AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com

From the trivial to the not-so-trivial…

So let me get this straight.

WWE owns the word “extreme”? Even EVOO….er, EV 2.0?

Everyone knows that they have the legal right to the letters ECW; but now WWE, not being content to annhiliate TNA in buyrates, PPVs revenue, weekly ratings, and pretty much everything else short of match quality from time to time, now has intellectual property/copyright lawyer Jerry McDevitt chomping at the bit… suggesting that even a reference to ECW may infringe on copyrights.

Late last week, WWE intellectual property/copyright attorney Jerry McDevitt said in an interview to Newsday’s Alfonso Castillo regarding TNA’s Hardcore Justice that: “WWE is the sole owner of the ECW marks, and as with all of WWE’s intellectual property it will be vigorously protected. TNA acts at its peril if it infringes upon WWE’s rights.”

(Note: this column is written and first posted on Sunday morning…) For God’s sakes…does McDevitt want to have a process server slap fans with a lawsuit if they chant “ECW”? Does Tommy Dreamer have to shush fans if they DO chant it?

WWE getting self-righteous about this reminds me of a little child breaking a toy when it’s about to be taken away by their parent, so no one else can play with the toy either. WWE couldn’t make money with their bastardized WWECW show, so any show that might give a few guys a payday (and trust me, TNA isn’t going to wind up making money off of this) should somehow be threatened. If it weren’t for the PPV industry probably telling WWE to back off, I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE would have tried to kill the show at the last minute to kill off TNA.

Hell, I use the phrase ECW Arena every time when referring to the building at Swanson and Ritnet in south Philadelphia. Becasuse that’s what it is. Mind you, I’m not trying to make money by doing it as McDevitt is alleging TNA is doing. But these guys DID work for ECW. That’s a fact. Is WWE going to say that Mike Tenay and Taz can’t acknowledge someone as a former ECW Heavyweight Champion? Pre-determined as a title reign may be, someone having the belt is a statement of historical fact.

Before I get the inevitable e-mails scolding me…yes, I understand the concept of intellectual property. And yes, I agree that this PPV won’t accomplish much, since it was no doubt done with the thought that Paul Heyman would be coming in alongside the former ECW talent…and without Heyman running the show , it’s little more than a payday for the former ECW talent. It won;t help TNA’s long-term problems with lack of coherent storylines and profitability

But isn’t this threat by McDevitt to sue if those those three little letters are somehow used WAY past overkill?

Now for the not-so-trivial…

I looked at the calendar earlier this weekend and thought…Lord, it’s been almost five years ago.

On August 18, 2005, that CZW wrestler Christopher “Chri$ Ca$h” Bauman Jr. was killed as the result of a motorcycle accident near his home. Bauman had been riding a motorcycle on Ellis Street in Glassboro, NJ when a Ford Taurus turned in front of it from Higgins Drive, striking the car on the driver’s side of a vehicle driven by Daisy Gwin of Glassboro, NJ.

Christopher J. Bauman Jr., 23, died at the scene, as did his cousin 27 year old Jeremy Bauman, 27, of Franklinville, NJ the driver of the motorcycle. Gwin, 68, of Glassboro, died en route to Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Washington Township, NJ.

Chris was always genuinely friendly in a way that a lot of wrestlers aren’t, but had the wild side we all had at age 23. He was a nice young man, in every sense that the phrase used to mean; and always felt obligated to call me “Mr. Magee” when I came to a show (even when I told him he didn’t have to), would
always say hello when I saw him at a CZW show and tell me he’d seen something or another on my PWBTS.com site.

Bauman worked for CZW from 2001 through 2005, with many non-CZW fans even taking notice of him at Cage of Death 5 in his absolutely psychotic ladder match with Blackout’s Joker (who left the promotion shortly afterwards to serve in the US military over in Iraq for one of his tours of duty). The oddest thing is that this match wasn’t even supposed to happen in the way that it did; as it was originally scheduled as a tag team bout, involving Deranged and Azriael, who were working the Jersey All Pro Wrestling show in Rahway, NJ, then come down to Philadelphia for CZW.

But in an almost unprecedented moment for those who know CZW… the show was actually running ahead of schedule. As a result, Deranged and Azriael were not yet at the building. Another version of the story had the two calling the building, telling CZW they were just leaving…and were told not to bother, because they’d never make it in time. In any event, this forced the promotion to go ahead with a singles ladder match, which turned out to be the best thing that could have happened, as it made two stars for CZW in one night with Cash and Joker nearly stealing the entire show. Psycho spots in this match included Cash bulldogging Joker while his head was inside a rung of a ladder off the ropes onto a chair, a top rope superplex onto a ladder stuck at a 45 degree angle into the rungs of another ladder; ending with one of the sickest spots I’ve ever seen in my years of shows at the ECW Arena, as Joker hit his Joker Driver (tiger driver from an electric chair position) off the top of a high ladder with Cash through a table for the pin.

Cash also main evented Cage of Death 6/War Games, as part of the babyface Team Ca$h (Nate Webb, Sexxy Eddy, Cash, JC Bailey) against heel team (turned babyface and heel again) Blackout (Ruckus, Sabian, Kingston, and Jack Evans. As usual, the match featured the daredevil spots for which Cash was known throughout his all-too-short career; including dumping Jack Evans via backdrop off the COD to the floor, and giving Sabian a Cashflow off of the scaffold through four tables, landing in the second row of the ECW Arena.

