Feature Article: "A View From Afar" by Mark Bravura

----Mark Bravura should be known by many of your in this area. [CLICK HERE for the Bravura entrance video] In his shoot job, he is a Senior Consultant in Video and MultiMedia Production for Booz Allen Hamilton [and international consulting firm] Basically he produces video and multimedia project for internal and external clients like Medicare, USMC, Installation Management Agency, Harris Bank, The Chicago Mercantile Exchange and more. He also does freelance work for various companies and produces films and shorts in his free time. Bravura will be celebrating six years in the wrestling business in April and has been a loyal subscriber to Wrestling Observer Newsletter since 1998.

----I first met Bravura during my last stint in wrestling. I watched his stuff and thought he had all the raw talent in the word, but needed a bit polishing. I sit down with him one night to talk about his match, but I think we ended up talking about movies and the newsletters. Bravura is a very smart guy and would be an asset to any promotion in the world – if not as a worker, but as a writer. I am working on an interview with him for next year, which he will tell how he was hired to work as a writer for the WWE, but actually turned the offer down.

"A View From Afar" by Mark Bravura

"Sometimes you have to step back from a situation to really get perspective."

It's been really interesting observing the happenings in Memphis from nine hundred miles away for the past year. Reading things online. Emailing back and forth. Dropping in every month or so. Calling the guys who's cell phones weren't repossesed.

Some things that have happened have made me laugh. Others have made me shake my head, but the latest big dustup between Dustin Starr and Seth Knight just makes
me say...

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Sometimes I just don't get it. Really I don't. Nobody in the wrestling business at our level is making a living at it. None of us are getting rich. Some of us do it because we hope that one day we will make our living with it. Others try to make a little money off it. Others used to make a living at it and want to again. Others don't give a shit if they make a dime, but we all have one thing in common... WE ALL LOVE THE BUSINESS. If we didn't we wouldn't beat the shit out of ourselves every weekend and go limping into work all sore every monday. Doing something you love is supposed to be fun so what the fuck is the point of taking it so fucking seriously that you kill the fun of it. If they ask you to job fucking job. Who gives a shit? You don't like how a guy works. So what? Who gives a shit. If a guy annoys you. Deal with it. Who gives a shit? I'm not saying don't take the business seriously. Everyone who knows me knows that I do. When you are in front of that crowd to respect the business. When you're at the show you respect the other workers. You respect the business above all else. You work your ass off out there every time you perform or you don't deserve to be out there, but when it comes to the little stuff... Grow up.

I've never had a problem with Dustin or Seth. Dustin can come off like an arrogant prick, but in my experience if you stand up to him in the right way and respect the business he'll be cool with you and be respectful back. When I first went up to D-burg and was floundering at the bottom with nothing to do, he gave me a shot and suggested something for me to DK for no reason other than he's a stand up guy. He's a good guy and nobody can say he doesn't respect the
business and didn't work his ass off to get where he is.

Seth talks a lot, but so do a lot of guys. He and I tagged for over a year. We disagreed about shit all the time, but that's what made the team work. There was a contrast. We'd argue about finishes and psychology all the time. I'd call him an idiot. He'd call me a dumbass, but I'd team up with him again in a second cause he's a good guy and a good worker. He works hard and he respects the business. Does he think a lot of himself? Yeah, but so what? If you don't think you're good then what the fuck are you doing in the business? Just cause you think you're good doesn't mean you think you know everything or that you have nothing to learn.

I'm sure Dustin thinks he's good and he is. He wouldn't be doing squashes on SD if he wasn't, but I'm sure he knows there's stuff he can improve on. Does he have an ego? Hell yeah, but you have to have an ego to even be in the business. You have to have an ego to want to go out in front of however many people in your underwear and have them stare at you. It's essential. If you don't have confidence in yourself YOU WILL NEVER BE ANY GOOD. Look at CM Punk when he started on ECW. At first he was nervous and unsure and he didn't look that good, but the crowd started getting into him, people starting complimenting him and now he looks great.

