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The Steve Twist Smark Rant for the countdown to BTWF Eternity

Back by popular demand comes the STSR and for the fact that things have kind of been just plain pissing me off the past few weeks here. The first thing I want to get out of the way before we go into the good stuff and the countdown to Eternity section is how people haven’t been able to post matches or get them done. Now I know people have lives and so on and blah blah but come the ******** on. Tuesday was Madness and nothing more has been posted since then and this is Thursday. If it was only one person I wouldn’t have a problem with it either and I know that one match has had some problems so I’m not going to yell at them but some other ones I’m not sure of and one especially upsets me. The GCDC one between Rocky/Heat still isn’t up despite us all knowing that Heat somehow won it since the Eternity card is up and that makes me mad. Not once did I ever have a Gaia Championship match in late when I was champion and now as soon as I am stripped of the title, before a new champion is even crowned, a match is missing. Now this is a warning to everyone in the Gaia Division right now, do not get me angry at you because me and Omega made that division and I’m not going to let people ******** it up.

But onto a little brighter news that doesn’t involve me berating quite everyone. The past few weeks of Madness…well haven’t been superb but there have been some high points and at least one really good match. So first a little review of Madness from September 9th. (* Ratings may come later but right now since the review crew isn’t on I’m not going to do them. Oh and yes that means that I’m not the only one who rates them for people who thought that.)

BTWF TV Title match – Can’t say this was anything special…or that I cared about it more then what is on at 5 a.m. in the morning. Choppy flow to the match and I don’t like Undertaker clones so I’m not even going to say anything else on this.

Tag Championship – Wow I didn’t know this even got posted but I’ll take a look at it here. Quick match, good action, nothing special but hey it was a rush job and it was obvious that it wasn’t all that it could have been. I don’t think anyone really took the whole Tag Titles on the line thing too seriously either when you look at who was in it.

Small Fry Championship – Another quick match that pretty much served its purpose as showing Xunkai as a strong SF Champion and that he isn’t one dimensional like many other SF guys. The whole Grey Fox history also worked well in this match and made it somewhat enjoyable while it lasted.

Brian Blade Segment – Someday we may see why Eternity is happening…maybe not but it might make a cool DVD extra…

GCDC 1 – Yeah I’m too lazy to put everyone who was in it and this sums it up well. I wasn’t a bit surprised Rocky won it and it wasn’t a very long match at all, following the trend of the rest of our matches for that night. Madness: Night of Mistakes was pretty wacky but this match did its job and didn’t lose any interest while it did it.

GCDC 2 – The Main Event that wasn’t even supposed to be a main event was a lot like the first GCDC match. Although I’m kind of upset that people seem to forget that Kage got the s**t kicked out of him at Ragnarok along with me this match was still good and set up a Rocky/Heat showdown for the Madness on September 14th which is up next in my review...

Overall: This show was plagued with short matches and stuff that was rushed so I think Madness: Night of Mistakes is a good name for it but I’d also go with Madness: Mediocrity lives on. Just a thought though.

So what do you follow up a disappointing week with? A week that still is disappointing in the number of matches but really leaves the fans going home happy after a great ME and the BTWF’s first warranted ME Promo that gives Eternity a new meaning and kicks off the build to the biggest match the BTWF has ever seen.

First Match – No show although if anyone cared I’d be shocked.

Second Match – No show, this match may be up sometime though as it is kind of needed for something to make sense here…(Oh and what happens is posted but not the match.)

Thir-A MATCH!? 6-man GCDC – I’m shocked that we got a match here but luckily not too shocked to say this was a pretty good match. I’m not really going to do a big review as I have a lot to cover and haven’t actually got to read the whole match but it looks like it was well booked and it also seems we have a participant who I don’t think a lot of people would’ve expected coming out on top.

Fourth No show, err “match” – Yeah, results are up but that doesn’t make the Ladder Match at Eternity really mean anything. Just kind of a “Well Steve Twist did it so why not”. But if you didn’t like me bitching you wouldn’t be reading this would you?

Demon vs. Frost – This match will be up someday so until then I will withdraw from saying anything about it since I know the problems behind this.

Small Fry Championship – Yeah this is one of the biggest reasons the fans went home happy. Awesome match that had everything and was also very clean up until the REF BUMP~! And all the people beating the hell out of each other. Really I liked this one and thought it was probably on the level with or better then their Ragnarok match. I’m sure everyone wants to know the whole deal behind Blade holding up the SF Title but you’ll see sooner then later…

The Countdown to Eternity – So the match is finally set the one that everyone has wanted to see since the day Big Daddy and Steve Twist proved they were almost unquestionably the two top wrestlers in the BTWF. Steve gets a new persona here while pretty much swerving the s**t out of people with the mystery man thing that kind of ended up being ******** due to this match being pushed further back then originally thought. Pretty much to sum this promo up Steve takes everything Big Daddy has been saying to people over the last two to three months and says he is better then that. I also saw that Big Daddy responded with the fact that everyone else has said they could do it and no one else did. Steve says that he isn’t in the same pack as the rest but Big Daddy comes back with that either way Steve still isn’t above Big Daddy. And yeah you could keep going on this but pretty much this is your classic feud that will no doubt lead to a classic match at Eternity.

Overall: Well if it weren’t for the few matches and the promo this night wouldn’t have had anything literally but it still ended up being pretty good even though it was probably the smallest Madness we’ve seen for a while. This won’t be remembered as one of the best Madness shows but really at least this one didn’t have a bunch of filler crap and had stuff that really mattered.

And now we have Madness this week that looks pretty good. I was going to do all my Pre-Eternity stuff this week but I think I’ll wait until next week to do that since this has been a packed rant already. I do want to say that Eternity is looking like a great card and hopefully it can surpass Ragnarok in awesomeness.

