[BostonFan]

moved over from the old board thought I'd help out

NECW officials have drawn the brackets and announced the opening round matches in this weekend's IRON 8 Championship Tournament, as well as announcing other bouts as New England Championship Wrestling celebrates its 4th Anniversary with the biggest and most ambitious event in company history - a two night, two city BIRTHDAY BASH!

This events take place over two consecutive nights - Saturday night, August 21 in Framingham, MA at the Framingham Civic League with a 7 PM bell time and continuing Sunday night, August 22 in Somerville, MA at Good Time Emporium with a special 6 PM bell time.

The main event of this two night spectacular is a special two night tournament called the IRON 8 Championship. On Saturday night, 8 men will face each other in 4 qualifying singles matches. Each bout will be a no-countout, no-disqualification bout and there must be a winner. The following night in Somerville, the four finalists will face each other in a four-way, 45 minute Ironman match. There will be no countouts or disqualification in this match and whoever scores the most pinfalls or submissions in 45 minutes will be declared the IRON 8 Champion and receive the IRON 8 Championship Cup which will be awarded yearly.

The opening round matches were decided by random drawing and they are:




Former two-time NECW Heyweight Champion, Bob Evans takes on his student, "Miracle" Mike Bennett

British Heavyweight Champion & Ring of Honor Pure Wrestling Champion "The Anarchist" Doug Williams faces "Rapid Fire" Brian Fury of Adrenaline.

NECW Heavyweight Champion, "Big Guns" Frankie Arion must face his brother "The Golden Greek" Alex Arion

UWA Britian's Paul Tyrell squares off against "Revolution" Chris Venom of Adrenaline


In addition to the controversial pairing of Frankie Arion taking on his brother on Saturday night, NECW officials, bowing to legal pressure from Michael Sain's advisor, Alex Crowley, have ruled that the NECW Heavyweight Championship must be defended Sunday night. Frankie Arion's IRON 8 semi-final bout will be a non-title match, but should Frankie defeat Alex Saturday night, he must defend his title separate from the IRON 8 Tournament.

NECW officials have also announced that on Saturday night, Michael Sain will put his title shot on the line against El Boricua. The winner of that bout will meet Frankie Arion for the NECW Heavyweight Championship regardless of the outcome of Saturday's semi-final match.

In other news, the NECW Tag Team Championship will be defended Saturday night in a special fatal four way match. Defending champions Sabotage (D.C. Dillinger & Eddie Edwards) will face the popular Canadian duo, The All Knighters, making their return to NECW, the Slade Brothers and PRIDE.

Due to his refusal to wrestle this past Friday night in Rochester, Ru Starr has been suspended for one night and will be kept off Saturday night's event. Ru Starr will see action Sunday.

On Sunday night, based on what happened between these two in July, "The Egomaniac" Johnny Idol has been ordered to face former ring announcer, now active wrestler, Steve King in a "Kiss My Foot" match. The loser must kiss the feet of the winner in the middle of the ring.

Antonio "The Promise" Thomas, who recently signed a contract with the WWE and has reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling, will appear at BIRTHDAY BASH on the big screen. In addition, legendary manager and Ohio Valley Wrestling's own Jim Cornette, will also appear on the big screen with a special message during the event.

Fans of women's wrestling, especially the great level of women's wrestling seen in NECW will not want to miss this weekend as NECW presents the ultimate in women's wrestling competition. On both night, NECW will present a first-ever 8 woman tag team elimintaion challenge, which will feature Mercedes Martinez, Nikki Roxx, Hayley Skye, Tanya Lee, Violet Flame, Sarah Sullivan and Ariel, who will be making her NECW debut. Cindy Rogers will be making her NECW debut in this event on Saturday and the sensational Sumie Sakai will appear on Sunday.

All the stars will be participating on both nights and in addition to the two nights of matches, NECW officials have also announced a very special event to take place on Sunday afternoon, August 22 at Good Time Emporium prior to the show. At 1:00 PM, there will be a special luncheon press conference with a special ticket, available for purchase in advance as part of a ticket package. Fans will be able to enjoy a buffet lunch with the some of the stars of NECW and stay for a pre-show press conference with the 4 finalists in the Iron 8 and special guests.

NECW fans will not want to miss this milestone event, which will be the biggest in NECW history. Tickets for NECW's 4th Annual BIRTHDAY BASH featuring the IRON 8 Championship are now on sale and you should make sure you get your tickets early!

Tickets for NECW's 4th Annual BIRTHDAY BASH featuring the IRON 8 Championship are on sale exclusively at www.NECWwrestling.com.

[D.J._IZAN]

Dude no way! When is it happening?

[dagdogg]

D.J._IZAN wrote:

Dude no way! When is it happening?

