Feature Article: "My Hometown" by Loose Cannon

----It is strange when a towns gets hot all the gossip that gets started. Scoot Cambron, better know to all you as Loose Cannon, has lived and help promote wrestling in Paragould, AR for almost all the local promoters. I find it funny that guys like Cannon get picked on for stupid crap all the time, but it is guys like that help put up posters and sell tickets in their hometowns that make small promotions work. Ron Spence returns tonight in Paragould with a show featuring “The Midnight Express’ [Bobby Eaton/Dennis Condrey]. The shit is being stirred and I am right there to help. LOL Well, let’s let Cannon tell you a few things about Northeast Arkansas promoting.

Feature Article: “My Hometown” by Loose Cannon

Ok promoting wrestling in Northeast Arkansas is like a marriage. You court it for a while then you commit and then you eventually divorce it. I’ve been helping promotions for years. Some of them come out head and some come out ahead. Let me touch on some of them.

NWF was promotion based here for years. I have helped Ron Spence [NWF promoter] promote it for years from hanging out flyers to etc. Spence was gifted in getting sponsors, but an asshole in paying you. He would come up with the most lame ass excuses in the world. He was also known to cancel shows to just keep the sponsor money. I know it and all the workers know it. This isn’t just me running at the mouth. Ron is running again and if he is lucky it will be about 3 times a year. If there is a dime to be made though, he will do it. He doesn’t care if he pays you or not – he will squirm his way out paying the rent on buildings to paying workers. If you call the Piggott or Wynne Armory, then they will tell you. Ron has this bad habit of stirring up shit to get a buzz out of me and guess what?? It worked this time.

The dumbass had asked to use the Hambones ring, but the Hambones wanted $150 up front. So, Spence decides he does not want to pay upfront. Spence then gets on message boards saying certain individuals saying there was not going to be a NWF show in Paragould, AR. Come on Spence – who said that?? Be a man and say who said it!!

I also have helped Randy Hales and PowerPro. I was asked by Hales if I could do the promoting while he sat on his ass elsewhere. I do the same – I put out flyers, I got it in the paper. I only then get fucked by Hales after they drawing good, he cut me loose. Never got a dime from them either. It’s my fault I guess.

KAW/Memphis Wrestling was the same way with Terry Golden. Golden more or less ask me the same thing – could I help promote Paragould for them?? They even used my promoter’s license. I was not only promoting it for them by flyers and local assess TV, but they were running under my promoter’s license. It is strange that is was a success also. I finally cut myself loose from them. I remember it use to drive Terry Golden and Randy Hales crazy cause I would be on live TV on Channel 5 for Hales and then do a house show for Golden that same night in Paragould.

ASWF – the same. I would help somewhat in promoting. After a while I cut ties with them too. The decision was a mutual one between both groups. It’s not I didn’t appreciate what ASWF was trying to do, but I wasn’t in the picture frame. They wanted to dig a hole and bury themselves and then try to crawl out and get some air.

ACW – the Cooks – SR & JR. God rest their souls. They were the same way – I got ton of flyers out and only in the end getting fucked. That was natural to me -- never get a dime and always put in the worst possible matches.

Now there have been a few times that I have had a good shake at the hand. Moondog Spot was good at running Paragould. I helped him out and he always treated me good with respect, but not PO wise. I am appreciative of him for the chances. Midnight Cowboy ran a show now and then. He always treated me very well. I am so grateful for him. I helped him and he helped me – we were both hometown boys. Kudos!!

There are many more, but I am closing with the last two I have promoted with in this town. OSCW started earlier this year. It was a promising company supposedly going to run every 2 weeks. Well, that never happened. I did help promote it for a number of months with hanging out flyers to putting up banners etc. It never came to be because of many things. One, the owner [Tony Stone] knew nothing about promoting a town. And, he didn’t know how to run a show, as he had someone do that for him also. This was great because the guy running the back knew exactly what he was doing. I was getting $5 here and $10 there, but I never expected WWE pay. Finally OSCW got wise and couldn’t run every 2 weeks and left the opening for another promotion to come in.

Finally, brings me to Arkansas Championship Wrestling. A very good promotion. Yes, I still help with the flyers, banners etc. But I am what I am supposed to be with this promotion. I am part of the show where I should be. Not because I help hanging out flyers. Not because I am the local boy and not because I am friends with the promotion. It is because I have worked by ass off for years. I am finally getting my “just-do” and I am internally grateful for the chance.

In closing, whether I see eye to eye on the current product or the other promotions I have worked with, I do what I can do to help. There is only a few above that actually helped me better myself and have been good to me. For all of those that I did not mention [and that is probably 20 other feds], all I have to say is fuck yourself for treating me like shit. Fuck yourself for spreading rumors. It is probably my fault on some cases and others to blame for other cases. But, I am judged by all of you. It’s my time to judge you – my judgment is?? Go to fucking hell!!

RassleResults NBW Kenton, TN 11.17.06

----Tommy Boy beat Gryffon X (Bisquit under a hood) by dq;Tank beat Lunatic (Jamie Lee under a hood) in 3:47 in the Cashflow Triple 5 Challenge;"Real Deal" Tim Edwards/ A.W. James beat TJ Money /Shannon Lee when Edwards pinned Lee.;"Upset Kid" Jeremy Moore/Gaylon Ray beat Sir Mo in a handicap match; Kilo beat "All That" Allen Steele and in the Main Event: "Dynamite" Seth Knight beat "The Golden Boy" Greg Anthony [photo to the left]in a No Holds Barred Match to retain the NBW Heavyweight Title.

----27 paying customers with a $135 gate and 40 in the crowd...I was told the crowd was rowdy and had a good time.

