Hey guys, I know you're not all underground rap fiends like me but please take a moment to check this track out. It's by some of my boys from Brockton and I'd be curious to get your (even casual) rap opinion on it. It also doubles as the official theme song for BCCW's "City of Champions!!!"
Cue pyrotechnics display, opening theme - pan wide to rabid Broken City Slaughtahouse audience.
"Diamonds from Sierre Leone" can mean only one thing - DIAMOND DYNASTY in da house!!!
Bobby "the Brain" Heenan enters through the black curtain first, followed by his two charges WADE BARRETT & "The Fortunate Son" TED DIBIASE JR (complete with sparkling Million Dollar Championship belt). Crowd serenades them with a great chorus of boos.
"Bourne to Win" screams through the sound system, heralding the arrival of a modern-day Super Team. Enter EVAN BOURNE and MIL MASCARAS!!!
1) DIAMOND DYNASTY (Wade Barrett & Ted Dibiase Jr) w/ Bobby "the Brain" Heenan
versus
EVAN BOURNE and MIL MASCARAS
versus
EVAN BOURNE and MIL MASCARAS
Great, high-octane opening match between some of the freshest and most recognizable faces in the game. Evan Bourne clearly gives up the size advantage to his opponents, but it is virtually nullified by the heavyweight high-flying stylings of his partner Mil Mascaras. The Mexican Super Hero and the Modern Day Superstar must also contend with the wily "Weasel" at ringside, who is adept at drawing crowd heat and instigating many interactive chants from the audience. In the middle, Evan Bourne settles in as the face-in-peril while the Diamond Dynasty flaunts their teamwork and charisma. Finally Mil Mascaras gets the hot tag and goes house-a-fire. Match breaks down and all 4 men are in the ring. Barrett gets ejected from the ring in dramatic fashion, opening the door for Dibiase to eat a High cross body block from Mascaras followed by a pinpoint Shooting Star Press for the pin! Classic "noble Hero versus despicable Villain" match, and with Heenan in the corner after the loss the Diamond Dynasty still maintains their heat.
Winners: EVAN BOURNE & MIL MASCARAS
Winners: EVAN BOURNE & MIL MASCARAS
BREAKING NEWS - NEW JACK will be unable to perform tonight due to a jail sentence. His replacement in the Money-in-the-Bank match will be named later
2) WORLD WOMENS WRESTLING championship match
ALEXXIS NEVAEH versus SAMMI LANE (w/ "Adorable" Adrian Adonis)
versus 
Just imagine Adonis - fat and sassy - sashaying around ringside with Sammi Lane
Bad guys quickly to retain their heat when Adonis confronts Alexxis and drags her by her hair all the way back into the ring, where Sammi Lane has the make-up kit and scissors ready. But Alexxis gets the titanic ball shot on Adonis to break his grip and draw a huge pop from the crowd! DDT to Sammi Lane and Alexxis Nevaeh gets the last laugh!!!
3) Video recap: King of the Death Match (Messiah) and his Queen of Xtreme (Lizzy Borden) ruled the West Coast with fear and evil malice. Even darker forces conspired to take the drama beyond the mat and murder The Messiah. He escaped the attack and fled California. Lizzy Borden was imprisoned on unrelated charges. "Vicious" Vic Grimes - long time nomadic hardcore mercenary - has recently revealed himself to be in on the hit. All sides have resolved to settle their violent differences outside the court of law, and inside the bloodstained BCCW ring. This is a 3-way hardcore match for the "King of the Death Match" title.
KING of the DEATH MATCH Triple Threat Match
THE MESSIAH versus LIZZY BORDEN versus "VICIOUS" VIC GRIMES (aka "Kilo Killa")
versus 
versus 
This fullfills the "Holy Shit" hardcore quota of the show. The most extreme and violent action (commonly seen along the Death Match circuit) is only exacerbated by the presence of an actual girlin the midst of it all. So it just makes the whole thing a brutal exploitation in hardcore wrestling, where in some sick world Lizzy Borden is "earning her respect". End comes with Vic Grimes (now)-infamous gasoline-infused burning table spot to Messiah, and this crushing top rope powerbomb to Lizzy Borden to the floor of the arena, where you will notice she barely hits the table and smashes her head on the floor.
http://www.wrestlinggonewrong.com/video/vic_powerbombs_lizzy.html
Winner (and NEW King of the Death Match): "VICIOUS" VIC GRIMES!!!
