Cleaning out the Notebook

I promised myself last weekend that if I survived four days of “Spyder” Nate Webb, I would finally catch back up and get a column out. Obviously I survived – so here goes.

I’ve attended a bunch of shows in the past several months. Rather than give old results and match comments, I’m just going to group my comments by promotion and hopefully steer you to one of the many great promotions that I’ve seen recently.

IWR – Independent Wrestling Revolution
www.iwrwrestling.com

Like the Timex watches of old, this gutsy little promotion takes a licking and keeps on ticking. They provide outstanding story drive wrestling in a very comfortable, close-knit environment. In the past, they have featured outstanding up-and-coming workers like Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Petey Williams, and Zach Gowen. Today, they are hanging their hats on the incredible promo skills of Conrad Kennedy III, the comic antics of Popular Mathematics and the ever-popular Bump-N-Uglies, the outstanding ring work of N8 Mattson and Gutter, and others. Their fans are the most loyal I’ve found in independent wrestling. And they continue to be a great place to catch the undiscovered gems in the business that others may overlook. Hopefully with their new home at the Knights of Columbus in Hamtramck they will gain the larger-scale recognition that they deserve.

Check out their video releases at 1WrestlingShop.com

Prime Time Wrestling
www.ptwwrestling.com

This newcomer to the Michigan scene is the closest thing to be found to the old star-studded shows that Border City Wrestling used to run at the Ciociaro Club in Windsor. Not a real surprise since Scott D’Amore, Jeff Scott and the BCW crew are basically running the shows. The BCW belts are contested on these shows. Prime Time promoter “Big” Dave Martin also wrestles in some of the matches. These shows not only feature the usual Michigan/Ontario cast and crew (Gutter, N8 Mattson, Jaime D, Hacker, etc.), but add the best of the indies with names like Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles; as well as big names like Shane Douglas, Gangrel, D’Lo Brown and Sabu. The venue at the Diamondback Saloon in Belleville, MI is outstanding – but it is a bar and one of their big sponsors is a local adult entertainment establishment, please keep that in mind when determining whether or not to bring the whole family.

Border City Wrestling
www.bordercitywrestling.com

BCW is the granddaddy of wrestling in the region. Their roster has covered all the bases, with names like Rhino, Edge, Christian, Terry Taylor, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams making up the regular roster over time and every other guest star you would care to think of. In the day, their shows were the next biggest thing to a Fed show – with better booking and a much more fan-friendly atmosphere. Lately, they have scaled back somewhat and move to monthly shows at Dillon’s Nightclub in Windsor. This is not a bad thing at all. They still have some of the best independent talent around with Sabin, Shelley, Williams, Frankie Kazarian, etc. But in this latest incarnation they have the flexibility to more of the spotlight on the young up-and-comers that they are developing (most of whom are also students at the associated Can-Am Wrestling school). BCW has a long history of producing guys that “make it” such as Scott D’Amore, Rhino, Chris Sabin, and Petey Williams. And the Dillon’s shows are the proving ground for the next round of these guys. At their recent shows I’ve seen some really impressive things. Jade is developing into a manager who actually has some presence and impact on a match instead of just being eye candy. Adam Fontain absolutely blew me away in his first ever match. When promoter D’Amore told me that the match with A-1 (TNA’s Alistair) was Fontain’s first ever, I told him he was full of bovine excrement. After further review it was indeed Fontain’s first match. Of course it didn’t hurt that A-1 made him look so credible, but the kid pulled off a very fine match (promoters – if you are looking for a monster to make your guys look great, book A-1). Conrad Kennedy III has sharpened his already fed-worthy, top-line promo skills and has improved the mat work to back them up. Perhaps the most likely candidate to be the next Chris Sabin or Petey Williams is one Brad Martin. His work is everything it has to be at this point in his career for me to say something like that. But more important is his attitude – which is similar to what Sabin and Williams expressed at the same point in their careers, and is truly a hallmark of Can-Am trained students. Martin, who started training in April of 2003 and had his first match in February of 2004 took some time to talk with me after the last Dillon’s show. “The most fun for me is meeting everybody and coming up with creative ideas to make sure that my next match is different from my last match,” said Martin. “The most important thing is to be respectful and keep a good attitude. Respect and listen to the others that have come before me. Keeping a level head is important. I’m nobody now, and I want to become known. That means I need to put in a lot of time and work hard. I know that I’ll always do my best to give an entertaining show.” Conrad Kennedy III, one of the Can-Am trainers said “Martin is easily the best new prospect to come out of the Can-Am school. He puts in a lot of hours working with Alex Shelley, Petey Williams, Joe E. Legend, and myself. He knows that he’ll get out of it what he puts into it and we expect good things to come from his efforts.

