What was gifted to me was the collection of collections as at the front of a barn in the Jefferson County Fairgrounds I met one of the founding fathers' himself, Phil Schneider, who had several storage bins containing the nectar of our childhoods or youths or middle ages? I don't know how old everybody is. Phil, gave me a shitload of DVDs. If the experience of receiving thousands of wrestling DVDs from the man whose prose I would spend hours reading and trying to decide what Goodhelmet comp to pick up wasn't surreal enough, I got to share the experience of searching through these bins of wrestling goodness with the coolest ring announcer in the game Emil Jay, Gringo Loco, and even the voice of 2000s independent wrestling himself Dave Prazak who got a chuckle out of seeing so many discs narrated by the man himself.

After they were picked through for a bit with other wrestlers making quick pit stops, Phil and I carried them to my car before heading back inside and enjoying a night of the graps provided by Game Changer Wrestling.

Fast forward a number of months and I've organized the discs as best I could and ripped some of the discs into digital format and sent them around to the people who would love to see them. The next step is to start reviewing the blanks. I'm going to assume all of these blanks consist of the sport of kings as outside of a copy of Blades of Glory, I have not bumped into anything explicit at all which I appreciate Phil.

But now each week we are going to play a game called This Week In Phil where I take one disc or set of discs for those companies who wanted to hold onto those SP vibes for their Digital Versatile Discs. So prepared dear reader as we review the blow by blow of blank discs and hope we don't run into the Wrestling Vixens because I am nothing if not dedicated.

The first set of blank discs just show up as two blank discs with one side saying what I'm assuming is JAPW.

JAPW Disc. You be the judge.

Before we do the rip and add it to the archive, the blank discs are something I plan to open up in VLC and be surprised by watching the disc in real-time like it is 2006 all over again. Or in thise case 2009 as the disc is JAPW Unfinished Business 2009.

Don't you just miss DVD menus?

One thing I don't miss is the looping of the menus however as in the thirty seconds it took me to screenshot and write that, I got the hard stop and reset with the generic house music. How did anybody fall asleep to these discs and wake up? It feels like constant whiplash or maybe I'm really that old. Look at the names on this first disc though, it is create to think that this was 16 years ago now.

We start with the introduction and man what I would have given to live on the east coast at this time. We see the large crowd, knock off Todd Grisham, and potentially Sam Roberts in his first opportunity to piss off a wrestling crowd. Oh holy shit, it actually is Sam Roberts, I thought I was making a joke. Does Sam Roberts have street cred? Now I feel bad for screwing with him at the Rosemont Horizon a few years ago. He still looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket though.

Sam then attempts to get an interview with the Garden State Gods (Corvis Fear (to this day still such a badass name) and Myke Quest) and actually follows them into the bathroom. Instead of opting for the swirlie, they shove Sam out of the bathroom instead of sticking with the interview. I think Orton did this at WrestleMania 30 too. And son of a bitch, Sam Roberts is actually the commentator on this too? Why do I not remember this at all?

And Stephen DeAngelis as the ring announcer!? How much JAPW have I actually missed?

Apparently at this time Azrieal was one half of the tag team champions but they claim that Dixie has no-showed. For some reason Azrieal without a partner thought it would be a good idea to have an open challenge and the Garden State Gods answered the call. Azrieal decides that he wants no support from the crowd while in a handicap match against the Garden State Gods by crapping on them. These are definitely mid-2000s indie promos and everyone wants to be the cool heels here. Azrieal tries and initially succeeds on fighting off both his opponents but they get the better of him. On the outside, Corvis Fear lays a chop in but Azrieal slaps the absolute shit out of him which pops me. Everyone seems to be the heel in this one so the crowd just kind of dies. This would have worked better if Azrieal was a sympathetic babyface but with both sides cheating, the hope spots were flat with the crowd and overall comeback was quiet. MOVEZ~! were fine but nobody really cared, when Quest cheated to win the tag titles, the crowd let out a little cheer but it seemed flat.

Azrieal laid this in!

We get a great screamy 80s promo from Dan Maff. It was actually pretty good and intense. We don't get too many screamy promos anymore and this came off pretty well although he gasses out towards the end and starts to sound whiny instead of intense. Should have cut the last 30 seconds so it didn't sound screechy or like he was going to cry.

