Freddy Alvarez- Hooooooow's it going, everybody! Welcome to the first edition of WFA Insider Radio, where we rate, review and report on the WFA. I'm Freddy Alvarez, and with me, as always, is the one and only Ash Meltzer.

Ash Meltzer: Um, yeah, uh Welcome to the podcast. We're here to discuss all the ongoing drama backstage and new in the business of WFA. Also review some wrestling shows. What do we start with?

Freddy- Well, today we will talk about ACW, which has been on a roll lately.

Ash Meltzer: ACW recently had their first Pay-Per-View, Glory Road. Should we congratulate Jason Sabre on making it to his first Pay-Per-View unlike in his previous attempt at this federation? Good for him.

Freddy: Good for him, indeed, because this show was a legitimate contender for best PPV of the year.

Ash: The low point of this show would've been considered decent on any other show. Everyone brought it and some people even surpassed expectations. And it all started with the Hype videos.

Freddy: So, first of all, setting the opening hype video to Lose Yourself by Eminem was pretty dope. It set the tone for the Pay-Per-View.

Ash: I was told that Jason Sabre, who by the way, is the head booker for ACW, didn't pay Eminem and used the song without permission. He assumes that it'll be cool because he's busy killing mumble rap.

Freddy: Alright, so the opening match of the PPV was a perfect opener between CJ Hawk, Freddy Escobar, Furno Moxley, and Will Ralston. Your thoughts?

Ash: I gave the match four stars. Everyone had a chance to shine, but Furno Moxley and Will Ralston worked most of the match. I was surprised that CJ Hawk didn't do more. He's been very popular in ACW character wise. More so than the other three guys.

Freddy: A couple of things: first of all, despite of his reported attitude problems-

Ash: Furno or Will?

Freddy: Will. This year, especially in ACW, he has had a career renaissance, and he has had several great matches, most notably his "Fight Without Honor" match against Jason Sabre

Ash: That match was Five Stars. I honestly thought that this show's match quality couldn't get as good as Jason Sabre vs Freddy Escobar, but I think that match topped it, even though it also got five stars.

Freddy Alvarez: Both matches were nearly perfect in terms of quality, but they were very different. Freddy vs Jason was a more traditional wrestling match, but Will vs Jason was more brutal and intense.

Ash: Speaking of Will vs Jason and Will's career renaissance, I want to bring up the idea of Jason making Ralston's gimmick as a play on how people view him. Jason, himself, views Will in that light. Will did not want to do the gimmick, but was forced to. There's rumors that he'll be leaving if Sabre doesn't make him an actual babyface. I personally think that it would be stupid if he left when this character is doing well.

Freddy: I believe it was a good idea on the ACW booking team's part, having Will Ralston embrace his backstage image. It has actually given his career a boost, and having Will embrace the hate has done Ralston a lot of favors. It would be a very bad idea for Will to ditch this gimmick, since it is starting to lead to a change in opinion about him.

Ash: He pitched bringing in the Bullet Club for ACW, but Sabre said to fuck off.

Freddy: Honestly, that wouldn't have been better than what they are doing for Ralston right now. If he's smart, he should be using this to his advantage.

Ash: I don't think he is. He wants to be a super babyface when people are starting to come around to him as a heel. Speaking of heel, Freddy Escobar has been a compelling character on the show despite losing pretty much all of his matches.

Freddy Alvarez: Continuing the trend of Freddy Escobar taking a break from the main event scene in the WFA this year, Freddy has lost pretty much all of his matches in ACW, but he has put on great performances, the highlight of his ACW run being his match with Jason Sabre on the first episode.

Ash: His segments with Caesar Montana and Jacob Brooks have ranged from entertaining to intense. It's interesting to see him not being the most cunning heel ever because Jacob Brooks is on the other side. Add in the recent introduction of Alexis Espinoza and for the first time in his career, Freddy is the underdog. ACW's a weird place.

Freddy Alvarez- I must say, it seems like Freddy is taking not being in the top spot really well. It seems like he has been having fun in this new role.

Ash: Why wouldn't he? He's not being hated on for being overused in the main event and is producing good tv. I don't know if Jason's paying him much, but Freddy has to enjoy working closely with him considering their long standing friendship. Also, his wife is pretty hot. Life is good for the drug dealer.

