The EPW/NEW SuperCard: WrestleStock 2007

It's finally here, the EPW/NEW SuperCard, dubbed WrestleStock (more on the name later), two months later than expected, but in FW time, that's a matter of seconds ;). Besides, an event of this magnitude needed a good build, and with all the stuff on the card, the King of the Cage, the NEW Tag Team Tournament, Tact's Challenge Match, every single title in both companies on the line, you couldn't just rush into this thing. Let me also say personally that as a participant in two of the biggest matches on the card and also representing both feds (King of the Cage final and the NEW World Title cluster), I'm honored and humbled to be a part of FW, and maybe even e-fed, history. Now, I'm not so arrogant to think that my time in eW is a full representation of its history, but I also know that since I've broadened my scope in 2004, I've never seen something like this attempted let alone pulled off. Hell, even when I was just in the A1 feds, we never came close to getting the two home feds together. There was a lot of talk about having a supercard between A1E and MBE before MBE closed its doors, but the two BCs either had their own plans for their respective feds' direction or were too far apart on the terms. It's a big to-do.

Anyway, let's run down the matches, shall we? This card is so big, we have two nights of action, so let's break it down like dX:

Night One
Stalker's Open Challenge
EPW newcomer Stalker kicks the first night off with a challenge of anyone in the eW world. So far, the only one to answer the bell has been Kin Hiroshi, and they've been prolific so far. I mean, Mike Stanton prolific. Don't be daunted by their early flurry if you want in, but I won't be disappointed if these guys are the only two to show. Cluster matches are fun, but singles matches usually yield better heat in the long run.

Unlucky 13 Match - Rex Reynolds vs. MWG
I'm really not sure what an Unlucky 13 match is, but knowing Edmunds, it'll be something interesting. You have the relative newcomer taking on the old vet, a guy I've been pegging to be in the NEW World Championship scene for quite awhile now. Barry's got the talent, but does he have the time? That seems to be the only thing holding him back nowadays as nearly everything he touches turns to gold if he can show. This will be a good place for "The Future" to prove his mettle though.

Highland Park Social Club vs. Karl Brown and Foxx
This match was set up on the most recent Aggression. Good to see the Club back in EPW; I thought their last run was cut short, but with time at a premium for the parties involved, it wasn't surprising. Like the cross-promotional reinforcement of Adam Benjamin joining the fray as well. This should be a good match, and I like the heels here on a hunch. Nothing against Karl and Foxx though, but I feel Benji's improved enough lately, and Phil, of course, is Phil.

Cat's Meow vs. Jared Wells and Karla Starr vs. John Doe and Tina Davis
Interesting match, and I have to say that I dig John Doe's angle. Sure, the woman hater seems to be something that's done to death, but it's always a great source of cheap heat, and it almost always sets up any female character to hit big. Yeah, the guy in the angle would get his heat annihilated in real life, but everyone knows that heat is so much more elastic in eW than in real life. Kudos to Rivera for running it. I do have to say though, it's good to see the gender segregation in NEW come to an apparent end, at least for now. As for a pick... it's hard to bet against Jared Wells, but I do like what Rivera's been doing lately, as I just said.

EPW Television Championship Match - Shawn Hart (c) vs. James Irish
A rematch from the second round of the TEAM Invitational Tournament. Good to see there's some interfed history here. Before the TiT final, Hart was pretty much unstoppable, and James hit sort of a cold spell. Momentum has turned a bit for both guys, but I still think this is going to be a very competitve match and still Hart's match to lose here.

NEW P©X Championship Match - Chaos (c) vs. Mystery Man
You'd think I'd get tired of seeing mystery man angles, especially in NEW where Larry Tact just came back with much fanfare with one. Still though, I'm a sucker for them, and I kinda like where this was headed from the last Raucous. I think Chaos retains, but hopefully, the unmasking will yield something good for NEW.

King of the Cage Final - Jericoholic Anonymous vs. "Triple X" Sean Stevens
I can't really say a whole lot about this match except that I'm extremely honored to be here, and that I wish Jamar all the luck in the world. I know we can tear the roof off the joint, so I say let's do it.

