April, 1995

[managermike99]

Roster

Faces
Jim Brunzell (5'10" 235 lbs. White Bear Lake, MN) ("Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen") [Flying dropkick, figure-four, Indian death lock, flying knee smash]
Robbie Royce (5'8" 220 lbs. Winnipeg, MB) ("Danger on the Tracks" Europe) [flying headscissors driver, hurrancanrana, flying dropkick, plancha]
Ben Bassarab (5'10" 215 lbs. Calgary, AB) ("You've Got Another Thing Comin'" Judas Priest) [diving crossbody block, German suplex, snap suplex, superplex, front facelock]
Mike Lozansky (5'10" 201 lbs. Cloverdale, BC) ("Armageddon" Prism) [missile dropkick, armbars, armbreakers, flying crossbody block]
The Derelict (6'2" 255 lbs. Skid Row, USA) ("Dirty Deeds" AC/DC) [Tornado punch, punches, kicks, stomps, slaps]
Chi Chi Cruz (6'1" 235 lbs. Winnipeg, MB) ("Get The Funk Out" Extreme) [running powerslam, Boston crab, cloverleaf, reverse neckbreaker]
Nick Mercury (6'2 233 lbs. San Diego, CA) ("Man in Motion" John Parr) [swinging neckbreaker, flying forearm, standing earringer, hotshot]
Caveman Broda (5'7" 199 lbs. Winnipeg, MB) ("I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" ZZ Top) [stomps on back, surfboard, bearhug]
Lance Storm
Hi-Teck


Heels
Stan Lane (6'1" 224 lbs. Greensboro, NC) ("Everybody Wants You" Billy Squier)
Jesse Hennig (5'10" 220 lbs. Minneapolis, MN) ("Rodeo" Garth Brooks)
Stan Baker (NEW) (6'3" 270 lbs. St. Louis, MO) ("Rest in Peace" Extreme)
Sean Cassidy (5'11" 220 lbs., Los Angeles, CA) ("Talk Dirty to Me" Poison)
Jack O'Jugular (6'3" 240 lbs., Tarrytown, NY) ("Godzilla" Blue Oyster Cult)
Grave Digger (6'5" 350 lbs., parts unknown) (Overture from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera)
Atomic Punk (6'1" 251 lbs., Orange County, CA) ("Cowgirl" Underworld)
Peter Strongbow (6'0" 225 lbs., Broken Arrow, OK) ("Indian Outlaw" Tim McGraw)
Johnny Aztec (NEW) (5'10" 210 lbs., Texcoco, Mexico) ("Indian Outlaw" Tim McGraw)

Ladies
Pamela Principal (5'6" 135 lbs., Santa Monica, CA) ("She Rides Like a Hurricane" Heydey)
April Cummings (5'4" 140 lbs., Los Angeles, CA) ("Talk Dirty To Me" Poison)
Dawn Whitham (5'5" 175 lbs., Newark, NJ) ("Seasons in the Abyss" Slayer)
Kimberly Kupps (NEW) (5'10" 160 lbs. Wyckoff, NJ) ("Domino" Kiss)

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #566
April 1, 1995
Winnipeg, Manitoba

**All Ladies Edition**

Opening Bout
Janelle Burns link defeated Pink Demon by pinfall after a belly to belly suplex at 4:06
**A bunch of girls will be making their premieres tonight from the bikini or fitness world into the wrestling ring. It will make for some short, choreographed matches with lots of flesh and innuendo. In this case Burns (see the link) suffered damage for 3 minutes against her lowly masked opponent before making a short comeback to triumph.

Bout #2
Beres Alexandra link  & Heather Kennedy link and Carol Semple link & Melissa Frabbiele link battled to a double countout at 6:12
**Alexandra and Kennedy were the fan favourites here and Semple and Frabbiele the rulebreakers. In the end it was an easy ending to throw this one out and allowed the women to battle for a couple minutes after. Alexandra and Semple seem to have the most potential going forward.

Bout #3
Kele Ward link defeated Sue Price link by pinfall after a side cradle at 5:20
**Price was much more muscular then the other girls so far, and used it to her advantage. Ward was a sultry little thing and the fans really responded to her. In the end Ward made Price miss a charge in the corner and rolled her up for an upset victory. 

Bout #4
Holly Hart link & Candice Head link 6:18 defeated Sherilyn Godreau link 0:38 & Maria Gonzales link 1:53 by pinfall when Head pinned Godreau after a double slingshot suplex at 7:23
**None of these four looked like they had a lot of promise going forward

Bout #5
April Cummings defeated Kimberly Kupps by countout at 6:21
**two competitors that are better known to RCW fans as they are from the current roster. Lots of bad blood in this one as it was mostly fisticuffs and rest holds. In the end Cummings moved out of the way of a charging Kupps and dropkicked her from behind, sending her to the floor below. It was a nasty fall and Kupps could not make it back in the ring before the 10 count.

