HITMAN383 Rant for PCW Chronicles

- The HITMAN383 Rant for PCW Chronicles. This is a tape of not really the best matches, but all the important angles from pretty much the start (summer 2000) to today (March 2002), while skipping over fall/winter 2001, since that period is covered in “Winter Warfare.” (This was originally written in March 2002)

- For those not familiar, I recommend starting by reading the “September Salvation 2001” rant, and the “Winter Warfare” rant posted in the same place this rant is.

- Once again, please don’t try this at home.

- Also, I want to note that even though I am very hard on the wrestlers at some points in the rant, I mean it only in a good, constructive way. If I ride you for something, its only to help it be improved the next time, not a personal shot 

- The system for backyard wrestling, obviously, will be more liberal than it would be for professional wrestling. Afterall, there is no ring, so any type of bumps have to be taken extra carefully, and high spots have to be limited. Here is the system I use:
- BTW, I use this system:
***** - Excellent,
**** - Great,
*** - Good,
**- Okay,
* - Decent,
DUD – Nothing Match.
- The Backyard scale means the same, only I’m more liberal with the ratings.

- Taped from mostly the PCW Arena.

- Your Hosts are a bunch of the usual PCW people, mostly Bruce, General J.D., Big Ben (me!) and Inferno.

- Feud Reel: Matt Geru vs. Inferno: These two real life brothers had the first real major feud in PCW (which was known as the Hardcore Wrestling Federation until Fall 2001) from summer 2000, to spring 2001, and beat the shit out of eachother without ever revealing the fact that they were actually brothers. As a note, I didn’t really get into PCW/HWF until the Spring of 2001, so most of the early stuff is a bit lost on me, but I can still appreciate it. PCW was smart enough to accompany the tape with a history of all the matches, so this tape already is a must-buy for all new fans. (I think General J.D. was doing the A/V stuff at the time, and yeah, that was a really nice touch) I swear, the more I watch Geru, the scarier he is. I mean, I KNOW the guy, and he freaks me out during his matches. He’s just so perfectly suited for this sport. This isn’t a match, exactly, but a reel of some of the more hardcore spots they have puled off over time, including Geru throwing Inferno into the creek. Good thing, too, since they really aren’t a technical pair against eachother, from what I understand, but their big bumps are memorable. In one spot Geru drops Inferno on his head so hard with a Michinoku driver, that Jackal actually gets legitimately scared, and comes on camera to make sure he’s alive. In another spot, Geru side suplexes his brother headfirst onto a thick stump of wood. It’s a miracle Inferno doesn’t die after some of these spots. He takes most of the abuse, too, with Matt taking a limited amount of pounding. No wonder Inferno quit in mid-2001, he did nothing but get abused during his entire stint, seemingly. Anyway, the reel runs about 20:00 minutes, and while I fully understand why is SHOULD be here, and why it IS here, it doesn’t mean I enjoyed it. Pretty boring, overall, but it had its place here, that’s for sure. No match, no rating. (These two would have fit in perfectly in ECW had the promotion still been around by the time they were old enough to go)

- HWF World Title Match: Jackal vs. Harry Moar: This is from August 2000, at the “Wicked Games” event. Jackal over powers Moar to start, and gets him in the bridging hammerlock. They exchange arm holds, and Jackal cradles him for two. Solid DDT gets Jackal an arrogant-cover two count, so they have a test-of-strength. Impressive one, two, as they both bridge while in it. They then do a WICKEDLY cool reversal sequence, ending with Harry hooking a crucifix for two. He does some Tajiri kicks to the head, and a dropkick gets two. Jackal responds with a reverse arm breaker, and a single arm DDT. Moar with a couple dropkicks to take the match by the creek (see how they transition without the boring “pull by the head” spot?), and a frog splash gets him two. Jackal with a rolling cradle for two, and a Hennig-plex for two. Back to the main area (without the use of good transitions), Harry catches him with a good tornado DDT for two. Jackal with his great looking reverse STF, and he tries the Hennig-plex again, but gets reversed into two rolling suplexes, all leading to a neckbreaker for two. Nice. Figure four, so Jackal counters by rolling over before it’s applied, so Moar responds to with a camel clutch! Great psychology there. Jackal sweeps his legs out to take over, and hooks the Crippler crossface. No submission, however, instead hitting a gorgeous springboard bulldog for two. During the cover, however, Jackal turns it into an arm breaker, which Hardkore turns into a leg lock, which Jackal turns into a Boston crab! Wow! Moar with a great looking rana for two, and he turns a short arm clothesline into an AWESOME abdominal stretch, one most pro wrestlers don’t even have the balls to do. Jackal powers out, however, and weakly dropkicks a cookie sheet in his face for two. Moar responds by throwing him VICIOUSLY into the slide, one time it was well utilized. Springboard rana (that looked to nearly kill Jackal) follows, so he takes him out with a chair. Moar’s Van Dominator misses, but a second doesn’t, and he legdrops the chair on him for two. Nice flying headscissors, and a reverse Hennig-necksnap gets two. Pinfall reversal sequence won by Jackal, and he superkicks him. STIFF bulldog, and a weak forward suplex follows. A GOOD falling piledriver on the chair’s next (actually HITTING it, too) gets him two, and a forward Russian leg sweep sets up the Martyrs cross. He can’t beat him, however, so Moar goes up stairs (on a ladder) for a bodypress for two. Big dropkick hits, so Jackal DDT’s him for two, so Moar hits a Japanese DDT for two! Wow! Jackal with a superkick, and a STIFF Diamond Cutter only gets two!! Moar with a good looking chair shot, but Jackal asks for more, so he gets a Van Dominator, but it only gets two! This is just brutally great! Jackal with a hard cookie sheet shot for two, so Harry hits a rolling stunner. That draws Geru out to hit Moar with a chair, and Jackal hits a stunner off a ladder for the pin at 19:05. WOW! Other than Geru coming in for an un-needed interference, and a couple bad transitions, this was out of this world. A spot fest, yes, but one of the better ones, to be sure. **** ¼. This was the last time these two met, which is a shame, but I understand PCW is considering having another match in the near future. I eagerly await that one.