Freddy Alvarez: And now we move on from the rejuvenated Prince, to the MVP of the WFA in 2017, CJ Hawk. I have to say, CJ Hawk being a parody of himself has made for great TV.

Ash: Apparently it was a rib by Jason, who always thinks CJ is super serious about wrestling. In fact, he even brought in his father to be apart of the show. And yes fans, I can confirm that Papa Hawk is staying for the rest of the season and will probably star in season 2 as well. I've heard that he might be put on screen as a manager

Freddy: CJ Hawk's segments with Papa Hawk have been really funny, and CJ has ranked high in the ACW popularity polls, which is good, because, in a character-driven league like ACW, relying on his wrestling skills alone would have granted him a spot at the midcard. With his new comedic gimmick, he has been consistently popular. I gotta say, ACW as a whole has been very good when it comes to giving established WFA stars, such as Hawk, Ralston, or Escobar, a new and creative twist.

Ash: So CJ in ACW has connected very well with the audience. How do you feel about his run in SSW United, because while he has been consistent with wrestling, he hasn't made that connection or had that moment where people say 'I like this guy'?

Freddy: CJ in SSW United was mainly used to add some quality matches to each show. As I understand it, his run as the SSW Grand Champion is supposed to lead into a World Title run for CJ, where he would get more development.

Ash: All he does is wrestle though. Will that connect when he gets his first taste of a main event run?

Freddy: Hard to say. Benoit is an shining example of someone getting over because of their wrestling skills.

Ash: Name another one. And Jinder doesn't count. Even Bret had character development before his first title win and he's a prime example of the 'just a wrestler' type that CJ is. Someone who isn't though, is Furno Moxley who won the match and earned his spot in the number one contenders match and on the chosen five. Furno, in my opinion, held this match together.

Freddy: Indeed. While the other three definitely did their part, it was Furno who shone through as the star of the match. His win was really well deserved.

Ash: He's been a great character but his status is not at a main event level within ACW. Maybe it's because he's too much of a loose cannon backstage. I mean, his divorce to Nyx did screw over every company in WFA, because they pretty much demand that they are put on screen together. Jason is going to make them work together until the end of the season and he'll figure it out for Season 2. Any rumors on plans for them?

Freddy: Well, I heard that on Season 2, their split will be incorporated into the storyline, with both of them joining opposite sides.

Ash: Moving on. We had our buffer match in Grimm vs Brutus Vicious vs Casey Harris.

Freddy: This match was the lowest point in the pay-per-view, and even then, it wasn't a bad match by any means.

Ash: Grimm and Casey, who are not established when it comes to ring work, had to work around the limitations of Brutus. The match was thankfully short at eight minutes and ended with the brutal spot of Grimm hitting a German Suplex into a chair on Casey. This was a solid three star match in my opinion. Grimm was the best part of the match and carried it if I'm being honest. He's been pretty good so far. Although Brutus looked strong throughout.

Freddy: So, for the record, Brutus Vicious is not a bad worker-

Ash: I disagree. He is the type of guy who needs smoke and mirrors. He's not Jason. He's not Detrick. He's not Freddy. He's not CJ. He's not Seth. He's not Natalia. He's not….well a lot of good wrestlers. He's not the type who can go in a one on one match under normal rules. He's a CZW-type guy who got a good push in ICW's Demolition division. He probably couldn't have a average match with anyone if it was a singles

match.

Freddy: Fair point. My opinion on Brutus is that he is a genuine physical threat. ICW booked him like a proto-Braun Strowman, and they managed to mask his weaknesses while showing his strengths.

Ash: Is ICW going to turn him so he can lose to Seth Sullivan?

Freddy:...Probably.

Ash: *Chuckles* Anyways, the match served it's purpose and advanced the 'Kidnap Azriel's brother story'. Brutus took out the obstacles from Hope on the way to the match, but Grimm got the win and the guy. Which, in turn means, Giselle picked right and Azriel didn't. None of these guys are particularly popular, but the match advanced a big storyline.

Freddy: Indeed. Following that match was the six man tag between Cobra Club (Seth Sullivan, Russell Black and Genocide) vs Anarchy (Ash Russo, Roman McIntyre and Jasper Cage).

