AS I SEE IT 1/26: News on Philadelphia's February 7 doubleheader

by: Bob Magee

February 7th will bring a great doubleheader for fans in the Philadelphia-New York area with CZW's Fifth Anniversary show...preceded by the Philadelphia debut of Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 at 4:00 pm...both in the historic ECW Arena.

First, an explanation as to how this came to be...

The show was originally scheduled for Deer Park, NY (and unofficially before that at the Murphy Recreation Center, running opposite the CZW show), but was moved due to what has been reported last week to me as deliberate interference by a well-known rival New York promoter who happens to be running the next week in New York City. The move of the show was finalized this week.

Mike Johnson's 1wrestling.com report on the situation also indicated that "a third party had been making complaints about the product that would be presented. There was also a situation where the Commission initially approved World-1's insurance, but then came back and said it didn't cover the wrestlers' medical insurance for the show and asked for additional funds."

The promotion felt that since Steve Corino and many of the others involved in the show's planning would be on tour for ZERO-ONE in Japan over the next two weeks, it was best to move the show rather than leave the promotion in a position where the show could have been cancelled with days notice, especially important when Japanese talent is being brought over for the weekend's shows.

So, in a happy situation for Philadelphia wrestling fans, the show was moved to the ECW Arena, after CZW offered the Arena to Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 after learning that World-1 was exploring the option of moving the February 6th Pottstown, PA show to a February 7th matinee, or seeking an alternative site in New Jersey.

CZW's felt that it would give the fans a chance to see two shows without having to travel between Pottstown (or New Jersey) and Philadelphia. It wasn't lost on CZW that fans would stay for the second show and that could use some of World-1's talent on their Fifth Anniversary show later that evening.

So the schedule is as follows:

Pro Wrestling World 1 debuts in Philadelphia at 4:00 pm at the ECW Arena.

The card for Philadelphia is as follows:

  • The Solution (Freelance) vs. Ricky Landell & Alex Law (WORLD-1 Dojo)

  • Christopher Street Connection (JAPW) and Jason The Legend (UFO) vs. Jack Victory (PWF),
    Guillotine LeGrande (PWF), and Mega (ECWA)

  • Josh Daniels (Freelance) vs. Yoshihito Sasaki (ZERO-ONE)

  • Low Ki (ZERO-ONE) vs. Striker (Freelance)

  • CM Punk (ROH) vs. Rapid Fire Maldonado (IWA-Pennsylvania)

  • Homicide (ROH) vs. Spanky

  • Extreme Horsemen Special:
    CW Anderson (MLW) and Simon Diamond (NWA) vs. Steve Corino (ZERO-ONE) and Justin Credible (All Japan)

  • WORLD-1 championship (Decision Match):
    Masato Tanaka (ZERO-ONE) vs. Jerry Lynn (MLW)

    Tickets: Ringside Reserved-$22 (1st 2 rows) /General Admission-$15 /Children under 12-$8

    Tickets are available for the WORLD-1 show by:

    1) Reservation via e-mail, by sending an email to tickets@zerooneusa.com . Be sure to include which show you wish to see as well as what type of tickets you wish to purchase.

    2) By phone at (610) 689-0909.

    3) Online, via PayPal by going to the WORLD-1 TICKETS section at ZeroOne USA.com, and scroll down for PayPal options.

    4) In addition, tickets can also be ordered through mail. Please send a check or money order made out to WORLD-1 WRESTLING to: Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1, 136 Winged Foot Court, Limerick, PA 19468.

    Once checks are received fans will be emailed a confirmation number. Tickets will be sent out by first class mail until one week before the show. After that date they will be ready at will call.

    FEBRUARY 7, 2004... at the ECW Arena...WITNESS HISTORY...

    Then, at a scheduled 8:00 pm belltime, CZW celebrates its fifth anniversary show.

    Matches announced thus far:

  • THREE WAY DREAM MATCH
    The Backseat Boyz vs. The H8 Club vs Danny Maff and Homicide

  • GRUDGE MATCH
    Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley

  • IRON-MAN TITLE MATCH
    Jimmy Rave defends the title against Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Joey Ryan

  • XTREME STRONG STYLE TOURNAMENT
    B-Boy challenges Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Excalibur

  • TAG-TEAM WAR
    Ruckus and Sabian vs. Joker and Chris Cash

  • CZW JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
    Sonjay Dutt defends against Grim Reefer

    WORLD-1 talent will be added to this show, and these matches will be announced in the next two weeks.

    Reserve your tickets online NOW by going to the CZW ticket reservation website, by calling (856) 742-7061, by emailing beaners_13@yahoo.com.

    (NOTE: All online or phone orders/reservations for tickets to LIVE CZW events must be paid in full prior to the night of the event for which the ticket was purchased. Payment is accepted in the form of cash or money orders ONLY! Payment can be sent to: Sabine Kernaghan, PO Box 901, Sicklerville, NJ 08081)

    General admission tickets are also available at these remote ticket locations:

    Pennsylvania outlets

  • Somerton Beverages, 13510 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia, PA - Call (215) 673-1900 for information

  • Ontario Street Comics, 2235 Ontario Street, Philadelphia - Call (215) 288-7338 for information.

  • Bulls-eye Dart Supply, 4740 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia - Call (215) 831-0860/(877) 409-3591 for information.

  • Berwyn Tavern, 625 West Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn, PA - Call (610) 889-9352 for information.

    New Jersey outlets

  • Hall of Heroes/Echelon Mall - Call (856) 772-9703 for information

  • Hall of Heroes/Cherry Hill Mall - Call (856) 662-9329 for information

  • Play With This Collectable Toys/Pennsauken Mart- Call (856) 486-4556 for information.

  • Innersoul Body Piercing, 2c Creek Road, Brooklawn, NJ (across from West Brook Bowling Alley) - Call (856) 742-7001 for information.

    It seems appropriate that the weekend in question is the tenth anniversary of ECW's "The Night The Line Was Crossed", the show at the ECW Arena where Shane Douglas-Sabu-Terry Funk went for an hour and put ECW on the map in the eyes of many.

    Let me close with a note not related to wrestling...

    This past weekend, America lost another of its true treasures as Bob Keeshan, known to generations of American children and their parents as "Captain Kangaroo", died at the age of 76. For those of you outside North America, Captain Kangaroo aired on CBS TV each morning from 1955 to 1985, and on PBS for another six years. It was a gentle show for children in an age that grew anything but gentle as the 1950s turned into the 1960s and continued on all the way into the 1990s.

    I may be well into my 40s, but I felt like a really important part of my life had gone with that announcement today. Before I went to school...or when we had a day off from school... or when I had summer breaks from school, I remember watching the Captain and the whole gang of Mr. Green Jeans, Mr. Moose, and Bunny Rabbit religiously. His show now seems, in retrospective, incredibly gentle in the 1960s, a time that was growing more stressful and violent as the decade wore on. It was a safe place for kids..a time far too long in time and space. Watching it, I learned how to tie shoes, and about eating carrots (which I still love to munch on to this day, especially raw).

    At least Bob Keeshan and Fred Rogers, who both served as advocates for children's programming in the years after Captain Kangaroo left the air, are together again... and no doubt planning how to gently educate the children dwelling in that better place that they now share.

    Until next time...

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    If you have comments/questions, or if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com)