RassleBits: Yearbook and Dustin Starr

----The Yearbook is progressing just fine. I look for it to be posted online sometime around 2:00 PM tomorrow.

----The best I can figure out is that Dustin Starr will debut in NBW in Dyersburg, TN tonight. I have talked with people in Selmer, TN at CWA and TLCW in Ripley, TN and Starr is not at either show. If I am not being ribbed, then Starr will show up in NBW tonight.

HELP!!

---If you attended or worked any of the following events, could you please contact me ASAP with any info you have!!

March 3 - Batesville show -- was there 900 there?? How much were tickets??

March 11 - CWA -- att?? ticket prices??

These I need Results, Tickets prices, att??

April 1st -CWA

April 14 - ALL PRO

May 7th - CWA

RassleBits: Site notes, Austin Lane and DVD releases

----Just a special note to everyone. I plan to update as usual this weekend, but I am also going to be working on the Yearbook. So, if I don’t get everything posted, I will catch up on Monday with results and such.

----Please do me a favor and just take the time to hit ads either on the main site page – www.rasslinriotonline.com or here on the blog. There is very little money made with the ads, but it can at least help me pay for the site every month. Also notice that if you want to advertise on this site, then there is a place to link you. Some of you promoters that have big shows coming up can be seen on the front of the page 24/7 by just advertising.

----Austin Lane has his own thing to say about the Harrisburg, AR that got canceled this weekend. Check it out.

----Speaking of Lane, I have come to an agreement with him to produce a new DVD on his matches. The DVD schedule looks like it is going to be busy this year if everyone gets their footage to me. Look for DVDs on “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony [I am working it now], TLCW 1.06.07 – “First Big Show of 2007”, Crime, “Picture Perfect”, Psycho, “The Cajun Sensation” Blade Boudreaux and more.

Shows for The Weekend 1.12.07 - 1.13.07

----Friday night in Osceola, AR for MCW includes The Hambones, Loose Cannon, Chris Hollywood, Big Daddy LaFonce, Derrick King, Austin Lane, Flash Flanagan, 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.

----Saturday night @ True Force Arena 256 Gill Street Jackson, TN at 7:00 PM with TV Title Match: Psycho A vs Overhill & Raze, TIWF Tag Team Title Match with “Genocide” [Maxx Corbin/Albino Rhino] vs The Big Boys, TIWF Title Match: PK Ripper vs Lawman Williams, Wildside, Kaut!on, Handknocks Hooligan, Crime, Raving Ron, Jon Seymour, Hotrod, Butcherman Smith and more.

----Saturday night New Blood Wrestling @ Country Nights 1901 Saint John Ave - Bell time 8:00 PM in Dyersburg, TN – Kilo vs Lord Humongous, Tank vs Tim Edwards, the debut of “The Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Bill Nasty], Jeremy Moore, Gaylon Ray, Team X, Sir Mo, and more.

----Saturday night for CWA in Selmer, TN @ Jaycee’s Building for “New Year’s Knockout” with Jerry Lawler, Brickhouse Brown, Family of Pain, Hollywood Jimmy, Danny B Good, Don Bass, Mr Wrestling 3, Chris Rocker, Chris O’Neal, “Cruzin 4 Pain”, Loose Cannon, Neil Taylor, “The Posee” 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 New Albany, MS 107 McGill ST [right off the square] with XWO will have Storm, Scott Porteau, "Pure Destruction"[Brody & Cody Hawk],Thomas Knox, Psycho, Brett Michaels, Pappy and more.

----Saturday night in Ripley, TN with TLCW 207 Washington Street – with “THE AFTERMATCH” “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony, Simon Reed, Derrick King vs Rockin Randy,Tatt2, Motley Cruz,lex Krisis, Dell Tucker,“Picture Perfect” [Christian Jacobs/Jon Michael],“Black Out Squad” [Oz/Bishop], Flash Flanagan,Stan Lee, Brian Steele, Buckwheat, ‘Lil Chris, Tim Alfonzo, Seth Knight. “Jawbreaker” Jones 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, “Righteous Punishment” [Byg Daddy and Jack “Lockdown” Johnson], “Hot Rod” John Ellison, Johnny Harper, Matt Boyce and more.

THANK YOU FOR VOTING!!! RassleRiot Awards 2006!!

----Voting polls have closed. Thanks to all for voting. I had a total of 2700 votes in all. The results and the Yearbook will be posted on Sunday 1.14.07. Thanks again!!!