- Genocide vs. Inferno: From September 2000, on HWF TV. This is Genocide’s debut. Essentially, neither man can work a match without being carried through it by more competent wrestlers, but the bookers wanted to see how well they can do on their own. Big mistake, match quality wise, however. They probably should have done that in a non-televised, non-taped match up between the two to test the waters. Inferno goes to work to start, so Genocide lightly pushes him, which Inferno sells by flying ten feet back. Okay, that was a WAY drastic oversell. Genocide unleashes some stiff offense of punches on him next, which is weird to watch, because he eventually became so loose. (Probably because guys didn’t appreciate him punching them in the head, full force) Inferno with a couple stiff superkicks, and a poorly done STF. Take a lesson from Jackal, Inferno. Genocide with a “Russian leg sweep,” although it only resembled the maneuver in the vaguest sense. They fight over to the creek, where Genocide lays in a shot with the cookie sheet. Inferno responds with a tornado DDT, which hit pretty stiffly. They crawl back up to the main area, with Genocide completely forgetting the concept of selling, and hitting a spear. Problem: He had to charge about 30 feet at him, with Inferno looking like a goof for just standing there, and not, you know, moving. Think of the steamroller in Austin Powers I. (Weird. I just referenced that exact scene in a review yesterday) Inferno with a superkick, and a legdrop. Splash gets two, so Genocide kicks him in the ribs for two. Genocide then shows off his moveset, which includes kick, and the spot that made Steamboat/Flair such a classic: punch. Inferno with a neckbreaker for two, as this match just DRAGS on. If this was only four-five minutes, at least it would be watchable, even though it’s garbage. But to have two guys who are only mildly caryable out there for this long is a disaster waiting to happen. (The booking didn’t really reign guys in too much, so you’d see matches with five minutes worth of action get stretched out to twenty on a regular basis because a lot of the guys had no idea how to structure a match, and the guys who DID (like Jackal) didn’t really get involved in it) Genocide with a couple stiff-ass shots with a cookie sheet again, but he gets kicked in the shoulder. The main problem, aside from the wretched offense, is that they walk around for like 30 seconds between “spots” in this one. They do THE worst pinfall reversal sequence I’ve EVER seen to follow, with is basically them log-rolling around. Genocide hits him with the plastic tea set chair (oh, the pain), then nudges him in the ass with his foot. What a bad ass! DDT (a wrestling move???), as the commentators bring up how long the match has been going. Whenever they bring up that the match has been running “seemingly forever,” that’s a bad sign. I mean, Moar/Jackal was nearly twenty minutes, and felt like five because it was so fast-paced, and entertaining. This has been going for about thirteen, and feels like three hours. Terrible looking Rock Bottom from Genocide, and a backbreaker. I don’t think the guy actually knows how to perform wrestling spots, and just kind of pretends out there. It shows, too. Chalk it up to the guy not being a wrestling fan, and essentially just sticking to punches and kicks. They chase eachother around (literally) for a few minutes, until Inferno hits him with a cookie sheet. Bulldog, but Matt Geru runs out and hits with a stick, then pedigrees him. He puts Genocide on top for the pin at 16:23 to end this abortion. Great, AND an interference ending. Frankly, I can’t even begin to tell you how much was wrong with this match, from sloppiness, to psychology, to lack of spots, to just plain boredom, lets just leave it at: it was horrible, and should never be watched by sane people, ever. -*. Yes, negative stars. The extreme length did nothing to help it, either. (Even being more liberal with the ratings, this was even worse than that. Like, -** ½ territory)

- Mike Gallows vs. Genocide: This was Gallows’ debut (although he had wrestled in backyard matches since the spring of 1999), and takes place at Snowed In 2001, in early 2001. I have followed Gallows since his backyard debut in the GWF back in 1999, where he put on impressive spot fests, all the way to his current, psychological masterpieces. So, for me, this is a great match, even if Genocide IS in it. Genocide overpowers him early, and hits a good DDT. It was good thanks to Gallows, just to be clear. (Man, I REALLY didn’t care for Genocide, did I?) He comes back with punches, and a great dropkick to the mid-section for two. Genocide takes over with (you guessed it) a backbreaker, then calls a blatantly obvious spot on camera, then hits his 50-foot spear. Gallows kicks his ass in retaliation. Suplex is done very well for two, but Genocide catches him with a dropkick. Neckbreaker, and Gallows plays possum so he can kick Genocide with a lighting-like kick. I love Gallows. He works the leg, which is a moot point against Genocide, since he’ll forget about it in two minutes anyway. Genocide with a kick to take over (done with the bad leg), and he totally forgets the knee work, and hits a northern lights suplex. He then leaves Gallows, and walks about 30-feet away to get a cookie sheet. He pays for being a complete idiot (psychology wise), and Gallows beats him up when he comes back. Figure four. Bless Mike’s heart, he still tries to work a good, psychological match, even with Genocide. Genocide breaks out, but gets pounded down for a two count. He forgets the knee work again, and hits a wicked shot with the cookie sheet on poor Gallows. He follows up with another, and Mike looks legitimately hurt. The whole thing gets two, and Gallows comes back. He throws him into a tree, then hits a double leg drop for two. Genocide oversells a punch with a 360 (which I CAN appreciate), but hits a dropkick for two. Over to the creek (which is frozen at this point) they fight with the slide. The trademark of PCW, baby! Stiff looking DDT gets Gallows two, but he can’t piledrive him. Second try works, and gets the pin at 12:58. Not a particularly good match, but Gallows carried Genocide pretty well, even though the psychology was a moot point. * ½. (Booking a guy against Genocide in his first match for the promotion? Talk about baptism by fire…) Afterwards, they shake hands, so Geru and Jackal come out to kick their asses. That leads to…