Dude, that was in 2004. The 2008 Birthday Bash has yet to be announced by NECW president Sheldon Goldberg, known to us TBHers as "The Big Shill".

Give NECW a few weeks and we'll have some info from Sheldon himself.

[enforcer]

Holy shit, I didn't realize the moron bumped a thread from 2004.

[Monster Jam]

Yeah wtf? This was a tease.

[jd]

Here are my results from night one of this show. Stolen from the NEI.

Quote:

In a four-way tag match, the All Knighters won the titles. Other teams were Sabotage, Pride and the Slades. Chris Venom beat Paul Tyrrell in the first iron 8 final. In an eight-woman elimination match, the team of Mercedes Martinez, Hayley Skye, Ariel and Sarah Sullivan beat the team of Nikki Roxx, Tanya Lee, Violent Flame, and Cindy Rodgers. Sarah Sullivan was the sole survivor after pinning Nikki Roxx. Note to Nikki: Love the fishnets. Baby-face Bob Evans beat Mike Bennett in an iron 8 final. An eight-man tag fiasco with a bunch of guys whose name I did not catch. I did recognize Doug Sommers, Rocko Abruzio and Chris Camaro. I forget who won. Actually, I think I blocked it from my memory. Doug Williams beat Brian Fury in an iron man final. Match of the night! Contender for match of the year! If Doug Williams comes to your area, run – don’t walk and get tickets to see this guy! Michael Sain beat El Boricua. I feel bad for any wrestler who had to follow the William/Fury match. Alex Arion beat Frankie in the last iron 8 final. This was a real good show and tomorrow should be just as good. Its Venom, Evans, Williams and Alex in the 45minute iron man match.

[jd]

And here is what I wrote about night 2:

Quote:

Chris Venom wins Iron 8! Final pin fall count was Venom 4, and everyone else, 3. At the 45-minute mark Venom and Williams were tied 3 each, and Evans and Alex each had one. They then went into overtime -- the first person to get 4 falls would be the winner. Alex and Evans tied it up before Venom managed to get a 4th fall. Congratulations Chris! Well deserved victory. In other action, Michael Sain won the heavyweight title, Pride won the tag belts and Nikki got a run in her fishnets.

[ChrisVenom]

Thank you again....4 years later I am still celebrating the 4 year anniversary of you all congratulating me.

[Matt Spectro]

Congrates Venom!!!4 years ago when u where 1st congratulated and it feels like only yesterday!

[ChrisVenom]

no it really feels like 4 years ago Matt Spectro because then I wasn't so bad!


I vote for the infamous Noise Boyz vs. Adrenaline matches to resurface online only to remember that 4 years ago is when they actually happened...so...yea......

[Superman]

An infamous "Road Report" from the old NEI:

"The Iron 8"


"Road Report: Volume 54" (new England Championship Wrestling-8/21/04)

by J-Guru


For the second year in a row, a single weekend has held two of the biggest promotions biggest events, Chaotic Wrestling's "Summer Chaos" and New England Championship Wrestling's (NECW) "Birthday Bash", giving fans a difficult choice of which to attend. This year NECW's Birthday Bash is setup as a two night, two city event featuring a unique tournament called the "Iron 8". An 8 man tournament in which the final 4 will compete on the second night in an Iron Man Match to crown the first even "Iron 8 Champion".
We travel to the first night of the NECW event to the town of Framingham, MA. An excellent town for Wrestling being just outside of the greater Boston area yet not in a slummish ghetto where you have to worry about your vehicle and what shape it will be in when you return. The venue, a true gem and one of the best venues I have been to. The classic Framingham Civic League building offers a classic baby blue décor with large Victorian style windows, a large balcony, and an ornate stage. This venue's classic appeal and high vaulted ceilings make this building a rival to Fall River's P.A.L. or Littleton's Opera House.

The NECW atmosphere, although I haven't attended in some time, remains as professional as any with a great atmosphere and a timely beginning. A nice addition was the video screen, which displayed honestly one of the best event videos I have seen at a Wrestling show, highlighting the Iron 8 event and its competitors. So with a great venue, great setup, and tons of hype, the only question remaining is whether or not the event itself would deliver, and that would be found out soon enough.

