Post by fifthhorseman on Feb 27, 2014 7:10:28 GMT -5
Joey Styles: Hello wrestling fans around the world – and welcome to AWA Wednesday Night Warriors! We are coming to you live from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and for the next two hours, you will see the finest athletes in the American Wrestling Association ply their trade for honor, glory, money, and championships! Six tremendous matches are scheduled on tonight’s card, including the AWA Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan, in his first televised bout since SuperClash 2.1, a non-title match versus Ethan Carter III! And the AWA Television champ, the Great Muta, puts his title on the line when he faces the world’s most dangerous man, Ken Shamrock! For the rest of the card, I now turn over the mike over to my color colleague, Josh Mathews – take it away, partner!
Josh Mathews: You’re welcome, Mr. Styles! Fans, you will also see the number one contender for the AWA Intercontinental championship, Tully Blanchard, meet an old and familiar foe in Ricky Morton. Also, Rick Martel goes one-on-one with Wade Barrett; the world’s strongest man, Mark Henry, battles the awesome Mike Awesome, and finally, you’ll see the debut of the AWA’s newest tag-team, the Public Enemy!
Joey Styles: Looks like Christy Hemme is ready to get tonight’s action started, so let’s go to the ring for the announcements now!
VS.
Wade Barrett (w/Layla) vs. Rick Martel: The Canadian former AWA champ Martel was well received in Winnipeg, certainly moreso than Barrett, and he took control of the match early, relying on his superior speed. Armdrags and dropkicks kept the British brawler down for a while, but he capitalized on a missed body-press and used elbows and kicks to rough Martel up. But the Quebecer would not stay down, and he reassumed control, forcing Barrett into a Boston crab. He submitted just before a charging Drew McIntyre could break the hold, and Martel rolled outside with the victory, grabbing a chair to discourage a two-on-one attack.
VS.
Mike Awesome (w/Gary Hart) vs. Mark Henry: Power vs. more power. The referee was extremely lenient in this match, allowing both men to brawl outside the ring to their hearts’ content. Hart even tried to introduce a table into their fight, but the ref drew the line there. Fists, slams, and throws were exchanged, but the match turned in Awesome’s favor when he hit Henry with an outside plancha that drove the strongman back-first into the rail. Rolling the injured Henry back inside, the former ECW champ connected with a top-rope splash, securing the three-count.
VS.
Tully Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillon) vs. Ricky Morton: There was no love lost between the two former NWA mainstays, nor were there any surprises in their respective wrestling arsenals. The first few minutes were a clinic in counter-wrestling, and despite several pin attempts, neither man was able to finish off the other. As the match wore on, Blanchard gradually took the upper hand with an aggressive scientific attack (and the occasional punch between the eyes), but couldn’t finish Morton off. This was his undoing, when Scott Hall sauntered slowly down the ramp, distracting the Texan, which gave Morton the three seconds he needed to roll up his foe for the win. Hall retreated with a smile on his face – but it was taken off by Intercontinental champion Bruiser Brody, who leveled him with a huge right hand, and declared, “Don’t think I forgot about you either!”
[60-second recap of AWA Throwdown, with highlights from every match; most notably, the Michael Elgin/Big Van Vader battle, the dominating debut of Kazuchika Okada, and the Great Muta’s successful AWA Television title defense versus Ricky Morton.]
Joey Styles: Before we get back to the ring to watch the AWA champ Daniel Bryan in action, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the UCW exchange draft taking place this weekend. While there have been no indications that the AWA Championship Committee has been talking to any of the UCW wrestlers directly, it is also no secret that the Committee also demands the very, very best out of its current roster in an ongoing effort to please you, the wrestling fan. So what can we expect over the next few days? I’m an outsider - I’m only speculating and going by what my sources tell me – but every wrestler should be considered on notice. Their track record, their recent record here in the AWA, their potential, and quite honestly, their political influence –those are all factors that I’m sure the Committee will take into consideration at the UCW draft.
VS.
