Hahahahaha. I've been laughing even more than usual the last couple of weeks. But especially at the amount of anonymous posts made on my blogs. Something you should know, disliking me has become the coolest thing in town right now. I'm playing the part of "heel" in a promoters war between myself, and a guy who is lucky to be referred to as a "promoter" Andrew Shallcross. He's lucky because he's actually lazy, and has made many comments that seem to suggest he doesn't believe it's his job to promote his product. Imagine you the reader opened a business, oh lets say a popcorn stand. You're going to sell 5 different varieties of popcorn. But lets say you are lazy, and only like buttering the popcorn. When on 3 customers come through your door and your business fails, will you be wise enough to reflect on the failure, and realize had you marketed and promoted your popcorn instead of buttering your popcorn, people maybe would have bought your popcorn? It's similar in the world of local wrestling, where if you don't promote your wrestlers and their matches, people tend not to buy your tickets. Instead of promoting his wrestlers he's too busy sitting at home and reading my blog.
And what does he do when he reads my blog? He posts as many anonymous comments as he can. How do I know this? Well one, I get notifications on my blackberry every time someone leaves a comment. And when I get 4 or 5 in the span of an hour or two, and then nothing in the next 15 hours, I can usually determine that one person is at their computer reading and commenting on my blog. It seems really unlikely that 4 or 5 haters all write something similar in the span of an hour and then nothing for the next day or so. Idiot, if you're going to post anonymously, do it a little bit more sporadically, and maybe you will throw me off a little. And the other part that might act as a tip to me that it's all very sad person, is this fact. Right now it's really cool to not like Mike Davidson. So if 19 people were going to post about what an asshole I was, at least 10 out of those 19 would have no problem leaving a) their real name and in some cases b) their e-mail address so people could send them a note to tell him how clever their post was.
In all of local there is one wrestler of Hispanic descent. His name is La Sombra. He's great for getting the word out to all of his Latin brothers to come to the shows. But in all of my days in local wrestling there has been very few Latin fans who care enough to leave comments on blogs. One guy, Jesus Ramirez, is either an idiot, or has someone with nearly the exact same name, Jesus Remerez. I think it's one guy posting who's an idiot personally. I doubt two guys with such a similar name care that much about my blog.
Andrew, I'm sorry you are a bonafide idiot. But please, spend some time doing something productive, oh I don't know... Promoting wrestling. Raking your lawn, then maybe cutting your grass. How about, figuring out how to get some more wrestlers on your show. Oh and maybe instead of buttering the popcorn, learn how to let all those popcorn lovers out there, and there are many, know about how you butter it.
Just a thought.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
This Was The Beginning of The End
Shocking news in the local wrestling scene on Wednesday. Despite being advertised in a career ending match, for the main-event of whatever Andrew Shallcross was promoting this Wednesday at Dylan's. Mentallo announced publicly that he was leaving "PCW" (I covered last blog, why PCW is not an entity Andrew is legally entitled to promote, however I digress, not the point). A major blow to Andrew Shallcross, and one that I'm not certain he can or will recover from. And that's a shame, it really is.
People will say that Andrew has succumbed to the pressure of promoting against CWE and AWE. Some will say it was the antics of some ribbers who effected Shallcross and Adam Knight's credibility with false results (Knight still walks weird from how bad he got fucked by Dave Meltzer), or a ridiculous stunt where Pepito hit the ring, did Andrew in. Reality now must bite some of you in the ass, and realize it was Andrew's bullheaded, bullshit actions that did him in.
Not registering a business and charging people money to see your product is in essence, fraud. Sorry that's a fact. Not paying big name talent, is stupid, and suicide from a business standpoint. But Andrew has spent many years doing this shit. Not treating home grown talent well (ie AJ Sanchez, Kevin Chevy, Don Douglas, Danny Duggan, Rick Matthews, Shane Madison, and many many others), to the point where they couldn't tolerate working for him, was the pinpoint of what did him in. And he may continue to promote shows that he calls "PCW", but the end is near, the fight is over, the highroad lead to nowhere, the gloves being off didn't hurt. He couldn't survive the pressure. He was high and mighty in pulling a bully routine with RME for many years but they refused to acknowledge him. And he thought it was cool to disrespect Bryan Danielson publicly when CWE announced him. But karma is a bitch, and it has all caught up with him.
Let's go back to his own words, in his own blogs. My comments are in capitals, but read his bullshit, and take it for what it is:
Friday, September 28, 2007
Samoa Joe Can Go Fuck Himself
Anyone who read my comments on the message board in regards to the Back to School Bash last night know that I was very unhappy over-all.I wanted to take some time and calm down before I posted a blog. Some time has past but I am probably more angry now then I was last night, especially as more details emerge regarding the situation.What Joe did last night was unprofessional, idiotic, self-centered and ego-driven. Over the course of six years, I have had the pleasure of working with many, many "names" and never have I seen a guy with such a "diva" complex and such a chip on their shoulder. Nor can I imagine a decision that was worse for business (and THE business) then the choices Joe made last night.
ANDREW IS DEFINITELY THE TEXT BOOK FOR WHAT IS BEST FOR THE BUSINESS... LETS NOT REGISTER A BUSINESS AND OPERATE... LETS TRY TO BLACKBALL TALENT WHEN THEY ACCEPT BOOKINGS ELSEWHERE...
