History of the Golden Ticket!
PCW's Premier Rumble - their version of a Royal Rumble style match with high stakes - debuted in June 2004 when Mentallo was victorious to become the first ever Canadian Champion.
In 2009, the Premier Rumble returned with a new stipulation - the winner would receive the Golden Ticket, an open contract that could be cashed in for a title opportunity against any PCW Champion on any PCW live event at any time!
The Golden Ticket Rumble quickly became a fan favorite and changed the direction of the company every year.
Of the eight Golden Ticket's awarded, seven were cashed in successfully. Two were cashed in to win the PCW Tag Team Championship. Four were cashed in to win the PCW Canadian Championship. One was cashed in to win the PCW Heavyweight Championship.
The lone failed cash-in was an attempt to capture the PCW Heavyweight Championship.
Interestingly, four cash ins occurred in October of the year they were won. Only one cash-in happened in the following calendar year.
Only one man, "Outlaw" Adam Knight, won the Golden Ticket Rumble twice. Amazingly, one man, Steve Corino, successfully cashed in a ticket he never actually won!
Below is the complete history of the Golden Ticket!
Sabertooth in 2009!
Premier Rumble: April 22nd 2009 - Dylans On Pembina - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: November 5th 2009 - Dylans On Pembina - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Tag Team Championship
Opponents: Team Impact(c) & The Suicide Kings
Result: Won the PCW Tag Team Championship with Moses Luke
The first ever Premier Rumble to contain the Golden Ticket prize was held on April 22nd 2009.
Sabertooth, the 400lb uncontrollable behemoth, was both an irresistible force and an immovable object and easily won the Premier Rumble, eliminating his former allies ATM & Robby Royce.
All title-holders were immediately nervous knowing a contract cash-in by Sabertooth meant near-certain defeat.
Sabertooth had originally been brought to PCW as the enforcer for Team Impact - ATM & Robby Royce. But he quickly grew tired of doing their dirty-work and while he had the exterior of a monster, he had a heart of gold.
Team Impact were PCW Tag Team Champions and engaged in a heated feud with the Suicide Kings - Marty Labossier & Nate Hardy. They were scheduled to face each other on November 5th 2009.
But before the match could begin, Sabertooth interrupted and announced he was cashing in the Golden Ticket, making the contest a Triple Threat Match! And Sabertooth had not come alone.
He introduced the 400lb "German Juggernaut" Moses Luke, a two-time former Tag Team Champion. Team Impact were furious and the Suicide Kings weren't very happy either.
The nearly 800 pounds of flesh were too much for either duo as Sabertooth & Moses were victorious in capturing the PCW Tag Team Championship!
They would hold the gold until January 21st 2010 when they were upset by the Suicide Kings and lost the championship.
"Outlaw" Adam Knight in 2010!
Premier Rumble: April 22nd 2010 - Dylans On Pembina - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Canadian Championship
Cash In: August 26th 2010 - Dylans On Pembina - Winnipeg, Mb
Opponent: Anderson Tyson Moore
Result: Wins PCW Canadian Championship
Perhaps the most unique Golden Ticket Cash In of all time came from the sinister, but fertile, mind of "Outlaw" Adam Knight.
In 2009, Robby Royce, ATM and Adam Knight joined forces as the Alliance of Defiance. But when Royce & ATM lost the PCW Tag Team Championship, ironically as a result of Sabertooth cashing in the 2009 Golden Ticket, and Knight lost the PCW Canadian championship to "Average" Joe Dixon. the team fractured.
ATM & Knight violently kicked Royce out of the AOD. Royce responded by recruiting former World's Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino as his partner. But his plan back-fired as Corino turned on him - at the behest of Knight - and joined the AOD.
The new AOD appeared to be a solid unit. In fact, in March 2010, both ATM & Knight competed in a Fatal Four Way match against then-Canadian Champion Dixon & Nate Hardy. The odds were stacked in their favour and they were determined to ensure one of them would be victorious.
When ATM won, Knight proudly strapped the belt around his waist.
