squared circle wrestling

(Note: Before the final 2CW cards this past December, I had the chance to create and put together a magazine. I am slowly putting the stories here on the blog. Enjoy!)

(Note 2: The first part of this story ran last week … you can see that part by clicking here.)

At the top

Colin Delaney has been to the pinnacle of professional wrestling as he’s wrestled for the WWE.

He also knows what it’s like to be with 2CW.

“It’s not a promotion I’ve worked for once in a while,” he said. “It’s been my home. It’s been a constant for me. It’s weird to think of them not being there.”

With the WWE, Delaney worked with its version of ECW, as well as on the main roster. One of his big angles was that of an underdog, trying to earn his way on the show and get a contract. His WWE run lasted about a year before he returned to the independent scene.

He made his mark in 2CW as one-half of the Olsen twins along with Jimmy “Jam” Olsen. Since Olsen stopped wrestling, Delaney has been shining in singles competition and recently has gone back to the tag ranks, working with Cheech as “To Infinity and Beyond.”

“I always thought 2CW had that original ECW feel,” Delaney said. “Hardcore and passionate fans. Guys were doing something special. It was a common goal to make the best product for those fans.”

Ask many wrestlers who have competed with 2CW and they’ll talk about the experience and how the product differs from other independent promotions, or even the “big ones.”

It’s just a different feeling.

“The locker room. The fans. Everybody is on the same page,” Slyck Wagner Brown said. “Everybody looks forward to going to shows. The locker room atmosphere is unique. Usually, it’s divided. Guys here have their crews, but we all get along. Everybody is laughing and joking and we have fun. That stuff is rare.”

2CW proved how vested its fan base is by being voted the top independent federation for three straight years with PWInsider.com. It also had the top match of the year three times.

In a recent poll on WWE.com, asking fans what independent federations they watched, 2CW was one of the choices.

The reality is 2CW has worked hard to reach the upper echelon of independent wrestling. Part of the reason the company is so well regarded is how people are treated.

“The group of guys – from the wrestlers in the back to the guys in charge – has always treated me well,” Eddie Edwards said. “It’s hard to come by. The guys here are trying to make something special happen.

“For me, personally, it’s been my independent home for eight years,” he continued. “Even with Ring of Honor, and now TNA, I could always count on these shows and these fans. If I was able to be here, I enjoyed it.”

The crowds are strong and vocal and are a part of the show. That makes an excellent ambiance, especially for wrestlers as they perform. When the big-name talent comes in and mixes with homegrown and local talent, it makes for special cards.

Three internet pay-per-views with flawless execution have highlighted the run at the top. Not only that, 2CW has been the top trend on Twitter twice.

Not bad for an independent company based in upstate New York.

“It is everything an independent company should be and then some,” Sean Carr said. “2CW thrives to put on the best product possible. I wasn’t around when they created it, but I was as a fan.”

“The big names drew me in and then I saw these extremely talented independent wrestlers,” he continued. “It’s what a wrestling company should be and you get everything – technical, hardcore, comedy, and big names. Or you’ll get a guy who grew up 10 minutes from you or an independent guy busting his ass off to be the next big star.”

The venues

Professional wrestling is a unique form of entertainment where the venue can often add to the experience. Take the ECW Arena for one, or Madison Square Garden.

For 2CW, there are a few that stand out, such as the Pastime Athletic Club, Watertown, and the Binghamton Legion, often referred affectionately to as The Madhouse.

The venues are places fans will always remember about 2CW. Though other promotions have visited some of those buildings, the reality is 2CW is what made those buildings hotbeds for wrestling.

The Pastime Athletic Club is on the second floor of an older building. It gets grossly hot in there any time of the year. A dingy bar downstairs provides libations when needed. The stairway is narrow and the lines can be tough to navigate.

Watertown has run in a few spots, but the crowds are always large and vocal.

Binghamton’s Legion is the Madhouse, known for some crazy incidents over the year, rabid fans and, of course, the leg.

“My favorite is the Legion in Binghamton,” Brown said. “It’s just the energy and the atmosphere. You walk through the curtain and they are into it.”

If you polled the 2CW locker room, this would likely be one thing where the wrestlers would be divided.

And for those who have worked in putting the ring together and taking it down, that sometimes plays a part, too.

“That’s a hard one for me,” Jason Axe said. “I love the atmosphere of Pastime, but loading it is the worst. The trade off is that intimate atmosphere. Binghamton you get the same atmosphere, but on more than one occasion it got out of control. I had a brick thrown at my head. You never know what to expect there.

“Watertown is probably my favorite,” he continued, noting the crowds are usually big and into it.

