From March 29, 2003:
Final McWord
Another solid outing by the NYWC. For 8 bucks, you should check it out. A lot of hot indy talent are on these shows, from The Solution to Reefer to Ova to Barry.

From April 26, 2003:
Final McWord
NYWC is still the best promotion for your dollar. At only 8 dollar a ticket, you are guaranteed one holy shit match of the night, as this night was no different with Barry/Reefer.

From June 7th, 2003:
Final McWord
4/4. 4 shows, all 4 being great. I’m really impressed by the NYWC. Some great matches here. Also 4/4 in holy shit moments, as the whole Reefer/Barry match, and the Livewyre sendoff won’t be forgotten.

From August 16th, 2003
Final McWord
Would I come back? Hell fucking yea, as NYWC always leaves you with something to remember from Livewyre/Mayhem to Livewyre send off, to Barry/Ova to Barry/Reefer to Slingblade Carl/bottom ring rope etc. Show was great for the NYWC fan, but not so hot for the common indy fan is the best way to put it. Check them out though, you will really have a fun time and see some great wrestling.

From September 27th, 2003
Final McWord
Overall another great outing by NYWC. I thought it was the 2nd or 3rd best show by NYWC.

From November 22nd, 2003
Final McWord
I think NYWC have really made a difference on the NY indy scene, as many new faces were at this show, and the attendance has continued to rise. There is no better way to spend 10 bucks in the NY Wrestling world today. For a fed that hasn’t even been around a year yet, to continue to produce good shows, and now bringing in big name indy talent (SAT/Mikey), who are probably not even needed, but just a bonus for the fans, is outstanding.

From January 10th, 2004
Final McWord
Could NYWC ever be the number 1 promotion in NY? With excellent storylines, great wrestlers, and more Triple H references than one can possibly make, and with last nights events, they are definitely on the right path.

From May 8th, 2004
Final McWord
A great show. Another solid outing by NYWC that has left alot of interest and questions for the next show, and more importantly, leaving you wanting more and wanting to know what happens next.

From July 24th, 2004
Final McWord
Definitely one of the best NYWC shows to take place.... as NYWC only let the best wrestlers from their company (and a few others) have matches, while some of the less established guys were in the battle royal. NYWC continues to have strong shows and gives alot of bang for your buck.

John Curse, this week, in numerous telephone calls to NYWC Wrestlers and Frank Goodman:
"The MiC is out to get us."

What up everyone and welcome to another McPinions column here on the DOI site. As much as I don't want to waste my time writing about meaningless drivel, I feel that I need to write this to let some fans, wrestlers and promoters know where I stand on the whole NYWC/USA PW issue. I am getting alot of emails, ims and phone calls about it, so I figure I'll write this column, so I only have to say everything once.

Recently, the heat between the two best promotions in NY, USA Pro Wrestling, run by Frank Goodman and the New York Wrestling Connection, headed up by Greg Stengel and John Curse, has escalated. Why was there ever heat in the first place? Well, here are the answers:

Why NYWC has heat with USA Pro Wrestling
-USA PW uses their wrestlers in a ticket selling role, and doesn't give them much of a push.
-Frank Goodman is very animated and holds nothing back when discussing the NYWC on his hotline.
-Frank Goodman continuously calls NYWC, a "ticket seller" promotion, when he in fact, uses ticket sellers himself.
-Frank Goodman makes homegrown NYWC guys sell tickets to wrestle on his shows.

Why USA Pro Wrestling has heat with NYWC
-John Curse bad mouths and blames Frank blindly for many things, and it gets back to Frank
-Greg Stengel tells Frank that it's John Curse who has blocked USA PW from returning to the Deer Park Community Center, where NYWC holds their monthly shows.
-NYWC Management tell their guys to stop selling tickets for USA PW, thus taking money out of Goodmans pockets.
-Everytime their is a negative message board post about NYWC, Goodman automatically gets blamed, either directly or indirectly. Some responses include, "Ok Frank" or "At least we don't run 6 hour marathon shows."

John Curse from NYWC is apparently telling alot of people that I hate NYWC. I challenge anyone to go back in my NYWC show review history, and find where I said "I hate NYWC." If anything, I have been more than leniet, when it comes to reviewing NYWC. Countless times I would give NYWC a positive show review, only to get a couple emails from wrestlers on the show and some fans saying "The show wasn't as great as you made it out to be." I supported NYWC and wanted to see NYWC do good. I wanted to see NYWC make a difference because they are a NY fed, and NY needs good wrestling, as it sucks that alot of good shows take 2-3 hours to get to. NYWC had potential, and still do, to be a big role player in indy wrestling. They have good homegrown talent in people like Dan Barry, Livewyre (Who has since went to OVW), Plazma, Johnny Ova (Who is wrestling on Jesus Christ Championship Wrestling tours), Tyler Payne (Who has since become a cop and works NYWC exclusively) and others. There are alot of wack guys to come through the NYWC promotion in the past, and there are wack guys today. But that comes with the territory. I enjoyed NYWC shows, and talking about NYWC with people. NYWC, at 10 dollars a show, is a great bargain.

