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THE UNOFFICIAL FAN'S GUIDE TO ECW ONE NIGHT STAND WEEKEND IN NYC

SATURDAY JUNE 11TH

There doesn’t appear to be anything wrestling-related going on in NYC that day, so use it to be a tourist, shop, see a show, or something cultural.

If you wish to head back to Philadelphia (or even stay over from Friday night), there are two shows scheduled for Viking Hall/The ECW Arena promoted by Ian Rotten’s IWA Mid-South (2 PM) and John Zandig’s Combat Zone Wrestling (7:30 PM).

IWA MID-SOUTH

This will be the first-ever IWA Mid-South event in Philadelphia. The promotion has been running weekly events for the better part of the last decade and no less of an independent wrestling authority than our own Jess McGrath considers the promotion to have some of the best shows in the country with the least amount of hype. Many of the names that populate Ring of Honor shows including Colt Cabana, Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer, and CM Punk first made their mark in the company. I’ve only seen tapes of the promotion’s major events, but it isn’t out of character for the company to run a 45-65 minute bout just for the sake of producing an excellent wrestling match. If you want a throwback to the old days of gritty pro wrestling, this is for you.

For those of you interested in more background on the company, there is an eight minute documentary style video about the promotion at this link. The video features comments from Danny Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, CM Punk, Ian Rotten, Arik Cannon, Eddie Kingston, and fan Jesse Irwin discussing how they got into the company and how they feel about it, differences between WWE and IWA Mid-South and more. It's a really good primer for the company and worth checking out even if you aren’t hitting the show.

The lineup for IWA Mid-South, a promotion making their debut in the building with a well deserved reputation for both good in-ring wrestling and crazy hardcore bouts, features:

*Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher in an indy dream match of sorts featuring two of the hardest hitting brawlers in what I am pretty sure is their first-ever meeting. Butcher does a stiff, death match style while Joe is the 2005 equivalent to Vader in 1992. It’s going to be a war.

*IWA champion Jimmy Jacobs vs. Chris Hero, Arik Cannon, and Danny Daniels in a Gauntlet with the championship on the line against all opponents.

*Ian & Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney vs. Mad Man Pondo & JC Bailey & Toby Klein - Hardcore Rules. I’m not familiar with Klien but the rest are all really hard working brawlers who will have no problems bleeding and putting their bodies on the line. If you want blood, this is likely your match.

*IWA Light Heavyweight champion Delirious vs. Josh Abercrombie

*NWA Midwest/IWA Mid-South Women's champion MsCHIF will defend her championship.

*IWA Tag Team champions Ryan Boz & Trik Davis vs. Vito & Sal Thomaselli, Eric Priest & Silas Young, Brandon Thomaselli & B-Boy, and Eddie Kingston & BJ Whitmer - Five Way Table Elimination bout

*CM Punk vs. Homicide in what looks to be a solid bout between two really talented performers. With all the talk about Punk possibly being WWE-bound, this would be a good chance to see him working in such an intimate building.

*Tracy Smothers vs. Claudio Castagnoli

For more information on the event, visit www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com.

COMBAT ZONE WRESTLING

CZW is in many ways the b*stard son of ECW, with “Ultraviolent” matches, although they have toned down over the years in the Philadelphia market due to pressure from the State Athletic Commission. The promotion is spotlighted by what I like to call “Matrix Wrestling” with the emphasis on big spots and flashy moves. Over the last year, the company has brought in more solid wrestlers to give the company a different dimension. When CZW is on, you’re in for a really entertaining few hours. For more on CZW, you can check out the PWInsider.com special section dedicated to them at this link.

That evening’s CZW show features the following lineup:

*CZW champion champion Ruckus with Robby Mireno vs. Sexxxy Eddy – Ruckus has been a mainstay with the company since day one and finally at the top of the card. The leader of Blackout, Robby Mireno has become one of the better managers on the indy scene in the last year. Eddy became an immediate favorite of CZW fans after a strong Tournament of Death debut last summer and the Canadian star is seen as a legitimate main eventer.

*CZW Tag Team champions The H8 Club vs. Necro Butcher & "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein – Expect lots of violence and stiff brawling.

*JC Bailey vs. "Spyder" Nate Webb

*CZW Junior champion vs. Mike Quackenbush vs. B-Boy

*CZW Iron Man champion Franky The Mobster vs. Derek Frazier

*Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brandon Thomaselli

*Beef Wellington vs. Niles Young

*Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston

For more information on CZW, visit www.CZWWrestling.com.

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