Post by fifthhorseman on Sept 14, 2019 1:06:47 GMT -5
MLW FRIDAY NIGHT HEAT
EPISODE 2.1
EPISODE 2.1
Cold open in the ring. The new MLW World Heavyweight champion, Roddy Piper, was flanked by the other members of the Real Main Event, Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton, Jr. The “Hot Rod” was grinning from ear to ear. As only he could, he described his victory in the Elimination Chamber over not one, not two, not even five men, but six of them, including the MUW Champion Seth Rollins. He had been in Major League Wrestling for less than a year, and he was already the champ. Piper briefly mentioned how his colleagues pushed him to new heights at Beach Blast – glossing over the fact that they lost the Intercontinental Tag-Team titles that same night – and he claimed that because he was the best wrestler in the territory, that made the RME the most dominant faction in MLW as well.
60-second video montage recapping the events of MLW Beach Blast, followed by title graphics and explosive pyro.
Styles: “Good evening, wrestling fans, and welcome to MLW Friday Night Heat! It's a new day, it's a new season – but it is still the home of the greatest wrestling action on the planet! My name is Joey Styles, and I’m joined by the inimitable Mauro Ranallo, my new, permanent partner on commentary. Mauro – welcome aboard!”
Ranallo: “It is a pleasure to be here at the sold-out USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida, calling the action with you! We have four incredible matches on the card, plenty of interviews, and a lot more, so I think we should get right to the ring where Howard Finkel is standing by to announce the competitors in tonight’s championship contest!”
MLW FLORIDA TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
AMERICAN ALPHA (c) vs. TnT:
vs.
A 30-second video package from Beach Blast was shown, where TnT earned the right to take on Gable and Jordan from their gold. Barreta and Kidd parted the curtain and strode down the ramp with plenty of confidence – but it was short-lived, as they were attacked from behind by… Danny Burch and Eddie Dennis?
The rugged brawlers, clad in street clothes, threw Barreta from the ramp, and he landed hard. Then they focused on Kidd, and Burch and Dennis laid the proverbial boots to him. The beatdown lasted for only about 20 seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime, and they were eventually run off by American Alpha. Dennis and Burch melted into the crowd, and the show – off to a chaotic start – went to
COMMERCIAL
After the commentators tried to make sense of the sneak attack and resultant no-contest, they segued to a pre-taped segment shot earlier in the week. It featured the Jersey Triad – Diamond Dallas Page, Kanyon, and Bam Bam Bigelow – and they were irate. Page: “Hey, Bray Wyatt! Yeah, you, and those weirdos you call a family. I gotta tell you something, Jay and Mark Briscoe – I thought you had some backbone. I thought you had some guts! I don’t know why you threw in with those clowns, but jumping us and taking out Badd Company was the biggest mistake of your lives. Now, DDP, he has connections, too. You can’t try to punk us, and expect the Diamond Exchange to just take it. Bray Wyatt, you're not the only guy looking to expand his 'family'..."
And then Tazz walked into the frame, arms crossed, scowling, and silent. End video.
CURT HENNIG (w/JJ Dillon) vs. STEPHEN PETITPAS (w/Leo Burke):
vs.
vs.
As the Acadian Express entered the ring, a screen-in-screen video clip of the 270-pounder hitting a shining wizard on “Mr. Perfect” to set up the pin at Beach Blast was shown. Hennig and Dillon followed, and they were in a foul mood. What followed was a far more competitive match than the Horseman anticipated; the AGPW stalwart, often accused of being a big fish in a small pond, went hold for hold and punch for punch with Hennig. However, the former MLW tag champ got away with a low blow when Dillon distracted the referee, and he hoisted Petitpas over with the perfectplex, stealing the win at 14:04.
COMMERCIAL
LAX vs. DOMINIC DIJAKOVIC and KEITH LEE:
vs.