[C]Daniel Bryan vs. Ethan Carter III: By rule, the champion is required to defend his title every 30 days; although Bryan could have waited to get in the ring until that time, he chose to get this match under his belt. Carter offered his hand to start the match, and followed that up with a kick to the mid-section to start the second hour. He pressed the advantage for as long as he could, and showed a tremendous amount of improvement since their NXT days. However, Bryan stormed back with a brutal array of kicks, and a series of jarring suplexes. Carter survived, and it see-sawed for a few additional minutes until Bryan landed a high knee to stun his opponent, then cinched in the LeBell Lock to earn the hard-won submission.
The Public Enemy vs. ??: During their introduction, Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock danced to the ring, and took the microphone from Hemme.
Rock: We are The Public Enemy! We fear no team in the AWA, we fear no team on this entire planet! Me and my partner, we’ve fought everybody everywhere, and we’ve beaten the best. When we signed our contracts, we were told that we’d have to prove ourselves. Imagine that! So whatever, let’s do this. We’re here to fight – we don’t care who, we don’t care how, but we want to do it right now!
A few seconds passed, and then Steve Williams and Terry Gordy ran to the ring in street clothes. The bell rang, and it was on. The referee let everything go – the Enemy issued an open challenge, and in the official’s mind, that meant street fight rules. The Miracle Violence Connection was relentless, mauling their opponents on the ramp, by the timekeeper’s table, in the first few rows of the audience (absolutely running over a fan in an MSD shirt), and even in the ring. To their credit, The Public Enemy fought back, but it only lasted as long as it did because Gordy and Williams wanted to fight. It mercifully ended when Williams power-slammed Grunge through a table in the corner, and pinned him.
VS.
[C]The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) vs. Ken Shamrock: The challenger Shamrock was jeered as he entered the ring; the crowd seemed to decide that Muta was easier to applaud. The UFC stalwart’s plan was to use his strength advantage to batter the Japanese champion, and Muta wanted Shamrock in close so he could chop and kick him down to the mat. It went to the ground often, and stayed there for long stretches, but Muta wasn’t out of his element at all. In fact, it frustrated Shamrock and led to his ultimately costly mistake. He pulled the champion up and tried a Frankensteiner, but Muta held the ropes, then bounded off them to land a devastating “Shining Wizard” kick on Shamrock. Without missing a beat, he went to the top rope and landed a moonsault for the victory. Hart raised his hand and held the title for him, end of show.
Josh Mathews: You’re welcome, Mr. Styles! Fans, you will also see the number one contender for the AWA Intercontinental championship, Tully Blanchard, meet an old and familiar foe in Ricky Morton. Also, Rick Martel goes one-on-one with Wade Barrett; the world’s strongest man, Mark Henry, battles the awesome Mike Awesome, and finally, you’ll see the debut of the AWA’s newest tag-team, the Public Enemy!
Joey Styles: Looks like Christy Hemme is ready to get tonight’s action started, so let’s go to the ring for the announcements now!
VS.
Wade Barrett (w/Layla) vs. Rick Martel: The Canadian former AWA champ Martel was well received in Winnipeg, certainly moreso than Barrett, and he took control of the match early, relying on his superior speed. Armdrags and dropkicks kept the British brawler down for a while, but he capitalized on a missed body-press and used elbows and kicks to rough Martel up. But the Quebecer would not stay down, and he reassumed control, forcing Barrett into a Boston crab. He submitted just before a charging Drew McIntyre could break the hold, and Martel rolled outside with the victory, grabbing a chair to discourage a two-on-one attack.
VS.
Mike Awesome (w/Gary Hart) vs. Mark Henry: Power vs. more power. The referee was extremely lenient in this match, allowing both men to brawl outside the ring to their hearts’ content. Hart even tried to introduce a table into their fight, but the ref drew the line there. Fists, slams, and throws were exchanged, but the match turned in Awesome’s favor when he hit Henry with an outside plancha that drove the strongman back-first into the rail. Rolling the injured Henry back inside, the former ECW champ connected with a top-rope splash, securing the three-count.
VS.
