LucharesuFan619

Like I said - I know I'll be ridiculed for asking such a dumb question, but... Do the premiere wrestling journalists, i.e. Scherer, Meltzer, Keller, Alvarez, etc. have day jobs, or do they make a living on their newsletters? I'm pretty sure that they must do something else besides writing newsletters to make money, because I can't imagine - even with the number of subscribers they must have - that they could be able to pull in suitable salaries that they could live on. It's been bugging me, though, and I'm interested in a definitive answer...I mean, they update their sites and write newsletters so often... I have vacation now, and I'm balancing doing a bunch of projects (editing the casual transcripts of my interviews with GQ Money/Lee Handsome into something understandable; an extensive feature on the roots, history, and legacy [or lack thereof, whichever you prefer] of XPW; writing questions for interviews with Johnny Webb and former-SWF promoter and mainstream acting star Verne Langdon; working on an ENORMOUS [that probably doesn't do it justice] retrospective looking back on the histories and legacies of both ECW and Viking Hall, both of which to be posted midway through 2004; writing a fantasty card for the next CZW show; working on an ROH NOTG video review; not to mention having a life outside of wrestling, and keeping up with school work) and I'm having some difficulty even doing that...these guys are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, probably even older for some of them, so they must have mortgages, wives, bills, etc....how do they deal with it all and still manage to update their web sites constantly and produce newsletters? I know Bob Barnett is a lawyer, besides doing the wrestling stuff, but what about the other guys? Any help/info would be appreciated.

From what I've heard, Maverick Wild is pretty damn good, and for a girl, so is Mercedes Martinez. And I've heard good things about Dr. Heresy.

They tape matches before the PPV specifically to air on Xplosion, much like how WWE tapes Sunday Night HeAT before RAW and Velocity before SmackDown!. The show's regulars are guys like Erik Watts (whose nickname was "Mr. Xplosion" for awhile, LOL), David Young, Nate Webb (IWA-MS), and Altar Boy Luke (Wildside; formerly XPW). 3 Live Kru also works Xplosion regularly. The matches they show are now not clipped, but it doesn't really matter, because they only last 2 - 4 minutes, literally. Xplosion is used to get the lowercard guys over, and scout potential new talent from around the indy circuit. For example, Wildside wrestlers Caprice Coleman, Gabriel, Masada, and Fast Eddie - all up and comers on the indy circuit - are scheduled for future Xplosion tapings. TNA usually schedules indy wrestlers for Xplosion like a month and a half before the taping actually occurs, so they're pretty organized when it comes to that. If you want a link for archived results of Xplosion tapings, PM me and I'll be happy to send you the link.

There were at least two Stu Hart tribute shows, man. For XPW Free Fall: Kaos' Gauntlet Match For XPW HIH2: GQ Money vs. Angel was one of the top five sleeper matches of 2002; Kraq & Kronus vs. MMW was also a really pleasant surprise, couldn't believe how well MMW carried their pretty much useless opponents

From the latest Observer online update: Lucha Xtreme Wrestling debuts in Florida on 2/29 at the Raddison Mart Plaza Hotel Convention Center with Shocker vs. Angel for the LXW heavyweight title, Rising Son vs. Super Dragon and more. Rising f'n Son! Nice...Angel vs. Shocker should be fun, if done right. Angel's getting a big shot here, against Shocker, so hopefully he'll be sure to look good. I also learned that Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero will be there.

Sorry to say, and I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you're out of luck, holmes. Ain't to grown men groping each other while wearing short tights in Alaska, at least that I know of. Of course, maybe I don't check the right places...

Yeah, I know exactly what ya mean, man? ...WTF kind of jakked (I guess there's a pun intended there...) shit are you on? And you call yourself, "God?" If that's the case, then the world's comin' tumblin' down, matey. You can add to your list of what JR has done this year - Got older than he was last year.

Really? Can anyone confirm this?

Evolution is taking a leak This piss is evolving like the first bird without a beak When they finally flush They realize they must rush To get to the TV Taping on time They get in the car But instead go to the bar Where they touch each other in places they shouldn't In places they shouldn't (2x) They really, really shouldn't (2x)

No joke - she was a stripper before she met Angle.