Opening match is a 4 team Tag Team match for the NECW Tag Team Championship featuring Champions "Sabotage" (Eddie Edwards & DC Dillinger) taking on the teams of the "All Knighters", "Slade", and "Pride" (formerly known as the "Score".) "Pride" is an excellent team and always fun to watch, "Slade" appeared to be students appearing in one of their first matches, and the "All Knighters", a Canadian import, should stay on the other side of the border. With the number of talented teams in New England, I would stick with them rather than a team from north of the border that is small in size, goofy in behavior, and lack luster in their ring action. "Pride" vs. "Sabotage" most likely would have played as a much better match than this 4-way. The in-ring action was often clustered and clumsy with no flow or consistency in delivery. One member of "Slade" in fact never saw the inside of the ring. The "All Knighters" claimed a pinfall victory to become the new NECW tag champions. A weak opening match for the night. Well placed on the card but poor delivery. I personally would have liked to have seen New England's fastest rising star Eddie Edwards participating in the Iron 8.

Following the opening match, the ring announcer had all 8 participants of the Iron 8 come to the ring for a mass introduction to the crowd. The rules were explained as each match would be a no disqualification match with pinfall or submission victories. The other rules were that good sportsmanship rules would apply and any breach could result in fine, suspension, or termination from the company. This certainly created an exhibition style format for the matches, not allowing true face or heel roles. I prefer it that way for this type of event but opinions vary.

The second match of the night and first qualifying match of the Iron 8 featured "Revolution" Chris Venom taking on England import Paul Tyrell. A good match with decent action but for the most part, it seemed to fall flat with the crowd. I don't think the casual crowd knew where to go with it without being led by a face/heel format and it left a flat feeling in the building allowing for little emotional energy. The match itself didn't live up to my high expectations as both men seemed to have a difficulty in communication and never gelled into any orientation leaving several spots sloppy or mishandled. At one point, Tyrell came off the ropes and was met by Venom's double "Tatanka" chop but ran right through it without flinching only to be hit with it a second time coming off the ropes. A fair match but the crowd still wasn't feeling the overall action thus far. Venom taking, what I considered to be a surprise, pinfall victory to advance to the Iron 8 finals.

Next match, and what I affectionately refer too as "comedy hour" is the ladies match of the evening. An 8 woman survivor series style tag match featuring the team of Mercedes Martinez, Hayley Skye, Ariel and Sarah Sullivan taking on Nikki Roxx, Tanya Lee, Violent Flame, and Cindy Rodgers. I admittedly come down very hard on women's wrestling and promise to be positive about it someday, just as soon as two ladies can put together a solid contest actually worthy of being on a card. This particular match wasn't terribly unworthy and had many entertaining points, some wrestling related and some comedy related. This was my first time seeing several of these ladies and to be honest, I was somewhat impressed with Sarah Sullivan and Cindy Rogers, who appeared fundamentally sound and much well versed than some of the more well traveled talent in this match. A notable moment in the match came as two sets of ladies on opposite ring posts set up and delivered impressive and intricate high spots symotaniously, after taking some time to set them up. Most of the match beyond this was lackluster and often muddled. At one point, the heel team actually appeared disoriented and all stepped outside the ring not knowing who the legal person was. Nikki Roxx continues to be dismal but always entertaining (for all the wrong reasons). Every time she is thrown running off of the ropes, she comes back walking, almost in slow motion creating a setup that is guaranteed to be awkward and sloppy for any move. I vote for a Mercedes Martinez vs. Nikki Roxx in a looser retires match so the humor/horror can come to an end. Mercedes continues to be the one shining stand out of the female division in New England wrestling. It would be great to see her go toe to toe with some of the other top female talents in the world today. In the end, Nikki Roxx eliminated Mercedes by pinfall with her feet on the ropes and was then defeated by Sarah Sullivan who stood as the final wrestler in the ring.

The final match before intermission featured a fan friendly "Brutal" Bob Evans taking on his student "Miracle" Mike Bennett, a rematch of a contest earlier this year in which Bennett defeated his mentor. I found this match to be incredibly dry and unable to keep my attention. I failed to note any noteworthy commentary, however Bennett, as many have said, is a good young talent and could be around for years to come. In the end, Evans had Bennett in a standing camel clutch but Bennett was able to reach the ropes. Evans released the hold and then quickly grabbed his opponent again reversing him into the center of the ring and re-establishing the hold. Bennett then tapped out, giving Evan's the victory and advancement into the Iron 8 finals.

At the conclusion of the intermission, Bob Evans came back to the ring followed by most of the locker room to present an appreciation award to NECW promoter Sheldon Goldberg for his 4th anniversary and dedication to New England Indy Wrestling. Goldberg then gave a brief and gracious thank you speech to fans and talent alike and promised that NECW would continue to grow in the years to come.

Starting out the second half of the event I hoped we would start things out in the right direction with some dynamic matches and, unfortunately, it just wasn't to be. An 8 man tag match featuring Chris Camero, Scott, Reed, Brandon Locke, and some kid in purple who couldn't stop smiling taking on the team of Justin Powers (Shaype) and three apparent rookies all wearing a variety of odd clothes. This match was an example of way too many green rookies placed too deep on the card. This was badly misplaced and an utter slophouse with strong young talent like Locke, Camero, and Reed having a hard time coordinating spots together. Moments in the match got so out of order that Powers had a hard time keeping a straight face. The entire time, guy in purple continued smiling, apparently all too happy with himself. Powers took the pinfall victory for the heel team, finally putting an end to the match.

