Social Exploitation at it's Best

Too many wrestling fans and writers recognize only the critique of a wrestling product and take for granted what they do right. I like to think I'm "not that guy". Take In Your Face wrestling, for example. Their biggest single flaw, from my perspective, was their lack of social media promotion. I doubt I need to tell of the power of Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook. You can reach dozens, hundreds, thousands of fans whenever you want. Capturing the attention of "the plugged in consumer" is essential for a company to grow in these times. It's free to produce and adds to the overall experience.

In the last few weeks, In Your Face Wrestling has done a tremendous job grabbing the low hanging fruit of social media and literally feeding it to their fans. Use of their Facebook page to promote events, news updates, match announcements, etc, has exploded. People are sharing the links. They've answered as "attending" upcoming events. They've linked it with their twitter and - surprise - have picked up a handful of new followers! It was announced a few days ago, via their feed, that they had added Google's +1 functionality to their webpage which, with the emergence and surge of G+, is an absolutely brilliant move. (however, on my iPad, I am not seeing the +1 button on any of their pages. Otherwise, I'd be clicking like mad - especially on a few of the recent INTERFACE's! They've been out of the park as of late, but more on that later. Perhaps it's just an issue with the iPad's safari browser?)

This use of social media can only help them in the long run! Something I'd like to see, perhaps, is a list of links hosted on the page, linking to the Facebook and twitter handles of IYFW performers and personalities, either in our out of kayfabe. Further use of their YouTube account would certainly be welcome by the fans. As great as the audio stuff IYFW puts out is, few things capture the imagination of fans more than video and I think, if done with a slightly harder edge to them - a different feel - it could be a huge win for the promotions growth if used in tandem with what they're already doing with Twitter and Facebook. Just something to think about.

Speaking of the recent audio stuff... Two more HUGE matches were announced on a recent INTERFACE:

Roman Dominguez and Pierre "The Beast" Vachon VS Bobby Ocean and Drake Evans
IYFW Tag Team Champions - Adam Badger and Michael Monroe (C) VS The Killer Steves

I am insanely stoked for these match ups. Vachon and Vigo are confirmed to be in the same building for the first time since Defy the Odds back in April. Evans and Ocean teaming up? Facegasm. Then there's the tag match... The minute Badger stepped through the curtain wearing that mask, his standing in my eye sky rocketed and Monroe has been nothing but fun to watch between bells. Then there are The Steves. So so so entertaining and two genuinely good dudes. This show is just getting better as it builds.

Hoping for some clarification on the In Your Face Rumble matches number of competitors and the actual rules of the match, before the events date. This looks to be the main event and final match of the show.

Also hoping for at least ONE more blog update here before my IYFW Summertime Bruise PREVIEW/PREDICTIONS post in the next few weeks! So... Look forward to that!

Big Announcement

COMNG SOON...

As I touched on a few posts ago, I'm looking to interview a handful of IYFW personalities. Judging by the image above, my first victim is all lined up!

Sometime following IYFW's Summertime Bruise event (August 13th at the BACC), the Mighty One and I will sit down for an in depth look at his beginnings, his wrestling career, and just about everything in between!

Exciting stuff! Stay tuned!

Shaking My Head

Go ahead and jump to 2:20.

The first YouTube promo for IYFW's Summertime Bruise is up! But... It's not their best.

In it, IYFW Management Representative and not-so-friendly neighborhood authority figure type, puts over his douchey character; taking a mildly gratuitous moment to brush his chest hair. The verbal content was fine, don't get me wrong. He denies being on the payroll of Scott Scarsdale and bashes Maxx Burton. He confirms what Joey LaRoque told us a few weeks ago on the INTERFACE regarding the participation of Pierre "The Beast" Vachon at the event and teases the arrival of a European wrestling machine to IYFW.

(pardon me, but Fronz Roddy's Austrian heritage makes him the greatest thing to come to IYFW by way of Europe. So I automatically take issue with this.)

All of this is fine... But it's not the words, nor the bubbly graphical accompaniment that has me shaking my head... It's the curtain just behind Touch'ole that FALLS towards the end of the promo. Ignoring the fact that it reveals a few ultra-creepy dolls on the case just over his shoulder... Why wouldn't we re-record this? I get that this was filmed at home and there's no huge budget involved... But come on. Gotta be some quality control up in this piece. I have mentioned in earlier posts that social media (like Facebook, twitter, YouTube, etc) is an untapped resource in IYFW, in my humble opinion. I LOVE that they are putting stuff out there to promote the product and get excited when I receive a notification when they do, but it's too important to be THAT flawed. Imagine a new fan stumbling across that, or one who is on the fence about attending the next show. As much as I enjoy IYFW, that looked really bad.