RassleBits: Fire Starr

----I had the story all wrong about the dressing incident with Alex Krisis. Blaylock The Blazer was goofing around and threw a fireball at Krisis hitting him in the face. Crime was laughing, so Krisis thought he did it. Krisis grabbed Crime by the throat and then he went after Blaylock. That is more bullshit that should not be happening in a looker room. Throwing fire?? WTF??

----Well, BT says that Five Starr is not going to be at TLCW this week. BT doesn’t know where Five Starr is going to be, but BT thinks it is either going to be Selmer, TN for CWA tagging with Chris O’Neal or maybe debuting for NBW. BT will inform you as soon as BT knows something. BT was actually shocked when he read at Five Starr’s site the following describing Derrick King: "Ungrateful, disrespectful, egotistical (even more so than ME), and just plain stupid. DK flubbed on Saturday night (maybe it was the booze) in a major way. DK has been severed from all ties with me. Just an outright goof." BT thinks Five Starr crossed the line, because everyone’s know, and that is including BT, that DK does not drink. LOL

Feature Article - You Say, I Say

----I sit back last week and printed letters from Mo, Tank, Loose Cannon and Mark Justice. I waited until I had all those posted and I have taken comments from each one of them that I wanted to comment on.

Mo

“And so I say, that yes TLCW has more experienced and more developed guys working for them, but that my talent pool is no less than their talent, just less experienced. And experience comes with time, and in Time they will be as good if not better than the talent that is in TLCW.”

----I get this and don’t get this. I agree and I don’t. I truly believe it doesn’t matter sometimes on experience, because I myself have tons of experience. Could I have a good match?? No way. I believe NBW has a few guys that will be real good and few that ARE real good, but to compare to the TLCW crew – no one holds a candle right now.

“and I promise you, there is no fighting and bitching in our dressing room, about who’s the better worker, or any of that crap.”

----I would agree with your there. That is what has happened with TLCW. They have a real good thing going, but a lot of them on the crew feel like it should be credited to them. The egos are very big. In truth, the reason they drew that crowd the other night was simply because of the WHOLE crew, not just one person.

“exception of Flash Flanagan and Bill Dundee even have the right to consider themselves someone in this business because they’ve never done anything that will go down in the wrestling history books,”

----Does it really matter at this stage what they have done?? The fans in at TLCW could care less about their history. The storylines have made them care about the workers and Flash has been a big part of the storylines. Truthfully they could care less about Bill Dundee. It has nothing to do with what they have done in the past – it has to do with what they are doing NOW.

“these local rinky dinky independent shows even worth the 5 or 10 dollars they are getting, much less 40 or 50 that they are asking for.”

----If these guys have just started in the business, then they should have no guarantee. The guys that have been in this business for at least five years and know how to work, no matter what their egos are – they deserve more than $10 or $15.

“I think you missed it Brian. I actually don’t get paid for what I do in Dyersburg. It truthfully doesn’t make enough money to pay me to do what I do, and deal with what I deal with.”

----After a closer look at the promotion and the bills. I do understand there is probably no money for you to be paid. Best I can figure out from my sources is that anything over $150 gate goes to the workers. $150 pays the bills and rest goes to them. That is fair.

“But the guarantee goes up each week that they stay, if they are putting more asses in seats.”

----I also see nothing wrong with that. I guess that is the best way to conduct business. If that person is contributing to the gate, then give them more money. I just think some of the guys that have been in the business for so long get their chained jerked. First, they have to set the ring up and then promoters start saying, “Well if we draw more..you get more..” and at times that does not happen. Let me state I am at fault as much as the next person here – if you don’t draw you can’t pay nothing.

“But for the record, Alan Steele is my boy, so no matter what happens, I try to get him what he ask for, simply because I’m trying to help this guy make it in the business,”

----This is not anything against Steele, because I believe he is in the top 10 in this area, but if Steele is getting paid a certain amount, and then guys like Tank and Kilo should be making the same amount. Just because Steele is your friend, he should not make more. Ask the “friends” of mine from CCW – our “owners” never got paid and we always tried to give the money to the guy that drove the longest.

“AS FAR AS PAYING THE TALENT IN THE MANNER YOU SAY. I TOTALLY AGREE. MY IDEA WAS 25 DOLLARS PER GUY INITIALLY AND GIVING TOP TIER GUYS A LITTLE MORE. BUT WE HAVE TO GET TO THAT POINT.”

----That would be fair. I also in understanding that the talent gets anything over $150 and no concession and drawing only 60 people does not give everyone $25.

“I WILL SAY THIS EVERYONE ON OUR CREW GETS SOMETHING NO MATTER IF THEY ARE A STUDENT OR OTHERWISE.”