- HWF Tag Team Title Match: Matt Geru & Jackal vs. Mike Gallows & Genocide: Also from Snowed In 2001, later in the show. Jackal and Gallows start, and a classic series is born before your very eyes. They trade hammerlocks to start, as only they can, and Jackal gets him down with a drop toe hold, but eats clothesline. Jackal with a tight headlock, so Gallows tries to counter out, but takes a DDT. Jackal starts working the arm, so Mike tries to get him in a headlock, so Jackal drops into a reverse cross arm breaker. This is just ingenious. Geru tags in, and goes to work, cutting the ring in half. Gallows escapes the abuse, however, and tags Genocide. Dropkick and a neckbreaker hit quickly for two, when Jackal makes the save. Geru lets loose some abuse, as I start to miss Wicus right about now. He hadn’t debuted yet, however, so we’re stuck with Genocide for a while longer. Everyone’s in, and Jackal misses a superkick on Genocide by a foot, while Gallows suplexes Geru. He then picks up the “injured” Genocide, and throws him into Geru. He applies a Boson crab, but Jackal comes in and redeems himself with a SOLID kick to the head. Geru beats him up for even ATTEMPTING offense, and hits his splash off the 1-foot chairs. It actually gets two, believe it or not. Jackal comes in to clip the knees, and they hit a series of elbow drops to the lower back. Looks like Genocide is officially Ricky Morton in this one, the right role for him. Gallows runs in to DDT Jackal, as I get sick from the jumpy-ass camera work. Backbreaker by Genocide (yeah, I’m as shocked as you are) for two, when Matt saves. Jackal works the leg, and does his reverse STF. Gallows gets the tag, and hits his baseball slide dropkick. Bulldog gets him two, so he hooks the leg for two. Geru saves, however. Gallows beats them both up, but gets caught in a Jackal superkick, and then another, ultra-stiff version. Jackal with the rolling splash (I’ve expressed by feelings on “rolling splashes” in previous rants) for two, he tags Geru in. He doesn’t fare well, however, so Jackal comes in to Rock Bottom him. That gets two, so in comes Genocide. Geru kicks his ass without breaking a sweat, as Jackal single arm DDT’s Gallows. He works that for a while, and wrenches the arm during all this covers, which is a great touch. He gets a few two counts that way, and Gallows low blows him. Suplex, and he tags Genocide. He leaves Jackal un-attended, however, and he’s able to tag Geru. What a rookie mistake, but I guess this IS one of his first tag matches. Geru wants a test of strength, but Genocide doesn’t know what that is, so Matt just takes him down and pounds. (No, really. The kid just didn’t know what it was. He wasn’t a fan, and had no clue what Geru wanted from him there) We all fight over to the creek, as our commentator throws up, and we lose him for the rest of the match. Hey, I know Genocide is pretty bad, but no need for dramatics! Seriously, though, what happened there? (I don’t think there were any illicit substances at play, but standing out in Lake Ontario winter all day couldn’t have helped)  Anyway, they all brawl over there, and Jackal slingshots Mike into the slide. (I like how it was ‘oh, one of the guys just puked on camera, and can’t continue… let’s keep brawling! Gotta respect the effort, though)  Oh, now he means business. He then forward Russian leg sweeps him onto it, so Genocide tries to avenge him, which draws in Geru with a trainwreck dive. This is starting to drag a bit. Genocide then livens it up (I know, I’m shocked too) by throwing Jackal off the hill onto the slide, in a terrific bump/spot. Then again, it was really JACKAL who livened things up, not Genocide, so we have him to thank. Kick-punch fest for a while, as any action down by the creek is usually pretty mediocre. The next five minutes or so are painstakingly boring, too, as they do nothing by punch eachother. Back to the main area, Gallows tries to piledrive Geru, but can’t do it. He opts to pedigree him instead, and gets two off of it. He actually would do the piledriver spot on Geru in the Winter Warfare match, believe it or not. (Given the size difference, the fact that he not only did it, but did it safely, is beyond impressive)  Genocide gets involved with Geru again, and killed, of course. Genocide plays whipping boy to the heels’ offense for a while, taking the abuse gamely, until he DDT’s Geru. Damn it, I am starting to loathe the camera work here. At least when J.D. or Dan are doing it, it’s pretty smooth. Genocide messes up some kind of spot on Matt, so Jackal tags in, but gets chokeslammed onto some chairs, in a vicious looking spot. Jackal responds by taking out the legs in his classic fashion, and Geru hits a release German suplex for two. Stun gun on the ground draws Gallows in, so Jackal DDT’s him. The heels hit the Demolition decapitator, but Gallows breaks up a cover, and piledrivers Jackal. Geru kills him, however, and they hit a stun gun/bulldog combo for two on Genocide. Diamond cutter for Mike, and the Dudley Death Drop hits. One for Genocide, as the camera man goes nuts, and Jackal hits the rolling splash on both men for the pin at 30:17. Way, way, way too long for what it was, which should have been about 12:00, and it lost interest around 15:00 or so, when they went down to the creek. Solid enough to not TOTALLY suck, but the last 13:00 or no were a trial to sit through. **, for the early match, and a couple nice spots towards the end. (I vaguely remember this match, and yes, it was pretty terrible. A lot of the guys had way too much of an ECW fixation in those days, and it shown through in the booking)

- EBWF World Title Four Corners Match: Gambit vs. Jackal vs. Harry Moar vs. Venom: From HWF TV, February 2001. This is an interpromotional match with the EBWF (another backyard fed) for their world title. Venom and Gambit are both from the EBWF, and since the promotion doesn’t seem to have any plans on unifying with the HWF, look for the title to “stay in the family.” Gambit’s shirt: “Therapy has taught me that nothing is my fault.” Venom and Gambit go at it alone to start, before the HWF guys even enter, and Venom drops him with a release German suplex. The HWF boys join us, with the camera man acting like a total retard, (They’d get better at that later, but in the early days, they had this kid who would try to entertain himself with rapid back-and-forth zooms, upside down shots, and treated the camera like a shake-weight) and Moar heads for Venom, while Jackal takes on Gambit. Venom with a piledriver on the slide for two, and they switch partners. Of note: Jackal is wearing the “Tap Out” sweatshirt, which today, is Wicus’ ring attire. Anyway, the EBWF boys do a bunch of restholds to eachother throughout this one, as Jackal and Moar do battle in the background. You can’t really see them, however, and that hurts the match. The camera man should get further in for this one, but I can understand why he’d want a panoramic view for this one. Gambit with a bulldog for two, as Moar drops a leg on Jackal for two. Seated dropkick gets two, as Venom hits a great blockbuster suplex for two. I think they should have went for a “tag in and out” deal, which would have certainly made this more interesting, and set up more dream match scenarios. (You know, ‘dream’ for all five fans watching) Moar and Venom go now, and Harry splashes him for two. Meanwhile, Gambit superkicks Jackal, and hits a GREAT senton splash for two. These EBWF boys are pretty talented, I’ll tell ya. Also, I’ve never seen Jackal sell so much in one match, EVER. He feels that way too, I guess, because he hits Gambit with the rolling splash for two, and a DDT for two. Harry with a rana on Venom for two, while Gambit suplexes Jackal on the slide. I’d love to see Jackal vs. Gambit one-on-one, I’ll tell ya. They switch up again, with Moar hitting a tornado DDT on Jackal for two, as the EBWF boys do restholds. Venom with a seated dropkick on Gambit for two, and Jackal gets two off of a falling piledriver on Hardkore. Harry with two rolling suplexes, into a neckbreaker for two, and a bodypress for two. Flying headscissors gets two, so Jackal powerbombs him for two. Meanwhile, Venom piledrives the champion for two, so Jackal DDT’s Venom. He comes for Moar again, but Harry dropkicks the knees to take him out. Rolling leg drop (a spot I DO like) on the chair gets Harry two, and Venom comes over to nail him. You know, Gambit has been OUT, and motionless of the last three minutes, why not, you know, COVER HIM? (Or, you know, call a paramedic) Instead, the threesome decide to abuse eachother, and Harry gets eliminated by Venom at 14:19. Venom with a twisting stunner on Jackal, and HE’S out at 14:50. Suplex for Gambit gets two, so he responds with two pedigrees to retain at 16:09. The match wasn’t actively bad, or anything, it was just lackluster, that’s all. **. The match also made the HWF guys look weak. As if, they do fine against one another, but if they fight Venom, they go down within a minute of eachother. It should have come down to Jackal vs. Gambit, and end in a hard fought, exciting war of near falls. But, hey, I can’t have everything, I guess. (Yeah, that was some bad booking meant to appease the EBWF guys)

