Burned the F out plus FNF2 and Riders recaps
Christ have I been high strung here lately. Between the constant car issues that are gonna cost well over a grand that I don't have and the influx of animals that have decided upon taking refuge at my house, it has been one constant nuisance after another here lately. Adding to my own less-than-pleasant demeanor, is the fact that it seems I'm constantly around people that are always bitching about one thing or the other, thereby bringing me down to their miserable level. I'm really proud of the fact that most view me as so happy-go-lucky and full of love. And it fucking sucks that people haven't gotten that side of me lately. I find myself having far less patience than normal and seem to be in a constant search of a tranquil, peaceful environment that isn't on the horizon anytime soon. It seems I spend day after day trying desperately to mentally rectify the situation with no clear answers to be found. Financially, I live in the proverbial money pit, with questionably outrageous rent that I realistically can't afford but any options of moving elsewhere also point to equally miserable conditions, making me question the hassle of uprooting my existence once again. I was privy to a conversation held the other night between two of my best friends, discussing my obvious misery as of late. "Statmark" has been far from his customary spaz-like state which sucks balls and sittin in on this conversation really opens your eyes to just how much I haven't been myself as of late. Those that I don't converse with but on weekends may not pick up on the little nuances, but make no mistake, even my "happiest" times as of late have almost felt forced. It truly sucks that money is indeed the root of all evil. Honestly, if not for the constant financial woes that have plagued me for one reason or the other since 1996, I would honestly be as happily content as any human being you would ever come in contact with. And I don't mean I want to be rich. I would just like to have a dependable car that actually last me say, a year, without having to sink hundreds into it. A nice little home in the country that will one day be mine, not a never-ending struggle to pay off a rent tab that has no end in sight. As I've said time and time again, I have brought all of this upon myself. I have this uncanny ability to turn a blind eye to an opportunity that would make life easier on myself and put myself in a situation that will undeniably cause me to continue spinning my wheels in this giant rut I live in. I deserve the majority of my anguish because I've brought it upon myself but on the other hand, I've also busted my ass almost more than anyone else I know over the past decade and hardly have a damn thing to show for it. Thank GOD for the memories and the friends. I would LOVE to live closer to Burlington. Cause right now it's gotten to the point that it really sucks driving at least 3+ hours every weekend after the past four years wondering if your piece of shit car is going to leave you stranded on the highway. Trust me, there is NO worse feeling right now than coming home from shows every week. I moved away back in 2001 due to the fact that I was living in the house of me and the ex and I HAD to get out of there while I had a fantastic opportunity waiting for me in Charlotte. Since then, that opportunity has faded away, which is fine and all, but I'm left at what FEELS like a crossroads once again in my life. I could stay down here near Charlotte where things are passable some days and horrible the next. Or I could move back closer to Burlington where things COULD be better but the potential for it to be even worse is there as well. If it was 5 or 10 years ago and roommates were an option, this decision would be much easier. Splitting rent between friends and couples can certainly ease the financial burden big time. Unfortunately, I've also learned that roommates frequently turn friends into those that you want to strangle after a few months, and I REALLY don't want to put my good friendships in jeopardy. Each and every day I feel the frustration. Some days are worse than others. I want to scream some days. Today wasn't too bad. I was feeling a little more positive about my surroundings. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I just wish I could wipe my slate clean. All of the financial BS I'd endured from 96-on, I just wish I could turn back the hands of time and erase it all. Not my friends, not my experiences, just the finances. I dream of a day when I don't have this constant cloud hanging over my head. Bills? Sure, I can deal with that. But I just want the past to be fixed. For once in my life to be back to 1995 and not have to sweat it out day after day if I'm going to be evicted tomorrow. Somedays I feel redundant when discussing this but after nearly 10 years, I'm simply burned the fuck out on this bullshit. I refuse to live a life where I cannot even enjoy the simplest time with my friends because I constantly have a million other problems breathing down my neck going "Hey! Don't forget about me!". I don't know how, I don't know when, but this situation WILL be fixed. Between my own determination and refusal to let it destroy me, and my belief in God to take care of me in my time of need, I KNOW I will survive this.On a happier note, Matty Dee now has a fuckin' BLOG!
