Talk Wrestling Online Newsletter #92 ~ Smackdowns WrestleMania 21 Preview
 

This week Chris2K is taking a well deserved break (including his Statistics Update) and leaving the newsletter down to my editing skills! Lets hope that not only can I keep up the high standard that Chris set while I was away, but that theres a newsletter for him to come back to...

Message from Kam:

Darkstar
Newsletter Editor



- UK Scene #165

- OTH: Bushido Rings: Ireland vs. England Review

- Carl Mizzery Interview

- The Rock Rebuff

- ST: Mistakes revisited

- International Showdown Review

Shopping online in the UK? Check out Shopping Navigator!

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WWE officially signed Marty Jannetty to a contract, with the belief that Jannetty will be appearing on the RAW brand. No further details are available.

Booker T's real life wife Sharmell Sullivan, who was known best as Paisley and a Nitro Girl in WCW, is apparently being brought back for at least a few weeks in an angle with Heidenrich and Booker T. The planned storyline will be a kidnapping angle of some sort.

Sharmell was shown quite a bit on camera on Smackdown on Thursday not to mention that Tazz actually brought up her past as a Nitro Girl. Also, on WWE.com, they have a photo of her from Smackdown. Considering that they showed "a fan" so prominently on TV and they rarely do that, there had to be an ulterior motive. When Booker's match was done, she wasn't at her seat anymore, so thus she was actually a part of the show and not really as a fan.

Sharmell has previous experience in WWE in that she was a backstage announcer in late 2001 and early 2002 on Smackdown while training to eventually come become a wrestler. Unfortunately, she broke her ACL in April 2002 while wrestling for Ohio Valley Wrestling and in the summer of 2002 Sharmell was fired while injured along with some other developmental wrestlers in a cost cutting measure.

Sullivan was a valedictorian in high school not to mention a former Miss Black America. She wed Booker T last month and was said to be running his clothing store in Texas while he was away on the road. It looks like Booker T will need to hire a new person, for at least a few weeks.

Vince McMahon will be returning to the backstage area beginning with this week's TV shows. Although there are no pending plans for Vince to appear on the air, he is scheduled to return to a regular backstage schedule imminently.

To protect him from any real damage before WrestleMania 21, the injury Akebono suffered at the K-1 event in Seoul, Korea was said to be a work. Akebono will of course face Big Show at WrestleMania.

The scheduled main-event for RAW after WWE Backlash on Monday, May 2 is a tag-team match featuring Ric Flair & Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels & Batista.
Ivory of WWE, and TNA's AJ Styles appeared on last Friday's morning show on KRON-TV in San Francisco to promote a Big Time Wrestling show scheduled for that evening in the Bay Area. Clips of Ivory during her GLOW days were aired with her joking how flat-chested she used to be. Near the end of the show, Ivory openly spoke about her breast implants and, in her own way, encouraged WWE Divas to go for implants.

During an interview with the Edmonton Sun on Friday, Kurt Angle said to reporters that despite the fact that he will have reoccuring neck problems for the rest of his life, he feels that he can continue to wrestle. Angle makes mention of the fact that his wife asked him to retire after Kurt was sent to the hospital after his WWE Championship match with Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 19. If he does retire, Angle said that Vince McMahon already offered him a non-wrestling role in the company whenever he wants to take it.

In the same Edmonton Sun interview, Torrie Wilson talks about how she prefers to travel with her husband Billy Kidman. One item of interest in her piece was that Kidman will be returning to action on a full-time schedule very soon.

Road Warrior Animal could be making a return to the WWE, but not as a wrestler. There is interest in the former WWE Tag Team Champion as a possible announcer. We have no other information at this time, but I wouldn't be suprised if we did see Animal on WWE TV soon, especially considering that the WWE is planning on putting out a special DVD looking at the career of the Road Warriors in the upcoming months.

In the event that the ECW PPV does take place as planned, Lance Storm is looking to complete some training in OVW before the big night, "In the event that I get confirmation that it is taking place I may even work a few OVW matched before hand to better get back into shape." Storm has been pushing the idea of working the ECW PPV via his website for the past several months.

Storm is also pushing to work against Chris Benoit when RAW hits Calgary in May. At this point, Storm believes the best bet would be to push for the match to take place as one of their special "off-air" attractions.

Last Saturday, SmackDown! star Shannon Moore was involved in a head-on car collision wih a renowned sergeant in the US Army near Fort Bragg.

