April 1997

[managermike99]

Roster

Faces
Stan Lane
Ben Bassarab
Greg Valentine
Lewis O'Day
Todd Bullett
Robbie Royce
Elmwood Brawler
Darcy McGee

Heels
Manny Silva
Jesse Hennig
Vance Nevada
Jason Yakimow
Joe E. Legend 
Steele (NEW)
Shane Ballard (NEW)
Shannon Ballard (NEW)

Ladies
Madusa Micelli
Mistress Gloom
Kawasuki
Barbie Wired
Catherine Nolan
Mia Finnegan
Allie Myles 
Jane Dirt 

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #660
April 5, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Mistress Gloom defeated Jane Dirt by pinfall after a piledriver at 2:54
**squash match

Bout #2
4 Corners Bout
Vance Nevada defeated Darcy McGee, Jason Yakimow, and Elmwood Brawler when he pinned McGee after a top rope legdrop at 5:25
**fall out from the tag match which was thrown out with these 4 competitors. This is kind of a battle of the enhancement talents, and although it briefly started with allegiances (Brawler & McGee vs Yakimow & Nevada) that quickly broke down.

Bout #3
#1 Contenders Match
Allie Myles defeated Barbie Wired by pinfall after a flying crucifix at 5:08
**a bit of an upset as Wired was on a roll. Wired made the mistake of charging into the corner too early, Myles moved out of the way, came off the second rope with an elbow smash, waited for Wired to get up and hit her finisher for the win.

Bout #4
#1 Contenders Match for the Heavyweight Title
Greg Valentine defeated Manny Silva by pinfall while in the figure-four at 9:01
**solid bout with a lot of brawling, and a lot of energy. Both men were gassed at the end. Silva got put into the figure four but refused to submit, but his shoulders were counted down as he passed out from the pain.


Hour #2

Bout #5
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Todd Bullett & Robbie Royce defeated Sexton Hardcastle & Christian Cage by pinfall when Bullett pinned Hardcastle after a top rope splash at 8:34
[Todd Bullett & Robbie Royce retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**a return match for Thug Life after they beat the champs in singles action last week. As a tag team though the champs came through with better teamwork.

Bout #6
RCW Television Title Match
Special Guest Referee - Jim Brunzell
Ben Bassarab defeated Joe E. Legend by pinfall after a flying cross bodyblock at 8:06
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**Brunzell was not really needed, other than being a bit stricter and keeping Legend in line. He also physically moved Legend on two occasions to enforce rope breaks. At one point when Bassarab was down, instead of pushing his advantage he leaned on the ropes and signalled for someone from the back (we assume fellow Thug Lifers Hardcastle & Cage) but no one showed. Bassarab recovered, hit some punches, a pair of snap suplexes, a high back body drop, and then his finisher to pick up the decisive win.

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Stan Lane and Lewis O'Day battled to a no-contest at 6:10
[Stan Lane retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**bout between two faces, but neither held anything back. The match was just really starting to get nasty when Manny Silva decided to ruin the party with a run-in. Silva took out both men, but the save was made by Greg Valentine.


That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling. See ya next week!

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #661
April 12, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Jesse Hennig defeated Elmwood Brawler by pinfall after a jumping neck snap at 3:47
**squash match

Bout #2
Barbie Wired defeated Mia Finnegan by pinfall after the Ape Hanger at 5:00
**good win by Wired to keep her in the hunt for a title shot

Bout #3
#1 Contenders Match
Joe E. Legend & Steele defeated Shane & Shannon Ballard by pinfall when Legend pinned Shane Ballard after the Legend cutter at 7:10
**interesting bout because it featured 3 newcomers to RCW, and both teams were apparently heels. Steele is Sean Morley who has made a name for himself in Mexico. 

Bout #4
North American Women's Title Match
Madusa Micelli defeated Allie Myles by pinfall after a superkick at 6:09
[Madusa Micelli retained the North American Women's Title]
**Micelli just seems to be a step ahead of all the competition she has faced lately in RCW.

Hour #2

Bout #5
RCW Television Title Match
Ben Bassarab defeated Vance Nevada by pinfall after a flying crossbody block at 8:31
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**Nevada earned this title shot by winning the 4-way match last week. He gave it a good try but was over matched.

Main Event
Non-Title - 4 man elimination match
Stan Lane vs Greg Valentine vs Lewis O'Day vs Manny Silva
-Greg Valentine pinned by Manny Silva after a diving clothesline at 6:04
-Manny Silva pinned by Stan Lane after a superkick at 9:11
-Stan Lane pinned by Lewis O'Day after a running kneesmash at 14:35
[Lewis O'Day wins the 4 man elimination match at 14:35]


That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling. See ya next week!

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #662
April 19, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

The show began with the Hall of Fame Induction of Jim Brunzell (the 10th member in the hall). On hand, and in the ring to congratulate him were fellow Hall of Famers; The Destroyer, Chris Lyon, Mike Valiant, Tawney England, Corrie England, Marty Gold, and Ben Bassarab. The induction went off without drama.

Opening Bout
Allie Myles & Catherine Nolan defeated Kawasuki & Jane Dirt by pinfall when Myles pinned Dirt after a flying crucifix at 5:07
**fairly one sided match, but Nolan had the win assured, when Myles made the tag in off her back, hit her own finisher and picked up the win. Nolan and Myles had words after the match but nothing else came of it.