What say we try and actually talk about one thing that keeps me going...kicking it off with last week's "Friday Night Fights 2" at the CSA in Burlington:
1. The Street Sweepers (Gregory Vercetti and Jay Sinn) defeated Classic Rock ("Classic" Chris Collins & "Rock N Roll" Matty Dee) in 10:28 when Sinn pinned Matty Dee-
Absolute non-stop opener which went a touch too long, but was far superior to the similar 6-man from last month that involved these two teams. Crowd still seems to be confused by these FNF "dark matches" and if they're still supposed to cheer for dark matches or something...I don't get it. Anyways, fun stuff with the hilight being Matty Dee hitting the Alabama Jam from the HEAVENS. **1/2
2. Xsiris defeated Ultra Dragon and Rising Generation League champion Kid Justice in 11:16 of a triangle elimination match (Xsiris pinned Dragon, Xsiris pinned Justice) -
Another preview for the Light Heavyweight tourney and I swear, between this match and the previous tag match from last show, I'm starting to wonder if the actual tourney is gonna pale in comparison to the preview matches which is so often the case. Anyways, I hate triangle matches (talk about redundant...), but surprise, surprise, another fairly smartly worked one although Xsiris taking both pinfalls was definitely surprising. This past month for Kid Justice (6/18-on) has totally resurrected him from mid-card hell while Dragon is creeping closer and closer to it. **3/4
-Tank Lawson (with Cornelius J. Lumpkin in his corner) defeated Rob "Boogie Woogie Man" McBride in the $500 Arm Wrestling Challenge -
Pretty typical arm-wrestling stuff although the interference of Lumpkin was pretty original as Tank and him hold hands for added leverage. Classic Rock saves Rob from a post-match beatdown although the crowd has less-than-normal confidence in them in a future challenge vs. Tank.
3. CWF/AWA Mid-Atlantic tag team champions $outh$ide Playas (J-Money and Will B. Smooth with Kiyia Moka in their corner) defeated Mikael Yamaha and "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel (with Brad Stutts in their corner) in 18:12 when Money pinned Yamaha -
FANtastic old-school tag match with a little new-age overbooking thrown in for good measure. Seriously fun though with the crowd totally thinking that we were gonna see new champs. The heels do everything in their power to try and rob the Playas, but run-ins by Munkey (which takes Corey out of the equation) and Amber O'Neal (who prevents Yam from getting the brass knux) leads to a Playas win and the crowd eats it up with a spoon. ****
-Intermission brought us the hilight of "Kids Night" at FNF2 as assistant commish Michael McAllister gets locked in a steel cage outside the CSA and bombarded with water balloons from the angry chilins that he's PO'd over the past couple of months.
Wonderfully fun segment that is really, the heart and soul of what pro wrestling is all about - the kids.
