| NEWS AND NOTES |
04/28/2012 – Empire Wrestling Report from Atlanta on 4/26
From Larry Goodman:
Empire Wrestling made another Thursday night foray into the den of inequity known as the Masquerade in Atlanta.
Attendance was around 100. All adults are admitted free and kids are scarce. The Masquerade gets their take from the sale of selling alcoholic beverages. The crowd
wasn’t as large or as rowdy as at recent Masquerade shows.
It was a strong card: a dream title match, two stipulation matches and three Tag Team Season matches (PCW’s tag team concept is a sports style league with divisional
standings. It culminates with playoffs and season champion to be crowned at PCW’s annual big show, Sacred Ground 3).
There was plenty of good wrestling, more than usual, and with a Platinum show there’s never a shortage of stories. With that said, this one didn’t grab me as much as
most PCW shows do. I dunno. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.
In the quirky tradition of PCW, live commentary was provided with booker/promoter Stephen Platinum and Chuck Porterfield as the announcers. The evil EMPIRE is still
in control, but they must have eased up on Platinum, because he announced the entire show rather than being limited to a few matches as the last time I as at the
Academy. That’s a good thing, because the live commentary tends to wear thin without Platinum is in the lead role.
(1) In a Tag Team Season match, Washington Bullets (Jon & Trey Williams) defeated Master Jae & Sylar Cross (with Jonathan Malik) in 11 minutes. The Bullets are the
two-time defending Tag Team Season Champions, but they’re off to a rough start this year and jeopardy of early elimination. Bullets look like they’ve been hitting the gym
lately. Malik interfered and the EMPIRE duo gave Trey a beating. Jon cleaned house with the hot tag. The Bullets tried for a combo move on Jae that was cut off by Cross.
Jae & Cross retaliated with big combo moves Jon. Trey hit the Captain Morgan kick on Cross, but neither of them were the legal men. Jon escaped from Jae’s finisher,
and Bullet hit the Marion Barry (backcracker/cutter combo) for the pin. Match was OK. There were a lot of moving parts in that finishing sequence, and they weren’t all
moving smoothly.
(2) The Vandal defeated Tommy Daniels via count out in 4:33. Daniels replaced Jagged Edge as Vandal’s opponent. Daniels’ has undergone a nasty attitude change
since not getting match with Davey Richards. Daniels dominated and acted like a complete jerk, until Vandal revved up a comeback with Dusty bionic elbows and a cool
pumphandle back suplex. But TD slipped away from Vandal’s finisher and proudly took the count out. Not sure where this leaves Vandal, but it worked for cementing
Daniels as a heel.
(3) In a Gorilla Games match, We Are Three (Brian Blaze & Aesha Sunshine) & Jagged Edge (with Marty Freeman) defeated Fred Yehi & Pandora & PCW Champion
Mason (with the Witness) via submission in 8:10. Match starts with all six in the ring. If someone gets knocked to the floor, the only way he/she can reenter is by pulling
someone else out. Victory by submission or surrender only. Freeman introduced Jagged Edge as the replacement for Geter. Pandora and Aesha immediately spilled to
the floor to continue their personal war. Mason spilled Blaze out, but Edge was able to more than hold his own against two opponents. When Edge powerbombed the
hell out of Mason, Platinum said Edge was everything about black people that white people are afraid of. Blaze and Edge destroyed Yehi. Mason pulled Blaze out, and it
was two-on-one against Edge again, but they were having minimal impact on the big man. They finally subdued Edge with a double Occam’s Razor (Mason’s
submission hold), but Aesha pulled Yehi out. Pandora was able to yank a worn down Edge over the top. Referee Frank Earl ejected Yehi for illegal reentry. Pandora had
Aesha in a submission while Blaze simultaneously got Mason in a submission, but neither victim was willing to tap. Edge picked up a kid sitting the first row. The kid
started screaming bloody murder, and Mason tapped to save her life. An exciting match that the crowd was into all the way. I loved Edge in the monster role, because he
has the intimidating presence and physicality to pull it off.