Moore had met with friends from the RAW roster, and was returning home when he was his car was hit head-on by the soldier's Hummer, who was later, arrested for drunken driving.

After leaving RAW, Matt Hardy, who lives in the area, was following Shannon Moore home in his Corvette. During the journey, Moore overtook Hardy, who should count himself lucky, as a collision with his Corvette may have proved fatal.

Moore was injured from the impact, and it isn't known how long he will be out for action.

After only a month, former soap opera writer Wendy Fissman has left the WWE creative team. It was apparent that Fissman didn't fit into WWE's way of running things, and has subsequently been released. The consensus is that if a somebody without a deep lover of wrestling joins the team, it is unlikely to work out. WWE want to bring new members to the team and are holding meetings for applicants during the week.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. is unable to wrestle at the moment due to a fractured bone in his eye, and is not listed for any upcoming events for the next month.
As reported, Randy Orton is also off the post Mania cards due to a shoulder injury. WWE are hoping that his injury won't take a turn for the worse, and he'll be in good condition to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.

"Sensational" Sherri Martel made her first appearance in a WWE ring since the summer of 1993 when she took part in a skit as Kurt Angle's valet for a night. Unfortunately, she was put in an ankle lock for still showing feelings to Angle's enemy Shawn Michaels after watching a touching highlight video. Sherri looked surprisingly good considering that she's nearly 50 years old.
Quite like with Marty Jannetty and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, WWE.com has decided to pay tribute with Sensational Sherri in the form of a mini-site. They've posted a profile, videos and some archive photos in regards to her WWE career. For some reason, they list her as "Smackdown Superstar" even though it's unlikely that she'll be a regular WWE character again. Anyways, if you want to check out her mini-section at WWE.COM.

According to PWInsider.com, Lex Luger is currently being held at the Gwinnet County Detention Center on a contempt of court charge. Luger allegedly failed to maintain child support payments to his ex-wife.

Lex Luger's name has become synonymous with arrests in recent months. He was detained a while back for driving under the influence and is currently on probation.

Luger has been away from the ring due to an injury.

There is a rumor going around backstage that at a recent house show, Edge's rental car tires were slashed. Although no one is blaming Matt Hardy or even insinuating he's happy about what happened, it is possible that a Hardy fan saw Edge driving the car and decided to do something in retalliation for the Lita situation.

Edge and Lita are doing their best to downplay their relationship backstage, which is helping to avoid animosity, but wrestlers still strongly support Hardy. One wrestler said, “Edge broke up a tight, serious relationship. Edge and Matt were good friends. They’re all in the business. Even in the regular world you don’t do that. You’d have to give it a year or two minimum before moving in on a friend’s ex after they break up, but you don’t move in a friend’s current girlfriend.”


Hey everyone, welcome to this weeks UK wrestling news and results! As you all know by now last weeks TWC show was a total success and a sell out at that. I was fortunate enough to witness some fantastic wrestling first hand! It was a very hectic week as most promotions made use of the Indy talent that was over for this show hence I have lots of show results for you, enjoy!

RESULTS

All Star Wrestling - Croydon - 22/03/05
Robbie Dynamite def Domino
Doug Williams def Frankie Sloan
James Mason def Five Star Flash
The UK Dream Team def Chad Collyer & TJ Wilson
Robbie Dynamite def Doug Williams.
The Flatliner def Chippendale Whiplash.

BCW - East Killbride - 20/03/05
Jack Jester def Liam Thompon
Brad Fusion def GTS
Kolobos def Declan O'Connor
T2K def 3 Steps Ahead
Drew Galloway def Jay Pheonix
Tex Benedict def Anthony McIntyre
Iceman & Spitfire def Full Pack
Alex Shane def Raven.

FCW - Walsall - 18/03/05
Danny Devine def Marc Hogan
Spud & Laken Xander def Morales & Rob Hunter
Sam Green def A-Star Athlete
Cameron Knite def Chris Sabin
Kev O'Neil def Chad Collyer
Devils Advocate def Swift Justice & BBS/Danny Devine
Chris Daniels def Jack Storm - Jack must wear a dress for 3 months.

FWA - War On The Shore - Morecambe - 26/03/05
Max Voltage def Mark Sloan
Stevie Lyn def Steve Knight
James Tighe & 5 Star Flash def Doug Williams & Aviv Maayan.
Spud def Jack Storm
Jack Xavier def Declan O'Connor
Alex Shane def Raven.

