayne Stanton is as knowledgeable about the legacy of the business as anyone and would have been a strong choice as a person to take advantage of an association with the AWA, even if it was "new" and had nothing to do with the original Verne Gagne-owned AWA other than the name and logo.
But I suppose if an indy promoter really got onside with the work, they could try and make something of it. However, there were certain things Gagne did that I found a bit embarrassing, such as retroactively recognizing Hulk Hogan as an official AWA World Champion. I mean, come on...
RCW had teased that they might be interested in bringing in AWA World Champion Steve Corino for a show in August. And let me just say that the two things that give the AWA any credibility are Zero-1 and Steve Corino, in spite of Gagne's method of doing business.
Around April or May, Wayne offered to flip the AWA affiliation to me, but later changed his mind. In the one week I had to consider the offer and what benefits there were to be apart of the AWA, I began putting together an informal proposal for an X-Division type championship for the AWA. It was my opinion that the purpose of "Junior Championships" was somewhat moot in today's business and the AWA could use a shot of excitement. The idea was partially fueled by my own concept for the Premier Cup tournament. An X-Division type title, recognized by the AWA as an international championship contested by some of the young future superstars in North America had merit, in my humble opinion. Since Wayne decided he wanted to keep the Affiliation, I sat on the idea.
ET had been teasing on his website for sometime that he was going to start his own X-Division Championship as many NWA Affiliates had done. I contacted him on May 23rd, shortly after Wayne had decided to keep the AWA Affiliate and pitched the idea of the NWA Canadian X Division Championship. It seemed ET wanted to start a similar division but didn't have the talent roster to do it, while I had the talent roster.
ET was enthusiastic about the idea, though he wanted me to become a CWF affiliate and brand all my shows as NWA/CWF. He also wanted me to book Spyder to defend the NWA National Championship on my shows. In the course of our discussions, we worked out a scenario where the winner of the Premier Cup in June would become the first ever NWA Canadian X-Division Champion. I didn't really put a lot of stock into the thought of another NWA Championship existing, but I thought the gimmick gave the tournament a little extra something to fight for and if it caused one extra US dirt sheet to cover the show, then it was worth it. It cost me nothing, so why not?
The NWA got all hot and bothered about it as they had their own seemingly limitless supply of regional and national NWA championships to get over and were put off that ET kept them out of the loop. They felt he went above and beyond his scope of power as NWA President to unilaterally create a new championship, especially one that would be primarily contested in a non-NWA promotion. ET's response to that was that, a) he was NWA President and b), the majority of NWA affiliates in Canada agreed with the decision (2 out of 3).
I didn't really care about the politics, just getting people to talk about the show and if using the NWA to create a little controversy resulted in that happening, then I was happy.
Following the very successful Premier Cup, I contacted TNA to book Christopher Daniels for our August 4th 2005 event. After initially taking the booking, Daniels had to back out due to a commitment in Japan. I had previously had Corino on the short list to come in during that year and Daniels' situation paved the way for Corino to come in for the August show. After booking Corino, Daniels' let me know that he was able to come in after all. Since I really couldn't choose between either of them, we opted to just bring them both in.
Corino had let me know that he had a Winnipeg date on his schedule. I can't recall if it was a couple of weeks prior or following my show, but it was for RCW. I contacted RCW's promoter, Wayne Stanton about it. I was under the impression their booking of Corino was more hypothetical then a done deal though Corino had it listed on his website. Wayne graciously stepped aside and allowed me to bring Steve in and let me know that I might want to talk to Gagne about the AWA affiliation. In fact, on July 7th, Wayne sent a very nice letter of congratulations in response to the announcement of the Corino/Daniels show. In contrast, ET e-mailed me, seemingly amused at the thought of Wayne "going nuts" over me booking the AWA World Champion.
Corino also urged me to speak with Gagne about taking over the affiliation. I wasn't really convinced there was any real benefit to becoming an affiliate, but in the end, I figured if it made it easier for some guys to get booked on other indy shows or opened opportunities to be scouted by Corino's promotions, then why not? I also had a huge amount of respect for Steve and was willing to take his word for it and go ahead and become an affiliate.
When I expressed this interest to Gagne, he jumped on it. He e-mailed me on July 12th to say he had "suspended" the local AWA affiliation and would like to offer it to me before "opening up the territory for re-affiliation" ie. he was giving me dibs.
He then phoned me and spent much of the conversation blowing smoke up my ass and badmouthing ET and the NWA. I told Gagne to send me the information and I would take a look at it before making a final decision, but everyone was in agreement that Steve would work the PCW show as AWA World Champion and defend the title against Robby Royce.
While that was happening, ET was parting ways with the NWA. The NWA wanted nothing to do with ET and ET responded by accusing the organization of racism. I have spoken to several people within the NWA, some in positions of power and no one has a very positive impression of ET. But opinions aside, ET and I were still pretty friendly at the time. My position has always been that I would operate honestly and fairly with people I do business with until such time as they give me reason not to. I'd prefer to be the good guy in most relationships and let the other person burn the bridge. I find that you can't really claim to be making the best of a situation if you're not willing to be honest and deal in good faith. I found that ET never deals in good faith.
As part of our "friendly" relationship, ET asked me to use his top guy, Spyder and suggested I have Spyder work Corino on the Aug. 4th show. He also told me Spyder would not be able to lay down and would require a PO equal to my highest paid guy. When I declined the Spyder/Corino match, ET's idea was for him to attack Antonio Scorpio Jr (whom I believe was Canadian Champion at the time), take him out and leave him laying. Since Spyder was only available for one day, the idea was to have Scorpio lose the belt the following week when Spyder's music plays, scares Scorpio and he is beaten. Obviously, I declined that idea as well. To be fair, Spyder was always easy to talk to and I believe ET was not speaking for Spyder during any of that. His next suggestion was to have him allign with Robby Royce as Team Impact to "shock" the crowd. His final suggestion to get himself on my shows was to become Kenny Omega's financial advisor or career counsellor and lead him into a program with Mentallo. I declined.
I got the AWA papers on July 13th and read them over and didn't really like what I saw. There was a requirement to always refer to the affiliate member prominantly. For example, we'd be AWA-PCW. The AWA logo would have to be displayed on the website and advertising. In a way, PCW would lose some of it's identity to the AWA. I didn't mind promoting the AWA, but I did mind making our brand seem less important in comparison to theirs. In Manitoba, PCW was a stronger brand then the new AWA. I didn't want to spend time, money, effort and energy and see the guys work their asses off just so the public would think this new AWA promotion was pretty damn good, especially when I had no control over how that brand was utilized moving forward.
Another issue was that Gagne reserved the right to revoke the AWA affiliation at anytime for any reason. If you sent him the fees on a Tuesday, he could revoke you on a Wednesday and take your money and run. I didn't like that. Why not sell PCW affiliations then...? Without some protection for the affiliates, I didn't see how the reward warrented the risk.
I told Gagne that I liked some things and had concerns about others and would leave it on my desk until after our big show. He seemed fine with that and we agreed to talk in more detail in August. However, as the date of our Aug.4th show approached, he became increasingly insistent that I send the fees and the signed agreement immediately or risk losing the affiliation.
Truth be told, aside from my respect for Corino and my feeling that something positive could be done if we bought into the legacy of the AWA, I didn't really care if I "lost" the affiliation. I knew I could book Steve without being an affiliate member, which was the same situation in the NWA. One of the reasons the NWA promoters get so pissy and moany about TNA is because with TNA, the NWA World Champion is a bigger star with a higher PO. Many of the NWA members couldn't see the benefit of doing business with TNA and just cried about how Jeff Jarrett cost too much and the NWA members didn't get a special ultra cheap rate on his services. Since anyone could book the NWA Champion, what benefit was there in being part of the organization? When ET was in the NWA, before TNA took control, the champion worked cheap - very cheap, which is why ET booked Dan Severn - he got a great deal on him.
I reiterated to Gagne that I was concentrating on putting together our big summer show and would not deal with the AWA affiliation until after that date. Gagne told me that two other promotions were inquiring about the affiliation and one was willing to pay extra to have territorial rights throughout Canada.
On July 22nd, Gagne e-mailed me again. This time, he was far more insistent that I send him the signed agreement and fees immediately or risk the Corino appearance not happening. Now I was pissed.
I responded sternly questioning whether Gagne was seriously threatening to negatively impact the Corino appearance which was scheduled for a few days later unless I sent him fees to join the AWA. Keep in mind, I had negotiated and confirmed Steve's booking prior to even discussing the AWA affiliation with Gagne. Basically, Steve's appearance had nothing to do with Gagne or the AWA. It felt like a shake down - send me an extra few hundred dollars or the show you've been advertising won't happen as advertised.
Gagne backed off, saying Steve would still appear but not defend the AWA Championship or allow us to mention the AWA. Again, I responded that that was not in keeping with our original agreement and it was pretty bad business to try and shake me down a few days before the show. I told Gagne that I would be happy to join the AWA, but not until after our show as agreed. I was quite surprised when Gagne's tune changed and he wished me well on the show. The air reaked of swerve.
Gagne insisted I sign the contract to become an Affiliate and send it ASAP and then send the fees after our show. He really wanted to have that contract signed.
On July 27th, Gagne e-mailed me again and said Michelle Starr was aggresively trying to purchase the affiliate rights for all of Canada, but he was holding Manitoba for me and urged me to send the signed contract ASAP. I was still very uncomfortable.
On July 28th, ET announced he had resigned from the NWA (he actually had his membership revoked). I e-mailed him and said that it was interesting timing as I was about to announce an AWA Affiliation a few days later (following the August 4th event).
On the same day, I suddenly began getting e-mails about ET having the AWA Affiliation. Another local promoter, a promoter from Saskatchewan and a friend in the business all e-mailed me saying they either heard ET was buying the affiliation or was actively using the AWA brand and posting on the APTN forum as AWA/CWF and looking for talent for an upcoming "project".
I inquired to ET as to why he would use the AWA brand when he knew I was going to announce an affiliation. At first, he feigned ignorance and then anger that someone was posting as him on a forum. Then he revealed to me it was a project he was calling the Aboriginal Wrestling Alliance. Ofcourse, I pointed out to him that that wasn't very "friendly" when he knew I was paying for the AWA. He claimed he looked into the trademarks of the AWA and they weren't legal in Canada, therefor he was trademarking "AWA" and using it "across Canada" for a "big" project.