Platinum suspended Jagged Edge for grabbing the kid. Edge hugged the kid and gave her a fistful of money. Platinum said the mother of that child should have her
tubes tied immediately.
(4) In a Tag Team Season match, DamNation (Dany Only & The Phantom) defeated Young & Reckless (Hayden Young & Chip Day) in 10:07. Young & Reckless came
into the match undefeated in Tag Team Season action. It was babyface vs. babyface, and improbable babyface Only was the most over of the bunch. Platinum summed
up the notable credentials of all four men with “these MFers can go!” Phantom got a chance to show just how technically sound and skilled he is. One of many guys in
Georgia that would be a big time player if he was six inches taller. As good as the action was, a lot of people were absorbed in their smartphones. Only took punishment
until hitting a scintillating spinebuster. Phantom then did a number on Young’s leg. A stellar burst of offensive by Day sparked a “Do or Die” chant, and they had the
crowd the rest of the way. Day’s top rope finisher was painfully broken up Only. Only used a belly to back piledriver Young. Day broke up a DamNation double team with a
missile dropkick. However, Phantom caught Day with a handspring stunner and Only killed him dead with a lariat. The crowd applauded the postmach show of respect
between the two teams. Best match of the night. The finishing sequence was outstanding.
Attorney Jeff G. Bailey addressed the crowd. Bailey is “The Overlord of the Empire” and Platinum’s foil on the championship committee. A contingent of black women in
the crowd did everything in their power to drown Bailey out, but that just fired him up. Bailey said the women wished their men could dress in $1200 Gucci shoes. Bailey
said Platinum pulled a fast one by bringing in Stryknyn as the challenger to EMPIRE Champion Shane Marx, because Stryknyn had the home field advantage at
Masquerade, where he feared catching hepatitis or staph every time he stepped through the door. Bailey said that if by some miracle Stryknyn was able to defeat Marx,
he would cash in his rematch at the Academy the next night. Bailey said Marx recently went 60 minutes with Jon Williams for the fun of it, and declared that Marx was the
only 60 minute man in the state.
Platinum conceded the rematch at the Academy if Marx lost, but he said they had an agreement that Marx would defend at the Academy if he won. Bailey said no dice.
Platinum asked if a rematch was OK if Marx agreed to it. Bailey said it was. Not sure what they have cooking here, but Platinum always sets something up for the
Academy at the Masquerade and PCW has had some success in getting fans to cross over to other show.
(5) Supernatural defeated Curry Kid (with Jonathan Malik) in a mask vs. mask match in 12 minutes. Kid has been stalking Supernatural and his mask for some time
now, hence the stipulation. Kid immediately pulled off Supernatural’s mask, but the “Undead Luchador” emerged from underneath the ring wearing a different one. The
action moved to the outside. Supernatural caused Kid to take a major face bump on the apron, then rudely knocked him to the floor with a 619. Supernatural then hit
Sliced Bread #2 with an assist from the stomach of Team All You Can Eat member Corey, who was seated in the first row. Hilarious. Malik pulled Kid to safety causing
Supernatural to crash and burn on the floor. Kid had Supernatural in a world of hurt. Platinum said he hopes Kid dies in a fire but he still admired his dropkick.
Supernatural turned the tide with a superkick, but EMPIRE member Eric Walker ran out and cracked him with his kendo stick. From that point, a series of big moves were
hit by both men, with neither able to put the other away. With both men battling on top rope, Supernatural ended it by drilling Kid into the mat with a devastating curbstomp
off the top. Supernatural unmasked Kid, who threw a fit and ran to the back. These guys busted ass and it was highly entertaining in an indytastic kind of way.They did a
whole lot of stuff. Some of it looked great, some not so much.