----That opens up a new can of worms. I have had this conversation with a few of the workers in this area. Where do you work the green guys?? Do you use the guys that can’t work worth a shit?? Most people think the green guys do not belong in front of a crowd and my theory is that it hurts the show in general. I have done it also though and groaned at some of those matches. I have also groaned at some of the guys that started when I did in the early 90’s and they still don’t know shit. Do you use green guys and shit guys because they are cheap?? Yep and then it makes your show look cheap.

“ASK ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME, I TRY ALL THE TIME TO TEACH THE GUYS ABOUT THE BUSINESS, ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS THEY MAY HAVE FOR ME, OR SHOWING THEM ANYTHING THEY ASK OF ME, AND NOT CHARGING 1 RED CENT FOR IT.”

----I do agree that there have been a ton of guys come thru here that have benefited from your help. As a booker or promoter, you can teach just so much, and then they go out and do what they want. No one would ever say Mo is a dummy when it comes to the wrestling.

“EACH ONE OF THOSE GUYS, IF THEY WERE SMART SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THOSE MATCHES AND TAPES AND USED THEM TO CATAPULT THEM TO A HIGHER PLACE IN THIS BUSINESS. I BENEFITED NOTHING FROM THIS, I WANTED MY GUYS TO MAKE IT AND I TRIED TO PUSH THEM TOWARDS THE STARS. UNFORTUNATELY THEY DIDN`T SEE IN THEMSELVES WHAT I SAW IN THEM, AND SO THEY HAVE JUST SETTLED FOR HANGING AROUND WEST TN.”

----I totally agree with you here. Lots of guys say they want to make it, but you got to get out there. You got to send out tapes. You got to wrestle somewhere else besides West, TN. I don’t mean this as a knock on Derrick King, but one reason most of the guys stay in this area, they see DK stays here. DK has been to developmental and has tons of friends in the “big time”, but he prefers to stay here. That not only affects DK, but it does affect the boys. How many guys has DK got a deal with for OVW?? Maybe he doesn’t have the strings to do that now with Jim Cornette gone, but at times he did have the power. DK at least does get guys on Memphis TV. DK also may be one of the most unselfish guys in this business when it comes to money.

Tank

“It goes back to the whole situation of "whose friend or boy you are". Friends get treated a lot better than acquaintances in the wrestling business.”

----I agree with you here and Mo even pointed out that he got Steele more money, because they were friends.

“Dustin Starr, you made the statement about how you feel a certain individual should do everyone a favor and just quit wrestling. Who in the hell are you to be passing judgment? In my eyes and a lot of other people I have spoken with - you are nothing more than everyone else in every little promotion in this area at best. So you have been on Memphis Television. Big fuckin deal. So have I. So you went to do a couple of spots with WWE. Ok, let’s break that up shall we. The ones that come to mind are, your very quick J.O.B.on Smackdown and lets not forget the whole security guard angle where you couldn't even take a superkick right.”

----Starr is still working the indys around here like everyone else, but yes it is a big deal to me to work for the WWE. I was very proud of all the guys that worked the show that night. Even though Starr is a pompous asshole a lot of the times, he also has reason to be sometimes. Dealing with Starr reminds me of dealing with any other sports person that is a prick, but you have to deal with him, because he is making the news and he has talent.

“I know I'm not the best but at least if I never do anything else in this business, I have lived my dream.”

----Well, you got to realize that everyone on this level is doing the same thing. No matter if they are the one wanting more money or asking for more money, they are also living out their dream. I think there are three kinds of workers in this area -- #1: Doing it for fun and living a dream. #2: Trying to make it in the big time and living a dream and #3: Doing it for fun, trying to make it in the big time and living a dream. Guys like Christian Jacobs, Dustin Starr, Jon Michael and a few others in this area fit in the #3 category.

“…some of the talent that thinks their hot stuff just because they have been granted a few spots and look down on others for not getting theirs. That is BullShit!”

----I agree. Why would some guy that has been working side by side with you think that he is better?? Who is Tank?? What has he done?? Well, even if he does fit in the #1 category, it does not make him any less of a worker. I think lots of people could take a lesson from a guy like Flash Flanagan. He treats everyone with respect and expects the same. He also the attitude of being able to have a good match with whoever is put in front of him. The characteristics of a true pro.

Cannon

“I wanna point something out like my colleague Tank did - the NBW show drew around 100 fans a week without no names just your bread and butter workers who's been with the company since day one that to me shows a lot.”

----At what point did the promoters in this area starting thinking that drawing 100 in the building was ok?? I am worlds worst on this also. I will post that the show drew a 100 people and they broke $500 as if it is a big deal, because our expectations of what a wrestling show should draw is so low. The problem is that the fans have come out to watch such shit shows for so long with green guys, old guys, out of shape guys that have promoters that charge $5 to get in that they trust no one, but WWE. This is the reason the WWE can draw with tickets at $25+, but Memphis Wrestling draws 300 people for tickets at $10.

