I finally got a copy of WWE's Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling last week, and it was well worth the wait. While the WWE's version does not have the same emotional power of Brian Harrison's Heroes of World Class DVD, which you can get from Big Vision Entertainment, it has a lot that Heroes didn't have, such as commentary from Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts and Jimmy Garvin and a good selection of matches.
The story of World Class Championship Wrestling is something the likes of which will never be seen again. A wrestling territory so far ahead of its time, so hot, so innovative destroyed by unimaginable tragedy after tragedy. It is a story so incredible, if it were not fact, it would never pass as fiction as it would be too implausible.
I will spare you the detailed review, but both the Heroes of World Class DVD and the WWE's Triumph & Tragedy deserve a place in your DVD collection.
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NECW has SNOWBRWAL coming up this coming Saturday night in Quincy, MA and it will be a barnburner of a card. We have a terrific 8 man tag team elimination match on top with NECW Triple Crown Champion, Big Rick Fuller, D.C. Dillinger, "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards and Antonio "The Promise" Thomas on one side and "Straight Edge" Brian Fury, Alex Arion, Bobby Fish and Max Bauer on the other. This one is contested under elimination rules and it is an absolute must-see.
We have 7 other bouts, including two title rematches as Brandon Locke defends the TV title against Handsome Johnny and Lexxus puts the gold on the line against "The Portuguese Princess" Ariel. Check out http://www.necwwrestling.com/ for the complete card and ticket info, but I want to see you there!
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This is the time of year for all the "Best of 2007" polls. The granddaddy of them all is the Wrestling Observer Awards. Dave Meltzer does the most complete job of this. And while it is a flawed awards list, it has become the standard by which all other polls of this sort are judged by.
I have issues with a lot of stuff in the Observer awards, though this year Dave did a much better job of separating the pro wrestling awards from the MMA awards. I've always maintained that the two are different animals and should not be judged side by side.
It's worth going out of your way to get, especially if you are either in the business or a serious student of it.
We do not do any sort of "Best of 2007" awards for NECW. There is a message board site that primarily covers the New England scene that has a year end poll, but it is so flawed in so many areas that it can't be taken seriously.
If I were to give you my own NECW "Best of 2007" winners, some might be offended because it's like telling you which of my children I like best. We will be coming out with a "Best of 2007" DVD in the next couple of months. In fact we have 3 releases in process right now: the 2007 IRON 8 Championship, BIRTHDAY BASH 7: Caged Fury and The Best of 2007, which will again be a 2 disc set. There will be a best of WWW DVD too in the not too distant future.
Without calling this a "Best of 2007 Awards," here are some of my thoughts on the year just passed:
You judge a wrestling company best by who it's champion is and what they have done. By that standard, D.C. Dillinger proved himself to be the top independent wrestler in New England. Dillinger toppped more sellouts than any other NECW Champion ever. His feud with Brian Fury was everything a great wrestling feud should be - hot issues, great promos, a great chase until the final conflict in a cage.
Brian Fury held up his end very well and delivered the goods in his role. Fury had a chance for the first time to play out a long program and he grew in that environment.
"Die Hard" Eddie Edwards and "The Infamous" Bobby Fish had a phenomenal series of matches in 2007 and those two are as good as any workers anywhere on the face of the planet.
Brandon Locke had a fantastic year and became a big fan favorite very quickly. Some workers need you to build them up to get the desired reaction. Brandon had the people almost immediately. This is a guy with great talent and finally the stage to show it.
Rick Fuller was such a solid performer for NECW in 2007. He finished the year winning the Triple Crown, but Fuller has had a tremendous positive impact on the promotion all year. If anyone deserves a big run on top, it's Fuller.
Michael Sain and Antonio Thomas have done great work in NECW in the latter part of the year. Sain was one of the better NECW Champions and has become a very good student of the business. Antonio Thomas is one of the best workers New England has ever produced, and his latest work is some of the best of his career. If you haven't been watching NECW TV and his promos, you are missing something special.
On the women's side, Tanya Lee grew tremendously as a performer as WWW Champion. One of the true rewards of promoting wrestling is seeing people get better when given the stage and the spotlight. Tanya Lee is going to get even better as time goes on. I cannot say enough good things about Lexxus. This is a girl who so totally upped her game in taking the WWW title in August, it's amazing.
This is the strongest roster in NECW history and I think we delivered an excellent product - one that I am so very proud of.
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As we look to 2008, we have some huge things on the horizon. We will be announcing some pretty interesting shows and relationships in the coming months that are really going to elevate the company.
We will be doing the Hot Dog Safari again this year. That takes place on Sunday, June 1 at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
We will be launching a new web site in March that I think is going to be as good as anything on the net.
It's going to be an exciting year for NECW and WWW and I look forward to seeing you at the matches.
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