OK. We got a lot to cover tonight so let's crank this mother up. First off: The NWA New Jersey battle. Seems that a battle is being waged over the NWA New Jersey name. Gino Moore & Fred Rubenstein are staring across the ring at each other fighting a battle for the name. Both have aired their claims on the Internet and each thinks they have the right to the name. This whole battle reminds me of two seagulls on the boardwalk fighting over the remains of a moldy soft pretzel. A lot of noise, a bit of squawking & posturing & in the end is the prize really worth it. I haven't seen a good NWA show in New Jersey since Dennis Coraluzzo died & Dirty Doug Gilbert stopped coming here. If they couldn't produce a good show working together, what the hell makes them think they can do so separately.Perhaps somone will step in from outside & buy both these guys out & bring the annual Eddie Gilbert show which is sorely missed back to New Jersey. One can only hope.

Next up: CZW pays tribute this weekend to 10 years of wrestling at Viking Hall. The new breed of extreme wrestling looks back at their heritage. To those of us who were there 10 years ago, this should be a special moment. Bob Magee sums up a lot of those feelings & history very well in his AS I SEE IT column this week. (Check it out at the Pro Wrestling Between The Sheets link on this page) I won't try and compete with Bob's memories. I'll only say that I watched a small promotion known as Eastern Championship Wrestling grow to a giant known as ECW and my gut tells me that I'm once again in this same position with CZW. One doesn't usually get this opportunity twice in a lifetime & I'd like to thank John Zandig for his friendship and allowing me to be there every step of that growth. I know that the boys will do the many ghosts of the past that inhabit Viking Hall proud & perhaps establish some new legends of their own to remember this night as well. I'll post my feelings about the show after Saturday night.

Lastly: Kaiju Big Battel. What the hell is that you might ask? Well take wrestling, combine it with every old Japanese monster film you ever saw, throw it in a shaker with a bit of Saturday Night Live & shake it all about & you have Kaiju Big Battel. And it's all coming to Philly. Yes, if you ever watched UltraMan when you were a kid, then Kaiju is for you. This entertaining blend features men in giant monster suits meeting in a steel cage wrestling ring to do battle. It's the forces of good versus the forces of evil. It's silly, it's bizarre & it's funny as hell. Come be a kid again. Come to Kaiju Big Battel. I'll save you a spot. All the info you need is in the following Press Release from Kaiju Big Battel Headquarters:

Kaiju Big Battel Continues 2003 National Campaign With Philadelphia Debut at Electric Factory on Saturday May 31st, 2003

Calendar: Music, Performing Arts, and Unrivaled Live-Action Comedy
Who: Kaiju Big Battel with musical guest Need New Body
Where: The Electric Factory, 421 North 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA
When: Saturday, May 31, 2003. Doors at 7:30 PM
Tickets: Ticket prices: $20 (advanced) and $22 (day of show). All Ages.
Tickets at the EFC box office (1231 Vine Street), TLA box office (334 South
Street), Ticketmaster locations or charge 215-336-2000 or go to Ticketmaster.com

The Kaiju Big Battel Universe continues to expand! After conquering the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, Kaiju Big Battel makes its Philadelphia debut on May 31st. Come join 2,000 lucky Kaiju fans and 20-plus giant city-crushing monsters, aliens, and heroes, as Kaiju Big Battel stars in Philly Factory Fighto. Kaiju's multi-media production will showcase Kaijutron video screens, the towering Danger Cage, the fan favorite Danger Zone (a Double-Dare-inspired audience participation area) and the debut of two new Kaiju monsters (It's a surprise!). And wait, there'smore-- very special musical guests the Need New Body will kick off the spectacle

Philly Factory Fighto marks the third event of what will prove to be the biggest year in Kaiju Big Battel's epic history. After the Big Battel invades Philadelphia, Kaiju mayhem will be unleashed in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. And in 2003 the continuing monster saga will be captured in a trade press book from Hyperion Books and a full length DVD release from Redline Entertainment. > Philly Factory Fighto schedule of events:
Pre-show party with monsters
> Musical prelude by Need New Body
Match 1: Seafood Soup Surprise Rematch
Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle Vs. Unibouzu

Match 2: Muck Raker
Dusto Bunny Vs. Gomi-man

Battel Break: Fan Fun Time
> Los Plantanos and 2 Lucky Fans

Match 3: Duo-Danger Duet
Sky Deviler and Mota Naru Vs. Slo Feng and American Beetle

Match 4: Championship Belt Contest
Hell Monkey VS Silver Potato

About Kaiju Big Battel
Kaiju Big Battel is a modern conflict of epic proportions. Planet Earth is under threat: scattered throughout the galaxy is a monstrous mob of maniacal villains, menacing alien beasts, and giant, city-crushing monsters that are waging war against one another. Presiding over this mayhem is the Kaiju Commissioner, an enigmatic human-arbiter appointed by a clandestine cadre of world leaders to regulate Kaiju rage. If the Kaiju Commissioner doesn't do his job perfectly - or if civilization isn't careful - the entire world could get caught in the crossfire.

Currently, the Kaiju Universe maintains an active roster of approximately 30 monsters, including a blue alien-glutton named Sky Deviler, a factory-worker-turned-soup-can called Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle, a dirty-hare-sage dubbed Dusto Bunny, Uchu Chu the Space Bug (self-explanatory), and a despicable, square-headed mad scientist known as Dr. Cube. In addition to the Kaiju Commissioner, a few other privileged humans also get a piece of the action, including Referee Jingi, a mustachioed official who enforces fairness and civility in the ring, Anthony Salbino, an urban renewal expert who reconstructs crumbled cityscapes between Battels, and one tuxedo-wearing, mouth-running MC

About Studio Kaiju
Studio Kaiju, an independent Boston-based performance and media group, is the creator of Kaiju Big Battel, the world's only live monster mayhem spectacle. Producer of consistently sold-out events, Studio Kaiju is best known for its live tournament-style performances, which are a tongue-in-cheek hybrid of American pro-wrestling, Japanese monster-movie mayhem, and lowbrow pop-culture. These events typically take place in a monster-sized wrestling ring, lined with miniature cityscape and random, over-sized Japanese monster-movie props.

To fund its monster creations and metropolitan destruction, Studio Kaiju produces and distributes its own line of merchandise including videos, T-shirts, lunchboxes and a whole catalogue of other cool but useless, limited-edition collectibles. The world of Kaiju Big Battel is also supported by Studio Kaiju's acclaimed web site, kaiju.com, which hosts Kaiju Big Battel news, monster profiles, videos of live events, arcade-style games, and the most fun online mall ever.