Funk's Corner - Father James Mitchell to appear on !BANG! TV "Pain Power"

Funk's Corner - Father James Mitchell to appear on !BANG! TV "Pain Power"

On Sunday April 29th, Father James Mitchell who led Abyss to the NWA World Championship will appear on The Funking Conservatory's !BANG! TV Taping, Support the Troops 15, "Pain Power."

Father James Mitchell will be working in the corner of the "Soul Assassin," Kory Chavis as He challenges "The Soldier" Johnny Magnum for the Funking Conservatory's World Championship. This will be the most formidable challenge yet to Johnny Magnum's championship reign.

Father James Mitchell will also be managing other selected wrestlers on !BANG! TV.

Now up on !BANG! TV

Elvis Sharp and Flyin' Ryan Mitchell with Little Miss Sandii Sunshine vs The Soul Assassin Kory Chavis and Lance Alonte.

Also on !BANG! The Claw, Miss Vicki and Lady Kimberly in "The Mother of All Catfights."

Dory Funk Jr., Coach of the Funking Conservatory - www.dory-funk.com

The Half-Guarded Truth: CroCop goes home, Fedor travels abroad

“The Half-Guarded Truth”
By: Mike Coughlin
MichaelCoughlin@f4wonline.com
Myspace.com/halfguardedtruth
www.f4wonline.com
For the week of 03/25/07

“CroCop goes home, Fedor travels abroad.”

With a UFC Fight Night and PPV both upcoming, I wasn’t planning on writing a column this week. Then, Zuffa had to up and make the biggest move in insider MMA history, so that changed a bit. First of all, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Zuffa purchasing PRIDE is the biggest news of all time to folks who have been longtime followers of both promotions. Those people, a cabal of which I’m a part, are a small minority of the North American MMA fan base. Whatever the paltry number is that PRIDE draws on PPV, that’s the number of people that care about this news. The other one million plus that paid to see Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz do battle for a second time not only don’t care about this, they likely don’t know about it.

Lucky me, ya’ll reading this are much closer to the former than the latter, so I can proceed.

(I do also note the funny twist of events where WWE announces plans to expand worldwide and then the UFC beats them to the punch. Dana White’s the new Vince McMahon, yada yada yada.)

Now then, everyone and their mother will be screaming from the hilltops what Dana White and the brothers Fertitta should do with their new toy. I suppose the chorus can use one more member.

Someday, perhaps, I’ll do one of those, “in depth, laid all out from head to toe, this is what needs to be done and it’ll make the company bigger than the NFL and The Premiership combined” write-ups. Today, though, I’m going to give one suggestion in hopes that a single falling star will draw more attention than a million constellations. And I write the following with the assumption that PRIDE has all it’s major players under contract. If that pesky BodogFIGHT group makes a muck of my plans, blame them, not me.

Presuming the plan is to keep the two top heavyweights on earth in separate organizations, I say: Swap Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic.

That’s it. That’s my big idea.

As of today, CroCop has had one fight in the UFC. He did well in dispatching Eddie Sanchez, and you’d have to look far and wide to find anyone that doesn’t think CroCop is the favorite to be the eventual UFC heavyweight champion, but he’s still a new kid on the block and it’s not like he’s a proven drawing card, ala Chuck Liddell. The selling point of CroCop to UFC fans has been pretty simple: this dude is an unstoppable killing machine, who honed his skills around the world, and has now come to the UFC to become champion. He’s a deadly killer from Eastern Europe, who doesn’t talk much, but who will treat opponents’ heads like a kickball.

If the UFC brings in Fedor, how do they market him? As a stoic, Eastern European murdering machine (a term that has been used by darn near everyone to describe the PRIDE heavyweight champion), that honed his skills around the world and has now come to … well, you get the idea.

In short, to the average UFC fan, Fedor and CroCop are essentially the same fighter. CroCop’s highlight reel may be a bit flashier, but Fedor’s got that all-important claim: greatest fighter walking the planet, now and maybe ever. Either way, it’s six of one, half dozen of the other.

The big difference is that in Japan, Mirko is a true star. Don’t get me wrong, Fedor’s a star in Japan, and the Japanese fans know him and respect him, but CroCop is one of a select few non-Japanese stars to ever really crossover into the mainstream. And the mainstream is where the difference between popular and legendary finds a home. For whatever reason, maybe it’s the non-exposure in K1, or the lack of truly high profile wins, but Fedor has not made that transition. (While Fedor’s list of victories is obviously more impressive to hardcore fans, CroCop’s wins over people like Sakuraba and Bob Sapp, when both were at their peak, along with the storyline of his being the “pro-wrestling killer” have gotten him a great deal more Japanese exposure.)

This isn’t to say that Fedor isn’t a star in Japan, but he isn’t a star on the CroCop level. And since both are equal in North America, but one is clearly superior in Japan, why not swap? Sure, the UFC will have spent resources promoting CroCop, and you never want to waste precious TV and PPV time, but just think of it as a long-term investment. It’s not like Gabriel Gonzaga and Eddie Sanchez were going to be major players for the company and when the unification match happens in the future, the UFC fans will have already seen CroCop in action, making the fight an easier sell.

Plus, from the UFC’s perspective, Fedor’s a safer bet than CroCop. For all this talent, Filipovic can still be flaky. When people envision him fighting men like Randy Couture, they can picture a lazy CroCop being mentally beaten. It may not be likely, but if it happens it wouldn’t a complete shock. The only precedent Fedor has ever set is that he’s unbeatable. When choosing an unstoppable monster to focus upon, always go for the guy who hasn’t shown a weakness. Why use Achilles when Zeus is available?

The UFC gains an incredible heavyweight to build the division around, PRIDE gains a legit drawing card (which, with Yoshida looking the way he has lately, it desperately needs at this moment), and they can both still be built up for the giant rematch later down the road.


Make sure to listen to Mike Coughlin as he hosts Five Star Radio, found exclusively at www.f4wonline.com.
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Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or referencing commentary from this site please include a link to meanfilipine.blogspot.com as opposed to "Strong Style Shimko", "From The Mean Filipine Blog" or derivatives. Thank you!

AS I SEE IT 3/31: Wrestlemania 23 predictions

AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com

Yes, believe it or not (well at least some readers may not believe it) I'm doing a Wrestlemania predictions column. As a side note, it's kind of a shame that Wrestlemania is on April Fool's Day this year, as in my mind at least it removes opportunities for a little goodnatured fun.

But you can count on some website putting up a story saying Lashley broke his leg, or some other such nonsense to get a few extra hits, or chuckles, or both. It just won't be mine this year.

On to predictions...

"World" Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Undertaker

In theory, this is the "passing the torch" match...Undertaker to Batista, that is. I'd give Undertaker one last main event win...but I suspect Batista's going to get the win instead.

Batista's reputation seems to be going down the toilet after his little backstage adventure with Booker T some time back. He's also never come back quite as the same monster character after his latest injury...that, and the WWE Wellness Policy's enactment.

WWE Championship
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

This is the match I've been looking forward the most to out of all of them. Cena-HBK got pretty close to a HHH-Batista Wrestlemania 21 level quality of buildup. The buildup that HHH-Batista that got two years ago was the best buildup I've ever seen for a Wrestlemania main event.

Michaels does pass the torch to Cena and Cena keeps his belt.

Battle of the Billionaires/Loser gets head shaved Bobby Lashley (with Donald Trump) vs. Umaga (with Vince McMahon)

This is the match that got exactly the press attention that it was intended to get...and then some. This match has been covered on as many new sources as I've seen a non-real life news story (for example, stories like Eddie Guerrero's death or the recent steroid charges against WWE and TNA talent don't count as they're both real-life news) covered by the mainstream press in recent memory.

It seems obvious that McMahon loses in this one. The reason I mentioned the fact that its April Fool's Day earlier on was this: I just hope McMahon doesn't try to pull an "April Fool" on people who are paying $50.00 to see this PPV and weasel out of the head shaving (in real life, not storyline).

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Edge vs. CM Punk vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finlay vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Randy Orton

This is the match with the most possibilities, as the Money In The Bank match can do wonders to push a new talent to the top echelon. That's one reason it should be CM Punk...but it won't.

My guess is Mr. Kennedy gets the win, instead.

ECW Originals vs. New Breed
Sandman/Sabu/RVD/Tommy Dreamer vs. Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von and Kevin Thorn

Prepare for the burial of the Velocity star...er, "ECW originals". From there we can expect "Wrestler released" stories in the next few weeks.

Team Velocity...er, the "New Breed" wins.

WWE Women's Champion
Melina vs. Ashley

Who's got the Playboy centerfold here? Which one's in the doghouse with WWE management? It's not heard to figure out this one. Ashley wins.

Kane vs. The Great Khali

A definite major league Wrestlecrap moment. This is the time to go order those Buffalo wings or pizza, get another beer, or hit the head.

Who wins? Not the fans.

WWE United States Championship
Chris Benoit vs. MVP

God, I hope Chris Benoit can carry "MVP" to a match above snore level. I swear if Benoit has to give up the belt to a cartoon character like this, I may vomit. Buckets, however, are at the ready, as this sounds like Vince is giving MVP a push to a belt.


Until next time...

If you'd like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), banner ads are available for $400 for one year/$200 for six months. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page. If you have comments or questions, if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website or for advertising requests, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com.

(As always...this column represents the view of this writer and not necessarily of the website on which it appears).
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Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or referencing commentary from this site please include a link to meanfilipine.blogspot.com as opposed to "Strong Style Shimko", "From The Mean Filipine Blog" or derivatives. Thank you!

Funk's Corner - "Mother of All Catfights," Now on !BANG! TV

Funk's Corner - "Mother of All Catfights," Now on !BANG! TV

Fighting for the Funking Conservatory Women's Championship, The Claw, Claudia Reiff and The Pop Tarts, Lady Kimberly and Miss Vicki spawned the "Mother of All Catfights."

"The Mother of All Catfights," is now on !BANG! TV at www.dory-funk.com.