Ring is cleared of wreckage, firemen and EMTs flood the scene and we cut backstage where JOHN CENA is prepping for his big title defense tonight (big pop!!!!)
JOHN CENA: I've talked to a lot of successful individuals in our business and some feel the pressure and some don't. I'm very confident with who I am, I'm very confident with my ability in the ring, and I'm very confident with where I'm at. I'm one of those guys who, unlike a lot of other headliners, I get cheered and I get booed. I don't necessarily feel a lot of the pressure because I'm letting the environment be the environment and let fans be exactly who they want to be around me.
The Gold Dust Trio may own the business, but they'll never own Cena or the Cenation brand. He would rather die in a fiery wreck driving a 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator, than sell out to them!!! Tonight… he is prepared to Defend Honor... or Die Trying. And with those last words, comes a distinct possibility...
4) Let the madness continue.
MONEY-in-the-BANK Match (for a guaranteed World Title Shot)
POGO the CLOWN versus SABIAN versus RYAN DANGERFIELD versus RUCKUS versus TERRY GORDY, BUDDY ROBERTS & MICHAEL HAYES (The Fabulous Freebirds)
Pogo the Clown out first with the shovel to scare the kids in the front rows. The BLK MOBB (Ruckus & Sabian) enter together with some local strippers from the Foxy Lady to a big cheer. Ryan Dangerfield (the replacement) emerges to a surprising pop. He stops for a moment and attempts to disbelieve, but it's really happening. Then the dial tone gets turned up to 11 when the first few strains of "Bad Street USA" are heard. Enter the Fabulous Freebirds. But it is violent, uncontainable venom they are greeted with by the Broken City fans. Perhaps expecting this reaction, the Freebirds have taken the precursory thought to play this crowd reaction to the hilt. They are adorned head to toe (including face paint) in the colors of the Dixie flag. And this ain't Dukkes of Hazzard they're preaching to. Crowd heat is off the charts.
Match - strictly speaking - is awesome. Given just enough time to tell its story, highlight the various performers, and dazzle the captive audience with daring bumps and dives. You got the muscle (Gordy and Pogo) to build to clanging, stacking, swinging ladder shots. The guts and dexterity (BLK Mobb, Buddy Roberts) to pull off the big twists, turns and tumbles. Charisma and color like Michael Hayes to manipulate crowd emotion. And you got guys like Ryan Dangerfield to take all the moves in between.
Towards the end (after The Fabulous Freebirds unfair gangland-style numbers advantage has given them the clear lead), we get to a series of daring ladder climbs before Terry Gordy (acting as the fulcrum on a broken piece of ladder) and Michael Hayes (climbing the Gordy/ladder combination) are within reach. Then SUDDENLY...
NATURAL BORN KILLAZ by Dr Dre and Ice Cube!!!
NEW JACK!!!
Trash barrel full of plunder, escape warrant on his head - NEW JACK is back in the Broken City Slaughtahouse! Shades of ODB escaping rehab and performing with his Wu-Tang brethren on stage. Crowd goes ballistic for the surprise appearance! New Jack rewards them with a sudden barrage of house-cleaning weapon shots while "Natural Born Killaz" continues to bump in the background.
Match tide turns violently, and after New Jack single-handily destroys the Freebirds with his sickle, a glass pan and a flaming 2x4 respectively, who scales the final massive ladder to retrieve the briefcase??? Why, none other than the WHITE FLASH himself!!!!
WINNER: RYAN DANGERFIELD!!!
New Jack - crimson mask and all - just stares at the kid with a mixture of disbelief, seething anger... and perhaps a little respect???
Cut to backstage, where the 2010 Trust Busters are ready for action
4) Let the madness continue.