There are so many promos. Get another one with Garden State Gods after they win the tag titles that is so bad. Then on to Azrieal who is a bit better. And now on to Grim Reefer. I should have went and got a drink, these all took too long.

Finally back to wrestling. Jay looks absolutely jacked here in his basketball shorts and wifebeater phase. Apparently him and Mark are in the Hillbilly Wrecking Crew during this. Grim Reefer doesn't look like he has changed in 15 years, maybe weed does have good, lasting effects. But nevertheless, dude can go and this starts off great. The crowd loves him too so that adds some ambiance to this match. The highlight of the match is Jay putting his hand up to absorb a kick to the face from Reefer and getting throat kicked when Reefer's kick was lower than its intended mark. Jay powers around Reefer for much of the match while Reefer does some pretty innovative stuff but trying to springboard onto the barricade and eating a chair to a flatback onto the gym floor is pretty insane.This breaks down when Brodie Lee breaks up a submission and takes out the ref before Lethal rushes in to try and make the save. Necro comes out and attacks Lethal. Finally Maff makes the save but the commentators start to speculate if Maff is there to help or hurt his opponent later in the night Jay Lethal.

Nothing like a throat kick

So many interviews. Does everyone really need a promo? I don't remember Arcadia. I do remember the Cold Hearted Playa Danny Demanto.

This is definitely a different time as Demanto is seemingly the only one on this show who doesn't get a promo although I imagine I'll eat my words. This is Demanto on his glow up, slim down phase. Arcadia is clearly a spots guy. Demanto's Snake Eyes suplex (Its like a reverse capture suplex overhead suplex) which was actually pretty neat. This one ends kind of weird where Demanto goes for a top rope moonsault but just takes a huge flat back and clutches his leg. I feel like I remember him legit having a knee issue from the moonsault, is this it? Nevertheless, Arcadia hits a great piledriver for the win. After the match Demanto slaps the fan who bought the Jersey State Championship from Fat Frank and takes the bet. Was part of buying the belt getting a match with Danny? Feels like something a shady promoter would have done in the mid-2000s. Or 2010s. Or this year.

Snake Eyes

Vincent Nothing looks like a million bucks. And Christian Faith is RSP, right? Him in the mask really seems like a disservice to the natural charisma he has shown the last decade or so. Best Around were ahead of the curve on the Cobra Kai love. I'm glad RSP got away from this personality, it is like he watched 1998 Kane and said 'I'm going to do that' while also trying to match lucha spots with the lighter guys. Nobody is on the same page here though and Best Around seem to be rushing everything. If you're looking for sloppy indie stuff, there is better stuff out there. It is crazy how things turned out because you would think that Vincent Nothing would have went on to be the star of this team but RSP took the mask off, showed his personality, and the rest is history. No idea what ever happened to The Best Around but what an ironic name although there were some very vocal women in the crowd who were screaming for them so they at least had that segment of the crowd going for them unless they made their girlfriends drive them from Cleveland in which case respect. They also picked up the win with a shooting star double stomp which was fun and sloppy so they left it on a semi-high note.

I don't even know.

All the promos. Jay Lethal gets a promo not as Black Machismo or pseudo Ric but just as nasally Jay Lethal talking about how this match was 4 years in the making.

The Ohio car ride going back to back, wonder if they got a hotel or headed straight back after the show so tried to go on a bit early. Ali is the JAPW Light Heavyweight Champion here. Kendrick and Ali are young here, both guys have always been able to go so it will be interesting. Within ten seconds the commentators have said Ali is from Saudi Arabia and Iran. This is a fun back and forth match. Ali does some small heelish tactics but leaves it out of their exchanges and just uses them during transitions. Is Ali a cop by this point or does that come later? Ali took a brutal flip over the barricade, the thud sounded nasty. Ali then does a buckshot lariat of all things when Kendrick takes too long to capitalize. Kendrick hits a middle rope poison-rana which seems to be one of the first times the commentators had seen it as they try to figure out what to call it. Both guys miss their finishes, I really enjoy Ali's imploding 450 even in the miss. Kendrick wins on a fluke roll up and Ali goes ballistic over the loss. Decent match, I enjoyed it.

The thud sounded nasty.

