An MAW Story

[shamelessposer]

An MAW Story
Starring Erin Bray

Hi. Erin Bray. You may have heard of me from this little computer game called "Extreme Wrestling Revenge." It was big among who was both a wrestling fan and an internet nerd, and let me tell you that there's a huge amount of crossover between those two demographics.

Anyway, the game contained the more or less complete rosters of a bunch of lesser known promotions, even this one that avoided all corporate responsibility by technically having a mentally deficient mouse as a CEO. And, lo and behold, I was on that list. They made me out to be a pretty great wrestler too. But here's the problem: I'm not a wrestler. I never have been, and I never will be. I was, at best, a backstage gofer for a couple of promotions you could most charitably call "small." One night I put on a mask so I could run interference when one of our guys didn't show up, and the next thing I know some wrestling fan has put me in his game with stats higher than anyone on the actual roster.

Turns out there are real-life, honest-to-goodness wrestling promoters who play EWR. Some of these geniuses even use their saved games to predict trends in the industry, and you can imagine about how well that goes. A subset of those guys then use the game's roster in place of any sort of actual talent scouting: "Well, golly, if this game says he's got a 76 in Brawl and my main eventer only has a 74, I need to hire this guy!"

That's when the offers started to come in.

Day and night, clueless heads of no-name independent companies were ringing my phone off the hook wanting to know how quickly I could be in Connecticut, whether or not I'd accept payment in airline peanuts, and one night instead of a person on the other end of the line there was this weird, wet chittering noise like someone had pressed a rat up against the receiver. I had a real job, and I couldn't do it on three hours of sleep. So I did some investigation, called up this "Adam Ryland" character who had destroyed my life, and demanded to be taken out of hsi game. Nice guy, even if I couldn't understand half of his island nation witchmouth.

But like most such stories, it really began with a phone call.

"Mmmmnnnn affff," I said. Badly.

"Erin? That you?" The voice on the other end was familiar.

"Yuh?" It's my charm that got me where I am today: a minimum-wage job and a virgin at twenty-three.

"I want to talk to you about a job. In wrestling. Pleasedon'thangup, I know you're not that Erin Bray." He sounded more familiar, but...

"Whuzzzis?"

"It's Jean. Cattley. Remember? From a few years ago?"

"Uh-huh. YoohidmewiddaCHAIR."

"Yeah. I did. But you got your twenty bucks, so quit your whining. This new job wouldn't require you to get hit with anything."

"-ckoff." Stupid dry throat.

"See, it's just that kind of eloquence we were looking for in a booker. Rip is going to be absolutely thrilled to know you're not interested in running a promotion."

"...
...
...
...WHA? Rip?" Yeah... awake now.

"Rip Chord."

"I'm trying to get my pants on right now. Where should I meet you?"

"Slow down. We'll deal with everything tomorrow. I just need to know if you're interested."

"Of course I'm interested. Who wouldn't want to work with a legend?"

"So far? Karen Killer. Sheik Mustafa. Alex Braun. Me. He's... hard to work with. You'll see."

"See where?"

"Stanley Hall. I think it's an hour's drive from where you are."

"Cool. I'll be there when I'm conscious."

Five hours 'til destiny.

[scorpion]

lol

And I never say lol.

Edit: I should add Erin Bray was a God(ess)

[mad5226]

nice backstory...i love a good laugh

[shamelessposer]

Welcome To Heck

If you ever meet one of your childhood heroes, I guarantee you'll remember what he first said to you and carry it to the grave:

"Erin. With an E. With a name like that I expected you to have tits."

"I did, up until a few months ago. Treadmill helped."

Rip laughed and slapped me on the back. "Jean told me you were an *******. So, what do you think of MAW Headquarters?"

"I think it's a warehouse with some old high school bleachers and a ring with less support than my futon."

"Sorry we couldn't break out the red velvet carpet for Your Highness. Door's that way if you don't like it."

"Hardly, sir. This is a step up from the places I used to work."

"Sorry to hear that." He leaned against the ring. I did, too. Awkward.

Just then Jean walked through the front door. "Sorry I'm late. The kid missed her bus so I had to get her to school before I came here."

"In all the years I've known you, this is the first time you've been here at exactly the right time. You're forgiven. Besides, it gave Erin and me a chance to bond."

"What do you think of him, Rip?"

"I think you're right. He's an *******. But we didn't get around to discussing what other qualifications he might have."