All I could think when I heard the news four years ago was: God…Chris was easily young enough to be my son. Sons aren’t supposed to die before the parents…or their contemporaries. At the same time, I can’t imagine Chris as a 40 or 50 year old. His spirit was too free and wild to have ever been anything but young.

Until next time…

If you have comments/questions/event announcements/results, if you’d like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, or if you’d like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), e-mail me at the address above. Advertising consists of banner ads, available for $400 for one year. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are also available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page.

Former WWE superstar “Razor” RICK TITAN is on tour and coming to Edmonton!

The internationally travelled superstar who headlined in Japan, Germany, Mexico, and rose to career highs in ECW and the WWE in 1996 is promoting his new book WRESTLING WITH CONSCIOUSNESS and is going to be at Happy Harbor Comics (12226 Jasper Avenue) at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 7th. During his career, Rick opposed the likes of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Sabu, Terry Funk, The Rock and many more. Rick’s appearance marks the Edmonton debut for his new book which is a story of a man’s inner struggle during and after his wrestling career and the transition from anger and aggression to more centered states in meditation. Recently, Rick has been in high demand as a guest speaker and has recently spoken at the International Publisher’s Association of Calgary and at the Calgary Drop In Center on Overcoming Adversity.

Joining Rick at the table will be co-holder of the Monster Pro Wrestling tag team titles, “Mr. Beefy Goodness” VANCE NEVADA. Nevada, who is currently the busiest wrestler on the Canadian independent scene has been touring non-stop in 2010 with a schedule which has included matches from Newfoundland to British Columbia over the span of a few short weeks. Nevada, whose book WRESTLING IN THE CANADIAN WEST, is drawing high praise from wrestlers and fans alike, was recently awarded the James C. Melby award at a ceremony in Las Vegas in recognition of his efforts as a researcher and writer. Vance will be on hand signing copies of his book as well.

As if that tag team tandem wasn’t enough, wrestling fans also have the opportunity to meet Monster Pro Wrestling’s first lady, SEXY SAMANTHA. Samantha is a favorite with Edmonton audiences and has been on a hot winning streak in matches across the country. Her recent foes have included Vancouver’s Raven Lake and Monterrey, Mexico sensation Aurora.

Come down and meet the wrestlers, get yourself an autograph, pick up a couple great books and support Canadian independent wrestling.

Happy Harbor Comics – Canada’s Best Comic Store
12226 Jasper Avenue; Edmonton, Alberta
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Please feel free to email in questions and we will ask him in the interview which will be posted next Saturday.

Check out the trailer below:

Lashley vs. Griggs will be a prelude to a World Championship Doubleheader when STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) Champion “King” Mo Lawal makes the first defense of his belt against devastating striker Rafael “Feijao’’ Cavalcante in the main event. The co-main event will feature Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Tim Kennedy in a battle for the vacant STRIKEFORCE Middleweight (185 pounds) title.

The former International Fighting League’s Griggs, originally from Phoenix, Ariz., is 32-years-old and currently works for the Tucson Fire Department. He has an 8-1 record with some very early finishes, including six of his eight wins ending in the first round with seven of eight coming by way of knockout.

In his last fight on April 25, 2009, he knocked out Jon Alexander with elbows in the first round. He fought four times in 2007, the same year he suffered his first career loss as a professional. That loss came on April 13 in Connecticut he was submitted by Shane Ott in the first round at 1:09.

A father of two, Griggs said he’s excited about the opportunity to face Lashley. “Of course I am. It’s really a dream come true,” said Griggs, who works out with Joey Rivera at APEX MMA gym in Tucson. “MMA is something I got involved with by walking into a gym. Once I did I fell in love with the sport.”

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Lashley (5-0) is a former collegiate wrestling star for Missouri Valley College and member of The United States Army. He made his MMA debut in December of 2008.

In his last fight and STRIKEFORCE debut, Lashley, 33, scored a first round TKO over Wes Sims at STRIKEFORCE: Miami on Jan. 30, 2010. Prior to that, the former wrestling star pulverized the 6-foot-5, 350-plus pound goliath Bob Sapp.

Lashley’s WWE and TNA wrestling career has helped make him a well-known figure in the sports and entertainment world.

Tickets are on sale at www.ToyotaCenterTix.com, by phone at 1-866-4-HOU-TIX, at select Houston area Randalls locations, and at www.strikeforce.com. Tickets will also be available beginning on Monday at the Toyota Center box office.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com

In an emotional afternoon at the ECW Arena,”Acid-Fest” took place yesterday afternoon, before an estimated crowd of 750 honoring the late Michael “Trent Acid” Verdi. The Verdi family did attend, and were seated ringside with neighborhood friends up in one of the Arena boxes.

The afternoon started with a video of some of Acid’s best stuff; then in a surprise, Trent Acid was inducted into the ECW Arena Hardcore Hall of Fame by the ECW Arena during the opening ceremonies of the “Acid-Fest” Memorial show in Philadelphia, PA. His induction was done by CZW owner DJ Hyde, where Hyde talked about how much Acid loved wrestling and how much Acid appreciated his fans.