Mike Reviews 3PW Three Men & a Bodybag

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

We’re taking a break from rebooking after my most recent arc, so I’ll be filling the time on Wednesday with random things for a bit, starting out with 3PW Three Men & a Bodybag. 3PW stands for Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (I’m sure it’s Hank Hill’s favourite promotion) which was a Philly based company ran by Blue Meanie and Jasmin St. Claire.

They really didn’t know what they wanted to be, as sometimes they’d do ECW hardcore stuff, but then they’d bring people like Jerry Lawler and Curt Hennig in for old school AWA styled matches, thus meaning the promotion never really had its own identity. Say what you want about a company like CZW, but it certainly occupied its own niche with its mix of wild Ultraviolence and high flying cruiserweight styled wrestling, whilst ROH had the best technical wrestling in the area as well as strong storyline stuff to keep people coming back for more.

3PW just didn’t stand out in a very competitive local market and it only lasted for three years. 3PW did enjoy some reasonable exposure in the UK though, as they were one of the companies picked up for the much missed Wrestling Channel we had on satellite TV over here. They would actually make a bit of an effort with it as well by having two commentators do intros for the show every week before cutting to clips from recent events.

Three Men & a Bodybag has a mixture of classic ECW guys such as Sabu and Sandman, with the rest of the crowd made up of younger indie workers. If you’d like to watch along with me as we view this one then feel free to click HERE.

You can view the card for the event by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=96590&page=3

The event is emanating from The Arena in Philly on the 18th of May 2002

Opening Match
The New School (Christian York and Joey Matthews) Vs Dylan Knight and Rapid Fire Maldonado w/ Alison Danger and Candi

York and Matthews got a bit of exposure towards the end of ECW, with Matthews eventually getting signed to WWE and teaming up with John Hennigan as MNM, whilst York got a bit of a run in TNA/IMPACT in the 2010’s. Knight is apparently from Germany, although judging from his CageMatch profile he mostly seems to wrestle in the USA and he’s currently still active for a promotion in Michigan. Maldonado was trained by Steve Corino and appeared to call it quits as an active wrestler in 2013. Danger is Steve Corino’s sister and wrestled for years on the indie scene before getting signed to WWE and getting cut something like a month into her new job after moving her whole family to Florida, because WWE. Candi was trained by Jimmy Valiant and her most recent match appeared to be in 2019.

The entrance way seems to be made of heavy duty black bin bags. Well, they are on offer till December. Knight and Maldonado would appear to be the babyfaces in this one, as they shine on The New School to start, with York and Matthews doing a good job bumping and feeding for everything. Knight seems to be the better wrestler of the two babyfaces, but it’s not like either of them is actively terrible or anything, so the match is fine, if not especially thrilling. Maldonado’s punches look like they could use some work though.

Eventually the Heels cheat to cut off Maldonado and work some heat on him, with Maldonado doing a decent job selling it all whilst Knight tries to get the crowd excited for the hot tag. There’s not much of a crowd here for this one, at least in comparison to the numbers that ECW would get during its heyday. They seem a bit more patient than the ECW crowds of yore, keeping the heckling to a minimum. Maldonado eventually gets his knees up on a York Moonsault and it’s then the “hot” tag to Knight, although it doesn’t generate much in the way of crowd heat.

Knight looks fine running wild on the Heels, throwing some nice forearms and not doing anything overly flashy. There’s a really stupid spot where Knight makes York piledrive his own partner, which deservedly draws some boos from the crowd as it looked super contrived. It’s a shame as there hasn’t really been anything particularly horrible prior to that. Perhaps thinking that they’ve lost the crowd, they take it home straight after, with York pinning Knight whilst Matthews holds one of Knights legs down outside the ring.

WINNERS: THE NEW SCHOOL
RATING: *1/2

Thoughts: This was on its way to being a “perfectly cromulent” opener until things fell apart a bit at the end. Not terrible for the most part, just your typical indie opener until they tried that wacky piledriver spot towards the end and didn’t pull it off

Match Two
Tank Toland Vs Robert Pigeon

Toland worked in WWE for a bit as part of a tag team with Chad Wicks. I have no idea who Pigeon is and he doesn’t even have a CageMatch profile. Toland comes out slapping hands with the fans and looks to be in great shape, although he’s lacking WWE height, which probably didn’t help him when he got there. Pigeon is a scrawny guy who wears a Shinya Hashimoto styled headband on the way to the ring. Honestly, to look at these two you’d think that Toland would be the bigger bully Heel shoving the smaller Pigeon around, but that isn’t what they’re going for here.