Tully Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillon) vs. Ricky Morton: There was no love lost between the two former NWA mainstays, nor were there any surprises in their respective wrestling arsenals. The first few minutes were a clinic in counter-wrestling, and despite several pin attempts, neither man was able to finish off the other. As the match wore on, Blanchard gradually took the upper hand with an aggressive scientific attack (and the occasional punch between the eyes), but couldn’t finish Morton off. This was his undoing, when Scott Hall sauntered slowly down the ramp, distracting the Texan, which gave Morton the three seconds he needed to roll up his foe for the win. Hall retreated with a smile on his face – but it was taken off by Intercontinental champion Bruiser Brody, who leveled him with a huge right hand, and declared, “Don’t think I forgot about you either!”
[60-second recap of AWA Throwdown, with highlights from every match; most notably, the Michael Elgin/Big Van Vader battle, the dominating debut of Kazuchika Okada, and the Great Muta’s successful AWA Television title defense versus Ricky Morton.]
Joey Styles: Before we get back to the ring to watch the AWA champ Daniel Bryan in action, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the UCW exchange draft taking place this weekend. While there have been no indications that the AWA Championship Committee has been talking to any of the UCW wrestlers directly, it is also no secret that the Committee also demands the very, very best out of its current roster in an ongoing effort to please you, the wrestling fan. So what can we expect over the next few days? I’m an outsider - I’m only speculating and going by what my sources tell me – but every wrestler should be considered on notice. Their track record, their recent record here in the AWA, their potential, and quite honestly, their political influence –those are all factors that I’m sure the Committee will take into consideration at the UCW draft.
VS.
[C]Daniel Bryan vs. Ethan Carter III: By rule, the champion is required to defend his title every 30 days; although Bryan could have waited to get in the ring until that time, he chose to get this match under his belt. Carter offered his hand to start the match, and followed that up with a kick to the mid-section to start the second hour. He pressed the advantage for as long as he could, and showed a tremendous amount of improvement since their NXT days. However, Bryan stormed back with a brutal array of kicks, and a series of jarring suplexes. Carter survived, and it see-sawed for a few additional minutes until Bryan landed a high knee to stun his opponent, then cinched in the LeBell Lock to earn the hard-won submission.
The Public Enemy vs. ??: During their introduction, Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock danced to the ring, and took the microphone from Hemme.
Rock: We are The Public Enemy! We fear no team in the AWA, we fear no team on this entire planet! Me and my partner, we’ve fought everybody everywhere, and we’ve beaten the best. When we signed our contracts, we were told that we’d have to prove ourselves. Imagine that! So whatever, let’s do this. We’re here to fight – we don’t care who, we don’t care how, but we want to do it right now!
A few seconds passed, and then Steve Williams and Terry Gordy ran to the ring in street clothes. The bell rang, and it was on. The referee let everything go – the Enemy issued an open challenge, and in the official’s mind, that meant street fight rules. The Miracle Violence Connection was relentless, mauling their opponents on the ramp, by the timekeeper’s table, in the first few rows of the audience (absolutely running over a fan in an MSD shirt), and even in the ring. To their credit, The Public Enemy fought back, but it only lasted as long as it did because Gordy and Williams wanted to fight. It mercifully ended when Williams power-slammed Grunge through a table in the corner, and pinned him.
VS.
[C]The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) vs. Ken Shamrock: The challenger Shamrock was jeered as he entered the ring; the crowd seemed to decide that Muta was easier to applaud. The UFC stalwart’s plan was to use his strength advantage to batter the Japanese champion, and Muta wanted Shamrock in close so he could chop and kick him down to the mat. It went to the ground often, and stayed there for long stretches, but Muta wasn’t out of his element at all. In fact, it frustrated Shamrock and led to his ultimately costly mistake. He pulled the champion up and tried a Frankensteiner, but Muta held the ropes, then bounded off them to land a devastating “Shining Wizard” kick on Shamrock. Without missing a beat, he went to the top rope and landed a moonsault for the victory. Hart raised his hand and held the title for him, end of show.