January 1998

[managermike99]

Roster

Faces

Vendetta

Ben Bassarab
Hysteria

Christian Cage

Sexton Hardcastle

Duncan Duncan
Borro The Butcher's Son

Darren Peebles (NEW)

Mark Schrader (NEW)

Joey Matthews (NEW)

Heels
Manny Silva
African Bulldog Pariah
African Bulldog Temple
Joe E. Legend (/ Mercedes)

Enigma

Nikolai Kishka

The Pharaoh

Masa Chono (NEW)

Adam Knight (NEW)

Pierre Oulette NEW)

Ladies

Madusa Micelli

Barbie Wired
Deep Blue
Nikki Kixxx
Becky Hennig

Runaway Jane

Runaway Cherie

Nick Bockwinkel

[managermike99]

1997 Year End Awards

Wrestler of the Year: Manny Silva
Woman of the Year: Barbie Wired
Tag Team of the Year: Extremists: Ace Darling & Devon Storm
Manager of the Year: Oshean
Feud of the Year: Bobby Duncum Jr vs Kevin Northcutt
Match of the Year: December 13th (18th Anniversary Show): Hysteria defeated Joe E. Legend and Ben Bassarab by pinfall when Hysteria pinned Legend after a standing moonsault at 16:28.
Hysteria Wins the RCW Television Title.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #709
January 1, 1998
Sun City, South Africa

Opening Bout
Tito Santana defeated Chi Chi Cruz by pinfall after a flying forearm smash at 6:03
**Chi Chi may never have progressed past mid-carder in RCW but he faired better in SAWF, having held their heavyweight title earlier n 1997. So for Tito to get a win in the opening bout is impressive.

Bout #2
Nikki Kixxx defeated Becky Hennig by pinfall after a spinning heelkick at 5:57
**solid match, maybe a bit of an upset since Hennig is considered the #1 contender now for the women's title.

Bout #3
Hank & Bryce Armstrong and Sexton Hardcastle & Christian Cage battled to a double countout at 9:50
**this was originally scheduled to be an SAWF tag title defence, but the Armstrongs lost the tag belts yesterday (setting up a title vs title match later tonight). Both teams seemed in a foul mood throughout, with Hardcastle & Cage taking on the role of faces. In the end the ring could not contain the animosity which quickly built between the two teams.

Bout #4
North American Women's Title Match
Madusa Micelli defeated Barbie Wired by pinfall after a kneedrive from the top rope at 8:18
[Madusa Micelli retained the North American Women's Title]
**rematch between the new champion and the former champion. Wired tried to finish off the champ with a superplex, but Madusa blocked it and countered by driving Wired off the buckles to the mat, nailing her with a knee on landing.

Bout #5
RCW Television Title Match
Hysteria defeated Joe E. Legend by disqualification for use of a foreign object at 9:47
[Hysteria retained the RCW Television Title]
**Legend decided he didn't want to risk a clean loss. He didn't get his title back that he lost at the Anniversary show but he made sure that he would remain in the title picture.

Bout #6
Stan Lane defeated Greg Valentine by pinfall after a superkick at 8:37
**two world renown wrestlers, and former RCW mainstays.

Bout #7
RCW Tag Team Title Match - Champions vs Champions
Dennis Cale & Ken Van Beselaere defeated African Bulldogs (Pariah & Temple) by countout at 11:31
[African Bulldogs retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**Cale and KVB just won the SAWF tag titles yesterday over the Armstrongs and were pretty beat up but still brought plenty of game tonight. The SAWF titles were not on the line in this bout. The Bulldogs didn't seem in any hurry to settle things fair and square and were pretty happy to just be able to get on the plane after the event still holding the belts. 

Bout #8
SAWF Heavyweight Title Match
Linley Tolbert defeated Cobra by pinfall after a piledriver (with his feet on the ropes) at 10:04
[Linley Tolbert retained the SAWF Heavyweight Title]
Tolbert just defeated Cobra for the title last night, so 24 hours later and they were back at it.

Main Event - CAGE MATCH
Vendetta & Vendetta II defeated Manny Silva & Crimson Mask when Vendetta pinned Silva after a double team DDT at 12:23
**Vendetta is the current RCW Heavyweight Champion with Silva the former champ. Vendetta II and Crimson Mask are also involved in a big feud at the moment in South Africa.