By summer, Royce had been dispatched, leaving PCW for a rival promotion. ATM was locked in an intense feud with Hardy over the Canadian title and Knight was seemingly content being the veteran enforcer and adviser for his partner.
However, just as Knight had orchestrated the AOD turn on Royce and conspired to recruit Corino into the group, he plotted once again to ensure his dominant position in the wrestling industry.
On August 26th 2010 at PCW's Beat The Summer Heat, ATM defended the PCW Canadian Championship against Nate Hardy in a No DQ match - a stipulation suggested by Knight. The trap had been set.
ATM and Hardy beat each other to the brink of unconsciousness. And that's when the "Outlaw" pounced. He had been at ringside to support his partner, taking regular opportunity to physically impose upon Hardy.
With both competitors now down, Knight entered the ring and brazenly assaulted Hardy. That was not really a surprise. But when Knight attacked ATM, it was a shocker.
He power-bombed his friend and ally and then revealed his motivation - the Golden Ticket! He handed it to the official, signally his official cash-in, during an active match!
Knight covered and scored the victory, regaining the PCW Canadian Championship. It was the last time ATM would be seen in a PCW ring for nearly eight years.
Nate Hardy would eventually have his revenge, defeating Knight for the PCW Canadian Championship on March 10th, 2011.
"The Austrailan Playboy" Scott Justice in 2011!
Premier Rumble: July 14th 2011 - Boiling Point X - Dylans on Pembina - Winnipeg. Mb
Championship: PCW Canadian Championship
Cash In: October 27th 2011 - Marquee Event Centre - Winnipeg, Mb
Opponent: "Enforcer" JP Kaos
Result: Wins PCW Canadian Championship
Once again the target of the Golden Ticket was the PCW Canadian Championship! Following Adam Knight's shocking 2010 cash-in against his Alliance of Defiance cohort ATM, Knight was eventually defeated for the title by Nate Hardy.
On Canada Day 2011 in West St Paul, Hardy was defeated by JP Kaos in a Triple Threat Match that also involved Billy Blaze. It was Kaos' second Canadian Championship.
At PCWs Boiling Point X, the 10th Anniversary of the famed event, Scott Justice won the Premier Rumble to claim the Golden Ticket. And he did it in style.
Justice had been recruited to Kenny Omega's "Kenny Omega Experience" clique but as a rookie, had often been on the receiving end of their abuse. The Rumble came down to Justice, Omega and fellow "Kenny Omega Experience" member Chris Stevens.
When Kenny ordered Justice eliminate himself, the young Australian had finally taken all the abuse he would, refusing the order. He then eliminated Stevens and Omega to win the Rumble!
On October 27th 2011, Kaos successfully defended the Canadian Championship against former title-holder Knight. Exhausted, he was horrified to see Justice hit the ring to cash in the Golden Ticket. Kaos put up a valiant fight but was no match for the athletic young - and fresh - Justice, who finished off the champion and won the Canadian title!
Justice would go on to hold the Championship for a remarkable 513 days before losing to Jay Walker.
Mentallo in 2012!
Premier Rumble: April 26th 2012 - Marquee Event Centre - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: September 20th, 2012 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Heavyweight Championship
Opponent: Antonio Scorpio
Result: Loses by Reverse Decision
This represents the only cash in to fail to win a championship...and it happened in very controversial fashion. It was also the first time the Golden Ticket holder targeted the Heavyweight Championship.
Mentallo won the Golden Ticket opportunity on April 26th and became the first person to cash it in in advance rather than surprising his opponent.
He made the challenge on August 16th 2012, to Antonio Scorpio for the PCW Heavyweight Championship. At that event, Mentallo and his then-partner Tyler Colton defeated Mike Angels & Jackie Lee.
After the match, they tied Angels to the ropes and assaulted Lee. Scorpio made the save and Mentallo confronted his former protege, telling him he would beat him for the PCW Championship, but wanting to beat Scorpio at his best.
Mentallo refused to cash in the Golden Ticket when Scorpio was tired or hurt. And thus, the first "advanced notice" Golden Ticket match took place on September 20th 2012.