I e-mailed Gagne, but he was uncharacteristcally unavailable to respond. When he did, he denied having anything to do with ET and suggested ET would face legal consequences if he was using the AWA brand without permission. His exact words on July 28th were "This is serious abuse of our protected rights and will not be tolerated."
Since I had trouble getting a hold of Gagne, I contacted Steve Corino who was as in the dark as I. He said he would be quite troubled to learn that Gagne entered into business with ET and his desire was to see PCW become affiliated with the AWA.
By the end of the day on July 28th, Et and I more or less ended the friendly aspect of our relationship. ET asked me to please tell my entire roster to stop calling him asking for spots with his promotion, a dubious claim at best. At this point, I was still using the NWA Canadian X Division Championship. ET told me he was officially revoking my right to do so. I didn't really care about the NWA, but just for fun I told ET he had given me permission in writing to use the "title" for an indefinate period of time and I intended to do so.
On July 29th, I began receiving e-mails from NWA BOD member Dave Republic saying I was illegally using NWA trademarks. I informed him I had emails from ET granting me permission to use them with no time limit on that and indicated that I intended to run out angles and any effort to prevent me from doing so was simply unprofessional bitterness. I got the impression Republic understood the position I was in. Afterall, he had worked with ET for quite some time. The political BS was being churned out fast and furious.
At one point, I was offered an NWA affiliate to purchase. When told the price was three thousand dollars, I figured they must mean they would pay me three thousand dollars to promote their brand. When I realised they seriously expected me to pay them three thousand dollars, I laughed and declined. They told me that four promotions in Manitoba had inquired about purchasing an NWA Affiliate. To date, that has not happened. When I asked the NWA what benefit there was in being a member, the only response I got was that NWA promotions would have their shows listed on a scroll at the bottom of TNA's Spike TV shows. I don't believe that ever happened.
ET called me and sounded quite amused with himself. He said that Gagne had contacted him the day before and offered him the AWA affiliation. He also said he was offered the affiliation weeks earlier, something Gagne continued to deny. In fact as recently as July 27th in a phone call and again on July 29th, Gagne denied having spoken to ET in any way, shape or form in regards to the AWA and reiterated that he wanted nothing to do with him. I pointed out to ET that all this stupidity days before a major event for PCW was exactly why I simply could not do business with him. His smug attitude confirmed for me that the swerve was definitly a fact even though Gagne continued to swear it was not so.
Also on July 29th, Steve Corino was told by Gagne via telephone that he "knew nothing" about ET having the AWA affiliation or trying to get it, a claim that would most certainly be proven false. Not only was Gagne lying to me, he was lying to his own Champion and most visable star.
I tried to forget about the AWA for a few days as our show was fast approaching. On the afternoon of our event, Gagne e-mailed me again, imploring me to treat their champion with the respect he deserved. I was a bit offended that he was reigniting the bullshit only hours before our event and insinuating that I would treat Steve Corino in any other manner. I had lunch with Steve that day and he revealed to me that "someone" had e-mailed Gagne and reported that I had a bad habit of not paying the import talent or treating them very well, a huge lie if I ever heard one. Gagne refused to tell me the source of the e-mail but said the warning came from multiple people, though Steve said it was just one.
In addition, Gagne again insisted I send him our signed agreement and the fees to follow. Obviously, I was very much aware of the impending swerve and brushing Gagne off at this point. He also asked me to cease the "war of words" with ET and wrote this gem: "Using the internet as a forum is not productive for anyone and is certainly unbecoming of an AWA represented promotion. Again, let's be more professional than the NWA and Ernie Todd."
Gagne also mentioned that the NWA had contacted him in an effort to work out a professional realtionship between their two organizations and to indicate that I wasn't very helpful in their inquiries regarding the NWA Canadian X Division Championship.
That night we had a fantastic show, headlined by two world champions, Steve Corino & Christopher Daniels. Steve was gracious enough to e-mail Gagne on August 5th and let him know how positive the experience was and that he and Daniels were treated quite well. He also encouraged Gagne to work out an agreement with me to see PCW affiliate with the AWA, though by this point, I was certain I didn't want that.
On August 15th ET finally revealed he had purchased the rights to the AWA Canada-wide and was calling himself President of Canada. I e-mailed Gagne inquiring as to how this was possible since we had agreed multiple times in writing that the affiliate was mine with fees to be paid by the end of August. Ofcourse, I was dragging out the payment as long as possible as I was certain I was being lied to. My only interest in the AWA at this point was my respect for Steve and the credibility of his promotions.
Steve replied to me before Gagne did and said he had already heard about ET's announcement and had contacted Gagne letting him know he would "NOT work for Ernie Todd under any circumstances." He was very angry and said he'd forfeigt the title rather than work for ET.
I had spoken to Gagne via telephone earlier in the week and he had, again, assured me the AWA affiliate was mine. Later the day of August 15th, he finally called me again. He confirmed that ET did, in fact, have the Canada-wide AWA affiliate, including Manitoba, but denied lying to me. When I pointed out that even the AWA World Champion and most visiable superstar would not work for the new affiliate, Gagne said "any problems with the AWA Champion working for ET would be sorted out in the near future."
I informed him of my position that I had been granted the affiliation and intended to use the AWA name under the terms of that agreement. This was mostly a dick-ish jab at Gagne as I felt the affiliation had no real value anyway outside of Corino and his promotions and I had a great relationship with him. Gagne threatened to sue me AND the venue if I violated their trademarks, which was almost word for word what ET had said to me earlier in the week.
That brings up an amusing side story. ET stated to me that Corino would have to come to Winnipeg and work for him "or suffer the consequences".
Now, I know what ET will say. He'll say that I won't "let" my guys work for him under threat of being de-booked from my show. Over the past five years PCW has run the most shows in Winnipeg and the best shows, I might add. I feel we've done the most to rebuild the industry in Manitoba with our events. It is true, I ask for a form of "exclusivity" (which isn't even really exclusive) from my guys and for the most part, they are all content with that arrangement.
On the subject of running a regular local show, ET's own opinion is:
"I know there are a few out there who fit this mould (sic) who would like to lend their creativity to rebuild the local scene. However, the roster will have to be "exclusive" if I am going to do this."
In fall 2003, ET began running Coyotes for a short run. He insisted on guys working exclusive and, I believe, tried to get guys to sign contracts with him. Neither myself nor anyone else cried "blackballing". The boys make a choice, whether it is to work for me, ET or someone else. Exercising their right to make that choice is not blackballing. So in short, ET and I agree that guys should make a decision to be committed to a primary promotion in their market. The difference, a lot of really good talent wants to work for me.
And on a side note, I popped for ET's gimmicking of his own blog, posting replies himself and signing other people's names. Awesome!
I've often credited ET with putting together a solid business plan for himself, pursuing out of town shows where having a deep and talented roster aren't required. This plan was a "homage" to Tony Condello. I am not sure why that success is not good enough for ET. He should be happy with what he's got.
The last time I had an overly friendly relationship with ET was about two years ago and that brings me to my thoughts on the AWA.
I realise some people might be a bit upset with this accounting of events, but please understand that I mean no disrespect to anyone (okay, I do mean a bit of disrespect to Dale Gagne for reasons which will become evident). In my opinion, this blog is an accurate and factual account of events concerning the relationship between the AWA and Manitoba at a time when about 4 or 5 promotions were actually interested in becoming an affiliate of that organization.
Gagne wants people to respect the AWA as this internationally recognized promotion, yet he attempted to defraud me and rob me, lied in his effort to steal from me and even lied to his own champion. By the end of this blog, that won't be an explosive accusation, it will be fact.
The AWA was essentially the same thing as the NWA (a loose association of indy promotions pretending to be big time), except rather than be governed by a board, they were run by one person (some would say asshole) named Dale Gagne. This "new" AWA, which had no lineage to the original, respected American Wrestling Association that drew big numbers in Manitoba back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, had a local affiliate in Manitoba owned by RCW. I'm not sure what RCW's plans were for the affiliation, though it would seem Winnipeg would be a likely place for something good to happen due to the past legacy of the original AWA operating here. And RCW's promoter Wayne Stanton is as knowledgeable about the legacy of the business as anyone and would have been a strong choice as a person to take advantage of an association with the AWA, even if it was "new" and had nothing to do with the original Verne Gagne-owned AWA other than the name and logo.
But I suppose if an indy promoter really got onside with the work, they could try and make something of it. However, there were certain things Gagne did that I found a bit embarrassing, such as retroactively recognizing Hulk Hogan as an official AWA World Champion. I mean, come on...
RCW had teased that they might be interested in bringing in AWA World Champion Steve Corino for a show in August. And let me just say that the two things that give the AWA any credibility are Zero-1 and Steve Corino, in spite of Gagne's method of doing business.
Around April or May, Wayne offered to flip the AWA affiliation to me, but later changed his mind. In the one week I had to consider the offer and what benefits there were to be apart of the AWA, I began putting together an informal proposal for an X-Division type championship for the AWA. It was my opinion that the purpose of "Junior Championships" was somewhat moot in today's business and the AWA could use a shot of excitement. The idea was partially fueled by my own concept for the Premier Cup tournament. An X-Division type title, recognized by the AWA as an international championship contested by some of the young future superstars in North America had merit, in my humble opinion. Since Wayne decided he wanted to keep the Affiliation, I sat on the idea.
ET had been teasing on his website for sometime that he was going to start his own X-Division Championship as many NWA Affiliates had done. I contacted him on May 23rd, shortly after Wayne had decided to keep the AWA Affiliate and pitched the idea of the NWA Canadian X Division Championship. It seemed ET wanted to start a similar division but didn't have the talent roster to do it, while I had the talent roster.
ET was enthusiastic about the idea, though he wanted me to become a CWF affiliate and brand all my shows as NWA/CWF. He also wanted me to book Spyder to defend the NWA National Championship on my shows. In the course of our discussions, we worked out a scenario where the winner of the Premier Cup in June would become the first ever NWA Canadian X-Division Champion. I didn't really put a lot of stock into the thought of another NWA Championship existing, but I thought the gimmick gave the tournament a little extra something to fight for and if it caused one extra US dirt sheet to cover the show, then it was worth it. It cost me nothing, so why not?