With three matches left on the card, the actual ring work had to get better, and boy did it! Third qualifying match for the Iron 8 featured "Anarchist" Doug Williams taking on "Straight Edge" Brian Fury. From the opening bell to the final one, this match was a continuous flow of back and forth action. Doug Williams truly is a superb international talent and anyone who hasn't seen Fury in some time or doesn't think he is legit needs to see him again! As one man got the apparent upper hand, the other reversed it time and time again with neither getting the true upper hand. Very early on in the match, tempers flared and the excellent technical exchange broke down to a brawl with forearms. On two occasions, Williams pulled reversals, one an ankle sweep, so fast and so fluid I found myself saying, "How did he do that"? The same question I saw many others in attendance muttering. A great point in the match came as Fury went to the outside and Williams tried taking him out with a baseball slide, but Fury quickly jumped back in the ring to attempt his own attack on Williams who was now on the outside. Williams jumped back to the ring apron and both men stared each other down in a clear competition of one-ups-manship in which neither competitor could get the upper hand. In the end, it was a final exchange in which Williams got the upper hand and took the pinfall victory. At this point, the small but vociferous crowd was on their feed in applause and J-Winger turned to me and said, "I think this is the best match I've ever seen". After a second's hesitation, I quickly agreed, "I think it was". A truly amazing match between two great talents, clearly the match of the night and a certain match of the year candidate! As the wrestlers returned to the locker room, I turned to Winger and said, "Look at the palms of your hands, are they tingling"? Both of us had pink palms and the feeling of blood plumping through are hands from the amount of clapping we did throughout this match. If that's not a measuring stick for a masterpiece, I don't know what is!

Any match following the Fury/Williams classic was automatically fighting an uphill battle with the now hot crowd. That match being (Psycho) Mike Sain taking on El Boriqua in a #1 contenders match for the NECW Heavyweight Championship. My first reaction was to ask why this match was happening and why would a fan care or be invested in it. It seemed totally random, but once I got past that point, I sat back and enjoyed a very entertaining match. The two did a great job following up the preceding match and were able to keep the fans entertained. Mike does a very good job playing the big monster type and Boriqua acting as the fearless face created a good chemistry between the two. Mike's manager, Alexander Crowley, played a big part in the match, constantly interfering and attacking Boriqua outside the ring. Late in the match, the referee was able to avoid one near bump only to be blasted in the face by a big boot from Mike. This left Crowley open to attack again and he attempted to blast Boriqua with a chair but was blocked. Crowley then kicked him in the stomach, causing the chair to fall, followed by a DDT on the chair. He then moved Mike onto his fallen opponent for the pinfall victory to become the #1 contender.

The main event featured a "brother vs. brother" match between "The Golden Greek" Alex Arion taking on NECW Heavyweight Champion "Big Guns" Frankie Arion. Following two great matches, this match had a lot riding on it. Would the event end on a high note going into the second half of the Iron 8 2-day event or would it fall flat? Like the two previous matches, this one delivered and was a very good match! Frankie frustrated his larger opponent for the early part of the match with fast movement, good rope work, and an uncanny ability to get free of his larger opponents offensive. Alex eventually got the upperhand and grounded the smaller Frankie using his size and strength advantage, but his frustrations were far from over as Frankie seemed to bounce back from anything his older brother hit him with. In the end, Alex was able to finally get the pinfall victory over Frankie using his size to finally keep the NECW Champion down.

Immediately after the match, Mike Sain and Alex Crowley rushed the ring and attacked the fallen Frankie. At first, Alex stood back allowing the attack, but after several moments, he came around and attacked the two attacking Frankie. The Arion's were quickly joined by Venom, Evans, and Williams, the other three finalist for the Iron 8 who ran Sain and his manager out of the ring. Again, after some hesitation, Alex embraced Frankie.

All in all, the event was fun. Although things started out slow with some less than stellar in-ring performances, the night ended strong with three excellent matches, one of which being a classic. NECW continues to provide top quality production along with a professional environment. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the Iron 8 event plays out in Somerville, MA.

[Matt Spectro]

ChrisVenom wrote:

no it really feels like 4 years ago Matt Spectro because then I wasn't so bad! I vote for the infamous Noise Boyz vs. Adrenaline matches to resurface online only to remember that 4 years ago is when they actually happened...so...yea......

Haven't Adrenaline exploded like 3 times?