RassleBits: Golden Boy or Golden Girl??, Shows for the Weekend and JWS debut

---- “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony announced on his myspace.com page today, “Jeanna and I went to our first Doctor's appointment yesterday.. everything is perfect. Due date is 7/7/07(how great is that). We go back December 15th and he said we may, just may be able to hear the first heartbeat! Dr. Joyner is our doctor and he's cool plus he's a wrestling fan, so that's awesome.” Congrats to Jeanna and Anthony[photo to the right]!!

----Shows for the Weekend Update: SGWA will not be having a show this weekend and have shut their doors until further notice. SGWA is doing a joint show with XOW/TFW/JWS @ 12:00 Noon at the Salvation Army Building in Tupelo, MS. Stars from all the promotions will be there. This is a good building as I worked IWF tapings there a few times.

----I got word that “Cruzin 4 Pain” debuts on December 2, 2006 in Jumpertown, MS for JWS. That should get interesting with Booneville closing shop, so they might get more fans.

RassleTalk with “The Black Label Society – Chapter 4 : Word Association III” with "Axeman" Randall Lewis

This segment is composed of bits & pieces of an interview with AJ Bradley & Void, also known as Black Label Society. The interview date was Saturday, June 24, 2006, at the XOW Building in New Albany, MS. There was a great deal of background noise during the entire interview. Parts of what Void & AJ said were drowned out by the noise, but I have done my best to get it right. If there are errors, I apologize.

The comments and opinions expressed herein are those of Black Label Society (Void & AJ) only, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of myself or anyone else.

**********************************************************
What do you think of Death Wish?

Void: Man, I tell you what, that guy’s got me fooled. I’ve heard a lot of things about Death Wish, you know, about his background, his shoot background and everything, and he is one of the nicest, most well-spoken, gentlemanly type guys, not that I had a pre-conceived notion about him being an ass hole or anything like that, but I just guarded up, you know, because of what I had heard, but he is a really nice guy. I really like him. He’s funny, he’s another one of those guys like Hollywood Jimmy, he’s gonna do something that is going to crack you in the ring. He’s got that mask on, and he can say anything to you, and the crowd can’t see him, but you’re sitting there laughing your ass off, and nobody knows why, which makes you look like a total idiot. He’s another one of those big guys who moves real good. He’s real fluid in the ring, real smooth, and he can chain wrestle, and we don’t always get to see that, because most people expect him to be that big monster, but just get his ass in the ring and let him wrestle. The guy can go, he can really go, and he’s solid, too. He looks big, like he’s overweight, but that dude is solid.

AJ: I really like Death Wish. I don’t know him real well, I’m not gonna sit here and say that we’re real great friends or anything like that, we live so far away that it’s kind of impossible anyway, but he’s always one of those people who is quick to say hey to you. He’s not one of those who sit around and wait for you to come to him. He sees you coming and his hand is already extended, waiting for you. That is rare sometimes, unfortunately.

How about “The Future” Chris Styles?

Void: What can you say about Chris Styles that has not already been said? I really like Chris, he’s a character. I don’t know why, but for some damn reason we have never worked together. We should, I guess, one of these days, but we just haven’t. He and I, we had a problem at one time. It was over the incident in Booneville, but that problem lasted about five or ten seconds, and then the smoke cleared and…. He’s one of those guys that, I wish I could run a show somewhere, I’d book him. He is one of those guys who can give you an ass whipping, but he can take an ass whipping, too. I would love to work with him, but we’ve never gotten to cross paths.

You mentioned the incident in Booneville. The next name on my list is Josh Matthews. So, without talking about the incident, let’s talk about Josh for a minute.

AJ: I love that kid.

Void: (Long silence). I really love that boy, I really do. I’m sorry, I really am, I’m sorry for what happened. He never held it against me. He never held anything against me. It was only his opinion that mattered. In SGWA I was his first tag team partner, when I first got brought in. He was kind of like, I don’t know what to do, and I was like, hey man, I’ve got this, we were babyfaces at the time. I looked at him and said I’ll take the heat, and he looked at me and said are you sure, are you sure you don’t want me to take the heat, and I said yeah, you come in here and run these guys, I’ll take the ass whipping, you know, wear the guys down, then Josh comes in and does his thing, I think we even went over that night, I don’t remember for sure. I would do anything in the world for him. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for Josh, not one damn thing. I tell you what, there had better not be anybody he needs put down, because I will put that son of a bitch in the ground for Josh.

How about Lord Humongous?

Void: I’ve only met him one time. He was real polite and real cordial to me. I had heard that he’s an ass hole, he’s this, he’s that, but when I met him he was a nice guy. He shook my hand and said nice to meet you. He’s cool as far as I’m concerned.

AJ: I’ve never met him.

OK, last name on my list, Ricky Murdoch.