- HWF World Title Match: Jackal vs. Matt Geru: This is from HWF TV, March 2001, during the Jackal/Geru breakup. Pretty much a dream match for all fans, (All four of them!) and it has a lot of hype to live up to, so we’ll see how it works out. Geru’s music is so perfect for him, too, his somber, haunting music, and then you see HIM, and shit your pants. They trade mat moves to start, and a reversal sequence leads to Jackal’s rolling cradle for two. Test of strength allows Jackal to show off his bridge, and Matt tries a DDT, but gets his legs swept out under him. Jackal with some chops, and a big splash gets two. See, no rolls necessary. “Hair pull transition” takes us to the shed, where Geru shoulderblocks the champion down, and makes him eat shed. Big DDT gets him two, so Jackal hits his heel kick to the jaw. I love that spot! Headlock (with the debut of “OH NO, SON,” Jackal’s taunt when an opponent tries to escape a hold), (Good stuff – Jackal could be a funny character when he wanted to be) and that leads to an armbar. Superkick, and he puts a chair on the bad arm, then beats the shit out of that. Good spot there. Arm breaker, but it doesn’t last (that’s a PCW problem, submissions only last for about 5 seconds), and we go down to the creek. Matt backdrops him over the log down there, and hits his trainwreck dive, which Jackal sells with ZEAL, doing two flips! Nice touch, to an otherwise non-special move. Guillotine leg drop, and we head up to the main area, where Jackal hits a faceslam. Geru counters by hitting a stun gun to the ground, and then decks him. Jackal is in Curt Hennig sell mode today! (I think this was in response to criticisms that he wouldn’t sell enough, so he went out there and pulled a SummerSlam 2005 – four years before that was a thing. Well, that, and he liked Geru, and didn’t mind selling for him)  Piledriver, but Jackal sweeps his legs, and gets his reverse STF. He hooks a regular version to follow up, but can’t get a submission, and instead gets a German suplex from Geru for two. Jackal comes back by using his body as a weapon in a couple senton spots, as we descend into night at the PCW arena. DDT coming up, but Matt picks up the large Jackal, and spears him through the slide! He hammers him a bit, but Jackal goes to work on the leg with a grapevine. Falling piledriver on the slide works out nicely, and gets two. Bulldog, but Geru counters with a terrible reverse DDT. He must have thought so, too, since he breaks up his own cover, and his a forward Russian leg sweep. Cover, but Jackal rolls it into an ankle lock, which he takes into a headlock. Bulldog again, but again Geru turns it into a (good) reverse DDT. At least they did some spots before repeating the spot, which redeems it a bit. Slugfest won by Geru, and he clotheslines him. Jackal with the elusive bulldog, and he chokes him with the wrist tape. He nails him with his shoe for two, and he wrenches the arm again. STIFF, STIFF neckbreaker gets two, and a Russian leg sweep follows. More arm abuse, and we do our “hair pull transition” back to the creek. There, he lays Matt’s arm out on the log, and bashes it with a chair! He gets thrown over the log, however, and Matt grabs the chair. He BASHES Jackal with it, and hits a weak pedigree. Again (this time well done, and on the chair), and it only gets TWO! Onto the log, Jackal hits a Van Dominator, and a frogsplash off the log. Diamond cutter, and Jackal gets the pin at 19:00. The psychology went all to hell in this one, but it lived up to the hype for it’s brawling excellence. Still, I don’t see the point of trying to work psychology in if you’re going to do a brawl anyway. Just pick a style, and stick to it! *** ½.

- We get an interview with Mike Gallows, as he discusses his upcoming match with Jackal. This is WAY before Gallows had Wicus, and they could work the mic so well together. (Gallows really improved on the mic once he found Wicus)