Dr. Keith Report - Mania Weekend, AJPW Carnival Finals, Keith On The Radio

Dr. Keith Report - March 28 2007 - Dr. Keith Lipinski of www.drkeithshow.com

A complete listing of upcoming big shows…and whacky hijinx…

New Dr. Keith Show with Mauro Ranallo at F4WOnline.com

Also, I'm going to be on Monday Night Mayhem's Wrestlemania Preview show this Sunday with a cavalcade of guest starts (Dave Meltzer, D'Lo Brown, Scott Hudson) at the same time with Lance Storm. Should be a HUGGE SHOW! Check it out at www.mondaynightmayhem.com

*** *** ***
This weekend:
Tonight (Friday) Viva La Lucha, ROH
Saturday: WWE Hall Of Fame, ROH, IWA-MS
Sunday: Mania

*** *** ***
TONIGHT~! Viva La Lucha - Friday March 30, 2007 - Palenque el Parque Morelos, Tijuana Mexico
1. LA Park & Rey Misterio Sr. vs. Nicho El Millionario & Juventud Guerrera
2. Xtreme Tiger vs. Mortiz
3. Los Helados Atomicos (Los Ice Creams) vs. Jigsaw y Lince Dorado
4. Minis: La Parkita y Octagoncito vs. Piratita Morgan y Espectrito
5. Genio Del Aire, Iron Boy y Luminoso vs. Phoenix Star, Zokre y Cobra II
6. Super Astro y Venum Black vs. Angel Mensajero y Psico
7. Pancho Cachondo, Animaniac y Shamu vs. Viernes 13, Tazmania y Scream
8. Disco Machine, Joey Ryan y Karl Anderson vs. Human Tornado, Ltl Cholo y Silver Tiger

TOMORROW~! WWE Hall Of Fame - Saturday March 31, 2007 - Fox Theatre, Detroit, MI
1. Jim Ross (inducted by Stone Cold Steve Austin)
2. Jerry Lawler (inducted by William Shatner)
3. The Sheik (inducted by Sabu)
4. The Wild Samoans Afa & Sika (inducted by their sons Matt "Rosey" Anoa'i and Sam "Samu" Anoa'i)
5. Nick Bockwinkle (inducted by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan)
6. Mr. Perfect Curt Henning (inducted by MLB Hall Of Famer Wade Boggs)
7. Dusty Rhodes (inducted by his sons Cody and Dustin Runnels)
8. Mr. Fuji (inducted by Don “The Rock” Muraco)

SUNDAY~! WrestleMania 23 - All Grown Up - Sunday April 1, 2007 - Ford Field, Detroit, MI
1. World Heavyweight Championship: Batista vs. The Undertaker
2. WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
3. Battle of the Billionaires - Hair vs. Hair - special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin: Lashley (with Donald Trump) vs. Umaga (with Vincent Kennedy McMahon)
4. Money In the Bank Ladder Match: Edge vs. CM Punk vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finley vs. Randy Orton
5. ECW Originals (The Sandman, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer & Rob Van Dam) vs. The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von & Kevin Thorn)
6. WWE Womens Championship - Lumberjill Match (with Victoria, Layla, Jillian Hall, Krystal, Candice Michelle, Kelly Kelly, Trinity, Brooke, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Maria, Michelle McCool, Mickie James, plus more faceless women!): Ashley vs. Melina
7. WWE United States Championship: Chris Benoit vs. Montel Vontavious Porter
8. The Great Khali vs. Kane

UFC 69 - SHOOTOUT - Saturday, April 7, 2007 - Toyota Center, Houston, TX
1. UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra
2. Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia
3. Diego Sanchez vs. Josh Koscheck
4. Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami
5. Alan Belcher vs. Kendall Grove
6. Brad Imes vs. Heath Herring (Dark)
7. Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell (Dark)
8. Marcus Davis vs. Pete Spratt (Dark)
9. Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes (Dark)

Pride 34: KAMIKAZE - Sunday, April 8, 2007
1. Ricardo Arona vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
2. Shinya Aoki vs. Brian Lo-A-Njoe
3. Zelg Galesic vs. Makoto Takimoto
4. Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Jeff Monson
5. Bazigit "Volk" Atajev vs. Gilbert Yvel
6. Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs. Wagner "Zuluzinho" da Conceicao Martins
7. Don Frye vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Also signed: Wanderlei Silva, James Thompson

TNA Lockdown - Sunday April 15, 2007 - Family Arena, St. Charles, MO
1. Lethal Lockdown Match: Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner & Abyss & Tomko vs. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Rhino & Sting & Jeff Jarrett
2. NWA World Tag Team Titles - Electrified Cage Match: Latin American Xchange (Homicide y Hernandez) vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray & Devon)
3. Special Guest Referee Mr. Bob Backlund: Austin Star vs. Senshi
4. Jerry Lynn vs. “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
5. Gail Kim vs. Jacqueline Moore
6. X Division Championship - Xscape match: Chris Sabin vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley vs Shark Boy(?)
7. Petey Williams vs. Robert Roode
8. Blindfold match: Chris Harris vs. James Storm
9. Christy Hemme other mystery Team vs. VKM

*** *** ***
All Japan 2007 Champion Carnival Tournament Results

Block A (points, wins-loses-draws-DQ/Count out shenanigans):
WINNER - Keiji Muto (6, 3-1-0-0, defeated Owashi <3/26>, Suwama <3/28>, Kea <3/30>, lost to Sasaki <3/27>)
Kohei Suwama (5, 2-1-1-0, defeated Owashi <3/27>, Sasaki <3/29>, lost to Muto <3/28>, drew Kea <3/26>)
Kensuke Sasaki (5, 2-1-1-0, defeated Muto <3/27>, Owashi <3/30>, lost to Suwama <3/29>, drew Kea <3/28>)
Taiyo Kea (4, 1-1-2-0, defeated Owashi <3/29>, drew Suwama <3/26>, lost to Muto <3/30>, drew Sasaki <3/28>)
Touru Owashi (0, 0-4-0-0, lost to Muto <3/26>. Suwama <3/27>, Kea <3/29>, Sasaki <3/30>)

Block B
Toshiaki Kawada (5, 2-1-1-0, defeated Tajiri by DQ <3/28>, Kojima <3/30>, lost to RO'Z <3/27>, drew Suzuki <3/29>)
Satoshi Kojima (4, 2-1-0-1, defeated Suzuki <3/27>, RO'Z <3/28>, lost to Kawada <3/30>, double count out Tajiri <3/26>)
TAJIRI (4, 2-1-0-1, defeated RO'Z <3/29>, Suzuki-countout <3/30>, lost to Kawada <3/28>, double count out Kojima <3/26>)
Minoru Suzuki (3, 1-2-1-0, defeated RO’Z <3/26>, lost to Kojima <3/27>, Tajiri-countout <3/30>, drew Kawada <3/29>)
RO'Z (2, 1-3-0-0, defeated Kawada <3/27>, lost to Suzuki <3/26>, Kojima <3/28>, Tajiri <3/29>)

2007 Champion Carnival - Final: Keiji Muto beat Toshiaki Kawada (22:28) with the moonsault press to win the 2007 Champion Carnival (Muto also won it in 2002 and 2004)


March 26 – Korakuen Hall – 1,500
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Satoshi Kojima (0) vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri (0) ended in a double countout (11:58)
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Taiyo Kea (1) vs. Kohei Suwama (1) ended in a thirty minute time limit draw (30:00)
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Minoru Suzuki (2) defeated Rosey (0) with an armlock (7:24)
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Keiji Muto (2) defeated Touru Owashi (0) with the Shining Wizard (17:23)

March 27 – Korakuen Hall - 1,500
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Kohei Suwama (3) beat Touru Owashi (0) with the Last Ride (10:14).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: RO'Z (2) beat Toshiaki Kawada (0) with a diving body press (6:15).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki (2) beat Keiji Muto (2) with the Northern Light Bomb (25:30)
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Satoshi Kojima (2) beat Minoru Suzuki (2) with a lariat (17:31)

March 28 – Korakuen Hall - 1,200
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Satoshi Kojima (4) beat RO'Z (2) with a lariat (10:53).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada (2) beat TAJIRI (0) due to disqualification when TAJIRI sprayed mist in referee Kyohei Wada's eyes (14:09).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki (3) vs. Taiyo Kea (2) ended in a 30 minute time limit draw.
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Keiji Muto (4) beat Suwama (3) (25:17) with the figure four leglock (when TARU threw in the towel).

March 29 – Korakuen Hall
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: TAJIRI (2) beat RO'Z (2) by pinfall (5:04).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Taiyo Kea (4) beat Touru Owashi (0) with the TKO34th ( 14:24).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama (5) beat Kensuke Sasaki (3) with a horizontal cradle (0:14).
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Minoru Suzuki (3) vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3) ended in a 30 minute time limit draw.

March 30 – Korakuen Hall - 2,100 (Sellout)
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki (5) beat Touru Owashi (0) (5:57) with a lariat.
2007 Champion Carnival - Block A: Keiji Muto (6) beat Taiyo Kea (4) (19:21) with the Shining Wizard.
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: TAJIRI (4) beat Minoru Suzuki (3) (4:17) by countout.
2007 Champion Carnival - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada (5) beat Satoshi Kojima (4) (15:24) with a jujigatame.
2007 Champion Carnival - Final: Keiji Muto beat Toshiaki Kawada (22:28) with the moonsault press (Muto wins the 2007 Champion Carnival).
*** *** ***

ROH (Ring Of Honor - www.rohwrestling.com)

TONIGHT~! Friday March 30, 2007
Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center (1120 W. State Fair Ave, Detroit, MI)
8:00pm
All Star Extravaganza III
1. ROH vs. Dragon Gate: Eight Man All Star Dragon Gate Rules Match: Austin Aries, Delirious, Rocky Romero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito
2. ROH vs. Dragon Gate - ROH World Tag Team Title: Naruki Doi & Shingo vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
3. ROH vs. Dragon Gate: Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
4. Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
5. Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels
6. Anything Goes Mixed Tag: BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Lacey
7. Four Corner Survival: Matt Sydal vs. Colt Cabana vs. Chris Hero vs. Adam Pearce
Already signed: Bruno Sammartino, Nigel McGuinness, Brent Albright, Pelle Primeau, YAMATO, Jimmy Rave (out due to injury)

TOMORROW~! Saturday March 31, 2007
Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center (1120 W. State Fair Ave, Detroit, MI)
8:00pm
Supercard Of Honor II
1. Steel Cage Match: BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs
2. CIMA, Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Masaaki Mochizuki
3. ROH World Tag Team Title (if Briscoe's win on 3/30): Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
4. FIP World Heavyweight Championship: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong
5. Jack Evans & Naruki Doi vs. Davey Richards & TBA
6. Homicide vs. Brent Albright
Already signed: Rocky Romero; Chris Hero; Larry Sweeney; Claudio Castagnoli; Jimmy Rave (out due to injury); Adam Pearce; Colt Cabana; Shane Hagadorn; Delirious; Daizee Haze; Lacey; YAMATO; Pelle Primeau

Friday April 13, 2007
Sports Plus Entertainment Center (110 New Moriches Road Lake Grove; NY)
8:00pm
1. Takeshi Morishima & Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness & Doug Williams
2. Faction Warfare Elimination Match: No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, TBA) vs. Austin Aries, Matt Cross, TBA?
3. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico & Kevin Steen
4. Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Rey
5. Colt Cabana vs. Delirious
6. Jack Evans vs. Shingo
Already signed: Homicide; Brent Albright; Jimmy Rave (out due to injury); Claudio Castagnoli; BJ Whitmer; Rocky Romero; Eddie Edwards; Jason Blade, Shane Hagadorn, Pelle Primeau and others!!!