I may be wrong, but I severely doubt Vince would ever call up an internet journalist and ask for his opinion on his angle and converse with him. He's revealing his future plans to him. That's bad business. Vince knows better. I may be wrong, but I really doubt they've ever talked to one another directly.

Who says their stuff in NY wasn't successful? That's how you make it sound... LXW would have a hard time getting the right to run in Viking Hall because it's owned by the Farrington's, who worked for XPW, who isn't liked by the D'Amatos, who own Viking Hall, as will be expanded upon mid next year when I post my major features on the history of ECW, Viking Hall, and XPW (I'll be posting the roots of the promotion part soon, but the part about their Philly run won't be up till mid next year)... I think I just confused myself...

I can assure you that - while they may have mutual respect for one another - Meltzer does NOT directly converse with JR and/or Vince.

No, he's still w/ WWE.

Ticket info = coming in January

According to Larry Goodman, NWA Wildside's Masada, "Kool" Seth Delay (formerly Kid Kool), and Lost Boy Gabriel are all booked for NWA-TNA on 1/21, presumably for Xplosion, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Also, Slash worked for Wildside on the promotion's Christmas Chaos show last night. He teamed with Azrael to fight to a Draw with Altar Boy Luke & Gabriel, when Luke hit a friggin' FLYING SOMERSAULT SENTON OFF OF THE ENTRANCE STRUCTURE AND THROUGH A TABLE on Slash, only he went through another table, also, making it a Draw. Said to be a fantastic spotfest.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.ad...c=news%2e10%2e1 Updated: 08:51 AM EST Family Sues After Dad's Head Found in Shed SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Dec. 28) - The children of a cancer patient who donated his body for research filed a lawsuit after learning their father's embalmed head was kept in a tool shed for nearly 11 years. The head of Osie K. Whitten, who died Dec. 24, 1990, of colon cancer, was among 150 pounds of human cadaver parts allegedly removed from the medical center at the University of California, Davis, by a former autopsy assistant. David Lawrence Beale, who worked for Pathology Support Services Inc., which managed the medical center's morgue and autopsy service, was arrested last summer after the remains were found among his belongings. He pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamines. Police say Beale told them he used the remains to hone his dissection skills. The medical center, Beale and Pathology Support Services were named in the lawsuit filed by Whitten's children. The medical center said it could not comment; it previously said it had changed the way human remains are handled. Pathology Support Services said Beale's activities were not part of his job. 12/28/03 07:53 EST Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

I sent the news item into Da Meltz, since I contribute to his online updates like once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Can be found at http://www.liveaudiowrestling.com/wo/news/...lt.asp?aID=9290

They're releasing Best of XPW TV Volume 1 and Best of XPW Deathmatches. http://www.fye.com/catalog/moviesProduct.j...itemId=10986291 for the TV one and http://www.fye.com/catalog/moviesProduct.j...itemId=10986267 for the Deathmatches one I've said both of these things before and I'll say both of these things again... 1. Whenever you think Rob Black's promotion is dead, it always pops right back up, in some form or another. I don't know how permanent this is, if they're just releasing it so as to get all of the old XPW footage they have out of their archives in order to prepare to officially fold the promotion (it hasn't filed for bankruptcy yet, and if it was to die, it would have to file for that I believe, because it has debts, just like ECW did), or what. But the videos are gonna get released. And Sean McCartney, who has direct links to the inner people of XPW, says: "They got about 2 or 3 more DVD's already getting prepared for the next release. It may take a while for the newer shows to come out on DVD, but you're gonna get lots of badass comps with rare footage of shit you will want to see!" Oh, and the shit on the two videos mentioned in this post are gonna be full matches, not clipped. 2. XPW produces box art that makes WWE's tape box art look like the drizzling shits. Whoever makes the box art - whether it be Siderman or someone else - deserves credit, whether you want to give it to him/them or not, because the box art on XPW tapes is always really, really good.

Oh, OK. My bad. I'm thinkin of getting some of the backyard tapes. Are any of the bumps anything you can't see in CZW of IWA-MS?

