Post by fifthhorseman on Oct 5, 2014 23:18:38 GMT -5
Joey Styles: We are live from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta – hello wrestling fans, my name is Joey Styles, and thank you for ordering the latest and greatest AWA pay-per-view, the Million Dollar Match! That’s right – tonight’s main event features 30 wrestlers, one briefcase, and one million dollars! But that’s not all – AWA Heavyweight champion Big Van Vader defends his title against the former champ, Daniel Bryan!
Michael Hayes: But that’s not all, not by a long shot! I’m Michael Hayes, and you’ll also see AWA Intercontinental champion Scott Hall putting his gold on the line against the Monarchy’s muscle, Wade Barrett! In tag competition, Badd Company takes on the Midnight Express! The Motor City Machine Guns take on the Young Bucks! And in TVX singles action, James Gibson battles Mistico!
Joey Styles: Enough jibber-jabber! Let’s get down to the ring, where the lovely Christy Hemme is standing by to introduce tonight’s first match – so what the hell are we waiting for?
vs.
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. the Young Bucks:
Brodus Clay, the Bucks’ bodyguard, was barred from ringside due to his interfering actions a couple of weeks earlier. This was the perfect match to start the show – perfect, that is, if you’re not following it. The Jacksons, Sabin, and Shelley moved around the ring like greased lightning. To be expected, it was also a superkick-fest, but all four men throwing their best versions, and double-team versions of the big kick. The pace was so fast that neither team really could maintain an advantage for more than a couple of minutes, and the ending came out of nowhere – with Matt Jackson pinning Alex Shelley, clean, with a small package in the middle of the ring.
/ vs.
AWA INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Wade Barrett (w/Layla) vs. Scott Hall [C]:
The challenger, led by his gorgeous valet Layla, entered the ring first, and he was a confident man. But so was the man he was facing, the AWA Intercontinental champion Scott Hall. Big-fight intros by Hemme, and the two backed into their corners, waiting for the bell – and when it rang, it began as a cautious, defensive bout. They locked up collar-and-elbow multiple times, then went to the classic knuckle-lock a couple of times, and Hall used his superior strength to steal the advantage. Punches and kicks put Barrett in the corner, and the champ bulldogged him out for a two-count.
Layla screamed at the ref, and when he turned to her, Barrett pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his trunks (courtesy of William Regal?) and cracked Hall in the forehead, splitting him open almost immediately. He went for the pin immediately, but Hall kicked out at two. Now it was the challenger’s turn to exert his will, and Barrett brawled ferociously, using powerful punches, elbows, and other roughhousing tactics to keep Hall down.
Despite the loss of blood, Hall rallied often. In fact, he fired Barrett into the turnbuckle, head-first, late in the match, carving the Brit up as well. It was gruesome, and the two men slugged it out in the center of the ring – right up until the 20-minute mark, when the match ended. As with their earlier match, this one went to a time-limit draw.
/ vs. /
Badd Company (w/Kimberly Page) vs. the Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette):
While the Bucks/Guns match was wrestled at a frenetic, hard pace, this contest between two very equally matched teams was one big build. These were four experienced, smooth tacticians, and it was more of a Souther-styled match, with Eaton and Lane controlling the tempo, either with double-team moves or by bailing out when Tanaka and Diamond took over. After a good dozen minutes of pure wrestling action, Eaton and Lane took advantage of a Cornette tennis racket shot on Diamond to hit the “Veg-O-Matic” legsweep/clothesline combo for the win.
After the match, the Express took the racket to Tanaka as well, prompting Diamond Dallas Page to charge the ring. But before he could scare them off, Paul Orndorff hit the ring as well, clobbering DDP from behind. The three men attacked Page ferociously, and Cornette lifted “Mr. Wonderful’s” hand in mock victory as they walked back to the dressing room.
/ vs.
