Hosting System Issue -- Posted by Chad on Sunday, January 17 2010
UPDATED: The registration and billing system is active as of Tuesday, 1/19. You should have been able to manage hosted accounts through your Control Panel available at http://*.fwrestling.com/cpanel where * is your subdomain or account name.

Please e-mail chad@fwrestling.com or post on FW Central if you have any problems.

Sin City Showdown -- Posted by Chad on Wednesday, December 9 2009
Empire Pro (EPW) and WFW:NE have announced "Sin City Showdown" for January where stars from both companies will face off against each other.

To kick off the day, EPW will celebrate with a milestone event, Aggression 50. WFW: New ERA will continue the day with its upcoming PPV, Destrucity II. That evening, the companies collide for the Showdown.

More information to come! For now, we're all left to speculate on the huge matchups that could take place. Check out the full announcement made on the EPW Fed Head Blog.

FWrestling/Child's Play: Jay's Story -- Posted by Chad on Thursday, November 26 2009
Please take a minute to read a note from Jamar Short, a long-time handler in FWO, CSWA and EPW, about how his family has been affected by one of the hospitals Child's Play supports:

Brooklyn Kennedy Short was born prematurely on January 17, 2009, at 29 weeks, weighing two pounds, 8 ounces. As most people know, my second daughter, Joy was born at 24 weeks, and was one pound, five ounces, so the fact that my wife had another premature child didn't come as a shock or surprise to our family. What happened afterwards did. Joy – by the grace of God – grew up to be a perfectly normal little girl. Most of the issues that premature babies suffer from, through prayer, and good fortune, missed our baby girl, so naturally we expected the same recovery from Brooklyn, but we didn't.

Brooklyn was born at a small hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia and shipped to the Macon Medical Center in Macon, GA where they kept her for close to three months. One of the things that I noticed was that the staff there didn't seem to care, and always made us feel like we were a burden, whenever we would call or come to see our child. Another issue that I had, was that I'd see things – like her head growing extremely large in a short period of time – that didn't seem quite right, and would be told by doctors that it's a category one, something or another and that we need not to worry, however, whenever she would be transported to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to see the doctors who would perform her surgeries, they'd inform us that she was in desperate need of a blood transfusion, and that the issues that were so small and of zero importance in Macon, GA were severe and required immediate attention in Atlanta.

I thank God for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. They performed two successful surgeries on my daughter, one being a major heart surgery with three ailments that have never been seen at the same time, in one child. Brooklyn is on the recovery trail, and she's functioning like a normal baby girl, albeit a little behind, and I think a large part of it is prayer, love, more prayer, and the good ladies and gentlemen of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Thank you Chad for raising awareness, thank you for caring, and thank you for reaching out to me to tell my family's story. There are children that stay in these facilities for six to seven months out of a year, and every donation allows them the opportunity to participate in something that allows them to escape the sad, unfair and sometimes cruel reality of life.

God bless you.

Your boy,
Jay

FWrestling Gives Back: Child's Play Charity -- Posted by Chad on Monday, November 23 2009
Your normally slightly boring front page at FWrestling has been taken over for a good cause!

Child's Play is a charity created by the webcomic gurus at Penny Arcade in 2003 that supports children's hospitals worldwide. Last year, this online gamer created charity raised $1.4 million.

Child's Play works directly with over 60 children's hospitals around the world, creating wishlists of video games, toys and movies. The gifts sent directly to the hospitals are used to help children in treatment while they're sick, away from home and often bored. In many cases, children must remain in isolation as part of their treatment. Even when they don't, very often there aren't enough toys in the hospital playrooms for all the patients.

Starting this year, I decided to try a little experiment. For years, the broader Fantasy Wrestling/e-wrestling community has talked about where to coalesce and put its energy -- usually focused on events, titles, debate, etc. This year, I thought we should put our money (literally) where our mouth is and support children in need. The CSWA was created when a 12- and 13-year old got bored over spring break one year. Rather than watching another set of reruns, we decided to create our own game based around wrestling. I can't imagine if that boredom had been compounded by chemo treatments, constant tests and being away from my home.

In the days ahead, I'll be posting more about Child's Play, including a story from one our own about how his family was directly impacted by one of the hospital supported by the charity.

On the front page of FWrestling.com you'll find a Chipin widget that directs you to Paypal where you can make a donation. At the end of the drive on December 25, I'll be submitting those donations directly to Child's Play in the name of our community (communities?). I'll post updates on the forum, as well as information and proof of the final donation so you can see the final tally.

If you have any concerns using Paypal, please let me know, or simply go to the Child's Play website where you can make a direct donation or select specific gifts through hospital wishlists on Amazon. We won't be able to track your gift specifically as part of the FWrestling donation, but that doesn't matter as much as making the donatino itself.

If anyone has ideas on how to add to this drive, please let me know. I'm certainly willing to promise to get a certain CSWA card done by a certain date if that spurs anyone to donate. I'm sure we can all come up with some ideas to encourage folks to get involved.

I know this is a long message -- but despite my general lack of time these days, I've enjoyed being a part of this community for so many years and being able to provide a site and place for you to connect. If you ever wanted to help "pay me back" for the costs in hosting, software, etc., simply say "thank you" by making a donation to this important cause.

Thanks all.

-Chad

Server Upgraded -- Posted by Chad on Monday, October 12 2009
Over the weekend of October 9, all FWrestling.com sites were moved over to a new server. The move was just completed and everything is being tested. If you find anything missing or have any problems, please post a note on FW Central. This move should correct the recent downtime issues.

ESENtv: BROCKED and LOADED -- Posted by NFW on Tuesday, June 2 2009
The attorney for Brock Alyas has been in constant negotiations with the district attorney representing the state of North Carolina for the past few months so that New Frontier of Wrestling’s bad boy can get back in the ring without a lengthy trial that would inevitably become a distraction.

Back in November of 2008 Brock Alyas was charged with a felony account of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and was released after serving four months dead time in Scotland Correctional Insitute in Laurinburg, NC. Alyas was arrested in Raleigh on November 21, 2008 and the arresting officer reported that he was driving his Cadillac Eldorado recklessly and he issued Alyas a breathalyzer test, results coming back told officials that Alyas well over twice the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.

Alyas was arrested on spot and sentenced to four months dead time at Scotland Correctional, a maximum security state prison because of the drunk driving charges.

Alyas is expected to appear in a North Carolina criminal court Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing. So far, no plea arrangement has been reached and sources say that Alyas plans to plead not guilty to the charge.

After apparently firing a gun off in public in Raleigh last November 21, Alyas was arraigned on one count of illegal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, a Glock.40 semi-automatic pistol. Because his clip was fully-loaded when arrested, Alyas doesn’t appear to be up against charges for firing the hand-gun in public.

Criminal defense attorney Andrew Martinez, who represents Alyas, have been discussing possible outcomes for if the defense agrees to a plea. Martinez has stated that he along with his client are only interested in a plea that will not include jail time. Anything that’s been discussed has and will include jail time for the NFW competitor.

The district attorney intends to prosecute Alyas to the fullest extent of the law making an example out of the athlete and has state “the economy we live in today not only allows athletes the opportunity to break the law, but it’s become fashionable to do so and get away with it… any punishment besides jail time would be a mockery of the current criminal system and only lead to other cases in which high-paid athletes can buy their way out of jail time,”

Alyas wants to resolve the case without a trial so that he can get back to training and preparing for further endeavors in the NFW as he’s become quite the commodity in and around the NFW circle and fan base.

He has yet to receive any punishment from the NFW and no officials have agreed to speak on the terms although it’s without a doubt that the Eddie Mayfield owned NFW, frowns upon Brock’s actions.

ESENtv caught Brock and his representative leaving the court-room on Monday April 6th and his lawyer, Martinez had this to say as shown in the official TV transcript...

(FADE IN: BROCK ALYAS and ANDY MARTINEZ both dressed in suit and tie, clad from head to toe in Gucci leaving a court-room in Raleigh, North Carolina. Surrounded by mass amounts of camera men, local TV stations and dedicated NFW fans holding up signs in defence of Brock – it looked as if it was a red-carpet event.)

(CUTTO: MARTINEZ walking up with ALYAS standing slightly behind him, eyes narrowed obviously annoyed at the hundreds of cameras flashing in his face. MARTINEZ looks much more comfortable in this scenario, ALYAS looks like wants to straight dummy the next guy who takes his picture from point blank range.)

(ALYAS AND MARTINEZ continue their way through the crowd en route to the stretch limo waiting for them at the end of the sidewalk. BROCK just can’t help but resist giving the two-finger salute before getting into the limo.)

Killing of the King: Part 6 and Epilogue -- Posted by Chad on Sunday, April 5 2009
I declare war on every government, war against all odds.

CSWA Gold Rush was conceived with two thoughts in mind from Commissioner Stephen Thomas: a punishment for Unified Champion Troy Windham for his refusal to face either his brother Mark Windham, or the former CSWA World Champion and perennial top contender Dan Ryan, and a way to bring the CSWA back to the forefront with a splash. In a nutshell, there would be five rings with battle – royal style matches happening simultaneously. Each outer ring would have a winner and a runner – up; the winner would win either one of the three secondary CSWA championships or an automatic Unified Title shot at any time, and the winner and runner – up would gain access to the center ring, where Troy would be defending the Unified Title itself against them.

To his continued credit, Troy dove into the Gold Rush with abandon, rapidly showing every other wrestler who was involved why he was called The Epitome. As an open challenge, wrestlers who would never have thought to have competed in the CSWA piled in against the Champion, in hopes of adding their names to the immortals who had worn the Unified World Championship.

Among the non – contracted wrestlers who threw their name in the ring, there was a man who last wrestled in the CSWA at CSWA17: Rebirth, the 2005 Anniversary celebration. ‘Total Elimination’ Eli Flair. When asked, Flair would say he didn’t think any of the other wrestlers in the contest knew what it was to go up against Troy Windham, and that he was entered solely to make sure Troy did not leave the Gold Rush event with the Unified Championship.

Both men appeared to take a wide berth of each other during the preliminary build up to the event, presumably because both knew, to take it to the level they had previously gone would have essentially negated both their presences in the Gold Rush. They barely interacted during the center ring itself, as Eli would be eliminated by the runner – up in the official match, Eron the Relentless, and Troy would defy all odds and fulfill his guarantee that he would attain victory in the Gold Rush.

Of course, mere moments after the Gold Rush ended, ‘Ego Buster’ Dan Ryan would cash in his title shot and fulfill Eli’s guarantee, that Troy would not leave CSWA18 with the Unified World Championship. Eli would subsequently walk out of the Merritt Auditorium, his CSWA career officially completed.

Epilogue: The cool remnant of a dream

It’s impossible to predict where each man’s career would have ended up if Troy had not defeated Eli for the CSWA Presidential Championship all the way back in 1997, or if Troy had not added insult to injury with his orchestrated Frat beatdown of the King of Extreme in the moments after the match. That incident and everything that spawned from it put a focus in Eli Flair that turned his never – say – die, shrug – off – all – injury tendancies to an obsession that propelled him to the top of the sport, and it gave Troy Windham the reputation as a man that could never be stopped.

It redefined what it meant for two wrestlers to be in a blood feud. Mike Randalls putting a wooden stake through GUNS’ knee, long the standard bearer for the farthest any man had gone to hurt another in the business, was almost universally shoved aside by the image of Eli standing on Troy’s broken hand, casually snapping his fingers one, two, three.

Professional wrestling, in general, and the CSWA in particular, had seen epic feuds and battles through its entire run – America’s Team, GUNS, Randalls, the Diamond Exchange, the Intruders, the CORPORATION, PLR, and every conceivable combination of opponents contained therein. In every other case, there was a hero and a villain and they were easily identified. Not here. In this case, the “hero” in the loosest possible terms, Eli Flair, inflicted the most grievous, most depraved acts of violence against his opponent, and the “villain” in the same loose terms, Troy Windham proved himself as one of the most resilient, stubborn, and talented men who had ever stepped between the ropes.

Both men were propelled into iconic status despite their best efforts. Troy’s pinup – good looks and Hollywood personality made him a natural spokesman for professional wrestling as legitimate entertainment, and remained on the elusive “A” list despite personal demons and public scandal. Eli, in contrast, was a loner, a private citizen, and an iconic anti – celebrity that made him a reluctant hero to the counterculture of society, the “cool factor in the music videos” that Sammy Benson coined, that gave any attempt at alternative entertainment the legitimacy it – often desperately – sought.

“Culture meets counterculture,” Ivy McGinnis was quoted as saying, in reference to Troy and Eli, “Wherever there’s culture there will be counterculture, and there will always be a natural friction between the two. Add in the professional wrestling – sized egos and it’s a recipe ripe for disaster.”

It’s impossible to measure exactly how this feud altered the course of professional wrestling in and of itself, but the sport, much like the two men involved, has been irrevocably changed from their presence.

Free Hosting Reopened -- Posted by Chad on Sunday, March 29 2009
Let's see if we can keep the crazy hackers at bay, but FWrestling.com free hosting has been reopened at http://fwrestling.com/hosting.shtml.

Killing of the King: Part Five -- Posted by Chad on Sunday, March 29 2009
Kiss me, it’ll heal, but it won’t forget

At NFW Crashmas 2004, far from the lights and media of Greensboro, two mysteries were shockingly solved, as El Toro was unmasked to reveal the part – owner, the PROFESSIONAL, ‘Cocky’ Craig Miles, and the Highwayman unmasked himself to reveal Troy Windham. Conflict and strife that stretched as far back as 1992 were suddenly thrust to the forefront of the professional wrestling world as never before. Troy had apparently lost any sense of humility that he seemed to gain when he was wheeled out of the Cage, and he was as ready as ever to make yet another mark on the world of professional wrestling.

