Dan O'Mac Presents: ECCW

[Dan O'Mac]

So I started by downloading a December 2012 stat pack, and then selected ECCW with no rhyme or reason. Basically, I wanted to take a "Small" company, and make them a big deal. So welcome to (I believe) the first Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling diary!

This diary starts as of 2/1/13. First thing I did: get rid of every single person on the roster. They were all flawed for potential long-term work with the company, either being lousy in the ring, or lousy on the mic. I then replaced all of them with new people on verbal contracts. Once signed to the open contracts, everyone was offered a written contract. Most everyone accepted. As my first goal is to acquire a Television Deal, written contracts are neccessary for the financial success of the company.

One thing was Arsenic'd: Sponsors. Aside from the first one I screwed up on, all were given max money for the company. So here's some stats!


Company Info
Currenty Small @ 79%
Risk: 75%
Money: $1,500,000

Television
No current television shows

Event Schedule:
January: A New Beginning
February: The Price of Glory
March: Adrenaline Rush
April: Against All Odds
May: Hostile Environment
June: Epidemic of Hate
July: Retaliation
August: Payback
September: Canadian Cup
October: Fright Night
November: Supremacy
December: EndGame

Roster:[/u] {Wrestler (Contract/Gimmick)}
Main Event:
Faces: Christin Able (Open/Old School Face), RV1 (Written/Highlight Reel), Zack Sabre Jr. (Written/Old School Face)
Heels: Alex Payne (Written/Psycho), Jake Carter (Written/Arrogant), Kyle O'Reilly (Open/Blue Chipper), Roman Reigns (Open/Man On A Mission), The Messiah (Written/Daredevil)

Upper Midcarders:
Faces: Viking (Written/Bad Ass)
Heels: CJ Banks (Written/Cocky), Hade Vansen (Written/Mysterious), Karl Anderson (Open/Arrogant)

Midcarders:
Faces: Halo (Written/None), Joey Vengeance (Written/Blue Chipper)
Heels: Carter Gray (Written/None), Kenjiro Katahira (Written/Evil Foreigner), Nightmare Manson (Written/Crazy), Simon Sanders (Written/Psycho)

Lower Midcarders:
Faces: Chris Jones (Written/Daredevil), Navy Blue (Written/Rasta)
Heels: none

So yes, signed a lot of the guys I typically build around, but some other talent as well. I appear to be Heel heavy, so I might have to work on that...

[Michael Hayden vs. The World]

We missed out on The Riot! ?

Aww...

[Dan O'Mac]

So I plan to write this diary as a fan going to shows, and then, once on TV, as a fan watching...

Also, before I get to the shows and buildup, I did move Roman Reigns and Carter Gray to "Face" to balance things out a bit more, since no one in the company has debuted yet.

---------------------------------------

Hey guys, thought I'd share with you about the "new" company I just found out about. Saw a flyer hanging up promoting ECCW. Said they have a show on 2/24/13 here. Advertised on the show was a 4 corners match between guys named Christin Able, who they said is from AAW (which I've never heard of), Zack Sabre Jr. (I have no idea who Zack Sabre Sr. is), Alex Payne (the y makes it awesome!) and Kyle O'Reilly, saying he's a star from ROH and PWG. So that's cool that they're bringing in some people from around the independent scene.

They also are advertising a guy named Jake Carter, who is apparently Vader's kid (I wonder if Jake has the time?), a pair of former WWE talents in Roman Reigns (apparently, The Shield didn't go so well) and Navy Blue (who is advertised as a "former developmental worker"), and a former CZW star known as The Messiah.

Looks like a neat show. Hopefully it doesn't leave me underwhelmed.

[Dan O'Mac]

The Price of Glory

So after waiting in line, in the cold, waiting to get in, for an extra 15 minutes, because for some unknown reason they were running late, I got in and found... your typical, poorly lit for wrestling venue popular by small promotions. I expected it, but hoped for better. At least the ring doesn't look like it's going to collapse.

-Segment 0-
It appears that their announcer, a guy who said his name was Mauro Ranallo gets in the ring and let's us know we get a pre-show match, so... yay for that? It appears they were still taping it, so it might still be on the DVD. And it looks like while the wrestlers come out, he joins an unnamed female at a folding table. After the show, I found out that she's the color "guy", Holly Hearse. ANYWAY, it appears that our first match is between Chris Jones, who has the most generic name on the roster, and Navy Blue, the guy advertised as a former WWE Developmental Worker known as "DeSean Bishop". Who's that? Exactly. Any way, Blue is a bigger guy with dreadlocks and running a rasta gimmick, because... let's stereotype the only black guy on the roster! And Chris Jones is a small guy who can do crazy spots and bump like mad, which actually made Blue look legit. Both men were pretty sportsmanlike, and did a good job having a clean match that ended when Blue hit a Full Nelson Slam and got the pin. Basic face vs face, and the crowd cared not at all.
Winner: Navy Blue by pinfall following a Full Nelson Slam
Crowd Reaction: 11%
Match Quality: 63%
Overall Rating: 37%

Meh. Nothing to see here, move along.

