Written by: Sean McCaffrey from http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/index1.html
First off, for the first time readers of a USA Pro review, there are some things you need to know. Every USA Pro show is longer than every other indy show. It’s a fact that USA Pro fans and people who follow it accept. While the unwritten rule is to run a show in 3 hours or less, USA Pro usually winds up doubling that. Hey, at least you get your money’s worth. At 20 bucks a ticket, for 6 hours, that’s only 3 bucks and change an hour. Another thing you need to know is that you’re guaranteed at least 2 ticket seller matches a show. Sometimes they are good, but for the most part, they are horrible. However, unlike most promotions, USA Pro uses the money raised from ticket sellers to bring in big name guys, such as Sabu, Raven, Shane Douglas, Low Ki, Jimmy Snuka, etc, than putting all the ticket seller money in their pocket.
Now knowing that, it’s time for the run down.
USA PRO WRESTLING
“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Bethpage, NY
Approx Attendance: 600-700
Ring Announcer: Dexter Weiner
Referees: Ref Andre and the Whole Reffin Show, Ref Hanson
PRESHOW: Drank a 12 pack of Budweiser. For $6.99, I took the frugal route, and passed on Heineken. Sportstime, the venue of this show, is similiar to the Center Circle in Rahway, where JAP and CSWF run shows. It’s a huge hockey rink, with an entrance way by the south goal. I think USA Pro made a big mistake by using the set up they had. The locker room was right in front of the fans. During wrestlers entrances, fans were walking right between them and mingling. USA PRO would’ve made the set up more professional, if they blacked out/tarped the north goal, and move the ring 50 feet towards the south goal. That way, fans wouldn’t be in the way of wrestlers entrances and that fans wouldn’t have to go through the lockerroom to take a piss/dump/vomit.
USA PRO started things off with a showcase show.
SHOWCASE MATCHES
Johnny TNT w/Mr. Big d. Envy
There were ticket sellers in both wrestlers corner as well. This was a ticket seller special. If anyone read my last McRoss Report, you know my feelings on ticket sellers. Thankfully this match was shorter than Mike Zevon, as Johnny TNT got a quick pinfall for the victory.
After a 5 minute delay, we go to our next match.
Danny Demanto d. J-Kronik
Danny Demanto has returned from Rhode Island and is looking to be reborn in USA Pro. J-Kronik continues to slim down, and is looking better. It probably comes from working more, as he works bi-monthly for AWA. Demanto needs to go on the Kronik diet, or maybe the Atkins, to be taken as a serious wrestler who could hang with the Simon Diamonds, Homicides, Sonjay Dutts etc. This was probably Kroniks best outing in USA Pro, topping his performance against Nuke, back in July. Demanto wins this match with everyone’s favorite move, the Hogsplash.
April Hunter d. Tara Charisma and Ariel in a Triple Threat Match
You can decide now if it’s a good or bad thing that your showcase match is better than most of your main show matches. Also, you can decide if it’s good or bad that a womens match outshined most of the mens matches. The match started off with Tara and Ariel going at it, while April watched from the outside. If you remember, Ariel/Charisma was the original match, and April was added as a last second replacement. April, after watching Tara/Ariel for 5 minutes, comes into the ring and clears house, sending Ariel viciously over the top rope. Ariel hit a nice bulldog on April in this match, but it was only good enough to get 2. April suplexed Tara and Ariel at the same time, in an impressive feat of strength. Tara was also on fire, as she headlocked Ariel and hurrannacarraned April Hunter at the same time. April Hunter finally wins this match, as she puts Tara in a leglock neckbreaker submission, and Tara taps. For the fuck of it, and because I don’t know what April calls that move, I’ll call it the April’s Fool, because Tara (or whoever else gets trapped in it) is played like a fool. Yea, corny.
This concluded the Showcase matches.