I guess it depends on what you prefer, when it comes to box art. But for those that want a real preview of what's actually on the tape, as opposed to one match (like WWE highlights in their box art), XPW beats WWE by a mile. WWE usually makes their tape box art only like three colors, like with the Steel Cage DVD and others. XPW's tapes stand out at FYE and places even when their placed among WWE tapes, because they're colorful, and really give a preview of what's on the tape. But I guess it comes down to what you prefer. XEG Entertainment Group, which has a site if you want to make sure, produces XPW's DVDs. They send them the footage that they put together on lower quality tapes, and XEG copies it onto higher quality tapes. Up until around late 2002, XPW produced their own tapes. Around 2001, Goldhil Entertainment was the distributor. Couldn't agree more. B/c bleeding like a fucktard equates to Lynn vs. Storm, MMW vs. Gurentai and Youthanazia, Juvi vs. Nicho, etc. Puhleez...read what I said above, about wading through the shit, because once you do that and if you have an OPEN MIND, there's some good stuff.

Oh, OK. My bad. Thanks Dace. Anyone know what these Wildside moves are... Caprice Coleman's Comatoser Jay Fury's Enzufury Jeremy V's Derek Driver Murder One's Doja Bomb

Courtesy of Larry Goodman of NWA-Wildside.com: NWA Wildside presented their fourth annual Christmas Chaos event last night at the NWA Arena in Cornelia, Ga. Congratulations to the whole crew on another incredible effort. It was a show that provided countless memorable moments. And a few that I would just as soon forget. Chaos '03 was very good, but not on the level of this year's Freedom Fight or Fright Night. I haven't quite sorted out my thoughts on the booking of this show. Some things worked superbly. Some things left me scratching my head. The crowd of 175 hung in with strong heat for the full three and a half hours. Here's what went down. Dan "The Dragon" Wilson opened the show with the introduction of Ole Anderson. Fans stood and chanted "Ole." Anderson said he was just an old man trying to make a few bucks (autographing copies of his new book.) Bill Behrens joined Wilson to announce the winners in the Best of 2003 online fan poll. Best Show of the Year went to Freedom Fight, which was headlined by the War Games match that won for Match of the Year. Seth Delay was the winner in the Breakout Star category. Carolina Connection won for Tag Team of the Year. Rainman was awarded Wrestler of the Year, after the leading vote getter, Jimmy Rave, withdrew his name because of his infrequent appearances. Behrens explained that there had been some chicanery involving the Rookie of the Year voting. Somehow, all the votes in that category had shifted to Salvatore Rinauro. Rinauro came out to accept his award and denied having anything to do with it. Rinauro gave credit for the landslide to his Salvation Army worldwide. Rinauro proudly claimed to be the only wrestler to ever win back to back rookie of the year awards. Behrens told Rinauro that he wasn't getting a freaking plaque, and presented the award to the legit winner, Mikal Adryan. True to his word, Jacey North bought a ticket and sat in the crowd as a result of losing a match to Jeff Lewis on 12/6. North heckled the heels and cheered the faces throughout the show. (1) C. J. McManus beat "Irish Luchador" Billy McNeil in 4:25. This was an added attraction on a show that was already chock full. What the hell, they drove all the way from St. Louis. North noted that McManus should not buy his ring gear at K-Mart. Some good moves mixed with some green looking stuff. McManus won it with a full nelson into a hangman suplex and made the quickest exit in Wildside history. (2) Fast Eddie won the NWA Wildside Junior Title in an 8 man gauntlet style match that went 39 minutes. All eight competitors were introduced. Nick Halen and "Two time, two time, rookie of the year" Rinauro started it out while the others stood at ringside waiting their turn. Eddie has gotten very arrogant of late. He started yawning. Good action. Halen pulled Rinauro's shirt off. Rinauro eliminated Halen with the Phoenix Fury Legdrop that isn't a legdrop at 6:15. Jay Fury was next. Fury delivered stiff kicks that were nothing short of spectacular. The springboard snap kick