HITMAN383 Rant for PCW Winter Warfare 2001/2002

- The HITMAN383 Rant for PCW “Winter Warfare.” This is essentially a “best of” tape of everything after September Salvation 2001 until March 2002, which I like to call “winter warfare” for obvious reasons. (This was originally written in the spring of 2002)

- For those not familiar, I recommend starting by reading the “September Salvation 2001” 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 Jtime, 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 over the course of six months at the PCW arena.

- Your Hosts are a number of people, but mostly General J.D.

- Mike Gallows vs. Jackal: Music runs over the match, as opposed to commentary, because the announcers decided to get silly, and hurt what is likely to be a fine match. By “silly,” I mean things like saying when a spot gets called on camera. That’s bush league, and the wrestlers didn’t appreciate it at all. They fight over an early pin, and Jackal hits a series of cradles, but Gallows counters with a series of bridges. Jackal finally gets sick of his efforts, and hits a reverse DDT. Hennig neck snap, and starts working the arm. Russian leg sweep weakens Mike, and he keeps working the arm. Slugfest won by Gallows, and he atomic drops him. Quick suplex gets two, so Jackal simply plants him with a DDT to get two. He works the arm some more, with nothing too inspirational. (‘Inspirational?’) Gallows sells it all like a champ, however, a major highpoint in all PCW matches. Selling of offense. They fight over a suplex, but Jackal gets pissed that he can’t hook the move, and opts to hit a nice neckbreaker instead. Gallows comes back with a low blow, and tries for the figure four. They add a nice touch by struggling to apply the hold, but Jackal won’t fully sell it. That’s actually GOOD psychology at this juncture in the bout, since Gallows hasn’t been working the leg. Gallows apparently realizes this, and decides to work the leg now. Wrong order, but I appreciate the effort. Jackal doesn’t, however, and hits a single arm DDT to put the efforts back on the left arm. He pounds that for a while, which draws Gallows into a chop fest. Mike wins with a stiff looking DDT, but hurts his own arm on the execution. I love when wrestlers DON’T forget injuries three seconds after they happen. Piledriver, but Jackal backdrops out for two. They fight over to the shed, where Jackal rams him arm/shoulder first into it. Nice touch, since most wrestlers would just throw him back first into there. Not Jackal. Gallows comes back with a stiff leg drop (where his shoe hits him square in the nose), and then a stiffer bulldog. Man, Jackal is CRAZY for taking that shit. (They could work stiff at times, but they were easily the two best workers in the promotion, and were the safest by leaps and bounds) It all gets two, so he hits an axe kick. The problem was they took a ridiculously long time to set it up, and made it look goofy, with Jackal being hunched over for a while. They do it again, but it only gets two, so he hooks the leg, but Jackal kicks out anyway. Nice touch, again. Anklelock applied, so Jackal kicks out, then limps over to hit a splash. Powerbomb, but Gallows escapes, and hooks the Sharpshooter. Jackal rolls through with it, however, and applied his own leg lock. Suplex on the slide, where Jackal does a 180 degree rotation before dumping him. Pretty neat spot, there. Jackal goes for some head shots, which Gallows blocks with the bad arm, so Jackal hooks a cross face chicken wing (called the Martyrs Cross) for the submission at 13:12. Again, see how the arm work paid off in the end. B-eautiful. As usual with these two, quite the match up. *** ½  (These two had some crazy chemistry, and could always be counted on to put on the best matches. I would have legitimately loved to see these two work in an actual ring, because while they would be quickly exposed in there with a pro, against each other it would be one hell of a match)

- Technical Execution (Mike Gallows and Wicus) cut a promo where they throw apples at trees to signify their hatred for the Triple Threat. These two have an EXCELLENT chemistry together, and their goofy routine is unmatched. And why does it work? Because they can back it up in the ring. (They were hilarious together, as giving two kids with chemistry a camcorder and letting them riff is better than all the overly scripted bullshit we get in the WWE today)

- Jackal comes out, and challenges Mad Dog. See, he’s pissed that he attacked him the week before at September Salvation, and wants his ass now. That draws out Mad Dog, and we get …