The NWA got all hot and bothered about it as they had their own seemingly limitless supply of regional and national NWA championships to get over and were put off that ET kept them out of the loop. They felt he went above and beyond his scope of power as NWA President to unilaterally create a new championship, especially one that would be primarily contested in a non-NWA promotion. ET's response to that was that, a) he was NWA President and b), the majority of NWA affiliates in Canada agreed with the decision (2 out of 3).
I didn't really care about the politics, just getting people to talk about the show and if using the NWA to create a little controversy resulted in that happening, then I was happy.
Following the very successful Premier Cup, I contacted TNA to book Christopher Daniels for our August 4th 2005 event. After initially taking the booking, Daniels had to back out due to a commitment in Japan. I had previously had Corino on the short list to come in during that year and Daniels' situation paved the way for Corino to come in for the August show. After booking Corino, Daniels' let me know that he was able to come in after all. Since I really couldn't choose between either of them, we opted to just bring them both in.
Corino had let me know that he had a Winnipeg date on his schedule. I can't recall if it was a couple of weeks prior or following my show, but it was for RCW. I contacted RCW's promoter, Wayne Stanton about it. I was under the impression their booking of Corino was more hypothetical then a done deal though Corino had it listed on his website. Wayne graciously stepped aside and allowed me to bring Steve in and let me know that I might want to talk to Gagne about the AWA affiliation. In fact, on July 7th, Wayne sent a very nice letter of congratulations in response to the announcement of the Corino/Daniels show. In contrast, ET e-mailed me, seemingly amused at the thought of Wayne "going nuts" over me booking the AWA World Champion.
Corino also urged me to speak with Gagne about taking over the affiliation. I wasn't really convinced there was any real benefit to becoming an affiliate, but in the end, I figured if it made it easier for some guys to get booked on other indy shows or opened opportunities to be scouted by Corino's promotions, then why not? I also had a huge amount of respect for Steve and was willing to take his word for it and go ahead and become an affiliate.
When I expressed this interest to Gagne, he jumped on it. He e-mailed me on July 12th to say he had "suspended" the local AWA affiliation and would like to offer it to me before "opening up the territory for re-affiliation" ie. he was giving me dibs.
He then phoned me and spent much of the conversation blowing smoke up my ass and badmouthing ET and the NWA. I told Gagne to send me the information and I would take a look at it before making a final decision, but everyone was in agreement that Steve would work the PCW show as AWA World Champion and defend the title against Robby Royce.
While that was happening, ET was parting ways with the NWA. The NWA wanted nothing to do with ET and ET responded by accusing the organization of racism. I have spoken to several people within the NWA, some in positions of power and no one has a very positive impression of ET. But opinions aside, ET and I were still pretty friendly at the time. My position has always been that I would operate honestly and fairly with people I do business with until such time as they give me reason not to. I'd prefer to be the good guy in most relationships and let the other person burn the bridge. I find that you can't really claim to be making the best of a situation if you're not willing to be honest and deal in good faith. I found that ET never deals in good faith.
As part of our "friendly" relationship, ET asked me to use his top guy, Spyder and suggested I have Spyder work Corino on the Aug. 4th show. He also told me Spyder would not be able to lay down and would require a PO equal to my highest paid guy. When I declined the Spyder/Corino match, ET's idea was for him to attack Antonio Scorpio Jr (whom I believe was Canadian Champion at the time), take him out and leave him laying. Since Spyder was only available for one day, the idea was to have Scorpio lose the belt the following week when Spyder's music plays, scares Scorpio and he is beaten. Obviously, I declined that idea as well. To be fair, Spyder was always easy to talk to and I believe ET was not speaking for Spyder during any of that. His next suggestion was to have him allign with Robby Royce as Team Impact to "shock" the crowd. His final suggestion to get himself on my shows was to become Kenny Omega's financial advisor or career counsellor and lead him into a program with Mentallo. I declined.
I got the AWA papers on July 13th and read them over and didn't really like what I saw. There was a requirement to always refer to the affiliate member prominantly. For example, we'd be AWA-PCW. The AWA logo would have to be displayed on the website and advertising. In a way, PCW would lose some of it's identity to the AWA. I didn't mind promoting the AWA, but I did mind making our brand seem less important in comparison to theirs. In Manitoba, PCW was a stronger brand then the new AWA. I didn't want to spend time, money, effort and energy and see the guys work their asses off just so the public would think this new AWA promotion was pretty damn good, especially when I had no control over how that brand was utilized moving forward.
Another issue was that Gagne reserved the right to revoke the AWA affiliation at anytime for any reason. If you sent him the fees on a Tuesday, he could revoke you on a Wednesday and take your money and run. I didn't like that. Why not sell PCW affiliations then...? Without some protection for the affiliates, I didn't see how the reward warrented the risk.
I told Gagne that I liked some things and had concerns about others and would leave it on my desk until after our big show. He seemed fine with that and we agreed to talk in more detail in August. However, as the date of our Aug.4th show approached, he became increasingly insistent that I send the fees and the signed agreement immediately or risk losing the affiliation.
Truth be told, aside from my respect for Corino and my feeling that something positive could be done if we bought into the legacy of the AWA, I didn't really care if I "lost" the affiliation. I knew I could book Steve without being an affiliate member, which was the same situation in the NWA. One of the reasons the NWA promoters get so pissy and moany about TNA is because with TNA, the NWA World Champion is a bigger star with a higher PO. Many of the NWA members couldn't see the benefit of doing business with TNA and just cried about how Jeff Jarrett cost too much and the NWA members didn't get a special ultra cheap rate on his services. Since anyone could book the NWA Champion, what benefit was there in being part of the organization? When ET was in the NWA, before TNA took control, the champion worked cheap - very cheap, which is why ET booked Dan Severn - he got a great deal on him.
I reiterated to Gagne that I was concentrating on putting together our big summer show and would not deal with the AWA affiliation until after that date. Gagne told me that two other promotions were inquiring about the affiliation and one was willing to pay extra to have territorial rights throughout Canada.
On July 22nd, Gagne e-mailed me again. This time, he was far more insistent that I send him the signed agreement and fees immediately or risk the Corino appearance not happening. Now I was pissed.
I responded sternly questioning whether Gagne was seriously threatening to negatively impact the Corino appearance which was scheduled for a few days later unless I sent him fees to join the AWA. Keep in mind, I had negotiated and confirmed Steve's booking prior to even discussing the AWA affiliation with Gagne. Basically, Steve's appearance had nothing to do with Gagne or the AWA. It felt like a shake down - send me an extra few hundred dollars or the show you've been advertising won't happen as advertised.
Gagne backed off, saying Steve would still appear but not defend the AWA Championship or allow us to mention the AWA. Again, I responded that that was not in keeping with our original agreement and it was pretty bad business to try and shake me down a few days before the show. I told Gagne that I would be happy to join the AWA, but not until after our show as agreed. I was quite surprised when Gagne's tune changed and he wished me well on the show. The air reaked of swerve.
Gagne insisted I sign the contract to become an Affiliate and send it ASAP and then send the fees after our show. He really wanted to have that contract signed.
On July 27th, Gagne e-mailed me again and said Michelle Starr was aggresively trying to purchase the affiliate rights for all of Canada, but he was holding Manitoba for me and urged me to send the signed contract ASAP. I was still very uncomfortable.
On July 28th, ET announced he had resigned from the NWA (he actually had his membership revoked). I e-mailed him and said that it was interesting timing as I was about to announce an AWA Affiliation a few days later (following the August 4th event).
On the same day, I suddenly began getting e-mails about ET having the AWA Affiliation. Another local promoter, a promoter from Saskatchewan and a friend in the business all e-mailed me saying they either heard ET was buying the affiliation or was actively using the AWA brand and posting on the APTN forum as AWA/CWF and looking for talent for an upcoming "project".
I inquired to ET as to why he would use the AWA brand when he knew I was going to announce an affiliation. At first, he feigned ignorance and then anger that someone was posting as him on a forum. Then he revealed to me it was a project he was calling the Aboriginal Wrestling Alliance. Ofcourse, I pointed out to him that that wasn't very "friendly" when he knew I was paying for the AWA. He claimed he looked into the trademarks of the AWA and they weren't legal in Canada, therefor he was trademarking "AWA" and using it "across Canada" for a "big" project.
I e-mailed Gagne, but he was uncharacteristcally unavailable to respond. When he did, he denied having anything to do with ET and suggested ET would face legal consequences if he was using the AWA brand without permission. His exact words on July 28th were "This is serious abuse of our protected rights and will not be tolerated."
Since I had trouble getting a hold of Gagne, I contacted Steve Corino who was as in the dark as I. He said he would be quite troubled to learn that Gagne entered into business with ET and his desire was to see PCW become affiliated with the AWA.
By the end of the day on July 28th, Et and I more or less ended the friendly aspect of our relationship. ET asked me to please tell my entire roster to stop calling him asking for spots with his promotion, a dubious claim at best. At this point, I was still using the NWA Canadian X Division Championship. ET told me he was officially revoking my right to do so. I didn't really care about the NWA, but just for fun I told ET he had given me permission in writing to use the "title" for an indefinate period of time and I intended to do so.
On July 29th, I began receiving e-mails from NWA BOD member Dave Republic saying I was illegally using NWA trademarks. I informed him I had emails from ET granting me permission to use them with no time limit on that and indicated that I intended to run out angles and any effort to prevent me from doing so was simply unprofessional bitterness. I got the impression Republic understood the position I was in. Afterall, he had worked with ET for quite some time. The political BS was being churned out fast and furious.
At one point, I was offered an NWA affiliate to purchase. When told the price was three thousand dollars, I figured they must mean they would pay me three thousand dollars to promote their brand. When I realised they seriously expected me to pay them three thousand dollars, I laughed and declined. They told me that four promotions in Manitoba had inquired about purchasing an NWA Affiliate. To date, that has not happened. When I asked the NWA what benefit there was in being a member, the only response I got was that NWA promotions would have their shows listed on a scroll at the bottom of TNA's Spike TV shows. I don't believe that ever happened.
ET called me and sounded quite amused with himself. He said that Gagne had contacted him the day before and offered him the AWA affiliation. He also said he was offered the affiliation weeks earlier, something Gagne continued to deny. In fact as recently as July 27th in a phone call and again on July 29th, Gagne denied having spoken to ET in any way, shape or form in regards to the AWA and reiterated that he wanted nothing to do with him. I pointed out to ET that all this stupidity days before a major event for PCW was exactly why I simply could not do business with him. His smug attitude confirmed for me that the swerve was definitly a fact even though Gagne continued to swear it was not so.