-Segment 1-
So now Mauro gets back up and into the ring, does a whole bunch of talking about the sponsors and welcomes us officially to The Price of Glory. I'd assume it's three easy payments of $19.99. He then states "please do not touch the wrestlers, and they will not touch you". My goal is to get them to touch me now. He then introduces us to the competitors for our first match, Joey Vengeance and CJ Banks. Vengeance is your generic, smiling good guy, slapping hands and yelling "come on". Yawn. Banks on the other hand is cocky as all get out, but decided that he's going to verbally try and get a fan to fight him... a fan who looked to be about 10. That's awesome. The match was standard fare, two guys that can do the flippy-flop doing the flippy-flop. Vengeance finished with a "Randy Orton Special" (not pooping in the guys bag, we're talking about wrestling) and hits a top rope DDT followed by a Diamond Cutter for the pin. After the match, Banks throws a temper tantrum, feeling he is/was better than him, yelling about how Vengeance got lucky. He probably will after the show, there's some women of questionable standards here.
Winner: Joey Vengeance by pinfall following the Diamond Cutter
Crowd Reaction: 30%
Match Quality: 82%
Overall Rating: 56%

That match was a surprise, as I didn't expect a match of that quality. Hopefully the crowd will get more invested in these guys. Vengeance probably needs a better gimmick though. Like an astronaut with an imaginary space owl. Yeah, that'd be the ticket.

-Segment 2-
Following those two making their way backstage, dark, ominous music hits (I didn't recognize it, and forgot to use Shazam... my bad) and a man comes out that I recognize from their poster, CZW veteran, The Messiah. He gets in the ring, and gets a mic. He promptly tells us he "may not like" us, but he's "willing to be a savior" for us. Well, that's kind of him. He goes on to point out that in order to save us, he will cleanse the company of those undeserving, and that will start with the former WWE castoff that was gifted a golden opportunity that was squandered. This brings an angry Samoan I remember from TV in Roman Reigns out. He gets into the ring and gets handed a second mic. I don't think there's any other mics, so here's hoping nothing happens to those. Reigns states he is part of the great Anoa'i family, then gets to the short and sweet of it, and says all Messiah had to do was ask, and they'll do it tonight. This could be... interesting. We'll use that adjective.
Overall Rating: 60%
Roman Reigns debuted his new gimmick (Family Guy), and got a positive response. The Messiah debuted his new gimmick (Evil Preacher), and got a positive response. The Messiah gained overness from this segment. Roman Reigns gained overness from this segment.

It was what it was, a vehicle to get us a little more invested in the main event. The Messiah impressed me on the mic, and Reigns wasn't as bad as I remember from WWE. Though that might be because he was always with Dean Ambrose.

-Segment 3-
So now Mauro gets back in the ring and let's us know we're getting a 4 corners elimination match and introduces Kenjiro Katahira, a stereotypical evil foreigner (yay stereotypes! I hope he threatens to "choppy choppy" someone!), Simon Sanders, who is coming out wide-eyed and yelling "I do parties!", Halo, another generic face, and our first Canadian, Nightmare Manson, who is brandishing a Singapore Cane and hitting random inanimate objects, including: the ring posts, empty chairs, a beer cup (like he was playing baseball) and the guy running the music. Looks like Holly Hearse has to pull double duty now. Now this was a rough match for Halo, who was the only face in the match, leading to him spending a lot of time down and hurt, when Nightmare Manson hits his Minister DDT on Simon Sanders, Halo takes the blind tag and hits a beautiful 630 corkscrew moonsault he calls "Halocination" for the pin. Color me impressed. However, Nightmare Manson doesn't take kindly to this, and immediately beats the piss out of Halo, and Kenjiro Katahira decides to capitalize and starts going after Manson. These three go at it for quite some time, until Manson hits his Vertical Neckbreaker on Katahira, and again, Halo steals the pin. Nightmare Manson absolutely snaps and grabs his Singapore Cane, and blasts Halo with it countless times. And by countless, I mean I'm far too lazy to count them. The ref, for obvious reasons, calls for the bell and disqualifies Nightmare Manson. Manson then turns on the ref, stalking him as he runs to the back to get away from the psychotic man with a cane.
Winner: Halo by DQ by Nightmare anger while holding a Singapore Cane
Crowd Reaction: 21%
Match Quality: 71%
Overall Rating: 46%
Halo debuted his new gimmick (Loner) and got a positive reaction

So a good match, not the best so far, but very good. Nightmare Manson looks like he'll be a wrestler to watch, and Halo was a spot monkey. We'll have to see how that pans out to a full match. The other two were forgettable, though I do want to wander around yelling "I do parties" at people. Then, if asked, say they're Tupperware parties. Are those still things?