What he hadn’t counted on was the fact that, in the year prior, Craig Miles had renewed his friendship with ‘Poison’ Ivy McGinnis, and McGinnis had become one of his few confidants. Miles would invite McGinnis, Eli, and Eli’s wife, rock, goth, and blues singer Angel of Valerian’s Garden, to WRESTLEBOWL, the crowning night of the first Ultratitle season. It is still unknown what Miles hoped to achieve that night, but rumor is that he placed the responsibility for Troy’s actions on Eli’s head. Instead of teaching Troy humility, Miles would imply that the fact that Troy survived Eli’s onslaught had simply taught the Epitome that he could overcome anything, and he began to act accordingly.

Miles would lay an offer to Eli on the spot, against the advice of fellow legend Tom Adler and fellow former ClaimStaker Mike Randalls, to both be a part of NFW Ultratitle Season 2, and resolve the unfinished business with Troy. The details are still confidential, other than the brawl that took place in the ring just before the Ultratitle finals between Shane Southern and Michael Manson, and a single line that Ivy McGinnis spoke into her telephone during the backstage meeting.

“He knows what has to be done,” Ivy had said.

But Troy was distracted. His obligations as Unified World Champion left his time in the NFW Season 2 limited, and he was barely able to fulfill his part in the season. Indeed, the rapid build of the Wrestle Stock pay – per – view event that was scheduled to be headlined by “Eli vs. Troy, the Final Chapter” seemed lackluster until the final weeks.

Wrestle Stock was the NFW’s answer to the link other ‘Extreme’ sports had with nu – punk and speed metal. Miles’ intention was to have a full tour through California, with the crowning peak to be an outdoors pay – per – view event with a live band and the best wrestling anywhere in the world.

For music, Miles went to Valerian’s Garden. He knew the band through Eli and Ivy, and knew they could do what he wanted in the musical sense. Angel would later say that they were hired to play two dates, and ended up staying for a month, jamming on the beach at all hours of the day. Regardless, Wrestle Stock was all about the wrestling and the music, until the show before the pay – per – view. In the final moments of the main event that saw Eli Flair exact a measure of revenge on ‘Kodiak’ Vic Creed for Creed’s domination of their fWo World Championship match three years earlier, an explosion rocked the night sky.

Troy Windham had set the Valerian’s Garden bus on fire with two band members still inside.

It had been personal before, but now it was a family affair.

As if contrasted to the fire on the bus, the Wrestle Stock pay – per – view saw a torrential downpour that threatened the safety of the band and the wrestlers. Any other company would have cancelled, but NFW was always about pushing the envelope, and the show went off without a hitch.

In the main event, Eli Flair would finally gain the submission victory from Troy Windham that was denied him five years earlier, but it seemed a hollow victory, quickly overshadowed by Miles’ announcement regarding the Ultratitle playoffs. The match itself would quickly prove to mean nothing in the grand scheme of their feud, as Eli would reach the final match of the NFW West before losing another war to eventual Ultratitle 2.0 winner Nova, and Troy would return to the CSWA with his biggest challenge in his sights.

Holzerblog is back! -- Posted by NFW on Monday, February 23 2009
Be sure to check out the Tom Holzerman's EWrestling blog, which provides great resources, ideas and feedback on our hobby.

http://angloluchador.blogspot.com/

NAPW 2008 Year-End Awards -- Posted by napw on Monday, December 22 2008
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Krusty Kid Paul (58%)

"LDK" Lloyd Rees (18%)
Jake Phoenix (18%)
KRENSHOV (6%)

Taking home a whopping 56% of the voting with 18 votes, even those who hate him acknowledge the tremendous year Krusty Kid Paul has had. KKP started the year as one-half of the Tag Team champions along with Tommy Deathrow. After breaking off from his long-time friend, KKP established himself as a new force in singles competition, culminating in an NAPW World Title win. With wins over names like "LDK" Lloyd Rees, D!, Billy Kryenik, Tommy Deathrow, Mystic Exposition and Stone Zellor, KKP capped off a renaissance year by retaining the NAPW championship against "The Show" Chad Kurtis - ending Kurtis' NAPW career in the process. KKP is without a doubt the NAPW Wrestler of the Year.


TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR
Chris Casino & Evan Cartwright (45%)

Faces of Death (24%)
Mystic Exposition (15%)
Sexy Adorable Drunks (12%)
Chris Kamikaze & Stein (3%)

How can you deny the success? Chris Casino & Evan Cartwright returned to NAPW, supposedly for a four show "reunion tour." Instead, they won every match they had en route to becoming two-time NAPW tag team champions, and then broke the record for tag title defenses. They also broke into the top ten longest title reigns. Casino & Cartwright have only one loss in regular tag team action in 2008 with an astounding 7-3-1 record. It's no wonder 47% of fans voted them as tag team of the year! Not bad for a team returning "temporarily."


NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Trent Daniels (42%)

Jer$ey (24%)
Danny Chaos (21%)
O'Connor Boys (6%)
KBOND (6%)

Fans were split between three men for this vote, but by the end, Trent Daniels pulled away from the pack. Daniels spent most of 2008 embroiled in lengthy, heated feuds with three different men... three of the best NAPW has to offer. D!, "The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan, and Jake Phoenix had all they could handle and more from the newcomer. Daniels spent much of the year wrestling through a series of rib injures, a gutsy performance that impressed fans and peers. Daniels was the man to unseat Stone Zellor as Heritage Champion, and made it to the final round of the 2008 Canada Cup (he lost to Dan Ryan). In the final months of the year, fans have seen a new side of Trent Daniels, as he seems willing to go to any lengths to win matches and is now on the receiving end of boos. Still, 40% of voters is enough to secure him the Newcomer of the Year award.


COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
D! (36%)

Chris Casino & Evan Cartwright (27%)
Billy Kryenik (15%)
Ravager (12%)
Bruce "The Beast" Richards (9%)

For much of the voting, it looked like Dirty Money were going to walk away with another award. Then the votes began pouring in for D!. When the dust cleared, it was D! taking the winner's share of the purse. That D! returned to NAPW at all after vanishing in late 2006 was a shocker. The malevolent D! returned at Sole Survivor and almost won the whole thing if it wasn't for Trent Daniels. Engaging in epic feuds with Daniels, "The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan and even getting into it with Dirty Money, D! has kept himself busy - even if it means pounding on Joey Malone again and again. D! was unsuccessful in his only NAPW World Title shot in 2008, but fans have to wonder: How long before the former face of NAPW once again holds championship gold?


MOST POPULAR OF THE YEAR
"LDK" Lloyd Rees (45%)

Billy Kryenik (21%)
Bruce "The Beast" Richards (15%)
"The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan (9%)
"WHITE CHOCOLATE~" Tiffany Macintyre (9%)

"Da Technical Terror"... and undeniably the most popular man in New Alberta Pro. Even if most fans can't understand what the hell he's talking about beneath an increasingly thick Newfie accent. The most decorated man in NAPW history spent 2008 doing what he does best: Win. And win big, taking home the Sole Survivor match, a second Tagstravaganza victory, and a top-notch World Title run. As Rees blew roof after roof off with potential MOTY candidates, the fans cheered louder and louder. With a commanding 45% of the vote, it's clear that the fans are behind the "East-Coast Sensation." The only thing that could put his popularity even higher... is dethroning the Faces of Death for the tag team titles with his partner Dan Ryan.


MOST HATED OF THE YEAR
Krusty Kid Paul (36%) / Ravager (36%)

D! (15%)
KRENSHOV (6%)
Chris Casino (6%)

Krusty Kid Paul or Ravager? That was the question as the votes came in and almost every other vote was for either man. In the end, the fans agreed that they hated the current NAPW World Champ and one-half of the Tag Team champions equally.

Last year, Ravager was voted both Wrestler of the Year and Most Popular. How things have changed. In the summer, Ravager turned his back then-partner Dez Carter and the NAPW fans, aligning with KRENSHOV as the Faces of Death. The level of violence the FoD have brought to NAPW is unprecedented; they have injured and forced out of NAPW several wrestlers. Their most shocking act of violence put NAPW Commissioner Terry Brandon into a coma. Yet although virtually all of Ravager's despicable acts have been as unit with KRENSHOV, clearly the fans were almost willing and ready to hate Kenny Krenshov. But Ravager, at one-time the savior of NAPW and perhaps at one time the most popular man in history, betrayed them. And they may not ever forgive.

As far as the current World Champion goes, the fans hated Krusty Kid Paul the entire year. First he and Tommy Deathrow nearly put The Expositioner out of wrestling. Then KKP turned on Deathrow. But as much as the fans hated him then, they would come to hate him even more as NAPW World Champion. The title put KKP into a position to do what he loves most: crush the dreams of all around him. As one part of Dirty Money, KKP has kept all challengers out of his reach. But perhaps the act that makes fans hate him more than ever is the one he committed at the close of 2008: forcing "The Show" Chad Kurtis out of NAPW... for good. And as 2009 begins, the two most hated men in NAPW are still on top. What will the new year hold?


MOST IMPROVED OF THE YEAR
Krusty Kid Paul (76%)

Trent Daniels (15%)
Jer$ey (9%)

The year of the Showstoppa continues. KKP trounced his competition in vote-getting. Again, as with wrestler of the year, it seems that the fans of NAPW - despite their noted hatred for the man - have no choice but to recognize the banner year Paul has had. When KKP debuted in NAPW, he seemed to be destined for the mid-card, largely acting as Tommy Deathrow's lackey. After a prolonged absence, KKP returned and finally won tag gold with Tommy. It wasn't until after SAD broke up that the fans truly began to see how much KKP had altered. Slowly but surely, KKP began racking up wins in the singles division. KKP surprised everybody when he came just within a three-count of defeating "LDK" Lloyd Rees for the World title. It was a clear sign that Krusty Kid Paul was evolving into a top-level competitor.

Then he won the World Title and truly became a CHAMPION. From lowly curtain jerker, to tag team champion, to the most dominating NAPW champion since Ravager, KKP walks away with the Most Improved Wrestler award.


FEUD OF THE YEAR
"The Show" Chad Kurtis vs Krusty Kid Paul (30%)

Chris Casino vs Faces of Death (15%)
"LDK" Lloyd Rees vs Jake Phoenix (12%)
"The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan vs D! (12%)
Mystic Exposition vs Sexy Adorable Drunks (3%)

There were any number of heated, intense feuds in NAPW over 2008. But when the dust settled, perhaps the feud with the biggest ramifications received the most votes. "The Show" Chad Kurtis and KKP began their feud by meeting in a #1 Contender's match to the World Title. The match ended in a draw and saw both men receiver a World Title match against then-champion "LDK" Lloyd Rees. In the title match, KKP pinned Rees. Then began "The Show's" pursuit of another title shot and KKP's refusal to give him one. KKP taunted "The Show" through-out the fall, but in a non-title encounter and tag encounters, KKP could beat "The Show" but never pin him. Finally, the two met at Black Thursday IV in a Last Man Standing encounter. With copious help from paramour Suzy Scum, KKP defeated the tenacious, heroic "The Show" Chad Kurtis. Kurtis, honoring his vow, would leave NAPW, being unable to win the World Title before 2008 ended. KKP not only won the feud, but has made it so that he will never have to face "The Show" again.


MATCH OF THE YEAR
12/18/2008, BLACK THURSDAY IV - Krusty Kid Paul vs 'The Show' Chad Kurtis (Last Man Standing for the NAPW World Championship (30%)

10/31/2008, ANNIVERSARY ASSAULT III - Chris Casino & Evan Cartwright vs Faces of Death (Tag Team Championship) (22%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 3/25/2008, SOLE SURVIVOR '08 - 'LDK' Lloyd Rees vs Chris Casino (30-Minute Time Limit Draw) (9%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 6/17/2008, CHAOS IN COWTOWN - Jake Phoenix vs Matthew Kurtis vs Krusty Kid Paul (Barbed Wire Tables match for the Heritage Championship) (9%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 6/25/2008, THE 150th SHOW - 'The Nexus One' Rex Caliber vs D!
NAPW Match of the Year: 10/31/2008, ANNIVERSARY ASSAULT III - Krusty Kid Paul vs 'LDK' Lloyd Rees (Hallowe'en House of Horrors Cage Match for the World Championship) (9%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 4/29/2008, BINGO TANGO!! - Ravager vs Jake Phoenix (3%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 8/19/2008, PRELUDE TO HONOR - 'The Show' Chad Kurtis vs D! (3%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 12/18/2008, BLACK THURSDAY IV - Billy Kryenik vs Jersey (Gangster's Paradise Match) (3%)
NAPW Match of the Year: 3/25/2008, SOLE SURVIVOR '08 - Mystic Exposition vs Sexy Adorable Drunks (Three Stages of Hell for the Tag Team Championship) (3%)

Tying in with the feud of the year, the fans have voted the final match of 2008 as the Match of The Year. "The Show" vs KKP in a Last Man Standing match tore the house down, as each man used every weapon in his arsenal and then some to put his opponent down for the ten count. "The Show" seemingly would not die, but one last K-Cutter through a steel chair finally put a bloody, unwavering Kurtis down for the count, and out of NAPW. It was one hell of a way to go out, even if the fans could wish for a different result.





http://www.napw-online.com

On Tap for FW and ESEN -- Posted by NFW on Monday, October 6 2008
Whether it's going to be a historic Aggression from Empire Pro Wrestling, the start of the Tournament of Champions in TEAM or the jampacked lineup of NFW's SUPERCrash II -- there's a whole lot going on in FWland as summer gives way to Autumn.

Sunny days move to scary days as all three feds prepare for some big shows.

On tap for EPW: An Aggression 39 with the Kings of the Cage Final, title defenses and a grudge match main event between Craig Miles and Sean Stevens which should have fans going home happy. If that's not enough, following up this show will be their annual PPV entitled "UNLEASHED"

On tap for TEAM: The Tournament of Champions hopes to resuscitate the overdue break from the Team Invitational Tournament and Supershow IX. Champions from around the globe will congregate in order to get a shot at TEAM Champion of Champions, Nova...who not only has to worry about Merritt Cup winner Mike Randalls in the future, but...

