- Previously on WCW: The Midnight Guns made a statement by costing the Briscoes a big match against The Cross. Meanwhile, Chris Hero and Davey Richards both have plans for gold.
- Standard opening video package.
- Lenny Leonard and JML are at ring-side. They talk about the title defense main event. Lenny puts Eddie over as a true defending champion. JML talks about the Event Center which will have tons of insight on Bad Intentions and what happened between them and DOOMSDAY at the Bunkhouse Stampede.
Match #1: Bo Newsome vs. The Patriot
Typical squash from The Patriot here. Lots of power-moves and what not, but it's still Kurt Angle however you slice it. Patriot wins with a pump-handle-into-an-Emerald Flowsion, which Lenny calls "The Patriot Slam." Interesting to see Angle work such a different style.
Result: The Patriot wins via pin w/ The Patriot Slam (pump-handle Emerald Flowsion)
Time: 3:41
- Brent Albright comes out for some choice-words. He says that tonight his fortune changes and that we're going to learn just who the hell he really is. Lenny brings up the bad run Albright is on and Albright shoves him off.
- Commercials.
- Chris Jericho is out for a promo. Jericho says you can say a lot of things about him, but one thing you can't say is that he doesn't deserve the big gold belt around his waist. He says he's wrestled in bingo halls and stadiums, Mexico and Japan, and everywhere in between. He says he's the most world-traveled wrestler in WCW and all that travel brings him the only edge he needs: experience. He says he has no problem defending the title against anyone who's earned a shot and that's the primary difference between him and Alberto Dos Caras. He says Alberto goes on and on about destiny and fate, but so far destiny and fate have put Alberto's shoulders on the mat for a three count - not once, but twice. He says in front of a nationwide audience on March 31, he's going to put an end to the debate. He says that in front of millions watching around the world and the hardcore fans that come to Center Stage, he's going to shut Alberto Dos Caras up once and for all.
Match #2: Anthony Andrews vs. Windham Rotunda
Windham gets a pretty good reaction. I probably like him the best of all the newcomers. Pretty much the same match as the previous ones. I love his crisp powerslam off of the leap-frog, something he gloriously stole from Rick Steiner. He also has a pretty sweet "big man" dropkick. Windham gets the win with the Death Valley Driver.
Result: Windham Rotunda wins via pin w/ The Death Valley Driver
Time: 4:11
- Windham gets a chance to prove himself on promos. Lenny asks him about the comments Chris Masterson made last week. Windham says guys like Masterson in this business are a dime a dozen - strong as bricks and just as smart. He says that he's the kind of guy who doesn't back down from a fight and being the son of the "Tax-man" makes him one hell of tenacious pitbull with one hell of a bite. He says if Masterson really has something to say, he's not a hard man to find and he should say it to his face. JML asks Windham what his goal in WCW is. Windham says that his goal, no - guarantee - is to be a champion by the December 31. Lenny calls that a bold statement. Chris Hero comes out and he has a problem with those words. Hero wants to know where the hell Windham gets off thinking Windham will be a champion before Hero is. Windham says that right now a lot of people are doing a lot of talking, so he slaps Hero. They have a pull apart and some officials come out to separate them.
- Commercials.
- Lenny and JML recap the events prior to the break. Lenny announces that during the break the main event for next week's show was made: Chris Hero vs. Windham Rotunda! But here come the Midnight Guns to spoil the moment. Moxley says that living on the fringe has its benefits. He says that guys like him and Tyler Black will no longer stand by and be ignored in favor of imbecilic brutes or colorful crossdressers. He says the world's a bit different now and there's tons of pain to go 'round, and the first group they want to share that pain with are "Them Boys." Interesting stuff, I suppose.
Match #3: Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team vs. Caleb Konley/Sal Rinauro
Lenny says he's heard rumblings that WGTT are going to petition for another title match. JML says the last one truly could have gone either way and it was the best tag match he's ever seen. Standard squash here, although a bit longer than usual. WGTT hits Konley with a variation of the Hart Attack for the win - Haas held Konley, while Benjamin springboards in with a flying clothesline. Lenny acts pretty surprised to see it.
Result: Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team wins via pin w/ a modified Hart Attack
Time: 6:41
- WGTT hit the table for a promo. Lenny asks what the new finisher was all about. Haas says that it's the move that will put them on the winning end from here on out in WCW. Haas says at the Stampede they had the battle of their lives but he can't help but feel they have unfinished business with DOOMSDAY. He says they came oh-so-close, but DOOMSDAY got the win and all the respect in the world to them for it. He says he can't help but feel though that on any other night, it would have been a different outcome. He says he knows they've had their shot, but he just wants one last chance against them. JML says he doesn't think they deserve it. Benjamin intervenes and says, "Maybe we don't, maybe we do, but at the end of the day don't tell me you wouldn't fight for one more chance if you knew if your gut you could do it. You tell me that and you're a damn liar." Strong words from Benjamin before they head out.