Bout #6
Angela Dawn link, Tami Kim link 17:43 & Tammy Rief link 19:00 defeated Jennifer Dawson , Sandy Cummins link 8:12 & Dana Dodson link 8:41 by pinfall when Rief pinned Dawson after a powerbomb at 10:58
**Rief and Kim both acquitted themselves well as did Cummins and Dodson. 

Bout #7
Cory Everson link defeated Kelly Gallant link by pinfall after a double chokeslam at 8:08
**probably the best bout of the night so far. Everson was a complete animal in leather, and a natural heel, while Gallant was tough and a sympathetic figure to the audience. Both ladies showed off a variety of kickboxing moves which the ref allowed. But in the end it was a two handed chokeslam that got the unpopular win.

Bout #8
Dawn Whitham link defeated Amy Fadhli link by submission to the full nelson at 10:30
**as good as the last bout was this one may have even surpassed it. A solid two star match! Lots of posing, tests of strength, brawling, and restholds. Fadhli didn't actually submit to the full nelson but lost consciousness and her arm was raised and fell three times.

Main Event
North American Women's Title Match
Pamela Principal defeated Little Beaver Pelt by pinfall after a schoolgirl pin (and a handful of tights) at 8:26
[Pamela Principal Won the North American Women's Title]
**match between two fan favourites started clean but soon got rough and almost out of hand. In the end Principal got a tainted win by grabbing the tights. Whether it was just a reflex, a result of the animosity during the bout, or the sign of a turn to rulebreaker we can not be sure. However, the fans did boo the new champion, to which she took exception.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #567
April 8, 1995
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Opening Bout
Hi-Teck defeated Sean Cassidy by pinfall after an inside cradle at 7:55
**the masked Hi-Teck made his premiere, and it was not overly impressive. However he managed to come up with a tainted win when April Cummings came down to interfere and cost her ex-boyfriend Sean Cassidy the match.Seems this former couple are still not done with each other.

Bout #2
Peter Strongbow & Johnny Aztec defeated Chi Chi Cruz & Robbie Royce by pinfall when Aztec pinned Royce after a double flying tomahawk at 9:09
**fairly even match, very competitive, but the Indian Outlaws had the team work advantage. They used a double team move to finish it off.

Bout #3
Lance Storm defeated Atomic Punk by pinfall after a spike piledriver at 4:34
**very impressive debut for Storm as he took care of business quickly and efficiently.

Bout #4
April Cummings defeated Kimberly Kupps by disqualification for abuse of official at 6:04
**Kupps had a tainted win under her belt (too easy) with her feet on the ropes, but Cummings had won their last encounter by countout. Kupps seemed very mad about her injury in the last bout and attacked Cummings before the opening bell. In fact Kupps was far more aggressive then we have seen her before. However as Cummings was mounting a comeback Kupps decided to grab the ref and pull his head into her cleavage to smother him. The ref decided for some reason to call for the bell and call that abuse. After the bout as Cummings went after and pounded away at Kupps, Cassidy hit the ring and attacked Cummings. Cassidy and Kupps double teamed Cummings until Lance Storm came back to make the save.

Bout #5
Grave Digger defeated Jim Brunzell by pinfall after a powerbomb (and with his feet on the ropes) at 12:09
**Brunzell has not been wrestling much lately and looked a little rusty to start the bout. This was a tough challenge for him, but Digger got the tainted victory.

Bout #6
North American Women's Title Match
Pamela Principal defeated Little Beaver Pelt by pinfall after a short arm clothesline to the throat at 7:33
[Pamela Principal retained the North American Women's Title]
**well any confusion over her intentions at the end of her tainted title win were put to rest in the rematch when Principal attacked Little Beaver before the opening bell. It was a back and forth match but in the end Principal pulled out a new finisher that was quick to hit and devastating.

Bout #7
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Stan Baker & Jesse Hennig defeated Ben Bassarab & Mike Lozansky by pinfall when Hennig pinned Lozansky after Baker hit him with a heartpunch at 11:54
[Baker & Hennig retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**Bassarab and Lozansky started strong from the opening bell and it looked like it might be there night. However, Baker caught Lozansky telegraphing a back bodydrop and made him pay. The two on ones and isolation of Lozansky carried the next part of the bout. Eventually the hot tag was made to Bassarab but a minute later Lozansky got into trouble again. The finish came with Hennig holding Lozansky bent over his knee after a backbreaker, and wihile Bassarab was being held back by the ref Baker came into the ring and delivered his heartpunch to the prone Lozansky.

Main Event
RCW Heritage Title Match
Nick Mercury defeated Jack O'Jugular by pinfall after a swinging neckbreaker at 12:17
[Nick Mercury retained the RCW Heritage Title]
**No Stan Lane or Heavyweight title tonight, just the Heritage title for a main event. This was the rematch for Jugular after dropping the belt. This was a slobberknocker, and went back and forth, but in the end Mercury got a clean win and put the stamp on his title hold.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #568
April 22, 1995
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hall of Fame Night

Opening Bout
Robbie Royce defeated Atomic Punk by pinfall after a flying headscissors driver at 6:46
**decent enough opening bout. The former tag champion was just a wee bit better tonight then his opponent.