Dexter Weiner (Pronounced Why-ner) is out next. He gives us the Howard Finkel speech. “Don’t throw foreign objects to the ring, don’t use laser pointers, and if you’re Fecal Threats, please use a toilet.”
Nick Berk/Z-Barr d. The Elm Street Kids (Pyscho/Rayza), Trailer Park Trash (Southern Vinny Stylin/Tony Burma) and Team Ticket Seller (Johnny TNT and JAV)
This was a slap in the face to Berk/Z-Barr. While the other 6 men are alright, Berk/Zbarr should’ve been able to show USA Pro fans what they can do in their debut. By the way, whatever happened to the TRIOS title that was established last show? Los Lunatics were no where to be seen on this show, which pretty much devalues the TRIOS title, and the Lunatics themselves. The reason I bring up the Trios title, is because three of these teams competed for it (with partners) at the last show. I thought the Trios title was a great idea, and it was upsetting not to see it defended on this show. The Elm Street Kids were bounced out first in this elimination match. Out next was SVS/Burma. Berk/Z-Barr make quick work of TNT/JAV and start off in USA Pro as undefeated. Match seemed sloppy at times. More on the CZW wrestlers at the end of this report.
Tommy Trouble d. Erik Andretti
Note, from this part on, I joined DOI associate, Dexter Weiner on commentary, making this the first ever USA Pro show that I actually sat down and watched with no breaks. Now that’s a real iron man match lol
Tommy Trouble is a product of the IWF training school, headed up by Kevin Knight. He’s also the son of loyal USA Pro fan, Nick “Trouble”, and if his attitude is as good as his fathers, he will have a bright future in USA Pro. Andretti is another NJ wrestler, who has a solid muscular build. This match was good for a NJ show, but just ok for a NY show, if that makes sense. Tommy Trouble wins this match with a roll-up.
For the NEW USA Pro Womens Championship
Simply Luscious d. Sumie Sakai
This was a good match. Womens wrestling is really on fire in the northeast. Whether you’re watching the match for T and A or to appreciate good wrestling, you’ll find it all in most womens matches in the northeast. I thought that the two womens matches on the show were really good and hopefully USA pro capitalizes on it in the future. Sumie did her camel clutch, where she pulls the hair and switches hands before the ref can count her out at 5. Luscious, who was easily the favorite to win this match, based on USA Pro loyalty and exposure alone, indeed won this match, finishing off Sumie with a DVD. Luscious wins the USA Pro Womens championship, a championship I hope gets burn and not treated like the Trios title in May.
For the USA Pro Tag Team Championship
Simon Diamond/Matt Striker w/Becky Bayless d. (c) Mikey Whipwreck/Wayne w/Tara Charisma
This was a fun match to watch, with all 4 guys giving it their all. For whatever reason, the fan who dressed up as Michael Jackson decided to return in the same garb. Why someone would want to impersonate a child molester, I don’t know, maybe he got a thing for Macaully Caulkin. Mikey Whipwreck played to MJ in this one, and the crowd was going nuts for it. Unfortunately, the crowd was very quiet all night, and Michael Jackson fan got a bigger crowd reaction than most of the wrestlers. More on this at the end of the report. Finish saw Wayne go to throw powder at Striker, but instead hit Mikey with it. Striker then hits the lungblower, and Striker and he become the 2 time USA Pro Tag Team Champions. I thought this was a good match, but honestly, Mikey/Wayne were doing a great job holding the tag belts. They had the longest reign in the last 3 years, and brought some credibility back to the belts. Having them drop the belts to Simon and Striker (Two guys who are also worthy of the belts) really made no sense, considering there was no build up for this match. If anything, I thought this made the tag belts look weaker, and probably would’ve liked to see Simon/Striker win, if there was a story built up before the match.
Regardless, USA Pro is on WXW level when it comes to tag teams, with Simon/Striker at the top and teams like Mikey/wayne, CSC, DRS, SAT, Candido/Bam Bam, Berk/Z-Barr and Solution all involved in the mix.