IPW:UK - Orpington - 20/03/05
Samoa Joe def Spud.
Ashe & Kris Linell def The Chav Army (Flaming Red & Battalion)
"Superstar" Tony Sefton def "Sadistic" Jack Storm.
Martin Stone & Samoa Joe def Jake, Kid Regis & Paul Robinson in a 4 way elimination contest.
Martin Stone def Spud.
In the Super Dragon & Stevie Douglas vs El Generico & Aviv Maayan no-rules Tornado Tag match, Aviv Maayan & Super Dragon gained pin victories at the same time. To decide the winner, the two squared off in a singles match.
Super Dragon def Aviv Maayan.

IWW Wresting - Dublin - 20/03/05
'The Ladies Hero' Dave Zero def 'the American Rockstar' CJ Summers.
Mad Man Manson def Bam Katrazz
'The Pukka One' Darren Burridge def Chris Sabin.
Red Vinny def Jody Fleisch, M-Dogg and Jonny Storm.
Seamus O'Shagnessy def Charlie Rage.
AJ Styles def Christopher Daniels.

TAP - Loughborough - 18/03/05
Steve Stryka def Jamie James
Simon Cann vs Chris Botherway was a DQ
The Jaggernaught def The Lincs Effect
Adam Thorn def Mr.E
Chris Botherway def Jamie James to become the British Heavyweight Champion.
Super Dragon def Bubblegum.

TWC Show - Coventry - 19/03/05
Petey Williams def Spud, Jonny Storm and Chris Sabin
Steve Grey def Mal Sanders
Samoa Joe def CM Punk
Doug Williams, 2 Cold Scorpio & James Tighe def Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Tiger Emperor.
Raven def Alex Shane
Chris Daniels def AJ Styles to retain the TNA-NWA X-Division Title.

WAR - Rugby - 20/03/05
Spin Doctor won a Battle Royal.
Spin Doctor & Colossus def Louie Zerr & Felony
Rob Hunter def Kyle Masters
Nighthawk Coby Jones & The Dynamic Mage def Jack London & Mooga
Axel brown def Sk8
Purple Lightning def Saul Adams & Steve Stryka
Iggy Taylor def The B52 Sniper, Jack London & Morales
CM Punk def Falcon.

wZw - Middlesborough - 18/03/05
3 Steps Ahead def The Nattrass Boys
Lance Thunder def Spitfire
AJ Anderson & Bomber Mills def John Britain & Juvenile
Full Pack def Stevie Douglas & Alex Pain
Tron def GTS
Petey Williams def Shady Nattrass
Samoa Joe def Iceman by countout.


UP COMING EVENTS

All Star Wrestling - March Dates
Gravesend Woodville Halls 01474 337774 Wed 30th
Southampton Guildhall 0238 063 2601 Sat 31st.

All Star Wrestling - April Dates
Dorking Dorking Halls 01306 881717 Fri 1st
Ellesmere Port Civic Hall 0151 355 7652 Thurs 7th
Grimsby Grimsby Auditorium 0870 060 2331 Fri 8th
Altringham Altringham leisure Centre 0161 912 5900 Sat 9th.
Bedford Corn Exchange 01234 269 519 Thur 14th
Bristol Bristol City Football Club 0870 1121897 Fri 15

BRAWL
On Saturday 2nd April 2005, the British Real Attitude Wrestling League (BRAWL) present Against All Odds 3, a night of family wrestling entertainment, from their regular venue at Weston Favell Upper School in Northampton. The doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start and all tickets are £5. Tickets can be purchased on the night but if you do wish to book in advance, then call the ticket hotline on 07816683978. The card is as follows....

- 8 Man Tournament for the vacant BRAWL Cruiserweight Championship;
Carl Mizzery, El Ligero, Nighthawk, Mage, Blue Ice, Scotty Daniels, Kris Travis.

- Shabazz © vs Stixx

- The 1st Ever Random Rumble
Featuring between 10-100 wrestlers from all over the UK.

Hanley Victoria Hall 0870 060 6649 Sat 16th.

SBW
Sliced Bread Wrestling present their second show on 23rd of April 2005 (St Georges Day) at St James Working Mans Club, Weedon Road, Northampton NN5 5BE. The doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Tickets will cost £6 on the door.