James Gibson (w/Nidia) vs. Mistico:
Back to TVX division action, and this bout featured quite the contrast in styles. The West Virginian wanted to keep it on the ground, where he could wear down his lanky opponent, and whenever he was on offense, he tried to employ various submission holds. The Mexican high-flyer, on the other hand, used just about every aerial and acrobatic move in his arsenal. The one thing they did have in common, however, was the willingness to take it outside the ring, and the ref let them. It was a crisp ten minutes, and it ended with Mistico hitting his signature “La Mistica”, scoring the submission win.
vs. /
AWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Van Vader [C](w/Gary Hart):
The challenger came out to a tremendous ovation, easily the loudest of the night thus far. Vader’s entrance was far less positive, and he fed on it, as he stomped to the ring. Hemme made the big-fight introductions, and after one last conference between Hart and Vader, the AWA Heavyweight championship match was underway.
Vader was wary of a quick-strike attack, remembering past matches, and he kept his guard up in trying to corner the much smaller man. Bryan evaded him for a while, throwing low kicks, but the mastodon parried every high kick – and eventually caught him. Massive forearms rocked Bryan in the corner, and he stayed up only because Vader kept him up. But the “American Dragon” escaped with, of all things, a headbutt to Vader’s nose.
The next few minutes were a back-and-forth, with Vader mauling his opponent with punches, forearms, and shoulder-tackles, and Bryan breaking through with some high kicks. The damage was accruing on Bryan; Vader was still fresh, and relatively unscathed. But a missed avalanche splash gave Bryan some breathing room, and he went to work immediately on Vader’s left shoulder. More kicks, and he dropped down on it and wrenched it hard… but Vader eventually threw him away.
It went another 15 minutes. The pace of the contest began to favor Bryan in terms of conditioning, but the champion was far from gassed. Vader went for the home run, but Bryan kicked out of every pin attempt, even a “Vader Bomb” from the second turnbuckle. Finally, at the 25 minute mark, Bryan caught him in the LeBell Lock, clamping onto that targeted left arm. The mastodon bellowed in pain, but he struggled off the mat – with Bryan still applying the hold – and hit a modified Samoan drop for a long two-count. But Bryan still maintained the hold, and Vader cried out again. However, just like before, Vader got up a second time, and went for the slam again.
But Bryan loosened his grip, and came down with Vader’s head tucked deep into his shoulder. He was tied up in Bryan’s limbs, just long enough for the referee to count to one, and two, and three.
Before Hemme could even make the announcement that Daniel Bryan was the new AWA Heavyweight champion, Vader rolled to his feet and clotheslined Bryan from behind. The loser was furious, and his manager made no attempt to settle him down. He picked Bryan up and dropped him back down with a vicious – albeit not fully elevated, due to his arm injury – powerbomb. Big Van Vader paced around the ring like a caged animal, and he pointed down at the groggy winner. Slowly, he paced over to pick him up for a second powerbomb…
And then Hulk Hogan (circa 1987) ran into the ring to save Bryan! He repelled Vader with big right hands, and the behemoth fled the ring – followed by Hogan. The monster and the All-American hero brawled all the way to the back, as Bryan finally, eventually got to his feet, and was presented the AWA championship for the second time in his career.
vs. /
Rick Martel vs. Barry Windham (w/JJ Dillon):
This was a grudge match, plain and simple. The HoRseman entered the ring first, led by his arrogant manager. Martel sprinted to the ring and tackled Windham, and the battle was on. He fired away with a series of fists, and after launching Windham into the ropes, sent him halfway across the mat with a back-bodydrop; the Texan slid underneath the bottom rope to escape.
But the Canadian chased him outside, and continued to pound away on Windham – until the HoRseman Irish-whipped Martel head-first into the ringpost. Martel was cut open immediately, and Windham pounced on him, locking on an iron claw to his semi-conscious foe. He refused to relinquish the hold despite numerous warnings from the official, who called the match a double-countout. Barely five minutes of bell-to-bell action, but intense action nonetheless.
Christy Hemme went over the rules of the main event. Simply put, it starts out at a Royal Rumble match, where wrestlers enter the ring at two-minute intervals. Fought under battle royale rules, wrestlers are eliminated if they are thrown over the top and both feet hit the floor. When the last man, at number 30, enters the ring, whoever is left in the ring can catch their breath for 60 seconds, during which time tables, ladders, and chairs will be placed around the ring and ramp. After that break, it becomes a TLC match – for one million dollars.
And then the first two men came down to the ring to start it all off…
1: Charlie Haas
2: Paul Orndorff
It was the Seton Hall standout versus the newest member of Camp Cornette. Neither man was particularly cheered, but Orndorff was loathed by the Calgary crowd.