MONEY-in-the-BANK Match (for a guaranteed World Title Shot)
POGO the CLOWN versus SABIAN versus RYAN DANGERFIELD versus RUCKUS versus TERRY GORDY, BUDDY ROBERTS & MICHAEL HAYES (The Fabulous Freebirds)
Pogo the Clown out first with the shovel to scare the kids in the front rows. The BLK MOBB (Ruckus & Sabian) enter together with some local strippers from the Foxy Lady to a big cheer. Ryan Dangerfield (the replacement) emerges to a surprising pop. He stops for a moment and attempts to disbelieve, but it's really happening. Then the dial tone gets turned up to 11 when the first few strains of "Bad Street USA" are heard. Enter the Fabulous Freebirds. But it is violent, uncontainable venom they are greeted with by the Broken City fans. Perhaps expecting this reaction, the Freebirds have taken the precursory thought to play this crowd reaction to the hilt. They are adorned head to toe (including face paint) in the colors of the Dixie flag. And this ain't Dukkes of Hazzard they're preaching to. Crowd heat is off the charts.
Match - strictly speaking - is awesome. Given just enough time to tell its story, highlight the various performers, and dazzle the captive audience with daring bumps and dives. You got the muscle (Gordy and Pogo) to build to clanging, stacking, swinging ladder shots. The guts and dexterity (BLK Mobb, Buddy Roberts) to pull off the big twists, turns and tumbles. Charisma and color like Michael Hayes to manipulate crowd emotion. And you got guys like Ryan Dangerfield to take all the moves in between.
Towards the end (after The Fabulous Freebirds unfair gangland-style numbers advantage has given them the clear lead), we get to a series of daring ladder climbs before Terry Gordy (acting as the fulcrum on a broken piece of ladder) and Michael Hayes (climbing the Gordy/ladder combination) are within reach. Then SUDDENLY...
NATURAL BORN KILLAZ by Dr Dre and Ice Cube!!!
NEW JACK!!!
Trash barrel full of plunder, escape warrant on his head - NEW JACK is back in the Broken City Slaughtahouse! Shades of ODB escaping rehab and performing with his Wu-Tang brethren on stage. Crowd goes ballistic for the surprise appearance! New Jack rewards them with a sudden barrage of house-cleaning weapon shots while "Natural Born Killaz" continues to bump in the background.
Match tide turns violently, and after New Jack single-handily destroys the Freebirds with his sickle, a glass pan and a flaming 2x4 respectively, who scales the final massive ladder to retrieve the briefcase??? Why, none other than the WHITE FLASH himself!!!!
WINNER: RYAN DANGERFIELD!!!
New Jack - crimson mask and all - just stares at the kid with a mixture of disbelief, seething anger... and perhaps a little respect???
Cut to backstage, where the 2010 Trust Busters are ready for action
JACK SWAGGER: I felt like when I came in, even though I was about as raw as you could be to professional wrestling, because of the background, I still was light years ahead of most people. As far as the work in the ring, it’s so much technique and spacing and timing, and that’s what amateur wrestling is, too. So I felt like I learned very fast and a lot of things came naturally for me.
The secret to success was here all along. Swagger checked his pride and game into Lou Thesz wrestling camp and found Thesz had added another dangerous versatility to his training - jui jitsu. Joining up with Kimura to form "The Shooters Club" has only made everyone involved that much more dangerous. Now with their combined network of trainers and sparring partners, they are ready to fight the mighty goliath Gold Dust Trio Inc. Thesz points to the debauchery (gambling, womanizing, boozing) that permeates the Gold Dust Trio Inc organization as being the key factor to their eventual downfall. Hastened by Trust Busters from the Shooters Club.
LOU THESZ: That's where it is in the professional world. It's been great, and we had some great, great wrestlers in the past and present. And we had some people, of course, at the lower end of the totem pole, that really weren't that great, but they also supported the sport. Today we have drugs. At that time we had some alcoholics, but they weed themselves out automatically. The cream rises to the top, as they say. The good ones stay in there and keep going, or try to, and the ones who have not done their homework and hit the booze or whatever, they fall by the wayside. It's just a matter of choice, that's all.
5) TRUSTBUSTERS (Lou Thesz & Jack Swagger) versus GOLD DUST TRIO INC. (Ed "Strangler" Lewis & Desmond Wolfe)
Not since the Brisco Bros in '70s or the Briscoe Bros in the '00s have you seen such a display of tag team perfection. Both teams are a well-oiled machine, orchestrating their attacks with crisp tags and double-team maneuvers. With these 4 mat technicians in the ring, it is a suplex/chain-wrestling clinic. Then they bust out the space age submission seminar, mixed with just a little old-school brutality to show how low the Gold Dust Trio is willing to stoop to reach their goals. A few donnybrooks erupt between all four men. In the end stretch, both referees assigned to the tag contest lose control of the match. Strangler (the legal man) chokes out Jack Swagger while Lou Thesz (the other legal man) locks Desmond Wolfe in the Ankle Lock.