“If your own workers can't make a show then why bring in an outsider. A new worker and pay him more that’s the main point. “

----That is the very reason you would bring in someone else. If they workers on your show are not drawing, then bring in someone to try to mix stuff up. If my guys are only bringing in 100 people, then I need to bring someone else in to help things out.

“Not saying Dustin Starr doesn't deserve the money but why should others suffer or get heat over it.”

----Get rid of some of the guys that have been around forever and still can’t work. Bring in someone like Starr and then maybe the fans will hear that there is actually a guy on the card that looks like a wrestler.

“My point is the guys are who make the company. There is not an outside faction that is going to make a difference. They prove that a week or so ago and plus NBW has been drawing a steady of a crowd long before me.”

----But, NBW is not drawing well. They are drawing 60 to 75 people. I do not consider that good. They are surviving. The only three promotions that draw the best are CWA, All Pro and TLCW. The two former do not run weekly shows. TLCW is the only successful weekly show in this area right now.

Justice

“LETS SAY $25 if this CAN be paid after all of the bills are paid then how many of the GUYS THAT WANT GUARANTEES would stay in this business.”

----I agree 100% here. If the level was raised to just $25, then you would have a more loyal crew and guys asking for more would not exist. If the workers had the understanding that if they drew more, they got more and at what stage do they get more, then that promotion would do better with less fighting and such in the back.

“BUT THEN you have guys that LOVE THIS SPORTS so much that they don’t care if they get paid or not. if there were more that wrestled because they love this sports as much as they say they do then there would be more shows to work .”

----I don’t know about that. I think maybe that is where some promoters take advantage of the workers. If they know you will work for free, then they will book you. If you work for free, then it does not always mean you are one of the most talented in the area or does it?? It makes you look cheap. Do it because you love it, but don’t let people take advantage of you.

“Someone asked me one time at a show was I going to get an autograph or picture from a NAME that they brought in... and here is what I always told them.... HEY IM JUST AS GOOD AS THEM ..... Just because they have BEEN THERE DONE THAT........ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WORKING THE SAME PLACE I AM.”

----Name guys are mostly brought in to try to bring up the house. The name guy deserves the respect, unless he is just a pompous asshole. I recently got my pic taken with Midnight Express and it did not make me feel like a mark. [ok I am] But, guess what?? They were at the same shitty show I was at and they knew it. Total first class guys.

“So in closing I say take a chill pill quit worrying about MONEY THAT ISNT THERE at this level ...... AND HAVE FUN.”

----I at times think that the people that are just having fun may be killing it for the guys that want to make it big. Lots of workers know nothing about psychology, nothing about kayfabe and can’t do one move right. They are drawing those 50 crowds and when a few people come in and see these out of shape old guys that need to be at home watching on TV or in the crowd, then it hurts the chances of the young guys to make a living doing it.

ATTENTION AREA PROMOTERS!!!

----I got the following letter from Brian Thompson and thought I would pass it along. This would be a great chance for you local guys to use Bobby Eaton for a show.

Hey Brian! Just wanted to say that I'm continuing to enjoy your site. Very good stuff. Keep up the good work.

Just wanted to let you know that "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton will be coming into the area for a visit in late January and will be available for some bookings in the area. Might be a good chance for local promoters to bring in Bobby while he's here. If any promoters are interested, just have them drop me an email. The address is bptbookings@yahoo.com.

RassleBits: Ads, RasslinRiot Awards and MS notes

----I just put ads on the home page – www.rasslinriotonline.com and plan to put them here on the blog sometime in the near future. There will be no popups, but please do me a favor and just go to the home page and hit the sponsors. You don’t have to buy nothing, just take a look. This will help me pay for the site every month. Thanks in advance!!!

----The RasslinRiot Awards 2006 “10 To Vote” ends tomorrow night at Midnight. For those that have not voted, please vote!! A few of the categories look like they are going down to the wire. I have inserted the Awards Icon that will given to every one that wins. It will have your name and category on it and you may display it on your myspace.com account or your web page.

----I do not have a source for results in JWS, but I was told 116 in Jumpertown, MS Saturday night to see Buff Bagwell. I don’t remember what the tickets where, but I am thinking either $7 or $10. This was I believe their best gate to date. I was also told that had a good crowd for XOW with more than usual as it looks like the SGWA vs XOW is going to draw for them.

The Rating Are In - Lawler Continues His Streak!!!