On tap for NFW: ...the showdown with Joe the Plumber in the main event of SUPERCrash II: Dawn of a Revolution. The unstoppable and unflappable TV Champion gets his first shot at the crown jewel of NFW, which Nova's held onto for just over 5 months. SUPERCrash II features 4 NFW Title matches and an ELITE Championship defense. The National and Elite Champion will have his hands full with Rook Black, Teresa Quaranta and Wyatt Connors. Furthermore, fans are salivating at what could be the final chapter between The Suicide Kings and the Hollywood Wrecking Crew.

NFW September Wrestler of the Month -- Posted by NFW on Monday, October 6 2008
DC Stratton entered New Frontier Wrestling in 2000 as a scrawny, backyard wrestler that was dubbed the "Inhuman Highlight Reel" by the marketing department just based on the grainy videos of his rooftop aerial theatrics.

For most of his first 4 years in the federation, Stratton clung to the bottom rung of the NFW ladder and exited along with manager Neil Riddick in the infamous All-Star War Games match, where he helped 'trigger' one of the most famous and brutal periods in NFW.

Returning alongside his idol Tsunami in 2007 and dubbing themselves "The Suicide Kings," Stratton's name has vaulted to the top of NFW and he now finds himself locked in a war with Blaine Hollywood.

At Crash 46, Stratton won the battle against Hollywood with an electrifying Swanton Senton Bomb 20 feet in distance off a shark cage to pin Blaine. With that victory, Stratton has earned his team a Everette Memorial Tag Team title shot at SUPERCrash II: Dawn of a Revolution as well as NFW's September Wrestler of the Month honors.

Only time will tell how far this fan-favorite can fly in the future.

Steve Knox wins Elite Championship! -- Posted by NFW on Wednesday, August 27 2008
The inaugural 8-man tournament for the Elite Championship has come to a close with NFW's own Steve Knox (http://nfw.fwrestling.com/) defeating GCW's Andy Murray (http://gcw.online.net) in the finals at PRIME's Colossus V. (http://prime.e-wrestling.org/)

Now, if that's not a load of acronyms and feds to swallow, I don't know what is! The Elite Championship is a coalition of wrestling federations affiliated with the former interfed Primetime Central. (http://community.primetimecentral.net/index.php)

Currently comprised of five different federations, the tournament saw one representative from each affiliate as well as 3 free agents including the runner-up, Murray.

In the end, Steve Knox used his patented Gold Standard finisher to wrap up the victory and take home the Elite Championship to New Frontier Wrestling. Industry insiders are already getting giddy over the upcoming Crash 46 'coronation' being promoted for Knox by NFW as well as the fact that the first defense will take place at SuperCrash 2 in September.

Knox may have to pull double-duty at the show as he awaits the winner of a five-man gauntlet match to determine the next #1 contender. That match will take place at SCCW, one of PTC's largest affiliates. (http://sccw.digitalrpm.com/)

What's Hot in August? -- Posted by NFW on Wednesday, August 27 2008
As previously seen right here in the Features section, we're covering two new feds in SCFW (http://scfw.fwrestling.com ) and LEGION http://legion.cornerstoneuniverse.com). Did you know that they're already pumping out results? SCFW held its first Thunder episode in just about a decade, while Legion opened up its doors with a very special surprise debut from none other than Hornet!

While those two new charter members are making their presence felt...be sure to check out NAPW's latest show entitled "Prelude to Honor." (http://www.napw-online.com/) Another five-star quality show from the Canadian indy darlings!

IWL (http://iwl.iwle.com/) entered two more Overdrives into the history books, check them out...

And what about what's on the horizon?

Well, two FW.com stalwarts in EPW and NFW are getting set for two sure-to-be HAWT TV telecasts. EPW's Aggression 38 not only keeps the Kings of the Cage Tag sparks flying, but their vacant World Championship will be decided by Sean Stevens and JA!

Aggression 38 RP here: http://fwrestling.com/fwc/forumdisplay.php?f=144

Meanwhile, NFW's meteroic 2008 braces for deep impact down in Daytona, Florida for an explosive Crash 46 Television that will feature a multitude of title scenarios being hashed out for September's SUPERCrash 2, as well as a landmark 5 on 5 Elimination Tag Match Main Event with all 10 Grand Prix combatants getting inside the ring.

Crash 46 RP here: http://fwrestling.com/fwc/forumdisplay.php?f=420


Be sure to check it all out, when you have a chance!

LEGION and SCFW added to FW Central -- Posted by Chad on Thursday, August 14 2008
The newest leagues on FW Central are preparing to debut.

LEGION may be the anti-hero of wrestling. Focused on sixteen wrestlers competing for the Dunn Cup, LEGION is underground and going viral. Beginning in the bowels of Brooklyn those sixteen wrestlers will be thrown into four teams before they're set loose on their quest for the Cup.

SCFW originally ran from 1996 to 1999 before falling apart. Returning on September 1, Soul City Fantasy Wrestling looks to build itself back up from nothing as it struggles to compete with an old-school feel surrounded by new-school competition.

Elite Championship Almost Decided! -- Posted by NFW on Wednesday, August 6 2008
The two men are none other then Steve Knox (NFW) and Andy Murray (GCW). These two have both proven they have what it takes to reach this step, but now it's up to one of them to take that next step and prove they have what it takes to become... elite. At Colossus V, next weekend, one of these two men will be crowned the first ever Elite Champion, and these are the details on how everything will be taking place.

Roleplaying beings now, Saturday, August 2nd, and will wrap up Friday, August 8th at 12:01AM. From there, judging will take place, and then the match will be submitted where everyone will read the results the evening of August 9th. For both of the competitors, please send strats or ideas to me for your match. I'll also be in contact with you very soon.

What's there more to say? Nothing much. I'm proud of what these two have done, and I look forward to seeing what these two will produce.

What's to come? vBookie Threads. Predictions. Thoughts. The whole works.

Check it all out: http://community.primetimecentral.net

NFW July 2008: SARS -- Posted by NFW on Wednesday, August 6 2008
Apparently, Mark Mehrman met Jason Lee Peirce outside of Craig Miles' Heel Academy as he just graduated. It was then that he gave Jason the 'Sars the Clown' persona and entered him into New Frontier Wrestling's TV Royale clusterfuck. He didn't win, but with recent victories at the Louisville Grand Prix Qualifiers and the only 2-0 start to the 2008 NFW Grand Prix, he's certainly earned this honor.

New Face on FWrestling.com -- Posted by NFW on Saturday, July 26 2008
The California Wrestling Association is a new, territorial wrestling league based out of the greater Los Angeles area in California. It runs regular shows in the world-famous Grand Auditorium (renovated for 2,257 person capacity), former home of two Olympic Games and now home to the hottest new territorial wrestling league on the west coast.

CWA is privately held and backed by a mystery business consortium. The mouthpiece of the organization is Michael L. Castillo, former wrestler on various circuits from 1999 thru 2007. He was also an instrumental piece in the formation and launch of the Shootclub Wrestling Alliance. It’s with this experience that he hopes to help build the CWA from humble beginnings into a Global business.

CWA aims to showcase the finest rising talent in the wrestling world to a territorial, regional, national — and perhaps eventually global — audience. With regular cable TV broadcasts and deals being struck to hold regular supercard events, the profile of CWA is sure to rise.

Link: http://cwa-prowrestling.com/

Accepting Nominations -- Posted by Chad on Monday, July 21 2008
FWrestling.com is currently accepting nominations for the Mid-Year FW Top 20. To nominate a character, simply post on this thread with the name and this year's accomplishments so far.

Once nominees have been collected, ballots will be sent out to a set of fedheads, contributors and columnists to vote on AP-style. Results will be posted on the "Rankings" page.

July: Is the Dragon's Eye on You? -- Posted by NFW on Monday, July 21 2008
Karl Brown has participated in FW feds for the past several years including EPW, NFW and TEAM. He's also an A1E stalwart for longer as well. We're very excited to see what he has to say on three of FW.com's favorite feds to cover.

From the Dragon himself: "OK. So I kinda fell behind on updating this place. My bad. But here today is some more Dragonic goodness (and yes, Dragonic is a word).

Seems like a good time to do one of those "Half-year" review type things. But I'm gonna do it a bit differently. I'm gonna do three of these - one on NFW, one on A1E, and one on Empire Pro, which I do still read occasionally."

Karl starts it off with a bang-up job on his first review of A1E. Click on the Community tab or follow the link below to read up on Karl's thoughts.

Link: http://efedthroughthedragonseye.blogspot.com/

The Elite Championship is Born -- Posted by NFW on Friday, July 11 2008
Link: http://community.primetimecentral.net/showthread.php?t=40628

First, let's just wade through it all, and announce our eight lucky competitors in the Inaugural Tournament.

The Inaugural Tournament
Where It All Begins...

Wade Elliott (PRIME)
Steve Knox (NFW)
Mayhem (SCCW)
Steven Holt (rW)
Jesse Jamester (EPW)
Devin Shakur (PRIME) [At-Large Bid]
Andy Murray (GCW/FA) [At-Large Bid]
Lance Marshall (SCCW) [At-Large Bid

The matches are as follow...

-Devin Shakur (PRIME) vs. Andy Murray (GCW/FA) [Hosted by SCCW]

-Steve Knox (NFW) vs. Jesse Jamester (EPW) [Hosted by Ringside Wrestling]

-Wade Elliott (PRIME) vs. Mayhem (SCCW) [Hosted by EPW]

-Steven Holt (rW) vs. Lance Marshall (SCCW) [Hosted by PRIME]

Those matches will be written and hosted on the following cards...

Shakur/Murray: Written by Craig and hosted on SCCW's Temptation (July 13th)

Elliott/Mayhem: Written by [TBA] and hosted on EPW's RiOT (July 16th)

Knox/Jamester: Written by The Final Testament and hosted on Ringside Wrestling's Tradition (July 16th)

Holt/Marshall: Written by The Joe and hosted on PRIME's ReVolution (July 17th)

Those are the major details. More might come, but the roleplay threads are up for you guys with the basic details of your match. Ask questions here and I shall answer them.

The Shooting Star Tournament! -- Posted by NFW on Thursday, June 19 2008
All-Star Wrestling, the new interfed (with a twist) of PTC, is running it's first event this month: The Shooting Star Tournament! This tournament will help determine the question of just who is the very best wrestler to never be a World Champion!

If your character is not a current champion, has never been a World champion, and is not due to receive a World title shot before the end of June, you can sign up right now!

NFW June 2008: Steve Knox -- Posted by NFW on Monday, June 16 2008
The iconoclastic legend of AWESOMENESS has set NFW afire since his debut at Wrestlestock 2. He's now merely one match away at Crash 45 from receiving a National Championship title shot.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Steve is the second son of Earl Knox, a professional wrestler turned actor who died in 2001 in an accident on the set of his third movie.

A mainstay of the Squared Circle since 2005, Steve has been wrestling around the independents since he was 16. A man who literally eats, sleeps, and drinks the business, Steve has put professional wrestling first at the cost of friends and family, and he's begun to feel the effects of such a lifestyle. He has few friends and nearly all of them are fellow wrestlers, among said friends are Alexandria Malone, Coral Avalon, Miranda O'Reily, and some others. He does not get along with his equally successful wrestling brothers, Simon and Soren, despite their status as wrestlers. He also does not particularly get along with his little sister, Siobahn.

Steve's success in the Squared Circle, in particular becoming the most decorated star in tSC's history, has caught the attention of other promoters like Craig Miles. Now he's in NFW and tSC at the same time, and lord knows which one will break him first.

Steve is a technical/power hybrid wrestler, focusing primarily on suplexes, throws, and brawling. His style is aggressive, but resourceful... he likes to pound an opponent into virtual submission with his techniques, and in matches that have few to no rules, he'll take advantage of his environment as much as possible.

Steve's size and strength allow him the benefit of being able to suplex opponents in the 300-400 lbs. range, and he can even lift opponents with great difficulty into a standing fireman's carry. He is also strong enough that his lariat (the Gold Rush) is potent even against much larger opponents.

June 2008 Events Round-Up -- Posted by NFW on Monday, June 16 2008
June 2008 certainly looks like a surefire sign that the Summer is going to be a hot one for ESEN & FWrestling.com!

No doubt, the FWCircuit has alot going on for itself as EPW's Aggression 36 was a tectonic shift for the federation as Lindsay Troy (SHE'S BACK!) takes over for Dan Ryan as EPW head-honcho following the aftermath of A1E's legendary Vengeance PPV. Moreover, Aggression 37 looms large with the first-ever Kings of the Cage tag-team tournament to take place, where a special somebody to this website happens to be participating.

Meanwhile, Indy fans are eagerly awaiting the upcoming NAPW Chaos in Cowtown event as many voters got to actually VOTE to determine the show's lineup! Along with REBEL PRO, these two feds have been shining stars on the affiliate circuit.

Finally, NFW has put Wrestlestock 2 behind, partied down in New York City and now is days away from going LIVE from Ground Zero in Hershey, PA for it's 45th episode of CRASH TV. A stellar, all-star lineup and the kickoff for the 2008 NFW Grand Prix. Nova and TQ go title for title amongst other anticipated matches.

Killing of the King: Part Five -- Posted by Chad on Friday, March 21 2008
Kiss me, it’ll heal, but it won’t forget

At NFW Crashmas 2004, far from the lights and media of Greensboro, two mysteries were shockingly solved, as El Toro was unmasked to reveal the part – owner, the PROFESSIONAL, ‘Cocky’ Craig Miles, and the Highwayman unmasked himself to reveal Troy Windham. Conflict and strife that stretched as far back as 1992 were suddenly thrust to the forefront of the professional wrestling world as never before. Troy had apparently lost any sense of humility that he seemed to gain when he was wheeled out of the Cage, and he was as ready as ever to make yet another mark on the world of professional wrestling.