Also on July 29th, Steve Corino was told by Gagne via telephone that he "knew nothing" about ET having the AWA affiliation or trying to get it, a claim that would most certainly be proven false. Not only was Gagne lying to me, he was lying to his own Champion and most visable star.
I tried to forget about the AWA for a few days as our show was fast approaching. On the afternoon of our event, Gagne e-mailed me again, imploring me to treat their champion with the respect he deserved. I was a bit offended that he was reigniting the bullshit only hours before our event and insinuating that I would treat Steve Corino in any other manner. I had lunch with Steve that day and he revealed to me that "someone" had e-mailed Gagne and reported that I had a bad habit of not paying the import talent or treating them very well, a huge lie if I ever heard one. Gagne refused to tell me the source of the e-mail but said the warning came from multiple people, though Steve said it was just one.
In addition, Gagne again insisted I send him our signed agreement and the fees to follow. Obviously, I was very much aware of the impending swerve and brushing Gagne off at this point. He also asked me to cease the "war of words" with ET and wrote this gem: "Using the internet as a forum is not productive for anyone and is certainly unbecoming of an AWA represented promotion. Again, let's be more professional than the NWA and Ernie Todd."
Gagne also mentioned that the NWA had contacted him in an effort to work out a professional realtionship between their two organizations and to indicate that I wasn't very helpful in their inquiries regarding the NWA Canadian X Division Championship.
That night we had a fantastic show, headlined by two world champions, Steve Corino & Christopher Daniels. Steve was gracious enough to e-mail Gagne on August 5th and let him know how positive the experience was and that he and Daniels were treated quite well. He also encouraged Gagne to work out an agreement with me to see PCW affiliate with the AWA, though by this point, I was certain I didn't want that.
On August 15th ET finally revealed he had purchased the rights to the AWA Canada-wide and was calling himself President of Canada. I e-mailed Gagne inquiring as to how this was possible since we had agreed multiple times in writing that the affiliate was mine with fees to be paid by the end of August. Ofcourse, I was dragging out the payment as long as possible as I was certain I was being lied to. My only interest in the AWA at this point was my respect for Steve and the credibility of his promotions.
Steve replied to me before Gagne did and said he had already heard about ET's announcement and had contacted Gagne letting him know he would "NOT work for Ernie Todd under any circumstances." He was very angry and said he'd forfeigt the title rather than work for ET.
I had spoken to Gagne via telephone earlier in the week and he had, again, assured me the AWA affiliate was mine. Later the day of August 15th, he finally called me again. He confirmed that ET did, in fact, have the Canada-wide AWA affiliate, including Manitoba, but denied lying to me. When I pointed out that even the AWA World Champion and most visiable superstar would not work for the new affiliate, Gagne said "any problems with the AWA Champion working for ET would be sorted out in the near future."
I informed him of my position that I had been granted the affiliation and intended to use the AWA name under the terms of that agreement. This was mostly a dick-ish jab at Gagne as I felt the affiliation had no real value anyway outside of Corino and his promotions and I had a great relationship with him. Gagne threatened to sue me AND the venue if I violated their trademarks, which was almost word for word what ET had said to me earlier in the week.
I pointed out to Gagne that I could still book the AWA Champion so what benefit was an affiliation anyway? He replied that Corino's booking had to go through him, which was absolutely untrue as we later proved. Steve also helpfully pointed out that he was free to take bookings whenever he wanted but the AWA Championship would not be defended.
As I previously said, I didn't really care about the affiliation, but I was not impressed with the shady way Gagne operated. Corino too, was not happy and spoke out against Gagne's decision and ET's affiliation, actually vowing publically to never work for ET.That brings up an amusing side story. ET stated to me that Corino would have to come to Winnipeg and work for him "or suffer the consequences".
It was my opinion (and suspicioun for quite some time), that Gagne had been working me in an effort to get me to submit my three hundred dollar US affiliate fees. I quite rightly refused, smelling the swerve a mile away. I continued to feign anger over "losing" the affiliate as I wanted to know with 100% certainty that I had been screwed. In essence, Gagne had attempted to de-fraud me and ET was a willing accomplish, or so I suspected at least.
Something else that bothered me was ET's willingness to throw away a positive relationship with me and pay for an AWA affiliate all for the opportunity to call me up and act like a smug prick. And that is another one of his major faults - if he can screw you today, he'll jump at the chance to do it, and to hell with tomorrow. It's all about feeling like he "won" something.
Well, what did he win? He paid for an AWA affiliation and the right to call himself the President of Canada. The AWA World Champion and most visable AWA superstar flat out refused to work for him and shot on him publically. He never ran an AWA anniversary show, brought in other AWA names or past AWA legends. In short, ET did nothing at all with the affiliate. He paid for two years for an ego boost, the opportunity to be smug to me and because he thought it would force Corino to work for him. Sometime later, I even suggested several ideas for ET to capitalize on the AWA name, but he never did anything worthwhile with the affiliation.
During the time that ET paid for an affiliate, PCW (a non-affiliate), brought in the AWA Champion twice.
Around this time, we re-launched our website with full news and reviews of the August event. On September 2nd, ET demanded I remove all mention of himself, his promotion and the AWA from the site. He said it was my "one and only warning". I politely explained that I was only mentioning the AWA in a factual manner, such as reporting on Steve's successful defense of the AWA Championship at my August show. I also pointed out that factual representation of business-related news was not a violation of trademarks, such as when ET reported on his website that he had revoked PCW's status as a CWF affiliate, even though PCW was never an affiliate of that promotion (which I guess would make that statement non-factual, but you get the point).
This ignited another pointless war of words as ET threatened to sue me for defamation, citing a news story on my website that never mentioned him, his promotion, the AWA or anyone associated with him. I had written a story claiming that someone had taken exception to the tone of a promo done by the heel clique Panther Nation and had reported us to the police hate crimes division. ET thought that was a direct accusation against him and claimed Spyder was very angry about the entire thing and had called him to say I was making the accusation.
I pointed out the obvious to ET, that no one was named or insinuated in the story and that it had absolutely nothing to do with him. He continued to demand I remove the story and any reference to him, of which there was none. The most amusing part of this was that ET was CC'ing our e-mails to Gagne for some reason.
I never removed any content from my news section and was never sued for defamation. There may have been times I said unkind things about ET, but this was a case where his anger was totally unfounded and without merit. He made a few references to PCW on his website in response, mostly surrounding Mike Hammer's decision to jump back and forth between PCW and the CWF several times in a matter of hours.
On September 25th 2005, ET contacted me, letting me know he lifted the ban on my e-mails and inquired as to what information I might have as to how Mike Davidson's AWE was financed. It was then that he revealed the following in writing: "any negotiations with AWA had to be held in confidentiality. No one knew but Dale & I. I joined in July, long before I was removed from the NWA".
I'll write the important part again, just for emphasise: "I joined in July". And there you have complete confirmation that Gagne was attempting to defraud me in July and August when he insisted I send him fees for an Affiliate that was already owned by someone else. Not only was he lying to me, he was also lying to Steve Corino at the same time. I think that sums up the character of Dale Gagne.
ET claimed he felt bad that I was being screwed over (or was the victim of an attempted screw over), but he had a confidentiality agreement with Gagne preventing him from telling me. In August when everything went down, I vowed to myself that ET and I were finished as far as ever doing business together again and that I would never, ever trust him.
By September, when ET contacted me, I continued to exchange polite e-mails, mostly for selfish reasons. I wanted absolutel confirmation of my suspicions about Gagne and about ET's complicity in that mess and, at the time, Davidson and I were not on friendly terms so any information that ET would send me (even though it all needed to be taken with a huge grain of salt) was somewhat interesting.
On October 22nd, our "relationship" once again turned sour when I rejected any thoughts of doing business together. I tried to maintain a civil relationship, but it seemed impossible. Coincedentialy, Steve e-mailed me later that day. He said the AWA asked him to send me a new picture for our website. I had booked Steve for a December event (remember when Gagne claimed Steve's bookings had to go through him and ET claimed Steve would work for him or suffer the consequences?) and had used a picture of Steve carrying the AWA Championship belt. Ofcourse, I also referenced Steve in a factual manner as being the AWA World Heavyweight Champion. I made absolutely no reference to Steve defending the championship, nor did I want him to defend the championship on my show.
Steve said the AWA had an issue with me using that particular photo and sent me another one to use instead, that had recently been taken at a Ring of Honor event. Our of respect for Steve, I told him I would create a new graphic and send it when we next updated the site. I found it odd that the AWA (ie. Gagne) would be checking out my website and wondered if someone "tipped him off" about the picture, someone who had previously taken exception to content on my site.
On October 24th, ET contacted me, explaining that Gagne had informed him that I was misleading Winnipeg fans into thinking Steve would be defending the AWA Championship on my December event. He said I was infringing upon their copywrite (even though he previously told me the AWA had no legal standing in Canada) and was using false and misleading advertising. He advised me to remove all reference to the AWA and their championship in the booking of Steve for my December event.
I replied in a polite and professional manner and aknowledged that Steve had sent me a new photo and that it would be changed when we next updated the site in the coming days. However, I disagreed that I could not reference Steve as AWA World Champion or that doing so constituted copywrite infringement. My position was, since Steve was recognized as the AWA Champion, it was merely a factualy aknowledgement. I was not using the AWA logo or implying that Steve would be defending his championship.
ET disagreed and stated that he did not give me permission to mention the AWA, therefore I was not permitted to mention the AWA. He threatened to file a complaint with the Competition Bureau (which he had previously done in 2002) and take other legal steps to enforce his position. He also asked me to stop telling people that Steve refused to work for him as he "could" book Steve if he wanted to, but that he decided not to, which was why Steve was not booked for his promotion. ET also reiterated that the complaint about my website was brought to him by Gagne.
That last point is an important one because I was later told of a conversation with Gagne when he was in, I believe Las Vegas. He received an e-mail from ET with a link or copy of the offending picture and other complaints about my site asking Gagne to do something.
Again, I tried to explain to ET why it was not anti-competitive or trademark infringment to reference Steve as the current AWA Champion. I said it was like referencing someone as a former WWE Superstar or former NWA World Champion. It was an indisputable fact, not a violation of copywrite law, in addition to being a really stupid reason to argue when I was promoting another major event. And ofcourse, I helpfully pointed out that Steve himself publically stated he would not work for ET.