"I've got an idea, if you don't mind. We tell Erin the plans for this year's Invitational and see what he thinks. When we hear his suggestions we'll have a better idea whether or not he's the kind of guy we want booking MAW."

"As good an idea as any other. Okay, see, we thought that we'd start off with...

They ran down every detail of the show as it had already been booked. Erik Strong and Jean Cattley would battle it out in the main event, while in the semi-main the classic character of Masked Patriot would fight Chord protege Antonio.

"So what do you think, kid?"

"I think... I really hate it." They both looked like they wanted to kill me. It was time for some explanation. "The card is almost identical to the shows you did at the same time last year and the year before. And Antonio... well, I like Antonio and all, but this would be his third appearance at an Invitational. I'm afraid that he looks too much like a guy who chokes when it comes time for the tournament, and the fans won't buy into him taking the trophy because of that."

Rip let out a short grunt. I wasn't being kicked out of the building, so I figured that I had his ear. "Well, what you do?"

"We need some new guys. I've been watching the indy scene and I have a few in mind. I guarantee you that by the first of February you'll have a new main event star and a new direction for the company."

"I'm kinda thinking we should give Erin a chance. Or, at the very least, listen to what he has to say. He's kinda got a point about the Invitational card, at least."

"Fine. You get to book the Invitational, and we'll go from there. But if this show bombs you're out the door without so much as a pat on the back or gas money to get home."

The Rip Chord Invitational III

First Round Matches

Ace Youngblood vs. Evil Spirit
Ace Youngblood's first match in MAW, and Evil Spirit's first match in the United States!

Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Davis Wayne Newton's MAW debut!

Riley McManus vs. Dermot O'Logical
Can the rookie McManus beat an indy standout?

The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
Truth, Justice and The American Way vs. a member of the nefarious Firm!

[shamelessposer]

MAW Rip Chord Invitational III
The last Friday of January 2008
Stanley Hall
Attendance: 117

Ace Youngblood vs. Evil Spirit
Opening the show with two newcomers was admittedly a gamble, and in this case it was one that didn't pay off. These two both have a lot of latent talent, but they'd each be better served by being put in the ring against more experienced opponents. Throughout the match Evil Spirit kept going for his kendo stick, and referee Jay Fair kept taking it away. Without his stick Spirit was lost, and Youngblood got the pin.
Winner: Ace Youngblood (F+)

After the match, Citizen X makes a big show of heading to the front row and taking a seat. Duke Hazzard on commentary mentions that Citizen X isn't scheduled to be here tonight. (F+)

Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Mayhem is so inexperienced that he can barely even do a proper back bump, but Newton somehow dragged him kicking and screaming to a decent match despite clearly having his mind elsewhere. DWN locks in an STF and ends the match before the ten minute mark.
Winner: Davis Wayne Newton (E+)

Riley McManus vs. Dermot O'Logical
Talk about a mismatch of styles. Dermot O'Logical was brought in on a short term deal mostly because of his name value (by MAW standards), but his in-ring style would obviously be better suited to USPW or SWF. Despite the style clash McManus and O'Logical nonetheless put on a watchable match, McManus stealing a surprise win with a roll-up pin.
Winner: Riley McManus (E)

The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
This was perhaps the only first round match where I had trouble deciding on a winner. The two men put on the match of the night, with a series of near falls and a chain wrestling sequence I never would have expected from a big guy like Patriot. Douglas' experience won the day, when he locked in the Figure Four and then twisted to turn it into a pin. After the match he limped to the back, the Figure Four variation obviously having done more damage to Douglas than his opponent.
Winner: Ricky Douglas (D)

Riley McManus vs. Davis Wayne Newton
After seeing what Newton did with Max Mayhem we were expecting even greater results when putting him against Riley McManus, but sadly that wasn't the case. Both men gave it their all, but things never really clicked. Davis Wayne Newton won the match with a Fisherman Suplex a couple of minutes earlier than planned.
Winner: Davis Wayne Newton (E)

A couple of minutes go by and the next match hasn't yet started. A cameraman goes backstage and right on the other side of the curtain, surrounded by several of the tournament participants, is a bloodied and beaten Davis Wayne Newton. (F)

Jean Cattley pushes his way past the other wrestlers and steps over the fallen Davis Wayne Newton. He heads out to the ring, the cameraman following, and then goes into the ring with a microphone.

"Rip, look, I know I wasn't supposed to be here today, but it looks like we've run into a little bit of a problem. The new guy, Davis, he's backstage and pretty well beaten up."