- Jackal vs. Mad Dog: I believe this is Dog’s first match. (Yep) Dog is a house of fire to start, and kicks his ass, despite being half as big. Bulldog, and a suplex follows up. He gets caught in a fameasser, however, and hooked in a leg lock. He switches to his signature, arm work, with the usual (arm bars, and hitting the arm). They fight down to the creek, where Jackal tries a powerbomb, but gets tripped up. Poor looking Boston crab applied by Dog, which only serves to piss Jackal off, so he hits a falling piledriver. “Hit” is used loosely here, however. It gets two anyway, but Mad Dog throws him into the slide, as the commentators have a funny conversation over what the slide is made out of. Jackal comes back with an armbar, but gets hit with a jawbreaker. Atomic drop follows, and they fight back to the main area. Baseball slide leg drop, so Jackal takes him down, and hits the head shots. Mad Dog counters by hooking the camel clutch, but he can’t keep the hold on because of the size difference, so he opts to kick him in the head. Jackal sells some punches like he’s Curt Hennig, then hits a facebuster to allow someone else to sell. Arm work again, all which leads to an extremely contrived reversal spot, where Jackal gets thrown into the shed. At that speed, and that distance, it is WAY unbelievable, however. (Yeah, the distance was like the steamroller scene from the first Austin Powers) Suplex by Mad Dog, but he gets dragged down to the creek. Comment: If you want to travel, do it with transitions, such as brawling over, but simply grabbing a guys head and dragging him is a bad transition. (Not like the pros were doing it any better) Jackal sets up a see-saw with the slide, and jumps on one end, letting the other bash Mad Dog in the head. Ouch. Busts him open, to, hardway. (Surprisingly, that was the only time anyone got busted open hardway (or otherwise)) Rolling splash gets two, and they do the hair drag transition back to the main area. Double shoulderbreaker (as in he hits it, then lifts him up an hits it again!!), leaves Dog for dead. Jackal then wipes the blood off his face, and paints his own with it! Now THAT’S a cold hearted, bad ass heel. The announcers don’t know what to make of it, either. (Yeah, I remember that. They just went silent because THIS KID JUST PAINTED HIS FACE WITH THAT KID’S BLOOD) Martyrs cross, but Mad Dog comes back with some loose punches. Clothesline misses, however, and he DDT’s him. Dog tries the spear, so Jackal leap frogs, only to get hit on the return, and pinned at 11:39. Decent enough match, although I could have done without the transitions they used. Another note: The more I watch Jackal, the more I like him. But, I am inclined to observe, that he needs to come up with new arm working techniques, since his current method is becoming cliché if you watch a bunch of his matches in succession. Overall, ¾* (Mad Dog wasn’t very good at this point, but he showed promise (and was willing to bump like a mad MAN), but sadly never had the opportunity to improve before the promotion fell apart)

- Jackal comes out, and uses his power as commissioner to strip Genocide of the T.V. title, and hand it over to the newest member of the Triple Threat, Hardcore Harry Moore. Moore comes out, and they’re about to cut a promo, when a certain familiar music kicks in, and we get …

