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It was an unusual night (is there such a thing as a usual night at Empire/PCW?) in the sense that the major attraction were not a sanctioned wrestling matches, but rather the lights out confrontation between Empire and PCW and the sneak preview of “The Bookerâ€, a full-length documentary on the promotion.
PCW fans love a good story and this show had them. The wrestling was nothing to write home about, not that it mattered. Suspension of disbelief runs rampant with this crowd.
The live commentary was handled by Shane Mackey and Kurt Kilgore. It loses a lot without Platinum on play by play. With Empire running the show, he's nowhere to be found .
Attendance was a full house of 50.
Jay Fury, Terry Lawler and PCW Champion Mason came out to open the show. Fury was returning for the first time since the beating he took on 11/11/11, and was wearing a “Treason 11.11.11†t shirt for the occasion. Fury said PCW dropped the ball but they were going to score a touchdown in the lights out match at the end of the night. Fury promised surprises.
(1) Marko Polo & Nina Monet defeated Simon Sermon & Pandora in 8 minutes. “Mama†Sermon told “Marko Homo†he needed to get control of his woman, because Monet had stolen his pinky ring last week and he was going to get it back. The heels attacked and referee Frank Earl called for the bell with all four still in the ring. I hate it when the ref does that, especially with a Texas Tornado match coming up. Pandora yanked Monet’s wig off, and Sermon joined her for a double stinkface/double broncobuster attack. Pandora took the heat. This was Monet’s first match. Pandora gave her a proper initiation. Monet can’t wrestle a lick, but her hellcat tendencies were impressive. Polo needs to do more with his facial expressions and body language to actualize his gimmick. The match broke down and Pandora’s arch nemesis, Aesha, showed up at ringside. Pandora was like a moth to the flame. During the ensuing commotion, Polo got the pinky ring out of Monet’s pocket and clocked Sermon with it, then kicked him the face for the pin. The crowd was entertained by this match and the finish got the desired reaction.
The Empire leadership team consisting of attorney Jeff G. Bailey, Rachael Freeman and Empire Champion Shane Marx entered the ring to some pretty intense heat. Miss Rachael (wearing the title belt around her waist) called Mr. Xcitement out because he needed to come through the proper channels to get a title match. Rachael asked him how his dad was doing, a very cruel thing to do since Excitement’s father is the recently deceased NWF promoter Rowdy Jackson. If that wasn’t enough, Bailey cut the guy to shreds with his promo. Being at Empire/PCW gives Bailey a chance to dust off some of his classic lines, because it’s all new to this crowd. The Empire walked out on Xcitement’s mic work, really made him look like a chump. The takeaway is that Xcitement could earn his title shot by winning either of the upcoming Platinum Royals (tonight or December 15 at the Masquerade).
(2) Sylar Cross & Master Jae (with Marty Freeman) squashed The Warhorses (#2 & #7) in a Texas tornado match. Empires makes it up as they go along, so Cross made it a Texas tornado match. Cross pinned #2 after a downward spiral by Jae. Cross then tattooed both Warhorses on the forehead with his 4 x 4. Postmatch -- Cross did his first ever mic work. He’s one very pissed off individual, bent on ridding the world of the PCW scum.
(3) The Vandal and The Supernatural went to double count out in 7 minutes. Team All You Can Eat didn’t have any powder for “ashy bastard†Vandal this week. They tried to wrestle, but it didn’t flow well. The story of the match was Vandal’s ability to escape from Supernatural’s key moves like the Sliced Bread #2. Supernatural is so small that he can do top rope moves despite the super low clearance. Supernatural made three attempts at a top rope double stomp and never converted. The final one was straight to the concrete floor. That’s the kind of thing he’s likely to regret later in life. They battled their way to the back after the countout. To be continued I’m sure.
(4) Washington Bullets (Trey & Jon Williams) beat Jagged Edge & Mister Eric (with Marty Freeman) in 5 minutes. Freeman put his two cents in before the match. He said those wishing to wax nostalgic for PCW needed to do it elsewhere or suffer the consequences. Eric’s intro ripped off every wrestling superlative ever uttered. I think Jonathan Williams (the host of Georgia Wrestling Now on GWH radio) could beat him up though. Jagged Edge is Empire’s new black monster. He’s a big bad ass and a minimalist when it comes to gear, wrestling in jeans and gym shoes. Lots of crowd love for Bullets, who provided a glimmer of wrestling skill on a night when there wasn’t much to be had. Their teamwork was stellar as usual. Mr. Eric and Trey traded superkicks. Trey got way the better of it and had Eric pinned with the Captain Morgan flying stomp. Edge broke that up. Bullets then finished Eric off with the Marion Barry.