Saturday April 14, 2007
Inman Sports Club (990 Inman Avenue Edison; NJ)
8:00pm
1. ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness
2. Doug Williams vs. Colt Cabana
3. No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong & Davey Richards) vs. Jack Evans & Delirious
4. Shingo vs. Matt Cross
Already signed: Rocky Romero; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Kevin Steen; El Generico; Eddie Edwards, Brent Albright; Jimmy Rave (out due to injury); Claudio Castagnoli; BJ Whitmer; Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney; Sara Del Rey

Friday April 27, 2007
St. Paul Armory (600 Cedar Street; St. Paul, MN)
8:00pm
1. ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima vs. Austin Aries
2. Ultimate Endurance (elimination match with each fall having a different stipulation): Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma & Hallowicked vs. Pelle Primeau & Mitch Franklin
Already signed: Roderick Strong; Jimmy Rave (out due to injury); Adam Pearce; Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey; Shingo; Colt Cabana; Delirious; Homicide; Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger; BJ Whitmer; Brent Albright; Jack Evans; Rocky Romero; Daizee Haze; plus more!

Saturday April 28, 2007
Frontier Park Field House (9807 S. Sayre Avenue Chicago Ridge, IL)
7:30pm
1. ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima vs. Shingo
2. Six Man Mayhem: Mike Quackenbush vs. Delirious vs. Kevin Steen vs. Gran Akuma vs. Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked
Already signed: Jay & Mark Briscoe; Roderick Strong; Jimmy Rave (out due to injury); Adam Pearce; Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey; Shingo; Colt Cabana; Delirious; Austin Aries; Homicide; Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger; BJ Whitmer; Brent Albright; Jack Evans; Rocky Romero; Daizee Haze; plus more!

Friday May 11, 2007
Connecticut Expo Center (265 Reverend Moody Overpass, Hartford, CT)
8:00pm
Already signed: Takeshi Morishima; KENTA; Naomichi Marufuji; Roderick Strong; Davey Richards; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Austin Aries; Homicide; Daizee Haze; Delirious; Matt Sydal; El Generico; Colt Cabana; Matt Cross; Adam Pearce; Kevin Steen; Nigel McGuinness

Saturday May 12, 2007
Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom (311 West 34th St. New York, NY)
7:30pm
Already signed: Takeshi Morishima; KENTA; Naomichi Marufuji; Roderick Strong; Davey Richards; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Austin Aries; Homicide; Daizee Haze; Delirious; Matt Sydal; El Generico; Colt Cabana; Matt Cross; Adam Pearce; Kevin Steen; Nigel McGuinness

Friday June 8 2007
National Guard Armory (275 Union Street Braintree, MA)
8:00pm

Saturday June 9 2007
Pennsylvania National Guard Armory (2700 Southampton Rd, Philadelphia, PA)
7:30pm

Friday June 22 2007
Montgomery County Fairgrounds (1043 S. Main St, Dayton, OH)
8:00pm

Monday July 16, 2007
Tokyo Differ Ariake
Co-Promotional show with Pro Wrestling NOAH

Tuesday July 17, 2007
Osaka Prefectural Gym II
Co-Promotional show with Dragon Gate

*** *** ***
PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - http://www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Saturday April 7, 2007
Van Nuys Armory (17330 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA)
8:00pm
All Star Weekend V - Night One
1. The Rematch! PWG World Championship Title Match: El Generico vs. Pac
2. Kaz Hayashi vs. Alex Shelley
3. Rocky Romero vs. Roderick Strong
4. Kevin Steen vs. Jack Evans
5. Low Ki vs. Davey Richards
6. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Human Tornado
7. Disco Machine vs. NOSAWA
8. Joey Ryan, Chris Bosh, Scott Lost & "Scorpio Sky" vs. Frankie Kazarian, TJ Perkins, Ronin, & Top Gun Talwar

Sunday April 8, 2007
Van Nuys Armory (17330 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA)
5:00pm
All Star Weekend V - Night Two
1. Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe
2. Kaz Hayashi vs. Pac
3. Davey Richards vs. Chris Hero
4. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Alex Shelley
5. El Generico vs. Human Tornado
6. No DQ: Kevin Steen vs. Joey Ryan
7. Jack Evans & Roderick Strong vs. Arrogance (Chris Bosh & Scott Lost)
8. Gauntlet Match - Order of Entry Determined by Random Drawing: Karl Anderson vs. Disco Machine vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. NOSAWA vs. TJ Perkins vs. Rocky Romero vs. Ronin vs. Top Gun Talwar

Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Bernard Milken JCC (22622 Vanowen St., West Hills, CA 91307)
PWG World Tag Team Title Tournament (8 Teams)
1. Bryan Danielson vs. CIMA
Teams entered in the tournament:
1. Jay & Mark Briscoe
2. The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero)
3. The Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero)
4. The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
5. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
6. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino
7. Davey Richards & Mystery Partner
8. Team TBA

Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Bernard Milken JCC (22622 Vanowen St., West Hills, CA 91307)
PWG World Tag Team Title Tournament (8 Teams)

Upcoming PWG Shows
June 2, 2007
June 16, 2007

*** *** ***
FIP (Full Impact Pro - http://www.fullimpactpro.com/)

Friday, April 20, 2007
Citrus County Auditorium (3610 S. Florida Ave. (Highway 41) Inverness, FL 34452)
8pm
International Impact: Phase 1
1. No DQ Match: Jay Briscoe vs. Necro Butcher
2. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Mark Briscoe vs. Mad Man Pondo
Also signed: Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness, Delirious, Shingo, Larry Sweeney, Yamato Onodera, Seth Delay, Claudio Castagnloli, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance, Jigsaw, Hallowicked, The Heartbreak Express, Jerrelle Clark, plus more!

Saturday, April 21, 2007
National Guard Armory (8551 W. Venable St., Crystal River, FL)
8pm
International Impact: Phase 2
1. FIP Tag Team Championship - Bar Room Brawl: The Briscoe Brothers vs. Necro Butcher & Mad Man Pondo
2. FIP Florida Heritage Title Match: Erick Stevens vs. any member of DP Associates
Also signed: Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness, Delirious, Shingo, Larry Sweeney, Yamato Onodera, Seth Delay, Claudio Castagnloli, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance, Jigsaw, Hallowicked, The Heartbreak Express, Jerrelle Clark, plus more!

Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Hernando County Fair (6436 Broad St., Brooksville, FL 34601)
1pm
The Southern Stampede
1. Over The Top Rope Bunkhouse Battle Royal
Also signed: Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, Seth Delay, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance, Steve Madison, Canadian Cougar, The Heartbreak Express, Jerrelle Clark, Ace Rockwell, LaDuke Jakes, "Rough House" Mosca, Jaison Moore, Jonathan Davis, Amien Rios, Scott Davis

Upcoming FIP shows
May 25 - Inverness, FL
May 26 - Melbourne, FL
June 29 - Crystal River, FL - Heatstroke 07
June 30 - Arcadia, FL - Heatstroke 07
August 3 - Melbourne, FL
August 4 - Crystal River, FL
September 28 - Inverness, FL
September 29 - Crystal River, FL
October 26 - Crystal River, FL
October 27- Arcadia, FL
December 7 - TBA
December 8 - TBA

*** *** ***
CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling - www.czwrestling.com)

Saturday April 7, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
8pm
Out With The Old, In With The New '07
1. CZW World Heavyweight Title Match: Drake Younger vs. Justice Pain
2. Loser Leaves Town: Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero
3. The Necro Butcher vs. "Simply Marvelous" Mitch Ryder
4. CZW Iron Man Championship Match: DJ HYDE vs. "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein
5. CZW Junior Heavyweight Championship Mach: Jigsaw vs. Vortekz
6. Danny Havoc vs. Mystery Man
Already announced: Ruckus, Sabian, Team AnDrew

*** *** ***
JAPW (Jersey All Pro Wrestling - www.japw.net)

Saturday April 21, 2007
JAPW Arena-Rec Center (275 East Milton Ave Rahway, NJ)
1. JAPW World Championship: Low Ki vs. TBA
2. Homicide & B-Boy vs. Eddie Kingston & Ruckus
Already signed: Samoa Joe

Saturday May 10, 2007
TBA
Already signed: Colt Cabana

Saturday June 9, 2007
JAPW Arena-Rec Center (275 East Milton Ave Rahway, NJ)
Already signed: AJ Styles

*** *** ***
IWA-MS (IWA Mid South - www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com)

Saturday March 31, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
1. Street Fight - IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title: Chuck Taylor vs. Low Ki
2. Last Man Standing: Drake Younger vs. CJ Otis
3. IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title Match: Josh Abercrombie vs. Brandon Thomaselli
4. Ian Rotten vs. Ricochet
5. Eddie Kingston vs. Ricky Reyes
6. Tarek the Great vs. Jack Thriller
7. Devon Moore vs. Billy Roc
+ 2 more TBA

Friday April 6, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
April Bloodshowers 2007
1. Barbed Wire Cage - IWA Death Match Title: Drake Younger vs. Ian Rotten
2. The Barbarian vs. Jimmy Jacobs
3. Taipei Death/Pit of Glass Death Match: Tank vs. Freak Show
4. Home Run Derby Death Match (thumbtack bat, barbed wire bat, water jug bat and more): Insane Lane vs. Deranged
5. Devon Moore vs. Ricochet
6. Hillbilly Jed & Indiana Kidd Jr vs. Vortekz & Diehard Dustin
7. Davey Richards vs. Joker
+ 3 more TBA

Saturday April 14, 2007
Southwestern High School (3406 W 600 S. Shelbyville, IN)
1. Demolition Ax vs. Bull Pain
2. Honky Tonk Man vs. "Marvelous" Mitch Ryder
3. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Ian Rotten

Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Venue (800 Lexington Ave. San Antonio, Texas)
Co-Promotional show with Anarchy Championship Wrestling
Sunday Bloody Sunday
1. Homicide vs. The Necro Butcher
2. Low Ki vs. (Hotstuff) Hernandez
3. Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards

Saturday, March 28, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
Afternoon Show
1. Stipulation TBA: Ian Rotten vs. Steve Corino

Friday May 25, 2007
Saturday May 26, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
IWA Tag-Team Title Tournament - Chris Candido Cup 2007 (16 Teams)
1. Ian Rotten & Mickie Knuckles
2. The Iron Saints (Vito & Sal Thomaselli)
3. North Star Express (Ryan Cruz & Darin Corbin)
4. Low Ki & Homicide
5. Tracy Smothers & Ricky Morton
6. Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere)
7. SATs (Joel & Jose Maximo)
8. All Money is Legal
9. Chris Bosh & Scott Lost
10. 2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews)
11. Joker & Sabian
12. BJ Whitmer & Davey Richards
13. The Basham Brothers
14. El Generico & Kevin Steen

Friday June 1, 2007
Saturday June 2, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
2007 King Of The Death Matches
Participants: Mickie Knuckles, Deranged, Insane Lane, Necro Butcher, Ian Rotten, Drake Younger, Brain Damage

Saturday June 30, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
1. Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher & Toby Klein) vs. Low-Ki & Homicide
2. Drake Younger vs. Hotstuff Hernandez
3. Davey Richards vs. Chris Hero

Friday September 28, 2007
Saturday September 29, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
Ted Petty Invitational 2007
Participants: Chris Hero, Mike Quackenbush, Claudio Castagnoli, Matt Sydal, Davey Richards, Alex Shelley, Low Ki, Samoa Joe
*** *** ***

IWC (International Wrestling Cartel - www.IWCwrestling.com)

Saturday, April 14, 2007
Court Time Sports Center (95 Enterprise Dr. Elizabeth PA)
7:30pm
Throwdown Staydown
1. IWC Heavyweight Championship: Ricky Reyes vs. Balls Hot Troy Lords
2. Eight Man Elimination Tag: Babyface Fire (Jason Gory & Shiima Xion) & The Cleveland Mafia (J-Rocc & Raymond Rowe) vs. The Family
3. Brent Albright vs. Sterling James Keenan
4. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Larry Sweeney
5. Sexual Harassment (Eric Xtasy & Justin Idol) vs. The Heartbreakers (Romeo & Antonio)

Friday, May 11, 2007
Court Time Sports Center (95 Enterprise Dr. Elizabeth PA)
Super Indy VI
Tournament participants: Jerry Lynn, Azrieal, Jay Lethal, Larry Sweeney, HENTAI, Shiima Xion

*** *** ***
CHIKARA (Chikara Pro Wrestling - www.chikarapro.com)

Sunday April 22, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
4pm
Rey de Voladores
1. LOS CAMPEONATOS DE PAREJAS: F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Clowdy)
2. Stipulation to be announced: Claudio Castagnoli vs, Chris Hero
3. The Colony (Worker & Soldier Ant) vs. BLK OUT (Joker & Sabian)
4. Eight-Men One Night Tournament featuring Ricochet, Retail Dragon, Lince Dorado, Chuck Taylor, Ruckus, TBA, TBA, TBA

Saturday May 26, 2007
Hellerton, PA
Aniversario?

