History of the PCW/CWF Relationship

[Booker Thee]

This was originally posted on the Manson site. I was not happy with Ernie at the time and that comes through clearly. But it's still accurate, if a bit bias. I'll add an update detailing the latest chapters in the 'relationship'.

Okay, this is long as hell, but if you're a fan of insider details, especially as they pertain to how two rival promoters tried working together, this is for you.

And in the end, it has a happy ending - Ernie Todd gets unwittingly double crossed.

Happy reading...

PART ONE

The first contact with the CWF that PCW had was, somewhat appropriately, a rib. Dec. 2002, Shallcross and Davidson had begun working in the PCW offices in John Nyguen's NIC building. Davidson had called Ernie’s hotline where Ernie would put over his upcoming show like it was the greatest event ever held and then urge fans to order advanced tickets by leaving a message on voice mail. Davidson replied that he would like 150 tickets and hung up. A few minutes later Ernie called inquiring as to PCW’s business address to bill them for the tickets. As always, Ernie over-reacted. Davidson’s response was to instruct Shallcross to return the call.

Shallcross had never spoken with Ernie before and had no clue who he was. Obviously, he saw no reason to call him. Davidson did not explain the rib, deciding to turn the rib on Shallcross by telling him Ernie had some questions about PCW and it was the perfect time for Shallcross to get to know the competitors. Shallcross fell for it and called Ernie.

If first impressions count, Ernie did not make a good one on Shallcross. He complained about Davidson, told Shallcross that he and PCW would never be successful with Mike at the helm and made his feelings on everything well known. While Davidson laughed hysterically, Shallcross had trouble ending the conversation. Finally, when he did manage to get Ernie off the phone, Shallcross’ response was characteristically logical – why would Ernie criticize Mike to his partner? Now, not only did Davidson have a low opinion of the CWF owner, so did Shallcross.

However, PCW investor and self-made millionaire John Nguyen wanted to meet the competitors. He was well aware of the political climate of wrestling and, being a businessman, assumed they could all operate as fair competitors. He wished to express those feelings to his competition so Mike set up meetings.

First up was Ernie Todd. He came down to the PCW offices one afternoon to meet with John, Davidson and Shallcross. This would be the first time John and Shallcross had ever met Todd. He was dressed rather grubby and this immediately soured John on him. To PCW, the meeting was a ‘get to know you’ deal, but Ernie began pitching ideas for a working relationship, something that would come up fairly regularly on his behalf over the next two years. Ernie was very interested in doing an ‘invasion’ storyline and was most interested in putting TRCW out of business. He proposed having CWF workers ‘invade’ a PCW event and vice versa with PCW workers putting over the CWF guys to keep the feud going. Ernie was also very interested in putting TRCW out of business. He claimed to have paperwork detailing TRCW’s use of a not-for-profit softball league to fund the money-losing TRCW. Whether any of that was true or not has not been proven, but Ernie said it was true and he stated that he reported Bobby to Revenue Canada to no avail. He claimed he did not have the time or resources to investigate further. John offered to have his people take a look at the paperwork and Ernie agreed to send it over. He never did. As a result of the meeting, John realized he could not trust Ernie Todd. After a polite discussion, Ernie left.

While PCW never showed any interest in working with him, Ernie continued about his business. He revealed plans for an NWA-style alliance of promoters called Ring Warriors. Though Dusty Rhodes was involved, the company appeared to lack the financial resources to get off the ground. Ernie tried to be the hero by offering to find an investor and set his sights on John Nguyen. John was an intelligent businessman and always listened. Ernie, who perhaps was used to being immediately turned down, seemed to take this as silent acceptance of the deal or at least an interest in hearing more.

Thinking he has John hooked, Ernie e-mailed him on the weekend of April 6th 2002. In a surprise, Ernie showed some foresight by suggesting that smaller drawing local shows should be run under the CWF or PCW banner while keeping the RW's name for large shows so as to associate an international project too closely with bar or CC shows. He was on the right track there, actually, if not a little off base. Of course, he took the opportunity to sh!t on Mike Davidson and Shallcross by suggesting they had already killed PCW by going from 1600 fans for the Commencement of Cool event to under 100 for the first few Stratosphere shows.

And of course, he could not get through an entire e-mail without blaming the boys for his lack of success:

Ernie Todd - "Eventually we will have to run all shows under the RW banner, but hopefully at that time, we will be establishing a large fan base. I had that fan base, until everyone ego's got in the way. Wrestler ego's are the number one problem in the local scene."

His next order of business was to continue his assault on Mike Davidson. Say what you will about Mike, but Ernie was sure afraid of him. At times you couldn't tell if Ernie's real goal was to get John onside with RW or just to get Mike out of the local business.

Ernie the Visionary attacked Mike's forward progress in an e-mail to John - "One of the concerns I have with Mike, is the damage he could do, the longer you let him run the show. He could set up a number of commitments that I would have to honor, that could hold us back from take those steps up the ladder, to reach the level both of us want this to be at."

Not content with just sitting back and letting John make an educated decision, he continued his attack on Mike by actually using falsehoods about PCW's business (as if John would not know the truth).

Ernie Todd - "While it is a rumor about Mike agreeing to pay the Bombers, Bobby Jay told me again today, that that was how Mike got the deal. Bobby even admitted to me, that the exposure he got at the Bomber game, did not put one person extra in the seats. He claimed he had over 1000 two for one passes and not one was turned in at any of his shows. It is a waste, unless you are getting paid to do it."

There you have Ernie quoting a rumor to John. Of course, PCW never paid a cent to the Bombers to hold wrestling events there. And you've got Ernie saying they were a waste of time even though they were free. Ernie truly is a visionary.

Now Ernie felt he had John right where he wanted him and prepared to deliver the big knockout to Davidson. The problem is, this was all the same e-mail. The great visionary hadn't stepped back to see if his plan was working. He barged in full force with an attack on Mike. Unfortunately for him, John was loyal.

Ernie Todd - "Mike has turned this into a private war with Bobby. Everything Bobby does or has done, Mike is trying to scoop. He started with the workers, then it carries on. His focus is not on making you money, but winning a personal war with Bobby at your expense. Mike lacks the maturity to make this work. Mike's big mouth and his need to brag, is his downfall, which to me show he has not the maturity to be in a position that he is. I would strongly suggest, that if we are going to join forces, that Mike be eliminated from the picture immediately, before he cause too much damage. If you wanted to retain Andrew, that would be up to you, but I wouldn't want his salary coming out of my earnings. I need a clean state, with no skeltons on the closet."

Ernie's strategy here seems to be to show John how political and sh!tty the business can be in hopes he will want to invest in it...huh?? Same strategy he used on Coyotes to no avail.

Then Ernie went back to rumors and specifically what Bobby Jay told him. One has to almost wonder if Bobby wasn't playing Ernie here, sacrificing Ernie to try to get a little doubt into John's mind.

Ernie Todd "Some of your talent are leaving. TJ Bratt was just the first. Bobby told me that three more could be on his show on the weekend. Bobby stated that they are leaving because of Mike. Bobby also has some stooges in the dressing room, that tell him what is going on. He knows about the deal with the promotion our of new jersey and if what he tells me is true, it is a waste of time and resources."

Of course Bratt did leave (and good riddance). The Axe left shortly after as well. That was two guys, not the four Ernie was quoting. Then again, when it comes to talent leaving, Ernie would have a lot of experience.

Ernie continued, straying farther away from logic - "If you are looking to spend money to make money, then spending properly is important. I do not know everything about this business, but I know a heck of a lot more than Andrew and Mike."