-Segment 4-
So next we are told we get a tag match.Out first team is the team of RV1 (who should have a real name, or explain this one) and a man known as Viking. RV1 comes out and... is another generic face. GIVE ME CREATIVITY!!! Viking has one of those bandanas that looks like a skull jawbone on it. Our second team is a Jake Carter, who is the son of Vader according to the poster, and Karl Anderson, who apparently is a regular with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Jake looks NOTHING like his dad. In fact, he looks like an All-American football player. Both are playing the part of arrogant jerks, and seem to blend well with their banter. The two heels blend well in the ring too, and are in full control... right up until Jake Carter goes to punch RV1, who ducks, and Jake levels Karl. They start arguing, leading to RV1 hitting the Rickochet for the win. Anderson and Carter don't take well to losing, and beat RV1 and Viking down before stalking off.
Winners: RV1 and Viking by pinfall following a Rickochet on Karl Anderson
Crowd Reaction: 39%
Match Quality: 74%
Overall Rating: 56%

The faces I've seen, aside from Halo and his twisty, flippy, splashy thing, and Roman Reigns, have all blended together into 1 person. They're name is Bob. Jake is green, but talented. I like Karl, but with his tours of Japan, you have to think he's not going to be around for long.

-Segment 5-
Mauro gets up and starts to tell us it's time for intermission, but from the back come a brawling Halo and Nightmare Manson. Manson, the better brawler of the two, definitely looks to be getting the upper hand when a bunch of young kids in black "security" shirts pull them apart. Ladies and gentlemen, your next generation of stars! And boy, did they look unimpressive. After they get them to the back, Mauro sends us to intermission, which is great, because I need to pee.
Overall Rating: 58%
Halo gained overness from this segment. Nightmare Manson gained overness from this segment.

I like them keeping this battle going. They had some animosity from their earlier match, and the random brawling helps lead to a future match.

-Segment 6-
After intermission, Mauro tells us we're going to get another 4 corners elimination match. I'm down with that. First we get Alex Payne, who is billed as "Psycho" Alex Payne. He acts fairly insane, pulling on his hair and shouting gibberish. Please give him a promo, it'll be like Scott Steiner with a mic. Next we get another man we don't know known as Zack Sabre Jr. They followed that up by introducing Christin Able, who is another generic face, though he does seem better at it. Finally, is the ROH and PWG star Kyle O'Reilly, who is very smug in his belief that he's the best. And away we go. Lots of action to start, and all of a sudden, Alex Payne is planted by Zack Sabre Jr.'s Sabre Driver for a three count, and Psycho is gone. He is generally crazy on the way back from the ring, and the other three go at it in a frenzied pace. A lot of nearfalls in this one, until Kyle O'Reilly hits a Tornado DDT on Christin Able and eliminates the AAW star. Sabre and O'Reilly waste no time in going at one another, in a string of technical wrestling, trading holds back and forth. After getting out of O'Reilly's Anklelock, Sabre locks in a Cross Armbreaker, forcing O'Reilly to tap out! Sabre immediately starts celebrating the momentous win for the youngster.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. by submission in a Cross Armbreaker
Crowd Reaction: 43%
Match Quality: 77%
Overall Rating: 60%
Zack Sabre Jr. debuted a new gimick (Ice Man), it got a negative response

The generic face is getting old. Christin Able seemed to be a little better at it, not just smiling and slapping hands, but these guys need either a new gimmick, or a chance to show they are more than just basic faces. I don't think ANYONE liked Zack Sabre's new gimmick. He seems talented, just not invested in the new gimmick. Payne made a good psycho, and O'Reilly losing was a surprise. Unfortunately, it was to a guy who the crowd didn't like.

-Segment 7-
Following that, it looks like a match to give the crowd a bit of a break before the main event, as we get Carter Gray and Hade Vansen. Vansen comes out as a generally creepy dude, long coat, dour look, slow with his entrance. Carter Gray comes out and easily gets the crowd behind him thanks to Vansen's solid uncaring of the fans. This is a good back and forth match, which catches Vansen off-guard. This one comes to a close as Vansen, done with the younger wrestler, floats over on a suplex and rolls up Carter Gray, a handful of tights to get the 3 count. Vansen gets out of the ring, and grabs his coat. The lights go off, and when the come back on, he's gone.
Winner: Hade Vansen by pinfall with a grab of the tights
Crowd Reaction: 29%
Match Quality: 77%
Overall Rating: 53%
Carter Gray debuted a gimmick (Highlight Reel), it got a positive response

This was... good. Hade is definitely good at the "dark and mysterious" gimmick. Carter impressed in the ring, so this was... good.

