Post by Slaine Rodrick on Sept 1, 2018 0:47:32 GMT
Iron King Controversy?
The 2018 Iron King Tournament is nearing its dramatic climax, and the mixed martial arts based competition has been hailed by critics as another roaring success so far. It is also the first time that a Phoenix Wrestling roster member has not reached the Semi-Finals of the tournament, with the lineup consisting of three of Caged Glory’s very best, along with Underground representative and former PW Alumni, Conor Blackburn. This was something that many critics, including famed wrestling historian David Scriven, had predicted, due to the fact that many of the entrants are solely MMA specialists, and the PW roster for the most part have rarely stepped into a martial arts ring. But despite the glowing reviews from pundits and fans alike, and the PW message forums going wild with predictions of who will come out on top between Blackburn, Cauldwell, Price and BAD ASS, a major controversy has come to light.
PW Alumni and Iron King judge, Nick Stevenson, has been suspended by Phoenix management and will not be allowed to judge the finals.
The reason for this is due to shocking photos and film footage which has been released to the press in the aftermath of Redemption 128. Stevenson, signed on as an impartial judge, had signed an agreement to declare he would judge the contests in an unbiased manner. But this, according to accusations, may not have been the case. The footage shows Stevenson recently having dinner with a number of high ranking executives and staff members of the WCS MMA company, Caged Glory, sometime after the beginning of the tournament, something which is strictly forbidden for judges. And in another string of pictures, it shows Stevenson wearing an Ernest Cauldwell t-shirt backstage at a recent event. This has clearly led to accusations that Stevenson took a biased view of recent events, particularly the Round Four contest between Cauldwell and PW Rebirth World Champion, Anastasia Starling, in which Stevenson judged Cauldwell to be the winner 29-28 in an incredibly tight contest that many believed could have gone either way. If these claims are to be believed, and they are backed up by the media provided, Ernest Cauldwell may possibly have had a judge leaning in his favor during the contest.
“Ms. Starling is still unaware of these accusations,” her father and business representative Bobby B. Barabbas stated to us. “She is currently dealing with tragically unsettling matters in her personal life, but will be deeply distraught about these claims. She has spoken out several times over the past year at her disbelief about the judging of the Iron King Tournament, both this year and last, but had put that aside in an act of sportsmanship after the closely fought contest with Cauldwell, who she generally believes is Caged Glory’s very best. She will be deeply saddened, and will likely feel betrayed by Phoenix Wrestling, for the fact of them allowing their champion to be subjected to such unfair, biased and treacherous behavior. I too am incredibly disappointed by this clearly duplicitous act of match fixing, and this matter needs seriously investigating.” Barabbas went on to say.
Despite the evidence, Phoenix Wrestling has declared that the result will NOT be overturned, and Cauldwell will be still advancing to the semi-finals of the Iron King at Awakening II in Mexico City on the 16th of September. They have stated that a full investigation is underway, but there is zero evidence implementing Mr. Cauldwell, and these claims may potentially affect more than just the Starling\Cauldwell match, so it would be unfair to Cauldwell to reverse his victory decision after such a well regarded performance. Interestingly, Starling, who has been very vocal about her disapproval of the judging in the Iron King, was voted as the victor by Stevenson in last year’s Iron King tournament semi-final against Aurora Jansen, though she lost that contest via split decision as well due to the other judge’s scores. Starling was gracious in her defeat last Tuesday, congratulating Cauldwell after his win, as did her father Barabbas, and it is believed they wished him the best in his progression in the tournament. After this recent news, that sentiment may well change.
Nick Stevenson has denied any wrongdoing, but has accepted his suspension pending an investigation. Stevenson will be replaced as a judge for the Iron King finals, but his replacement has yet to be confirmed by Phoenix management.