- Jackal & Harry Moore vs. Mike Gallows & Wicus: Gallows and Moore start out, and Moore busts his balls off the bat by trying the figure four. (Moore was an average sized guy who didn’t really stand out physically, but was always game to try and work a match, and learn new spots. He probably could have gotten really good had he stuck with it, but he was the promotions equivalent of a part-timer) That just pisses Gallows off, so he decks him, only to get hit with the enzuiguri. Rana, and a couple Tajiri-like kick, and both men tag. Jackal hits a deep armdrag, but gets caught in a Japanese version, and Wicus DDT’s him. Slugfest won with a series of headbutts by Wicus, and a kick to the head lays him out. Jackal comes back with a stiff DDT, landing him right on his forehead. He goes to his specialty, working the arm, and uses some poetic justice, by using headbutts to weaken him. Moore tags in, and hits a nice bulldog for two, only to get hooked into an armbar. Jackal, pissed that someone else would work the arm, breaks it up. Moore makes the mistake of fighting towards the face corner, and gets himself bulldogged. Note to all wrestlers: in a tag match, ALWAYS cut the ring in half, and keep it in your corner. Gallows tags in, and hooks a chinlock. Well, that’s not like him. It’s short, however, as he lets off, and opts to just deck him a couple times. Harry comes back with a dropkick, but instead of dragging him to the other end of the ring area, hits the a splash is Gallows’ own corner. That allows Wicus to make a save, and Mike to hit a suplex for two. At least the faces are smart enough to play out the fact that Moore isn’t using solid tag team psychology. Gallows ankle locks him, while keeping it in his own corner, AND facing the heel corner. That way he can see if Jackal is coming in. That’s note #2 to all tag wrestlers: face the opposing corner as often as possible when doing holds, especially heel corners. Wicus tags in, and goes to work, but gets kneed in the gut, and Jackal tags in. They hit a double Russian leg sweep, and Jackal DDT’s him IN THE HEEL CORNER. He has the psychology, you see. Falling piledriver misses by a mile, but gets two. I don’t like that spot. Wicus tries one of his own, but gets backdropped, only to turn it into a sunset flip for two. That just pisses Jackal off, so he hooks an STF. That draws both men’s partners in, and we have a brawl! Wicus stiffly DDT’s Jackal, and hooks the Crippler Crossface, all while facing the heel corner. More still breaks it up, and attacks with a 2x4, but gets kicked in the head instead. Gallows is in, and a double atomic drop/double bulldog knocks Jackal out. Moore gets a figure four/arm breaker combo, but Jackal breaks it up. Gallows takes him out, and gets two, only to get put in an arm breaker. Wicus is still legal, however, so he runs over, and kicks Jackal in the eye. Enter Moore, to kill off Wicus with a crossface, as Gallows hits the axe kick on Jackal for two. Jackal comes back with some shots to the knee, and a rolling leg lock. Sweet spot there. Wicus breaks THAT one up, and we have a Gallows/Jackal slugfest. Mike wins, and suplexes him. He takes too much time to capitalize, however, and Jackal DDT’s him. He then goes to make the tag to Moore, but leaves Gallows mid-ring to do it. Note #3: always take the opponent with you when you tag. It allows you to sneak in some double team action, and also allows you to keep him at bay more realistically. Moore hooks a half-crab, anyway, while Jackal armbars him. Wicus saves, and hits Jackal with the firing line (falling chin crusher). The faces hit a double suplex on Harry for two, and pound his knee. Gallows Sharpshooters him, while Wicus hooks a camel clutch, so Jackal breaks it up. Wicus takes a stunner, then the fameasser, and a rolling splash. He’s not legal, so no cover, however. Wicus recovers pretty quickly from three big move, and they all to the “hair pull walk” to the creek. Gallows nails Moore with a frog splash down there for two, as Wicus hooks Jackal in a tarantula-like abdominal stretch. Note #4: even though it doesn’t apply to this situation, whenever you hook a hold like an abdominal stretch, ALWAYS use your partner (or ring ropes) for added leverage. Moore breaks up the hold, but eats kick from Wicus. Meanwhile, Jackal hits a SICK guillotine legdrop on Gallows, only to get atomic dropped. Quite the sequence, there. Wicus hits a flying legdrop on Jackal next, and then a rolling kick for Hardcore. Jackal snags the slide (!!), and sets it up on the log as a see-saw, only to get suplexed “on” it by the faces. He just barely hits it, however. Harry joins us with a train-wreck dice, taking out Wicus, and Jackal stomach breakers Gallows. Another one, and Wicus makes the save. Double clothesline for Jackal, so Moore attacks with a dropkick for Wicus. Moore then hits an IMPRESSIVE frog splash (with height AND distance) to pin Wicus at 19:56. Entertaining match there, although I question the need for tags anymore. Since at all just turns into a tornado match, anyway, why even bother tagging, unless you wrestle the whole match that way. Still, great action, although the psychology lagged a little bit. Then again, in the tornado style match (like it turned into) psychology means shit. *** ½. (I remember this match, and it was really good for what it was)

- Wicus and Gallows come out, in the snow-covered arena, and let their antics serve as some comedic relief. That draws out Jackal, but we have no sound anymore, so I have no clue what’s going on. Either way, that leads to …