A few days passed and John let Ernie's info and offer sink in. Truth be told, John wanted to keep doing shows the caliber of Commencement, but cheaper, and he did not realize that Ernie was full of sh!t at this point. He was listening. Ernie just played it wrong.

It is unclear whether John even replied to the e-mail quoted in the above post, but it seems there was no reply. Ernie was under the gun to get a commitment for RW and continued to apply the pressure. This was around the time of the Dan Severn show, and the infamous "piss-yellow posters" Ernie used to advertise his show.

[Booker Thee]

On April 11th, he fired off another e-mail to John even though John had yet to agree to anything.

Ernie, the visionary was sure jumping the gun here: "Just to let you know, I would be more than willing to take over everything after April 14th."

He then went on to suggest the Stratosphere shows had little value - "Running once a week at the stratosphere is not to hard to absorb into my schedule. We could have a meeting with Tom on the 16th. If you wanted to keep running there, that would be up to you, but a weekly venue in a bar has not been successful in the past. This would be something that we would have to discuss, to see if this is the direction we wish to pursue in this venture."

Ernie would later put all his eggs into the Coyotes basket in an effort to kill PCW's business at the Lid, but at that time, he felt it had little value to him. But at least he'd be willing to absorb it into his busy schedule. Of course, he failed to take into account that Tom and Shallcross had known each other for years.

Ernie did not receive any response from John, but continued to push. He, on paper, committed himself to the guys he planned to fire by listing the guys he wanted to keep.

Ernie Todd - "Here is who I would recommend keeping on the roster- Madison, Damon, Dicapprio, Tatum, Rawskillz, Mentallo, Omega, Dalton, Parys, Angles, Richtor, and any women on the roster.

Combined with my roster of Ryder, Martin, Overkill, Machine, Rain, Meanor, Love, Sylver, Collins, Diamond, Gallagher and the incomparable, Big Kahuna, plus I have three women in training and the 5 men in training.

This combination would be the strongest in this territory, maybe western canada. Factor in bringing in names for the big shows and the contacts I have for independent talent across the country."

Hey boys, don't see your name? You weren't in Ernie's plan. Then again, your egos are the number one problem in wrestling anyway, according to Ernie. Side note, did Ernie ever bring in a name for a show? Hmmm...

Ernie then started to reek of desperation. He again took a shot at the Stratosphere, PCW's home venue and went back on the offensive against Mike and Shallcross. In a way, he was telling John that everything he was doing was wrong. He NEEDED Ernie to save him.

Ernie Todd: "The stratosphere won't make any money but if you have no Mike or Andrew to pay, it won't lose any money either.

Like Howard said, when these guys have no financial risk or investment, they don't care about spending money, because doesn't come out of their pockets. They are guaranted a paycheck, whether they are making money for you or not. They are living there dream job and getting paid for it."

Now, finally, after all this, Ernie actually began to discuss his vision for the future - "Mt goal is to make this into the largest and most profitable promotion in Canada. I think if you and I can become business partners, that can happen. I'm ready to kick some ass (literally)."

I wonder whose ass Ernie was threatening to kick there...

And finally, Ernie ended it with a very minor detail in all this - RW's actual events.

"It looks as though the first RW show will be in Charlotte NC, hopefully in May, as the end of may and June are going to be very busy. I will let you know as soon as I have confirmation."

Of course, it never happened. And not even "The American Dream" could convince John to get into bed with the "Visionary".

John discussed the matter with Shallcross & Davidson, but ultimately decided that he did not want to work with Ernie and did not want to finance someone else’s project. He again turned Ernie down on April 17th 2002.

A disappointed Ernie replied the same day with this:

"That is too bad. Once you let your workers dictate to you who is in charge and who isn't, then that is a recipe for failure. Bobby Jay will win the war with Mike in charge and all you will wind up doing is spending money to finance his failures. I am sure by the end of the year you will reconsider venturing into the wrestling business with the people you have in charge.”<br>
The fact Ernie was insulting John’s choice in whom he invested money into, did not go over his head. Ernie continued, in the same exchange, to change Johns mind by attempting to whet his appetite with Dan Severn. At the time, Severn was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and UFC competitor. John was a huge UFC fan.

Ernie continued, “The other thing I have to bring to the plate, is the ulitmate fight game. I spoke with Dan about becoming part of his danger Zone promotion and he is all for it. I will be starting to get the approval of the Boxing commission here, to adapt the rules, then I will put on a show. I will be looking for an investor who wants to get involved with this. Just to let you know, he got paid 85 grand US to put on a show at a casino in the states."

Now it seemed clear Ernie did not think the addition of Dan Severn would help close the deal because he goes on to criticize Shallcross and allude to threats of violence:

"One thing I would ask John, is that if your crew has a problem with Bobby Jay and TRCW, please do not bring it to my shows. Apparently Andrew confronted Bobby about what The Axe did, with Andrew trying to provoke Bobby into a fight. Andrew even slightly pushed Bobby with his shoulder, then Ryan Wood stepped in between them. I do not want the trouble between PCW and TRCW being settled at my shows. That was very unprofessional of Andrew to even confront Bobby, never mind provoke him. Don't be surprised if some violence doesn't errupt soon because of what happened between the respective groups. I know a number of my crew members were not happy about this type of action taking place on our show.”<br>
Ernie then closed by telling the millionaire businessman that he was making a poor business decision:

“I think you are making a bad business decision to let your workers decide who will run your company for you, but that is your choice and I wish you well in the battle of Winnipeg. I have other plans for the CWF."

[Booker Thee]

Ring Warriors ceased operations without ever promoting an event. Ernie promoted an event on April 14th 2002 featuring a main event of former WWF and UFC Superstar & NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan “The Beast” Severn against Ernie himself. The entire local industry let out a collective groan as the promoter and non-wrestler booked himself against the World Champion. The match itself was universally panned and the event drew little more then 100 people. For a show featuring a big name and world champion, it was considered a resounding failure.

Ernie Todd also continued his on-going war of words with Shallcross, e-mailing him on April 18th 2002 to claim that his match with Severn was well received by the ‘real fans’ and told Shallcross to enjoy his success ‘while you can’. Todd was unhappy that Shallcross did not support his run for Mayor of Winnipeg – an embarrassing display that fell flat when Todd could not even get enough signatures to be nominated.

In May, it seemed the ‘other plans’ for the CWF that Ernie alluded to became a little clearer when he sent this e-mail to John on the 14th:

“I wish to sell my a second ring, as I have no need for it. Mike is quite familar with it as it is the old River City ring. May focus is on getting out of this city and making money. I have several road trips and I will not have time for a training center anymore, so I have no need for a second ring. I will let it go for $3000.00 plus GST, in "as is" condition.”<br>
PCW turned him down, yet again.

The CWF continued to be a non-factor, preferring to concentrate on out of town dates rather then Winnipeg-based shows. On July 8th 2002, Ernie Todd telephoned John and offered to sell the CWF to him and to come on board as a paid employee to run PCW. Once again, John refused Ernie’s offer with this statement:

“Thank you for your voice mail. At this time, I regret to inform you that I'm not interested in your company, it's assets and talents. In regards to hiring you on as an employee and using your expertise, well, by the looks of it, you can't even run your own company to make it successful, what makes you think that you can run mine. If you believe that you can work for me and make my promotion successful, why can't you do that to yours.”<br>
A disappointed Ernie thanked John and said his “insults have given me a new inspiration."

On July 9th, John clarified his position:

“My statements weren't meant to be insults, they're reality. I'm sorry you feel that way. However, if something so simple such as what you call "insults" gives you inspiration, maybe I should insult you more often. You're going to need all the inspiration you can get if you're going to compete against Mike and Andrew in this business.