Some of the wrestling from Toland here is actually pretty good, as he works over Pigeon with standard babyface fare like arm drags to start, as the crowd has now started going into heckle mode, calling the match boring. Don’t get me wrong, this hasn’t been amazing or anything, but Toland has looked really good and miles above what you might expect for an undercard on this kind of show. Pigeon actually takes some good bumps in an effort to get the match over, and they kind of get the crowd to shut up for a bit until the boring chants start again.

Pigeon cheats a little bit with eye rakes and whatnot, but he never really has a sustained period of control in the match, as it’s mostly just Toland throwing him around. Toland eventually heads up with a Moonsault, but Pigeon moves out of the way and gets an Implant DDT for the win, which kind of makes Toland look like a chump in that he battered Pigeon for so much of the match and then kind of lost pretty easily.

WINNER: ROBERT PIGEON
RATING: *3/4

Thoughts: The wrestling here wasn’t bad, but the crowd hated it from the very first arm drag and they never managed to get them back. I think the match structure didn’t really do either wrestler any favours either, as Toland basically gobbled Pigeon up and then lost in a fluky manner at the end. Thus Toland looked weak in defeat and Pigeon looked weak in winning, which is the exact opposite of what you’d want from a match like this

Match Three
Chris Hero Vs Colt Cabana

I’m guessing most of you will know who these two are? Both of them have worked on the independent scene for absolute beards, with both of them having a cup of coffee in WWE at different points. Whoever is doing the match graphics ends up getting the names of each wrestler mixed up, even though one comes out to a song entitled “I need a HERO” and the other enters to “Copa CABANA”, so the clue is really there if they aren’t entirely sure as to which graphic goes with which wrestler.

Cabana’s music then starts skipping, which is the perils of using CD’s for entrance music I guess. Someone needs to send this match to Maffew as he’s already got some material he can use and the opening bell hasn’t even gone yet. Cabana seems to be playing Heel for this one, as he jaws with the fans on his way to the ring and is generally just cocky, whilst Hero seems to be the more agreeable of the two towards the fans. Hero was a babyface in CZW at the time I think, and they would run this venue, so that probably helps towards Hero being the babyface here.

Both of these wrestlers can go on the mat and we get some solid technical grappling here, so if you’re into that sort of thing then you will probably enjoy this one. Cabana ends up stooging around following that, with Hero throwing elbows and bouncing his smaller opponent around. Hero’s offence looks good and Cabana does an entertaining job of being battered, so this is all good clean indie fun, with Hero even busting out a TOPE CON HILO at one stage whilst Cabana is out selling on the floor. The crowd seems to appreciate it for the most part as well.

Cabana eventually manages to get himself back into the match with a body slam onto the floor and then refuses to do a dive, which of course angers the crowd and once again establishes Cabana as the Heel in this particular contest. Cabana works some heat following that, with Hero doing a good job selling it and Cabana’s offence looking snug and well-executed. Cabana gives Hero a super meaty clothesline at one stage for instance and Hero gets folded up taking the bump in a gruesome looking visual, even though it was all perfectly safe.

Hero responds with a series of roll-ups, but he isn’t able to get the win and Cabana cuts Hero off again. The crowd seem to think that something was messed up there (they said it less politely) but I think they’re nit-picking to be honest and just wanted an excuse to chant it, because Philly. Some idiots even chant boring again here, although Cabana is an experienced enough worker that he plays up to it and jaws back to the fans, which succeeds in getting him booed as a Heel and keeps the match on track.

Hero eventually fights his way out of a sleeper and gets a Missile Dropkick for a double down, although he doesn’t really succeed in getting the crowd to clap for a comeback. Hero is undeterred and makes the comeback anyway, leading to him getting another pinning hold for two. Cabana fights back though and comes off the top with a Moonsault for three.

WINNER: COLT CABANA
RATING: ***

Thoughts: This was a good match, as both wrestlers knew what they were doing and they put on a solid outing, although the crowd reactions weren’t quite what you would like them to be. Honestly I might have opened with this one just to get the show off to a stronger start

Tod Gordon joins us, as he’ll be the referee in the Main Event later on. Gordon was the original owner of ECW until he got ousted in 1997 when he tried to organise an ECW invasion of WCW. Bill Alfonso was part of that too, but he kept his job after bleeding in a mixed tag match. The ring announcer whittles on rather than let Gordon talk though, so Gordon takes him out with a chair, leading to the ring announcer being stuffed in a bodybag and carried out. The ECW nostalgia continues following that, as long time ECW announcer Bob Artese comes down to replace the other guy, to the ECW theme no less. I’m a sucker for ECW nostalgia as much as any other ECW fan, but building an entire promotion around it might not be a good idea if you’re a fledgling outfit like 3PW who hasn’t found their own voice and flavour yet.