Oddly, ET agreed that I could promote Steve as a former NWA and ECW World Champion, but not an AWA World Champion. I simply saw little difference in the legalities of that. ET once again threatened to file a complaint with my venue over the matter and said the Federal Government would be obligated to investigate any complaints of infringment of a globally recognized trademark. ET said he was simply trying to help me and my venue avoid any legal problems.
I thanked him for his concern, again said I would change the homepage picture out of respect for Steve and would continue to promote him as AWA World Champion or former AWA World Champion should he lose the title. I was also promoting him as former ECW and NWA Champion as well, so it was not like I was trying to pick a fight with the AWA.
On October 25th, Gagne e-mailed me himself and suggested that Steve would not put his PCW booking ahead of his relationship with the AWA. The obvious insinuation being that if I did not comply with his requests, that Steve would not attend our event. Gagne also explained his position that any mention of the AWA was a violation of their trademark (in that case, this entire blog, every dirt sheet in the world, and multiple wrestling fan sites are in violation of this same trademark).
ET and I then entered an odd period of time where, some days, we exchanged friendly e-mails and others, not so friendly. On our Halloween event that year, Robby Royce dressed up as "The Big Kahuna" and was accompanied by Brian Jewel. ET took great exception to that and demanded I remove any mention of it from my website or he would file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. I refused.
On November 15th, Gagne once again contacted me with a concern over a specific news article on my website that contained a picture of Steve with the AWA Championship belt (I believe that was a picture I took myself and thus, I owned). He asked that I remove it and all reference to the AWA. I politely declined. Gagne politely threatened to take legal action. I politely asked him to do it sooner rather than later so I could post the legal letter and use it to help promote the "controversial" appearance of the AWA Champion.
I refused to remove any more pictures or reference to the AWA and went ahead with promoting the match as AWA World Champion Steve Corino vs PCW Champion Robby Royce vs NWA Canadian X-Division Champion Rawskillz. That was the way I finally stopped using the NWA name, unifying that title with the PCW Championship when Skillz pinned Corino to win the match.
When Steve flew in to Winnipeg, he cleared customs here and had an experience very similar to the one Samoa Joe had recently. The Customs Agent admitted that someone had filed a complaint about Corino's appearance with us. Steve is a Canadian citizen, yet he was hassled and threatened with having his entry to Canada denied. Fortunately, Customs could find no good reason to deny him.
In the days following the event, Gagne thanked me for treating Steve so well. Some weeks later, I receieved a letter in the mail from the AWA's lawyer, advising me to discontinue referencing the AWA in the promotion of the event that had already taken place or futher legal action would occur. Had the AWA actually been competent enough to send the letter prior to my show, I would have scanned it and posted it on my website. As the show was long since over, I laughed, and tossed the letter away but never did remove the old news stories they found so offensive.
Things on the AWA front quieted down for quite some time. Last week, ET announced on his website that he had resigned as President of Canada. Curious, I inquired to Gagne as to what brought that on and if ET was leaving the organization. Gagne said "good news travels fast" and admitted that ET had been removed from his "self-titled" role as President and his AWA affiliation was in the process of being revoked.
I make no judgements on the validity of those statements, as ET states he resigned.
Gagne told me the affiliation would be up for grabs if I was interested. I explained to him that due to his previous business practices, I would have no interest in that.
I'm not sure if promoters simply don't have any good ideas as to how to take advantage of an AWA affiliation or if Gagne is simply not receptive to those ideas, but it seems the entire Manitoba AWA affiliation fiasco was much ado about nothing. Unfortuntely, bad blood and politics conspired to make a huge mountain our of a pretty small molehill.
Anyone with any questions or concerns about this blog, please feel free to e-mail at andrewofpcw@gmail.com
Monday, March 12, 2007
Joe's Customs Screwjob, My Thoughts on the Show and More!
Well, I meant to have this blog done a few days ago, but last Thursday not only gave us the terrific Fifth Anniversary Spectacular, it also hit me with a brutal cold. That cold, in addition to an ear infection has pretty much knocked me on my ass for a few days. But better late than never.
This will likely be one of those classic long Shallcross posts that provide those people with Internet access at work something to do for awhile other than their jobs.
First things first, congratulations to my good friend ET for his historic accomplishment last week of becoming the only person kicked out of both the NWA and AWA. I'll talk more about the AWA later.
I could write for hours about the details that go into producing a show such as the Fifth Anniversary Spectacular, but I'll try to keep my comments limited in the interests of those people who don't give a crap what I think.
Usually I have someone else pick up the names at the airport as it's mostly straight forward, but unfortunately, with Samoa Joe I was forced to break my own general policy of having names come in a day early and clear customs in a large city like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
Every single time we've had a name clear customs in Winnipeg there has been a problem. From Eddie Guerrero to Buff Bagwell to the Road Warriors, the Canada Customs officials in Winnipeg simply go above and beyond the call of duty in being complete assholes. I am assuming a prerequisite to getting that job is having a huge and undeserved ego, possibly a small penis and quite likely very low self esteem.
Fortunately, I got to the airport on time and waited patiently as the flight cleared. I've often said that part of every show is the most nerve-wracking for a promoter. But truth be told, it really stopped being a huge stress inducer for me the past couple of years. By the time we get to this point, it's totally out of my hands. Don't get me wrong, I was somewhat stressed and considered the worst as time passed and still no Joe.
I had made a very specific point of e-mailing Joe in advance (something I always do even if I have previously emailed the same thing to a returning name) and given him some instructions in dealing with Winnipeg's Customs officials. I was confident that Joe would be prepared for anything.
As half an hour passed without an appearance by Joe, I assumed he was being hassled. I'm not sure how I would have truly felt if he hadn't made it in, but I sort of felt disappointed at that prospect but knew the guys would put on a kick-ass show regardless, but I hate to "lose" and not delivering what we promised would not sit well with me. Every promotion in town has had issues related to getting their import talent in for their advertised shows, but PCW has consistently bucked that trend. With so many imports not making it recently, I knew the spotlight would be on that particular fact.
I don't think it's rocket science, getting an import into the city. Most issues that arise are preventable - having guys' arrivals too close to show time, booking assholes with bad reputations, not preparing guys for what they can expect at customs. Things such as weather or other flight delays are out of our control. What happens at customs is mostly out of our control too, but experience has taught me there are things you can do to minimize the risk of a name being rejected at customs.
After 40 minutes and still not Joe, I began considering alternatives for the show and how we'd be able to spin his non-appearance without looking terrible. I know some people would drag us through the mud or simply say "PCW had the same problems as everyone else", but it would have been a terrible feeling if that happened. As I said before, I knew the guys would put on a kick ass show regardless, so I was not worried about that. I did consider Adam Knight and how disappointed he'd be. Knight and I have not always seen eye to eye, but I consider him a friend and a genuine nice guy. I felt bad that he'd have his opportunity to work with Joe ruined by Customs agents. Fortunately, Joe finally entered the waiting area and I could tell by the look on his face that he was not happy. I welcomed him back to Winnipeg and inquired as to whether he had any problems. It was evident that he did have problems and seemed too angry to even discuss it. He simply said "I was read the riot act for half an hour," but would not elaborate at that time.
As we drove towards the hotel, he explained what had occurred. As the passengers all cleared Customs they are asked what their business is in Canada. Joe informed the agent that he was working on a pro wrestling event. The agent replied "Oh, you're a wrestler? Well you go over there then," and directed Joe to a different area of customs.
There Joe was treated in a very rude and unprofessional manner by Custom's officers. They interrogated him and searched him, but were total jerks in doing so. Keep in mind that he was singled out for this treatment not because of an issue with his passport, not because his name appeared on any watch lists, not because he acted suspicious, not even due to racial profiling. He was hassled simply because he admitted to being a professional wrestler.
On top of that, his passport would clearly have indicated he was very well travelled, appearing all over the world and had never had an issue with Customs before. There was absolutely no reason to think he was a safety or security threat to Canada, but he was singled out and harassed by over-bearing Custom's officials.
The officers demanded to know what illegal items they would find in his bags to which Joe replied "none." The officers scoffed at this and said "sure. That's what the last guy said," but did not elaborate as to whom the "last guy" was.
As Joe explained it, the officers continued to be verbally abusive and push his buttons. Joe was 100% convinced that the officers were trying to rile him up and illicit a negative response from him. They were looking for a fight and any excuse to deny him entry to the Country. It was utter bullshit. It isn't just something that bothers me as a promoter, but these jackass custom's officers should consider that this person travels all over the world and they made one terrible impression on him as Canadians. If they felt it necessary to search him simply for being a wrestler, so be it, I suppose, but act like a professional.
The kind of person Joe is made it impossible for the officers to deny him entry. I can't imagine that feeling of being unfairly harassed by an authority figure and having to bite your tongue. Joe was a class act in a terrible situation and put the importance of his appearing on our show ahead of a natural desire to tell the agents to go fuck themselves.
I can honestly say that I had a bad feeling going into the show. I just felt we would not draw as well as expected. I was hoping for 200 and anything more would be gravy. I ended up very happy as the show exceeded my hopes and expectations and drew approximately 300. What impressed me the most was the hot walk up crowd. Winnipeg is known as a walk up town, but in the business of local wrestling, it's not usually viable to spend enough money on advertising to spread the word to a huge mainstream audience. The most viable thing to do is spread the word to "your" market and hope to draw as many people from that group as possible. Joe has appeal and that was proven last Thursday.
Prior to the doors opening, a crowd was gathering outside. That was a good sign. We opened the doors at 8 and the building quickly began filling up. I was still nervous at this point and remarked to someone that it wasn't busy enough. I don't recall who it was, whether it was Kenny Omega or Will Damon, but they replied "are you fucking kidding? It's 8:15 and it's almost full." Good point.
Rawskillz often draws the short end of the stick and is tapped to open the big shows. I trust him implicitly and know he'll do exactly what we need in an opener. It's the reason why we waited for Chad Tatum to arrive at a show last year rather than move the card around. I put a lot of importance on the opening match. I think some guys don't like that spot, seeing it as a "curtain jerker" spot. But in my mind, if I want you in the opener, consider it a major compliment.
