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I'll be appearing on The Mouthpiece Wrestling Show tonight at 5PM Eastern for the complete hour taking calls and discussing wrestling with Sheldon Goldberg. The show airs in the Boston, MA market on 50,000 watt station WWZN The Zone at 1510 AM and at www.1510thezone.com.
MORE ON IAN ROTTEN-MIKE LEVY
Based on comments Ian Rotten posted on www.czwfans.com (thanks to Ed Shirreffs for tracking them down), Mike Levy knew the entire IWA Mid-South beatdown was coming:
"Mike Levey [sic] was told upfront he was going to take an ass whooping. Don't believe me? Just ask Mike Burns. After the match, when Tank and Devon went to the ring, they told him to stay down and sell. He chose not to so he got a ass beating. He was not hurt and, as a matter of fact, he stayed around and watched the rest of the show. He even said goodbye at the end of the night. As far as John Calvin is concerned, I told him that was not his place to be in that situation and he has been punished for it. I'm not going to get on here and fight with people that have never taken bumps or payed any dues. I know you will say "I hate when wrestlers say that." but it's said cause it's true. With out doing those things, you will NEVER understand the wrestling business. I stand be my decision on this and most likely would do it again if given the same circumstances."
So Levy at least had the knowledge going in that it was going to happen, according to Rotten. Levy was obviously booked as a joke and was there to take the beating. Well, he took the beating and it was bad enough to upset some fans, although there were others live at the show who ate it up. One fan could be heard saying, "That was the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life" at the end.
As far as Ian answering that criticism by brushing it off because the fans "have never taken bumps", that's just ludicrous because they are paying to keep him in the business, especially a small hand to mouth operation like IWA Mid-South that has had publicly acknowledged financial issues in the past. Whether they "understand" or not, It seems to me the last thing any promoter should want to do is alienate a potential paying customer, but when you are talking about the fan base he was addressing (www.czwfans.com), chances are they will watch no matter what, because it's just a die-hard fan base.
BOLTS
There have been rumors circling in Puerto Rico that former ECW World champ Steve Corino would take over as the booker of World Wrestling Council following this weekend's Anniversario event. I first heard the rumors a few weeks ago. When Jose Perez mentioned the rumors in his article on www.pwinsiderxtra.com (but not mentioning Corino by name), Corino contacted me to say it was it wasn't true, but said it in a way that left me believing there were discussions and word leaked somehow before a deal was consummated. Corino has a full-time job managing a gym in Pennsylvania, so I can't envision him giving that up to move to Puerto Rico, but I also couldn't envision him returning to the ring from a broken collarbone after a few scant weeks and he's already doing that. Eddie Gilbert has always been a major inspiration for Corino and Gilbert booked WWC, so I can see Corino wanting to do it.
Trevor Murdock (using that spelling) will be working regularly for IWA Mid-South.
Japan's Dragon Gate will run their first Stateside show on 9/5 at John Anson Ford Park (8000 Park Lane) in Bell Gardens, CA with Genki Horiguchi vs. El Generico, Stalker Ichikawa vs. Necro Butcher and a "Dream" tag match featuring Dos Caras & Dragon Kid vs. Kenichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa plus Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino (who were in TNA recently as part of the World X Cup), BXB Hulk, Dragon Kid, Shingo Takagi, UK star Pac, and Matt and Nick Jackson appearing. Hayabusa will be at the event as well, making a special appearance. Tickets are priced at $50 down to $20. For ticket information, visit www.allamerican-tkt.com.
Combat Zone Wrestling is bringing Al Snow in on 7/27 for a wrestling seminar in Philadelphia at the New Alhambra from 9:30 am - 1 pm. The seminar is $50. For information, email ACADEMY@CZWrestling.com.
Pro Wrestling Unplugged, which relaunched itself with its first live event since Tod Gordon's retirement next week in Philadelphia on 7/26, has launched a new online home at www.wrestlereality.com.
Dangerous Women of Wrestling out of Pennsylvania are teasing they will return to television in that market sometime this summer. I have no idea when the last time they actually ran an event was at this point.
Where Are They Now: Van Hammer is now working as a personal trainer in the Charlotte area. He was spotted at the Smackdown taping earlier this week handing out flyers for the gym. I wonder how many people are aware Hammer was one of the Briscoe Brothers' initial trainers in Delaware?
The New York Wrestling Connection will be running Ronkonkoma, Long Island on 8/2 with Balls Mahoney debuting, Mikey Whipwreck vs. Tony Burma in a Dog Collar Match and former WWE developmental talent Mike Mondo (Mikey of the Spirit Squad) vs. Papadon, plus Rob Eckos, Nick Berk and more.
The Post Crescent in Wisconsin reported today that despite reservations made by members of the local committee over the potential problems dealing with selling alcohol at a pro wrestling event that would likely be marketed to children, they have still approved a license for Packerland Pro Wrestling to hold "The Roadhouse Rumble" on 7/26 in Neenah, WI. The promotion will be required to segregate alcohol sales away from area where children are present. You can check out more at this link.
A new book titled "Wrestling's Greatest Moments" slated for a November 2008 release from ECW Press, is expected to feature an overview of major turning points and angles in wrestling history, written by Mike Rickard, who writes for WorldWrestlingInsanity.com. The promotional material for the book reads:
Every fan of professional wrestling remembers the moment that captured their heart forever and hooked them for life. Whether it was Ric Flair regaining the NWA Championship from Harley Race at Starcade, the Freebirds turning heel on Kerry Von Erich, Mick Foley flying off the cage at King of the Ring, Jake Roberts DDT-ing Ricky Steamboat on the concrete, Samoa Joe’s epic trilogy with CM Punk in Ring of Honor, or the premiere of WCW’s Nitro: these are the matches and moments that thrilled, terrified, or outraged – overwhelming you with real emotion.
Mike Rickard’s Wrestling’s Greatest Moments brings you all the most memorable and controversial moments from modern wrestling history. It’s an insightful and essential compendium of thirty years’ worth of groundbreaking matches, angles and interviews. From Hulkamania to the Montreal “screwjob,†from the NWA to the nWo, you’ll rediscover what really occurred in arenas and on the air worldwide, and learn all the backstage and behind-the-scenes secrets that made these highlight-reel moments possible from the men and women who were there.
Whether you watched Stone Cold Steve Austin point a gun at WWE honcho Vince McMahon’s head, or stood outside the building as D-Generation X “invaded†WCW; whether you look back with nostalgia to “The King†slapping Andy Kaufman silly on Letterman or believe wrestling was better when Bruno sold out Shea; whether you were one of the Philadelphia “bingo hall†faithful who made ECW “extreme†or a casual observer of the Monday Night Wars; whether you’re reliving these moments or discovering them for the first time, Wrestling’s Greatest Moments will enthrall you with the exploits and extravagance, the tragedies and triumphs of the sport of kings.
For detailed press releases and information on many of the events mentioned in Nuts & Bolts, visit www.PWInsiderXTRA.com daily. That's all the Nuts & Bolts for now.
Come across something interesting? Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.
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