Everyone loves a Secret Santa – mysterious gifts from an unknown benefactor, an exchange of tokens from anonymous friends to celebrate the spirit of the season. Maybe it's a great gift, maybe it's...not so great, but the mystery is half the fun. Plus, if you're lucky, you might get some new insight into people you thought you knew until they had to give you a present under the cover of secrecy.
This past Friday, MPW's Secret Santa event...well, we definitely learned a lot about the stars of the MPW Arena, and some of them even learned a few things about themselves. However,were the gifts great or ghastly?
Let's find out. Spoilers below, for both Secret Santa and for the last MPW event of the year, Naughty Or Nice coming on December 17th.
Ready? Onwards, my friends. We go to glory.
Rebel Storm vs. Danny Divine
This was not your average confrontation. It was, however, promising to be a great contest – Divine and Storm even shared a handshake before entrance themes even stopped playing. Reports from the site of the event made via Instagram were also accurate: Rebel Storm showed up in a Santa hat. We can also confirm that it looked very fetching on referee Victor Cuentas when Storm shared the spirit of the season – and his festive cap – with the official.
...and then Miggy Rose showed up.
Still frustrated by the indecisive conclusion of last week's bout with Divine – a sentiment Divine shared – Rose demanded that Storm step aside so he could gain satisfaction against Divine. It was a difficult choice for Divine to make, but as many wise men before him have proclaimed, why settle for one when you can have it all?
You heard right, folks: this was now a three way dance.
Rebel Storm DEFEATS Danny Divine & Miggy Rose
The ensuing match was a free for all, and one hell of a way to kick off a show. Everyone was in top form, from Rebel Storm with an airplane spin of Miggy Rose that knocked Danny Divine flat on his back to Miggy assaulting his opponents at both corners, right up to Divine taking brutal fists to Rose in the center of the ring.
Miggy was, of course, up to his usual tactics as he pulled the referee out of the ring during one pinfall count, but the facts are hard to deny at this point. Yes, Miggy Rose has a miserable attitude and a penchant for fighting dirty – but the quality of his performances is as honest and as true as they come.
Still, despite his incredible athleticism and Divine's usual perfection, the return of the Rebel Storm would not be denied, with Storm taking the victory by pinfall. Rose was visibly unhappy, but Divine took the victory with a little less grace. Visibly frustrated – nay, seething with fury – while his conduct was not unbecoming, it does bring into question whether or not Danny Divine's checkered win/loss record is starting to get under his skin.
Brendan Divine DEFEATS Artorius w/Auntie Hydie
This match was, without a shred of question, the match of the night. Brendan Divine entered first, and barely started to make his way around the ring before Artorius was out at ringside, launching a brutal assault on the champion of the Believers. Hydie was right there by his side, directing traffic as he beat, choked, and just generally manhandled Divine. Artorius even went so far as to brutalize Divine in front of his own fans, snarling in their faces with undiluted rage etched in every line of his face and body.
“You're gonna believe in me tonight!” was his parting epithet at this reporter before he continued his assault straight into the ringing of the bell. From there, Divine did his best to fight back, but the early attack by members of Hydie's Void left him at half capacity. It also left Artorius with a distinct advantage during the course of the matchup.
Brendan, and his Believers, however, would not be defeated.
In the world of professional wrestling, there are good matches and there are great matches. There are also those rare moments where they cease to be matches and become something more – a battle of wills, a cause, a crisis. Sitting at ringside, beholding the spectacle, listening to veteran fans jaded by too long in the trenches, this reporter saw something remarkable happen.
When Brendan came to life to mount an offense, these jaded fans began cheering like children just discovering the sport. When Hydie attempted a distraction with that mysterious and sinister symbol of power on her hand, they screamed in fear and despair. When Brendan kicked out of pinfall attempt after pinfall attempt, they lost all sense.
This match ended long before it began – by the end, this was a war between darkness and light. A war with little hope, a bleak confrontation...a fight for the soul of the crowd that ended in a dazzling blaze of light with Brendan Divine, with the spirit of his Believers by his side, declaring Artorius Left On Read as he took a pinfall victory.
The electric confrontation didn't end there, either. After the match, Hydie had words for Divine – and a few skeletons to drag out of the closet. Brendan emphatically declared that win or lose he would not be defeated...and then Hydie reminded him of the past with a memento of his misdeeds.
Out came, from beneath her cloak, a handmade Millennials shirt still stained with blood from an encounter gone wrong. It seems that once, she wanted nothing more than to be his friend, and he had spurned her desire for camaraderie. This, it seemed, was all about getting revenge against him for this very fact: the corruption of J2, the acquisition of Artorius, all of it.