3: Brian Pillman
PIllman’s entrance brought the crowd to their feet; the “local boy” by way of Stampede Wrestling went after both men, and held his own for the entire two minutes despite the best efforts of the two heels.
4: Magnum T.A.
Another roar from the crowd for one of the AWA’s most popular competitors; he went after Orndorff, while Haas and Pillman squared off. The action was fast, but no one went over and out…
5: Umaga
Until the “Samoan Bulldozer” hit the ring. He knocked everybody down with huge clotheslines and shoulder-tackles. Surveying the wreckage, he picked up Haas and tossed him over the top rope, and the remaining three decided that ganging up on Umaga was the best way to survive.
6: Mike Awesome
The extreme gladiator didn’t mind tackling Umaga man-to-man; he went straight at him, and the other three fell back and battled each other. However, after about 90 seconds, the two big men came to a sort of truce and began stalking the other three.
7: Mike Rotunda
It seemed like a four-on-two brawl, except the two were more than holding their own. There were several near-eliminations, but there were still six men standing for the next entrant.
8: Adam Rose
As the Rosebuds escorted their leader to the ring, Awesome press-slammed Pillman to the outside… but the entourage caught him, and helped him back in the ring! Caught unawares, Awesome was eliminated by Rose and Pillman.
9: Michael Elgin
“Unbreakable” was next, and he wanted to challenge Umaga mano-a-mano. The two traded heavy blows in the center of the ring as the others swirled around them; Orndorff made short work of Rose, chucking him well over the top rope.
10: Harley Race
The living legend strode down to the ring carefully, surveying the action ahead of him. He targeted Magnum, who had survived a tough 14 minutes. In the meantime, Umaga disposed of Rotunda.
11: A.J. Styles
The pace picked up when the AWA TVX champion rushed the ring. He and Pillman, in particular, seemed to want to one-up the other by taking incredible risks from the top rope; Magnum ducked an Orndorff charge, eliminating the furious “Mr. Wonderful”.
12: Nigel McGuinness
The brash Brit walked down to the ring slowly – extremely slowly – and waited until there were less than five seconds in his allotted entrance time to slide in. As if he had a plan…
13: William Regal
The other member of the Monarchy participating in the M$M raced down to the ring and attacked Pillman with McGuinness, seeking revenge on earlier slights. Despite his best efforts, the “Loose Cannon” was thrown out by the two Englanders.
14: Edge
A veteran of both Rumbles and TLC matches, the leader of the HoRsemen was considered an early favorite, and he led the charge against Umaga – he, Elgin, Styles, and Race finally toppled the 350-pounder out.
15: Stevie Ray
The powerhouse from Harlem Heat scattered the pack when he entered the ring, but he was swarmed soon after. Nonetheless, he fought them all off again, and got rid of McGuinness in the process (aided by Styles).
16: Robert Roode
The second half of the “Rumble” portion began with another HoRseman, and he and Edge worked together to double-team other participants in the match, taking out Stevie Ray early, and then they went to work on Elgin.
17: Kazuchika Okada
Okada sprinted to the ring, and he sought out the TVX champ. While he and Styles battled all over the ring, Harley Race took advantage of the mauling the HoRsemen inflicted on Elgin, and eliminated him from the bout.
18: Steve Williams
The Doctor was in… a bad mood. He charged down the ramp at full speed, and hit the ring like a man possessed. He fought with everybody, and the crowd loved every second of it.
19: Booker T
He knew his brother wasn’t there to watch his back, but he walked down to the ring with extreme confidence. The former WCW World champ meant business, and he proved it by going right after Wiilliams; they only stopped fighting each other to fight Edge and Roode.
20: Davey Boy Smith
The British powerhouse was next, and all of the sudden there was a lot of muscle in the ring… and that meant that people were getting eliminated. Williams press-slammed Okada out of the ring, and seconds later, Smith eliminated Race the same way.
21: Dynamite Kid
The Bulldogs were united, and ganged up on Williams, their most immediate threat. On the other side if the ring, Edge and Roode eliminated Magnum T.A., who had survived for over 30 minutes to this point.