Ash: Holy shit, the crowd was on fire for this. I think these six blew the roof off the place. I knew that this would've been great, but they surpassed my expectations. The match was excellent. It started with the two stables having a staredown, before Roman caught Seth off guard with a Superman Punch. Anarchy stood tall as chants were dueling. Genocide and Jasper's exchange was the worst part of the match because neither are very over on their own, but it was still good Jasper placing the face in peril before making a hot tag to Roman. That hot tag, was on the level of Detrick and Jason's entrance. It was insane. The fans started to become Pro Anarchy as Roman and Russell were in. Russell isn't the best wrestler on the planet but his size and Roman's aura made up for that. Roman then worked a short bit with Genocide before Ash entered the fray. Seth eventually tagged in and led into the finishing sequence where all hell broke loose. Of course, Roman was the MVP of that with him running through everyone. But in the end, Ash is hit with a Neurotoxic and loses in a match that I gave Four and Three-Fourths.

Freddy: Let me ask you this, is it an exaggeration to say that Anarchy is the most over act in ACW?

Ash: No. They're the number one merch seller for ACW. Second is Ray Kiran actually….

Freddy:...Okay…..first of all, I understand why that fat tub of lard is popular. His segments can be genuinely funny. But when he actually tries to wrestle, he just falls flat on his flabby face. He makes Ellsworth and Gillberg look like Okada and Omega.

Ash: I was joking about him being number 2- He's number 4. Jason Sabre and Detrick Cyrus with a mask are draws.

Freddy Alvarez:...Moving on, who were the overall MVP's of Anarchy vs Cobra Club? I gotta say, for me, it has to be Roman McIntyre. The crowd responded positively to his every move, and he owned the closing stretch of the match. He has clearly gotten over as an uber-intense badass.

Ash: I agree. I don't know why, but in ACW, he hasn't said even ten words all together, but he has this aura to him and he knows it. He's onto something over here. But is it because he's being put in tag matches? He's never worked a major singles match, so I don't know if the crowd would be with him if he was alone. I've heard that Jason wants Roman to be ACW World Champion by season 2's finale.

Freddy: As popular as Roman is in ACW, Ash Russo, as the Leader of Anarchy eclipses him. I think Jason should capitalize on Ash, and give Roman more time to develop and showcase himself.

Ash: I can see what you're saying, but it's not like Seth and the Cobra Club where it's the Seth show. Roman, Jasper and Lacey are all defined characters. They have a chance. Which is more than I can say for Russell, who Jason Sabre is not too fond of.

Freddy: Wasn't Genocide in a singles match that you rated 5 stars? Could he be built as an equal to Sullivan?

Ash: Let me put it like this for ACW. Look at ICW. What has he done since? He's become Seth's bitch. I don't think he'll be more than a second fiddle to Seth. Although they did tease what happens when he isn't high. So that could be a set up to a Genocide push in ACW down the line.

Freddy: Also, do you think this match did a good job at establishing Sullivan as a major player in ACW?

Ash: Well, he did cleanly pin the leader of the companies strongest booked faction, so….yeah. Sullivan is a player.

Freddy: More on that when we get to the episode after Glory Road. More importantly though, is the feud between Sullivan and Russo over?

Ash: I don't think so.

Freddy: Me neither, I feel that a singles match between Sullivan and Russo would be excellent for the season finale.

Ash: I actually heard that Ash Russo will be facing Damian Crowe at Final Destination, which is the season finale. I also heard about Seth Sullivan challenging Azriel for the ACW World Championship in the semi main event.

Freddy: Speaking of the semi main event, the one for this show was probably the greatest women's match in the WFA yet. Natalia Rodriguez and Lacey Alvarez completely smashed expectations and put on a match that damn near stole the show.

