Three's a Crowd...

Welcome back, ladies and gents. I just got in to Dallas after last night's WarZone down in Houston, and it was a show that'll certainly be talked about for a while. Without much more fanfare, let's get to the results.

This week's "Thursday" Night WarZone was a full slate of divisional matches that we fully expected to shake up the standings, but, surprisingly, many of the matches ended in pretty disappointing fashion.

The first match of the night was all set to decide the true number one contender to Draven Torette's X-Core Championship, but Scott Walker and Alyx Gates were interrupted in their little soiree by the champion himself. Draven leveled Gates with a vicious chair shot just as the Senator was going for the pin, and then laid out Walker as well when he decided to get up. But the party didn't end there as the recently quiet Daman Arress decided he would take it upon himself to come to the rescue, tossing Torette from the ring and seemingly reestablishing himself as yet another contender to the title. Could we see some fatal fourway action at Superbrawl II? I hope not! If three's a crowd, four's an orgy.

The night wasn't over for Gates just yet, though. After his match against Walker, he had a mysterious run in with a masked character that crawled out of a dumpster in a pink vest and hockey mask. It wasn't threatening or intimidating at all... just... odd. I really can't think of a good way to describe it. Strangely enough, Roxas Knoxx had an encounter with a nearly identical character later on in the night, but this one was wearing red instead of pink. Both mysterious individuals were followed by the black "CC" symbols that Gates had painted on Lucy Walker's walls last week on WarZone. Maybe good old George Daniels will have more on this situation over at the Book Report!

It looks like Excessive Force may not go without a challenger for long. In two separate incidents, Joe Riggs was approached by the Lynch Mob and Mike Hoss was approached by the DragonGate clan, both staking claim to the number one contendership for the Tornado Tag Team Championships. For two teams that have already been handled by the Force, you would think that they would have learned their lesson. It remains to be seen whether or not Hoss and Riggs will accept either offer, or if perhaps they'll accept both and add another triple-threat match to the card...

The scheduled bout between Rob Gunn and Dakota Burrows was scrapped at the last minute last night due to Burrows coming down with the flu. Not only did we get robbed of a match chock full of drama, but we had to endure Anarchy cross-over North Starr coming out to berate Asylum yet again. He felt it was necessary to come over to WarZone to remind the world that he's holding information about someone being alive that Asylum thinks is dead, and to more or less let us all in on the fact that he's here to stay. Surrounded by his cronies (the Cobra Commander, Clair Logan, and Jacob Widmore), North Starr couldn't have looked more arrogant last night. On a side note, I do love that new "Refresher" energy drink. It's delicious!

The results are in and the match between Christian Cage and Reinhardt (a singles match!) will indeed be a street fight! Surprisingly, JBL couldn't have looked happier about it, and he seems to really believe that Cage will adapt to the elements and put on a clinic for the fans in Boston at Superbrawl II. We'll never know whether the manager had more to say or not as he was cut off by a very chilling, primal scream accompanied by little more than the cryptic words: "It's Coming. Superbrawl II." It? Keep your eyes peeled on this one, folks...

I suppose Rob Gunn decided that he was going to get some sort of action this week. Toward the conclusion of the Aston Michaels and J.T. Cash X-Core Divisional match, Gunn jumped the barrier and put the fists and boots to Cash before flooring him with a steel chair square in the temple. The moment wasn't lost on Michaels as he used the opportunity to gain the pin and move up the X-Core ladder, claiming victory over the former champion. Surely Cash and the rest of the Next Generation won't take this one lying down...

The action didn't stop there as Johnny Sniper took the opportunity to remind Michaels that he wasn't quite through with the first Anarchy Cup graduate. Sniper demanded a match with Aston, a normal match, with one single stipulation: no ringside assistance. Roger and anyone else that Aston might want nearby would all be banned from attending. The words barely left his mouth before Roger Michaels accepted on behalf of his nephew. From what I can tell, it's going to be booked at Superbrawl II!

Dante West's farewell tour continues, and so does his losing streak. The man from Australia went down this week at the hands of Eddie Rourke who's looking to prove his mettle in a bid to get another shot at the Universal Championship. If he continues impressive victories like this, there's no reason he won't get there. Next up on the docket for West, from what I can recall, is a match with the hardcore superstar Mr. Roger Reinhardt, although I believe that's going to be set for Anarchy in order to spite the Walkers...