Dustin said in his commentary that Seth can't work. I'm sure Seth would say the same thing about Dustin. Well guess what? They are both wrong. Both of them can work. They just work differently. And there's nothing fucking wrong with that. Flair doesn't work like Austin who doesn't work like Mysterio who doesn't work like Misawa who doesn't work like Foley who doesn't work like Perro Jr who doesn't work like Joe who doesn't work like Hart who doesn't work like Savage, but all of them can work. If everyone worked the same THE SHOWS WOULD BE FUCKING BORING. Dustin works a heavyweight style that gets over. It works for him and he has good matches. Seth works a more x-division high spot style. It works for him and he has good matches. Both are good workers in entirely different ways. That's one of the things that's great about the business. If you don't like the style of match A maybe you'll like the style of match B or C. Instead of shit talking each other see what you can take from each other to appeal to the fans who like that other style of work. Disagree. Argue about it. At worst you'll learn something.

Why the fuck would you refuse to job on an indie show? OK, so you disagree for whatever reason. Talk it over with the booker privately, but don't be a dick and say "I'm not jobbing cause I'm a big star" in front of the locker room. That's just fucking ridiculous. You're just asking to make enemies. What the fuck do you think every other guy on that show who's putting someone over thinks of you right then. Sure we'd all like to win every fucking time, but fuck its a work. That's the beauty of it. You can get over even if you lose. What happens when a mid-major college basketball team nobody thinks of loses a close game to Duke or UNC or Arizona? People think more of them even though they lost. You can get over when you lose so get over yourself and do the fucking job.

All this crap with shooting water on people in the back is fucking stupid. It goes on all the time, but its still fucking stupid. That being said should Seth have spit on Dustin? No. To me it's one of the most disrespectful things you can do. I've fought people for spitting on me before, but if he doesn't have a water gun what should he do? Piss on him? Try to fight him? Like Dustin said he's 225 and Seth is maybe 170. That's a losing proposition, but the guys already blasted you now he's fucking with you in front of everyone so what do you do?Ignore it and don't put it over.Yeah, that's probably best, but things have already escalated so its a no win situation. Frankly both guys were in the wrong.

One last thing about ribbing, how does the fact that it goes on in the WWE locker room make it cool. Guys in the WWE are making their living of the business. None of us are. Those guys are with each other more than they are with their families. We're not. We work the show and go home. There's little traveling together. The only time we hang out, in general, is at the shows. That's a HUGE difference. There's ribbing in NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and whatever other pro-locker rooms cause they are together all the time, but I've never gotten ribbed on any adult league football, basketball or soccer team I've played on. When you're around people all the time you can rib them and its all in good fun. I prank my best friends all the time. They might be pissed off for a minute, but they know I did it because we're friends and they'll just get me back.

You want to fuck around with your boys... Cool. You want to play a harmless prank on someone... Cool. I've done it. We've all done it, but when you're doing it to start something with someone. When you're not doingit out of fun then you're just being a bully picking
on someone.

RassleRiot Awards 2006 Race

----I would like to thank my committee from last week. I had a response of over 90%, which surprised me, but thanks a lot. And for those that did not read this last week, here is how this is going to work. I will be sending out e-mails to a committee of workers/promoters/writers from this area each week. They will be asked to nominate 5 candidates in each category. They can not nominate themselves. I will narrow it down to 3 candidates per category. Starting on January 1^st to midnight on January 10^th will be “10 TO VOTE” where all 14 categories – each with 3 candidates - will be presented on one page where everyone will be able to vote. January 14th will be considered the site’s SUPER SUNDAY as I will release all the winners along with a “Yearbook” of facts & figures of 2006 from this area.

----This is the final week of nominating. Next Friday I will revealing all the nominees and voting will start on January 1, 2007.

--Promotion of the Year – What promotion along with promoter was the best this year in promoting, drawing crowds and paying the guys??

--Rookie of the Year – This person either a manager, wrestler, promoter, booker or announcer debut sometime in the year 2006 in this area. This person is eligible only if they have worked at least 26 dates this year. If they have not worked at least that many dates, then I would consider them a rookie next year.

--Ref of the Year – The third man in the ring. The enforcer. The bumpmeister. Who was the best ref in this area this year??

Fandom Awards

--Wrestling Site of the Year – Who has the best wrestling site in this area?? Everyone is eligible as in fan sites, personal worker web pages, myspace.com sites and news sites. Everyone BUT WWW.RASSLINRIOTONLINE.COM!!! Because this site is giving out the awards, I felt it would be silly to be nominated.

--Columnist of the year – Who is the guy/gal that you love reading the most?? Everyone is eligible for this award, even columnists that do stories on my site. I am not eligible – see above.

RassleBits: Mid-South Coliseum Update and TLCW Event Tonight!!