It was another thrilling match in the long history of great contests between those two men. And Mentallo appeared to have won the match and championship. But the referee recovered from an accidental knock down and reversed the decision via DQ.
Mentallo was irate and responded by capturing the PCW Tag Team Championship with Colton a month later.
Scorpio would not lose his championship until 2014...and it was via a very controversial Golden Ticket cash in!
Steve Corino in 2013!
Premier Rumble: By Adam Knight - June 14th 2013 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: March 15th 2014 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Heavyweight Championship
Opponent: Antonio Scorpio
Result: Wins PCW Heavyweight Championship
The first Golden Ticket Cash-In to successfully win the PCW Heavyweight Championship was also the most controversial and shocking as the man who won the Golden Ticket was not the man who cashed it in!
This crazy story began on March 16th at PCW's 11th Anniversary Spectacular featuring the PT3 - Premier Tag Team Tournament.
"Outlaw" Adam Knight had called in his Alliance of Defiance ally, "King of Old SchooL" Steve Corino to team with him and enter the PT3.
In the first round, the "Kenny Omega Experience" (Kenny Omega & Chris Stevens) defeated Mentallo & Tyler Colton to capture the PCW Tag Team Championship while Knigth & Corino - "The Old School Outlaws" - defeated Leo London & James Beaver and "Tag Sciences Faculty" (Mike Angels & Chad Tatum) beat Dave Dixon & Pete Chee.
In the Triple Threat Final, Corino & Knight were victorious, capturing the PCW Tag Team Championship.
On June 14th, Knight won the Premier Rumble, earning his second Golden Ticket opportunity.
Corino returned on August 14th as the Old School Outlaws defended the PCW Tag Team Championship against Tag Sciences Faculty. Additionally, Knight had agreed to put his Golden Ticket on the line against the career of the man losing the fall.
Corino & Knight were victorious.
At PCW's 12th Anniversary Spectacular on March 15th 2014, Angels had been reinstated and Tag Sciences Faculty defeated Corino & Knight and the Kenny Omega Experience to capture the PCW Tag Team Championship.
But Knight still possessed the Golden Ticket and intended to cash it in following the night's main event, regardless of who won. That match pitted Antonio Scorpio against Kenny Omega for the PCW Heavyweight Championship.
Scorpio was victorious and Knight made his way to the ring, along with his partner Corino, to cash in the ticket. They beat up Scorpio, who was barely conscious following his intense match against Omega.
As Knight was about to hand the Golden Ticket to the referee, however, Corino shocked the audience by attacking his own partner. He laid Knight out, took the Golden Ticket and cashed it in himself.
The referee accepted and moments later, Corino had pinned Scorpio and was the new PCW Heavyweight Champion and introduced Michael Arnott as his Canadian Agent.
But how did this happen???
Arnott, at that point a Law School student, explained that Knight had screwed himself. When he agreed to put the Golden Ticket on the line in a tag team match, he created thje scenario for his own undoing. Because the stipulation meant that had the Old School Outlaws lost, the Golden Ticket would become the possession of Tag Sciences Faculty as a duo, it meant since they won, both Knight and Corino were co-holders of the Golden Ticket.
It was sneaky. It was nefarious. It was confusing. And it was perfectly legal.
Corino would take the PCW Championship back to the United States and when PCW fired Arnott, Corino refused to return and was stripped of the title on February 18th 2015.
Shao Ming in 2015!
Premier Rumble: May 30th 2015 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: October 3rd 2015 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Canadian Championship
Opponent: Jay Walker
Result: Wins the PCW Canadian Championship
Shao Ming debuted in August 2014, fresh off his graduation from Storm Academy and proceeded to experience a popularity and won/loss record that went in completely opposite directions.
While the young Ming always put forth a tenacious effort, he remained winless for over a year. But he quickly became one of the most beloved superstars in PCW.
He won the Golden Ticket with a remarkable performance in the Premier Rumble on May 30th. He followed up that victory with impressive matches against heavyweight's Antonio Scorpio, Chad Tatum & Zack Mercury.
