Saturday afternoon I made a two hour commute for what would be my first and unfortunately my last visit to the Clairemont Boys and Girls Club of San Diego. Tidal Wave for the past five years has become the premier event for New Wave and although this was the finale for New Wave, the show was highlighted all night by strong efforts from the workers to make this show something special. Contrary to TS Elliot’s the Hollow Men, Tidal Wave 6 ended with a bang. In a night where new champions were crowned, blood was spilled, but most humbling was the appreciation that the locker room showed to not only Trevor and Andrew, but to every fan in attendance.
For a complete recap of the show, read the Chaos Column.
Wrestlers from the past and present were on hand to send New Wave off. Not unlike a Dixieland Funeral, Tidal Wave 6 was a celebration of life. A Celebration of the workers who came through New Wave’s doors, a celebration of the hard work that Trevor and Andrew put into running New Wave, but also a celebration of the fans who’ve attended the shows. However in lieu of trumpets, flutes, and banjos, the fans were treated to some premium wrestling. Post match speeches were delivered by Johnny Paradise, Ryan Kidd, Aerial Star, Ric Ellis, Jimmy Ray Walker, and countless others, some whom I’m not familiar with. I think Kid Caramba summed it up best in the shortest amount of words… “Thanks to these guys; [pointing to Trevor and Andrew] it’s been fun!” Although this was my first show, anyone could tell that there was a sense of fellowship between the wrestlers and much like what Ben had said in his Memories of New Wave, it seemed like the guys working wanted to give you their best efforts.
During the course of the speeches provided by the New Wave family, the ring crew was busy setting up the cage for tonight’s main event. It goes without saying, when a cage is in play, a war is about to unfold in front of you. The KOS stable led by Mondo Vega is actually very impressive. I know in NWA Hollywood TEREX is a smiles and go-lucky, but in New Wave he is a monster and Chris Kadillak could possibly be the quickest wrestler in Southern California. Their opponents for the night would be SoCal Crazy and B-Boy. There is probably no better representation of New Wave than this duo. Crazy and B-Boy have played integral parts for many of the Main Events in New Wave. SoCal Crazy is a former New Wave Champion, B-Boy was part of the first ever New Wave Main Event. “Yes, Yes I was… it was Joey Ryan vs myself and Frankie Kazarian [in a 3-Way], five years ago. When I came back to New Wave it was more of me wanting to get in the ring, hopefully helping the company and helping the younger talents. I would never expect being apart of the last match for the last show. It was a shock that they wanted me in there but I was definitely honored and privileged to be apart of it. It was a swan song for New Wave and Kadillak, Socal Crazy, Terex and myself were the ones that lead the orchestra. It was quite humbling first on the amount of respect and support we had from Andy and Trevor first off, then the boys in the back said it was a must then the fans piled in and it was just something that you just had to be there. I never get nervous anymore, never get butterflies in my stomach before matches… and I was fine throughout the entire night until, I came out, because it was just more then a cage match, it was more then just a match. It was the end of an era that a lot of us in the back helped brought up. It really was just a rush with a combo of nerves being able to perform on the last show, let alone last match ever in New Wave.”
“FUCK YOU,” SoCal Crazy screamed out as he laid strike upon strike to Chris Kadillak already resting on the bottom turnbuckle from the onslaught that SoCal Crazy had unleashed upon him. That expletive is so unnatural to hear echo from the usually kid friendly SoCal Crazy. But to understand that pent up rage from Crazy, to understand having your best friend, your former tag team partner sell out, sell his soul, turn his back on you. The “Fuck You” seemed apropos. B-Boy was just as brutal to TEREX. As the swift offense had the KOS in trouble immediately and had Mondo Vega nervous from the start of the match. With the diatribe Mondo spewed ringside, you knew this wasn’t your typical family friendly match up at New Wave. But how else could you go out? The KOS virus had to come to a close tonight, the stake of the integrity of this business was counting on it, because tomorrow… there would be no more New Wave. 
“Well the show beforehand, Andy and Trevor told Jeff Dino, SoCal Crazy, Yuma, and me that the last show would be on March 3rd. The first initial thought was why? New Wave was definitely striving to be better and the shows kept getting better and better with turnouts from the fans increasing mostly every show. When they explained the reasoning behind closing New Wave’s doors… I really had nothing but respect and admired the way that Andy and Trevor wanted to do it. It was on their own terms and totally understandable about getting their lives together with families now and everything else happening in their personal life. I also understood about the whole wanting to work on the career as wrestlers as well, I’ve always said you cannot be a promoter and a wrestler at the same time. You have to be one, or the other cause business conflicts with you personal reasoning. I was saddened when I was told about it, in fact… almost mad, but you can’t be mad at Andy and Trevor at all, it was more for selfish reasons on my part because New Wave, to me at least, was the last FUN promotion out here in Socal. Besides that, I think what Andy and Trevor did was in fact the right thing to do,” is what B-Boy would say to me just a few days after the chaos that was the Main Event in New Wave.
