The show opens with Lt. Tim Sells against ole' Sargeant Max Rhodes. Brad gets into a verbal confrontation with Sells, before the match even starts and has to be held back by Edsel. Sells starts off, sorta, with some kicks and stuff, I can just feel the intensity in this match. Side headlock from Sells and a closed fist. Sells dominates until a stunner takes it home early, not that I mind. DUD

"The Unbreakable" Greg Steel is out next against the Highland Pitbull. Why in the hell do so many guys on the indy circuit use the name Steel anyway? That gets annoying when there are like eight on them on every show. Steel with chops leading to a sloppy sequence and an eventual pinfall attempt by Pitbull. Hennig necksnap and a dropkick to the face gets a two count for Highland. A couple of chops from Highland before some more contorted wrestling and a reverse powerbomb by Steel. Steel uses a shoulderbreaker and ultimately Masato Tanaka's Diamond Dust, which Plano incorrectly calls a ddt off the top, to finish off the masked man. 1/2*

A very unpolished and scrawny-looking Mike Gunner heads to the ring followed by Brute Shooter, who was pretty chunky at the time. We cut directly to an irish whip and elbow by Gunner. Gunner works on Brute's leg before Shooter takes control with a series of punches in the corner, and a few elbows. Shooter hits a pumphandle slam for two. Plano shoots out some random facts about Jimmy Valiant, who trained Shooter, in an attempt to sound knowledgible of the wrestling business. Gunner stays on the leg and wraps it around a ringpost a few times. Gunner hits a clothesline off the top, but pulls Shooter up at two. Gunner takes a moment to jaw with the Fan Club, and Shooter rolls him up for the quick three count. * Now the fun starts: Gunner pops up and is irate, blaming the HCFC for the loss. Gunner demands a mic and begins to blame *us* for distracting him. Plano leaves the announce position and hears Gunner's argument, as Gunner continues to rant. Chris Plano calls the future Corey Edsel a jobroni and threatens to knock his ass down, if he does not sit down voluntarily. NDW security jobroni Big Tony leaps over the rail, and in the all-time greatest HCFC markout moment ever, escorts Corey out of the building! Plano returns to the announce position and informs us that Gunner actually felt his life was in jeopardy with Edsel still in the building. I am not making that up.

Mike Maverick, not to be confused with Jack Dupp, but generally identified as "That Guy Who Used to Team With Shane Helms", is out next taking on the Gravedigger. Mav starts quickly but gets caught in a chokeslam by the larger 'Digger. Gravy hits some forearms before being taken down with a top-rope clothesline by Maverick. Maverick goes for a figure four, but Gravy kicks him out of the ring. They brawl around the ring a bit leading to an unspectacular double countout. They punch-kick through the crowd a little before cracks Maverick with a chair, and later the HCFC cookie sheet. DUD Gravy demands a title shot for some inexplicible reason (he did not even win the match) and then delivers the single sorriest chokeslam I have ever seen in my life to Chris Plano on the floor. I mean seriously, it must be seen to be believed.

CHAM F'N PAIN here to save the show, taking on High Octane, who at the time was rather unpolished too. Pain points out Brad's "Cham Pain Is My Role Model" sign and color commentator Grant Sawyer mentions us as "those fans from that earlier encounter with Mike Gunner" as they lock up. Side headlock by Octane, which Pain escapes from, but he gets caught off guard with a hiptoss and a takedown before taking a quick break outside the ring. The two of them grapple a bit on the mat before Pain scores with a bulldog. A three-quarter nelson rollup by Pain gets a two count. Pain hits some chops in the corner and a snapmare before hitting a corkscrew elbow. Plano and Grant put over Pain as a travelled competitor (a shoot, especially when compared to the other guys on this card so far, save Maverick) and Grant even puts over the absolutely sick pedigree Pain took while working a syndicated (squash) match against Triple H back in the Hunter Hearst Helmsley days. If you've never seen it, I swear Pain took the best pedigree I have ever seen in my life. I thought Hunter broke his neck. Pain with a top rope splash and then a heel choke against the ropes. Sunset flip out of the corner by Octane, who walks into a Cham Pain clothesline. Pain goes for a suplex but it is countered with a small package for two. Pain hits several shots to the small of the back a bit and takes Octane down with a hiptoss. Octane with a modified Falcon Arrow for two and a clothesline. Pain continues to work on the back before countering a slam attempt with the House of Pain (reverse ddt) for the win. ** cause it it Cham Pain, by God.