5. CWF/AWA Mid-Atlantic TV champion Jesse Ortega defeated "A Very Handsome Man" Mitch Conner by submission in 14:28 - One of those unforgettable matches for a number of reasons. The first being the crowd pissing ME off which is a rarity as everyone knows, and constantly (and unfairly) reminds me of, that I will generally defend our crowd. The crowd completely shits on some beautiful wrestling early on and pretty much turns on Jesse for some inexplicable reason. Mitch got very little love either, aside from some entertainment marks in the crowd. Then IT happens as Mitch goes for a simple cusifix on Jesse's back. They struggle towards the ropes and go up and over the top while jockeying for position. Then, in what immediately shoots towards the top of the "he should have died" list, they go over awkwardly and Mitch takes what pretty much amounted to a DDT from the top rope all the way down INTO the concrete floor. Horrifyingly nasty as a partial landing on his knees not only broke some of the impact but probably saved his life. His head is immediately split open and blood begins to flow. They recompose themselves as best as possible and go into some vicious almost-shoot like crowd brawling before heading back into the ring. The crowd then began to care about the match slightly more but I heard at least one comment of "oh, that's ketchup" which got the "go fuck yourself" look from me on camera (the fan actually did come up to me on Sunday and apologize for what that's worth). Anyways, the injury to Mitch doesn't help matters when it comes to Jesse's fanbase at all and when Mitch finally taps for the finish, Jesse gets just about booed out of the building for going over. Excellent match, horrible crowd, and completely fascinating from several viewpoints. Thankfully, Mitch did survive the fall and should be back in action this Saturday as usual. Major, major props to him for continuing the match. I wouldn't have expect ANY man to go after what I witnessed. ***1/2
6. "Madd Trucker" Garry Stevens pinned "Slick Diddy" Ric Converse to win the CWF/AWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title in a "King of the Road" match (with corner men The Shadow, "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel, Mikael Yamaha, and Brad Attitude) -
After Ric survived round one, I don't think many saw this one coming. In a MAJOR shocker to EVERYone, Stevens WINS the MA title, ending Ric's very impressive 7-month, 12-defense reign. Intriguing match with all the elements surrounding ringside including Attitude, sporting an old-Hardys shit with Lita cut out of the middle which was pretty sweet. Pretty much on par with their first FNF match workrate-wise. **1/2
Overall thoughts - A TON better than the first FNF and unlike the first one, if a complete stranger to the product buys THIS DVD, then I do think they would be interested in seeking out more. Far more historically significant as well than the first. The crowd was very strange, running the gauntlet from very good (the tag title match), to very bad (the TV title match), to mediocre for everything else. Very good show by and large though.
After the show, we had a wonderful gathering of myself, Gee, Yam, Amber, Donnie Dollars, and Matty Dee himself back in Raleigh which was a first for that combo. Fun, fun stuff that there will definitely be a sequel for.
Along comes Sunday which brings us one of the tri-monthly (or so) RCW shows at Riders in the Country in Greensboro, NC with the 2005 edition of the "Great American Clash":
1. RCW tag team champions Brass Munkey and American Steel Ninja defeated Mikael Yamaha and KC McKnight (with Brad Stutts and Moses Manson in their corner) in 7:41 when Munkey pinned Yamaha - Stutts and Manson merge two of their big guns for a shot at the RCW tag titles. Unfortunately, Yam stubbed his toe the day before trying to doggie paddle in a pool and might as well have been wrestling the match on crutches as much as he was hobblin' in there. Honestly though, it helped the story along and by match end, Stutts and Manson get into the cat fight that you didn't have a wet dream about. **
2. Charlie Dreamer defeated Trey-G and Zane Dawson in 9:35 of a triangle match when he pinned Dawson - Man, there's been alot of triangle matches this year...anyways, the ACPW guys get to show off with Trey playing the role of tweener, albeit somewhat confusing as his transition from babyface-side of tweener to heel-side of tweener seemed to come out of nowhere and I really didn't get the psychological positioning there...or maybe it's just pro wrestling and I'm over analyzing a TAD. They actually had some pretty sweet 3-way spots which I was unfamilar with and popped for, so that's a plus. Match did go about 2 minutes too long but had a sweet series of superkicks for the finish. **
3. The Millennium Violence Connection ("The Black Hand" Justin Feeche and "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel) defeated the $outh$ide Playas (J-Money and Will B. Smooth with Kiyia Moka in their corner) in 6:56 when Corey pinned Smooth -
The MVC make their official debut and pretty much murder the Mid-Atlantic tag champs in an out-of-control Bruiser Brody like brawl. Certainly the way to bring out a new duo. Not a match as much as it was a brawl (and a squash to some extent), but still fun and effective. ** Later in the show, the Playas request a 3 falls match for the 9/18 show vs. MVC which should be all kinds of great.