I suggest you stick with your original idea and get out of this business while it's not too late. Don't let pride get in the way and end up losing your shirt. By the looks of it, you've already lost most of your nice clothes, I suggest you hold on tight to the last shirt that you do own.

Good Luck, You're going to need it!”<br>
Later in the summer, it would be clear that the new inspiration was offering to work with TRCW.

With the competition feeling the pressure, they made a surprise move – they joined forces. The CWF and TRCW put a bitter relationship behind them and began promoting events together with a CWF ‘invasion’ of TRCW at their weekly event. Finally, Ernie Todd had his long sought after invasion. However, the bloom was off the rose pretty quickly as rumors began surfacing that the relationship was not as positive as they were leading people to believe.

In early October, Ernie Todd’s war of words with Shallcross once again heated up, causing Davidson to e-mail Todd and warn him off:


“Ernie,

How is business? I am getting in touch with you for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I notice that you have been making some statements toward Andrew that have been very disturbing. Since I know that you keep a record of every e-mail, and keep in case one day it can be incriminating I will be very careful as to what I say.

But if you issue another public statement concerning Andrew, whether it be via e-mail or whether it be at a show or anything, I am informing you that you could be committing slander. We will if need be consult with our company attorney, and further take necessary legal action to take care of this matter.

Frankly, I personally do not care, and really neither does Andrew. We are both young guys who have built a company we can both be proud of. With the help of our certified business consultant Hank Ross, we have positioned ourselves within the industry as leaders within this market. While you were plugging away at your mayoralty race, we were plugging away at building up our companies credibility. Something that cannot be replaced. I am just informing you that as a company your disparaging comments have been taken note of, and we expect them to cease immediately.

I would like to wish you and Bobby the absolute best of luck with your alliance, and I hope it reflects well in terms of business. But don't fool yourself into thinking you are in our league, when every major player in this country contacts us to become involved.

Andrew and you have similar philosophies on violence. I wouldn't go to the table underestimating his presence. But realize PCW is dealing with this in a business manner. I would appreciate your assistance.”<br>
Ernie’s response was typically childish:

“Andrew who are you referring to?

How many people in the world are named Andrew?

Thank you for the informative e-mail.

Your threats will be taken into consideration.

Also, I heard from my sources, that a less that flattering promo was cut on me at your last show. I also heard that this was not the first time you, as booker, gave the green light for this to happen. I suggest that you practice what you preach.

I also, had a long conversation with Tony today and he informed me of some false accusations you made about me.

I have been minding my business from day one and I suggest you mind yours as well.”<br>
Davidson replied to Ernie’s concerns, “There is no way that anyone in PCW could reference you in a promo in a flattering fashion. Sorry but that is the way that it is.

As for us referencing you and Bobby for storyline purposes it is because we are confident with our market share, and want them to compare us to your companies. Our talent is superior, our management is superior and frankly that makes our product superior.”

And then Davidson left Ernie with this advice, “When people spend their time consumed by the success of others, it is a necessary ingredient for failure.”<br>

[Booker Thee]

Ernie’s reply finally indicated why he was so angry with PCW. Ernie was angry over a message board poster named The Unknown Poster. Ernie even forward to Davidson a post that TUP made that got him particularly upset. That passage warrants inclusion and here it is:

The Unknown Poster (according to Ernie Todd): "No...I think Ernie's a jackass, plain and simple...his attacks on people simply because he thinks they are me is proof of that...Ernie has promised so many names...in fact Ernie is the moron that said "We in the CWF don't need names. You will never see a name here" and then turns around and says "We here in the CWF will bring the fans big names!"...he's an idiot...what made me laugh about that post was that he has said it so many times before so honestly, I thought it was funny...I wasn't trying to sh!t on him, just pointing out another blockbuster announcement by Ernie"

"Everything I write, I'd say to your face, but you're such a chickensh!t. You always talk about how tough you and then cry about being an old, fat has-been. I'm going to laugh when Bobby fires your ass. I'll laugh even harder when the TRCW crew shoots on you. I'd like to see you call them "f**king idiots" to their faces rather than from behind the safety of your computer. Oh, and insult everyone you want to, whether it be Mike or Andrew or whoever else you think I am. I laugh whenever I see it because you have no idea who I really am. You'd be stunned to know, just like if you knew who the Insiders were. With your mis-directed petty insults, all you are doing is making other people angry - people you don't have the guts to face man to man. Enjoy TRCW's success. You won't be a part of it much longer and then you'll have to wallow in the sh!t you've created. And by the way, that is not a threat. See ya"

Ernie went on to say he could easily call the police and did not take threats lightly. Davidson replied telling Ernie to go ahead and contact the authorities and TUP could be anyone because “It is a general consensus in the business that you conduct yourself in a less than respectable manner.”<br>
Davidson attempted to end the needless back and forth with this e-mail:

“Dear Ernie,

Your defence that there is more than one Andrew in Winnipeg is pretty weak considering your other references to him. To be quite frank with you, my eagerness to resolve this, and ensure that this does not continue, is so that this matter does not escalate to anymore pettiness.

My references to you on shows, are not slander in anyway because I base them factually on actual occurrences. I would hardly call consulting with lawyers a threat, if it is the necessary approach to handle this matter, that is what we will do.

My insults are not targeted to be petty. A vast majority of wrestlers in this city are ashamed every time they see you on the news bragging about being a wrestler, because at this point, no respected trainer has ever come forward and taken responsibility for you being a trained wrestler. That is a blackmark on everyone who has given this business enough respect to invest time and energy to be the very best they can be. If you find that insulting, well, there is not much I can do, if the truth hurts, continue living in a lie.

You speak the truth when you say what goes around comes around. Seeing you on top as recent as two years ago, and being on the bottom now certainly backs that up with volume. I am not saying I have not made my share of adversaries in years past, but it was necessary in changing the business for the better and creating a company that guys are proud of to work for (ie Chi Chi Cruz).

I don't care if you respond, I merely respond as a courtesy, as I attempt to do with all correspondence.

What I consider is amazing is the fact that Andrew Shallcross has only been in the business a year, and already he is far more successful that guys that have been promoting for more than five years. That is a true accomplishment that makes me incredibly proud.”<br>
And of course, Ernie replied with a humorous e-mail of his own:

“Actually, your cousin Vern, the same one that trained you, was responsible for my intial wrestling training. If you are jealous of the publicity I have received, I can understand that, as you have had to spend someone else's money to get any publicity for you causes. It is funny how people who have put in their time and not ran away when the goings got a little rough, were quite pleased about the coverage I received.

Like I said, there is more than one person with the name "Andrew" in this world.

You state I am on the bottom, that is the same attitude on those "false names" internet posts. Then why are members of your crew contact me about working for the CWF? I wll tell you why, because your have not come through with your promises, or at least that is what they told me. If you measure success in loosing money, then yes, you are number one. Sorry to burst your bubble, but they know the CWF is the number one promotion, which is why they are trying to get a spot and after October 26th, the future will be the CWF.

Like I said, I don't take threats lightly and if you are going to get your friend to attempt to beat me up or intimidate me, then I will contact the police if you keep up this childish behaviour.

I would advise you to stop harrasing me.”<br>
For the first time publicly, it can now be told that Ernie Todd claims Vance Nevada trained him to wrestle. One can only wonder what Nevada’s response would be at this point. And no one from PCW ever left to go work for the CWF. What exactly Ernie was referring to when he identified October 26th is anyone’s guess.

