May 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 
Kevin Northcutt (NEW)
Shane Ballard
Shannon Ballard

Ladies
Madusa Micelli
Mistress Gloom
Kawasuki
Barbie Wired
Catherine Nolan
Mia Finnegan
Allie Myles
Jane Dirt
Emma Bezzlerr (NEW)

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #664
May 3, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Elmwood Brawler defeated Jason Yakimow by pinfall after a bolo punch at 4:31

Bout #2
#1 Contender - 9 Woman Tragic Triangle Match
Mistress Gloom won a 9 Woman Tragic Triangle Match at 21:12
**the rules were that 3 women were drawn randomly to start the bout. All 3 women are legal. Once a woman is eliminated (pinfall/submission/countout/DQ) another name will be drawn so there is always 3 women at one time. Obviously once all names have been drawn it goes down to 2 remaining combatants.
Draw: Emma Bezzlerr, Kawasuki, and Barbie Wired
[Kawasuki eliminated by Emma Bezzlerr by pinfall after a gorilla press slam at 2:36]
Draw: Mia Finnegan; Emma Bezzlerr, Barbie Wired
[Barbie Wired eliminated by Mia Finnegan after a top rope clothesline at 5:40]
Draw: Catherine Nolan, Mia Finnegan, Emma Bezzlerr
[Catherine Nolan eliminated by submission by Emma Bezzlerr in a Boston crab at 8:17]
Draw: Kari Pelletier, Mia Finnegan, Emma Bezzlerr
[Kari Pelletier eliminated by Emma Bezzlerr after a gorilla press slam at 10:02]
Draw: Jane Dirt, Mia Finnegan, Emma Bezzlerr
[Jane Dirt eliminated by Mia Finnegan after a double superplex at 10:55]
Draw: Allie Myles, Mia Finnegan, Emma Bezzlerr
[Mia Finnegan eliminated by Emma Bezzlerr after a gorilla press slam at 14:44]
Draw: Mistress Gloom, Allie Myles, Emma Bezzlerr
[Allie Myles eliminated by Mistress Gloom after a chokeslam at 17:52]
[Emma Bezzlerr eliminated by Mistress Gloom after a piledriver at 21:12]
**Emma Bezzlerr was not popular with the crowd after having helped Thug Life win the tag titles over Bullett/Royce, but she earned their respect with a great showing, surviving from the start to the end. Mistress Gloom had an easier time of it, being drawn last and coming in fresh. Pretty much all the girls in the RCW women's division are "tweeners" although some are more popular with the crowd then others. Gloom is definitely a tweener. Gloom will now get a title shot against Madusa Micelli at the next all women's card on May 24th.

Hour #2

Bout #3
Shane & Shannon Ballard defeated Todd Bullett & Robbie Royce by pinfall after a spinebuster slam/running legdrop double team finisher at 6:49
**The ex-champions lose again, perhaps marking the end of them as a tag team. On the other hand the Ballard Brothers are probably in-line now for a title shot.

Main Event
8-Man Elimination Match
Stan Lane/Greg Valentine/Lewis O'Day/mystery partner vs Jesse Hennig/Kevin Northcutt/Joe E. Legend/Steele
**the match was ready to start with no mystery partner coming out. Finally the ref decided to apply a 10 count to count out the mystery partner. As the ref faced the back, the partner of course came in from the crowd and slid into the ring. The crowd went crazy as former RCW Heavyweight champion, the Voodoo master, the man with all the Mojo, "Vendetta" is back in RCW!!
[Joe E. Legend eliminated by Vendetta by pinfall after a jumping DDT at 3:55]
**it didn't take Vendetta long to make a big impact. But after making the first elimination he was victim to a double team which led to the Haitian playing Ricky Morton for a couple minutes before making the tag out to Greg Valentine. The Hammer, then O'Day, and then Lane all worked over Jesse Hennig, with Lane finishing him off.
[Jesse Hennig eliminated by Stan Lane by pinfall after a superkick at 10:04]
**it was now 4 on 2 but the heels made a good show of it, with quick tags and isolating Lane. But they got worn down and it didn't take Valentine long once he got the hot tag to take care of business.
[Steele eliminated by Greg Valentine by submission to the figure-four at 14:47]
**Four on one, but you can still only have one man in the ring at a time, and Kevin Northcutt cut the ring in half, cheated, used the ref to his advantage and took care of Lewis O'Day. 
[Lewis O'Day eliminated by Kevin Northcutt by pinfall after a double underhook piledriver at 17:09]
**Greg Valentine went right after Northcutt but he walked into a big elbow, then a spinebuster, 1, 2, Northcutt put his feet on the middle buckle, 3.
[Greg Valentine eliminated by Kevin Northcutt by pinfall after a spinebuster slam (and with his feet on the ropes) at 17:26]
**Vendetta and Lane took a more careful approach now that the newcomer had eliminated two of their team single handedly. They made a series of quick tags and wore down Northcutt. Finally Vendetta hit his finisher and ended the threat.
[Kevin Northcutt eliminated by Vendetta after a jumping DDT at 20:41]
[Stan Lane and Vendetta survived]
[Stan Lane, Greg Valentine, Lewis O'Day, & Vendetta defeated Jesse Hennig, Kevin Northcutt, Joe E. Legend, & Steele at 20:41]