The parade of XHW ghosts of Christmas past continued this week as yet another former figure stepped back into the federation. This time, it was none other than agent Margaret-Anne York. She told me that she's already got a client, but apparently "mum" is the word when it comes to who it is. There will certainly be more on this to come.

I firmly believed that Jimm Red was going to get yet another welcome to WarZone present, this week from the Hellraiser, Mike Hoss, himself, but yet again we were disappointed. It looked like we were going to get a classic for a while until both Hoss and Red took the fight to the outside. It was there that they seemingly both decided that it was time to let bygones be bygones and let the match go to a count out in Red's favor, notching him the victory. After it was all over with, the crowd was booing and the pair were laughing as Jimm Red let it be known that he is now a member of the Next Generation along with Cash, Hoss, Riggs, and Diamond. This faction looks like they're adding a new member every week! Who's next?

Jay Adams is back in full force, and he had a bit of fun at the Japanese Seaman's expense this week, playing up the big man's pension for silence and serenity. For some reason the phrase "don't taunt a dragon" comes to mind...

Just as it seemed like Hendrix Walker and Giovanni Valentino were going to get away with leaving Dante West off the dance card yet again, Max Turner came to the rescue. Walker and Valentino were moments away from signing their contract for a singles match at Superbrawl II when the Anarchy GM and XHW part owner stormed down to the ring with the announcement that West would be added to the mix. Not only that, but the trio will be placed in a Hell in a Cell! And not only THAT, but they will have a special referee: XHW Hall of Famer Hogan Cage! It's not often that the Undisputed Championship takes a backseat to anything, but it looks like it will on this night. The stories and the drama will be through the roof in Boston, so don't miss it!

Even after that dramatic announcement, the night wasn't quite over. We were finally given a match worth WarZone's reputation when Turbine and Joe Riggs stepped through the ropes, truly a match of opposites. It seemed as if neither man would budge in this one, but after it was all said and done, the Universal Champion proved that he belongs by putting Riggs down for the three. After the match was over, we were even graced by the Undisputed Champion himself, shaking Turbine's hand and finally congratulating the fastest man in the XHW on carrying the Seaman's former title with pride and honor, worthy of the belt. After that, the Great Darkness simply filled us in that he was looking forward to the match at Superbrawl II, and that he fully intends on proving that he is all of the champion he says he is. All in all, it was quite a show!

On tomorrow night's Anarchy, we've got the first Bronx Championship defense amongst other bouts. Shark Boy will be getting another opening slot, this time against the dark, mysterious, always absent Gabriel Alexander in a match that might signal the end for the former preacher-man. In two other singles matches we'll see Victor Mason and Rhett Wildman square off, as well as what's rumored to be a heated match between Asylum and Doc Hammer. Yet another three-way drama will go down as well when a massive three-team tag match will pit the Sheglins against ODB and Casey Dodge as well as Dirk Diver and Billy Coop. I can already see the sparks flying in that one... We're also going to nail down the final two spots in the Anarchy Cup finals as Matthew Wellington, Bronko Allen, and Maverick Harley fight for one spot while Reno Drake, Quentyn Sullivan, and and Johnny Blade thrown down for the other. In the main event we've got Diego Cortez putting his still minty fresh Bronx Championship on the line for the first time against the number on contender Mr. Jingles. That's a solid card from top to bottom folks, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

We've had quite a few backstage developments since I last posted. North Starr seems to be making the rounds as he's recently been seen with JBL, BlkOut, J.T. Cash, and Maverick Harley. Speaking of Harley, the anti-aircraft superstar isn't doing anything to quell the rumors circulating he and Roxas Knoxx. In fact, several relationships have been brought up backstage over the past few days. Mostly notably: Billy Coop and ODB, Reno Drake and Jada, and of course we couldn't have a relationship blip without Audree Gates and Scott Walker. Margaret-Anne York certainly hasn't wasted any time in getting back into the swing of things. She's already put Draven Torette and his X-Core title on notice, as well as having a brief chat with Johnny Sniper. Also, ODB and running mate Casey Dodge may be adding one more dose of estrogen to their grouping as Dodge and Tyler Kiss have been spotted making the rounds together.

That's about all I've got for this week, friends. If you feel like there's anything else that needs mentioning or if you simply have some compliments or criticism, feel free to let me know. Until next time, thanks for indulging me!