Ash: Probably. It's the best womens match I've ever seen. Five Stars. These two women had to follow the previous match and they ended up surpassing it. The crowd was willing to cheer for both, although, the uber-popular Natalia was easily the most cheered. They went back and forth at a fast pace which included some high spots like Natalia trying a hurricanrana, only for Lacey to push him off and Natalia lands on her feet. Later, Natalia hit a slingshot hurricanrana from inside the ring to the outside while Lacey was on the apron and followed with her cannonball Senton. She attempted a Flaming Wizard, but is hit with a 540 Kick. Later, she attempted the Fireball Splash, but Alvarez dropkicked the back of her legs and sent her flying out of the ring. She then hit a Anarchy Special. Lacey brought a chair in, but Nattie dropkicked it into her face. Natalia then attempted the Flame Cutter, but Lacey caught her and hit the Silent Whisper for a big nearfall. At this point, the crowd was molten hot for these two girls. In another heartpounding moment, Lacey hit a Double Underhook DDT off the top and onto the seat of the chair for another two. Lacey missed the Moment of Silence and Natalia hit the Flame Cutter, but got a really close nearfall. In the end, Natalia hit a second one and won to a big ovation after 22 minutes.

Freddy: First of all, I wanna tell you all a story. About two years ago, when ICW was just starting, a young Natalia Rodriguez joined their roster. Trell, who has booked some great angles and matches in the past, recognized Natalia as a great worker, but he said, and I quote: "She wouldn't be a good babyface", and he turned her heel….. I bet he must be kicking himself. Hindsight's a real bitch.

Ash: And then Jason Sabre came along. Originally, Freddy pitched for Natalia to join the roster with Caesar, Dylan and DJ. Jason picked Natalia up because he thought and I quote: "She's cute. Little girls will love her." and decided to try and push her as a top face. He also had to sign Caesar after accidentally causing him to lose his apartment when he burned it down, but that's a different story and we'll cover the in door barbecue later. Anyways, ICW took the L on this one and it was a squash. Natalia has proven herself as a great babyface and she's so good, I can't even watch ICW without being uncomfortable that such a pure, loveable girl is supposed to be mean.

Freddy: Most wrestlers, such as Roderick Strong, hit their stride and show more personality as heels. Natalia is one of the few exceptions. She comes across as a absolute sweetheart to an extent not seen since Bayley was in NXT.

Ash: This match was a big match for women in WFA. Not only did these two have to set the bar for the women in ACW, but they knew that they would be compared to the men in the main event. And the main event included Jason Sabre and Detrick. But I'll go on record and say that this was the better than the main event. Hat's off to both. Natalia was established tonight as a star in the WFA.

Freddy: I think there were two women that absolutely broke through this year in the WFA. The first was Angelica Rhodes, due to her performances in ICW and her personality and charisma. The second was definitely Natalia based on the strength of this match and her popularity in ACW. But let's also give credit to Lacey, who deserves praise for her part in the match.

Ash: No doubt. Natalia owes Lacey for keeping up her end and making her look like a great babyface throughout. These two both have chips on their shoulders from being 'girlfriends' in SSW and ICW and nothing more. They went out there and told everyone to screw off if that's their thought process. I was worried about the womens division for ACW when I heard that Jason wanted Natalia as a top girl and after seeing who was on the roster. But goddamn, they did it. The girls did it. They became stars and did something special. It's beautiful to see. These two proved everyone wrong and opened a lot of eyes.

Freddy: Let me ask you this: Should Natalia Rodriguez and Lacey Alvarez be used more in companies outside of ACW? And what is it about ACW that gives both established stars, like Moxley, Hawk, Escobar, and Ralston, and unestablished workers like Nattie, Lacey, Frost, Grimm an opportunity to shine?

Ash Meltzer: To answer your second question, it's management. ACW is Jason Sabre's baby. Jason Sabre knows everybody personally. He's friends with Seth. He's friends with Furno. He's friends, probably at one time with benefits, with Natalia and Lacey. He knows how they feel personally and knows what they can do. Natalia is a sweetheart in real life, so he made her a uber cute babyface. Furno and Nyx have a crazy relationship, so he explores it. CJ Hawk is a Charisma Vacuum, so he turned it into a positive. He uses everyone's pros and cons when he comes up with this stuff. Trell said: "Jason Sabre is a mad genius when it comes to booking. Like, I'm scared of what he can do if you tell him one sentence about something that happened in your life like when CJ told him about his dad." As for your first question...YES! Natalia is just a side piece in ICW for DJ Kingston. There was a reason that Jason picked Natalia and told DJ to fuck off guys. He knew who the star in Monarchy was other than Freddy.

Freddy: Or it could have just been Jason wanting to sleep with Natalia. Either way, it worked out just fine.