Bout #2
Jack O'Jugular defeated Mike Lozansky by pinfall after a DDT at 5:31
**A long fall from grace for the former Heritage champion, from main event to second match. His temperament showed it as well as he pounded away at Lozansky from the start and continually risked disqualification. After the bout he continued to pound away on Lozansky until Ben Bassarab came to make the save.

Bout #3
Best 2 out of 3 Falls
Thrillseekers: Chris Jericho & Lance Storm defeated Indian Outlaws: Johnny Aztec & Peter Strongbow 2 falls to 1 at 7:55
**The Thrillseekers were the most exciting team seen in these parts in quite a while as Chris Jericho returned to RCW. They were all over their opponents who tried to cheat and double eam but were beaten at every turn.
[Chris Jericho pinned Johnny Aztec after a springboard moonsault at 4:02]
[Lance Storm defeated Peter Strongbow by countout at 7:55]
**The second fall ended when Aztec pulled Strongbow out of the ring and the Outlaws left.
Post-Match: However, after the bout as they celebrated the Thrillseekers were attacked by the returning Outlaws who hit them with steel chairs, and left them bloodied.

Bout #4
Six-Man Tag Match
Ben Bassarab, Nick Mercury, & Mike Lozansky defeated Stan Baker, Jesse Hennig, & Jack O'Jugular by pinfall when Bassarab pinned Jugular after a flying bodypress at 11:33
**this was supposed to be a non-title tag match between Baker, Hennig, and Bassarab & Mercury. However before the match could start Jugular hit the ring and attacked Bassarab for his actions earlier in the night. Lozansky hit the ring a few seconds later to even the odds. After it all shook out commissioner Baron von Raschke ordered the match to become a six man tag match instead. Baker was fairly dominant in the bout and he busted Mercury open with punches to the head. He even hit the heartpunch finisher but knocked him into the corner with the punch where he was able to tag out. In the end of course there was a big six man brawl and Bassarab caught Jugular with his finisher to pick up the win.

Bout #5
Mixed Tag Team Match
Sean Cassidy & Kimberly Kupps defeated Hi-Teck & April Cummings by disqualification for abuse of official at 9:31
**This was actually the first time RCW sanctioned a mixed tag match, or any match, where women competed directly against men (other then Anton Rojack and midgets once competing in a women's battle royal). That of course would be central to the psychology of the bout as Cassidy seemed eager to get his hands on his ex-girlfriend. Hi-Teck and Cassidy were a pretty even match but Cummings was much better then Kupps. However, Cassidy and Kupps managed to get Cummings isolated and beat her down. It was mostly Kupps but Cassidy was gleeful when he got his shots in on April. Finally Cummings managed to tag out but Cassidy had distracted the ref so he wouldn't see. This was too much for Hi-Teck who lost his temper when the ref tried to hold him back, and he tossed him over the top rope before saving Cummings.

Bout #6
Jim Brunzell defeated Grave Digger by countout at 8:19
**Brunzell showed an unusual anger streak, attacking Digger before the opening bell. He pounded away at the big man, but this did not play to his strengths. Digger managed to take back control though by choking Brunzell. The Digger then pounded away at Brunzell but when he went for his powerbomb Brunzell managed to flip over and drive Digger head first into the buckle. Brunzell then nailed a few hip tosses, a monkey flip, a couple elbowdrops, and then two flying dropkicks. The second dropkick sent Digger out of the ring. The big man was shaken and confused by what was going on, and he decided to not return to the bout and take the countout.

Bout #7
North American Women's Title Match
Pamela Principal defeated Kele Ward by pinfall after a short arm clothesline to the throat at 7:03
[Pamela Principal retained the North American Women's Title Match]
**Ward started off hesitantly, due to her inexperience in wrestling. However, when Principal got dirty Ward responded in kind, and took control of the bout. However she made a mistake telegraphing a dropkick and only got air. Principal nailed a single arm DDT, and then her finisher and picked up a quick win.

Hall of Fame Induction
Dr. D David Schultz was inducted into the RCW Hall of Fame. The Destroyer, Marty Goldstein, Chris Lyon, Tawney England, Mike Valiant, and Corrie England were all on hand as Schultz joined them (and the deceased Larry Cameron) in the Hall of Fame. The ceremony went off without incident!


Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Stan Lane defeated The Derelict by pinfall after a superkick at 12:26
[Stan Lane retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**Derelict started the bout off as a brawl which favoured him. Finally the champ turned things around by slowing it down and worked over an arm of Derelict and kept him frustratingly grounded on the mat. Derelict made a comeback and looked like he might be in position to win but Lane took a powder. While the ref was distracted keeping the challenger in the ring, Lane put on a pair of brass knux which he used from the ring apron as the ref continued to be tied up with the challenger. However, Jim Brunzell came down to the ring, stood on the apron and complained to the ref which delayed the cover enough to keep the match going. But Grave Digger came down and nailed Brunzell from behind, driving him into the apron, and then powerbombed him outside the ring. This distracted Derelict who had his own history with Digger, and put him right in the way of a superkick finisher.