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Tuesday, July 2, 2002
With
"Green Beret" Tom Howard at the helm,
Team UPW is over bigger than ever in Japan. Tom goes
one-on-one tomorrow night with Masato Tanaka and of
a tour-full of matches I'm sorry to miss, this one is at
the top of the list. It's gratifying to see that Sylvester
"Predator" Terkay has become a bona fide
star. Bear, as he's known to his friends, has worked
very, very hard for this. So,
Sylvester/Predator/Bear continues to get tons of media as
he builds toward the main event cage match against Naoya
Ogawa on July 7 at the venerable Sumo Hall. Nathan
Jones too is over BIG this time out. On the
first night of the tour in a now infamous six-man tag,
Nathan got the pin on Z1 boss Shinya Hashimoto.
Nathan is bigger, better and just more impressive than
ever and this tour should serve to solidify his position
in Japan for Zero-One. Mark "Smelly"
Bell is enjoying his first real time in the spotlite.
Although he needs to loosen up just a bit in ring
(probably a simple case of "Freshman" nerves),
his attitude, physique and comedic antics are impressing
everyone. I'm hopeful --and optimistic-- that this
is Smelly's first outing of many at Zero-One. By now
everyone knows Brian "Spanky" Kendrick's story
as it relates to the Z1/UPW International Junior Title
picture. Quick recap -- last minute replacement for Mikey
Henderson. 2200 mile drive in 30 hours to make
it the tournament a couple hours before bell time.
When Spanky came out the winner in this tournament he told
me that just making it to Japan once was a dream
true for him. This being the case, the current tour
has turned into just about the biggest dream
imaginable. Spanky is over...well in a
word.....HUGE! Unexpectedly still champion
after his title match with Naohiro Hoshikawa,
Spanky is an overnight sensation with the Zero-One
fans. particularly with the young female audience, I
understand. And, he's already booked back for the
next tour! All in all, I couldn't be happier for
him. The next tour begins July 28 and concludes on
August 4, with stops in Tokyo, Osaka, Oita and
Kumamoto. I'll let you know as Team UPW wrestlers
are scheduled. If
you're ever interviewed by news media....watch what you
say. After doing literally dozens of newspaper,
magazine and TV interviews over the year, you'd think I'd
know how to take care of myself, but.......jeez!
Yesterday, I did an interview with the Associated Press
Newswire. They wanted to know how wrestling schools
were faring given the current "demise" of
WWE. First off, and I made this clear, WWE is
anything but in trouble. As anyone who follows these
things knows, WWE is extremely well-capitalized and
expanding as aggressively as ever. Although WWE
--like just about every business in America-- may be in a
bit of a slump, as Vince & Company (and history) have
shown, WWE will undoubtedly soon once again be on top of
the world and again become one of the print and electronic
media world's favorite subjects. The AP asked me, as
have so many others, to compare our Discovery documentary
to Tough Enough. I said (and I know exactly
what the words are because I've used them before) that
it's been written by several journalists who cover pro
wrestling that many consider The Discovery Channel special
to be the archetype of "Tough Enough." The
AP somehow interprets this as follows ".......and he
(Bassman) claims the school partly inspired the reality
wrestling TV show "Tough Enough." Okay,
fine, interpret as you will.
Although
I like to consider WWE and Ultimate both friends and
mutual supporters, things have a way of getting blown out
of proportion and I feel it's important to clarify these
things as they occur. I value good will
with the folks at Titan Towers. So there, I've said it and
now moving on to the crux of the AP story......How are
wrestling schools faring now? I can only speak for
Ultimate University(UU) which is doing......great!
Enrollment is higher than ever and enthusiasm amongst the
ranks is at an all time high. Why?
-
The
school itself: The caliber of instruction,
with Tom Howard, Shane & Shannon Ballard
and Frankie Kazarian, combine to offer what I'm
certain is the best "new school" instruction
in pro wrestling anywhere; the always positive,
non-competitive, mutually supportive atmosphere makes
UU a fun place to be; and, the facilities are nice!
-
Mainstream
Media: The aforementioned Discovery Channel
special, The Learning Channel special, The FX Toughman
special, E!, MTV, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, etc. has
brought us lots of welcome attention. With a new
Travel Channel special in the works, hopefully this
same caliber of entertaining media will
continue.
-
Results:
14 signed to WWF. 25 others worked spots in WWF.
15 to Zero-One. Bookings with XWF and WWA.
Hundreds of bookings in movies, TV shows and
commercials.
I
love the school/Ultimate University aspect of our business
and look forward all week long to Saturdays, when I get to
spend the entire day at UU, interacting with the many
great students and visitors who make it both fun and
rewarding.
WOW!
Did you see UU Graduate John "Prototype" Cena
on "Smackdown" last Thursday? What a
tremendous way to start! John stepped in a wrestling
ring for the first time ever, at Ultimate University,
about 3 years ago. After about a year and a half
with us, he went on to OVW and now......WWE in a very
major way! Congratulations to John, I always thought
Prototype would ultimately be one of the top guys in the
business and it looks like he's well on the way to fulfilling
that prophecy.
Speaking
of guys who started with us, here's me, circa 1985,
(dig
that
tie!) with Power Team USA, including from
far left, Ultimate
Warrior
& Sting, in their first publicity photo ever!
And
speaking of Prototype, just last night I was watching his
match against CW Anderson in the excellent "Future
Shock," a new 2-video set from Sonic Fish and
UPW. Extremely well-produced (great interviews,
wrap-arounds, etc.), Future Shock features the top stars
of UPW doing battle against top-name "indy"
(well, at the time) stars. Here's just a partial
line-up:
Mikey
Henderson Vs Juventud Guererra
Samoa
Joe Vs Konnan
Christopher
Daniels Vs Rob Van Dam
Al
Katrazz Vs Grandmaster Sexay
Smelly
Vs Superfly Jimmy Snuka
UPW
Champs Evolution (Frankie Kazarian/Nova) Vs
ECW Champs Danny Doring & Roadkill
I
hope that one day we'll be able to show Evolution against
Edge & Christian, The Ballards Vs The Hardyz, Rio
Storm Vs Ivory, etc, but in the meantime Future Shock will
just have to do. Believe me, it does great!
Future Shock is available exclusively at http://www.upw.com/catalog/future_shock_-_collectors_editions_1269058.htm
and at www.sonicfish.com.
UPW
will return to The Galaxy Theatre on Thursday, August
15. The show is already shaping up to be a BIG ONE
and we'll announce the first part of the card here at
upw.com on Wednesday, July 10. With upcoming outings
including Bakersfield, Ontario, Santa Barbara and Laughlin,
The Galaxy undoubtedly remains our home. We've been visited
there by everyone from Jim Ross to Sting to Shinya
Hashimoto, have seen entertaining debuts from the
likes of G.A.Y., Lil' Nate, Drunk Irishman and many
others and we've held "going away" ceremonies for
Prototype, Spanky and Nova to name just a few. The
Galaxy is historically significant for UPW and I think
that August 15 will usher in the beginning of a new era
for UPW.
My
best wishes for a Happy and safe 4th of July holiday,
Rick
Just because I like this picture!
(l-r: with ORIGINAL UPW girls
Carnidge, Savvy, Looney & Miss Delicious) Ultimate
Update Archives: June
21, 2002 May
25, 2002 -- Japan and more
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