-Segment 9-
The main event is the matchup between Roman Reigns and The Messiah. Reigns is the good guy here, and the crowd comes alive for him. The Messiah with his ominous music (that I forgot to Shazam... again) comes out, and this match is under way. Nothing to spectacular, they're straight up clubbering. Messiah finally gets speared out of his boots, figuratively, and put down by Reigns for the three count. Reigns mounts the turnbuckle to celebrate, but Messiah wants none of it, shoving the referee away, then planting Reigns with the Fall From Grace. Messiah then walks away, shouting that it's for our own good. I assume next he'll tell me to say my prayers and eat my vitamins.
Winner: Roman Reigns by pinfall following a Spear
Crowd Reaction: 48%
Match Quality: 69%
Overall Rating: 58%

This was just plain brawling. Hopefully, we'll get something more from these two going forward.

Overall Show Rating: 56%

-------------------------------------

So that was the show. I recommend watching the Joey Vengeance against CJ Banks match. Solid wrestling, I'll be returning next month for their advertised "Adrenaline Rush" event. Hopefully they'll start distinguishing more about the faces.


Feedback on the format/wrestlers/commentary?

[Dan O'Mac]

Post Show Mail:
- The Price of Glory was attended by 154 people! We made $3080 from ticket sales.

- Joey Vengeance and CJ Banks have a fantastic chemistry in the ring, is adds a lot to the match.

- Chris Jones: Navy Blue and me don't really click. How about booking me against someone like Kenjiro Katahira? I think our styles would really work well together

- Chris Jones and Navy Blue didn't 'click' in their match, maybe due to their mismatched skills causing their styles not to gel?

[Dan O'Mac]

End of Month:

- We ended the month up in PI from 79% to 82%

- However, we lost $156,920

[Dan O'Mac]

So it's March 21, 2013, ten days before the next ECCW show, Adrenaline Rush. I took a look at their website to see what was on tap, and got a surprise. It appears that they've booked former WWE failure, Nathan Jones for the show. No clue who he'll be facing though.

They did advertise that there's going to be some title matches, as Roman Reigns and Zack Sabre Jr. will face each other for the Heavyweight Title, which is logical as they both won matches last month. And Halo and Nightmare Manson will face off for the Canadian Title. Which makes sense since they have "beef" after last month.

No mention of any other matches, but one thing that stood out was that Kyle O'Reilly wasn't on the poster. I did some research, and it appears that he's scheduled for the ROH and PWG shows on March 31st. No idea how that'll work, but at least ECCW isn't advertising someone who won't be there.

[Dan O'Mac]

ECCW Adrenaline Rush - 3/31/13

Alright folks, it's been a little over a month, and I'm back with news about ECCW's show for March, Adrenaline Rush. Good news: I didn't have to wait in the cold this time! Bad news: same dimly lit venue. I took my seat, and we quickly get to Mauro Ranallo for our pre-show entertainment!

-Segment 0-
So we start by getting the angry foreigner, Kenjiro Katahira and the man that does parties, Simon Sanders. These guys are teammates this month after being opponents last month. Their opponents out next are Viking and Chris Jones. This is the second month in a row that Jones is in the dark match. Now this match was solid, and went to show that Chris Jones, can do more than bump, as he has a good, quick offense, and was a great counterpoint to Viking and his brawling. They tagged frequently, and kept fresh. Meanwhile, Simon spent more time telling the crowd that he does parties (birthday?) and letting his partner get zero offense. That changes when he turns around, and Kenjiro tags him in, and storms off. Simon, not expecting anything takes a Tueur De Policier from Viking, followed by a Sky Twister Press from Jones and takes the fall. Viking and Jones work the crowd, and the crowd gives them 2 fucks on a scale of 10.
Winners: Chris Jones and Viking by pinfall following a Sky Twister Press
Crowd Reaction: 24%
Match Quality: 73%
Overall Rating: 43%

A solid opener. Jones doesn't have much charisma, but he can fly around the ring and bump like an animal. Viking should stop yelling in French, I don't think it'll help him get over as a face... silly French-Canadian. The heels were solid. Kenjiro literally doesn't care about anyone, and Simon cares about doing parties... I'm still hoping they're tupperware parties.