The opening match had to be changed because Danny Duggan was not in the city. I won't lie and say it didn't bother me. It bothered me very much. I wasn't really hot, but I was terribly disappointed in Danny. Being a professional means more than just having a look and a cool move set. It means being a leader and living up to commitments. Danny had emailed me a couple of days prior to the show and said he was offered a lot of money to go out of town with Ernie Todd. Now I can appreciate working Ernie for a bigger PO than everyone else on the tour - that is kinda funny, but commitments are commitments. I told Danny I understood his position, that he came to Winnipeg to go on Tony Condello's tour and was basically screwed over and lied to, but that Tony's actions had nothing to do with me, the PCW boys or the fans expecting to see him. If it had just been a regular weekly show, we would have worked around it, but I told him I expected him to be there. He wasn't.
I could say that Danny burned a bridge and will never be back in PCW, but let's be honest - it's rare a promoter ever sticks to that for a variety of reasons. I like Danny and still do and I am sure I'll book him in the future, but it felt like a slap in the face when I consider some of the positive things I've done for him over the years. But mostly, it was a let down knowing we had promised that match to the fans and he was not willing to deliver on his word.
One of the reasons promoters can screw guys over is because the guys let them. It works both ways too. I remember one local worker getting hot at me for not bringing him back into PCW after he had left in what I felt was an unprofessional manner. He said guys jump all the time and no one was held accountable before I got in to the business and he asked why I tried to hold guys accountable. That was my point. Ernie had screwed Danny over before yet Danny was happy to take his money. I don't really care that Ernie was able to pay Danny to miss a PCW show because he paid through the nose to make it happen. In fact, it goes to show how little respect the local boys have for Ernie when he was so desperate for talent he had to over pay to get it.
I had emailed Skillz with a couple of suggestions as to whom to use as Danny's replacement. Skillz rejected one suggestion but was fine with the second. He counter suggested using Kevin Chevy because at least he knew it would be a good match. I immediately rejected that.
I took a very hardline with Chevy when he quit last fall to, coincidental enough, go work a tour for Ernie. If he had wanted to quit, I would have had no problem with that, but you don't quit without notice and you really don't do it when you're holding a championship. It was very unprofessional and I very strongly believed that I would absolutely never, ever, ever use Chevy again. A couple of hours before the show AJ Sanchez emailed me and told me that Chevy would be willing to work that spot if I wanted. Again, I dismissed it, but in the few minutes I had to sit and think about it, I decided that the show was more important than the opportunity to snub someone, even if they deserved it. I had avoided bringing Chevy back every week for months, when I knew he would have certainly been interested and he could easily have slid into existing angles. But now I could use him to help our show and if did that, it would go a long way to re-building some bridges.
This brings up another individual and their actions. Kory Kinkade had been with PCW for quite some time. I considered him a friend and I put a lot of thought into him over the time he was with us. I truly believe he was given multiple angles and opportunities to get over but never really grabbed those opportunities. I never insist every guy on the show be as talented and hardworking as a guy like Mentallo for example. I'll always have a spot for someone that is a committed team player, loyal and professional. Up until a couple of weeks ago, Kinkade was all those things.
A few months ago, he had come to me wanting to quit to go back to RME. I quite rightly assumed it was due to the increased push he'd likely get there. Kinkade insisted a push wasn't really the issue but admitted he did not feel he was good enough for PCW. I tried to explain the importance of role players in any promotion and being apart of the best team should be more important than getting a push on a small crew with much less depth of talent. He stayed and I worked on an angle I thought he'd enjoy. I even put myself out there every week, cutting promos, bumping and being hardwayed to help him get over. After explaining to him that we were going to turn someone else on the crew to team with him, he went along with the segment, went home and emailed me his resignation. I was pretty angry that he waited until after we began turning someone else, rather than before, but I, again, tried to talk him out of it. This time, however, he was committed to quitting. He did, though, agree to give two weeks notice so he could leave professionally and give us the chance to write him out.
On March 1st, he no-showed. I emailed him and he declined to reply. He told someone else on the crew that he no-showed because I told other guys to beat him up in the ring. Quitting is one thing. Being unprofessional and no-showing is also one thing. But why do guys feel the need to spout bullshit on their way out? Does it make them feel better? Is it an effort to gain sympathy when they know they are wrong? Chevy told people I made racial slurs when he quit, which was obviously a complete lie. And now Kinkade was calling my integrity into question. That made me hot. In five years, I have never asked anyone to take liberties with someone in the ring. Never. If I wanted to beat Kinkade up for whatever reason, I'd do it myself, but that's not my style.
The worse thing about this is that Angus and I have chatted quite frequently lately. RME would like to use some PCW talent and I'd like some PCW guys to pick up extra bookings between our big shows. It's a bit of a change in philosophy, but not entirely. Respect means a lot to me and Angus is usually respectful and we can usually communicate in a mature way. On the other end of the spectrum is Ernie which is why PCW guys will never appear on a CWF show in Winnipeg and continue to work for me.
I won't say losing Kinkade has a terrible impact on our shows, but I am terribly disappointed in the way he chose to govern himself. I expected more. If P-lo sets the example of professionalism that you follow, you're going down the wrong path.
Back on topic: As expected, it was a terrific opening match. Chevy worked really hard and Don Douglas is always very good. Skillz is quite possibly the easiest guy in the business to work with from a promoter/booker's perspective and he and Tatum are very good together. I will quickly say about Douglas that I had hoped we would work together again after our falling out last year. He's a young talent who should be working with the best guys to get better and in our environment. He's been great to work with since coming back.
Allow me to comment on the much talked about "Stripper" segment. Firstly, we don't do things half-assed in PCW. Some promotions might hire a stripper, we had ourselves a bonafide porn star! This was also a last minute addition. Our videographer is also her videographer and he suggested having her on the show to promote her website. She certainly had some local fame and it was something different for the show, so I jumped at the chance.
I will say that Oshean was very professional and very nice. She was extremely easy to work with. I pitched the idea to her and she was all for it. She was great with the guys, followed instructions intently and was a joy to work with. As for the "controversy", it's much ado about nothing, in my humble opinion. First of all, while we may allow minors into the venue with their parent, we don't promote the show as a kiddie show. This isn't a community centre. It's a nightclub. I believe we had one minor in the building and had her parent complained, I would have happily made it up to him. But we're not going to book for the one kid in the place at the expense of the 300 adults. Besides, did anyone see anything they couldn't see watching television in primetime? If you weren't there, don't criticise and especially don't spread mis-truths about a "strip show" that didn't happen. Enough said.
The tag title match itself was off the charts as far as "holy shit" high spots go. A bar crowd often heels on Nate because he's so small and because of his Hardy gimmick, but the reason he is so popular with our regular fans is because they know what to expect once the bell rings. He did not look as though he had missed any time at all. Ozz is one of the most improved guys of all time, a young guy who came to PCW for the sole purpose of developing his skills and doing whatever was necessary to accomplishment that. And there is really nothing that needs to be said about Robby Royce and Kenny Omega. They are natural adversaries in the ring and always have great matches. Royce had been very excited about this match way back when we discussed possible match ups for the show and Kenny was equally as positive, telling me "that will be a great match" when I pitched him the idea.
The match was fantastic and the climax kept building with one "holy shit" moment after another.
I'll take this moment to compliment Mike Arnott who has really developed into a fantastic ring announcer. He could very well be the best announcer in Manitoba right now and has learned to balance his desire to be a "character" with knowing that the best character for a ring announcer is as, well, a "ring announcer". And I sure hope whomever criticised him for wearing a Mentallo T-Shirt was kidding. Mike was shilling merchandise and doing his job.
About the PCW Championship match, I'll say that I was wrong and a certain someone was right. He'll know who he is. In my mind, Mentallo vs Mike Angels was the match of the night, and told a terrific story. Any young guys in the audience with thoughts of being a worker got a great example of what psychology is all about and how to build a match to it's finish.
I think a new champion really benefits or loses by what his opponent, the outgoing champion, does for him. Mentallo is one of my favourite people in the business and is infinitely knowledgeable and a class act to work with. What he did for Mike Angels was selfless and set Angels' first reign up for success. I had to admit I was surprised by the crowd's reaction. They popped for the finish, many of them very happy Angels won. I think that was the result of the great story being told in the match, that even though Angels was the heel, he really was the underdog fighting for respect. A lot of guys who haven't been to a show in a long time might raise an eyebrow at the though of Angels as our champion, but watch him work - he's unbelievable. He has developed into a bonafide top guy in Manitoba. When people talk about Mentallo, Knight, Skillz, Royce and Omega, they have to include Angels in that discussion.
And on a side note, the next time anyone criticises our "style", remember, Mike Angels won the title by forcing Mentallo to tap out to an Abdominal Claw...and the crowd popped for it!
I haven't heard much criticism actually, but the very little I have reminds me of fall 2003 when we put the title on Rawskillz for the first time. I remember certain people shitting on that. But history tells a different story. I'd rather have a top guy represent my promotion than a "big" guy who couldn't work his way out of a paperbag. Mike Angels is a phenominal worker, a fantastic talker, and often offers to work with lower card guys to help get them over. He's a class act all the way and I am personally proud he represents our promotion. As PCW Champion, he's the top guy in Manitoba and he's certainly deserving of that position.
I read with some amusement how a few people didn't like the six man tag match and felt it wasn't a worthy "semi main event". But others "got it". Booking 101, people.
I wish I had the time to go into detail about every match on the show. I'll say that the entire crew did exactly what was needed of them. Dalton/Cutler was something that came to me pretty much as a done deal. It was an easy decision to accept the offer and they had a great match.
Sanchez and Scorpio are two of the true prospects in the business and prove it everytime they get in the ring.
Adam Knight was more or less the only guy on my short list when we dicided to bring Joe back. It was a no-brainer in my mind and I am glad Knight took the opportunity to heart. He is in probably the best shape of his career and is really a big team player. He and Joe tore the house down. A guy like Joe always amazes me - you know he has injuries piling up and with the spotlight on him in TNA and ROH, he could phone it in on the indy scene, but he gives the fans exactly what they want every time he goes out there. I thought Joe and Knight had great chemistry and it was a terrific match. The visial of Joe giving Knight the Muscle Buster was something I had in my mind since we booked Joe. I kept telling Knight that he had to take it and was surprised when Knight told me it was Joe's idea.
I really can't say enough about Joe as a person. He is humble, polite and professional. He made a strong impression on the venue staff when he went up to them and remembered them from last time, discussing specific conversations from the last visit. He knows how to make an impression and was the last person to leave the bar after everyone else had got autographs, pictures and engaged him in conversation. I am confident Joe will be back.
