IRON 8 Thoughts & more

Last night's NECW event was a great night of action and entertainment in Somerset, MA for the 7th annual edition of the IRON 8 Championship. Fans were treated to a live performance by the great local band Tester, whose "King of the World" was the official song of the IRON 8. If you haven't checked this band out, they are pretty damned awesome and "King of the World" has hit written all over it - check it out at http://www.tester13.com.

Hats off to producer/director Bryan Nadeau for putting that together. NECW and the local music scene are a great fit, especially considering the media assets NECW brings to the table.

As for the wrestling end of the evening, it was a phenomenal card and kudos to every athlete who participated.

This year's IRON 8 was marked by several injuries prior to the event taking place, which caused numerous changes to the line up. There was a certain flavor missing this year, but when it came to bell to bell action and intrigue, this one was hard to beat.

Full results will be available soon on the NECW website, but congratulations to Handsome Johnny who won this year's tournament in dramatic fashion. The result leaves a lot of unanswered questions regarding The Handsome One and his protetge, "Sensational" Scott Levesque, but there is no question that Handsome Johnny elevated his game in NECW last night.

The night also featured a phenomenal Triple Crown Championship Match that saw "The Real Deal" Brandon Locke and NECW Television Champion, "The Heat" Kris Pyro take each other to the absolute limit in a match that I would consider an all time classic in NECW. While Pyro showed he has the goods to be a top dog by any measure, Locke is a superb athlete and in my no-so-humble opinion, the Triple Crown has elevated Locke to his peak as a performer. I watched this match and got that same vibe I would get watching a classing NWA World Title defense by Harley Race or Ric Flair.

When this one comes out on DVD, I would get it for that title match alone.

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This summer New England Championship Wrestling will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In our business, that is a very significant milestone and plans are afoot to celebrate in a big way.

Stay tuned.