First, allow me to express two things. 1) Chris Sabin continued to demonstrate why he should absolutely be getting a bigger, better push in TNA and why his schedule should be booked solid. He's a class act and a fantastic performer who "gets" the business and had the match of the night. I could not have asked for anything more from Sabin and I certainly hope he will be apart of PCW in the future.2). On previous occasions, Joe has been a joy to work with and gave exactly what was asked of him. I am sure it is no coincidence that "what was asked of him" was to look strong against our talent. When it came time for Joe to do something that didn't involve him looking like Hulk Hogan circa 1985, suddenly, he's not so accommodating.I owe our fans a huge apology. Rest assured, Samoa Joe will NEVER be back in PCW unless he intends to come and give us the other half of the match he was paid for.
ITS BEEN A WELL PUBLICIZED FACT THAT SAMOA JOE NEVER GOT PAID. SO... SHOULDN'T ANDREW PUBLICLY THANK JOE FOR SUPPLYING 8 MINUTES OF FREE SERVICE? LIAR!!!! AND CHRIS SABIN DEMONSTRATED HE WAS A CLASS ACT, SO NATURALLY HOW DO YOU SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR SUCH A NICE GUY? DON'T PAY HIM. IS THERE A PROBLEM HERE?
Allow me to explain in detail exactly what transpired. To be fair, I did not specifically speak with TNA in regards to Joe putting Kenny over. I did not care either way and said to a few guys in the past few days that I hoped Joe would put him over but if he didn't want to, it wasn't a big deal. In the past, whenever I have specifically checked with TNA on whether their talent would be willing to do business for our guys, I have been told "no problem. The business is a work."Exactly.And to quote a certain someone last night..."I don't care who wins or loses, I just want to have a good match." I wonder who said that.After being told by Joe that he'd be "right down" to the locker room for forty minutes (and thus, I was unable to begin the show when I wanted to), I finally went up to his room. I told him he was free to take his time coming down since it would be some time before his match, but I just wanted to get on the same page with him. I told him he was booked against Kenny Omega and asked him if he knew of him. Joe shrugged. Since Joe had spoke to me earlier in the day about his previous two trips to Winnipeg and seemed to have a fairly solid recollection of them, I reminded him that Kenny had worked with AJ Styles on this show last year.Joe shrugged and said "yeah, so?" I shrugged too and said "would you mind putting our guy over?" "No way," he scoffed. "I don't do that. I'm a top guy on television. It's company policy that we don't put over anyone but TNA guys." Now, I was totally fine with that up until the line about "company policy" which I knew to be untrue. Tell me you don't want to lay down. Tell me you feel it will impact your position and reputation (even if it wouldn't), but don't lie to me.I said "really? Styles put him over last year and they put together a match and a finish that made sense for both guys." Joe said "No way" again. He turned to walk away from me saying "there is no way that's happening."
I THINK IT IS TNA COMPANY POLICY THAT THEIR TALENT IS SUPPOSED TO GET PAID UPFRONT.
Let me be VERY clear. I had absolutely NO problem with that. Of course I was going to inquire as to whether he minded putting our top guy over, but I thought he likely would have declined. No problem. I thanked him for his time and told him to come down whenever he wanted.There is a huge difference between beating a guy and eating a guy. There is a huge difference between having a great match and trying to destroy a territory. Joe doesn't "get it". It makes a lot of sense to him when guys sell their ass off to make him look like a million dollars and an unstoppable killing machine. But it apparently makes "no sense" to ask him to "not kill our top guy."I won't speak for Kenny at all. He's a class act and encouraged me to forget about it and move on. But I will mention that I am fully aware of the poor attitude Joe demonstrated in the back and his insults. There is more to the story that I won't reveal here that clearly indicate that Joe made a deliberate and malicious decision to go to the ring and make our top guy look bad. For that, Joe can go fuck himself.And from what I understand, I am hardly the only promoter that feels this way and our fans are hardly the only ones to walk away from a Samoa Joe match disappointed.The match was too short and did absolutely nothing to enhance our talent or promotion. In retrospect, if Sabin/Sanchez had been the top match, I would have been thrilled. Sabin "gets it". Joe doesn't. How nice it must be for Joe to be so independently wealthy that he can execute a piss-poor match and then say "save your money and don't book me again."When we book "names", there are certain obligations on both sides. We're expected to pay the PO, trans and accommodations and act in a professional and respectful manner. In return, we expect the talent to show up, work hard, enhance our talent and promotion and act in a professional and respectful manner. Part of that means interacting with the fans and giving them their monies worth.On previous occasions, Joe did that. Last night, he left many fans who wished to shake his hand or get a picture, disappointed. That fact coupled with his terrible in-ring performance angered me greatly. I'm not one to shy away from confrontations and fortunately, I had to pay my crew so I did not get the chance to go speak with Joe immediately. I was encouraged by some to go talk to him and by others to let it go. "What can you do?" was an oft-repeated question. I made the decision to let it go.But as I thought about it further, I didn't want to be accused of being a guy that didn't have the balls to express my unhappiness face to face. I promptly marched up to Joe's room where he was enjoying his third or fourth quarter pounder of the day. I reminded him of his flight information and informed him that someone would be at the hotel in the morning to drive him and Sabin.I then asked to speak to him. Sabin walked into the next room, clearly sensing that I wanted to speak with Joe about a serious matter.