And now for my “Best of Steve Twist DVD” plug. Although I don’t know when it will be coming out yet I just wanted to tell people a bit about it and maybe inspire a few others to do something like it *cough*Blade*cough*. (Although I know he won’t have the time but that would be damn interesting.) Anyway what this is going to be is probably some stuff about the Steve Twist character, matches of course (from different feds as well as this), promos (like the matches), back stories behind stuff (exclusive content biatch), some restructured matches like Twist/Omega from BloodBath, and of course Extras (which I’m not even sure what they’ll be yet). Anyway I’m sure that all sounds good and dandy but like for all good things you’ll be waiting for it until I’m done with it although I will say November would be a good estimate. And of course if it goes well I’ll probably have another one in the future since being in my first year of e-fedding there is a lot of ground to cover yet for me.

So to end this rant I’ll give you a random fact about something random: The name of Steve’s new move The Unjust Sanctity was inspired by Brian Blade’s Revival of the Sayvior name wise. (The Unjust Sanctity is a Top Rope Reverse Gory Special Piledriver for those who didn’t know.)

-Steve Twist

The Steve Twist Smark Rant for BTWF Eternity

Hola and welcome to another edition of the Steve Twist Smark Rant. Normally I would go right into things but there is a special occasion type deal I need to address first. This of course is the return of one of the biggest names in the history of the BTWF, the "Man of a thousand holds", the "Crimson Dragon", Omega! But all announcing buisness aside I just want to say welcome back to one of my first and best friends in the "business" not only on my behalf but on the behalf of every single person on the BTWF roster. It is good to have you back man and I can't wait until we go one on one again in a BTWF ring because it will no doubt be another classic.

So anyway that is cool and all but onto the meat of this rant which is a review of BTWF Eternity that took place Tuesday. Now I'm not sure if this is the best PPV yet or not so it is time to see as we go through a card that was somewhat stacked albeit somewhat dissapointing as well.

Opening Match: Hell's Guardian vs. Jaice Wilds - A quick opening match that was really just to get the crowd fired up and to showcase a new "talent". Nothing special as it didn't go too long or didn't really do a whole lot for me but nothing too bad. Just kind of an average-below average match that was pretty much rightful for its spot on the card.
Rating: *

Tag Team Championship: Irvine Kanyon/Seraph vs. The Outcasts - Another short match that had some good solid action in it and was easily the best tag team match of the night. (Get it? ...well if you can't figure it out it was the ONLY tag team match sheesh.) Anyway this was a good match right here that didn't go too long but really didn't have much of a point to it altogether. Another match that is a good crowd starter but not like an awesome tag match you must see.
Rating: ***

Steel Cage Match: The Tiger vs. The Demon - One of the matches that surprised me and was probably one of my favorite matches of the night except for a few problems with it. This match was action packed and had lots of blood though it also had a lot of interference for a Cage match. My gripes with it would have to be the amount of moves in it for one since both guys would obviously be pretty damn tired after about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through that match and another is that I didn't like the Cage breaking although it would be somewhat logical. Technically however a cage is supposed to be built plenty sturdy enough to take a LOT of punishment. Those things aside though this was a very good match bordering on the edge of greatness and probably the 2nd best match of the night.
Rating: ***3/4

Small Fry Championship: Ultimate X Invitational: Xunkai vs. Icy Ali vs. Revision vs. Alex Auldron vs. Twilight vs. Tsunami - A short match but I think it did what it was supposed to do and that was give the fans some crazy action. This match was obviously rushed to give some of the bigger matches on the card more time but the SF Division once again puts out a solid match that is also an awesomely Spotacular one. Xunkai doing a CRAZY jump off of a 20 foot high scaffold definetly gave this one a little extra incentive to see it as well as an upset victory by Icy Ali.
Rating: ***1/2

The Rematch: Brian Blade vs. Maxwell Conners II - The best damn entrance the BTWF has seen with a good match to go along with it. I still believe that the first match between these two is a bit overrated to say the least but this one definetly is better and more entertaining as an actual match. Of course The Sayvior wins in the end but both men put on a good show and the roll-up victory came out of nowhere yet it was innovative and didn't suck like they do sometimes. Overall better then the first and more enjoyable for the fans as well.
Rating: ***1/2

Gaia Championship: Ladder Match: Bryan Kutterman vs. The Heat - Since this rating isn't only my own I'm going to take my gripes out with this match right now. It shouldn't have been a Ladder match since the main purpose of a Ladder match is to, oh I don't know, use the LADDER. I think that a No-DQ match would've been a much better stipulation for this match but it is too late for that now. Anyway we get the betrayal of Apolo (who would've guessed...) and a NEW Gaia Champion in Bryan Kutterman. Nothing special and definetly a mediocre match compared to the first Ladder match but it could've been worse I suppose.
Rating: ***1/4

BTWF World Heavyweight Championship: Steve Twist vs. Big Daddy - Probably the most anticipated match in BTWF history to date and this is what everyone was waiting for and hopefully expecting. A great match that probably went near 60 minutes (Estimated by Ironman comparison in amount not paragraphs) and was one to see for sure. Both men looked extremely good for the match and I think that it lived up to expectations. In the end it was the Savior who prevailed over the Reign of Terror and brought it to an end only to see a figure from his past, Omega, looking on. Overall it was everything I think you could want from a match but maybe I'm wrong either way I'd say it was good stuff.
Rating: ****3/4

Final Verdict: While the ME gives this PPV an edge on many I don't think this PPV as a whole was as good as Ragnarok. Not a bad PPV but while having a stacked card some things just seemed like filler in between bigger matches like Brian Blade vs. Maxwell Conners and Steve Twist vs. Big Daddy but all and all it was still a great PPV and I'll give a thumbs up for it easily as everything besides the opener was ***+.

View the Replay of BTWF Eternity HERE!