Despite his previous sins, however, Brendan appears to be a changed man. He's focused, he's steady – and he's not alone with the Believers at his back. The past, according to him, is in the past: he will stay the course, and he fully intends to become National Champion once again.
Brendan's confidence is admirable, but Hydie's remarks were worrying – in an exclusive moment with the X-Press, Hydie made a chilling confession about the Void, and about Brendan, that casts his match next week with J2 in a whole new light. When asked if she had designs on Brendan for corruption or recruitment to the Void, she laughed quietly. Deceit is unbecoming: this reporter got chills to hear it.
“Oh, my dear,” Hydie sighed, “it was always the plan to draw him in.”
What could this mean for Brendan at Naughty Or Nice? What kind of danger could he possibly be facing when he takes on Hydie's thrall, J2, for the National Title?
We can't know for sure, folks, but one thing became clear as Brendan left ringside: Hydie had a few things to say about the latest thorn in her side, Johnnie Robbie.
They would have been great things to hear, I'm sure – but then Robbie herself made an appearance, and she made sure to bring her own seat.
After assaulting Hydie with a chair, Robbie made her frustrations public – while she shared with the X-Press last week her desire for vindication against Hydie, tonight she made a very public demand for a rematch. She appeared to catch Hydie at a good time, too: namely, at the end of her patience.
Robbie got her Christmas wish, it seems: next week at Naughty Or Nice, it's going to be Hydie versus Robbie in a Holiday Hardcore match.
NAUGHTY OR NICE SCRAMBLE DRAWING
Coming to the ring with clients Michael Hopkins and Diego Valens, the reigning MPW Tag Team Champions, officiant Bryan Carter introduced himself and his duo as the Men of Business, or the M.O.B. After his usual derisive spiel about the greatness of his group and the ways in which others were lacking in virtue, he finally went about the business of drawing the names of those who would appear in the Scramble next week.
Each name was drawn, and with each, Carter had something or another to say. First came Dr. Phil Goode, followed by his partner Bulletproof. While his comments weren't glowing, he was decidedly less biting with them than with others as he warned Bulletproof to keep a clear head.
Next came Rebel Storm, followed by Miggy Rose and Danny Divine. Carter had a real chuckle at that, given these three men had just taken each other apart earlier in the evening. He was quite pleased with himself, Carter was, and still had a sixth name to reveal.
That name?
Bryan Carter.
While the competitors had a laugh over the promise of being able to beat Carter to a pulp next week, after the show the X-Press tried to get a word with the suddenly very quiet Perfect Gentleman.
“This was rigged.” he insisted vehemently. When this reporter pointed out that he did make an appearance as a competitor in the California Classic, albeit briefly, Carter grew quiet again, claiming to have a plan and little else.
It seems that plan, in the interim, has been to try and contact the MPW Board of Directors to try and relinquish his slot in the scramble. To date, sources indicate he has been unsuccessful – a fact that I'm sure Divine and Storm are very pleased about. Storm himself commented to the X-Press, with great dignity, that he felt another shot at Divine would be an incredible competition.
When asked about Carter, however, the human personification of lightning in a bottle absolutely came to life.
“I'm SO HAPPY to get a shot at Carter!” he gushed. “I mean – I've been waiting all year for revenge!”
Let's hope the Board of Directors starts taking Carter's calls.
NON TITLE MATCH
Full Send (Dustin Daniels/Bucio) DEFEATS Tag Team Champions M.O.B. (Michael Hopkins/Diego Valens)
A high energy match with a high stakes vibe after the Naughty Or Nice Scramble drawing, this match was pure chaos from start to finish. Valens and Hopkins may have a bad attitude, but they have great chemistry as a team – something that Full Send has struggled with off and on for a few weeks now. Tonight, however, they matched the M.O.B. with their own thriving connection. It made things difficult when Bucio was trapped in the M.O.B. corner for a good portion of the match, but the wild child of Full Send refused to let his shoulders stay down for more than a two count, if that.
It was an uphill battle, made no easier by an instance of Daniels arguing with the referee long enough for the M.O.B. to launch a vicious double team attack on Bucio, but the long arm of Full Send managed to get the tag to Daniels at the end of the day. Entering the ring like a man possessed, Daniels made quick work of the other side, and together Full Send took a pinfall victory that the MPW Board of Directors is likely going to be paying close attention to when considering the next title defense for the M.O.B.
Sexy Fabrizio DEFEATS Richie Coy
When two larger than life personalities like Richie Coy and Sexy Fabrizio enter the ring, it's hard to know what to expect, but you know for sure that it'll be entertaining – and this match was absolutely no exception. Things began with Coy doing a lot of posturing outside the ring, reluctant to tie up with Fabrizio, but ultimately they could not escape the Sexy One and the match got underway.
