"Angles" - The Rise and Fall of Pro Wrestling Next

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Written by Christopher Zack

Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:24

Starting this article has been exceptionally difficult for me and I am not sure why. Maybe a big part of me didn’t want to let go of the great experience I had with Pro Wrestling Next over the past year. Though, my excuse has been that I haven’t had time or energy to put it together with my work schedule. I do have a silly schedule, working overnights and not always getting much sleep in the morning before I have to pick my daughter up from school. But, really, that was flimsy at best. When it comes down to it, I just wasn’t ready to let go. But now I feel like I am ready to put the past behind me and move on, with hopes that in the future, I can find myself helping another wrestling organization in some way.

Looking back, like most fans, I’d have to say my love for wrestling stems from when I was a kid. I grew up in the Hulkamania era, loving the Red and Yellow above all. I watched as the Mega Powers were joined and eventually exploded. I evolved to take on a new Attitude during the era of The Rock, Stone Cold, DX, and the New World Order. I took some time away from wrestling, mostly because I was without a means to watch it for a few years, but that only made my return to watching the WWE that much sweeter.

But the WWE had lost some of its luster. Yes, it was still entertaining and enjoyable to watch, but something was missing…or maybe there was too much show and not enough wrestle. So, I floated for a while, joining and eventually starting my own eFed. For those unfamiliar, an eFed is, in its most simplest terms, Dungeons and Dragons applied to wrestling. That may be an oversimplification, but basically your average Joe creates a character with a background, a history, and a set of wrestling moves they regularly perform, then they “act out” that character with a group of others who are doing similar things. You write what’s called a Role Play, a little skit of what your character is doing and how they’re preparing for their upcoming match, and the person who writes the best RP is declared the winner by the people who run the eFed. This was fun, I was able to live out something I couldn’t do in reality, be a professional wrestler. I’m in no real shape to wrestle, so I wouldn’t be able to do it in reality.

Through a contact I made during my early eFedding days I found out about a local wrestling group, Scott County Wrestling. My friend was one of the commentators for SCW back in 2005, when I attended my first show. I was privileged enough to see and meet TNA star Abyss. The show was really great, and I didn’t know it then, but this was to be my future. Scott County Wrestling would go on without me for 3 years or so, giving birth to independent stars like RoH’s Tyler Black. Those three years were a personal struggle for me I don’t feel the need to get into, but suffice it to say that wrestling was not really in the forefront of my mind.

During early/middle 2008 I was introduced to Ring of Honor and my love of wrestling was rekindled with full force. RoH, to me, was what wrestling should be. You have up-and-coming stars in the wrestling world that are there to wrestle and focus on the athleticism within the ring and not the story outside of it. Yes, there were stories involved, it’s a necessity in wrestling, but I think the focus needs to be more on the athletes in the ring and the abilities they have. Wrestling is more real than people want to admit, though they’re starting to come around.

Ring of Honor inspired me to return once more to Scott County Wrestling. The draw of Tyler Black in appearance was a big part of that. So, in July of 2008, I attended SCW No Remorse. Not only were there great local talent at this show like Tyler Black and Shane Hollister, but names that are big around the Midwest, Arik Cannon and Northstar Express. I’d take my daughter to the August show and she loved it as much as I did. I would miss a few months of Scott County Wrestling, but mostly because I changed jobs.

During the few months I did not attend SCW shows, a good friend, someone I’ve known since my eFedding days, drove up from Texas and then we went to Dayton, OH for Ring of Honor’s Escalation, my first RoH show ever. I have fond memories of this weekend road trip. It started in Dayton, where I got to interact with a couple of wrestlers during the show, Claudio Castignoili for one, but more importantly, after his dark match, Hunter Matthews. Hunter and I have since become fairly good friends, though with the closing of Pro Wrestling Next, we’ve fallen slightly out of touch.

The next night, my friend and I would find ourselves in Chicago Ridge, IL, for a Ring of Honor PPV taping. I was privileged to see Jimmy Jacobs and Austin Aries finish their best of 3 matches in a bloody, brutal I Quit match as well as TNA Superstar Samoa Joe take on Tyler Black in a dark match. After the event, we hung round to meet some of the wrestlers mulling around and tearing down the ring.

This was a big turning point for me. We met El Generico, one of my friends favorite wrestlers, but more importantly, we met up with Hunter Matthews once again, this time in a backstage setting. Since I had told him the night before to “go back to Davenport” (home of Scott County Wrestling), he responded saying he’s from Des Moines. We joked about this a bit and then talked quite a bit about Scott County Wrestling. He was one of the two people in charge of SCW. Things were changing for the local group. I asked if he needed any help with staff and we chatted for some time.