I HAVE THE MENTAL PICTURE OF A HYPOCRITICAL ANDREW "MARCHING" TO TAKE IT UP TO JOE. THE MARCH WOULD BE VERY FUNNY TO WATCH. WERE THE WORDS "PIECE OF SHIT" USED BY CHANCE? ANDREW, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT YOU BURNT YOURSELF BY NOT PAYING EITHER OF THESE PROFESSIONALS, THEN CRIED ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY LIKE SOME SORT OF VICTIM. NICE ONE.
I asked him if he was unhappy or upset with anything. He said "not at all" and asked why I was asking. I said "well, Joe, I guess I was wondering why you ate my top guy."He said "what did you want me to do, get dropped on my head?" I said "no. I wanted a good match that was a positive for our talent and promotion. That match killed our top guy and hurt my ability to draw moving forward."
OH, SO THERE IT IS. THE PROBLEM FOR ANDREW DRAWING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING LAZY, BUT INSTEAD THE ACTIONS OF FORMER TNA WORLD CHAMPION SAMOA JOE. FINALLY, THE RIDDLE HAS AN ANSWER.
Joe invited me in and asked me to sit down. He asked me to explain what I would have wanted different out of the match. I politely explained that I expected the match to go longer and I expected our guy to come out of it looking good and I expected the fans to be willing to pay to see Joe again in the future. I explained that none of that happened.Joe didn't agree to disagree. He didn't express that perhaps their was a misunderstanding. He proceeded to bury Kenny in the most ridiculous way possible. One guy in that match moved around. One guy was not blown up and huffing and puffing. One guy gave a shit. Guess which guy that was?
OH I DON'T KNOW, THE GUY WHO GOT A PAYOFF FOR THE MATCH, NOT THE ONE THAT GOT STIFFED BY A KNOW IT ALL JACKASS.
While Joe took the time to pay me lip service and try to placate me, he contradicted himself several times. He made ridiculous and lame excuses. The one honest thing he repeatedly said was "I'm not going to give you the answer you want."
TRANSLATION, JOE REFUSED TO SAY TO ANDREW THAT HE WAS A BETTER BOOKER THAN JOE A WORKER, AND HE WAS WRONG. MAYBE HE WOULD HAVE GOT PAID AND FULL AND A BLOW JOB IF HE HAD.
I explained that I was not looking for a certain answer. I, as the guy paying the bills, was simply looking to express my unhappiness.
LET ME REMIND YOU THE READERS THAT HE WAS THE GUY NOT PAYING THE BILLS. JUST CRYING LIKE A VICTIM.
It made no sense to kill our top guy. It was bad for business. If Joe had any sense, he would have realised that.
YES JOE IS THE GUY LACKING SENSIBILITY HERE, MOST DEFINITELY!
We could continue to book him and make money or we could do what happened last night.Joe rejected my opinion that the match was too short. I explained that I'd rather have a good 10 minute match then a bad 20 minute one, but that was a bad 8 minute match.
WE CAN ALL COUNT ON ANDREW TO GET INTO THE RING SOMETIME AND HAVE A GOOD 8, 10 OR 20 MINUTE MATCH, HE'S GOOD THAT WAY.
After a few more excuses which Joe usually contradicted on his own without my help, I said "look, good work is good work. That wasn't good work." Sabin, Petey and Styles can come in, have a great attitude and have a fantastic match with Kenny. But Joe couldn't. That says a lot about Joe.I expressed my feeling that the fans didn't get what they paid for. Joe scoffed and pointed out that it was a long show. I said "yeah, WE gave them what they paid for but YOU didn't. They paid for Samoa Joe."
WELL AT LEAST SOMEONE PAID FOR SAMOA JOE.
His reply "and they saw Samoa Joe." I said, "They didn't pay to SEE Samoa Joe, they paid to experience a quality Samoa Joe match." They didn't get that.Joe actually said to me "if you wanted your guy to look good, then you shouldn't have booked him against me." I didn't make Joe the highest paid guy on the show because I wanted him to make our talent look bad!
OR IN THIS CASE, THE HIGHEST UNPAID GUY.
From a business perspective, I asked him how that match was a positive. How was that going to help PCW draw?
YES BECAUSE JOE IS THAT GIFTED THAT HE COULD MAKE UP FOR YEARS OF YOU BEING THE LAZIEST PROMOTER EVER.
How was that going to set up Joe or any other TNA talent to return to Winnipeg and draw a crowd? Again, Joe's response was that I shouldn't have booked him then. I shook my head in disbelief.When Ric Flair was NWA World Champion, he travelled the US making every home town guy look like a million dollars because it was GOOD for business, built up the territory and ensured repeat bookings and money for everyone. One thing Joe said was that he was doing what he felt was best for his promotion. Wrong. Wherever you go, you're a representative of TNA. Everything you do, you're selling PPV's. All Joe did last night was show that he's not a very good worker and, unless a faster and better worker makes him look good, he's got nothing.Quite honestly, Joe forgot where he came from. Who would Joe be if guys hadn't been willing to make him look good or help him out? Joe made a name for himself squashing smaller guys. Well that gimmick is getting old.I haven't been around 20 years. I've been around six. Worked with a lot of good talent, names and produced some pretty big shows. Don't give me the "I think I know better" bullshit.
YOU ARE RIGHT ANDREW. YOU KNOW MORE THAN JOE, TNA, AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER SABU AND ERNIE'S SQUABBLE? ANDREW MAYBE ERNIE IS YOUR LONG LOST RELATIVE. WELL YOU ARE BOTH RELATIVELY USELESS THAT'S FOR SURE.