Rip sneers at him. "I'm sure you had nothing to do with that, right?"

"Hey, I'm not saying I did it and I'm not saying I didn't. You're not going to believe me either way. But the bottom line is that you owe these people a main event, and all of a sudden you're out one Rip Chord Invitational finalist."

"And you think that you should be the replacement in the main event."

"I am a two-time Rip Chord Invitational finalist. And who else is going to stand in?" He gestures to Citizen X in the audience. "That freak? You?"

"This stinks to high heaven, but it's not like I've been left with a lot of choices. You're in, new guy's out. Newton gets a title shot against Erik Strong next week as a consolation prize."

Cattley does a mock bow. "Pleasure doing business with you, Rip." (E+)

Ace Youngblood vs. Ricky Douglas
This match was the first pleasant surprise of my tenure as booker. Youngblood was just as rough and unpolished as in his earlier match, but Ricky Douglas knew his way around a ring well enough to provide a good balance. The two wrestled like they'd known each other for years rather than a couple of hours, and what was initially a semifinal by necessity ended up getting the crowd on its feet. Youngblood took to the air with a Flying Tomahawk Chop and got the pin.
Winner: Ace Youngblood (D-)

Ace Youngblood already in the ring, Cattley comes back out with a microphone. "Ladies, gentlemen, worthless scrub I'm about to beat--" He's cut off when Evil Spirit comes out from the back and shoves him to the side. The Masked Patriot is in hot pursuit. "Don't let him get away!" Patriot said. "I'm think he's the guy who attacked Davis!" Cattley climbs into the ring and tries to break the two apart, but Evil Spirit gets ahold of the kendo stick he had left at ringside earlier and begins to swing it around. With a loud CRACK, he catches Cattley in the temple. Jean Cattley, three-time Rip Chord Invitational finalist, falls to the ground. Evil Spirit runs out the arena door with Patriot on his tail.

At ringside, Rip says "Aw, hell. There goes our main event." (F)

"I wouldn't say that, boss." Citizen X has stepped out of the audience and picked up Jean Cattley's microphone. He rolls Jean out of the ring. "You've still got one trained wrestler in the building who hasn't been eliminated from the tournament."

"Wait just a second," Rip says. "Aren't you the guy who refused a spot last month because tournaments went against the tenets of anarchism, or some crap like that?"

Citizen X makes a sad face when he says But boss, I just want to do right by my company. I'm the only person here who can give you a main event, and as you can see I was sitting right there the entire time. I couldn't have had a thing to do with what happened to Davis or Jean."

Rip sighs. "Okay, fine. This has been about the strangest night I've seen in ten years, but go ahead. Three announced main events and only one actually goes off. What's the world coming to these days?" (D)

Rip Chord Invitational Finals
Ace Youngblood vs. Citizen X
Youngblood has already wrestled in two matches tonight, and so is at an immediate disadvantage against Citizen X. He manages a few hope spots, but X's experience and freshness are too much. He quickly puts away Youngblood with a Flaming Anarchy.
Winner: Citizen X (E+)

Overall: E+

[shamelessposer]

Afterglow

"Could someone get me an ice pack?" Jean asked. He lifted himself up to sit on the same table as me, and I could already see the welt on the side of his head.

"Jeez. That thing on your head looks awful."

"I've had worse. Much worse. Your show doesn't seem to suck as much as everyone thought it would."

"Who's everyone?"

"You know... everyone. From Rip down to the camera guy whose name I can never remember. Expectations weren't high. The new guys I've had a chance to talk to seemed pretty happy about the paychecks, though."

I could hear Dermot O'Logical shouting in the locker room. "Bull****! This is bull****!"

"Well, most of the new guys. How many more shows is he signed for?"

"One."

"Good. And look, everyone's attitude toward the show, don't take it personally or anything. We all care about how this company does, and seeing a new guy with hardly any background in the industry book a show... people are gonna get worried."

"I know. Crowd doesn't seem to be taking to the storyline like I'd expected."

"These are old school fans, though. They're not used to anything much more complex than me running down their hometown so I can get beaten up by somebody like Mainstream Hernandez. If you want to do more complex stories the fans will follow, but you've got to train them a little bit. Get them to expect this sort of thing on a regular basis."

"Huh. You're talking like I'm going to be booking more shows for you guys."

"You've got my vote. Or, you would if we were voting. It's Rip's call, but to be honest I'm sick of dealing with him. If you book the shows I can just concentrate on wrestling."

