Post by fifthhorseman on May 19, 2018 1:34:30 GMT -5
FRIDAY NIGHT IMPACT
EPISODE 3
30 seconds of stills from Episode 2 as a cold open, then it’s lasers and pyro to kick off the show before the camera focuses on our host.
Lance Russell: “Hello wrestling fans – welcome to Friday Night Impact. I’m Lance Russell, and I’m joined tonight at the broadcast table by GIW President Jeff Jarrett. We have four great matches in store for you tonight, including both semi-final matches in the GIW World Tag-Team championship tournament. In fact, we’re starting out the night with one of those matches, so let’s get down to the ring.”
THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. the HALL OF PAIN:
vs.
A proverbial slobberknocker, featuring two of the largest and most powerful duos in GIW. As soon as the bell rang, the four titans slugged it out, in the ring and on the floor. Two minutes elapsed, and the referee was about to disqualify them both, when Jarrett took the microphone. “Hey, fellas! This match is kind of a big deal, alright? I don’t want my pay-per-view main event to just be a title presentation – someone has to win this match! So how about we just make a no-DQ match, starting right… now!”Paradoxically, the announcement settled things down. The action returned to the ring – after all, either team could still be counted out. It went back-and-forth, with the HOP’s superior strength serving them well against the Dudleyz’ seamless tag work. It wasn’t a five-star match by any means, and after eleven solid minutes of merciless brawling, the ECW alumni put Henry through a table with a 3D, holding him just long enough to get the win.
COMMERCIAL
SCOTT DAWSON (w/Dash Wilder) vs. OWEN HART (w/Davey Boy Smith):
vs.
Russell: “Jeff, I see that each man is being seconded to the ring by their tag-team partner. Up until now, you haven’t allowed that. What’s going on?”
Jarrett: “No big secret, Lance. At the beginning, I just wanted to make sure that our King of the Ring matches and other singles matches weren’t tainted by outside interference. GIW is a well-oiled machine now, so I’m gonna allow it. The more the merrier, I say. Just as long as they mind their business on the floor, it’s alright by me.”
This match could not be more different than the opener. Hart and Dawson were two of the most technically proficient grapplers in all of the MUW Network, and they put their broad range of skills on display to an appreciative crowd. While both men were rulebreakers, the “King of Harts” played the face in this one, and Smith worked from the outside to get the crowd behind him. After Dawson trapped the Canadian in an inverted figure four, the three-time Slammy award winner refused to submit, and somehow transitioned out of it and into the Sharpshooter. While the “British Bulldog” stared down Wilder, the referee gave Hart the win at 12:18.
Russell: “Great match, and indicative on the singles action you can also expect here on Global Impact Wrestling. Is this something we can look forward to in the future as well?”
Jarrett: “You got that right, Lance. While this is primarily a tag team territory, you better not forget that a lot of great tag teams are made up of a lot of great individual wrestlers. And I might be biased in saying so, but Owen Hart – just for example – is one of the greatest out there. Tag matches, three-way dances, or one on one – you won't see better action than here in GIW.”
COMMERCIAL
A pre-taped interview from earlier in the week was shown – the Dynamic 2uo was with Lance Russell, bemoaning their loss to the Midnight Express.
Aries: “How were we supposed to know they’d come out? We were prepared for everybody on the roster! And the fact is, they weren’t on the roster!”
Hernandez: “Let me tell you how it’s going to go down, Russell. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… ain’t gonna happen! Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane… we want a rematch! The Dynamic 2uo is stronger, faster, tougher, meaner, and just plain better than you. Put your names on the dotted line, we can make it happen as soon as the pay-per-view.”
WADE BARRETT vs. CURT HENNIG vs. BARRY WINDHAM:
vs. vs.
The stakes were high for this one: the winner would meet Bully Ray Dudley and Paul Orndorff for the GIW King of the Ring championship. These were three of the best all-around talents in GIW, and not one of them could be pigeonholed as a tag specialist; any one of them could wear the KotR belt as a worthy champion.
This one started in controversial fashion, as Windham, the last man to head down the ramp, was nailed in the back with a chair several times by Brian Pillman. Because it was before the bell, the match started as usual, and “the Widowmaker” was an easy target. But he fought off the initial flurry by his opponents, and thing settled into a face-paced and evenly-matched battle. Barrett was the first to be eliminated, taken out by Hennig with a crucifix after reversing a Wasteland at 10:49.
The former members of the West Texas Rednecks stared each other down, and the match continued. “Mr. Perfect” targeted his foe’s back, while Windham tried to use his long limbs to keep Hennig at bay. The bout continued on for another ten minutes, and Windham was clearly fighting an uphill battle, injured from the pre-match ambush. But he rallied and set Hennig on the top rope, bringing him back to the canvas with a big superplex. Unfortunately, it hurt him just as much as it did the one-time AWA champ, and “Perfect” recovered quicker. Locking in and hitting Windham with a Perfectplex, Hennig moved on to the GIW King of the Ring finals.
COMMERCIAL
A 60-second vignette of last week’s television action was shown, and coming out of the montage, Russell asked Jarrett about his investigation into the attacks on Johnny Gargano, the Best Friends, and several other GIW wrestlers, both active and on other rosters.
Jarrett: “Well, I have a pretty good idea about what’s going on. Unfortunately, I can’t prove it just yet. I have some good people on it, but none of the wrestlers that were attacked saw anything. It was dark, they were big, and well, that’s all we know.”
Russell: “Can you speculate for our fans?”
Jarrett: “Not on live TV I can’t.”
EDGE AND CHRISTIAN vs. the MAIN EVENT MACHINE:
vs.
Drake and Orndorff entered the ring first, followed by the WWE icons. Russell noted that Edge seemed to be slightly favoring his right knee, and Jarrett countered by saying, “I have no doubt that it hurts ten times as much as he’s letting on. But he’s doing his best to hide it.” As if on cue, “Mr. Wonderful” got things going, attacking Edge right before the bell rang. He was relentless, dropping elbows and his own knee into the side of the Canadian’s leg. Drake tagged in, and it was more of the same.
Eventually, a powerbomb reversal gave Edge the time and space to tag Christian in, and he had plenty of energy to spare. Punches, dropkicks, and backdrops were his offense, and he scored several two-counts on the former GFW World champion. As he set Drake for the Unprettier, Orndorff blasted him with a clothesline, and “Captain Charisma” was the face in peril. But he fought back, and refused to tag his obviously injured friend back in. The match see-sawed for several minutes, with Christian staying in for most of the action.
20 minutes in, and the crowd was standing. All four gladiators were in the ring, fighting with their last breaths and a World title match on the line. Edge and Drake wound up outside, both barely able to stand but continuing to throw wild punches. Inside, Christian missed a frog splash, but Orndorff – despite his great conditioning- could not make the cover. Slowly, he picked his opponent up and set him for his vaunted piledriver. But Christian somersaulted all the way over, rolled down “Wonderful’s” back, and pinned him with a desperation sunset flip. One, two, three, and it’s over.
The Main Event Machine got in a few cheap shots on their tired foes before the referee cleared them out of the ring. Edge and Christian wearily staggered up the ramp, pausing for a moment at the top to raise their hands in victory, acknowledging the crowd…
…and right before the show faded to black, they were confronted by Paul Ellering…
…and Hawk and Animal, the Road Warriors.