Hey there boys and girls!  Mick Gene here in the midst of a break in NPW action. As far as I know, our next event won't be until Heatstroke '04, SundaySeptember 19th.  There've been talks of Melvin Schmemtner organizing a show forAugust, but as I write this I haven't heard anything.  If a show does happen inAugust, then that show will be called Heatstroke for obvious reasons.  I intendto give an overview of the stories coming out of King of Extreme and take a look at what's coming for NPW in September.   King of Extreme and the El Ninja Farewell was a long day, but a great accomplishment for NPW.  Usually we consider nine matches on a card a long day, but we cranked out 17.  Past King of Extremes have involved 8 participants or were spanned out over a two day period.  King of Extreme '04 had 16 participants working just one day.  You can see why I felt we deserved a break. X-Celerator got the jump he needed to cement himself as a top player in NPW by winning the tournament.  Each of the four guys he beat have wrestled in top tier matches.  Wild Bill, whom X-Celerator beat in the first round with help from Dare Devil and a couple of cattle prods, will be out of action for some time, possibly forever.  An act like that is what X-Celerator needed to prove himself after his absence while wrestling in Texas.  He's had a steady rise to where he is now since his start.   A chronical of Wild Bill's impressive career that defied the odds is a must for our news section. Sparky's chase to the finals was a telling tale of how his career has gone in NPW.  Huge challenges were placed in front of him, and he overcame.  He finally got his win over El Ninja in the first round, not to mention recapturing the Unified Hardcore Championship from him on the Farewell to El Ninja card following the tournament.  With help from a vengeful Mars, he won the David and Goliath-like match against "Longhorn" Dan Benson, who you'll remember viciously attacked Sparky after his Firehouse Death Match with Zero earlier this year.  In the third round, he once again knocked off Gumbo Boy, who was on a great roll in the tournament and was very due to defeat the volunteer firefighter.  In the finals, destiny took over as Sparky was a tornado bulldog away from ringing that bell.  However, the day belonged to X-Celerator. It's poetic that Dare Devil would fall to his ally in the third round, the same ally he helped get past a former year-long NPW Champion.  Leading up to the King of Extreme, Dare Devil had said on more than one occasion that he deserved to be the tourament champion.  He promised victory over 2003 winner Treehugger in the first round and delivered.  In the second round, he topped the first ever King of Extreme in Zero in possibly the tournament's bloodiest match.  By the time the third round came for Dare Devil against X-Celerator, blood loss, bumps and bruises had taken their toll.  Despite having his heart set on winning, he showed respect to his friend, but let me pull a Jesse Ventura from Survivor Series '88:  What's more important to Dare Devil right now?  A friendship?  Or being the top wrestler in Next Phase Wrestling?  I think there's a lot more of this to develop.  Back to you Gorilla. The last trek I have to rundown is that of Gumbo Boy's.  Besides having no trouble hanging onto his All-Vermilion Tag Team Championship, Gumbo's been on the losing end this year, mostly to favorites like Sparky and Mars.  However, Gumbo came into the King of Extreme with an agenda, defeating NPW's franchise player Omega in the first round in unanimously the most entertaining match of the day.  Then in the second round he defeated perennial King of Extreme standout Babu.  In the third round, the psychology of knowing he was going up against Sparky, a guy who'd beaten him 3 times, haunted the young Cajun's mind and he let it get to him.  He became overzealous and Sparky pulled a fast one on him to advance to the finals. Other points to make from the tournmant include:  1.  The Irate Iranian defeated DCW Champion Wildkat in the first round.  Will the Commish take notice and grant Babu and DCW Title shot?  And what would Mars think of that?  2.  Speaking of Mars, he got his one on one match with Benson, but it was ruined by that pest Gumbo Boy whom Mars thought he'd been rid of.  Mars may be the most stressed out wrestler in NPW, only thinking about what he'd like to do to Wildkat, Benson and Gumbo Boy.  3.  In the first round, Zero offed Ivan Ruski in a bloody Russian chain and flag match, but that crazy Russian told me he plans do some hiring to get revenge on his stars and stripes clad advisary.  4.  General Sherman's now the General Manager of the Colt League?  With Wild Bill seemingly sent packing by Dare Devil and X-Celerator, Sherman may find an even better fit with Wayne Hewes III in the bumbling, comical group known as the Colt League.  5.  Dre-Kahn continues to be a thorn on the side of Omega, costing him his first round match against Gumbo Boy.  Omega may be the second most stressed wrestler in NPW behind Mars, with an impending NPW Championship match against Big Smith plus a strong desire for revenge against Alpha and the Omega Men  6.  The only thing more fitting than El Ninja wrestling his last match against Treehugger would have been if he wrestled Yashi Torymoto.  However, cats took multiple dukes in Yashi's mask.  El Ninja went out on his back, a time honored tradition that left Treehugger with a good spot in NPW. A look ahead to September 19th (pending if and what happens in August):  1.  6-man Bunkhouse Brawl involving Ivan Ruski and Zero.  2.  King of the Hill Gauntlet for the All-Vermilion Tag Team Championships.  3.  Omega challenges Big Smith for the NPW Championship.  4.  X-Celerator and Dare Devil in action.  5.  Wildkat, Mars and Dan Benson, triple threat action for the DCW Championship. Reporting for NPW news,  I'm Mick Gene.