May 1996

[managermike99]

Roster

Faces
Greg Valentine
Sgt. Keywon Grant
Man Mountain Rock
Hakushi
David Jericho
Robbie Royce
Mike Wildside
Wahoo McDaniel

Heels
Lewis O'Day
Manny Silva (the Agency)
Jesse Hennig (the Agency)
Stan Baker (the Agency)
Wolfgang Haessler (NEW)
Untermenschen (NEW)
Black Russian (NEW)
Vance Nevada

Ladies
Emma Bezzlerr
Nikita Nikolishin (NEW)
Pamela Principal
April Cummings
Mistress Gloom
Julie Fulkerson
Tami Kim
Tammy Rief

Injured
Waylon Mercy

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #607
May 4, 1996
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
David Jericho defeated Vance Nevada by pinfall after a missile dropkick at 5:07
**Jericho is on a roll in RCW.

Bout #2
Tami Kim & Tammy Rief defeated Catherine Nolan & Kari Pelletier when Rief pinned Pelletier after a powerbomb at 6:34
**more ladies making their way from the ladies only cards to the main stream cards.

Bout #3
Black Russian (/w Nikita Nikolishin) defeated Mike Wildside by pinfall after a Russian Hammer at 6:11
**premiere of the Russian, who had the very stern looking Nikita Nikolishin as his second.

Pre-Match:

Nick Bockwinkel came to the ring before the women's match and interrupted. He told Bezzlerr that as he had promised she would live to regret turning him down to join The Agency. Since he couldn't get the belt by acquisition he would have to get it through a hostile turnover. He told Bezzlerr that he was the new manager of Mistress Gloom, she had joined the Agency! 

Bout #4

North American Women's Title Match

Emma Bezzlerr and Mistress Gloom (/w Nick Bockwinkel) battled to a no-contest at 5:09

[Emma Bezzlerr retained the North American Women's Title]

**a brawl, and after Bock tried to trip up Bezzlerr she left the ring to go after him. The brawl occurred outside the ring and the ref threw the match out.

Post-Match:

Jesse Hennig and Stan Baker came out and tried to grab onto Bezzlerr so Gloom could punch away. But from the back emerged two newcomers to RCW, obviously German by their appearance, and there to help Bezzlerr. The Agency was caught off guard and decided to sprint away. Bezzlerr introduced her two countrymen Wolfgang Haessler & Untermenschen (German for sub-human). They insult the crowd just to make sure it is known they are not fan favorites despite their problems with the Agency.  

Hour #2

Bout #5

RCW Tag Team Title Match

Man Mountain Rock & Hakushi defeated Jesse Hennig & Stan Baker (/w Nick Bockwinkel) by pinfall when Rock pinned Baker after an avalanche at 8:52

[Man Mountain Rock & Hakushi retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]

**not such a good night so far for The Agency, as Bockwinkel has been pretty ineffectual at ringside.

Bout #6

RCW Television Title Match

Grant's Last Chance at the TV Title

Lewis O'Day defeated Keywon Grant by pinfall after hitting him with brass knux at 12:10

[Lewis O'Day retained the RCW Television Title]

**when Grant agreed to the stipulation that this would be his last chance at the TV title as long as O'Day had the belt, he knew he was taking his chances against a tainted ending. And that is exactly what occurred, a tainted victory using brass knux after a ref bump.

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title
Wahoo McDaniel handcuffed to Nick Bockwinkel outside the ring
Greg Valentine (/w Wahoo McDaniel) defeated Manny Silva  (/w Nick Bockwinkel) by disqualification for outside interference at 10:21
[Greg Valentine retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**Bock being handcuffed seemed to unnerve Silva despite his wild renegade style in the past. Lots of spots with the action spilling outside the ring and the wrestler mixing it up with the managers. Valentine though grabbed control of the match, even busting Silva's head open. Valentine had Silva on the verge with a figure-four when Jesse Hennig & Stan Baker hit the ring to attack Valentine, and this allowed Bock to get the drop on Wahoo as well. The beat down was on both inside and outside of the ring. Keywon Grant tried to come out to help but he got a beatdown as well. So not a great night for the Agency on the score sheet but they end the night with an immoral victory and hold the ring as we go off the air.