[Booker Thee]

The TRCWF relationship finally fell apart with both companies going their separate ways. TRCW took another blow on October 11th when TJ Bratt left the company to rejoin PCW. Quitting with little notice (Bratt actually called Bobby from the PCW locker room immediately prior to his PCW re-debut), a discouraged Bobby Jay informed Mike Davidson that he was folding TRCW.

CWF continued to run shows with little success over the next several months. The talent that had been in TRCW continued to work under the banner of Impact Championship Wrestling run by Robby Royce. In 2003, Royce finally appeared in PCW.

What prompted Royce and PCW to begin talking was a mutual unhappiness with Bobby Jay. As a member of the PCW roster, Bobby had alerted Davidson to the possibility of running a show at Coyotes Nightclub, a direct competitor to the Stratosphere and located mere minutes from that bar. Bobby explained that he was pushing for one big show with names to be filled out by PCW Superstars. Davidson agreed. However, Bobby had actually become aware of the interest on the part of Coyotes after that bar began speaking with ICW about running a regular weekly show. Bobby was attempting to scoop the show for himself and, it would seem, PCW.

However, PCW was informed that Bobby had approached several PCW superstars and told them that Coyotes wanted to run a weekly show and that Bobby had agreed. He wanted PCW superstars to leave PCW and join Bobby’s new group, which some suggested was going to be called UPW.

When PCW found out, they immediately barred Bobby from their shows, even being forced to throw him out of their locker room during one show. PCW then contacted Coyotes themselves and suggested a deal where they would host large monthly supershows which would be promoted during the weekly shows at the Strat. Coyotes was not impressed. However, nothing imminent happened concerning Coyotes and wrestling

A few months passed and Coyotes finally made a decision. They opted to go with Ernie Todd and the CWF and run a weekly show on Wednesday nights. Ernie began making bold predictions about taking over Winnipeg wrestling and drawing huge numbers. With PCW’s attendance at The Stratosphere falling during the summer, Ernie predicted 300+ for the first show at Coyotes.

In July Ernie began promoting his Summer Heat event. As they did the previous year, PCW scheduled a July event called Beat The Summer Heat, complete with professionally designed graphics. Ernie, with little skill in graphic design it would seem, actually stole the Beat The Summer Heat logo off the PCW website, altered it slightly (and to its detriment) and posted it on his site as the CWF’s Summer Heat logo. Somewhat surprised at Ernie’s level of unprofessionalism and blatant theft, Shallcross e-mailed him and instructed him to remove the graphic. Defiant as always, Ernie claimed to have spent several hours designing the logo himself and refused to remove it. He further told Shallcross that if he threatened him with legal action over the logo again, he would be hearing from his attorney. Ernie even supplied his lawyers name. Shallcross immediately telephoned the lawyer who did not know, off hand, who Ernie was. After it was explained, he sighed heavily and said he’d have to speak with Ernie to understand what was going on. Within minutes, the offending graphic was removed and Ernie’s childish legal threats had backfired on him.

The tension between Shallcross and Davidson finally came to a head following the August 7th event at the Stratosphere. Two days later, Davidson called Shallcross to let him know he was leaving the company. He stated he hoped for an amicable split, but within days, that became impossible. Shallcross immediately contacted the talent and the majority of them were in favor of continuing PCW without Davidson.

Ernie’s top guy Rob Stardom immediately called Shallcross inquiring if the split with Davidson was a work or not. He said Ernie was desperate to speak with Shallcross about something Davidson had done. Stardom said Davidson was screwing PCW and the CWF and they should work together to stop him.

Intrigued, Shallcross called Ernie as requested. Ernie also asked if the split was a work. When Shallcross explained it was not, a paranoid Ernie was doubtful. He told Shallcross he could prove the split was a shoot by punching Davidson. Shallcross assured him the split was a shoot. Somewhat satisfied, Ernie told Shallcross that Davidson had met at Coyotes with Coyotes management and several PCW superstars in an effort to scoop the deal from the CWF.

Ernie seemed convinced he had lost the deal. He said he had been trying to get a hold of Coyotes management for sometime, but to no avail. He proposed working together to combat Davidson’s action. He tried to convince Shallcross that Davidson’s sole plan was to put PCW out of business and would take most of his crew. Ernie offered to bring the CWF into the Stratosphere (a venue he previously told John was of little value) and merge his crew with whomever was left in PCW. Shallcross politely declined.

Ernie called back to say he spoke with Coyotes management and they were going to honor their deal with Ernie. Ernie suddenly wasn’t interested in working with PCW anymore (and neither was PCW anyway). However, Ernie did ask that PCW and the CWF have a friendly, professional relationship. Ernie wanted an agreement that neither company would try to scoop guys or hurt each other’s shows. Shallcross, with eyes rolling, agreed.

With Davidson gone from PCW, Shallcross scrambled to keep things together, calling a meeting of the crew and expressing his desire to continue. The majority of PCW superstars also wanted to continue, but some guys left, either because they were Davidson loyalists or otherwise. Shane Madison, Adam Knight, Tracy, Ronnie Attitude and Will Damon left immediately. Over the next few weeks, Donnie Dicaprio, Chris Raine, Shawn Houston, Jon Cutler, Darren Dalton, Robby Royce and Chi Chi Cruz would also leave. All of them, except for Damon, Tracy and Cruz, would eventually return.

To fill out the roster and create new creative opportunities, Shallcross was open to bringing in new talent. TJ Bratt, who had left on shaky terms twice before, was very enthusiastic about coming in. Bratt claimed he left because he did not like working with Davidson and was very excited to come back. Shallcross was hesitant to use and reward someone that had left the company previously, but the opportunity to surprise the crowd superceded his better judgment and he agreed to bring in Bratt. The fact that Bratt put the heat on Davidson for his previous unhappiness seemed like a reasonable possibility at the time.

On September 18th at the Back to School Bash, Bratt was teamed with Royce as they won the PCW Tag Team Championship. In addition, Kenny Omega who was being groomed for the top spot by PCW even before Davidson left, won the heavyweight title, but he won it from Adam Knight when Chi Chi Cruz no-showed. Cruz was apparently ill, but he and Shallcross had clashed over money and creative direction since Davidson left. Shallcross and his champion had two totally opposite views on where the heavyweight title picture should go. In the end, Shallcross stuck to his guns and Cruz left PCW.

One week later, CWF debuted at Coyotes Nightclub. Ernie had been making very bold promises on his website of drawing 300+ and having a surprise former WWF Superstar on the show. Neither promise was realistic and did not come true. While he did have a very strong draw in the 160-180 person range, it was believed to be heavily comped. Later weeks would see a drastic decline in attendance proving that theory correct.

In addition to those promises, Ernie also promised a current champion of a local competitor would be on the show. Not surprisingly, it was TJ Bratt. Shallcross, who had earlier e-mailed Ernie to wish him luck with the show, contacted him again to inquire about their ‘agreement’ to act professionally towards each other. Ernie replied that Bratt’s unprofessional behavior had nothing to do with him and suggested Shallcross contact Bratt directly. It was not surprising to see Ernie deflect blame or to so blatantly disregard his own ‘agreement’. Shallcross and Ernie exchanged angry e-mails. Ernie, after one show of heavily comped success was feeling on top of the world. Though the show had fallen well short of his own expectations, Ernie gloated of outdrawing the PCW event that week (which went head to head with the opening night of Oktoberfest). In one telling exchange, Shallcross observed to Ernie that the CWF may have drawn more bodies into the building, but PCW, who did not comp, still generated more revenue. Ernie could not dispute that claim.