- Jackal vs. Mike Gallows vs. Genocide: Still no sound, but I gather that Wicus is the ref for this, since he’s still there, but not fighting. Genocide also has not shown up yet. They fight over a wristlock to start, and both men impress me by doing FULL bridges (think The Rock) to the ground, then powering back up. They fight over a waistlock next, and Gallows takes him down into a front facelock, but Jackal turns it into an armbar. He keeps the hurt on the arm/shoulder area, so Gallows turns it into a headlock, only to get put in an arm breaker. I totally dig these two. Gallows fights his way out of the hold, and hooks a front facelock, only to take a VICIOUS atomic drop. In comes Genocide, however, and beats the shit out of Jackal for stripping him of the T.V. title, but takes the Hennig-next snap. He doesn’t sell that right, however, so Gallows comes over to show him how to properly sell a move. Genocide nails Jackal with a cookie sheet a couple times, and then dropkicks it in his face, in a ludicrously contrived spot. I mean, Jackal basically put it on his face for him. Mike attacks Genocide from behind, and works the leg. Leg lock, so Jackal comes out, and arm breakers Gallows! Now THAT’S a cool sequence, since they didn’t forget the arm injury from earlier. They work eachother over for a while, getting back into the groove they had going before Genocide arrived, until he pops back in, and DDT’s Gallows. That prompts Jackal to put Genocide in an STF, so Gallows throws snow at his head. That actually gets a two count, so Jackal hits a stomach breaker on him for two. Genocide with a senton splash for two on Jackal, so Gallows works his leg some more. Looks like Gallows has completely forgotten the arm injury. Jackal joins us with a gutwrench stomach breaker for Mike, and a few Tajiri kicks. Gallows dropkicks him for two, and then enzuiguris him. Genocide then comes back in with kicks. Notice how the others keep trying to get away from Genocide, but he keeps injecting himself? It happens again, too, as Jackal/Gallows work some submissions, and Genocide is off to the side somewhere. Gallows with a crucifix for two, and Jackal with his own for another two. He manages to DDT Genocide, and then whack referee Wicus with a cookie sheet. He gets right up from it, however, but a DDT puts him down. One for Gallows, too, since Jackal is a sharing kind of guy. Pedigree for Wicus on the sheet, which makes little sense, since he can’t win without a ref, and DQ’s don’t really happen anyway. Jackal takes Gallows out again with the slide, but misses an elbow drop. Axe kick from Mikey, and Genocide tries to re-enter, which pisses Gallows off so much, he pops him one. Looked stiff, too. Jackal tries a slam, but Gallows does a counter I’ve never seen before, and bridges to his feet. He then cradles suplexes Jackal for two, as another ref joins us. Genocide tries again to get involved, so Gallows throws a cookie-sheet at his head, and legitimately freaks him out. (Nothing like a player who’s afraid of the ball) Jackal takes a piledriver, and Genocide SNEAKS in with the cookie sheet in question, and whacks Gallows. That earns him a backbreaker from Jackal, possibly a shot at the fact that Genocide does almost nothing BUT backbreakers. He still manages to hit Jackal with a Japanese bulldog, and works Mike down with the cookie sheet. Dropkick for Jackal, and he tears Jackal’s pants off, in anger. Jackal responds with a STIFF kick to the gut, looking like he REALLY hurt the guy. (Jackal could have a temper, and God help you if you were on the wrong end of one of his knee-jerk reactions) He then follows up with a series of less stiff kicks, as Genocide looks to be asking to job out. Diamond Cutter, but no cover, instead, he has a slugfest with Gallows. Mike wins that particular contest, and Russian leg sweeps him. Re-enter Wicus, to DDT Jackal (nobody takes DDT like Jackal!), but referee Mick Moo (The official PCW referee) gets in the way, so Wicus takes HIM out. Genocide puts the slide on Gallows, and hits his senton splash on it (an impressive spot) to get the Moo counted pin at 22:30. The refs play rock-paper-scissors to decide who finishes the match, which Wicus wins. Genocide kicks Jackal’s ass, but gets hits with a Russian leg sweep. Jackal goars him into the shed, but gets monkey-flipped. Genocide tries the Japanese bulldog again, but gets dropped flat on his face, then take a falling forward suplex! He counters a second with a snap suplex, and tries a rana, but gets thrown off, and locked in the Martyrs Cross, but Mick Moo feels resentful, and attacks Wicus, then gets the submission himself at 25:55. Okay. Afterwards, Jackal kills Wicus. Pretty lengthy contest, there, but the ending sequence rocked! I could have done without Genocide’s presence, but he didn’t drag the match TOO far down. ** ½ (Genocide was so, so, so terrible (to the point where he had to be booked in multi-man matches just as an attempt to disguise it), and dragged down what would have likely been another very good Jackal/Gallows match, though Jackal carried him though a good bit at the end)