was off the hook. Fury countered the Chalupa Crunch with a powerbomb. Rinauro escaped a vertical suplex with a hangman neckbreaker for a near fall. Rinauro went for the PFL but Fury had it scouted. Fury hit the Enzufury and a follow up quebrada to pin Rinauro at 11:38. Rinauro stayed at ringside in role of advisor to Ray Gordy. Matt Sydal was next. Fans were pulling for Fury and were not into Sydal's offense at first. Fury busted out a spinning rocker dropper. Sydal did a corkscrew quebrada. Fury used the Curtain Call for a near fall. Sydal ducked the Enzufury and cradled Fury for the pin at 16:21. Delirious was next. The elimination of Fury sucked the life out of this match for a few minutes. Sydal and Delirious eventually got the crowd back into it with the quality of their work. Delirious takes the best monkey flip bump in wrestling. Delirious hit a tope con giro. Delirious used an atomic backbreaker to set up a double ax splash thing for a near fall. Sydal did a Gori Special dropped into a facebuster, but Delirious got away from his springboard 450. Both men were eliminated when the 10-minute time limit expired. The two most recent holders of the silver belt, Seth Delay and Ray Gordy squared off. Delay was a man on a mission. Delay tried to end it early with the cradle DDT, but Gordy countered with an inside cradle. Gordy took over and Delay was selling it beatifully. Gordy tried to cave Delay's chest in with kicks that didn't require any selling. Gordy did a vertical suplex and rolled through to a choke out submission attempt. Gordy hit the pumphandle facebuster and said it was over. Time for the senton bomb, but Delay got his knees up. Delay hit the Flying Squirrel for a near fall. Rinauro went to hit Delay with the trophy and accidentally clocked Gordy. Perfectly timed for a great pop. Delay hit the Overnite Sensation to pin Gordy at 33:12. Rinauro tried to explain. Gordy was having none of it. Gordy lifted Rinauro over his head with a two hand choke and then decked him for a monster pop. Eddie's presence in the tournament was an unexplained swerve. Jerrelle Clark had beaten Eddie for the final spot in the tournament and had won a battle royale to earn the bye. Eddie did some stellar work on Delay's back. Delay pulled out a killer rolling prawn hold-snap hurancanra-Kool Krusher sequence to set up the Delayed Reaction (reverse 450), but there was Rinauro to crotch Delay on the top. Eddie was right on the money with his moonsault powerslam to win the title. Not much crowd reaction until Rinauro got in the ring to congratulate his new meal ticket. That was a stunning outcome, to say the least. What followed was even more of a shock. (3) Caprice Coleman beat Rainman (with Jeff G. Bailey) via DQ in 3:33. Coleman attacked Rainman before he made it into the ring. Coleman was on fire. His springboard clothesline carried across the ring on the fly. Coleman had Rainman in position for the Comatoser when JASON CROSS(!) interfered for the DQ. Jimmy Rave, also unannounced, made the save. Coleman said that if you wanted a tag match, all you had to do was ask. Bailey accepted with the stip that if his team won then there would be no more title shots for Coleman and Rave. Wilson said that Bill Behrens had added another stipulation. If the Elite lost, then Coleman got Rainman in a two out of three falls match next Saturday, where the title could be lost on disqualification and Bailey was barred from ringside. That lead to... (4) Jimmy Rave & Caprice Coleman beat Jason Cross & Azrael (with Bailey) in 9:30. This match ruled. Mega heat and insane four way action. Rave and Coleman opened with a double dive spot. Cross hit the BEST DAMN BRAINBUSTER IN NORTH AMERICA on Rave. Coleman hit the elevated flatliner on Rainman. Rainman pulled the ropes down on Rave. Cross did the Great Sasuke corkscrew drive on Rave. Rainman did a moonsault to the outside. Coleman beat on Rainman all the way around the back of the bleachers, after stopping at the concession stand for a pickle. Cross hit the Idolizer, but Rave kicked out of the pin. Rainman did a sky high guillotine legdrop. Coleman caught Rainman with the Thermal Shock, but Bailey put Rainman's foot on the ropes. Cross nailed Coleman with a new twist on the Idolizer, where he rolled through and finished with a powerbomb