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

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #665
May 10, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Robbie Royce defeated Jason Yakimow by pinfall after a top rope elbowdrop 4:24
**half the former tag champions got back into the win column.

Bout #2
Vance Nevada defeated Todd Bullett by pinfall after a top rope legdrop at 6:30
**a bit of an upset as Nevada defeated the other half of the former tag champions.

Bout #3
Mistress Gloom defeated Emma Bezzlerr by pinfall after a piledriver at 4:47
**Gloom successfully defends her claim to be the #1 contender.

Bout #4
Kevin Northcutt defeated Greg Valentine by pinfall after a double underhook suplex at 8:08
**big upset for Northcutt and shoots him right to the top of the singles rankings. Northcutt controlled early, then Valentine made a comeback. Jesse Hennig came out and caused a distraction which allowed Northcutt to make another comeback. But the big native of Louisiana made a mistake taking too long going to the top rope, and Valentine moved out of the way of a clothesline attempt. The veteran went to work and looked ready to close out the match, but he went for a piledriver and Northcutt countered with a backflip, then dropped down on Valentine and gave him a flurry of punches. The strong youngster then pulled up Valentine, nailed a short arm clothesline, then nailed him with his own piledriver (as if to say "you have to hook the arms stupid old man").


Hour #2

Bout #5
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Shane & Shannon Ballard defeated Joe E. Legend & Steele by disqualification at 6:45
[Joe E. Legend & Steele retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**the champs solidified the role of the Ballards in this one as the faces. The champs were not really in jeopardy of losing the bout but just seemed to want to send a message. They were double teaming Shane and refused to leave the ring. Shannon came in but they just double teamed him. The ref disqualified the challengers but the champs continued the beatdown until security was able to intervene.

Bout #6
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Stan Lane defeated Jesse Hennig by disqualification for outside interference at 6:06
[Stan Lane retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**Hennig started strong but Lane took the match over. Then from the back came Kevin Northcutt who attacked the champ and the two on one beatdown was on until Greg Valentine made the save.

Main Event
CAGE MATCH
RCW Television Title Match
Ben Bassarab defeated Manny Silva by countout at 9:30
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**perhaps the first time a cage match has ended in a countout. This was a strange one. First of all the match came about as part of a challenge. Silva was unhappy and embarrassed with his loss 2 weeks ago when he basically fell off the top turnbuckle while retrieving the coal miners glove. He said that was Bassarab's match with all the climbing and jungle jim type thigs. He challenged Bassarab to man up and give him a shot in his kind of match; a cage match. Contained in a cage with a wildman like Silva was a big ask of the Hall of Famer, but he accepted of course. Silva controlled more of the bout then Bassarab although the champion certainly had his stretches of control. However, Stan Lane came out to ringside, grabbed the mic, and ignoring what was going on in the cage, demanded a match with Northcutt or Hennig or both next week. He was calling out Northcutt and Hennig and commissioner Jim Brunzell. Manny Silva decided to leave the cage by climbing over the top and out. He then attacked Lane just seconds ahead of Northcutt and Hennig arriving to do the same. Bassarab was trying to get the cage door open to no avail, so he climbed overtop and managed to help make the save just after Greg Valentine arrived on scene. It was a massive six man brawl outside the ring. Inside the ref decided he had counted out Silva before Bassarab left the cage and that's how we got ourselves a countout in a cage match.


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

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #666
May 17, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Bout #1
Lewis O'Day defeated Caveman Broda by pinfall after a running kneesmash at 3:34
**squash match

Bout #2
Allie Myles defeated Mia Finnegan by pinfall after a flying crucifix at 5:37
**seen this match before. Building exposure and a pecking order for next week's all women's card.

Bout #3
Robbie Royce and Vance Nevada battled to a double countout at 4:59
**look's like we will get a rematch. Nevada upset Royce's former partner Todd Bullett last week, and is bragging that Bullett has packed his bags and left. Nevada says he will do the same to Royce.

