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The Downward Spiral of a Tag Team Wrestling Legend

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:14:30 +0100

You can consider him a pioneer in tag team ladder matches as Matt Hardy was one of the Hardys in the FIRST Tag Team Ladder Match. I will go out now and say that I am NOT a Hardy Hater and actually enjoyed his work in WWF/E. Matt had basically done it all in WWE and seemed to be going on a downward spiral then. But little did we know what 2011 would bring..... Hardy was begging online for his release and he was granted it. Hardy eventually sat his no compete clause out and turned out in TNA. This is where the spiral continued. In TNA he really did nothing to be honest. He was reunited with Jeff for a tag team match, was in Immortal. June 20th Matt announced he had taken some time off from TNA. The next day it was revealed that TNA Wrestling LLC. In fact had suspended Matt. On August 20th Hardy was released from TNA after a D.W.I. arrest that occurred earlier that same day. Now this could be looked at two ways. TNA was good by getting rid of someone who was repeatedly messing up. But then again this was not to long after TNA was getting tons of criticism for Jeff Hardy appearing at a TNA PPV event in March 2011 "high" on some type of drug. TNA could have sponsored a rehab program for Hardy to take care of the situation. This could have been resolved before it became anything bigger than it had already became but again, TNA does nothing. Four Days after his Car Crash on August 20th and arrest on the same day and his release from TNA all in ONE DAY! Hardy was rushed to the E.R. after falling down in his house going unconscious. Then 6 Days Later Hardy did something that quite possibly ruined his reputation. Hardy posted a video implying that he was about to commit suicide : "Goodbye, World... My time here is Almost complete... I only have a few hours & minutes... I loved you all... Regardless of how you felt about me... I'll miss you all.... September 23rd, 1974 - August 31, 2011 ". That one video that has since been deleted sparked about 30 phone calls to '9-11' to check on Hardy's well being. Police checked on Hardy and confirmed that he was not planning to commit suicide, with the video being a hoax by Hardy. The stunt drew much criticism and is entirely what put it in place to say Hardy will never be respected or even looked at the same from here on out.. Suicide is nothing to joke about and is a serious subject. Hardy shouldn't have done it but can't rewrite history but you damn well can make sure history doesnt repeat itself. I doubt Hardy would kill his self and his family but I always doubted Benoit to do so. I'm not saying he will do that but I am comparing it to a friend of Matt's that really if you think about it is pretty stale thing to do even if he didnt mention sucidie or kill. WWE commentator Jim Ross commented that the "Matt Hardy fiasco [was] totally embarrassing and inexplicable", asking for Hardy to "seek answers" Hardy later claimed on Twitter that the "YouTube Video was not in any way a suicide note.. No words such as death, suicide, kill, heaven or hell were included", and defended his actions as he "needed one last attention grabber to let the World know that Matt Hardy has re-found his true self."

On September 12, 2011, Hardy was arrested on another DWI charge, with a court date set for November 30.Hardy was arrested for the third time in a month on September 14, when his girlfriend Reby Sky called 911, claiming that he was "strung out on pills and needed help". Police found 20 vials of anabolic steroids, one dose of ecstasy, drug paraphernalia and $1,900 in cash after conducting a search of his home. Hardy was arrested on charges of possession with intent to sell or deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, maintaining a drug dwelling and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On September 19, Hardy announced that he was going to check himself into a WWE-sponsored rehabilitation center for the next three months. It was later reported that entering rehab was one of the conditions for Hardy's release from custody on his latest arrest. On November 19, Hardy was kicked out of the rehabilitation center, with a month left to complete the program, for failing a breathalyzer test. Following this, Hardy was arrested for violating the court order when he returned to Moore County in North Carolina, and was put in the Moore County jail on a $1.0 million bond. On November 29, Hardy was released from jail on the condition that he complete his court-ordered drug rehabilitation, and his bond from $1.0 million to $100,000, which Hardy posted in order to be released to rehab. If Hardy fails to complete rehab on the second try, he will be jailed again, but on a reduced bond of $250,000.