One ref drops Swaggers unconscious arm for the 3rd time exactly the same time the second ref is acknowledging Desmond Wolfe's frantic tap-out. Both refs call for the bell to end the match simultaneously. Confusion reigns. Strangler and a wounded Wolfe take advantage of the fracas by double-teaming a defenseless Lou Thesz. With refs struggling to revive Swagger in the ring, Wolfe & The Strangler rip up the mats around the ring - exposing sheer concrete. A series of piledrivers on the cement floor seal the Undisputed Champions doom. Strangler and Wolfe raise their arms in victory over the fallen bodies of their opponents, as the crowd boos them voraciously. Strangler flicks the Gold Dust Trio Inc. business card upon their prone forms. Trust Busters announced as Winners by DQ after the fact, but don't look too victorious at all. Stretchers are brought in for both men.
Winners: LOU THESZ and JACK SWAGGER (The Trust Busters)
Cut to commercial
6) Back to the arena, "Cool Cocky Bad" can mean only one thing....
HONKY TONK MAN!!!
Honky Tonk Man is sick of the disrespect. He is a top-shelf, main event talent anywhere on the globe! He's not being taken seriously here in BCCW, and aims to change that perception tonight! Shake-rattle-and-roll'em on down to the ring, and Honky'll knock them all down!!!
HONKY TONK MAN: Get me somebody out here to wrestle, I don't care who it is!!!
Cue "Boy From New York City" by The Manhattan Transfer
Introducing...
"THE BOOGIE WOOGIE MAN" JIMMY VALIANT!!!
A little shimmying, and a little shaking. A whole lot of juking and The Boogie Woogie Man quickly makes the outclassed Honky Tonk Man look like a jive turkey. As expected, Honky's guitar comes into play and winds up exploding over his own head in dramatic fashion! Crowd pop is as explosive as the debris, as "Boogie Woogie Man" drops the big jive elbow for 3! Over in less than 60 seconds!!! Jimmy Valiant is all over the ring and in the front row of fans, dancing and soaking in the love. Stops by somebody's homemade "Beer Can Chasing Woman (BCCW)" sign and pours a spectators beer on the female sign-holders massively endowed chest! Crowd (and the now-beer drenched chick) cheer Valiant as he licks it off her chest and poses for the cameras!
Just then!
7) "Straight Edge" by Minor Threat!
Enter THE STRAIGHT EDGE SOCIETY!!!
The 3 Straight Edge gangbangers surround Valiant in the ring, who gamely offers up his fists to fight them all. The SES learned something at "Respect The Shooters & Hookers". Necro Butcher has the mic and points to Luke Gallows steel-toed boots; still stained with blood from the Freebird brawl.
NECRO BUTCHER: The simple fact is that blood draws people into the match more. Nothing makes a crowd sympathize with someone more than if that someone is a bloody mess. In the same regard, when the crowd wants to see someone injured, nothing satisfies them more than if that person is busted open. I find it thrilling to satisfy the crowd, so the blood has been a constant thing throughout my career, both me and my opponents.
The Straight Edge Society beats the royal piss out of 'The Boogie Woogie Man". Crowd gets queasy as a result of the violence (including steel chairs and a table). Finally the SES traps him in a debilitating submission hold - and with a dramatic flourish - shave his entire mangy head bald. They leave him in a puddle of blood, beer and filthy hair clippings. Straight Edge Society reigns supreme amidst a sea of discarded beer cups and blunt guts.
8) RIKIDOZAN versus MASAHIKO KIMURA (shoot fight)
versus 
The build-up to this match was a lifetime in the making. From Rikidozan welcoming Kimura into the pro wrestling fraternity, then betraying him out of professional jealousy and spite. To Kimura exposing Rikidozan's true Korean heritage and training to challenge him one more time for all the marbles. Tonight, these two decorated purerosu veterans and shootfighting founders will meet for the last time.