(6) In a Tag Team Season match, Daisho (Kyle Matthews & Vordell Walker) defeated Zach Daniels & Corey Hollis (with Marty Freeman) via DQ in 9:30. Freeman had
promised that Zach’s new partner would be a good one, and he did not disappoint with Hollis. It was non stop action. The Bullets came out to observe. Zach and Hollis
worked on Matthews, until Hollis missed a diving headbutt. The tag was made, and Walker used his power to throw people around. Walker got a close near fall on Hollis
with a textbook Michinoku Driver (a rarity these days). Walker had Hollis pinned a second time, but Zach threw Matthews into him to break it up. Walker kicked out of an
amazing standing sliced bread by Hollis. Zach and Hollis put a double crab on Walker, and Matthews broke that up with a suicide dropkick. Daisho had Hollis set up for
the Daisho Device when Freeman caned Matthews and he was pinned. No way this could be bad given the people involved. It was fast company for Zach, and he held
up his end.
Trey Williams did mic work to set up the Daisho vs. Bullets rematch at the Academy on May 11.
A contingent of EMPIRE wrestler accompanied Mr. Eric to the ring. Malik said Mr. Eric’s opponent wasn’t there and declared him the winner. That brought out Crown
Jewel Records – Marko Polo, Quasi Mandisco and Nina Monet. Polo busted out the double entendres. He would let Eric hold his mansack but that job was taken by
Monet. He also would let Eric work the stick and fluff him up but that job was taken by Mandisco. However, Crown Jewel did need someone to clean bathroom. Eric said
to send the flunkies to the back and let them fight. Platinum said Eric must be renting testicles for the day.
(7) Marko Polo defeated Mr. Eric in 5:21. This was a new and improved Eric. The wresting joke is reinventing himself as a serious wrestler, and his opening volley had
Polo taking time out to regroup. When Eric missed a Yakuza kick, Polo was all over his leg. The fans chanted for the referee. Eric got the upper hand, and reinjured his
knee doing his stupid little dance. A strange choice. I guess he’s not to be taken seriously after all. Eric opened up Polo’s mansack. It contained a toothbrush, an Afro
chinstrap, a shower cap and photo of Polo. Eric ripped up the photo. Polo attacked but Eric fought him even up and blocked his Last Look finisher. Polo pinned Eric with
an approximation of an O’Connor Roll using the tights. The ring positioning of the finish was perfect. Polo exposed Eric’s ass so that everyone in the building could see
the cheating.
(8) Shane Marx (with Miss Rachael & Marty Freeman) defeated Stryknyn to retain the EMPIRE Championship in 18:02. Stryk wore his NWA Southern States
Championship belt into the ring and was introduced accordingly. A nice touch. Stryknyn thrashed the champion for the first 5 minutes. The match did a 180 when Marx
dropkicked Stryknyn off the apron into the stage. It was a serious looking bump. As Marx methodically dismantled Stryk, Platinum gave the crowd a science lesson about
the definition of a concussion (brain slamming against skull) and the number of bones in the human body (206). It was turning into a gutter war. Marx nailed Stryk with a
flying back elbow into the corner that was a real beauty. The crowd was rather quiet here as well, and the smartphones were out again. Only was on the stage watching
his Hate Junkies partner, which was another nice touch. Stryknyn summoned energy enough to hit a powerbomb out of the blue. They struggled to their feet slugging it
out as they went. Stryk tried for the spear and Marx countered with a spinebuster for a near fall. Marx went the big moves in his arsenal, but it wasn’t enough. Stryknyn
caught Marx in the Anaconda Vise. Marx made the ropes. Spear! But Marx saved himself with the ropes. Stryknyn showed frustration. The crowd got behind him with
staccato clapping. Stryknyn was setting up for a superplex when Rachael punched him in the nuts. Marx then hit a DVD off the ropes for the pin. A quality main event. It
deserved more from the crowd.
Postmatch, Only and Phantom came into the ring to check on Stryknyn. Rachael got in the mic to gloat as did Marx. Phantom sent the crowd home happy by blinding the
both of them with green mist.