It would be another almost three months before Hunter and I would talk again. In February, I attended SCW Heartbreak. This is where I first met Mark Sterling, another person I consider a friend. His gimmick blew me away, I thought he was great because of his constant yelling and berating both the fans and his opponents, but also by his skills in the ring. I was also able to reconnect with Hunter here and meet Craig, the owner. I hyped up my camera skills from working in television and next thing I knew, I was their new ringside camera guy.

This was quite a ride, though I never really felt like I was a part of the group. I started running camera at Survival of the Fittest, which was fun, but nothing like when I worked one of their biggest shows of the year, Prestige, where they hold a battle royal, the Prestige Rumble, where normally the winner gets a shot at the Championship. This year was different, however. Since before I started attending shows again back in July of last year, a group called Pro Wrestling Next (then a faction) had come in and rapidly became the fan favorites. They were fighting for control. Of course, this was totally kayfabe, but still fun. On the line in the Prestige Rumble this year was control of the company. After that night, it would either continue on as Scott County Wrestling, or transform into the next generation of independent wrestling in Davenport, Iowa, Pro Wrestling Next.

Well, the rest, as they say, is history. You know those moments in wrestling when you know you’re watching history? Hogan slamming Andre, Mick Foley being thrown from the top of the Hell in the Cell, the start of the nWo. Time just slows down for you. The end of the Prestige Rumble was one of those moments for me. I was a part of something historic. Maybe it wasn’t on a global scale like the moments mentioned before, but for me personally, it was a fantastic feeling. Pro Wrestling Next was now the official name of what was SCW.

Over the next couple of months, I would gain ground with Hunter and Craig. I put my free time on the line a lot to help promote events and the new website/message boards. Being as fond of writing as I am, I would write articles on a semi-regular basis for PWN. I missed one show stuck at home with the flu, but my dedication never wavered.

Then, in July of this year, there was a major rift in the world of Pro Wrestling Next. A few of the wrestlers were not happy with the way PWN was run. They staged a coup. In essence, they stole the ring. At least that’s what I was told. Being just a camera guy, I wasn’t in on the big power meetings. What I was told was that representatives of SCW, who are also prominent stars in AAW, took the ring and told PWN officials that they either became a part of AAW or they were on their own. This left me with a bad taste for AAW.

PWN lost a lot of talent. I’d been told, or got the impression that, the owner of AAW had told much of the talent that had wrestled with would not be welcome back in AAW if they wrestled with PWN. Many of them made the choice they thought was best for their wrestling career, AAW. I can’t blame them at all, especially looking back now. AAW was and is well established in the Midwest, where PWN was clawing to become more than they were.

Looking back on things now, I’d like to believe that there was no ultimatum for the talent that left PWN. Knowing how things ended, I believe that it is more likely those who left PWN for AAW did so of their own accord. I believe this mostly because of a conversation I had recently with a wrestler who did choose to leave PWN for AAW. He told me that he made what he felt was the best decision for his career as a professional wrestler. Despite what the powers that be in Pro Wrestling Next told me, I’d like to believe this was the decision of most of the roster and not a forced decision.

I was approached by one of the guys who went to AAW. Not a wrestler, mind you, but someone who had name value here in the Quad Cities with SCW/PWN. I have respect for him, and everyone who chose AAW, both as people and for their decisions, and there was no animosity on either of our parts with the way things had turned out. But, when asked if I wanted to go to AAW at the time, I respectfully declined. Hunter and Craig were the ones who had really given me my chance to be a part of the wrestling business, and I wanted to stick it out with them.

Though I was respectful in my decision to stay with PWN, my feelings towards AAW were anything but. This was a major blow to Pro Wrestling Next. I wasn’t going to consort with the enemy camp, particularly not under the man who I was told was leading the charge. I won’t name names and I am not one to jump to negative conclusions based on others’ opinions of people, in this case, however, I’m guilty of it. Based on the opinion of my friend Hunter, and based on the events as I perceived them, there was one man in particular that I wanted nothing to do with. I was also determined to see PWN succeed and AAW fail here in Davenport, Iowa.