Void: Ricky was my first match. Ricky had trained with me before, while Doug Gilbert was in Japan. Ricky made me feel like I could actually do something worth a damn in wrestling. Ricky was the one, and I’ll be honest, there was a time when I was thinking my stuff was not getting over, at the time I started professional wrestling, at the very beginning, I couldn’t do spots, I couldn’t do any of that stuff, and I told Ricky man, I’m never gonna get over. He said you’ve got to stay as a shoot style heel, body part, body part, body part, we don’t have guys like that, smaller guys that can work body parts. They don’t exist half the time. They’re too busy flying around the damn ring and trying to be luchadores, with all due respects to luchadores, man, I can sit back and watch that and appreciate all that athletic ability that, as Raven calls them, high spotketeers, hey, I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. I prefer not to work against guys like that because I could not contribute anything to their match. They could contribute to mine, but I couldn’t contribute to theirs, because mine is like, go where I put you, and I don’t run people, I don’t do crazy spots, I don’t do anything like that, I just chain wrestle somebody. But Ricky, he kept me steady. I’ve got nothing but love for him. You know, you tend to grow apart after several years when you’ve worked together all the time, and Ricky was there since my first day of training. He worked with me and worked with me and worked with me, and he liked working with me because I liked to chain wrestle, and he throws these low drop kicks – dude, I’m the shortest guy in just about every locker room, and Ricky Murdoch throws drop kicks that hit me in the nether region. I don’t mind taking his chops, I can think of a few things I would rather do on a Sunday afternoon than take chops from Ricky Murdoch, but I would rather he chop me than drop kick me. He super-plexed me one night, and I had never taken a bump from anything higher than mid-body, I think it was about my fifth match, we were in Columbia, Tennessee, got paid $5.00 for driving five hours to do the show, anyway, Ricky puts me on the top rope, and I was thinking he was gonna have me shove him off or something like that, but he keeps coming up the ropes. All of a sudden he hooks me and says come on, and I said well hell, go, and he super-plexes me, and I mean I am on the top rope, and he is, too, and I am thinking to myself, oh shit, the whole way over I am thinking that. It didn’t tickle, but it didn’t paralyze me, either, which is what I thought would happen, you know, scared to death, but when it was over, I was wanting to jump up and charge at him, but I got to thinking, I don’t want to do that again, I don’t want to do that shit again (laughing). But he got me through a lot, and he put me over. He’s also the reason AJ and I are together as a tag team.

AJ: Ricky brought me in. Ricky had never seen me before, all he did was go on the word of somebody else, which was Doug Gilbert. Ricky brought me in sight unseen, and as things worked out, we ended up teaming a few times. That’s how we became a tag team.

Changing directions here, what do you think of Memphis Wrestling?

Void: I think it sucks ass. Honestly, I really do, I think it sucks ass.

AJ: They have so much potential and they keep screwing around. They’re not using it.

Void: Good God, man, they… as Rodney Grimes would say, who the hell am I? Could I do any better? I imagine I probably could. I could probably do better than some of the matches they have had. I mean, good Lord, man, Clash of the Legends, OK, it’s a good idea, and there’s some of those guys I really do want to see, but shut the hell up, not everybody you’ve got can work, they suck ass. It’s never going to be like it once was again. It’s never gonna be good again. It can’t be. You remember how Florida was back in the early 80’s, it was Florida and Memphis, and then the big groups from up north started coming down, they didn’t go to Los Angeles, man, they didn’t go to some places in Texas, they went after Tully Blanchard, and Bob Sweetan, and Randy Savage, he got his start down there, they were coming to Memphis and they were going into Florida and they were plucking these guys out, and it will never be the same again.

----I will be posting the last part of this interview next Friday. On December 1, 2006 I will start publishing a new RassleTalk with an area worker that actually has been interviewed by Stephanie McMahon for a job!! Also, that photo of AJ Bradley is with his pseudo brother BT Bradley -- a gimmick I did one night as a tribute to AJ, who was injured at the time.

RassleResults: BAM Newport, AR 11.16.06

----“Pretty Boy” Johnny Taylor pinned The Masked Crusader [Tommy Gunn under a hood] with a frog splash; Zeke "The Hunter" pinned "Playboy" Jamie Lee after a missed swanton bomb and a rollup; "All American" Teco Murdoch [photo to the left vs American Assassin, which is Tommy Gunn from above in a mask] pinned TANK after a cocky cover was made by tank and Murdock rolled him over for a quick count and in the Main Event: The Hambone Express defeated Big Indian/Teco Murdoch when Hambone #2 pinned Murdock.

----I was told 18 people in attendance and with 2 paid. So, they had a $10 gate. OMG!!...The sad thing is the people had to sit thru two matches of Teco and a Hambone match. LOL …Not sure if it was a work, because I have not been able to confirm whether the “Lineman” Chris Bryant has shut down or just moved WFAC to another building?? Tommy Wayne & Ray Ray were there making trouble with 2 other workers, so I was not sure if Bryant might be working an angle with BAM?? I was also told that Tony Stone sent the guys, but I am not sure of any of this…No shows were Austin Lane, Velvet Thunder, Hillbilly Tucker and the “Asylum” [Psycho/Arnez] – they were the all the smart ones that stayed home!!!

RassleBits: TNA Prime Time, TLCW and DVD Releases

----TNA "Prime Time" special ---I started watching it when James Gang were in the ring, so I have no idea what they did. I liked the Cage vs Rhino match a lot. It was a very good match and tons of blood from Christian. Rhino almost got the whole match. I like Don West and Mike Tenay. X Division match was just a ton of spots, but I look forward to seeing AJ vs Christian. Nash stuff reminds me too much of WWE. I know everyone loves Nash, but I am sorry I don’t want to see his naked ass. I like LAX, but I didn’t like the LAX flag angle. Angle looked very small. Crowd was so hot, especially during the main event. Abyss did a good job. I loved the stuff at the end with Sting/Joe.

----I have been told that the TLCW has had some building remodeling and it looks real good. One of the main gripes from the boys was the dressing room over there was horrible. I have never been there, but told it has improved. They got a bunch of lights and a ramp. The crowd last Saturday night was in the 115 range with a gate somewhere around $575. Simon Reed beat Weezy/Jack The Jack Hammer in a Handicap Match pinning Weezy with the Redemption. The main event was Dustin Starr vs Jon Michael with Christian Jacobs doing a save, and then about 10 heels jumped and beat up Michael/Jacobs. The crowd went crazy throwing trash into the ring. It did sound awesome.

----The "Dynamite" Seth Knight : The Explosion of Innovation V1 DVD has been pushed back for a December 5^th release.I am supposed to be getting a few more matches this weekend and finishing up the project. In the next two weeks, I will start taking advance orders for the DVD. Speaking of advance orders, I am also working with trying to help Ken Wayne sell some of his first release “Ken Wayne – The Early Years”. There is a trailer for the DVD on his site – www.nightmarekenwayne.com and Ken is taking advance orders. I am also trying to work a deal to sell the DVD thru by site.