- Four Corners Match: Jackal vs. Wicus vs. Mad Dog vs. Ben Dover: Still no sound..Mad Dog’s first with Jackal, and Jackal hits a Diamond Cutter off the bat, which draws out Wicus, but get gets hit with a backbreaker. Ben Dover (a DEAD ON Chris Jericho) then joins us, and sticks to fighting Dog for a while. (Dover ended up going pro with the NWA in New York, and still wrestles a lot like Jericho) He gets suplexed, as Jackal Russian leg sweeps Wicus. Dover with a great powerbomb on Mad Dog (whose “I’m dead” selling style works great with the spot), and he hits Jackal with three rolling-suplexes (the third of which is a forward falling version). Meanwhile, Wicus hits Mad Dog with a gutwrench stomach breaker, and then a sloppy gutwrench suplex. (The stomach breaker was basically a botched gutwrench suplex, which he then repeated) Dog comes back with a sloppy snap suplex, and applies a camel clutch. Meanwhile, Jackal works Dover’s arm, but gets hit with a great looking stunner to counter. That only serves to anger Jackal, however, who hits a reverse DDT. Rolling splash connect, so Mad Dog comes over, and suplexes him. They change partners, and Wicus greets his new partner (Ben) with a neckbreaker. Everyone then brawls to the creek, where Mad Dog hits an atomic drop. Dover joins the fray with a train-wreck dive, but hurts himself too, so Wicus attacks. Dog eats chops from Jackal, to subdue him, and he helps Dover beat on Wicus. That doesn’t last, however, as Dover DDT’s him. Wicus then returns the favor by teaming with Mad Dog to fight Jackal, but they turn on eachother in about three seconds. Back to the main land, Jackal hits Dover with the falling piledriver, which Dover doesn’t properly sell. Partner switches leads to Jackal/Wicus, and Dover/Mad Dog. Both heels dominate their opponents, then fight eachother. Dover misses a goofy rolling splash, that was incredibly contrived to begin with, and makes himself look terrible. The timing was way off there, which was Jackal’s fault, but the goofy-ness of the spot was Ben’s fault. (I wouldn’t have pegged him as one of the guys out of this group who would go pro, but he improved a ton) He redeems himself with a nice superkick, however, but then nearly kills Wicus with a sloppy Samoan drop. Dog hits a chin crusher on a chair for Jackal (in a terrific spot), as Wicus/Dover kick eachother with each shot missing by two-feet. This is breaking down. Mad Dog viciously clotheslines Jackal, meanwhile, and everyone fights to the shed. I think a partner switch is necessary now. As if hearing me, Dover superkicks Dog for two, and Wicus hooks his abdominal stretch on Jackal. Good senses by the wrestlers there. Everyone takes a suplex, and Jackal hooks a chinlock on Dog, so Wicus comes up and hooks one on him! Spear from Dog to Jackal, and a springboard legdrop to Wicus from Dover! Side suplex from Dover to Dog, so Wicus superkicks a chair in his face! Everyone is ON right now! Jackal then hits a tombstone on a chair for Mad Dog, which Dover sneaks in to cover from for two. That pisses Jackal off, so Ben eats shed. Another tombstone on the chair, and Jackal pins Mad Dog at 16:23. Dover responds by superkicking a chair at Jackal, is another contrived spot. Dropkick for Wicus, and a forward Russian leg sweep for Jackal. Wicus tries to powerbomb Ben, but gets rana’d, and he finally hits his contrived rolling splash on Wicus to pin him at 17:47. Jackal is feeling good, and tries a powerbomb of his own, but they mess up, and Jackal lets him down. They then repeat the spot, which was intended to be Dover escaping with a DDT on the chair. The spot was great, but violated the #1 rule of wrestling: Never, EVER, EVER repeat a spot. EVER. If something goes wrong, do something else. Arrogant, single finger cover gets two, and Jackal tombstones him on the chair to end it … WAIT, NO it only gets two!! Dragon sleeper, but Dover flips out of it, and hits a reverse DDT in the momentum for TWO! Superkick misses, so Jackal applies the Myrtars cross to get the win at 20:15. Pretty good match, although it had its flaws. ***.

- Mike Gallows comes out, as we get sound back for the first time in a LONG while. He complains about getting the shaft at almost every PPV, despite being a top superstar. Can’t argue with that one, really. He blames commissioner Jackal, of course, which draws him out. Jackal says Gallows doesn’t have what it takes to be a main eventer, but Jackal feels like being nice, so he brings out Matt Geru (the world champion) to fight Gallows, then and there. What a generous guy!

- Mike Gallows vs. Matt Geru: Slugfest to start, which no one really wins, so they decide to fight over a hammerlock. No one wins that one, either, so Mike “hits” an enzuiguri. He misses by about two feet on that one. He works the arm, but Geru simply sweeps the legs out, and pounds him. Stun gun (but instead of hitting ropes, he hits the ground!), (So, basically, a flapjack?) and then Geru throws him head first into a propped up chair! He works the arm, so Gallows returns the favor, and sweeps the leg out! Commentator Bruce notes it, too, which is hindsight you don’t see often in wrestling commentary. Geru throws him into a tree to respond, and hits a weak DDT on some boards. A splash off some logs gets two, although it was a very weak bump. Gallows, so offended, drops him with a Russian leg sweep for two. General J.D. is really hyped up for this one, too, and it’s funny to listen to him, offset by the very mellow Bruce. Good looking slam by the world champion, and he starts pounding the knee. A modified STF keeps the hurt on the knee, and Gallows sells it by limping around after. More knee pounding, so Gallows hits a neckbreaker. He keeps selling the knee injury, all while trying to kick away at Matt, to Geru clips the legs. He still manages to throw him into the shed, but his knee gives out, so he crawls around for a while. That allows Geru to recover, and dropkick the knee. Bulldog, but Gallows fights back, and hits the axe kick with the bad leg, and sells the pain. Nice. He still gets two out of it, and then piledrivers him for two. He hooks the leg for another two, and hits another neckbreaker. He hooks a knee-to-neck chinlock, with the bad knee, which makes no sense. That spot should have been avoided, since they could accomplish the same point with a chinlock. They fight over to the creek, where a slugfest ensues. Geru wins by kicking the knee, and then viciously pounds on it. Springboard clothesline by Matt for two, so he covers again for two. I like the multiple attempt covers, since (especially late in a match), it is a good wear down move, forcing your opponent to expend the energy to kick out, even if you think you can’t get him. Forward Russian leg sweep, and a bulldog/stunner off the log kills Mikey, but Geru is pretty expended at this point, too. Slugfest on the log, and Geru wins with an x-factor to the ground for the pin at 15:23. Afterwards, Jackal comes back out, and they do a beatdown. As for the match, it was going well, with some great psychology, but it was all for nothing, since the finish had nothing to do with Gallows’ bad left leg. Would it have killed them to end in a figure four (with the irony that it’s one of Gallows’ signature moves)? Or to have Gallows apply the hold, only to have it reversed on him? That definitely hurt the match, which otherwise was pretty good. ** ¼, which is about ¾* less than if the psychology went somewhere. (This sounds like a giant style clash, but Gallows was always game at getting a good match out of anyone, even if he had to drag it out of them)