One might hope that, in their absence, Coy might have learned to fight fair, but such was not the case. More than once, they used deceit and trickery to try and gain an advantage over Fabrizio, not above lashing out with a rake to the eyes among other things. Fabrizio wasn't about to go down without a fight, and gave as good as he got – though, as Coy gained the upper hand on more than one occasion, some of his offense was very much limited to simply making sure he could kick out of one pinfall attempt after another.
It was effective, however, as the evenly matched pair struggled to get the job done. Coy grew increasingly frustrated with every kickout from Fabrizio, so much so that they finally resorted to flat out throttling Fabrizio in the middle of the ring. The loss of focus served Fabrizio well in the end, as he eventually got Coy into a submission hold, earning him a victory by tapout.
MAIN EVENT
Tag Team Match
Bad Medicine (Bulletproof/Dr. Phil Goode) DEFEATS Ray Rosas & Johnnie Robbie
Previously scheduled to be Ray Rosas and Barbie Boi against Bad Medicine, the absence of Barbie Boi meant that Rosas had to fill the slot with his protege, Johnnie Robbie. It was a good call on all fronts, as the duo have proven to be an exceptionally effective team in the past, and tonight was no exception. Robbie started the match against Bulletproof, turning the early contest into a solid mat game. Bulletproof, of course, had to resort to low tactics with gratuitous use of grabbing Robbie by the hair and trying to break her toes to stop her, but Robbie remained focused and proactive despite the dirty dealing by the more volatile half of Bad Medicine.
Her performance was a credit to her mentor, who couldn't have been prouder from their corner as he called out to the crowd that he taught her everything she knows. Rosas seemed happy to watch Robbie at work, but happier still for his chance to do some damage when the tag came. He held his own, ducking blows but falling to a clothesline from Phil Goode to turn the tide of the match in Bad Medicine's favor.
From there, it was a struggle to hold onto the advantage for Rosas and Robbie. Phil Goode used his size to full advantage against the smaller Robbie with an incredibly painful looking submission hold, and handed her over to Bulletproof for more punishment, keeping a firm hold on the match's momentum. Fortunately, Robbie got some offense in, ducking a blow from Bulletproof, delivering a kick to Phil, and making a tag to her partner.
Once in the ring, Rosas was on fire, taking on both men at once. Unwilling to let her partner fight alone, as Phil Goode took Rosas down, Robbie came in and took Phil down just as quickly.
...and then Hydie showed up.
The distant clatter of chains became audible during the final moments of the match before Hydie emerged from the locker room, whipping chains about and with eyes for Johnnie Robbie alone. The distraction did its job, and gave the win to Bad Medicine by pinfall thanks to the shift in Robbie's focus.
That's normally where the night would end...but Ray Rosas had reached a breaking point.
In the aftermath of the pinfall, Rosas promptly lost his cool, making his way to ringside to start destroying everything in his path: the ringside barricade, the stacks of unused chairs – the people in the audience swiftly gave the enraged captain of Team MPW a wide berth. He finally made his way back to the ring, where an equally horrified Johnnie Robbie apologized to her partner in hopes of calming him down.
Taking up the mic, Rosas told Robbie he wasn't angry at her. Rather, he was angry at Barbie Boi for his absence. Finally revealing that the champion's absence was due to personal reasons, Rosas flat out said that he didn't believe it. He didn't believe that Barbie Boi was gone for anything other than a fear of retribution from Rosas – clearly a reader of the X-Press, Rosas made it clear he did not believe that Barbie Boi attacked him as a matter of mistaken identity.
Rosas has heard the accusations on commentary, the whispers in the shadows: that Ray Rosas has lost his will, that the Tin Man has no heart. In fact, Rosas has heart and more, and poured it out to the MPW audience still reeling from his display of emotion. Realizing he'd grown complacent, that he had put the company and friendships first for too long, Ray Rosas was clear, focused, and impassioned as he chastised Barbie Boi for not being there, for not being the general he ought to be with the World Championship around his waist.
By his declaration, everyone was in trouble – and at Naughty Or Nice, Ray Rosas will be collecting his championship title shot as the King of Xtreme.
For Your Consideration
Naughty Or Nice is, at this point, set with a full card.
In the Naughty Or Nice Scramble, Danny Divine, Rebel Storm, Miggy Rose, Bulletproof, and Dr. Phil Goode will square off against Bryan Carter for blessings and curses galore.
Brendan Divine will fight J2 for the National Championship.
Johnnie Robbie and Auntie Hydie will square off for Holiday Hardcore.
