One of the DOI's most popular columns from way back when, The McRoss Report, is back for its 32nd edition. I haven't written one of these since my last McRoss Report sabbatical, which was nearly 7 months ago, so if you never read one of these before, here's a link to the McRoss Report archive section:
McRoss Report Archives

As you can tell, the name of this column is a bite/tribute to a one Mr. Jim Ross, and are just my random thoughts on a bunch of things. I guess this is kind of like my "Blog" here on the DOI. Since I don't do MySpace (which for reasons I've explained in previous columns) what better way to put out my random thoughts on the wrestling world than putting all this crap in one nice little McRoss Report!

So sit back, get a beer, or if you gotta take a dump, print this out and read it there. I should give you a good 15 minutes of pushing and groaning with this thing.

And of course, Greetings From The Man Underneath The 5 Gallon Heineken Bottle.

I wonder if anyone realizes that I used the same introduction 7 months ago! Probably not, this damn WSX ADD attention- span generation.

For once this column will touch some real subjects. What really urged me to write this was the amount of death surrounding my life these days. It's fun to joke around and fuck around all the time in these columns, but during the past few months, death is all I can think about. It is kind of morbid, but with so many friends of mine dying, plus the countless of wrestlers that we all know from the TV dying, it makes you really just sit back and think about your own mortality.

As many people know, the indy wrestling world lost two very good people in the last few months. I was proud to say I was close friends with both of them. When Jimmy Hustler died in November of 2006, I never thought that Doug Gentry would be dead two months later. Jimmy at 33. Doug at 34. Neither got to live a full life and went way too early. Neither guy deserved it, and both died from fluke reasons and both deaths could've probably been prevented when you think about it.

When you really think about it people in the wrestling business who die young, always die from something weird. Candido's death should've never happened either. Drugs and alcohol are entrenched in the wrestling business and go hand-in-hand with death. I was not shocked to hear when Bam Bam Bigelow died, and I doubt many people in the wrestling business were either. Drugs & booze have shortened the lives of many people through the years, such as Rude, Hennig, Bulldog, & many others. It does make you just stop back and think wow, I can die any day.

Being only 24 now, it is weird to have so many people I know die. Recently, two people from my graduating high school class died. One passed away from alcohol overdose and the other died from prescription pills overdose. These deaths coupled in with Jimmy & Doug really got me thinking. I always thought that to die, something really bad had to happen. Either you get shot or knived or get into a car accident to die young. Even with science & medical advancements, it seems that as a human race, we can't prolong life. One bad night with substances can kill you. You can get a fluke disease and that's it. How Doug & Jimmy are dead is something I can't get out of my head.

In Jimmy's case, he did smoke alot & drink alot, but he was only 33. Doug did dabble in the drug scene in the earlier years of his life but was clean in the later days. When I go to bars when travelling to all these indy shows and even the local bar I go to, I see alot of old men knocking back drinks. Not having a real job, as the DOI has been my source of income (So please buy something off of DOIVideo.com today) I go to the bar by my house during the day time about 3-5 times a week. That's when the old men are drinking. Without fail, it's the same old faces, and we have a good time gambling and drinking and what not. These old men are drinking & smoking too, so I don't get how these 60+ year old guys, who've been doing this all their lives are strong as ox's while people I know are dropping like flies.

If you know me, you know I'm not religious. I'm athiest. Religion is a whole different issue that can be argued for years. With all these recent deaths, you think I might change my mind and accepting a higher power, but in fact, all these recent deaths have made more athiest & anti-religion than ever. If there was a supreme being, he wouldn't take people so young. A god also wouldn't stricken defenseless kids with diseases. A god wouldn't have Africa in the shambles it's in. Thousands of years ago, Romans & Greeks had their own religious beliefs. Simple science and time proved their religion wrong. I believe thousands of years from now, the advanced human race will be able to disprove whatever religions are around today. Especially the warped scientologists. (Seriously, have you ever read the book of scientology and how it all came about? They legit believe in aliens & all this other weird crap that would be better saved for a George Lucas movie.) Alas, I digress.