I agree - you SHOULD know better.If other promoters ask for my opinion I will tell them honestly - Joe is over-rated, out of shape and not worth his asking price.
I'M SURE THE PROMOTERS WERE LINING UP TO LEARN FROM YOU.
Book Chris Sabin. Book AJ Styles. Book Chris Daniels. Book Petey Williams. Don't book Samoa Joe unless it's a "going out of business" show. He'll successfully give you what you need in that regard.I'm not writing this to bury Joe. I respect TNA and their talent. I don't respect Joe.
I'M SURE THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL WHEN HE DIDN'T GET PAID. AND I'M SURE CHRIS SABIN HAS THE MOST SPARKLING THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU, IF HE EVEN REMEMBERS YOU.
Not anymore. I owe an explanation and apology to our fans and this is it. Our show was good - very good. Better then anything else you'll see in this city. Some promotions would kill to have our worst match on top of their card.
ABSOLUTELY, I WOULD KILL SOMEONE IF SABERTOOTH VS. CORY KINCAID MADE IT ON MY SHOW.
But it wasn't good enough for PCW and it wasn't good enough for us.For that, I sincerely apologize.
TO WHO? CHRIS SABIN WHO YOU PUT OVER FOR BEING A CLASS ACT BUT DIDN'T PAY?
A few notes on last night.AJ Sanchez had a fantastic match with Chris Sabin. That speaks volumes about Sanchez as a talent and about Sabin as a person.
THAT VOLUME IS NOT LOUD ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY PAYING SABIN APPARENTLY.
My sincere thanks to both guys.Due to Chevy's injury, Don Douglas was put in a position where the match changed on him. I thought he worked very hard and put forth a great effort.
AND YET, DOUGLAS WOULD BE TRADED FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS WITH NOTHING EXPECTED IN RETURN. OR COULD COME BACK TO PCW FOR A REDUCED PUSH AND PAYOFF. SURE.
Mike Angels and Adam Knight had another great match as did Antonio Scorpio Jr and Nate Hardy. Scorpio and Nate had a ton of crowd heat. This was their third straight match working face/face and to keep getting that reaction says alot about them. I remember being against the idea of them working three shows ago and I was VERY wrong. I'm an honest guy and I felt we should have drawn better. We drew great, but could have been better. Though, with Chris Sabin as a surprise, we sold tickets based on Joe alone. Thank GOD we brought Sabin in!!
AND STIFFED HIM ON PAY.
Kenny never, ever has to defend himself to anyone. If a guy like Joe or anyone else doesn't want to come to work when given the chance to work with a talent like Kenny, then so be it. It's their loss. Kenny's future lays waaaay beyond Winnipeg. I feel really bad for him and am sure he is disappointed. But fortunately, he's got a match with Ultimo Dragon this weekend and I encourage everyone to go see that show. That match alone is worth the ticket price.Our DVD of the Fifth Anniversary show is now available. Our production guy upgraded his equipment, including a boom cam (which, by the way did have a video monitor so he knew exactly what he was filming).I take complete responsibility for the negatives on last night's show. I don't want to read anyone being critical of the talent. For the most part, they worked very hard and had great performances. Everything that was not as tight as it should have been from booking to pacing to technical issues all fall at my feet. I'll make it up to you all next show. I promise.I also don't want to get too 'down' on the show. For those "competitors" who couldn't bring themselves to check out our event, trust me, you couldn't put that show on in your wildest dreams. It was very good. But not good enough. This is a personal blog and my personal opinion. I'm frustrated. I appreciate the support of the fans and I hope you'll come back on Oct. 25th and let us erase the memories of Samoa Joe with a show that will do just that. I fucking guarantee THAT!
Posted by PCW at 10:59 AM
I GUARENTEE ANDREW REGRETS THIS BLOG RIGHT ABOUT NOW!!!
People will say that Andrew has succumbed to the pressure of promoting against CWE and AWE. Some will say it was the antics of some ribbers who effected Shallcross and Adam Knight's credibility with false results (Knight still walks weird from how bad he got fucked by Dave Meltzer), or a ridiculous stunt where Pepito hit the ring, did Andrew in. Reality now must bite some of you in the ass, and realize it was Andrew's bullheaded, bullshit actions that did him in.
Not registering a business and charging people money to see your product is in essence, fraud. Sorry that's a fact. Not paying big name talent, is stupid, and suicide from a business standpoint. But Andrew has spent many years doing this shit. Not treating home grown talent well (ie AJ Sanchez, Kevin Chevy, Don Douglas, Danny Duggan, Rick Matthews, Shane Madison, and many many others), to the point where they couldn't tolerate working for him, was the pinpoint of what did him in. And he may continue to promote shows that he calls "PCW", but the end is near, the fight is over, the highroad lead to nowhere, the gloves being off didn't hurt. He couldn't survive the pressure. He was high and mighty in pulling a bully routine with RME for many years but they refused to acknowledge him. And he thought it was cool to disrespect Bryan Danielson publicly when CWE announced him. But karma is a bitch, and it has all caught up with him.