Sunday May 27, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
Aniversario!

*** *** ***

UWA Hardcore (UWA Hardcore Pro Wrestling - www.uwahardcorewrestling.com)

*** *** ***

SHIMMER (SHIMMER Women Athletes - www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Saturday, April 7, 2007
Eagles Club (6309 26th Street Berwyn, IL)
3pm
1. Amazing Kong vs. MsChif
Already signed: Cheerleader Melissa, Allison Danger, Serena Deeb, Sara Del Rey, Lexie Fyfe, Daizee Haze, Malia Hosaka, Josie, Lacey, MsChif, Amber O'Neal, Portia Perez, Portuguese Princess Ariel, Rain, Tiana Ringer, Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx, Daffney, Amazing Kong, "The Jezebel" Eden Black, Jazz

Sunday, July 1st 2007
Citrus County Auditorium (Inverness, FL

*** *** ***

UWF (United Wrestling Federation - www.uwfusa.com)

Friday April 20, 2007
Colonial Harley Davidson/Buell (1701 Temple Parkway Prince George, VA)
1. Falls Count Anywhere: Steve Corino vs. Dustin Rhodes
2. Austin Starr vs. Jerry Lynn
3. CW Anderson vs. Scott Steiner
4. Amy "Lita" Dumas vs. Christy Hemme
5. Team 3D Open Challenge: TEAM 3-D (Brother Ray & Devon) vs. TBA
6. Scotty Blaze & Scotty Rocker vs. Sean Denny & Damien Wayne
Already signed: April Hunter, Elix Skipper, David Young, JD Micheals, Team Macktion (Krazy K & TJ Mack) and many more stars

Saturday April 21, 2007
Harrisonburg High School (1001 Garbers Church Rd. Harrisonburg, VA)
1. Team Macktion (Krazy K & TJ Mack) & Amy "Lita" Dumas vs. TBA
2. Steve Corino & CW Anderson vs. TEAM 3-D (Brother Ray & Devon)
3. Scott Steiner vs. Goldust
Already signed: Austin Starr, Elix Skipper, David Young, Jerry Lynn, Christy Hemme, and many more stars to be announced!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or referencing commentary from this site please include a link to meanfilipine.blogspot.com as opposed to "Strong Style Shimko", "From The Mean Filipine Blog" or derivatives. Thank you!

Wrestlemania 23 CARE Preview Podcast Now Available!

This has to be one of the most insane podcasts we have ever recorded! Full description and link to download here

Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and Nobuyuki Sakakibara hold conference call

www.ocregister.com

By CARLOS ARIAS
The Orange County Register

Lorenzo Fertitta, a Stations Casinos magnate and owner of the UFC along with his brother Frank Fertitta, confirmed the purchase of the Pride Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment during a national conference call on Tuesday morning.

The Fertitta brothers formed a new company, Pride FC Worldwide Holdings, LLC, which will operate Pride FC under the Zuffa, LLC, banner, which also owns the UFC.

UFC president Dana White and DSE and Pride CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara also were on the conference call. Sakakibara announced that he would resign effective April 8 following Pride 34 in Saitama, Japan. White said the UFC and Pride would be run as separate entities, but they would come together for a Super Bowl-type event once or twice a year that would pit the best fighters from the UFC against the top Pride fighters.

White and Fertitta said Pride would continue to promote events in Japan, the U.S. and other countries around the world.

CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT

Question: Can you explain what will Pride and the UFC look like after this?

Dana White: They are going to be completely separated. The UFC will run separately from Pride. Most of the employees are still in place at Pride and we are going to continue to run them as competitors and two separate entities.

Question: But there will be mega-fights and fighters and champions (from the UFC and Pride) going against each other at some point?

White: That's what we are talking about. Obviously, there is a lot that needs to be worked out. What we would like to see, finally, is the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts where we could, finally, line up all the guys in all the different weight classes to fight each other and see who the best in the world is. We'd do that once a year. We don't know exactly how that will be done, yet. But that's what we are thinking about doing.

Question: Can you explain to us how difficult and how complicated these negotiations were? Have they been ongoing for a long time?

Lorenzo Fertitta: Mr. Sakakibara, if you would like to, feel free to chime in. We've had a relationship with Dream Stage Entertainment and Mr. Sakakibara going on about six years. While certainly we have been fierce competitors at the same time we respected each other as both the premiere organizations in the world for mixed martial arts. About 10 months ago we started talking about some type of strategic alliance that we could put together that would assure the future of MMA because as everyone knows there are a lot of newfound competitors with really no experience and no history and they are trying to jump into this sport. UFC and Pride are really the foundation of the sport and we believe by entering in this transaction and coming together there really is no No. 3, 4 or 5. These are clearly the two best organizations in the world and we are going to put on mega-fights that are going to take mixed martial arts to the next level. Mr. Sakakibara.

Nobuyuki Sakakibara: I have the same feelings.

Question: Will Pride mainly be in Japan or will they continue to have cards in the U.S. and would the UFC go to Japan? Will there be any geographical separation?

White: We'll do both. We'll do shows in Japan. We'll do shows in the United States. The UFC is going global. We'll be in Japan and everywhere else also.

Fertitta: Expect Pride to be global as well. That's the reason for the name, Pride Worldwide.

Question: There are slight differences in the two brands. Do you think they will continue to go the same route or do you anticipate making changes to Pride?

White: Pride will be the same. Pride is going to stay Pride and UFC is going to stay UFC. The only difference is everyone is going to get to see all the fights they've wanted to see for years, the big mega-fights.

Fertitta: The reality is UFC is very much an American-centric product. Pride is a very Japanese-centric branded product and that's the way we intend to keep them.

Question: I guess my last question is there anything else left to buy.

Fertitta: No. Because nothing else matters.

Question: When UFC purchased the WEC, it said it would run that as a separate entity, but it still brought over some fighters like Quinton Jackson. I was wondering if that was going to be the same thing here. If so, are there going to be any of the Pride fighters coming to the UFC?

White: Quinton Jackson isn't in the WEC, he's in the UFC. That was when we purchased the WFA. The WFA was dead and it wasn't a good show anyway. We shut that down and rolled some of the fighters over to the new company. Pride and the UFC are the two biggest and best organizations in the world with all of the best fighters in the world. This is a dream come true for fans.

Question: Will any Pride fighters become UFC regulars?

White:No. I mean, the Pride fighters are Pride fighters and the UFC fighters are UFC fighters. But I don't know. To answer that question honestly, who knows? Some guys get cut and end up somewhere else. You never know what's going to happen long term. But right now, the guys that are in Pride are staying in Pride.

Question: Having competition for the fighters. If there is competition for the fighters' services, you tend to have more people and better athletes don't you?

Fertitta: No. The reality is there is plenty of competition to go around. As I mentioned before, there are new promotions starting every day, which we're happy with because essentially what that does is creates a breeding ground that will eventually feed both UFC and Pride. At the end of the day, if you are a world-class fighter and you want to fight the best and you want to go against the best competition, you are going to eventually want to fight for UFC or Pride. So, I'm really not concerned about that. I think we've seen through the beginnings of "The Ultimate Fighter" show the ability for us to cultivate new talent. We've actually been pretty successful.

White: Guys are making more money now than they ever have. It's only going to get better now that Pride and UFC are together.

Question: I understand what you are saying, but my question would be now there are no competitiors for your fighters is that going to slow that train down.

Fertitta: There still will be a certain level of competition between a few companies going out and trying to sign fighters and who is going to fight for what company. I don't see that slowing down.

Question: You talked about this Super Bowl, but a lot of fans are interested in would you ever have Fedor (Emelianenko) fight Randy (Couture) on a regular UFC card? Would you think of that or would they remain separate until some Super Bowl?

White: I don't know the answer to that, yet. Obviously, Fedor is the Pride heavyweight champion and randy is the UFC heavyweight champion and if we were going to do that Super Bowl-type fight, that would be one of them. I don't know. I don't see us pulling Fedor over for one fight. I think it would have to be a Super Bowl-type fight.

Fertitta: Really what this does, a lot of people see the problems with boxing where you never see the best fight the best and certainly in the past because there was the different ownership with Pride and UFC that prohibited certain fights from happening. Now, we are basically going to see the best fight the best. We are going to give the fans what they want.

Question: Dana, what does this mean for you being the president of the UFC. Are you going to be the president of both Pride and UFC and continue to be the face and spokesperson for the sport?

White: No. Somebody else is going to run Pride. I'm going to go over to Japan with my guys and kick all of their (butts) like I've been waiting to do for years.

Question: What about the differences in the rules? When you do have that Super Bowl, which rules are going to win out? Does it depend on the country that the fight is taking place in?

White: We are going to follow the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. What we've wanted all along, seriously us and Pride were very close. It's the same game of soccer that we play in the United States and it's the same game in Japan and England and Brazil. That's what we want for mixed martial arts. So we will follow the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the unified rules in the United States.

Question: Will we continue to see international fighters on the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter"?

White: I don't know. Maybe, we do "The Ultimate Fighter" in Japan or a Pride Fighting show.

Question: One question about the venues. I know that Pride is usually sponsored by Caesars and you guys are usually sponsored by MGM. Is that going to change? Are you going to open it up to more venues in Vegas and also do you see you guys getting sanctioned in New York state?

White: We're definitely going to get sanctioned in New York. We're working on that, right now. I don't know if Pride stays at Caesars or not. It depends on the deal.

Question: When you have the Super Bowl fights, will that unify the belts? How will the belt structure work when you have Pride and UFC fighting each other?