- General J.D. (who is now the commissioner of PCW) comes out to the arena with referee Mick Moo, both of which are WHITE, WHITE guys, playing black guys, complete with the NOD’s music. They lay down the law in PCW, making a bunch of “new rules” that stop people like the Triple Threat from using foreign objects, as the camera man gets silly with extreme close-ups, and flipping the camera. Short, and to the point (as it should have been), but the bush league camera work hurt the impact of the message.

- Backstage, Jackal retorts to the new rules, sighting that maybe J.D. should focus on more important things, like the stagnant tag team division in PCW. That draws the General into the basement (of Jackal’s house, AKA the PCW Arena) with him to promise the enforcement of the new rules. This whole thing is just BEGGING for Jackal to turn face, and J.D. heel. It’s against human nature, otherwise. Funniest moment of the interview: Jackal is talking about how he doesn’t need certain weapons to take out his opponents, and (in a serious tone of voice) goes “I don’t need, THE SLIDE, to take out Mike Gallows.” Funny, although I’m not sure it was supposed to be.

- Back out to the arena, J.D. comes back out, doing his hilarious little nation walk, and fist-in-the-air pose. He continues to talk about the new rules, which draws out The Artist, who is literally a Dusty Rhodes lookalike. As if the world needed ANOTHER Dusty Rhodes. (Not to worry, I think that guy lasted for all of one show) He promises that very soon, a new superstar, named “Omega” will invade the PCW, and destroy everyone. What they needed for this bit, in my opinion, is a guy who can work the mic (like Jackal or Wicus) to come out, and sell this new guy. But Dusty, and J.D. trying to be serious, with the camera man not playing along, makes it all seem wrong. J.D.: “I’m not sure if I can resist Omega!” Okay, never knew J.D.

- Backstage again, Mike Gallows is hanging out in a Wendy’s shirt, and Wicus shows up with a birth certificate for Jackal. They make fun of Jackal (complete with baby pictures, and crazy expressions), and then go into a rant about the Ultimate Warrior’s state-of-mind. These two are absolutely magnetic together, and I could literally watch THEM for two hours on tape, and not get bored. In fact, they once did a thirty minute interview, of them just hanging out backstage at PCW, and it was one of the funniest things ever. Gallows: “We don’t focus. Because focUS is about US, but here, it’s about me … and Wicus … but mostly me.” These two are hilarious, and again, it WORKS because they can work IN THE RING too.

- Back out to the arena, J.D. and Moo come out with the new PCW world title belt, and show it off. (AKA a Figures Inc replica of the WCW Title, provided by yours truly)

- Triple Threat Match: Mike Gallows vs. Jackal vs. Wicus: Gallows and Wicus start off by trying to bribe referee Mick Moo (or as commentator Big Ben (me!) seems to be fond of calling him “Big Moo”) with sexual favors, including grabbing his ass. These two are hilarious. Three-way tie up to start, and Wicus accidentally superkicks Gallows, but they quickly take out, and work Jackals’ arm. They fight eachother next, since J.D. has threatened to strip them of the tag titles if they don't fight. My strategy? Eliminate Jackal, then fight eachother. Gallows with a suplex on Wicus for two, but there’s Jackal to beat the shit out of him. Wicus with a stiff DDT on Jackal (as only they can do), and then a neckbreaker on his tag team partner. He misses a kick by a good five feet to Jackals’ head, but he sells it anyway. Like I’ve said before: if it misses by that much, no sell it. Jackal with a stomach breaker on Gallows, and another one, so Wicus comes in to make the save. That gets him DDT’d, and Jackal tries a Boston crab on Gallows, so Wicus hooks a dragon sleeper. Gallows breaks it up (why?), and hits a Russian leg sweep on Wicus (which is all the way from the USSR, you know?), as Jackal sets something up in the corner. Wicus takes both men out, and does a pinfall reversal sequence with Gallows for a few two counts. Jackal snags a cookie sheet, meanwhile, and whacks both guys with it. Next, he tries to throw Wicus into a chair set up in the corner, but gets reversed. Wicus with a camel clutch, but Gallows quickly breaks it up, and works the knee. Okay, WHY? Why would you want Jackal to stay in? Neckbreaker for Wicus gets two, and they do another pinfall reversal sequence. Meanwhile, Jackal sets up the chair in the corner again, and hits a STIFF slingshot into the tree into it with Gallows. Ouch. That gets two, since Jackal pulls him up. Tombstone on the chair next, but it only gets two! Wicus with a series of chops to the neck to Jackal, but takes a backbreaker. They fight by the shed for a while, as Gallows starts climbing the shed in the background. They then go over to a convenient area so Mike can do a trainwreck spot on them. It looked good enough, but was a bit contrived. It gets two on Jackal, when Wicus saves. WHY?? Wicus takes both men down with a microphone, and then suplexes Gallows. He decks Jackal next, in a shot so hard his pants fall off, so he tries to powerbomb him, but Gallows saves. Wicus is so grateful he hits the Firing line on Gallows, and then on Jackal. It gets two off of Jackal, and Wicus gets hooked in the Martyrs cross. Gallows saves, tearing apart any psychology in this one. Wicus takes everyone out with a chair, and hits a fisherman’s buster on Jackal to eliminate him at 14:38. Handshake by the tag champs, and they go into a test-of-strength, where Gallows bridges all the way to the ground for a couple two counts, but still comes back up! Owen Hart-counter to escape, and the axe kick gets two. Wicus with a forward Russian leg sweep, and he hooks a straight jacket (the very hold he beat Gallows with months earlier), but Gallows fights out! Two piledrivers look to finish, but only gets two! The neuce (pedigree into a fameasser) hits, however, and gives Mike Gallows the win at 18:24. Psychology was at ZERO in this one, but it was good for what it was: a spotfest. ***.

