Post by fifthhorseman on Aug 28, 2014 18:32:52 GMT -5
It's the summertime, and a busy time - so here is this week's abbreviated version of Wednesday Night Warriors!
This week’s episode is live, and in living color, from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California!
Joey Styles and Josh Mathews were in the middle of the ring, a rare occurrence indeed, to explain the Million Dollar Match, the main event of the next AWA pay-per-view. Simply put, it’s the combination of two of the most exciting contests today – the Royal Rumble, and a TLC match. After the 30th man enters the ring, there will be a 60-second break to get various tables, chairs, and ladders out. When the match resumes, whoever is left – one man, 30, or any number in between – will try to climb a ladder to retrieve a briefcase containing one million dollars.
Titles are nice, but cold hard cash is a great reward for a single night’s work as well.
In the opening match, Ethan Carter III defeated Mistico and Petey Williams in a triple-threat match with obvious TVX title ramifications. Despite their best intentions, Williams and Mistico could not get on the same page, and the arrogant Carter pinned the Canadian with the “One-Percenter” headlock driver.
Lance Russell conducted a backstage interview with Rick Martel, who vowed revenge on the HoRsemen, specifically Barry Windham. The Canadian star challenged Windham to meet him at the Million Dollar Match pay-per-view.
Mike Awesome and Umaga fought to a double-countout. Neither man went in as a fan favorite, but the sheer ferocity and competitiveness of the match had everyone on their feet. It was an ECWesque brawl, plain and simple, and despite the referee’s leniency, they fought all the way up the ramp and into the backstage area.
In the first of two title defenses, AWA TVX champion A.J. Styles successfully defended his strap against Pat Tanaka. This match mirrored the previous week’s bout between Styles and Bobby Eaton, in that Tanaka was a very smooth and underrated grappler. However, the champ’s superior conditioning helped get the win with a top-rope cross-bodypress, and the two shook hands after the match.
Lance Russell was backstage with Paul Orndorff, who boasted that he was tearing former AWA champ Daniel Bryan to shreds last week before that nobody Dallas Page interfered. However, tonight, he would take care of both men, with the help of a mercenary whose services he purchased just for the occasion – big Brodus Clay!
The newly-minted Varsity Team upset the Motor City Machine Guns, though it wasn’t without controversy. Haas and Rotunda sought to keep the Guns on the mat with their unequalled amateur technique, but Sabin and Shelley were too fast to stay down for long. About ten minutes in, Rotunda distracted the official, and the third ringside member of the Team, Shelton Benjamin, superkicked Sabin in the face – Haas made the pin seconds later.
The second AWA title defense of the night saw Intercontinental champion Scott Hall take on the Monarchy’s muscle, Wade Barrett. This was a rugged battle between two men of nearly equal size and strength, and it see-sawed back and forth throughout the entirety of the bout. Arguably Hall’s toughest title defense to date, and Barrett’s best showing in the AWA, the match ended in a 20-minute time limit draw.
Josh Mathews did an interview with Gary Hart, who represented the Gaijin Invasion. He said that with the combined force of the unconquerable heavyweight champion Big Van Vader, Mike Awesome, and Yoshihiro Tajiri, he represented the most dominant stable in professional wrestling… and it was hard to argue the fact.
In the main event, Daniel Bryan and Paul Orndorff locked up again – but this week, it was in tag-team action. “Mr. Wonderful” procured the services of the Young Bucks’ massive bodyguard, Brodus Clay; Bryan did not have to pay his partner for the opportunity to get his hands on Orndorff… that man was Diamond Dallas Page. It was a very intensely fought battle, with three of the best workers on the planet doing what they did best… and Clay doing his best impersonation of a wrecking ball. 15 minutes in, with Page and Orndorff brawling on the outside, the “American Dragon” nailed Clay with a flying knee to score the victory for his team. Winners: Bryan and DDP.
As the show went off the air, Joey Styles told the viewers that the first eight entrants in the Million Dollar Match would be announced next week.