It is just so weird to lose so many people so young. You think this could all be prevented. Not having medical insurance, everytime now I fart or cough the wrong way I'm nervous and thinking of Doug & Jimmy. Because they were once walking this earth and were fine & healthy, and then boom, they're not here anymore. People in wrestling are getting all these weird diseases. Archadia doesn't know what the hell is wrong with him but is dizzy alot. Eddie Thomas has some disease that makes his spine comparable to an 80 year old mans. Random indy wrestlers that I don't know too well are dying quick too. Maybe we've grown up too quickly, but it seems so weird & hard to accept that seeing 40 isn't guaranteed. Shit, with all these deaths I'll be jubilant & ecstatic to see 30.

When I first started tattooing in the late 90's, my friend/guy I was apprenticing for had "SLOW DOWN" on his knuckles. Maybe I'm truly starting to understand that now. Like the great Ferris Bueller said in 1986, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." Maybe I'm being morbid or been affected by these deaths so much that I feel like a fat goth chick inside, but it really shows you that you can't waste time. Shit, I was prolonging this column forever, but decided to write it while I had the time, cause who knows, maybe I won't be here tomorrow to write it. Death has seriously fucked my head up these last few months and if Jimmy & Doug are around somewhere reading this, I miss you fuckers.

I wonder if anyone else thinks like that after these deaths. I know watching countless of wrestlers that I didn't really know or didn't know at all die didn't affect me. It's when you lose alot of people fast that I think your head gets fucked with and you start seeing things differently. That's why I can't understand suicide, the option Mike Awesome chose. I want to live and enjoy life and fuck around. I can't see ending it, because nothing can be worse than not being here. Being a huge Nirvana fan, I always thought suicide was just a terrible thing, and something that can really be prevented. It's shame Awesome & Cobain too for that matter, couldn't take a moment away and realize that life is worth living.

Regardless, there's the state of my mind and the above is probably more suited for a blog more than anything. Let's get to the wrestling stuff now:

I really miss the old school type of wrestling. I feel like a grizzled vet or one of the oldtimers that I drink with at the bar. I can't stand reading these press releases that I get everyday of all these chicken shit indy shows hyping up matches that make no sense. That's kinda why I liked doing ABC with Jimmy Hustler so much, as we tried to keep it as old school as we possibly could.

When I see these press releases, half of them are hyping up a commissioner or something. A commissioner in wrestling was unheard of until 1998 when the WWF introduced the character role. A guy like Jack Tunney, a figurehead, was always around in the WWF days, but you saw him only once every few months. When you saw Jack Tunney, you knew something big was happening. Eventually he was phased out and the commissioner was the new figure head role. The WWF whored the commissioner role out, and WCW quickly followed suit thereafter.

Now, you have every fucking indy fed with commissioners. I understand that some promotions need a figure head to dole out authority and keep boundaries for their groups, but really, do these shows need these commissioners involved in angles, screwjobs and the whatnot. There once was a period of time that whenever Vince McMahon came out, you knew something big was going to happen. Then he was on TV every 20 minutes and quickly he watered his position and authority down. That's what you got on all these indy shows. That's why I love a fed like JAPW, where they don't have one. Fat Frank tells you what's up on his JAPW.net message board and that's that. There are way too many feds with these mark commissioners running around and taking away spots from wrestlers.

I guess I can use this as a segueway to the most frequently asked question I've been getting from fans and people in the business the last few weeks. "What's my role in UXW these days?" is something I've been asked alot. As people know, I was the "commissioner" there for 3 years and a co-booker there for the last 2. As Frank Goodman will attest to, I never wanted to be a commissioner, and prefered the behind-the-scenes role. Especially on Frank Goodman shows, spots are valuable when you want to cut time down. I didn't want to take time out on the show when a trained wrestler could have that spot. Frank would ask me to cut promos all the time and I always refused them, because one, everyone knew that the Maniac was the head honcho there, and two, it wasn't needed. Wrestlers & managers can do all the talking, a commissioner is not needed, and it's something I'd always explain to Frank, even though we had two different mindsets when it came to booking.