----The show started the year with a dud scoring 2.1 [34,597 viewers] making this the second worst ratings since the start of this site[only 8.19.06 show beating it with a 1.9]. Jerry Lawler also continued his streak of the last 7 times he has participated [as in actually wrestling] the ratings have went down. [click here for a closer look] Not much this time, but he still dropped.

----The show opened with the first quarter scoring a 3.1 [50,604 viewers] for Nate the Rat challenging Lawler and Fire/Flame vs Dotson/Tatt2. The next quarter started with the Hart interview and ended after the Lawler vs Nate match. This quarter dropped 6,825 viewers to score a 2.6 [43,779 viewers]. The third quarter pretty much stayed the same adding only 333 viewers 2.7 [44,112 viewers] starting with the Jethro interview and ending after the 8-Man tag. The 4^th quarter jumped 3,828 viewers to score 2.9 [47,940 viewers] for the “Too Cool 2” vs Starr/White match and the Flex/Grind argument, which was the best quarter. The show finished losing only 2,664 viewers from start to finish.

----Lawler was put in the second quarter of the show and still lost viewers. I guess when the fans heard it was going to be Nate vs Lawler, they just turned off the TV. That angle was actually good, expect for Grady Watson. Lawler had not wrestled live on TV since the 11.25.06 show. The last quarter was the best ending with the viewer wanting to know if Grind/Flex turn on each other next week?? I believe part of the decline in the ratings this week had to be that horrible show they aired last week. I have had so many people tell me how bad that was watching Maclin eat a ham sandwich!!

Dustin Starr has posted photos!!!

----For those that want to see the photos from the barbwire match, then go to www.dustinstarr.com. Some of them turned out really good and others were just a bit too dark. I don't think the photographer actually knew what he was doing. Wait..that was me. LOL It has been a long time since I shot pics at ringside, so give me a break!!! Dustin will also have more to say on the TLCW departure later today. He is teasing it on his site, but the best I can find out -- he is gone!! Rumors are going around like crazy that it will be a jump to NBW with Chris O'Neal and maybe others. There has even been mention of them doing a NWO type angle. The next two weeks are going be fun in this area.

Something You Should Never Forget - Book The Building - A Letter from Brandon Baxter

----I have known Brandon Baxter [holding the old Power Pro belt that he still has below] I guess since the last part of the Power Pro years. The funny thing was that I took a video tape of “Total Kaos” [Kade/Christian Jacobs] to him the week before Power Pro closed shop. I had some real good luck at getting breaks; huh?? Baxter is now a radio personality at one of the biggest radio stations in this area out of Jonesboro, but still gets that itch to get into wrestling every once in a while. He was scheduled for a show this past weekend in Harrisburg, AR promoted by Austin Lane and Baxter was promoting it on his morning radio show. I heard it was canceled Saturday morning on a commercial that Brandon made and shot him an e-mail saying..”What happened to the show??” I found his response about the show very interesting and just things in said about the business in general. I thought my visitors would like to see it…….

The Harrisburg show ended up being a very frustrating situation. I had not done a wrestling show since our radio station’s “4^th In The Forest” event. My schedule has been crazy, and I had been turning down the bookings…plus nothing had sounded very exciting.

Anyway, Austin Lane was very persistent in trying to get a hold of me during my Christmas vacation. He wanted to talk to me about appearing at a show in Harrisburg that he was booking the talent for. Harrisburg is only about 20 minutes from my house; my schedule is a little bit lighter right now, and I told him we might be able to work something out.

He also had an idea to involve my co-host, Booger, in a “Battle Of The Sexes” deal with his wife, Nikki…and since this would play into some of our recent discussions on our morning show, I thought we could help generate some interest. A little back-story: A number of weeks ago on the show, I brought up Hillary Clinton considering running for the office of President in 2008. Booger said that there would never be a female president…that was a man’s job…and many of our female callers got extremely fired up over that comment. In wrestling terms, Booger took a heel like stance on the issue, and I saw the “Battle Of The Sexes” being a payoff of sorts for our listeners. Plus, we could make some extra money!

So we accept the booking, and begin promoting the event on our show. We were getting a great response, and so was the National Guard Armory in Harrisburg. I received a call at 10:15AM Thursday morning from a Sergeant with the National Guard. He told me that their phones were blowing up over at the Amory with people asking about the show, but the problem was that no one had booked the building! I couldn’t believe it! In all my years in the wrestling business, I’ve never heard of the BUILDING not being booked!

I was rather upset, and made a few irate phone calls. Austin Lane told me that he was responsible for booking the talent (Sarge, Mickey Ray, Hollywood Jimmy, Booger, myself, etc…), but that someone else was responsible for booking the building. He was upset as well, and he said he would get to the bottom of it all.