Shows for The Weekend 11.16 to 11.18.06

ATTENTION: If you are a promoter, please send me the address of the wrestling building. I will then be able to Google map your show, just like I have done to a few of the shows below. I have fans that write this site wanting to know directions to different buildings every week. If I get a street address, then may apply it to Google Maps.

IF I MISSED YOUR SHOW, THEN PLEASE DROP ME A LINE. I WILL ADD IT IN A LATE FRIDAY EDITION FOR SATURDAY NIGHT SHOWS.

Shows for the Weekend

----TONIGHT!! Thursday night in Newport, AR for BAM Wrestling Association for TDS “The Dirty South” with Lineup includes “Top Notch” [Teco Murdoch/Tommy Gunn], The Hambones, Big Indian, Hillybilly Tucker, Austin Lane, “Pretty Boy” Jason Taylor, Zeke The Hunter, Velvet Thunder and more.

----Friday night in Humboldt, TN for NWA Mid-South with “Picture Perfect” V2 [Jon Michael/Chris O’Neal] vs “The Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Big Bill Nasty], Christian Jacobs [maybe], Gaylon Ray, Pat McGuinness, Eric Hayes, Jazz and more.

----Friday night in Kenton, TN for NBW includes Sir Mo, “All That” Alan Steele, “The upset Kid” Jeremy Moore, QuikSilver; Cash Flow, Tank, Tim Edwards, Big Red, Tim Alfonzo, “Pretty Boy” James, Gaylon Ray, Shannon Lee, Biscuit,Main Event: No Holds Barred – Seth Knight vs “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony and more.

----Friday night in Osceola, AR for MCW includes The Hambones, Loose Cannon, Chris Hollywood, Big Daddy LaFonce, Derrick King, Flash Flanagan, “The Posse” [Simon Reed/’Lil Chris] and more.

----Friday night in Tupelo, MS for TFW has Tony Dabbs, “Pure Destruction” [Brody & Cody Hawk],The Gold Diggers, POPULAR [Shawn Reed/Ryan Williams]with Anita Page, Scott Porteau and more.

----Friday night in Corinth, MS for USWF has USWF Championship Match: Dustin Starr vs. Neil Taylor Falls Count Anywhere Street Fight; Buzz Harley vs. Bonecrusher;Psycho/Little Steve Davis/Dalton Storm vs.Izzy Rotten/Nick Grymes/Cassanova, Alex Krisis and more.

----Saturday night New Blood Wrestling @ Country Nights 1901 Saint John Ave - Bell time 7:30 PM in Dyersburg, TN –“The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony, QuikSilver,Jeremy Moore, Sir MO, Tim Alfonzo, Tank , Seth Knight “East Coast Bad Boys” and more.

----Saturday night in Booneville, MS for SGWA with “Prime Time” Nick Grymes, Buzz Harly, Izzy Rotten, Homeless Joe, Soultaker, “24/7” [Kross/JR Mauler], “Phat Foundation” and more.

----Saturday night in New Albany, MS 107 McGill ST [right off the square] with XWO will have Storm, Scott Porteau, "Pure Destruction"[Brody & Cody Hawk],Thomas Knox, "Asylum" [Psycho/Wraith],Danny B, and more.

----Saturday night in Paragould, AR for NWF Wrestling @Greene County Fairgrounds. The Midnight Express [Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton], Lord Humongous, Doink the Clown, John Saxon, Brad Thomas and more.

----Saturday night in Ripley, TN with TLCW – Christian Jacobs, Derrick King, Stan Lee, Flash Flanagan, Chris O’Neal, Jon Michael , Dustin Starr, Oz, Bishop, Kevin White, Big Steve, Pokerface and more.

---- Saturday night Batesville, AR at the Old Miller Gym for Main Event Wrestling. Admission is free Crazy Luke Graham Jr. & Gerry "Chubby" Graham Casino Kid, Scott Fury, Austin Lane, Ray Ray, Tommy Lane, The Danger Zone ( Hotrod Ellison & Danger Dave Foxx) and many more.

HIGH FIVE FOR ERIC WAYNE!!!

Eric Wayne is 20 years old and made his pro wrestling debut on November 9, 2006 against Kevin Nikels in West Memphis, AR. Eric is a proud third generation wrestler following in the footsteps of his grandfather Buddy Wayne and his father Ken Wayne. I am expecting big things from Eric and give him a HIGH FIVE for his debut.

FAMILY PRIDE: “Proud. Believe it or not, there's people my age (and older) that remember my Dad and Buddy. I also know there are a lot of people that expect a lot out of me because of how good the generations were before me.”

DEBUT PERFORMANCE: “Kevin Nikels, well....he looks like the Undertaker and can wrestle like Benoit, he has a ton of potential. We work together, train together and share pain together. I'm glad we were together to go through everything my Dad put us through and is still putting us through.”

CHILDHOOD HEROES: “When I was real young, like 6,7 or 8 years old, I loved watching PG-13 (Wolfie D. and J.C. Ice), they just seemed at ease in the ring and you could tell they were having fun. Once I got older, I still liked watching them, but I started watching more of Benoit, Rey Misterio and pretty much the big names that get mentioned when someone talks about great wrestling.”

DR. DOLITTLE: “Definitely working towards being a veterinarian. I have always had animals in my life, so I don't know how I could survive without a real companion like a dog. When I was born, my Dad had a dog named Midnyte, he died when I was five. Then I was given a dog that I named
Honeybear after a dog that Bill Dundee had. I just recently had to put her to sleep and I sure do miss her. I have had birds, a turtle, (he ran away), hermit crabs, cats and an Iguana when I lived in Puerto Rico.”