-Segment 1-
Mauro gets in the ring and again tells us all about the sponsors, welcomes us officially, and again warns us not to touch the wrestlers. So many restrictions... He then tells us that the first match (because the first one doesn't matter) is a Triangle match with one fall to a finish. And we get Hade Vansen, Karl Anderson and Carter Gray out. Hade and Carter faced off last month, and Hade had to cheat to win. Hade still has the "dark and mysterious" thing down pat. Carter showed last month he was an electrfying talent, and appears he's embracing that he's a highlight reel, announced as "The Highlight" Carter Gray. Karl still displaying his arrogance, tells us all that he's American, therefore better. Hooray for cheap heat! As far as the match goes, this was better than I expected. I expected Karl to detract from Hade and Carter, who had a dirty finish last month, but instead, he added to the match, as Hade and Carter end up not touching one another, as they started nose-to-nose, but Karl came in and broke it up. In the end, Carter Gray puts down Karl Anderson with a Shooting Star Press, but his celebration is short-lived, as Hade Vansen finally gets his hands on Carter, and plants him with a South City Killa after the bell.
Winner: Carter Gray by pinfall on Karl Anderson, following a Shooting Star Press
Crowd Reaction: 34%
Match Quality: 79%
Overall Rating: 50%

I liked this. The crowd wanted to see Carter Gray and Hade Vansen, but every time they came close, Karl Anderson got involved. Karl was a workhorse, taking a beating, dishing it out through the entire thing, and Carter's SSP was perfect. And when Carter and Hade finally got physical, it was an ambush by Hade. Looks like a match next month.

-Segment 2-
So after that, the former WWE "Star", Nathan Jones makes his way out, getting a pretty good reaction. I'm honestly surprised as many people care. Though, he was on the poster really big next to things saying he's former a WWE Superstar. Regardless, he gets in the ring, and proceeds to say that he wanted to come out and let the crowd know that he's going to be kicking someone's ass tonight and blah, blah, blah. The Messiah comes out however, and tells him that he doesn't belong, ECCW is his company, and Nathan should leave before he corrupts the progress Messiah's made in saving us. I like being corrupted, so I booed him. And more talking and posturing over who's better, and we find out that they will be wrestling tonight. Messiah stalks to the back, and I find that my time feels wasted.
Overall Rating; 68%
Nathan Jones gained overness from this segment. The Messiah gained overness from this segment.

It seemed many people liked this in the crowd. I personally didn't see the point. I could've just had someone say "hey, they're going to fight" and it would've done the same thing.

-Segment 3-
So next up we're given the 4 corners elimination match, as we're going to see RV1, which I still think is a lousy name, CJ Banks, who is surrounded by an aura of cockiness, Joey Vengeance, the resident happy, smiling face for the match, and Vader's kid, Jake Carter. This is the match the crowd is most invested in thus far (which really isn't saying much), and are solidly behind Joey Vengeance. The first fall comes when RV1 gets planted by a Pumphandle from Jake Carter, who puts him away for 3. Carter immediately gets up and starts talking trash to a kid in the crowd when Joey Vengeance hits him with a Diamond Cutter and pins him. Carter sits up shocked, as Vengeance smirks at him. With those two gone, it comes down to Vengeance and CJ Banks, who has been laying low. These two immediately pick up where they left off last month, and start going back and forth, trading blows and holds well. In the end, Banks sneaks a stealthy testicular trauma shot in when the referee isn't looking, follows it up with a move he calls the Shadows Over Hell and picks up the win. He promptly starts celebrating like he just opened a Wonka bar to find a golden ticket.
Winner: CJ Banks via pinfall after Shadows Over Hell/testicular trauma
Crowd Reaction: 42%
Match Quality: 76%
Overall Rating: 53%

It seems like this month is a lot of stuff to continue or prolong what happened last month. I would've rather seen Vengeance and Banks one on one...

-Segment 4-
So next up we get a jacked guy NO WHERE IN THE PROGRAM! All I know, is he looks like he's on some strange concoction of steroids and cocaine, and dear lord, they're giving him a microphone. I hope this is like a Scott Steiner promo. This is nothing like a Scott Steiner promo. This man identifies himself as a "reluctant Canadian, Franky the fuckin' Mobster!" I've never seen anything from this guy, but I've heard about him. He promptly decides that it's time for him to point out that Canada is a joke everywhere he has gone, adding "eh" to the end of every sentence. He then says that if anyone back wants to wrestle him next month at Cheating the Odds, come out and let him know. This leads to Viking, a fellow Canadian to come out and accept the challenge, letting Franky know that he'll show him what real Canadians are like.
Overall Rating: 57%
Viking gained overness from this segment. Franky the Mobster gained overness from this segment.

Franky was great, I definitely want more of his steroid/cocaine cocktail ravings. Matching him up with Viking is interesting, I'm curious to see how that will play out.

-Segment 5-
So I'm told that now we'll get our first title match, as we determine the first ECCW Canadian Champion. That sounds fun. They send Nightmare Manson out first, brandishing his Singapore Cane. After that is Halo, distinctly remembered due to his 630 Corkscrew Moonsault last month. This match though, is sloppy, back-and-forth match. I legit feel dumber for watching it. Halo seemed not to care, and after the referee goes down, Nightmare Manson plasters Halo with the Singapore Cane and covers as the referee wakes up, giving Nightmare Manson the win and the ECCW Canadian Championship.
Winner and NEW ECCW Canadian Champion: Nightmare Manson by pinfall following a Singapore Caning
Crowd Reaction: 26%
Match Quality: 53%
Overall Rating: 35%
Halo didn't really sell very much, which hurt the match rating. The ECCW Canadian title has gained in image.

