Former ECW great and House of Hardcore founder Tommy Dreamer is headed to Cape Girardeau this weekend. He'll be facing the CCW (Cape Championship Wrestling) Heavyweight Champion Austin Lane. It's all a part of CCW's Super Show II event at the AC Brase Arena.
I love Super Show. It's the indy company's WrestleMania weekend and part of the annual Cape Comic Con. There will be CCW wrestlers and other guests on hand at Cape Con all weekend too. Tommy Dreamer will be on hand Saturday prior to his championship opportunity.
Tommy Dreamer
The match poses an interesting scenario for CCW. If Dreamer wins the belt, he would likely take it out of the area and defend it in other areas, including his House of Hardcore show. That would give CCW nationwide exposure. It would also ensure future appearances by Dreamer who would have to come back to Cape and defend against the wrestlers on the current roster. But will the recent attitude change from 'The Best of the Best' Austin Lane translate to a victory in this high profile title defense? Personally, I wouldn't bet against him.
Delirious
CCW has also been working with Ring of Honor on some projects, including training sessions with the company's lead booker, Delirious. He's from the region originally and is coming back to help train men and women who want to pursue a career in the ring.
MMA star turned pro wrestler Dan "The Beast" Severn will be on hand too. He is part of a special six-man tag team match and hopefully gives Roger Matheus a taste of his own medicine, but I digress. Severn will be sticking around and doing a dinner event called 'Feast with the Beast' at the Isle of Capri Casino Sunday night.
This is just a sample of what you'll see this weekend with Cape Con and CCW. Click here for all the action.
Raven is one of wrestling's darker characters, especially if you look back to the man who plays the role. Scott Levy started off in the business as Scotty the Body and evolved into Scotty Flamingo in WCW and Johnny Polo in the WWF. He was a well dressed, pretty boy in all those gimmicks.
The darker side was exposed when Levy headed to ECW. Grunge was in, and the Raven character was born. I really enjoyed him in those early days of ECW. He and Tommy Dreamer had one of the company's greatest rivalries of all time. I can still remember Dreamer piledriving his real life wife (who was playing Raven's sidekick) Beulah McGillicutty (no relation to Michael). That feud lasted an entire year with Raven playing the evil, sadistic role to perfection.
He was the puppet master to Stevie Richards and eventually when he moved on to WCW, Raven gathered a cast of characters around him known as the Flock. Scotty Riggs, Perry Saturn, and Van Hammer were among those in this group of misfits. At some point during his run, he and Vampiro formed a team too. I believe that duo was a part of the Insane Clown Posse's group in WCW. But Raven didn't stay long and flew the coup for ECW again where he and Dreamer would win the tag team titles.
Raven in WWE Photo by WWE
Eventually, Raven surfaced in the WWE and picked up the hardcore title, dropping it in a three way dance against Kane and the Big Show. That was probably his most notable time as Raven during his WWE run. He seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the invasion angle and eventually left the WWE for TNA.
Nearly 20 years after the Raven character took flight, Levy is still playing the part. The character has been tweaked through the years, but remains a successful one.
Sunday, November 13, 2011, Chikara will crown their first Grand Champion. On one side of the ring will be Chikara founder and head trainer of the Chikara Wrestle Factory, “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush.On the other side of the ring stands a guy that upon first glance a lot of modern wrestling fans probably wouldn’t get a second glance, “The War King” Eddie Kingston. Kingston used to be known as “The Last of a Dying Breed” because he doesn’t look like the prototypical wrestler you see in WWE or TNA. He’s a throwback to guys like Dick Murdoch, Dusty Rhodes, and Arn Anderson.
Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli
He may not stand 6 foot 5 or have six-pack abs but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s not a talented wrestler. Don’t expect to see hurricaranas or high flying aerial moves of the top rope. Eddie Kingston is a fighter not a flyer. It’s a shame that wrestlers have to look a certain way these days in order to get on mainstream TV because in my eyes, Eddie Kingston should be one of the biggest stars in the game. In addition to not having “the look,” Kingston doesn’t appear to be the type of guy who cares too much for sports entertainment either. One of the features that made me a fan of “The War King” is his promo ability. Chikara could, and has, have a match between two goat like creatures and two human ice cream cones and five seconds after it’s over Kingston could start a promo that will make you believe his next fight is a matter of life and death. Check out the following promos to what I mean.
Eddie Kingston was one of the first graduates of the Chikara Wrestle Factory so his match at High Noon has more than just a title on the line. Kingston will be facing his teacher, the man who helped Kingston break into the wrestling business. A couple years ago Eddie feuded with Hallowicked to see who was the better student. Now the student will try to best the master.
Another potential factor going into the match is the fact Tommy Dreamer will be in Eddie Kingston’s corner. Both Dreamer and Kingston are from Yonkers, New York. Eddie has said Tommy was the one who got him interested in wrestling. High Noon takes places at the former ECW Arena in South Philly, the building where Tommy Dreamer became a hardcore icon. Since this is Chikara, I don’t expect to see a lot of blood shed or extreme violence. What I do expect to see are two men who will hold nothing back in order to become the first Grand Champion.
I can see this match going either way and can’t say I’d be disappointed to see either man have his arm raised in victory. The ECW Arena may be smaller than the Rosemont Horizon, but I feel safe is saying the fans in attendance will make this match rival John Cena vs. CM Punk with their enthusiasm.This match will be epic.
As I was typing this and looking up the YouTube clips, I noticed Chikara put up a new promo with Eddie Kingston talking about the match. I have nothing more to add. If this promo doesn’t make you believe in wrestling and make you want to see High Noon, I doubt anything will convince you.
You can order High Noon by clicking here. The show starts at 4pm EST with a preshow at 3:30 on the Chikara UStream page (we’ll post a link on the my123cents Facebook page on Sunday) featuring a match between Jigsaw and El Generico. I don’t want to overhype the show or go into Tony Schivone territory, but I can honestly say I haven’t been as excited for an entire show, not just a match, an entire show like I am for High Noon since ECW’s Heatwave ’98. I consider that show to be the best I’ve ever seen. I have a feeling High Noon will give it a run for its money. It’s only $15. What do you have to lose by watching?
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Share your thoughts on High Noon or anything else. In the words of Eddie Kingston, holla at your boy.