Match Four
Dog Collar
Rockin’ Rebel Vs Pitbull Gary Wolfe

Rebel used to regularly get bookings in the Philly area because he owned his own ring and would use that as a way to get onto shows. He ended up coming to a tragic end but I won’t go into too much detail about that here in the interest of decorum. Wolfe was part of the Pitbull’s tag team with Anthony Durante, but when Durante passed away he went back to being a singles wrestler on the indie scene again.

Rebel doesn’t want to do a Dog Collar match, and insults the crowd on the mic before trying to leave, but Wolfe isn’t having any of that and drags Rebel back so that this barnburner of a bout can still take place. This is mostly both guys brawling in slow motion, with Wolfe going for Raven’s drop-toe-hold onto a chair at one stage, only for Rebel to completely miss the chair. Soon both wrestlers are bleeding. The one bonus of this one is that Wolfe is over with the crowd, so they are invested in the contest at least.

Eventually a table gets entered into proceedings, with Rebel trying to splash Wolfe through it. However, Rapid Fire Maldonado prevents that, leading to Wolfe getting a Spicolli Driver onto the table. Sadly the table doesn’t break, although amusingly that provides more content for a Botchamania episode at least. Wolfe tries to suplex Rebel through the table next, but once again it doesn’t break so Wolfe just decides “sod it” and pins Rebel for three anyway.

WINNER: GARY WOLFE
RATING: ½*

Thoughts: Oh dear, this one wasn’t good. It was two blokes walking around hitting one another with the occasional weapon shot, leading to a botched finish where they couldn’t get the table to break. The only saving grace was that the crowd seemed to like Wolfe, so the match had reasonable crowd heat for what it was until the stuff with the table at the end

Match Five
Wild Bill Wiles Vs Blue Meanie w/ Jasmin St. Claire

This is an ECW reunion bout, as both of these guys were working there towards the end of the promotion. Wiles was doing the Elvis Impersonator as the company came to a close, whilst Meanie was playing the role of a pimp in the dying days of ECW, with Jasmin being his top girl. Meanie was running the promotion at the time alongside Jasmin, although refreshingly he refrained from ever putting any of the belts on himself.

Wiles does the old classic Heel stall job in the early going, with Meanie getting the better of things once they actually start wrestling. The work isn’t amazing or anything, but it’s mostly fine and the crowd seems to enjoy it, although Meanie does throw some terrible punches in the corner at one stage (his normal punches look quite nice though thankfully, he just can’t 10 punch for whatever reason). Wiles ends up catching Meanie with a mule kick and that’s the cut off, leading to Wiles working some heat.

Meanie sells that well and Wiles’ work is fine, as he keeps it pretty basic and sticks to rest holds and cheating. Meanie manages to catch Wiles with a DDT OUTTA NOWHERE though and that leads to the comeback, with Meanie getting some near falls from a Ukrainian Leg Sweep and a Bulldog respectively. Wiles gets a super kick and drags Jasmin into the ring, but she catches him with a Stunner (which the referee allows, possibly because Wiles brought her in to begin with) and Meanie heads up top with the Meanie-Sault for three.

WINNER: BLUE MEANIE
RATING: **

Thoughts: This was okay for a mid-card match. It wasn’t like the work was great or anything, but they told a story that made sense and the fans responded to it how you would want them to. Compared to some of the other stuff on this show, this match was practically an in-ring classic

Candi and Dylan Knight run down following the match and lay out both Meanie and Jasmin, with Meanie taking a nasty chair shot to the head from Knight. I’m guessing that was Knight’s Heel turn, as he seemed to be a babyface earlier.

Semi-Main
The New School (Christian York and Joey Matthews) Vs The Public Enemy (Flyboy Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge)

TPE had a very successful run in the 90’s for ECW thanks to Paul Heyman’s booking, and that led to them getting runs in both WCW and the WWF, to varying degrees of success. Heyman had actually seen them working as opponents and thought he’d try them together as a team. York and Matthews are doing double duty tonight, with them cutting a Heel promo on TPE prior to the bout starting. The audio isn’t great, but from what I could hear it sounded like a serviceable Heel promo. TPE responds with a promo of their own, and they do a good job of firing up the crowd.

TPE shine on New School to start, with the Heels taking some nice bumps and TPE actually looking quite good on offence. The crowd of course wants tables, because it’s Philly and TPE are wrestling, but they keep it as a wrestling match for the most part in the early going, with Rocco Rock even busting out a quebrada at one stage. It’s not the most graceful one I’ve ever seen, but he got all the way over with it and it’s certainly not a move everyone is capable of doing, so kudos to the Flyboy.