Styles: “Fans, this is our stand-by match, necessitated by the baffling actions of Eddie Dennis and Danny Burch earlier tonight. And it’s a good one, too – get ready for the debut of LAX, and Dominic Dijakovic!”
It was a classic David vs. Goliath battle, and it was easy for the fans to cheer for all four men. But the big men were not just strong, they could move like middleweights, and they constantly kept Santana and Ortiz off-balance. However, their flaw was their lack of teamwork, as they often tried to one-up each other. Whenever they bickered, LAX took charge.
Six fast-paced minutes later, “Limitless” accidentally nailed Dijakovic with a lariat. When Lee got up, he went straight at his “teammate” and they tumbled through the ropes. LAX followed them out, and they brawled around the ring until lead official Tommy Young waved for the bell, calling the match a double-countout.
Ranallo: “So, Joey, tell me this: are things always so out of control around here?”
After order was restored, Howard Finkel entered the ring and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the MLW Intercontinental Heavyweight champion… Dave Batista!”
The 300-pound A-lister parted the curtain, and made his way to the ring. “That’s right. I am the champion. And it’s taken a long time, but I finally found somebody that can stand in this ring with me, as an equal. So now, let me introduce a man that really doesn’t need an introduction… a man who I consider a peer… the four-time AWA World champion, Nick Bockwinkel.”
A few seconds later, the AWA icon stood on the ramp… but he was not alone. Standing to his left, Terry Funk; to his right… Shane Douglas! Eventually, the four men stood in the ring together, and Bockwinkel took the microphone from Batista with a calm smile. “I signed with Major League Wrestling because it is the best promotion in the world. I signed here because it was patently obvious that I – that we – could make a difference. The night of Beach Blast, I saw a man with the strength and the physique of a Greek god, with incredible intelligence and charisma, but a man that was alone. I also saw a man” – and he nodded toward Funk – “a compatriot, who combines a nearly unmatched acumen for mat grappling with the toughness and determination of a Missouri mule. But again, I saw a man… alone.”
“But do you know what else I saw? A pair of World champions. And not just flashes in the pan, either – a WWE World champion who spent over 500 days at the top of the mountain. And a NWA World champion with over 400 consecutive days on the throne.”
“I don’t need to recite my resume to you – anyone that knows wrestling knows I’m as great as they come. However, when I learned that this man” – and he looked directly at Douglas – “signed a contract with MLW the same week that I did, I knew that it was manifest destiny. You see, Mr. Douglas is a four-time ECW World champion, and the longest-reigning champion, by far, in that promotion’s history. Fate drew us all together, and when I had the opportunity to talk to these three talented gentlemen, to gather them altogether, they all understood why we were destined to be here, in Major League Wrestling, today.”
“Simply put, we are the cream of the crop. We are, collectively and individually, better than anyone here. We are the Gold Standard, and our rise to the top is inevitable.”
The crowd disagreed, and the jeers were loud, but the four men didn’t care one bit about their opinion. They left, and another vignette heralding the arrival of the World’s Greatest Tag-Team – Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin – was shown. When it was over, the scene switched back to the ring, where two MLW newcomers were jawing at each other, with an official standing in between them.
TED DiBIASE (w/Steve Williams) vs. KID KASH or BRAXTON SUTTER:
vs. or
vs. or
Styles: “Looks like we have a bit of a problem – the next match is scheduled to be Ted DiBiase’s open challenge, but I see two challengers waiting for him down there. Kid Kash and Braxton Sutter, a pair of tough competitors to say the least, but I don’t know why they’re both out there. The referee should-“
He was interrupted by the “Million Dollar Man” himself, who casually walked over to the announce table with his friend and partner in the Conglomerate, Steve Williams. He took a microphone and pointed down to the ring. “Now listen up! I didn’t come down here tonight to wrestle a handicap match! But luckily for you, I’m a man who thrives on competition. I waived my ‘need to know’ right because it didn’t matter to me who I faced, but either one of you gets out of that ring, or… say, how about this – we make it a tag-team match.The only problem is, you’re both going to waive your ‘need to know’ rights as well, seeing how neither one of you didn’t sign for a tag-team match. Well?”