That does it for disc one. How much would it suck to get through this and disc two be warped or bad? Checking IWTV, it isn't up on their platform either and I don't seem to see copies anywhere else so lets hope we don't end up having to piece together results through YouTube and the Wayback Machine.

Thank the Wrestling Gawds, we are good and it has started playing. Part two starts with Necro Butcher and Brodie Lee which seems like such a badass team. And this team's music of Oh I'm a Good Old Rebel by Hoyt Axton leading into Slayer? Holy shit this is terrifying.

Monsta Mack in a singlet is a choice. There is nothing like a good, old mid-2000s Necro Butcher brawl through a building. The lights go on and we immediately go from the idea of a packed crowd in an arena to a still good sized crowd in a high school gym. The kids have no idea how close they are to death as a few of the more obnoxious ones are sliding through and around the wrestlers as I wait to see if Necro picks one up and uses them as a weapon. Havoc is having to constantly yell at one of them to get the fuck out of the way. Only one way they'll learn. Outside of piling chairs onto Mack a few different times, this has been a pretty mild Necro Butchet match. It is weird because you are expecting Brodie and Necro to be these absolute badasses which don't get me wrong, they get their licks in but they are also resorting to underhanded, sneaky tactics. Necro does take a nasty slam from the ring apron to the floor by Havoc which seemed like half struggle and half "I don't really want to take this". Referee gets taken out and the Briscoes run in for the finish with Jay hitting an assisted Jay Driller from Brodie on Havo for the finish.

Mack slammed into the bleachers.

I guess in 2025 I have to preface this with saying not that Bandido. Kingston is the New Jersey State Champion. And holy shit, how did I not realize that Bandido Jr. is WWE ref Eddie Orengo? Kingston gets busted open hitting his face on a chair on Bandido Jr.'s knee. Kingston and Bandido Jr. trade near falls and do a great job as each one you think could finish it. Kingston loads his fist and CLAPS it off Bandido Jr.'s head and you think it has to be over but the two have another masterful near fall. Kingston wins after Bandido Jr. misses a top rope move and gets powerbombed through the mat. The way they did the near falls in this is great as you are never sure when the finish is coming even with every dramatic pin. I liked this just for the near falls but Kingston is great in everything he does in this match.

Kingston trying to put Bandido Jr. through the ring.

Camera follows Kingston to the back and you can just feel how much he cares about the belt. We then transition to Bandido Jr. screaming into the camera as he walks to the back. But then we get an actual Kingston promo from later on. Eddie Kingston. Unforgiven. He always has those little nuggets in his promos that make you say FUCK YEAH. Fuck yeah Eddie Kingston.

They do a rundown of how this match is 4 years in the making. I completely forget that Maff got blackballed by Homicide there for a while in 2005. Seems like they eventually patched things up I guess. This match immediately gets overshadowed with Jay Briscoe coming out and attacking Lethal and then when Lethal gets in the ring, Maff rolls him up and WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP! But it turns out the bell didn't ring so they start the match. This ends up being a really good match and is given a decent amount of time as they go about twenty minutes. Both guys go back and forth with crisp wrestling and have the crowd split between them and cheering for them the entire time. It is weird that they would have Maff try for a sneaky roll up at the beginning but then work a clean match though in terms of not trying anything outright underhanded. Not that I'm complaining as it is very good. Maff teases a top rope Burning Hammer and I am out of my seat for this but unfortunately (for me, I guess not so unfortunate for Lethal) Lethal gets out of it. Lethal hits the top rope DDT immediately after this and retains his JAPW Championship. The second he is done though the Hillbilly Wrecking Crew come out and start beating him down. Trevor Murdoch debuts with them and as they get mic time, I can realize why this is less talked about as they present the colorful and racist language when talking about Lethal and Maff. Well, I still recommend checking this match out and if you can't find it or this show and need it, reach out.

Maff bouncing his face off the guard rail.

First This Week In Phil was a success! Both discs worked and we got to see some quality wrestling. There are still TONS of blank discs that I can't wait to keep exploring along with labeled discs that I'll be digitizing as well from UWF and FMW handhelds to all the lucha. Bring on ALL THE WRESTLING~!

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RESPECT TO THE DEATH VALLEY PLAYAZ~!

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