----It looks like that the Mid-South Coliseum will be closed and used just for graduations and such, but will not be torn down as many expected. I talked with Brian Heap [I linked his story about the Coliseum a few days back] and he e-mailed the following, “I don’t think the city can afford to keep the Coliseum open for regular use. Unless a team or tenant had enough money to make the building and compliant and pay for some renovations to it, I don’t see how that hockey thing is possible. I think it will be effectively be shut down December 31, 2006, but maintained well enough it could be used a few times a year for simple events like graduations. “ He also noted that his speculation of the hockey team not coming in was his opinion, not based on anything else.

----TLCW is doing a free show of sorts tonight at 7:30 PM in Ripley. It is free to everyone and if you attend the show, then you get $1 off Saturday night’s show. They are doing a Karaoke sing off with Dustin Starr and Derrick King.

Shows for the Weekend 12.22 to 12.23.06

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

----Friday night in Humboldt, TN for NWA Mid-South with “Picture Perfect” V2 [Jon Michael/Chris O’Neal], “The Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Big Bill Nasty], Christian Jacobs [maybe], Gaylon Ray, Pat McGuinness, Eric Hayes, Jazz 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 for USWF in Corinth, MS with Kross, Keylo Green, Izzy Rotten, Nick Grymes, Psycho, Buzz Harley, Danny Morris, “Concrete Cowboy” Johnnie Reno, Neil Taylor, Tysin Starr and more.

----Saturday night New Blood Wrestling @ Country Nights 1901 Saint John Ave - Bell time 7:30 PM in Dyersburg, TN –Jeremy Moore, Sir MO, Tim Alfonzo, Tank , "All That" Alan Steele, the Dyersburg return of LOOSE CANNON !!!! and more.

----Saturday night in Jumpertown, MS for JWS with Chris Styles, Little Stevie Davis, Homeless Joe, Mario, Devon Raynes, Dalton Storm, Kage, Cyrus, Chaz, and more.

----Saturday night in Paragould, AR for ACW at the National Guard Armory with Loose Cannon with Rott’n Randy, Big Indian, Deadly Dale, Idol Bane, Cody Daniels, Cujo, Hambone Express, Ed Love, Big Buster Johnson, Blakestar, Farmer Tucker, Arnez 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, " Danny B, and more.

----Saturday night in Ripley, TN with TLCW 207 Washington Street – Christian Jacobs, Derrick King, Stan Lee, Flash Flanagan, Chris O’Neal, Jon Michael , Dustin Starr, Oz, Bishop, Kevin White, Big Steve, Pokerface. Bill Dundee 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, Ray Ray, Tommy Lane, The Danger Zone ( Hotrod Ellison & Danger Dave Foxx) and many more.

Memphis Wrestling TV Rumors and Gossip

----I got the following ramblings from various sources backstage at Memphis TV tapings from last Saturday: Memphis Wrestling site is down…”Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Bill Nasty] got pissed and stormed out of the dressing room because they were not scheduled to be on the tapings…Ricky Morton stole the show backstage. He had everyone in tears telling road stories about them and Bill Dundee...A “Legends” show is planned for March…There are plans to run house shows including possible Thursday and Friday shows at a casino in Tunica, MS…Jon Michael had the flu…Flame was heard saying he messed up their match on the second show and it might be because Tatt2/Chris O’Neal called so many spots before going out…Chris Rocker was back at the studio [arrested there a few weeks ago for child support I believe] and he will probably be back at the next tapings…They really wanted Hogan vs Lawler. Apparently Maclin was telling everyone that Hogan wanted $100,000 to do the show?? That sounds like way too much…Drew Donavon was getting his ass chewed by Derrick King for trying to make himself look good. DK told him something about the match being about him, not Donavon, which is true. Drew is a jobber!!...Ricky Morton said working FOP was like working a fencepost – stiff and wouldn’t move. LOL… The most distasteful part of the day Koko said in front of Robert Gibson that he told a friend that the R&R Express would be at Memphis today and the guy said, “Not Robert and Ricky cause Ricky’s dead [Ricky Gibson] and Koko said, “No not him he did drown, but the other Ricky would be there.” Robert was very hurt as you could tell by the expression on his face.

Scott Hall Interview: Shock You or Not??