Crazy Ivan was out next, and he ripped the deader than King Tut crowd. Ivan whipped out the n-bomb, and a various slew of racial slurs. Gotta love it. Don’t forget to buy a Crazy Ivan shirt from the Crazy Ivan merchandise table at the next USA Pro show. Zieg heil. After Ivan is done berating the crowd, he asks for anyone to answer his challenge. This sets up…
Crowbar d. Crazy Ivan
This was a really good match. Give credit to USA Pro for being one of the few promotions to give Ivan a match against a white person. Ivan hates blacks, latinos, chinese, and even honkys! Ivan was trying to beat sense into his fellow white man in this match. This was a wild match and Crowbar really turned it up in this. Crowbar wasn’t even advertised to be at the show. This was a display of great wrestling, coupled in with Ivan’s heel charisma. Crowbar hit a HUGE stalling suplex on Ivan, waking up the crowd. Crowbar wins this match with a northern lights suplex. While this might not be the best match in Crowbar’s career, this is a match that Crazy Ivan can always go back to, as he really turned it up here tonight.
For the newly reinstated USA PRO NY Championship
Tim Arson wins a battle royal to become the new NY Champion of USA Pro.
ORDER OF ENTRY
Pappalishus
Tim Arson
Envy
Chris Caliber
Danny Demanto
Johnny “Bison” Bravado
Dover
Amanda Violet
Dan Dynasty
Ken Scampi
J-Kronik
Pyscho from ESK w/Penny Dreadful
Danny Yamz from ESK
Rayza from ESK
Afato from ESK
Travis Blackchurch
Masked Lunatic
New Dynamite Kid w/the returning Johnny Diamond
Johnny Candido w/Chris Candido
Jimmy Hustler w/Mr Big
This was pretty much a clusterfuck of ticket sellers, the best talent from AWA and underused USA Pro Wrestlers. I was happy to see Dover make an appearance in USA Pro, I think he’s got alot of talent. Once everyone entered I think the obvious favorites were Tim Arson and Johnny Bravado, as this new title seems to represent the underrated of USA Pro. This started off as a battle royal, but the last 6 wrestlers wrestled a 6 pack challenge. The final 6 of this match were:
Johnny Candido vs Pappalishus vs Johnny Bravado vs New Dynamite Kid vs Tim Arson vs Jimmy Hustler
I also forgot to mention, during this insanity, The Masked Maniac made his first appearance. He was saying how much this match sucked, echoing alot of the crowds sentiment. He kept calling Tim Arson “Timmy Pimples.” Maniac then started chopping the shit out of Johnny Diamond on the outside, and The Maniac’s hotline (516-214-8333) cohost, Chris Candido joined in on the chopping. Maniac had the mic during the match, similar to Jerry Lawler when he used to wrestle jobbers on RAW a few years back in the middle of his Bret Hart feud. Back to the match, the order of elimination of the final 6 were:
Jimmy Hustler
New Dynamite Kid
Johnny Bravado (Who probably has the distinction of one of the few wrestlers to work battle royals for two different promotions back to back nights)
Johnny Candido
This set up …
Tim Arson d. Pappalishus to win the championship.
It was good that the first two guys lasted the longest. At least it makes the title somewhat respectable, even though the Masked Maniac was going off on the whole match. The match was better once the battle royal portion was over. One of the bright spots in this match, Ken Scampi, would be a perfect challenger to Arson’s newly won championship.
Prince Nana d. Shark Boy
PREMATCH: Nana cut a promo on the dead crowd.
Shark Boy, like Crowbar, was unadvertised for this show. The Long Island crowd, which was horrendous couldn’t care less. You think they would get loud for a local fish. Oh well. More on that later. This match was alright, and took a page out of CSWF’s book. Ken Scampi came out and netted Sharkboy, and Nana pinned a distracted Shark Boy. The Scampi-Sharkboy feud seems not only to be in New Jersey, but now in NY. Either way, it should produce good matches down the line.