White: It's one of those things in my opinion why this thing is so great, when fighters fight, obviously, the money is great and the fame an everything that goes along with it, but at the end of the day it's about their legacy. Pride and the UFC have the best fighters in the world in all weight classes. Finally, we are going to find out who is the best fighter in the world. Whoever wins that fight will be looked at as the best heavyweight, the best light-heavyweight, the best middleweight in the world and possibly one of the best pound-for-pound of all-time. I think that is really what is going to come out of this. The fans win. Both of the organizations win. The fighters win.

Question: But there won't be just one heavyweight champion between the two of them?

White: It would still be a guy that would be the UFC champion and the other guy would still be the Pride champion.

Question: So, ultimately the public would make the decision?

White: Whoever would win. It's almost like when Pride has their Grand Prixs. They have their heavyweight champion and their Grand Prix winner and they have a fight between those two down the line.

Question: When will we see this first mega-fight?

White: That, we don't know.

Question: UFC is known for its marketing. Will we see Pride reality shows and pride magazine shows and things like that?

White: Anything is possible.

Question: What ultimately is going to be the biggest change from the way we see Pride, now?

White: I think the only change you'll see in Pride is you'll see pride against UFC once a year or whatever it is. All the employees that ran Pride before are still in place. It's going to look the same. It's going to feel the same. They will still go out and acquire international talent. Everything is going to be the same other than the fact that we will be able to put on mega-fights.

Question: Can you guys release the details of the cost of the transaction, etc.?

White: Nope. How much it cost?

Question: Yeah.

White: No.

Question: Someone said earlier that it was 10 months ago when this idea first came about. Whose idea was it and what was the reaction from the other organization?

Fertitta: Initially, what it was, and Mr. Sakakibara feel free to chime in here, but we had a dinner about 10 months ago to talk about the business and the future of MMA. We talked about the fact that the fans weren't getting to see essentially what they wanted. We wanted to put together a plan to figure out how we could deliver the best product to the fans. We actually had dinner at the Italian Restauant at our casino, the Red Rock Casino. We talked for a couple of hours and that was the beginning of our discussion. I don't know if Mr. Sakakibara wants to chime in here, but that's essentially how it started.

Question: When you guys realized that this whole thing was feasible, what was the reaction, what did you guys think?

Fertitta: It really took a lot from both sides for both parties to give and not be selfish on either side to really make this happen. It really took both parties, really staying focused on what the goal was, and that was making history. This is a history-making event. These two organizations coming together, and we are going to be putting on events that are going to blow people's minds."

Question: So you won't be buying Pride fighters' contracts? Pride fighters will remain Pride?

Fertitta: Well, no. I mean, all of the assets of Pride, including the fighter contracts, are being acquired. They are just going to be run as separate companies.

Question: I think earlier you said this was being done to insure the future of mixed martial arts. Can you elaborate on that?

Fertitta: I don't know how literal that is as far as the future of mixed martial arts. I think what I meant by that was the future of mixed martial arts, because of this combination, is going to be bigger and brighter. What we've created here is a global platform. The UFC is, obviously, very successful in North America. We're venturing out to Europe, to the U.K. where we haven't even had our fight, yet, and we've had a tremendous amount of success based on the initial ticket sales. The buzz is happening there. Now, by combining and bringing Pride in, which is a dominant player in Asia, it's really given us a true global platform. Now, the UFC will be able to enter Asia in a much more competitive way as well as we, obviously, know how to market in North America which will benefit the Pride brand. From Day One, the next Pride event that happens in North America is going to be huge. We have the platform. We know how that works. So, it's really allowing both brands to grow in a faster and more successful way instead of butting heads along the way.

Question: What impact will this have on the IFL?

White: The IF Who? The IFL has their own problems. The IFL is impacting the IFL. I don't even think of the IFL. We bought Pride today. The last thing I'm thinking about is the IFL. Pride and the UFC are the two biggest and most dominant organizations in the world with the best fighters in the world. All these other guys are No. 10 and 12.

Question: What kind of reaction have you gotten from some of the UFC fighters about the up-coming fights?

White: Not only the UFC fighters, but the Pride fighters. Like I said earlier, it's about cementing your place in history and the way you do that is by fighting the best fighters in the world. The questions have been out there for years. Who is better? The Pride fighters in their respective weight classes or the UFC fighters. And now everybody is going to find out. In some cases, some of the Pride fighters are going to win and some of the UFC fighters are going to win. What they do is cement their place in history, going down as the greatest fighters in their weight classes. It's a tremendous opportunity for everybody.

Question: Do you plan to implement the same weight classes as the Nevada State Athletic Commission in Pride?

White: Yes.

Question: Will Pride remain in the ring or take place in a cage?

White: Pride is not going to change at all, not one bit other than the fact that they are going to fight some UFC guys once a year, maybe.

Question: How about the rules in Japan?

White: We said that earlier too. It's going to be the unified rules.

Question: So that's a change?

White: That's not a change. Pride fights under the unified rules in the United States.

Question: How about drug testing in Pride?

White: They have drug testing now. They just had drug testing when they fought in Nevada.

Question: Will you allow elbows in Pride?

White: Unified rules.

Question: Will that be a yes or no to elbows, which weren't allowed in (Pride's) Las Vegas (events)?

White: Yes.

Question: What are your thoughts on Japanese television and its return to Pride?

White: We are very confident that we will be back on Japanese television, possibly Fuji TV, but we're very confident.

Question: What are your thoughts on the proposed alliance from some of your competitors such as K-1, EliteXC, BodogFight, Strikeforce and Cage Rage?

White: Which one of those is our competitor?

Question: All of them are having a press conference today at the L.A. Coliseum?

White: Yeah, that's scary.

Question: You mentioned that most of the pride employees have remained intact, but there has been an exchange of words between Pride president of production Jerry Millen and yourself. I'm curious to know what that tenor of that relationship is?

White: I don't know. No comment.

Question: I wanted to ask about the concept of these superfights? What's your thinking? Is it strictly UFC champion vs. Pride champion and is it only once a year and where do you see this happening?

Fertitta: This transaction has just taken place. We don't have all the details and particulars worked out. We need to sit down and strategize. Ultimately we want to put together the matchups the fans want to see. They will ultimately dictate what happens.

Question: When do you think it will happen?

Fertitta: I think it will happen fairly quickly. There is a certain path that both companies have put in place for their fighters. Those are going to have to take place. For instance, Georges St. Pierre is fighting for his title, Diego Sanchez against Josh Koscheck, then we have England. Pride has its fight scheduled. We'll have to see how soon these things pan out. It's hard to predict. That's thing about MMA. After those two events happen, we'll have a better idea. Right now, we don't know who are the winners and losers and who will be in a position to fight whom. One thing I do know is both entities have the best fighters in the world and there will always be a combination that we can put together that makes sense.

Question: What about the site?

White: The thing is Japanese have been wanting to see this and so have the Americans. So we can go back and forth. We cane do one in Japan and one in America. We can do one in the ring and one in the Octagon. It's all the stuff we have been talking about for years and dreamed about and now can finally happen.

Question: (Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer) Hi guys and congratulations on the deal. On the judging criteria, are you going to use the 10-point must system or is Pride going to keep its standard for its shows?

Fertitta: We were going to ask you questions since you know more about our business than anyone else. Sorry, what was the question.

Question: On the judging criteria, are you going to go with the 10-point must system or is pride going to stay with its standard of scoring and rounds?

White:I think Pride is going to stay the same and when we do these mega-fights we'll figure out exactly how we are exactly going to do it.

Question: What is the status of Fedor because there are stories that he might be going with Bodog? Is he signed with Pride?

White: He is signed with Pride. We're still figuring out all the details of that deal. We'll do everything we can to keep the Pride heavyweight champion intact.

Fertitta: The reality is if Fedor wants to fight the best fighters in the world, he's going to want to fight with us.

Question: Do you guys have any kind of plans to upgrade the Pride television in the U.S. for future Pride shows in the U.S.?

White: I think there are people in the U.S. that like Pride the way it is. Pride isn't the UFC. It's different. That's what makes it Pride.

Question: I'm talking about a new TV deal because I don't think Pride on FSN is going to be a big success in the U.S, without a new TV deal? And they were talking about doing 5-6 events this year in the U.S.?

White: We're going to look to make Pride bigger in the U.S. We'll do whatever makes sense for the business.

Question: What's your thoughts on tournaments? I don't think you cane do two fights in one night in Nevada, but that's a pretty popular thing in Japan?

White:That's a good question. I don't have an answer for that. There are a lot of things that we don't exactly know how they are going to work, yet. But as far as Pride, Pride is going to stay Pride.

CAPW News 3/29: Unknown Interview, JT Lightning and more!

Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling News: March 29, 2007

COUNTDOWN TO THE LADDER MATCH CONTINUES: UNKNOWN INTERVIEWED

On Sunday afternoon, April 15 at Turner's Hall, months of controversy will end as Irish Airborne, Q&A, and CAPW Tag Champions Faith in Nothing collide in the same ring at the same time in a Ladder Match to finally establish who can rightfully call themselves the best team in CAPW.

Without question, a Ladder Match is among the most difficult matches to prepare for in all of wrestling. With that in mind, we'll attempt in the coming weeks to speak with representatives from each of the three teams involved in order to get in in-depth look at their state of mind as the match draws ever so closer.

This week, CAPW Broadcaster Joe Dombrowski talks to Q&A, more specifically Unknown, speaking on behalf of himself and tag partner Virus:

JD: You last held the CAPW Tag Team Titles this past summer before being stripped of the championships following a controversial title defense. Take us back to that period in time and what went through your minds once you realized you were no longer champions.

U: Well, after a loss to The Suplex Machines, Virus and I were devastated. Ray Rowe tore Virus' shoulder, and there wasn't much left that we could do. At that time, I decided to go it alone and take on the Suplex Machines without Virus to recapture the CAPW gold for us. After teaming up with Abyss, we pinned Bane and Rowe, but were not awarded the titles. The whole thing was extremely bogus. Those titles meant everything to Q+A. We worked so hard beating opponent after opponent to keep them, only to lose them on a technicality. From that point on, we decided we don't care about the fans, CAPW management, or anyone else. We are on a mission to regain OUR titles.

JD: Upon your return from a sabbatical, you began battling Irish Airborne in an attempt to become #1 Contenders to Tag Champions Faith In Nothing, but it seems a lot of your resentment for the Crists seems personal, particularly when they were chosen to challenge for the tag titles ahead of you two. How do you respond?

U: We've seen Irish Airborne travel and have success all over the place, making it to HWA and ROH, and we respect that. But when they came to CAPW, they came to Q+A's house. I know they're great wrestlers, I just don't see exactly what they've done to deserve a title shot. Who have they beat? I mean these guys have been in CAPW for like 4 months and they're getting tag team title shots, one after another? Don't think so. And to have the title shot come down to a coin toss was really a slap in the face to our team and the company.

JD: When the time came for the Crists to challenge Faith in Nothing, they encountered rather suspicious "transportation problems" and perhaps even more suspicious was the fact the two of you were more than ready and prepared to challenge for the titles in their place, despite the two of you not being scheduled to compete at all that evening. Many have pointed their fingers at the both of you, accusing you of sabotaging Irish Airborne's title aspirations. Do you have a defense for yourselves?