Recently however, NYWC has showed signs of paranoia and craziness. The last NYWC show took place on September 25th, 2004. I couldn't make it, as I already committed going to Pro Wrestling Unplugged's debut show. A fan, who I casually talk to at some shows and on IM, J.D., asked if he could review the NYWC show, since I wouldn't be going. Figuring I wanted to give NYWC coverage, since I can't be in two places at once, and Mikey just had the baby and he couldn't go, I said "Yes, definitely." With Slingblade Carl, who used to review NYWC shows on this site, no longer going to NYWC, as he pursues his reffing career in AWA, I thought giving someone new a shot to review shows on the DOI would be a good thing. After all, it would take some workload off of me, and instead of having 1 review on 9/25, I'd have 2 shows recapped that took place on 9/25. I didn't tell J.D. what to write. I didn't tell J.D. to go ask Curse if it was ok to review his show. I told J.D. just to give me a review from a fan's perspective. The review, which can be read by clicking here , wasn't professionally done. It had typos, grammar errors, and matches were out of order. I guess he learned from me, haha. In all seriousness though, the review looked like it was typed by a monkey. I told J.D. that, and he didn't realize what he wrote was hard to read. He said he didn't care, so being super busy, I didn't edit it. After reading the review, and seeing how it was generally a negative review, I figured if I cleaned it all up, it would make J.D.'s points more valid, because getting someone to believe your writing and to side with your opinions, is all in how it's presented. So I didn't edit it. I put up J.D.'s review as is. And I have to say, it was one of the most controversial reviews ever on the site, as I have recieved so much feedback on it. J.D. is laughing at all the chaos he caused, and never meant to create such an uproar. Now that he has, he thinks its funny that PROFESSIONAL wrestlers and PROFESSIONAL wrestling promoters are all in a tizzy fit.

I got some complaints from NYWC wrestlers and John Curse about the review. First they said the person was a 12 year old. I told them that J.D. was actually 26 or 27. They said that J.D. wasn't even at the show. Then how did he review it? Some NYWC wrestlers even wanted the review pulled down! They wanted to censor the fans of the DOI of a negative review. It's funny that they would complain about a fan review. Some wrestlers said it was a "mark" who wrote it so it should be taken down. Such great attitude from the elite in NYWC. How hypocritical, like usual, from the NYWC staff to complain about a fan review. It wasn't that long ago that Slingblade Carl wrote sugary sweet positive NYWC reviews, that NYWC decided to let Slingblade Carl write for NYWCwrestling.com as the official show reviewer, after his work on the DOI. NYWC had no complaints about Slingblade Carl writing great reviews of some shows which I thought were exaggerated in his reviews. NYWC had no problems with Slingblade Carl praising them as the best thing in pro wrestling. But, when J.D., another fan gives a different opinion, NYWC goes tipsy turvy and bonkers about it. You guys are in wrestling and supposed to have thick skins. Do you think movie producers and actors go nuts everytime they see a bad review? Do you think movie producers and actors ask editors to take down reviews from the public? Of course not, because it is ludicrous. How can one's opinion be wrong? This is the first example of NYWC being nothing but self-serving hypocrites.

Throughout this last week, negative posts started popping up about Frank Goodman. Whenever something bad happens or something bad is talked about NYWC, Frank automatically gets blamed. Frank has the reputation, so whether he does anything or not, he will get blamed. I go through the same thing with the message board, even though I hardly post anymore. (Do the math: working, doing the majority of the site updates and writing original material, partying and having a life doesn't leave enough time for fake posting. I don't have the same time to work on my fake posting skills as I used to.) So Frank is getting blamed and questioned about the review. NYWC flips out about the review and bashes J.D. on the message boards. In retaliation, J.D., his friends and others, bash NYWC back. Negative things are said about John Curse and Greg Stengel. John Curse, who has told Frank Goodman that he has a "gook wife", just like Frank, is very upset that someone wrote that he had a "gook" wife. Then guess what, no one knows what your wife looks like or even if you were married before you said that to Frank, and Frank said it on the hotline, so don't get angry when people say it either. Curse, who I thought, had a good sense of humor, is going nuts about the message board. How so? Well let's take a look at an email recieved from John Curse:

The following email was sent to JR, who is the new DOI board moderator. I can't deal with whiny bitches complaining about the message board, so the DOI hired someone annonymously to moderate the message board. This way, whenever someone complains, I tell them to deal with JR. And since JR doesn't go to wrestling shows, he doesn't have to see these people face to face, and waste time listening to complaints. It also let's me do the show reviews without having to hear someone complain about what's written on a message board.