While UXW will always have the reputation of being the place with the long shows & ticket sellers, I think my time there saw UXW get as old school & as tight as you can get. I wouldn't call it the best time in UXW, as I think the Elks Lodge days were the best. When the Elks Lodge closed, a part of UXW closed down too. UXW was never the same. However, if you take the two years of shows that I booked with Frank there, you will notice that most of them were 3 hours long, and I was able to cut down the marathons. However, I think Frank deep down wasn't down with that, I think he enjoyed the marathons. I also know I improved the show quality a bit, as ticket sellers weren't as abundant, which kind of hurt Frank in the wallet. Again, as I've stated before on this site, Frank looked at his shows as "huge one-shot extravaganzas" & to make as much money on each show as possible. When I was with Frank there, I tried making it a promotion rather than the circus it had become. To each his own really. I think UXW really could've been a major force on the indies if Frank looked three shows ahead, instead of trying to put everything into one basket every show.

Anyway, to answer the question, I'm no longer part of UXW, nor really needed to be honest. UXW is in Florida and is dead in NY. I doubt you'll ever see UXW in NY ever again, at least under the current conditions. It's just not feasible these days. It's also not really profitable with Frank living in Florida, who can't be up here to oversee everything that a promoter needs to oversee. I will say this, if someone has money and the balls to do it right, NY Wrestling is up for the taking. To paraphrase Tony Montana, NYC Wrestling is just one big pussy that is ready to be fucked. I'll get into this soon after my UXW talk.

My last show with UXW was the first Florida show. It was a tight 2 1/2 hour show. As usual, Frank wanted to do all these multi-man matches on the show and have stables. Frank is big on stables and multi-man matches. Stables work, and I think the NY vs Philly feud was as hot as anything UXW ever had stable-wise, and that includes the Knightlife days, just because there was no one really established to be on the other side of the fence with Knightlife. Being an old school type of person, I hate multi-man matches unless they have a purpose. There is no reason for these random triple threat matches you see all over the indies. There is no reason for 6-man tags unless there is an issue between all 6 guys. I hate random match booking and that's what me and Frank butted heads on. It's not hard to notice that Frank has surrounded himself with alot of yes-men during his days, and it's apparent in Florida now. Looking at the results of the latest "extravaganza" I thought the show looked horrible, and many people have said the same thing to me. It was a successful event, but not much pyschology or real thought was put behind anything. Random 7-way matches and changing main events is terrible in my book, but those fans had fun. Then again, a Florida crowd is much easier to entertain than the smartmark crowds here in the northeast.

So to answer simply, no, I'm not there no more, but I wish Frank the best and we are still on good terms. I still hear all the inside goings. I still get to hear the jollies and latest bullshit in Maniac world. I did laugh when Frank told me that the only reason he gave the DRS his tag team titles (after saying how much he couldn't stand EC Negro for so long) was because Mike Zevon asked him to. UXW will never be a real wrestling promotion persay, as it's just "the circus comes to town" type of shows. Frank is satisfied running once every 4 months and stripping & crowning new champions every show. "The COD" was an angle to play off of ex-ROH castaways. Now he's filled it with Florida guys that nobody on the northeast knows. Again, the booking there doesn't matter, as it's just a circus and never will be taken seriously by DVD collectors. It's a shame too because UXW once had so much potential. Eh, what can you do? However let me say, I'm better off for it, as I learned alot about the business from Frank Goodman. Say what you want about Frank, but he's one of the best jew businessmen out there. Is he the most honest businessman, probably not, but that's why I'm better for it, as I think I know every scam in the book! Seriously though, UXW is/was a fun place and I got a good education about the wrestling business while there.