So far we have booked the main event for the show, which will see the "Wonderkid" Jonny Storm defend his newly won Golden Toaster against "The Pukka One" Darren Burrige. Also confirmed for the show at this point are:

- "Sensation Of The Nation" Rob Hunter
- "Heart Throb" Ace Anderson
- Genki Dragon Kobayashi
- Laken Xander.

More details when I have them.

SWA
Scottish Wrestling Alliance presents LAST RITES on the 2nd April 05' at Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex, Bellshill. The card thus far looks like this:

- Cage match - Conscience © Vs Eric 'The Fist' Canyon
- A huge Tag Team Title Tournament including Adam Shame/Hatred, The Lowlanders, The Averyz, NWA Ireland, Gothika, Aidan Corrigan/Ice XVII, The Ladykillers and Simply Natural.

wZw
With less than a week to go, wZw return to Whitley Bay on Saturday 2nd April for the 'Retribution 2005' show, featuring over 20 wrestlers in a 7 match card.

The Full Card:

- Minx vs Roxi
- Carbon Vs Micky L
- Super Ted Taylor Vs ??????
- Iceman (c) Vs The Drew Galloway
- Iain Robinson (c) vs Shady Nattrass
- Anthony McIntyre & Lance Thunder Vs Spitfire & Stevie Lynn
- AJ Anderson & Bomber Mills
- Tag Team Guantlet Match
Tron & Juvenile
Highlander & John Britain
??Mystery Tag Team??

Tickets cost £8 (Adult Ringside) & £6 (Child Ringside) - £6 (Adult), £4 (Child) & £18 (Family). Tickets are on sale now at the venue. Tickets can also be purchased on the night on the show. Doors open at 6.30pm, show time 7.00pm - 10.00pm.



NEWS

ASW
Scotland’s outspoken mat monarch Drew McDonald seems to have finally worn down the powers that be! It has just been confirmed that he will face Robbie Brookside in a British heavyweight championship contest at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, on Tuesday 7th June. McDonald’s recent record can hardly be disputed and as previously reported, after pipping Brookside in the first Pat Roach Trophy event at Bristol, the Perth-born one-time Scots guardsman launched a whole new series of title demands.

Robbie defeated Doug Williams in his native Liverpool to win the unified British title and this will be his opening defense of the year - and a first at Croydon since he saw off a challenge from indestructible West Country ring dynamo Skull Murphy.

Calgary’s ‘Stampede Kid’ T.J.Wilson is extending his successful first British tour by a full three weeks to allow the men who trained him in Canada, ’Hit Man’ Brett Hart and brother Bruce Hart, to make a flying visit to see him in British action. T.J. now stays until Monday 2nd May but a reunion with his fiancee Nattie Neidhart will have to wait even longer as the Maple Leaf ladies star is heading off for a six week tour to Japan.

FWA
The FWA’s major summer tour of new venues has been given a name – the Celebrity Carnage Tour!
Headlining the Celebrity Carnage Tour, and making a very welcome return to the FWA, will be former WWE Euro-continental Champion and one of the stars of ITV’s upcoming Celebrity Wrestling show, D-Lo Brown.
Other names will be added to the Celebrity Carnage Tour very soon, including two former FWA stars from the UK making their return to the company.

Just to remind you, the dates for the FWA Celebrity Carnage Tour are as follows:

- Saturday May 28 – Spa Halls, Bridlington, Yorks
- Monday May 30 – Loughborough Students Union, Loughborough
- Tuesday May 31 – the Town and Country Club, Bradford
- Wednesday June 1 – X-Scape, Castleford, Yorks
- Thursday June 2 – The Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes (two shows – one matinee and one evening)
- Friday June 3 – Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

Tickets will go on sale for these shows on April 1 2005. In the meantime an information line is available to call at the Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes on 01472 692925. Also a special Celebrity Carnage mini-website will be set up with full details of the matches and FWA stars appearing on this special early summer tour.

Hammerlock
American female wrestling star Lexie Fyfe comes to Hammerlock for two dates this month (March 05), the first is the Tap'n'Tin in Chatham, Kent on Wednesday (30th March 05) & the second is on Thursday (31st March 05) at the Civic Hall in Bedworth, Warwickshire.

HEW
After a successful debut even in Old Harlow, Herts and Essex wrestling will be presenting their second show in August. No one has yet been confirmed for this event but the venue is the Takely Silver Jubily Hall in Takely, Bishops Stortford on August 6th.