Rikidozan out with a dangerous-looking, tattooed Yakuza entourage. Kimura out with his trainers and coaches in a Gracie-train (head down, single-file, hands on the shoulders in front of you). Both athletes patted down and fleeced by the referee before they enter the ring. During introductions, boos rise steadily during Rikidozan's part and explode as his name is announced. For his part, he is used to playing the Hero in Japan - but is also well-versed in playing the Heel in America. So he is haughty, condescending and arrogant in his crowd interactions. Masahiko Kimura gets a stirring reaction from the BCCW faithful. Removes the white gi to reveal wrestling tights emblazoned with Japanese and American flags. Neither man bows to the other, or shakes his hand. This is personal.
Let's throw this one out to the MMA in-crowd.
The show also featured one of the most exciting fights in BCCW history, as judo champion KIMURA defeated RIKIDOZAN, who later became a TV and internet radio voice for the spot. Highlights of this fight still air at every BCCW live event in music video form, including Rikidozan's attempt to kiss Kimura during pre-fight instructions, which prompted Kimura to shove him away.
Rikidozan kneed Kimura in the groin, unseen by the ref, and followed up by beating Kimura half to death on the ground (including a series of vicious soccer kicks). Most refs would have stopped the fight at that point. Rikidozan then got Kimura's back for a choke. Kimura escaped, and in the signature moment of his career, picked Rikidozan up and ran across the ring with him, delivering a running slam on the other side of the mat. Kimura then overwhelmed Rikidozan on the ground and tapped him out at 14:04.
DAVE MELTZER
Absolutely thrilling display of jiu-jitsu mastery mixed with Greco-roman grappling and E. Honda styled-Sumo slaps. Several spots on the ground saw Rikidozan go for the blatantly illegal eye rake. A few of Rikidozan's suplexes and slams were stunning in their velocity, but Kimura was able to roll through every time and maintain his composure. Masahiko even managed to escape a very tight Kimura armlock applied by Rikidozan towards the end of the fight. At fight's end, neither man congratulated the other or their corners. Kimura just stared daggers through Rikidozan as he was helped to his feet and out of the ring by his cornermen. Kimura then bowed respectfully to the audience from all 4 corners of the ring to great applause.
Winner: MASAHIKO KIMURA by submission
9) ”NATURE BOY” BUDDY ROGERS (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan) versus DX TRIPLE H
Title Unification Bout
versus 
Epic-level entrance for the OG “Nature Boy”, complete with exploding pyrotechnics display and extravagant ostrich-feathered entrance robe. Tosses the towel around his neck to The Brain, ala Mr. Perfect, and does the Nature Boy strut. His Real World’s Championship is prominently displayed throughout his magnificent walk-in. “Diamonds from Sierre Leone” bumps in the background.
”Are you ready???
Major label main-event entrance for DX TRIPLE H (think Summer Slam tank job). The nighttime arena is alight with DX glow sticks. You can’t count the amount of “Suck It” signs in the crowd.
Match is a colossal slobber knocker. The slightly wider, more defined DX Triple H bullies the “Nature Boy” around the ring but is seemingly no match for Buddy’s guile, and is met with finger pokes and face rakes. Highlighted by DX Triple H attempting a crotch chop, only to get mule-kicked in the jewels by Naitch. Surprisingly big pop for that. At one point, the actions spills outside the ring and actually goes into the crowd! DX Triple H and the Nature Boy Buddy Rogers are kicking each others’ asses all over the Slaughtahouse! Bobby Heenan can only coach and watch from the sidelines.
Highlight of the match comes with the Heenan-DX Triple H interplay, that ultimately allows Buddy Rogers to corral Triple H’s infamous sledgehammer and USE IT AGAINST HIM in a shocking and heinous fashion. Rogers smashes DX Triple H in the back of the knee while he’s distracted by the Weasel at ringside. From there, it’s just a deliberate and devastating attack on DX Triple H’s surgically repaired knee, climaxing with a steel ring-post assisted Figure 4 leglock. But of course, with the fans passion behind him, DX Triple H makes the brazen comeback with a few false hope spots. But it’s all for naught, as “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers finally gets the Figure 4 pinfall/submission victory when DX Triple H passes out from the pain and gets pinned (while Heenan pulls Rogers arms for extra leverage, of course)!!!