[managermike99]

Breaking Kayfabe

Roster

Faces
Greg Valentine (he was past his prime but was exactly what RCW wrestling was all about)
Sgt. Keywon Grant (modelled after Sgt. Craig Pittman, and actually replaced him because Pittman was still active in WCW. A bit taller and leaner then Pittman and younger.)
Man Mountain Rock (aka Maxx Payne. RCW grabbed him up after his release from WWF near the end of 1995. Of course I had no idea back then it was for substance abuse.)
Hakushi (aka Jinsei Shinzaki. Was scarcely being used by the real world WWF by this time so I decided to snap him up for RCW.)
David Jericho (aka Kid Kash. Knew him from wrestling mags, probably liked him because of the name. He did not join the real world ECW until Nov 96).
Robbie Royce (a local Canadian indy wrestler with a long career. A mainstay.)
Mike Wildside (pretty sure a created character. Not really a top level talent).

Wahoo McDaniel (way past his prime but still a good draw for RCW. Close to retirement).

Heels
Lewis O'Day (created. Based on Dave Finlay. Finlay was in WCW so I replaced him with O'Day. Name inspired by Daniel Day Lewis - In the Name of the Father)
Manny Silva (the Agency) (created. Will have a long, hall of fame career in RCW. Resembles Manny Fernandez in appearance, and in ring, also Bruiser Brody).
Jesse Hennig (the Agency) (real wrestler, brother of Curt, son of Larry. But his fantasy career both in RCW and in Carl Todd/John Fredrickson's PWA/WWA/NeWA world will far exceed his real life exploits. I signed him after looking at his usage in their world).
Stan Baker (the Agency) (created wrestler, kayfabe the nephew of Ox Baker. Comes from the same world as Jesse Hennig. Created by them.)
Wolfgang Haessler (NEW) (created wrestler. German. sophisticated. Not really based on anyone, but more like a Nick Bockwinkel or Ric Flair in the sense he is well rounded and uses psychology).
Untermenschen (NEW) (created. was originally a gimmick for Scott Norton, but Norton was competing in WCW, so dropped the reference to Scott Norton. But otherwise looks and acts like him. German. Since I removed the Norton reference, I assume he does not speak English)
Black Russian (NEW) (created. Pretty boring Russian gimmick.)
Vance Nevada (another local Canadian indy wrestler with a long career. A mainstay)

Ladies
Emma Bezzlerr (created. German. Looks like a short powerhouse, kind of like Asya - Christi Wolfe).
Nikita Nikolishin (NEW) (created. Maybe based a bit on the song Nikita by Elton John.)
Pamela Principal (created. Schoolgirl/head mistress gimmick, not really sure which, a bit of a mix-up. Not based on the porn movies The Pamela Principle but that's probably where the name came from, or from Victoria Principal).
April Cummings (created. Based on a girl from the neighborhood.)
Mistress Gloom (created. a powerhouse.)
Julie Fulkerson (crossed over from the bikini model world, the California bikini videos that were hot in the 90's).
Tami Kim (same as Fulkerson)
Tammy Rief (same as Fulkerson)

Injured
Waylon Mercy (aka Dan Spivey. loved the gimmick. couldn't believe when WWF dumped him, so I snapped him up for RCW. Had no idea he could pretty much not wrestle due to injuries, so I am rolling with the punches on this one a bit and only using him occasionally but he will have a good run ahead of him).

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #608
May 11, 1996
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout

Tami Kim & Tammy Rief defeated April Cummings & Julie Fulkerson by submission when Rief submitted Cummings with the Boston crab at 8:50

**Kim & Rief continue their dominance in tag matches. But with no women's tag titles around not sure what the end game will be.

Bout #2

Black Russian (/w Nikita Nikolishin) defeated David Jericho by pinfall after a Russian Hammer (and outside interference) at 6:16

**the Russian looked slow compared to Jericho, but a well timed trip by his valet was all the advantage he needed to put this one away.

Bout #3

Wolfgang Haessler & Untermenschen (/w Emma Bezzlerr) defeated Robbie Royce & Mike Wildside by pinfall when Untermenschen pinned Royce after a release powerbomb at 4:32

**Haessler started the match and grabbed the advantage. His powerful partner then finished it off. Solid premiere for the German duo.