Bout #2
Shane & Shannon Ballard defeated Elmwood Brawler & Darcy McGee by pinfall when Shane pinned McGee after a double flying clothesline at 4:40
**The Ballard Brothers get on the win sheet after losing in their premiere last week.

Bout #3
Greg Valentine and Jesse Hennig battled to a no-contest at 7:12
**pretty good match featuring two wrestlers from true wrestling families. In the end the tenacity of both men could not be held within the ring.
 

Hour #2

Bout #4
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Joe E. Legend & Steele defeated Todd Bullett & Robbie Royce by pinfall when Steele pinned Royce after a half-nelson slam (and outside interference by Emma Bezzlerr) at 6:15
[Joe E. Legend & Steele win the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**not sure what was more improbable, the tag run by Bullett and Royce who always looked overmatched on paper, or the fact they lost it to Legend and Steele who are teaming for only the second time. Royce managed to avoid the Legend cutter, but with all four men brawling and the ref distracted, Emma Bezzlerr showed up, entered the ring and instead of saving Royce from Steele, she delivered a lowblow on Royce. Steele then hit his finisher and picked up the win.

Bout #5
RCW Television Title Match
Ben Bassarab defeated Manny Silva by disqualification for use of a foreign object (ring bell) at 8:10
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**Back on March 15th Bassarab successfully defended his title against Silva who got intentionally DQ'd instead of losing. After that bout Silva was joined by Jesse Hennig and Joe E. Legend in a beat down of Bassarab. The champ extracted his revenge in subsequent bouts against Hennig (March 22nd), then had his bout with Legend cancelled on the 29th after being beaten down by Silva after trying to make the save of Lewis O'Day (who had saved Bassarab on March 22nd). Bassarab though went on to beat Legend on April 5th. This was the last match to finish his tour of revenge. However, once again Silva preferred to just take a DQ instead of risking an out right loss. 

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Stan Lane defeated Lewis O'Day by pinfall after a superkick at 10:42
[Stan Lane retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**a rematch of their April 5th battle which was ruled a no-contest due to the ring being invaded by Manny Silva. This time Jim Brunzell made it clear that any interference in this bout would be punishable by a long suspension. So once again these two fan favourites locked up, but despite being friends really laid into each other. The match went in and out of the ring and turned into an all out brawl. In the end O'Day despite having had his legs worked on by the champ, went for his running kneesmash finisher, but was too slow, hobbling along. Lane nailed a kick to the leg of a charging O'Day, then nailed his finisher.


That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling. See ya next week!!

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #663
April 26, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Shane Ballard defeated Vance Nevada by pinfall after a reverse Russian legsweep at 3:35

Bout #2
Shannon Ballard defeated Jason Yakimow by pinfall after a Samoan drop at 2:57

Bout #3
Emma Bezzlerr defeated Kawasuki after a Gorilla press slam at 4:04

Bout #4
Allie Myles defeated Catherine Nolan by pinfall after a sunset flip (with a handful of tights) at 7:16


Hour #2

Bout #5
Mystery Partner
Jesse Hennig & Kevin Northcutt defeated Greg Valentine & Lewis O'Day when Northcutt pinned Valentine after a double underhook piledriver at 7:03
**Northcutt was the mystery partner for Hennig, and while he was not too well known by most fans, they were immediately impressed with his physical stature; 6'6 275 pounds, with a muscular but athletic build. Physically Northcutt dominated his opponents but it was not enough to win the bout, as the cagey Valentine battled back. It took Hennig clocking Valentine from behind, while on the apron, with a boot to the back of the head, to set up the win for the big newcomer.

Bout #6
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Joe E. Legend & Steele (/w Emma Bezzlerr) defeated Todd Bullett & Robbie Royce by pinfall when Legend pinned Bullett after the Legend cutter at 6:28
[Joe E. Legend & Steele retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**before the match began Emma Bezzlerr got on the mic and explained her actions. She had helped Bullet and Royce back in March, but instead of thanking her they discarded her. She is now a woman scorned, but also a woman avenged. During the bout Bezzlerr made herself known, twice jumping on the ring apron to distract the former tag champions, both times costing them the advantage. The end came when Bezzlerr got tangled up with Royce outside the ring leaving Bullett at the mercy of both his opponents.

Main Event
RCW Television Title Match
Coal Miners Glove Match
Ben Bassarab defeated Manny Silva by pinfall after Silva fell off the top rope at 8:51
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**Bassarab started strong taking control of the first few minutes, keeping Silva off balance and under control. Seemed like once he fell behind Silva became overly concerned with the prospect of Bassarab climbing the corner pole and retrieving the coal miners glove. The glove can be used, its the only foreign object that is legal, but a pinfall or submission (or countout/DQ) still must be made to end the match. Silva eventually figured it out though and fought back with his usual rampage. He busted Bassarab open by slamming his head a few times off the announce table. Back inside the men traded suplexes, and then Bassarab went to the top too early and Silva pushed him off the top. But when the mad Hawaiian retrieved the glove himself he lost his balance and fell off the top buckle, backward, landing hard on his back. Bassarab didn't even have to use the glove, he just rolled up a stunned Silva and made the pin.

Post-Match:
Manny Silva was embarrassed, and that is never a good thing for those around him.  Silva retrieved the coal miners glove and took out Bassarab with a punch to the head. Bassarab was already wearing the proverbial crimson mask and was now a bloody mess as we went off air.


That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling. See ya next week!!