From Larry Goodman:
Empire Wrestling made another Thursday night foray into the den of inequity known as the Masquerade in Atlanta.
Attendance was around 100. All adults are admitted free and kids are scarce. The Masquerade gets their take from the sale of selling alcoholic beverages. The crowd
wasn’t as large or as rowdy as at recent Masquerade shows.
It was a strong card: a dream title match, two stipulation matches and three Tag Team Season matches (PCW’s tag team concept is a sports style league with divisional
standings. It culminates with playoffs and season champion to be crowned at PCW’s annual big show, Sacred Ground 3).
There was plenty of good wrestling, more than usual, and with a Platinum show there’s never a shortage of stories. With that said, this one didn’t grab me as much as
most PCW shows do. I dunno. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.
In the quirky tradition of PCW, live commentary was provided with booker/promoter Stephen Platinum and Chuck Porterfield as the announcers. The evil EMPIRE is still
in control, but they must have eased up on Platinum, because he announced the entire show rather than being limited to a few matches as the last time I as at the
Academy. That’s a good thing, because the live commentary tends to wear thin without Platinum is in the lead role.
(1) In a Tag Team Season match, Washington Bullets (Jon & Trey Williams) defeated Master Jae & Sylar Cross (with Jonathan Malik) in 11 minutes. The Bullets are the
two-time defending Tag Team Season Champions, but they’re off to a rough start this year and jeopardy of early elimination. Bullets look like they’ve been hitting the gym
lately. Malik interfered and the EMPIRE duo gave Trey a beating. Jon cleaned house with the hot tag. The Bullets tried for a combo move on Jae that was cut off by Cross.
Jae & Cross retaliated with big combo moves Jon. Trey hit the Captain Morgan kick on Cross, but neither of them were the legal men. Jon escaped from Jae’s finisher,
and Bullet hit the Marion Barry (backcracker/cutter combo) for the pin. Match was OK. There were a lot of moving parts in that finishing sequence, and they weren’t all
moving smoothly.
(2) The Vandal defeated Tommy Daniels via count out in 4:33. Daniels replaced Jagged Edge as Vandal’s opponent. Daniels’ has undergone a nasty attitude change
since not getting match with Davey Richards. Daniels dominated and acted like a complete jerk, until Vandal revved up a comeback with Dusty bionic elbows and a cool
pumphandle back suplex. But TD slipped away from Vandal’s finisher and proudly took the count out. Not sure where this leaves Vandal, but it worked for cementing
Daniels as a heel.
(3) In a Gorilla Games match, We Are Three (Brian Blaze & Aesha Sunshine) & Jagged Edge (with Marty Freeman) defeated Fred Yehi & Pandora & PCW Champion
Mason (with the Witness) via submission in 8:10. Match starts with all six in the ring. If someone gets knocked to the floor, the only way he/she can reenter is by pulling
someone else out. Victory by submission or surrender only. Freeman introduced Jagged Edge as the replacement for Geter. Pandora and Aesha immediately spilled to
the floor to continue their personal war. Mason spilled Blaze out, but Edge was able to more than hold his own against two opponents. When Edge powerbombed the
hell out of Mason, Platinum said Edge was everything about black people that white people are afraid of. Blaze and Edge destroyed Yehi. Mason pulled Blaze out, and it
was two-on-one against Edge again, but they were having minimal impact on the big man. They finally subdued Edge with a double Occam’s Razor (Mason’s
submission hold), but Aesha pulled Yehi out. Pandora was able to yank a worn down Edge over the top. Referee Frank Earl ejected Yehi for illegal reentry. Pandora had
Aesha in a submission while Blaze simultaneously got Mason in a submission, but neither victim was willing to tap. Edge picked up a kid sitting the first row. The kid
started screaming bloody murder, and Mason tapped to save her life. An exciting match that the crowd was into all the way. I loved Edge in the monster role, because he
has the intimidating presence and physicality to pull it off.