Wow, Halo did a complete 180 from last month, and looked like he gave zero fucks this month. Nightmare Manson is the right choice here, but if they give him another match with Halo, Halo needs to care.

-Segment 6-[/i]
So we come back from intermission, and we get a mostly thrown together match between Christin Able and "Psycho" Alex Payne. These two did their job, getting people back into the show after the intermission, and put on what I would consider the best match I've seen in the last two months. Both men are good wrestlers across the board, and showed their skills here. Payne yells in gibberish often, but comes up short to Able, who hits him with a Cutthroat Saito Suplex to pick up the win.
Winner: Christin Able by pinfall following a Cutthroat Saito Suplex
Crowd Reaction: 45%
Match Quality: 89%
Overall Rating: 60%

This was surprisingly good, and I want to see more of these two. For two guys that were mostly forgettable last month, they put on a stellar match this month. I could see either of these men as the top guy in the company now.

-Segment 7-
Surprisingly, Nathan Jones against The Messiah falls into this slot. And unsurprisingly, it's a brawl. The referee gives them leniency as they brawl all over the venue, crashing through and across chairs. This does end up back in the ring, where in the end, Messiah rolls up Nathan Jones and uses a handful of tights to leverage to get the three. Messiah steals one here, then gets the hell out of there, celebrating on his way to the back.
Winner: The Messiah by rollup with a handful of tights
Crowd Reaction: 30%
Match Quality: 69%
Overall Rating: 44%

The Messiah going over was the right call, and cheating to do so doesn't take away from Nathan Jones. Though I didn't expect Nathan to be that bad in the ring, and it showed following Able and Payne.

-Segment 8-[/i]
Our main event is announced as we get Zack Sabre Jr. and Roman Reigns for the ECCW Heavyweight Title. And both men tried to assert their "style" over the other. Roman's biggest problem was that Sabre outclassed him on the mat and in the air, and could hold his own while brawling. They did go back and forth until the former WWE wrestler hit a huge Spear on Zack Sabre Jr. and gets the three count to become the ECCW Heavyweight Champion. After the match, The Messiah makes his way out and decides to destroy both men, scoop up the title and raise it above his head, sending a statement not only to Roman Reigns, but the entire roster.
Winner and NEW ECCW Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns
Crowd Reaction: 44%
Match Quality: 74%
Overall Rating: 53%
The ECCW Heavyweight Title has gained in image.

So it appears we'll get The Messiah against Roman Reigns next month. This was a good match, and I think the right guy won, as they've booked him as the guy to beat.

Overall Show Rating: 52%

------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure if Adrenaline Rush was a step in a forward direction or not. I get why they brought in Nathan Jones (he has a name!), but I don't think it did any good. Definitely check out the Christin Able against Alex Payne match. They tore it down.

[Dan O'Mac]

End of Month Mail
- Simon Sanders and Kyle O'Reilly both had birthdays during March, both turning 26

- Roman Reigns is increasing his wage demands by 10%

- ECCW Adrenaline Rush was attended by 155 people! We made $3100 from ticket sales.

- I overused The Messiah at the last show, the fans started to get sick of seeing him.

- Nathan Jones and The Messiah didn't 'click' in their match, maybe due to their mismatched skills causing their styles not to gel?

- Christin Able and Alex Payne have a fantastic chemistry in the ring, it adds a lot to the match.

Simon Sanders - I think you might be pushing me too high up the card, the fans seem to be resenting me. (dropped downt he card)

[Dan O'Mac]

So it's April 11th, and I'm checking the website for info on the next show. There isn't any, but I was hoping. But I did see a post on their news (which is sparsely updated) stating that Kenjiro Katahira has been released. I hope he catches on somewhere, he had some talent.

[Dan O'Mac]

About a week later, and I checked back on their website, and found a card. Looks like no major surprises (like Nathan Jones last month) but they're advertising a hardcore match between Roman Reigns and The Messiah, a matchup between Zack Sabre Jr. and Hade Vansen, Franky the Mobster and Viking, and then the only other match advertised is Joey Vengeance and Halo against CJ Banks and Nightmare Manson. No mention of Kyle O'Reilly for the second straight month, or Christin Able. I took a look, and O'Reilly is booked for ROH and PWG again, and Able is booked for AAW, so looks like neither will be on Cheating the Odds.

[magiconz]

Good stuff so far. Obviously, since the diary just started and the company is still trying to get it's feet wet, there's not too much that I can comment on as far as characters/storylines go (I marked when Franky appeared) but the actual writing gets the point of the segments across well enough without going into too much detail.

