Surveying the NECW Landscape
by Al Basler
With just a few short days away from the debut of New England Championship Wrestling on broadcast television, there is a buzz throughout NECW. From the officials, to the wrestlers, to the fans, the excitement level is at an all-time high. This is a golden opportunity for each and every individual in the NECW locker room to showcase his/her abilities in another medium. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the players primed to leave their mark on the fans who check out NECW on Plum TV!
Antonio “The Promise” Thomas
The obvious place to begin is with the current NECW Heavyweight Champion. Antonio Thomas. Thomas has credentials that speak for themselves. A former WWE superstar, he has also been an NECW Tag Team Champion, as well as the winner of the 2009 IRON 8 Championship. Since making his debut in 2001, “The Promise” has captivated audiences with a combination of his outstanding athleticism and charisma. He has competed around the world, making him one of the most experienced members of the NECW roster. This experience has helped him adapt and counter many different styles, building himself into one of the most well-rounded competitors in all of New England.
For over 10 years, despite all of his successes, one prize eluded Antonio Thomas: the NECW Heavyweight Championship. “The Promise” finally remedied this situation on February 1st of this year when he defeated Johnny Thunder to capture the championship which had been vacated by his protégé, Sean Burke, due to injury. Having tasted the fruits of his journey, Thomas is determined not to relinquish his spot at the top of the NECW mountain. Antonio Thomas knows he has a target painted squarely on him, and is embracing it, ready to take on any and all comers.
Alexxis Nevaeh
When you talk about champions who step up and take on all challenges, the conversation may begin and end with the World Women’s Wrestling Champion. If she does not suffer a championship defeat before May 4th, she will have held the WWW Championship for 1,000 consecutive days. Try and wrap your head around that number. That is unheard of in the modern era of professional wrestling. Alexxis has not backed away from anyone during her reign as champion. Each and every woman put in front of her has been turned away without the WWW Championship. On top of her in-ring success, Alexxis has been one of the top ambassadors for NECW. Many wrestlers experience an ebb and flow in popularity with the fans, but Alexxis has consistently been one of, if not the most popular of all of the NECW roster.
Alexxis Nevaeh spent the majority of 2012 locked in a bitter feud with Adrianna. It was as close as we have seen in a very long time to a crowning of a new champion. But in the end, Alexxis stood tall and vanquished another foe to prove why she is the queen of the hill in NECW. Turning the page in 2013, it’s still business as usual for the WWW Champion: full speed ahead and no challenge denied.
“Superstar” Scotty Slade & “The Shure Thing” Mark Shurman
If you had told any fan of NECW last year that Scotty Slade and Mark Shurman would be the NECW Tag Team Champions in 2013, you probably would have been laughed right out of the conversation. You also would have been proven to be the smartest person in the room. If there’s one thing that no one will argue about Slade and Shurman, it’s that they are undoubtedly two of the biggest characters that NECW has seen in a long time. One thing that this duo doesn’t lack is confidence, and that confidence has grown by leaps and bounds since securing the NECW Tag Team Titles. You need to look no further to illustrate this than the fact that they have placed photos of themselves over the generic wrestlers in the design of the belts themselves.
Scotty Slade is not the largest competitor in NECW, to put it lightly. And he certainly has a complex about it. But make no mistake about it, Slade knows how to get it done in the ring. He is brash. Some may say he talks too much, but he is quickly proving that he, along with Mark Shurman, can back up what he says. And if you don’t know who Mark Shurman is, he will gladly tell you. Still a relative newcomer in NECW, Shurman has shown flashes of what he will be capable of as his game improves with experience. And bear in mind, we’re talking about a man who is already one half of the NECW Tag Team Champions. With Slade and Shurman, you have two wrestlers who complement each other perfectly (and that goes for in the ring as well), and they have only scratched the surface of what they can accomplish as a team.
Jeremy Prophet
One of the top independent wrestlers in all of Canada, Jeremy Prophet burst onto the scene in NECW in late 2012 and has been turning heads from the get-go. You can make the case, and Prophet has, several times, that if it wasn’t for blatant rule-breaking by Chase Del Monte, he would be the NECW Heavyweight Champion. Despite the early setback, Prophet has been charging forward with guns blazing in his quest to claim NECW’s top prize. Dazzling fans with his combination of aerial offense and martial arts ability, Prophet has proven himself a force to be reckoned with. He, along with former NECW Heavyweight Champion, Slyck Wagner Brown stole the show at SNOWBRAWL in Randolph back in February, with many fans in attendance calling that match the best of the evening. The performance earned Prophet a chance at the NECW Heavyweight Champion Antonio Thomas at MARCH BADNESS a few weeks ago. Prophet came up a little short, but showed he belongs in the NECW Heavyweight Championship conversation. That fact won’t change any time soon.
Johnny Thunder
If I was writing about Johnny Thunder a few short months ago, I probably would have vastly different things to say than I do now. Thunder, one of the most experienced veterans on the NECW roster, developed a reputation of doing anything he had to in order to win a match, regardless of whether or not it fell within the rules. Time and time again, Thunder was thwarted in his attempts to become the NECW Heavyweight Champion. He even went so far as to accuse the NECW of conspiring against him. At SNOWBRAWL, Thunder had another chance to claim his treasured prize. But the talk surrounding him had an effect. Tired of hearing that he couldn’t win without cheating, Thunder passed up several opportunities to score an underhanded victory. He wanted to prove everyone wrong. Thunder was unable to defeat Antonio Thomas on this night to win the NECW Heavyweight Championship, but he won something else in the process: the respect of the fans of NECW and many of his fellow competitors. As NECW enters a new chapter this week, no one represents that more than Johnny Thunder.
Mistress Belmont
We can try and analyze and breakdown Mistress Belmont all we want. The only thing for sure about her is that nothing is for sure. She is one of the most unpredictable competitors in the history of NECW. She was also part of one of the most bitter feuds in the history of World Women’s Wrestling with the current champion, Alexxis Nevaeh. Mistress Belmont was the last person other than Alexxis to hold the WWW Championship. Recently, she has been embroiled in even more controversy. She was suspended recently for a vicious attack on Luscious Latasha, who hasn’t been seen since the assault. On top of that, Mistress Belmont has been the recipient of several gift packages during her matches, which have turned out to be weapons to use of her unsuspecting opponents. The question lingers as to who is the sender of these gifts and what does it mean for the future of Mistress Belmont, as well as the other women competitors in NECW.
Sean Burke
Have you forgotten about the name Sean Burke? Shame on you if you have. Before suffering the ankle injury that would cause him to relinquish the NECW Heavyweight Championship, Burke was one of the fastest rising stars in all of NECW. When people doubted the legitimacy of his championship victory, all it did was fuel Sean Burke further. Not only was he setting out the defend his title, he was out to prove his detractors wrong. With his combination of size, strength, and speed, Burke, in my opinion, is the prototype of what a professional wrestler should be. Right now, Sean Burke is rehabbing his ankle. Every day, he moves one step closer to returning to the ring. And when he does, the entire NECW locker room better take notice. Sean Burke got a taste of the NECW Heavyweight Championship, and he liked it. He had it taken from him without being defeated. I pity the soul that is unfortunate enough to be standing across the ring from Burke when he steps back into an NECW ring. Sean Burke will be looking to make a statement. He will be looking to silence his critics. Most importantly, he will be looking to take back what he never lost.