U: Virus and I prepare night after night for combat. Just because we weren't on the card that night doesn't mean we weren't ready. We are always ready, I mean, isn't that what a good team does? I thought the Crists were doing alright for themselves, and it turns out they can't even afford a reliable car. But yet you turn it around on us. Well we are sorry for being ready, on time, and taking advantage of a golden opportunity. And sorry for being able to afford a car that got us to the show that day. We train for every night as if we're going in there to wrestle for the titles, and that's all there is to it.

JD: Over these past several months, Christian Faith & Vincent Nothing have been on a mission to carve out the beginning of a legacy, to prove themselves the most dominant team in the history of Cleveland . How would you rate their performance as champions thus far?

U: Well to be quite honest, we're more unimpressed with Faith In Nothing than we are with how badly CAPW has handled this tag team title situation. I mean, first the wrong team is granted a title shot via a COIN TOSS, and then when we get a shot, Vincent Nothing ducks us by hitting a referee to cause a DQ. That's just the example a champion should set, hit refs and you'll get to keep your titles. The fact of the matter is, size means nothing to us. Faith and Nothing were preparing for Irish Airborne, and when they saw us, they freaked. Plain and simple, they weren't ready to face us. We're too experienced and too consistent, so they took the easy way out. That's fine, but they will be no easy way out on April 15th.

JD: On Sunday, April 15, you two enter perhaps the battle of your careers as finally after months in the making, Q&A, Irish Airborne, and Faith in Nothing will meet in the center of the ring at the same time, and to up the ante, it will be a Ladder Match for the CAPW Tag Team Titles. It will certainly be a very dangerous high-stakes environment, what are your thoughts and expectations as we count down the days to this Ladder Match?

U: To tell you the truth, we don't know what to expect. One thing is for sure, it's going to be a war. Experience will be the deciding factor in this match. We held the CAPW tag team titles for a year. Nobody with half a brain could say that we don't have the advantage in this match-up. However, we do give up a significant size advantage, that can't be overlooked. We're ready, focused, and have plenty of tricks up our sleeves to recapture OUR CAPW tag team titles.

CAPW will attempt to obtain comments from another Ladder Match participant right here next week.

CAPW OFFICE RECEIVES ANGRY PHONE CALL FROM JT LIGHTNING

Last week, we extended our congratulations to the young prodigy of CAPW Johnny Gargano as a result of his appearance against MVP this past Friday night on WWE Smackdown. However, mere minutes after our release of that statement last week, we received an angry phone call from JT Lightning, who was speaking on behalf of himself as well as his frequent six-man tag team partners Da Munchies. When questioned why exactly he was so upset, it seems JT felt insulted that we neglected to congratulate him and his partners on their latest "accomplishment".

JT & Da Munchies are on a mission to become the greatest six-man tag team champions of all time. They've attempted to convince the masses, and apparently themselves, that they've defeated The Freebirds, Von Erichs, and a list of other legendary athletes in six-man matches. They've even begun carrying around a trophy that looks like it came straight from a pawn shop to attempt to hammer their point home. With that in mind, JT demanded that this week we extend our sincerest congratulations to JT Lightning & Da Munchies for….ahem….successfully defending their six-man tag title trophy last week, defeating The Road Warriors & Paul Ellering in a Chicago Streetfight. JT provided several alleged details of the incident, many of which too off-color to print here, but regardless it seems JT Lighting & Da Munchies are dead-serious about this six-man tag trophy campaign regardless of how logistically impossible their claims seem to get.

CAPW LIVE ON APRIL 15!

Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling returns to the famed Turner's Hall, located at 7325 Guthrie Ave. in Cleveland, on Sunday afternoon April 15. Doors open at 2 p.m. for our belltime of 3 p.m. This WILL be a taping for CAPW TV on Sports Time Ohio, so bring your signs, banners, and enthusiasm, and be prepared to have your image available in nearly 3 million homes in the state of Ohio, and nationwide on select systems. Tickets are available in advance at any of our ticket outlets, and also at the door the afternoon of the event. Get ready for three solid hours of the best professional wrestling in the area: Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling.

CAPW Heavyweight Title: Tracy Smothers vs. Buff Bagwell
When presented with recent complaints from CAPW wrestlers and fans over the recent actions of Tracy Smothers (including, but not limited to, his vicious attack of Gregory Iron), CAPW management made the decision to remove The Wild Eyed Southern Boy from scheduled tag team competition and ORDERED Smothers to defend his championship on April 15. His opponent is a man who's held CAPW gold before, a man who's battled Smothers with CAPW gold on the line in wars that saw no clear winner. Smothers will have to defend against the multi-time former WCW World Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell! Bagwell has been a major player when it comes to CAPW title matches for several years now, and Buff Daddy feels its long overdue to have gold around his waist once again. Will the sneaky Smothers be able to survive another title defense?

CAPW Tag Title Ladder Match: Faith in Nothing vs. Irish Airborne vs. Q&A
It's the news that fans and insider alike are still buzzing about, as CAPW's ultra-competitive tag title division gets taken to the next level. For the past several months, Irish Airborne and Q&A have fought amongst themselves in an attempt to crown a clear #1 contender to the gold. Meanwhile, champions Faith in Nothing have been on a mission to begin a legacy of dominance and defeat all top challengers soundly and decisively. None of the three teams has been able to accomplish any of their goals, thanks to the intense infighting and brawling that's interrupted seemingly every tag team title and contender match in recent months. The only way to settle the issue is to take the rules, and throw them out the window and place all 3 teams in the ring at once. And as a result of Q&A's attempted assault on the other two teams while using a ladder, it was only natural to raise the stakes further and make it a Ladder Match. Six men will go all-out, risk life and limb for the glory that comes with being called champion, but only one team will survive. There WILL be a clear and decisive winner April 15 in Turner's Hall!

CAPW Television Title: Jason Bane vs. Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano has had a mixed bag of success lately. While he's fighting to stay alive in the Junior Heavyweight Division, he experienced a feat of success very few in the business get to achieve, wrestling on international television on WWE Smackdown. However, Gargano has never, anywhere, been in the ring with the likes of 6'8 300+ pound Jason Bane. Bane is a non-stop wrecking machine and continues to plow through every contender lined up in front of him. Will Bane add another tally to the list or will the crafty Gargano be able to lay claim to another CAPW Championship?

CAPW ON SPORTS TIME OHIO

Every week, CAPW will deliver one solid hour of cutting-edge, intense, athletic wrestling action to STO viewers featuring a cavalcade of wrestling stars. See the best of national and international stars, past and present, as well as the brightest home-grown stars in the state of Ohio! The program will be hosted by play-by-play commentator Joe Dombrowski and color analyst Jamie Scott, who will bring you all the hot matches, backstage interviews, exclusive footage, and so much more each and every week on Sports Time Ohio! Here is the upcoming schedule for CAPW programming on Sports Time Ohio:

Friday March 30, 2007 10:00PM
Saturday March 31, 2007 11:30PM (REPLAY)

Sports Time Ohio is available to nearly 3 million homes throughout the state of Ohio and into surrounding states, and is also available nationwide on select satellite dish packages.
Check local listings and channel packages for availability. For more information log on to www.sportstimeohio.com. For more information on Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling TV, be sure to read Michael Cash's "Ca$h's Corner" column exclusively at www.capw.net.

CAPW DVDs NOW ON SALE AT RF VIDEO

Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling has announced an agreement with one of the longest running and most widely known tape & DVD distributors in professional wrestling today, RF Video. This is your opportunity to own and relive some of CAPW's most memorable moments from the pre-Sports Time Ohio era. For new fans interested in how Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling came to be what it is today, or long-time fans who want to re-live great memories, these DVDs are perfect to add to your home video library.

To purchase CAPW DVDs, follow this link: http://www.rfvideo.com/index.asp?PageActionfiltered=VIEWCATS&Category=192

BECOME PART OF CAPW's GROWING LIST OF MEDIA ASSOCIATES

Do you have a website devoted to professional wrestling? Would you like to receive weekly
Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling news updates? To be added to our exclusive press corps mailing list, please e-mail iwcmc_dombrowski@yahoo.com

CAPW ON MYSPACE!

Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling has joined the ever-growing community of MySpace.com, with an official page dedicated to all the news, personalities, and happenings of Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/capw to befriend the hottest promotion in the state of Ohio today!

TO PURCHASE CAPW LIVE EVENT TICKETS PLEASE VISIT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TICKET OUTLETS

Tickets for any and all CAPW live events are available at the following outlets. Tickets are always available at Turner's Hall the afternoon of the show as well.

Casamel's Pizza,
5589 Broadview, Rd,
Parma, Ohio.
216-661-9700

West Side Metals Corp.
6400 Stock Avenue,
Cleveland, Ohio.
216-961-7297

Pit Stop Donuts,
4411 Clark Avenue,
Cleveland, Ohio.
216-631-3284

Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling has been the premiere brand of professional wrestling in the state of Ohio throughout it's over-thirteen year existence. CAPW utilizes a blend of the most talented and exciting local and national attractions today for a unique fan experience, featuring names such as Tracy Smothers, M-Dogg 20, Faith in Nothing, Johnny Gargano, Josh Prohibition, Irish Airborne, JT Lightning, Zach Gowen, Jason Bane, and many more. Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling can be seen weekly on Sports Time Ohio in nearly 3 million homes. For more information please visit www.CAPW.net.

Pro Wrestling Hybrid Debut Show Friday April 13th

New Matches and Talent signed for Pro Wrestling Hybrid’s debut show on Friday the 13th of April, 2007 at the ECPW school in Lake Hiawatha, NJ (87A Nrth Beverwyck Rd, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034.)

PWH will be a unique blend of hard hitting, in your face pro wrestling action, combined with compelling storytelling that puts a creative emphasis on the entertainment aspect of the sport. This debut show promises to change the landscape of how fans look at the Northeast independent scene forever!!!

PWH will showcase the new blood of the wrestling business and the future stars of tomorrow. PWH is the new rising force in NJ and all the talent on the PWH roster has promised to make a collective impact on April 13th. The competition will be fierce, the battles will be grueling, and the drama will be flowing; the winner in all this will definitely be the fans!!!

Tickets for this compelling event are only $10 general admission on a first come, first serve basis. Only 320 tickets will be sold for the show, so come early and assure your admission into this ground breaking event. Bell time is 8pm; the doors open at 7:30.

Already signed for the show:
A Double Main Event:
Falls Count Anywhere in the ECPW School: Former WWE Talent Kevin “2 Cocky” Mathews will take on hard-hitting Grim Reefer. These two have promised to bring the house down on 4/13 and we guarantee this one will be worth the price of admission alone.

In a Double Dog Collar Match: Bison Bravado/Low Life Louie vs. The Elm Street Kids Rayza and Danny Yamz Low Life Louie and Bison Bravado have spilled each other’s blood all over the Northeast, leaving a crimson trail all the way to the ECPW school in Lake Hiawatha, NJ. A mutual respect has developed between these two hardcore warriors and on Friday the 13th they will finally unite to bring HARDCORE to a whole new level. Standing in their way is a team that is tailor made for Friday the 13th, The Elm Street Kids.