The guys who were supposed to reserve the building tried to resolve the situation Friday. However, due to it being the National Guard’s “Drill Weekend,” we couldn’t use the Armory. They tried to work something out with the High School, but because at this point there was only about a 24 hours notice, that wasn’t doable either. So Booger & I had to go on the air and tell our audience that the event that we had been promoting was cancelled, due to the ever popular “circumstances beyond our control”…which is an embarrassing situation!

So maybe all the talent that accepts bookings in this area should call the buildings to confirm that the show is actually going to take place! It’s stuff like this that gives wrestling a bad name in this area, and it makes it more difficult to get into good buildings, and get good television clearances. So many sponsors, buildings, and TV stations have been burned by so called “wrestling companies” over the years. And many casual observers don’t know how to differentiate between the credible companies and the groups that lack credibility. The word “Wrestling” is what they hear, and many times every company is painted with the same brush, regardless of how accurate that may be.

And even worse than that, events like this create a lack of trust with the paying wrestling fans! What about the people that planned on attending the event, only to find out it was cancelled? We tried to get the word out there on Kiss, but can you imagine how mad someone would be if they drove a good distance to attend the show…only to arrive and find out that it was cancelled because the promoter didn’t book the building? There are already less wrestling fans attending events in this area, which I believe is fairly obvious. From what I understand, many companies are happy to draw 75-100 fans!

The problem is, so many of the diehard wrestling fans have been burned by the wrestling business too…which is absolutely unheard of! The old adage, “fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me” applies! Situations like this cause even further consumer distrust, which will ultimately mean that the crowd sizes will continue to diminish in this area!

Letter from Mark Justice - POs and other BS

----Mark Justice [Mark Fleming] was a big part of the success of CCW. He did lots of work behind the scenes like posters, selling tickets and helping with the ring. He also was one of the better workers that we had and I was honored to have managed him as part of the “Riot Squad”. He has had his share of $5 and no dollar pay offs, so he has a good look at it. I have also printed this just like Mark sent it to me – because I feel he wanted the capital words to be stressed.

My opinion on the PO'S and the other BS is this. It is up to the OWNER AND THE BOOKER what everyone is going to be paid. IF the owner thinks that someone is more of an asset than his regular guys and it will bring more money into his pocket to pay a higher price for talent then it is on him to say. BUT as for the other guys that are there ...... WHEN the house is down for a night are they going to be there the next show.....YES. NOW as for the guy being PAID MORE ... if the booker walks up to him and says ....you know the house is down tonight i cant pay you what you were asking...... WILL HE BE BACK...... HELL NO.

NOW HERE IS A REAL QUESTION FOR YOU...... if the owner cant pay for the building ...the lights....water and other expenses then where would they wrestle. IF EVERY OWNER .......PROMOTOR GOT TOGETHER and said hey everyone in the locker room is going to work for the same amount..... LETS SAY $25 if this CAN be paid after all of the bills are paid then how many of the GUYS THAT WANT GUARANTEES would stay in this business ...... NOT MANY. BUT THEN you have guys that LOVE THIS SPORTS so much that they don’t care if they get paid or not. if there were more that wrestled because they love this sports as much as they say they do then there would be more shows to work . I can see where a promoter want to see if a wrestler that wants a guarantee wants to see DRAW POWER for his GUARANTEE. If he doesnt draw more than his regular crew then why pay him more that his regular crew? LET ME ASK YOU.... if you draw 100 people every weekend ....and you have someone wanting a guarantee... then ask him would he work for what they draw over that 100 people ? I think i can answer that one NO he wouldnt work for that. THAT’S NOT A GUARANTEE....LOL.

I can remember a trip that a bunch of the CCW workers took to KANSAS CITY KANSAS one night. It took us 18 hours to get there. WE HAD A GUARANTEE.......... BUT when we got all the way there they didnt draw. THERE WENT THE GUARANTEE. BUT GUESS WHAT..... EVERY WORKER THAT TOOK THIS TRIP WORKED. WHY? WE LOVE ThE SPORT. DONT get me wrong I’m not saying if you love the sport don’t ask for money just don’t be unreasonable about it. Most of the time a promotion cant afford to pay ungodly amount to make the roster better. As long as you get your gas money then you should be happy if you love to entertain.