What he hadn’t counted on was the fact that, in the year prior, Craig Miles had renewed his friendship with ‘Poison’ Ivy McGinnis, and McGinnis had become one of his few confidants. Miles would invite McGinnis, Eli, and Eli’s wife, rock, goth, and blues singer Angel of Valerian’s Garden, to WRESTLEBOWL, the crowning night of the first Ultratitle season. It is still unknown what Miles hoped to achieve that night, but rumor is that he placed the responsibility for Troy’s actions on Eli’s head. Instead of teaching Troy humility, Miles would imply that the fact that Troy survived Eli’s onslaught had simply taught the Epitome that he could overcome anything, and he began to act accordingly.

Miles would lay an offer to Eli on the spot, against the advice of fellow legend Tom Adler and fellow former ClaimStaker Mike Randalls, to both be a part of NFW Ultratitle Season 2, and resolve the unfinished business with Troy. The details are still confidential, other than the brawl that took place in the ring just before the Ultratitle finals between Shane Southern and Michael Manson, and a single line that Ivy McGinnis spoke into her telephone during the backstage meeting.

“He knows what has to be done,” Ivy had said.

But Troy was distracted. His obligations as Unified World Champion left his time in the NFW Season 2 limited, and he was barely able to fulfill his part in the season. Indeed, the rapid build of the Wrestle Stock pay – per – view event that was scheduled to be headlined by “Eli vs. Troy, the Final Chapter” seemed lackluster until the final weeks.

WrestleStock was the NFW’s answer to the link other ‘Extreme’ sports had with nu – punk and speed metal. Miles’ intention was to have a full tour through California, with the crowning peak to be an outdoors pay – per – view event with a live band and the best wrestling anywhere in the world.

For music, Miles went to Valerian’s Garden. He knew the band through Eli and Ivy, and knew they could do what he wanted in the musical sense. Angel would later say that they were hired to play two dates, and ended up staying for a month, jamming on the beach at all hours of the day. Regardless, Wrestle Stock was all about the wrestling and the music, until the show before the pay – per – view. In the final moments of the main event that saw Eli Flair exact a measure of revenge on ‘Kodiak’ Vic Creed for Creed’s domination of their fWo World Championship match three years earlier, an explosion rocked the night sky.

Troy Windham had set the Valerian’s Garden bus on fire with two band members still inside.

It had been personal before, but now it was a family affair.

As if contrasted to the fire on the bus, the WrestleStock pay – per – view saw a torrential downpour that threatened the safety of the band and the wrestlers. Any other company would have cancelled, but NFW was always about pushing the envelope, and the show went off without a hitch.

In the main event, Eli Flair would finally gain the submission victory from Troy Windham that was denied him five years earlier, but it seemed a hollow victory, quickly overshadowed by Miles’ announcement regarding the Ultratitle playoffs. The match itself would quickly prove to mean nothing in the grand scheme of their feud, as Eli would reach the final match of the NFW West before losing another war to eventual Ultratitle 2.0 winner Nova, and Troy would return to the CSWA with his biggest challenge in his sights.

NAPW Sole Survivor Odds -- Posted by napw on Thursday, March 20 2008
Sole Survivor Vegas Odds
By Scotty Slammy

Sole Survivor has come to be known as the biggest event on the NAPW calendar. It is a unique match. A 30-man Over-The-Top-Rope Battle Royale with staggered entrances, a new wrestler entering every two minutes. Two men enter and luck of the draw determines the next wrestler out. Order of entrance can have a huge impact on a wrestler's chances - an early entrance proves an uphill battle all night long, a late entrance means you come in fresh near the end of what is guaranteed to be a sixty-minute match.

This year, Sole Survivor appears to be wide open, and NAPW-online's very own Scotty Slammy brings you all the info you need to conduct your illegal gambling at Jack Attack's bookie emporium.


Ravager: 5 - 1
Ravager NEEDS this win. Bad. More over, he's a workhorse. He could come in early and still carry the match. He has the skill, the endurance, the drive AND the motivation. That makes Ravager the man to beat... but it also makes him a very tantalizing target.

"The Show" Chad Kurtis: 8 - 1
In the NAPW, The Show has been on a roll lately. Some huge wins over Dan Ryan and KRENSHOV have really put him on the fast track, and I wager he'll soon be in the title picture with or without a Sole Survivor win. That said, he could very well take this home as some collateral. In the ring, Chad's got raw talent and the versatility to handle multiple opponents. He might get overwhelmed if he comes in early, but if he comes in late, it could be The Show's night.

"Bluegrass Badass" Matthew Kurtis: 10 - 1
Matt Kurtis has one HUGE advantage over the competition. He's one of the biggest damn men in the NAPW, and in a competition where you have to be thrown over the top rope that one of the BIGGEST advantages. That said, Matt's got few friends in this match, and many enemies. If he gets isolated by the WGA... well, even gnats can kill you if there's enough of them.

Jake Phoenix: 2 - 1
Who hates Jake Phoenix, you ask. The answer, it turns out, is everyone. Jake has no friends going into this match, and everyone knows that he's a favourite to win. The problem, you see, is that he's a favourite for a REASON. Phoenix is a monster, a powerhouse. If he gets lucky and comes in late in the match, I daresay that he probably couldn't lose it. If he comes in earlier, he's going to be targeted again and again, and he'll find himself spread too thin.

Stone Zellor: 15 - 1
Stone is coming off a devastating loss. Though skillful, and armed with the kind of endurance to last in a long match, Stone's mind won't be in the game. He'll be on the lookout for Trent Daniels, and no one else. If he can get that elimination, he might just get back into things, but that's a long shot.

Thomas Deathrow: 20 - 1
SUPERSTAR Tommy Deathrow is a hard hitter, and a reckless wrestler. Does he have the stamina to last in a battle royal situation, though? Moreover, he's a tag team specialist. Deathrow has throughout his NAPW career, been almost exclusively in the tag team division. Unless you manage to get lucky, and have your partner in the ring with you, you're on your own in this kind of match. History sets a bad precedent for Tommy Deathrow in the Sole Survivor match. He'll definitely be fighting to overcome the odds.

Krusty Kid Paul: 15 - 1
KKP is in the same boat as his tag team partner. An almost dedicated tag team wrestler with a reckless streak, he's going to have an uphill battle through Sole Survivor. That said, KKP also holds a record for the most eliminations in a battle royal in the NAPW. That certainly shows he's got potential, but will it be enough to win the whole thing?

Teddy Davis: 12 - 1
A technician with a pretty big ego, Teddy Davis is going into this match with a lot to prove, and the potential to prove it. As an added bonus, he's got a friend in the match to watch his back. However he's just come off of a pretty terrible loss that tripped up the debut of his tag team. That may have killed some of his momentum going into this match up. Still, Teddy might surprise everyone and go the distance.

David Gage: 12 - 1
Another technician with a pretty big ego. Another wrestler with someone watching his back. Another person who just had his momentum shot by an unexpected loss. But that's a tag team match. David Gage is a solid wrestler, and had a very real chance of winning this if his head is in the game. He just has to be able to beat not only the odds-on favourites... but his brand new tag team partner.

Dez Carter: 8 - 1
Wow, Dez has some good odds! Why is that? Because he very nearly went the distance last year, and that kind of thing affects the odds! He's got a good head on his shoulders, and experience lasting in the Sole Survivor match. If he keeps his wits about him, he might just be able to surprise everyone this year, and take home the win.

Bruce "The Beast" Richards: 3 - 1
The Beast is in better shape right now than he has been in years, and with the monkey that is Donovan Astros off his back, he can focus on getting the NAPW World Title back. After two rather dismal showings in Sole Survivor in the past two years, Richards is in a prime spot to make an impact now. If he can overcome Phoenix and Ravager... no one will stop him from winning this match.

Stein: 6 - 1
There's something not quite right about Stein. But who knows? Unusual might be just the edge you need. Stein almost eliminated D! in the first Sole Survivor match, and in 2006, D! was the man to beat. This year, Jake Phoenix, Bruce Richards and Ravager are the men to beat. Maybe Stein can.

"The Falcon" Jacob Venar: 20 - 1
This morning, The Falcon had 10 - 1 odds. Then he asked for the #1 spot in the match. Coming off a concussion, angry about losing a shot at the Heritage Title, and known for being a risk-taker in a match where risks can spell defeat... Venar is really spreading himself thin. He has a long match ahead, and he's not in the best shape. But he's got a lot of guts, and the desire to prove himself. Who knows? The Falcon is definitely my Dark Horse pick to win it.

"LDK" Lloyd Rees: 18 - 1
I'd normally give LDK better odds, say 6 - 1, but he's got a gruelling match against Chris Casino before he ever sets foot into Sole Survivor. Every minute that his match against Casino lasts is a minute of stamina lost going into Sole Survivor. Rees is in for a long night. I CAN say that I see Rees winning a Sole Survivor match one day... but I don't think 2008 is his year.

Trent Daniels: 8 - 1
Hello brand new Heritage Champion! Daniels has all the momentum in the world coming into Sole Survivor, and just proved himself in a match filled to the brim with excellent wrestlers. If he can keep himself focused on the goal, he might just win a shot at putting a second belt around his waist this year.

The Expositioner: 25 - 1
Nothing against Expo, but he's a tag team specialist in a match where there can be only one. Coupled with a rough match against the SAD earlier in the night - a team that nearly ended his career - and Expositioner really doesn't seem to have much of a chance. Best of luck, though.

Mystic Ninja: 15 - 1
And yet, Mystic Ninja has better odds. He holds an impressive win over the former NAPW World Champion, and very nearly won himself the title in recent months. Ninja is on the road to success in the NAPW, and Sole Survivor might be the stepping stone into another World Title match. Still, a match against a rough team like SAD earlier in the night kills a LOT of Mystic Ninja's strength going into this thing.

"Hard Hittin'" Hank Henderson AND "The Dynasty" Dan Miller: 18 - 1
I keep saying it, but it's the truth. Tag team specialists have a disadvantage going into a battle royal situation. You can't guarantee that your partner will be there, and eventually you have to face the fact that you'll have to eliminate them. Southern Destruction has quite a hurdle to overcome if either of them wants to win it, but if they want it THAT BAD... maybe one of them can step up and claim the win.

"Bad Boy" Joey Malone: 30 - 1
If there's one thing Joey Malone is good at, it's blowing it. No miracle here folks.

Chris Kamikaze: 30 - 1
Will eliminate himself with a botch if he isn't lawn darted into the third row by Matt Kurtis.

Big Mitch: 28 - 1
Has only slightly better odds than the rest of the WGA because he's so damn FAT.

Esteban: 30 - 1
HA HA HA HA. Yeah.

"The Moose" Mark Millar: 22 - 1
Moose has some power, a mean streak, and a history with the NAPW that includes some impressive matches. He's been out of the ring for quite some time, but stranger things have happened. Having allies in Matt Kurtis and Wayne Wright definitely helps.

Wayne Wright: 28 - 1
I actually think Joey Malone has a better NAPW record than Wayne... but Wayne's new attitude and friends give him a little bit of an edge. Still... I don't think there's any miracle here. Wright's in over his head, and short of the Moose saving him again and again, he's petty much hopeless.


EXTRA SPECIAL GUESSING GAME!
Who will be the five mystery entrants?

1. DONOVAN ASTROS
Why quit the NAPW so abruptly? So that he can sign one of those juicy open contracts, enter the Sole Survivor match, and win a shot at the title he just lost from KRENSHOV, circumventing his suspension, of course! It's really quite brilliant, and kudos for Donovan Astros for coming up with it. Shame I figured it out.

2. CALIBAN
This guy pops up year after year and never wins the damn thing. Still tends to wreck everyone up pretty bad, though. Be on the lookout.

3. THE PLAGUE
What would a Sole Survivor match be without a huge and surprising come back? Ravager will die a little inside seeing Plague coming to the ring. Would certainly be the Holy Shit moment of the match.

4. CHRIS CASINO
Is Casino planning on sticking around? If he is he'll likely sneak into the match somehow. My guess is he beats the shit out of Nightmare, who was the real 4th mystery entrant, and takes his spot. Because Casino's a jerk, duh.

5. THE BEE
WHO IS THE BEE!?

Comments? Thoughts?

Or maybe you just want to prove me wrong?

GO WIN THAT THING!



http://www.napw-online.com

Remembering Chad -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, March 11 2008
I was working on some updates to the site when I saw the "Birthdays" on FW Central and saw "CDupree." It's hard to believe it's been over three years since Chad Dupree was taken from us.

The innovator of the "HORNET WINS~~!!" comment (and inside dig at me), Chad was a CSWA member, co-founder of GXW way back in 1997. He was a great handler and fedhead, but those who knew him best just cared that he was an even better friend. His legacy has been carried on in EPW and TEAM remembers him with a memorial tournament every year. I think he'd be thrilled about both.

There are plenty of people who could tell you about Chad better than I could. Zieba, Brunk, Bolich, Lindz, Mad Dog, etc. Everyone of them would tell you how kind Chad was -- how funny, how caring and concerned for others. A few of the thoughts that were posted on the board after we all learned of his passing are here if you'd like to see them.

I've got a smile on my face thinking about him. And I expect he probably does too, likely thinking how fitting it is that I make one more "return" on his birthday.

We miss you, Chad. Keep a table open for us all when we get there.

-Chad (Merritt)

Top 20 for 2007 -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, March 11 2008

Killing of the King: Part Four -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, March 11 2008
You want me? F***ing well come and find me, I’ll be waiting.

As the falling out between the ClaimStakers continued, and Eli and Hornet would wage a vicious war of words all through 2001, ultimately coming to fruition as Merritt exacted his revenge on each member as CSWA Anniversary 2001 came to pass. Before this revenge, however, Eli and Troy would meet one more time – with stakes so high it was impossible to predict that they would meet again – or even wrestle again.

CSWA Anniversary 2001 would see the RAGE in the CAGE.

Eli Flair entered the cage with a badly injured knee from Elvis Lives, and Troy Windham’s neck was sufficiently damaged enough that he was refused medical clearance that evening, only making his appearance after signing a waiver. The rules were simple: no pinfalls, no submissions in the classic sense, no countouts, no disqualifications. The only way to win was for one man to make the other say the words “I QUIT.”

