Layton's No Love Lost Remarks

Febuary 10, 2006

One thing is certain about MEWL: nothing is certain in MEWL!

I was sure "Big Gun" Jeff Cannon's challenger for his World League Title would be either "The Pure One" Justin Diaz or "The Natural" Christian Vaughn. But I was wrong!

And the Championship Committee was sure we would be starting a tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions and they were wrong!

It seems that at the last minute General Manager John Orlando negotiated a temporary extension on the contracts of Tag Champs Shane Sensation and Chris Kole. For the time being, they're sticking around in MEWL and will be recognized as the champs. But will this short-term agreement become a long-term one? That's anyone's guess, as negotiations between MEWL and the champs continues.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to all the fans who braved the bad weather to come out to No Love Lost last Saturday. Personally, I think it was our best show yet, and I don't think anyone went away disappointed. There was something for everyone: high-flying, blood spilling and good old-fashioned mat wrestling. My hat's off to all the wrestlers who once again put it all on the line for the fans.

And indeed they take risks. We had three boys in the back who were a little worse for the wear. Sherman Tank was seeing double at one point, Christian Vaughn couldn't remember what happened the last half of his match with Justin Diaz, and Brandon X was unable to move for a few moments after his bout with Christian Kole , which scared all of us, including, I would guess, Brandon himself.

But he didn't let that fear show. Instead he did all he could to make it to the back under his own steam, just like Tank finished his match despite seeing two Robby Starrs ' like one isn't tough enough! , and Vaughn kept plugging away in his match, even when he was clearly dealing with a concussion and babbling incoherently, as Referee Keith Smith put it.

And that's the amazing thing about these guys: they put themselves through sheer hell all to entertain you folks, usually for very little money, and then do all they can not to let on when they are in pain. These people are tough ' way tough. You can take all the backyarders and spoiled WWE Superstars in the world and I wouldn't trade them for this bunch. I'm very proud to be even a small part of MEWL.

Speaking of proud, you should have seen Wilbur Whitlock backstage last Saturday after he pulled out a win over Thunder. He knew he had just saved his job, and he was grinning from ear-to-ear. But this was a different sort of pride than the bragging and strutting he usually does. He was also relieved, and seemed to have learned that winning wasn't something you can take for granted. He also told anyone who would listen how touched he was that the fans cheered him so loudly, even after his prolonged losing streak. 'That's why I was able to get it done out there,' I overheard him tell Scotty Sabre. 'Cause I got the fans behind me.'

Is this new and improved Wilbur the real deal? Maybe. And maybe I'm just about ready to become a Wilbur Whitlock fan myself.

As for Scotty Sabre, it sure was great to see him back in MEWL action. The Urichsville native is still keeping one foot in the WWE, of course, but was more than happy to come back to Alliance to work his heart out for the fans. And watching him backstage was a real lesson to some of these youngsters who think of themselves as "superstars" when they have not yet finished paying their dues. Scotty is a class-act all the way.