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MANIAK MOMENTS |
EPISODE 8: MATCH 5 |
Episode: 8 Match: 5
10 Man Elimination Match
TEAM FIREPRO
(Havok/Tristin Hayze/Botch/WyldeChylde/Bryan Johnson)
VS.
MEW-TANG CLAN
(Chase Richards, Kenny Courageous, Kaleb Pierce, Hiztory, Mikey MiGo)
Event: MEW VS THE WORLD
Date: 12/28/03
Duration: 21:45
This match is pretty special. And really, it’s not just because it’s only time Bryan Johnson and I actually put on tights and wrestled in MEW. This was one of the few times in MEW that a long term plan actually paid off. Sure there were some roadblocks, but in the end we pretty much got what we were wanting in this. The back story is pretty in depth for MEW. “Team Firepro” debuted in MEW during Stryc 9’s MEW World Enterprise Title reign and was originally made up of Machine, Tristin Hayze, Eric Marx, Havok, Eryn, Big Don, Busta Kapp, Tighty Whitey, and all lead by the evil ref-turned-manager Bryan Johnson. “Team Firepro” itself traces its roots back to the 90’s. The Chicagoland promotion “Lunatic Wrestling Federation” had “Team Firepro” in LWF when Showtime, Trent, and I were rapid fans of their shows. The history of “Team Firepro” goes even before then as part of LWF folk-lore. The story from my memory was that the owners of LWF had a split and drama over money and ring. This lead to the likes of Machine, Botch, CM Punk (yes, THAT CM Punk), Havok, Mimic, Mike Broox, and others leaving LWF to form their own company called “Fire Pro Wrestling”. I guess things didn’t work out because a group of them would return to LWF as an evil outsider stable pretty much right when we started going to their shows. It left an impact on me, that’s for sure. Over the years of MEW we’d go on to bring in and feature a lot of the LWF “home grown” talents. It was an honor because I think everyone involved with both companies knew what MEW was all about and what we were attempting. Any ways, this catches us up. During a chaotic match in 2003, Havok ran in and all hell broke loose. Long time “Maniakz” turned on MEW and formed “Team Firepro”…. The MEW version. They provided ruckus, good matches, and even a small riot with the fans one show. Machine was getting scary heat as a fan ALMOST pulled a knife on him at one point. It was intense and our small “150 on a good day” crowds ate it up. Finally, MEW had to band together to form a team to take them down. This brings us to this match.
Machine and Eric Marx couldn’t make it. I think about a week before this match Machine tore the flesh from his arm is a very gross accident at a Chicago show. Meanwhile, Eric Marx just couldn’t make it. This left a huge void that had to be filled. Enter Botch. Botch and Machine teamed up for years in Chicago and were a dominate tag team. Botch had never been able to be on an MEW show because of scheduling conflicts and the fact that a good portion of our shows ended up being on Sundays. You see Botch was a youth minister and one of the nicest guys I’ve met in wrestling and in life in general. I don’t care if you were a stranger or his best friend. When you spoke there was a look in his eyes that just made you feel like every word you said was being absorbed and cared for. I wasn’t as close to him as a lot of people, but I was definitely a fan. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago and is missed by many. Never the less, on this day he stepped in and did a great job as the enforcer of the team. The other replacement was Wyldechylde. I don’t know why he was booked. He was a nice enough guy, but he didn’t fit into this match or what we were going for. It’s my first, and only, match and at one point I’m standing on the apron next to Chase Richards and Kaleb Pierce and I mutter to them about the bad booking decision of this guy. They were amused that I was thinking more about that than the fact that I’m wrestling in a match in front of a crowd.
The match was fun. The opening chaos was a great start and build to the match. Everyone got in their spots and this match just clicked. The eliminations were perfect and logical. Hiztory and Pierce were at the top of their games as part of “Wet N Wild”, Tristin Hayze was just coming into his own as something more than a spot monkey, Kenny Courageous looked his best, Havok was a solid hand, and Chase Richards ran the show, in more ways than one. The two non-wrestlers performance aside, this match is just about as good as it gets for an MEW match. It comes down to me and Bryan Johnson. BJ was around for a long time and was as dedicated to MEW as everyone else. I loved working with this guy. He was a great ref, but in MEW he had surpassed that and became a great manager. He just gets it. I don’t think he ever realized how important he ended up becoming to MEW. Wrestling against him in my only match is something I’ll always treasure despite us making David Arquette look like Lou Thesz. If the ref would have taken notice that it was time for me to bump him then this match would have been perfect. But still, I feel even with its flaws, this match is what MEW was all about.
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