JAPW
Rahway, NJ
Rahway Rec Center
May 9th 2009
Report by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Quick Results
Trent Acid def. Joe Hardway
Danny Demanto def. Mo Sexton
TAG TEAM ACTION
The Heavy Hitters (Monsta Mack & Havok) def. Hillbilly Wrecking Crew (Trevor Murdoch & Brodie Lee)
Prince Mustafa Ali def. Bandido Jr.
****Intermission****
Dan Maff def. Necro Butcher
Osirian Portal (Ophidian & Amasis) def. Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare)
NJ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Archadia def. Eddie Kingston(c)
JAPW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Jay Lethal (c) def. Azrieal, Homicide & Teddy Hart
A Life Goal Accomplished
There are a lot of goals that I have in my life. One is to go on an Alaskan dog sledding trek, another is to have a healthy family and job that ensures prosperity, but yet another was achieved tonight in Rahway, New Jersey. Tonight for the first time in my life I was able to see Teddy Hart live and in action!
I know that about half the people who read this column are going to agree that Teddy rocks, another half will roll their eyes and say that Teddy sucks and is overrated, another half will scratch their heads wondering who on earth is Teddy Hart, and another 10% will e-mail me pointing out that my statistics don?t add up.
If you don?t like Teddy Hart at all, that’s cool. I really hope that by now you understand that I?m not the kind of columnist who states opinion as fact. By this I mean that if I say I like a wrestler or that a match was not great, it is just my opinion! I really respect the fact that you may disagree with me and as such always enjoy reading your e-mails. The bottom line is that I?m NOT a news reporter, I?m an editorialist. Everything I say is my opinion. Sure I believe that my opinion is correct, but what kind of lousy conviction would I have if that wasn?t the case?
Let’s get back to Teddy Hart. Right off the bat I should point out that he only did 2 moonsaults (unless you count the post match flourish) and 1 Shooting Star Press. I?m letting you know this because there were several fans who were eagerly keeping count of his flip-to-match ratio. Someone commented on my Facebook status when I sent in an update from the show asking: ?was Teddy Hart unbelievable?? I really think my immediate and gut response is the best and most succinct reaction that I can illustrate to you guys: ?yeah and he has really grown as an in ring talent. He didn?t really do stuff just to do stuff. He fit into the four-way quite well. It was a local talent v. teddy v. homicide v. jay lethal?.
Teddy has gotten many a reputation with different promotions all across the country. Some positive, a lot negative, but he always leaves a reaction with the fans one way or another. Politics aside he did a great job performing in this particular match. The beauty of it was that he did not overshadow the other talent in the match. Homicide, Lethal, Azrieal and Hart all came out looking pretty solid. My only true grievance is that the match seemed very short.
Fan Altercation
During the Maff v. Necro Butcher match there was an unfortunate bit of an altercation that occurred between a fan and the wrestlers. There was a kid, maybe in the 12-15 year old range, that was standing next to Necro Butcher when they were out in the crowd. Necro was throwing chair after chair at Maff who was on the floor and Necro motioned to the kid to hand him a chair. Sadly the kid was caught up in the moment and chucked the chair at Dan Maff. Necro immediately turned and grab the kid by the neck pushing him into the guard rail and yelling at him to not every do something like that to a wrestler. JAPW staff came over and escorted the kid out of the building.
I was standing a couple feet back when this whole thing happened. I was just hoping I didn’t lose my chair during the street fight, but I digress. The kid obviously screwed up and deserved getting pushed into the guard rail by Necro and getting escorted out by JAPW staff.
That being said, I do think that we as fans need to be very careful about which lines we cross. Now I don’t know the kid so this is just my opinion on the situation, but I really do not think he was attempting to be malicious. He was standing next to Necro with a ‘giddy-as-a-schoolboy’ look on his face. He made a decision to throw a chair at Maff instead of handing it to Necro. In my opinion he didn’t attend the show with the intention of getting in an altercation, but he got caught up in the moment and acted foolishly.
You could see the color drain from his face as soon as Necro turned to him and he realized that he had screwed up. He’s a young kid that should have had closer parental supervision and acted in an immature way. There is no excuse for what he did despite his age and I would not think it wrong of JAPW to ban him from future events if they choose that option.
Now keeping all of that in mind this is why I think we have to be careful as fans. After the kid threw the chair, aside from Necro and staff stepping in, there were a couple of fans that also looked to come in fists flying. Thankfully, a brawl did not break out, but I was a bit unsure of how I felt about what was unfolding.
In this particular case I wasn’t too thrilled to see other fans trying to step in. Look, this kid was: a. in the 12-15 range, b. not aiming to be malicious, c. appeared to be immediately ashamed of what he had done. I really see no reason for other fans to get involved which might further elevate the situation.
In my opinion there was little positive result that could occur from other fans leaping into the fray when it was a kid who had no interest in continuing the attack v. Necro, Maff, and JAPW staff. Remember just like the kid shouldn?t have thrown the chair because he wasn?t getting a paycheck to be a wrestler, a fan should not jump in that isn?t getting a paycheck to be a security guard.
All in All
$20 bucks well spent. This is the point in every ?WV Road Trip? when I drone on about how you should go check out your local Indy promotion and encourage you to get out and see for yourself. Just do it!
DVD Purchase of the Night
Every show I try and pick up a DVD to watch. I?ll pick something up whether it be a specific show, best of DVD for a wrestler, or an exclusive shoot interview. This month I picked RF Shoot Interview with Vince Russo. I just had to get this and watch a 2 hour interview with one of the most controversial men in wrestling’s history. I?m watching it as I?m typing this up, and it is quite interesting and entertaining.
So That’s a Wrap?. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I?m always up for reading your thoughts so send them over to me at jugglernextdoor@gmail.com.
– David Stephens
ECW Recapper
Author of ?That’s a Wrap?