I want to thank a few people for the success of the show. Firstly, the crew. We have assembled the best group of guys in the province, possibly the country. We're very lucky to have so much talent in Winnipeg. I feel strongly that PCW's committment to developing quality workers the past few years as had an impact on the general talent level in our city. I know other people have different ideas about putting shows together, prefering to feature their friends or guys that sell the most tickets over guys that work the hardest and have the most talent. My committment has never been to trying to squeeze the last dollar out of this business, but to giving the best guys a good place to keep getting better. As long as the team is committed and enough fans support and appreciate what we do, then I am thrilled. So thank you to the team!
Obviously, none of this would be possible or meaningful without the fans. I think we have a unique relationship with many of our fans who support what we do. While it's sometimes nice to work in front of an "all ages" crowd, I would always prefer the smart crowd we have. They make us work harder and they appreciate the extra effort some guys go to to perfect their craft, so thanks.
MVP - I was so glad they all agreed to be apart of the show. I was worried some fans might not remember them, but they got a terrific pop and it's always a lot of fun having them around. Hopefully, it wont be the last time we see Shane Madison, Will Damon and Donny Dicaprio in PCW.
Marty Gold went above and beyond in hyping our show on his radio show. You can say what you want about him, but Marty is an awesme ambassador of indy wrestling. He is intelligent and articulate and is unapologetic when it comes to his work in the business and his positive attitude and seriousness towards the industry comes across whenever he speaks of it.
Our new webmaster deserves a big pat on the back for his great work in very short order to get video previews up for the show and everything else on the website. He continues to work on the site and I encourage everyone to keep checking it out at pcwaction.com
I am sure I am forgetting people to thank but I will say that putting a show of this success is a real group effort. Some people have commented that it was the best show of the past several years. I think PCW will continue to evolve into the place where fans can expect to see the best talent and the best shows. We're proud of the fact we've held that distinction for five years and our goal is for that to continue as long as possible.
Next time, I'll talk more about the AWA. It's an interesting story.
This will likely be one of those classic long Shallcross posts that provide those people with Internet access at work something to do for awhile other than their jobs.
First things first, congratulations to my good friend ET for his historic accomplishment last week of becoming the only person kicked out of both the NWA and AWA. I'll talk more about the AWA later.
I could write for hours about the details that go into producing a show such as the Fifth Anniversary Spectacular, but I'll try to keep my comments limited in the interests of those people who don't give a crap what I think.
Usually I have someone else pick up the names at the airport as it's mostly straight forward, but unfortunately, with Samoa Joe I was forced to break my own general policy of having names come in a day early and clear customs in a large city like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
Every single time we've had a name clear customs in Winnipeg there has been a problem. From Eddie Guerrero to Buff Bagwell to the Road Warriors, the Canada Customs officials in Winnipeg simply go above and beyond the call of duty in being complete assholes. I am assuming a prerequisite to getting that job is having a huge and undeserved ego, possibly a small penis and quite likely very low self esteem.
Fortunately, I got to the airport on time and waited patiently as the flight cleared. I've often said that part of every show is the most nerve-wracking for a promoter. But truth be told, it really stopped being a huge stress inducer for me the past couple of years. By the time we get to this point, it's totally out of my hands. Don't get me wrong, I was somewhat stressed and considered the worst as time passed and still no Joe.
I had made a very specific point of e-mailing Joe in advance (something I always do even if I have previously emailed the same thing to a returning name) and given him some instructions in dealing with Winnipeg's Customs officials. I was confident that Joe would be prepared for anything.
As half an hour passed without an appearance by Joe, I assumed he was being hassled. I'm not sure how I would have truly felt if he hadn't made it in, but I sort of felt disappointed at that prospect but knew the guys would put on a kick-ass show regardless, but I hate to "lose" and not delivering what we promised would not sit well with me. Every promotion in town has had issues related to getting their import talent in for their advertised shows, but PCW has consistently bucked that trend. With so many imports not making it recently, I knew the spotlight would be on that particular fact.
I don't think it's rocket science, getting an import into the city. Most issues that arise are preventable - having guys' arrivals too close to show time, booking assholes with bad reputations, not preparing guys for what they can expect at customs. Things such as weather or other flight delays are out of our control. What happens at customs is mostly out of our control too, but experience has taught me there are things you can do to minimize the risk of a name being rejected at customs.
After 40 minutes and still not Joe, I began considering alternatives for the show and how we'd be able to spin his non-appearance without looking terrible. I know some people would drag us through the mud or simply say "PCW had the same problems as everyone else", but it would have been a terrible feeling if that happened. As I said before, I knew the guys would put on a kick ass show regardless, so I was not worried about that. I did consider Adam Knight and how disappointed he'd be. Knight and I have not always seen eye to eye, but I consider him a friend and a genuine nice guy. I felt bad that he'd have his opportunity to work with Joe ruined by Customs agents. Fortunately, Joe finally entered the waiting area and I could tell by the look on his face that he was not happy. I welcomed him back to Winnipeg and inquired as to whether he had any problems. It was evident that he did have problems and seemed too angry to even discuss it. He simply said "I was read the riot act for half an hour," but would not elaborate at that time.
As we drove towards the hotel, he explained what had occurred. As the passengers all cleared Customs they are asked what their business is in Canada. Joe informed the agent that he was working on a pro wrestling event. The agent replied "Oh, you're a wrestler? Well you go over there then," and directed Joe to a different area of customs.
There Joe was treated in a very rude and unprofessional manner by Custom's officers. They interrogated him and searched him, but were total jerks in doing so. Keep in mind that he was singled out for this treatment not because of an issue with his passport, not because his name appeared on any watch lists, not because he acted suspicious, not even due to racial profiling. He was hassled simply because he admitted to being a professional wrestler.
On top of that, his passport would clearly have indicated he was very well travelled, appearing all over the world and had never had an issue with Customs before. There was absolutely no reason to think he was a safety or security threat to Canada, but he was singled out and harassed by over-bearing Custom's officials.
The officers demanded to know what illegal items they would find in his bags to which Joe replied "none." The officers scoffed at this and said "sure. That's what the last guy said," but did not elaborate as to whom the "last guy" was.
As Joe explained it, the officers continued to be verbally abusive and push his buttons. Joe was 100% convinced that the officers were trying to rile him up and illicit a negative response from him. They were looking for a fight and any excuse to deny him entry to the Country. It was utter bullshit. It isn't just something that bothers me as a promoter, but these jackass custom's officers should consider that this person travels all over the world and they made one terrible impression on him as Canadians. If they felt it necessary to search him simply for being a wrestler, so be it, I suppose, but act like a professional.
The kind of person Joe is made it impossible for the officers to deny him entry. I can't imagine that feeling of being unfairly harassed by an authority figure and having to bite your tongue. Joe was a class act in a terrible situation and put the importance of his appearing on our show ahead of a natural desire to tell the agents to go fuck themselves.
I can honestly say that I had a bad feeling going into the show. I just felt we would not draw as well as expected. I was hoping for 200 and anything more would be gravy. I ended up very happy as the show exceeded my hopes and expectations and drew approximately 300. What impressed me the most was the hot walk up crowd. Winnipeg is known as a walk up town, but in the business of local wrestling, it's not usually viable to spend enough money on advertising to spread the word to a huge mainstream audience. The most viable thing to do is spread the word to "your" market and hope to draw as many people from that group as possible. Joe has appeal and that was proven last Thursday.
Prior to the doors opening, a crowd was gathering outside. That was a good sign. We opened the doors at 8 and the building quickly began filling up. I was still nervous at this point and remarked to someone that it wasn't busy enough. I don't recall who it was, whether it was Kenny Omega or Will Damon, but they replied "are you fucking kidding? It's 8:15 and it's almost full." Good point.
Rawskillz often draws the short end of the stick and is tapped to open the big shows. I trust him implicitly and know he'll do exactly what we need in an opener. It's the reason why we waited for Chad Tatum to arrive at a show last year rather than move the card around. I put a lot of importance on the opening match. I think some guys don't like that spot, seeing it as a "curtain jerker" spot. But in my mind, if I want you in the opener, consider it a major compliment.
The opening match had to be changed because Danny Duggan was not in the city. I won't lie and say it didn't bother me. It bothered me very much. I wasn't really hot, but I was terribly disappointed in Danny. Being a professional means more than just having a look and a cool move set. It means being a leader and living up to commitments. Danny had emailed me a couple of days prior to the show and said he was offered a lot of money to go out of town with Ernie Todd. Now I can appreciate working Ernie for a bigger PO than everyone else on the tour - that is kinda funny, but commitments are commitments. I told Danny I understood his position, that he came to Winnipeg to go on Tony Condello's tour and was basically screwed over and lied to, but that Tony's actions had nothing to do with me, the PCW boys or the fans expecting to see him. If it had just been a regular weekly show, we would have worked around it, but I told him I expected him to be there. He wasn't.
I could say that Danny burned a bridge and will never be back in PCW, but let's be honest - it's rare a promoter ever sticks to that for a variety of reasons. I like Danny and still do and I am sure I'll book him in the future, but it felt like a slap in the face when I consider some of the positive things I've done for him over the years. But mostly, it was a let down knowing we had promised that match to the fans and he was not willing to deliver on his word.
One of the reasons promoters can screw guys over is because the guys let them. It works both ways too. I remember one local worker getting hot at me for not bringing him back into PCW after he had left in what I felt was an unprofessional manner. He said guys jump all the time and no one was held accountable before I got in to the business and he asked why I tried to hold guys accountable. That was my point. Ernie had screwed Danny over before yet Danny was happy to take his money. I don't really care that Ernie was able to pay Danny to miss a PCW show because he paid through the nose to make it happen. In fact, it goes to show how little respect the local boys have for Ernie when he was so desperate for talent he had to over pay to get it.
I had emailed Skillz with a couple of suggestions as to whom to use as Danny's replacement. Skillz rejected one suggestion but was fine with the second. He counter suggested using Kevin Chevy because at least he knew it would be a good match. I immediately rejected that.