Also, an astronaut with an imaginary space owl would be one hell of a gimmick. Someone should probably get on that...

[Dan O'Mac]

ECCW Cheating the Odds - 4/28/13

So Cheating the Odds looks like it will be interesting on paper. On the bright side, I won't have the miss The Walking Dead for this one. Season 3 was definitely better than Season 2. But what's next for them? But I digress...

-Segment 0-
We again get a preshow match, with a singles match between Chris Jones and Simon Sanders. Jones did a great job last month getting the win for his team, but he was part of a team then. Simon Sanders continues to let us know he does parties (pool?). Now Jones does a great job getting the crowd into this one. Okay, I lied, the crowd is mostly dead for this. Chris and Simon wrestle a match that is... not that good, to be honest. In fact, this might be the WORST match I've seen in ECCW. It ends, mercifully, when Jones hits his Sky Twister Press and gets the pin. Afterwards, Simon interupts Jones' celebration and hits him with a Burning Hammer.
Winner: Chris Jones by pinfall following a Sky Twister Press
Crowd Reaction: 21%
Match Quality: 58%
Overall Rating: 39%
Simon Sanders didn't really sell very much, which hurt the match rating.

This... wasn't good. Simon made Jones look like shit with his poor selling. I really hope that this preshow match gets cut from their DVD.

-Segment 1-
Mauro Ranallo gets in the ring and lets us know that Cheating the Odds starts now. He tells us who our sponsors are, and not to touch the wrestlers. He then introduces "The Highlight" Carter Gray, the high flier who has been dealing with Hade Vansen, and Jake Carter, the son of Vader that looks nothing like Vader. This match was a contrast of styles, with the much larger, arrogant heel attempting to crush the high-flying, plucky face. In the end, Carter Gray escapes to fight another day with a win, following up a roll up. Following the match, Jake Carter displays his displeasure with a beat down on Carter Gray, literally throwing him out of the ring in the direction of the backstage area.
Winner: Carter Gray by pinfall following a (non-fruit) rollup
Crowd Reaction: 35%
Match Quality: 75%
Overall Rating: 55%
Carter Gray gained overness from this match. Jake Carter lost overness from this match.

This match was a nice open. The heel forced the face to be the underdog, and the crowd started warming up to get behind them. The ECCW bookers continued their trend of "opening" the show with a face win.

-Segment 2-
After that solid opener, get told we get a tag match, and have Joey Vengeance and Halo introduced. Let's see if Halo can show that he actually WANTS to be in the ring this month. Out after that is the team of CJ Banks and Nightmare Manson, who is brandishing a Singapore Cane and wearing the ECCW Canadian Title. Now this match is again featuring Halo, and again a bit of a disappointment. These four talented men go at it well, the tried and true formula of isolating a face, Halo in this case, building towards the hot tag. A lot of shenanigans between CJ Banks and Nightmare Manson, who are entering and exiting when the ref's back is turned without the tag, the works. This goes on until Halo does get the hot tag to Joey Vengeance. Vengeance does a great job keeping them off him, and Halo takes Banks out of the equation, opening up Nightmare Manson for the Diamond Cutter and the pin for Vengeance. After the match, Halo and Vengeance celebrate in the ring, with Vengeance posing over Nightmare Manson with the ECCW Canadian Title.
Winner: Joey Vengeance & Halo by pinfall following a Diamond Cutter on Nightmare Manson
Crowd Reaction: 37%
Match Quality: 67%
Overall Rating: 52%

Again, it seems like Halo just doesn't care. I'm hopeful that this signifies a move towards anyone else working with Nightmare Manson.

-Segment 3-
They follow that up with Mauro introducing RV1, who storms out and takes the mic away from him. He then goes on to point out that he is to going to be known as Ricky Vega. Well... at least he's not a motor home any more.
Overall Rating: 51%

This was short, but does resolve a gripe of mine. "RV1" made no sense, as it was a baseless nickname.

-Segment 4-
Mauro then introduces Vega's opponenet, "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson. Karl wastes no time in getting to the ring, and runs roughshod over Ricky Vega throughout this match. Karl plants him with the Gun Stun and gets the elementary 1-2-3. After the match, Ricky Vega offers a handshake to Karl, however, Karl just looks at it and laughs, shaking his head and walking away.
Winner: "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson by pinfall following a Gun Stun
Crowd Reaction: 43%
Match Quality: 86%
Overall Rating: 64%

This was a top match between two guys wrestling a similar style. I like that we have Ricky Vegas, and the handshake offered to the guy that just DOMINATED him was great, especially his bafflement that he didn't get that handshake. Karl Anderson regained his "Machine Gun" moniker, and that's okay with me.