Let's go back to his own words, in his own blogs. My comments are in capitals, but read his bullshit, and take it for what it is:
Friday, September 28, 2007
Samoa Joe Can Go Fuck Himself
Anyone who read my comments on the message board in regards to the Back to School Bash last night know that I was very unhappy over-all.I wanted to take some time and calm down before I posted a blog. Some time has past but I am probably more angry now then I was last night, especially as more details emerge regarding the situation.What Joe did last night was unprofessional, idiotic, self-centered and ego-driven. Over the course of six years, I have had the pleasure of working with many, many "names" and never have I seen a guy with such a "diva" complex and such a chip on their shoulder. Nor can I imagine a decision that was worse for business (and THE business) then the choices Joe made last night.
ANDREW IS DEFINITELY THE TEXT BOOK FOR WHAT IS BEST FOR THE BUSINESS... LETS NOT REGISTER A BUSINESS AND OPERATE... LETS TRY TO BLACKBALL TALENT WHEN THEY ACCEPT BOOKINGS ELSEWHERE...
First, allow me to express two things. 1) Chris Sabin continued to demonstrate why he should absolutely be getting a bigger, better push in TNA and why his schedule should be booked solid. He's a class act and a fantastic performer who "gets" the business and had the match of the night. I could not have asked for anything more from Sabin and I certainly hope he will be apart of PCW in the future.2). On previous occasions, Joe has been a joy to work with and gave exactly what was asked of him. I am sure it is no coincidence that "what was asked of him" was to look strong against our talent. When it came time for Joe to do something that didn't involve him looking like Hulk Hogan circa 1985, suddenly, he's not so accommodating.I owe our fans a huge apology. Rest assured, Samoa Joe will NEVER be back in PCW unless he intends to come and give us the other half of the match he was paid for.
ITS BEEN A WELL PUBLICIZED FACT THAT SAMOA JOE NEVER GOT PAID. SO... SHOULDN'T ANDREW PUBLICLY THANK JOE FOR SUPPLYING 8 MINUTES OF FREE SERVICE? LIAR!!!! AND CHRIS SABIN DEMONSTRATED HE WAS A CLASS ACT, SO NATURALLY HOW DO YOU SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR SUCH A NICE GUY? DON'T PAY HIM. IS THERE A PROBLEM HERE?
Allow me to explain in detail exactly what transpired. To be fair, I did not specifically speak with TNA in regards to Joe putting Kenny over. I did not care either way and said to a few guys in the past few days that I hoped Joe would put him over but if he didn't want to, it wasn't a big deal. In the past, whenever I have specifically checked with TNA on whether their talent would be willing to do business for our guys, I have been told "no problem. The business is a work."Exactly.And to quote a certain someone last night..."I don't care who wins or loses, I just want to have a good match." I wonder who said that.After being told by Joe that he'd be "right down" to the locker room for forty minutes (and thus, I was unable to begin the show when I wanted to), I finally went up to his room. I told him he was free to take his time coming down since it would be some time before his match, but I just wanted to get on the same page with him. I told him he was booked against Kenny Omega and asked him if he knew of him. Joe shrugged. Since Joe had spoke to me earlier in the day about his previous two trips to Winnipeg and seemed to have a fairly solid recollection of them, I reminded him that Kenny had worked with AJ Styles on this show last year.Joe shrugged and said "yeah, so?" I shrugged too and said "would you mind putting our guy over?" "No way," he scoffed. "I don't do that. I'm a top guy on television. It's company policy that we don't put over anyone but TNA guys." Now, I was totally fine with that up until the line about "company policy" which I knew to be untrue. Tell me you don't want to lay down. Tell me you feel it will impact your position and reputation (even if it wouldn't), but don't lie to me.I said "really? Styles put him over last year and they put together a match and a finish that made sense for both guys." Joe said "No way" again. He turned to walk away from me saying "there is no way that's happening."
I THINK IT IS TNA COMPANY POLICY THAT THEIR TALENT IS SUPPOSED TO GET PAID UPFRONT.
Let me be VERY clear. I had absolutely NO problem with that. Of course I was going to inquire as to whether he minded putting our top guy over, but I thought he likely would have declined. No problem. I thanked him for his time and told him to come down whenever he wanted.There is a huge difference between beating a guy and eating a guy. There is a huge difference between having a great match and trying to destroy a territory. Joe doesn't "get it". It makes a lot of sense to him when guys sell their ass off to make him look like a million dollars and an unstoppable killing machine. But it apparently makes "no sense" to ask him to "not kill our top guy."I won't speak for Kenny at all. He's a class act and encouraged me to forget about it and move on. But I will mention that I am fully aware of the poor attitude Joe demonstrated in the back and his insults. There is more to the story that I won't reveal here that clearly indicate that Joe made a deliberate and malicious decision to go to the ring and make our top guy look bad. For that, Joe can go fuck himself.And from what I understand, I am hardly the only promoter that feels this way and our fans are hardly the only ones to walk away from a Samoa Joe match disappointed.The match was too short and did absolutely nothing to enhance our talent or promotion. In retrospect, if Sabin/Sanchez had been the top match, I would have been thrilled. Sabin "gets it". Joe doesn't. How nice it must be for Joe to be so independently wealthy that he can execute a piss-poor match and then say "save your money and don't book me again."When we book "names", there are certain obligations on both sides. We're expected to pay the PO, trans and accommodations and act in a professional and respectful manner. In return, we expect the talent to show up, work hard, enhance our talent and promotion and act in a professional and respectful manner. Part of that means interacting with the fans and giving them their monies worth.On previous occasions, Joe did that. Last night, he left many fans who wished to shake his hand or get a picture, disappointed. That fact coupled with his terrible in-ring performance angered me greatly. I'm not one to shy away from confrontations and fortunately, I had to pay my crew so I did not get the chance to go speak with Joe immediately. I was encouraged by some to go talk to him and by others to let it go. "What can you do?" was an oft-repeated question. I made the decision to let it go.But as I thought about it further, I didn't want to be accused of being a guy that didn't have the balls to express my unhappiness face to face. I promptly marched up to Joe's room where he was enjoying his third or fourth quarter pounder of the day. I reminded him of his flight information and informed him that someone would be at the hotel in the morning to drive him and Sabin.I then asked to speak to him. Sabin walked into the next room, clearly sensing that I wanted to speak with Joe about a serious matter.
