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COURTESY OF VENUES MAGAZINE. Originally printed March, 2004.

Xtreme Championship Wrestling
By Clarisa Ramirez

Watching sweaty men clad in vinyl and spandex slamming each other against chairs ten feet in front of an audience of fifty people may not seem like your typical Friday night, but for some Denton denizens it is an adrenaline-pumping event not to be missed.

I decided to see for myself what the mayhem was all about by attending the appropriately titled Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW), located at East McKinney Business Park.

As soon as I paid my ten dollars to get in, the first thing I noticed about the arena were the black and red walls accented with barbed wire, suggesting bloodshed and fear. Even the ring had a cutout space in the ceiling, allowing ample room for flipping opponents in the air. Several attendees brought their own beer, although only cans are allowed into the venue. Hardcore fans sported XCW hats and t-shirts with their favorite wrestlers’ names, like the Hardcore Kingpin.

By 8:30 the place was packed as people sat on all sides facing the ring (those without seats had to lean behind a cutout wall). Loud heavy-metal music blared while a video was projected over the spray-painted hallway where the wrestlers enter from backstage.

“The T,” who is XCW’s orange-sunglasses-wearing announcer, jumped into the ring with a microphone and advertised the XCW merchandise available for purchased. “Don’t touch or spit at the wrestlers,” The T warned the audience, “or else they’ll kick your ass!”

The audience responded with stomping feet and yells for the show to begin. Some of the wrestlers ran out of the hallway and circled the ring, proceeding to “trash-talk” their opponents.

Handsome Halfbreed Paul Michael, decked out in a red sequined robe and sunglasses, entered the ring for the first match against the spandex-sporting Chris Richter. A skinny referee used dramatic hand signals to break up the roughness, while the two hit, slapped and flipped each other. Richter tried to pick up Michael and yelled furiously, “That’s a huge bitch!”

A few times the wrestlers either fell or were pushed out of the ring, often landing just feet away from audience members. As the wrestlers fought outside the ring, audience members were genuinely scared of having a wrestler fall on them.

Richter won the first match, but both the wrestlers were exited, covered in sweat and worn out from the fight.

“There’s nothing like fat men in tight clothes wrestling!” shouted a spectator. The second match of the night featured Badass Brett Barnes, with a proudly displayed BARNES stitched on his spandex shorts, squaring off against Bullman Downs, a beastly sized man who sports a large ring in his septum. The funniest part of the fight was Barnes’ making Downs stagger backwards across the ring as Barnes head-butted him in the stomach. Despite Barnes’ confidence and marvelous effort, Downs won the match.

While watching the fight I noticed that the beginners were the ones who wrestled first; they served as an ‘opening act’ for the more advanced and skilled wrestlers’ big ‘finale.’ Each match got progressively more climactic and sensational, paralleling the audiences’ energy and drunkenness. As the arm-twisting, kicks and exaggerated yoga-esque captures ensued, the audience cheered, stomped their feet and clapped their hands for the wrestler they supported.

The third match pitted Deacon Riot, a chubby guy wearing a “We Kick Ass For the Lord” t-shirt against Hardcore Kingpin Scott Phoenix. With his long hair and beard, Phoenix is a crowd favorite because he’s fast on his feet and electrifying with his moves. He owns the Television Championship belt and even has his own website.

During their match, both Phoenix and Deacon Riot fell out of the ring. Phoenix placed Deacon Riot on two metal chairs and pounded him. Although Phoenix started off strong, Deacon Riot turned the tables and defeated him. The audience was furious and booed at Deacon Riot’s victory. Phoenix was high-fived by his fans and an audience member even gave him a beer.

A fifteen-minute intermission followed the third match. It was enough time to stretch, buy pizza for a dollar per slice and run to the car to reload on beer. During this break The T told me about the XCW’s annual Battlebox competition, which is held during the last week of April.

“It’s craziness,” said The T. He explained that the event featured intense matches with various weapons and props. For example, the Singapore Cane match involves two wrestlers with real bamboo canes. There are also matches involving ladders, tables and straps.

“You’ll see blood and welts,” The T said excitedly.

The winners of the Battlebox Competition will fight the Battle Royal, a four-way cage match, with the winner recieving the XCW Heavyweight Champion belt. I ran back to my seat in time for the forth match. A baby-oiled Smoking Gabe Roach, the 2003 XCW Champion of the World, fought Dirty Craig Jericho. An audience member pointed at Jericho’s chest, shouting, “Nice rack! Are those B-cups?”

The Roach vs. Jericho match was quicker and better than the previous ones. The opponents held each other by the crotch and twisted each other into painful pretzel-like positions. At one point Roach jumped off the rails onto Jericho’s back. After an intense struggle, Roach won and flashed his XCW Championship belt as he left the ring.

Finally, it was time for the main event. The T announced the tag-team event with, “It’s time to get Textreeeme!”

The tag-team champions Team Extreme fought the Point of Order team. Both duos wore matching t-shirts and kneepads. The match went extremely fast. The wrestlers took turns and acted more hostile than those who went before them, arguing with the referee and yelling at the audience. At one point Thunder pulled Karson’s shirt over his head and slapped him down.

“He just slapped his nuts!” yelled an audience member.

The climax of the fight came when Team Extreme threw one of their opponents outside the ring towards the announcer, and then onto some empty chairs next to the audience. Beer was poured over his head while the audience members rose from their chairs. The bell rang, and Team Extreme won the XCW Tag Team Championship belt for the night.

After the finale all the wrestlers came into the arena and started to squabble with each other, holding each other back from (further) physical confrontations, and then ran backstage.

If you don’t want to make the drive or pay to see the event you can watch them on UNT’s television station, NTTV. Students film the matches, which are aired week later. Jace Ford is the producer of the show and a huge fan. “What makes it exciting is there are two major groups against each other, and the wrestlers have alliances,” Ford said.

Texas Jive sponsors the XCW live wrestling, but XCW is also a school for those who want to learn how to wrestle. To find out more information on upcoming XCW events, the school or the wrestlers go to the XCW link on Scott Phoenix’s website, www.scottphoenix.com.

The XCW Arena is located on 3730 E. McKinney, Ste. 107. Doors open at 7:30pm and the first match starts at 8pm. Tickets for children under twelve and those with a valid student ID are just $5.

Contact:scott.phoenix@verizon.net