[Booker Thee]

Creatively, the Coyotes shows were universally panned, even by Coyotes employees who never hid their lack of interest in the product. What was once considered a major coup for Ernie became the joke of the business as everyone watched with amusement as Ernie burned the venue and failed miserably. And what was worse for Ernie, was he seemingly relished in alienated the one guy he seemed to be somewhat friendly with – Shallcross.

After several heated e-mail exchanges, Ernie made another critical error. In an effort to make PCW look bad and, presumably, keep Coyotes interested in competing with the Stratosphere, he forward the e-mail exchange to Coyotes management, minus Ernie’s responses of course. The manager, who was known to Shallcross from her time with HOT 103, called him to complain. Shallcross brushed her off, telling her that it was unfortunate that Ernie felt the need to share heated exchanges out of context with Coyotes, but he didn’t really care what they thought of it. He also suggested that she ask Ernie to see his responses and informed her that everything Shallcross had said was true concerning the attendance, the creativity and the Coyotes staff who openly complained about the shows. Her response was to inform Shallcross that had she realized the political nature of the wrestling business in the first place, she would never have brought wrestling to Coyotes in the first place. Ernie had successfully managed to turn the management of his venue against the business.

.After failing to live up to any of the promises or ‘bragging’ he had done, Coyotes ceased working with the CWF. Talk quickly turned to the idea that Davidson was speaking with Coyotes about running shows there. Ernie even accused Shane Madison of speaking with Coyotes in an effort to ruin the deal with the CWF. Ernie wasted no time in blaming everyone else for his failure at Coyotes.

The rumors of Davidson interested in Coyotes were confirmed as Davidson announced the formation of Action Wrestling Entertainment (a play on his proposed original name for PCW – All Action Wrestling). AWE would launch with a show at Coyotes Nightclub featuring Buff Bagwell and Dan Severn. The inclusion of Severn was particularly interesting as it was Ernie who had brought Dan in over a year and half earlier and barely drew over 100 people. Davidson vowed he would promote the show properly and draw.

The tension between Shallcross and Davidson escalated as those PCW workers who were on the shelf were being wooed to AWE, including PCW’s new champion Kenny Omega. It was further increased as an anonymous source contacted Shallcross on a regular basis with inside information on AWE’s plans, including crew e-mail and details of crew meetings. Davidson had little contact with Shallcross at this time other then a complaint on the part of the PCW promoter over AWE’s event poster which included Omega’s picture. AWE felt they had an agreement with Omega to appear on the event, while Shallcross was under the impression Omega had not made a decision. In any event, with room for only a few workers on the poster, Shallcross felt it was dirty pool to put his champion on the poster and was an obvious attempt to draw loyal PCW fans. To Davidson’s credit, he had the poster changed immediately.

With Ernie Todd now out of Coyotes and his complaints of contract tampering still lingering, he contacted Shallcross to try to repair their damaged relationship. It was a different Todd then the one who had arrogantly believed his deal with Coyotes would surpass PCW. He was now claiming to be the victim of Davidson and Madison as well as Coyotes management and expressed a desire to see them fail. He continued to propose CWF involvement in PCW events and the difference this time, was Shallcross’ tension with Davidson.

Though Shallcross repeatedly expressed his disinterest in working with the CWF, Ernie continued to up the ante, making several intriguing promises, some of which were:


- Tours in December, January, February and March which he needed talent for ie. PCW workers

- That he was going to Japan and China in spring and could open doors for PCW talent

- That he was going on a Southern U.S. tour, including Nashville, and would get several PCW workers on TNA

- That he was going to host the NWA anniversary show if Shallcross could get him a deal on hotel rooms

Shallcross knew Ernie was well known for breaking promises and making boasts he had no hope of backing up. But at the very least, a deal would give PCW workers more shows to work and a larger talent base to draw from(though he was really only interested in Kerry Brown and Rob Stardom). Shallcross was non-committal, but Ernie kept up the pressure.

[Booker Thee]

As AWE promoted their November Pain event, one match in particular garnered attention – Dan Severn vs Donnie Dicaprio in a ‘shoot’ fight. Everyone in the business knew that Severn and Dicaprio were not really going to engage in a full out shoot, but Ernie Todd was enraged. He expressed to Shallcross on many occasions how that type of match was illegal as it was not sanctioned by the Manitoba Boxing Commission. Ernie claimed to have spoken with a member of the MBC and said there had been complaints and that the MBC was investigating. Of course, the match went ahead as planned.

Meanwhile, AWE did present their event at Coyotes. Drawing over 300 people and featuring Markus Bagwell and Dan Severn, it was considered a success, however, rumors were rampant that there would be no weekly deal. PCW Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega worked the show, but returned to PCW where he would remain, though he lost the title to Rawskillz one week following the AWE’s November Pain event.

That event was PCW’s debut at The Lid nightclub following renovations and name change from the Stratosphere. It was November 26th and marked a change in night from Thursday to Wednesday. That event also saw a truly shocking development and a very real surprise for most fans and those in the business – the appearance of the CWF at The Lid to disrupt a PCW event.

Even before that first appearance, there was conflict between Shallcross and Ernie. Shallcross had just come off a Fans Bring The Weapons match with Greg Romijn and was an over heel. He wanted to remain heel and build to a rematch during the slow month of December. Therefore, Shallcross wanted to hold off the ‘CWF’ appearance until that show, which would be the final show of 2003 before a two week hiatus for the holidays. The next show after that one would be the CWF’s Season’s Beatings and Shallcross proposed making the next appearance on that event. He felt the cliffhanger of ending the final PCW event of 2003 with the CWF was a strong one. Ernie disagreed. He wanted to start now and he wanted his ‘invasion’.

Shallcross agreed…to a point. He felt an ‘invasion’ scenario was the right course of action if booked properly. His biggest point was, if Ernie and the CWF really invaded the Lid, security would just toss them out. They needed to make it make sense and they needed the fans to rally behind their ‘home’ promotion of PCW…if they were going to do it.

Ernie was adamant that they do it on the Nov. 26th show and that he work on the show. Shallcross could only shake his head, asking Ernie how they could make that look real to the fans? ‘Why wouldn’t I just beat the hell out of you and toss you from the building?’ he asked. Ernie countered that his crew did not want to wait until December and that he knew the CWF workers would pack the Lid to see the angle unfold.

One major issue was TJ Bratt. Shallcross absolutely refused to have him be apart of the angle. Ernie tried everything to change Shallcross’ mind. It was clear that Bratt was one of Ernie’s favorites at the time (though that would change), and he pointed out that the real life heat between Bratt and Shallcross would work to their advantage. With few marketable workers on the CWF roster, Shallcross once again agreed to put differences aside for the good of the angle. ‘Bratt works for the CWF, not us’ was his selling point to the guys.

After consulting with several key crew members, Shallcross decided to move ahead with the CWF/PCW angle and do everything he could to make it work, feeling that if it came to an end, PCW would not be the bad guys. But Shallcross did intend to maintain full creative control and proposed an angle to Ernie that he actually accepted.

The CWF would appear on Nov. 26th, but it would not be in-ring. The night before the event, it was leaked to the internet that PCW and the CWF were working together. No one paid it much thought, though it may have resulted in increased interest in the following night’s show.