----Long time subscriber to RassleRiot Jeff Bowdren e-mailed this to me a few weeks back and I have been meaning to post it. Jeff wrote, “This is a quote from Torch Talk from http://www.pwtorch.com from Scott Hall. I don't know what to say. Most of you know I've done a lot of stories on wrestlers dying young and helped with the LA Times and USA Today stories but this is just crazy if true.” Even though it is shocking that Hall is telling this to the public, nothing Vince McMahon does surprises me. Sad thing is that most people in this biz just consider it “normal” when it comes to the drugs. On top of that, it didn't personally shock me when he talked about his habits. BTW, this photo of Hall was taken last month – “G-Unit” – that cracks me up every time I see it!!!

Get My Point? by Randy Cresswell

Sorry for last week’s no column, I doubt it was missed that much. I have a very hard week and a half, so if I am short this week on the column, so be it.

I have to give a shout out the 4 teams at the Armageddon PPV who really put their bodies on the line to give the fans something they haven’t seen in awhile if they watch WWE solely, something worth watching. I hate the Mercury went out like that, but that is the danger of Ladder matches and WWE better give him a respectable spot in two months when he gets back on the road again.

Someone posted on a message board that reading the TNA Spoilers is like reading WCW Thunder. While I haven’t seen the spoilers, I can agree TNA has a few Thunder like spots on the show that I think they could shape a little better. They also really need to get a better taping schedule. If taping costs THAT much money, they may need to look around some places, I am sure with the name they have now that Angle is with them, they can get a better deal. None the less though, this is the time I say once again that if TNA wants to take the next step in their evolution, they need to do it now with WWE fans waning as hard as they are.

WWE really needs to make Wrestlemania look at something to look at, normally by this time the buzz is high on the next huge match, but lets be honest. John Cena Vs Triple H (a rumored Main Event), that isn’t going to make someone go buy a ticket that quickly. While many people of crapping on it, fans will buy for Hogan and Hogan/Show match wouldn’t be that bad of an idea for the hardcore WWE fan. There was a rumor back that Stone Cold wants to be involved with Wrestlemania, just not wrestling. To be honest, SCSA sells with just his name these days.

They need to do two things with ECW, fix it or dump it. Said and done.

Ok, that is all I have to say this week. I would talk about the 3 hour RAW, but I didn’t watch it and after reading the results, I am glad I didn’t it. I can at least say that the 3 hour RAW wasn’t WWE’s idea, but USA Network’s. So, can’t blame WWE on that one.

Take Care

RassleTube, RassleChronicle and 10 Years Ago in Memphis Wrestling

----RassleTube this week features -- a video showing Jim Cornette’s collection, some CWA commercials, a Flash vs Batista bout, a Flash IWA video, and a Joe LeDuc video [one of my faves when growing up]. I also added a Fargo vs Lawler clip that I think is the first 5 minutes of the same bout they showed on “Opening the Vault”. Both Lawler and Fargo throw some of the best punches!!! These have all been added to MY FAVORITES. Memphis Wrestling clips include from 12.09.06: Fire/Flame/Jethro vs Picture Perfect/K Hill; Brooke and Hulk Hogan interview; “Opening the Vault” with Lance Russell – Bill Dundee; and “Too Cool 2” [Tim Grind/Flex] vs “The Posse” [Simon Reed/’Lil Chris]. From 12.16.06: Lawler & Corey shoot on Mid-South Coliseum.

----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. This week Herb gives a review of the year 1996 with his thoughts and views. Interesting stuff.

10 Years ago in Memphis Wrestling - USWA: Bill Dundee turned babyface this past week. On the December 14th tv show, Dundee faced Jerry Lawler for the Unified title. PG-13 interfered and Wolfie D accidentally hit Dundee with a hubcap shot, costing him the match. Later in the show. PG-13 asked Dundee to join the Nation of Domination but he declined. Wolfie D then said that was typical, as he never does anything for his son (his son being Jamie Dundee, Wolfie’s tag team partner). Bill Dundee decked him and the two brawled out into the parking lot, where the rest of the NOD (including Jamie Dundee) jumped him and supposedly ‘broke his hand’. Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher made the save for him…… Also on the tv show, Wolfie D won the USWA title from Brian Christopher, after a ton of interference from Randy X (Randy Hales), Queen Moishe (formerly ‘Miss Texas’, later Jacqueline in WWE), Akeem Muhammad (Reggie B Fine) and Jamie Dundee….. Great Meltzer line in this section: ‘The Hooters Girls are gone, which is a sign Jerry Lawler is no longer booking’…… Ian Rotten had started running opposition shows to the USWA in Louisville, across the street from them. He’d increased his weekly attendance from 55 to nearly 200 per week, through heavy bloodbaths and weapons matches. Credit: www.wrestlingobserver.com

Seth Knight DVD Available for Order!!!

