SWF News and Notes from Wrestling Panda newsletter

[Toxxic 0]

SWF News and Notes for 10/10/05

Taken from the Wrestling Panda newsletter

 

 

Dealing with the departure of a bona-fide main-eventer is always tough for even the biggest promotion, which makes it even more impressive that the SWF have coped so well with a few big losses over a short time. After the infamous Year Of Retiring Champions that was 2004 which saw the departure of Ejiro Fasaki, Danny Williams (twice), Va’aiga, Charlie Matthews, John Duran, Nathaniel Kibagami and Janus, all World Champions shortly before they left, plus the in-ring retirement of Tom Flesher at Genesis V, 2005 had not been anything like as damaging. However, within a short space of time the SWF suddenly found themselves without Mak Francis (maybe not a full-time main-eventer, but certainly on the cusp of the upper midcard), Ejiro Fasaki (again) and Toxxic, to this date still the longest-reigning World Champion of 2004 and 2005. With Genesis VI looming and former World Champion Landon Maddix firmly entrenched in a feud with Todd Cortez the SWF bookers evidently thought they needed someone with established main-event clout to take on Johnny Dangerous, and found it in three-time champ Danny Williams.

Here is where the SWF’s booking credibility comes into question. All through 2004, the trigger was pulled on a fresh World Champion only to have the legs cut from under them. Several of these short reigns were down to injuries, but it still beggars belief that the SWF bookers didn’t realise that Charlie Matthews, John Duran and Nathaniel Kibagami all had bad necks. Then Toxxic got his initial 19-day run, leading into the Johnny Dangerous title reign. Dangerous was hot, having defeated the biggest new heel in the fed, but the title was taken back off him after one month and put back on Toxxic, who kept it through to Christmas. In 2005 Johnny was given a second chance, perhaps to succeed as a heel where his face run had been pulled, but it was not to be. Mere weeks after taking the title from Ejiro Fasaki in order to allow The Rule to bow out through health issues, Dangerous was jobbed on free TV to Danny Williams.

Even this could have been salvageable. Johnny Dangerous, although probably killed as a main-eventer, still has a strong program with Wildchild (based in part off his character’s anger at not keeping the title) and Danny Williams could have been the heroic face World Champion the fans could rally behind, a role he was possibly born to play and was certainly much better in than the bitter character of Fasaki. Unfortunately for Williams the SWF had found another answer to the problems of no new main-eventers; an even older one, in the shape of El Luchador Magnifico. And so it came to pass that at Genesis VI, touted (as each Genesis is) as the biggest show of all time, Danny Williams came to the end of a fourth very short World Title reign and handed the strap onto the longest-reigning champion of all time.

The question for the SWF now is; where to go from here? The roster is shockingly short of faces at the moment, with only Spike Jenkins really making it near the top of the card. If Jenkins wins at Ashes 2 Ashes then he will be the only man to win the title this year who has not already held it, but it will also go down as one of the most unlikely upsets in SWF World Title history. If he doesn’t, then it will be hard for the SWF to find another contender; the most established face will be Todd Cortez, but after his program with Landon Maddix he seems to have dropped back down into the midcard.

 

 

Although the SWF website posted a small notice regarding Toxxic’s departure, citing ‘contractual disputes’ as a reason, neither the company nor the man himself have ventured any further information. Rumour has it that his contract was not renewed due to a staff oversight, but we do not have any evidence to support or deny this claim.

 

 

After losing the SWF World Title Danny Williams has gone back to Japan (just like the last three times). The Puro fans are always willing to welcome back their favourite gaijin and Williams is rumoured to be in the hunt for at least one Heavyweight Title before the year is up.

 

 

Max King was due to be back in the ring for Ashes 2 Ashes which is what prompted the SWF to begin the King/Maddix build. However while working a dark match at a TV taping a couple of weeks ago King was stiffed by a clothesline from Ghost Machine which left him with a broken nose and suffering from a mild concussion. With the view that there’s no point bringing a man back from genuinely career-threatening injuries with an unexplained broken nose, management moved the ring return back to the Christmas PPV, which should also allow Maddix to defend the Tag Titles against TKO. There has been no word on Ghost Machine’s punishment for his carelessness.

 

 

The SWF is looking to delve into the Reality TV market with it’s new show, ‘Smark Enough’. This programme will follow a selection of wannabe-wrestlers through their selection from the huge crowds of hopefuls to the in-ring training (given by SWF veterans ‘Justice’ William Hearford III and ‘Ichiban’ Annie Onita, as well as guest trainers who will drop in), and finally to the eliminations where one contestant will be cut each week until an award is made of an SWF developmental contract, guaranteed for one year, for the two most talented prospects. The first tryouts for ‘Smark Enough’ will occur the weekend of 10/29 and 10/30 at cities across the US. If the series is successful then a spin-off ‘Smark Enough International’ is expected to follow.

 

The addition to the SWF roster of TKO and Akira Kaibatsu is seen by management as a good opportunity to properly break into the Japanese market. Kaibatsu was being groomed as a future main eventer in one of Japan’s top federations, and his defection to the US-based SWF is seen as something of a coup for the company. In contrast, the multi-time tag champions TKO were viewed as getting stale in their home country by the fed bosses, although they continued to get monster heel heat from fans right up until they left. The TORU KOJI Organisation’s SWF roles as rudo pranking tweeners not only gives the company some versatility in the tag team divisions, as they can face any team without losing fan interest, but also provides a sympathetic side to them allowing Japanese fans to see their fellow countrymen tricking and cheating their way to victory over various Americans.

 

Zyon and Scott Pretzler are still on the injured list for the SWF with only rough return dates given; Zyon is expected to be out until at least December with a back problem (that was legitimately exacerbated to at least some extent by the announce table spot in his last match, a spot that Zyon insisted on performing despite the efforts of SWF management to talk him out of it) while Scott Pretzler’s return depends very much on how soon he can rehabilitate himself from his rotator cuff injury. Interestingly, while Zyon is expected to return with the same high-flying, death-defying and clean-cut babyface gimmick he had upon departure it is rumoured that Pretzler’s ‘Critic’ gimmick may be altered. SWF management apparently consider his old gimmick to be strictly midcard-only, and wish to give him a little more ‘edge’ for his return which may see him being pushed towards the main event. A senior SWF source has been anonymously quoted as saying that Zyon and Pretzler are seen as major future players in the company; however, it looks like the hopes that were entertained of Pretzler being back in time for the Cold Front Classic will be disappointed.

 

The SWF has continued to branch out into other media outlets, with Tom Flesher’s autobiography ‘Superior’ firmly entrenched as one of the best-selling non-fiction books of the year, with a full two months in the New York Times’ Bestseller’s List Top Ten. The forthcoming DVD of the Superior One, entitled ‘I Am The Man’, will be released on 10/25/05. Some stores have already stated that they will be doing a deal where consumers can buy both DVD and autobiography for a reduced price in a move nicknamed ‘The Superior Package’ by SWF Marketing. Meanwhile, Janus’ autobiography ‘To Hell Machine And Back’ will be debuting in bookstores a week later on 10/31/05, which is of course Halloween. Early reviews claim that the book is both entertaining and moving as the former World Champion talks candidly about his career and the real-life mental illness he has been fighting for many years.