New Millenium Wrestling (NMW)
"Headlock on Hunger"
Rutherford, NJ
Referees: Mike Kehner and Garry Moorer
Ring Announcers: James Anthony and Gerry Strauss (James announced the first half, Gerry announced all matches after intermission)
Attendance: 150 (Mostly made up of local families with 15-20 smart mark fans)

The Patriot came out first, with two kids, that I'm guessing are part of the St. Mary's parish, where the show was held. One girl sings the National Anthem. After singing the anthem, out comes the Kodiak Bear, with the ECWA Title. Not only was NMW using the ECWA ring, they were using ECWA's titles to represent their champions. Let me say that Kodiak Bear is no John Walters. Anyway, Kodiak Bear trashes The Patriot, and this sets up our main event for later tonight. When I saw that Patriot vs Kodiak Bear was the main event, I knew what type of show I was in for.

Simon Diamond d. Danny Jaxx
PREMATCH: Simon Diamond cut a promo. He says he has a problem being on first. He says he's probably on first because of some stupid football game. Well that game was stupid ugly, as Notre Dame recieved no protection from the USC Trojans. Simon then gets heckled by a fan on the far end of the arena. Simon and the fan go back and forth. The fan even took a shot at Simon's relationship with Dawn Marie, which had a few people go "Woooooooooooow, I can't believe he said that." Simon challenged the fan to come to the ring, but the fan didn't go. Simon then went on to say he wants the fan to be arrested for indecent exposure, meaning he's fugly. Simon then said he wants the whole crowd arrested for indecent exposure. Before any arrests could be made, Danny Jaxx came out and we had our match.
Simon started the match by attacking Jaxx from behind. This match then went outside, where Jaxx took an advantage. Later on, Jaxx rolled in the ring, hitting a big powerslam for 2. The finish of this match saw Simon roll-up Jaxx, and hold the ropes for leverage, for the 1-2-3 cheap pinfall win.
This match was very old school and a good way to get the crowd riled up. I doubt half the fans in the building have ever heard of ECW, as when Simon was listing his credentials, no one seemed to pop or care about the ECW name. I would also venture to say that none of those fans have heard of TNA either, but then again, the fans that do know about TNA don't watch it either.

#1 Contendership for the Cruiserweight Championship
Abunai d. Wiqued
With all the cruiserweights out there, I would've rather seen two other guys get a spot in NMW. Abunai looks like he's lost a step, since the UCW days. This match had very few big spots, but when they were hit, the crowd popped loudly. Wiqued gave Abunai everything he had from dropkicks to a big backbreaker, but Abunai wouldn't stay down. Abunai wins this match via pinfall, afte a top rope tornado DDT.
Like I said in a previous column here on the DOI, I am exposed to so much wrestling, that without realizing it until just recently, my standards have increased. If these guys are the top cruiserweights for NMW, then NMW has a problem. Then again, most of the fans at this show don't know what else is out there, and enjoyed this match immensely. I was definitely in the minority, when I say I didn't like this match.

Rick Fuller d. Johnny Thunder
Holy Squash Batman. I never seen Johnny Thunder get played out like he did here. Rick Fuller is the same Fuller that was in WCW, and he is huge. Fuller dominated this match. Fuller lit Thunder up with chops and worked on Thunders legs. After a sorry sidewalk slam, Fuller gave Thunder a shoulderbreaker, followed up with a chokeslam for the clean 1-2-3.
This match didn't do Johnny Thunder any justice. Thunder is an old school wrestler who I think would thrive in NMW, so I was suprised to see him get obliterated here. Fuller was heel when the match started, but due to his high impact moves, the crowd turned him face by the end of the match.