I recommend you remove any posts that are libelous/ slanderous/ or defame my character or I will seek legal counsel.
Thank You, John Curcie (John Curse)

John Curse later talked to me on IM, and said he would get a lawyer to look at the message board as well. This is the same John Curse who BASHED and DESTROYED Bobby Reidel to me, when Bobby threatened to sue the DOI message board. I remember Curse saying words like "fag", "asshole", and "coward" when describing someone who wanted to sue a message board. I remember Curse RIPPING Carmine Sabia, when Carmine threatened to sue the message board. Words like "prick", "loser" and "bubble-boy" were said by Curse. Now Curse makes the same meaningless threat about suing the message board. I'm sure a bunch of people have a few choice words for him, but for now, I will just call Curse "hypocrite". (Quick Note: Bobby and Carmine never sued the message board, and lightened up when they saw how ridiculous suing a board was. Also for the record, someone else tried suing the message board, and it was thrown out in court. You can't sue a message board for annonymous posts, so the DOI doesn't have to worry about legal action on a message board, that doesn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things.)

So John Curse will probably make more legal threats, and why? Because of a bad review! Because of message board posts that say "NYWC Sucks". JR forwarded me no less than 20 emails that Curse sent him. 20 FUCKING emails complaining about the message board. If Curse has that much time to complain and read the board, then I truly wonder what the future is for NYWC. You can't sue someone for an opinion.

In more Curse hypocrite news, John Curse would tell me how great anti-Frankie Starz, Bobby Reidel, Johnny Ova and Carmine Sabia posts were. And yes, those posts were great and funny. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, and he pissed off J.D., and Curse is getting bashed for having a bad show in some fans eyes, Curse is all bent out of shape. It's great when you're reading about people getting bashed, but it's not great to be bashed yourself. Everyone is subjected to being bashed, as that is the nature of internet message boards. I have been bashed myself, and have been called everything from a pedophile to a drug addict to a kiss-ass. Do I care? No! It's a fucking message board! It's one persons opinion and just a way to rile you up. If you let it rile you up, then you only make it worse for yourself.

Since John Curse wants to tell everyone that The MiC is causing all this trouble, maybe I should let him speak some truth, as I will tell some NYWC secrets that some people may not know.

Remember World-1? Steve Corino's Zero-1 off shoot promotion? They were supposed to run on 2/7/04 at the Deer Park Commmunity Center, where NYWC runs shows. The story was covered in depth all over the internet, that World-1 was going to be this big promotion and would run in NY. Every NY fan loved it and was looking forward to seeing a different product that wasn't USA PW or NYWC in NY. Corino asked Greg Stengel, who has the NY promoters license in NYWC, and also does the building rentals for NYWC, if he could use his license. Stengel, a businessman, said yes to Corino, and it was set that Corino would just have to do the promoting and run his show. Stengel would have to take of the business end of it, and would have to deal with the commission, do the paperwork and be at the show, since his license was being used. The deal was running smoothly, until John Curse found out. When Curse found out, he was angry at Stengel. Curse was upset because he didn't want another product in the same building, because let's face it, World 1 had better shows than NYWC. If World 1 had a kick-ass show, then it would make NYWC look cheap in front of the same fans. Stengel, not wanting heat with Curse, decided to give in to Curse. So what happened? Stengel didn't do the necessary paper work for the show, and Frank Goodman got blamed for shutting down the show. Corino was told Goodman did it. This story was covered by many internet sites when it happened. Goodmans name eventually was cleared by internet reporters, but it never came out that it was Curse who forced Stengel to pull out of the show until now. And yes, I've double checked this story with various sources.

