The Story of XTREME PRO WRESTLING

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Who owns the XPW name again?

Xtreme Entertainment Group owns the footage, so I assume they own the name, too. If not them, then Extreme Associates.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

EDIT

[Guest SoCalTF]

Umm, did you even watch it?

[LucharesuFan619 0]

EDIT

[LucharesuFan619 0]

It's BAAAAAAACK!!!!!!

 

Part 3: The Story of Xtreme Pro Wrestling

 

completed on Sunday, January 30, 2005

 

In mid-1998, shortly before he moved in with Tom Byron, the first inkling of an involvement in the pro wrestling industry by Rob Black revealed itself. He was visiting some relatives in his hometown of Rochester, NY at the same time that then-Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Tag Team Champions and current-WWE RAW superstars The Dudley Boys (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von) and their right-hand man, the colossal Big Dick Dudley, were in town to plug an upcoming ECW show in the area. The three Dudley clan members had granted a rare autograph signing for ECW fans at Rochester’s “Ontario Video and News Store,” which was owned and operated by Black’s brother, Dominick (not to be confused with their father, whose name is spelled with a "c"). Dominick telephoned his brother and urged him to drive to the store because Buh Buh Ray (real name: Mark Lamonica) and Big Dick (real name: Alex Rizzo) wanted to meet him after viewing and enjoying several of his porn productions.

 

Black found this news very appealing due to his fascination with pro wrestling ever since he was eight or nine years old. He ended up spending most of the day chatting with Rizzo and – even more so – Lamonca next to a waterhole near his brother’s store. The conversation resulted in Black being invited to attend two of ECW's future live events – one in Baton Rouge and the other in New Orleans. Black jumped at the opportunity, realizing that this could give him a chance to develop inter-promotional business between ECW and Extreme Associates if things turned out right. Being that this was before Black had met Janet Romano (a.k.a. Lizzy Borden), he was dating porn star Nikki Strassner, and actually, before going out with Nikki, Black had been engaged to yet another porn actress, by the name of Tricia Devereaux. Together, Nikki, Tom Byron, and Black took a flight to Louisiana to see ECW’s action firsthand, but even more importantly to talk business-related matters with ECW.

 

Aware that the trio intended to meet with ECW officials later in the evening, the promotion’s management assigned security guards to watch over Black and his crew during the show. The trio was provided with front-row tickets for the Friday, May 29, 1998 Baton Rouge show, but even so, mobs of fans confronted them for autographs throughout the night. Byron was by far the most popular subject of such requests, although Nikki also found herself quite an attraction among the fans (who were primarily middle-aged males). One fan actually tried to stick his hand up Nikki’s buttocks during the event, resulting in his being expelled from the venue by the security team.

 

Byron was quite a hit not only with fans, but with ECW officials. Several of them teased him from the ring, in between matches, about how he was the most popular man in the building that night. Their assessments were by no means a stretch, as ECW management – aware of the notoriety that their guests of the night possessed – incorporated Black and Byron's presence into the show itself. Both pornographers leaned over the guardrail and got into the faces of the Dudley Boys as the tag team champions made their entrance in preparation for the night’s main event. Black and Byron proceeded to heckle the duo with a barrage of insults that included “You suck," "Fuck you," and "You piece of shit!" Those antics, not surprisingly, were received very positively by the other fans in attendance, since the Dudleys were at the peak of their heel run around this period of time.

 

Black and his gang’s fraternization with ECW’s wrestlers and employees continued after the show ended and even into the following day, only on a more casual (and non-scripted) basis. Besides the Dudleys, Black, Byron, and Nikki mingled with an ECW all-star contingent that included New Jack, Justin Credible, Tommy Dreamer, Danny Doring, Francine Fournier, Shane Douglas, and even promoter Paul Heyman. Half a decade later, Douglas (who Lamonica introduced to Black) would end up playing an instrumental role in XPW's rise to national prominence and also – as some would argue – its ultimate downfall. At this point, however, no such idea crossed Black, Douglas, or anyone else’s mind, as the only thing they were concerned with was the possibility of working together to develop interest in the respective ECW and Extreme Associate brands of entertainment.