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #710
January 10, 1998
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Annual Awards Show

Hour #1

Pre-Match:
Jim Brunzell, Nick Bockwinkel, and Baron von Raschke come to the ring. Brunzell announces two year end awards for recipients no longer in the territory. 
Feud of the Year: Bobby Duncum Jr vs Kevin Northcutt. While it wasn't the longest feud, it captivated the audience because of the on again, off again, relationship of the two as tag partners and feuding.
Tag Team of the Year: The Extremists: Ace Darling & Devon Storm. They had a great title run in the middle of the year, and were a great example of the whole being greater then the sum of the parts.
After that Brunzell has another announcement to make. Based on his actions at the Anniversary show he has had some discussions with Bockwinkel and mended some fences. The result, is that Brunzell has decided to take a step back, a break from wrestling. And he will leave the RCW in the hands of the new commissioner of RCW Nick Bockwinkel.
Bockwinkel's first action as commissioner is to order a rematch tonight between Vendetta and Manny Silva, but with a special guest referee, Baron von Raschke!

Opening Bout
Adam Knight defeated Darren Peebles by submission to the Boston crab at 5:43
**premiere of both men. Knight is 6'5 280 lbs, has been wrestling in the Canadian territories for just over a year. Peebles on the other hand is average sized and didn't get much offense in. 

Bout #2
Pierre Oulette defeated Mark Schrader by pinfall after a Senton Bomb at 4:59
**two more premieres. Oulette of course is know to Canadians as Carl Oulette, and to WWF fans as Pierre Oulette which is what he went by here. At 6'1 240 lbs, he was pretty much the same size as his opponent who had more of a young collegiate look to him. Oulette though controlled most of the bout with Schrader only controlling for about a minute when he was able to ground Oulette and work him on the mat.

Bout #3
Runaways Cherie & Jane defeated Nikki Kixxx & Becky Hennig by pinfall when Jane pinned Hennig after a Texas piledriver at 6:10
**Kixxx and Hennig are probably better wrestlers but they still have some heat and the animosity grew between the two as the match progressed. In the end Hennig had a chance to tag out but Kixxx refused the tag, dropping off the apron, which ended things for Hennig.

Bout #4
The Pharaoh defeated Ben Bassarab by pinfall after a moonsault at 8:51
**excellent match with lots of chain wrestling and some fisticuffs. While Pharaoh used his finisher to get the win the damage was done from an exposed turnbuckle, which tainted the victory.


Hour #2

Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel comes out to present the Woman of the Year Award to Barbie Wired. The former champion accepted the plaque graciously but it was obvious her thoughts were on her upcoming rematch and she wanted her title back more than this accolade.

Bout #5
North American Women's Title Match
Madusa Micelli defeated Barbie Wired by pinfall after a superkick at 6:32
[Madusa Micelli retained the North American Women's Title]
**the official rematch for Wired after losing her title to Madusa at the Anniversary show.

Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel came out to present the Manager of the Year Award to Oshean. But when Joe E. Legend came out to the ring, instead of Oshean he was accompanied by Mercedes. He told Bockwinkel that he had fired Oshean because she was incompetent, and had upgraded to the fiery Puerto Rican Mercedes. Mercedes looked very glamorous in a pencil skirt, back seam stockings, and heels. Legend grabbed the plaque from Bockwinkel and gave it to Mercedes saying he would get the name changed tomorrow. Bockwinkel also presents plaques to both Hysteria and Joe E. Legend as their triangle match with Ben Bassarab at the 18th Anniversary show was voted match of the year. Bockwinkel then takes back all 3 plaques and takes them to the back to make sure that none of them are used as foreign objects in the match.

Bout #6
RCW Television Title Match
Hysteria defeated Joe E. Legend (/w Mercedes) by disqualification for abuse of official at 7:50
[Hysteria retained the RCW Television Title]
**Hysteria started strong but he was delayed coming from the top by Mercedes, giving Legend the advantage. The former champ went to work on Hysteria and was relentless, getting four near pinfalls and working a Boston crab twice. Hysteria finally was able to duck a lazy clothesline attempt and come off the ropes with a flying forearm. He then went back to the ropes, but this time was tripped up by Mercedes. Hysteria left the ring and went after Mercedes, who hid behind the ref. When the ref tried to disentangle himself Mercedes nailed him with a low blow. By now Legend had come out of the ring and clotheslined the ref. Hysteria attacked Legend, and tossed him around ringside, and when the ref recovered his wits he called for the bell.

Pre-Match:
Nick Bockwinkel presents the Wrestler of the Year award to Manny Silva. It's the second time he has won and he edged out Stan Lane and Joe E. Legend in the voting. Silva wouldn't touch the award so Bockwinkel just had to take that one to the back as well.