In a Special Attraction Lucha Libre Rules Tag Team Match: (It is Friday the 13th, rules are meant to be broken, no tags are necessary in this one) Corvis Fear and Nicky Oceans will team together to face Minyon and Santos.

Other Matches/Talent signed for 4/13:
In a Special Attraction Lucha Libre Rules Tag Team Match: (It is Friday the 13th, rules are meant to be broken, no tags are necessary in this one) Corvis Fear and Nicky Oceans will team together to face Minyon and Santos.

On Friday the 13th Mike Tobin will be coming to Pro Wrestling Hybrid to debut his NEW in-ring interview show Mike’D uP. Tobin has made it clear to PWH officials that he is bringing Mike’D uP to PWH for one reason and that is to steal the show. The first guest on Mike’D uP will be none other than The Wrestling ZOMBIE! Tobin has promised to find out one way or another, man to man . . . uh, I mean, uh, ZOMBIE exactly what his intentions for PWH are. The question remains, will the ZOMBIE even show up for the interview? And if he does what will he do or say? All these questions and more will be answered on Friday the 13th!!!

In tag team action: Danny DeManto and El Shoes will team together for the first time ever to take on another team that is also competing for the first time together, Malicious and Delicious (Havok and Joe So Delicious.) DeManto and El Shoes have made it very clear that they are coming to PWH for one reason and that is to have fun. DeManto and El Shoes can get it done in the ring, but on this night, they plan to put on an entertainment clinic while kicking some ass in the process. Standing in their way is the MASSIVE Havok and the self-proclaimed “Ultra Sexy” Joe So Delicious. The action will definitely be heated when these four get inside the squared circle on Friday the 13th.

Also appearing: Mack Daddy Flexxx Devious Steve “Monsta” Mack “The Napoleanic Sensation” Bandido Jr. Ghanda Rhea Akbar And many more . . .

For more information on Pro Wrestling Hybrid check out our temporary Internet home at www.myspace.com/prowrestlinghybrid.

Any questions or comments can be directed to prowrestlinghybrid@yahoo.com.

For directions to the event simply go to mapquest and use the address to the ECPW School (87A North Beverwyck Rd, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034)

As always the card is subject to change

Ring Of Honor: March 29th Newswire

March 29th: We are ready for the huge weekend in Detroit. There will be tickets available at the door for tomorrow's (Friday) "All Star Extravaganza III" event and Saturday's "Supercard Of Honor II" shows. Six of the top stars from Dragon Gate are landing in Detroit today. "Supercard Of Honor II" will be exactly one year to the day of last year's Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Pro Wrestling Torch match of the year featuring six of Dragon Gate's best. Saturday will see another pure Dragon Gate six man as CIMA, Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka take on Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Masaaki Mochizuki. CIMA sent word that they know that expectations are high, but that they are all very excited for this match and that they promise to try their best. Make sure to check the article on the main page of www.ROHwrestling.com for a scouting report on all these athletes. Yesterday's ROHwrestling.com took a closer look at "All Star Extravaganza III," now we will look at Saturday's event.

March 29th: One of the main events will see a battle of former partners for the FIP World Heavyweight Title. Roderick Strong will put the FIP Title on the line against the man that he was a World Tag Champion with for nine months. It will be Strong vs. Austin Aries on Saturday in Detroit. Strong turned on Aries in shocking fashion last month in New York to start the No Remorse Corps. Now Aries wants revenge and he knows the best way to do that is to win the FIP World Heavyweight Title from Strong. Two of the best athletes today are going to be unleashed in Detroit.

March 29th: Right now there are some great wrestlers that do not have a scheduled match on Saturday including Nigel McGuinness, Delirious, Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Colt Cabana, Rocky Romero, YAMATO, Claudio Castagnoli and Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn. All these athletes will be in the best possible match ups on Saturday. The events of Friday's show will shape some of the matches on Saturday's show. One of ROH's biggest crowds ever will witness "Supercard Of Honor II" so you better believe ROH will deliver the strongest card possible. Here at ROH we have one goal this weekend and that is to put on the best shows this weekend in Detroit.

March 29th: The buy 3, get 1 free sale on all ROH show, Straight Shootin' and Secrets Of The Ring DVDs will be in effect at both events in Detroit. This will include new releases. The first DVDs from the Fifth Year Festival will be released in Detroit and over the weekend at ROHwrestling.com. Check out "Fifth Year Festival: NYC" for the Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima bout that Dave Meltzer gave ****1/2 and called the best match this year. Also out this weekend is "Fifth Year Festival: Philly" with the historic Homicide vs. Takeshi Morishima World Title Match. ROHwrestling.com is also pleased to release SHIMMER Vol. 7, which might be the best SHIMMER DVD yet. Go to www.ROHwrestling.com this weekend for all these releases and another big sale!!!

March 29th: Homicide is coming to "Supercard Of Honor II" for revenge. Last December, Brent Albright took a payoff from then ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson to injure Homicide's shoulder. Albright got the job done and the injury almost cost Homicide the World Title. Homicide has never come for revenge until now. This Saturday in Detroit will see Homicide vs. Brent Albright. This is not going to be a classic wrestling match. It will be a war in Detroit!!!

March 29th: We will have lots of news about April 13th in Long Island, April 14th in Edison, April 27th in St. Paul and April 28th in Chicago next week in the ROHwrestling.com Newswire. Now here is the skinny on this Saturday's "Supercard Of Honor II" in Detroit:

Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center "Michigan Mart"
March 31st, 2007- 7:30pm belltime
1120 W. State Fair Ave.
Detroit, MI 48203

Tickets will be available at the door on the night of the show.

Dragon Gate Rules Six Man Match Of The Year Rematch
CIMA, Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Masaaki Mochizuki

FIP World Heavyweight Title Match
Roderick Strong defends vs. Austin Aries

Steel Cage Match
BJ Whitmer w/Daizee Haze vs. Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey

Fifth Year Festival Rematch
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

Special Challenge Tag Team Match
Jack Evans & Naruki Doi vs. Davey Richards & the newest member of the No Remorse Corps

Grudge Match
Homicide vs. Brent Albright

Plus more with Rocky Romero, Delirious, Colt Cabana, YAMATO, Nigel McGuinness, Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn, Claudio Castagnoli, Pelle Primeau and more.

Todd Rundgren to Play Inaugural Concert at Newly Re-Named Fillmore Philadelphia

Live Nation Expands Fan-Centric Fillmore Music Venue Concept to Philadelphia
Chris Cornell, Peter Bjorn & John, Air and Amy Winehouse Set to Play The Fillmore Philadelphia in the Coming Months

PHILADELPHIA, March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- When doors open to Todd Rundgren's Philadelphia concert on April 27th, fans will notice a difference. Upon entering the venue, there will be fresh apples for hungry live music aficionados and a greeter to let them know about upcoming shows. On top of the significant renovations that the venue underwent last year, hardwood floors are being installed, the walls will be painted a deep red hue and three large chandeliers will shine light on vintage posters, pictures and newspaper articles recounting legendary live music performances. After the show, a collectible poster commemorating the evening will be distributed to concert goers, a tradition that will continue for select shows throughout the year.
To devotees of the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco, one of contemporary music's most respected and enduring live concert venues, these traditions will seem familiar. So while it's no easy task to improve upon the Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia music fans will undoubtedly appreciate the new traditions and aesthetic that will infuse the reconfigured club, which upon Todd Rundgren's christening concert, will be known as The Fillmore Philadelphia.
"The Fillmore is a highly regarded music venue whose impact on music resonates far beyond the walls of the actual building itself," says Bruce Eskowitz, Live Nation's Chief Executive Officer of North American Music. "By adapting some of the Fillmore traditions to such a strong venue, we hope to make the concert experience even better for Philadelphia music fans."
With the launch of The Fillmore Philadelphia and The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, which opens its doors on April 11th, Live Nation hopes to establish a live music brand to complement its 11 House of Blues clubs across the country. Along with the Fillmore San Francisco, Denver's Fillmore Auditorium is one of the company's most successful mid-size venues.
It's fitting that Pennsylvania native son, Todd Rundgren, will open The Fillmore Philadelphia. The Fillmore San Francisco has a rich history of supporting local artists. In the 60s, the venue and its founder, Bill Graham, nurtured the development of many local artists including Grateful Dead, Santana, and Jefferson Airplane. The Fillmore exposed these soon-to-be superstars to thousands of San Francisco music fans, providing the bands with a community venue that played an integral role in launching their careers.
The Theatre of Living Arts, a South Street institution, has been everything from a late night cinema to Counter Culture reparatory theater to, most recently, an acclaimed live music venue. Known to Philadelphians as the TLA, the venue has been a catalyst in the careers of several local Philadelphia artists including The Roots, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and G. Love & Special Sauce. The TLA has also become a major stop for up-and-coming bands and superstar acts for nearly 20 years, with historic shows from Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, The Arcade Fire, Paul Simon, Jane's Addiction, Justin Timberlake, Radiohead, Nickelback, Norah Jones and John Mayer to name just a few.
"The bottom line is that The Fillmore means something to artists and to fans," said original Fillmore East house manager and longtime Bill Graham associate Jerry Pompili. "It was more than just a building. It was a new concept in the presentation
of Rock 'n' Roll."
A number of highly acclaimed artists are scheduled to play the The Fillmore Philadelphia including Chris Cornell on April 22nd, Peter Bjorn & John on May 3rd, Amy Winehouse on May 6th and Air on May 8th. Doors open at 8pm for the inaugural event at The Fillmore Philadelphia. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 6th.
About Live Nation
Live Nation is the world's largest live music company. Our mission is to inspire passion for live music around the world. We are the largest promoter of live concerts in the world, the second-largest entertainment venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence. We create superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the
biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay. Globally, we own, operate, have booking rights for and/or have an equity interest in more than 160 venues, including House of Blues(R) music venues and prestigious locations such as The Fillmore in San Francisco, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London's Wembley Arena. Our websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment/event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. In addition, we also produce, promote or host theatrical, specialized motor sports and other live entertainment events. In 2006, we connected nearly 60 million fans with their favorite performers at approximately 26,000 events in 18 countries around the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV."

SOURCE Live Nation
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And now a word from...

CLICK THE BANNER TO HEAR WILL AND STEVE'S AUDIO COMMERCIAL FOR THEIR PODCAST~!

Floyd Mayweather talks shit about MMA, Liddell

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

Jesus H. Christ, raggin' on MMA lately is the In Thing~! as the kids like to say, take Floyd Mayweather for instance from an article on The Sweet Science:

“UFC ain’t shit,” he said. “It ain’t but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight.” He singled out UFC poster boy Chuck Liddell for an extra overhand right. “We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I’ll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket.” PBF then shoe-shined all MMA fighters. “These are guys who couldn’t make it in boxing,” he said. “So they do (MMA). Boxing is the best sport in the world and it’s here to stay.”

Someone been watching old wrestling tapes for promos?? Another jack-off talking tough, and I'm not denying Mayweather's a tough fighter but c'mon, he sounds like a total hack here. Stick to shit-talking De La Hoya you fuckin' tomato can...