 

Even though Black and his friends were popular with several of ECW’s wrestlers and management, Black’s best friends in the pro wrestling business remained Lamonica and Rizzo. His camaraderie with the two performers actually survived the fallout between Extreme Associates and ECW management and continued through XPW’s run (of course, Rizzo’s unfortunate death in 2002 ended the relationship between himself and Black).

 

The porn world, on the other hand, wasn’t as fond as Black was about the possibility of a pro wrestling league such as ECW becoming involved in their industry. Many publications and writers didn’t want to believe that the rumors of interaction between the two parties were anything more than a fictional “wrestling” storyline to get people talking, hoping that there were no intentions to actually pursue any business-related endeavors. The only problem with this mindset was that the interaction between ECW and Extreme Associates was no storyline at all. In fact, their plans for more intense interaction with one another were growing more and more serious by the day…

 

COMING NEXT: Rob Black & The Dudleyz vs. Adult Video News

[Placebo Effect 0]

Good entry.

 

Target date for completion: June, 2010

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Target date for completion: June, 2010

[LucharesuFan619 0]

The History of Xtreme Pro Wrestling (Part 4): Rob Black & The Dudleyz vs. Adult Video News

 

posted on Sunday, February 13, 2005

 

As the relations between Extreme Championship Wrestling and Extreme Associates grew more and more serious, Rob Black was disappointed to find a surprising number of his porn colleagues criticizing his decisions behind his back. Porn was and still is a close-knit industry that doesn’t take kindly to outsiders stepping onto its turf, and that’s exactly how many insiders interpreted the business relationship that was developing between Black’s company and ECW.

 

Although he was closely involved in negotiations with ECW head Paul E. Heyman, much of Black’s time was spent hanging out with wrestlers Buh Buh Ray Dudley (Mark Lamonica) and Big Dick Dudley (Alex Rizzo). In early January 1999, Rizzo and Lamonica even accompanied Black – along with his new girlfriend, Janet Romano (better known as Lizzy Borden) – to the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The two were such good friends with Black that, at the event, they willingly interjected themselves on his part into a confrontation that the Extreme Associates CEO found himself in with the wife of rival director John T. Bone (real name: John T. Bowen).

 

A few weeks later in a LukeFord.com article, Black told his side of events:

“One day at the show, out of the blue, Mrs. John Bowen starts calling me names. ‘You cocksucker. You asshole. You're a jerk. You motherfucker.’ And everyone wondered ‘who was that?’ And I said, ‘I think that was John Bowen's wife.’ And they said, ‘why did she come out of the blue and bust your balls like that?’ And I said, ‘I don't know.’”

 

Hours later, Mrs. Bowen supposedly came and spit on Black as he and his crew were waiting for a taxi. Then, at the special CES-sponsored dinner that same night, events almost spiraled out of control, as Mrs. Bowen confronted the Black, Borden, and the two wrestlers and began yelling at them (especially Black). Borden ended up losing her temper and called Mrs. Bowen a “fucking pig,” which – according to Black – sparked Mrs. Bowen to threaten them with “a fucking bottle. Big Dick Dudley twisted it out of her hand. Then Bubba Ray Dudley told Bowen, 'if your fucking wife hits anybody with a bottle, you're going down.’”

 

After the incident, Black went up to John Bowen and conceded to him that they “verbally go at each other” in AVN and similar publications, but that “this kind of assault is BS.” Bowen – according to Black – apologized for his wife’s actions, saying that “he was sorry, that his wife was out of control.”

 

Although AVN writer Paul Fishbein was at the AVN awards and – even if he didn’t see the incident unfold firsthand, he was almost certainly informed of its gist from his fellow AVN writers who did see what happened – he still had doubts that Black’s discussions with ECW were completely legitimate. It was of Black’s opinion that Fishbein and his associates “thought that because [then-AVN writer] Gene Ross and I [were] friends that it was just BS publicity.” Not willing to accept any skepticism about his relationship with ECW, Black thought of an idea:

 

“Well, I did them one better. I brought one of the five-time tag team champions of the world into the AVN offices.”

