3PW Results

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I left just after O'Doyle and Wolfe (which I thought was great BTW), but I heard Sabu-Ruckus tore the house down.

 

1. "Amazing" N8 Mattson defeated Ron Zombie.

 

2. Damian Adams defeated Mike Kruel.

 

3. Rockin Rebel went to a no-contest with Johnny Grunge.

 

4. Blue Meanie defeated Roadkill (with Jasmine St. Claire). Mike Kruel and Gary Wolf came out and then turned on Roadkill.

 

5. CJ O' Doyle defeated "Pitbull" Gary Wolf in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match

 

6. Slyk Wagner Brown and April Hunter defeated "Ultimate" Striker and Rob Eckos.

 

7. Sabu defeated Ruckus.

 

8. In the main event, the 3PW Heavyweight Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match, Joey Matthews retained his 3PW Title defeating Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles.

[Placebo Effect 0]

How... Unappealing.

 

Did you get in for free?

[Guest Real F'n Show]

Why did you leave after O'Doyle/Wolfe? AJ/Lynn/Matthews could have been an awesome match.

[1234-5678 0]

Yeah I got in free, and I left to go to a party.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

Did you get into another fight with JSt.C?

[1234-5678 0]

Nah, Rebel asked that I stay away from the entryway when she came out, and I complied.

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from PwInsider.com

 

THOUGHTS ON 3PW WITH A GREAT THREE WAY, SABU VS. RUCKUS, AND 'THE ULTIMATE STRIKER'

by Buck Woodward @ 7:35:00 PM on 6/20/2004

 

 

I attended the 3PW show this past Saturday at the ECW Arena (I know the building has 324 names, but for simplicity sake, I will go by the one most wrestling fans know), and after a slow start, found myself highly entertained, which is what a wrestling show is supposed to do. 3PW has gotten the pacing of their shows down perfectly, where the cards slowly build from the undercard matches to the mid-card storylines before finishing with their strong points. Over the course of 20 shows (this being the 20th 3PW card ever), the strong points have changed and evolved, and they seem to have settled into a nice groove of strong workrate (Jerry Lynn, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Joey Matthews) ECW-style highspot brawls (Sabu, Ruckus) and arguably the best comedy act on the Northeast Independent scene today (Striker).

 

That said, it has to be frustrating to 3PW that their crowds have been down this year. They drew 276 fans for this event, which is up from last month, but is still not near their best attendance marks. Part of the problem is no doubt the "Summertime Blues" which seem to have hit early this year (as WWE crowd figures attest to), and the other problem, as I see it, is public perception. People seem to have a hard time figuring out what 3PW is, which may keep them from investing time and money into checking it out. Is it ECW nostalgia? Is it a "workrate" company? Is it the standard "old veterans and green rookies" formula that makes up most indy shows? Is it T&A? Is it goofy comedy?

 

The truth is, 3PW is like a buffet of styles. Chances are, over the course of a show, there will be something for every type of fan. However, because of the different styles presented, there is also a strong possibility there will be something you don't enjoy. Personally, I like the variety 3PW offers, and hopefully their new DVD deal will help to spread the word about what 3PW really is.

 

Onto some thoughts from this particular show.

 

First things first. The air conditioning was not working. Again. Taking into consideration all of the money obviously being spent to makeover the building, a functional AC system would be nice. At least a combination of ventilation fans and open doors resulted in the building being more bearable this time.

 

The show opened with N8 Mattson defeating Ron Zombie with a rollup. Pretty standard indy opener that didn't get much of a reaction from the crowd. Short and to the point.

 

Christopher Daniels came out and delivered a promo about how his separated shoulder was keeping him from wrestling AJ Styles. One fan accused Daniels of "working the injury", so Daniels noted how his fingers still worked, as he flipped off the fan with a middle one.

 

Damian Adams defeated Mike Kruel by floating out of a fireman's carry into a cradle for the win. Adams has been given an on-again, off-again push as someone who "on any given night" can score an upset, and this came off as one (especially given Kruel's storyline involvement later that night). Again, crowd didn't really seem to get into it too much.

 

Tod Gordon, Talia and Jasmin St. Claire did an edition of "The Sugar Shack" which basically consisted of making some announcements. First, is that Tod Gordon is now the interim Commissioner, and no one is allowed to lay their hands on him. Second, is that Joey Matthews would no longer be able to save his title by getting intentionally counted out of the ring. Finally, Jasmin revealed that she would have a "major announcement" later in the show.

 

Rockin' Rebel came out next, and announced that his regular partner Jack Victory was not in the building. He laid out an open challenge for a singles match, and Johnny Grunge came to the ring, as Public Enemy's old "Here Comes The Hotstepper" music played. This started off as being rather depressing. Either a good portion of the crowd don't remember the glory days of Public Enemy, or they didn't recognize Grunge (who now sports short hair and more weight than he did in the early 90's). They engaged in a brief brawl, and fought through the curtain, ending the "match" in a no-contest. Grunge came back out, and give a very nice speech about what Philadelphia wrestling fans meant to him, and paid tribute to Ted "Rocco Rock" Petty (and for those that asked, the banner for Petty still hangs in the arena). Grunge then led the crowd in a classic TPE dance before leaving. It was nice to see Grunge come back to the building that he helped make famous to say "thanks" to the remaining fans from the glory days, but I could have done without the match. The promo was warmly received from the fans.