Half-way through the show, Ernie Todd, along with CWF workers Rob Stardom, TJ Bratt, Shane Rogers, Kerry Brown etc, entered the bar and took a seat near the ring. They proceeded to heckle the remaining matches. Shallcross did his best to ignore them, though made a point of discussing the matter with Manos and security. The fans assumed the CWF workers were there to watch. When Rawskillz won the title and exited the ring, Ernie stepped up his heckling. A frustrated Shallcross glared at him, but it only made matters worse. Finally, Shallcross yelled back and tension began to mount. When Shallcross left the ring and stepped up to the CWF workers, the crowd reacted with surprise. Several PCW workers came out from the back, effectively breaking from character. The heated words turned to physical acts as Ernie and Shallcross began pushing each other. The Axe, who had worked for PCW that night, tackled Bratt. Security and Manos stepped between and tried to calm the situation. While an enraged Shallcross finally went to the back, Manos and security escorted the CWF’ers out of the building.

The spot had worked beautifully. The PCW fans thought it was 100% real and were quick to applaud Shallcross for defending his company. Even on the internet, where the story had been leaked, people wondered if the story was a plant and the confrontation was real or if the confrontation was a work. A modern twist on the usual ‘invasion’ had begun.

The only problem was it had worked so well, that the fans had supported Shallcross and turned him face. Earlier in the show, a heel Shallcross had attacked Greg Romijn and challenged him to a Fans Bring The Weapons re-match on Dec. 17th. Now, as a beloved face, that match would lose much of its steam. Forced to think quickly, Shallcross changed the motive for the match from hatred to respect and made it about two guys who wanted to entertain the people so much, they were willing to risk their health to do it, which was a rather weak reason to try to hurt each other in that way. Shallcross brought Romijn into the CWF angle with the idea that Shallcross knew better then anyone how tough Romijn was.

[Booker Thee]

Ernie had continued to maintain that he wanted CWF workers actually wrestling on PCW shows. He didn’t seem to care that it made little sense. Shallcross was content to take two weeks off from the angle and then have Ernie and his boys appear at the December event and drop a bombshell announcement, but Ernie was having none of it. It fell to Shallcross to try and make it make sense.

Ernie planted a story on his website that he had contacted Lid manager Tom Manos and demanded an apology and was considering suing Shallcross and the venue for assault. This actually made sense as Ernie was very quick to threaten legal action in most legit cases. On the following week’s show, Manos, as PCW Commissioner and a babyface, berated Shallcross for acting unprofessional the week before. He explained that Shallcross had a hair-trigger temper (which was not a new rumor) and had caused the venue problems before. Manos went on to say that Ernie had a case and that he was gracious enough to agree not to sue the venue if Shallcross apologized. Manos, as sort of an arms-length member of the business was believable when he explained that he thought the politics of wrestling were childish and felt the business would be better if everyone could just get along. Since it was out of character for the babyface Manos to take a heel stance, the promo came off very believable. To top it off, he brought Ernie Todd to ringside. Ernie had been sitting with several CWF workers in the crowd, again, and was supposed to stand at ringside and wait for the apology. Instead, he climbed into the ring and Stardom and Bratt followed.

Manos further enraged Shallcross by announcing that he had agreed to let Stardom and Bratt wrestle the following week against two PCW superstars in an effort to establish friendly relations. When he ordered Shallcross to apologize, that was enough. Shallcross attacked Ernie. Stardom immediately jumped to his promoters defense. Several stiff punches added to the realism and the crowd was getting fiery hot. In fact, security had to restrain several members of the audience from attacking the CWF contingent. The angle was working perfectly.

The following week, Ernie led Stardom, Kerry Brown and Bratt to the ring. Stardom suggested the CWF guys change in the VIP lounge to add even more realism. When Ernie led them to the ring, the crowd was seething. This wasn’t heel heat, they really hated the CWF. Security had to be diligent to stop several near fights in the crowd between the CWF workers and PCW fans.

When Ernie spoke on the mic, the one thing he was easily able to do was garner chants for him to shut up. The heat for the angle was off the charts, but it was mainly due to the fact that the fans were fiercely loyal. These were the people that suffered through Davidson’s departure. The fans that had left had been loyal to Mike or the workers that he took with him. The fans that remained were devout PCW loyalists and had bought into the under dog efforts of PCW to maintain their position as the best in the business. To see the CWF now come in really got under their skin. And Stardom, Bratt and Brown performed so well. They were at the top of their game, inciting the crowd and endlessly talking about the superiority of the CWF compared to PCW.

When Ernie began bragging that he had been in talks with a PCW worker to join the CWF, it really got the crowd riled up. That week, Stardom & Bratt faced Dixon and Romijn. The match generated so much heat, especially at the end when Stardom & Bratt went over. PCW was getting kicked around and the fans were absolutely seething. That night, several CWF fans came to the show. Angry that they had to pay, they never came back. This caused tension between Shallcross and Ernie because Ernie felt it was positive for them to be there. Shallcross refused to comp anyone – if the CWF was so over, their fans should want to pay to see the angle unfold. Apparently, they did not want to.

The idea that Tom, concerned with a possible lawsuit and indifferent to the politics of the business, had allowed Ernie and the CWF onto the show was a good one, but one that could not sustain the angle. As a PCW loyalist, Tom would naturally be unhappy with Ernie’s comments against them. They needed a ‘real’ reason to keep the CWF on the show, something that gave Ernie ‘real’ power and that would strike at the very heart of the fans emotions. Shallcross proposed an idea to Ernie that he felt tied in well to angles dating back to the Davidson era and Ernie wholeheartedly agreed.

On Dec. 17th, PCW presented Christmas Chaos, featuring a Rawskillz Vs Mentallo Championship Match and Shallcross Vs Romijn Fans Bring The Weapons match. As he had feared, Shallcross’ new found facedom caused their match to be emotionally flat. In fact, the fans had rallied around PCW so much, that they embraced the underdog Shallcross and wanted him to win. The match itself was not nearly as good as their first one, but ten times more brutal. Several fans actually left the building during the match, unable to watch the violent carnage anymore. When Romijn won the match, the fans applauded politely. With a bloody Shallcross laying in a heap at ringside, Ernie Todd hit the ring to make a stunning announcement – he had purchased 1/3 ownership of PCW. Romijn immediately returned to the ring and attacked Todd. The CWF workers hit the ring. The PCW workers hit the ring. Several fans tried to hit the ring. It was total and complete carnage and the heat was astounding.

Of course, Ernie had loved the idea when Shallcross proposed it – it allowed him to brag about owning PCW. The idea was a good one. Before Davidson had quit, one of the major issues was the ownership structure of PCW, with Manos, Davidson and Shallcross all owning 1/3. In fact, a major angle that was slowly developing before Davidson left, was a power struggle scenario between himself and Shallcross, with Manos stuck in the middle. Without saying it specifically, the insinuation was the hated Davidson had sold his 1/3 share to Ernie to hurt PCW. It made sense and gave Ernie’s much sought after ‘invasion’ a real reason to keep happening. In the real world, had Ernie just kept showing up and hitting the ring, Shallcross and the boys would have dealt with him. But this gave the fans a credible reason to see him and a credible reason as to why Shallcross could not just kick him out.

And that was when Ernie began throwing his weight around. The agreement called for PCW to ‘invade’ the CWF event on Dec. 17th. Ernie wanted PCW guys to work the show. That was alright – it fit the gimmick of Ernie controlling 1/3 of PCW. He was going to hold a one night tourney for the vacant CWF Heavyweight title and Shallcross suggested they put it on a PCW worker and then flip him heel to join the CWF. Kenny Omega had been a heel in PCW at that point and Shallcross proposed him winning the CWF title. When PCW returned to The Lid in the New Year, they could hail Omega as a conquering hero, only to have him embrace Ernie and stay heel. The idea was that Ernie had signed away PCW’s golden boy.