For the number 1 contendership to the USA PRO Tag Team Championships
The Spanish Announce Team (Joel and Jose Maximo) d. The Solution (Papadon/Havok), The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz (EC Negro and KC Blade) and The Christopher Street Connection (Mace and Buff E)
This was originally billed to be a tables match, but it was changed at the last minute, most likely to the king of tables, Sabu, being on later in the show. This was a really good tag team match. I would of liked to see The Solution get the win, as there the only tandem out of the 4 never to recieve a USA Pro title shot, and it would inject new life into the title scene. For some reason, USA Pro is high on the SAT, despite several no-shows and disagreements. Since the SAT won, it probably would’ve made sense to have Mikey/Wayne to win their match, as they could’ve set up a feud that has a good backstory. Oh well. The DRS were eliminated first, courtesy of a Spanish fly by the SAT. Out next were the CSC who were eliminated via a problem solver from the Solution. This left The Solution vs The SAT, the first time these two teams ever met in a ring. Joel pins Papadon to win the match. Really good tag team match here by all four teams. It also makes the titles look like a valuable commodity, since all four teams fought hard. I would also like to see the Solution vs SAT straight up, since that has never been done before.
The Masked Maniac comes out again, and verbally rapes the dead crowd. It seemed that a Jersey crowd was implanted here tonight, as Long Island sat through most of the show somber all night.
The Masked Maniac d. Lizard Schlong 2
Ugh. Lizard Schlong was the poorest excuse for a ticket seller wrestler ever, and should be taken to the back and shot. While the Maniac is no Chris Daniels, he is entertaining, and his opponent did nothing to bring that out of the Maniac. Maniac wins this match after a clothesline, hopefully ending the career of Lizard Schlong.
The St. Valentines Day Beauty Pagaent was up next, and boy what a mess did it turn into. What originally was billed as a “Fans pick the winner”, it just turned into a big Knightlife parade. While I thought what happened with Knightlife was good, it could’ve been done in another segment, as this segment was supposed to be for the fans. Striker as MC, with Tony Lo as his cornerman, was alright, but I know that myself and others wanted to see The Masked Maniac get in there and berate everyone lol.
Striker hosted this gig and brought out all the women. Here is the order of entry:
Miss Michelle- her talent was wearing a pink bikini made famous on icwzone.com
Penny Dreadful- her talent was that she could roll a blunt. In related news, Zevon shot a load watching this.
Amanda violet- her talent was that she was tough as nails, and stapled a dollar bill to her head. Striker seemed legit respectful, and said so himself.
Christopher Street Connection- their talent was that they kiss each other, and demonstrated it in ring. If this was any other fed than USA Pro, or to be more fair, anywhere else but Long Island, the crowd would’ve went nuts.
Bobcat- Her talent was that she was really hot
Becky Bayless- She said that Striker knew what her talent was. I take that to be a sexual innuendo. Heynow.
Dana Dameson- Her talent was that she takes her clothes off.