Ash: Not for DJ. His girlfriend's the star and he has heat with Jason Sabre, who is not someone you want to be enemies with.

Freddy: Yeah, DJ definitely got the short end of the stick. We will keep you posted on the DJ-Nattie-Jason triangle.

Ash: As for Lacey, I feel like she's been unfairly treated. She's basically Ash's girlfriend in both SSW and ACW, but ACW has given her a wacky/crazy edge to her that's endearing. SSW doesn't seem to be too high on her though.

Freddy: I heard rumours that Jack Classic was extremely impressed with both Lacey's and Natalia's performance in Glory Road. And he has plans for both of them in United and Forever.

Ash: Good. I heard that Trell was backstage and Jason told him: "And you said that she couldn't be a babyface."

Freddy: And finally, from a match that surpassed expectations to a match that was just as good as you'd think it would be, we have the main event: Jason Sabre vs Detrick Cyrus vs Azriel in a match to crown the inaugural ACW World Champion.'

Ash: Detrick Cyrus and Jason Sabre are two of the best workers in the world right now. 2018 was a great year for both. But Azriel has only had one match and it was against CJ. CJ bumped his ass off for him and put on a good TV match, but I was still worried about Azriel stinking up the joint. But I was wrong. He brought it.

Freddy: For any aspiring big man in the business who wants to learn how to wrestle, watch this match and how Azriel wrestles. The leader of Despair did a fantastic job in this match, and even when he had to compete with workers of Sabre and Cyrus' caliber, he did not look out of place.

Ash: The match started with Azriel taking the fight to both Jason and Detrick. Eventually Detrick gets the advantage over him and in the process turns on Jason. He then takes Azriel to the outside, but when he springboards, Azriel catches him and runs his spine into the ring apron. However Jason joins the fray and the two friends suplex Azriel through an announce table. Then the crowd hit another level when Jason and Detrick went at it. Detrick hits the 915. But Jason fought through the storm and hit the Final Strike, before attempting a Final Blow. But Azriel caught him, reentering the match and hitting the Jackknife Powerbomb. Azriel then powerbombs him over the ropes to the outside floor. Jason cut Azriel's hand open with teeth and hit the Final Hour for a very suspenseful two count that made Azriel look strong. Jason taunted for the Final Blow, but Azriel sat up, getting a huge gasp from the crowd. Jason then countered a chokeslam with a Final Blow and almost had the match, but Detrick broke it up with a Falling Star. But Jason pushed Detrick off, right before the three. Excellent timing. Jason and Detrick went at it again and the crowd was cheering Detrick more than Sabre. I assume the crowd was given direction to do that when it was taped. Anyways, Jason hit Detrick with a Final Blow and hit Azriel with a Final Blow after. Detrick rolled out of the ring to avoid being pinned by Sabre. But Jason did hit a Final Hour on him to the outside. He rolled in and hit a Final Blow to send him to the outside. He tried one on Detrick but got caught by a DKO. Sabre barely kicked out to a huge pop. After letting the crowd give them an ovation and 'ACW' chants, Detrick tried a Sommersault plancha on Azriel, who was on the outside. But Azriel caught him with an Over the shoulder powerbomb. Azriel took him back in, but as he got on the ring apron, Sabre jumped over the ropes and hit a slingblade to the outside. A a little bit later, Jason connects with a Final Blow on Detrick, but is pulled out of the ring and given Death's Embrace into the post. Detrick got his own Death's Embrace after a tiny hope spot and Azriel was crowned champion. Five Stars.

Freddy: So, first off, The main story of this match was the tension between Detrick and Jason, and how Azriel intelligently exploited that to earn the victory.

Ash: You can tell that this match was laid out to put Azriel over strong, but not make the other two look weak. Sabre vs Detrick is reportedly the main event of Final Destination and they built that into the psychology of the match very well. Azriel hung in there with two of the best, but hats off to Detrick for killing himself twice for Azriel and once for Jason. No brownie points for Jason though, because he only bumped big time at the end. But he's the boss and probably road agented the match, so what can you do?