It was apparent to everyone in the arena that night, and moreso, to the two men who entered the cage, that there was very little chance of a happy ending.

They were right.

As predicted, the cage was not able to contain the rage that these two men carried inside. Inevitably, the action spilled to the floor, with both men showing their strength. Troy’s already damaged neck was taking enough of a pounding for him to be the first to escape, but in doing so he not only drew first blood by slamming the cage door on Eli’s head, but did not return to the ring until he retrieved a heavy wrench from underneath.

The wrench traded hands several times, but so did wristlocks, takedowns, and leg dives. Eli Flair and Troy Windham effortlessly combined full frontal brutality with very effective, very basic amateur wrestling.

Eventually, as the damage to both men was sufficient enough to grab the microphone, Troy decided to remove referee Patrick Young from the match. It was a move that gained a mixture of applause and disbelief from the crowd, and also gained him a look of respect from the King of Extreme.

This was their fight – this was their war. All of the other baggage that had accumulated with the ClaimStakers and the Playboys and their revolving door partners was insignificant at that point. This fight was between the King of the Slackers and the King of Extreme, and injuries were about to pile up.

After the referee went down, all hell broke loose. The two men once again took the fight to the floor, using everything from the cage to the guardrail to the concrete floor against each other, but neither man would stay down. The two men too the fight into the crowd, knocking chairs out of the way, slamming each other around, over, and on top of fans, and, in an image that is still visible in the CSWA’s opening credits to this day, they fought over a chair while sprawled out on the concrete floor, all the while, Troy had Eli cinched in a Figure Four leglock. Eli would win the tug of war and break the hold – and Troy’s hand – with a wild swing. Even after that, neither man would give. Eli grabbed Troy’s hand for a test of strength and Troy immediately clipped Eli’s knee.

But it was enough to swing the match back in Eli’s favor. He would sandwich Troy’s damaged hand in the guardrail and bring a chair crashing down on it, before he dragged Troy back towards the ring. One of the stipulations of the match, curiously enough, was that the words “I QUIT” could only end the match if uttered inside the cage. Ironically, while this stipulation was put in place to limit the scope of their carnage to the ring, it was turned around on itself, used to give both men free reign to shred each other without fear of the match coming to an end.

Eli’s face was a crimson mask, and his knee was swollen and bruised, and Troy’s neck was further damaged by a Slacknife on the steps – and his left hand was a purplish hue, definitely fractured somewhere. But as the other playboy, Eddy Love, approached the ring with a towel to wipe the blood from Troy’s face, the King of the Slackers ignored his plea to end it, ignored the fans’ calling for the bell, and ignored the pain that ran through his body. The King of the Slackers entered the ring, one – armed and dizzy, armed with a chair, and the King of the Slackers was the aggressor when both men stood in the ring across from each other again.

Perhaps Sammy Benson said it best in the moment. “Who’s the good guy supposed to be?”

Tragically, the fight would come to an end in a disturbing, unforeseeable way. When Eli ducked a swing of the chair, he finally got a decent grip on Troy’s glaring weak spot – his broken hand. He caught the broken limb with both his own massive hands, and forced the King of the Slackers to his knees. Then, in a move that would prove to be one of the most disturbing in wrestling history; to the point where former CSWA World Champion Evan Aho himself would later say he had to turn from the monitor, Eli stood on Troy’s broken hand and threatened him with further injury if he didn’t quit.

Troy didn’t quit. Eli broke three of his fingers. He grabbed them, one at a time, and snapped them straight back.

It was that moment that Eddy Love tossed the bloody towel he held into the ring. Referee Patrick Young made a judgment call, and ended the match on the towel. Officially, he gave the victory to Eli Flair, but the subsequent attack on Young, and the off – the – cuff interview he gave to Rudy Seitzer after the fact confirmed his state of mind – since Troy never quit, he didn’t deserve to have his hand raised.

No sooner did Rudy let him pass, than Eli was blindsided by Sweet Melissa, a purse full of bricks, and a thirst for vengeance.

It ain’t braggin, motherfucker, if you back it up.

The fallout from the Rage in the Cage was immediate and intense. No two wrestlers from that point forward would ever take a fight to each other in such a fashion. There were extreme matches between wrestlers who didn’t know how to do anything else, to be sure, but none would come anywhere close to matching the Rage. One critic commented that the match was violent even when it wasn’t violent, which is a testament to the deep hatred they shared to that point.

It was also a testament to the fact that both men continued to wrestle a full time schedule for the next six years. They both took time off in order to heal – Eli had stitches in his face and had yet another surgery on his knee, and Troy had both hands in casts and a second, and then a third operation on his neck before he was to make a full time return to the ring.

In interviews, both men expressed their deep respect for the other. It was literally a case of that which does not kill only makes stronger, but they both respected the other for surviving what they had gone through. The old adage proved true again, that when these two men were not preoccupied with each other, the sky was the limit. Eli Flair branched out to other wrestling companies and gained worldwide success as both two – time fWo World Heavyweight Champion and the most unlikely Asylum Fighting champion of all time, while Troy Windham stayed in Greensboro, consolidated his fanbase, and became perhaps the greatest (certainly the most well – known) wrestler to ever step inside a CSWA ring. Eli Flair would marry and father a daughter, all the while headline the second – biggest show in professional wrestling history, fWo’s 2005 CYBERSLAM, against The Deacon for the World Title, and Troy Windham would make history by becoming the Unified World Champion in the beginning of the CSWA’s resurgence.

They seemed to be at peace with each other in a way that was unfathomable in the weeks leading up to the Rage in the Cage, but it was pure logistics. These two men had taken everything of the other and survived it. These two men had done everything in their power to each other and they both survived it. For four years, the silence between Eli Flair and Troy Windham would be a source of both relief from the rest of the professional wrestling world who feared what another round of broken bones and bloody towels would mean, and anticipation for what the next round would actually bring.

After all, nobody was convinced that the war was truly over. But it would take the most unlikely of circumstances and allies to lead to their final battles.

One Letter, Said Real Loud: The Legacy of D! -- Posted by napw on Wednesday, February 13 2008

There is one name that resonates in the collective consciousness of New Alberta Pro Wrestling fans and competitors above all other.

Or rather, one letter. Said REAL loud.

D!.

In Year One, it is without argument that one wrestler put NAPW on the map. And that man was D!. His interaction with the fans, his talent, his charisma, his showmanship... to say that D! was integral to the growth and initial success of New Alberta Pro is absolutely not hyperbole. D! was NAPW for one year.

And then he was gone.



1. Cure For The Cancer

On October 31, 2005, Edmonton wrestling got their taste of D!. Coming to the ring in blue jeans, a black t-shirt and flame-detailed Harley-Davidson boots, the long-haired kid hardly looked the part of the pro wrestler. Few gave him the untested rookie much of a chance against the world-travelled Viking. Yet D! brought it all. His Rockettes Kick of Doom. The Nyquil Driver. The Stinger Splash. And finally, the BEAT-O-BARRAGE, a wild flurry of chops, punches and kicks designed to pummel an opponent into submission. One three count later and D!, for his second match EVER, would challenge NAPW Champion THE PLAGUE for the title.

Wrestling pundits wrote D!'s victory off as a rookie upset, a fluke. For the few that gave him a shot against Viking, even fewer gave him a chance against the battle-scarred Plague, one of the most decorated and ruthless competitors NAPW would ever see. The odds against D! were 100 to 1...

The Plague has D!, firing away, taking him into the corner! Right right right right! The Champion sends D! across the ring HARD and charges in! D! catapults over top of the champion though! The Plague rams sternum first into the turnbuckle and D! with a huge reverse thrust kick! There's another kick! Strike! Kick! AND! D! is revving up! THE BEAT-O-BARRAGE IS ON! The Plague trying to counter, counters a strike but D! nails with a huge kick! And again! And again! The Plague being peppered with lightning fast kicks until he drops to his knees! D! with a wide stance, looks at the crowd... AND BUZZ KICKS THE PLAGUE RIGHT IN THE BACK OF THE HEADDDD! PLAGUE...flops forward to the canvas and D! hooks the leg! ONE! TWO.....THREEEEE!

D! shocked the wrestling world. And perhaps even more surpisingly, he captivated the hearts and imagination of wrestling fans. He was a dashing Han Solo whispering "Never tell me the odds!" and then beating them. He was "one of us," in the eyes of the fans, a wrestlling fan who said "me too!" and then actually did it.

There is no denying D!'s incredible charisma. Everywhere he went, with merely a glance and a grin, he turned the crowd on their heads. The reactions that followed him were heads and tails louder than any other NAPW wrestler. When D! beat Plague in a Career Match, the pop was deafening. NAPW's hero would not be a veteran deigning to compete in some new Alberta indy; it would not be some typical muscle-bound "superstar." It was the hometown boy, in his jeans and t-shirt, who would put NAPW on the map.

2. Luck of the Draw

Like most highs, the intoxicating glory of D!'s first few months in wrestling would not last.

Terry Brandon waves THE BEAST and STYLIN' KYLE through the curtain and they immediately rush the ring! Brandon follows and hands off his briefcase to KYLE, who tosses it waaaaay up and over into the cage! The Beast is scaling the one side! Kyle now scales the other! Terry Brandon just grabbed the timekeeper and DECKED HIM! He's searching his pockets for the cage door key! Meanwhile, D! has somehow in his anger noticed that D-X is climing the cage! D! climbs the cage and meets The Beast at the top! He's firing away on The Beast, but Kyle is over the top! D! jumps down, leaving The Beast recovering near the top of the cage, and then goes up to meet Kyle! BUT WAIT! CHRIS CASINO IS UP! AND HAS THE STEEL BRIEFCASE! WHAM! RIGHT TO THE BACK OF D! D! drops down and turns around INTO A BRIEFCASE TO THE FACE! Kyle drops down, The Beast drops down, Chris Casino COVERS D!... NOT LIKE THIS. NOT LIKE THIS. ONE! TWO! THREEEEE...EEEEEE!

2005 ended with perhaps one of the most tramautic events in the history. To this day fans remember the night "D! got screwed." Chris Casino was NAPW Champion. And D!, the fans hero...

Disappeared.

Questions and rumours spread like wildfire in the locker room. On the message boards. Some thought that in the wake of his first crushing defeat, D! had simply taken his ball and gone home. "One loss and he bails? Some hero!" Still others, many of them, held out hope that D! would return and right the wrongs of Chris Casino and The New & Improved D-X. But for weeks, there was no trace of D!. As his absence grew longer, worry gripped the fanbase. Was D! injured? Did he indeed quit the business rather than face adversity? His initial months in wrestling, after all, were ones of constant success. He suffered beatdowns, but came out on top every time. In Chris Casino, D! had faced the first challenge he could not surmount.

And then like lightning D! returned.

And he is, in street clothes and a green toque! Lobo gets nailed, rolls out of the ring, and now D! smacks Casino as Predator rolls out of the ring, freed of the chair! D! UNLOADS~! ON CHRIS CASINO, THE CROWD ROARING WITH EVERY PUNCH! Casino staggered, and D! sends him to the ROPES... PLAGUE-LIKE SPINEBUSTER! SPINE ON THE PINE! D! roars to the crowd, raises his arms in a complete adrenaline RUSH! He turns to Casino, preparing to KICK CASINO'S FREAKING HEAD OFF ... LOBO hauls Casino out of the ring! Lobo hauling Casino down the aisle, Casino...staring in mingled shock/awe/surprise/fear. They pause at the curtain, because D!...has the MIC! His voice is full of fire and he leans over the top rope, every word resounding!

D!: Y'see, it's like THIS, peanut. I'M NOT GONE. YOU don't retire people! *I* retire people! Because you've had THREE! WEEKS! to stack the deck in your favour. Now guess what? NOTHING'S CHANGED! You're still nothing without backup, your backup sucks, your ponytail makes you look like a girl, and best of all, D! IS ALIVE! AND! KICKING!

D! was scarred physically, but he showed no mental scares - excepting his need to gain revenge on Chris Casino. At Joker's Wild, in a match still considered one of the greatest, D! defeated Chris Casino inside the same steel cage he lost his title in weeks prior. In a picture-perfect moment, D! delivered the Nyquil Driver from the TOP of the cage to score the pinfall and regain his NAPW title.

But there was a shadow looming on the horizon.

3. Ravager

D!. Ravager.

The two most popular men in NAPW. Impossibly different - one, an everyman, the other, an aloof professional. Two sides of the same liquor bottle. Online, fans would compare them to Batman and the Joker. Could either one exist without the other?

Ravager and D! were easily the two most popular men in NAPW, but D!'s popularity outstripped Ravager's by a wide margin. It seemed inevitable that Ravager's next step after his Provincial title run would be gunning for the NAPW Championship. It was the most anticipated match in NAPW's short history. D! vs Ravager, NAPW title on the line. On February 6th, 2006, it finally happened. After a tremendous contest, it was D! who came out on top with a clean victory thanks to the BEAT-O-BARRAGE.

And then it got ugly.

Two title feuds were rolled up into one. It would be Ravager and the tag champion New & Improved D-X (Stylin' Kyle & The Beast) taking on NAPW champion D! and the Doomriders (Tommy Deathrow & Billy Kryenik) in the so-called "Put Up or Shut Up" match. The winning team would win a title shot for its respective challenger while the champions would get off without having to defend against their rivals again.

On 2/13, Ravager & D-X were victorious. Ravager earned his title shot against D!, and D-X would not have to defend against the Doomriders again. Except that Ravager had manipulated NAPW owner Wahoo Winchell into giving the Doomies another shot at D-X, whom he disliked, REGARDLESS. It seemed that Ravager had out-thought every man in that match. Would he out-think D! when the title was on the line? The hype for the rematch surpassed the first match.