----All the controversy going on with “Dynamite” Seth Knight this week and this is also the day of the first DVD release of www.rasslinriotonline.com. You may go to the front page and click on the DVD cover and order. Or, you can just CLICK HERE to order your copy of “"Explosion of Innovation V.1”.

Wrestling At Mid-South Coliseum - The Full Story

----I spoke with Steve Fox from the Mid-South Coliseum yesterday because I wanted to hear his side of the story. As I expected, the story that Maclin/Lawler told the fans Saturday night was not fully true. [CLICK HERE to see the interview from Saturday]Fox told me that “Maclin & Associates” [Cory’s company] was offered the Coliseum for that night at $10,000 total, which included a $5,000 upfront deposit. The other $5,000 would be paid after the show and was used for labor that the Coliseum would have to spend to put on this show. Maclin had stated to Fox that he felt he would draw 4,000 @ $10 a pop, so the $10,000 would be easily made back. I have my doubts on the 4,000 fans though. Apparently Maclin was upset because in the past the Coliseum had not asked for the deposit upfront. Why did the Coliseum ask for it this time?? Fox said, “Because Maclin had no met his obligations in the past.” Fox had tried to work deals with Maclin in the past and Maclin never would come up with the end amount. Fox said it almost cost him his job when his office was audited, because Maclin never paid what he had been contracted to do. So, the Coliseum felt that this time Maclin should pay upfront the deposit.

----Steve Fox believes that the Mid-South Coliseum is not going to be torn down as everyone had suspected. The Memphis area news is covering a story right now titled “Libertyland and Coliseum Futures in Doubt”, so a final decision will be made sometime today. Steve said that if the Coliseum does continue to be opened that Maclin would be welcome to do a show there, but only on the new terms.

----The spokesperson for the Jackson, TN Oman Arena stated that Maclin did have a contract to present shows up until the fall of this year. Maclin did not draw any crowds over 400 paid, so it was not a money making opportunity. He could not make money on the shows, so he just quit calling the Arena even though they had him shows booked.

----I also contacted the Southaven Arena, but their representative was unavailable until next week, but I do plan to talk with him next week. I hope this gives everyone a clearer picture of why the Coliseum did not have the Memphis Wrestling show and as you can see, it wasn’t because Fox would not let them have it – it was because Maclin would not put up the money.

Dustin Starr/Seth Knight Story Continues.....

----I received an e-mail from someone else that had their views of the Dustin Starr/Seth Knight fight from TLCW Saturday night. The source wrote, “I want to make an eyewitness comment on the Starr/Knight situation. Dustin didn't come out looking like a bully, he came out looking like a pussy, and so did Seth... Dustin was acting like he always does, cocky and arrogant, that is just who he is, yes he was dogging Seth, but no worse than anyone else ever has. Dustin did jump on Seth as soon as he hit the dressing room after his match, it was not blocked, but it amounted to the same thing as a sucker punch/blind siding, which in my eyes made him a pussy. On top of that, all he did was forearm him in the back, Seth never even attempted to defend himself, as they were rolling around like 2 little girls, they came toward Bishop and Tasha Simone, causing her to yell at them to stay away from her, and then they knocked Bishop's burger out of his hand, at which point he snatched Dustin in a rear naked choke. Big bad Dustin didn't not even attempt to bow up on Bishop, who had Dustin's head looking like a balloon about to pop, and this was really the highlight of the whole thing. The "fight" if you want to call it that, was a big joke, my kids could fight better than that, some of the guys were even saying it looked like a work, it was sooo bad!!!”

“And you might want to add this as well: Everyone squirts everyone else with water in the dressing room, but that is no reason to spit on anyone. If Dustin had hit Seth the minute he spit on him, I would not feel the way I do about his actions, but having to ask if you should beat someone's ass, or having to think about it, after them spitting on you, shows a lack of balls if you ask me.”

----Dustin Starr has his version of the story on his site. I have just a few more things to say about it. At first I thought it was coming off as Starr being a bully, but in reality, as the source said above, the water squirting thing is something that everyone does around here. Maybe Starr should not have been ribbing Knight, but in the end Knight should not have spit on Starr. Derrick King as the booker really needs to get a hold of this situation before something bad happens.