It’s the beauty of the venues, though. Everybody will have different takes based on personal experiences at each spot. Fans and wrestlers alike have the “spot” they love best.

Shutting down

The outcry on Facebook and Twitter and other spots on the Internet has been pretty high. Why is 2CW closing? Is it financial? Is there something people can do? Why not just sell it?

Simply put, as owner Josh Jeanneret says, it’s time.

Jeanneret and some of his closest people in 2CW met at some time after the Monday night show in Binghamton and discussed the future. The decision was made to shut the doors, but not until they said goodbye the right way – to the fans.

“The interest in the final shows is through the roof,” Jeanneret said. “This is no different than a relationship. People find it. Some lose interest. Until the plug is pulled and we’re done, people are wondering what they can do to fix it. People can’t believe it’s over.

“It will be emotional and sad,” he continued. “We’re giving them an ending. We could have just left it after Binghamton. But we’re doing the last shows for the people.”

It’s not easy running a promotion, though. There’s a ton of logistics as well as the financial aspect. Even issues that seem small to some can be a pain to 2CW management. There are also the things people don’t see – such as setting up and breaking down the ring, setting up chairs, driving home at 4 a.m. after a long show, or putting up and handing out flyers well in advance of shows.

“Wrestling is a legal high,” Jeanneret said. “It’s what makes it hard to walk away. That 10-15 minutes keeps pulling you back in. But nobody wants to put posters up all day. There’s no glory in that.

“Running shows is for people like Sean Carr or Jason Axe or Kevin Graham or Brute Van Slyke,” he continued. “The local guys. To see them and then to hear people say they are as good as anybody else is what it’s all about. It gives them the platform to perform and do their thing.”

The reactions as to closing have been mixed. Nobody is happy about it, but many understand and support the decision.

It’s still not easy to take.

“It’s something I’ve tried to wrap my head around, but I’ve not completely accepted it yet,” Delaney said. “I won’t have words until it’s actually gone. I’m probably in denial.

“It’s sad,” he continued. “I’m still asking where the January show is or if the date is set for Living on the Edge. I’m sure I won’t fully accept it until it happens.”

In wrestling, there’s often politics over who wins and who loses and who wears championship gold.

In 2CW, the final result often is overshadowed by what happens in the ring (or outside of it, at times).

“Josh allows artists to paint,” Jack Trades said. “You’re the artist. Tell me how it’s done. Here’s the finish. The one thing about 2CW is there’s a bar set and you have to be this good to get in.”

“Everybody is complaining about 2CW closing, but people are leaving with some of the greatest memories,” Trades said. “It was magic. That’s the proudest part.”

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

(Note: Before the final 2CW cards this past December, I had the chance to create and put together a magazine. I am slowly putting the stories here on the blog. Enjoy!)

Though fans know who Josh Jeanneret is, he often blends in like those who shell out their hard-earned money to see his product.

He doesn’t worry about being the “corporate guy.” He doesn’t want to play the part and doesn’t look it.

Heck, he’s often seen just “plugging in the vacuum” in the ring before one of his events.

Jeanneret, though, is the man behind Squared Circle Wrestling – affectionately known more as 2CW, one of the top independent wrestling companies in the country.

For 10 years, 2CW has been home to some of the best professional wrestling around. In the Northeast, it’s highly known as the place to go if you want to see the best.

The names that have been through 2CW is a who’s who of wrestling. Some of the best young talents in wrestling have gotten their feet wet in 2CW, or made stops because they knew the level the federation brings to an event.

The action is the entertainment, after all.

But on December 20, 2015, 2CW will be no more.

This past fall, in a shocking post to fans on Facebook, which followed a week or so of cryptic messages, the company announced it would be closing its doors. First, however, it would march through three of its top spots – Watertown, Binghamton, and Syracuse – for some final shows designed to deliver a lasting impression to fans of the group.

A fourth show, in Elmira, was later added, giving the company a “Final Four” to say goodbye to its fans.

The final show, which will be broken up into two sets at 2CW’s original home at the Pastime Athletic Club in Syracuse, is a secret. Though some names have been announced, no matches have. And none will be announced before that night. It’s fitting, though, as it is one card that there likely won’t be any real changes on. Changing cards on the fly is something Jeanneret has had to do often over the 10-year run with 2CW.

Still, he never disappoints.

And that’s part of what he’s tried to do with 2CW. With his small “front office,” the group has put out incredible card after incredible card and they’ve done it without trying to milk everything they can out of the fans, outside of the occasional long intermission to allow the wrestlers to sell their shirts and DVDs.