So yeah Eternity was pretty awesome but now the week after we have what could be one of our best weeks of Madness ever with Madness: Night of Champions II so in honor of this I'm going to do a quick preview right now and then a review next week so onward.

TV Championship: Ok this is a yawner right off the bat. The TV Championship has lost any credibility it once had as it hasn't been properly defended so who really cares about this match? I sure as hell don't.

SF Championship: Icy's first title defense against Mr. Money. A match that was probably made sometime between the hours of 3 and 4 am but I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong it could be good and I'm somewhat looking forward to it but it isn't going to be easy to impress me with this kind of match.

Tag Team Championships: I didn't even know who the Terror Kings were before today but I have faith in Seraph and Kanyon to bring the tag goodness in this match.

Gaia Championship: My poor belt crying . Never again will I create a division only to see it fall to this. You know this match doesn't even make sense come to think of it...

13 Person Gauntlet: Now this should be interesting. A bunch of people in a match and the winner will face me at MaXimum Carnage I mean how can't that be interesting especially when those people include BD, Riona Langly, Jack Frost, the list goes on. Not sure how good of a match this will be but it should set up a lot going into MaXimum Carnage.

BTWF World Heavyweight Championship: So the time has finally come for Steve Twist vs. Xunkai, and it is not just a match but a match for the BTWF Championship. This should be a really good match with the longest reigning and 2 time Small Fry Champion going up against the longest reigning Gaia Champion and the NEW BTWF World Heavyweight Champion in it. The question is after losing to Big Daddy and losing his title in the UXI does Xunkai have it in him to beat Steve? But another question is after going roughly 50-60 minutes with Big Daddy can Steve last in another long match if Xunkai won't stay down. Guess we'll just have to find out in a clash of two of the most dominant champions in BTWF history.

Overall: The show looks solid but some of the lower card matches could falter. I do believe that both the Gauntlet and ME will be awesome though.

Yeah I said quick and I tried to make it that. Anyway I have something that may interest people and that is I would like anyone to make their own review of Eternity. (Since I'm thinking about upping our review crew to 5 people so we don't have so many ties.) Anyway we'll either do that or have like a guest reviewer each month who we'll select out of people who make good reviews. Hopefully people will do this but if they don't it isn't like I care.

So now a closing random fact of randomness for this week since I am tired: Steve usually has no respect fo authority but does have respect for Brian Blade because of his well known wrestling talents. However Steve denies any claim to doing so.

-Steve Twist

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

The Steve Twist Smark Rant for Mutual Annihilation

Alright it has been a long time in the making but it has finally come time for a brand new edition of the greatest editorial/review that has ever been seen in the BTWF. That of course being the STSR with your host, none other than now the Ex-BTWF Champion (which some people seem ecstatic about) Steve Twist. Also this will probably be the last STSR for the year of 2004 and I’ll probably do something a bit special with it if I have time since I’m not sure realistically how many people figured the BTWF would last this long and still be going pretty strong. But now onto the review of a PPV that was basically built around one match and actually surprised me by delivering a few other good matches along the way.

TV Championship: Casket Match: Makuta vs. Anthony Voorhees – Let me just start by saying that this match was much better than the TV Title match at MXC. Well maybe not leaps and bounds but overall I think it was put together better. I still have a tough time with how these matches have been written lately though because of how jumpy they seem but overall an entertaining match that wasn’t too bad or too good.
Rating: **

Capitol Punishment: Raymond Kage vs. Victor Bidwell – If you can define the word ‘match’ and have this be a part of it then I guess you could call this the biggest ******** of a match the entire night. The HARDKORE spots were cool and junk but it really got interesting when everything started to break down and the match took second stage to a bigger picture that is starting to shape up. Even though I don’t like matches that basically build up for other ones this was still a really good match and much better than their first match at MXC.
Rating: ***3/4

Small Fry Championship: Hell’s Guardian vs. Twilight – To be fair and honest all I can hope is that this match was rushed. It is amazingly short and doesn’t really help the already on its bedside ready to die SF Division. Not really horrible or anything its just this match could’ve been so much more had it went longer and had some actual meaning to it. (Besides having one SF Champion and Revision’s return…)
Rating: *1/4

Tag Team Championship: GoL vs. Renegade Soujahs – RESERVED for when this gets finished…

Gaia Championship Fatal Four Way: Rocky vs. Bryan Kutterman vs. Shadow vs. Heat – This match had not only had quite a bit of build-up going in but had a big expectation as well seen as how the first Gaia Championship FFW included yours truly and was a **** affair. Shockingly though this match manages to live up to everything expected from it and turned out to be a really good match. Maybe a bit too many moves and stuff for adequate selling for me but when you have a match that is so well done like this it doesn’t really affect it much. Basically, although I don’t care for the interference, this match stood on its own as a match and won’t need to be referred to as FFW II or something of that nature.
Rating: ****

BTWF World Heavyweight Championship: Hell in a Cell: Steve Twist vs. Omega IV – This was THE rematch everyone has been waiting for. Sure there are other rematches but this was a rematch in the BTWF voted 2004 Feud of the Year which had already brought a *** match at the BTWF’s first PPV where a *** match was great and two ****+ matches not to mention speculation and an awesome blood feud that made everything electric. Did the match live up to the insurmountable hype though? I can honestly say without a doubt it did. This was the debut of the HIAC in the BTWF and both men brought it in this match. Although from the start it was clear Steve Twist had the slight upper hand when it came to wrestling Omega had the upper hand when it came to exploiting injuries. Finally after brutal beat down where Steve tried to break Omega’s neck not once but twice and Omega tried to decimate Steve’s right leg so he couldn’t stand on it again there was a NEW BTWF World Heavyweight Champion and his name was Omega.
Rating: ****3/4

Final Verdict: After thinking this PPV would be a one match PPV I’m surprised and glad to say that this is one definitely worth checking out for more than the AWESOME Main Event. I’m sure some people might not agree with me on that but if you’re looking for a good brutal PPV this one might be better than MXC to pick up. I guess it depends on your tastes and of course there are a few matches that are basically just crap on here too so in overall quality MXC is much better. Overall though with two ****+ matches and one bordering on that this is still a really good PPV for the money and another strong showing for the BTWF to end the 2004 PPV Schedule.