----And, finally, to answer the question that every worker wants to know?? Is this a work? In a conversation with a TLCW source [before any of this started], I was told that they were trying to book something big for the January 6, 2007 on the lines of a worked shoot. I am almost certain they were going in another direction with that involving an incident that took place earlier this year with the “Posse.” If I am predicting the direction of TLCW right [and this is just my thoughts], Stan Lee will probably be the next champion followed by Starr feuding with him over the belt. If it is a work and not a shoot, then that is one of the reasons you probably will never see Knight or Starr with a contract. Actually the whole thing may be the reason neither succeed, just drop the childish bullshit guys and get back to work. TLCW has a good thing going and it needs everyone to succeed – whether you are a Starr or Knight mark both guys bring something to the show.

The Ratings are In!! The News is not good...

----The Memphis Wrestling TV show finished with a 2.3 [37,953] overall this week. This is the second worst rating the show has scored since the debut of this site. The 8.19.06 show still is the worst rated show, which finished with a 1.9.

----The show opened poorly again this week with a 1.7 [27,965 viewers]. That first quarter was the Lawler/Maclin shoot, R&R challenged by FOP and finished with the “Clowns” vs “Posse” bout. The second quarter jumped 3,829 viewers scoring only a 1.9 [31,794 viewers] for “Too Cool 2” interview, Jethro vs Tatt2 and ending with King/Flash/Fine interview. The third quarter jumped with 19,309 viewers with a 3.1 [51,103 viewers] rating. This quarter included the White/Dundee/Starr interview, 6-man tag, Brickhouse interview and the start of the Lawler interview about Hogan. The final quarter finished up the Lawler interview, the FOP vs R&R bout and Koko Ware returning. That quarter [4th] finished dropping 10,487 viewers with a 2.4 [40,616 viewers] rating.

----I would not consider this part of Lawler’s streak, because he was just special ref in the main event, but the 4th quarter continues to suffer. Starr/White may feel a little better also, since they were tagging with Lawler during a few of those bouts. These ratings in part can be blamed on the holidays, but they are still below average. Even with this rating averaged in this quarter [Oct-Nov-Dec], the average has been 3.8. The average last year in the quarter was 3.4 in the morning spot. This was a really good show aside from not continuing the storylines [Starr getting burned] and Tatt2 vs Jethro [which I think was the worst bout I have seen either guy in]. The only positive thing about the show was that it finished with 12,651 more viewers than it started with.

RassleResults: ASWF Walnut Ridge, AR 12.16.06 "Christmas On The Ridge"

----Giant Hillbilly by DQ over Outlaw Don Bass w/ Hollywood Jimmy;Brandon Barbwire beat Anton Leveigh; Sarge O’Riley vs Lil Chris was No Contest; Tommy Wayne beat Morgan Lane & Big Al Smith in a triple threat; Austin Lane vs Chris Rocker was no contest and in the Main Event: “The Family of Pain” [Sarge O’Riley/Mickey Ray] beat “The Posse” [Simon Reed/’Lil Chris] to regain the held up CWA Tag Team Titles.

----Gate was $510 with 75 paid and about a 100 in the building. There were 40 toys turned in, so good job guys!!...They set up an angle earlier in the night during the Sarge vs Chris bout. Mickey Ray jumped in and then Simon Reed ran out to make the save, but got beatdown also. Rodney Grimes then tries to stop it, when the DeadMan finally makes his way to the ring. Stip was added to the main with Jimmy handcuffed to DeadMan…Not sure of a result of the Lane/Rocker bout, but I am pretty sure it was no contest. The match was going on and they ran angle where Hollywood Jimmy came out during their baby vs baby bout. Both guys wanted to know who Jimmy was out there for?? Hollywood got in the ring with his cane and tried to hit Austin in the back but Rocker pushed Austin aside. Rocker grabs the cane throws it away and grabs Hollywood and ask the fans if he should hit him. Austin then grabs the cane and hits Rocker from behind and turns joining “the Hollywood Clique.”…In the Main, for some unknown reason the handcuffs disappeared so Hollywood was force to stand by the DeadMan, the

Deadman held onto Hollywood Jimmy the entire match but after awhile the Deadman took Hollywood Jimmy to the dressing room. Finish had when Sarge try to use a chain on Simon Reed but he catches the chain and Rodney come to ringside and takes the chain away from Simon. And then, Reed turns around Sarge hits him with another chain and Sarge pins Simon. …I was told Rocker vs Lane was probably the best bout and the main had the most heat. Barbwire vs Leveigh was good also. DeadMan did not get the reaction everyone was expecting and did not get over like on the CWA shows.