[Booker Thee]

Shallcross had no problem with CWF getting so much steam. That was the way the angle needed to go. Give the heels the steam, so the fans rally behind the faces in the end. Long range plans were for the angle to overlap to CWF shows, where PCW would obviously be the heels and Shallcross would lead the ‘invaders’. It sounded like a lot of fun, which, aside from everything else was reason enough for Shallcross to want to do it – it was fun. In March or April, at the CWF event where every match was held in a steel cage, they would have a PCW vs CWF Elimination Wargames match with Ernie and Shallcross leading their respective teams of 5. They even had a finish worked out. Spyder would have been brought into the Lid by Ernie prior to this, only to turn and become PCW, a response to Kenny joining the CWF. With Spyder on Shallcross’ side, the Wargames match would come down to Shallcross & Spyder vs Ernie. Because it would be a CWF show, the fans would be, of course, heeling on this. A c**ky Shallcross would go after Todd, only to have Spyder reveal his true nature and attack Shallcross, absolutely killing him in the process. All of this was obviously putting CWF over very strong and would then cue the inevitable PCW comeback. Shallcross had planned it out to be a long term angle with many twists and turns to keep the fans into it. It was a good plan. But Ernie couldn’t leave well enough alone.

The day before the CWF’s Dec. 27th event (Season’s Beatings), he e-mailed Shallcross to tell him he did not want the angle to overlap onto CWF shows. He said the angle was too extreme and too adult and his fans wouldn’t get it. Shallcross tried to explain that the fans would get it the second Shallcross got in the ring with a mic in his hand. But Ernie refused. He was willing to put the CWF strap on Omega and continue to run the angle as planned at The Lid. It made no sense and left very little option as far as a blow off if the angle was going to be so one dimensional.

In addition to that, Shallcross was hot because Ernie refused to play up the angle on his website aside from detailing the CWFs invasion and successes against PCW. He did not put PCW over at all, whereas Shallcross had maintained kayfabe on his site, detailing the CWF’s near takeover of PCW with links to Ernie’s site. Part of the original agreement was for cross-marketing on each other’s websites. THAT was part of what sold Shallcross on it in the first place. Here, PCW was putting the CWF over like crazy on their site and Ernie barely mentioned PCW on his. Ernie finally relented and began posting a ‘last week at the Lid’ column, but it was not enough. When he began referring to Kenny Omega and Mentallo as CWF newcomers rather then PCW Superstars, Shallcross really became angry. Ernie was clearly trying to get as much out of the deal as he could while doing as little as possible in return. In fact, Shallcross was worried that Ernie was putting out the word to out of town promoters that two of the best young workers in Canada had left the PCW to join the CWF, which was not true.

But Shallcross was determined to do anything he could to make the deal work, so that when it didn’t, PCW could not be blamed in anyway. He again, offered to appear on Ernie’s show to put over the angle and to promote The Lid shows to the adults who may be in the audience, which was part of the original agreement. Shallcross had mentioned the CWF on a nearly constant basis at PCW events since the deal began, including plugging their website and live event. He expected the same courtesy back.

Shallcross attended Season’s Beatings. As a result of PCW involvement in the show, at least 12 extra people were there, translating into $120 more for Ernie. From a production stand point, the show was not very good. In a weird way, that excited Shallcross from the stand point that he would have relished producing a CWF show and showing their fans how much better a show is when produced properly. In addition to Mentallo and Omega appearing on the show, Ernie even used PCW’s ring announcer, Chris Reid.

Shallcross again offered to appear on the show, concerned that PCW would get no mention otherwise. Ernie finally came up with an idea. He had been portraying two characters on his show – himself and a masked man called The Iron Man. He wanted Shallcross to don the hood and portray the Iron Man. Ernie explained that Shallcross would walk to ringside, fold his arms, and walk back through the curtain. Why? Only Ernie knows for sure. But in the interest of the agreement, Shallcross did it. And Ernie found it thoroughly entertaining.

Earlier in the show, Ernie was to cut a promo. He had been bragging about how over he was at his shows. Shallcross had offered to go out first, rile the crowd up and let Ernie shoot on him. No dice. Ernie had it under control. When he proceeded to the Gorilla Position, his own crew all went over to the windows overlooking the ring to watch the incredible ovation for their boss. The fans reacted with silence. Only in Ernie’s mind was he over with that crowd. And Shallcross could not understand why Ernie did not want to do the best thing for his show and put the mic in HIS hand. A few seconds of Shallcross on the mic as a heel would have guaranteed a pop for Ernie, but like a child, he didn’t want to share.

[Booker Thee]

Once again, Ernie had taken everything he could from the deal and given nothing back. And he was fortunate too. When Mentallo and Omega first appeared, the crowd reacted with indifference because they had not seen them before. By the end of the matches, Mentallo and Omega were the two most over guys on the show. And far and away had the best matches on the show. Omega was working twice as apart of a tourney where he would win the CWF title. Mentallo was asked to fill in at the last minute for Spyder in the main event against Stardom. Spyder had no-showed. In fact, Spyder had not appeared on a CWF show in ages, but had been heavily promoted as working this event. When Shallcross asked Ernie about it, he laughed and said ‘that’s just the way Spyder is’. Shallcross was stunned. He could not believe Ernie’s nonchalant attitude about his main event no-showing. And he decided at that point, not to bring Spyder into the angle at The Lid. In fact, one member of CWF roster phoned Shallcross to advise against it, saying Spyder was very unreliable. Shallcross thought he had a good relationship with Spyder, but was not going to do the wrong thing for his show.

Fortunately, Mentallo filled in and the crowd got a great match for the main. But following the show, Shallcross was hot. Not one mention of PCW on the event. By the time Ernie updated his website, Kenny Omega was not a PCW superstar who had captured the CWF crown. He was a CWF rookie who shocked the audience by beating Bratt in the finals. Shallcross was incensed and voiced his concerns to Ernie, who did nothing.

Unfortunately for Ernie, a major wrestling relationship was slowly being mended – Shallcross and Davidson had begun speaking again.

End of Part One

This post has been edited by AndrewPCW on Aug 12 2004, 06:57 AM


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“God has given us evidence sufficiently clear to convince those with an open heart and mind, yet evidence sufficiently vague so as not to compel those whose hearts and minds are closed.” - Blaise Pascal

AndrewPCW Posted: Aug 12 2004, 06:58 AM


Notorious AKS


Group: Pro Members
Posts: 3,281
Member No.: 42
Joined: 28-October 03



The Conclusion:

For more then four months, there was virtually zero contact between Davidson and Shallcross until they were forced together again as defendants in a small claims action. Once again thrust into the position of underdogs, the two former partners handled the affair as only they could – with defiance. Losing would be better then compromising their principles and they put up a great fight. In certainly appeared they enjoyed going into battle together again.

A few weeks later, Davidson asked Shallcross how the relationship with the CWF was going and Shallcross sold it like it was great. But finally, he admitted the angle was good, but dealing with Ernie was a nightmare. Davidson revealed that he was putting his plans on hold for the time being. Clearly, the opportunity existed to at least have fun together again.

The only problem – Ernie Todd. Shallcross was an honorable person and he had made a commitment to Ernie. Prior to the Seasons Beatings event, Shallcross told Davidson that he wanted to see if Ernie could live up to any of his commitments before he made the decision to dump him. Following Season Beatings, the choice was clear. Before the New Year, Shallcross and Davidson had worked out his return and it would take place on January 28th 2004. The only problem was to resolve all the outstanding issues with the CWF before then. That left one month, four shows, to tie up the angle. It meant shotgunning the angle, but that also lead to a very entertaining month of January.