There really hasnt been anything regarding Hardy since November of 2011. The question is HAS HE CLEANED UP HIS ACT? He is scheduled to appear at Extreme Rising on Philly and New York more info at www.ExtremeRising.com

As for Hardy. I really hope he gets things together. I havent walked in his shoes so I don't know what is going through his head but to gain back his reputation he needs to stay away from problems. He needs to stop getting DUIs and DWIs and stop getting caught doing things (or even doing things in general.)

From Reunion to Rising

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:29:56 +0100

Some things worked great.

Some things didn’t.

If you had to break down Extreme Reunion on April 28 at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in the simplest terms, that would be the way to describe it. The event, which drew more than 2,000 people, had more than its share of action.

Led by Stevie Richards, who looked to be in the best shape of his life, the B.W.O. put on a great match with the FBI. Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney had their typical ECW-style match with blood, guts and chairs. Al Snow and C.W. Anderson put on a very good mat-based wrestling match. And Shane Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio put on a very solid main event. Douglas was still able to get people to hate him and Scorpio flew around the building like it was 1997. Those were all good to great, but the show stealer was a classic between Jerry Lynn and Devon Storm. Those two guys did things inside the ring and outside the ring that haven’t been seen on TV since ECW was on Sports Channel Philadelphia in the late 1990s.

Take those matches and combine it with a solid opening match featuring the Dramatcics against Blk Out, and you had a pretty good night of wrestling. I never heard of either of these teams before this night, but both did a great job and now I want to see more of them.

Those things worked.

Some things didn’t work.

Raven was lazy, Justin Credible was reportedly asked to leave by the promotion and Sabu was unable to wrestle because he was in the hospital.

Those were huge negatives.

And now here’s the best news if you’re a fan of this brand of wrestling, which is now known as Extreme Rising. The federation has listened to the fans and when they come back with their next round of shows, it appears they’re building off the positives.

On June 29, Extreme Rising makes its New York debut when a show headlined by Jerry Lynn versus Matt Hardy and Devon Storm versus Homicide takes place in Corona, N.Y.

Then the next night, Extreme Rising returns home to Northeast Philly for its second show at the armory.

There, Jerry Lynn will meet Homicide, and in follow ups to April’s show, Stevie Richards will face Luke Hawx and the Gangstas will meet Blk Out.

April’s show wasn’t perfect, but it was good. June’s shows should be better, but more importantly, it’s laying the ground work for the future.

And while the first show was listed as a reunion, this is no longer a one-time deal. This is the start of something new and Matt Hardy’s signing reminds me a lot of the old ECW.

Hardy can be one of the top guys going today, but he fell off track.

Back in the old ECW, guys like Bam Bam Bigelow, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, Chris Candito, Raven and Al Snow came to Philadelphia when things fell off track, and soon they were better than ever. Hardy could easily do the same with his career, and at the same time, make Extreme Rising can’t miss wrestling.

The wrestling will be fun, but it might be even better to witness history and see the beginning stages of a promotion that makes wrestling a little more fun.

The promotion obviously learns from mistakes and they’re trying to be successful. To do that, they understand they have to make fans happy.

And that only means good things for fans.

For ticket information or more on the shows, visit www.extremereunion.net

How ECW Changed EVERYTHING!!!!!

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:53:46 +0100

How ECW Changed EVERYTHING!!!!!!

We all now ECW revolutionized Extreme Wrestling and brought forth the edgier storylines and more real life characters but I want to just speak about ECW and how I feel looking back at it more than 10 years after its demise. *I dont consider 2006-2010 as ECW or apart of the history*.

