Post by fifthhorseman on Sept 10, 2014 12:33:43 GMT -5
Joey Styles: Hello wrestling fans around the world – this is AWA Wednesday Night Warriors! My name is Joey Styles, and for the next two hours, you are going to witness the greatest wrestling action in the world, live from the Jobing.com arena in Phoenix, Arizona! We have six, count ‘em, six incredible matches on the booking sheet tonight, two of which are championship title defenses! AWA TVX champ A.J. Styles – no relation – puts his belt on the line against Ethan Carter III! Also, the AWA tag-team champs, Beer Money, go two-on-two against Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express!
Josh Mathews: And that’s not all, Joey! I’m Josh Mathews, and fans, you will also see Brian Pillman battle James Gibson! Rick Martel takes on Al Perez! Shelton Benjamin squares off against Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns! And in tag team action, for the first time in the AWA, the British Bulldogs grapple with the Dudebusters!
Joey Styles: You’ll also find out the first eight entrants into the Million Dollar Match! But let’s get to the ring for tonight’s first big match, where the lovely Christy Hemme is standing by!
vs.
James Gibson (w/Nidia) vs. Brian Pillman (w/Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid):
This match showcased the talents of two of the best representatives of the revitalized TVX division. Pillman entered first to a chorus of cheers, seconded by his friends the British Bulldogs; Gibson strode to the ring last. Also two of the most versatile workers, it was a contrast in styles, with Gibson working the ground game versus Pillman’s high-flying offense. The former ROH World champ had his moments, but Pillman took over and dominated the last couple of minutes, finishing off Gibson with a springboard lariat. After the match, as Brian shouted that he wanted a match with AJ Styles, the Dynamite Kid hit Gibson with a top-rope headbutt, adding further injury to injury.
A pre-taped interview with Bam Bam Bigelow was shown, and he talked about the Mike Awesome-Umaga match that took place last week. It reminded him of the good old days in ECW, and he issued a challenge to either man – or both men – to prove that the “Beast from the East” was the dominant brawler in the AWA.
COMMERCIAL
vs.
Shelton Benjamin (w/Mike Rotunda) vs. Chris Sabin (w/Alex Shelley):
Before the match started, Mathews noted the events leading up to this match – namely, Benjamin’s interference/superkick that cost the Guns a win on last week’s WNW. Sabin was the aggressor, and went after the “Gold Standard” at the bell, knocking him down with hard kicks. But Benjamin used some hard suplexes to turn the tide, and the solo star of the Varsity Team took charge. While Shelley and Rotunda exchanged verbal barbs at ringside, Benjamin kept up the fast-paced offense – and after surviving a late desperate rally from the Gun, he hit a top-rope T-bone suplex for the win.
Lance Russell was backstage with Adam Rose and his crew, and he excitedly talked about the AWA TVX division – as evidenced by the action in the previous match. But before he could get very far, Rose was attacked from behind by Paul Orndorff, who took over the airtime, and vowed to lay a beating on Diamond Dallas Page.
COMMERCIAL
vs.
Beer Money [C](w/JJ Dillon) vs. the Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette):
The challengers entered the ring first, followed by the champions, followed by the big-fight intros. Neither team was a true fan favorite, but both duos gave the rabid Phoenix crowd something to cheer about. Roode and Storm were stronger, Lane and Eaton were faster, and both teams were amongst the best in the world at double-team offense. It was a see-saw battle, and the champs had their hands full. But when the referee told Dillon and Cornette to vacate the ringside area, Storm used the distraction to smash a beer bottle over Eaton’s head, and Roode followed with the “legal” pin a few seconds later.
COMMERCIAL
A video package was shown for the Million Dollar Match, featuring some of the greatest action from previous Royal Rumbles and TLC matches in other federations. Then, the names of the first eight participants for the Match were revealed, in alphabetical order:
Bam Bam Bigelow
Verne Gagne
Adrian Neville
Diamond Dallas Page
Harley Race
Robert Roode
James Storm
Yoshihiro Tajiri
Verne Gagne
Adrian Neville
Diamond Dallas Page
Harley Race
Robert Roode
James Storm
Yoshihiro Tajiri
Next week –the next eight!
vs.
Rick Martel vs. Al Perez (w/Vickie Guerrero):
The two men were almost mirror images of one another, save for Perez’s facial hair. Almost the same height and weight, with similar physiques, Martel and Perez even copied and countered each other’s moves. Exchanging armdrags, hiptosses, and dropkicks early on, it looked like one of them would have to make a drastic mistake in order for the other to take command.
Instead, Martel was blindsided by Barry Windham, who charged through the crowd and hit the ring like a bolt of lightning. The resultant disqualification victory was little consolation to the Canadian, who was left lying in the middle of the ring. The HorSeman took Hemme’s microphone and said, “I accept your challenge, Martel – I’ll see you in a couple of weeks!”
Speaking of challenges, Lance Russell stood backstage with Wade Barrett, who boasted about his match with AWA Intercontinental champion Scott Hall. The Englander claimed that he went into the match with no scouting report, walking pneumonia, and vertigo… and still took Hall to the time limit. Simply put, he wanted a rematch at the Million Dollar Match pay-per-view.
COMMERCIAL
vs.
The British Bulldogs (w/Brian Pillman) vs. the Dudebusters:
Croft and Barreta entered the ring first, supremely confident, followed by the Bulldogs, and their ally, Brian Pillman. Smith and Barreta led off for their respective teams, and the Dudebuster was woefully unprepared for Davey Boy’s power. Croft fared no better, and when Smith tagged in his cousin, the Dynamite Kid attacked with a speed and ferocity that overwhelmed his foe. Snap suplexes, clotheslines, headbutts, and vicious chops. With Smith easily holding Barreta at bay, the Kid used a tombstone piledriver to claim the victory for the Bulldogs.
After the match, Pillman took the microphone and told the crowd that if they wanted to see the best wrestlers in the world holding the most important championships in the MUW network, it was time to make their voices heard… “because, God only knows, Jack Tunney doesn’t want to give me a mike every week ‘till I get what I want.”
COMMERCIAL
vs.
Ethan Carter III (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. A.J. Styles [C]:
This is your main event – Styles has been a fighting AWA TVX champion, while Carter won an impressive three-way dance last week against Mistico and Petey Williams. Hemme made the big-fight intros as Guerrero stood ringside, applauding her confident client.
After a couple of cautious minutes, Carter took charge with a simple eye gouge, and then used hard but effective punches and kicks to put Styles down. It was ground-and-pound, and Carter chewed the clock up masterfully, hoping to finish off the champion late in the contest. However, Styles did finally fight back to his feet with about five minutes left, and the pace shifted into high gear. Dropkicks, enziguri kicks, springboard cross-bodyblocks… traded at will. But the champion cranked it up another level, and hit a big springboard forearm smash for a long two-count. Undaunted, he picked Carter up for the “Styles Clash”, and took a hard-fought victory with less than 20 seconds left in the match.