Before anyone implies that "maybe the curtain falling was intentional", I would first ask: what money is there to be made by looking second rate?

Again, I get that they don't have the money to throw towards promotion like a WWE, TNA, or ROH. That's fine! But you've GOT to put more effort into putting out a more polished product. I am afraid to see the YouTube comments left by viewers.

Alright. Enough about that. How about some promos from some competitors? Even if it's a five minute montage of guys from all over the card putting over their character, their current storyline, and the August show in a few lines each? I recall how the old school syndicated ECW shows would all end. A video montage of wrestlers ranting in the camera with music blaring in the background, putting over their upcoming shows, story lines, or doing something wacky to convey their character. They had next to no budget at the time, also... But so, so effective. The promos weren't "perfect", but it made you wish you could make the drive to Philly to see the show.

I would absolutely LOVE to see IYFW pull something like that off. But, please, let's keep the set together, can we?

:)

Bruise Cruise Control

The build to IYFW's Summertime Bruise in Ballston Spa, New York is ongoing over on IYFWrestling.Com. On the heels of a solid Coronation Cup event back in June, the story lines are moving in a very organic and natural fashion. Two big matches have already been announced that are sure to have major ramifications at the top of the card for the foreseeable future and there are a handful of match-ups, or probable interactions, that we can expect to see that DON'T involve the IYFW Championship belt.

Before we get to that let's talk about the IYFW Title picture.

Vigo left the Ballston Area Community Center with a mammoth victory in the Coronation Cup Tournament that also earned him the vacant IYFW Championship. That victory in the finals was filled with controversy and intrigue that saw the interference of more than half of the wrestlers in the building and was earned against "The Millennium Millionaire" Scott Scarsdale. Summertime Bruise will be headlined by a rematch of this bout with an added, intriguing stipulation.

It's a submission match.

Now, Scarsdale notably secured his first round win in the tournament by (in addition to buying off one of the competitors and having a second competitor handcuffed to the outside of the ring) forcing "Loverboy" Ricky Williams to submit in a vicious choke hold; a chokehold that Williams sold all the way through intermission. Vigo, on the other hand, is not a submission wrestler.

In a recent interview on IYFW's INTERFACE, however, Vigo sounded ready! He was able to overcome Scarsdale's deep pockets in June (with a little surprising help from Maxx Burton) and expressed confidence that he could pull out another miracle. As I have said before, and as the Champ himself referenced in the aforementioned interview, Vigo isn't necessarily the flashiest or fastest competitor on the roster (next time you quote me, could you plug the site, Mr.Vigo? ;) ) but the man knows how to hold the crowd in his hands and bring them along for a fun ride. His arsenal of high impact power moves and barebones, bare knuckle brawling may prove to be enough to fend off Scarsdale's checkbook long enough to slap on a submission. But we all know that Scarsdale has a plan. We have to assume he didn't break the bank at Coronation Cup and still is looking to buy that coveted IYFW Championship. It's been established that he already has company authority figure, Harold Touch'ole, on his payroll and firmly in his pocket. That right there, along with the submission stip, tells you that he has the advantage. More on this match as we get closer to the event...

Also announced for Summertime Bruise is the promotions annual In Your Face Rumble! A Royal Rumble style attraction that features an undetermined number of participants entering the ring at predetermined intervals all striving (and determined!) to be the last man standing... the man who will be named the company's #1 Contender to the IYFW Championship! No names have been confirmed for the match, yet one has been confirmed as NOT being in the match - Pierre Vachon. The bad blood between Vigo and Vachon has been well documented both here and on IYFW's home site, and it doesn't look like IYFW is going to sign the match anytime soon. Which makes me wonder if we might see an Unsanctioned match take place between the two down the line... And if Vachon were to win, what might that mean for the IYFW Championship (if Vigo held it at the time). A lot of questions to be answered. Among them...

We ever going to see former IYFW Champ, Guillaume deSade in an IYFW ring again? And if so, wouldn't it be interesting if he returned as an unlikely babyface looking to exact vengeance on Touch'ole, who CLEARLY stripped him of the title at the behest of Scott Scarsdale? Right? Right? Hmmmmm...