August 27th 1994. A Night that will forever stand in history. The night ECW became Extreme and ECW officially split from the NWA becoming its own intity. The night The Franchise Shane Douglas took the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and threw it down and proclaimed himself the ECW Heavyweight Champion of the World. Through the rest of that year and from then on until its closing in 2001 ECW had something about it that now-a-days you don't find in the wrestling business. ECW was the one program you knew you wouldnt be disappointed when you watched. The one program you knew wouldnt let you down and would give you some good wrestling and bloody brawls. I could consider WWF Attitude as one of those programs that you Never Know What Will Happen but ECW always to me had a different feel. You knew if you saw Rob Van Dam on the card you was going to get your moneys worth. And if RVD wasnt on that card you was still gonna get your moneys worth with Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Raven, Super Crazy and so many others who walked through the doors of ECW at one time or another. ECW was a promotion that should have lived that should be around today and there is plenty of proof of to how. But then again on the other plate there is plenty of proof of why ECW had to die when it did because there was no TV spot. When ECW went bankrupt they had 2,000.00. But a show that sold out almost every night going under seemed weird. I will always remember ECW as that show that takes your breath away and never allows you to catch it. Its the show that either you sat infront of your tv/computer or was in that audience and knew you was going to get what you payed for and then some. Everything seemed (as a fan anyways) to be going fine in 2000-01. YES there were plenty of online rumors but that was in the days when most of what was on the newsites was bullshit. *hasnt changed much either lol* ECW seemed stronger than ever in those last few years. The Last PPV was well put together and had they had the March PPV it would have tooken place on my 17th birthday. But ECW folded and like every good thing - it eventually ends. Had Heyman had the money of a Vince McMahon or a Ted Turner ECW would be here to this very day I could say safely but due to other circumstances it had to end. And then we come to the year 2005 when finally we had the final ECW event (or so we thought) to finally end the legacy the RIGHT way. The PPV went well and alot better than I would have expected. This is where I wish I could end but unfortunatly I won't because the year 2006 came around an they decided to do One Last Stand II which was nothing even close to the legacy of ECW. You could tell the crowd wanted ECW not WWE SUPERSTARS we wanted ECW EXTREMISTS!! Thats why Randy Orton and John Cena got booed out of the building that night while RVD and others got the biggest pops ive heard in the Hammerstein. ECW was to reboot under the WWE franchise. This is where the legacy of ECW was almost tainted. You know The ONS 2005 should have and was the correct sendoff to ECW to say goodbye to the fans and the ECW name. Now sure I am a ECW mark for life and I will defend ECW *atleast the original one* forever. ECW rebooted with SOME of the Originals and some new talent. They had a couple of alright shows. Nothing Original ECW but they was ok. Then week by week it got worse and worse. Heyman left. It went downhill FAST from there. So in 2010 The ECW brand is retired *finally* and they do a even more shittier show. TNA even got in on trying to sell the ECW name for some cash and did HardCORE Justice 2010 which was a mediocre ECW wannabe reunion show. I wont deny the wrestlers put on great matches but I will say that I will think this forever since 2005. ECW is gone. There is more than 500 episodes you can use for memories but a NEW ECW? Extreme Reunion? Rising? whatever? I think this all just needs to be put to a end. YES Extreme Rising is a draw because people DO miss Extreme Wrestling. People DO miss shows that are exicting, action packed, bloody, gory. People miss this stuff and will buy tickets to see it I wont deny that. I will though say that each Reunion show. Each Hardcore Homecoming. Each of these shows are tainting the history of ECW. Sandman isnt the same person he was 10 years ago. Raven isnt either. Neither is Sabu or any of them to be honest. They have all "grown up" or sadly died off. But if you want to see a show that will blow your mind just pop in a old ECW show from 1995 or 1996. Pop some popcorn and watch the originals in their primes when they werent shells of their former selves. ---Thats just MY 2 Cents---

The Demise of the Bad Breed

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 23:04:03 +0100

The Bad Breed was comprised of Axl Rotten and his storyline brother, Ian Rotten. The team first appeared in the Global Wrestling Federation in 1992. On January 29, 1993 Bad Breed defeated the Texas Mustangs (Bobby Duncam Jr. and John Hawk, who later became JBL in WWE) to win the GWF Tag Team Titles. Less than one month later, they were defeated and left the promotion shortly thereafter.

In October of 1993, Bad Breed made their debut for Eastern Championship Wrestling. In their first match, Bad Breed defeated Chad Austin and Todd Shawn. Several hours later, they were defeated by the team of Badd Company. This seemed to be the beginning of the downfall of the Bad Breed.