Main Event - Special Guest Referee Baron von Raschke
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Vendetta defeated Manny Silva by pinfall after a jumping DDT at 10:08
[Vendetta retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**In this title rematch from the Anniversary show, Raschke played an active role, forcing Silva to break a couple times while choking Vendetta, by pulling him off by the hair. With the playing surface level it was all Vendetta needed to rally and beat Silva clean. 


That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling, to start a new year. We'll see ya next week!!

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #711
January 17, 1998
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Enigma defeated Darren Peebles by pinfall after a top rope frankensteiner at 3:32
**impressive way to get back to the pay window for Enigma. Peebles is 0-2 and not looking so good.

Bout #2
Joey Matthews defeated Nikolai Kishka by pinfall after an inside cradle at 4:56
**big upset. Matthews' first match in RCW, and at 5'9 185 lbs, he's not the most physically imposing specimen. Kishka dominated most of the match but got too distracted arguing with the fans and posing. Matthews caught him from behind, rolled him up and got a surprising win.

Bout #3
Manny Silva & Masa Chono defeated Duncan Duncan &  Borro the Butchers Son by pinfall when Chono pinned Duncan after a Kenta Kick at 5:29
**squash match, not very sure on the purpose of throwing Silva and Chono together, but they dominated.

Bout #4
Runaway Jane defeated Deep Blue by pinfall after a sunset flip at 4:11
**this would have to be considered a major upset, and Jane looks to break out on her own.


Hour #2

Bout #5
Sexton Hardcastle & Christian Cage defeated Adam Knight & Pierre Oulette by pinfall when Cage pinned Oulette after a springboard flying bodypress at 8:42
**the fans absolutely love the team of Hardcastle and Cage, and although this was a good test, its obvious that they are ready for a showdown with the African Bulldogs.

Bout #6
Becky Hennig defeated Nikki Kixxx by pinfall after a running neck snap at 5:55
**This was a defacto #1 contenders match with Hennig defending her status that she won at the Anniversary show. This match could have gone either way but Hennig pulled out a move that her "family" (at least her generation) is known for.

Main Event
RCW Television Title Match
Bermuda Triangle Match 
Hysteria defeated The Pharaoh and Ben Bassarab by countout at 9:23
[Hysteria retained the RCW Television Title]
**trying to catch lightning in a bottle, recapturing some of the magic of the triangle match from the anniversary show. This was a very good, fast paced, match but not up to those standards. The animosity grew so much between Pharaoh and Bassarab that they allowed themselves to be counted out as Hysteria could barely get to his feet inside the ring.
 

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

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #712
January 24, 1998
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Opening Bout

Nikki Kixxx defeated Runaway Jane by pinfall after hitting her with a steel chair at 7:00

**for an opening bout, especially a women's, this one got out of hand in a big way. On a ref bump Kixxx nailed Jane with a steel chair to pick up the tainted win.

Bout #2

Nikolai Kishka defeated Joey Matthews by pinfall after a jumping spinning leg lariat at 5:09

**a return bout, and this time Kishka learned his lesson and wrestled a straight match, ignoring the fans and not wasting time. Maybe a lesson learned for the young Russian.

Bout #3

Adam Knight & Pierre Oulette defeated Hysteria & Mark Schrader by pinfall when Oulette pinned Hysteria after a Senton bomb at 6:56

**Schrader was the weak link in this bout, but fairly quick into it he hurt his knee and couldn't tag in. This made the last 4 minutes a handicap bout that the heels enjoyed using to pick apart the TV champion. Knight tried his best to get the submission with the Boston crab but Hysteria refused to submit, so he tagged in Oulette who then used his finisher to end the bout.

Bout #4

#1 TV Title Contenders Bout

The Pharaoh defeated Ben Bassarab by pinfall after a moonsault at 6:20

**really good match between these two which alternated between a ground, chain wrestling, and high flying moves. Bassarab came off the top too soon and Pharaoh moved out of the way, then hit his finisher for a clean win. 

Hour #2

Bout #5
North American Women's Title Match
Madusa Micelli defeated Becky Hennig by pinfall after a superkick at 4:27
[Madusa Micelli retained the North American Women's Title]
**Hennig was overmatched but she tried her best by cheating as much as possible. Eventually her tricks ran out.

Bout #6
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Sexton Hardcastle & Christian Cage defeated the African Bulldogs: Pariah & Temple by pinfall when Hardcastle pinned Temple after a half-nelson Bulldog at 8:44
[Sexton Hardcastle & Christian Cage won the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**short title reign for the Bulldogs. Look like they might be headed back to South Africa. Hardcastle & Cage are extremely popular with the fans.