FIVE YEARS FROM NOW: “Paying the bills by wrestling only. I want to be mentioned in the list of today's top wrestlers like Brian Danielson, C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles.”

Get My Point? By Randy Cresswell

Ok, let’s get started with the obvious that wrestling this full week on TV hasn’t really been the best. We can start with TNA. I will say that once again, AJ styles and Abyss had another classic match and it was the best thing on the program. They continue to kill the Robert Rude angle and it is now more of a joke than something serious. Great Naturals heel turn this week with the Shane Douglas/Brother Ray angle. Their pitfall is giving away an Angle match for free right before the PPV and nonetheless giving it away against the #1 contender to Sting’s title. I got a feeling Abyss is going to lose the way things have been booked lately which makes Sting’s opponent look a little weak coming in and I say that with great sarcasm.

Friday Night Smackdown I will only say one thing, the only thing on that show worth watching was Undertaker/Kennedy. That had an old attitude area feel to it and Kennedy is proving to be the breakout star on all of the WWE shows. Other than CM Punk, whom everyone knew would get over; Kennedy is proving he can be a player in the years to come.

Monday Night RAW…good grief, could we have some more DX please. I guess they made up for missed TV time last week or what. Do not get me wrong though, they were in the UK and had to give them a good showing and well they love DX. Once again, I have to ask if Vince hates Lawler or what. First last week’s angle and then this week, doesn’t even get the opportunity to look strong. I think Flair and Piper losing the titles wasn’t a bad idea, obviously Piper isn’t what he use to be, but the crowd loved it and I hope Piper sticks around, he can get some product moving and be a great mouth piece for any guy out there. I love the Piper/O’Haire team and I wish it was still going today. This whole Eugene snapped thing…not working.

ECW on Sci Fi was actually a good hour of wrestling and entertainment to me actually. CM Punk put on other great match with Knox. I wish they would push Dreamer some more, no matter what position he holds on the staff, he sells tickets, bottom line. Heymen evil team almost seems like he is recreating his own smaller version of the Dangerous Alliance, putting the ultimate team together. At least that is what they want us to believe or agree with, but I must give effort to it though. You can still see they don’t have the time for other matches, but they need to make room somewhere.

Well, I know that it is short, but I do have to sleep…it is 2AM almost I need sleep.

ransting@gmail.com
Keep sending that feedback!
Take Care

RassleBits: Newport, IWF, TLCW and ASWF

----Newport show did not air on the web site for me Sunday. I e-mailed the offices of their promotion, but never got a response.

----IWF show crowd was 123 @ $5 so that is a gate of $615, but they raised a total of $2,317 as I reported for Noah Sheffield. Good job guys!!

----I got sketchy Ripley, TN TLCW results from Saturday night [11.11.06], but it looks Bill Dundee is in to help. They have been running an angle where Derrick King fired the Commish, so Dundee was hired as the new commish. Dundee said he was bringing in new talent and Kevin White [photo to the right] came out. Pokerface challenged him, but Dustin Starr/Poker beat up White with DK making the save. White/DK vs Starr/Poker this coming week. Hey, I love the idea of White working indy shows, but it is all screwed up compared to Memphis – DK/Poker are heels and White/Starr are faces. WTF??

----ASWF will soon be running shows again. Aaron Polston has opened back up and also formed the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance with Kenny Valiant’s All Pro and Rodney Grimes’ CWA. The old ASWF web site has been updated and Polston has even got All Pro and CWA web pages that he created himself.

RassleChronicle: 11.11.96

----RassleChronicle covers the results of RAW/Nitro 10 years ago. This week is posted.I have also added a Herb Kunze Wrestling Tidbits column that was published at this time.

RassleTube Is Up and Running!!

----Still having slight technical difficulties with youtube.com, so it seems I am always late on posting RassleTube. Anywho - enjoy the show!!

----RassleTube 11.13.06 opens with a tribute to Eddy Guerrero. This date marks the one year anniversary of his death. Guerrero was one of my favorite workers and the only reason I watched Smackdown. His death changed my perspective towards the WWE and still after a year they are still exploiting his death. Eddy was one of the guys I always wanted to meet and I was a total mark for his heel persona. Eddy is missed by not only his family, but by his marks like me. The first two segments are tributes and then the third is a match from IWA Mid-South that probably a lot of you have never seen or knew it existed – Rey Misterio vs Guerrero vs CM Punk.

----Rest of the edition is from Memphis Wrestling 10.04.06 – Sputnik Monroe tribute; Derrick King vs Chris Rocker; “Opening The Vault” : Austin Idol; Jethro/”Insane Clowns”[Giggles/Bobo]/Fire/Flame vs “Picture Perfect” [Jon Michael/Chris O’Neal]/Eric Hayes/Matt Foley/Tatt2 in a 10 man tag match; Jerry Lawler/Kevin White/Dustin Starr beat vs “Too Cool 2” [Grind/Flex]/Flash Flanagan.

The Ratings Are In!!

----The show scored another good rating of 4.4 [73,242 viewers] for this past Saturday’s show. The only bad side to the show is that Jerry Lawler continues his streak.

----The first quarter scored 4.6 [76.072 viewers] with the Nate the Rat interview and the “Picture Perfect” match. The next quarter starting with the “Opening the Vault” segment and ending before the hot tag in the King/Fine vs Foley/Rocker bout. That quarter was up 2164 viewers. The third quarter continued to climb to 4.8 [79,598 viewers] adding 1,362 viewers for the finish of the King tag match and Hayes vs Giggles. The final quarter then dropped to 3.7 [61,091 viewers] for the Flex/Grind/Flash vs Lawler/Dustin Starr/Kevin White bout. That quarter dropped a surprising 18,507 viewers making it the 4th time in a row that a Jerry Lawler live match has had the highest drop of the show. Another bad trend in the last few weeks has been the show is turned off by viewers as 14,981 people turned it off from start to finish.