MPW
Coventry's MPW have this week announced the details of their 2005 Havoc tour.
Three dates between May 5th - 7th will see wrestlers such as Majik, Psycho Steve, Chris Charizma, Hatred, Leon Lionheart, John Bull, Jetta, Tommy Gunn, Hugh Mungus, Thor, Imperial Dragon and White Tiger battling it out.

The tour will start May 5th at the Standard Triumph Social Club, Coventry before moving on to the Willenhall Socila Club, Coventry the next night. The tour will round off at the regular venue of the AT7 Centre on May 7th.

TAP
TAP Have announced plans for "Make or Break 2005" to be held at Charnwood Club, Shelthorpe Avenue, Loughborough, Leicestershire on Friday April 22nd 2005.

Matches already announced include; New TAP Champion Chris Botherway putting his newly won championship on the line as he faces the last TAP Champion Jamie James, who he beat in an absolute scorcher to win the title, and the first TAP Champion "The European Icon" Andrew Coyne.

Jamie James is said to be extremely angry after March Madness when he thought that he had won the title only for the match to be restarted. Andrew Coyne on the other hand has been waiting for another show at the title since May 2003.

In another another match just announced, Jason Detroit will take on Simon Cann to determine the No.1 contender to the TAP Title. This match is for the FIRST TIME EVER and promises to be a sure fire cracker.
Doors open for the show at 7pm and show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are prices £3 for Children, NUS and OAP's and £5 for Adults. For more information and to reserve tickets please ring 07904 483842.

UKPW
Four more Superstars can now be confirmed for the UKPW Rumble on Friday April 29th with three of them being a previous UKPW Rumble winner. Those four Superstars are Marcus 'The Toad' Hiscott, 'Wrestling's Cool Kid' Stevie James, Eamon O'Neil and Andy Simmonz.

More participants will be announced soon including two HUGE names as they join Chris Wyld, Anton Green and Ethan Hayze in what is shaping up to be the most challenging UKPW Rumble to date. The final two grapplers in the UKPW Rumble are to compete in a singles match with the winner being crowned the very first UKPW Champion.

The event takes place at the Waterside Theatre in Holbury, Southampton on Friday April 29th, beginning at 8pm. For more information, please visit http://www.ukpw.com .
In other news, TWO's very own Saracen wants your top 10 lists for March ready for the end of the month. Please email him your company's 10 ten rankings by emailing Saracen@wrestling101.com thanks.


TV/VIDEOS/DVDs
The first official Midlands Professional Wrestling DVD, ''March Madness'', is now available from http://www.warshop.co.uk .

All the details on prices, running time and matches, can be found through the link above.


TRAINING

WAW
The next WAW Training Academy will be held at The Breckland Community Centre, Cosstessey, Norwich, on the weekend of April 2nd and 3rd. If you are interested in attending, it is advised that you book early. For more information, telephone WAW on 01603474693, or by emailing _officewaw@aol.com_ (mailto: officewaw@aol.com)


WEBSITES
Danny Devines site has been updated, to check it out visit htttp://www.dannydevine.net.

That's everything for this weeks edition. Make sure you all check out Wrestling 101s UK Scene section at the moment as there's an awesome interview with the gorgeous and talented Carl Mizzery from Saracen, not to mention his usual Tenet, as well as a TWC show review by Andrew Morris, I was going to attempt one but thankfully there's no need now with Andrew doing such a thorough job! And as ever Adam Sibley's excellent UK Scene column is now up, so what are you waiting for? Thank you for reading!


International News

Its been a big week over in Japan with the debut of several talents, title defense's and a suprise result or two as well... Lets get the ball rolling with the news from NJPW...

NJPW may have only ran two shows this week, but what big shows they where. First their was the tour closer on the 21st that saw Team IkeMan defend their Jr Heavyweight Tag Titles in the main event against Jado and Gedo and the finalisation of the placings in the NJPW Young Lions Cup....