Depression era grappler Abe Coleman, 101, dies

-- Reported by SLAM! Wrestling

Nine Inch Nails: Survivalism

GONE FISHIN'~!

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

-- I'm headed to Boston from Thursday until Monday, everything on here is as updated as possible, there are still a ton of stories on UFC buying Pride FC, also UFC's pretty busy as they filed a lawsuit against Showtime and EliteXC.

Today there was a Wrestlemania press conference at Trump Towers in New York where Trump BITCH SLAPPED (~!!!) McMahon. Complete Mania card and more info is at WWE.com.

The Detroit Press has has a ton off press on Mania .

I took part in a Wrestlemania preview podcast today that was full of wackiness with the Old Country Times gang, it should be up within a day or two, head on over to oldcountrypodcast.mypodcast.com to check it out. Our CARE + Vuz Vuz Vuz Jabronis Mania roundtable (in text format~!) will be posted this weekend at canvaschronicle.com.

There's info on this weekend's huge ROH shows and events in Detroit on yesterday's update but for complete weekend info go to ROH's website.

So everyone have a great weekend, enjoy Wrestlemania and thank you as always for your support~!
A.

IWA Mid-South SPRING PREVIEW 2007

On Saturday March 31, IWA will begin a series of events that will go straight through the summer, onto our return to the New Alhambra Arena in South Philadelphia, PA.

MARCH 31

Midlothian, IL - Don Preston Rec Center - 14500 Kostner Avenue

Belltime 7:30; Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Ticket Prices are $20 and $15 - the $10 ticket prices are no longer available so second row and back are general admission seats now.

MAIN EVENT - No DQ, Street Fight for the IWA World Championship

CHUCK TAYLOR © vs LOW-KI

In their prior encounter, at January's "Winter Wars 2007" (1/27/07), Chuck Taylor narrowly escaped losing his title when, in a panic, he intentionally low-blowed referee PJ Drummond just as it appeared that Low-Ki had the complete advantage. It continued at "Payback, Pain, & Agony 2007" (2/9/07), when Chuck Taylor defended against independent standout Davey Richards. Taylor mocked Low-Ki, who was sitting in at the commentary table. Their next match, scheduled for "February Fury 2007" (2/23/07), was postponed when Chuck Taylor claimed he could not compete due to injury. Taylor returned from injury only 2 weeks later at "March Massacre 2007" (3/2/07). He successfully defended in a three-way contest against Billy Roc and former partner, Ricochet, then proceeded to totally disrespect Low-Ki on the microphone. Low-Ki was not in attendance. On Saturday, March 31, arguably the most dominant force in IWA history, LOW-KI, will finally get his chance at IWA gold when he meets IWA World Champion CHUCK TAYLOR under STREET FIGHT rules.

Last Man Standing

DRAKE YOUNGER vs CJ OTIS

Another long-standing feud in IWA may finally see it's final chapter written March 31. Drake Younger and CJ Otis first met in a hard-hitting match-up during Night 2 of "IWA's 10th Anniversary" (10/20/06) in Harvey, IL. The next night, they were tag-team partners. Then, Younger and Otis met in the first round of the "Revolution Strong Style Tournament 2007" (11/24/07) in what many called the show-stealer. They teamed one more time together against the North Star Express and then, egos began to clash. CJ Otis claimed to have the better finishing maneuver in the Burning Hammer. Drake Younger, on the other hand, argued that it didn't matter and they should work together as a team. This disagreement, seeminingly a petty argument, has led to one of the most brutal feuds between two young rising stars in IWA history. From the Finisher's Match at "HURT 2007" (1/5/07) to the Tap Out Only Match at "Winter Wars 2007" (1/27/07), and the most recent No Holds Barred Match at "February Fury 2007" (2/23/07), their feud has produced a couple of concussions, several staples in Drake Younger's skull, and a lot of blood loss.

Recently, CJ Otis has been making it a personal matter. Otis brutally assaulted Younger's friend Vortekz after a match in Plainfield, IN, delivering two Burning Hammers to Vortekz after the match was already over. Most recently, he took out his frustration on Drake's fellow R.A.A.G.E. Dojo graduates including Vortekz, OMG, and DieHard Dustin Lee during an 8-man tag-team match at "March Massacre 2007" (3/2/07). Will this feud come to an end in one of the most dangerous matches in wrestling - a Last Man Standing match? Countless feuds in professional wrestling have come to a decisive end after last man standing matches. Will that hold true on March 31?

IWA World Light-Heavyweight Championship

JOSH ABERCROMBIE © vs BRANDON THOMASELLI

Josh Abercrombie's dominance of the IWA Light-Heavyweight division began in 2005 at "Something to Prove" when he defeated Delirious at the former ECW Arena for his first title reign. Since then, Josh has taken the title to new heights, defending the belt in Germany and then in Mexico for the AAA promotion. But as Abercrombie arose to the top of the division, he was 1/2 of 21 and Irresponsible, a tag-team he formed with Brandon Thomaselli. Now the "Impact Bully" has turned his back on his former friend and Josh Abercrombie wants revenge. Will Brandon Thomaselli be the one to end Josh's 14-month reign?

Strong Style Showdown

EDDIE KINGSTON vs RICKY REYES

Eddie Kingston's last IWA appearance was at November's "Revoltion Strong Style Tournament 2006" (11/24/06), which he won by defeating Drake Younger in the finals. Unfortunately, Kingston suffered a broken ankle during a CZW Title defense in December. Kingston recently returned to the ring for CZW, Chikara, and the debut show of Fight Sports Midwest. The 2006 RSST Champion's first match back for IWA will be against a member of The Rottweilers, Ricky Reyes. Kingston intends to make it clear that he hasn't lost a step but he'll have his hands more than full with Ricky Reyes.

Old School vs New School - Clash of Styles

IAN ROTTEN vs RICOCHET

At only 18 years old, Ricochet has wowed audiences around the country not only in IWA, but in Chikara, JAPW, and CZW. He has a phenomenal aerial ability that is far above par but many say Ricochet is one-dimensional; a one-trick pony. In IWA Mid-South, the best way to prove yourself is by stepping in the ring with the boss, Ian Rotten. That's exactly what Ricochet will do March 31. Can Ricochet's speed allow him to gain a victory or will Ian Rotten give young Ricochet the beating of his life?

Grudge Match

TAREK THE GREAT vs JACK THRILLER

Tarek has received clearance from the doctors to return to the ring and he is looking for revenge after the two attacks by Jack Thriller that sidelined him. Thriller can prove himself as a viable contender for the light heavyweight title if he can pull off another victory over the 10-time former champion.

Light-Heavyweight Contender Match

DEVON MOORE vs BILLY ROC

Plus two more matches for a total of 9 matches in Midlothian!

We will not be taking ticket requests for shows anymore without the tickets being paid for in advance. The last few shows have seen many tickets go unclaimed that were held for fans that were supposed to come to the shows. If you want to ensure yourself of front row, you can paypal for the tickets to iwafannin73@yahoo.com or mail a check or money order made payable to Mickie Knuckles to:

IWA Mid-South
PO BOX 21476
Louisville, KY 40221

APRIL 6 - "APRIL BLOODSHOWERS 2007"

Plainfield, IN - Capitol Sports Center - 1915 Gladden Road

Belltime 8 pm - Doors open 7 pm
Tickets are $20 & $15

IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Championship - BARB-WIRE CAGE

DRAKE YOUNGER © vs IAN ROTTEN

Drake Younger has been on a roll lately. He currently holds three seperate deathmatch championships and seems to be the talk of the independent wrestling internet community. Drake Younger will defend the IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Championship against his idol and "Old & Younger" tag-team partner, "The Undisputed King of Hardcore" Ian Rotten at IWA's longest-running series of events, April Bloodshowers. You may have seen or heard of other promotions hold barb-wire steel cages but IWA plans to set the standard violence on April 6.

Homerun Derby - Barb-wire Bat, Water Jug Bat, Thumbtack Bat, and more..

INSANE LANE vs DERANGED

After touring Japan for several weeks, Deranged has returned and is back on Amercian soil. He's been gone from IWA Mid-South competition since September but he intends to show same lack of compassion for his opponents that he always has. His first opponent will be IWA Deep-South's Insane Lane. Lane recently qualified for the 2007 King of the Deathmatch Tournament at an IWA-DS show in Pell City, AL. Deranged has also been announced as an entrant to the KOTDM. With the tournament still 2 months away, these two, no doubt, will be looking to knock eachother's heads off in an attempt to gain momentum going into the biggest deathmatch event of the year.

Pit of Glass/Taipei Deathmatch

TANK vs FREAKSHOW

Two of the biggest men on the IWA roster will attempt to carve eachother up like Thanksgiving turkeys in a highly dangerous match-up April 6. Jagged shards of glass will be glued to each man's taped fists and a pit with several pounds of broken glass will be ringside. Eight spots remain in the 2007 King of the Deathmatch Tournament and you can bet that Tank and the Freakshow will do anything to get in. This one WILL get ugly.

Jim Fannin's Bounty Challenge Match

JIMMY JACOBS vs THE BARBARIAN

Everyone knows the history that Jim Fannin and Jimmy Jacobs have. Jim Fannin essentially put a hit out on Jimmy Jacobs' career. Jacobs, since his return, has been dressing alone and working for free. Thus far, he has survived onslaughts from former friend Josh Abercrombie and "Classic" Colt Cabana. The bounty has gone up to $5,000 and this time, Jim Fannin has brought in someone that influenced Jacobs' career, THE BARBARIAN. He may be nearly a foot taller than Jacobs, not to mention his lengendary strength. Jim Fannin not only wants to cripple Jacobs physically, but he wants to hurt Jimmy Jacobs mentally by having one of his childhood heroes do the damage.

Strong Style Showdown

DAVEY RICHARDS vs JOKER

Two big names on the independent scene have been announced for this event as the returning Davey Richards will take one the BLK OUT's Joker. Both men will be involved in the upcoming "Chris Candido Cup" for the IWA Tag-Team Championships, where Richards will team with BJ Whitmer and Joker will team with Sabian. This will be one of the hardest-hitting strong style battles that Plainfield has seen for quite some time.

Light-Heavyweight Contender's Match

DEVON MOORE vs RICOCHET

This match was supposed to occur in Midlothian last time but it ended up being changed and many fans said that they wanted to see it happen. You'll get your chance to see what Ricochet can do against the PWU champion in Plainfield.

Tag-Team Warfare

HILLBILLY JED & INDIANA KIDD, JR. vs VORTEKZ & "DIE HARD" DUSTIN LEE

These two teams want to lay claim to the final spots for the Candido Cup and decide who the best independent team from Indianapolis is. A victory in this match could go a long way for both teams.

Plus three more matches will be announced soon!

We will not be taking ticket requests for shows anymore without the tickets being paid for in advance. The last few shows have seen many tickets go unclaimed that were held for fans that were supposed to come to the shows. If you want to ensure yourself of front row, you can paypal for the tickets to iwafannin73@yahoo.com or mail a check or money order made payable to Mickie Knuckles to:

IWA Mid-South
PO BOX 21476
Louisville, KY 40221