Freddy: They definitely do seem to be heading towards a Cyrus-Sabre match at Final Destination, but for now, the top guy of the company is Azriel. And unlike certain 5'11 wrestlers calling themselves "monsters", Azriel really does fit the label, having this kind of aura around him, and a dark charisma, along with his imposing size and huge strength.

Ash: He looked like a star. He was the MVP of this match and I think that was the point. ACW just booked Azriel to beat the two guys that this company is being built around in one match. I think he's the strongest booked World Champion with the exception of Samuel. Although I doubt that the internet minds his booking as opposed to Samuel, because he's actually being portrayed as a heel with no redeeming qualities or a 'authority figure' that's holding him down and trying to take the title off him at all cost. Also, no one lost anything in this match, so bonus points.

Freddy: While the Natalia-Lacey match took us completely by surprise, we expected this match to be great and it certainly delivered. Aside from maybe the main event of SSW Extinction, this maybe the best triple threat in WFA History.

Ash: Oh no, Furno's going to interfere in the main event at the next PPV, Stand United, Fight Divided. God dammit. *Chuckles*

Freddy: Let us hope that history doesn't repeat itself. Speaking of, actually, a lot of readers have been wanting to know what the background was behind the infamous SSW Kingdom main event, which was voted the worst match in WFA History, which was jarring, especially considering how the SSW Extinction main event between Ash Russo, Freddy Escobar and Detrick Cyrus was critically lauded. Meltzer, mind answering this question for us?

Ash: Furno Moxley and Nyx went to Richard Ryder's office and said that them interfering in the main event would lead to a big buzz and get good heat for the New Shield. Freddy, Ash and a majority of United weren't on board with the idea. But SSW Forever's Alan Riddle showed up and pitched for Furno to do the run in, a couple minutes into the match to surprise the audience. He said: "Listen, I know what I'm talking about here when I say that Furno Moxley is the guy you probably should've went with when the show started. He could've been your Samuel. You need to reboot him and this is the perfect chance. Those smarks want a classic between Freddy and Ash after the other Freddy and Ash gave that triple threat with that masked guy from ACW a five star rating. Surprise them. Anger them. It doesn't matter, they'll watch anyways and Furno will be the hottest heel on the show. Even hotter than Freddy in a heatwave or Jason naked." It turns out that Alan didn't know what he was doing as SSW United lost 500,000 viewers and had to refund angry customers, making SSW Kingdom a bust and the decision a flop as they head into SSW United's biggest show, Ring of Valhalla.

Freddy: While that Pay-Per-View is expected to do well based on matches like Freddy vs Detrick and Ash vs Furno, the damage was done. Alan Riddle had tension with SSW higher-ups, culminating in his firing earlier today. As for Furno and Nyx Rosewood ended up passing the blame entirely to Furno, which built to their divorce. They do still work together, however, as part of the New Shield.

Ash: I've heard that they're cordial with each other, but Furno isn't a fan of Nyx sleeping around with the boys, in particular Cobra Club's Jack Cunningham. He's going to hate hearing that ICW is actually thinking about adding Nyx to the Cobra Club as the Cobra Babe and turning someone else on the roster face to fill her spot.

Freddy Alvarez: Although, conflicting reports he has moved on with Rayleen Barnett.

Ash: How do they have sex when she has a broken arm?

Freddy: No clue.

Ash: They must've bonded over their hatred of Anarchy. Rayleen does have actual heat with all four members while Furno is just storyline, minus some professional jealousy over Ash being the first Universal Champion.

Freddy: And it seems like we're out of time! Next episode, we will talk about ACW post-Glory Road, ICW and the Sullivan-Cyrus dream match, XCW building up to X-Mania, and UWA's upcoming PPV, Heat Wave III. If we have time, we may even talk about some classic matches and storylines from the WFA Archives, along with some of the backstage rumours concerning the WFA.

Ash: I'm Ash Meltzer, he's Freddy Alvarez, and we'll see you next time.

A/N: And after what seems like forever, I have returned with the first installment of the WFA Network series! I must sincerely apologize for the delay in posting content, I have been busy with real-life affairs. I do assure you, SSW United is still ongoing. But for now, the incredible EpicOne22 has helped me out tremendously with this. So please, enjoy. As for United, I do intend to make it to Ring of Valhalla. And after ROV, me and Kiran plan to shake things up a bit for SSW as a whole….