Striker kicks everyone out of the ring, except for Dana Dameson and Becky Bayless. He even kicked out Miss Michelle which woke up the dead crowd as chants of “BULLSHIT” broke out. We were left to Becky Bayless and Dana Dameson. Striker makes Becky Bayless the winner of this shindig. This brings out Billy Reil. Billy Reil says that “Strikervision” is over and now it’s time for the REIL WORLD. (More on the Reilworld in Lapdance magazine and here on the DOI site) Reil goes off, and I for one was happy to see the real Billy Reil in the ring. Billy Reil says the only reason these two were left in the finals is because he cheated on Becky Bayless with Dana Dameson back in early 2003. He calls Dana a rat and makes her bark like a dog, similar to what Vince McMahon did to Trish Stratus in the winter of 2001. Dana barks like a dog in the corner, while only being in a bikini. Dana tells him to stop and that she’s only 16! 16! That be statuatory rape, no matter if it was consentiual or not! Reil fucking flips out when he hears this. Reil calls her a pig and a rat and throws her to the canvas, and kicks her out of the ring. I don’t think Dana knew this was going to happen, and if she did, well then she deserves a Golden Globe, to go along with the other two on her chest. This leads to the rest of Knightlife, Simon Diamond, Mike Kruel, Mike Tobin coming out. The whole Knightlife are arguing. Tobin gets the mic and is a man with a mission. He says bringing back Mike Kruel to Knightlife was a horrible decision. He fires him. Striker goes to talk sense to Tobin, but Tobin flips him off and fires him too. The godfather of Knightlife, Simon Diamond says hold up, no one isn’t getting fired here, but Tobin won’t hear any of it. Knightlife looks like it’s going the way of the nWo as we got Knightlife white and Knightlife Wolfpac. The sides are Striker/Simon/Kruel w/Becky and Billy Reil/Mike Tobin/Tony Lo. If you ask me, the latter version is what made Knightlife and is the more fiery of the groups. Tobin challenges Mike Kruel for the US Championship, a belt that he shouldn’t be having anyway, because Billy Reil was stripped of it the last show so he could attend the birth of his baby. (Tobin’s words and a sentiment I agree with) Kruel accepts.
Like Mike Zevon said on this site, this beauty pagaent was all botched. It was supposed to be a fan thing. I know fans donated money to this, as it was supposed to go to the winner to add an extra payday. I know I donated money myself (88 cents lol) and that Funker had 200 of his own cash. I thought changing it fucking sucked. Miss Michelle could’ve went home at least $200.88 cents richer, as she was obviously the fan favorite. However, the Knightlife breaking up was good stuff. Mike Tobin and Billy Reil as equals on one side looks really strong. Mike Tobin showed off strong mic skills, something you don’t see Tobin do in other feds really. Reil being himself, just wilding out was great. Dana looked like she was legit scared. Striker/Simon are a great tag team and probably better off without Knightlife. Kruel has 0 personality and should be thrown with the Christopher Street Connection or someone else who are oozing charisma. Maybe that ooze will drip off onto him.
Overall an angle that should’ve been put on. The pageant should’ve never been fucked with and the loyal USA Pro fans were turned off.
An intermission as announced next, but was called off right away. The fans started to leave anyway as the show was already 3 hours old at this point.
Billy Reil w/Tobin and Tony Lo d. The Sandman
Fresh after insulting Dana and reinvigorating Knightlife, Reil picked up a humongous win, defeating the former ECW heavyweight Champion. Sandman took about 10 minutes to get in the ring. This was your typical Sandman match. Ref Andre, who did not have a great showing fucked up the finish, as Billy Reil hit his DVD finisher on the Sandman. Andre hit the mat two times, went down for a third and ended the match without making contact with the ring. I know refereeing is harder than it looks, but missing the mat is inexcusable. It’s only a matter of your hand following the law of gravity. Boo to you Ref Andre, you’re better than this. Ref Andre is actually a decent referee in NYWC, but to fans seeing him for the first time in USA Pro, Mike Zevon included, he gave a piss poor performance. Reil wins the match by a phantom pinfall.
POSTMATCH: Sandman says the only reason he lost is because a shitty referee. That’s pretty much the exclamation point in all of this.
For the xtreme Title
(c) Deranged w/EC Negro d. Slyk Wagner Brown w/April Hunter, Sonjay Dutt, and Xavier
Why only EC Negro of the DRS accompanied Deranged, and KC Blade did not, is a good question, with a bad answer. Hanging out at the concession stand while your partner is out there, and your stablemate is wrestling is awful. Just another miscue of many in this show. What’s up with all the four ways? USA Pro needs to stop having these stupid stipulations. The stipulation of this match was that you had to pin everyone in the match to win. With a show already going to the 6 hour mark, this stipulation wasn’t needed. You got four great wrestlers who can put one hell of a match on. Wasting them in a 4 pinfall match is bad booking. Every pinfall means nothing and just devalues the wrestlers as Deranged got pinned two times himself. Pinning up fluke pinfalls is horrible. This match, while featuring great wrestlers, was like watching chickens run with their heads lopped off. It was pointless. After trading alot of falls, Deranged wins this match after pinning Sonjay. Match would’ve been 100 times better if it was just one pinfall. There’s nothing “Xtreme” about having 10 pinfalls in one match, and it wears down and alienates the audience.
