As mentioned in the past, these shows are done so the students can get experience in front of a live crowd. The sole purpose of the show is getting the students some work & learning. Of course, WUW alum also participate on these shows to stay fresh and to give back to the school that helped them learn their craft. However, in recent months, WUW has stepped up a bit, and instead of offering cards with 14 matches and with every guy under the sun, only the best of the WUW best are on the shows and the shows have been presented in a tighter format.

For me, I thought this was the best ran WUW show that I've been to out of the 6-7 I've been to. It was a tight 9 match, 2 1/2 hour show. Where angles were never really prevalent, because it was all about the students getting work, WUW has planted seeds on this show.

Something that WUW did that I really liked was hand out a one-page flyer with all the matches in the order they'd be presented. Selfishly I loved that, because it meant I didn't have to take notes since they gave me the match line-up on a piece of paper already. As a fan, I also liked it, because it brought back memories of going to old WWF MSG house-shows where you'd get a program with all the nights matches. It was a cool souvenier back then, and for the younger kids who got the program, it was a cool thing for them now. It also makes the promotion seem more professional in my eyes as well.

With that out of the way, and with time being a major issue here, let's get into it:

WUW
7/28
Brooklyn, NY
Attendance: 196
Refs: Like every WUW show, the wrestlers on the show referee so they can appreciate the role of the ref and learn another facet of the business.
Ring Announcer: Johnny Rodz & ???

The 8th Street Assassin Won the 2nd Ever "Rumbo in Dumbo" Battle Royal, out-lasting 16 other men and Della'Morte.
This was a student battle royal that went pretty quick. The funniest part about the battle royal is that Johnny Rodz announced he'd play the national anthem after he introduced all 18 participants. However, once the 18 wrestlers got in the ring, they all started going at it. Rodz made the save saying these guys were nuts and hungry to win the "Rumbo in Dumbo" trophy, which is why they jumped the gun. The match was then stopped, and we had the National Anthem. After the Anthem, the match was restarted.

Not much to say here, although it was fun to see Della'Morte in the battle royal, after the Alicia/Negro thing from the JAPW battle royal from last week. However, unlike the JAPW rumble, Della'Morte looked like more of a wrestler than most of the guys in the ring, since most of the guys gear in this match consisted of black t-shirts and shorts.

The end of the match saw it come down to the 8th St. Assassin & Della'Morte. The 8SA was able to eliminate Della'Morte to win the match, which seemed to come out of no where. I might be wrong, but I believe this was 8SA's first ever WUW match, so it seemed odd that he won it. I also didn't like that a guy who looked like he went bezerk with a $50 Modell's Gift Certificate to buy wrestling gear, was able to outlast some of the people who invested money into professional wrestling gear. The 8SA wore a Tampa Bay Bucs jersey and had black windbreaker pants. He also had one of those WNBA headbands to keep his hair up.

Mack Daddy Flexxx w/Armani d. Anthony Starr
PREMATCH: Johnny Rodz wanted WUW veteran, Mack Daddy Flexxx to present The 8th Street Assassin with the "Rumbo in Dumbo" trophy. However, Flexxx heeled out Rodz and the 8SA. Flex called Rodz an old man. Rodz threatened to get in there. 8SA got his trophy from Rodz.

After that, the match didn't start yet, as a well dressed man named Armani came out. Armani looked alot like the Niggataker without the mask, so maybe they are twin brothers or something...

Armani, well dressed and groomed, looking like he walked out of the pages from GQ, talked about representing Flex. He said Flex spent top dollar to get the best manager in the world. Armani talked about Flex losing last month and said that with himself in Flex's corner, Flex would easily dispose of Mr. Starr.

This was a fun match, with Flex being able to bring Starr to a higher level. Also established in this match was the prescence of Armani. Flex was able to even up the score between himself and Starr by beating Starr by putting his feet on the ropes during the pin.

After the match, there was more bickering with Flex & Rodz, teasing an eventual one-on-one match.

Damien/Mr. Wendell William/Kid Beltran d. Jason Kross/Prince Atiba/Steve Person
This match went a little too long for me, as some parts of this match had the crowd sitting on their hands. It also seemed that everyone in this match was wearing black, so at times it was confusing to see who was teaming with who.

The end result of this match saw Damien pin Kross after a roll-up. I thought Atiba sold the loss pretty well.

For the WUW North American Title
(c) Pistol Pete d. Minyon
I thought this was a solid match here. Pete was your heel in this match, and had some Arn Andersonesque offense in this match, hitting a wicket spinebuster on Mr. Minyon. This was a pretty decent back and forth match, with both guys getting a chance to shine. The end of this match saw Pete use the Stungun for the pin. I really liked this finish alot for several reasons:
1- No one uses the Stungun as a finisher anymore.
2- It's believable, if you toss someone neck first on a cable rope, chances are they aren't going to bounce right back up in three seconds.
3- The move can happen during any point in the match, making the match more unpredictable.
4- It's an old school finish, and a throwback move to when wrestling was perceived to be real.
5- It's a marketable move that can be built up through promos.

Helping the finish here was the way Minyon sold the Stungun, which helped elevate Pete's character and made the belt seem something worth chasing. Nice story in this match with a great finish, in my opinion.

Tim Arson d. Joe So Delicious
This was built as "Big Boy Power", as the two largest and built guys on the roster went one-on-one. Like the Stungun being a throwback move, this was a throwback match, as these two guys looked like they were opening up for a Bruno MSG house show. The two looked like wrestlers, and did the basics very well. When you can do the basics very well, you are doing something that alot of guys aren't on the indy scene.