While on the subject, I have to mention Joe E. Legend. Besides being a great wrestler and an outstanding trainer – Joe is also the epitome of class. And he has moved on from the Ontario/Michigan scene to take his talents to the worldwide stage. You can check out his schedule (and other cool Legend stuff at www.legendwrestling.com). Joe and his charming wife are back to her home turf in Europe. I asked Joe about working in other countries. “It is certainly different. Wrestling is on the upswing in Europe, the fans are ready to go crazy. In Hanover, we draw some of the same fans every year, while adding new fans each time. The fans there are tremendous, some of them have been coming to see me every year since 1998. For six weeks we run the same building every night – and the fans come out every night. In North America you have both casual and serious fans – in Europe you get more dedicated fans. In Japan you get more quiet fans, they don’t so much watch as they do study a match. They like the technical aspects, even with all of the crazy costumes and masks, they still study the technical aspects of a match. I won’t say that the fans are “better” in one place or the other, but they are clearly different. Everywhere I go, I have learned that if I give them what they want, they will come back.”

You can check out www.legendwrestling.com for updates on Joe – and Joe has agreed to post his “Diary of a Mat Man” here in this column. Look for the first installment later in the week.

IWA Mid-South
www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com

Ian Rotten’s promotion continues to evolve. While there is still enough blood to satisfy the thirstiest of “vampire” fans, the focus of the promotion has evolved to be more scientifically oriented. Such luminaries as A.J. Styles, C.M. Punk, B-Boy, and American Dragon regularly join mainstays of the promotion such as Rotten, J.C. Bailey, Ryan Boz, Chris Hero, and “Spyder” Nate Webb. Plus there is a wealth of up-and-coming talents such as Arik Cannon, Matt Sydal.

For some reason it provokes a giggle in me, but this really is a family promotion. Actual family members do everything from take tickets to selling merchandise to running the sound system. And it shows. While some of the fans, particularly at the Highland, IN shows can be VERY demanding, the atmosphere at the shows is very welcoming and inclusive. One of their biggest shows of the year, the Ted Petty Invitational is coming up on the 17th & 18th of September. Entrants in the tournament include:

1) Austin Aires
2) Matt Sydal
3) “Spyder” Nate Webb
4) B.J. Whitmer
5) Roderick Strong
6) Chris Hero
7) Petey Williams
8) Rainman
9) Todd Sexton
10) Chris Sabin
11) Ray Gordy
12) Alex Shelley
13) Jimmy Rave
14) Hallowicked
15) Arik Cannon
16) Double C
17) Danny Daniels
18) Nigel McGuiness
19) Mike Quackenbush
20) Samoa Joe
21) Salvatore Rinauro
22) A.J. Styles
23) Super Dragon
24) C.M. Punk

Plus Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious for the IWA Lightheavyweight title and a whole lot more. This has been a can’t-miss show for the past four years, and the 2004 installment looks to be even better. The only valid complaint I’ve heard about recent IWA shows is that they can go “too long.” This seems a bit silly. People are complaining about getting too much great wrestling for a $10 ticket? If the “too long” issue concerns you – or even if you are rational and love the shows – check out the incredible array of IWA video product available at www.smartmarkvideo.com

NLW – No Limits Wrestling
www.nlwrestling.com

This has become my new favorite indie promotion after seeing just one of their shows – the recent August 20th event in Rock Island, IL. This is old school wrestling done right. There wasn’t a bad match on the card – and there were many outstanding matches including Homicide vs. Ian Rotten, “Spyder” Nate Webb vs. B-Boy, and of course the main event of C.M. Punk vs. A.J. Styles.

Every match on the show made sense. The “Evil Brothers” Doug and Matt are excellent bookers. Even for a jaded mark such as myself there were a ton of surprises – and they still all made sense. I would have never thought to book Homicide and Rotten in a technical match – but the way my jaw dropped when Ian executed a float over sealed the deal on that booking. And the main event was that damn good. I’m not even going to try and describe it. Just go to Smart Mark and buy the damn now.

Their next show is October 1st back at the Masonic Temple in Rock Island, IL. I know that I’ll be making the three state drive again for the show.

Wrap-Up
Well that is the short form of getting caught up. Look for another column later this week featuring a review of Ring of Honor’s “Reborn” shows (www.rohwrestling.com) and the first installment of Joe E. Legend’s “Diary of a Mat Man.” If you’ve got some money just burning a hole in your pocket after purchasing all of the videos referenced in this column, then you can send me some by checking out my auctions on Ebay.

Now, go out and support your local independent promotion.

Disclaimer: My company, Marquee Wrestling Home Video (www.marqueewrestling.com) produces some of the video product for both Prime Time Wrestling and Border City Wrestling, and I do color commentary for both promotions. Hopefully that doesn’t bias my coverage of the indie scene – but now you know and can judge for yourself.

Jim Hall is an independent wrestling video producer (and former IT guy) with over 30 years of faithful wrestling viewing located in Grand Rapids, MI – home of the former Arena Football Champion Grand Rapids Rampage. You can reach him at jehingr@hotmail.com

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