"Thanks for giving me a shot. And the vote of confidence thing, too."

On the other side of the curtain a bell rang. Citizen X lifted the trophy over his head. The show was over. A few minutes later, Rip came through the curtain.

"Bray."

Here's the big moment. "Yeah?"

"I figure we can keep you around a few more months. Just don't expect me to pay you much. Gotta drain the lizard. Be back in a minute."

"That didn't sound too enthusiastic."

"Relax. That's the traditional Rip Chord 'welcome to the company' speech. Except for the lizard thing. I think he just had to take a leak."

"Fantastic. So, what's next?"

"The hard part."

[Sons of Kohral]

Hey, very cool show. I liked it a lot. I'm starting to wonder who DID knock out DWN? My guess, it was Antonio, pissed that he didn't get a spot in the tourny. Most likely though it was C-X who just hired Evil Spirit.

[ReapeR]

You've got my attention.

I'll be reading.

[mad5226]

loved the first show, i thnk I'm going to be a fan of evil spirit. Keep it up man

[shamelessposer]

MAW Wrestling Classic

The last Friday of February 2008
Stanley Hall
Attendance: 79

The pre-show featured Citizen X going over Jefferson Stardust (E) and Antonio going over Max Mayhem (E+)

Slim V vs. Ricky Douglas
The match started out with some nice back and forth brawling action between Douglas and the debuting Slim V, but at about the eight minute mark the other members of the firm, Jean Cattley and Casey Valentine, made their appearances. Cattley distracted the referee while Valentine slid in under the bottom rope and delivered a vicious Deep Impact to... Ricky Douglas. Their work done, Cattley and Valentine walked to the back while Slim V got the pin. I was really impressed by Douglas' professionalism here, as even though he was upset with this match's finish he was still willing to put on a good show for the fans. (E)
Winner: Slim V

Casey Valentine walks into the locker room, where his tag partner Cameron Vessey is waiting. He tosses one of The Firm's t-shirts at Vessey. "Good news, Cam. We just got a new opening. Welcome to The Firm."

"About time," Vessey says. "But at least Cattley's proven that he knows talent when he sees it. Even if it does take a couple of years for him to make up his mind."

"Try and relax. So long as you play by Cattley's rules you'll see a whole new world of opportunities. Just try not to lose too many matches or we'll both pay the price." (E)

Riley McManus vs. Dermot O'Logical
Rematch! This is the second time O'Logical has complained about jobbing to McManus, but I'd pay more attention to him if he could bring more to his matches. Things were kept short because someone we won't name can't go ten minutes without starting to wheeze. Riley McManus got the pin on someone we won't name with a crucifix pin. (E)
Winner: Riley McManus


The Masked Patriot vs. Evil Spirit
These two... were impressive. Spirit hasn't been able to get much of a reaction from the crowd yet, but he was at least able to hold up his end of the match against the raging Masked Patriot. Patriot kept using his puro-inspired power moves, with Evil Spirit occasionally stealing control of the match through cheap tricks like low blows, eye gouges, and in one case twisting Patriot's mask. Truth and justice won out in the end when Patriot hit the Inverted Piledriver. (D-)
Winner: Masked Patriot

While The Masked Patriot celebrated in the ring, Evil Spirit bailed to the outside and grabbed his kendo stick. Patriot turned around and walked into a nasty kendo stick shot, getting laid out. Spirit then ran out of the arena, much like last month. (F)

Sayeed Ali vs. Findlay O'Farraday (with Ernest Forthdyke-Hume)
This got messy, in a good way. Rather than wrestling these two just started brawling in the middle ofthe ring, and didn't stop until the twelfth minute when Sayeed Ali's superior footwork prevailed. (D-)
Winner: Sayeed Ali

Ace Youngblood vs. Jean Cattley
It's become pretty obvious to Rip, Jean and I that Ace Youngblood is definitely a work in progress. The fans have taken to him, but if you don't stick him in the ring against a talented opponent things just start to fall apart. Fortunately enough, Jean is something of a miracle worker and could probably even get a decent match out of me. Jean of course wins, while we try to figure out a proper place for a guy who's popular enough to main event but not skilled enough to be a midcarder. (D)
Winner: Jean Cattley

Citizen X makes his way to the ring, holding the Rip Chord Invitational trophy in one hand a microphone in the other.