Bout #4
Mistress Gloom defeated Catherine Nolan by pinfall after a piledriver at 3:09
**squash match


Hour #2

Bout #5
Intergender Six Man Tag Match
Shane Ballard, Shannon Ballard, & Barbie Wired defeated Joe E. Legend, Steele, & Emma Bezzlerr by pinfall when Shannon Ballard pinned Legend after a Legend cutter at 8:43
**lots of heat between Bezzlerr and Wired so we will likely see them face off next week. The Ballards have earned another title shot as well. The icing on the cake in this bout was Shannon Ballard winning the match against Legend with his own move. There was a big brawl of course after the bout with Legend/Steele/Bezzlerr getting the upper hand.

Main Event
Texas Tornado Cage Match (All Six Men Are Legal)
Stan Lane, Greg Valentine, & Ben Bassarab defeated Manny Silva, Kevin Northcutt, & Jesse Hennig by pinfall when Bassarab pinned Hennig after a flying crossbody block at 17:51
**hard to describe the action in a match like this, but both teams had enough advantages to make it a long hard fought contest. There was also enough hard feelings created during the match to keep some of the feuds going. However, after the bout Manny Silva attacked the referee and an official who was trying to get the cage door open. The bad guys closed the cage door after the bout and went to work on the faces.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #667
May 24, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Another All Ladies Edition of River City Wrestling

Hour #1

Bout #1
Mia Finnegan bio defeated Daisy Rhodes by pinfall after a swinging neckbreaker at 4:26
**Rhodes' first match in RCW. She is a bit on the chunky side, but that didn't stop her from wearing a pair of daisy dukes in the ring. 

Bout #2
King of the Hill - Six Woman Match
Team Global: Amanda Garrity (Australia), Alexandra Beres (Hungary), Carmen Moreno (Spain) defeated Team USA: Karen Hulse (Pennsylvania)Teresa Hessler (Baltimore), Michelle Bellini (California) at 5:50
link to Arnold Sports Festival Fitness 1997 - featuring all 6 of these ladies
**Only Beres has competed in RCW before, and only Beres has wrestled before. Despite that Hessler and Hulse from team USA both looked decent. All six of these women compete in fitness and bodybuilding. The match rules were everyone was legal, and to win one team had to be completely in the ring while their opponents were on the floor below. Team Global had almost won but Hulse managed to get onto the ring apron. Global were confused though and thought they had won which allowed Team USA to regroup. 

Bout #3
Deep Blue defeated Allie Myles by pinfall after a twisting moonsault at 7:41
**if there was one nice surprise tonight, in what is often more of a flesh fest, it was the emergence of the masked Deep Blue who looks like she has had some lucha training. The name itself might come from the glittering mask, but it looks like it comes after the computer that is playing Russian chess master Kasparov in a world event. 


Hour #2

Bout #4
Six-Woman Tag Match - Texas Tornado Match
Rocki Roads, Catherine Nolan, & Jane Dirt defeated Oshean, SaRenna Lee, & Kawasuki by pinfall when Dirt pinned Kawasuki after a German suplex/running leg drop double team at 4:25
**pure foolishness. Roads on the one side, and Oshean and Lee on the other side are adult video "stars" who have no place in the ring. In the end those three got into a tussle outside the ring, with all 3 women going at each other, which more fans watched then what was going on inside the ring. Inside it was two on one and Nolan and Dirt nailed a double team finisher to pick up the win.

Bout #5
Streetfight
Barbie Wired defeated Emma Bezzlerr in a streetfight with a 10 count at 8:02
**This one was fought more out of the ring then in. Wired had rode her Harley down to the ring and it became fair game with Bezzlerr going after it both in attacks on Wired and as a distraction. The end came when Wired used it as leverage to deliver a sliding savate kick, then hit her finisher to get the 10 count. Big win for Wired which puts her back into the title picture. 