- Commercials.
The Event Center
Jim Ross starts of by describing Bad Intentions. He calls them 700+ lbs of pure destruction. Some clips from NJPW are shown of Bad Intentions beating people up. He calls them the most decorated American tag in Japanese wrestling history, having held the top tag team championship in Japan longer than any other tag team in history at a historic and daunting 564 days. He says on June 18, 2011 they made history by capturing the Pro Wrestling NOAH tag team championship - while still holding the New Japan titles becoming the only team to ever hold the top two Japanese tag team championships at the same time. He says their record is impeccable and their aspirations of dominance are unstoppable. They show clips of the interactions with DOOMSDAY from the Bunkhouse Stampede. He then shows a clip of Jimmy Jacobs with DOOMSDAY. Jimmy says that Bad Intentions are a force to be reckoned with in Japan, but this is not Japan and in America - there is no force greater than the end of all things: DOOMSDAY. Ross says that ever since the confrontation at the Stampede, DOOMSDAY and Bad Intentions have been petitioning for a match against one another and the only thing standing in the way right now are the people in charge of WCW and NJPW. Great stuff here that really establishes just how awesome Bad Intentions is.
- Commercials.
Main Event: Brent Albright vs. Eddie Edwards [c] - WCW United States Championship Match
Quite a chunk of time left here, but then the shows have gotten progressively shorter since the first episode. Chain-wrestling to start, of course. JML puts over Albright as a "Man's Man" who fights hard and hits hard, but just hasn't been able to get that big win. Lenny, conversely, puts over Eddie as the "never-say-die" kind of guy who never quits. More chain-wrestling with Albright constantly having the upper-hand due to his strength. Eddie picks up the pace with a couple of strikes and then some lucha-inspired offense - a rana here and a headscissors there to great effect. Lenny says that Eddie needs to continue this type of offense to stay on top. Eddie lays into Albright with tons of kicks and chops for extra measure, and JML brings up Albright having a tough history against proficient strikers - a reference to Albright's feud with Chris Hero. Albright takes a powder to the outside so Eddie dives out onto him. Eddie snap suplexes Albright on the floor and follows up with an Asai moonsault onto him. Eddie goes for the running-kick-on-the-apron, but Albright ducks and yanks Eddie off the apron and into the guardrail. Albright slams Eddie's arm on the guardrail a few times and I'm sure you can see where this is going. Sure enough, Albright uses an arm-trap slam on the concrete a few times. Back in the ring and Lenny brings up Eddie's history with his elbow and the horrible injury he suffered a few years ago in a match with a violent man named Kevin Steen and then wrestling the very next night in one of the most violent ladder matches of all time. Nice. Albright works the arm, of course. Tons of cool stuff involved here like an arm-trap belly-to-belly suplex. Eddie pulls of a few quick roll-ups for near-falls, but no dice as we're at the halfway mark. Albright hits a swank arm drag off of the turnbuckle and immediately transitions it into an armbar, but Eddie won't tap. Albright tries the arm drag off the top again, but Eddie counters with a tornado DDT. Eddie mounts a huge comeback here, hitting the missile dropkick off the top for two. Tons of stiff kicks and chops (using the good arm) from Eddie. Eddie tries to hit the Die Hard, but his arm is too weak and Albright counters with the Crowbar. Eddie makes the ropes after an extended stay in the hold. Cruise informs us 20 minutes have passed. Albright unloads a few suplexes on Eddie for near-falls. Albright goes for a powerbomb, but Eddie rolls over with a sunset flip for a crazy near-fall that has the crowd chanting "That Was Three!" More back and forth action with about five minutes left. They get into chop (by Eddie) vs. punch (by Albright) battle that Albright ends up winning only to get nailed with a flying knee strike for a near-fall. Eddie tries for the Achilles Lock, but Albright yanks him down into the Crowbar with one minute left. Eddie almost gets the ropes but Albright yanks him back into the middle of the ring. 30 seconds left and Eddie is fighting valiantly, but Albright locks it in HARD~! 10 seconds left and it appears Eddie has passed out. The ref checks the arm once and it falls. A blind man can see what's going to happen here. Ref checks it again and it falls. Ref checks it a third time but before he drops it the bell rings for the time-limit draw. The hand drops, by the way.
Result: Time-limit draw
Time: 30:00
- Albright loses his shit and suplexes the referee. He then locks the Crowbar back on Eddie, drawing out a slew of referees and officials for the save. Lenny calls that the most controversial decision he has ever seen in pro wrestling. JML says Albright was screwed as the show ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment