Haven't been on in a bit. Dealing with life & its issues but I'm back now.

So, this past Saturday, I went to The Electric Factory to see three legends of Professional Wrestling. No, I don't mean Bob Magee, The Hat Guy & Whacks -though I'm sure they all could qualify. I mean of course Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk & Abdullah the Butcher. Yes, I went to 3PW with high hopes for a decent show. Did I get it? Well, let's begin.

I pulled into the parking lot at The Electric Factory in the pouring rain to be told it would cost me $8 to park my vehicle. Ok, I figured, I'm downtown in Philly. Gotta expect this I guess. I handed the man my money and pulled thru the gate. Suddenly a little gremlin of a man dressed in an orange vest and a Glad garbage bag rain poncho popped up in front of my car & wildly started gesturing for me to follow his directions. After guiding me in so tightly to the car next to me that there wasn't room for two fleas to fuck, let alone open the passenger door, he appeared at my window asking me if I had a tip for the "genemens who heped me park". Eight bucks to park and now this dude wanted a tip. Had I known what the night had in store, I'd have given him a tip - stay outside and save your money. Now I've been to 3PW shows before at Viking Hall and enjoyed them so I don't know what happened. Maybe it was that move on up to the East Side to that deluxe arena in the sky but I was very disappointed.

I can count my highlights on the fingers of one hand. 1. Hot Stuff Matt Stryker. A great gimmick for anyone with a sense of wrestling history as he used the finishing moves of all the wrestling legends of the past from the Garvin Stomp to Chief Jay Strongbow's war dance & tomahawk chops and everything in between. 2. The Hit Squad - Still one of the stiffest tag teams out there ( Just a thought for John Zandig: Nate Hatred & Nick Gage against these guys. Battle of the stiffest. Think about it). 3. The best match of the night: Xavier vs Homicide. Homicide. Is this the same guy I ripped a few years back for being a New Jack wannabe? Not anymore. The incredible improvement that I have seen since that night in Bayonne makes me wonder if this is the same guy. A talented young man who impresses me more & more with his mat work every time I see him, he has remade himself into a new image and can never again be accused of being a wannabe anything. He has grown to an incredible wrestler in his own right. Homicide, I salute you. 4. The three legends: What can I say? They're all past their prime but if you grew up with these guys like I did, they can do no wrong. All three still know how to work a crowd and that is a talent that a few of the other wrestlers that worked that night will never have. That's the highlights. Now let's talk about what went wrong.

How about an absolute bloodbath of a match featuring Balls Mahoney & Nosawa? I've seen Nosawa work twice before that night and was impressed with his agility & speed. He had a good look to him. He knew how to work a crowd. He knew how to work a submission hold.So, do we book him in a match where he can use any of that speed, skill & agility? Hell no. Let'[s book him in a slice & dice with Balls Mahoney. A man who doesn't know a submission hold from a submarine sandwich. Now I'll admit that I can enjoy a so called garbage wrestling match but damn get creative. Twenty minutes of "I got the pizza cutter, now you got the pizza cutter" gets a bit repetitive and boring. Pure & simple, Nosawa was wasted.

Let's talk about a catfight that wasn't even a catfight. Missy Hyatt against Jasmine. Ok, everyone knew we weren't going to really see any real tits. After all, this wasn't a Dangerous Women of Wrestling (GLOOW) show. The pasties the ladies were wearing were more the size of the Jamaican fried pie of the same name then any pastie ever worn by a self respecting stripper at the old Trocadero. But if you aren't going to give the guys a quick peak then at least give then a good catfight. Pull some hair, slap & scratch. Make it look good. But that just didn't happen. I saw better catfights in the 70's on a Saturday night at the local disco.

Not that the entire fault lies with the booking on this show. The fans deserve a shot too. During the best match of the night (Homicide/Xavier) most of them set on their hands and a few even started chanting boring. Damn, doesn't anyone appreciate real wrestling anymore? I saw several spots during that match that should have brought the crowd to its feet and not a damn movement from them. Perhaps i'm being too hard on them. Maybe they were still in shock from paying $5 for a plastic cup of watered down beer.

Meanie & Jasmine, I know you got it in you to put on a good show. I've seen it at Viking Hall. I hope you find your way back to that mix that you had there again. The pieces of the puzzle are there. Just rearrange them and I think you'll be OK.

Next week, a look at the upcoming CZW Best of the Best. Coming soon: The Bloodhound returns to Jersey All Pro. And just what the hell is kaiju anyway and what does it have to do with wrestling? All this and more in the weeks to come. Until next week, this is The Bloodhound saying see you at the indys.