"I'd call this trophy a false idol... but aren't they all? The state, the church, this promotion... they all get in the way of what's really important: Me. In a just world anarchy would reign, and a man like me could climb to the top without so much as a second look back at all the others who fell along the way. This trophy, marble and gold and trash that it is, will serve as a tool. Any time before January 2009 I can exchange this ornament for a shot at your belt, Erik. And when that bright and glorious day comes, I will finally have ascended to my rightful place as the greatest athlete in the Mid-Atlantic." (D)

Mid Atlantic Championship
Erik Strong vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Okay, it's settled. Davis is going to be somebody. Despite this being only his third match with the company he constantly had the fans on their feet, and seemed to be a serious threat for the Mid Atlantic Championship. While a Strongsault won the day for the reigning champion, there wasn't a person in the building who doubted the ability of Davis Wayne Newton. This isn't the last time he'll be fighting for gold in North Carolina. (D)
Winner: Erik Strong

Overall: D-

[shamelessposer]

MAW Super Showdown
V & Ali vs. The Canadian Blondes in an MAW Title Match
The Masked Patriot and a partner of his choosing vs. The Firm (represented by Casey Valentine and Cameron Vessey)
Max Mayhem vs. Evil Spirit
Riley McManus vs. Findlay O'Farraday
PLUS Erik Strong and "Mean" Jean Cattley in action!

[Hyde Hill]

V & Ali vs. The Canadian Blondes in an MAW Title Match
The Masked Patriot and a partner of his choosing vs. The Firm (represented by Casey Valentine and Cameron Vessey)
Max Mayhem vs. Evil Spirit
Riley McManus vs. Findlay O'Farraday

[Phantom Stranger]

Please switch the yellow dialogue to a different colour - I can't read it.

Other than that, this is fun so far! Keep it up.

[NoNeck]

I'm in. And looking forward to more, too.

DWN for life.

[shamelessposer]

MAW Super Showdown

The last Friday of March 2008
Stanley Hall
Attendance: 83

Max Mayhem vs. Evil Spirit
Who's the dumb**** who thought this match would be a good idea? Right, me. This was a complete disaster from start to finish, as even with extensive instruction from Rip beforehand the whole thing lacked any sort of flow and was full of botched spots. In hindsight, checking to see if Evil Spirit spoke a word of English would have been a good idea before telling him how things were supposed to go down. Still, Spirit takes the win because the fans seem to love Mayhem and he'll quickly bounce back from a close loss. (F+)
Winner: Evil Spirit

Davis Wayne Newton's music plays and he heads down to the ring. He starts stretching while he waits for his opponent to come out. Newton seems surprised when Mean Jean Cattley comes through the curtain with a microphone.

"Sorry to get everyone all worked up, but there's not going to be a match between Davis and me tonight. I've got something for you that's an awful lot better than a beating." Jean demonstrates the advantage of an all-denim wrestling ensemble by pulling a t-shirt out of his pocket. "Now I know that traditionally The Firm has been a three man operation, but we're looking to expand our horizons a little bit. And going off of some of the great performances we've seen from you in the last two months, you'e definitely Firm material."

Davis makes a motion to the camera man, who brings him a microphone. "Yeah, Jean, that's a fantastic idea. I'm going to team up with the guy who screwed over one of his own friends less than a month ago. I'm going to team up with the guy who bashed in my skull and cost me a tournament win."

Cattley looks... irate. He gets into the ring and starts shouting in DWN's face. "That's a lie and you know it! You told Rip that you didn't see the guy who ambushed you January. It could've been me, it could've been Erik Strong, it could've been Bruce The Giant for all you know!"

"I didn't see my attacker's face, sure. But I got a great look at what he was wearing. But I'm pretty sure 1992 was the last time Bruce The Giant wore a denim jacket."

"Machine" Jean Cattley suddenly flips out. He throws a series of punches in Newton's face, then slams him chest-first into a turnbuckle. As he's putting his boots to Newton's face and back PSW's own Nelson Callum comes running from the bleachers, climbs into the ring, and throws Cattley over the top rope.

"North Carolina is The Firm's territory! What do you think you're doing, you garbage-wrestling scrub?"

Callum picks up the fallen Newton's microphone. "Righting a wrong. And seeing as how you were scheduled to wrestle a match tonight anyway, how about I make a proper MAW debut by beating you in a match tonight?"