As for someone getting paid more because they are someone’s BOY or FRIEND. NOT RIGHT.....the other guys are doing the same thing as he is WORKING. Someone asked me one time at a show was I going to get an autograph or picture from a NAME that they brought in... and here is what I always told them.... HEY IM JUST AS GOOD AS THEM ..... Just because they have BEEN THERE DONE THAT........ WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WORKING THE SAME PLACE I AM. SO THAT MAKES THEM NO BETTER THAN ME JUST BEEN AROUND LONGER OR HAD MORE EXPOSURE. BUT most of the time it’s about how much MONEY you have. If you can afford to get to places to be seen then you are going to get more exposure than you would if you don’t have the money to get there.

I learned in the time that I was part owner of CCW that THERE IS NO MONEY AT THIS LEVEL. Sometimes there are no FRIENDS and that people will stab you in the back just to get a better SPOT . BUT THEN AGAIN how much did they improve there self for doing it....NONE there still on the same damn shows that you’re on. People take this business WAY too serious at this level. So in closing I say take a chill pill quit worrying about MONEY THAT ISNT THERE at this level ...... AND HAVE FUN. I dont wrestle much anymore because of that reason. It got to be where I wasn’t having fun anymore because of the BS.

RassleResults: TIWF Jackson, TN 1.06.07

----The Big Boys beat Overkill/Raze; TIWF Cruiserweight Title Match: Wildside beat Rod Dent; JR Rich beat Steven Rampage; Lawman Williams beat Hardknocks Hooligan to get a TIWF Title Match; Genocide beat Carnage Antwone in a handicap match to win TIWF Tag Team Titles and in the Main Event: PK Ripper beat Weasel to retain TIWF Title Match.

----No attendance given…This group is running every Saturday night at True Force Arena…This group has a TV show which airs in Jackson, TN on Channel 2 each Tuesday/Thursday @ 6 PM and each Saturday morning @ 11:30 AM.

RassleResults: Arkansas Championship Wrestling Paragould, AR 1.06.07

----“Next Division” Title Match: Big Indian beat Shakedown; Blakster/Mask Menace beat “Porkchop Express” I & II; Bryan Knight beat “Porkchop Express” III; ACW Title Match: Loose Cannon with RottnRandy beat Adrian Banks; Deadly Dale/Idol Bane with Bate Masterson beat Cody Daniels/Big Indian; “San Francisco Treat” [pic below] beat Loose Cannon with RottnRandy in a non-title match and in the Main Event: Loser Takes 10 Lashes with the Indian Strap – Buster Johnson beat Arnez with Bate Masterson.

----115 in attendance with a gate close to $800. Concession sold out…Porkchop Express were unmasked to be The Hambones…After Cannon cheated to win the match vs Banks, the commish made a match for later on vs a mystery challenger. It turned out to be Treat. Treat beat Cannon when RottnRandy hit Cannon by mistake with his cane. Cannon brought out Sam Dollar and he fired Randy & they both beat up Randy….Stip on the main was if Buster lost then he got 10 lashes, but if Arnez lost then Bate got 10 lashes. Bate got two lashes before Arnez/Dale/Bane jumped in to get some lashes in on Buster…No posters or advertisement this time – just a banner in front of the Armory. This group is drawing on having good shows back to back. It makes you wonder though how many they would have drawn if they would have had posters???

RassleResults: MEW Batesville, AR 1.06.07

----“Danger Zone” [Hot Rod John Ellison/Johnny Harper] with Dangerous Dave Cox beat “Righteous Punishment” [Jack “Lockdown” Johnson/Byg Daddy Moose][pic to the right - "Lockdown" is in the hood];Kid Krazzy/Velvet Thunder beat Gerry “Chubby” Graham/Plowboy Hays; The Gravedigger beat The Lineman; Scotty Graham/Matt Boyce with Luke Graham Jr beat “The Playboy Club” [Tommy Wayne/Ray Ray] to win the MEW Tag Team Titles; and in the Main Event: “Dangerous” Dave Cox beat Casino Kid to win the MEW Title.

----273 in the building to this free show…They did a spot during the tag title match where Boyce gave Wayne a huge backdrop on the entrance ramp…Gravedigger interfered in the main event after a ref bump and double down, he came in a chokeslammed Kid, so Cox could pin him.

RassleResults: NBW Dyersburg, TN 1.06.07

----Jerry Weezy beat AC Havoc; “Team X” [Gryffon/Phoenix] beat Jeremy Moore/Gaylon after hitting the “Total Elimination” on Moore; Slim “Bulldog” Pickens beat The Sicilian Kid & Thomas Lovemore [Tommy Boy with a gimmick!!] in a triple threat to get a shot at the “Risk Taker” Belt; Tank beat Tim Edwards in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match; Gaylon Ray beat Jeremy Moore to win the “Risk Taker” Belt and in the Main Event: Kilo beat Big Red to retain the NBW Title.

