Gary Cassidy, Weekend Thoughts, NESN, Memo to Chris Collins

I had coffee yesterday with Gary Cassidy, who comes to us from Ireland for this year's IRON 8 Championship.

We had our first look at Gary this past Sunday at the HOT DOG SAFARI, as he managed to score a fall on "The Talent" T.J. Richter, which is no small feat. Gary made quite a positive impression on us both in and out of the ring.

Gary wrote to me earlier in the year letting me know that he was planning this trip and that he was interested in being booked. He was trained by the great Irish star, Fergal Devitt, who makes his return to NECW later this month. Fergal gave Gary his seal of approval and we booked him for this year's IRON 8.

This is Cassidy's first visit to America. His life as a wrestler in Ireland isn't an easy one. He is 5 hours away from the place he trains at. In his area, he works once or twice a month. It is purely his own effort and desire that gets him booked outside of his home area.

Few companies would take a chance on someone like Gary Cassidy, but NECW has always had an open door for talent from overseas. It's the same door the Doug Williams, Sumie Sakai and others have walked through and shined. My theory has always been that the Gary Cassidy's of
our business bring a different kind of appreciation to the locker room, as well as a different style and set of experiences. It helps the roster to grow by seeing that there is wrestling beyond our area. It is also one more thing that makes NECW stand out from other area promotions.

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Tomorrow night is the IRON 8 and the excitement is building. There has been and will be a lot of mainstream newspaper mentions of Saturday night's show and Sunday's World Women's Wrestling event, which is very gratifying on a lot of levels.

Both the IRON 8 and World Women's Wrestling are great examples of how New England Championship Wrestling is the true innovator of independent wrestling. If you are in the area and a wrestling fan, you owe it to yourself to give us a try.

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We'll be having a film crew from New England Sports Network (NESN) at tomorrow night's show filming scenes for the reality show SOX APPEAL. Antonio "The Promise" Thomas is the crew's subject and we look forward to seeing both Antonio and the NESN crew!

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I ran into Chis Collins from New England Cable News this morning. I had been on Chris' show years back before I started NECW and have been trying to get him to an event for the longest time. Chris is a good guy and one of the area's brightest sportscasters and it's nice to see him thriving in a market as tough as Boston. (Memo to Chris: NECW and WWW are a hell of a story. Hint, hint.)

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See you all tomorrow night and Sunday night !