York and Matthews eventually try and bail, but a big bald dude in a TPE shirt drags them back, leading to all four guys fighting around the arena in your classic ECW Arena brawl. It’s mostly just walking, talking and punching, but it’s at least done with some energy and bit more pizazz than the Dog Collar match earlier in the card. Grunge ends up coming off the stage with an elbow drop through York whilst York is on a table, and thankfully the table actually breaks this time. Grunge was carrying some serious girth though so I would have been surprised had the table survived.

Eventually we head back into the ring and a Matthews distraction allows York to cut Grunge off for our heat segment. That doesn’t last very long and Rocco Rock soon gets the tag, leading to TPE making the comeback, as New School continue to do a great job bumping around for them. Rocco Rock ends up coming off the top with the Drive By (a Cannonball Senton) onto Matthews and that’s enough or three.

WINNERS: THE PUBLIC ENEMY
RATING: **1/2

Thoughts: This wasn’t too bad, as the Heels bumped and sold well, whilst TPE didn’t do anything they couldn’t, meaning we got a reasonably energetic brawl followed by some brief tag formula stuff. They didn’t outstay their welcome and the crowd mostly enjoyed it

TPE welcomes some of the fans into the crowd for a House Party for a bit, leading to poor Christian York getting dragged back into the ring and beaten up some more before getting put through a table by Rocco Rock, although it took two attempts. The crowd was pretty forgiving about it though seeing as it was ECW alum involved.

Main Event
Three Way Bodybag Bout
Guest Referee: Tod Gordon
Sabu Vs The Sandman Vs New Jack

All three of these guys are probably most associated with ECW, and I’m guessing New Jack hated one or both of them in real life at some time or another due to the fact that Mr. Young could be known to be rather volatile sometimes. This one is exactly what you’d expect, as all three guys brawl and hit one another with weapons whilst “Natural Born Killaz” plays over the sound system. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, then this match will be for you. If it doesn’t, then you won’t glean much enjoyment from this one I’m afraid.

The crowd enjoys it for the most part, and there isn’t really much in the way of botches in all honesty, which is better than you might expect with these wacky sods all getting in there and doing battle with one another. Sandman eventually introduces a ladder into the ring and suplexes Sabu on it, although he then turns around to find New Jack’s stapler waiting for him. I think to win this one you have to lock both of your opponents in the bodybag, meaning that you can’t really do near falls.

We get the triple spike spot at one stage, where New Jack spikes Sandman and then Sabu spikes New Jack, which is a more violent version of the triple sleeper spot that you sometimes find in these kinds of matches. Sabu ends up catching New Jack with the Triple Jump Moonsault and that leads to New Jack getting put into the bodybag, which would appear to eliminate him from this contest, leaving us with Sabu and Sandman to settle things. The fans are sad to see New Jack go, but the rules are the rules.

Bill Alfonso joins us following that, with him previously being Sabu’s manager back when Sabu was in ECW, but he then shockingly turns on Sabu with a chair shot, whilst Gordon attacks Sandman with a Singapore Cane. This leads to Gordon and Alfonso going at it, with Gordon dropkicking a chair into Fonzie’s face. Gordon and Fonzie of course had a long running feud in ECW that Fonzie always got the best of. Sabu and Gordon appear to be working together following that, which might be a Heel turn for Sabu, although the crowd doesn’t seem to mind, especially when Sabu puts Sandman through a table with an Arabian Face Buster.

Gordon leads Sabu away following that, which I guess means the match has ended without a winner, which is pretty disappointing. Fonzie grabs the mic and says he’ll be back another time, and that’s just kind of that. That finish is a real shame actually, as you’d generally expect an actual finish in a stipulation match like this. I bet New Jack was thrilled that he was the only guy that got carried out.

WINNER: NO CONTEST
RATING: NEW JACK MATCH

Thoughts: Yes, they booked a No Contest in a Bodybag match. No, I don’t know how you manage that. I actually found it to be pretty watchable prior to the wacky non-finish at the end. It was three crazy guys hitting each other with weapons, bleeding and just generally being antisocial, and there’s definitely a place for that is the great wild tapestry that is Professional Wrestling

Sandman and Fonzie share a beer together following that, with I’m guessing the follow up being Sabu and Gordon against Sandman and Fonzie at some undetermined point?

In Conclusion

I’ve seen worse shows. This kind of encapsulated the problems 3PW had though, as the only guys on the show that were even close to being over with the crowd being the ex-ECW guys, with the audience having very little patience for anyone else, leading to guys like Tank Toland getting booed out of the building despite not doing anything wrong. The general wrestling quality wasn’t terrible, although there wasn’t anything particularly great on the show either. I enjoyed most of it for what it was, but your own mileage may vary and I’d struggle to recommend the show as a whole