RassleResults: TLCW Ripley, TN 12.16.06

----Jawbreaker Joe beat Tucker; “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony beat ‘Lil Tim Alfonzo putting the “Goldi-lock” on him; Seth Knight beat Jeff Jameson; “Blackout Squad” [Oz/Bishop] beat Motley Cruz/Alex Krisis and in the Main Event: Flash Flanagan/Dustin Starr vs Chris O’Neal – No Contest.

---- I got a 135 estimate with a gate close to $675…TGB put the “Goldi-lock” on Buckwheat also after his bout with Alfonzo…They did an angle where “Picture Perfect” [Christian Jacobs/Jon Michael] had a staredown with “Blackout Squad” [Oz/Bishop] with them telling BO that they would not get a rematch until the earned themselves a rematch. And then PP brought out Cruz/Krisis as their opponents…“Five Starr Showcase” with Flash Flanagan and DK came out. Rockin Randy jumped in with all of them and spike powerbombing DK until finally O’Neal made the save. This set up the main even with O’Neal having to tag alone…In the main event, which Rashard refereed because he had beat down Bill Rush earlier, O’Neal got color from a kendo stick shot from Flash and was bleeding well. Stan Lee came out to get the hot tag and ended up getting hit with the kendo stick and bleeding. Then, Tim Grind tried to make the save and he got hit with the kendo stick and juiced. Finally making the save was FLEX [pic to the left] and threw all the heels out. Crowd was going crazy for this!!

----The back story of the whole night in the dressing continued to be Seth Knight being ribbed by Dustin Starr. I tried to cover all my bases on this and this is how the story was reported to me: “It all started with Dustin's comments on his website. Seth was as professional as he could have been all night. Dustin continued to say "this" and "that" about him and Seth just laughed it off or played along with the joking then Dustin started squirting water in Seth's face, once again, Seth didn't really put him over... so Dustin said he was going to continue doing it until he put him over. So then he got really pissed and he spit on Dustin. Dustin asked a couple of the guys out loud if he should kick Seth Knight's ass. With the boys saying "I'm not in this". He told Seth that "when I come back from my match, I'm probably going to kick your ass". So when the match was over, Dustin came to the back swung at Seth he blocked it and then got tangled up and Dustin forearmed him in the back until Bishop broke it up (because Dustin had knocked his food in the floor). Most of the boys were more interested with Bishop's food in the floor than the actual fight (if you can call it that).” Dustin comes off as the bully in this one and it seems that the ribbing has been taken to another stage. I was told that DK tried to talk to both guys and settle the problem. If it continues, I look for either one or both of them to be gone from TCLW. Or just turn it into an angle and let them both beat the hell out of each other.

RassleResults: NBW Dyersburg, TN 12.16.06

----Gunner Thompson defeated Loose Cannon; The Sicilian Kid v.s. Tommy Boy v.s. Barney v.s. Slim "Bulldog" Pickens was declared a no contest after Ca$hFlow interfered; “Team X” [Gryffon/Phoenix] beat Gaylon Ray in a Handicapped Match; "Real Deal" Tim Edwards w/ Bigg Money Gripp defeated "Cosmic Cowboy" Brian Steele; "Upset Kid" Jeremy Moore & Jerry Weezy defeated TANK & A.W. James when Moore pinned James and in the Main Event: "Southern Outlaw" Kilo defeated A.C. Havoc by disqualification when Ca$hFlow interfered.

----They continue to do around 60 paid with a $300 house…Kilo came out during the tag match with Moore hitting the RKO on James for the win…Stip on the main event was if Kilo won, then he got a shot next week at Tank for the belt. Ca$hflow then beat up AC after the bout…They are billing the 12.30.06 show as “New Blood Eve” with the only bout that I know is Tank vs Kilo for the title, which should be good as they have been building this one. They had a pull a part after the main with Kilo/Tank...No shows were Alan Steele [had to work late at shoot job], Sir MO [in Texas] and Baron Malkavain.

Memphis Wrestling TV Report 12.16.06

----It was announced Steve Fox of Mid-South Coliseum management decided not to do Memphis Wrestling. Jerry Lawler joins Maclin and they shoot on Coliseum management. The management considered it too much trouble than it was worth to have the show the day before they are shutting it down.