Roadkill d. Striker w/Ace Darling and Danny Doring via DQ
Striker was a comedic cowardly heel in this match. You never know what type of Striker you're going to get when you go to a show, and I think that adds to his ability. Most of this match saw Darling and Doring interfere, with Striker comedically distracting the referee. Roadkill hit some big man moves in this match, including a Vaderbomb and a DVD. The end of this match saw Ref Garry catching Ace Darling interfering. Garry signalled for the bell and this match was over.
POSTMATCH: Roadkill cleaned house and Striker and crew went to the back.
I don't think this was the finish that was supposed to happen, as it looked like Ref Gary "accidentally" caught Ace Darling cheating. It was also weird seeing Doring and Roadkill on opposite sides. While I'd say 90% of the fans there probably never knew about Roadkill and Doring's success as a tag team, there were at least 20 fans who did. I guess I didn't like that due to me being a stickler for continuity on the indy scene.

In the Match of the Night
The Solution (Havok/Papadon) d. The Valedictorians (Rob Eckos/Billy Bax)
In an odd twist, the ECWA Tag Team Champions, The Valedictorians were faces, rather than heels. This match pitted two teams who have won alot of tag team gold on the indy scene. This match was an old school tag team match, which had the crowd going nuts. In an innovative spot, Billy Bax/Rob Eckos, did a tag team leapfrog into a legdrop combo on the Solution. Both members of the Solution went to the outside, where Eckos and Bax hit synchronized top rope dives. Later on in the match, to get the advantage, as Eckos was running towards the ropes, Havok pulled down the middle rope, sending Eckos to the outside. The Solution then pounded on Eckos for several minutes, but Eckos eventually made the hot tag to Bax. The finish of this match saw Papadon get knocked out to the outside, and Eckos/Bax setting up Havok for a dual superkick. Papadon grabbed Eckos from the ring and dragged him outside, setting up Havok to gore Bax down. Bax then fell victim to the Problem Solver, and Havok pinned Bax for the win.
I thought this was a good match. Eckos as a face was interesting. Watching Eckos wrestle face, is like watching Jay Lethal wrestle heel- it is just something that you're not used to, but I think Eckos did a good job here. I was surprised to see The Solution beat The Valedictorians so easily, considering this was an ECWA-ish type show, but then again The Solution are the JAPW and USA PW Tag Tam champions and have enough credentials of their own. This was a good old school tag team match by everyone in involved.

INTERMISSION- After getting something to eat, we had a ring announcer switch, and proceeded to the second half of the show.

Scotty Charisma d. Danny Doring w/Striker and Ace Darling
This was a looooooooong match. The crowd really got behind Scotty Charisma in this match. Doring threatened to go to the back. The ref then told the ring announcer, that if Doring got counted out, he would never be able to wrestle in Rutherford again. Wow, what a threat. It would've been bigger if they said Doring wouldn't be getting paid tonight. This match was plagued with interference. The finish of this match saw Doring lay out Scotty with two exploders. With Striker/Ace getting sent to the back by Ref Kehner, Roadkill ran out to the ring from the crowd, and shook the ropes, crotching Doring, and setting up a top rope body press from Scotty Charisma, for the 1-2-3.
This match told a good story and got a good crowd reaction. This looks like NMW is setting up Doring vs Roadkill for their next show.

For the NMW NorthEastern Championship
Crowbar d. Vic Divine w/Serena to become the First Ever NMW NE Champion
PREMATCH: Vic Divine cut this promo, and treated Serena, similiar to when Marc Mero treated Sable like shit. The crowd didn't react to this at all.
The NMW NE title is the ECWA tag team title, for those keeping track at home. Crowbar got a huge pop in this match, as he was easily the hometown favorite. Crowbar pulled out some of his old school offense, as he a big splash, followed up with a lionsault. Later on in the match, Vic Divine hit a big stalling suplex. Crowbar came back with a northern lights suplex. Towards the end of this match, Vic Divine was shoved into Serena, and Serena took a loud and nasty spill on the outside. You could hear the bones hit the wood with a vicious thud. Crowbar then hit a reverse suplex on Vic Divine and picked up the 1-2-3.
POSTMATCH: Divine attacked Crowbar with Crowbars crowbar. Crowbar showed concern for Serena, while Vic didn't. Serena limped to the back. After the beating, Crowbar stumbled to the back.
I thought this match fell flat. Vic Divine's promo did not get over with the crowd at all. This match was all Crowbar. Crowbar could've wrestled like a 90 year old grandma, and the crowd was still going to pop for whatever he did. Serena has gotten better as a manager, from the last time I saw her, which was at a USA Pro show about a year ago.