The Winner (and UNDISPUTED World’s Heavyweight Champion): “NATURE BOY” BUDDY ROGERS!!!
10) JOHN CENA versus ABDULLAH the BUTCHER (w/ TGF)
Last Man Standing Match for the World Championship
versus 
with 
Back to the IWC for this one.
The pattern continued as Abdullah rammed Cena into the ringside steps in the opening two minutes. Cena clutched his mid-section. Cena came back at 4:00 and snapped The Butcher's throat over the top rope, then threw the ring steps over the top rope at The Grand Wizard. The replay from the side made the stair-impact look much better. Abdullah attempted to charge Cena in the corner against the ring steps, but Cena moved and threw the steps at him. The Butcher caught him and slammed him a minute later. Cena came back with a knee to Abdullahs crotch, then slammed him into the steps in mid-ring. The ref began counting both men down. Cena gave The Butcher a Five-Knuckle Shuffle as he was on the steps. Cena went for an FU onto the steps, but he fell face-first onto the steps with Abdullahs weight under him. Cena came up bleeding at 14:00. Cena made a superman comeback at 15:00, no-selling Abdullahs punches. Cena charged at The Butcher but he reversed him into a Samoan drop where Cena appeared to land awkwardly (but seemed okay afterward, just selling normally). Abdullah signaled for the fork and spike. A very bloody Cena sat up and then got to his feet at the eight count. Cena blocked the spike.
Abdullah headbutted him, then hung him upside down in a corner. When he charged, Cena moved. Then Cena came off the top rope with a legdrop to Abdullahs head. He followed by grabbing a monitor from the ringside table. He swung the monitor at Abdullahs skull which was next to the ringpost. The camera angle didn't reveal whether the monitor hit Abdullah or just the ringpost. The Butcher fell backward, then Cena entered the ring and knocked him to the floor. Cena dove at The Butcher but he caught him and rammed him back-first into the ringpost. The Grand Wizard set Cena face-down on an announce table. Abdullah the Butcher then used the other two tables as a runway and charged at Cena with a splash. Cena moved and Abdullah flattened the announce table. Cool spot. Nice use of the rare case of three tables all lined up. The ref counted to nine, but Abdullah stood just at ten. MSD yelled, "It's over!" The Grand Wizard dismantled the top rope.
The Butcher then grabbed the turnbuckle itself to use as a very special Samoan spike. Cena caught him as he charged and gave him an FU. Cena knocked TFG off the ring apron, then hit Abdullah with the turnbuckle, then applied an STFU while choking him with the top rope. Abdullah the Butcher passed out as Cena yanked back and screamed. Cena let go, and Abdullah began to stand up. Cena reapplied the choke with the top rope. The ref then began to count again. Cena stood slowly and looked on as the ref reached ten to end the match.
WINNER: Cena in 25:00 to retain the Title.
STAR RATING: ****3/4 -- Really good Last Man Standing match. When Abdullah began to stand up, it almost seemed like it might have been because he got disoriented and forgot to stay down. That choke out with the top rope looked pretty vicious. The use of the dismantled top rope and turnbuckle was memorable and novel.
Wade Keller
CITY of CHAMPIONS PPV OUTRO
IN OTHER NEWS...
First off, big apologies for all for skipping a weekend update to the website... I'm sure you don't care about my busy life, but I had honestly wanted to do a quick update on Saturday to make sure the BCCW PPV got "front page" status here on the OO heading into the PPV.
As it turned out, I got sucked into travelling my own "path of rage" on Friday night, as we hit about 8 bars on something of a farewell tour to a friend who is leaving Dayton for Milwaukee Saturday morning came around after only 3 hours sleep; and I had agreed to spend the day in the studio playing bass for one of the bands I used to play for. That made for a long day. So in lieu of doing a late afternoon/early evening update to the webpage, I napped so I could be a 60 minute man and all night long later in the evening. So sue me. And Sunday I was too busy trying to figure out how to witness CITY of CHAMPIONS live to do an update on the web page.
So there... enough lame excuses for you?