Bout #4

Jesse Hennig & Stan Baker (/w Nick Bockwinkel) defeated Keywon Grant & Wahoo McDaniel by countout when Grant was counted out at 9:06

**even match, lots of tempers flaring. In the end after Grant was brawling with Hennig outside the ring, Bockwinkel hid beside the apron and held onto Grant's leg stopping him from beating the 10 count back into the ring. Having 3 valets/managers in 4 matches is pretty different for RCW where the appearance of seconds has been fairly rare. This is probably related to being on television and needing that little extra something.

Hour #2

Bout #5
RCW Television Title Match
Lewis O'Day defeated Hakushi after a DDT at 7:20
[Lewis O'Day retained the RCW Television Title]
**Interesting to see one half of the tag champs Hakushi to get a title shot, as he has become a real fan favourite. The lead changed hands every minute in a fast paced frenetic match. Hakushi took a chance and went for his handstand moonsault too early, eating O'Day's knees. The champ then hit a DDT and rolled up the Japanese star for the win.

Bout #6
North American Women's Title
Street Fight
Emma Bezzlerr defeated Gloom with a 10 count in a street fight at 9:16
[Emma Bezzlerr retained the North American Women's Title]
**these two powerhouses battled in a streetfight, a level of woman on woman violence not seen in RCW. Even more bizarre was that both women got busted open. It was also quite a coup for the women of RCW to move this far up the card, even ahead of the TV title. The match could not end pure though as the Agency sent out Hennig and Baker, but they were met by Haessler and Untermenschen. Manny Silva then came out with Nick Bockwinkel but were headed off by Grant and McDaniel. In the middle of all that Bezzlerr powerbombed Gloom through a table, and she stayed down for the 10 count.

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
CAGE MATCH - 10 COUNT VICTORY

Greg Valentine defeated Manny Silva by 10 count after a diving elbowdrop at 12:07
[Greg Valentine retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**cage match but with street fight rules. The way to win was to knock your opponent down for a 10 count. Silva got busted open early by Valentine who then raked his face across the cage wall several times. Silva was a mess by about the 5 minute mark. The challenger though fought back showing how tough he was and hit Valentine with six different suplexes in a row, the final one being his wheelbarrow suplex finisher. However, he lost momentum when he tried to pin the champ, forgetting the rules in a bloody daze, and even wasting time arguing with the ref. Despite that long break Valentine took until an 8 count to get back to his feet. Silva charged him and drove a knee into him. He then locked on a rear chokehold which the ref tried to get him to break. Finally Silva turned it into a sleeper, but Valentine managed to break it by kicking off the cage wall. The two slugged it out, and it became obvious that Silva was wobbly due to his crimson mask. Valentine took him down with a double leg, dropped a leg onto the lower abdomen, then turned him over into a single leg crab. After the break Valentine whipped him off the ropes and nailed a back elbow. He dropped an elbowdrop and stood back as the ref counted to 6 before Silva got back up. The champ then nailed a piledriver..Silva got up at 6...another piledriver...he got up at 8. Valentine scoop slammed Silva, then climbed to the top rope. At his age it was not an easy thing to do. Silva started to move and rolled over onto all 4's. Valentine decided to leap anyway and dropped his elbow across the back of the neck of Silva. Both men were down..the ref counted and both men tried to use the ropes to get to their feet. Valentine managed to hoist himself up at 8..but Silva fell down again and took the 10 count loss.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #609
May 18, 1996
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Mistress Gloom (/w Nick Bockwinkel) defeated Julie Fulkerson by pinfall after a tombstone piledriver at 5:30
**very similar match to their Oct 28/95 bout. Same result. Gloom is still in the title picture while Fulkerson is more on the periphery.

Bout #2
Manny Silva (/w Nick Bockwinkel) defeated Mike Wildside by pinfall after a wheelbarrow suplex at 4:18
**squash match.

Bout #3
David Jericho (/w April Cummings) defeated Black Russian (/w Nikita Nikolishin) by pinfall after a hurrincanrana at 8:53
**much better match then the first two. April Cummings neutralizing Nikita was the main turning point in this match and allowed Jericho to get his revenge for last week's tainted loss.