- Triple Threat Match: Jackal vs. Wicus vs. Ben Dover: This is basically the same as an earlier match, only without Mad Dog. Or, like the above, only with Dover instead of Gallows. Dover and Wicus start alone, and essentially do arm bars. So much for a hot start. Wicus misses a superkick, so Dover hits his own, and a clothesline gets him down. Rolling suplexes gets to two, and they do a reversal sequence, all which leads to Dover hitting a fameasser. Great spot. Jackal joins us, and takes out Wicus, only to have Dover hook a headlock. Jackal counters into a hammerlock, but gets hit with a GREAT looking stunner. Clothesline for Wicus, so Jackal headlocks Dover to return the favor. Ben’s all “You don’t have a receipt,” however, and side suplexes him. Dragon sleeper for Wicus, and Jackal kicks him in the balls, because HE CAN. Boston crab, but Jackal is sick of this teamwork bullshit, and drops him on his head. It gets two, a fact that commentator Big Ben acknowledges before it even happened. Yeah, that’s not bush league at all there, Big Ben. Wicus with a DDT on Jackal, and one for Dover. Slugfest between Dover/Jackal, won by Dover (!), and Wicus DDT’s Jackal again for two, which Dover saves with a terrific baseball slide. DDT for Wicus, so Jackal DDT’s Dover and gets two. He then does one of my favorite spots: the multiple covers. Wicus with a superkick for Dover, and he takes out Jackal, so he and Dover can have a private war. Good. Dover hits a suplex to start, and works the arm. Hey, if you’re gonna do a spotfest, DO A SPOTFEST, don’t bother with psychology then. It’s either a psychological battle, or a spotfest … no middle ground. It leads to goodness, however, as Jackal and Wicus hook a double arm breaker on Ben. Wicus then locks a dragon sleeper on Jackal, but Ben saves with a great clothesline. Nice dropkick follows, as Dover’s stock rises before our very eyes. Jackal back with a backbreaker for Wicus, which he locks into a submission backbreaker, but Dover breaks it up. Neckbreaker for Wicus, and a rana for Jackal gets two. Chopfest between Jackal and Dover won by Dover with a low blow, and he suplexes him nicely for two. Wicus and Ben try to double suplex Jackal, but get caught in a DDT instead! Jackal takes his wrist tape off to choke with, and the Mick Moo complains, so Jackal threatens him. That gets him shoved over by the ref, but I don’t appreciate it. A bad ass like Jackal shouldn’t have to take that, that’s more reserved for the cocky heel like Dover. Jackal manages to apply the Martyrs cross on Wicus, but Dover saves, and we get a test of strength between the two, as Jackal sets something up in the corner. Jackal pops in for a splash on Wicus, and he hammers the lower back. Wicus forgets all about it three seconds later, however, and hooks a Crippler crossface on Ben, as Jackal applies an ankle lock. Jackal turns on him quickly, however, and drops a leg for two, when Dover saves with a cartwheel. Personally, that’s one of my main problems with RVD: doing flip flops before a splash, when it has no effect on how the MOVE effects the opponent. If it can be done in a simple move, don’t bother with the cuteness. Firing line for Jackal (called a “DDT” by Big Ben), and another gets two. Jackal with a pedigree on Wicus for two, and a small package gets two on Dover. Wicus with a cradles suplex on Dover for two, so Jackal hits a single arm DDT on Wicus. Jackal with a slingshot into a chair for Ben for two, and a suplex follows up. The pants come off (!!), and he drops Wicus with the Razor’s Edge for the pin at 17:30. Dover takes the fight right to him, and hits a low blow. Jackal responds with a dragon sleeper, but Dover runs up the shed, and hits the DDT. THIS kind of cuteness I can appreciate, where they play off the last encounter. It gets two, so he hits the rolling suplexes. He makes an arrogant cover, however, and only gets two. Rolling splash gets the pin, however, at 19:38 in a very underwhelming ending. Afterwards, Dover does a beatdown with a chair, until Wicus makes the save. Very good spotfest, although the attempts at psychology were totally out of place. *** ½.