And for the record, to answer some questions, Josh Rich is the new Brian Wittenstein, as he's even brought Wittenstein's old clipboard out of retirement. There is no word if he fluffs Frank as well as Brian did, but at least Josh doesn't have these huge plans to book TNA. Wow, Brian Wittenstein. Only a character you'd meet in indy wrestling. Also, just to close this, Anthony Deblasi has also parted ways with UXW, if that matters to anyone. I guess we'll never get that Low Life Louie vs Deblasi payoff match! (Thank god)

Like I mentioned before, the NY indy scene is wide open for someone to take over. Your players right now are:
Greg Stengel (No promotion affiliation, but has a license & building)
NYWC (John Curse/Mikey Whipwreck/Wayne)- satisfied with 1/2 the shows being student matches.
VPW (Donnie Bon Jovi & Johnny 5)- has no direction. One day its real wrestlers being focused, the next show its ticket sellers.
PWR aka Jesus Christ Wrestling (Bobby Reidel)- Garbage shows held in front of a flock of sheep.
PWX (Ronnie Lang & Rob Feinstein)- on a huge sabbatical until either guy can find someone with money to back their expensive shows.
ECPW (Gino Caruso)- Runs really only in Suffern, NY. Packs the house every time, but has never ventured into the boroughs.
WUW (Johnny Rodz)- student shows for the families. Not looking to be a player.
ROH (Gabe Sapolsky & Cary Silken)- run Long Island & NYC every 6 or so weeks.
Not to bad mouth any of these companies, but none are the number 1 promotion in NY right now. Some of them aren't even looking to be like ECPW, PWR & WUW. The others use ticket sellers. ROH would be number 1 by default when you look at it, but they are a touring company with no focus to NY. Right now there is no company with NY roots that is making an impact. NY wrestling is really for the taking.

NYWC is happy doing their thing in Deer Park. VPW doesn't run often enough and has a new direction every show. Both these companies have NY roots but aren't aggressive with really making their mark. Wrestling in NY should be huge. I could really see a promotion in NY run 3 shows a month and get good crowds if done right. It's amazing that the NY wrestling scene is full of student feds and sponsor/charity shows. Hopefully someone will realize that the NJ & the ECW arena are saturated and take advantage of a stagnant NY wrestling scene. Again, I go to Tony Montana- "The World Is Yours."

Speaking of old school wrestling, I will give any promotion free ads for a year on the DOI, if they will book a Wrestling Bear. Seriously, when did the Wrestling Bear stop getting bookings? The Wrestling Bear is an attraction and could be used to get over a wrestler in so many ways. You can have a wrestler be a chicken shit. You can have a wrestler show gust and bravado. You can do so much by having someone wrestling a bear. I really miss the old school affect on the indy scene. How many fucking shows can you go to that have all these flippy guys or steroided up guys who can't cut promos? Then again, I guess that's why they are on the indy scene. But anyway, yea a Wrestling Bear, someone should book that.

Cheap plug time: Check out DOIVideo.com today! We've been amassing a huge library as of late and have the cheapest prices for shoots & shows anywhere. All our merchandise is guaranteed and all sales support the DOI. There's alot of good stuff in there, so even if you don't got cash, browse through it anyway.

For Hyatte fans emailing me, Hyatte is still on break and was a great addition to this site. I'm sorry to see him go and hopefully he comes back soon. I think the DOI was the first site he left without any heat. So he owes us to come back, at least for a good fight, ha. I also was a huge midnight news reader/Mop-Up reader from the black & red days and I believe he was the best wrestling writer on the web. Not too many people can make you legit laugh out loud when reading a column on guys who roll around half naked, but he had a knack for it. For updates on Hyatte, check his blog at Hyatte.blogspot.com

It's amazing how many idiots are indy wrestlers these days. Well not that amazing. Recently, some idiots have been contacting the DOI complaining about our shoots, asking why did we ask about them? Well one, because I know you will sell for it and two, it's a shoot and we ask as much as we possibly can in our shoots. There are some people I ask about in our shoots, just because I know they are huge marks for themselves that they will buy it just to hear what was said about them. I just don't get the idiots that say "What did he/she say?" Buy the fucking thing, because one I don't remember half the time and two I'm not going to quote someone's shoot, because I don't want to misquote anyone. With that said, check out our Homicide/J-Train, Danny Demanto, Ref Hanson, Foxxy Dreams & Ricky O shoots for some juicy stories.