----This show, as noted before, was the 7th show in a row that I feel the Memphis show was good. It has furthered storylines and I hope they continue with them this week. The big surprise is the TV drawing power of Jerry Lawler. Has the WWE jobs really hurt him to TV viewers?? I have shown where the live crowds have not been hurt ["Jerry the Jobber"]because he still draws a crowd. But, Lawler has lost over 60,000 viewers in his last 4 Live TV matches??? My test if I worked for Memphis Wrestling would be to put Lawler in the first match on TV to see what happens.

Feature Article: Women Don't Belong in Professional Wrestling!! Says Who?? by Tasha Simone

Feature Article: Women Don't Belong in Professional Wrestling!! Says Who?? by Tasha Simone [photo to the right]

Women don't belong in professional wrestling! I wish I had a penny for every time I have been told, or heard someone throw that statement up in the air in a locker room, because they didn't have the balls to say it to my face. I have to say though, sometimes I actually agree with that very statement; of course there are times I have watched many of my male counterparts and wonder what the hell they are doing in the ring, because it sure isn't what I would call wrestling. There have been many women who have paved the roads of professional wrestling for myself and many of the ladies who climb through the ropes today, greats such as Mildred Burke, Penny Banner, Ella Waldek, Kay Noble, and in later years, LeiLani Kai, Joyce Grable, Vivian Vachon, Sherrie Martel, and many more. I am sure many of these same women shake their heads at what I call "The Age of the Diva", because these days, these so called "Divas" are tearing down what so many women before of us have worked to build, but believe me there are a few of us, who respect their hard work and bust our asses to keep the traditions these ladies built alive.

On October 28, 11 of these very ladies I am speaking up gathered in Columbia, Tennessee for the much anticipated Oktoberfest, promoted by "The Mississippi Queen" herself, Christie Ricci. For many of us, it was a family reunion, but it was also an opportunity to meet and work with ladies that we had crossed paths with, and it also had the potential to be a complete disaster, or so the critics were saying. You see, wrestling is full of egos, and not just from the ladies, but the guys as well, and professionalism tends to fall by the wayside most of the time in locker rooms of any given wrestling promotion on any day of the week, so getting 11 ladies at various stages of their careers, some having worked for WWE, others for TNA, former and current champions, vets and newbies, add to all of that the fact that many of us starting wrestling at 9:00 a.m., to get matches on film, and there was a real potential for sparks to fly. The truth is though, no one and I mean no one had an ego, or even showed the semblance of a diva-like attitude the entire day, and on into the evening.

My family reunion started by seeing my Latina sister Venus, who is an incredible person, and a great wrestler. This girl has spent the last two years of her career busting her ass in OVW, and she still refuses to offer up an ego or an attitude for any reason. Not only did I team with Venus during the day, but I also had to wrestle her, and her desire to improve and learn her craft really showed in the ring. Next on my list of family to greet were Lexie Fyfe and Lorelei Lee... Lexie is a consummate professional, and very no nonsense about her wrestling, she has been in this sport about as long as I have, and really harbors a great deal of respect and pride for wrestling in general and women's wrestling in particular. Lexie never has an attitude or an ego, gets along with everyone, and is always willing to help out the younger wrestlers when she can. Hell when Lexie was the NWA ladies champ, she did as much as anyone could ever ask of a wrestler to bring dignity and respect back to a much overlooked title. I have wrestled Lexie [photo to the left]on several occassions, and considered it an honor to climb through the ropes as her opponent or her partner, everytime I get the chance. LoreLei, I can't say enough good things about, she actually wrestled on a ladies card that I promoted a few years back, and as good as she was then (and she was green) she has only improved. I wrestled Lorelei for the first time ever during the day, and she kept up with me really well, her willingness to learn, even during a match was quite evident, and this girl will be a great addition to any wrestling card anytime. Moving right along to Amber O'Neal [photo to the right]and Traci Brooks, it was great seeing these two again. Amber will keep you in stitches, and Traci , well you can't really appreciate Traci until you have taken a road trip with her, but that is a story for another time. Once you get past Amber always being funny, and believe me she isn't even trying, it just happens that's what makes it so great, she is a very solid wrestler, and deserves a great deal of credit, because she was given the job of wrestling the greenest girl on the card, and had a great match with her. Traci, bless her heart, tells everyone she isn't a very good wrestler, the sad thing is, Traci isn't half bad, she just needs a little encouragement sometimes, which is hard for her to get when she is stuck at ringside bouncing up and down, instead of being allowed to wrestle. (Jeremy Borash was in attendance during the evening, so I hope he let the office of TNA know that Traci is capable of doing more than bouncing.) It was also great to see Lady Victoria, another lady who tends to do things her way. Vic and I both caught some flak prior to the card on some of the message boards, because we are older. Most of the posts weren't bad, but there were a few about Vic that were rude, nasty and completely uncalled for, so I hope some of those posters take note of what I am about to say. Victoria, like myself is proud to be a grandma, yet she has a body most 20 year olds would like to have, moreover, in a time when guys have the work ethic of pussies and and no show because they have a hangnail, or a little cough, Victoria was so sick during the day that she couldn't even eat, yet she went out and had a super strong style match with Josie, so my hat is off to Victoria. Last but not least, it was great to see Bobcat, who I had not seen since she was in Memphis for her developmental training, boy has she grown up a lot. Bobcat was our ref for the evening, and she did a great job, although I think she would have rather been anywhere else than having to ref my match with Lexie, and then my hardcore match with Christie. (Bobcat fainted during the hardcore match, and was about to throw up when she was helped out of the ring.)

