In June of 2003, myself, the Reasonable One, GeeStar and Dangerous E journeyed down to Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the Major League Wrestling "Hybrid Hell" show. It was, all things considered among the best live shows I've attended and without question one of the most enjoyable and memorable road trips. This page was designed to document that weekend in photos and text.
MLW's television exposure on Florida's Sunshine Network and the reduced price of general admission seats led to a huge increase in attendance from MLW's last show in Ft. Lauderdale last December. This was also a very hot crowd and created an atmosphere reminiscent of the old ECW events.
(1) Jerry Lynn (w/"Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels) pinned Kid Romeo. Lynn cut a very good heel promo before the bout better than anything I've heard him cut in ECW or TNA and was accompanied by Daniels at ringside for the bout. Romeo was a last minute replacement for Lynn's scheduled opponent Paul London, who missed the show due to a family emergency. Lynn got the pin with the Cradle Piledriver.
(5) Kenzo Suzuki pinned Norman Smiley. Good match that showed Suzuki's strengths while minimizing his weaknesses, putting him with a worker as versatile as Smiley was great booking. Suzuki got the pin following a shining wizard. Smiley got one of the biggest ovations of the night.
(6) Extreme Horsemen C.W. Anderson & Simon Diamond defeated "Dr. Death" Steve Williams & D-Lo Brown to retain the MLW GTC Tag Team Championship. Anderson & Diamond were scheduled to be officially awarded the MLW Global Tag Crown Championships but the ceremony was interrupted by Williams, who reminded the Horsemen they pinned his partner P.J. Friedman in the tournament finals but never pinned Williams. He was about to announce his new partner when Anderson & Diamond attacked. In an unadvertised surprise, D-Lo Brown made the save and was announced as Williams' partner. The crowd popped huge. Good match that saw Brown miss the Lo Down frog splash and fall victim to Anderson's spinebuster for the pin.
(7) Sabu (w/Bill Alfonso) defeated Mikey Whipwreck (w/Sinister Minister) by submission. Sabu's scheduled opponent La Parka did not appear but in his place MLW produced Whipwreck, who came out dressed in a parka and La Parka mask before Minister appeared and unmasked him to a roaring "Mikey" chant. This was a good brawl that saw Sabu hit all his signature spots before putting Whipwreck away with a camel clutch. Alfonso did not accompany Sabu to the ring but appeared mid-way through the match after blowing his trademark whistle from behind the curtain several times, to a huge ovation. After the match, Alfonso attempted to throw a water bottle to the crowd but it hit one of the ringside lights, shattering it and cutting Fonzie open as glass flew. He was shaken up and bleeding badly but appeared after the show signing autographs, bandaged but okay.
(8) C.M. Punk pinned Raven. Good psychology behind the match as Punk got the upperhand in the ring and kept avoiding brawling on the floor. Once Raven finally got Punk on the floor, they brawled around ringside before taking it back to the ring. Michael Shane reappeared and distracted Raven long enough for Punk to hit his own version of the DDT for the pin. Norman Smiley made the post-match save and a tag match was set up for MLW's return date.
(9) Mike Awesome pinned Satoshi Kojima to win the MLW Heavyweight Championship. Very good high-impact match up with Kojima winning the crowd over slowly. A table was brought into the ring and Awesome got the pin after putting Kojima through it with an Awesome Bomb to win the title. After the match, Steve Corino came to ringside and informed the crowd of a pre-match agreement Awesome had made to give Corino the first title shot should he be victorious. Corino nailed Awesome with the microphone and informed him he wanted the shot immediately.
(10) Steve Corino pinned Mike Awesome to win the MLW Heavyweight Championship. Quick bout that featured Awesome also putting Corino through a table but Corino came back and used two consecutive superkicks to put Awesome down and win the belt. The unexpected title change was met with a mixed reaction from the vocal crowd, who after a few moments exploded into a loud "bullshit" chant assuming the scheduled barbed wire main event between Corino and Terry Funk would not take place. When ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis announced an intermission to set up the barbed wire for the main event, the crowd erupted. This was a great example of a "good swerve."
(11) Terry Funk pinned Steve Corino in a no-rope barbed wire match. The company did a good job of explaining that since Corino had not signed the contract for this match as champion, it would be a non-title match. Brutal, bloody match that lived up to the standards of Funk's previous barbed wire bloodbaths. C.W. Anderson and Simon Diamond both cut open the barbed wire and interfered but Funk rallied to win the contest despite the presence of the Horsemen. The Horsemen attacked Funk after the bout with Steve Williams saving but the Horsemen laid him out as well. The Sandman made a surprise run in and cleared the ring, passing out beers to Funk and Williams after his trademark entrance. The crowd went nuts when Sandman's music hit and the save was extremely well done.
This was a very solid show from top to bottom as seemingly everyone was booked to their respective strengths. This could easily be the show that puts MLW and it's hybrid style on the map as this show featured something for everyone. One of the best events I've ever attended as I've never seen a promotion give the fans this much for their money. The crowd was a bit stunned by the sudden title change but hated Corino's guts all night long and he should prove to be a great champion. This was a tremendous event loaded with surprises and great action. MLW returns to Ft. Lauderdale on September 19th, 2003.
After a LONG wait I did get a photo op with the legendary Terry Funk. I spent the wait for Funk to get out of a "business meeting" behind closed doors chatting with Bill Alfonzo, of all people. Who simply started making conversation with me. The conversation went something like this: "So kid, you work here with MLW?"..."Uh, not really, I'd like to"..."Kid that's all you need man, I love going to these shows and finding kids who work hard and aren't afraid to bust their ass and work hard and are willing to bust their ass and have passion for the business" At that point I immediately asked myself if he realized he'd said the same exact thing twice and after talking with him for a few moments more, realized the answer to that one was probably no, lol. Seriously though, Fonzie was a class act.
Back at the hotel, preparing to rest up for Fanfest the next day, Gee was very happy with our take, lol.
The next morning Highspots sponsored a meet and greet FanFest with Steve Dr. Death Williams (pictured), D'Lo Brown, Francine and the "Sinister Minister" Jim Mitchell. The interaction with the stars was awesome, including D'Lo Brown getting a call on his cell phone from New Jack, apparently travelling down the highway and passing a Daniel Boone Inn, which prompted him to call D'Lo and begin singing about Daniel Boone himself, lol. D'Lo cut a promo for us for CWF TV, as did Williams who was joined by Dangerous E for his. Doc even pretended to get a call on his cell phone from Vince McMahon. All Doc said was "Hello? Oh, hello Vince....ah, naw Vince, sorry I can't, I'm with the CWF now. Ciao!" We were all DYING laughing. Sinister Minister even did a promo with me for TV proclaiming the HYP the future of wrestling and giving me his endorsement as a fellow evil manager. It was a surreal weekend in many aspects to say the very least.