For the NMW Cruiserweight Championship
(c) Queenan Creed w/Harry Acropolis d. Josh Daniels
Queenan was also parading around with an ECWA Tag team championship belt. I thought it was odd that NMW would have two championship matches back to back, with the same title belt. This match was for the smart marks, and the crowd reacted by being quiet the whole entire time. The most entertaining thing in this match was Harry Acropolis's actions on the outside. The guy's funny facial expressions are as good as Danny Maff's serious facial expressions. Josh Daniels tried getting the crowd into this match, but the crowd wasn't feeling it. After alot of chain wrestling, Harry Acropolis interfered behind the refs kick. Harry threw the lightest kick in the world, barely touching Josh's stomach. Harry then hit a sit out powerbomb on Josh, vibrating the whole ring, that even Ref Mike Kehner bounced up and down, behind Kehner's back. For some reason Kehner couldn't feel the vibration, as he was concentrating on Creed on the outside. Creed then got in the ring and pinned Daniels.
Harry Acropolis's lackadasial attitude was the best thing about this match. The crowd wasn't really feeling this match that much. The powerbomb from Acropolis to Daniels must've done a 3.2 on the Richter Scale, so I thought it was pretty funny when Kehner was bopping up and down, he didn't realize that Acropolis interfered.

For the NMW Heavyweight Title
The Patriot d. (c) Kodiak Bear to become the new NMW Heavyweight Champion
The Kodiak Bear was declared the champion, as he was parading around with the ECWA title. This match was 20 minutes of literally ga-ga. After 10 minutes of stalling and old school tactics, the first bump in the match happened, as Patriot hiptossed The Bear. Another 10 minutes later, Patriot hit an Acecrusher on The Bear to win the match. That was it. 20 minutes, 2 bumps, and the loudest match of the night. While these aren't matches I personally enjoy, these are matches I can appreciate. Two bumps in 20 minutes, and these two had the loudest match of the night. Incredible.

After the show, Crowbar gave a speech thanking everyone, and pumping up their next event, which will be a benefit show for Sabu.

Final McWord
If ECWA and NWS had sex, this show would be its offspring. This show was very old school, but had some spots for the smart marks who showed up.

I thought the tag match was the strongest match on the show for solid wrestling. The cruiserweight title match, which should've been one of the best matches of the night, fell flat, as the crowd didn't want to see that. This crowd wanted to see old school wrestling. The crowd was booing The Kodiak Bear for 20 minutes straight, and Bear didn't have to do anything in the ring at all! This show really focused on the ring pyschology side of the business, rather than the pure wrestling side.

This show was was catered for families and kids and the audience was made up of families and kids. I think most of the audience will come back for NMW's second show. As far as drawing people outside the area, I don't really see it happening for NMW, as they have 86 other feds in NJ to compete against for the same ticket money. NMW should focus on the schools in the area and the local businesses in the area, and I could see them easily packing 500 people into the building.

Overall- This isn't a show I would want to see every week, as it's not the style of wrestling I enjoy the most. NMW did put on a quality show and put on a decent show for their audience. If you like family style wrestling, then this is the show for you.

NMW runs again on December 26th, in Rutherford NJ. Rumored Matches:
Queenan Creed vs Abunai for the Cruiserweight Title
Danny Doring vs Roadkill

NMW will be donating profits from the show to the injured Sabu. The DOI will have more information on this show as it becomes available.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com