(5) Dany Only won the Platinum Royal in 8 minutes. The other participants were Mr. Xcitement, Najasism, Vandal, Sermon, Ken O’Sullivan, Eric Walker, Mr. Eric, Jagged Edge, Washington Bullets, Cross, Zackary Blane, Supernatural and Michael Cannon. The eliminations came ridiculously fast and furious. It was whittled down to Only, Excitement, Cannon, Najasism and O’Sullivan. This was Mackey and Kilgore’s shining moment for the evening. Not sure who said what, but they got off some great lines. Najasism had stayed in the match by hiding behind the curtain along the back wall. Only sent him flying out. Only also eliminated the retarded looking Cannon. O’Sullivan has been cast as a drunken Irishman, He was wobbling around the ring in an addled state, but managed to sneak up behind Xcitement and Only to dump them both out. O’Sullivan thought he was the winner, but Platinum rules dictate a singles match finale with the guy that scored the most eliminations, and Only had like 6 or 7. Only pulled O’Sullivan’s shirt over his head and cracked him with a chop that was said to be like a Kim Kardashian home video in the ring. After a couple of close calls, Only pinned O’Sullivan with the lariat from hell.
Postmatch, the Empire guys started beating on O’Sullivan. Mason came out to save him. Konkete Gorillaz (Brian Blaze, Geter and Aesha) destroyed Mason, while the Empire blocked the entrance doors to prevent a rescue. Geter dropped Mason on his head with an off the shoulder piledriver, which looked absolutely great, and played into the finish of the next match. Lawler and Fury finally burst through the doors but the damage was done.
(6) Konkrete Gorillaz (Brian Blaze & Geter & Aesha) defeated The Surrealists (Seth Delay & De La Vega & Prima Donna) in the Gorilla Games. It’s back to the drawing board with this concept. Blaze said it was time for Surrealists to pay the price for mocking the Gorillaz (with their performance art skits). He explained the Gorilla Games – it starts as a Texas tornado, any wrestler that touches the floor is eliminated but can reenter by pulling another wrestler out, and the match continues until one team surrenders. Donna rightly made no pretense of being a wrestler. She was running in circles and Aesha was getting blown up trying to chase her down. Surrealist double teams succeeded in knocking the giant Geter over the top rope, and it was all three Gorillaz on the floor. Now what? Nobody likes a stupid babyface, right? Delay and De La Vega were stupid enough to allow themselves to get pulled out, leaving Donna alone with Geter. He was ready to drop her on her skull, so the other Surrealists ran up the white flag. After seeing what happened to Mason, the crowd had no problem sympathizing with the Surrealists’ situation.
The lights went out. Mason was toast, so Fury and Lawler were the only ones that came out to represent PCW. The Empire crew started down the aisle, lead by Marx and Only. The lights went out again. Lights on and Pandora was in the ring. The process continued until one by one, the PCW side had been joined by PCW original Hayden Young, The Phantom, Washington Bullets and Chip Day. Empire wanted no part of it with the odds evened. PCW attacked. More PCW guys came out from the back. Empire got their asses beat. Slick bastard that he is, Bailey made sure to steer clear of the violence. Only got busted open the hardway. Empire was driven to back into the dressing room. The PCW contingent celebrated by tearing down the Empire banner. Team All You Can Eat ripped that banner to pieces. The show ended with a massive “PCW†chant.
The fans and wrestlers moved to the adjoining theater space for the sneak preview of “The Bookerâ€. It won’t be seen again until the 2012 Atlanta Film Festival. Filmmaker Mike Perkins was in attendance as was his editor, Alexander Williams. On the whole, the film was very well done. It had its share of hilarious moments. It’s the story of Steven Platinum’s attempt to realize his artistic vision of pro wrestling, despite limited resources and all kinds of obstacles. The odds are stacked against him to a ridiculous degree, but you can’t help but pull for the guy. The film traces the history of PCW, from training school, to its start at the infamous Sam Stone Studio, and on through the Academy and Sacred Ground: Chapter One. As far as the PCW roster goes, Pandora, Mason and Fury got the most screen time. Pandora’s segments were some of the most memorable. After the showing, Platinum thanked various members of the PCW crew for their contributions.
NOTES: Empire returns to the Masquerade in Atlanta on December 15 with NWA North American Champion Shaun Tempers vs. Vandal vs. Phantom in a Platinum Trinity match; Aesha vs. Pandora in a strap match; Mason vs. Nemesis for the PCW title; Day & Lawler & Fury vs. the undefeated Profits of Doom (Only & Stryknyn & AP III); Daisho (Kyle Matthews & Vordell Walker) will be in action; Dagon Briggs vs. Hayden Young; plus a Platinum Royal; Signed for December 16 at the Academy Theater in the dream match series - Only vs. Matthews, plus Delay vs. Nemesis…There were groans when the film revealed that Fury is Warhorse #7…Nothing was said as to why Nemesis missed the show.
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