- Jackal vs. Mike Gallows: This is from HWF TV, April 2001. It’s also my first PCW/HWF match, so it’s special to me. Jackal works the arm to start, with Gallows selling as only he can. Side headlock, but Mike turns it into a hammerlock, so Jackal turns it into a leg lock, so Gallows cradles him for two! Pump handle takedown from Gallows, and he hooks an ankle lock. Jackal with a punch to break, and a big DDT. Splash hits the knees, as I sit in awe of how fast paced these two BIG men are working. Gallows works the leg a bit, as smart strategy. I like Gallows’ old school style, and his refusal to venture into crappy-style wrestling, just because it’s common. Figure four, but Jackal reverses, then nails Gallows with his shoe for two. The heel kick hits, and he works Mikey’s arm. Reverse arm breaker, and he covers a couple time, all while wrenching the arm. Well done, Jackal. They FIGHT over to the shed, where Gallows lariats him for one. Suplex, and he snapmares him back to the main area. See the great transitions here? Figure four again, but Jackal cradles him for two. Superkick, and the rolling cradle for two. Piledriver, but both men are out. Slugfest won by the challenger, and he takes the knee out again. Nice touch. Sharpshooter, but Jackal powers out, and turns it into the reverse STF. Great transition there! Regular STF now, and he makes the psychological mistake of leaving Gallows alone while setting up the slide. Gallows ends up suplexing him right into it, however, in a great looking spot. It gets two, so Jackal hooks a headlock (NO, SON!), but Gallows is all “sorry, biatch,” and dropkicks him. VICIOUS looking bulldog hits, where it looked like it KILLED Jackal, and both men are dead. Gallows still covers for two, and then hooks the leg of another two. Jackal with a neckbreaker for two, and he does the “hair pull spot” to the creek. Jackal takes a MASSIVE oversell bump over the log, and Gallows STIFFLY DDT’s him down there. He hits the Randy Savage elbow off the big hill, and tries to go to work, but Jackal nails the arm, and works it. Big splash gets two, and he lays him over the log for a shot. Back to the main land, Gallows with a neckbreaker for two. Snapmare, but he doesn’t know how to follow it up (something he’d work out later in his career), and works the leg. Spinning toe hold, but Jackal escapes, and hooks a grapevine, then rolls it into a half crab. Gallows rolls through THAT however, and gets an ankle lock. They trade some mat holds, and Jackal gets his rolling cradle for two. Big DDT, but he opts not to cover, instead hitting his falling piledriver well. Both men are out, but Jackal eventually makes the cover for two. In runs Genocide, however, and he nails Gallows. That draws out some mystery man (Wicus, in his debut), and he takes out both Genocide and Jackal. That allows Gallows to hit Jackal with his fameasser/pedigree combo, and get the pin at 16:56. Solid match-up, although time hasn’t been kind to it. It looked much better back then. Still, *** ¼. This all leads to… (This reads like a great match, and of course, they’d have even better ones later on)

- HWF Tag Team Title Match: Genocide & Jackal vs. Mike Gallows & Wicus: This is from the GWF arena (another backyard fed that Gallows is originally from), that – in my opinion – is a better venue for wrestling than the PCW arena. It also allows the commentators to call the action from a “sky box” which overlooks the arena, and just works better, in my opinion. (‘GWF Arena’ was Gallows’ backyard, and the skybox was an enclosed porch overlooking it. It was a better setting, though this was probably the only time we actually did a show there) It’s also the Thawed Out 2001 event, in May 2001. Genocide and Gallows start off, and have a good slugfest. Genocide wins, and lays in a couple kicks. He works over the rib area, and hits a great looking DDT. Surfboard, and he makes the tag to Jackal. He’s pissed about doing the job in the above match (his first ever job in a one-on-one match, BTW), but Gallows suplexes him. Legdrop, and Wicus tags in. This being his first match, ever, it’s an understatement to say that he isn’t too good yet. Luckily, he’d become REALLY great by today. Even luckier, he’s in their with Jackal who can carry pretty much anyone. He does his series of STF’s, but Wicus forgets to sell, and hits a bad neckbreaker. See what I mean? Gallows in with a big clothesline, and they trade chops. Jackal wins THAT particular contest, so they have a slugfest next, also won by Jackal. DDT, and the champ uses his wrist tape to choke. He does a good job of cutting the ring in half, too. Neckbreaker, and a big splash, but the referee is busy trying to control Genocide (who has attacked Wicus) to count a fall. Genocide uses a surfboard (the GWF’s SLIDE!) on Gallows, and now everyone comes in to brawl. Ref does a good job of restoring order, and Mike cuts the ring in half with an arm breaker on Genocide. Tag to Wicus, and he hooks the figure four. Wow, an unseasoned Wicus vs. Genocide. That’s a disaster waiting to happen, one which I called AT THE SHOW before the match even happened. Case in point, Genocide takes control in the face corner, then runs all the way across the ring to make the tag, leaving Wicus alone in his corner. Obviously, he tags Gallows. What a bad wrestler! Gallows suplexes Jackal for two, then does the multiple covers bit, which only serves to piss off Jackal, who hooks an arm breaker. Mike rolls through it for a few two counts, which I love to see. Whenever you can make a hold more interesting, DO IT. Kudos to Gallows and Jackal. Tag to Genocide (notice how Jackal BRINGS MIKE WITH HIM), and Genocide dropkicks him right into the face corner. Sigh. He expends his moveset with three backbreaker, then leaves Gallows mid-ring to make the tag. I am so sick of this guy! In comes Wicus with a reverse DDT for Jackal, and he works the arm. Genocide runs in to spear Wicus, however, which gets Jackal two. Wicus with a planting DDT (a spot he made famous with Jackal), and a superkick for two. Jackal goes back to the arm work, but Wicus keeps forgetting it, and tags. Mikey’s in with an atomic drop, and a dropkick. That leads to the figure four, which gets a couple two counts, but Jackal reverses. Gallows reverses again, but Jackal powers his way out. I really dig these two, if I didn’t make that clear. Jackal pounds the leg a bit, and then nails him with his shoe behind the refs back for two. Mike tosses him into the slide, and then climbs a piece of scaffolding to hit a big elbow. That way a pretty cool spot, there. Slugfest won by Jackal, and he hits a neckbreaker. He drags poor Wicus in for a DDT, and Genocide comes in to help. No, please don’t. The heels each DDT a face, and Jackal actually physically removes Genocide from the match. I guess even HE knows he sucks. Suplex from Jackal to Gallows, and he gets two chairs, and a piece of wood. He sets it all up, with the wood between the chairs, and the heels chokeslam Gallows through it. That gets two, and Mike piledrives him. Both men make the tag (with Genocide taking his time to get in, at this juncture), and Wicus kicks his ass. Surfboard (while facing the heel corner), so Jackal sprays mist in his eyes to break it up. Slugfest won by Wicus, and a series of kicks hit. Genocide with his own surfboard, however, and then a big DDT. He cheats to win, with Jackal brilliantly telling the ref to tie his shoe for him so he doesn’t see it, which is just terrific heel tactics. (Yeah, that’s an awesome, old school bit that people should use more in the big leagues)  Gallows is in now, but takes a STIFF kick from Genocide. Both men’s seconds run in now, and Wicus manages to his a really nice snap suplex on Jackal. Gallows tries his fameasser/pedigree, but gets hit with the falling piledriver. That gets Jackal two, and on a second cover, Wicus makes the save. The faces double suplex Jackal, and then hit a spike piledriver to get the pin, and the tag team titles at 25:33. Pretty good match, aside from Genocide’s involvement, which would border a classic if Geru was Jackal’s partner, I’m sure. Still, ***. (On a personal note, this was definitely my favorite match to call, and I remember being in a particularly good mood that day, because I had just heard that Grand Theft Auto III would be coming out that fall)