 

The last match of the first show saw CJ O'Doyle take on Pitbull Gary Wolfe in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. O'Doyle has developed quite a following, and probably got one of the louder pops of the night, just for his entrance. Lots of nasty bumps in this one with the ladder and tables. At one point, Wolfe powerbombed O'Doyle through some set up chairs in the aisle, which was just nasty. Wolfe kept shoving the ringside security guards, so later in the match, as Wolfe climbed the ladder (teasing a dive to the floor on O'Doyle), the guards ran in the ring and tipped the ladder over as "revenge" for the shoving. O'Doyle got the win with a top rope legdrop, putting Wolfe through a table.

 

Intermission was next, and in talking to several fans, the general vibe was that the show was "eh" other than the bumps taken in the TLC match. People did seem to appreciate the announcement of a Wet T-Shirt contest for next month though.

 

The second half of the show opened with The Blue Meanie defeating Roadkill with a cradle after floating out of an over-the-shoulder powerslam. Short six minute match, with the story being that Roadkill was supposed to destroy the Blue Meanie for Jasmin St. Claire. Post-match, Roadkill beat on Meanie, and was joined by Gary Wolfe and then Mike Kruel, both of whom teased that they were going to help Meanie before stomping him. Wolfe and Kruel then laid out Roadkill, since "he didn't get the job done". Jasmin then introduced her new team (her major announcement) of Wolfe & Kruel, calling them "Pitbulls 2004". I have some mixed feelings on using that name. On the one hand, if anyone has the right to use the Pitbulls name, it is Wolfe. On the other hand, it is weird to, in a way, be replacing someone who has died (Anthony Durante, the former Pitbull #2). However, I guess the thing that really boggles the mind is, why would you call a team "Pitbulls 2004", when 2004 is almost over?

 

One of the highlights of the night was next, as Rob Eckos came to the ring to explain that Matt Striker (who had been doing a Randy Savage-imitation as "Macho Man" Matt Striker at previous shows) was no longer going to waste time with his goofy gimmicks, and instead was going to show what a gifted wrestler he was. On cue, the Ultimate Warrior's music hit, and "The Ultimate Striker" came running out, complete with facepaint, wig, and armbands. He ran around the ring (stopping to huff and puff, as his running had "blown him up") and did the Gorilla Press gesture, as the fans popped huge. The fans even started a "Shake the ropes" chant, and Striker obliged, despite the protests of Eckos. Striker took the mic and delivered a mumbling Warrior promo, before reverting into the line from the movie The Warriors, "Warriors, come out and play". The fans even got into the act, chanting to ring announcer Rocky Musciano to announce him from "Parts Unknown".

 

Striker & Rob Eckos wrestled Slyk Wagner Brown & April Hunter and during the bout, Talia went and teased Striker, but then hid behind Tod Gordon (and as mentioned earlier, no one can touch Gordon). The bout had tons of comedy spots, and the crowd really came alive for the first time that night. Striker at one point pulled off his wig, revealing his short cropped hair, and turned into "Sting", doing the trademark yells, Stinger Splash and Scorpion Deathlock. The finish saw April hit Striker with a low blow, and roll him up for a pin. This allowed Eckos to once again scold Striker for not taking his wrestling more seriously. Once Eckos left the ring, Striker did a few more Warrior mannerisms anyway. As one fan told me after the match "That was entertaining. That's what wrestling is supposed to be, fun to watch".

 

The next match saw Sabu vs. Ruckus, in their first ever singles meeting. Sabu has been on a roll lately with good matches, and this was another one. They teased dives early in the match, but every time one would tease going to the air, the other would move out of the way, only to have the person doing the dive save himself before impact. While the match featured a ton of great highspots, Sabu also strung together some good mat sequences, keeping it from becoming a "top this" spotfest. The finish saw Sabu hit an Atomic Arabian Facebuster while Ruckus was slumped on a chair in the ring, and the fans showed their appreciation for both men afterwards with a standing ovation. Sabu helped Ruckus up and shook his hand, but Ruckus then blindsided Sabu and laid him out with a series of chairshots before leaving.

 

The main event of the evening saw 3PW Champion Joey Matthews defend the title in a three way match with Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles. What you would expect out of these three, a really strong match with a fast pace and some inventive spots. Matthews teased walking out with the belt, bringing into play the announcement from earlier that he couldn't save his title with a countout. At one point, Matthews started to leave, but Daniels, with a 2x4 in his good arm, blocked his path. Daniels ended up hitting Styles with it (continuing their program), allowing Matthews to eliminate him. Matthews and Lynn then teased tons of near falls and near-cradle piledrivers before Matthews hit a low blow and a cradle for the pin. Smart booking in having the two "stars" in Lynn and Styles get pinned by the 3PW regular in Matthews (although Lynn and Styles are practically regulars with the group too now).

 

After the show, I spoke with several fans who pointed out how the last three matches really made the show for them, and I agree. As I mentioned above, 3PW knows how to pace their shows and build them up to where the last things you see are memorable and well done, so you leave the show feeling good about the event. 3PW also returned to their practice of keeping the show tightly run (two hours and fifty minutes long), so the fans never got bored or burned out. This is a very good product, and hopefully word will spread to where more people show up to check it out.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Sorry to bump this, but I figured that some people may find this of interest - Kevin Nash was in attendance at this show and was sitting in an upper balcony looking on. I was told that by a wrestler who was on the card. Nash stayed the whole night, but since he didn't want to get mobbed by fans, security let him get a seat up near the balcony so that he could sit undisturbed.

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That was really Nash? No shit..........

 

We kept yelling Nash up at the guy as a joke, we thought it was just someone who looked similar.

 

EDIT: If it was Nash, he grew his hair back.