For the USA Pro United States Championship
Mike Tobin d. Mike Kruel
In what I thought was the darkhorse match of the night, Tobin wins his first singles gold since the retirement of Danny Drake and the Boogie Knights. Zevon said in his review that this was the most memorable match and had significant importance. I agree with my fellow DOI editor 100%. I was happy to see Mike Tobin win the second biggest belt in USA Pro, as he really has made strides since going singles. Winning important matches in WXW. Having stand out matches in LXW. Wrestling one of the best matches of his career against John Walters in SSCW. Tonight, he put on one hell of a fucking match beating the ECWA Heavyweight Champion cleanly with a small package. Give credit to Kruel too, he wrestled his same style match, as he worked Tobin’s left arm the whole match as he was trying to get on his fujiwara armbar. Mike Kruel could be one of the best wrestlers on the indies, but until he gets a character, keep giving me more Mike Tobin, Billy Reil and fuck even The Masked Maniac. Excellent match here that hopefully will mean something in future USA PW shows.
In the match I was looking most forward to…
Sabu/Jimmy Snuka d. Mexicos Most Wanted (Damien 666/Halloween)
This was strictly about legends and just watching masters of the wrestling craft go all out. Say what you want about Snuka, but despite his age, he can still put on a decent match. This was an entertaining match. Unfortunately, a table brought in by Sabu, collapsed as he placed Halloween on it. The crowd didn’t like it, and it did hamper the match a bit. Sabu tried to make something of it, by throwing the table at Halloweens head, but it was already snapped in half. Snuka his the superfly splash on Halloween for the 1-2-3. Up next? Hopefully Snuka/Sabu.
Brian XL d. Ruckus
Really good match, that no one cared about because the show was already near 5 hours long. Everyone knows USA Pro has long shows, but Long Island did not, and it showed. Both men can make an impact in USA PW. The last ever USA Pro Gauntlet champion wins this match in his comeback, after an edgeomatic slam. Ruckus looked really good here as well.
Grim Reefer d. Low Life Louie Ramos
Special Referee: The Hardcore Ref, The Motivator
Easily the best WRESTLING match Low Life Louie has ever had in the past year. Reefer really brought out the best wrestling in Louie, and Louie brought out the sadism in Grim Reefer. This was a really great match that saw Reefer use a power drill in Louies forehead and Louie bring out a barbed wire baseball bat and thumbtacks. During the match, Reefer fucking DRILLED the Motivator with the barbedwire baseball bat, knocking off all the barbed wire from the bat and turning Motivators head into a hairline fracture. Reefer had the offensive for most of the match, but Louie mounted a comeback, even DVDing Reefer. All of a sudden, Tobin, Reil and Tony Lo interfere and jump Louie. Reefer puts on the crossface, using the barbedwire baseball bat as the object holding up Louies face. Motivator lifts up Louie’s hand three times, and Louie’s hand hits the mat three times, giving Reefer the knockout victory.
POSTMATCH: Grim Reefer joins the new Knightlife. That should be fucking interesting. Afterwards, security guards, under police orders (That’s what I was told…) chase Billy Reil and handcuff him down. The security guards escort Billy Reil out of the building and presumably Billy Reil was arrested. For what I don’t know, but if I was a betting man, I’d say that he was arrested for having sex with a minor. (Dana.) This was brilliant booking and fucking finally, USA Pro has a great storyline going on.