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match (Triangle Match)

Vendetta defeated Masa Chono and Manny Silva by pinfall when he pinned Silva after a missile dropkick at 8:26
[Vendetta retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**Vendetta was in trouble throughout this match, but the challengers kept each other from finishing it off. The champ recovered enough to bide his time, and after Silva tossed Chono out of the ring he struck from the top rope.

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

[managermike99]

River City Wrestling #713
January 31, 1998
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hour #1

Opening Bout
Nikolai Kishka defeated Joey Matthews by pinfall after a cradle piledriver at 5:28
**3rd match between these two, having split the previous two encounters. They never fail to give a great effort. The end came when Matthews went for flying headscissors but the stronger Kishka held his ground and countered with a cradle piledriver.

Bout #2
Four Way Match
Joe E. Legend defeated Duncan Duncan, Borro the Butcher's Son, and Enigma by pinfall when he pinned Duncan and Borro after Legend cutters at 5:09
**Duncan and Borro may have had a chance in this bout if they had managed to team up, but sensing that Enigma and Legend were careful to split their efforts, each taking a member of the unusual tag team. In the end Engima was preparing to come off the top rope but Legend knocked him off to the ground below. Duncan and Borro were having a slapping contest in the middle of the ring, and Legend took each of them out with a cutter, and then laid over top and pinned them both. 

Bout #3
Sexton Hardcastle defeated Adam Knight by pinfall after a diving legdrop at 4:38
**Knight looks pretty good, but one half of the tag team champions Hardcastle is on a roll. 

Post-Match:
Knight caught Hardcastle by surprise as he was leaving the ring. Outside the ring Knight slammed him on the announce table. Hardcastle's partner Cage came out to make the save, but that brought out Pierre Oulette (scheduled to face Cage next). Oulette and Knight managed to soften up Cage.

Bout #4
Pierre Oulette defeated Christian Cage by disqualification for outside interference (Sexton Hardcastle) at 6:04
**After a TV time out Cage had recovered a bit, but Oulette had the advantage from the start and Cage was fighting uphill. Still the Tag Team champion was a game competitor and kicked out after a piledriver, and again after a Senton bomb. Oulette locked him in a Boston crab and Cage fought through the pain, but the end looked inevitable, until his tag partner Sexton Hardcastle came in for some revenge for what happened after his bout. Of course this brought Knight back into the fray, and again, because Cage was already damaged, the heels were able to lay in a beat down on the tag champions.

Hour #2

Bout #5
Triangle Match 
Runaway Jane defeated Nikki Kixxx and Becky Hennig by pinfall when Jane pinned Hennig after a Texas piledriver at 5:50
**this was a defacto #1 contenders match and Kixxx looked mad after the bout because she lost the bout without actually being pinned.She tried to convince Jane and officials to start a one on one bout with her and Jane but they wouldn't of course. Kixxx managed to grab Jane by the hair and slam her to the mat, before the two tussled in a catfight.

Bout #6
RCW Television Title Match
Hysteria defeated The Pharaoh by pinfall after a standing moonsault at 8:25
[Hysteria retained the RCW Television Title]
**battle of the moonsaults in this one, and two guys with a bit thicker of frames then you normally see on high flyers. Pharaoh did quite well, a pretty even match, and the heel didn't resort to cheating too much, just a real hard, vicious attack. In the end though the champ nailed a series of moves like a well oiled machine, ending in a spinning heel kick, a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, a slingshot suplex, and then his finisher standing moonsault. 

Main Event
RCW Heavyweight Title Match
Vendetta defeated Manny Silva by submission to the cloverleaf at 10:49
[Vendetta retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]
**It really felt like something had to give in this bout tonight, like the invincible force meeting the immovable object, with Vendetta being an other-worldly force and Silva being so stubborn as to be an immovable rock. Lots of punches and kicks to start, a good old fashioned brawl. Lots of leniency shown by the ref. Then Silva took over with a series of stomps, rope chokes, and a running bulldog for a 2 count. Silva took the bout outside and threw Vendetta into the barriers, busting him wide open. Back inside Silva worked the cut leaving Vendetta a bloody mess. The champ though fought back, from the apron as Silva was inside. After an exchange, Vendetta wrapped his hands around the back of the head of Silva and pulled him forward as he leapt off the apron to the floor below, smashing Silva face first off the turnbuckle. He came up holding his jaw as Vendetta took him down with a spear. This was followed by a hanging vertical suplex, and then his jumping DDT finisher for 1, 2, Silva got a foot on the ropes!! The champ then nailed a pair of back breakers and put Silva in the cloverleaf. Silva refused to submit, and Vendetta refused to break the hold. After about 90 excruciating seconds the arm of Silva was no longer responding. It goes down in the books as a submission but really Silva never quit, he passed out from the pain.


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