Sutter and Kash looked at each other, shrugged, and told the referee they agreed to those terms. DiBiase smirked, and he and Williams made their way to the ring. “Dr. Death” rolled in, eager to fight – but DiBiase still had the microphone in hand, and he continued. “You know what, on second thought, I changed my mind. I think I’ll take the night off. But I’d hate to deprive the fans of a good show, so let’s see if I can find someone else to take my place.”
A curious buzz came over the crowd, and a few seconds later, the curtains parted. It was someone who left the GFW/MLW territory months ago. A man who was very well acquainted with Williams, and DiBiase, from their UWF days. A man who, with Williams, formed the Miracle Violence Connection and terrorized teams on two continents.
It was Terry Gordy.
He ran down to the ring and attacked Sutter right away. The bell rang, but it was barely a match – it was a slaughter. Williams and Gordy laid out their unprepared foes in less than a minute, as “Dr. Death” finished off Kash with his patented Doctor Bomb. As the referee raised their hands, the leader of the Conglomerate could barely contain his laughter, and he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… Steve Williams and Terry Gordy… the Miracle Violence Division!”
COMMERCIAL
Styles and Ranallo recapped what was, to this point, a show that seemed to be running off the rails, and then threw it to a pre-taped interview with the reigning MLW World Tag-Team champions, Edge and Christian. They were in Edge’s home, recovering from their successful title defense against the Road Warriors. They put Hawk and Animal over at the greatest challenge of their careers, and wished that they had the chance to do it again and prove that their victory was no fluke. However, they had to look ahead as well, and they welcomed the challenge of any team on the MLW roster. They’d be back in the USF Sun Dome next week – and every week – as long they had teams to fight and defeat.
The announcers set up the main event, but as to why the Irishman attacked Hart before his Elimination Chamber match at Beach Blast… he wasn’t saying.
DUBLIN STREET FIGHT
BRET HART (w/Jim Neidhart) vs. SHEAMUS:
vs.
BRET HART (w/Jim Neidhart) vs. SHEAMUS:
vs.
The red-haired strongman entered the ring first, basking in the jeers of the 18,000 fans in attendance. “The Anvil” seconded his partner to the squared circle next, under strict instructions not to get within a dozen feet of Sheamus… but one never knew what was going through the unpredictable Neidhart’s mind.
Hart speared Sheamus before the bell even rang, and rained down fists on his larger foe. After that, it was a brawl that lived up to the street fight stipulation. The former WWE champions battled in and out of the ring, on the ramp, and even backstage. Neither man was in his wrestling gear, and neither man was doing much wrestling – this was a fistfight.
They eventually returned to the ring, and after a series of mat reversals, “the Hitman” locked a Sharpshooter on his opponent. Sheamus writhed in agony for several long seconds, but refused to quit – he might have been a sneaky heel, but he was too proud and tough to quit. And he didn’t have to – to the dismay of the crowd, Dennis and Burch reappeared and broke the hold, resulting in a sudden disqualification. Neidhart jumped into the ring, and the Hart Foundation took them on in tandem, until Sheamus recovered.
The odds didn’t remain odd for long, though, as Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith ran down the ramp to assist… but then the Horsemen ran down and joined the fight as well! Officials were frantic, trying to separate them all, and it wasn’t made any easier when the Revival, the Acadian Express, Dexter Lumis, and the Briscoe Brothers joined the fray as well. Meanwhile, the Gold Standard stable re-emerged from the backstage area, stood on the ramp, and observed from afar.
And then, for the first time on MLW television, George Steinbrenner appeared. He strode through the curtain, went straight to the announce desk, and said, “Turn the cameras off! We’re done! I need more officials out here, let’s go!”
“Didn’t you hear me? Turn those damn cameras off!”