ECPW (East Coast Professional Wrestling)
Knights Of Columbus Hall
Fairfield, CT
2/5/05

ECPW returned to the Knights of Columbus with a nice compact, well run show that delivered a few solid matches and entertained the fans. ECPW has run "B" shows in this venue numerous times. This one was probably the most successful to date both creatively and in terms of attendance [which was still modest but noticeably improved from previous shows]. As the show featured am ECPW world title defense and appearances by several of the promotion's top names, the phrase "B show" is arguably a misnomer at this point. The show was fairly short - 6 matches over about 2 ¼ hours - and got the job done without overstaying its welcome.

Wiqued vs Spider went to a double count out in the opening bout.
Entertaining match, though I felt they tried to do a little too much, especially for an opening match. Both men hit several diving moves from the ring to the unforgiving hardwood floor, including an impressive moonsault by Spider. The end came when both were out on the floor once again and Spider hurricaraned Wiqued into the ring post. Both combatants were stunned and failed to make it back to the ring before the ten count. Crowd didn't like the finish, which is the standard reaction to a DCO. Can't fault either wrestler's work ethic as these two really killed themselves, but execution was lacking in places, notably the finish.

Prior to the next bout the ring announcer let us know that ref Garry Morrerre was working his 1000th professional wrestling match. That's quite a total for someone who's still a young guy.

The Nelsons d. Red Hot Russ and Johnny Thunder following a Nelson missile dropkick on Thunder.
Excellent tag team match that could easily have been main event worthy. The Nelsons are former tag team champions with this promotion and have had a long running feud with Thunder and Russ in various combinations. The experience shows as these guys continue work very well with each other and had a solid, exciting match here. Russ and Thunder played the chicken hearted heel role very well and have nicely complimentary in-ring styles.

Slugger d. Carlito Mafioso.
Slugger was the heel here but the majority of the crowd really wanted to cheer him so it was a minor (though successful) uphill battle to keep him heel. Story of the match was the much larger Slugger overpowering Mafioso while Mafioso tried to play hit and run, working on Slugger's knee and then his arm. (Wouldn't it have made more sense to stick with the knee, the better to get him the big man off his feet?) Just in case the size advantage still wasn't enough, Dan Da Man came out to distract the referee and throw Slugger a chain. Slugger KO'd Mafioso with the chain behind the ref's back and pinned him for the slightly one sided win. They wisely set this up to play to Slugger's strengths and he looked very impressive here.

Intermission.

Show resumed with The Punisher (who did not wrestle) bringing out the special guest referee for the world title match, Iceman Petrillo. Punisher put over Iceman's 10 years with ECPW. (Yet I don't remember this guy and I've been to numerous ECPW events. Maybe that's my bad.) This led to an eventual confrontation with ECPW world champ Andrew Anderson and his manager, Sports Agent Doug DeVito. Anderson is sporting a bleached blond look that moves him slightly away from "Double A" and toward Scott Steiner in terms of facial appearance.

Wilcox d. Dave Colewith a two handed chokeslam (a move similar to the Undertaker's "Last Ride").
Entertaining match that saw Cole play the pink clad effeminate smaller heel to Wilcox's big-bruiser babyface. Both men played their roles well and executed effectively in the ring.

ECPW World Heavyweight Champion "The Reinforcer" Andrew Anderson d. challenger Scotty Charisma to retain his title
. Charisma got the advantage early on before getting overwhelmed by Anderson's stiff offense. Charisma went into a long period of almost but not quite being able to make a comeback before finally regaining the advantage, hitting Anderson with the Ab Splash [Stinger Splash], some nice dropkicks, and a flying crossbody off the top for a two. Charisma appeared to have things well in hand but allowed himself to get momentarily distracted by DeVito on the outside and got caught with the spinebuster. Really good match.

Dan Da Man (w/Slugger) retained his ECPW light heavyweight title against Johnny Ova(w/Mark Rydell), Dennis Abunai and Iron Eagle when Dan pinned Ova.
Fast exciting 'spotfest' that still remembered to tell a story. The story was that the heels and faces would keep trying to team up, with the alliances inevitable breaking down when it was time to go for a pin and leading to another 4 way donnybrook. Everybody looked good here. Dan Da Man has a nice heel charisma.

I have one small negative note. Several times during this match, some young kids were running right up to the ring, getting in the way of the managers and photographer. This is a recurring problem at CT shows, since few companies use a ring barrier, and, apparently, these children don't have any parents. Certainly they don't have parents who possess even the slightest concern for their children's behavior or safety. There needs to be some sort of minimal ringside security to keep kids away from the action during the matches or one day something really bad is liable to happen. No one wants that. I'm not picking on ECPW (who present a very family friendly product) in particular here; this is just the most recent example of a problem I've seen many times in multiple promotions. If you're not going to have a ring barrier then you need to have a staff member at ringside to police the area and keep it clear and safe, both for the fans and for the guys who are working.

After the last match the heels double-teamed Abunai, which led to a locker room clearing brawl. Good way to end the show on an exciting note. The outcome of the big melee was that Abunai and Carlito Mafioso [who earlier got screwed out of a win by Dan Da Man] will face Slugger and DDM in a tag team match when ECPW returns here on April 20.

This was a fun night of wrestling. It's nice to see a company, even an out of state one, attempting to run regularly in the under-served Southwestern CT area. Check out http://www.ecpw1.com/ for more information on ECPW's upcoming shows, including a big benefit show in Suffern, NY on March 11.