During this time, Ernie openly shared his thoughts with Shallcross on a number of matters. He stated he was going to sue Mike Davidson and Shane Madison for contract tampering in the Coyotes deal as well as sue Coyotes management for breach of contract. Though he later did admit he had no intention of suing Coyotes – he just figured management would throw him a few dollars to shut him up.

It was a different threat that really began to bother Shallcross. Ernie claimed he was being stalked by Ringmasters management, EZ Ryder. Ernie told Shallcross he had already spoke with police at PSB and would file a complaint and possibly sue EZ. He told Shallcross that EZ worked in a school and a stalking charge and restraining order would look very bad and possibly get him fired. It didn’t matter that the accusations were ridiculous, Ernie just wanted to hurt people. All of this contributed to making Shallcross’ decision that much easier. He would book Ernie and the CWF out of the shows as quickly as possible.

With the shot gunning in effect, Ernie began questioning the booking. Whether or not he suspected anything is unclear. Over the Holiday’s, he had a falling out with Bratt and asked Shallcross to drop him from the angle and not to use him at all. To Ernie, the fact that Bratt was the centre piece of the CWF ‘invasion’ didn’t matter. Confusing the fans didn’t matter. ‘Just drop him.’ Well, a strange thing happened during the CWF angle – Bratt had rebuilt his bridge with Shallcross through hard work and dedication. He pledged that he was a changed man and appreciated that Shallcross defended him when Ernie tried to fire him. He said he would stick with Shallcross whatever happened. That made the decision easy – Bratt would remain the top guy in the CWF angle and he was told the deal was ending.

The one great contribution to the angle made by Ernie was as a result of his desire to change the booking. He claimed nothing made sense, but in reality, he just didn’t understand. The booking DID make sense, it was just three months of booking compressed into one month. Ernie demanded to know what Shallcross’ plans were. The PCW booker explained that CWF Champion and ‘heel CWF sympathizer’ Kenny Omega would beat Rawskillz for the PCW Championship becoming a dual champ. And then would beat Bratt in a PCW vs CWF match with all of the ownership issues on the line. Ernie thought about it for a moment and asked ‘then what are we doing?’ The truth was, the following day, Shallcross would inform Ernie the deal was over. But he couldn’t tell him that or Ernie would pull his guys and ruin the angle like a little boy taking his ball and going home.

Shallcross had no problem with deceiving Ernie at this point. The CWF owner had failed to live up to any of his commitments and the only thing the relationship was doing was giving Ernie better talent to use on his shows, more work for his top guys and credibility he sorely lacked. Even Bratt and Stardom tried to talk some sense into Ernie, to no avail. He was so blindly arrogant that he thought PCW needed him. He was about to be schooled.

[Booker Thee]

However, that one great contribution he made was absolutely refusing a match Shallcross had booked between Omega and one of the CWF guys. Shallcross knew Ernie could not screw up his plans through booking of his shows because the CWF did not have another show until the end of January. But Omega was the CWF champ and Ernie was staking a claim to booking rights of his champ on PCW shows. Shallcross thought Ernie probably suspected a double cross, but he could not change his mind. Ernie wanted to run a main event of heel Omega vs his friend and fellow heel, Chris Stevens. The gist of the issue was Ernie was trying to convince Omega that everyone was out to get him but Ernie himself. It was something Shallcross put across as Omega straddled the fence between the two companies, compelling the fans to urge him to embrace his PCW heritage.

Ernie wanted to do a run in and make himself the centerpiece of the match. It was stupid, but Shallcross decided to throw him a bone. The Omega/Stevens match, though heel/heel was one of the finest indy matches ever seen and the fans were absolutely exhausted from the excitement of it all. It actually went along away to establishing Stevens, a career heel in PCW, as a babyface because the fans saw how talented he was.

That would be the last PCW event attended by Ernie. Following the show, he told Shallcross he required a PO to be at PCW events even though Shallcross really didn’t need him there and the free advertising he was getting more then made up for his measly PO. Good riddance. But it did push back Shallcross’ plans and now the angle would end one week later.

On January 21st, Omega faced Rawskillz in a CWF Champion vs PCW champion match, the first (and last) time that would ever happen. And Omega won, becoming the first person in history (and last) to hold both titles at the same time. Much to Ernie’s chagrin, the end of that match saw Omega turn fully face and be challenged by Bratt to put Shallcross’ 1/3 ownership of PCW on the line against Ernie’s 1/3 ownership. The following week, Omega won that match too, ending the CWF ‘invasion’. “Showtime” Robby Royce made his surprise return to the company, joining with Bratt as two guys with no allegiance and the two top heels in the company.

The following day, Shallcross sent Ernie an e-mail, ending their relationship. Ernie seemed disappointed. He knew Shallcross was considering bringing back some of the guys that had left, such as Royce and Madison and he was open about his disagreement with that decision. He urged Shallcross to never bring them back, telling him to teach them a lesson. It was a strange position for Ernie to take since he had re-hired so many guys over the years. He also expected the PCW workers to honor their commitments to his show at the end of January. Shallcross agreed, but refused to let his champion lay down to a CWF worker. This caused a lot of heat, but in the end, Shallcross did the right thing and sent Kenny Omega to lay down for Zack Mercury and drop the CWF title.

A few days later, at the next PCW event, Mike Davidson returned. As he and Shallcross embraced in the centre of the ring, the fans applauded wildly. Of course by the end of the show, Shallcross was a bloody mess as Davidson and Madison stood above him, but the point was clear – the Davidson/Shallcross tandem had proven to be the best in the business over the past two years. Shallcross’ brief time with Ernie had only cemented this in his mind.

Ernie Todd had been given a great opportunity and pissed it away through his own ignorance and arrogance. But rather then let bygones be bygones, he continued to exchange heated e-mails with Shallcross.

Ernie’s usual MO was to send angry e-mails with veiled threats and then when he received a response, no matter how aggressive or passive the reply was, he would immediately plead victim, instruct the person never to e-mail him again, to stop the harassment and threaten to contact the police or his lawyer. In some cases, he would even discuss how he could physically fight the person and if anyone took him up on the offer, he would remind them how he was an old man. In late 2003, he told Shallcross that he could beat Davidson in a fight and would do so the next time he saw him. He claimed he would probably lose a fight with EZ Ryder but that it would be close.

In one e-mail to Shallcross, Ernie told him he’d be seeing him. He asked about the ‘bounty’ that Ernie claimed was on Shallcross’ head and claimed he knew people. He ended it by saying ‘I’ll see you, probably sooner then you think’. The meaning would not be known for a few days, but the intent was clear – it was a veiled threat, but hidden by something only Ernie knew – that he would be attending the Lid Nightclub for a relative’s social.

By the time the social took place, Shallcross, who worked at the LID as security, had enough of Ernie. He asked Ernie to step aside and questioned him regarding his threatening and unprofessional e-mails. Ernie asked Shallcross to step outside. Of course, Shallcross accepted and began walking towards the main entrance. Ernie slowed his pace and began looking around, demanding to know where the manager was. When he was told the manager was not available, he stopped walking altogether. He absolutely did not want to step outside with Shallcross. Instead, he raised his voice and made a scene. This attracted the attention of an older female relative who leapt to Ernie’s defense and also made a scene. Ernie stood behind her with a smirk on his face. Shallcross could only shake his head at this cowardly display and told Ernie to enjoy his last night at the LID.

Fortunately, that was the last real contact between PCW and the CWF, other then a few unhappy e-mails. Once again, Ernie Todd had ruined an opportunity for his promotion and workers. And Shallcross had learned a valuable lesson. Regardless of what anyone said about his willingness to work with Ernie, Shallcross could defend his decision as a learning experience and could put to rest forever any question of the value in working with the CWF.