In another move of fear of competition, John Curse also put the kabosh on USA Pro from returning to the Deer Park Community Center. If you remember, USA PW used to run in Deer Park all the time. They had about 6-7 shows there, before NYWC was ever created. Knowing that it is a good venue for wrestling, Goodman asked Stengel about running there. Stengel's response, "I am not allowed because John wants the building exclusively." This makes sense for John, and I do see his views, but don't be fooled, Curse is a business man too. He knew that either USA Pro would hurt NYWC either way. If USA Pro went there, NYWC shows would either look weak in comparison, or the building will be killed, because NYWC are trained to sit for normal length shows. Goodman offered 2600 dollars, which is more than quadruple what he used to pay, in rent for the building, and instead of taking the 2600, and reinvesting it back it to NYWC, NYWC told Goodman that they weren't interested. With virtually maybe 4 buildings interested in having wrestling, this doesn't bode well for the NY indy fan, when two promotions can't get along like this.

I still can't believe I'm writing this column. It all stems from the NYWC staff being angry over a negative fan review. Do you think George Steinbrenner gets angry and threatens to sue people whenever people say he is a two-faced devil? Do you think Ty Willingham goes nuts everytime someone questions his credentials as the head coach of Notre Dame? Yes the internet has a voice, but it's the reactions that determine how loud that voice is heard. Will I let J.D. write show reviews again? Sure, as long as it's clearly written, unlike his last review, then he's welcome to review shows.

Since this whole mess, people are asking me what I think about NYWC. I still feel the same about them as I did from the first time I watched their shows. Their product has improved and they are using alot more outsiders, which benefits the show. I do think they need to use more outsiders, because as of late, their homegrown guys aren't show-level yet. I do question the credentials of Dickie Rodz as a trainer, and I think he's a reason why the new guys aren't that good. How can Dickie Rodz, who can't get booked anywhere else outside of NYWC, questions his own confidence daily, is hated by alot of NYWC wrestlers (Can't blow up their spots), is scared of other wrestlers and complains about a punch from that pencil neck Greek Papadon, train people? I think NYWC realized that too, as Mikey Whipwreck is now the head trainer of their Critical Mass training school. Mikey does have the credentials and the talent to make people better. Just watch any of his matches with Nuke, then watch Nuke wrestle a low-level NYWC guy. Alot of students will learn alot from Mikey, and veterans will benefit with Mikey around.

I do believe that John Curse is two-faced, but so are alot of people in wrestling. I've seen John Curse talk to some wrestlers, and be overly friendly and tell them they are booked for shows. Then, he'll take them off the show, by doing it in email or on the phone. That is evident with The Solution/Dickie Rodz situation. Curse I do belive is a good guy deep down, but needs to stop letting petty things bother him. One fan out of 200 didn't like your show. You can't let that ruin your world.

Do I think NYWC is a ticket selling fed? Of course not. Their guys do sell tickets out of loyalty. The outsiders aren't selling tickets. You wouldn't see Grim Reefer outside the Queens Center mall pushing NYWC tickets with Greg Stengel any time soon. Maybe Tony Burma would, but you wouldn't see guys like Reefer, Striker or Tobin pushing NYWC tickets. Without exposing anyone for ticket selling, as I do believe the NYWC guys sell tickets for the product first, and to wrestle second, you can tell who sells tickets by looking at what NYWC guys aren't in USA Pro anymore. With the exception of Mikey Whipwreck, who was off the last USA PW show, every other NYWC guy who doesn't work in USA PW, and is a NYWC homegrown product, sells tickets.

Some people asked me if I am boycotting NYWC. That is retarded. I did miss the last 3 NYWC LI shows due to other shows taking place. As the DOI has expanded, more and more fans have asked us to cover shows that they know. NYWC is not known outside of NY by many fans. I have been asked to cover CZW, 3PW and PWU by many fans. And since this is a fan site as well, I am going to review what the fans are more interested in reading about. It just happened to be that those shows took place the same day as NYWC. I don't agree with some things NYWC is doing, and I don't agree with how NYWC reacts to situations, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't review their shows or put up their press releases. Even though I have been accused of being generous to NYWC in some of my reviews, I genuinely enjoyed their shows, even though I don't think they are on the same level as the big indies such as JAPW, CZW, USA PW and others.

NYWC is good for the wrestling business. It gives a place for veterans to work out, and it's also a breeding ground for new crop. When NYWC first busted out on the scene almost two years ago, guys like Dan Barry, Johnny Ova and Livewyre were booked all over NJ and CT. Established wrestlers such as Mikey Whipwreck, Reefer and Mike Tobin joined, won titles and furthered their careers. I think when Mikey is done with the new students, more wrestlers will pop out from there. For now, I don't see anyone except for Plazma breaking out, as alot of the guys on NYWC have the NYWC mindset. They are happy in the little pond and playing wrestler once a month. Talking to some of these NYWC wrestlers, you would think they have main evented Wrestlemania. NYWC knows that as well, and I'm sure there are changes in store.