Replay is currently only available on Gaia but it is also in the new Gaia HD so check that s**t out.

Alright since I said I’d do some cool stuff for the last STSR of 2004 I will starting with showing the final ratings tally and ratings for all the PPVs the BTWF has held this year:

BloodBath
HBK vs. Brian Blade - ***
BTWF Championship - **3/4
Gaia Championship - ***
Tag Team Championship - *3/4
Women's Championship - *
Tag Team #1 Contender Match – ¼*

Payback
BTWF Championship - ***1/2
Gaia Championship Ladder Match - ****3/4
Scramble Cage Match (Small Fry Championship) - **1/2
Triple Threat Hardcore Match (Women's Championship) - DUD
Hell's Guardian vs. FF - DUD
The Tiger vs. The Twins of Death - *3/4

Tournament of Gods
BTWF Championship - ***1/4
Darson Grays vs. Jack Frost - ***1/2
Gaia Championship - ****
Darson Grays vs. Fox - *3/4
Xunkai vs. Jack Frost - ***
Tag Team Championship - *
Darson Grays vs. Pohatu - *3/4
Ice vs. Fox - *3/4
NeoFighters Championship - ***1/4
Xunkai vs. Xebes - **
Jack Frost vs. Shadow Starr - **1/4

fadetoblack
BTWF Championship - ****1/2
Gaia Championship - ****
The Tiger vs. Shady - ***1/8
Small Fry Championship - ***1/2
Tag Gauntlet - **3/4
Ravena vs. Worlock - *3/4
TV Title - *1/2

Ragnarok
BTWF Championship - ****1/4
Gaia Championship - ****3/4
Icy Ali/Hell’s Guardian/Fox - **1/2
Small Fry Championship - ****
Rocky vs. Kutterman - ***3/4
Tag Team Championship - ***
Dizturbed vs. Worlock - **1/4
Ravena vs. Demon - **3/4

Eternity
BTWF Championship - ****3/4
Gaia Championship - ***1/4
Brian Blade vs. Maxwell Conners II - ***1/2
Small Fry Championship - ***1/2
Steel Cage Match - ***3/4
Tag Team Championship - ***
Hell’s Guardian vs. Jaice Wilds - *

MaXimum Carnage
BTWF Championship - ****1/2
3 Stages of Hell - ***1/2
Texas Execution Death Match - ****1/2
Gaia Championship - ***1/2
Darson Grays vs. The Demon - ***1/2
Small Fry Championship - ***1/2
Tag Team Championship - ***1/4
Raymond Kage vs. Victor Bidwell - **3/4
TV Championship - *1/2

Mutual Annihilation
BTWF Championship - ****3/4
Gaia Championship - ****
Tag Team Championship -
Small Fry Championship - *1/4
Capitol Punishment - ***3/4
TV Championship - **

PPV Totals:
*****- 0
**** to ****3/4 – 12
*** to ***3/4 – 22
** to **3/4 – 10
* to *3/4 – 12
DUD to ¾* - 3

Now if you ask me that is pretty damn good especially as the BTWF isn’t even a year old yet and will get even better in 2005. Still no ***** match for everyone to remember in the company yet but most don’t usually have a true ***** match in their first year anyway. Still though a LOT of matches that are right up there and I don’t think anyone has the right to complain about how things have shaped up especially since these are PPV ratings alone and we have 12 ****+ matches. (Not to mention the fact that there were two more **** matches on MNoCII.)

So now without further ado I’m going to give my TOP TEN MATCHES of 2004 including every Madness and PPV in this list through when the BTWF started until now.

10. Steve Twist vs. Xunkai (Madness: Night of Champions) – This was no doubt probably my hardest pick since there are so many matches that could have been #10 instead of 11th or 12th. I feel that this is the right choice though because this match was the only **** one on one match that took place on Madness throughout 2004 and was really a good match in pace and a fun one to watch as these two were pretty much part of a losing tag team yet great singles alliance throughout the year.

9. Submission match Twist/Omega III – A match that didn’t live up to the great expectations left by the BTWF voted MOTY Ladder Match but still a really good match that doesn’t always get the respect deserved. At the time this was the only the second **** match in the history of the BTWF and although it doesn’t capture what a Submission match is supposed to be about it still continued the series between Omega and Twist and showed how they would do whatever to be the winner and the better man in the match.

8. Garden of Evil – This is a match whose spot could easily be debated for hours on end but this is where it has managed to place in MY list of the top ten matches. Really this was a great ******** and had a great concept behind it, not to mention it continued and concluded the Dar/BD rivalry for the time being. Of course the problem with this was it ended up making it centered largely around those two and just had the other competitors basically doing cool high spots. Still a really fun match though and deserving of its place in the elite matches of the BTWF.

TIE 6&7. Steve Twist vs. The Tiger & Texas Execution Death Match BD/Conners - As much as I like to be clear cut about my choices these next two matches I just couldn’t decide on which I liked better because of their vast differences. I mean on one hand you have a really good one on one match that turned into an awesome stiff-fest and on the other you have an amazing death match that really concluded the BD/Conners ongoing feud for good and had everything you could want. I gave both matches the same rating and still can’t decide so I’ll leave it to others to fill in which goes where.

5. Barbed Wire Match Steve Twist vs. Raymond Kage – An instant classic when it comes to brutal violent matches and really this is probably the most overlooked great match of 2004. The problem going into this match though was that not a lot of people particularly cared for a match between these two and about anyone who saw this figured Steve would win anyway. Still a really good match though and definitely one I’d suggest everyone check out if they’ve passed it up in the past.