On to the ladies I had not had the pleasure of meeting. It goes without saying that any good thing you hear about Alere Little Feather (ALF) [photo to the left] is very much true, she is very much like Venus not only in personality, but in the ring as well, which put her pretty high on my list immediately. ALF was part of my first match of the day, and she is quite a hand in the ring, and was very appreciative of the constructive criticism I gave her afterwards, and even asked if she could join in with many of the wrestlers who call me Momma T, I couldn't tell her no, she is just too awesome. I had heard many good things about Josie prior to meeting her, and it was nice to find all of it was true. Josie is an outstanding wrestler, who carries herself a complete professional and I looked forward to wrestling her on November 18th in Lebanon, Tennessee. Brittany Love, bless her heart, fresh out of high school and very new to wrestling, had the most reason to feel out of place, but all the ladies busted their asses to make her comfortable, and each of us at one point during the day, also did our best to help her out with her ring skills. Brittany took every little piece of advice, and incorporated it in her matches during the day, she is very athletic, has a willingness to learn, and has a great deal of potential to be successful in this sport.

Oh, I know, you have read my ramblings putting over all the ladies, and yet I haven't said anything about Christie Ricci. Don't worry, I didn't overlook Christie, and I am not leaving her out, I was just saving what I had to say about her for last. When I wrestling Christie, I hate her, I do my damnedest to tear her to shreds, but as a person, Christie is as much a part of my family as Venus. When I first met Christie, she was getting major bookings already, and she had no reason to improve her ring skills, other than her love for wrestling. Christie was originally trained by one of the few ladies I consider a true ring general, LeiLani Kai, but when I met her, she was still willing to drive 3 1/2 hours one way to work out with Motley Cruz and myself, because she wanted to improve her ring skills. In my book that says a great deal for Christie, when there are guys that won't drive five miles to workout in the ring. Oktoberfest was a true testament to how much Christie [photo to right] has learned about professional wrestling, she did a really great job of booking talented ladies, and putting the right combinations together for solid matches. Christie and I wrestled a hardcore match in the main event, she sustained a concussion during the match, we are still not sure how, and I actually thought that I had broken my arm about 10-12 minutes into the match, when we got back to the locker room, after the "Crazy Bitches" chant that Traci Brooks started died down, Christie did not think twice about her concussion, she was more worried about my arm, how many people would have done that?

My point to all this rambling is this, the next time you hear someone say "Women don't belong in professional wrestling.", send them to any one of the 11 ladies I have talked about in this article, because each one of us will beg to differ. I was taught very old school, that wrestlers are all a family, that we take care of one another, there is no place for egos, just the desire to have great matches, that leave the fans wanting more, and on October 28, 2006 in Columbia, Tennessee, I shared a very special moment in time with 10 other very talented ladies, as we did just that: Took care of each other, had no egos, and had great matches that left every single fan in attendance wanting more. It was a privilege to work with each and every one of these ladies, and I will do so every chance I get. I know a large number of male wrestlers and promoters that I would like to pass out tapes of locker room too, so they can see how a locker room should be, because believe me, on that particular evening, we all had it right!!!

----I would like to thank Tasha for her first contribution to the site. I have known Tasha for over 10 years when we were first introduced to each other by a mutual friend Freddy Fargo. Tasha can be reached at either one of these sites: www.tashasimone.com; www.cruznforpain.net or www.myspace.com/c4pstashasimone.

RassleResults CJS National Guard Armory Dyersburg, TN 11.10.06 YES -- Another promotion in Dyersburg!!

----Kurt Kyle beat Sven Gally;Ripper Graham beat Joey Magnus. ;Danny B. Goode [photo to the right]over Ramsey Cahill; “All That’s Violent” [Sir Mo/Allen Steele] beat Scott Starr /Kool Jay and in the Main Event: Battle To Crown first CJS Champion – Kool Jay won.

----Show drew 15 people with a $75 gate…Group is run by Scott Starr, which I think is from the Mississippi/Alabama area…Told the first two bouts were bad – first match were Scott Starr students and the other match were Dundee/White students…Steele/Mo was great in their match. Good heels that would be perfect for Memphis Wrestling…Why would Mo/Steele work for this promotion when they work regular for NBW??...Ramsey Cahill is a Dundee/White student and looked good…They were also advertising Tony Gunn, “Picture Perfect” and “The Posse”…The promoters, who are all women, bought 50 t-shirts to give to the workers and friends that had the promotion name on it with the wrestlers’ names on the back of the shirt…This is proof that ANYONE can run a show.

RassleResults TFW Tupelo, MS 11.10.06

----Hitman beatDirty Sanchez;Vega the Dragon beatJosh Matthews.;”SWAT” [DC/Jonathon Douglas] over “POPULAR” [Ryan Williams/Shawn Reed];Parental Advisory” ["Stud" Scott Porteau and Tony Dabbs] beat“The Freakshow” [Chop & Vinnie] & Luscious Leelee ;“The Future” Chris Styles w/Antesha beatJay Webster w/T-Byrd and in the Main Event: “SWAT” beat “Pure Destruction” [Cody & Brody Hawk] by DQ.

----125 in the crowd with a gate close to $625…This group continues to outdraw any of the other small promotions in the area. They are averaging close to 500 in attendance on a monthly basis.

RassleResults NBW Dyersburg, TN 11.11.06

----‘Lil Tim Alfonzo beat “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony; “The Real Deal” Tim Edwards beat Tommy Boy; Shannon Lee beat Phoenix X; “The Upset Kid” Jeremy Moore beat AW James [aka “Pretty Boy” James]; “All That’s Violent” [Sir Mo/Alan Steele] beat “East Coast Bad Boys” [Serpent/Sypro] and in the Main Event: NBW Title Match: Seth Knight beat Kilo [photo to the left].