----About 70 paid with a gate around $350 with 90 in the building…Big Money Gripp hit Havoc on mistake in the first match for Weezy to win…Tommy Boy has a gimmick!! LOL…This ended the winning streak for Jeremy Moore…The weapons match was real bloody[see pic]…Coming in to work Kilo for the belt is Lord Humongous next week and “The Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Bill Nasty] are coming in for the tag team tournament.

RassleResults: TLCW Bogota, TN 1.05.07

----Seth Knight beat Rockin Randy; Tim Alfonzo beat Dell Tucker; “Black Out Squad” [Oz/Bishop] beat “Picture Perfect” [Jon Michael/Christian Jacobs]; Chris O’Neal beat Tatt2 by COR; Chris O’Neal beat Derrick King and Main Event: DK/”The Posse” [Lil Chris/Simon Reed] beat Flash Flanagan/Jason Reed/”The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony.

----15 paid with a gate of $45….Crazy that this group drew 260 in Ripley and only 15 here – typical wrestling business…The major back story of this show was that Tatt2 walked out of his match with O’Neal because O’Neal was getting rough on him. O’Neal and Tatt2 were discussing the match before they went out and Tatt2 wanted to call the match. The dressing room pretty much agreed that would not be a good idea. When the match started Chris locked up with him and said just listen to what I say, I’m calling this match and called "duck two, headlock takeover" when he shot Tatt2 off he ducked the first one and then spinning heel kicked Chris and Chris sold it. O’Neal put him in a headlock again and said,"Listen to me" and called another spot with Tatt2 once again didn’t do and went into his own spot and started kicking Chris. Chris shot him in the turnbuckle and said splash. He went in for the splash and Tatt2 moved and stated kicking him again so Chris knocked him down and got him in a shoot headlock and said listen to me and quit this bullshit. He choked him for a second and let him go and when Tatt2 didn’t listen to the next spot, Chris kicked him in the face. At which point Tatt2 walked to the back and Derrick walked out to defend Tatt2 for a shoot. They wrestled around for a shoot for a bit then just worked a stiff match with Chris winning with a sunset flip. Chris went to find Tatt2 after the match and when he did he walked up to Tatt2 and said “hey listen” and as soon as he said that Tatt2, who was tying his shoe,picked him up by both legs and he fell on his head and neck. They started punching and then it was broke up. DK made them all talk it out…Crazy stuff with a little spot show like this with so much crap going on. Tatt2 is good at spots, but has no idea about psychology and should not be calling spots. I am not in favor of roughing anyone up, but after calling all of that I would have been pissed also. O’Neal and Tatt2 were good after all of it as they were seen hugging at TV tapings.

RassleResults: NWA Mid-South West Memphis, AR 1.04.07

----Kevin Nichols beat Eric Wayne; Mr. America vs Pokerface went to a 15 minute draw; Danny B Goode beat Alex Krisis; Matt Riviera with Boyd Bradford beat Gary Gram; Koko Ware/Gypsy Joe beat Tracy Smothers/Scotty McKeever and in the Main Event: Title vs Hair – “The Cowboys” [Ricky Murdoch/Bill Nasty] with Jim Casey vs “Picture Perfect” [Jon Michael/Christian Jacobs] ended in a DDQ.

----50 in attendance with a gate of around $250…I hate that didn’t draw, because this looked like a good show…I was told the main event was not good and pretty much because The Cowboys suck!!!...I would have marked out for Joe/Koko vs Smothers/McKeever. I was told that Joe gave Bobby Eaton a stink face somewhere in NC the other night. OMG!!...How do you end a Hair vs Title match in a DDQ??

Dustin Starr Leaves TLCW!!!

----Dustin Starr is also gone from TLCW. So, we had a "Loser Leave Town" match last night and both participates left. One of my friends and I were talking this over just a few weeks back when the gates starting going up. He said, “When is it going to start exploding within??” Well, it has started the process and where will it end?? We will just have to see. I do know that Starr and O’Neal were unhappy with the behavior of Derrick King last night. I was also told that most of the workers were unhappy about their payoffs, because they were not much more than they usually get and there was at least a hundred more people in the building. DK was not happy with the quality of the match. Most people I have talked to today [all workers] have said that it should have been a bloodbath and the guys were scared of the barbwire. They felt that Starr/O’Neal did not live up the hype because the fans needed to see them throw themselves into the barbwire. I can not see how anyone left that show unhappy unless it was because they didn’t want to see O’neal lose or they had to leave before the finish because of the long intermission. Will Starr go to NBW now?? Will Chris O’Neal follow?? Will there be more to follow??