And then Ravager dragon suplexed his manager Tiffany MacIntyre on the concrete. "No distractions." D! was incensed. The intensity of his rivalry with Ravager EXPLODED into unadulterated hatred. D! was filmed in an uncensored rage, screaming across Whyte Avenue at the residence of his opponent. "I AM GOING TO REMEMBER THIS, YOU BASTARD, YOU GIRL-BEATING PSYCHO, I AM GOING TO REMEMBER THIS WHEN I FLAT-OUT PUMMEL YOU!"

02/20/2006:

D! POPS OUT OF THE CURTAIN, rarin' to go --- and is met with a hail of BOOS?! The initial pop suddenly gives way to a mixture of cheers and voracious boos, causing D! to momentarily lose his bearings. He recovers and sprints to the ring, slapping hands with those fans extending their hands, slides in the ring and rips the belt off, holding it above his head. The boos intensify?! D!, clearly thrown, tries not to pay them any heed but hands off his belt to Referee Dick Kiebiech.

For whatever reason, right or wrong, the NAPW fans felt that it was D!'s words and actions which led to Tiffany McIntyre's injury. The fans, apparently, believed Ravager when he stated that he wasn't the monster D! needed him to be. Jack Jones put it best, saying "It's just business for Ravager. It's D! who's made this one personal! D! who's done everything he can to make Ravager a "monster" for him to fight, because D!...can't handle the fact that the fans don't seem to want to boo Ravager for doing things D! considers to be "wrong." I don't like the fans much, but you know what? They pay their money, they can cheer and boo whomever the hell they want!"

Bill Hewson disagreed. The match went on, a bizarro-world version of D! and Ravager's first encounter. Some fans never doubted their hero. But many, too many, hated D! that night. For the first time in his career, D! was not beloved, he was not the fan-favorite, he was not the conquering hero. And yet in the end, it was D!'s prediction which came true...

BILL HEWSON: TIFFANY MACINTYRE JUST LOW BLOWED D! FROM BEHIND! TIFFANY HAS LOW BLOWED THE CHAMPION! NO! DRAGON SUPLEX! NOT LIKE THIS! ONE! TWO! TH----D! KICKED OUT! D! KICKED OUT!
And now the crowd is uncomfortable, still booing D!'s kick-out but clearly shocked and confused by Tiffany Macintyre! BUT D!! HAS! KICKED OUT OF THE DRAGON SUPLEX! THE CHAMPION STILL HAS GAS LEFT IN THE TANK! Ravager swears and yanks D! up roughly by the hair...WAITAMINUTE. TIFFANY HAS PUT THE NAPW TITLE BELT ON THE TOP TURNBUCKLE. Ravager hoists D! up and follows, Tiffany holding the belt in place. Ravager---no nonsense---no TIME WASTED --- HITS THE SUPERBRAINBUSTER ON THE TITLE BELT! GOOD LORD! D! may have a broken neck! And now Ravager COVERS... THE CROWD COUNTING ALONG! ONE! TWOOOOOO! ... ... ... THREEEEEEEEEE!

4. Now What?

The title loss itself did not shake D!. What shook him was the reaction of the crowd. In one fell swoop, they turned on him. It was D!'s first exposure to the fickle nature of wrestling fans. The next week he came out and cut a promo, expressing his confusion, even apologizing for perhaps indeed crossing a line in his zealousness to defend the line against Ravager. The fans welcomed D! back with open arms and all was well.

D! wanted back into the NAPW title scene. The shortest route to that was the Sole Survivor match. D! chose to enter #1, to prove something to himself more than anybody else. He would last til the very end only to get eliminated by Devastation, who would go on to win the NAPW title. D! was still on the outside looking in.

The springtime of 2006 saw D! recover from an injury at the hands of Stein's deadly "Vitiator" maneuver while becoming involved in the ongoing war between Devastation's "Charitable Trust" group and the top faces in NAPW. Ironically, the threat of the Charitable Trust would lead to D! teaming with Static, Rex Caliber and his hated foe Ravager to engage the Trust in a War Games match at Complete Control. The team seemed to put aside all their various personal issues (Ravager/Rex, Ravager/Static, Ravager/D!... well Ravager and all his teammates, basically) and came out on top. D! and Static would form a loose tag team and battle Trust members, including Devastation and Pit Boss, throughout April and May. It seemed that perhaps D! was done as the top dog in NAPW, as Rex Caliber came onto the scene and defeated Devastation for the NAPW Title at Epic.

5. Back In The Saddle

The post-Epic period of NAPW, going into June, saw dramatic changes. Static betrayed his partner Rex Caliber in brutal fashion and then took the NAPW title from him. The Delivery Men upended D-X for the NAPW title. New talent swarmed into NAPW looking to make their names. And in this element of unpredictability and even chaos, D! would emerge once again as the leader of NAPW. He earned the #1 contendership and would challenge the demented Static on July 18th for the title at NAPW's first outdoor event, Get The Hell Off Our Lawn. While the event would be marred by a riot (caused, coincidentally, by Ravager) and D!'s match postponed one night, the result was nonetheless one he wanted...

The crowd is going BALLISTIC... and then in the ring, Static is legitimately UNCONSCIOUS. D!... D! is up, enough. He looks at Static, he looks at the steel chair, he looks in the aisle at The Man In Black hauling ass to the entrance way, looks at Joseph Winchell, looks at Dick Kiebiech shaking the cobwebs loose in his forehead... D! looks at the crowd...
And covers Static, hooking the leg.

BILL HEWSON: Wait a minute, D! is covering Static --- I don't believe it --- Kiebiech is counting!
ONE!

JACK JONES: NOT LIKE THIS!

BILL HEWSON: TWO!

A heartbeat.

CROWD: THREEEEEEEEE!

It was the Summer of D!.

In extra-curricular activities, D! would win a massive tournament in the TEAM promotion, becoming the first-ever Champion of Champions. On the homefront, D! would defeat Static in a rematch, and then move onto the man he wanted most of all. D! and Ravager renewed their rivalry and this time there was no question about who was the fan favorite. Ravager had become one of the most hated men in NAPW, and D! was back in his position as the hero. The beloved. He defeated Ravager with a WHAMMA-JAMMA ELBOW HAMMA in convincing fashion. If that wasn't enough, D! gained the ultimate victory over his nemesis one week later in a "Loser Leaves Whyte Avenue" match. Fans brought the weapons, and D! and Ravager went at it not for a title, but the right to live in their chosen area of Edmonton. Once again, D! emerged victorious, forcing his defeated rival to relocate.

By August, it seemed clear that this time, D! would engage on the epic title run so many had expected his second should have been. The kid had come into his own. Sure he still had less than a year of experience, but he seemed to learn exponentially - he was better than wrestlers with five years under their belt. That was a fact.

D! had experienced adversity; he had overcome it. He had spent time out of the spotlight; he came through it with humility and earned his way back to the top. He even was finding love outside of the ring. In these circumstances, even the red-hot Provincial Champion, "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees seemed like a longshot to upend him. And D! indeed fended the future "LDK" off...

The future was looking bright.

Which is why it was so shocking when Rees actually won the NAPW title in a 30-minute Iron Man match, three falls to two... with the aid of a steel chair. A shocked D! took his frustration out on Rees and his shenanigans by delivering a flying elbow drop to Rees through the announce table! But even though D! had seemingly gone nuts, the fans loved it. The hero had been robbed, Rees got his just desserts. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

6. With A Kiss

Anniversary Assault. October 31st, 2006. The one year anniversary of New Alberta Pro Wrestling. And to commemorate the occasion, the five men remaining in the promotion from the first show were placed into a single match. The "Hallowe'en House of Horrors" it was called, a cage match where the object was to handcuff each of your opponents to the side of the cage. The winner, no doubt, would be in line for an NAPW title shot.

Five men entered. D!. Ravager. "The Moose" Mark Millar. And both members of The New & Improved D-X, Stylin' Kyle Roberts and Bruce "The Beast" Richards. And from the get-go, D! was on a mission! He dominated his opponents, and seemed well on his way to victory when Ravager shattered his kneecap.

To the fans utter disappointment, D! was removed from the cage, seemingly unable to finish the match-up. Ravager would go on to win...

And then all hell would break loose.

The lights went out. When they came up, The Plague was in the ring, his first NAPW appearance since D! retired him in December 2005. He attacked Ravager. The Dudes, fan-favorites who earlier that night were inducted into the "Ring of Prestige," attacked D-X. The Moose was helpless, handcuffed to the cage.

But the fans knew there was one man who could save the day.

One man who could turn back The Plague and the turncoat Dudes.

One man.

One letter.

Said real loud.

This is the scene.

Tiffany Macintyre is prone. Bruce Richards is half-conscious, his free arm draped over Tiffany in an attempt to shield her. Plague has a steel chair raised high above his head. A glassy-eyed Ravager is on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back. The Celtic Assassins are down and out, The Moose choking and stomping them. Mike Johnston is trying to break Kyle Roberts in half, Cameron Scott jeering Kyle. Bill Fleming is down after bravely trying to help his team. Rod Hardway and Dutch Flanagan have made their way out to help, taking revenge on the Celtic Assassins with their comrade Moose. There is no hope. Little light.

Until D! comes out.

D! rushes the ring, adrenaline pumping his bad leg. He has a steel chair. Three hits. Three members of Stiff Competition crashing to the canvas. The Dudes scatter, exiting the ring in a hurry as D! bangs the chair off the top rope in an attempt to nail Johnston. D! smashes the cage with the chair. The crowd goes banana. Orange. Apple. Bonzo gonzo. Coconut. COCONUT, dammit.

Then.

It is The Plague staring across the ring at the man who put him out of NAPW one year ago. D!. D!. The Plague. D!. The Plague. The crowd is begging for D! to kill Plague, they want his blood.
And then their whole world is destroyed.

And nobody was spared the fury D! rained down. Not Ravager. Not Wayne Wright. Not Bill Hewson. Not Frank Warburton.

This is how Anniversary Assault ends. The biggest night in NAPW history. The celebration of one full year of accomplishment.

With D!, it's very face, it's poster boy, it's franchise standing atop the announce table, laughing sickly, holding a blood-stained steel chair.

The savior of NAPW...

Has delivered us unto evil.

7. And Then, Silence

The world didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense.

And with that atmosphere permeating NAPW fandom, the crowd packed The Palace in Calgary Alberta in the hopes that they would be given an explanation. That it would all prove to be a bad dream. That D! would come out and say "SURPRISE! It's all a joke!"

Nobody really believed that. Rather, they feared what would happen to NAPW with a seemingly insane D! on the roster. Some even feared it would be the destruction of the promotion.

It didn't quite happen that way.

D!: And I knew that no matter what I'd ever do... you'd always be out there. Watching me. To love me. To cheer me.

Gingerly, he reaches up to his head and grabs hold of his toque, pulling it slowly back. The long, jagged scar running across his forehead screams out, a white centipede against a face slowly turning pinker.

D!:You sure as Hell would never PROTECT me when the going got rough, but Oh Lord, would you CHEER me. That is, unless... you'd rather HATE me. February Twentieth. The epic re-match between yours truly, and that low-down, worthless excuse of a man called RAVAGER.

With this, a "RAV-A-GER" chant starts up. D! screws his face up, rolls his eyes.

D!: Jesus, this never ends with you people. See, it's that damn match all over again. We watched--we ALL watched that sick mental patient attack Tiffany MacIntyre, Dragon Suplex her onto CONCRETE. That... that act... you know what? Violence against women... is NEVER. ACCEPTABLE. He injured Tiffany to get into MY head and I LOST IT. I know you wanted me to be the happy-go-lucky, burger-chompin' good guy, but he crossed a REAL (BLEEP) line and I did everything in my power to STICK it to him. And you all saw what I saw. You all knew what I knew. And YET.

AND YET.

YOU ALL TURNED ON ME.

You all saw something that you didn't LIKE, even if it was as real for me as anything else. You... you SAW that psychopath... and you CHEERED him. I'd been HONEST to you since DAY ONE... and you sided with a violent lunatic... because it was the COOL thing to do.
Yeah, I lost to Ravager that day, lost my second Championship, too, and do you know what I did the VERY next week? I came out the VERY next show... I stood in this VERY spot... and I asked to be let back into your hearts.

It worked. And so I NEVER trusted you again. Hey, here's an idea--you all saw me nearly kill D-X and some announcers last Tuesday--why don't y'all forgive me? One more time! Come on, for D!

YOU CAN PROTEST ALL YOU GUYS WANT, BUT THE NAPW IS DEAD! AND I KILLED IT! DO YOU HEAR ME? I MADE--I CREATED THE NAPW! IT IS NOTHING WITHOUT ME! I MADE IT NATIONAL! I MADE IT THE NUMBER ONE PROMOTION IN CANADA! I BROUGHT INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HERE! AND JUST LIKE I MADE IT, I CAN TAKE IT OUT, AND THERE'S NOT A (BLEEP) THING YOU OR ANYONE ELSE CAN--

D!'s mad rant was interrupted by a young upstart, one much like D!. The Pure Honor champion Simply Beautiful crashed the horror and told D! what was what. He made it clear that NAPW would survive without D!, that it was bigger than D!. The crowd cheered SB like they once cheered D!. With every word from SB's lips, they got louder and louder and louder. D!'s rage grew. Finally he snapped.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL: NEW ALBERTA PRO IS MY HOME, AND I'M GONNA DEFEND MY HOME NO MATTER WHAT! IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA LEAVE, I'LL MAKE YOU, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!

The fans are chanting SB's name! THIS IS INSANITY!

D!: You wanna know what I think... peanut?

ROUNDHOUSE! D! just punched SB! The fans are booing like crazy, and D! is all over the Pure Honor Champion. Rights and lefts, and SB is dazed. D! smirks... SPINEBUSTER! The Pure Honor champion is down, and D! is just getting started. He waits for Simply Beautiful to get up, then wraps a sleeper ---NYQUIL DRIVER --- SB COUNTERS behind! EXPLOOOOODER BACK SUPLEX! This place has OFFICIALLY come unglued!