The next night, Bad Breed lost a Three Way Steel Cage Match to the Public Enemy (and Badd Company). Several weeks later, Bad Breed were unsuccessful in their attempt at winning the titles, losing to Tony Stetson and Johnny Hotbody. On November 12, Bad Breed finally defeated Stetson and Hotbody. Unfortunately for them, it was a non title match.

In June 1994, Bad Breed started a feud with Public Enemy for the ECW Tag Team Title. Bad Breed were never able to defeat Public Enemy and decided to set their sights on The Pitbulls. The two teams feuded for several months, leading up to a match at November to Remember, where the losing team would have to split up. Bad Breed lost and so did their tenure as a tag team.

Blaming each other for the loss, Axl and Ian Rotten began one of the most bloody, violent feuds in wrestling history.

The first match between the two took place and Double Tables in 1995. Ian was victorious in the match but the feud was far from over. At Three Way Dance, the two men battled in a Hair versus Hair match. Axl was victorious this time and Ian was shaved bald. One week later, at Hostile City Showdown, Ian challenged his brother to a Barbedwire Baseball Bat match. Once again, Axl was victorious.

The final match between the two, in ECW, took place at Hardcore Heaven. The match was billed as a Taipei Death Match. Both men, hands taped, dipped their hands in glue and then into shards of broken glass. Axl Rotten was once again victorious and one of the most brutal feuds had finally come to an end with one of the bloodiest matches ECW had ever seen.

While Bad Breed eventually reconciled and teamed again in 1996, ECW fans will never forget the blood, sweat, and tears that these two men shed for them.

Looking Back on Francine (The Queen of Extreme)

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 23:00:52 +0100

During the summer of 1995, an attractive young woman appeared in the front row (sitting next to us) at the ECW Arena. The woman was a devoted fan of Stevie Richards and showed her devotion at each show, by wearing I LOVE STEVIE shirts and by flirting with him at ringside.

Eventually, Richards assisted the woman over the guard rail and Francine was born. Francine soon became Stevie’s valet. The new member of the roster wasn’t welcomed with open arms by Raven, or his valet Beulah McGillicutty. After several incidents between the two women, Francine and Beulah decided to settle their differences in the ring. Unfortunately, for Francine, Stevie was loyal to Raven and superkicked her, allowing Beulah to score the win. After the match, Raven and Stevie helped Beulah piledrive Francine.

Francine’s popularity with the ECW fans continued to rise and chants of “She’s a crack whore” and other compliments would break out whenever she entered the ringside area.

Francine soon decided that the best way to get revenge would be to align herself with the Pitbulls. Francine led The Pitbulls to a victory over Richards and Raven, for the ECW Tag Team Championships, on September 16, 1995.

This wasn’t the end of Francine and Stevie. At Cyberslam ’96, Francine and the Pitbulls defeated The Eliminators and Richards in a Dog Collar match when Fournier pinned Richards (after he was superbombed by the Pitbulls.)

When Pitbull #1 was sidelined with an arm injury, Francine led Pitbull #2 to a victory over Shane Douglas for the ECW TV Title.

At Heat Wave ’96, on July 13, 1996, Shane Douglas and Pitbull #2 were the final two men in a 4-man elimination match. As the two men battled, Francine entered the ring and threw powder in the eyes of Pitbull #2. She then removed her skirt to reveal panties that had ‘Franchise’ written across them. Pitbull #1 came out to the ring and superbombed Francine through a table. Shane Douglas managed to regain his ECW TV Title, and then carried Francine from the arena.

Francine in 1997. Photo Credit: Brian Wilkins

Francine went on to manage “The Franchise” Shane Douglas for the next 3 years. During that time, she could also be found in the corner of the Triple Threat members Chris Candido and Bam Bam Bigelow.

In November 1998, she was in Douglas’s corner when he defeated Bigelow for the Television Championship. She remained Douglas’s manager until he left ECW in 1999.

At that point Francine became the manager of Tommy Dreamer. In 2000, she left Dreamer to join forces with Raven and eventually Justin Credible. She remained manager to Credible until the demise of ECW on April 4, 2001.