This Blog Has No Witty Title!

It's been awhile!



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



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



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



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



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

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



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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GO PENS!