December marks the beginning of “PP3 Cup Season” in Hollywood and it is always an incredibly bittersweet occasion. As the tournament turns five, it serves as a sobering reminder the CWFH’s beloved friend, Percy Pringle III has been gone for five years. However, it’s always sweet because it marks the beginning of the Hollywood calendar.

What makes the Percival Pringle III Memorial Cup so important? What makes it so unique? To understand that you have to understand…

The Man

Do you know Percy Pringle III? Chances are the answer to that question is a very loud “Ohhhhhh Yessssss!”, even if you don’t know him by that name. He was a legendary manager – a flamboyant, wealthy and over-privileged southerner who always got what he wanted. He was portrayed by Mr. William Moody – who also went on to portray another legendary manager – Paul Bearer. At Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, Percy served as a manager, a commentator, a mentor and a friend.

The Urn

For the delight of his fans, Percy carried his legendary ‘urn’ from his Paul Bearer days with him to all appearances. No one knew that Percy’s last trip to Hollywood would be his last and, as fate would have it, he left his urn behind – resolving to just pick it up ‘next time.’ Sadly, there was no next time. But the iconic urn lives on. With the blessing of his family, Percy’s urn was mounted to a trophy stand and the Percival Pringle III Memorial Cup was born.

The Tournament

At the end of the calendar year, the entire roster competes in qualifying matches, leaving eight competitors for the tournament. A bracket is then formed and a single-elimination winner-take-all set of matches take place at the beginning of the new year. The tourney always seems to ‘set the ball rolling’ each year in Hollywood. The faces that compete become the faces to watch. New feuds erupt as each wrestler vies for their shot at the most unique prize in all of professional wrestling.

The Privilege

The winner of the cup is afforded ‘Percy’s Privilege’. The man who had it all always got what he wanted…and the holder of his cup gets to enjoy that privilege as well. Whomever holds the PP3 Cup can use it to challenge for ANY of the championships defended at Championship Wrestling from Hollywood at ANY time. Once the cup is awarded, every Champion in CWFH must constantly be looking over their shoulder.

Just a few short weeks ago, a decimated Friendship Express sat near-lifeless in the ring after retaining their United Tag Team Championships in a brutal battle with the Classic Connection. The world sat in shock as the badly wounded duo were all but powerless to stop “Big Nasty” Eric Watts, who marched to the ring with the PP3 Cup and used Percy’s Privilege to single-handedly win BOTH tag team championships…for himself! Since then, the tag team division has been in utter turmoil – a testament to the power of the Cup.

 

We can only begin to wonder what shocking moment awaits Hollywood when the PP3 Cup (and Percy’s Privilege) fall into new hands in 2017.