Post by fifthhorseman on Jul 13, 2018 0:58:05 GMT -5
FRIDAY NIGHT IMPACT
EPISODE 6
EPISODE 6
30-second highlight reel of GIW action 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 in Las Vegas at the broadcast table by the talented team of Curt Hennig and Brian Pillman. Tonight’s main event is a match for the GIW Intercontinental Tag-Team championship, and we have three more stellar matches in store for you as well… so let’s get right to the ring.
CACTUS JACK (w/Kevin Sullivan) vs. CHRISTIAN (w/Edge):
vs.
vs.
As the two men locked up to start the match, Pillman griped that it was unfair that Umaga and Cactus Jack “jumped the line” to get matches against the GIW World champions, a point with which “Mr. Perfect” definitely agreed. This was a classic battle of good vs. evil, technique vs. savagery as “Captain Charisma” owned the opening minutes. However, a well-timed trip by Sullivan turned the tide for Jack, and it brought Edge and Sullivan nose-to-nose before the referee ejected both men from ringside. The match continued with the hardcore icon taking charge and scoring several two-counts. But in his quest to injure his foe, Cactus Jack missed a top-rope senton, and Christian rolled him up for the win at the 11:58 mark, escaping before the madman from Truth or Consequences could maul him further.
After the match, Russell set up the rest of the night’s action before announcing that the Briscoe Brothers, Jay and Mark, would be making their GIW debut next week… and that yet another team was on their way to Global Impact Wrestling, as a 30-second video vignette for the Addiction - Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian - rolled.
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, the Great Britons walked (!) with purpose, and after a few moments, they found the man they were looking for: Davey Boy Smith, who was jogging on a treadmill. His partner, Owen Hart, was elsewhere.
McGuinness: “Hello, Davey. Don’t let us interrupt your workout. Look at you go – you aren’t even scheduled for action tonight, and here you are, keeping yourself in tip-top shape, bigger and better than ever.”
Barrett: “Let’s cut right to the chase, Bulldog. You should be aligned with Nigel and I, the Great Britons… not that brother-in-law of yours, holding you back. The three of us, together – we’d be unstoppable, the most powerful force in Global Impact Wrestling. Every championship title would be ours. You know I’m right, Smith… what do you say?”
At that instant, a different camera shot from another area of Mandalay Bay was cued up, and Lance Russell was on it. “Folks, it looks like during the break, one-half of the GIW World Tag-Team champions was attacked, and I don’t know why any of us should be surprised. Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that evil Kevin Sullivan was thrown out of Cactus Jack’s match on purpose.” Footage was shown of Umaga and Sullivan attacking Edge outside his dressing room, with no GIW official in sight to break it up. The action then went live, with Christian and the bloodied, furious Edge back in their dressing room, getting medical attention.
JIM POWERS and JOEY MAGGS vs. WBKS:
vs.
vs.
The GIW newcomers called themselves “Wrestling’s Best Kept Secret”, but they were determined to share that secret with a global audience. Blake and Murphy were a well-oiled and fast-moving machine, and despite a few hope spots from Powers and Maggs, it was a quick and decisive victory for WBKS. All the way up the ramp, the winning team pointed to their waists, calling out practically the entire GIW roster.
COMMERCIAL
Coming out of the break, Pillman and Hennig were gone, and Russell was joined by the GIW King of the Ring, Paul Orndorff. A video package was shown, first of the three-way battle that featured Masato Tanaka, D-Von Dudley, and Shinsuke Nakamura; then the subsequent house show brawls between their respective teams. Orndorff was unimpressed: “So I hear that next week, I’m defending my gold against Tanaka and Nakamura. Well, I don’t care who it is that gets in my ring! I’m the best professional wrestler in GIW, and it doesn’t matter if it’s those two, the Dudleyz, the Road Warriors, Hulk Hogan, or anyone else! Jeff Jarrett can put any two men he wants in there against me, but at the end of the day, it’s ‘Mr. Wonderful’ who’s gonna get his hand raised.”
NO HOLDS BARRED, ONE FALL TO THE FINISH
ACES HIGH vs. the DUDLEY BOYZ vs. the EXTREME VIOLENCE CONNECTION:
vs. vs.
ACES HIGH vs. the DUDLEY BOYZ vs. the EXTREME VIOLENCE CONNECTION:
vs. vs.
This was Jeff Jarrett’s solution to their mini-feud: six guys beating the hell of each other in a match where the two referees were just there to declare a winner. And that’s exactly what they did.
This brawl lasted a solid 20 minutes, and was reminiscent of old Mid-South and ECW battles. All six men got their offense in, and took considerable amounts of punishment in the process. The action spilled outside the ring throughout the night, into the crowd, and backstage. Chairs and other weapons were found and used in various parts of Mandalay Bay, but the fight always found its way back to the ring, where the fall (pin or submission) had to be counted. Blood was spilled and risks were taken at a frightening pace, but in the end, after enduring numerous incidents of testicular trauma, Nakamura was pinned by Awesome after a massive top-rope splash.
The crowd applauded the effort of all three teams, and as they staggered back to their respective lockers, a split-screen interview was shown. On one side, the Dynamic 2uo; the other, the Midnight Express. Russell tried valiantly to keep control of the interview, but Hernandez and Aries hijacked it, and after firing off assorted insults to the former NWA World champions, challenged them to a two-out-of-three falls gauntlet match: Hernandez vs. Eaton, Aries vs. Lane, and if necessary, a tag match to break the tie. The Express accepted the challenge, and Russell wondered aloud if President Jarrett would make it official.
COMMERCIAL
Russell: “Well, it’s official! Jeff Jarrett didn’t let the grass grow underneath his feet for this one, no sir. Next week, on Friday Night Impact, the Midnight Express and the Dynamic 2uo will battle in a two-out-of-three falls, 30-minute time limit contest. Two singles contests, followed, if necessary and if there is time left, by a tag match. You won’t want to miss this one, folks!”
GIW INTERCONTINENTAL TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The U.S. EXPRESS (c) vs. the USOS:
The U.S. EXPRESS (c) vs. the USOS:
vs.
Big match ring introductions for this one, and the competitors shook hands before the bell, but not before exchanging a few choice words. Windham and Jey Uso started the action off, and it became apparent very early on that the champions were trying to use their larger size to their advantage, while the brothers from San Francisco would use their speed and agility. That said, however, the Express were consummate wrestlers and extremely smooth, while the Usos were a pair of tough Samoans.
The multi-time WWE champs took to the champs early, and weren’t above using some iffy double-team tactics, even when warned by either the inside or the outside official. They focused on grounding Gordy, and worked his right ankle hard. The Freebird was a furious face in peril, enduring numerous strikes and vices that neutralized his God-given grappling ability.
(Russell: “This just in, fans – Edge and Christian have demanded a match with Umaga and Cactus Jack - next week!”
But he rallied back and tagged in the big Texan. Windham went to town on Jimmy and Jey, combining fists and lariats with slams and suplexes. He released his frustration on Jimmy, but could not keep him down, and before long, all four men were in the ring. It was chaos that both officials eventually restored, and after a lengthy series of quick tags and near-falls, “Bamm Bamm” put away Jey with a vicious – but clean – piledriver. Three seconds later, at 17:33, it was all over. No time for mutual respect as the show faded to black, with the U.S. Express holding their gold overhead.