- PCW T.V. Title Match: Wicus vs. Mike Gallows: This is the first match after the name change to PCW, and is from A New Level 2001. This was set up by commissioner Jackal, who had a legit injury with a separated shoulder, and was forced to vacate the world title. (Surprisingly, the injury didn’t come as a result of taking unpadded, unprotected bump from untrained wrestlers, but rather in a Judo tournament)  As compensation, PCW gave him the commisionership, and he set this up for the vacant T.V. title, just to piss Technical Execution off. (Also, he was the booker in real life)  They do the whole “know eachother too well” bit to start, by reversing eachothers moves, and doing long tie-ups. Hey, I can appreciate that. Gallows works the bad knee of Wicus (which is underlined by his knee brace), and hooks the figure four. They each reverse it a couple time, and Gallows then wrenches it in, showing his aggressiveness. Wicus uses the bad leg to superkick him, when kicks him with the leg, too. Leg drop with it, as I question whether or not the man suffers from amnesia. Did Gallows not just work that part? (Wicus was still really green at this point, lay off)  More kicks with the supposedly “bad” leg, and a headscissors on the ground. Gallows turns it into a bad sharpshooter, but Wicus escapes into an STF. Gallows is trying to work a psychological battle, it just seems Wicus won’t cooperate. Cross face chicken wing by Wicus, and a rolling kick. Mike takes him out with his fists, and then does the spinning toe hold, continuing to force psychology down Wicus’ throat. Two suplexes get two two counts, all while hooking the bad leg. Another suplex countered, and reversed, which is great psychology, since Wicus would catch on by the third time. He kicks away with the “bad” leg, and hits a stiff neckbreaker. Arm breaker, but Gallows rolls though for some two counts. That leads to a pinfall reversal sequence, allowing both some two counts. Bulldog by Gallows, and they do a good fighting transition to the shed area, where Wicus tosses him into the shed. Wicus works the arm again, but Gallows reverses a hammerlock, and then reverse DDT’s him. Great sequence there, leading to a great spot. Both men barely beat the count back to their feet, and Gallows catches him with a right hand for two. Side suplex, but Wicus counters with a nice bulldog. Neckbreaking DDT, and he follows up with ANOTHER one, just because he CAN. Brainbuster hits, and an armbreaker follows. (That was quite a series of spots, considering the limitations of the environment)  He should cover more often, something he’d pick up later in his career. Series of kicks countered with a kick to the nuts by Gallows, and a legdrop. A poor looking axe kick hits, and he tries it again, but takes a hard spin kick. He still manages to drop him with a neckbreaker, getting two, and they do the “hair pull” for half the trip to the creek, and then brawl the rest of the way. Well, at least they caught themselves. Big splash by the creek, and again no cover from Wicus. Into the tree, and a big DDT. Randy Savage elbow off the hill hits for two, with J.D. going NUTS. He goes back to the bad knee, and hooks the figure four. Good man, Mike. Wicus escapes, and uses his educated feet, but what he really should do is educate his psychological base. Gallows counters this all with a nice piledriver, which gets him two, and he gets him with the Last Hour (think the Firing Line, only with Wicus’ head under Gallows’ arm). That gets Wicus a phenomenally close two, so he hooks the leg, and gets an equally close two. Gallows with a crucifix, but the knee gives out on Wicus, so they do it again for two. In this case, the repeating was fine, since Wicus’ knee has been worked on, and should have given out. Fameasser/pedigree combo hits, but Wicus has the balls to no sell it, and they fight back up to the main area. Weak bulldog by Gallows up there, so Wicus hits a spin heel kick to the knee. Arm breaker, so Mie breaks out with a low blow. Wicus still applies a chicken wing, but Mike rolls through, so Wicus rolls thorough too, and gets him in a straight jacket. Gallows never quits, however, rather passing out, and giving Wicus the title at 24:09. Good enough match up, although Wicus could use a lesson in selling. Had Wicus done a better job in that department, Gallows’ great psychology wouldn’t have went to waste, and I could probably add about ½* to the final tally. As is, ** ¾. (Yeah, this was really hurt by Wicus’ lapses in psychology, but they definitely had some great chemistry, and worked hard)

- General J.D. is in a pool (with a floating chair, and shades), with Wicus/Gallows sitting on the deck of the pool. From his pool-chair, J.D. conducts an interview with the tag champs, all while gradually floating away in the pool. This isn’t a particularly great interview bit, but it just incredibly hilarious for the camp value of seeing General J.D. floating around in the pool, while trying to conduct an interview. The original version features Jackal attacking J.D., and beating him up in the pool with foam noodles, and hitting a stunner in the water, but thankfully they can that bit out.