 

That’s right. Black (along with Tom Byron) responded by bringing Mark Lamonica a.k.a. Buh Buh Ray Dudley to the AVN offices on Tuesday, December 29, 1998, completely unannounced. Fishbein told LukeFord.com that he and other AVN officials “were in an editorial meeting” when the Byron, Black, Lamonica, and a cameraman who Black and Byron had bought along walked in. The cameraman taped a staged confrontation (wrestling-style, anotherwards) where – Black says – Lamonica “got into a big pissing match with Fishbein,” telling him that Extreme Associates should’ve won some of the recent awards given out by AVN. Some photographers snapped pictures of Lamonica gripping Fishbein by the neck and pretending to choke him. Shortly after the incident, Fishbein told Lukeford.com that he “liked Buh Buh and the whole thing was fine,” but that – even so – it still felt a bit “weird and uncomfortable.” He went on to say that “the pissing match really was like wrestling actually because it didn't feel real at all.”

 

Around this same time, Extreme Associate was in the midst of filming and producing the fourth edition of its “Whack Attack” series. Lamonica, Rizzo, Tommy Dreamer, and Francine Fournier were already in town, staying at Black and Borden’s house to celebrate the New Year’s holiday. At one point during New Year’s Weekend, Black talked with ECW superstar Taz (current World Wrestling Entertainment commentator “Tazz”) on the phone for a few minutes.

 

Black ended up bringing Lamonica, Rizzo, and Dreamer to the Extreme Associates studios and filmed them at various times of the day. The final cut of the “Whack Attack 4” production features some of this footage, including Lamonica, Rizzo, and Dreamer watching as a sex scene is filmed and Lamonica and Rizzo hanging out with Black and Borden at the airport. Black also filmed Dreamer talking on the phone with Scott Levy (a.k.a. Raven), who was in World Championship Wrestling at the time. However, that footage didn’t make the final product, as Dreamer requested that Black not include it out of fear that ECW boss Paul Heyman would be upset about possible legalities with WCW.

 

(EDITOR’S NOTE: For those 18 years of age or older, the DVD – which also contains personal footage that Black filmed while with Lizzy Borden and Tom Byron at an ECW show in Queens, NY [covered in the next part of this retrospective] – can be purchased at ExtremeAssocaites.com.)

 

Despite all of this interaction between Extreme Associates personnel and ECW talent, AVN’s Paul Fishbein remained skeptical of Black’s claims of discussions between himself and ECW. However, even more notably, Fishbein stood by what he wrote weeks earlier – while he admitted that AVN “wrote a ton about the wrestling stuff before it happened and it has been slow developing,” he insisted, nonetheless, that he “never thought [black] was full of shit.” He defended what he previously wrote:

 

“For marketing, talking about it will not get you a nomination for Best Campaign. But if it materializes (as it looks like it will) it will be a great coup for Extreme and [black] can market to the mainstream. Our [AVN’s] cut-off date for awards is 10/31/98 and the wrestling thing wasn't happening yet.”

 

Shortly thereafter, in January 1999, Lukeford.com received an anonymous e-mail from a user called “imlikgod,” claiming to be a wrestler who was at one of the shows at which Black and his crew were assigned formal roles.

 

This (supposed) wrestler even claimed to have competed on one of the two Monday night shows (anotherwards, WCW Nitro or WWF RAW). They wrote that “people recognized Tom [byron] but had no idea who Rob or Lizzy were” and that while some of the ECW wrestlers welcomed Black with open arms, some looked at his involvement in ECW in an entirely different manner:

 

“I have friends in ECW who have told me they look forward to smashing a chair over Rob's head. Not everyone likes it when some ‘mark’ off the street comes in and gets TV time.”

 

Black shrugged off those claims, telling Lukeford.com:

 

“He says he's with an A company. I don't know who he is...He must be unimportant…who cares what this guy says. He must be a jobber – someone who gets his ass kicked by the big guys."

 

By this point in time, Rob Black was determined to go through with serious negotiations between his own company, Extreme Associates, and Heyman’s ECW brand, regardless of what the critics were saying. Criticism, after all, seemed to be what Black lived for, judging by his past promotional tactics and those that would follow in the coming years. An Extreme Associates/ECW business accord was coming closer and closer to fruition…

 

COMING NEXT: Rob Black and Paul Heyman talk interpromotional business

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I hate to bump, but any feedback on part 4? Anything I should change for future editions?