In August we held a show outside in the garden of one of our sponsors. We took a bath. We got hit hard. Part of it was the weather, but, really, only a small part. AAW was running a show against us that Friday night and they had most of the talent people here in the Quad Cities have come to know and love. Shane Hollister, Tyler Black, Danny Daniels, the Phoenix Twins, the list goes on. While I’ve said that I felt we had the better show, I have no justification for that, as I did not see AAW’s show.

What Pro Wrestling Next offered in place of the recognized talent were other great names from around the Midwest and two title defenses from other wrestling groups. We brought in Tony Kozina to book for us, and he did a fine job, especially with the 2 Championship matches from outside organizations. I talked extensively about this in a previous article. St. Louis area’s LWA Tag Team Championships, held by the Submission Squad, were defended, and changed hands in our ring. This was a unique storyline since it involved several wrestling groups around the Midwest. We also offered Drake Younger, CZW Champion, defending his belt against Hunter Matthews. Hunter, of course, got his ass kicked, which the fans loved, though there were only about 30 fans there. I’ve heard that AAW had upwards of 100 people in attendance.

The mood after August’s show was definitely a somber one. We had such high hopes and a lousy turnout. The blame was placed on poor promotions, which I took a little personal, because I had been working my ass off as much as possible to promote that event. But, we did gain some small ground. A couple of new fans came and absolutely loved our product. Hooray for little victories, right?

Well, we had one more shot, at least here in Davenport, and that was September. We had Davey Richards scheduled to appear as well as Arik Cannon and NSE. And this was scheduled for a Saturday, coming off our first show outside of the immediate Quad City Area, the night before in Decatur, IL. We had extremely high hopes for Decatur. Hunter had worked his ass off promoting and selling presale tickets. But September is when the other shoe dropped.

Craig had decided to step down the Monday before the Decatur show, leaving me responsible for getting things done in Davenport. It was quite an honor, while at the same time, incredibly nerve-racking. It was a lot of responsibility, and I wasn’t seeing any financial help for my work. I wasn’t complaining about it, either. I was doing something I enjoyed on two fronts, both running a camera and working for a wresting company. Yet, the reigns being passed to me at this point would prove to be like a captain abandoning a sinking ship. I mean no offence or disrespect to Craig. He knew things were dying, and he chose to step aside and watch from the sidelines. Knowing what I know now, like those who left for the greener pastures of AAW, I can’t blame him.

Decatur was supposed to be fantastic. We had a great roster of talent lined up, Cannon and NSE were appearing both there and in Davenport, we had Mark Sterling appearing in Decatur, Mike Sydal, younger brother of WWE’s Evan Bourne, Tony Kozina, and Kyle O’Reilly. That weekend’s matches were really well booked. Sadly, Decatur turned out to be as big of a bust as August’s show. I have it on good authority that some people did not get paid for their efforts. Personally, I found myself with next to no gas and only $7 to make it back to the Quad Cities on (a good 3 hour drive). I barely made it back to town.

We cancelled the show in Davenport scheduled for Saturday. I have said, and will continue to say to this day, that we could have at least broken even for the weekend if we’d run in Davenport. The show was well advertised, and by word of mouth, I had heard many people say they were planning on coming. It was a crushing disappointment for me personally and professionally as far as working in the wrestling world goes.

I wouldn’t presume to give exact reasons for the downfall of PWN. I can speculate, sure. I know that I personally felt that things weren’t handled as well as they could have been in certain aspects. The last month leading up to the show in Decatur was especially hard as several people did their best to make everything work only to have everything come to a screeching halt.

Looking back, my time with Pro Wrestling Next was some of the best times of my life so far. It seems increasingly rare that someone can say they lived one of their dreams, but I feel fortunate enough to say that I did do something I’ve always dreamed of, working with a professional wrestling organization. Granted, I would love to return to the business. I would really enjoy writing storylines for a wrestling promotion. I think that’d be a lot of fun. But after writing this, I realize what I miss most are the relationships established with the great people who were associated with Pro Wrestling Next.

** Since I originally wrote this column piece near the beginning of November, some new information has come to light. I have seen the more of the other side to the story from sources I am inclined to believe. One person in particular was a part of Pro Wrestling Next after the rift with the talent of AAW. He stuck around for several weeks despite accusations of sabotage, conspiracy, and message board trolling. He was guilty of none of these things and finally was fed up enough to leave PWN to their own devices. I have also since been in contact with a couple of AAW officials. I plan to return to my work behind the camera with AAW in January. I am awaiting a response in regards to a follow up to this article from AAW’s point of view in the coming weeks.

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