- PCW World Title Triple Threat Match: Wicus vs. Jackal vs. Matt Geru: Also from A New Level 2001. But since the event wasn’t taped all in the same week, Jackal has recovered, and this is for the vacant title. PCW fans have awaited a re-match between Geru and Jackal for the six months since the last one, and frankly, I think sticking Wicus in there is just overbooking it. Triple waistlock spot to start, and Wicus takes everyone down. Gallows is calling this one, BTW, and uses his natural charisma to do a fine job. Wicus with a fameasser on Geru, but Jackal spears Wicus, then grapevines him. Cloverleaf, but Geru makes the save. He hits a nice DDT on Jackal for two, so Jackal rakes the eyes. That draws Wicus in, so Jackal lariats him for being a smart ass, then chops away. Figure four from Jackal to Geru (with Gallows critiquing the hold, since it’s his signature move), and cheering Wicus on for kicking at Jackal. Jackal with the rolling cover on Geru for two, and he takes Wicus to school with a mat based headlock. Over to the creek, Jackal continues to beat up Wicus, but gets hooked in a leg lock. Jackal, offended that Wicus would work the leg, does his reverse STF, but Geru breaks it up with his trainwreck dive. That spot is so played. Everyone brawls some more, and Jackal hits a big frogsplash off the log. Wicus attacks, however, and gets Jackal’s two count on Matt. Over to the main land again, Jackal DDT’s Wicus. Jackal then ties Geru up in a tree, and pulls a Foley/Rock spot, and just CRACKS his head with the chair. It gets two, when Wicus breaks it up, and breaks JACKAL’S head with the chair. WICUS now covers Geru, getting two, and Jackal hits a move I’ve never seen before, that was set up like a reverse DDT, and ended like a regular version. Nice move, and crisply executed. Jackal with a neckbreaker on Geru for two, when Wicus saves. Why would you save him? (Because it’s not an elimination match!) Jackal with a DDT for Geru, but Wicus comes from behind, and reverse DDT’s Jackal! Arm breaker, but Geru takes both men out with the chair. Wicus recovers first, and neckbrekaers Jackal, then walks away (???). That allows Geru to snag a chair, and take Wicus out for being an idiot. He then puts the chair on Jackal’s head, and elbow drops him. Ouch. (That’s a shit-ton of chair shots so far in this one. I still can’t believe how lucky they were that no one got hurt)  Jackal and Wicus team up so superkick Geru, but Wicus takes Jackal out with kicks too! That gives Wicus an INCREDIBLY ludicrous trip to the shed, and they all just walk around for a while. Geru bulldogs Wicus, which brings in Jackal for a superkick on Matt for two. I swear, they need to go to a tag format for these things. Jackal tries to Russian leg sweep Wicus on the slide, but Geru interjects himself, and spears both through it. That gets two on Wicus, and then hits a weak pedigree for another two. Surfboard for Jackal, but Wicus makes the save, and then beats up Jackal too. Firing line for the commish, and a clothesline from Geru. Jackal decides to low blow his former tag partner, and then beats the crap out of his arm. That draws Wicus over to hit a firing line on Jackal, but it only gets two, thanks to Matt Geru. Jackal Michinoku drivers Wicus for two, when Geru pulls him off with the Million Dollar Dream. He breaks out, however, and gets Geru in the Martyrs cross. Wicus saves. Jackal with a superkick for Geru, and one for Wicus, but Wicus counters with two rolling DDT’s! Wow, that was cool! Geru does the “hair pull to the creek” spot with Jackal, but Jackal kicks his ass down there. Guillotine legdrop hits, but Wicus comes over with some kind of cane, and assaults both men. Clothesline gets two on Jackal, but Geru pops in with a DDT on the slide for Wicus. Okay, ouch. Jackal then gives him a taste of his own medicine, and DDT’s HIM on the slide. Bad atomic drop for Wicus, and he goes into a chinlock. A little late for that. Wicus with an atomic drop, but Geru nails him with a trash can, so Wicus goes all E.T. on him, puts on his hoodie, and DDT’s him. Jackal comes over with the Eddie Guerrero cradle on Wicus for two (impressive), so Geru stunners Jackal. Gallows is just loosing his voice on commentary by this point, by the way. S&M then re-form before our very eyes, and give Wicus a series of Dudley Death Drops, and then Jackal lays down for Geru, and Matt pins him to win the title at 28:12. Uh, why not just pin Wicus, since he was dead anyway? The match was WAY too long, but served its purpose in crowning a new world champ, and showing us that the break up of S&M was a ploy the whole time. Still, for the “finger poke” ending this could have been wrapped up in five minutes. If they would have pinned Wicus, then I could understand the extreme length, but as is, this match up is only so-so. ** ¼. (That was some seriously terrible booking)

- We now skip over everything from here (Summer 2001) to today (February/March 2002) since that entire period is covered in September Salvation, and Winter Warfare. I highly recommend checking those out.

- Commishinership vs. Career Match: Jackal vs. Wicus: From Snowed In 2002, in February. If Wicus wins, Jackal loses his commisinership, if Jackal wins, Wicus retires. And, as added intrigue to this one, the winner gets a last name. This took place on a bitterly cold day, and I remember that Wicus wasn’t particularly entusiatic to fight. (He was in no mood to go out there and do twenty minutes on a February day in Upstate New York, and frankly most of us weren’t jumping to either, but Jackal didn’t want to cancel the show, and managed to pull us all together. After that, the match sort of became a battle of wills to see who could make the best of the weather)  His performance doesn’t show that, however. They fly around to start, and Jackal’s power gets him a two count. Wicus with a hip toss for two, and they go to the test of strength. Wicus smartly places his leg behind Jackal’s, and bridges him over, then pops him up, and neckbreakers him. Jackal with a low blow, and a forward falling suplex for two. Multiple covers wear down Wicus, but he still applies a reverse arm breaker. Jackal rolls through for two, then drops him right on his head with a DDT. The reverse STF applied, but Wicus actually is able to roll over, and reverse the hold! Very impressive. Jackal with a spin doctor for two, so he hooks the leg back up for another two. Backbreaker, and then a tilt-a-whirl version for two. Wicus comes back with a rolling kick for two, and then his planting tornado DDT for two. A pinfall reversal sequence gives both men some two counts, and Jackal hits a stiff forward elbow drop. Wicus tries his DDT again, but gets spinebustered off, and Jackal hooks an arm breaker. Wicus resists submitting, and escapes, choking away on the commish. Speaking of “commish,” I miss that show! And I can’t find re-runs anywhere! (Fast Forward to 2014, and literally everything is available via Netflix, either streaming or on DVD)  Jackal with a single arm DDT, and then an arm bomb. Notice how Jackal is becoming more innovative in his arm work? Kudos for taking suggestions there, and doing a great job. Pin reversals again lead to the Martyrs cross, but Wicus rolls out for a two count. Jackal with a high knee, and a big superkick, but Wicus returns the favor. Legdrop, and we go a good fighting transition to the creek. Wicus with a big sunset flip for two, but Jackal makes him eat tree. Hard pedigree gets two, so he hits a guillotine elbow drop to kill him. Back to the main land, Wicus tries a piledriver, but gets picked up, and dropped right on his head with Jackal! Vicious spot there. It gets two, and another cover also gets two. Wicus powers up, and DDT’s him for two. He pounds the neck, and wrenches in a headlock, leading to a bulldog. THAT only gets two, so Jackal sweeps the leg out, and hooks a Texas cloverleaf, with Wicus crying “No, Dean Malenko!” the whole time A little silly for a guy in agony, no? (As great as he could be, the silliness at wrong times was Wicus’ weakness) Sidewalk slam by the big guy, and he sets up the spot he did with Geru, where he ties him up in the tree, and hits him with the chair. An otherwise great spot is ruined by a bad camera angle (the other one looked real, this one didn’t) and only gets two. DVD gets two. Big DDT gets two, but a Diamond cutter is blocked. Second try works for two (I love when they have to fight over spots), and he goes for another, but Wicus reverse DDT’s him for a few two counts, with Jackal bridging out of every pin! Wow! Backslide by Jackal for two, and they do a pin reversal sequence for some two counts. Neckbreaker by Jackal, and he hammers away, leaving Wicus on spaghetti legs. He comes back with a suplex for two, but misses a punch, and gets hooked in the Martyr’s cross. VERY crisp maneuver there. Wicus breaks out, only to get hooked back in, but finally DOES escape, and catches him with the Last Hour for a couple two counts! Firing line gets two, so Jackal hits a low blow, but Wicus escapes a powerbomb, then escapes a suplex, then escapes a tombstone! Wicus then hits a fisherman’s buster, and gets the win at 20:03. Afterwards, Wicus hands the commisionership over to J.D., since he doesn’t think a wrestler should be commissioner. Terrific, terrific match, and easily the best PCW/HWF match I’VE ever seen. Just under the elusive 5-star mark, and easily a classic. **** ¾. And, to think, it was THIS close to not going down that day. Thank G-D they decided to do it, because it paid out in spades! (Incredible how much better Wicus got over that year. The weather may have also ended up helping them in the long run, as it forced them to stay on point, and not overstay their welcome, as PCW matches during this period often tended to do)