No other matches announced yet, but here are a few predictions:
"MIGHTY" Fronz Roddy VS The Northern Stud - Grudge Match
Roman Dominguez VS Shiloh Robinson - rubber match for New Breed Title
Adam Badger and Michael Monroe VS Jamar Justice and Ricky Williams - tag title grudge match

The rest of the roster I'd like to see slug it out in the Rumble.

Looking to be another fun show! More to come as it comes my way!
As a side note, may be looking to interview an IYFW wrestler or personality in the next month or so (likely after Summertime Bruise) and since I know a good amount of IYFW talent read this blog I'm putting it out there now. Reach out to me via email, Facebook, twitter, whatever... Would be a fun exercise and learning experience for me and good promotion/exposure for the talent.

Until next time!

IYFW Quick Hits

Not all that much going on in the world of my favorite independent promotion. Off the heels of an extremely eventful June event, the slow build to next month's "Summertime Bruise" has begun! Here are some thoughts to keep you busy until actual matches are announced:

- it's been teased on the IYFW website that we may see a one on one showdown between former tag team champions, the International Egotrip, The Northern Stud and "Mighty" Fronz Roddy, at the BACC in August. Anytime I get to see Roddy in action, I am excited. Stud was positioned as the baby face following the teams implosion and, up until his part in the run-in save during the Main Event, the crowd wasn't buying it. However... one thing is certain. Few performers in IYFW have the ability to turn the crowd against them as effortlessly and magnificently as Fronz Roddy. If anyone can make a sympathetic figure out of the wife beater wearing Northern Stud it HAS to be the Mighty One.

- there was a fun feature on the IYFW INTERFACE a few days ago. Joey LaRocque conducted a phone interview with Maxx Burton, covering the lead-up and fallout of the Coronation Cup. Not a LOT was actually revealed that we didn't already ascertain, yet it was still fun to listen to. Be sure to give it a listen. Very clever, and I am sure, a blast for them to put together. If you listen with a careful ear, you'll understand why. Either way, you should always check out the Interface.

- received another message via theburninghammer.com from another IYFW wrestler who went out of his way to praise this blog! Don't know if he'd want me to identify him, so I won't, but it was a very cool gesture. He aked me what else I would like to see from IYFW shows and, since it's something I feel strongly about, I will share it here:

I wouldn't change really ANYTHING about the content, pacing, and flow of IYFW events. They're well thought out and brilliantly executed. As I have said a million times, everyone works very hard and they put on a very fun show! Yeah, I mentioned way back that I was disappointed in the plastic ring apron, the old ring, etc. But, ultimately, if the product between the ropes is solid the average wrestling fan can look past stuff like that. My only real "frustration" with IYFW, if it can even be called a frustration, is their minimalist approach towards use of social media and promotion via social media. I'm not saying they even need to dump any more money into it! Their website suits their current needs just fine. Given the huge number of rabid pro wrestling fans on twitter I am shocked at how infrequently they use it and by the shockingly low number of followers they have. It takes time to build, naturally, but the payoff could be tremendous. The same goes with Facebook. How about YouTube?!? Would it be that difficult to have wrestlers involved in major and minor story lines consistently film vignettes before/after live events to be later uploaded to YouTube? IYFW does this from time to time but I have to believe there is a TON of untapped potential there - it's not used nearly enough to really promote their live shows to it's fullest. I emailed IYFW several months ago expressing these concerns and did not hear back from them, which is sort of what I expected. I would like to reiterate that I am certainly willing to help in any way I can, as a fan, whether it's by offering more ideas, helping them push their social presence so that more people can learn about In Your Face Wresting and the company can grow.

- another thing to reflect on that came out of my exchange with this other IYFW performer, as fans of independent wrestling, one thing we neglect thinking about is the distance most of these wrestlers travel to put on a show for what can't be a huge payday. The average wrestling fan takes that for granted. These dudes fork over cash for gas, etc... all to perform for fans that they hope will appreciate it. I have a ton of respect for that.

Hope to have more to talk about soon. May weigh in on the CM Punk/WWE situation if I feel inclined. A lot has already been said eloquently by others, heh.

A Friendly Disclaimer

Let me begin by saying how amazed I am by the number of hits the page has received since the weekend and the IYFW Coronation Cup event! Unique visitors have doubled since Sunday and have grown every day. Wild and fun to watch! Thank you for following the site, be sure to bookmark it if you haven't already, and stop back often. Knowing people are into your stuff is a huge motivator to keep things moving forward with it!