On October 3rd, Ming won his first match...and championship by cashing in the Golden Ticket against Jay Walker. Walker had just narrowly defeated Alix Vanna in a grueling match and Ming took full advantage, beating Jay quickly to become the new PCW Canadian Champion.
The victory changed Ming's fortunes for the better and he went undefeated until finally losing the championship back to Walker on March 5th, 2016.
"The Grizzled Veteran" Chad Tatum in 2016!
Premier Rumble: April 16th, 2016 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: October 1st, 2016 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Canadian Championship
Opponent: Jay Walker
Result: Wins the PCW Canadian Championship
In 2015, "Priceless" Chad Tatum reinvented himself as the "The Grizzled Veteran" with a decidedly, ahem, X-rated persona. Though he was dastardly, underhanded and violent, he was quickly embraced by fans who eagerly implored Tatum to empty his liquid-spewing Kendo stick all over them.
The late-career revival led to a resurgence in popularity and success for Tatum as he found himself competing against the likes of Kenny Omega, Chris Stevens, Mike Angels and challenging Jackie Lee for the PCW Heavyweight Championship.
On April 16th 2016, Tatum lost, narrowly, to Lee but returned a few minutes later to win the Premier Rumble and take possession of the Golden Ticket.
At PCW's Back to School Bash on October 1st 2016, Tatum finally cashed in and for the second year in a row, Jay Walker was the victim.
Walker was defending his Canadian Championship against AJ Sanchez, and although Guest Commissioner Jimmy Hart stacked the deck against him by making the match No Count-Out and No DQ, Walker was able to score the victory.
Tatum immediately appeared, ready to cash in the Golden Ticket. But Walker's acolyte James Beaver snatched the ticket away and ate it. However, Tatum revealed the real Golden Ticket was safely tucked away in his tights.
He cashed in and was immediately attacked by Beaver. The British Bruiser interfered freely throughout the match but was soon dispatched with a load from Tatum's Kendo Stick. Walker put up a valiant effort but Tatum was too much, pinning Jay to capture the PCW Canadian Championship!
Tatum would cap off his remarkable career by retiring as champion on May 5th 2017, following his final title defense in a handicapped match against Alix Vanna & Andrew Shallcross the previous month.
"Sweet" Bobby Schink in 2917!
Premier Rumble: May 26th 2017 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Cash In: October 27th, 2017 - Doubles Bar - Winnipeg, Mb
Championship: PCW Tag Team Championship
Opponent: The London Dynasty
Result: Won the PCW Tag Team Championship
The Golden Ticket had created some unique and intriguing scenarios over the years but perhaps none more wild than when "Sweet" Bobby Schink made history!
A graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Academy, Schink debuted with unlimited potential and soon set about rising the ranks of PCW. He quickly established himself as one of the most popular competitors.
On May 26th 2017, Schink began his evening in a losing cause against former Canadian Champion Jay Walker. But returned in the main event for the Premier Rumble where he eliminated multiple competitors in a tremendous performance.
He earned a measure of revenge by eliminating his earlier opponent Walker. But when Walker's acolyte James Beaver entered, he gave his spot to Jay! The Rumble came to Walker & Schink and while Beaver was not an official entrant, he interjected repeatedly as Schink was forced to fight two men.
Schink eliminated Walker to win the Rumble and earn the Golden Ticket!
With his on-going feud against two former Canadian Champions - Jay & Beaver - many people predicted Schink would target that title. But on October 27th, 2017, he shocked the world.
Schink had earned a shot against Alix Vanna for the Canadian title, but the London Dynasty interfered, costing him the match and sending him to the hospital for 13 stitches to close a head wound.
Later in the evening, the London's defeated Billy Blaze & Richard Blood to capture the PCW Tag Team Championship. They proclaimed themselves as life-time champions vowing to never, ever lose the title!
Cue Bobby Schink, who made it back from the hospital in time to cash in the Golden Ticket. He dispatched Vanna and then laid out both Londons, winning the tag team championship...all by himself!
History had been made and Bobby Schink was the first ever One Man Tag Team Champion!
Schink would hold the gold for 134 days before losing the championship back to the London's in Swan River, Mb.