In a phone conversation with 3PW General Manager, Mike Hawes, the DOI was told that 3PW is no longer in existence and is done running wrestling shows.

Mike Hawes told the DOI many reasons why 3PW shut down. A main reason, was that Mike, who was new to this area, felt hosed by the people around him. In the limited time he was in 3PW, Mike Hawes invested & lost $25,000. Some of the money lost went to Jasmin St. Claire, who receieved a settlement from the company for rights to the name and operations. Jasmin, who made more money from and by 3PW, than anyone else, saw the company fall into a complete state of disarray when she no-showed several events during the end of her tenure. Mike, who tried his best to hold the damage under control, was never successful, and continued losing money every show.

Mike also expressed his displeasure in the Rockin Rebel. (Real name: Chuck Williams). Mike said he felt bribed and even hinted he was blackmailed by the Rockin Rebel, when Rebel wanted to defend himself against Mike Hawes for firing Rebel publicily.

Mike also told the DOI that his relationship with The Blue Meanie (Real name: Brian Hefferon) suffered and soured when The Blue Meanie returned to the WWE. Meanie has made it clear to the DOI that he just wanted to book, and not deal with the politics of promoting wrestling. Mike said Meanie hardly contacted him about 3PW once Meanie went back to the WWE. Mike said that he hasn't talked to Meanie in months and could care less about The Meanie, and said that the next time he talks to Meanie, it will only be if Meanie calls him.

Mike Hawes, who sounded upset about not being able to make 3PW a success said that Philadelphia fans were jaded and that Philly doesn't get the same crowds that it used to. Mike cited Hardcore Homecoming as the only show Philly fans want to see, as the fans wanted to relive ECW. Mike cited low crowd numbers at the ECW arena for CZW, Chikara and IWS as proof, that Philly fans won't come out as much as they used to. Mike said Philly was oversaturated, and it's impossible to make a living or a substantial profit off of wrestling in Philadelphia.

Richard McDonald, the man with the money behind 3PW, is also undergoing several health problems. Richard, who also felt hosed by the people that Mike surrounded himself with, ultimately made the call to pull the plug on the tanking 3PW and take care of his health.

Mike said he's currently getting his life together in California, and is done with the wrestling business for now. Mike didn't rule out running a wrestling show in California in the future, but it won't be done in the immediate future. Mike told the DOI that he really cared about most of the people who worked for him and told the DOI that The Messiah, Monsta Mack, CJ O'Doyle, Slyck Wagner Brown, Johnny Kashmere, Rob Feinstein, Trent Acid and a few others really helped him out during his time in 3PW. He said he wishes all those people the best in the wrestling business. Mike also said he hopes that either JAPW (who has had success in the arena) or PWU are able to fill the "third Saturday of the month" void for Philly wrestling fans, but warns that it's a difficult task to make money in Philadelphia.

Mike expressed his disgust in 3PW's last show and how it was run. He said he felt that he could never get his vision off of the ground. Mike wanted more extreme type matches, and didn't get that from some of the wrestlers and his booking staff. Mike also said that the Meanie wouldn't book T & A, after being told to, and said that "I've seen more pussy at a West Hollywood Gay Bar than I did at a 3PW show." Why Mike was in a West Hollywood gay bar wasn't explained to the DOI, but Mike's point of 3PW not catering to the older male audience did get across.

Mike told the DOI that he would be putting out a press release about 3PW's demise soon. He said he thanks all the fans that supported him and is truly sorry that he is forced to close the company down. Mike still owns all the rights and footage to 3PW, and may still continue to release DVD's in national retail outlets. (Perhaps a best of Matt Striker will sell good, considering that Matt is now in the WWE?)

Mike, who never truly understood what he was getting himself into, described this experience as a $25,000 college degree in the wrestling business, except at the end you don't get a paper or a graduation ceremony. Mike said if he does run another promotion in his homestate of California, he would know what to do, and what to look for in people before doing business with them.

To me, it is truly sad that 3PW is closing down, as they were one of my favorite promotions to attend. The promotion definitely lost some of its spark and fire when former booker, Tod Gordon, left the company in January. It also didn't run the same without Jasmin St. Claire. It's a shame, that Mike never really got the chance to do what he wanted, as he was definitely all about the fans, and just got mixed up with some wrong people.

3PW definitely had some great moments. I do think that Mike and 3PW could make some money with several DVD projects. A Best-Of Matt Striker DVD, A Best-Of The 3PW Heavyweight Title, and a Best of 3PW: Brawls, Blood and Brawl (highlighting Terry Funk, Sabu, Sandman etc) would all sell well. It's a shame that the company didn't make money and will no longer be around.

Perhaps the biggest victim in all of this is The Blue Meanie. The Meanie, who was around with the company from day one till the end, saw the promotion that he did everything for, and get heat for things that others did, watches the doors close on the company, without being able to do anything about it. However, it looked like Meanie knew the handwriting was on the wall, as he accepted Hardcore Homecoming's 9/17 date, despite that being the tentative date of 3PW's return show.

I do think 3PW was underappreciated for a while, due to some of the actions from Jasmin towards the end of her tenure there. 3PW was a different product, that had alot of fun times. It will be missed by me, but for some reason, I don't see it being missed by others. However, sometimes you don't know what you got till it's gone, and I think that will apply to some fans.

3PW, who didn't have the best indy shows towards the end, but definitely provided alot of great indy moments, will probably be remembered as a political mess, but it should be remembered as the first promotion to bring back the ECW memories. It was also the first promotion to give Chris Daniels a Philadelphia Heavyweight Championship. It was the promotion that gave us the hilarity of Matt Striker. It was the promotion that allowed us to see our hero's again, like Terry Funk, Sabu, Sandman, Abdullah The Butcher, and others, when no one else was using them. It gave us more T & A and hilarious parodies, when no one else on the market was doing it, with Jasmin St Claire, Missy Hyatt, Nicole Bass, Gorgeous George and others. 3PW had its highs and it had its lows, but at the end, it was just impossible to crawl out of the lowest hole ever dug.

RIP 3PW. Another company becomes victim to the wrestling game.

We'll print Mike Hawes eventual statement/press release as soon as the DOI recieves it.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com