“Unlike everything else in wrestling that’s usually lies and smoke and mirrors and stealing money, you’ll find no wrestlers or any fans or any people who will ever say that they felt like 2CW hosed them,” Jeanneret said. “That they didn’t get paid or were overwhelmed. You’ll never find that because at the end of the day, there is nothing more important than your word. Actions speak louder than words.”

The birth of 2CW

A little more than 10 years ago, in November 2005, Jeanneret and some friends were watching the WWE Survivor Series.

Impressions in the room for the show were lackluster at best. And, being he’d already been involved in the independent wrestling scene, he thought he could do better.

“I remember after, me and some other people were kind of like ‘this sucks,'” Jeanneret said. “It was as simple as this sucks, our (stuff) could be so much better.”

The idea to hatch an independent company based in upstate New York took life soon after, and Jeanneret set out to make sure everything lined up. The first card took place at the Pastime Athletic Club in Syracuse on April 8, 2006.

“We were just like we’ll be better and way more awesome,” Jeanneret said. “There was no grand plan of we’re going to be the next this or that or anything. It was only ever about having the best possible show. I wanted to melt people’s faces off so when people leave, they think it’s amazing and have to go next time. It’s about nothing more than the magic.”

The idea for the name came partially as a spoof. Two ideas were tossed aside – JPW (Just Pro Wrestling), and Ring of Glory, an all-too-obvious play off Ring of Honor.

“I was like ‘we might as well call it Squared Circle Wrestling because that would be just as horrible as Ring of Glory,'” Jeanneret said. “We were like ‘yeah, that’s a good idea. We could put a 2 in front so they could chant 2CW.'”

Jeanneret even argued the validity of using it … as mathematically, it would be impossible.

“Weird stuff will happen like that. When it happens, it seems lame,” Jeanneret said. “Looking back, it’s kind of cool. There was no marketing meeting or big items. It was just there.”

Eight matches were on that first card, which was the initial Living on the Edge. Some of the names on that card are still with the company, such as Isys Ephex, Loca Vida, Jason Axe and Steve McKenzie. JD Love was also on the card — Jeanneret’s wrestling identity.

It also included Spike Dudley, who was still active in the mainstream world of pro wrestling at the time. Dudley proved to be a massive supporter of 2CW and became a close friend of Jeanneret as he looked to build 2CW.

Ten years and nearly 125 cards later, 2CW is one of the finest organizations in professional wrestling.

Making moments

What makes 2CW great? One thing is the moments. It’s rare for somebody to walk away from a 2CW event and not have experienced a “wow” moment.

Jeanneret speaks about 2CW creating memories, magic, and moments. Though fans won’t see him, he occasionally walks out from the back to watch the action in the ring.

“He wants to experience those moments. He knows,” current 2CW champion Sean Carr said.

The top moment in 2015, Jeanneret said, was Carr finally ascending to the top of 2CW and winning the heavyweight championship in front of his hometown at the Binghamton Legion. The emotions were real. His family came into the ring and celebrated. The crowd went crazy.

Carr’s chase of the 2CW championship went for about a year. He had a series of incredible matches with then-champion Nick Ando. One of the matches left them both as bloody messes.

Then came the night in Binghamton when Carr finally won the championship he had chased for so long. When he went for the final pin on Jason Axe in the quadruple conflict match, the crowd’s chant of “1…2…3” was deafening.

After the match, Carr sat in one corner of the ring staring at the belt. You could see his eyes welling up with tears of joy. No matter what professional wrestling is, you can’t fake emotion when somebody reaches the top of a place he holds so near and dear in this profession.

“That was a moment that could have kept 2CW open,” Jeanneret said. “WWE doesn’t create moments like that. In 2CW, people know wrestling is (scripted). Guys are athletes. Fans are in on that.

“But everyone there believed,” he continued. “They want to believe. Seeing his parents and his daughter in the ring – I was watching it happen. That was awesome. Those are the moments you want to create. As you move along, moments like that become further and further apart.”

Carr said the moment was real.

“Moments in 2CW can be super emotional, or super comical, or something else. We did something great – we told a story,” Carr said. “To be the guy of this company, it means a lot to me. The emotion was real. The work I put in to get here is real.”

Ask other wrestlers who have worked for 2CW and they’ll talk about moments.

Ask fans who consistently go to shows, and they’ll talk about moments.

And pretty much anybody who has been to a 2CW show can identify a moment that stands out.

Jeanneret looks back, though, and second-guesses himself, whether is something with the wrestlers or the fans. As he noted, all he wanted to do was to create moments.