NJPW, 3/21/05
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium
5,200 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Katsushi Takemura beat Yujiro (3:23) with a single-leg crab hold.
2. Tiger Mask & Taiji Ishimori beat Minoru Tanaka & Puma (9:41) when Ishimori used a Superstar elbow on Puma.
3. Hiro Saito, Yutaka Yoshie & Masayuki Naruse beat Black Strong Machine, Togi Makabe & Jushin Thunder Liger (9:44) when Yoshie used a diving body press on Makabe.
4. Young Lion Cup: Hirooki Goto [9] beat Hiroshi Nagao [6] (6:03) with a cross armbreaker.
5. Young Lion Cup: Hiroyuki Ito [11] beat Akiya Anzawa [8] (7:59) with a cross kneelock.
6. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki went to a draw (20:00) when the time limit expired.
7. Manabu Nakanishi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (11:19) with the Hercules Cutter.
8. Yuji Nagata beat Takashi Iizuka (17:31) with a reverse Nagata Lock III.
9. Masahiro Chono & Ron Waterman beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura (13:55) when Waterman used an ankle hold on Nishimura.
10. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue (c) beat Jado & Gedo (44:09) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Gedo (1st defense).

Then came the biggest show, NEXESS V at the Sumo Hall where Nakamura sought to bring home the IWGP and Tenzan sought to win his fourth straight tournement in this very building. The winner would leave here as the number one contender to the champion at the Tokyo Dome....

NJPW "NEXESS V"
3/26/05
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Tatsumi Fujinami Return Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura went to a draw (15:00) when the time limit expired.
2. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue beat Katsuhiko Nakajima & Taiji Ishimori when Kanemoto used a moonsault press on Ishimori.
3. Tiger Mask, El Samurai & Masahito Kakihara beat Masked CTU-L, Masked CTU-T & Masked CTU-G when Samurai used a chickenwing armlock on CTU-T.
4. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Togi Makabe & Ryushi Yanagisawa when Tanahashi pinned Yanagisawa.
5. IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Tournament - Semi Final: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Manabu Nakanishi with the Anaconda Cross.
6. Young Lion Cup - Final: Hirooki Goto beat Hiroyuki Ito
7. Ron Waterman & Minoru Suzuki beat Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Iizuka when Waterman used a Tiger Driver on Iizuka.
8. Tsuyoshi Kosaka beat Yuji Nagata by TKO.
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Tournament - Final: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Masahiro Chono with the Anaconda Cross.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura went to a draw (60:00) when the time limit expired (1st defense).

So Tenzan has regained his spot as number #1 contender and will face generation rival and former partner Kojima yet again at the Dome to try and bring back the title he lost to him, the IWGP....

This whole story mirrors the Kawada v Misawa story in AJPW from the mid-90's so much as Tenzan suffers set back upon setback as title holder after several failed attempts to win the belt in the first place.... Can he like Kawada did take the belt at the dome and run on and prove himself finally?

And what of the main event? No one expected a 60 minute draw. Everyone was split 50/50, not seeing why Koijma should bomb as 4-Crown champ and not seeing why the young ace of NJPW should lose this match... But even though this was the case no one expected a draw at all.... Some are questioning the booking of one but I feel its the best way forward for all concerned, espically in light of the Tenzan comeback....

But thats all that happened in NJPW this week.. I say all like it wasn't a lot but its all the stories... So on to AJPW we go...

The company ran a double header at the Korakuen Hall to finish off the 'Hold Out Tour 2005' with Kea and Jamal taking on Palumbo and Stamboli in defense of their AJPW tag gold and NOSAWA taking on TAKA for the Jr Heavyweight gold on the 20th....

AJPW, 3/20/05
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,000 Fans

1. Love Machine Arashi & Mini Love machine beat Hirai & Fuchi (12:25) with Arashi used a jumping powerbomb on Hirai.
2. TARU, Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI beat AKIRA, Tomoaki Honma & Toshizo (14:16) when Kondo used the King Kong Lariat on Toshizo.
3. Champion Carnival Participation Match: Kohei Suwama beat Nobutaka Araya (16:35) with a German Suplex.
4. AJPW World Jr. Title: TAKA Michinoku (c) beat NOSAWA Rongai (15:32) with an Arm-height Just Facelock (2nd defense)
5. Keiji Muto & Akira Raijin beat Toshiaki Kawada & Taichi Ishikari (15:38) when Raijin pinned Ishikari after Muto used the Shining Wizard.
6. Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi beat Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (20:09) when Kojima used a lariat on Nakajima.
7. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Taiyo Kea & Jamal (c) beat Johnny Stamboli & Chuck Palumbo (26:44) when Jamal used the Flying Sasuage on Stamboli (2nd defense).

