Post by fifthhorseman on Jun 15, 2018 1:02:39 GMT -5
FRIDAY NIGHT IMPACT
EPISODE 4
60 seconds of stills and some video from Final Destination 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 – this is Friday Night Impact. I’m Lance Russell, and I’m joined tonight at the broadcast table by the Great Britons, Nigel McGuinness and Wade Barrett. We have four great matches in store for you tonight, including a King of the Ring championship title defense!
THE HARRIS BROTHERS vs. the NATURALS:
vs.
Jarrett wanted to showcase two of his former teams from his TNA days, going so far as to promise the winner a contract opportunity. It was speed against power, and the first couple of minutes were closely contested.
And then the Road Warriors showed up.
Hawk and Animal strode down the ramp and took on all four men in the ring. The referee called for the bell, but couldn’t dissuade the Legion of Doom from sending their message. They were unstoppable, venting their frustrations viciously on everyone, culminating in a Doomsday Device on Stevens. As they cleared the ring, their manager Paul Ellering entered it with a microphone in hand.
Ellering: “I told you before, the Road Warriors don’t attack people in the dark. They don’t sneak around hotels in the middle of the night. When my men have something to say or someone to hit, they do it, man to man! Now that GIW has finally figured that out, our contracts have been reinstated, and the next time my men get in the ring, it’ll be for money and glory.”
Animal: “Tell ‘em, Hawk!”
Hawk: “Weeelllllll! Las Vegas! That was just a taste. That was just an appetizer from the casino buffet! As you can see, we’re just a little bit upset. And when the Road Warriors are upset, we do bad, bad things. Maybe we’ll just keep interrupting matches! Maybe we’ll go after Cactus Jack and Umaga, for causing us all this mental anguish. Maybe we’ll ask for a World title shot right now and take it out on Edge and Christian, because everyone in this arena knows who the best team in the world really is. Who knows? No one but us!”
COMMERCIAL
GIW KING OF THE RING CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TRENT BARRETA vs. MIKE ENOS vs. PAUL ORNDORFF (C, w/Eli Drake):
vs. vs.
“Mr. Wonderful” wasn’t very happy about defending his newly-won championship so soon, but at least he had his partner with him, Eli Drake, who smartly obtained permission to come to ringside. The outside referee checked each man as they entered the ring, and warned Drake that he was an observer only.
Drake (to the cameraman): “Second match of the night. Stupid and ridiculous. We’re the Main Event Machine, dummies, and Paul ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Orndorff and I should always be the last match on the card! I feel sorry for those two chumps now.”
Though not the biggest names in GIW, Enos and Barreta were not to be underestimated; Enos was a big, blue-collar brawler, and Barreta, one of the rising stars both in America and Japan. Early on, the two challengers collaborated to soften up Orndorff, but inevitably, the three-way dance rules meant that it was every man for himself. It took a while, but “Mean Mike” was the first to go, when he was schoolboyed by Orndorff after a running high knee by the former Dudebuster.
The match continued with the perpetually-angry Orndorff taking charge. Using his superior strength and experience, he took the fight to Barreta. He scored several two-counts, but the Best Friend was resilient, and came back. Unfortunately, he was cut off by a trip from outside the ring by Drake, that neither ref saw, and “Mr. Wonderful” hit Barreta with a crushing piledriver. It took just over 13 minutes, bell to bell, and the Main Event Machine walked up the ramp as arrogant as ever.
Post-match, a video vignette was set up by an excited Russell, which was met with a much more subdued response by the Britons… Jay and Mark Briscoe were on their way to GIW!
COMMERCIAL
After a short montage of clips was shown from the main event of Final Destination, Russell pointed up to one of the suites at Mandalay Bay, where the GIW World Tag-Team champions were watching the action. Conveniently, a cameraman was on-site so the crowd could hear from and salute them.
Edge: “We’re a little sore and beat up tonight, but Christian and I weren’t just going to sit at home on the couch when we could be celebrating with all of you. I hope you all saw it – I mean, you know what I’m talking about, right? If you don’t, I bet that you can still catch a replay of Final Destination, only available on pay-per-view…”
Christian: “Or, we can just hold these up.” The younger Canadian stepped back from the camera for a second to retrieve the most prestigious prize in GIW – the World Tag-Team championship straps, and the live crowd roared.
Edge: “Well, Jeff isn’t going to be too happy you did that – who’s going to order the replay now?”
Christian: “What if you tell them about how brutally violent our match against the Dudley Boyz was? How they threw everything they could at us, and how we came back and threw everything we could at them, and how it was an instant classic? Trust me, I know all about instant classics.”
Edge: “Way to give it the soft sell, chief. If I can be serious for a moment (patent pending, Lance Storm), that might have been the toughest match of my life. But we beat the Dudleyz, and we beat everyone else along the way to become the Global Impact Wrestling World Tag-Team champs. We’re going to savor the moment tonight, because Umaga and Cactus Jack did their best to ruin the storybook ending we wrote at the end of Final Destination. If they, or if anyone, thinks that they have what it takes to take these straps from us… they’re dead wrong.”
ACES HIGH vs. the EXTREME VIOLENCE CONNECTION:
vs.
vs.
If you were expecting a smash-mouth, hard-striking contest… you’d be right. All four men laid in heavy chops on each other all night, with Tanahashi and Nakamura utilizing their speed advantage to keep their foes off-balance. But Awesome was no slouch, even at nearly 300 pounds, and he seemed to surprise them with his quickness. His partner was just as forceful with his kicks and headbutts as well. This was a see-saw battle that lasted almost 15 minutes, ending with a Nakamura bomaye to Awesome that put him down for the count of three.
However, after the match was officially over, the two teams brawled all the way to the back, neither willing to concede defeat.
To make matters worse, the four men collided into the Dudley Boyz, who were exiting Jeff Jarrett's office/locker room. Needless to say, all hell broke loose, requiring the efforts of every GIW official and other wrestlers to separate the six angry and eager to fight competitors.
COMMERCIAL
THE STREET PROFITS vs. the USOS:
vs.
As decreed earlier in the month by GIW President and CIO Jeff Jarrett, the winner of this match would be named the number one contenders for the Intercontinental Tag-Team championship, held by Barry Windham and Terry Gordy. In fact, as the two duos entered the ring, a short recorded promo was played on screen; the U.S. Express declared that they would face any challenge, any time, starting next week.
This match was fought at a blistering pace. All four men were extremely athletic, but the Usos’ unmatched experience together gave them the early advantage. They double-teamed and isolated Ford, using combination and top-rope maneuvers to keep him on the canvas. The brothers became increasingly confident – borderline arrogant – and it cost them when Jey missed a corkscrew running forearm smash, and Dawkins got the hot tag.
He ran over the brothers Uso with clotheslines, shouldertackles, and spinebusters. However, the advantage was surprisingly short-lived, as Jimmy and Jey hit him with back-to-back superkicks. Before Ford could get back in, Jimmy flew from the top and hit the big splash. Jey held the other Profit back as Jimmy scored the pin. The Samoans celebrated as the show faded to black, eager to take on the Express as soon as possible.