4. "Slick Diddy" Ric Converse pinned Otto Schwanz in 9:10 -
Yes, Otto Schwanz IN Riders..I never thought I'd see the day either. And guess what? Possibly the best Ric-Otto match ever. All kinds of fun and not too goofy either. Crowd loves every bit of it. ***1/4. Post-match brings us the intriguing KC McKnight challenge to Converse for the 9/18 show as KC continues his cross-promotional "State-Wide Challenge". Which brings out Jesse Ortega, who has been on a subtle (or on KC's case, non-too subtle) war of words with McKnight on the internet. Basically, a shoot-promo that wasn't channeled the way it needed to be to be effective or believable. The entire confrontation was good in theory, but went WAY too long and too gimmicky to actually pass as a "shoot". I still think any pairing of KC and Jesse has tons of serious potential, but definitely needs fine tuning.
5. RCW Heavyweight champion "Madd Trucker" Garry Stevens (with Brad Stutts in his corner) defeated GeeStar (with Amber O'Neal in her corner) by submission in 9:09 -
The infamous match from last December which pretty much ended the GeeStar of 2004 (as she blows out her knee vs. Stevens 2 minutes in) finally happens. A total kick and punch match by and large which actually got over with the crowd. Not technically pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it was smart enough and stiff enough to work. Amber nails Garry with the billy club for a false finish that the crowd was going apeshit for. But Garry survives, Stutts gets a shot in on Gee's knee, and a half crab later and it's over. Don't know if it'll ever happen again, but now that we have the "first matchup" out of the way, I'd like to see what these two could do in an out and out fight without any hesitation from both parties. **
6. Paco Loco pinned Grease in 5:36 of a hair vs. mask retirement match -
Wow. What can I say. Some matches have shaky psychology. Some matches have no psychology. Then there's this match, which is about as far away from the word "psychology" as you can get. I can't even begin to list all the problems here but let's hit the high notes as Grease takes a double underhook piledriver on a chain that's NOT the finish, a DVD on the chair that IS the finish, but gets up and is on HIS FEET before Paco who won the fucking match! I tell ya one thing, Superman himself doesn't hold a candle to that shit. Well since a piledriver and DVD on a chair, followed by a DDT can't knock him out, Cinnamon then returns to help Paco put him out with a sleeper. Because as we all know, when it comes to hair matches, even if you get hit by a mack truck, you HAVE to be put out with a sleeper. Negative stars, just use your own judgment as to how many. On a serious note though, I think it's become apparent that Paco has outgrown that gimmick. 2 years ago, he was on fire with it, but now, I REALLY think he needs to shed it and become the legitimate wrestler that he's capable of becoming if he can just find the right guidance. He's a great guy and really hope he gets with the right person to help him step up to the next level and become more of a wrestler and less of a gimmick.
7. Rob "the Bull" McBride (with Persuasion in his corner) pinned Tank Lawson (with Cornelius J. Lumpkin in his corner) in 19:34 of a no-disqualification, falls count anywhere match to win the RCW Intercontinental title -
Rob brings back "the Bull" persona for one night and one night only and dag if I didn't kinda miss it. Total barroom brawl, going all over the place, and with nearly everyone getting busted. Pretty decent fight except for he interference from the unnamed ringsiders that only caused to clutter up the melee and make it far, far more confusion that it should have been. The finish was pretty horrible though with Mini Bull doing a very bizarre run-in, despite just having ran out in the match BEFORE as Cinnamon. Really, really fun in pieces with Tank vs. Rob but everything else just watered it down. **
Overall thoughts: I think for the first time ever, the booking was not only good, but it was good for Riders which believe me, is two totally different things. As solid as the last two Riders shows have been, there was probably too much wrestling, which was totally lost on this crowd. Alot of the matches tonight were more along the lines of fights and brawls and those were the matches that got crazy over with the fans. Of course having a larger crowd sure didn't hurt matters either. Technically, not the best Riders show of 2005 but probably the smartest one.
Well, that's it for now, hopefully happiness will invade my world as the week progresses and I will see many of you on Sat for TV!
GRANT "STATMARK" SAWYER
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