----Show opened w/ Allen Walker introducing Jeremy Moore for his Birthday bash. [for shoot his 18th birthday was yesterday while I celebrate my 26th one [cough, cough] yesterday] He came out, cut the cake and started sharing it w/ the fans. “Ca$h Flow” interrupted w/ Bigg Money Gripp and AW James saying they wanted some cake too, so Moore shoved a piece of cake in AW James' face…TGB has to wear a dress now until he wins another match…I was told there was around 60 again this week, but did not get an official number. Gate would be around $300.

Newport, AR tonight LIVE on the internet!!!

----A group called BAM Wrestling Association is promoting a show in Newport, AR tonight. The best I can tell they will be broadcasting the show over the net. Check out this link. Lineup includes “Top Notch” [Teco Murdoch/Tommy Gunn], The Hambones, Big Indian, Hillybilly Tucker, Austin Lane, “Pretty Boy” Jason Taylor, Zeke The Hunter, Velvet Thunder and more. It will be interesting to see if all comes off.

RassleResults: ACW Paragould, AR 11.11.06

----Deadly Dale/Idol Bane vs Cody Daniels/Cujo went to time limit draw; James Arnez [photo to the right] beat Blakster/Farmer Tucker in a handicap match; Next Division Title: Big Indian beat Loose Cannon with Rottn’ Randy; ACW Title Match: Buster Johnson won by dq over Ed Love and Main Event: ACW Tag Team Title Match: Shakedown retained the belts with no partner vs Hambones, Deadly Dale/Idol Bane and Cujo/Cody Daniels.

----Crowd was around 90 with a gate close to $630…They also had 95% of the concession sold out, so they had a real good night...Paragould seems to be a good drawing town for this promotion. I hope this doesn’t turn into a few other promotions trying to run it and burn the town…Cujo is not a Moondog ripoff, I have seen photos of this guy and he works the area...No shows were "Prime Time Players" [Zane Richards/Shawn Brody] and Jamie Jay...I like the way they booked the main event. Even though Jay was not there, they still retained the belts,which probably surprised everyone .

RassleResults IWF Fulton, MS 11.11.06

----The Southern Gentleman beat The Punisher; Josh Holly beat Alladin; Brandon Barbwire beat Antone Levigh; Mark Mayhem beat Chop and "Prime Time" Nick Grymes in a 3 way match; Chris Kilgore/Trixie Heart beat Sammy Hall/Luscious Le Le and in the Main Event - Chris Rocker/Chris Kilgore beat Neil Taylor/Gene Jackson.

----I was told 123 paid. Not sure the actual gate, but $2,317 was raised for this benefit. Great job guys!!

Memphis Wrestling TV Report 11.11.06

----Jimmy Hart is with Corey Maclin again this week as this was taped last weekend. They open the show with Nate the Rat/Jethro interview saying he had a massive heart attack last week. Nate takes medicine and says that his doctor told him to do nothing physical.

----“Picture Perfect” [Jon Michael/Chris O’Neal]/Tatt2 beat Jethro/Fire/Flame with Nate the Rat. Real good match. Good shine from everyone. Tatt2 took the heat with hot tag to Michael. Michael pins Fire when Jethro hits Fire instead of Michael. They put it over as an upset. Heels beat up the babys after the match. Also even though Nate was “sick” he was all over the ring doing stuff.

----“Opening the Vault” with Lance Russell featuring Tojo Yamamoto. Clips of Tojo/Lawler vs The Mummy/Sam Bass and Tojo/Jerry Jarrett vs Al Greene/Phil Hickerson. Next Week: Jackie Fargo.

----Jethro comes out to say that Nate had to leave because his heart was hurting. Derrick King/Reggie B Fine follow him with an interview. King/Fine beat Matt Foley/Chris Rocker. Crowd was real hot as the Rocker/King feud is over. Foley is not that good, but DK worked hard to make him look good. Heat on Rocker with hot tag to Foley. Foley looked bad here on the comeback with punches missing. King pinned Foley after Fine hit him with something from under the ring.

----Bobo beat Eric Hayes with Giggles/Rashard interfering so much with even Giggles getting in the ring to switch out. Giggles hit Hayes with the bucket for the pin. Hayes did not sell it good. This was a total squash.

----“Too Cool 2” [Flex/Tim Grind]/Flash Flanagan interview. Flex/Grind/Flash beat Jerry Lawler/Dustin Starr/Kevin White with Grady Watson. Fine barred from the match, because he interfered last week. They got over 10 minutes and the match was good. Heat on Starr and hot tag to Lawler. Lawler had Flash pinned, but Nate interfered [who was suppose to be gone to the hospital], then Flash nailed Lawler with a foreign object to pin Lawler. Flash ran to the desk and Grind put Lawler’s crown on Flash. Flash proclaimed himself as the new King!!

----RassleNotes: During the first match, Jimmy Hart made mention of whether the Memphis Wrestling was Prime Time or not?? He said there was a controversy. Hey Hart - it is not in PRIME TIME!!!...I also forgot to mention this last week, but Maclin FINALLY is calling Jon Michael by his name, instead of calling him Christian Jacobs. Good to see them finally put over PP…Clip of Tojo/Jarrett shows just how over Jarrett was in his time. But, he might have been a good worker, but not a good wrestler…Not good to put Foley in on a match where the heat is so good for the Rocker/King feud…After all these months of getting their names right, Maclin called the “Insane Clowns” by the wrong names… Hart made more comments about Watson putting down what he was wearing again. Hart does not seem to like Watson for shoot or they are planning a heel turn for Hart…Good to see the push for Flash. I just hope they keep following the storylines…Funny thing also is that Fire/Flame look so much like Don Bass/Roger Smith it is scary - the same bodies and style. I also can’t tell them apart, but I think Maclin called them by their CORRECT names..LOL…Another good show, which makes it 7 in a row!! One bad match and at least the Clowns were funny during the squash.