Up next was supposed to be Chris Candido/Bam Bam Bigelow vs Balls Mahoney/Axl Rotten. According to Frank Goodman, USA Pro owner, Bam Bam Bigelows car broke down on the Verrazano bridge and he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the show. This set up…
Balls Mahoney d. Axl Rotten and Chris Candido w/Tammy Sytch
This was a three way dance. Axl Rotten was out first, and the match got better with his elimination. Balls vs Candido was a good match. For some reason, Axl got laid out and was pinned after taking a Tammy Sytch Stunner. If a stunner from Tammy Sytch lays out Axl Rotten, then Tammy Sytch should be going for the USA Pro title. Sytch goes to kick Balls in the balls, Mike Trash style, but Balls blocks it, gets Tammy out of the way, and hits the Nutcracker Suite on Chris Candido for the 1-2-3. Good match, that again was hampered by a dead ass crowd.
2 1/2 hours of typing later….
For the USA Pro Heavyweight Championship
Shane Douglas d. (c) Raven to become the new USA Pro Heavyweight Champ
Eh match, that would’ve been 10 times better if it we were in 1998. Candido and Sytch interfered in this match. Where was the Flock? Mikey/Wayne/Tara were no where to be found, despite accompanying Raven and saving Raven’s title on numerous occassions. Tammy again hit another Sytch stunner, laying out Raven. I don’t get that. Douglas pins Raven after hitting him with a chain. What is this ECW circa Spring 1997?
POSTMATCH: Douglas celebrates with the Triple Threat. Candido looked legit busted up in the nasal area, I didn’t catch it when it happened, but it looked bad. Sandman ran in and made the save, even spanking Tammy. The triple threat bail from the ring. Raven said you killed my chances of being the longest reigning USA Pro Champion and being the first champion to hold the belt for more than a year. (Not true, Tito Santana held it for three years.) Douglas laughs. Raven said on May 14, 2004, at Club Amazura in Jamiaca, NY, he is challenging Shane Douglas in a rematch for his World title. But this time there won’t be any interference as he’s challenging him a in a steel cage match. The crowd somewhat woke up when they heard that. This closed the show.
Final McWord
Whewwwwwwwwww where do you begin?
First let me get the shout outs of the way. It was great seeing the loyal USA pro and DOI fans in the crowd and talking with Abby the Ivan Fanatic lol, Melissa, Megan, Laila, Pinkie, the ICWzone.com table, (Liz, Elaine and Demanto), Nick, the DOI crew, “Bladegelo”, Dexter, Good ole Fat Bastard, Mr. DOI Connecticut Adam Dolan, DerangedER, Matt Zombie, Funker, and a couple of fans I met for the first time who said they liked the DOI. Well thanks for reading it, I hope you’re still reading this as I enter this report into page 20 in Microsoft Word.
I thought Mike Zevon summed up things nicely in his report, and mentioned how there was no bell. The bell was stolen from USA Pro, but at the same time two metallic objects clanking against each other would’ve been suffice. Regardless, bell or no bell, that is a simple problem that will be solved very easily come next show.
I gotta say that the whole new Knightlife thing was a long thing coming and a great way to kick off 2004. Tobin as the US champion was a wise move. Everything with Billy Reil was gold. Big kudos to whoever booked the subsequent arrest. I really hope USA Pro follows that up. Billy Reil, despite being a FUCKING WILDMAN, makes things interesting.
I’m a Long Islander, and I’m ashamed of the crowd. Lots of wrestling fans whine and say how come there are no shows in Long Island. Outside of NYWC, it’s impossible to run Long Island because while you can draw a crowd (Usually full of people from Queens) the crowd is dead. I think USA Pro will have to go to a new venue because the crowd was just awful. When Michael Jackson gets a bigger pop than 90% of the audience, there is a problem. I think USA Pro will be more successful at their next show, attendance and crowd reaction wise, when they return to Queens. While other promotions have ran in Club Amazura, and the results weren’t perfect, USA pro does have a huge Queens fanbase that I believe will come out for it.
