Aired in March on select pay-per-view carriers
Taped November 2001
In Orlando, Fla. at Universal Studios
Report by Doug Brown, PWTorch.com correspondent

The pay-per-view opens with Mean Gene Okerlund giving the official welcome to the XWF. He then sends it down to Tony Schiavone at ringside for the play-by-play. Schiavone talks about his previous broadcast partners Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, and Jesse Ventura. He adds that the reason he agreed to join the XWF is a chance to work with this man. Jerry"the King" Lawler then makes his way to the ring along with his new valet Kitten.

They then send it to Okerlund in the ring for the introduction of the XWF CEO Rena. Rena comes out still looking fantastic. She says that in the past wrestling organizations have been run by "sleazy, lowdown egomaniacs," and "dominated by has-beens and never-weres trying to hold on to their spot." Rena then says that the XWF will have no more egos, and no more prima donnas. She then brings out the XWF Commissioner Rowdy Roddy Piper to a huge pop. Piper says the new company was built for the wrestlers, and they will achieve success through their own talent. He echoed Rena previous statement about no more egos, and no more prima donnas.

A promo airs featuring Gene Simmons hyping the arrival of the Demon.

(1) Buff Bagwell pinned Big Vito in 4:10 with the Buff Blockbuster. Both guys came out to their WCW theme songs. (Is that legal?) They started with Bagwell as the face and Vito as the heel, but due to the fan response the two men changed roles mid-match. Lots of "Vi-to" and "Bagwell Sucks" chants occurred during the match. Both guys worked hard and put together a solid match.

Hulk Hogan did a promo while wearing an XWF t-shirt.

In a backstage segment, the cruiserweights confronted Piper, and asked if it was true that they could get their fair shake. Piper calls the cruiserweight squad the most talented guys on the roster, and makes a battle royal to determine the first ever XWF Cruiserweight Champion.

Jimmy Hart did a promo hyping his new find Hail.

Schiavone discussed the wrestling dignitaries at the tapings. Footage was shown of Okerlund welcoming Puerto Rico's most famous star Carlos Colon to the arena from earlier in the day.

(2) Hail pinned Marty Jannetty after a legdrop in 1:26. This match was a complete squash. Jannetty got in no offense whatsoever. Hail looked really huge compared to his much smaller opponent. Hail was billed as being 6'9 and 340 pounds.

The next promo featured Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, and Dawn Marie talking about how excited they are to be in the XWF.

(3) Konnan & Ray Gonzales beat Psychosis and Juventud Guererra in 1:42 when Gonzales hit a diamond cutter on Juvi. The match was edited due to time constraints. It was a shame because it looked like a really good match probably happened.

A graphic flashed on the screen advertising Drezden's debut.

(4) Ian Harrison beat Horace Hogan by submission in 2:39. Harrison is huge. They billed him at 300 pounds, but that seemed a little light to me. Hogan got in a little offense in the beginning, but Harrison�used his power moves to turn it into a squash. The finish came when Harrison wrapped his legs around Hogan's head, fell to the mat, and then squeezed until Hogan gave up.

Norman Smiley cut a brief promo.

(5) Johnny B. Badd pinned Norman Smiley following the TKO in 3:24. This was one of the most competitive matches on the show. Badd looks like he hasn't lost a step at all. Smiley was wearing a Florida Gators jersey to suck up to the crowd. The match was face vs. face. The fans cheered both, and neither broke any rules.

Alice Cooper�added his two cents in regarding the XWF.

(6) Kid Krash (Kash) won a cruiserweight battle royal in 5:24 to become the first XWF Cruiserweight Champion. I thought it was supposed to be a 20 man battle royal, but the match had just 8 participants. (This may have also been edited.) The�final 8 guys were Billy Fives, Kid Krash (Kash), Quick Kick (Low-Ki), Christopher Daniels, Psychosis, Juventud Guererra, A.J. Styles, and the Tongan Prince (Prince Iaukea). Josh Matthews was shown in the crowd during the match. Schiavone identified him as being from MTV's Tough Enough. Kash eliminated Daniels for the win. Afterwards, he shook Matthews' hand, told him he got a raw deal, and invited him backstage.

The X-Girls were shown.

(7) The Shane Twins upset the Nasty�Boys in 2:19 when one of the Shanes pinned Knobbs following a clothesline. Schiavone mentions that this was the first time�the Nastys had teamed in four years. The ring rust showed. After the surprise win, the Nastys assaulted the Shanes, which brought out the Road Warriors for the save.��Animal and Hawk then grabbed�mics, and discussed their history with the Nastys. Hawk ended with an "Oh, what a rush!"

The next vignette was Hacksaw�Jim Duggan and Willie Nelson in Willie's trailer discussing the XWF.

This was followed by Sonny Onoo and his new find Vapor cutting a promo.

(8) Jimmy Snuka Jr. (w/Jimmy Snuka Sr.) beat Vapor (w/Sonny Onoo) in 2:19 following a double Superfly splash�from the top rope. How Snuka Jr. is not under a WWE developmental deal is beyond me. This guy definitely has it. Onoo interferes late in the match, which led to Snuka Sr. getting involved. The Snukas then planted Onoo and Vapor in the center of the ring, and both executed the splash off of the top rope.

Vampiro�did a promo talking about getting held back in other�places he wrestled,�but is excited about getting the chance to shine in the XWF.

(9) Vampiro beat Curt Hennig in 2:21 with the Nail in the Coffin finishing move. Another really good back and forth match that showcased both men's abilities. Heenan�(who was announced as Hennig's agent) came out before the match and told David Penzer�he wasn't good enough to intro Hennig. The match ended when Heenan�about to hand Hennig a foreign object, only to have Piper come out, grab it, and slug Hennig with it.��The show closed with Piper and Rena raising Vampiro's hand in victory.

Final Thoughts: It's a shame that Vince raided this company and never let it get off of the ground, because this was a really fun show to watch. It kind of had that feeling I used to get when I would sit down and watch wrestling as a kid on Saturday mornings. The show had very good production values, solid to really good matches, and it seemed like it was a fun atmosphere at the tapings. I really enjoyed Schiavone and Lawler as a broadcast duo. It was nice to hear Tony back to the way he�used to be instead of the corporate shill he became during the Nitro era. As a life long fan of his, it was also good to see Curt Hennig perform in the ring for one final time. I also think that they had a really good appeal to families with their collection of old favorites and exciting newcomers. Families are one of the markets�the McMahons have really alienated with their recent programming. I wish the company would have gotten that TV deal, because I think they would have had a legitimate shot at being the #2 promotion in the U.S.

We suggest these recent related articles...

KELLER’S WWE MSG SPECIAL REPORT 10/3: Lesnar vs. Big Show, Cena vs. Seth in a cage, Jericho vs. Owens in an IC Title match, Dudleys vs. New Day for tag titles

McNEILL's Late Night Deadblog - WWE Night of Champions: Bucklebombs, Light-up Jackets, Poachers, IcoPro, Eddie, more!

KELLER’S WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS PPV REPORT 9/20: Ongoing “virtual time” coverage of event including Sting vs. Seth, Cena vs. Seth, Ryback vs. Owens, mystery partner with Reigns & Ambrose, Divas Title, Tag Title, more