An article I did for the 2/16 edition of Pauw Wow: the College NewspaperELAX: SPC Student by Day, Professional Wrestler by Night Danielle D’Adamo PW Staff Writer Most of the SPC students has seen this 5’7, 160 pound man walk through the halls, bearing is JAPW jacket and wonder what is Jersey All Pro Wrestling and why is blood better? As much of the SPC marks know, JAPW is an independent promotion where men and women who wish to become professional wrestlers should start their careers, learn the different wrestling moves performed, gimmicks, and pop culture. This is what freshman Alex Mieles decided to do in September of 1999 and he was a quick learner. Mieles officially became pro at Millennium Murder on January 28, 2000 with his match against Little Dixie, the first graduated student of the Jersey All Pro Wrestling School. This is also the place where he came up with his own finisher known as the “Sh*tter” If you were not at the student show on December 16, 1999, it is a full nelson s.t.f. Other finishers he has used is a trade-mark rolling frog splash. His gimmick name in JAPW is Elax, for reasons unknown. “I wanted to try something new”, stated Mieles. He is impressed with the lightweight division in any federation and can be seen working for federations such as NWA-NY and MWF, but JAPW will stay close to his heart since this is the birthplace of his career. “I would really like to get my hands onto Rey Mysterio, Jr---but my career has not even begun yet...” I've been going to wrestling events and conventions for over a year and a half and recently became an extreme fan of JAPW and no one has surprised me like Elax did at Millenium Murder. He was just unbelievable. I was amazed that he was just a rookie only in his first match. Elax did better on his first night then guys I've seen wrestling for 3 years or more. He has a lot of skill, strength, and courage for his age and be wrestling. I know I could not be in his shoes. His first match featured such moves as a Tajiri Tarantula and what amazed me was his strength to pick up Little Dixie and drag him along the bike racks around the entire audience. Unfortunately, Little Dixie pinned Elax. This might have been the best wrestling match of the night. Dixie was busted open but was able to get his first JAPW win. With his attitude and enthusiasm, I expect great things in his future. If you have not seen Elax wrestling yet, here is a show plug--JAP Rookies Little Dixie and Elax have been signed to meet one on one on two more JAP shows. Friday night Feb. 25th at the Suicidal Hall & Friday March 10th at the Don Bosco High School in Ramsey, NJ. I look forward to seeing these two rookies tear the house down again! And now some news for our SPC regular sports fans--a WWF press conference announced the formation of a new football league which they are calling the XFL, which will open in February 2001. The league will have eight teams, based in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Washington and two more cities to be named, and play ten game regular seasons outdoors at stadiums, ending with playoffs in April. The start-up costs for an endeavor like this, even if it eventually becomes successful, seem enormous. Previous attempts at spring football in the United States were financial bloodbaths, but with the proliferation of cable stations looking to fill time, getting television exposure should be easy. The problem is whether they will be able to get the ratings necessary to make advertising money. If they try and compete with the NFL for talent, and offer competitive contracts, they outlay is huge, between staffing teams and front offices. Fallout was quick: WWF stock plummeted today to 12 1/8 after two major brokerage houses downgraded their long-term rating for the company based on the announcement of forming the new XFL league to play spring football. Vince McMahon was on CNBC and asked about Merrill Lynch analyst Seth Webber and Wit Capital Analyst Jordan Rohan downgrading the stock. Both had rated the stock previously as a company worth more than it is valued due to the company's huge profits this year. They now feel the stock is far more speculative because of the potential of big money losses starting up the new league. That is all. For all of your wrestling needs, please visit my website at www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6732 and any questions or comments, please direct them to raven680@hotmail.com