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Ray Martinez Prepares to Put Corporate America In the Pink

Posted: Jul 3rd 2007 By: CMBurnham

In the wake of the spiraling descent of Corporate America, fans could be forgiven for believing that Dexter Hardaway's forced retirement was the swansong for the group. Leave it to Talon to score a coup that could finally lead her group to the heights of power she has always claimed by signing the man who helped bring one former Oklahoma federation to its knees and has been a thorn in the side of many wrestlers since the inception of SWCW.

Talon shocked everyone when she came to the ring Saturday night instead of AACW & SWCW Women's Champion Venom. After some interaction with SWCW commissioner Mike Iles, she announced that she had found the replacement for Dexter in the form of P.I.N.K. Nation manager Ray Martinez! Martinez calmly strode down the aisle and into the ring, taking the microphone and announcing that things in Corporate America would soon be different after a little "restructuring".

Some of those differences appeared quite soon. After intermission, Corporate America again graced the ring, along with former member Dexter Hardaway. Talon questioned Dexter as to his whereabouts for the past 2 weeks and Dexter said that he had been doing some thinking. He knew he had to deal with the consequences of his match against Big Daddy Moore and he wanted to come say "good-bye" to the fans, thanking them for all their support and apologising for being "an ass". He also said that he'd done some gambling while he was gone. He lost some money, then won some back. He started to say what he'd done with some additional money, but before he could make that clear, Talon grabbed the microphone and demanded that Dexter tell her that he didn't lose the money. Martinez then stepped up and said that this was why Dexter was a no longer part of Corporate America. He was a worthless in their eyes. Martinez took a cheap shot at Dexter, which provoked him to take off his jacket and prepare to defend himself. Martinez tried to beg off a physical confrontation by informing Dexter that if he touched the new Corporate Se?or Vice-President, he would be sued, but that didn't dissuade "Mr. Entertainment" and he prepared for a fight. The odds were 2-on-1, though, as Matthew Emerald stepped forward to join in on the attack. Those were the kind of odds that Dexter had faced his whole life, though, and soon he rallied, giving Emerald the Bruce Almighty Driver, then delivering one to Martinez and following that up with a Stunner. Dexter's attention then turned to Talon, but she knew where she didn't stand a chance and quickly scurried to the back as Dexter soaked in the adoration of the fans for the first time in over 2 years in Oklahoma City.

Despite this initial setback, Corporate America seemed very positive about its latest acquisition. Ray Maritinez has plenty of management experience, having served as a commissioner for TPW & SRPW. While in charge of SRPW, Ray's corrupt side exhibited itself for the first time and he rose to power as the leader of the P.I.N.K. Nation, a faction that brought about the downfall of the Sapulpa-based fed. The Nation moved on to ComPro without Ray, but was brought back together with Ray in AACW and once again made their presence felt in SWCW. In recent weeks, the Nation has drifted apart, with only Beau Dalton & Luc Lapointe regularly making appearances in SWCW. Thus, the offer from Corporate America came at an excellent time as far as Ray was concerned.

However, amidst all these events, it seems that once again Talon has outwitted herself and her associates, denying them 2 championships which might have ended up in the Corporate America portfolio. After Ray was announced as the new member of Corporate America, Luc Lapointe went on to defeat Outlaw and SWCW Sooner Xtreme Champion Prophet for that title in a 3-Way Elimination Match, thanks to some help from Beau Dalton. Had Talon waited, she might have been able to negotiate a merger of the 2 groups and brought that title to the fold. Also, when Talon appeared, it was after Mike Iles had called for Lady Venom to present her with the newly crafted SWCW Women's belt. In the course of thier discussion, Talon intimated that she was responsible for Venom's absence and Iles, always no-nonsense when dealing with Talon and her ilk, stated that he had intended to give her a rematch for the title that night, but since Venom wasn't there, there couldn't be a match. He did promise Talon a match at the next show, but it would be a non-title match, as punishment for Talon's alleged actions.

Thus 2 titles slip out of the grasp of Corporate America, but with their new management executive, it seems that the possibilities for the group are wide open. Will this finally be the time that Talon closes the deal on the power in SWCW? Or will it be more of the same: lots of promises, but poor futures for the group?