4. Steve Twist vs. Big Daddy – The match that everyone wanted to see delivered by going about 50 minutes to a single fall. This is easily the best one on one match without a stipulation the BTWF has seen and it was all about the wrestling in this one. With a big time event atmosphere to the ME of the BTWF’s biggest show to date this match is without a doubt one of the best matches the BTWF has and may ever see when it comes to a singles match. Really I can’t say enough good things about this one and I’m sure Twist/BD II will even top this.

3. Ironman Darson Grays vs. Big Daddy – The longest match in the history of the BTWF gets this far up for more reasons than one. The shock value of this long of a match goes as the first reason but this was also a really good match and well executed. Although I believe that BD/Twist did a much better job of pacing this match was the first match to go so damn long and is still a classic even being an older match that many would think may have been repeated by now. Bravo to both men in this for making it such a memorable encounter.

2. Ladder Match Twist/Omega II – Yeah I know what you’re thinking right now. What the ******** am I thinking putting the BTWF voted MOTY in the #2 spot? Well I have my reasons but first I’d actually like to talk about this match. This was the single most revolutionary match in the history of Gaia wrestling feds and also an amazing match that sky rocketed two BTWF wrestlers’ careers. Now both have been the Gaia Champion and BTWF Champion so it adds even more to what this match has done. The thing is though that I believe that there has been one match better than this one…

1. Hell in a Cell Twist/Omega IV – Call me crazy, stupid, selfish or all of the above and I won’t care. This match was where it was at when it came to matches for 2004 and I’d gladly argue that point any day of the week. Of course you don’t have to agree with me but like HIAC matches or not this one was done astoundingly well. Throughout this match there were many little stories that built up to bigger stories and really just made this a great match. Sure the ANGER level doesn’t come into play right away but then again rarely do you see anyone start a match already steaming and ready to tear the other person apart. Personally I think this is the closest match the BTWF has had to a ***** match and that, while not perfect, it did everything right when it came to being a big time match and a rematch between rivals since the beginning of the company. Plus it leaves the door wide open for one final match to settle it all between these two. What? You thought that when the series was now 2 – 2 it would be over? Don’t count on it…

So there you have it whether you’d now like to tear my eyes out or couldn’t agree with me more that is the STSR Top 10 Matches of ’04, most following the ratings they received and others just being how they were for specific things they did right. All of those matches are of course ****+ matches since I really don’t see how putting a ***3/4 match up there would be fair when looking at the absolute elite matches of the BTWF. Either way though you can cherish or trash that as I move on in this probably way too long STSR.

Now instead of just ending this right now I do want to at least give some credit to matches that were so close to being on the list so here is an out of order list of those right now without re-rants so I don’t totally lose all my readers since this has been pretty long even for one of my rants.

Gaia Championship Fatal Four Way – fadetoblack
20-Man Gauntlet – MNoCII
Gaia Championship Fatal Four Way – Mutual Annihilation
Xunkai vs. Revision – Ragnarok

So there you have it and as a final word since I’m even running out of patience writing this I’d like to say happy holidays to everyone in the BTWF whether or not you celebrate any of the holidays and I hope to see the BTWF continue to go strong in what looks like a very promising 2005. So until next year this is the STSR and I’m Steve Twist signing off.

-Steve Twist

The Steve Twist Smark Rant for BTWF Payback

I know what you're thinking when you gaze upon that title and it is probably along the lines of "...the f**k" to "where's LoS damn it!?" Well the problem is that I still haven't been able to get a good version of the LoS tape and seen as how we're coming right off of Payback I think I can recall in my memory about it (or just order the PPV, free of charge of course). Enough idle chitchat and conversation with seemingly no one however, and on to the matches!

Opening Match: Eclipse vs. Yuri Yurievich

Now this was a great way to start off what wasn't the most fantastic looking BTWF PPV ever. The thing is how does everyone always remember Eclipse was a TV Champion? I'm just curious since the guy didn't even beat anyone for the belt, defended it once, and then lost it to our current (p***k) champion (the 'Wrestling Asshat') Austin Azure. I can't take away anymore from this match though because it was a very solid match and the best damn PPV opener we've seen so far in the BTWF. My only gripe about the match was it seemed a tad bit too long for an opening match (and one that wasn't going to be highly remembered), but either way a great effort here that started the night off just right.
Rating: ***1/2

Bringers of Death vs. Generation of Legends

I'm certain that people know this was a match I was a little under whelmed about, but to my surprise this one was pretty good. Of course the match portion didn't last too long, but afterwards all the fun HARDKORE stuff came into play. (Which isn't a big deal to me, but I'm certain many people liked it.) Also the early demise of the BoD happened and people got hurt (or at least somewhat hurt). Overall it wasn't a fantastic match, but it still had its purposes and didn't slow the warming up night down one bit.
Rating: **3/4

Bryan Kutterman vs. The Tiger

This match amazes me by virtue that it was done and ON TIME even. The actual match is a fun one that pretty much seems to be running on spots and finishers alone, but somehow that manages to work this time around. I suppose it is probably because both are coming up, or have been in the higher ranks of the BTWF so wrestling is not as needed for them. (For the record I joke and will kill anyone who thinks they can get away with bullshit like not making wrestling matches wrestling matches.) With that out of the way I would say this only adds another portion to what is shaping up to be a hell of a PPV thus far.
Rating: ***1/4

Tag Team Championship: Renegade Souljahz (c) vs. H.A.L.O.