As far as USA PW vs NYWC goes, there is no question that USA PW is the better promotion. There are bigger names, better matches and more well established. The only thing NYWC has over USA PW is show length. Both promotions storylines aren't as strong as they used to be, and I think that is something both feds need to work on. USA PW does hurt NYWC, when they use NYWC talent in crappy matches. It does make NYWC look like number 2, literally, when USA PW does that, and it happens because USA PW books too many people. Knowing the inner workings of USA PW, I can say that Matt Striker vs Reefer was considered an opening match for the last USA PW show. After finding out that NYWC was doing it the next week, as their main event, the match was scrapped. So you can't say that USA PW is out to get NYWC, it's just the cirumstances that happen.

Both promotions do need to co-exist peacefully as it's good for wrestling. A USA PW vs NYWC feud would draw good numbers for both promotions. The only problem is the top NYWC guys already wrestle in USA PW. A war between Tony Burma, Dickie Rodz and Nuke against guys like Al Snow, Raven, and D-Lo Brown would look awful for NYWC. If USA PW used lesser name talent against NYWC, it only makes NYWC look worse. NYWC right now, wouldn't be in the position to feud with USA PW, unless guys defected. It would be like how the WWF vs WCW angle should've been booked. Imagine Reefer disgracing the NYWC title in a USA PW ring, only to have someone like D-Lo Brown come out and defect from USA PW and defend NYWC? It would be good talent sharing and a way for both promotions to save money, and make money. A big gimmick War Games Cage match in NY would probably draw a record amount of fans. Right now, NYWC just needs to use some more established talent that isn't in USA PW to make it work. Fans do want to see a USA PW vs NYWC feud, and it would be good business to do it, although, just not now.

Yes, I do like USA PW shows better than NYWC. There is a special feeling in the environment of USA PW shows, that NYWC doesn't have, unless you are related to someone on the show. I have butted heads with Frank Goodman numerous times, but we would never bad mouth each other and give out personal information to others. Anytime I had a problem with Frank or vice versa, we would say it to each other, and no one outside of Zevon would know. Frank might've questioned some of my actions on his hotline, and I would question some USA PW ideas, but it would never get to the point where we disrespected each other. I don't find Curse to be the same way. I see Curse bad mouthing to me others and not being truthful. At least with Frank, I always know what to expect as he'll say whatever right to your face. Frank was the first promoter to help the DOI in numerous ways, so I will always be thankful for that. Curse seems happy with the DOI only when there is good stuff being written about him and NYWC. I never once had an argument with Frank over a show review, whether I wrote it or a fan wrote it. We'd discuss the review and our opinions of it, like how I do with every other promoter, but Frank would never say take it down or you hate USA PW, like how Curse reacted this week. In fairness, Curse never said anything bad about anything I wrote, but to flip out on J.D. on his opinion and for him to threaten legal action against a message board is just down right preposterous.

So will I be at the next NYWC show? As of right now, no, as 3PW is scheduled that day, and more fans of the DOI would rather read about 3PW than NYWC. I'm guessing this maybe the one time Goodman might want to read about NYWC over another show haha. J.D. has told me he will be at NYWC and will send me his review of it. J.D. doesn't want to be known, as he doesn't want to deal with all the complaining and whining. He just wants to sit and watch the show and have fun with his friends. I'm sure some guys know who he is already and will point him out, and I told J.D. he has to expect to be talked to since he did really tear apart NYWC in his last review.

In closing, I do not hate NYWC. I enjoy it. I follow their results on their site, when I miss a show. When I was a booker of SSCW, I scouted NYWC shows for talent because they had a great crop of guys then. I hope NYWC does well. It's good for wrestling if they do well. I like watching the homegrown guys against the outsiders. I like some of their storylines. NYWC does have its faults too, but so does every fed. I do wish that Curse would relax and realize how much time he's spending over literally nothing. I do wish that people would realize that it's hundreds of people who post and thousands who read what is written on a message board. There are fans who just don't like NYWC. There are fans who just don't like USA Pro, ROH, JAPW etc. There are fans who love NYWC, and there are fans who love USA PW, ROH, JAP, etc. But for the fans that you appreciate for talking good about you, you must also be open minded to the people who don't enjoy your product. In the wrestling business, and in any business in general, you can't let someone elses opinion throw you off your daily routine. Making wild lawsuit threats also isn't the way of resolving problems. Read the board and laugh, that's what it's there for.
Everyone just needs to sit back, drink a beer (just don't smuggle it past Atlas security) and enjoy wrestling.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com