from his knees. Rave dropped Cross on his head with a back suplex. Rainman applied the Hillside Strangler to Rave and they tumbled through the ropes. Coleman hit the Comatoser on Cross. The pin didn't happen for some reason. Rave came out of nowhere with a Shining Wizard on Cross for the pin and the biggest pop of the night. Rave and Coleman celebrated the victory. (5) Murder One & Slim J versus The Urban Assault Squad (Nemesis & Shadow Jackson) went to a no contest in 7:15. This match has surprisingly good heat for what figured to be the death spot on the show. M1 and Slim J got a good pop for their ring clearing opening. Nemesis took a major Harley Race type bump on a clothesline over the top. Jackson hit a gorilla press ace crusher for a near fall. UAS proceeded to destroy J's neck. UAS hit their finisher, but M1 was there to break up the pin attempt. J planted Jackson like a fencepost with a DDT. Hot tag. M1 smoked Nemesis with the Zoolander. That's when Raines and Getz showed up. Raines attacked M1. Tank made the save with the dog collar. (6) Tank beat Bulldog Raines (with Al Getz) via DQ in a dog collar match (6:38). Yep. A DQ in a freaking dog collar match. No wrestling here. This was a bloodbath. Raines used the chain on Tank's forehead. Tank sliced Raines with the sickle. Tank licked the blade. Getz, wearing his best bowling shirt, said that was just wrong. Tank had Raines in a chain STF when Urban Assault Squad hit the ring for the DQ. Murder One and Slim J made the save to set up a 6 man for next week. Tank said he thought Getz was still lighting candles and called him a Hebrew homosexual. Tank compared UAS to what you get when you cross a bulldog with a shih-Tzu. (7) David Young beat Cru Jones (with Destiny) in 9:31. This match was in the tradition of Nashville and Memphis, which made for a nice change of pace, even though the ringwork was no better than adequate. Something happened to Young's right eye early on and he was barely able to see, which obviously hurt the match. Young's pre-match mic work worked like a charm to set the tone. Young had been gone from Wildside for most of the year. His return got a big pop. Young threatened to shove the Bad Mofo's Heisman trophy up his ass. Jones told a fan, "you're so ugly you make a truck take a dirt road." Good comedy spot with Destiny dropping an elbow on Cru and getting spanked by Young. Jones took over. Destiny gave Jones a chair to wedge between the turnbuckles. Unfortunately for Jones, he was one that got suplexed head first into the chair. Jones hit the Monster Blitz for a near fall. Jones charged into the corner and bonked the chair again, as Young countered with a Gibson roll. Finish saw Destiny's interference backfire when Jones clotheslined her off the apron and Young hit him with the spinebuster for the pin. (8) The Texas Death Club (Masada & Todd Sexton) beat Carolina Connection (Jeremy V & Brandon P) to win the NWA Wildside Tag Team Titles in 10:34. TDC had 666 emblazoned on their pants. There was a communication problem in the TDC camp early in the match. CC cleared the ring with double teams. Sexton took some heat from P (flapjack) and V (V Bomb). Masada put an end to that with a swank modified snake eyes on a shoulder mounted V. Sexton did a russian legsweep into mat submission that looked like torture. Masada pulled V's arms around the ringpost while Sexton stomped on his neck. V was doing his usual great job of taking a beating. V came back with the VDT. Both men down. Hot tag. P cleaned house but not for long. Masada did top rope huracanrana on P. TDC had P set up for the Texas Death Ride but V broke it up. CC botched their finishing combo on Masada. V's 450 came up short and it looked like he planted his feet in Masada's solar plexus. Sexton saved with a low blow on V and a superkick on P. V gamely kicked out after taking the Masadamizer. TDC hit the Texas Death Ride and it was over. (9) Gabriel & Altar Boy Luke versus Azrael & Slash (with Jeff G. Bailey) went to a draw in a table match (11:15). Yep. A freakin' draw in a tables match. This match has some amazing spots. Wilson introduced ref Andrew Thomas as "a jolly peter puffer." Must have had a premonition about the decision Thomas was going to make on the outcome. Both teams cut off attempts to pull the tables from underneath