I HAVE THE MENTAL PICTURE OF A HYPOCRITICAL ANDREW "MARCHING" TO TAKE IT UP TO JOE. THE MARCH WOULD BE VERY FUNNY TO WATCH. WERE THE WORDS "PIECE OF SHIT" USED BY CHANCE? ANDREW, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT YOU BURNT YOURSELF BY NOT PAYING EITHER OF THESE PROFESSIONALS, THEN CRIED ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY LIKE SOME SORT OF VICTIM. NICE ONE.
I asked him if he was unhappy or upset with anything. He said "not at all" and asked why I was asking. I said "well, Joe, I guess I was wondering why you ate my top guy."He said "what did you want me to do, get dropped on my head?" I said "no. I wanted a good match that was a positive for our talent and promotion. That match killed our top guy and hurt my ability to draw moving forward."
OH, SO THERE IT IS. THE PROBLEM FOR ANDREW DRAWING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING LAZY, BUT INSTEAD THE ACTIONS OF FORMER TNA WORLD CHAMPION SAMOA JOE. FINALLY, THE RIDDLE HAS AN ANSWER.
Joe invited me in and asked me to sit down. He asked me to explain what I would have wanted different out of the match. I politely explained that I expected the match to go longer and I expected our guy to come out of it looking good and I expected the fans to be willing to pay to see Joe again in the future. I explained that none of that happened.Joe didn't agree to disagree. He didn't express that perhaps their was a misunderstanding. He proceeded to bury Kenny in the most ridiculous way possible. One guy in that match moved around. One guy was not blown up and huffing and puffing. One guy gave a shit. Guess which guy that was?
OH I DON'T KNOW, THE GUY WHO GOT A PAYOFF FOR THE MATCH, NOT THE ONE THAT GOT STIFFED BY A KNOW IT ALL JACKASS.
While Joe took the time to pay me lip service and try to placate me, he contradicted himself several times. He made ridiculous and lame excuses. The one honest thing he repeatedly said was "I'm not going to give you the answer you want."
TRANSLATION, JOE REFUSED TO SAY TO ANDREW THAT HE WAS A BETTER BOOKER THAN JOE A WORKER, AND HE WAS WRONG. MAYBE HE WOULD HAVE GOT PAID AND FULL AND A BLOW JOB IF HE HAD.
I explained that I was not looking for a certain answer. I, as the guy paying the bills, was simply looking to express my unhappiness.
LET ME REMIND YOU THE READERS THAT HE WAS THE GUY NOT PAYING THE BILLS. JUST CRYING LIKE A VICTIM.
It made no sense to kill our top guy. It was bad for business. If Joe had any sense, he would have realised that.
YES JOE IS THE GUY LACKING SENSIBILITY HERE, MOST DEFINITELY!
We could continue to book him and make money or we could do what happened last night.Joe rejected my opinion that the match was too short. I explained that I'd rather have a good 10 minute match then a bad 20 minute one, but that was a bad 8 minute match.
WE CAN ALL COUNT ON ANDREW TO GET INTO THE RING SOMETIME AND HAVE A GOOD 8, 10 OR 20 MINUTE MATCH, HE'S GOOD THAT WAY.
After a few more excuses which Joe usually contradicted on his own without my help, I said "look, good work is good work. That wasn't good work." Sabin, Petey and Styles can come in, have a great attitude and have a fantastic match with Kenny. But Joe couldn't. That says a lot about Joe.I expressed my feeling that the fans didn't get what they paid for. Joe scoffed and pointed out that it was a long show. I said "yeah, WE gave them what they paid for but YOU didn't. They paid for Samoa Joe."
WELL AT LEAST SOMEONE PAID FOR SAMOA JOE.
His reply "and they saw Samoa Joe." I said, "They didn't pay to SEE Samoa Joe, they paid to experience a quality Samoa Joe match." They didn't get that.Joe actually said to me "if you wanted your guy to look good, then you shouldn't have booked him against me." I didn't make Joe the highest paid guy on the show because I wanted him to make our talent look bad!
OR IN THIS CASE, THE HIGHEST UNPAID GUY.
From a business perspective, I asked him how that match was a positive. How was that going to help PCW draw?
YES BECAUSE JOE IS THAT GIFTED THAT HE COULD MAKE UP FOR YEARS OF YOU BEING THE LAZIEST PROMOTER EVER.
How was that going to set up Joe or any other TNA talent to return to Winnipeg and draw a crowd? Again, Joe's response was that I shouldn't have booked him then. I shook my head in disbelief.When Ric Flair was NWA World Champion, he travelled the US making every home town guy look like a million dollars because it was GOOD for business, built up the territory and ensured repeat bookings and money for everyone. One thing Joe said was that he was doing what he felt was best for his promotion. Wrong. Wherever you go, you're a representative of TNA. Everything you do, you're selling PPV's. All Joe did last night was show that he's not a very good worker and, unless a faster and better worker makes him look good, he's got nothing.Quite honestly, Joe forgot where he came from. Who would Joe be if guys hadn't been willing to make him look good or help him out? Joe made a name for himself squashing smaller guys. Well that gimmick is getting old.I haven't been around 20 years. I've been around six. Worked with a lot of good talent, names and produced some pretty big shows. Don't give me the "I think I know better" bullshit.