I took a very hardline with Chevy when he quit last fall to, coincidental enough, go work a tour for Ernie. If he had wanted to quit, I would have had no problem with that, but you don't quit without notice and you really don't do it when you're holding a championship. It was very unprofessional and I very strongly believed that I would absolutely never, ever, ever use Chevy again. A couple of hours before the show AJ Sanchez emailed me and told me that Chevy would be willing to work that spot if I wanted. Again, I dismissed it, but in the few minutes I had to sit and think about it, I decided that the show was more important than the opportunity to snub someone, even if they deserved it. I had avoided bringing Chevy back every week for months, when I knew he would have certainly been interested and he could easily have slid into existing angles. But now I could use him to help our show and if did that, it would go a long way to re-building some bridges.
This brings up another individual and their actions. Kory Kinkade had been with PCW for quite some time. I considered him a friend and I put a lot of thought into him over the time he was with us. I truly believe he was given multiple angles and opportunities to get over but never really grabbed those opportunities. I never insist every guy on the show be as talented and hardworking as a guy like Mentallo for example. I'll always have a spot for someone that is a committed team player, loyal and professional. Up until a couple of weeks ago, Kinkade was all those things.
A few months ago, he had come to me wanting to quit to go back to RME. I quite rightly assumed it was due to the increased push he'd likely get there. Kinkade insisted a push wasn't really the issue but admitted he did not feel he was good enough for PCW. I tried to explain the importance of role players in any promotion and being apart of the best team should be more important than getting a push on a small crew with much less depth of talent. He stayed and I worked on an angle I thought he'd enjoy. I even put myself out there every week, cutting promos, bumping and being hardwayed to help him get over. After explaining to him that we were going to turn someone else on the crew to team with him, he went along with the segment, went home and emailed me his resignation. I was pretty angry that he waited until after we began turning someone else, rather than before, but I, again, tried to talk him out of it. This time, however, he was committed to quitting. He did, though, agree to give two weeks notice so he could leave professionally and give us the chance to write him out.
On March 1st, he no-showed. I emailed him and he declined to reply. He told someone else on the crew that he no-showed because I told other guys to beat him up in the ring. Quitting is one thing. Being unprofessional and no-showing is also one thing. But why do guys feel the need to spout bullshit on their way out? Does it make them feel better? Is it an effort to gain sympathy when they know they are wrong? Chevy told people I made racial slurs when he quit, which was obviously a complete lie. And now Kinkade was calling my integrity into question. That made me hot. In five years, I have never asked anyone to take liberties with someone in the ring. Never. If I wanted to beat Kinkade up for whatever reason, I'd do it myself, but that's not my style.
The worse thing about this is that Angus and I have chatted quite frequently lately. RME would like to use some PCW talent and I'd like some PCW guys to pick up extra bookings between our big shows. It's a bit of a change in philosophy, but not entirely. Respect means a lot to me and Angus is usually respectful and we can usually communicate in a mature way. On the other end of the spectrum is Ernie which is why PCW guys will never appear on a CWF show in Winnipeg and continue to work for me.
I won't say losing Kinkade has a terrible impact on our shows, but I am terribly disappointed in the way he chose to govern himself. I expected more. If P-lo sets the example of professionalism that you follow, you're going down the wrong path.
Back on topic: As expected, it was a terrific opening match. Chevy worked really hard and Don Douglas is always very good. Skillz is quite possibly the easiest guy in the business to work with from a promoter/booker's perspective and he and Tatum are very good together. I will quickly say about Douglas that I had hoped we would work together again after our falling out last year. He's a young talent who should be working with the best guys to get better and in our environment. He's been great to work with since coming back.
Allow me to comment on the much talked about "Stripper" segment. Firstly, we don't do things half-assed in PCW. Some promotions might hire a stripper, we had ourselves a bonafide porn star! This was also a last minute addition. Our videographer is also her videographer and he suggested having her on the show to promote her website. She certainly had some local fame and it was something different for the show, so I jumped at the chance.
I will say that Oshean was very professional and very nice. She was extremely easy to work with. I pitched the idea to her and she was all for it. She was great with the guys, followed instructions intently and was a joy to work with. As for the "controversy", it's much ado about nothing, in my humble opinion. First of all, while we may allow minors into the venue with their parent, we don't promote the show as a kiddie show. This isn't a community centre. It's a nightclub. I believe we had one minor in the building and had her parent complained, I would have happily made it up to him. But we're not going to book for the one kid in the place at the expense of the 300 adults. Besides, did anyone see anything they couldn't see watching television in primetime? If you weren't there, don't criticise and especially don't spread mis-truths about a "strip show" that didn't happen. Enough said.
The tag title match itself was off the charts as far as "holy shit" high spots go. A bar crowd often heels on Nate because he's so small and because of his Hardy gimmick, but the reason he is so popular with our regular fans is because they know what to expect once the bell rings. He did not look as though he had missed any time at all. Ozz is one of the most improved guys of all time, a young guy who came to PCW for the sole purpose of developing his skills and doing whatever was necessary to accomplishment that. And there is really nothing that needs to be said about Robby Royce and Kenny Omega. They are natural adversaries in the ring and always have great matches. Royce had been very excited about this match way back when we discussed possible match ups for the show and Kenny was equally as positive, telling me "that will be a great match" when I pitched him the idea.
The match was fantastic and the climax kept building with one "holy shit" moment after another.
I'll take this moment to compliment Mike Arnott who has really developed into a fantastic ring announcer. He could very well be the best announcer in Manitoba right now and has learned to balance his desire to be a "character" with knowing that the best character for a ring announcer is as, well, a "ring announcer". And I sure hope whomever criticised him for wearing a Mentallo T-Shirt was kidding. Mike was shilling merchandise and doing his job.
About the PCW Championship match, I'll say that I was wrong and a certain someone was right. He'll know who he is. In my mind, Mentallo vs Mike Angels was the match of the night, and told a terrific story. Any young guys in the audience with thoughts of being a worker got a great example of what psychology is all about and how to build a match to it's finish.
I think a new champion really benefits or loses by what his opponent, the outgoing champion, does for him. Mentallo is one of my favourite people in the business and is infinitely knowledgeable and a class act to work with. What he did for Mike Angels was selfless and set Angels' first reign up for success. I had to admit I was surprised by the crowd's reaction. They popped for the finish, many of them very happy Angels won. I think that was the result of the great story being told in the match, that even though Angels was the heel, he really was the underdog fighting for respect. A lot of guys who haven't been to a show in a long time might raise an eyebrow at the though of Angels as our champion, but watch him work - he's unbelievable. He has developed into a bonafide top guy in Manitoba. When people talk about Mentallo, Knight, Skillz, Royce and Omega, they have to include Angels in that discussion.
And on a side note, the next time anyone criticises our "style", remember, Mike Angels won the title by forcing Mentallo to tap out to an Abdominal Claw...and the crowd popped for it!
I haven't heard much criticism actually, but the very little I have reminds me of fall 2003 when we put the title on Rawskillz for the first time. I remember certain people shitting on that. But history tells a different story. I'd rather have a top guy represent my promotion than a "big" guy who couldn't work his way out of a paperbag. Mike Angels is a phenominal worker, a fantastic talker, and often offers to work with lower card guys to help get them over. He's a class act all the way and I am personally proud he represents our promotion. As PCW Champion, he's the top guy in Manitoba and he's certainly deserving of that position.
I read with some amusement how a few people didn't like the six man tag match and felt it wasn't a worthy "semi main event". But others "got it". Booking 101, people.
I wish I had the time to go into detail about every match on the show. I'll say that the entire crew did exactly what was needed of them. Dalton/Cutler was something that came to me pretty much as a done deal. It was an easy decision to accept the offer and they had a great match.
Sanchez and Scorpio are two of the true prospects in the business and prove it everytime they get in the ring.
Adam Knight was more or less the only guy on my short list when we dicided to bring Joe back. It was a no-brainer in my mind and I am glad Knight took the opportunity to heart. He is in probably the best shape of his career and is really a big team player. He and Joe tore the house down. A guy like Joe always amazes me - you know he has injuries piling up and with the spotlight on him in TNA and ROH, he could phone it in on the indy scene, but he gives the fans exactly what they want every time he goes out there. I thought Joe and Knight had great chemistry and it was a terrific match. The visial of Joe giving Knight the Muscle Buster was something I had in my mind since we booked Joe. I kept telling Knight that he had to take it and was surprised when Knight told me it was Joe's idea.
I really can't say enough about Joe as a person. He is humble, polite and professional. He made a strong impression on the venue staff when he went up to them and remembered them from last time, discussing specific conversations from the last visit. He knows how to make an impression and was the last person to leave the bar after everyone else had got autographs, pictures and engaged him in conversation. I am confident Joe will be back.
I want to thank a few people for the success of the show. Firstly, the crew. We have assembled the best group of guys in the province, possibly the country. We're very lucky to have so much talent in Winnipeg. I feel strongly that PCW's committment to developing quality workers the past few years as had an impact on the general talent level in our city. I know other people have different ideas about putting shows together, prefering to feature their friends or guys that sell the most tickets over guys that work the hardest and have the most talent. My committment has never been to trying to squeeze the last dollar out of this business, but to giving the best guys a good place to keep getting better. As long as the team is committed and enough fans support and appreciate what we do, then I am thrilled. So thank you to the team!
Obviously, none of this would be possible or meaningful without the fans. I think we have a unique relationship with many of our fans who support what we do. While it's sometimes nice to work in front of an "all ages" crowd, I would always prefer the smart crowd we have. They make us work harder and they appreciate the extra effort some guys go to to perfect their craft, so thanks.
MVP - I was so glad they all agreed to be apart of the show. I was worried some fans might not remember them, but they got a terrific pop and it's always a lot of fun having them around. Hopefully, it wont be the last time we see Shane Madison, Will Damon and Donny Dicaprio in PCW.
Marty Gold went above and beyond in hyping our show on his radio show. You can say what you want about him, but Marty is an awesme ambassador of indy wrestling. He is intelligent and articulate and is unapologetic when it comes to his work in the business and his positive attitude and seriousness towards the industry comes across whenever he speaks of it.
Our new webmaster deserves a big pat on the back for his great work in very short order to get video previews up for the show and everything else on the website. He continues to work on the site and I encourage everyone to keep checking it out at pcwaction.com
I am sure I am forgetting people to thank but I will say that putting a show of this success is a real group effort. Some people have commented that it was the best show of the past several years. I think PCW will continue to evolve into the place where fans can expect to see the best talent and the best shows. We're proud of the fact we've held that distinction for five years and our goal is for that to continue as long as possible.
Next time, I'll talk more about the AWA. It's an interesting story.
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