So the first title defense for RS comes around and it is against two guys who have been in the tag division for a long time now. This match had some tag tactics, shady tactics, and some ChEaT 2 WiN s**t up in here. The problem is that even with all this it isn't a shining example of a tag team match, but I will give it credit that I took more notice of this then some of the GoL defenses. Either way I see RS improving with each match and eventually maybe even putting the Tag Team Championships back in a light of importance.
Rating: ***

Stephen Ford vs. Maxwell Conners

The stipulation on this match is the winner gets shot...oh wait that says "title shot" my bad. Either way you could just see the HEEL in Conners come out during an otherwise unspectacular match. Not to say that I was expecting anymore from a match that would lead to one person or the other getting a title shot later in the night, but either way it wasn't the epitome of awesome or anything. Another surprisingly solid bout however, which seems to be the motto of Payback. SOLID SUCKA~!
Rating: **3/4

Steve Twist/Riona Langly vs. Empty Promises

Finally, after all the build and hype we managed to get Twist, Riona, Azure, and Xunkai all in the ring for one match to settle things (or to further things...) and I can honestly say that this was the BEST tag team match in the history of the BTWF bar none. (And no WARGAMES is NOT a tag team match.) While it may have had more of a traditional tag team formula it did what a match like this should do and that is build HEAT for a hot tag which happened between Riona and Twist in an odd, yet cool way. Not to mention some of the wrestling and counter-wrestling was off da hook for lack of a better (or more overused) term. Seriously, even with moves lacking in the double team compartment this tag match had pretty much everything you could hope for in one as well as an ending that will without a doubt in my mind lead to some confrontation between Riona and Azure down the line.
Rating: ****1/2

Gaia Championship: Three Way Dance: The Heat (c) vs. Revision vs. Shadow Starr

Will this be the end of this whole feud yet? WILL IT? Only time will tell, but this was an interesting match going in. Each PPV this year so far has had a Triple Threat Match, the first was the Triple Threat of Champions at AZ which got ***1/2, then at CW the opener which got **1/2, and the LoS ME which got...well it hasn't been revealed yet. Anyway this match is a little different with the 3WD rules and it shows that along with being another very good outing in a seemingly revived Gaia Division. The one problem I had with this one as by the end it seemed to be dragging and while that is kind of expected with it being two posts usually a match shouldn't have that feel. Either way another great match for this now seemingly awesome PPV.
Rating: ****

BTWF Championship: Darson Grays (c) vs. Maxwell Conners

Darson Grays: "I AM A HUGE SAMOAN WHO WILL CRUSH YOUR SKULL!" Maxwell Conners: "I beat that one guy...yeah him and now I'm going to take MY title that I held once upon a time back from you Darson!" Damn that is some heated s**t right there, but yeah this wasn't the most anticipated BTWF Championship match ever. What it was, was a fun match that started Darson's title reign of strong...well except for the non-finish thanks to the ******** which will set up a big match at the next event. Now with that out of the way I can honestly say this one lived up to any expectations placed on it and was possibly better so there you go.
Rating: ****

Final Verdict

Every month it always seems like the BTWF out does itself. Well that isn't true, but this time I would say that not only has this PPV outdone LoS on being consistently awesome, but also has outdone the former best PPV in BTWF history Ragnarok. One early MOTYC in Twist/Riona vs. EP and a ton of awesome matches including the 3WD and Darson vs. Conners that give this PPV at total of 3 ****+ matches and 3 ***+ matches with the only two matches under *** being BARELY under *** at **3/4. A great effort by everyone that I hope carries into BloodBath '05 because this PPV was the real f'n deal. Thumbs up and a very high recommendation for BTWF Payback.

Now to find a good LoS tape...(get your matches done!) and then we can really start talking about some awesome matches. Anyway I'm sure the next few months are going to end up being really great for the BTWF and that we'll carry into the summer looking strong. (Meaning free time a plenty on the young ones hands.) Until then however, this is the STSR and I am that one guy signing off right about...wait for it...wait for it...now.

-Steve Twist

The Steve Twist Smark Rant for BTWF BloodBath '05

So this took a little longer than I thought it would. Oh well good things are worth waiting for, right? Or was that good things are hard to wait for because they don't really come very fast and then you get annoyed waiting for them and so on and so forth? Anyway I have it on good authority that this PPV kicks large amounts of a** so we shall see as we dive into yet another half-assed edition of the corporate sponsored STSR. (And as a warning I'm no selling any "you sold out" chants.)

Opening Match: Demon's $20,000 Challenge

BAH GAWD...an opener that isn't finished. Not the first time that happened. Oh and I love how Darson can even no sell guys in promos like how he did Ford in the promo before this.
Rating: Oxford University sayeth get this s**t done.

Victor Bidwell vs. Frankie Money

Another missing match and now I'm officially pissed~! Okay not really, but who books this s**t? Oh boy I hope he doesn't read this...corporate sponsors wanted me to say that not me I swear! They also want to know where these two went and how much a slushie costs at the dollar slushie place.
Rating: Smoothies > Slushies (And you know this...MAN)

6-Man Tag: The Heat/Darkfyre/Yuri vs. Generation of Legends

I'm pleasantly surprised for here is the first match of the night that is actually done. This was a pretty good tag team contest which, while a bit messy, seemed to work well and helped to set the tone of the night early on. Then again it would amaze to me no end if a GoL match didn't have some kind of weapon use or blatant cheating in it somewhere. In all seriousness however this delivered not only the match I had been waiting for since the opener, but also gave some more interest to the story between these two teams although it seems that has kind of come to an end now. I didn't really see that coming after this match, but with departures and such there isn't much you can do.
Rating: ***1/4

Tag Team Championship: Dog Collar Match: H.A.L.O. and Ravena vs. Renegade Souljahz (c)

You know I really liked that segment that was before this one. That s**t was awesome and I'm glad to have Killa in the BTWF. As for this uncompleted match...well I can't say that I was looking forward to who was in the match, but the stipulation would have rocked. Another disappointment that leaves me wondering about the rest of the night.
Rating: Killa 4 LYFE ;p