It also seems USA Pro is running fewer and fewer shows, as Frank Goodman moves to Florida. This is not a good thing, as Shane Douglas will be a 3 month USA Pro World Champion by the time he defends it. The year will be half over, and USA Pro will only have run two shows, compared to the 5 it ran just a year ago in 2003. As a New Yorker, this sucks, and as a fan of pro wrestling, it sucks.
Way too many four way elimination matches in this show. This needs to be cut down. USA Pro does have the most impressive roster, now featuring the best lucha libre, a joshi wrestler, the biggest indy names, the best indy talent, and up and coming indy talent. They need to find a better way to cut down matches and eliminate too many of the same style of matches, such as having four 4 way matches tonight.
Quickly, running down the USA Pro Champions, we see: Heavyweight- Shane Douglas
Tag- Simon/Striker
United States- Mike Tobin
Xtreme- Deranged
NY- Tim Arson
Womens- Simply Luscious
Triad- Los Lunatics
That’s seven fucking titles. If you can’t even have the Triad champions show up, a title that was formed last show, can you guarantee having your 7 champions at every show? There might be too many titles in USA Pro. I hope that some titles don’t go on the back burner because of overexposure of gold. Using the same title for the Womens, NY and World was also a bad move. Hopefully USA Pro can get their own championships made up.
It seems that USA Pro will stick to the big names winning the Heavyweight Championship with the indy guys wrestling for everything else. Shane Douglas winning the title in his second appearance, while making sense storyline wise, might turn off some of the loyal USA Pro mainstays.
USA Pro has the best tag division in the indies today, with WXW right there with them. I hope that tag teams will be given storylines and having meanings for their matches. The four way between the three letter teams and The Solution was a great match and should spice up the tag team scene.
Ref Andre might be nervous in a USA pro ring, but not slapping the mat is inexcusable. Yes it’s a mistake, but if it happens all night, it tweaks the show. The Motivator, while not having the best hygeine in the world, knows what he’s doing, and should give up the wrestling and maybe become a regular referee under the USA PW Banner.
Whoever tried fucking with the building, in regards to the CZW wrestlers is a moron. I thought all the CZW wrestlers, especially Sonjay and Ruckus, brought something new to USA PW and looked really good. Berk/Zbarr, while I don’t think are needed with an already jammed tag team roster, can contribute as well.
The womens division has been established in USA Pro. I’m hoping it’s treated right and given a chance to shine. It would be a shame for all the women USA Pro has, if it becomes forgotten and falters.
It may pain USA Pro to do this, but some wrestlers need to go. USA pro has made it public that there are alot of problems in the locker room, and they need to take these next three months and sort everything out. It really did affect some of the show, and less wrestlers will equal more money for USA PW which will also make the show lesser in length. USA Pro fans have accepted long shows, but at the same time USA PRO should be trying to cut things.
Kudos to Reefer and Louie for telling a hell of a story in their match.
I mentioned the beauty pageant, and I think USA Pro dropped the ball on it. The Knightlife angle could’ve taken place elsewhere on the show.
I hope Crazy Ivan gets more matches like tonight, as he proved he can hang with wrestlers, and doesn’t neccessarily need to be wrestling people who aren’t white.
How come smelly randy didn’t get a hotdog for old times sake? LOL
Overall
While there were many problems at this show, I thought it was a decent outing. Some things need to be addressed and Frank Goodman said they will. May 14 will be a test to that. I said it once, and I’ll say it again, “USA Pro should be the number 2 promotion in the United States today.” The fact that there is some hick promotion in TN as the number 2 promotion is overwhelming, when the largest city in the world isn’t even represented as a viable candidate. ROH is big now too, but USA Pro has got all facets of wrestling. With alot of dedication and with a drive, I can really see USA pro as a top company, and stay tuned to the DOI website, for McPinions where I will talk about what can be done to make USA PRO a top promotion.
