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                Welcome back to TCW!  We’re going to see more of The Empire storyline tonight, as well as what booking plans they have for TCW Heavyweight Champion, Tim Storm.  Let’s get right to it, shall we?  Also, I’ve been mistakenly calling Ken Resnick by the name Jeff, I believe.  My apologies for the mistake.

                Titan and Kincaid discussed Titan’s attempts to get Lily back.  Boyd Bradford marched in like a Bushwhacker and talked to them as well, claiming that Titan needs to focus on his tournament match tonight. 

                Genetic Perfection’s Michael Barry said that he was going to represent his duo well in the TCW International Title Tournament.

                Both of these promos were very fine ways to set up our opener.

                This opener featured some solid back-and-forth action that put over the power-moves of Titan as well as any bout I’ve seen yet from him.  Barry’s skills showed through well here, as he sold the effects of Titan’s most ferocious attacks, as well as dictating the pace of our opener.  Lars and Lily interfered in the bout and caused Titan to lose to Barry, in a finish the WWE has long abused.

Ken Resnick interviewed Brett Barnes, who plays the part of a looney fella.  Brett has a good look and seems capable of performing his character to great effect.

This was a strong bout that got right to the point of the matter, with solid psychology from start to finish, combined with excellent mat work that both should be proud of.  Barnes showed great promise here, with all the fluidity that a wrestler could hope to have at their disposal.  I loved the pacing, the patience and the execution of this title bout and wish that more matches would reflect the thoughtfulness on display here.  This one came to an end with the interference of Roosevelt allowing Kincaid to pick up the victory.

                Genetic Perfection teased an unamicable split, when Alan Steele ranted endlessly about how weak John Saxon was as an opponent.  Barry then claimed that Alan Steele and Rich Rude, their manager, were losing sight of the team in favor of the individual. This was well done, but it feels so arbitrary at this point, considering that every company seems to be doing this angle every few months.

                Saxon cut a good pre-match promo where he claimed to not be a sports-entertainer, but a pro wrestler; one who was going to kick ass in the name of old-school fans.  I think I’m in love.  Anyway, this bout was excellent stuff from bell-to-bell, with hold after hold of the kind of wrestling that Vince McMahon rarely authorizes.  Everything here rang true to the promises that Saxon made in his promo, which is the mentality that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper always held himself to when he would cut his promos.  It’s becoming a lost art to say what you mean and mean what you say in wrestling, but people like John Saxon are keeping the tradition of purposeful work alive.  Now don’t worry, Alan Steele certainly impressed here as well, for his subtle heel work really kept the crowd in favor of Saxon, which seemed to be the point tonight.  Both men looked strong in a fierce main event that saw our finish come about after the referee was knocked down, which allowed Rich Rude to help Steele steal a victory.

                Michael Barry gave a sarcastic congratulation to his partner while watching the monitor afterwards.  

Final Thoughts:  I’m not a fan of these muddled finishes, as it dilutes the hard work put in by everyone involved.  It’s a shame that bookers feel that a heel can only be a heel if he/she is cheating, because that is just a myth, as well as a crutch that has been abused for far too long. Otherwise, this was an excellent edition of TCW.

Thanks for reading and I hope to have you back, next time.