Taped Fist Match: Steve Twist vs. Xunkai

Now here is a less than interesting stipulation for a match. Well I'm kidding slightly there because I like Taped Fist matches and think they are pretty cool, but using one here was questionable especially since writing out a Taped Fist match and reading one isn't really as cool as watching one. Somehow though I find myself surprised once more to find this match kicked all kinds of a** and was a bloody mess which was cool. Put the emphasis back on BloodBath '05 instead of the hidden title: Night of the Missing Matches. Anyway good stuff throughout this one without really using weapons although the Cross-Legged Brainbuster on the chair is questionable. Not to mention the ending was a bit unexpected and leads on to the re-rematch at ToG II where everything should hopefully be settled once and for all.
Rating: ****1/4

Riona Langly vs. Austin Azure

Let it be known to the world that I...well I'm not going to say love because that sounds weird, but really like this match. The only thing is I have a feeling it was probably really overlooked because of the bloodier matches of the night such as GoE II which EVERYONE loves. (If you don't you better because you ain't making me a liar biatch.) Anyway I thought the psychology and mat work in this match were awesome along with the counters and...well pretty much every ******** thing clicked in this match. In my opinion this is the MOTY for the BTWF thus far even with Austin's little ego trip entrance. Oh and I also thought Austin kicking out of the Bomb Dropper ReMix was cool because honestly I didn't expect it since I don't remember the last time someone has kicked out of a Riona finisher before this match.
Rating: ****3/4

Gaia Championship: Revision (c) vs. Twilight Tokyo Rose

Could it be...do I sense...a SPOTFEST~! OOOOOOHHHHHH YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHH (Savage Style) This one took me back to the days of old, the days where the BTWF had a SF division, and put on the best match of its kind since Xunkai vs. Revision at Ragnarok. Awesome HEAD DROP goodness in this match with both wrestlers looking very good and Revision showing that he may be the best wrestler outside of the ME scene in the BTWF today. Not to mention he is easily the best Gaia Champion since myself and possibly even better than I am, and I'm not trying to offend others that have held the belt since then because we've had some really good Gaia Champions.
Rating: ****

BTWF World Heavyweight Championship: Garden of Evil II: Darson Grays (c) vs. Anthony Voorhees vs. Bryan Kutterman vs. Stephen Ford vs. Maxwell Conners vs. The Tiger

Ladies and gentlemen, straight from the Barton Arena, the BTWF would like to present you with one BIG gimmick matched filled with entertainment, so let's get ready for a HARDKORE SPPPPOOOOOTTTTTFFFFFEEEESSSSSSSTTTTT!!!!!! Which is pretty much what this match was. It did have good building up of characters including Voorhees and Kutterman, as well as a bit of wrestling and other things, but this was a big time spot-o-palooza no matter which angle you look at it from. Oh and an entrance-fest. And I thought Azure's damn entrance was too long, the ones in this match were just uncalled for. Still I have to admit this one was thoroughly entertaining and one of the best matches of this new BTWF year. Like I said before I prefer the awesome wrestling that was Azure/Riona, but I like this match a ton too.
Rating: ****3/4

Final Verdict

At the end of all this I'm not disappointed, but I am upset with the missing matches which are really keeping this PPV from being the best BTWF PPV. I mean Payback was awesome, but this had FOUR ****+ matches and two that are for sure MOTYCs. You really can't go wrong with that and I'm betting that if the rest of the stuff on this card ever gets done than this could easily be the best BTWF PPV ever, or at least until the next kick a** PPV which I'm really expecting to be ToG II. Oh yeah and so far nothing on this card is below ***1/4 so that is pretty damn good if you ask me so come on people and get your s**t done. Thumbs up and a really high recommendation for BTWF BloodBath '05.

I'm...I'm done? YES! Wait...with ToG II tomorrow that means I'll need to get more ratings and do this all over again. DAMN IT! Ah well, at least I'm looking forward to a PPV that should be pure awesome tomorrow so if people don't have their matches done they should get them done and hopefully that PPV can be even better (and way more complete) than this one. So until next time, where I will so be getting MOTN just you watch, I'm signing off and wishing you all a happy ToG II day which I have declared tomorrow thanks to my corporate sponsors.

-Steve Twist

P.S. This STSR is brought to you by the letters F and U as well as a long running joke. Peace.

The Steve Twist Smark Rant for BTWF Madness: Night of Champions IV

Going against all demands which are popular comes another edition of the one and only STSR. Obviously this one is a bit different than usual as I will be doing it for M:NoC IV, but that doesn't mean I'll be any less of an a*****e than usual. That being said sit back, relax, don't read this if you don't want to, and enjoy as we take a look back at what was billed to be the best Madness in BTWF history (sans Kutterman acting like Puppet and quitting. xp )

Opening Match?: Tsunami vs. Red Comet vs. Twilight Tokyo Rose vs. Irvine Kanyon

Since I'm really not sure where the matches start I guess I'll just go with the first one up which would be this. Of course going into this match I knew full well that it was thrown together, but the match itself didn't change my opinion on that whatsoever. Sure the writing was good, but the content was pretty mediocre and it didn't really have anything that made me care about the match at all. Not to mention it seemed like an SDvR match with everyone using the same moves over and over, minus the person taunting on the outside.
Rating: **

Strap Match: Stephen Ford vs. Maxwell Conners

This match was better than it had any right to be and that isn't a shot at Ford and Conners, but instead a shot at the stipulation in this match. Not to mention it was in front of the Aekea crowd (which was underutilized and used wrong at times) where a stip like this would probably be s**t on. Nonetheless Conners and Ford had one hell of a match here that easily beat out their other two matches and made you genuinely care about what was going on. I'm still getting a bit bored of the SKF/LOW BLOW duels and seeing who can use which the most, but otherwise very good match.
Rating: ***3/4