“It was super important to me,” he said. “I felt like I was letting people down. I felt like I could have done more.

“All I ever wanted to do was to have people say ‘What just happened? I have to go again.’”

The big picture

2CW is more than just the moments, though.

Take a peek at the mind-blowing fantasy matches there have been inside a 2CW ring. Then there are the fans, who have their own gimmicks and chants. Look at the roster of wrestlers who come back time and time again to be part of it. The personalities beyond the ring are countless as well.

Add it all together and it’s an experience and it’s a rare mix of everything all in one show.

Amazing matches are one thing, but if there are only 25 people watching, it’s not the same. You can have some loud fans, but if the action is better off being in a backyard, then what’s the atmosphere really like?

“Everything about it is an experience,” longtime 2CW wrestler Colin Delaney said. “They put on such amazing shows and mind-blowing wrestling cards. We’re talking about a promotion that puts on crazy dream matches and creates fan moments.”

When it comes to independent wrestling, especially in the Northeast, there isn’t much that compares to the experience 2CW puts forth time and time again.

Look at the current roster – Jay Freddie started as a cameraman. Brute Van Slyke and Kevin Graham still are known to help with putting the ring together or tearing it apart at the end of a show. One of 2CW ring crew members – Jeremy Kallunki – had a broken down car one time and didn’t want to miss a show in Syracuse.

So, he rode his bike from Watertown to Syracuse. That’s about a 70-mile jaunt. He earned his nickname Jerry Bykes for that day.

All to be part of the ring crew – for no pay.

“I was impressed from the start,” said Slyck Wagner Brown, a two-time 2CW champion. “It was family. Watching others, I could feel the vibe. … It’s a company I’ve seen grow from regional into something special. Guys want to work there.”

(The remainder of this story will be posted Tuesday, August 2… please check back!) 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I keep telling myself it was just a professional wrestling company.

Then I realized I can’t lie to myself.

As of about 10:45 p.m. this past Sunday, Squared Circle Wrestling, or more known more affectionately as 2CW, is no more.

I watched grown men cry in the ring after their final match for 2CW. I saw fans with looks of disbelief. I heard chants that made the hair on my back stand up. I looked around at people who I had the chance to meet, talk to, and call friends for the past five years and realized some of them I may never see again, while others there will always be a bond.

That’s what 2CW did.

It wasn’t just about professional wrestling. We — the fans — were part of it.

2CW isn’t just some independent company — it was an experience.

I’ve seen a few reviews of the final show in Syracuse. Most of what I’ve seen has been amazingly positive. Alas, some people are “experts” and don’t get it. They claim independent shows should all be five-star matches. This show, one showed, was “overbooked.”

They don’t get it.

There were amazing matches that night. There was comedy. There were some missed spots and some misspoken words.

But the night was about 2CW, its history, its fans, and going out on its terms — not for those tuning in for the first time on a free internet show (yes, 2CW did their final show FREE online — something most companies wouldn’t do).

Enough about the bad stuff, though, allow me to give the good — at least from my eyes.

Three shows — Binghamton on a Thursday night, Elmira on Friday, and Syracuse on Sunday. All three delivered in different ways.

BINGHAMTON

What an action-packed card. It featured hometown boy Sean Carr taking on Matt Hardy. What a fantastic match. It also has the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega facing Cheech, Colin Delaney, and Eddie Edwards.

Those two matches are important, too.

First, this was totally 2CW. Doors opened late. Show started late. But damn… it HAD to be that way in Binghamton. A good, solid crowd kept things lively.

Midway through the first half, the 2CW owner Josh came by me and tapped me on the shoulder and had me follow him. It was there he offered me something I’ve always wanted to do — shoot a couple of matches ringside.

I almost turned it down — for two reasons. One, I was loving being in the crowd (front row, of course), and two, I didn’t want to get mauled by being out of place. So, to keep the colorful language aside, basically Josh scolded me (seriously!) and noted how long I have watched wrestling and how I can react. Just go take some (colorful language omitted) pictures.

I’m glad I did. I shot those final two matches and it’s an experience I’ll never forget, and would have regretted if I had never done it. That’s what I’ll truly remember more than anything from this show. Well that and getting the first glimpse of the 2CW commemorative magazine, which I had created for the final three shows.

Binghamton is where I watched my first 2CW show. It’s where I fell in love with the company and what they did each show — and that’s perform at an amazingly high level for the fans.

ELMIRA

This one was fun and it’s where I somewhat lost my voice.

Elmira is a different crowd. It’s not so much the rabid 2CW fans, such as in Syracuse or Binghamton. It’s definitely more toward a WWE crowd, hence why they went nuts for Rhyno, Hurricane Helms, and Matt Hardy. Those are the people they know.