YOU ARE RIGHT ANDREW. YOU KNOW MORE THAN JOE, TNA, AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER SABU AND ERNIE'S SQUABBLE? ANDREW MAYBE ERNIE IS YOUR LONG LOST RELATIVE. WELL YOU ARE BOTH RELATIVELY USELESS THAT'S FOR SURE.
I agree - you SHOULD know better.If other promoters ask for my opinion I will tell them honestly - Joe is over-rated, out of shape and not worth his asking price.
I'M SURE THE PROMOTERS WERE LINING UP TO LEARN FROM YOU.
Book Chris Sabin. Book AJ Styles. Book Chris Daniels. Book Petey Williams. Don't book Samoa Joe unless it's a "going out of business" show. He'll successfully give you what you need in that regard.I'm not writing this to bury Joe. I respect TNA and their talent. I don't respect Joe.
I'M SURE THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL WHEN HE DIDN'T GET PAID. AND I'M SURE CHRIS SABIN HAS THE MOST SPARKLING THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU, IF HE EVEN REMEMBERS YOU.
Not anymore. I owe an explanation and apology to our fans and this is it. Our show was good - very good. Better then anything else you'll see in this city. Some promotions would kill to have our worst match on top of their card.
ABSOLUTELY, I WOULD KILL SOMEONE IF SABERTOOTH VS. CORY KINCAID MADE IT ON MY SHOW.
But it wasn't good enough for PCW and it wasn't good enough for us.For that, I sincerely apologize.
TO WHO? CHRIS SABIN WHO YOU PUT OVER FOR BEING A CLASS ACT BUT DIDN'T PAY?
A few notes on last night.AJ Sanchez had a fantastic match with Chris Sabin. That speaks volumes about Sanchez as a talent and about Sabin as a person.
THAT VOLUME IS NOT LOUD ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY PAYING SABIN APPARENTLY.
My sincere thanks to both guys.Due to Chevy's injury, Don Douglas was put in a position where the match changed on him. I thought he worked very hard and put forth a great effort.
AND YET, DOUGLAS WOULD BE TRADED FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS WITH NOTHING EXPECTED IN RETURN. OR COULD COME BACK TO PCW FOR A REDUCED PUSH AND PAYOFF. SURE.
Mike Angels and Adam Knight had another great match as did Antonio Scorpio Jr and Nate Hardy. Scorpio and Nate had a ton of crowd heat. This was their third straight match working face/face and to keep getting that reaction says alot about them. I remember being against the idea of them working three shows ago and I was VERY wrong. I'm an honest guy and I felt we should have drawn better. We drew great, but could have been better. Though, with Chris Sabin as a surprise, we sold tickets based on Joe alone. Thank GOD we brought Sabin in!!
AND STIFFED HIM ON PAY.
Kenny never, ever has to defend himself to anyone. If a guy like Joe or anyone else doesn't want to come to work when given the chance to work with a talent like Kenny, then so be it. It's their loss. Kenny's future lays waaaay beyond Winnipeg. I feel really bad for him and am sure he is disappointed. But fortunately, he's got a match with Ultimo Dragon this weekend and I encourage everyone to go see that show. That match alone is worth the ticket price.Our DVD of the Fifth Anniversary show is now available. Our production guy upgraded his equipment, including a boom cam (which, by the way did have a video monitor so he knew exactly what he was filming).I take complete responsibility for the negatives on last night's show. I don't want to read anyone being critical of the talent. For the most part, they worked very hard and had great performances. Everything that was not as tight as it should have been from booking to pacing to technical issues all fall at my feet. I'll make it up to you all next show. I promise.I also don't want to get too 'down' on the show. For those "competitors" who couldn't bring themselves to check out our event, trust me, you couldn't put that show on in your wildest dreams. It was very good. But not good enough. This is a personal blog and my personal opinion. I'm frustrated. I appreciate the support of the fans and I hope you'll come back on Oct. 25th and let us erase the memories of Samoa Joe with a show that will do just that. I fucking guarantee THAT!
Posted by PCW at 10:59 AM
I GUARENTEE ANDREW REGRETS THIS BLOG RIGHT ABOUT NOW!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Time Consumed, Tired, But Happy
What a month it has been, and I apologize for the length in between blogs. Between putting in some serious hours travelling all over Western Canada for work, and promoting AWE's VINDICATION, I have not had a whole lot of time to blog. For that I'm sorry, blogging is great therapy.
So, I must say, I'm hugely happy with the response from VINDICATION, both the positive and negative feedback. Some people don't believe this, but it's true, I like when people say negative things about my efforts, or results. I am in a position in the wrestling business where my efforts are right there to be critiqued and if I didn't have a thick skin I'd be in the wrong business. Josh, Tim, and some fans that I absolutely respect, have stated that a slideshow presentation "WENT WAY TOO FAR!" And now a group of very loyal fans may never attend a Mike Davidson production again.