Another big subject that I've been getting alot of feedback these days about, is the pathetic and tragic life of Carmine Sabia. People ask if I feel bad and to be honest no I don't. Myself and alot of Carmines friends in wrestling warned him this wouldn't work out and that he was jumping into this too fast. He blew everyone off, and in turn, karma was a bitch and this cunt blew him off. Maybe when you don't leave your house you don't see how the world works really. Everyone saw this coming besides the man who washes his mother with sponges. Oh well. Hopefully he can return the engagement ring for wrestling action figures, because that's the only action he'll be getting for now.

I've recently been to alot more NWS shows than I should be at, due to DOIVideo.com filming them. NWS is probably the closest thing you'll find to a territory on the indy scene. There are so many behind the scenes players there that make the NWS ship sail successfully. From TNT & his wife, to even the lifeform known as Wayne Ploghofft, there are alot of people who help Joe & Gino keep that place tight and successful. Alot of promoters could learn from NWS. I know some people knock them and say anyone could do what they do, but if that was true, there'd be people doing it. I'm also impressed with some of the roster changes NWS has been making as of late. The hokiness is still there, but fans looking for something to do should give NWS a try. Sure it's hard to go to even 1/2 the shows they run, but if you go to an NWS show from time-to-time, you'll enjoy wrestling for what it one was, plus the new talent have really been excelling there.

Another place I like watching these days is Johnny Rodz's WUW. It's a student promotion, but there are alot of guys who are ready to move up to the indy level. Keep your eyes on guys like Flex, Joe Delicious, Minyon, Jorge Santos & others. These guys are a breath of fresh air and with Rodz's backing, really understand the business, which is something you can't say for 1/2 the indy guys out there.

I'd also be remiss not to mention Tim Arson aka The Zombie, who came out of WUW/Rodz. Arson is a guy who made great moves in Puerto Rico, but since he doesn't flip through chairs for free or play the politics game, doesn't get bookings in his home area. It's amazing how many feds will use the same guys over and over, and some of it is a financial issue, but for fucks sake, shake shit up for once. 90% of the indy feds here don't have an identity because the same fucking people are on the show. A guy like a Tim Arson would be a good addition to many of these locker rooms today.

Don't forget to come to the WSU Womens show this Saturday on 3/3. WSUWrestling.com for all the info. Trust me, you wont want to miss this show. You'll see the girls of the indy scene used like they've never been used before. Plus, I heard there is a real beef between Alicia & Becky Bayless, so hopefully they beat the shit out of each other, because that would be good sales for DOIVideo!

Does anyone know if that Tara Charisma/Strip Club post on the DOI message board was true? I'd say it looks like the fake posting handiwork of Joel Grayson but I've been assured he didn't write that post!

Just like if a tree falls in the forest but if there is no one there does it make a sound, if Marc Adler isn't around you, does that mean he showered?

Make sure to check out Mike the Midget's political columns on the DOI.

For the people emailing me about the DPW Girls Show being on DVD, email johnnyfive81@hotmail.com and tell him to stop pumping all that iron in the gym and to get to work! On the real, J5 has been huge in the success of DOIVideo.

I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard nothing but great stuff about RF Video's new DVD with Honky Tonk Man & Raven. I know RF says "OMGZZZZZZZZZZZ BEST SHOOT EVER!111111111111111" about everything in his press releases, but usually he'll tell me what's a stinker in private. He said this is one of the best things he's ever done, and I can't wait to check it out. Check out RFVideo.com for more on that DVD.

JAPW's 3/17 show is kinda of like Jayne Mansfield. STACKED. Tons of top indy names are booked on that show. JAPW has grown into a huge thing that I don't even know if JAPW can handle it anymore, as some homegrown guys sit on the sides. However, JAPW is looking great and has a killer line-up. Check out JAPW.net for more.