the ring early in the match. At times, the table didn't want to cooperate with lead to some contrived looking spots. Gabriel hit Azrael with an Arabian press to the outside and set him up on a table. Bailey jumped on the apron to block his dive attempt. Slash gave Gabriel the Whirlybird. The heels took over. Azrael hit a suplex into a backbreaker on Gabriel. Slash gave Luke a spike piledriver. The satanic team was ready to superplex Luke through a table, but Gabriel pulled it away and crotched both of them. Gabriel got an assist from a propped up table on a tornado DDT. Luke hit a flatliner on Slash. Gabriel and Luke did the Double Elimination on Slash. Luke sprung from the mat right to a top rope huracanrana on Azrael. Slash tried for another Whirlybird, but Gabriel escaped it and cracked him with a chairshot. Gabriel set Slash up on two tables at ringside. Luke dove off the top of the entrance ramp structure and put Slash through one table with a senton bomb, while he went through the other table. That got the "holy shit" chant. Thomas called it a draw because both men had gone through tables. (10) Iceberg & Onyx beat Hotstuff Hernandez (with Rick Michaels) & Mikal Adryan (with Jeff G. Bailey) in 14:50. Match was announced as no DQ. The introduction of Michaels got a good pop. Michaels had been on suspension and was advertised as returning for one night only. Hernandez looked great trimmed down to 265. Onyx pulled out a phenomenal opening spot, a press slam on Adryan, who must go 6-7 and 275. Iceberg did a capture suplex on Hernandez. The faces were kings of the mountain. Hernandez and Adryan had issues. Bailey tried to quell the dissension. Onyx missed a charge and rammed his shoulder into the post. Adryan zero in on the shoulder with a divorce court and a hammerlock slam. Too bad Ole wasn't there to see it. The heels took turns applying the camel clutch. Onyx hit an inverted DDT counter to get the tag. Iceberg speared Hernandez. Iceberg was going for the Ground Zero senton on Adryan when Hernandez cut him off with a spear. Tandem suplex on Iceberg. Whoa. Onyx came from the top with a double clothesline. Adryan's pull-down-the-ropes spot on Onyx was mistimed. Adryan Mafia kicked Iceberg. Adryan did a pescado on both faces. Hernandez did the over the top rope tope. Hernandez ordered North to give him chairs from ringside. North wouldn't help, but some fans did. Iceberg appeared to hurt his shoulder on a spot with Adryan. Onyx escaped from Hernandez's Megabomb and hit the Blackout DDT. Adryan got involved and Onyx put him in a dragon sleeper. The heels finally got Onyx two on one. Iceberg saved with a chairshot on Hernandez and a brain cell killer chairshot on Adryan. Onyx hit the Blackout on Adryan. Iceberg climbed the ropes. Bailey threw powder in Iceberg's eyes, but Michaels chased Bailey to the back. Hernandez climbed and the two monsters were in a perilous predicament. Iceberg hit a brutal looking Air Raid Crash through two chairs on Hernandez. Iceberg took the brunt of it but scored the pinfall. NOTES: Anderson said he had good time at the show. He sold about 20 books and left prior to intermission...Wilson missed his first TV Taping in over 3 years last Saturday because he had no voice. He handled all of his usual announcing duties last night but was hurting after the show. Wilson plans to see a doctor to determine if he has damage to his vocal chords...Michaels will be helping out backstage at the TV taping...Masada, Seth Delay and Gabriel are all booked for NWA-TNA on 1/21 ...Z-Barr and Nick Berk return to Wildside on 1/3...Angel, Dust, Don Juan and Rudy Boy Gonzalez return to Wildside on 1/17 ...Hernandez is set for another tour with All Japan in January. He's also working for AAA in Mexico.

- Velocity (seeing indy guys like London, Spanky, AmDrag, Walters, Rude, etc. on national TV was fun, even if they jobbed in a few minutes, usually) - Brock/Angle feud - Anything w/ Cena, but especially his raps - Rey Mysterio - Spanky/London, Los Guerreros, WGTT - Matt Hardy, most of the time - Flair - even after all these years, he's one of the show's highlights - Stevie Night Heat...while it lasted - Benoit, of course - Jericho, most of the time - HBK, some of the time That's about all I can think of right now. I guess I'll post more as they come.