I did want to take an opportunity to make a brief, almost self-explanatory disclaimer about this page and my opinions:

I was recently approached via a private message on theburninghammer.com by an IYFW wrestler who took issue with my comments on his performance at the Coronation Cup event. I'm not going to name the guy or go into the details of our correspondence out of respect, but I think the exchange raised a point that should be addressed.

I am simply a fan. I am not at all a trained wrestler. I'm just a "mark" that buys tickets, buys dvd's, merchandise, etc. I get that. That being said, I AM a fan. Fans have opinions. Fans share their opinions with other fans. In an entertainment and performance industry such as Professional Wrestling, there is a certain level of critique that should be expected. I am an aspiring song writer and screw-around musician. When I perform in public, I don't expect EVERY person to LOVE what I am doing. Not every fan is going to feel the same way, or see the same thing, as every other fan. I understand that perhaps his concern was that other fans or his peers or people unfamiliar with him would read MY OPINION and thus their opinion of him might be tarnished.

I get that.

But that is kind of the nature of this blog and of what I do. It's about MY OPINION. I am sure that there was someone in the crowd that night that hated the show. Or thought that this unnamed wrestler was amazing. Maybe they will blog about it. Maybe they won't.

So, to sum it up... I am not here in an attempt to sabotage anyones career OR to act as a defacto arm of an Indy Promotions public relations department. I answer to no one and am basically in this to share my opinions with other wrestling fans - nothing more. If you don't agree with my opinion and are in a position to change my opinion... Have at it.

As always, thanks for reading.

IYFW Coronation Cup 2011 RESULTS/REVIEW

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this In Your Face Wrestling event was going to be my first foray into the very real world since the recent tragedy in my life. I was looking forward not just to the show, and the fun, laid back atmosphere, but also to have an evening where I didn't need to worry about someone coming up to me expressing their condolences or asking me how I was "holding up" or asking me "what happened?!?"...

Please, please, please don't misunderstand me. Since my younger brother's passing I have been overwhelmed with warm thoughts, bowled over with hugs, and concern, and affection. I truly appreciate every single card, phone call, text, email, FB msg, etc that has been sent my way. It's really been a beautiful thing.

But it's also been very exhausting. It really was nice to be among fun people watching a fun show. Hope all of that makes sense. On with the show...

From what I saw, the show drew a slightly larger crowd than their April event in the same venue. It really was close. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, notably the trio I politely refer to as the RiffRaff; three guys who arrive at the show all good and buzzed from an early jaunt to the bars and are usually the most fun fans to watch/interact with. Not sure what the final headcount would be, but I would guess over 100. The Ballston Area Community Center was extremely humid and sticky up until just prior to belltime, when the air conditioning was mercifully turned on. Until then, I have to be honest when I say that I was more than concerned at how bearable it would be in those atmospheric conditions.

The show, of course, featured the annual 8-man Coronation Cup tournament, this time with the IYFW Championship belt up for grabs, and it kicked off with the first of TWO 4-way matches in the tourney. War, Scott Scarsdale, "Loverboy" Ricky Williams, and Drake Evans hit the ring to quality reactions from the crowd, looking to set this show off right. Before the bell rang, War made it clear that he was on the payroll of the "Millenium Millionaire" Scott Scarsdale, much to the chagrin of the fans AND the babyfaces. This match showcased Ricky Williams and his stellar selling ability and the double teaming of Scarsdale and his brutal henchman. Things really went south when Drake Evans was handcuffed to the turnbuckle, outside the ring, unable to save Ricky Williams from succumbing to a sleeper hold by Scott Scarsdale, giving the Millionaire a HUGE win. IYFWrestling.Com heavily pushed Scarsdale as the favorite and, at this point, I was nervous.

Let me be clear... Scarsdale is a fun performer. His character is crafty and generally smarter than everyone else. I can dig that. But he is far from the most exciting or credible performer on the roster. Given his position behind the scenes... you can understand my concern.

I *DID* like Evans being handcuffed. It's been done a million times, but it fit well. Loved the aftermath where, after being unlocked and emancipated by another referee who had appeared from the back, Drake Evans loudly exclaimed, "They've always got the key AFTER the fact!" and went to attend to a hurting Ricky Williams (who sold that submission thru intermission. I love this guy.). Overall... a decent opener that made you wonder how this was all going to play out.

Up next, Walt Ball introduces the Special Guest Referee for the upcoming match (hmmm...), Maxx "The Ax" Burton. Having looked Burton up on YouTube, etc... this is what I know about Burton. He is a great promo guy... and he is generally an asshole heel (?) So, I wasn't sure what to expect. Things got more curious when the match participants came out. Rocco Perrelli would take on Nocturne.