Arson was sporting new gear and seemed to have lost some of that "Honeymoon Handles." Joe was your heel here, and while talking about new gear, Joe is overdue, as I don't think the singlet matches his heel persona.

After a suplex, Joe and Tim fought on the floor. Back in the ring, Arson hit a big crossbody, but Joe was able to come back. Joe hit a top rope elbow drop for 2. Joe then went for another, but as the saying goes, "there was no water in the pool." With JSD feeling the effects of elbowing the canvas, Arson was able to capitalize and put Joe away with a TKO, for the clean pinfall.
Solid match here, I wonder where WUW will go with both guys. If Arson is around full-time in WUW and doesn't go back to PR, he could be a perfect face challenger to The Muskateer's WUW Championship.

INTERMISSION-
WUW cleaned up on drinks as it was fucking hot as hell in the venue. For the record, I thought the show was moving at a brisk pace, and I'm glad WUW has tightened things up, as I don't think I could've sat through a 14 match 4 hour affair.

In a Fatal Four Way Tag Match
The TNT Kids (Mike & Spartan) d. Pastor George & Niggataker, The Nasty Boyz 2007 (Jake Gomez & Nasty Kaplan), Cookies-N-Cream (El Shoes & Don Tito)
Order of Elimination: Niggataker/George, Nasty Boyz, CNC
This was an interesting tag team match here, as two of the teams, the Nasty Boyz & Cookies-N-Cream, were having their second match as a team. I really am into the Cookies-N-Cream team and think it could have potential across the indy scene, as the two have great gear and a funny little gimmick. They danced alot in this match, and while ripping off Human Tornado might look bootleg, I think if they did the dance spots like Tornado, it would get over huge.

This match did a good job of getting three of the tag teams over, as Niggataker/George didn't seem to have natural chemistry as a team. I think the Niggataker is at his own level where unless he's teaming with a megapower name like Rocksha, it makes no sense to put him in a team.

George/Niggataker were bounced out first in this match. The TNT Kids, who had support from the crowd, used their size and speed to remain in the match, as The Nasty Boyz were bounced out next. For the record, Kaplan left the marker at home this show, and I thought the team looked better, as they sported leather jackets to the ring. At least it fits the "Nasty" boy gimmick.

The match eventually came down to TNT & CNC. After some double sunset flips, the TNT were able to defeat CNC cleanly.
After the match, both teams danced and all was well in WUW land.

Giant Pupa d. Chris Romano
Pupa does a Hawaiian gimmick and is somewhat fat. Romano, the former Wifebeater, seems to be doing his own thing now. Romano had real gear, but nothing that would let you know what his character is about or who he is. Pupa looked blown up in this match and tripped several times when trying to climb the top rope. Eventually after scaling the ropes in a non-Spiderman way, Pupa hit a Superfat splash for the 1-2-3.
Not the best match in the world. Romano did work Pupa's leg a bit, but when Pupa tripped off the top, he didn't really sell it that it was because of what Romano did. Again these are student shows, so improvising is a skill that will be learned eventually.

The Sunset Saints (Dagger/Convict) d. Club 37 Rip Squad (Dreamcaster/Juan Jeremy) and All Star Lou/Juan Miles
The Saints were wearing yellow air-brushed shirts. They have a following in WUW. Lou/Miles was sporting red/black colors. It seems that Juan Jeremey is always thrown in these types of matches to be the glue that holds them together.

This was a pretty fast paced match for the most part. The Saints are like watching the SAT's when they first started, as they are spot machines, but not overly polished. They are exciting to watch, but that style is hard to keep up over a period of time.

The finish of this match saw The Saints hit a huge top rope double urinage on JJ for the three.
This match helped pick up some of the steam that the show lost with the slow paced match before. It also helped build up some good heat for the main event match.

From here, Flex came in the ring to check up on his Club 37 Rip Squad team mates. This set off a whole thing with Rodz, where Rodz took care of Flex, putting more hype on an eventual one-on-one match. If WUW does run outside shows as rumored, I think this would be a good marquee main event for the company.

For the WUW Heavyweight Championship
The Muskateer w/Della'Morte d. (c) The Smooth Operator Mike Gallagher w/Rick Cataldo to become the new WUW Heavyweight Champion
I was surprised to see a title switch so early, as Smooth hasn't been champion very long. I'm guessing WUW wanted to put it on a guy with "name" value.

This was back and forth match with some decent crowd heat. Rick Cataldo, who fought Della'Morte last month, cheered on Smooth. After some nefarious activity, it looked like Smooth was going to be able to get past it all, but the Muskateer had one final trick under his sleeve, as Della'Morte threw some powder at Smooth's face, temporarily blinding him and allowing The Muskateer to pick up the cheap 3 count.
After the pin that was the end of the show, which I thought was kind of flat. The heel just won the belt sending the crowd home on a sour note. I would've liked to see some face either make the save, or Smooth to get up and start whipping the crap out of the Muskateer to at least give the crowd a "go-home" happy feel.

Final McWord
Like I said above, I thought this was WUW's best rounded show yet. Everything moved quick, some angles were set, and some new guys/characters/teams were established. I particularly liked the Flex/Rodz build up and the humorous Armani character.

For once, the WUW title was defended in the main event position which I thought was a long overdue move. It will make the belts mean more, which in turn, makes the wrestlers mean more. I do think the title switch was a bit quick and something should've happened to give some zest to the end of the show.

WUW is working on an official website. No future date was announced, but once it is we'll have full details here on the DOI.

Overall
A solid effort from the WUW gang. Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com