- PCW Tag Team Title Match: Mike Gallows & Wicus vs. Omega & Jackal: From PCW T.V., March 2002. Genocide was supposed to be Jackal’s tag partner here, but he no-showed (thank G-D), so General J.D. appoints new comer Omega as Jackal’s tag partner. Omega, of course, beat Jackal the week before this (see Winter Warfare), and this is only his second PCW match. Gallows and Omega start out, and Gallows and they trade moves. Omega makes his bones in there, and cradles Mike for two. Overhead armdrag, and a seated dropkick hit, and Jackal gets the tag. He goes to work on Gallows, and beats the hell out of the arm. He does a great job of cutting the ring in half, too. Elbow drop misses, and Gallows gets right on him, as they trade mat holds. Jackal fights to apply the Boston crab, and once he finally does it, Wicus comes in with a superkick. They drag him to their corner, and beat him up over there. Official tag to Wicus, who leg locks him. Jackal reverses into a reverse arm breaker, however, then a regular version. Wicus hits a quick blow, and makes the tag to Gallows, so lariats Jackal for two. Suplex fails, however, and Jackal cradles him for two. He works the arm, but Mike makes the Owen Hart escape, and works Jackal’s leg. Figure four (in his own corner), and Wicus runs in to apply an arm breaker at the same time! Omega breaks it up, however. It clears out, and we have Jackal vs. Wicus, and Jackal pedigrees him for two, saved by Gallows. Single arm DDT by Jackal, and he tags Omega. See, he TAKES WICUS WITH HIM. Omega with a DDT, and works the leg. Inverted figure four, but Wicus rolls through for two. Neckbreaker, and a surfboard stretch, but Jackal makes the save. Tag to Mike, who clotheslines Omega right away. Suplex gets two, and a neckbreaker gets two. Piledriver, but Omega sweeps out, and Boston crabs him. Jackal reverse arm breakers him at the same time (see the poetic justice), but Wicus breaks it up. Omega with a superkick for two, and Gallows with a crucifix for two. Omega cutter (basically a neckbreaker, while hooking the arm gets two), and Jackal tags in. Powerbomb, but Gallows sweeps the leg, and Sharpshooters him. Omega breaks it up, and Gallows crawls for his corner, but Jackal drags him right back to be a bad ass. That forces Gallows to take the knee out, and lunge for his corner, but Jackal stops him again! I love these guys! Snapmare into a body vice, but Gallows snapmares out for two! Jackal nails him, and sells the knee injury by limping around when hitting an elbow drop. A second misses, however, but Gallows is too far from the corner. He wrenches the arm for a few two counts, but Gallows rolls in for a two count of his own. Jackal keeps selling the knee while pulling Gallows around, but gets atomic crotched on a chair. Atomic drop now, and Gallows kicks at the knee. He dropkicks it, but Jackal moves, only to get crucifixed for two. Jackal with a pedigree, but Mike low blows, and finally makes the tag to Wicus! Planting DDT gets two, and the Firing Line gets another two. Low blow, and Jackal tries the Razor’s Edge, but Gallows saves, and Wicus clips the knees. They hook a double arm breaker, but in comes Omega. He tags Jackal, and then Russian leg sweeps Gallows. Mike returns the favor with his own, so Jackal runs in with big DDT. In comes Wicus, so Omega somersault clotheslines him. We have Jackal vs. Gallows now, and Jackal works the arm. Slam, but Gallows hits his axe kick. Great Rock Bottom, and the tag to Wicus. Overhead arm drag by the champ, and the brainbusting dragon sleeper. Great spot there. Bulldog into his own corner, and the tag to Gallows. Jackal quickly DDT’s Gallows, however, and everyone comes in now. Jackal with a victory roll on Mike for two, and Omega tornado DDT’s Wicus. Wicus vs. Jackal now, and Jackal tries the Razor’s Edge again, but Gallows saves again, and they take out the knee … again. Omega’s in, but killed with a face plant. Cool. Fameasser/pedigree combo puts an exclamation on him, and they spike piledriver Jackal. Sharpshooter (with a little too much silliness from the faces), along with Wicus hooking a camel clutch, and they win at 26:00. Quite the tag match there, with all four guys knowing what they’re doing in a ring, (Or ‘ring’)  and just busting their ass for twenty-six minutes. Psychology paid off, too, and (my favorite part) they stayed IN the ring area the whole time. No need for contrived brawls to the creek or the shed. They just did the old school, classic tag team formula, and it worked out tremendously for them. It’s also an instance where such a long length HELPED the match, not hurt it, like in earlier contests. ****. (Awesome formula tag match, perhaps the best PCW ever did)

- Bottom Line: Well, that’s it. Even the stuff that wasn’t good, as a match, had a reason to be on this tape, and when they wrestled, THEY WRESTLED. The last two matches alone make this worth the price, so I’d run over to www.pcw.itgo.com, and snag yourself a copy while you can! Other than Genocide’s debut, and maybe the highlight reel at the start, this is just tremendous, and does what is should: chronicle PCW’s history!

- Highly Recommend.