 

BTW, expect revised versions of the previous parts to be reposted, including a brand-new chapter that talks specifically about the fallout in Elegant Angel, the tension during its final days, and the eventual formation of Extreme Associates. I should have that revised edition done by the end of the week.

[thecitythesky 0]

*

 

feedback.?

 

it's interesting stuff.

the only feedback i'd like to offer is:

 

maybe have things come out quicker

or bigger.

 

you know.

 

keep with the porn aesthetic.

[monkey 0]

Its interesting to see what was going on at the time and thanks for taking the time to put it all down.

 

As for feedback, any chance of perhaps putting a few links into the text for images and such like. I now it is a quirk of mine but I find it is nice to be able to see a link to a picture of a person mentioned to help visualise them.

[Copper Feel 0]

have you already posted that music video you were talking about? if so can you providea new link?

 

the history of xpw colums are great. but when do youthink youll get to ynow xpw?

[Adam 0]

For a guy who never saw XPW in action and only read about Black and is wrestling/porn career, this is really, really interesting. Keep it up.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

As for feedback, any chance of perhaps putting a few links into the text for images and such like. I now it is a quirk of mine but I find it is nice to be able to see a link to a picture of a person mentioned to help visualise them.

Sure. I'll include images in the next part. That's a good idea, actually. I have some very rare photos that I can use.

 

have you already posted that music video you were talking about? if so can you providea new link?

 

I haven't posted it yet. I'm waiting for somebody to capture me some footage from a special DVD. The footage should be captured within three weeks, assuming my constant pestering works (which it seems to be so far). EMAXSAUN - who occasionally posts on this board - is also sending me some captured footage to use, God bless the dude. So, once I receive those two things, which should be in 2-3 weeks, I have all the footage I need and it's just a matter of putting into a music video. I've already done about half the music video. Once it's done I promise you it'll be unbelievable.

 

the history of xpw colums are great. but when do youthink youll get to ynow xpw?

 

Honestly...not for awhile. I'll say at least 6 months, probably more. As far as part-wise, there's anywhere from 6-10 parts to go until I'll actually go into XPW's first show back on July 31, 1999. There's lots of stuff to cover before that. As I've said, this whole thing is a really extended work...I'm talking at least three years because there's lots of shit that went on that never saw the light of day.

 

I'm about 90% sure there'll be one more part covering Rob Black's discussions with ECW. It's possible it'll extend to two parts, but I doubt it. After that, I'll give the scoop on XPW precursors such as Slammers, the UIWA, and SCCW, and then it'll be time to go into the actual planning for XPW's launch.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I echo what's already been said ...

 

... thanks for doing all this. I know that it's something that you dig, so it's not work per-se, but it's got to take a ton of time & effort, so thanks for doing it.

 

... pictures would definitely be a good addition, especially if you have some rare or obscure shots

 

... take as much time on the back-story as needed. That's the stuff that's really interesesting, the behind the scenes things that weren't really well known before.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Official trailer preview:

 

xhttp://l1.yousendit.com/d.php?id=1H7G8AM5AECK02JI5O7DYYZ0G4

xhttp://s23.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0MC686OL6ATHU1JATP555C1TM5

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Here's a permanent link to the trailer. Thanks to The Great Sasuke of the ROH board for the bandwidth and upload:

 

http://www.wicked-wrestling.com/audiovideo...tivePreview.wmv

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Congratulations go out to SUPREME as he is in the midst of his second tour of Japan. His first was for FMW a few years ago, this time it's for Big Japan.

 

Big Japan 4/1 – Asti Tokushima

 

3. Ryuji Ito/Kintaro Kanemura/Daisuke Sekimoto beat Jun Kasai/Takashi Sasaki/Supreme in 13:07 when Sekimoto used a German Suplex hold on Supreme.

 

Big Japan 4/2 – Twin Messe Shizuoka

 

1. MEN’s Teioh & Shadow WX beat El Drunko ("Spyder" Nate Webb) & Supreme in 10:33 when WX used a facelock on Supreme.

 

 

When he's returned to the States, the big man will be involved with SCCW, FCW, AWS, and other feds in So-Cal.