- We get a small bit of the thirty-minute “hanging out backstage” interview with Gallows and Wicus. Basically, this was shot at about mid-night, with Technical Execution just hanging out, and pissing everyone off. (There’s an understatement. They basically hung out in Jackal’s house while he and his whole family were asleep) And Gallows has the SCOOBY DOO SHIRT (!!) OF MACHISMO, which fits the character perfectly. Here’s a bit:
Gallows: Life … is about eachother … and everyone else … and me … and Wicus … but mostly me.”
Wicus: Not Jackal.
Gallows: No, not Jackal. Jackal is the anti-life.
Together: Jackal is the anti-Christ.
This all, of course, is said in INCREDIBLY mellow drawl, and the delivery (with Wicus giving Gallows the finger from behind, just to be a clown) is funnier than almost ANYTHING on TV. Bravo. Honestly, I want to see PCW just give these two 30 minutes to an hour to just rant about anything on their minds, and I’d PAY to see it. These two are one of the reasons PCW is so incredible. They don’t even NEED to wrestle to be entertaining, but that’s the thing, THEY CAN. I need to talk to PCW and see if I can get the entire interview, which I will review in depth!

- Jackal vs. Omega: This is Omega’s PCW debut, but Dusty is nowhere to be found. Omega is basically a lighter weight wrestler (probably the smallest in PCW), but he looks like an iceman in his delivery, and can work. (The guy was surprisingly good, especially given that he wasn’t even really a fan. He just ‘got it.’) I mean, a lot of the time he’s expressionless, except when selling a move. That’s a good thing, make no mistake. They trade holds to start, and Omega does a full bridge out of an overhead wristlock. Nice. Jackal with a fireman’s carry, and he works the arm. Omega counters with a great looking snapmare, and an overhead armdrag. Flippy-floppy splash (sigh), so Jackal does what I like, straight forward ass kicking. Backbreaker gets two, so Omega suplexes him for two. Omega needs to learn to put more body weight on his man (especially with Jackal’s size), a point the commentators bring up. Jackal with a Hennig-neck snap for two, and the dragon sleeper. Omega manages to bridge out, and reverses, an impressive maneuver. Pinfall reversal sequence runs well, and Omega expressionlessly works the leg. B-eautiful. Jackal reverses into an arm breaker, and then a pedigree. Jackal then makes my day, by doing a HILARIOUS Dusty Rhodes impression (complete with mannerisms, and the term “flaberbusted”) before dropping a STIFF elbow. At least they can poke fun at their own characters, which is a good thing. Single arm DDT makes a loud “crack” sound, and he works the arm some more. Slam, and a good looking leg drop connect. Over to the creek, where Omega hits the money clip (a springboard flipping clothesline). He tries again, but they mess up a spot, so Jackal compensates with a judo throw. They go for it again, and Omega hits a tornado DDT. I don’t approve of repeating the spot, but it was fine there, since they didn’t just put him down, and try again, they made a spot out of it. Back to the main area, Omega sets up a chair. He atomic drops Jackal into sitting in it (which definitely beats just sitting him down) then superkicks him out. He hits a springboard leg lariat for two, but takes a DDT to give Jackal two. Jackal goes for the slingshot into the chair-in-corner spot, but Mick Moo stands in the way, so Jackal does it anyway, and bumps him. Omega takes the opportunity to grab a cookie sheet, and nail Jackal, and “hits” a superkick for the dramatic two count. They do the Japanese bulldog set up, but Omega turns it into a good looking stunner, and gets the pin at 12:33. Good match up, albeit it lacked psychology, but as a debut match, this was excellent. ***. All Omega needs now is a good mouthpiece, and he’s on the path to success.

- Bottom Line: This is just a fine look at PCW after the September Salvation PPV, and all through the winter months. Some really terrific matches, and even the stuff that wasn’t classic in the ring, had a point to it, so nothing was on here just for the sake of putting something on. It all had a purpose. Plus, Gallows and Wicus do a bunch of interview bits, so what more could you need? Seriously, their bits are worth the price of admission alone!

- Highly Recommended. (Again, I don’t think these would be available today even if you wanted them, but they’re certainly a nice bit of nostalgia for me)

- Until next time, I await a copy of more PCW, and Gallows/Wicus interviews bits.