I am in the unique position to write an angle that actually gets people's blood boiling. I can reference Premier Championship Wrestling or PCW in any way I want to on my show, and there isn't a thing that a rival promoter can say or do about it. Why? Because Premier Championship Wrestling is not actually a registered entity to Andrew Shallcross, it's registered and incorporated by a former associate, and very close friend of mine Jeff Dyck. Don't believe me, do a name search at the Corporations Branch on Broadway. What I'm saying is very very legitimate. So now, if I want to totally badmouth, piss on, job out "PCW" I have a full and legal green light to do so. And every fan of Shallcross' shows can say it's immature, it's unprofessional, and it's over the line. True, I don't deny that. But here we are 4 days after the show, and its still being talked about, and has people angry. Guess what, if every angle got this type of reaction, bookers everywhere would be extatic. As I am right now.
Will fans that support Andrew Shallcross presented wrestling, continue to support my show? Maybe. Right now they say no fucking way, but I am the only promoter likely to bring in their favorite imports. I am the only promoter, likely to have the balls enough to inspire the question "What the hell is that asshole going to do next." Well to believe it you will have to see it. Andrew did an amazing job setting me up as a heel in this situation. Adam Knight throws a punch at me in a bar, Jay Walker goes out on Halloween and portrays me, with a painted on black eye, and it's considered clever and funny. I book Wayne Stanton to go out, with a slideshow, to the song Bad Day (and believe me there have been many bad days over there), and I'm over the line? OK, that's cool, I'm ok with that. Everyone in the business wants to be a heel.
PCW will continue to exist. Mike Arnott will continue to represent the best interests of PCW and Jeff Dyck. AWE will continue to laugh at PCW. And Andrew Shallcross will continue to promote a product as something he has no legal right to do so, and continue to lose his grasp on reality.
Fans will be appaulled by the level of bullshit. Some may even stop following the product? Lets hope not. But I don't understand it. In the late 90's competition, pride and determination made the business overall better. 3 or 4 years of Shallcross running un-challenged made the local business pretty stale. CWE came along and offered a better and fresher product. Will anyone say Petey Williams vs. Rick Matthews, Mentallo vs. Bryan Danielson, the ladder-match 3 way, were anything short of the best three matches in the City so far this year?
Critics can shit on my show, they always do. I don't take offense. You bought tickets, I appreciate you business and support, and I've even engaged in pretty open and long conversations with Josh and Tim about why I believe an edgy product will do wonders for the local scene. Time will tell if I'm right.
I offer absolutely no apologies.
So, I must say, I'm hugely happy with the response from VINDICATION, both the positive and negative feedback. Some people don't believe this, but it's true, I like when people say negative things about my efforts, or results. I am in a position in the wrestling business where my efforts are right there to be critiqued and if I didn't have a thick skin I'd be in the wrong business. Josh, Tim, and some fans that I absolutely respect, have stated that a slideshow presentation "WENT WAY TOO FAR!" And now a group of very loyal fans may never attend a Mike Davidson production again.
I am in the unique position to write an angle that actually gets people's blood boiling. I can reference Premier Championship Wrestling or PCW in any way I want to on my show, and there isn't a thing that a rival promoter can say or do about it. Why? Because Premier Championship Wrestling is not actually a registered entity to Andrew Shallcross, it's registered and incorporated by a former associate, and very close friend of mine Jeff Dyck. Don't believe me, do a name search at the Corporations Branch on Broadway. What I'm saying is very very legitimate. So now, if I want to totally badmouth, piss on, job out "PCW" I have a full and legal green light to do so. And every fan of Shallcross' shows can say it's immature, it's unprofessional, and it's over the line. True, I don't deny that. But here we are 4 days after the show, and its still being talked about, and has people angry. Guess what, if every angle got this type of reaction, bookers everywhere would be extatic. As I am right now.
Will fans that support Andrew Shallcross presented wrestling, continue to support my show? Maybe. Right now they say no fucking way, but I am the only promoter likely to bring in their favorite imports. I am the only promoter, likely to have the balls enough to inspire the question "What the hell is that asshole going to do next." Well to believe it you will have to see it. Andrew did an amazing job setting me up as a heel in this situation. Adam Knight throws a punch at me in a bar, Jay Walker goes out on Halloween and portrays me, with a painted on black eye, and it's considered clever and funny. I book Wayne Stanton to go out, with a slideshow, to the song Bad Day (and believe me there have been many bad days over there), and I'm over the line? OK, that's cool, I'm ok with that. Everyone in the business wants to be a heel.
PCW will continue to exist. Mike Arnott will continue to represent the best interests of PCW and Jeff Dyck. AWE will continue to laugh at PCW. And Andrew Shallcross will continue to promote a product as something he has no legal right to do so, and continue to lose his grasp on reality.
Fans will be appaulled by the level of bullshit. Some may even stop following the product? Lets hope not. But I don't understand it. In the late 90's competition, pride and determination made the business overall better. 3 or 4 years of Shallcross running un-challenged made the local business pretty stale. CWE came along and offered a better and fresher product. Will anyone say Petey Williams vs. Rick Matthews, Mentallo vs. Bryan Danielson, the ladder-match 3 way, were anything short of the best three matches in the City so far this year?
Critics can shit on my show, they always do. I don't take offense. You bought tickets, I appreciate you business and support, and I've even engaged in pretty open and long conversations with Josh and Tim about why I believe an edgy product will do wonders for the local scene. Time will tell if I'm right.
I offer absolutely no apologies.
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