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Brent Albright: "I don't need Rocco to be a VIP!"

Posted: Dec 19th 2006 By: CMBurnham

Holiday time traditionally means families gathering together and celebrating the close of another year, but if the recent interaction between Brent Albright and Oklahoma Triple Crown Champion Rocco Valentino is any indication, the holidays might not be very festive this year.

The problems began when Albright returned to Oklahoma to officially compete for the first time in nearly 3 years at the 2nd annual Chris Candido Cup. During a pre-match interview with NWA-U ring announcer Kitty, Albright was approached by his cousin Rocco and Valentino's manager, Charming Charles. Rocco admits that times have changed and there have been problems between the 2 in the past, but those have all been cleared up as far as he's concerned. Rocco then offered Brent a place in Hate, Inc. alongside Slam Shady & Mason Hunter. Apparently, this was all rather offensive to Brent as he called Rocco "a piece of crap". Valentino didn't lose his cool, though and again extended the offer to join Hate, Inc. Brent again refused, saying that he more interested in taking Rocco's belt. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Rocco & Charles left as Albright got prepared for his match on the card.

After defeating Sonjay Dutt, Albright was again joined in the ring by Rocco, who had come out at the end of Brent's match. Rocco reminded Albright that he'd always done better with Rocco by his side. The evidence for this is rather impressive. Together as the VIP Crew, Rocco & Brent (then known as Vinnie Valentino) dominated OPW for the better part of 1999 & 2001. They were OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions 3 times and Brent served as Rocco's enforcer during most of Rocco's 5 OPW Oklahoma title reigns. The tradition carried on into OCW, as the VIP Crew once agian ascended to the top of the tag team division. And this time, Brent tasted the Heavyweight gold, holding the OCW Oklahoma Title for the better part of 9 months with Rocco by his side. Brent took a moment to reflect on those accomplishments and said that he "had no choice". He then took Rocco's extended hand to shake it, much to the fans' shock, but that shock soon turned to excitement as Brent turned the handshake into a Fujiwara Armbar, forcing Rocco to tap out in the middle of the ring. As Charles helped Rocco retreat to the back, Albright took the microphone and and said he didn't need any help from Rocco anymore.

One month later, presumably with cooler heads, both Brent and Rocco arrived back in Tahlequah to confront each other. Rocco was joined by the entire entourage of Hate, Inc., including NWA-U owner Christopher Fox. Many offers of a place in Hate, Inc. were thrown out by Fox and Valentino, but Albright did not respond to any of them. Later, after winning a highly competitive match against Jack Dalton 2nd, Valentino called Albright out one more time and this time Brent came to the ring. But in a stunning display of calmness, Rocco apologized for his actions the previous month and politely asked Brent to join back with him and reform the VIP Crew. Rocco was obviously worried about Brent's reaction, as he held his left arm behind his back the whole time he was in the ring with Albright to ensure that Brent could not get hold of him and take him down again. Albright told Rocco that they did great things together, but his last name isn't "Valentino" anymore. He can do what he needs to do on his own now. He appreciated the offer, but again refuses to join. At this point, Rocco sucker-punched Brent, but Albright quickly gained the upperhand on the champion and once again locked Rocco in the Fujiawara armbar, forcing him to tap out for the 2nd time in 2 months.

At this point, tensions seem to be almost bubbling over between Rocco & Brent. Valentino took advantage of a distraction in the main event involving Mason Hunter and Slam Shady vs. Brent and NWA Universal X Division Champion Justin Lee to knock Justin off the top rope, allowing him to be pinned. But that doesn't seem to be enough for Valentino. What is he going to do to convince Brent to join? Might it just be a matter of money? Brent is not above being paid for his services as he was recently revealed to be gun-for-hire by Bryan Danielson and taking a payoff to put a beatdown on NWA World Tag Team Champion Homicide, taking him out of contention for Danielson's Ring of Honor Title. Perhaps Valentino is not so concerned about putting his family back together, but instead is worried that Brent is the only viable contender to the NWA Universal Title that is not safely kept away from the belt. Whatever the motivation may be, the Valentino/Albright feud looks to be a strong early contender for Feud of the Year in NWA-U and possibly in the entire state.

Tags: Brent Albright, Rocco Valentino, NWA-U, Kitty, Charming Charles, Slam Shady, Mason Hunter, Hate, Inc., VIP Crew, Vinnie Valentino, OPW, OCW, Christopher Fox, Jack Dalton 2nd, Justin Lee, NWA