Furious, Cattley throws down the microphone and walks back behind the curtain. (E)

Ash Campbell vs. Curtis Jenkins
This was Curtis Jenkins' last month with the company, and we decided not to renew his contract. In his three years stateside he's shown almost no improvement in his in-ring technique, and his willingness to work for cheap wasn't enough to save his spot on the card. Still, we made lemons out of lemonade and used his farewell match as a chance to debut new signing Ash Campbell. The match was about as awful as MAW fans have come to expect from anything involving Jenkins, and we kept it quick. (E-)
Winner: Ash Campbell

MAW Tag Team Championship Match
V & Ali (Slim V and Sayeed Ali) vs. The Canadian Blondes (Oscar Golden & Flash Savage)
This match served as further proof that I'm batting .000 tonight. While the two teams put on a decent effort, there were certainly better choices for the ending. The double countout didn't go over well with the fans, but the mostly positive reaction to this match ensures they'll be facing off again soon. (E)
Winner: None (Double Countout)

Riley McManus vs. Findlay O'Farraday (with Ernest Forthdyke-Hume)
Again with the bad matchups. The planned story behind this match, in which the plucky underdog gradually wears down the big man but just barely fails to put him away, didn't survive ten seconds past the bell ringing. Sloppy, ugly, and entirely my fault for sticking two guys this green against each other. (E-)
Winner: Findlay O'Farraday

The Masked Patriot heads out to the ring, microphone in hand. Another man walks a few steps behind him, wearing a second Masked Patriot mask.

"I was told that tonight I was going to fight two members of The Firm. Now, we all know that Vessey and Valentine are both a couple of no good cowards and bullies, so a guy like me should have no problem fighting them myself. But ol' Rip insisted that we make this a tag match, and he told me I could pick any partner I wanted."

The second man takes off his mask, revealing the face of Ricky Douglas.

"So I thought to myself, 'Who's got beef with The Firm?'" (F+)

Before Vessey and Valentine make their way to the ring, Antonio of all people comes out and grabs the microphone away from The Masked Patriot. "I am here to discuss an injustice! We are approaching the end of March, and I realize that I have yet to be given a match. First I was told I would not be allowed to participate in this year's Rip Chord Invitational. Then I am told that I cannot wrestle in February. And this month I am not given the courtesy of a phone call. I am Antonio, the biggest star of MAW, and I must inform you Mr. Chord that you are making an... unwise business decision by refusing me opportunities in your organization."

Erik Strong comes through the curtain and into the ring, and it's his turn to take the microphone. "Cut the threats, Antonio. If you want a match, all you've gotta do is ask. You want a match? Rip gave me permission to pick my opponent tonight. And if it'll shut you up and let the show go on, I'll face you tonight in the main event."

"Your terms are acceptable." (E-)

With Antonio out of the ring, the tag match can finally start.

The Masked Patriot & Ricky Douglas vs. The Firm (Cameron Vessey & Casey Valentine)
Finally, a decent match! I'd learned from a year of watching his matches on YouTube that The Masked Patriot always gives 100% in the ring, but Ricky Douglas might be one of my new heroes. And the two representatives of The Firm could each have much bigger futures than working in Stanley Hall, but I'm hoping it takes them a while to figure that out. Rip decided to take a hands-off approach, thinking that his studen Casey would be able to direct this match, and he was right. Fifteen minutes of slow-paced, methodical tag wrestling got punctuated at the end by a vicious Back Drop Driver to Cameron Vessey, but before he could make the pin Evil Spirit came through the crowd and ran a lap around the ring. With Patriot distracted Vessey had enough time to tag out, letting Casey Valentine get a handful of tights and a rollup pin. (D-)
Winner: Casey Valentine

Nelson Callum vs. Mean Jean Cattley
Once again Jean did his part to put on a good match and save my job. I'd say that he made Nelson Callum look like a star, but Nelson wasn't doing a shabby job of that himself. Things ran a little too long, and Jean put a quick end to the match before Callum's exhaustion could do too much to dampen the fans' enjoyment. (D-)

MAW Championship Match
Erik Strong vs. Antonio
Some people say that Erik Strong got the title because he's a poor man's Mainstream Hernandez and Antonio only has his spot on the roster because Rip has a soft spot for guys he's trained. Both of those claims have some basis in reality, and hearing them has caused these two men to push themselves very hard over the last year or so. These two put on the match of my very short booking career, and the match had a fluidity I wouldn't have expected if they'd faced off a dozen times before. We're not quite sold on Antonio as main event material, but if he keeps putting on matches like this one he could have gold around his waist by the end of the year. (D)
Winner: Erik Strong

Overall: D-