After the main event the Voodoo Murders unveiled its newest member, a man known by most WWE fans as Albert/A-Train, the monster known as the Giant Bernard!

And then its was here he made his debut as well as Kawada and Kojima uniting to take on Sasaki and Muto in a big tag match that would define who was the next contender and if Kojima was truely the 'ace' of AJPW....

AJPW, 3/21/05
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,100 Fans

1. Love Machine Arashi & Makai Love Machine #2 beat Naoshi Sano & Toshiyuki Moriya (5:35) when Arashi used a lariat on Moriya.
2. Masanobu Fuchi & Nobukazu Hirai beat Tomoaki Honma & Akira Raijin (7:17) when Hirai used the Hirai End on Raijin.
3. AKIRA & Toshizo beat Mini-Love Machine & Mini-Love Machine #2 (6:32) when Toshizo used the Fisherman's Buster on #2.
4. Kohei Suwama & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Nobutaka Araya & Taichi Ishikari (6:34) when Nakajima used a spinning back kick on Araya.
5. Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI beat Kaz Hayashi & NOSAWA Rongai (12:38) when Kondo used the King Kong Lariat on NOSAWA.
6. Giant Bernard, TARU, Johnny Stamboli & Chuck Palumbo beat TAKA Michinoku, Taiyo Kea, Jamal & BLUE-K (16:17) when Bernard used the Baldo Bomb on K.
7. Satoshi Kojima & Toshiaki Kawada beat Keiji Muto & Kensuke Sasaki (23:27) when Kojima used a lariat on Muto.

And just like Kojima put away all doubt who was true ace of the regular army. His pin fall over mentor and peer Muto established him as undisputed ace as he had beaten Sasaki in tags, Muto and Kawada. It was this result that lead many to believe that he would go over in NJPW on the 26th as it was a huge booking boost....

That was about it really apart from the announcement of the wrestlers and groups for the Champions Carnival....

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2005

BLOCK A:

- Satoshi Kojima
- Kensuke Sasaki
- Love Machine Arashi
- Taiyo Kea
- Shuji Kondo
- Giant Bernard

BLOCK B:

- Keiji Muto
- Toshiaki Kawada
- Kohei Suwama
- Jamal
- Buchanan
- Chuck Palumbo

This year promises some huge matches like Muto v Kawada, Kojima v Bernard, Sasaki and Kea and also to see if Suwama can make waves as his hype so far has hinted. It will help shape the scene for the Triple Crown no doubt as anyone who claims a victory over Kojima can more then likely claim a shot against him...

Thats all for AJPW then, so onto NOAH...

Well NOAH isn't touring at the moment but that hasn't stopped Misawa, Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki going on a working holiday of Europe....

BCW, 3/18/05
Carluke District Hall
300 Fans

1. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa beat Doug Williams & Stevie Knight (10:50) when Ogawa used a backdrop hold on Knight.

Frontier Wrestling Alliance/The Wrestling Channel
3/19/05
Coventry Skydome
4,200 Fans

1. Scorpio, Doug Williams & James Tighe beat Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Tiger Emperor (15:46) when Williams used a Roll Through German Suplex Hold on Emperor.

Westside Xtreme Wrestling
3/20/05
Essen Turock
300 Fans

1. Yoshinari Ogawa beat Murat Bosporus (13:19) when Ogawa used a side cradle on Bosporus.
2. Ares & Ahmed Chaer beat Mitsuharu Misawa & Tiger Emperor (19:02) when Ares used a Tiger Driver on Emperor.

Also the company decided the first challenger for Rikio and his GHC title. It will be Dark Agents leader Saito, a man who recently lost out to Kobashi in one of the former champs last defenses....

NOAH, 4/24/05
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

1. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Rikio (c) vs. Akitoshi Saito

Thats all really from the International Scene at the moment....

Until next week fan, enjoy the rest of the newsletter and I'll see you next time...

Robert 'Evil Gringo' Heard


An interesting topic of conversation this week revolved around Kurt Angle and how good he actually is. Heres what you lot had to say:

Possibly a top 20 WWE/F guy of all time but I wouldn't put him in the top 100 workers of all time given how many old schoolers and Japanese wrestlers smoke him in the work department. : Mr Dragon likes Kurt, but preferes Puro workers. Well Im shocked!!