Alex the Great and Steele (American Steele Ninja) are out for their handicapped match against NDW Heavyweight beltless Champion Rikki Nelson. See, the angle is that Plano, the heel owner of the company (there's a new one), who coincidently accompanies Nelson to ringside is intentionally feeding Nelson the VERY green rookies as light challenges rather than matching him against legitamate contenders. Another HCFC sign gets on camera, this one in support of Nelson. Plano shoves the ref before Nelson goes to work. Suplex on Steele and then one for Alex the Great. See, these guys were legitamate trainees at the time, so this is just a total squash in every sense of the word. Nelson powerbombs both guys before taking it to the floor. Plano attacks Alex the Great with furious punches and kicks before Nelson steps out and chops Alex. Nelson takes the trusty HCFC cookie sheet and cracks both trainees with it a few times. Nelson whips Steele into a Plano clothesline. Nelson continues to just assault both guys before pinning Steele after a top rope kneedrop. I'll give it * cause at least it was fun and got the point across.

Ring announcer Ralph Harkey makes the introductions for the thumbtack death match as the Dirty White Boy heads to the ring with a trashcan, followed by the Beastmaster Rick Link. Collar-and-elbow to start which Link breaks with a slap. Plano reminds us that this match cannot end until the thumbtacks are used. Side headlock by Link. Link tosses DWB out and then onto a table which collapses just beneath the NDW banner. Link rearranges DWB's face a little before being sent into the aluminum door of the Armory. Link is busted open. I am surprised too. DWB chokes Link with some tape against the wall of the Armory, until Link tosses DWB onto a row of chairs. Rick rips at White Boy's face again before bending the HCFC cookie sheet over DWB's head. They travel to the other side of the building, where we notice that DWB is not juicing also. White Boy empties some thumbtacks which he ends up getting hiptosses onto. Link dumps some tacks onto DWB, who counters with a low blow, causing Link to fall into the tacks. White Boy chokes Link as Plano calls out Carlos Colon over commentary. White Boy is covered in dirt also, that was in the trash can, and takes another bump into the tacks. Link sticks four or five thumbtacks into his head just for the hell of it. Rick stick's DWB's face in the thumbtacks, as Plano mumbles something about Rick trying to kill White Boy. Link with a testicular claw and then a headbutt, leading to yet another bump into the tacks. The Beastmaster drops and elbow and goes for the pin, but White Boy kicks out. DWB gains the upper hand on Link and chokes him a little before leaving the ringside area and returning with a rather shotty table. He sets it up in the corner and attempts an irish whip, which Rick counters, and then sends White Boy into the table again just for good measure. The Beastmaster picks up what is left of the table and drops it dead on White Boy before getting the pin. The lights go out and when they're back up, Gravedigger is in the ring and has possession of the Brass Knuckles title, having cracked Link with a chair. He turns around and DWB launches a fireball at Digger. Link picks up a legit steel (not aluminum) trashcan and tosses it onto Gravy. White Boy tosses the remnants of the table onto Digger also. Rick works the mic a little before going back after Gravy. White Boy nails both of them and takes the mic himself, as all three continue to brawl. Link bashes Gravy with a chair a few times, before taking several shots himself from DWB. All three brawl to the back to end the show. This would eventually lead to a three-way cage match in April of '99 that culminated with the 300-pound DWB bumping off the top of the at least ten foot cage through a table to the floor. To my knowledge, no video exists of that one, but it was a sick bump that is worth mentioning and remembering. On the brawl scale: ****, seriously, this was an unbelievable match to watch live, and a bloodbath to watch on tape. The tape closes with a Beastmaster promo that would later appear on the Best of the Beastmaster video, which essentially just re-affirms him once again as the top dog in the company (and rightly so).

Final analysis: A decent show on tape once you get past the first half of the card, especially the blood gusher main event, which is still talked about to this day.