This was also a different 2CW card — no intermission was held and the card went straight through.

Still, there were 2CW moments.

My favorite is when Matt Hardy came out to face Sami Callihan for the 2CW championship. But, before I get to that … allow me to backtrack to Binghamton.

When these stars hit indy shows, they are usually the big fan favorite. However, in Binghamton, Hardy faced Carr and the crowd was way behind Carr, thus making Hardy the bad guy. He ate it up, too. He threw his shirt to the crowd a few times, each time having it thrown back.

Fast forward to Elmira.

Hardy comes out as the challenger and in the ring and … for whatever reason … I started chanting “Who the F are you? Who the F are you?”

The 2CW faithful joined in. The rest of the crowd? Not so much. But, even though we were smaller of a group, we were louder. Then when Callihan came out, title in hand, and sat in the corner opposite us, we started chanting “We know him! We know him!”

That got a reaction from Hardy — and that’s where you know he’s an amazing talent with a great sense for the business. So, the shirt came off again and he looked to the crowd and got a feel for where it should go.

And where did he throw it?

He looked right at me and threw it. Boom. There’s no doubt he knew what was going to happen.

Right back in the ring.

My thought process was simple — get it near Callihan and see what happens. So it landed closer to Sami and he went to it, looked at Hardy, looked at the shirt, stepped on it and ripped it before throwing it at Hardy.

Classic.

The overall event was solid and I’ll walk away there with more magic moments, much like what 2CW always does.

SYRACUSE

The final card was essentially two, as it was called 2 Sets. One ran for about 2 1/2 hours, the other around three and change.

That’s a lot of wrestling.

And despite it being hot in the Pastime Athletic Club, and being crammed in, it was electric. There were only a few matches that didn’t seem to have super chemistry. But overall, it was simply amazing.

The throwbacks were awesome, especially to those of us who may have followed 2CW for a long time, but still didn’t know some of those who competed in the early days.

I’ve seen a lot of 2CW events that were great — but this is probably the best one I’ve ever seen.

The talent was amazing. The swerves were great. The surprises were “OMG” worthy. The fact that Josh pulled out all the stops with this card was something I’ll never forget.

I wouldn’t even want to think about my favorite match as I don’t think I could pick one.

The chants throughout the night were fantastic. People definitely lost their voices. AR Fox did a flip off a basketball rim into the crowd. There was some blood in the main event. Spike Dudley — a longtime supporter of 2CW as he was a mainstay in the early days, returned to be in the main event.

And then it was over.

People hugged one another and shook hands. There were some who had tears. Some took photos. Some chatted with others, or wrestlers who came out. Some even left when things ended. Others went downstairs into the bar and shared cocktails with wrestlers who stuck around.

The night ended in such an amazing way. All the wrestlers and others in the ring as Josh spoke to the crowd, thanking who he could, as the crowd broke off into “Thank you Josh” and “2CW” chants.

Perfect.

THE LEGACY

I guarantee I’ll never experience something like 2CW again. I’m sure there will be great independent wrestling cards I attend. There will be amazing talent. Hell, I’m sure I’ll see a lot of these guys wrestle elsewhere.

But there will never be another 2CW. That’s fact.

For those who experienced 2CW, you know what it was all about. You can relate to what you saw and what unfolded. To those who only look at it as some other independent wrestling show, it’s a shame you didn’t get a chance to truly feel what it was all about. There’s a reason why wrestlers came back again and again.

While a professional wrestling show should mainly be about the in-ring aspect, there are so many other things that make the show great. You need a mix on a card. It can’t just be match after match full of spots. That doesn’t give people the chance to breathe.

And, honestly, it’s not believable.

I’m still old school in that regard. I cheer for good guys. And though I know what wrestling is all about, when I am there, I want to believe.

2CW made me do that.

The best way to show that? Watertown. Sami Callihan, back on the independent scene, makes a surprise appearance and beats the champion — one who had chased the belt for a year. As a fan of the wrestler (Sean Carr) and a friend, it took me way off guard. I was mad. At that moment — all was real.

The owner later told me he watched my reaction as it happened. And why? Because he knew there would be a reaction with that result.

I believed.

This company easily drew you into their storylines or rivalries. It made you want to cheer or want to boo the people in the ring.

2CW, simply put was special.

For those who did experience it, these memories — the magic — will last with you forever. The legacy of what was 2CW will go on for many years to come. And in the end, that’s what it’s all about. A rabid fan base who were passionate about this company and who chanted up until the end … the way it should be.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!