Nocturne Flies At Night

Perrelli was fun to watch at "Defy the Odds" in April and I was excited to see him again. His over the top Italian gimmick is nothing all too new, but he does it well and has his own take on it. Nocturne impressed me also, interacting and jawing amiably with the fans throughout the match. Only bad thing I can say about this match is that they set the Indoor Record for Most Armdrags in a Wrestling Match. Otherwise, the pacing was good and told a solid story. Nocturne would pick up the win following a cradle-style piledriver that didn't land quite right. It felt strange to me that there was no pay off with Burton as referee. Weird that he wouldn't make an impact. Unless... the impact would happen LATER? Hmmm...

Up next was a tag bout between the Celtic Crew and the returning Killer Steves. The Crew are IYFW's resident Irish tag team. McKinger is the ground and pound wrestler and McFerrin is the immovable muscle man. I thought these two were fun to watch back in April. To be honest, they looked a little weak compared to the Steve's. When I heard the Killer Steves would be in Ballston Spa, I was pumped... and they did not disappoint.

Steve Takes a Tag From Steve

Steves WIN~!

They worked the match as heels, yet I was fortunate enough to be sitting with Steve Supporters who cheered them on. Fun moment where, when Salt N. Pepper of the RiffRaff heckled one Steve, calling him X-Pac, that same Steve replied: "I'm Hep C Free." ... wherein I would attempt, in vain, to start a "HEP C FREE!" chant. Steve's carried the Crew to a decent match, got the win, and teased a post-match handshake. SWERVE~!~! We get a post-match FISTBUMP instead!

Next was the second 4-way of the night, the better of the two, I felt. Ian Daniels, Superbeast, Justin Fox, and Vigo all would vie for the final slot in the IYFW Championship Main Event later on in the evening! If you recall, I had held out hope for a push for Superbeast but it was apparent that that wasn't in the cards on this night.

Superbeast About to LEVEL Ian Daniels

He had a good performance but it was overshadowed by other moments. Take Ian Daniels for example. Clearly loves what he does. Has a great time out there. Outside the ring, during intermission, he seems like a cool enough guy... but he is going to hurt somebody out there.

Cover your eyes.

There was a scary moment or two in this match that had me wondering if tonight was the night. Justin Fox was actually a lot of fun in his role and pulled off a few fun spots. Clearly, the star of this match was Vigo. The crowd just RESPONDS to him. Again, not the flashiest or fastest guy on the roster... but he knows how to work the room and is a lot of fun to watch. Vigo would pick up the win following a spinning elbow drop off the ropes on Superbeast, advancing to the IYFW Championship and Coronation Cup Finals against Scott Scarsdale.

There was a quiet buzz among the fans around me as they realized that the main event was set. Not the most engaging or kinetic Championship main event possible. However, I was confident it would be entertaining. Between the long list of enemies Scarsdale has amassed and the ongoing feud raging between Vigo and Pierre Vachon, I was confident that they would pull something fun out of it. And that they would... but I am getting ahead of myself.

Next up was intermission. An eventful intermission! First, I had some popcorn with a Steve.

Popcorn Break.

Then... I dropped $6 on some raffle tickets and won myself 2 tickets to the next IYFW show, "Summertime Bruise" on August 13, back at the BACC! Very cool! My only gripe is that they're not front row seats. I will maybe politely reach out to IYFW officials and see if I could pay the difference and upgrade them to VIP. I have sophisticated tastes and, thus, can't fathom sitting with the little people. I'm sure you understand.

When the show resumed, new authority figure type, Harold Touch'ole would interrupt ring announcer Walt Ball, bringing the brand spanking IYFW Championship belt with him.

It's Pronounced....

Touch'ole reiterated the proper pronunciation of the last name before being interrupted himself by an appearance by Vigo in the crowd. Vigo would take a seat with the RiffRaff in the bleachers, taunting Toush'ole and eventually getting in the ring with him.

Vigo and the RiffRaff

This would bring out Scarsdale who, it quickly became apparent, had already bought and paid for the allegiance of Management Representative, Harry Touch-hole. This raised more questions on how this was going to go down for the big title...