Lame excuses aside, the big news for the OO Weekly is last night's BCCW “CITY of CHAMPIONS”PPV. After being told over the phone by my cable company on Thursday that they had reversed their standing decision not to air BCCW, I anxiously watched hour upon hour of the Sneak Prevue channel to find the phone number for ordering the event. I never saw it. So early Sunday, I phoned in some favors, made use of the old friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend network, and eventually arranged to see the the PPV at the house of a very casual acquaintance who happened to have one of those cool dish systems. Moral of the story: as far as I can tell, TCI's Dayton office is infested by a bunch of lying ingrates. They will hear from me. I am not so much angry that they didn't offer the event (since I got to see it anyway) as I am that they apparently saw fit to lie to me regarding the availability of the event.
But hey, like I said, the story has a happy ending. I saw the show, albeit in unique environs. And I enjoyed it. I think CITY of CHAMPIONS was as good as ”Respect the Shooters & Hookers” was in terms of presenting a totally unique and kick-ass feel; but in terms of satisfying their regular viewers who had been following storylines and were into the characters, this was a show that was definitely a Thumbs Up. This was a show that – like ”Respect the Shooters & Hookers” -- would earn BCCW new fans from the legions of WWE/TNA-watching viewers.
A couple of general comments to start off: the Slaughtahouse venue looked good. It's an actual arena. The pacing of the show was really well done; in between matches, they'd cut back for a quick bit of info (be it an interview regarding an upcoming match, or the tracking of the New Jack's whereabouts), but then shoot it right back to the ring. There's something to be said about keeping things moving from match to match; the Big Two could take notes on the proper time and place to use lengthy history packages (hint: it's on the preview show, not on the PPV itself).
And with those comments aside, here's a rundown of BCCW’s “City of Champions”: * Evan Bourne & Mil Mascaras beat The Diamond Dynasty (Wade Barrett & Ted Dibiase Jr)
• Alexxis Neveah defeated Sammi Lane (w/ “Adorable” Adrian Adonis) to regain World Women’s Wrestling championship.
• “Vicious” Vic Grimes beat Lizzy Borden & The Messiah to win the King of the Death Match title.
• Little-known wrestling rookie RYAN DANGERFIELD won the Money-in-the-Bank match in a shocking upset.
• The Trust Busters (Lou Thesz & Jack Swagger) beat Gold Dust Trio Inc enforcers Ed “the Strangler” Lewis & Desmond Wolfe – but were then beaten down and stretchered out to end the segment.
• The Straight Edge Society jumped “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant and shaved his head.
• Masahiko Kimura tapped out Rikidozan in a potential match-of-the-millennium candidate.
• “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers won his Title Unification bout against DX Triple H.
• John Cena defeated Abdullah the Butcher in a Last Man Standing match, but Gold Dust Trio Inc has promised this is far from over.
And that's that. Quite a show. If you're starting to think that BCCW on PPV is, indeed, a good thing, then make sure you clear this month on your calendars, as that's when BCCW returns to PPV from urban Brockton MA.
* On a note related to BCCW PPV availability: while dealing with TCI cable, I was told by a local customer service rep that the decision to not air BCCW was a "corporate" one, not made at the local level. That was also a lie; according to several TCI employees who've e-mailed me, there has never been anything circulated regarding an official TCI decision against BCCW. I think this is something that I'll just have to deal with at the local level. In the meantime, keep working on *your* local cable distributors and make sure that you won't get shut out of the next BCCW PPV.
* And on a final note related to the BCCW PPV, I asked in the OO Weekly Poll last week whether or not you fans thought that something as extreme as the Money-in-the-Bank or King of the Death Match title was appropriate for PPV or not. You all weighed in, and all seem to think that PPV is ready for barbed wire; 84% of you said you'd be willing to see something like that on PPV TV. You can go to the OO Readers' Forum to see full results and also to vote in the NEW poll this week.
RICK SCAIA
CREDITS
JOHN CENA: June 3 2010 WDFN 1130 AM in Detroit
LOU THESZ: Lee Banaka interviews
WADE KELLER: Royal Rumble 2007 recap
RICK SCAIA: The News From Dayton -- 08/18/97
JACK SWAGGER: Baltimore Sun 4/23/10
NECRO BUTCHER: The Village Voice 3/20/09
DAVE MELTZER (UFC 52 Recap)
