The end of an era on the local pro wrestling scene, the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin to Raw as the journey toward WrestleMania continues and the lineup for tonight's Victory Road payper-view are among the many items of note this week In This Corner.
PCWA owner Greg "GI Bear" Berezovske released a statement on the company website this week announcing the cancellation of the PCWA shows scheduled for March 19 in Mount Carmel and April 9 in Palo Alto. He also apologized to, and thanked members of, the roster and all the fans for a great four years, saying the company will be returning later this year under new management.
Most people have no idea how difficult it is to run a business successfully and a professional wrestling operation can be incredibly more difficult than most enterprises for a variety of reasons. PCWA had its share of success and numerous highlight moments during its four-year run. It gave local fans the opportunity to see live professional wrestling action at very reasonable admission prices without having to travel any significant distance.
There were numerous big name performers and famous names from yesteryear who graced PCWA rings during the past four years.
There were some awesome matches put on by young, talented grapplers who were cutting their teeth in PCWA rings. Often the shows drew relatively sparse crowds. Sometimes the mic or in-ring work seemed amateurish. It goes with the territory for the indy scene and is largely unavoidable to a degree. Could things have been done differently or promoted more effectively? No doubt. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.
But make no mistake about it. Local pro wrestling fans were very fortunate to have the PCWA in our backyard. Whenever I dealt with Greg or any of the workers associated with the promotion, I always felt welcome and appreciated. If I were a couple of decades younger, I would love to have been an active member of the PCWA roster myself. Here's hoping the hiatus and reorganization allows for the alliance to come back and here's wishing all of the best to everyone in PCWA who worked so hard to entertain us in the squared circle.
Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to Raw on Monday with a dramatic run-in to deliver a stunner to JBL and beat the cowboy to the punch in signing a contract to be the guest referee for the Jerry Lawler-Michael Cole match at WM. The crowd pop was huge for the return of the Rattlesnake and it added yet another element to the recipe for what is rapidly shaping up as a very interesting-looking Mania.
Mania has already become a sell-out with the live gate reportedly having surpassed the $5 million mark. Sunny was officially announced for the Hall of Fame Monday night and Undertaker and Triple H each did new promos. K-Mart has been added as a major WWE sponsor. Chris Jericho was recently announced as a contestant for the new Dancing With the Stars season, ensuring he will not be returning any time soon.
With TNA already using some Jersey Shore characters, WWE announced Snooki will be guest host of Raw Monday night. The money and time wasted on some of these celebrities who don't draw ratings or business is nothing short of incredible and have to be a sore spot for the workers who desperately need the in-ring and promo time.
TNA offers Victory Road on pay-per-view tonight with Jeff Hardy getting a rematch with Sting for the heavyweight title. RVD meets Mr. Anderson in a number one contender's bout. Tommy Dreamer battles Bully Bubba Ray, and A.J. Styles goes up against Matt Hardy. There is also an Ultimate X match pitting Robbie E, Jeremy Buck, and Max Buck against Kazarian for the title.