 

Any thoughts on the trailer?

[Jericholic82 0]

Interesting stuff. I watched XPW tv from the time it came on in 2000-mid 2002 when it dissapeared from my local network in socal. I only went to one show

 

"Aftermath" in Ventura, CA on May 28, 2000. But it made me a fan and I enjoyed watching their show.

 

Can't wait for the next installment. Keep up the good work.

[Jericholic82 0]

that trailer was pretty sweet. makes me miss XPW alot. Cool that you showed a clip of the Abdullah vs Axl match cuz that was form the show I was at. I got that one taped cuz I and my dad are visible throughout in the 2nd row lol. He couldnt believe that Aby was using a fork, and then later a staple gun.

 

And ETV ruled. especially when they did commentary. Kaos and GQ (as TenINCH and ShaBLOWme) were LOL funny. I remember them dubbign a move by kaos' opponent a "thunder eggroll driver"

 

Ah good times

[Jericholic82 0]

and btw what was up with Rob Black having a "stroke" in 02? That was a work right?

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Yes, it was a work. And yeah, E-TV was great stuff. Kaos and GQ were awesome in their roles.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I'm accepting questions for Kaos for my interview with him. I need them by this coming weekend at ABSOLUTE LATEST, and even that's pushing it. Please post them or PM them to me by Friday. Thanks.

[Jericholic82 0]

Yes, it was a work. And yeah, E-TV was great stuff. Kaos and GQ were awesome in their roles.

Hey I just saw a "Best of The Enterprise" dvd on amazon. have you seen it? if so is it any good?

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I haven't seen the actual DVD, but I've seen everything that's on it and anything with the Enterprise is really entertaining. If you're an XPW fan, which you appear to be, it's definitely worth getting. Plus, it has clips of Supreme vs. Kaos where Supreme got seriously burned. That match has never been released in full, but that DVD has the most clips of it that have yet been released. I'd definitely recommend it.

[Jericholic82 0]

I haven't seen the actual DVD, but I've seen everything that's on it and anything with the Enterprise is really entertaining. If you're an XPW fan, which you appear to be, it's definitely worth getting. Plus, it has clips of Supreme vs. Kaos where Supreme got seriously burned. That match has never been released in full, but that DVD has the most clips of it that have yet been released. I'd definitely recommend it.

ok thanks

 

and just tell Kaos how cool the E was

 

I first saw Kaos back in 98 when he wrestling at my local boys and girls club and was still in a tag team with supreme. was glad to see him got top status in XPW. Wish WWE or TNA would sign him. The Enterprise gimmick would work well in WWE I think.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Oh really? Do you remember what fed they were wrestling for or who they were wrestling, back in 98, by chance?

[Jericholic82 0]

Oh really? Do you remember what fed they were wrestling for or who they were wrestling, back in 98, by chance?

The company at the time was called the IWF (Impact Wrestling Federation) it later became known as the UIWA in early 99. I think they were wrestling in several indies at time throughout socal here as I read on the net.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Impact and UIWA did a have a lot of the same wrestlers, but to my knowledge, they had no association. Are you sure Impact because UIWA cuz I had never heard that before. When I talked to Johnny Webb last year, he seemed to portray them as two different feds. But then again, I may've misinterpreted...you're IWF morphed into UIWA?

[Jericholic82 0]

Impact and UIWA did a have a lot of the same wrestlers, but to my knowledge, they had no association. Are you sure Impact because UIWA cuz I had never heard that before. When I talked to Johnny Webb last year, he seemed to portray them as two different feds. But then again, I may've misinterpreted...you're IWF morphed into UIWA?

It basically did I think. Cuz it was still being run by the same guy (Jason Levin, known as Doc Marlee professionally) and at a uiwa show once, they had the IWF title still defended. as well as something called the UWC. So basically they seemed to drift between the names or somethin.

 

Jason I met, my dad was trying to organize a benefit show with his company (he works with the devlopmentally disabled) once and talked to him quite often. So basically he was the boss. You might want to try and get a hold of Jason for some info. I remember him posting online after the Heatwave 2000 incident, he was upset with Black and XPW cuz they basically took over their spot at the Ventura Theatre.

 

Hope that helped.