I'd rank Angle up there with Rock in terms of being an entertainer. He can do comedy, he can play a good heel and face, he's ultra talented in the ring, and is great on the mircophone.: Dan is a fan. In fact Dan is the proud owner of a 'Kurt Rulz' badge. Or so rumour goes.

I'm not biased over Kurt I'm just pointing out the fallacy of a bunch of 15 year olds who haven't watched anything other than a couple of years of WWE proclaiming Kurt to be one of the best ever. You have no perspective.: Mr Dragon getting a bit controversial.

I would rather watch Kurt Angle than some Japanese guys I find that stuff extremely boring. You may enjoy it. If it was so good how comes it is not as big as the WWE.: You ever seen the Japanese coverage in Japan Jonny Knoxville?


Smackdown Sumo? Sounds like a bum deal to me!

This week I’m taking a look at the Smackdown matches at Wrestlemania. My Three Count preview and History Of Wrestlemania will be online later this week and next week for the Main Event, just wait and see.

Finally I believe JBL is going to lose his WWE Title. You know there are still times when I can’t believe Bradshaw is champ, let alone for so long and with victories over such big names. His feud with John Cena has been rather predictable to date, though mildly amusing. Of course while with Cena ‘You can’t see me’ it’s now a case of ‘You can’t hit me’ for JBL. Nothing new, just a regurgitation of the storyline between Austin and Triple H. What’s all this crap with ‘I have to protect my main event’. If Teddy wants to do that then give JBL and Cena time off and let them sit at home, not put them in matches every week!

Cena will become champ at Wrestlemania, I think that’s nailed on especially after he lost his US Title. Will he be a good champion? Not sure but with his film and CD coming out soon, him being champ will help the promotion of that merchandise. As for JBL, not sure either. I think we need some time off from this guy don’t you?

So Eddie Guerrero is going to meet Rey Mysterio Jr. No sign of heel turns here as yet and this could be a showstealer if both are on form. But where are their careers going? I’d prefer to see Eddie turn heel and go after Cena, that would be good entertainment. As for Mysterio, he seems to be out of the cruiserweight division at the moment so why not send him to Raw?

Big Show against Akebono in a Sumo match? I was watching ‘The Games’ last night and those of you not looking at Kirsty Gallagher in a swimsuit might have seen the preview of the men preparing for their sumo wrestling event. Hey, Celeb Wrestling and Celeb Sumo aren’t we the lucky ones? Could we stand seeing Big Show’s bum for more than one second? The only other WWE Sumo match I remember was Earthquake (who had some experience) against Yokozuna. This is the time to make coffee during Wrestlemania.

And so far that’s it for Strictly Smackdown matches with of course Undi and Angle up against opponents from Raw. Nothing has been said about a US Title defence or a Tag Title match so far and Chavo is out injured so forget the cruiserweights. Not very impressive is it? Time for Smackdown to be revived but weren’t we saying that this time last year?

That’s all for this week. The only Wrestlemania event I haven’t mentioned in this this column is about to be mentioned. The Piper’s Pit segment with Austin will get a big pop and of course Piper will get stunned. Should be entertaining. The card looks ok so far, nothing amazing but solid. I’m back next week, see ya then.


WRESTLING THREAD OF THE WEEK

Hulk Hogan for WWE Champion: by WWFBeltmark, great thread with some fantastic arguments for and against.

NON WRESTLING THREAD OF THE WEEK
Your thoughts on?: by Jack. I like these threads, makes me warm and fuzzy seeing how many people love Russ more than me! But really, its nice to see the respect the members of TWO have for each other.


Who is TWO Member of the Week?
Inno: long ignored and yet allways there! Inno is a god among men!

Who is TWO Heel of the Week?
Mr Dragon is this weeks heel due to the recurring impression he gives that only Puro fans count!

So well done to our winners and I shall see you all next week!

Darkstar and Chris2K

• Darkstar
• Goldy
• Evil Gringo
• Stephen Ashfield

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DISCLAIMER
Some of the news stories included in the TWO newsletter are taken from various sources around the Internet and is not necessarily exclusive TWO news.
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YEAH BABY! Darkstar should edit the newsletter solo every week - he has impeccable taste, if poor timing ;)

Get the new MPW DVD that Goldy mentioned. Its awesome I got it from FCW last week

Yeah sorry for the lateness guys, its been a hectic weekend (working in a Pizza Hut over a bank holiday is no fun!) and I screwed up on the timing a little. Thank god its a decent issue.