First match following intermission was an anticipated rematch from "Defy the Odds" between young fan favorite, Shiloh Robinson, and IYFW New Breed Champion, Roman Dominguez. Last time it was non-title and Robinson captured his first win. For the sake of full disclosure; predicted a title change for this match (and the champ wasn't pleased). This was another hard hitting encounter between the two, with a lot of stiff kicks and relentless forearms. Robinson had a shining moment with a series that led to Dominguez getting uncerimoniously dumped on his head to a nice pop from the crowd.

Not As Storybook a Finish As Last Time

 Dominguez held on and would pick up a submission victory, retaining his title and silencing his one critic (who, as it happens, cheered the Pillar on the whole match, despite sitting in front of the family of Shiloh Robinson in the crowd. You try sitting in front of the kids giant Dad(?) and cheer on the guy who is dismantling his alleged son's leg. Awkward!) Both men required assistance of IYFW officials to be brought backstage and Dominguez has been all over the interwebs   selling a knee injury. Can you say... rubber match?

The IYFW Tag Team Championship would be on the line in the next contest as the crumbling International EgoTrip would attempt to hold off Adam Badger and Michael Monroe. Both teams played the heel in this match, which I think confused the fans, but it had to be done. Badger came to the ring wearing a white mask with the word "CENSORED" taped across it's mouth; a clear play off of his potty mouth on display at April's "Defy the Odds", when he dropped many an F bomb on some small children.

...I'm just talkin' 'bout Shaft!

This was a borderline hot topic over at theburninghammer.com after I'd posted my DtO review and was obviously in my glory when I saw the mask. Too awesome. His mouth may have been censored, but his middle fingers flew with abandon. Monroe put on another great performance in this tag bout... but enough about them. Let's talk about Fronz.

"Finally a fan with some sense!" - "MIGHTY" FRONZ RODDY

This match  simply served as a vehicle for Fronz Roddy to shed the considerable dead weight of the Northern Stud. Roddy put on another great showing on the ring apron, avoiding tags, turning his back on his partner to argue with the fans, all of that fun stuff.

"Shut Up!"

Stud worked hard, but not hard enough - clearly not up to Fronz Roddy's Standard of Excellence - and fell victim to the onslaught of the young team, Adam Badger and Michael Monroe. Monroe, in particular, stood out on this event.

Split-leg Moonsault from Monroe

Post-match was the obligatory tag team melt down where Roddy would lay Stud out and in his dust.

Looks like there will be a short-term(?) Stud vs Roddy program that could be fun to watch, as they are trying to position the Northern Stud as the babyface. And also, I am hoping the new tag champs will face some opposition from Ricky Williams and Jamar "Magic" Justice.

Time for the Main Event! Before things could begin, out came Touch'ole who wanted to add some flavor to the match. He barred Vigo's valet from ringside and named a Special Enforcer for the big match... Maxx Burton. This smelled fishy to everyone and it appeared to all that the fix was in. The crowd was instantly all over Scarsdale and way behind Vigo. Even *I* was cheering on the good guy here! A lot of early lock ups and low impact power moves early. Some stalling on the part of Scarsdale. Things finally got cooking in the ring when young referee, Adam Brunton, would take a stiff bump in the corner. Crowd hit their feet as out came the new IYFW Tag Team Champions, "The Enemy", Adam Badger and Michael Monroe. Are they on Scarsdale's take? They beat Vigo down in the corner... out comes my hero, Fronz Roddy, and he convinces Badger and Monroe that he is with them and joins in the beatdown on the Force from the North. The crowd is white hot when Ricky Williams comes out, followed by the Northern Stud! Things degenerate quickly on the outside when Scarsdale (finally) returns to his feet -- roof comes off the tiny BACC when Drake Evans hits the ring and goes after Scarsdale and company!

Damn you, Scarsdale!

Scarsdale gets back in the ring with a steel chair and has bad intentions towards Vigo. Burton gets in the ring and GRABS the chair from Scarsdale! Vigo DRILLS Scarsdale. Hits a running elbow and gets the pin.

...pssst. Turn Around.

Was it, quote-unquote, overbooked? Sure. Was it fun? Absolutely.

A new champion is crowned to end the show and the fans go home happy. All in all it was another good show. Winning the raffle was fun and, again, the fan/wrestler, fan/fan interaction at these shows make the experience second to none. Bring your kids. These guys all work hard and clearly love what they do.

As Walt Ball would point out in the ring just before the main event, the only thing we know about IYFW Summertime Bruise in August is that *I* am going to be there! And I look forward to it! I'd like to thank In Your Face Wrestling for providing a much needed distraction for the evening.

Thanks for reading and thanks for enduring my blurry pics. Feel free to leave comments below!