----Lawler calls out Rock N’ Roll Express [Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson] –Hollywood Jimmy comes out with “Family of Pain” [Sarge O’Riley/Mickey Ray]. Jimmy called them the “Oldest teenagers” and then said, “David Lee just called and wanted his hair back.” They set up the main event later with R&R vs FOP with Lawler as special ref.

----“Insane Clowns” [Bobo/Giggles] beat “The Posse” [Simon Reed/’Lil Chris] in a good first match. Heat was on Reed with hot tag to ‘Lil Chris. Finish had Rashard getting the ref’s attention and the Clowns put their bucket on Chris’ head. They then took the Posses’ skateboards and did the "con-chair-to" with the boards to pin Chris.

----“Too Cool 2” interview talking about R&R Express getting a title shot.

----“Hillybilly Assassin” Jethro beat Tatt2 in a bad match. Grady Watson joined Maclin. Tatt2 seem to be off a bit. Jethro got out of the ring during the match and went to the desk to tell Grady Watson that he was not part of his family anymore. Jethro won with a powerbomb.

----Derrick King/Flash Flanagan/Reggie B Fine interview. Fine was really funny here.

----Starr/White/Dundee interview challenging King/Flash/Fine. Starr was good.

----Derrick King/Flash Flanagan/Reggie B Fine beat Dustin Starr/Kevin White/Bill Dundee. Heat was on Dundee – hot tag with everyone in and out of the ring. DK went for a second elbow smash from the top rope on White, when Johnny Dotson comes out and pushes King off the top rope. Dotson did an interview saying you never know when he will show up.

----Maclin is going to a break and then music starts playing and Brickhouse Brown walks out. “You sit behind this desk, you talk, and you legally steal money..” he says to Maclin. OMG!! Loved that!! Brown says he was the tag champion when he left, but when he comes back, he is not a champion anymore. White says he was just doing what Memphis Wrestling wanted him to do. Brick acts like he is going to talk things over in the back, but then slugs White. He then gets in White’s face as he is down and Starr/Dundee run out for the save, but not like the usual heel would do, Brick does not run off he just slowly backs off. Starr/Dundee hold White as White yells at Brick.

----Lawler- interview with clips of Hulk Hogan challenging him. They also show a clip from a TV news interview with Hogan challenging Lawler. Lawler makes a joke about appearing at Walmart and says the only way Brooke could sell CDs is have his daddy around. “Anytime, anywhere!!” said Lawler. “Everybody likes to talk about Hulk Hogan; what about Jerry Lawler??” This was a very good promo.

----Rock’n’Roll Express beat “Family of Pain” – Special ref Jerry Lawler. Heat on Morton with hot tag to Gibson. All of them in the ring as R&R were holding Ray, Sarge was going to use a chain. Lawler caught him, grabbed it from him, used it on him and counted 1,2,3. Another good match.

----After the final break, music starts to play and Koko Ware walks out. He taunts Maclin and promises there will be no Christmas as he will be the Grinch next week. All I can say is PLEASE DO NOT FEUD WARE VS MACLIN AGAIN!!!

RassleNotes: Hollywood Jimmy and Sarge O’Riley were real good in the angle with R&R. Great mic work…‘Lil Chris looked good getting the hot tag. Lots of fire…Maclin made a comment about Tatt2’s “dewrag” and said, “It that legal to wear??”…Jethro said he was not a hillbilly, but they call him “Hillbilly Assassin”???...I like the start of the Dotson/King feud. I really never liked Dotson the heel, but as a cocky babyface, he is going to be good…The Brown interview/angle was excellent. He just came out stating his case in a normal voice, not getting loud one time. It made it more effective and you believed what he was saying…Lawler was joking about Hogan doing the Walmart tour and it being the only way Brooke could sell CDs. Lawler comes off so legit in doing stuff like this that you just have to believe he is shooting just a bit…Only in Memphis can you use a chain that you took from a wrestler as a special ref and still get cheered. LOL…A good show. Lawler wrote this show and next week’s show, which they are billing as “Christmas Chaos” since it will air on two nights before Christmas. I admit I like Lawler’s writing a lot better than Maclin’s, but I hate it because they seem to forget angles and feuds like the Fire/Flame angle where Starr got burned.

----This Memphis Wrestling TV report is also posted every week on http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/, http://www.pwinsider.com/, http://www.declarationofindependents.net/ , Yahoo Mempho Group and http://www.pwtorch.com/