I've been really lazy with DVD reviews as of late, as I just dont have the time to do it. I don't even pump out these columns as much as I used to. However, and this might surprise people because everyone knows what a piece of fake shit Gabe Sapolsky is, how he isn't loyal to his friends, and how he's tried to fuck with every single DOI shoot interview that we've done, (And trust me, the Jap wasn't scheduled to win the title in September despite what he put out there) but FIP has been pumping out some great DVDs as of late. Sal Hamaoui has done a great job with the company and I gotta say, I think FIP is one of my favorite indies to watch when I get the time. Check out FullImpactPro.com for more.

CAMPIWF.com has had some funny announcements recently, but when you prance around on sites geared towards gay men, you can't cry slander. More power to the IWF guys for making money, as I'm sure they were paid nicely, but what do you expect your peers to think when they see you on these sites geared for gays? In wrestling, people are either homophobiac's or homosexuals, so when you're on these sites for fags, of course it's going to be talked about.

Stay tuned for the return of Pee Wee Moore!

It's not official, but it's rumored that we've seen the last of WSX on MTV. As an old school fan, I wasn't really hyped about their shows, but at least it was something different and something that could've created wrestling fans out of people. No one wants to see a national wrestling show go out of business, so that sucks. Plus, with ECW getting better, WSX was doomed in any type of ratings battle. I just think anything connected with XPW is doomed. Just don't tell Jonthan Barber.

One topic that I'll really dive into another day, but just want to touch right here, is territory wrestling. It's amazing how much wrestling there is on the indy scene, but alot of it is not particularly good. I think on every indy show around, you're lucky if you can find at least 2 guys who would've been able to fit in during the territory days. The aura of wrestling has been exposed, yes, but still, there are so many guys who just don't get it. None of them would last in a real wrestling territory. Half the guys on the indy scene don't drive, which is just amazing.

Another topic that I can really get into, but will save for a McPinions column is female wrestlers. I've been dealing with alot of them since I'm working out some details for the WSU womens show. This does not go for all the girls out there in indyland, but for some of them. I've noticed that when it comes to the girls, alot of them don't take their careers seriously at all. Some are just happy to be around alot of guys who drool all over them because they don't see girls in their real lives. Some are just happy to work out and do the wrestling just for fun. Alot of them don't have real career aspirations. When booking some, they just seem clueless and have their heads in the clouds. At least with the guy wrestlers, there is always interest in being booked and getting work. With some girls, it looks like they just could care less. I know other promoters have been saying the same thing. However, let me say I'm proud of the WSU womens roster, and I hope everyone checks it out on Saturday.

It's amazing how some wrestlers who are looked at as jokes by some promoters think that they are worth alot of money because they are friends with a guy who bettered themselves from this scene. Alot of wrestlers try to hitch their wagon onto people, but just cause one guy gets paid well, it doesn't mean you get their pay because you've been friends with a guy for a long time. Man, the indy wrestling business is just fucked up at times!

Speaking of fuck-ups, check out the DOI Message board for Eric "Vale Tudo" Nyenhuis posts. It's great how he offers open shoot fight contracts on the board. I just crack up. By the way, I think one of the people Eric has been going after is going to be in for a major "shock" when they are "waved" goodbye right out of a certain wrestling company. I await Eric's future photoshop pics when he gets the news in the near future.

Someone please get Vince Russo fired. Get a TNA booking team consisting of Simon Diamond, Raven, Shane Douglas & Kevin Sullivan in there. I guarantee it will be 10000000x times better than the crap we got today. TNA will follow WSX steps soon if a major booking change isn't made. Like Lance Storm said, there is not one guy who's went from WWE to TNA that's become a star or bigger than what they were in WWE, and that includes Christian & Angle.

I've been typing for 90 minutes now, so it's time to call it a night, because what the fuck is this, it's 5:46 in the mornin', crack a dawnin', and now I'm yawnin. Wow, the good really do die young.

Keep checking out DOIWrestling.com for all the latest indy news & DOIVideo.com for new DVDs.

Oh, and if there are spelling/grammar errors, oh well, cause it's too late to spell-check that now.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com

Always...

IN MEMORY OF Jimmy Hustler 1973-2006

IN MEMORY OF Doug Gentry 1972-2007

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