NEW Tag Tournament Finals - Inner Circle vs. Bored of Edukashun
Lindsay Troy pulling double-duty on night one... this is huge for both the Canteloupe's foray into the FW world and for Melton in the night one main, but I think Lindz is resilient enough to put up more than a puncher's chance. Besides, she's got Ryan in her corner. That team would be favored against probably any other team in this environment. I wouldn't sleep on the Bored though. Good pedigree and a pretty sweet gimmick. This match is hard to call, but I'm flipping a coin and saying BoE with the upset.

EPW World Championship Cage Match - Lindsay Troy (c) vs. Joey Melton
The only thing I'd change about this match is the stipulation. The other really big EPW match of the night is a cage match, so why dilute the stip? I personally would have liked a strap match, but that's just me ;). This should be a super-fun match, and judging from Steve's first RP, my initial feelings are correct. Go read it now. In fact, I'll freaking link you to it. Even as that stands, I still feel like Lindz is going to retain here. Sorry Tard :p

Night Two
Nakita Dahaka vs. Frankie Scott
Whoa! Great to see Scott back RPing, and great to see him blow off his feud with Dahaka. One has to wonder what kind of rust he has, and I do think this will be a close match. I also think Scott will pull it out. I'm telling you, he has the talent to break off an amazing run and go right to the World Championship. I've seen the flashes... he just needs to get his real life affairs in order, get everything settled that he can, and then have some time to just go and make a run.

P©X Contenders Match - Jason Payne vs. Peter File
Why Jason Payne hasn't won anything in an FW fed outside of the TEAM FFA~! Title is beyond me. He's overdue. Of course, he could be NFW World Champion by the time this is posted, but hey, that isn't here yet ;). That's not to discount File, who plays the almost-too-creepy character very well. Still, I'm going with Payne here.

CHRONIC COLLIZION! vs. Class Act
I'm not going to lie to you. I have no idea who Class Act is, and therefore, I'm not predicting this match. However, I do like that EPW is rolling out tag matches for this. They have a great tag division and they should flaunt it.

Contenders Match for the NEW Tag Titles - Saviors of Wrestling vs. Jack 'n Hoff
Semifinalists from the tournament square off. Should be good fare if both teams show up, but I'll take the Saviors here. Good way for NEW to build the fledgling division though. Hopefully, more teams will come in and FW will have four feds with strong tag divisions (although by saying four, I may have let a cat out of the bag for NFW...)

EPW Tag Team Championships - Cameron Cruise Project (c) vs. The Proletariat
MORE TAG TEAMS! Yippee! I'm really up for this match. Two of the best teams in the game, period. One is a legendary team, and the other is an interesting gimmicked team of up and comers. Always a fan of Communists in wrestling, and I think I have to go with the challengers here. Sorry Tard :p

NEW Television Championship - Mr. Entertainment (c) vs. HAL
This should be a fun match. HAL made his bones in the Dupree Cup, but hasn't cashed in in the fed yet. That could be a function of NEW's relative inactivity, but I still see big things for the character. I love gimmicks, especially off-beat ones. Mr. E's a solid character who also has TEAM success under his belt, but I think it's HAL's time with the TV title.

Street Fight - Beast vs. Anarky
Levinson pulling double duty here! Another biggie, hell this is a dream match-up across the A1/FW circuit. This one isn't without history. Each man represents their ownership representative, and it's a pretty good main event in the progression of the top angle in EPW. As for a winner... I'll have to flip a coin here and say Beast comes out on top... for now.

NEW World Championship Dueling Ladders Match - Jonathan Marx (c) vs. Larry Tact vs. Jean Rabesque vs. Rocko Daymon vs. Shawn Hart vs. The Phantom Republican
Wow, what a match to finish things off. Seriously, I can't make any predictions here, but once again, good luck to everyone involved. To quote the Man in the Black Resistol Hat, this one oughtta be a slobberknocker!
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As for the naming of the event, I honestly feel it's a faux pas on the part of both Brunk and Edmunds, especially since they're both in NFW and have been for a long time. Granted, NFW's WrestleStock was in the West, and I may have been the only person who was in the East for the entire season who followed the other conference. Still, when you share the same circuit as another fed who has an event of the same name, it'd be nice to be cognizant of that fed's event names.

The one saving grace is that the wrestling business is notorious for having several feds share the same event names, especially among the indies. While FW feds purport to be all national feds, the real structure of the site and the circuit is that of one big group of indies. I feel that lessens the blow, and in the long run, it's not going to be a big deal. Still though, in the future, you should really check around, at least the feds in your circle, y'know?