Simply Beautiful and D! both to their feet, SB is first... D! fires! BLOCKED! SB IS A HOUSE'A'FAR, tearing apart the Golden Boy! Rights, lefts, D!'s busted wide open! The former champion leaning against the top ropes, dazed, disbelieving... and here's SB with a clothesline to send D! right over the top rope! The man who has carried NAPW for a year has just been sent flying out on his ass! The crowd is ballistic, they're chanting SB's name as D! limps up the ramp, clutching his leg as he slinks out of the arena. Simply Beautiful wants more, he's begging for more, but D! looks at the fans --- he spits on the rampway! D! waves his hands, he doesn't want anything to do with Simply Beautiful... and with that, the face of NAPW for a year slinks through the curtain.

And that was the only "match" Simply Beautiful and D! would ever have. That was the last anybody would ever see of D! in an NAPW ring.

Days later, revelations came out. D!'s ex-lover revealed the truth about the "leaked" internet chat transcripts between D! and a mysterious correspondent known only as "Camus Had It Easy" (later changed to "I Of The Dragon"). Most speculation assumed the correspondent to be The Plague. The events of Anniversary Assault seemed to confirm that.

Jean revealed how wrong everybody was. About the correspondent. About everything.

JC: I step out of the bedroom, somehow don't make a sound, and there, in the middle of his darkened apartment, he's sitting there, writing at his computer, and talking to himself. And he's writing a script, it looks like. And then he highlights a sentence he'd write, and shade it red.

PWI: Uh...

JC: Yeah.

PWI: Wow.

JC: I know.

PWI: So he was faking chat transcripts?

JC: Because he was "Camus" or "Dragon" or whoever. And he probably sent in those document files himself, too.

PWI: That doesn't sound like something D! would do--

JC: Like hire an actress to play Ravager's daughter? Or fake his suicide off of the cruise ship? Or try to take off Frank Warburton's head? (Grimaces.) Why did people fail to understand that he was always crazy?

Days later, the final videotape of D! was found along with a badly beaten, but thankfully unharmed in any permanent way, NAPW cameraman.

And that was the last anybody has seen or heard of D!.

Epilogue

The subject of D! is a complex one, with no easy answers. For one year, he was the face of NAPW. The poster boy. The beloved hero and hometown boy. Yet a mere two weeks have soured even the best memories.

As a wrestling fan, watching old D! matches is a surreal experience. No matter how positive the crowd reacts, in the back of one's mind is the knowledge of how it ended. Of the revelations of D!'s seeming insanity well before his public "snapping."

D! had problems. Problems he shared with not a living soul. How could he have been helped? Who knew he even had such mental issues?

Yet at the same time, it is impossible to not recognize the contributions D! made to New Alberta Pro. Some wonder if the promotion would have survived more than a handful of shows if D! had not captivated the fans in Alberta and elsewhere. D! and NAPW, for one year, were inexorably linked. D! truly was the face of NAPW. He brought the promotion to world-wide attention when he won the Tournament of Champions in TEAM. He caused fans to check out an unknown independent from Alberta, Canada through whatever means they could. He sold DVDs. He sold tickets. He sold merchandise.

It is futile to speculate on what NAPW would have been like in 2007 if D! had remained in the promotion, whether as a beloved star or the most hated man in the promotion. For some, D!'s disappearance was a blessing. Simply Beautiful was catapulted into the stratosphere, adopted by the fans as their new hero, even doing what D! couldn't do - win Sole Survivor.

Perhaps most strikingly, it allowed Ravager to move out from the shadow of the man, to become more than just Joker to D!'s "Batman." Perhaps Ravager's epic title run over six months of 2007 would never have happened with D! present. If not because D! would beat him, but because Ravager and D! seemed obsessed with one another to no end.

Ironically, in the end, it would be Ravager the hero... and D! the villain.

Where are you, D!?

ESEN Spotlight: The Killing of the King (Part Three) -- Posted by Chad on Saturday, January 12 2008
You got some nerve to come back here, you’re not the only one who can smell fear.

The match itself was a back – and – forth contest between two wrestlers at the absolute peak of their ability, but their respective seconds and associated partners were destined to interfere. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Eli officially won the match via disqualification, but the image that remained in the minds of the people watching was Bandit and Junior Hornet holding Eli back while Troy strapped the World Title belt around his own waist.

As previously stated, title belts were almost never a part of the feud between Eli Flair and Troy Windham. Eli quickly showed why, as he practically demanded a match with Troy at the upcoming THANKSGIVING WEEKEND SPECTACULAR two – day event, despite the fact that he had a World Title defense on Night One against the seven foot tall Deacon, and was to lead his team in WAR GAMES in the main event of Night Two against The UnHoly. His fight with Troy, sandwiched in as the opener of the second night, would fall short, as he lost the championship to Deacon.

Still, in their match; the second and last that they would have in the old millennium, Eli managed to score the pinfall victory with a reversal of a submission hold; the last wrestling move between these two men for nearly seven years. Following the WAR GAMES main event, Eli would also not wrestle for several months, citing injuries and general fatigue, and was looking forward to an open – ended break.

His return would mark the night that he Staked a Claim on the CSWA.

The World Needs a Hero

CSWA Anniversary 2000 featured a main event that most of the professional wrestling world had been hoping for and anticipating for over two years. Ever since he made his CSWA debut, The Deacon had been a silent, efficient Hero, walking the line with dignity and poise. From a marketing standpoint, he was everything that the CSWA could have hoped for – his clean cut image was a throwback to the days when the good guys wore white and the bad guys wore black, every time, but despite the nature of the ‘character’ he was never the type to lecture or bore the people. From a wrestling standpoint, he was a heavyweight that could move like a cruiserweight, and his ability kept the fans coming back night after night.

The match that was a pipe dream quickly became a possibility following the Thanksgiving Weekend Spectacular 1999, as ‘Devastating’ Mike Randalls made his return to the CSWA. For the man formerly known as the King of Darkness to square off with The Deacon, at CSWA Anniversary 2000, the World Title was almost an afterthought. Indeed, the two men wrestled one of the most memorable matches in Anniversary history for more than sixty minutes, until the unthinkable happened.

Eli Flair, Poison Ivy, and Hornet joined forces with Mike Randalls, with their intent to ‘Stake a Claim’ on the CSWA. To this day there is little information on how much of their subsequent promo was part of the show and how much of it was an attempt at a power play, but the immediate after effect was that Eli Flair, Hornet, and Mike Randalls, dubbed the ‘ClaimStakers,’ were the new villains on the block. Further complicating things was the fact that the only real ‘Hero’ in the CSWA, Deacon, was forced to vacate the championship and leave the company due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. The CSWA needed a trio of fearless heroes to combat this new threat, and the only men who stepped up were, ironically, The Playboys, Troy Windham and Eddy Love.

They would be joined for a spell by Cardigo Mysterian, who would prove the deciding factor in the first official meeting between the men as part of their respective stables. Mobile, Alabama would see a Sixty Minute Marathon match between Hornet and Eli of the ClaimStakers, and the Playboys, Troy and Eddy. Two sights dominated the night: first, as the time limit ran out and the teams were tied at four falls apiece, Cardigo Mysterian emerged from the crowd to tip the scales in favor of the Playboys in sudden death overtime. Second, more hauntingly, Eli Flair dragged Eddy Love’s valet Sweet Melissa from the floor to the ring apron, and viciously powerbombed her through a table on the outside. This action would have severe consequences for the King of Extreme in the months to come.

In a move just as polarizing as the formation of the ClaimStakers itself, CSWA Commissioner Chad Merritt pointedly included Mike Randalls in the Round Robin tournament, and discluded both Hornet and Eli Flair, despite the fact that the only other former champions included in the field were Randalls himself, and Eddy Love.

But it would be at Elvis Lives XII where, not only did the IRONMAN come to a close with Randalls and Love wrestling the deciding match, but the war between Eli and Troy would escalate in such a way that nobody would ever be the same.

You will know me from scars I bear! You will know me by the hate I swear!

As the ClaimStakers/Playboys feud continued to escalate, the Playboys shifted out Cardigo Mysterian as their unaffiliated third party and replaced him with ‘The English Gent’ Lawrence Stanley, and gradually broke down to their individual parts. Randalls and Love would meet in the final match of the IRONMAN, Hornet and Stanley would feud over Teri Melton, of all people, and Eli and Troy would reignite the hatred and ill will they had towards each other the previous year. The only difference between the three matches was the fact that Eli and Troy were to settle their differences – indeed, they had each won one of their two prior matches – inside a roofed steel cage.

Or so the plan was to go.

In reality, the moment the bell rang, the moment the cage began to lower around the ring, Eli tackled Troy and both men collapsed to the outside. For the next thirty minutes, there was no wrestling to be had at Elvis Lives XII. For the next thirty minutes, Eli and Troy beat each other to shreds with their fists, with chairs, with walls, with concrete floors and steel guardrails, and with the meaty goodness, boiling water, and warm broken glass of a hot dog vendor.

It was clear at that point that the original sins of Troy putting Eli out for a year, and Eli considering himself on the same level as Troy were far forgotten in the heat of the intense ultraviolence that the two men were inflicting on each other. Even after Troy dropped Eli from the lower tier to the floor, by way of the hot dog vendor, the King of Extreme refused to take the slightest back step.

When the two men finally returned to ringside, and there was no way for them to get back into the ring, Troy simply improvised. He climbed the side of the cage and dropped himself on Eli. Then he did it again.

But Eli was not to be outdone, and when Troy went up for a third go, Eli met him halfway up.

They struggled, they traded blows, and when Troy kicked him in the jaw, Eli fell twelve feet, square on his back.

Troy climbed to the top of the cage to survey the damage, and he saw something that would be forever burned into the psyche of every CSWA fan in attendance: he saw Eli Flair, mere seconds after taking the Nestea Plunge, pull himself to his feet. Unbelievably, as Troy attempted to climb even higher in order to deliver a more permanent finishing blow, Eli caught his ankle three quarters of the way up the cage, and held on tightly. Troy did his best to kick the King of Extreme away, but Eli held onto the cage, if not Troy’s ankle.

It left nowhere for Troy to go but the top of the cage. And in a moment that would both signal the moment of escalation for this feud, and the tremendous resilience of both men, Eli ducked Troy’s initial assault and drove the King of the Slackers to the mesh ceiling with a Slacknife of his very own, causing the top of the cage to break, and both men to fall to the ring below. This would have been Eli’s moment of triumph, if not for the fact that Troy was able to get a hand on his chest, and take home the pinfall victory.

Afterwards, as both men struggled to their feet and ignored the cheers of the fans, Eli Flair dropped Troy Windham with a right hand and a chokeslam before walking out to a stunned silence. Not only did this act mean the war would continue, but it was a clear sign to the masses that not even a mere fall through a cage would sate their lust for each others’ blood. Something had to – and would – give.

From The Peanut Gallery -- Posted by Chad on Saturday, January 12 2008
From the Peanut Gallery- Chairman Andrews' Retrospective on The Original Superstar... (especially in his own mind.)

"Back in the day, I used to write a column of news and views, rumors and such, called 'The Peanut Gallery'. I'm bringing it back, sort of, to get out more information on some of the key players in the DWF, not just the wrestlers, but the people behind the scenes, the announcers, backstage interviewers and people who really make the fed go... and hopefully not into the toilet..." - Chairman Andrews

'Wonderman' Waldo, from Pepper Pike, Ohio, began as a rookie wrestler, wanting to make a name for himself in the Defiant Wrestling Federation back in 1998. Waldo, not the best looking, most talented, or, quite honestly, athleticly gifted man, sought to break the mold. After one match, that mold broke... into pieces and Waldo became the benchmark for all DWF incoming wrestlers. Yes, virginia, Waldo was... and is THE Jobber in the DWF.

For the first 3 years in the DWF, Waldo made the best, and the worst, look like stars. Then in 2001, under the direction of myself and the Board Members, Waldo began to get more involved backstage, from running to get coffee, to delivering flowers to unsuspecting wrestlers, to even holding the mic for an interview. At the same time, Waldo became friends with another backstage member, 'Lighting Guy' Jimmy Floyd, another wrestler/jobber who has the heart of the lion but the size of a flea. Being cut from the same cloth, Waldo and Jimmy became inseparable, even winning the DWF Hardcore Title from each other under
the 24/7 rule of 2002. Waldo and Jimmy have also taken more duties than just as backstage talent, even running the entire show for one fateful night, and have formed the 'Two-Man PowerTrip' tag team, grabbing every chance they can to get in the ring.

Waldo has come full circle in his quest to become a superstar... and to the DWF, he's one of the most important yet underappreciated superstars. He is 'The Original Superstar' Wonderman Waldo.

Nominate The Best of 2008! -- Posted by Chad on Friday, January 4 2008
Voting for the FWrestling.com "Best Wrestlers of 2008" will begin next week. You can get in your suggestions for nominees by checking out this thread on FW Central.

Simply reply to the thread with your nominee and their accomplishments during 2007.

ESEN Spotlight: The Killing of the King (Part Two) -- Posted by Chad on Friday, January 4 2008
This is the end… my only friend, the end.

Most professional wrestling historians acknowledge FISH FUND XI: End of an Era as the biggest event in the history of the sport. Hornet would lose the Career Match to GUNS in the second night’s main event, but numerous wrestlers would cite that night as the night their careers took a sharp turn.

Certainly, Troy Windham would never be the same again.

Set to unify the EN World Tag Team Championship with the Unified Tag Team Championship, Generation X-Press, Troy Windham and his partner Shawn Matthews were set to square off against Japanese Assault, the Shotgun Shogun and the Kamikaze Kid.

There was just one problem: Shawn Matthews had quit the CSWA mere days before the event, tossing the EN World Tag Team title belts in the trash on live television. Nonplussed, Troy went to the ring, determined to defend the EN World Tag Team Championship all by himself. Truth be told, he nearly became Unified Tag Team Champion without a partner. In contrast, Eli would find more success at Fish Fund XI, retaining the Presidential Championship against ATTAXX.