Tag Team Championship: Legacy of Destruction(c) vs. Nature

Well if Red's pyrotechnics didn't burn down the Aekea Civic Center the entrances for this match did. Seriously, pyrotechnics in a smaller building = not good. Anyway onto the match which I didn't really have high expectations for, mainly because the Tag Team Division went from looking okay again to dying once more right after. I have no problems with the start of this match, but as it goes along all it seems to be is a bunch of thrown together moves. Not to mention Nature ends up looking like a couple of jobbers thanks to LoD kicking out of their finishers. When you want to build tension the CHALLENGERS kick out of the CHAMPION'S finishers (if they aren't winning). Still, I think most people know why the ending was the way it was (and an amusing one it was) so overall a pretty decent to good match.
Rating: ***1/4

Pure Wrestling Rules: 2 out of 3 Falls: Austin Azure vs. Riona Langly

This is the match I was looking forward to most out of this entire card, which is strange because if you would have told me the card before BB '05 I would have said the ME was the match I was looking forward to most. I apologize in advance if my analysis of this match is a bit more thorough and long than usual, but this was truly a classic match. What really sets it apart from most BTWF matches is how well everything was put together and the stories they followed. For example in the first fall Austin goes after Riona's midsection. You may ask yourself why he is doing this, but as the fall goes along you realize it is because Austin has a set of moves for doing this all thought out and hasn't used these moves before which throws Riona, who would be looking for a set-up to the Shattered Destiny, totally off her game. Sure the main stories of the first two falls (Austin being able to beat Riona cleanly) and the last fall (both competitors trying to get the other to submit) are great, but it is the little things in this match that make it truly special. Just like the BloodBath '05 match there are so many little things that people will miss out on because they don't look beneath what is presented right to their faces. Simply put this is easily the best Madness match ever and will probably be that way until the BTWF is no more. Anyway I could go on and on about this match, but I'll make it simple and say this is the new STSR (Non-gimmick) MOTY, and if I had to vote between BWR II and this I might actually choose this (which is saying something since I take a LOT of pride in BWR II). Almost forgot...STRETCH PLUM~! *Is one of maybe three people that marked out for that.*
Rating: *****

Gaia Championship: Revision(c) vs. Steve Twist

And of course Revision and I end up the poor bastards who have to follow that last match. Really I noticed after this was up that it was not the full edited version, but the edits are little enough not to matter in what was the perfect match to break away from (using the 2 min. per paragraph scale) what was approximately a 75 minute wrestling match. (Note: The 2 min/paragraph scale is using 14-18 full lines in WordPad at Verdana 9, is not applicable to Civil War, and is also how Darson and I found that the Triple Threat at LoS was 68 minutes.) Back to talking about this match which was, surprisingly enough, my first gimmickless one on one match since returning to the BTWF. While the match probably wouldn't be in the running for MOTY right now (although it may be close) it is still an interesting match and probably the best defense Revision has had to date. I'm just surprised no one has whined about the ending although it was done for storyline purposes (since that is how the BTWF is booked ::feigned shock:: ). Not to mention BRAINBUSTERS RULE~!
Rating: ****1/2

BTWF World Heavyweight Championship: Darson Grays(c) vs. Killa K

Isn't this match supposed to be called Joe vs. Punk III? (Always have to place a joke in for Darson's matches because he is the only one who won't jump down my throat about it.) Even with the obvious roots from that match however, this does have some interesting stuff in it with Killa trying to take Darson out by going after the HUGE SAMOAN neck. While it may not exactly suit Killa to do this, you have to admit that there was no way Killa was going to be able to brawl with Darson and this plan fit the purposes of Killa well since he wants that BTWF Championship, not just to beat Darson. In the end Darson is able to once again take another opponent out who would threaten his reign as BTWF Champion, but Killa put up a tough fight and I wouldn't be surprised to see a rematch between these two down the road, BTWF title involved or not. Either way this was a good match and the stuff afterwards was...interesting to say the least. While I may not be a fan of his I will say VOORHEES IS BACK!!!
Rating: ****1/2

Final Verdict

Easily the best Madness EVER. Never did I think there would be a Madness with a ****1/2 match, but this had two at that level and a ***** match which only 3 out of 14 BTWF PPVs have. Pretty spectacular night for the BTWF where even the worst matches weren't all bad. Just a great way to wrap up June and follow up on ToG II which is easily PPVOTY material. Thumbs way up and a very high recommendation (considering this was a "free" show) for BTWF Madness: Night of Champions IV.

Since June has now passed I've decided that I would collect the ratings for the first half of 2005 for all BTWF PPVs and see how things have been going so far this year in terms of ratings as opposed to last year. (Not to mention if I have time I will go back and do an STSR for the PPVs that are pre-Ragnarok in 2004.) And since I'm not sure really how many people are familiar with what the Review Crew uses as their rating scale I'll give an example here:

***** - Spectacular (Only given to the VERY best of the best.)
**** to ****3/4 - Great (Amazing matches that are, for the most part, the best of the best.)
*** to ***3/4 - Good (Simply good matches, as well as ones bordering on greatness.)
** to **3/4 - Mediocre (Nothing to set them apart, but not horrible.)
* to *3/4 - Below Average (Not the worst of matches, but in serious need of improvement.)
DUD to 3/4* - Worthless (Ranging from complete crap to Hulk Hogan, these suck.)

Now to see how 2005 has gone so far with PPVs and including M:NoC IV.

1st Half of 2005:

***** - 4
**** to ****3/4 - 16
*** to ***3/4 - 19
** to **3/4 - 7
* to *3/4 - 0
DUD to 3/4* - 0
Unrated/Unfinished - 5

Wow this looks a TON better than the final count for 2004. Definitely a better year with better writers thus far. That or maybe we are going way too easy on ratings, but I'm not sure. Anyway I'm hoping that those numbers keep looking so good as the year goes on so keep up the good work and I'm signing off until next time, whatever that may be. (ftb probably.)

-Steve Twist