-Segment 5-
They follow this up with Viking making his way out with his weird skull jaw bandana on, waving the Canadian flag for some cheap pops. He's a viking, why's he all about Canada? IT MAKES NO SENSE!!! He's followed out by the intense Franky the Mobster. Franky is raving about getting this done quickly so he can get to the back and have another cocaine and steroid cocktail. And Franky is serious about it. After brawling for a bit, Franky grabs a vacant chair and blast Viking in the skull with it, earning a DQ win for Viking. Franky doesn't take kindly to this and promptly attempts to remove the referee's skull with a Big Boot. He doesn't quite succeed, but I'm pretty sure I saw a bootprint, complete with tread, embedded on that ref's face.
Winner: Viking by DQ via chair to the skull
Crowd Reaction: 43%
Match Quality: 82%
Overall Rating: 62%

I can watch a good kick to the face and laugh every time, so Franky got major points in my book tonight. Viking looked like he could go toe to toe with Franky, and I can't complain about this one.

-Segment 6-
After coming back from intermission, we are told we'll get a match between Zack Sabre Jr and Hade Vansen. There seems to be no reason behind this, so we'll see what they've got. Zack Sabre Jr is out first, and seems like a mostly emotionless wrestling machine. This may be accurate. Then we get Hade Vansen, in his dark clothing, slowly strides to the ring. And then we're treated to a clinic for 30 minutes, as these two go back and forth, exchanging holds. Sabre finally gets in the Cross Armbreaker, just as time expires. Sabre releases the hold at the referee's request, only for Hade to get back to his feet and plant Sabre with a South City Killa. He then drags Sabre back to his feet, but before more damage can be done, Carter Gray is in for the save and runs Hade Vansen off.
Winner: none via time limit draw
Crowd Reaction: 46%
Match Quality: 88%
Overall Rating: 67%

This was the best match I've seen here in ECCW. Ground based, back and forth. Kudos to Zack Sabre Jr and Hade Vansen.

-Segment 7-
Next up, we get a horrible quality video shown from a projector of Jake Carter. Carter rambles on and on a bit about how he's a second generation star, and the best wrestler in the company because wrestling is in his blood.
Overall Rating: 52%

Well, knowing what I know now, it appears we're going somewhere I don't want to go. When you know who else on the roster is a second generation wrestler, this tells us exactly who he's going after. And he's not that good on the mic.

-Segment 8-
So we then get our main event, the hardcore match between The Messiah and our current champion, Roman Reigns. And they do what they need, getting out of the ring and start brawling all over. Good spots I saw: Roman Reigns throwing Messiah face-first into a fans' upraised foot, Messiah smashing a plastic cup of beer over Reigns' head, and some poor fans' dry erase board he's used to write random things on being smashed over Messiah's head. Reigns finally gets set to hit Messiah with his Spear, when Jake Carter comes running in and goes for his Pumphandle Slam. Reigns would have none of it, however, and starts brawling with him. However, this would be his downfall, as The Messiah uses the distraction to hit the Godsmack and get the win. After the match, Jake continues his attack, and Messiah celebrates, telling everyone that they will soon be saved.
Winner: The Messiah by pinfall followinf the Godsmack and Jake Carter-ference
Crowd Reaction: 50%
Match Quality: 76%
Overall Rating: 63%
The ECCW Heavyweight Title has gained in image

I was surprised to see that the title changed hands. And Jake Carter against Roman Reigns? Meh. I'm curious as to who gets the next title shot though, as there's no one that really distinguished themselves.

Overall Show Rating: 58%

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This show was definitely a step in the right direction for ECCW. Zack Sabre Jr against Hade Vansen is a match that should be watched. And I think that the Ricky Vega versus Karl Anderson should be watched. Two matches that were very good. It looks like February's event, The Price of Glory, is now for sale on DVD from their website, so it looks like you'll be able to pick it up after 2 months or so. Hopefully the production picks up on that.

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Show Notes/E-mails:[/u]
Cheating the Odds was attended by 227 people!
We made $4540 from ticket sales

Christin Able - I'd like to request a match or two with The Messiah. I'm pretty sure we could do some good work together.

[Dan O'Mac]

End of Month e-mail
- The following birthdays occured this month: Hade Vansen (30), Jake Carter (27)

Christin Able - I am increasing my wage demands by 10% per appearance, as i believe i am being underpaid.

[Dan O'Mac]

So it's May 10th, and I went to the ECCW website to see what's in store for Hostile Intentions on May 26th. Looks like a full card was posted.

The Messiah vs Christin Able for the ECCW Heavyweight title

Roman Reigns vs Jake Carter

Ricky Vega vs Zack Sabre Jr. vs Franky the Mobster vs CJ Banks in a 4 corners elimination match

Viking vs "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson

"The Highlight" Carter Gray vs Hade Vansen

Nightmare Manson vs Joey Vengeance for the ECCW Canadian Title

and "Psycho" Alex Payne vs Chris Jones

Some stuff looks good on here.