The months that followed would show that, much as FISH FUND XI was the end of an era, it was also the beginning of the Troy Windham story. The King of the Slackers took the notoriety that his attack on his former tag team partner had given him and used it to build a stable around himself. This precursor to the Frat would see Troy become one of the most outspoken wrestlers on the CSWA’s roster, and, while he was still not considered one of the ‘money wrestlers’ by the major players in the sport, he was regarded highly enough to earn a shot at Eli’s CSWA Presidential Championship belt in January 1997.

The match would be the only time in history that Eli and Troy would wrestle each other with a championship on the line.

Troy came out on top in a heavy battle that saw multiple cases of interference – both on the side of the Frat and from Poison Ivy. The after – effects of the match saw the Frat lay Eli out on a table, stack another table on top of him, and drive him through both. This would put him out of action for more than a year, during which time everything that had not changed at FISH FUND XI would do so, rapidly.

Nobody knew it at the time, but the moment Eli went through the tables, war was declared.

Take my picture by the pool cause I'm the next big thing!

Shortly after Troy became the CSWA Presidential Champion, Co-Commissioners Chad Merritt and Stephen Thomas vacated every title and brought back the CSWA World Heavyweight Championship (previously supplanted by the Enterprise World Championship), and immediately began a single elimination tournament to crown the first Champion of the new era. While Troy would ultimately fall to GUNS in the semi – final round at ANNIVERSARY 1997, the King of the Slackers had taken the wrestling world by storm, not only ultimately taking the CSWA World Championship from GUNS in July of 1997, but becoming the biggest name in the UWA without wrestling a single match. Even as the CSWA shut down under the weight of the Red Midget’s apparent murder and Commissioner Merritt’s overbearing pride, Troy Windham remained in the spotlight, parlaying his status as the King of the Slackers into mainstream media exposure – one could approach the term overexposure – that turned him from a token ‘cool’ professional wrestler into a household name.

Even after the CSWA’s return in April 1998, Troy remained at the forefront of the Greensboro assault, first by defeating Mark Windham at ANNIVERSARY with the help of the newly re – formed Frat, then by insinuating himself in the World Title picture – a title he was never defeated for – by interfering in the Hornet/GUNS match designed to fill the vacancy, then by teaming with Mark in an unorthodox tag team match for the belt before a tournament was declared to settle the issue once and for all.

Unfortunately, Troy Windham’s personal demons and party habits would force him out of the CSWA as the weather started to heat up, and he would not be seen from again for nearly a year.

Or perhaps fortunately, all things considered.

I got my fist, I got my brain, I got survivalism.

Eli Flair made his return to the CSWA without a press conference, without a high profile match, and without a contract. In his absence, another wrestler had been hired under the name ‘The Eliminator,’ and Eli simply interrupted a match. In a move that would become something of a trademark, there was no fuss and no pageantry; just a course of action. Rapidly re-signed, Eli made no secret of the fact that he had returned to the CSWA for Troy Windham, though Troy’s departure and growing frustration with both the Eliminator and his trio of allies would cause the King of Extreme to radically realign his goals.

It wasn’t long before those goals found him across the ring from not only The Eliminator, but newcomer ‘Good God’ Kevin Powers, in a triangle match for the CSWA United States Championship at ELVIS LIVES XI. Eli and Powers had managed to start a relationship that wavered between enemies and rivals so closely that the only thing they hated more than each other was The Eliminator himself. Flair would come out on top in what would ultimately be the final pay per view that the Eliminator would wrestle on, with what seemed like a new set of enemies in Kevin Powers, former World Champion ‘Hurricane’ Eddy Love, and ‘Iceman’ Steve Radder, better known by the initials “PLR.”

He would soon be distracted, however, by a bigger name than he ever thought. As CSWA Anniversary 1999 approached, Eli Flair would gain access to a truly exclusive club – and he would get his hands on Hornet. In the closing moments of the final match of the IRONMAN of CHAMPIONS tournament, Eli, with a small assist from Poison Ivy, would defeat the former UNIFIED World Champion to become CSWA World Heavyweight Champion himself.

CSWA Anniversary 1999 also saw the return of Troy Windham.

If I’d listened to everything that they’d said to me I wouldn’t be here.

It should be noted that both Troy Windham and Eli Flair consistently reached the pinnacle of the sport when the other was not an active participant in whatever promotion they were in. Troy Windham won his first CSWA World Title while Eli was out with injury, and likewise, Eli’s road to the title took place while Troy was dealing with personal problems. Troy’s return at Anniversary 1999 was motivated by the escalating feud between his cousins Mark and Timmy, and the subsequent revelation that Timmy was not a Windham at all, and that Mark and Troy were actually brothers.

During the four year stretch between their most brutal matches and their final match, while Eli became a household name and multi – time World Champion in a number of promotions of varying status and global reach, and Troy cemented his status as perhaps the greatest overall wrestler to ever step into the CSWA, the silence stretched through the wrestling world and proved to even the most jaded fan that, when both men were under the same roof, other people held World Titles because they allowed it, and both men thrived on it. Even Troy’s massive ego could not cover the fact that he knew he was never as good as when Eli Flair was across the ring from him, and Eli knew, even with his reputation as one of the hardest workers in the ring, nobody was a harder fight than a man ironically nicknamed the King of the Slackers.

Fans the world over have debated endlessly over how far Eli and Troy could have gotten if they had focused the energy they used against each other on defeating World Champions, or, more unbelievably, if they had actually joined forces.

For the sake of the men and women who held championships during their greatest battles, it’s a good thing they didn’t.

Fortunately for Eli’s title reign, Troy’s return did not immediately send them against each other. The King of the Slackers insinuated himself into the breakup of tag team champions Eddy Love and Kevin Powers, forming the Playboys with Love, to combat Powers and Gabriel Poe, a team that would come to be known as the Dark Carnival. Love and Troy seemed a perfect fit, with their arrogance outmatched only by their ability. Added to the mix was Love’s manager and life partner ‘Sweet’ Melissa, and they would eventually round out with personal aide – turned – wrestler JJ DeVille, still a CSWA wrestler to this day.

But the war would find itself the night Eli defended his World Title against Eddy Love.

Welcome to the NEW FWrestling.com -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, January 1 2008
Happy 2008! And welcome to the NEW FWrestling.com! (The site still needs a few additional graphics and tweaks, but I think it’s safe enough to throw out for you to play with.)

I’ve had the chance to say that a few times over the last 10 years. Yes, I said TEN YEARS. More on that in a second. First of all, thanks to those who have played a role in getting this site done, most especially Jon Katz. Others of you, like Pete Russo, Jeremy Chaplin, Jarrett Aubry, have been involved in adding content, creating graphics on the fly and helping check over my concepts and giving your feedback.

My hope is that you’ll find the new site a complement to not only the FW Central boards, but also to the other sites that are out there. I also hope you’ll realize that the content depends on YOU and can be used to enhance your league, character and storylines. Please feel free to give your feedback (including comments on features and stories directly on the main page) as well as suggestions for what can be added or made better. To learn more about what you can do on the site, be sure to take a look at the new FAQ.

For those of you who may not be aware, the site’s roots reach all the way back to the PRODIGY online service and the community of leagues there in the early 1990s. The original FW Central started as a news digest for those league in 1994. In April 1998, FantasyWrestling.com was born as a stand-online site featuring the CSWA and as a complement site to 1Wrestling.com, for which Steve Thomas and I were the original webmasters. A server crash and domain name sale in 2001 led to the slight shift to FWrestling.com.

You are on the longest-running and most-visited site devoted to fantasy wrestling on the internet. Each month, FWrestling.com receives millions of page views, hosts hundreds of web accounts and plays proud host to incredible roleplay and angles as they play out in leagues like the NFW, NEW, EPW and TEAM. With all due respect to current and recent sites like EWZine, EWN and EWPlanet, old favorites like FWLnet/IWOonline, DWW and E-Wrestling Zone, plus other long-running behemoths like RoughKut (all tremendous sites in their own right), there simply is no site that provides more visibility, credibility and durability than FWrestling.com.

Still…. Even Better Than The Real Thing.

Welcome to the second decade.

ESEN Spotlight: The Killing of the King -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, January 1 2008
“Eli Flair? He’s the Epitome’s footnote. He’s the also – ran to my name in lights. Don’t think I’m trippin’ - we fought wars in the ring, we changed the business more times than I own property. He’s a legend, he’s just not Troy. But is it really that bad, being second best to Mr. CSWA?” – Troy Windham

“I think there’s a Troy Windham somewhere in every walk of life – a ridiculously talented individual who makes it to the pinnacle without a shred of respect for the people who paved the way. Troy’s deserved every bit of fame he’s gotten, I just wish he could’ve realized that he didn’t do it all on his own.” – Eli Flair

They headlined only one show in professional wrestling history against each other, and were constantly overshadowed by other matches and feuds of the day. However, there was perhaps no other instance in the history of this sport where two men not only brutalized each other with this much intensity, but were so eager to step in the ring against each other one more time.

With CSWA GOLD RUSH officially in the books, the war that waged between ‘The Epitome’ Troy Windham and ‘Total Elimination’ Eli Flair has officially come to an end as Flair has retired from the sport. But this was no ordinary feud. This feud crossed promotional lines, like many others. This feud involved championships, like many others. This feud involved personal slights, backstabs and sneak attacks, like many others. This feud changed both men forever and scarred innocent bystanders forever, like many others.

And yet, this feud was unlike anything else professional wrestling has ever seen, and potentially will ever see. This feud was between two of the most evenly matched wrestlers in the history of the sport.

ESEN SPOTLIGHT
THE KILLING OF THE KING
EXTREME VS SLACKER
ELI FLAIR VS TROY WINDHAM

Eron Gets Closure -- Posted by Chad on Tuesday, January 1 2008
When it came to E-Wrestling, there were three things that were more important to me than anything else.

The first, was that I became known. That was huge. I didn’t want to be one of those guys who writes and writes and gets absolutely no feedback or attention from it. That is why I always spent my time in well known e-feds. I went to Toronto Championship Wrestling (TCW) in 1998 because I knew it was a Farm League to the Fans Wrestling Organization (fWo). I knew if I was going to get noticed anywhere, it would be there. I also had a very short stint in the WWR, but when I seen my abilities would never be noticed, I quit very quickly. That was one of the last Roleplay feds I ever worked in, and that was 2001. I was in the fWo, and after the fWo, I was in jOlt Wrestling because I knew with the people around me we could *create* attention. Since 2000 I’ve been a household name in E-Wrestling, at least in the circle I participated in. In 2002 I even scratched the RSPWF Top 100 just out of notoriety. I accomplished being known.

Second, was my writing ability. I had to be a good writer. If my writing was not improving or I was not writing anything I was proud of, I had to stop and go do something else. Once E-Wrestling moved into being an exercise of creative writing, I wanted to ensure I wrote as fascinating or as interesting as I believed my own mind was. I think, at least in spurts, I accomplished that.

Finally, the third most important thing was to be happy and interested. When the fun stops, I stop. Even if I was angry about something, if it was an anger that kept me interested in everything, I stayed. I retired a few times, but it was always because the fun and interest stopped. Things have brought me back, but since 2006, I can safely say I have not been interested in anything, or had fun. The last time I had fun, and was interested, was the CSWA Gold Rush.

CSWA Gold Rush was an interesting thing for me. I never participated in CSWA before. Hell, as I said, I hadn’t roleplayed for a roleplay fed since 2001, and though I pulled off a good finish in a Battle Royale (Wow, what a coincidence), that was a long time ago. I knew a few people who came from the CSWA parts, but I never exactly had a positive relationship with them. The only person I ever had a good series of conversations with was Warren (Deacon), though I did once feud with Pete (Eli Flair) in the fWo. I considered it the first serious challenge I had faced in E-Wrestling in a long time. For starters, I didn’t belong. Second, I hadn’t roleplayed in a very long time. Finally, I didn’t have my reputation to fall back on anymore. These guys couldn’t give a rats ass who I was or what I had accomplished. These were people who had been participating in the CSWA since the early 90’s. If I was going to get anything, I had better earn it. It was a challenge. I wanted that challenge.

When I first started, my roleplays resembled someone who didn’t take things very serious. They were stock roleplays, the kind of thing you do without very much thought or creativity. Heel 101. A good friend of mine, John Carroll, was also in the Gold Rush as Voran Xias, and he too was doing stock roleplays. It wasn’t until I started seeing more material from those writing, especially Troy Windham, that I knew that just wasn’t going to f***ing cut it. I was relying on the fact that maybe I would get far just by being Eron the Relentless. Maybe I would stick around just because of my small footnote of history with Eli Flair.

After realizing the series I had back and forth with Windham was subpar, I wrote “Focused Explosions”. It was my proudest piece of EW writing to date, and I knew from then on, I had my A Game. Overall, once roleplaying was over, I honestly felt proud of myself. Proud of what I did. I knew, whatever happened, wherever I ended up in the Gold Rush, I would be satisfied. I proved what I could do.

Then… the wait.

F***. The wait was worse than waiting for Trent Reznor to release a new Nine Inch Nails album. And it wasn’t even near as long!

However, once it came, I was impressed, and once it was finally complete, the same feeling I had finishing “Focused Explosions” came to me, as I was the last person to be eliminated for Troy Windham to win the Gold Rush. I ruined Eli Flair’s final moment. I lasted longer than many CSWA Legends, people who developed great, illustrious careers in this federation. For one night, one event, CSWA knew who Eron the Relentless was and what he was capable of.

As I took a backseat to Dan Ryan vs. Troy Windham, a quick yet emotional main event to the Gold Rush to give it the happy ending it deserved, I felt good. I contributed to the CSWA. Even just for one night and a handful of RP’s, after a near two decade history, I was able to place my small paintstroke on their masterpiece.

In the end, I got my notoriety, my writing accomplishment and my enjoyment.

Even if I never come back to this E-Wrestling thing, it is okay. I got my closure. I hope that CSWA did too. Or maybe not. Maybe the story is not over for the both of us.