Platinum suspended Jagged Edge for grabbing the kid. Edge hugged the kid and gave her a fistful of money. Platinum said the mother of that child should have her
tubes tied immediately.
(4) In a Tag Team Season match, DamNation (Dany Only & The Phantom) defeated Young & Reckless (Hayden Young & Chip Day) in 10:07. Young & Reckless came
into the match undefeated in Tag Team Season action. It was babyface vs. babyface, and improbable babyface Only was the most over of the bunch. Platinum summed
up the notable credentials of all four men with “these MFers can go!” Phantom got a chance to show just how technically sound and skilled he is. One of many guys in
Georgia that would be a big time player if he was six inches taller. As good as the action was, a lot of people were absorbed in their smartphones. Only took punishment
until hitting a scintillating spinebuster. Phantom then did a number on Young’s leg. A stellar burst of offensive by Day sparked a “Do or Die” chant, and they had the
crowd the rest of the way. Day’s top rope finisher was painfully broken up Only. Only used a belly to back piledriver Young. Day broke up a DamNation double team with a
missile dropkick. However, Phantom caught Day with a handspring stunner and Only killed him dead with a lariat. The crowd applauded the postmach show of respect
between the two teams. Best match of the night. The finishing sequence was outstanding.
Attorney Jeff G. Bailey addressed the crowd. Bailey is “The Overlord of the Empire” and Platinum’s foil on the championship committee. A contingent of black women in
the crowd did everything in their power to drown Bailey out, but that just fired him up. Bailey said the women wished their men could dress in $1200 Gucci shoes. Bailey
said Platinum pulled a fast one by bringing in Stryknyn as the challenger to EMPIRE Champion Shane Marx, because Stryknyn had the home field advantage at
Masquerade, where he feared catching hepatitis or staph every time he stepped through the door. Bailey said that if by some miracle Stryknyn was able to defeat Marx,
he would cash in his rematch at the Academy the next night. Bailey said Marx recently went 60 minutes with Jon Williams for the fun of it, and declared that Marx was the
only 60 minute man in the state.
Platinum conceded the rematch at the Academy if Marx lost, but he said they had an agreement that Marx would defend at the Academy if he won. Bailey said no dice.
Platinum asked if a rematch was OK if Marx agreed to it. Bailey said it was. Not sure what they have cooking here, but Platinum always sets something up for the
Academy at the Masquerade and PCW has had some success in getting fans to cross over to other show.
(5) Supernatural defeated Curry Kid (with Jonathan Malik) in a mask vs. mask match in 12 minutes. Kid has been stalking Supernatural and his mask for some time
now, hence the stipulation. Kid immediately pulled off Supernatural’s mask, but the “Undead Luchador” emerged from underneath the ring wearing a different one. The
action moved to the outside. Supernatural caused Kid to take a major face bump on the apron, then rudely knocked him to the floor with a 619. Supernatural then hit
Sliced Bread #2 with an assist from the stomach of Team All You Can Eat member Corey, who was seated in the first row. Hilarious. Malik pulled Kid to safety causing
Supernatural to crash and burn on the floor. Kid had Supernatural in a world of hurt. Platinum said he hopes Kid dies in a fire but he still admired his dropkick.
Supernatural turned the tide with a superkick, but EMPIRE member Eric Walker ran out and cracked him with his kendo stick. From that point, a series of big moves were
hit by both men, with neither able to put the other away. With both men battling on top rope, Supernatural ended it by drilling Kid into the mat with a devastating curbstomp
off the top. Supernatural unmasked Kid, who threw a fit and ran to the back. These guys busted ass and it was highly entertaining in an indytastic kind of way.They did a
whole lot of stuff. Some of it looked great, some not so much.