Main Event
North American Women's Title Match
Madusa Micelli defeated Mistress Gloom by pinfall after a superkick at 12:20
[Madusa Micelli retained the North American Women's Title]
**really even, hard fought bout. Micelli controlled early with some restholds like a standing headlock, and then bodyscissors on the mat. She then worked over the back of the bigger Gloom before twice locking on a Boston crab which Gloom kicked out of. Madusa made her first mistake coming off the top rope for a crossbody, but Gloom caught her and powerslammed her to the mat. Somehow Madusa was able to kick out after a 2 count. Gloom worked some kicks and punches, bodyslam, three mini avalanches in the corner, then a rope assisted sitdown splash, for 1, 2, Madusa trying to kick out causes Gloom to grab onto the ropes, the ref spots it and calls for a break. After a short argument with the ref Gloom tosses Madusa over the top rope. The two battle outside the ring, then back inside, then outside again, and back inside Gloom applies a bearhug, then a standing surfboard. A pair of backbreakers gets a 2 count. Gloom goes for a piledriver but Madusa reverses it with a back bodydrop. Both women are kind of tweeners and the crowd is pretty much split 50/50 in support. The match spills outside once again where the two battle around and on the announce table. The ref is quite lax in his count. Back inside Madusa catches Gloom by spinning around on the ropes and kicking her in the head, and then dropping a legdrop across the back of her neck. Madusa tries for a DDT but Gloom blocks it, so Madusa twirls around to behind her and takes her down with a big belly to back suplex. Gloom gets up, Madusa hits her with the superkick and picks up the win. Excellent match, which along with the emergence of Deep Blue salvages the show.


That's it for this All-Ladies edition of River City Wrestling. See ya next week!!

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #668
May 31, 1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

The show begins with the announcement that due to his actions on May 17th Manny Silva has been suspended for 60 days as of that day. This is Silva's second suspension in RCW.

Opening Bout
Bermuda Triangle Match
Catherine Nolan defeated Jane Dirt and Kawasuki by pinfall when she pinned Dirt after a Northern lights suplex at 4:20
**fast paced woman's action to start the show.

Bout #2
Robbie Royce defeated Vance Nevada after a top rope elbowdrop at 5:04
**return match for these two, and this one seems to have settled it clean. Nevada may have been able to beat Todd Bullett but he was in turn beaten by Royce.

Bout #3
Deep Blue defeated Mia Finnegan by pinfall after a frankensteiner at 6:42
**DB continues to impress after her debut at the all women's show. After the bout though as she was about to be interviewed (we don't know where she hails from, what she sounds like, does she even speak Enblish?) she was attacked by Finnegan who laid the boots to her. She pulled the mask off of DB but security used a jacket to allow DB to cover her face.

Bout #4
#1 Contender Match
Greg Valentine and Lewis O'Day battled to a double countout at 7:51
**both "good guys" seemed to be in a bad mood, and this one turned ugly, into a real punch fest out of the ring.

Hour #2

Bout #5
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Joe E. Legend & Steele (/w Emma Bezzlerr) defeated Shane & Shannon Ballard by pinfall when Steele pinned Shane after a half-nelson slam at 6:33
[Joe E. Legend & Steele retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**Bezzlerr played the difference maker, jumping up on the apron and distracting the ref just at the right time to allow a double team of first Shannon, then Shane.

Bout #6
RCW Television Title Match
Ben Bassarab defeated Jesse Hennig by pinfall after an inside cradle at 9:09
[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]
**a revival of the 1995 RCW Feud of the Year award winner. As could be expected the match was fast paced, even, and hard fought. In the end though Hennig seemed to get a bit gassed, and ran out of offensive weapons while Bassarab just kept on attacking like a rabid wolverine.

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Stan Lane defeated Kevin Northcutt by disqualification for outside interference (Jesse Hennig) at 7:15
[Stan Lane retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**Northcutt controlled the first 5 minutes of this bout and it looked like he had the champion's number. But Lane made a comeback, so Hennig came to the ring and tripped up Lane. However, the trip was seen by the ref who called for the bell.

Post-Match:
The two on one beatdown was on with Northcutt and Hennig going to work on Lane. From the back came Lewis O'Day and the heels scrambled out of the ring. But O'Day then clobbered Lane from behind. While Hennig held Lane over the bottom rope from the ring floor, Northcutt joined O'Day in the beatdown. Hennig though pulled Lane out of the ring and was helping him up, and yelling at Northcutt and O'Day "enough". While Northcutt and O'Day exited the ring, Greg Valentine emerged from the back as well to help Hennig with Lane so this backed O'Day and Northcutt up. Until Valentine clobbered Hennig from behind and began another beatdown. This time it was Valentine, O'Day, and Northcutt all beating up Lane and Hennig. This continued until Brunzell, Bassarab, and security emerged to break it up.
Inside the ring, Northcutt called Hennig a wimp who cost him the title tonight, then cost him his vengeance. Valentine and O'Day said that instead of fighting each other tonight the two friends realized that it was Lane's fault because he was defending against Northcutt (no offence big guy) and ignoring them. Valentine and O'Day say they realized they both want to be the Heavyweight champ and they can't do that and be friends with Lane at the same time.


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