Bout #4
Non-Title Match - Loser Is Banned From Ringside for the Next Tag Match
Nick Bockwinkel defeated Emma Bezzlerr by pinfall after hitting her with brass knuckles at 4:29
**Bock didn't look to be taking the bout serious as he showed up in sneakers and a track suit. The ref made him take off his rings and his neccklaces, after patting him down. So when Bock left the ring to put his jewelry at the announce table, on the way back he grabbed a pair of brass knux he had stuffed under the ring. He used his track suit well dodging Bezzlerr, slipping between the ropes. Finally Bezzlerr got her hands on him, bodyslam, kneedrop, full nelson into a slam, cover for a 2 count. Bock then dodged between the ropes. Bezzlerr tried to grab him anyway and he reached around the ref and chopped her throat. Bock then went to work with a couple of slams, then a facelock, and then a sleeperhold. Bezzlerr got the break and then after Bock with punches and kicks. Mistress Gloom came down to the ring, distracted the ref and Bezzlerr, which allowed Bock to put on the knux and nail her from behind, and then cover for the pin.

Hour #2

Bout #5
#1 Contenders Match
Untermenschen & Wolfgang Haessler defeated Jesse Hennig & Stan Baker (/w Nick Bockwinkel) when Haessler pinned Baker after a spiked piledriver at 9:33
**Emma Bezzlerr was not at ringside because of losing the previous bout to Bockwinkel, even though it was in controversial style. However, at a critical point in the match a "mysterious" woman in a mask who happened to be wearing the same ring outfit that Bezzlerr had worn earlier in the night came out to confront Bockwinkel. The distraction was enough to allow a pearl harbour and allow the Germans to pick up a victory. The fans seem to side with the Germans in a lessor of two evils.

Main Event
Best 2 out of 3 Falls
Champion vs Champion 
RCW Heavyweight Title Bout
Greg Valentine defeated Lewis O'Day by submission to the figure-four at 8:31
**the dishonour of submitting probably hurt O'Day more then potentially getting his leg snapped, but the Television champion probably had to preserve himself for the next fall.
Lewis O'Day defeated Greg Valentine by countout at 13:22
**O'Day evened things up. The two men were brawling outside the ring and O'Day threw Valentine head first into the ring steps and then beat the count back inside. Since its one fall to one fall, even though this one was a countout, if O'Day wins the deciding fall by pinfall or submission he will win the RCW Heavyweight title.
Greg Valentine defeated Lewis O'Day by pinfall after an elbowdrop from the second buckle at 22:54
[Greg Valentine wins 2 falls to 1]
[Greg Valentine retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**really hard fought match with Valentine busted open from the ringsteps in the second fall. By the end of the bout he was a bloody mess but he absolutely punished O'Day for about the last 4 minutes of the match getting no less than 6 2 count overs, and 2 near submissions to the figure four. Finally Valentine just wore him down enough to get the win. Both men lay on their backs for almost a minute after the bout before getting to their feet again.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #610
May 25, 1996
Winnipeg, Manitoba

**All Ladies Event**

**Sixteen Woman Tournament**
**Winner Gets Title Shot at North American Women's Title**

Powerhouse Division
Mistress Gloom
Eternity
Teagan Clive
Lenda Murray

Veteran Division
Pamela Principal
April Cummings
Kat LeRoux
Jeanne Basone

Glamour Division
Tammy Rief
Jamie Ortlieb
Dana Loury
Heather McTague

Fitness Division
Julie Fulkerson
Spice Williams
Debbie Kruck
Tami Kim


Round of 16
Mistress Gloom defeated Eternity pic by pinfall after a tombstone piledriver at 4:05
**The Nubian Eternity is good, and uses her height and leverage, but Gloom is too nasty and powerful. Of note is that Nick Bockwinkel was not on hand to manage Gloom. No managers were allowed for this event.

Teagan Clive pic defeated Lenda Murray pic by pinfall after a float over suplex at 3:37
**with so many newcomers to wrestling the matches are going to be short. Gives the event an MMA sort of feel, like the early UFC tournaments. These two women have the potential to be stars in the business if thats what they want.

April Cummings defeated Pamela Principal by submission to the camel clutch at 6:19
**one of the longer matches tonight because it has two more experienced ladies, familiar with each other from RCW. Both girls are fan favourites so it was a clean bout. This was a rare victory for Cummings who despite being a good grappler and a former champion has found getting to the pay window to be tough the past year or so.

Jeanne Basone pic defeated Kat LeRoux pic by pinfall after a flying bodyscissors driver at 7:32
**two more veterans of the ring, LeRoux's first match in RCW and she took the role of villain. Former women's champion Basone ("Hollywood" from GLOW) looks as good as ever.