(6) In a Tag Team Season match, Daisho (Kyle Matthews & Vordell Walker) defeated Zach Daniels & Corey Hollis (with Marty Freeman) via DQ in 9:30. Freeman had
promised that Zach’s new partner would be a good one, and he did not disappoint with Hollis. It was non stop action. The Bullets came out to observe. Zach and Hollis
worked on Matthews, until Hollis missed a diving headbutt. The tag was made, and Walker used his power to throw people around. Walker got a close near fall on Hollis
with a textbook Michinoku Driver (a rarity these days). Walker had Hollis pinned a second time, but Zach threw Matthews into him to break it up. Walker kicked out of an
amazing standing sliced bread by Hollis. Zach and Hollis put a double crab on Walker, and Matthews broke that up with a suicide dropkick. Daisho had Hollis set up for
the Daisho Device when Freeman caned Matthews and he was pinned. No way this could be bad given the people involved. It was fast company for Zach, and he held
up his end.
Trey Williams did mic work to set up the Daisho vs. Bullets rematch at the Academy on May 11.
A contingent of EMPIRE wrestler accompanied Mr. Eric to the ring. Malik said Mr. Eric’s opponent wasn’t there and declared him the winner. That brought out Crown
Jewel Records – Marko Polo, Quasi Mandisco and Nina Monet. Polo busted out the double entendres. He would let Eric hold his mansack but that job was taken by
Monet. He also would let Eric work the stick and fluff him up but that job was taken by Mandisco. However, Crown Jewel did need someone to clean bathroom. Eric said
to send the flunkies to the back and let them fight. Platinum said Eric must be renting testicles for the day.
(7) Marko Polo defeated Mr. Eric in 5:21. This was a new and improved Eric. The wresting joke is reinventing himself as a serious wrestler, and his opening volley had
Polo taking time out to regroup. When Eric missed a Yakuza kick, Polo was all over his leg. The fans chanted for the referee. Eric got the upper hand, and reinjured his
knee doing his stupid little dance. A strange choice. I guess he’s not to be taken seriously after all. Eric opened up Polo’s mansack. It contained a toothbrush, an Afro
chinstrap, a shower cap and photo of Polo. Eric ripped up the photo. Polo attacked but Eric fought him even up and blocked his Last Look finisher. Polo pinned Eric with
an approximation of an O’Connor Roll using the tights. The ring positioning of the finish was perfect. Polo exposed Eric’s ass so that everyone in the building could see
the cheating.
(8) Shane Marx (with Miss Rachael & Marty Freeman) defeated Stryknyn to retain the EMPIRE Championship in 18:02. Stryk wore his NWA Southern States
Championship belt into the ring and was introduced accordingly. A nice touch. Stryknyn thrashed the champion for the first 5 minutes. The match did a 180 when Marx
dropkicked Stryknyn off the apron into the stage. It was a serious looking bump. As Marx methodically dismantled Stryk, Platinum gave the crowd a science lesson about
the definition of a concussion (brain slamming against skull) and the number of bones in the human body (206). It was turning into a gutter war. Marx nailed Stryk with a
flying back elbow into the corner that was a real beauty. The crowd was rather quiet here as well, and the smartphones were out again. Only was on the stage watching
his Hate Junkies partner, which was another nice touch. Stryknyn summoned energy enough to hit a powerbomb out of the blue. They struggled to their feet slugging it
out as they went. Stryk tried for the spear and Marx countered with a spinebuster for a near fall. Marx went the big moves in his arsenal, but it wasn’t enough. Stryknyn
caught Marx in the Anaconda Vise. Marx made the ropes. Spear! But Marx saved himself with the ropes. Stryknyn showed frustration. The crowd got behind him with
staccato clapping. Stryknyn was setting up for a superplex when Rachael punched him in the nuts. Marx then hit a DVD off the ropes for the pin. A quality main event. It
deserved more from the crowd.
Postmatch, Only and Phantom came into the ring to check on Stryknyn. Rachael got in the mic to gloat as did Marx. Phantom sent the crowd home happy by blinding the
both of them with green mist.