Mondo Vega, gathered his stable and head for higher ground. Kadillak, Terex, 
and Vega headed to the back where the entire locker room had already emptied to see the show close out. None of the wrestlers intervened, so B-Boy and SoCal Crazy would chase the opposition, they had the New Wave Rapid Division and New Wave Heavyweight Championship, and you can’t let them leave with those titles. As the heroes ran to the back to bring the trio back to a cage, a street fight broke out. The return to the cage was put on hold when the duo battled in the crowd in the Clairemount Boys and Girls Club. The action nearly spilled into the streets and forced fans out of their seats, for some to watch and for some for safety. As the match started to show some semblance of returning to the cage, B-Boy brought some good old fashion Dusty Rhodes approved pummeling, complete with a giant crayon, cookie tins, chairs, tables, and thumbtacks. Business was certainly picking up. The match was billed as a “4 Way NO HOLDS BARRED STEEL CAGE MATCH.” I think the fans in San Diego were more than a little surprised that cooking tins, giant crayons, chairs, tables and even thumbtacks would play a part in this match. Wasn’t the cage enough B-Boy? “See, you would think it would be enough and I take complete blame for that, because quite honestly all the gimmicks in the match were my idea. My thoughts going into the match is that the feud was going on for over a year and it needed just a bit more then just a cage… a cage match that no one has seen live or has never been done in New Wave. I brought up the idea to the guys and everyone agreed that it had to happen. Granted some might think it might have been overboard…. but honestly fuck ‘em. ‘Cause bottom line is it was New Waves last show, we were the headliners and we had to bring everything we had to give New Wave a proper send off even if it included us being hurt after. Sometimes in wrestling, you have to give more then you want… or more importantly give more then what people expect. It’s the nature of being a performer especially with a company that was good to you. I will tell you that all the holes in my body, the bruises… the lumps on my head… the cuts and the physical aftermath was worth it and I would do it all over again if I needed too. “
I accused B-Boy’s time in CZW as a reason why this match became so ultra-violent. The boys from the back that emptied into the crowd during battle that wrecked the seating arrangements in the Boys and Girls Club played the landing to Kadillak when B-Boy shoved him off the top of the cage. It was followed by SoCal Crazy’s dive onto the same wreck that more resembled bowling pins then a group of wrestlers. TEREX would crash through a table; B-Boy would be put through a table with those damn thumbtacks, SoCal’s mask would be torn, but his true identity would be preserved by a new mask, crimson, dripping down his face. This was clearly a night that New Wave fans wouldn’t soon forget, nor would the four men challenging for the titles.
“Hahaha…. yeah we were definitely in a lot of pain and the next day and after was the worse. I know Kadillak was banged up and was hard for him to breathe, Crazy was hurting from the waist down, I had lumps, bruises and holes in my body.. Terex was definitely in pain. I know it was Terex and Kaddy’s first ever cage match and gimmicked up like that match but they toughened up and knew what had to be done. ‘Pain is Temporary and Pride is Forever’ is a motto that I’ve learned throughout my career and I know those three and I understood that completely after the match. ‘[Do I have] any regrets?’ No… I would do it over and over again if I needed to, in that type of environment it’s not about regrets it’s about what was accomplished and I’m proud of what [we] did.“
The sickening thud of flesh and particle board becoming one and the explosion on impact would be repeated over and over. It would be a Bulldog from the top of the cage through a table that would decide the new Rapid Division Champion. That maneuver essentially ended the match for Crazy and Kadillak. Carnage is really only the way I could describe how the ring looked. It started to look like B-Boy and TEREX were playing their own game… who can make the crowd the most shocked. They both won that game, B-Boy’s pack was introduced to a table covered in thumbtacks, B-Boy ghetto stomped TEREX.
This match incorporated some of the most incredible spots I have ever witnessed in a match. All four of their game to the next level. Even Mondo went through a table. And the way Mondo sold his comeuppance post match was excellent and worthy of recognition. At the end of the match the four men briefly celebrated and SoCal Crazy thanked the New Wave faithful. Every match had the feeling that everyone there put their best foot forward. The New Wave Card was an excellent send off for both Trevor and Andy and they close this chapter of their lives. I’d like to chime in with the folks who said so many nice things about New Wave. Thanks Andrew and Trevor.