Barbie Boi versus Ray Rosas for the MPW World Championship – and it's looking less and less like this will be a gentleman's contest. Prepare for a grudge match, because Ray Rosas is on the hunt.
And because the MPW Board of Directors is always paying attention, as a last minute update? It seems that Full Send caught their eye -- a rematch for the Tag Team Titles against M.O.B. will be happening at the event!
As we all know, however, anything can happen in Millennium Pro Wrestling – there may be more yet to see. Spur of the moment matches, last minute additions...there's a reason they say the card is subject to change, because in MPW the future is never certain.
This show will be the last one of the year – if you miss it, you're nuts, but don't worry. The X-Press will roll in with the details as they come.
Who are your picks to win? What do you think will be up for grabs at the Naughty Or Nice Scramble? Tell me what you think, and prepare for a debate because this reporter has some very definite ideas about how things will turn out.
EXCLUSIVE! TPG Bryan Carter Reveals Info On SECRET SANTA Naughty Or Nice Drawing
The news went out yesterday via the Millennium Pro Wrestling Twitter: on December 10th at Secret Santa, the drawing will be held to confirm the participants in the Naughty or Nice scramble, hosted by none other than the self-appointed Perfect Gentleman, Bryan Carter.
The Naughty or Nice scramble is a match with not one or two, but four winners. Prizes in this contest can range from a title shot at the winner's discretion to...well, losing your job. That's why they call it the “Naughty or Nice” scramble: anything can happen, and sometimes it's not always good!
We here at the X-Press were curious about the identities of those entered into that drawing, so we obtained some exclusive information from Carter himself. He had several colorful things to say – mostly about the presence of this reporter in his DM's – however, when asked if he was entering his clients, MPW Tag Team Champions Diego Valens and Michael Hopkins, into the drawing, he had plenty to say.
“To answer your question, of course the two hottest stars of MPW will be in that lottery.” Carter confirmed. “Honestly? They're the only ones who really deserve it, other than maybe one or two others. My boys deserve the world, unlike Bozos like you.”
Truly, a man of class, readers. However, given the history of folks like the recently departed Frankie Frank, who lost his job at the Naughty or Nice scramble in 2019, I had to follow up by asking if Carter was at all concerned that one of his clients might end up receiving that most unwanted of gifts.
“Worried? Nah, my boys will be solid. Everyday, we manifest greatness for us! That's why we're where we are, and others are outside daydreaming about gaining a fraction of our success.”
So there you have it: the team of Valens and Hopkins are just two of the names entered into the lottery that will be drawn by their manager, Bryan Carter, on December 10th. Will they gain the opportunity to compete in the scramble? Only time, the lottery, and possibly some wheeling and dealing by their manager, will tell.
There is also, of course, the matter of who else may be entered into that drawing! The promotional flier for Secret Santa has been released, and it shows several MPW mainstays – most notably, the return of Rebel Storm and former MPW World Champion, Che Cabrera. Could Cabrera be returning to enter the lottery for a shot at reclaiming his crown?
Anyone and everyone could be in that drawing – only time will tell. To find out before the results hit the MPW X-Press, be there on December 10th...or, if you want to look for any announcements about entries into the drawing? There's always Seasons Greetings this Friday, December 3rd. Who knows which MPW stars might show up, and what they might have to say?
It's December. Anything and everything can happen...it is, after all, the most wrestling time of the year.
Let The Good Times Roll // Bryan Carter & The Young Swangers (Ray Charles cover)
What I love about going to Sofar Sounds shows is that you’re always in for a surprise - there’re some hits and misses with my own taste test for music, but the concept is astoundingly in line with Jump Into Limbo’s vision of exploring music without knowing what you’re in for. If you’re new to the Sofar Sounds lifestyle, read more here about their pay-what-you-like, secret venue, secret music acts business model and sign up for a show in one of the many cities worldwide where they operate. Last Monday I hit up the Financial District in Manhattan after dark (the darkened, deserted streets were surreal compared to how they look in the day) for my fourth taste of Sofar Sounds (more info on the rest of the musicians who performed here). At Dubway Studios, the recording studio was cozy and packed to the brim - with people, sounds and full hearts. Bryan Carter & The Young Swangers took the stage for the first act with exquisite pizzazz and confidence, really getting the party started with their upbeat jazz. There’s nothing quite like having a trumpet, tenor saxophone, double bass and keys literally within a 3-meter radius from your seat - it blows you away. Bryan Carter on the drums and vocals brought the energy, and trumpeter Benny Benack brought the vibes. Before long, the good times were rolling - and now you can too. Click play above, check out the rest of their awesome music on their Youtube channel and find them live.