Tammy Rief pic defeated Jamie Ortlieb picby pinfall after a flying bulldog at 2:34
**not a good introduction to pro wrestling for Ortlieb.

Heather McTague bio defeated Dana Loury pic by submission to the Boston crab at 3:36
**the actress (Intimate Obsessions, Beach Beverly Hills) and Bikini Open competitor beat the other bikini open competitor in an uncompetitive bout.

Julie Fulkerson pic defeated Spice Williams pic by pinfall after a tiltawhirl slam at 6:14
**Williams, an actress and stunt woman known for her roles in such classics as Hollywood Hot Tubs 2: Educating Crystal, controlled early with some kicks, a couple suplexes, and armbars. But Fulkerson has had more experience in the ring and caught her charging, and then nailed her with a nice finisher. 
 
Tami Kim pic defeated Debbie Kruck pic by pinfall after a superkick at 5:30
**Kruck surprisingly beat Kim from pillar to post. But like in the match just prior, one mistake, a telegraphed dropkick, and two moves later this match was over.


Quarter-Finals
Mistress Gloom defeated Teagan Clive by countout at 5:23
**fairly even match but Gloom caught a break when Clive landed funny jumping off the ring apron, and couldn't put enough weight on her ankle to get back into the ring.

Jeanne Basone defeated April Cummings by pinfall after a flying headscissors driver at 0:44
**wow, amazingly short match as one former women's champ quickly disposes of another.

Tammy Rief and Heather McTague battled to a no-contest at 4:41
**no one likes these kind of double elimination matches except for the lucky person who will get a semi-final draw. It also means that the much anticipated Rief vs Kim match, partner vs partner will not happen.

Tami Kim defeated Julie Fulkerson by pinfall after a schoolgirl roll up at 7:27
**very good match compared to most of the other ones tonight. Kim is looking really strong tonight and will be hard to beat in the final.


Second Chance Battle Royale
order of elimination (time)
12. Julie Fulkerson 1:00 
11. Eternity 1:46
10. April Cummings 2:02
9.   Kat LeRoux 2:10
8.   Debbie Kruck 4:32
7.   Jamie Ortlieb 5:19
6.   Dana Loury 5:23
5.   Pamela Principal 6:47
4.   Heather McTague 8:09
3.   Spice Williams 10:05
2.   Lenda Murray 10:31
1. Tammy Rief won a 12-Woman Battle Royale at 10:31
**commissioner Jim Brunzell came out to say that in RCW there is no free pass. He invited all the girls except for the one's still in the tournament to come back for a chance to get into the semi-final. Teagan Clive could not compete due to injury but the other 12 woman all entered. In the end it was Tammy Rief taking the final spot that her thrown out match had left open. She will now face her tag partner in the semi-finals, but will be pretty worn down after that battle royale and the hard fought no-contest earlier.


Semi-Finals
Jeanne Basone defeated Mistress Gloom by disqualification for abuse of official at 7:14
**Not a clean victory for Basone, but this was a very even match that ended when Gloom refused to break while boot choking Basone and when the ref tried to force her she bodyslammed him. She continued the beat down after the match leaving the crowd to wonder what kind of shape "Hollywood" would be in for the final bout.

Tami Kim defeated Tammy Rief by pinfall after an inside cradle (and a handful of tights) at 4:00
**short match between the partners. They did some criss cross segments, exchanged suplexes, then things started to get rough. Kim countered a Rief suplex with one of her own, then rolled her up, and grabbed a handful of tights for a tainted victory. Rief got into Kim's face following the match about the tight pull and the two got into a slapping exchange, which turned into a brawl. Seems like this partnership is over.

Main Event
Tournament Final Match
Jeanne Basone defeated Tami Kim by pinfall after a flying headscissors driver at 8:11
[Jeanne Basone wins Tournament]
**not a clean match, which is too bad because for the most part the rest of the card had been clean finishes. First Gloom came down and tried to interfere against Basone, obviously angry about the way their semi ended. After she was escorted to the back Tammy Rief had come down to also interfere, although she didn't try to physically interfere just cheer on Basone. After she was ejected commissioner Jim Brunzell had several security personnel stand around ringside to prevent further meddling. Basone looked worse for wear from her beat down from Gloom but she rallied and got stronger as the bout progressed. Basone finished off Kim with her finisher, a clean win, and will challenge the German Emma Bezzlerr for the North American Women's Title soon.