22: Terry Gordy
With “Dr. Death” on the verge of elimination, “Bamm Bamm” saved him and the two went on the offense against the Bulldogs. It quickly turned into a six-man brawl, when the HoRsemen got involved… a bad decision on their part, as Roode was ejected over the top rope by the Miracle Violence Connection.
23: Adrian Neville
The man that gravity forgot vaulted over the top rope and went after fellow Englander Regal, but got taken down. As the other men fought around them, Regal lifted Neville up by the hair to dispose of him – but was dropkicked out by his opponent instead.
24: Diamond Dallas Page
DDP jogged to the ring, surveying the multi-man brawl before entering. Then, he did what he does best – he unleashed a flurry of Diamond Cutters on everybody, felling most of the men in the ring before the next bell rang.
25: Hulk Hogan
The crowd exploded as Hogan sauntered down the ramp, pointing at Page amidst the fallen M$M competitors. Unfortunately, before he could even reach the ring, he was attacked from behind by Big Van Vader! The two men brawled back up the ramp, backstage, and even into the parking lot, and Hogan was eliminated via countout.
26: James Storm
The “Cowboy” bolted into the ring, barely avoiding Smith, who was thrown over the top rope by Page and Booker T. With remarkable quickness, Storm slid under the bottom rope and superkicked the off-balance Booker out of the ring as well. Then, he and Edge gang-tackled Smith and eliminated him as well!
27: Bam Bam Bigelow
Bigelow looked to his former ally in the Jersey Triad, Diamond Dallas Page, and they went after the Miracle Violence Connection. Close to 1,200 pounds collided in the middle of the ring, and the other competitors found a reason not to occupy that space. The Calgary crowd ate it up, but in the midst of all that fury, Page and Gordy wound up throwing each other out.
28: Yoshihiro Tajiri
The “Japanese Buzzsaw” lived up to his nickname, unleashing vicious kicks to everybody that got within six feet of him. He then set his sights on Styles, who was still hanging tough after over 30 minutes of ring time; Tajiri wanted to prove that he was at least the equal of the TVX champion. While they fought, “Dr. Death” was upended and outed by the Dynamite Kid.
29: Shelton Benjamin
The third and final member of the Varsity Team entered the ring by springing over the top rope, clotheslining Tajiri down. Every man knew that they had just a couple of minutes left before the briefcase was up for grabs, and incredibly, each man went not on the defensive, but the offensive. It was chaotic, and there were countless near-eliminations, but two more men did fall before the last man entered: Bigelow threw Tajiri out, and Styles was finally eliminated by Benjamin.
30: Verne Gagne
The AWA legend jogged to the ring; he didn’t stall, or wait to see if anyone else would be thrown out before he got in to make the TLC component official. And by the time he got to the ring… no one else was. Therefore, going into the break to set up, there were seven men left. Seven men, one of whom would win a million dollars.
Verne Gagne, Shelton Benjamin, Bam Bam Bigelow, James Storm, Adrian Neville, the Dynamite Kid, and Edge.
The referee signalled for the bell, and it was on. Some were more tired than others, some were downright exhausted, and men like Gagne and Benjamin were relatively unscathed. Joey Styles and Michael Hayes both tried to put down odds, so to speak, on the remaining men, but it was really was a cointoss.
The action was non-stop, the falls were brutal, and the collisions were intense. Aerialists like Neville and Dynamite were human highlight reels, while Bigelow played the “big man” role to perfection. The experienced Edge, along with his ally Storm, tried to double-team their way to victory; both men wanted it bad, but both were also loyal HoRsemen, which meant all for one and one for all. Benjamin was also used to scrambles like this, and he was as innovative as ever. Gagne was experienced, period, and he quickly adapted to the situation, and came close to grabbing the briefcase a few times. But in the end, after another ten grueling minutes, only one man could claim the case containing one million dollars.
And that man was the Dynamite Kid.
He repelled both Edge and Benjamin from the top of a gigantic ladder, sending them crashing outside through multiple tables. The Englander pulled the case down, and stood triumphantly atop the ladder. As the other warriors slowly made their way to the back, Lance Russell entered the ring to interview the winner, and Dynamite wasted little time getting to his point.
“I just beat 29 other men to claim this case, and it contains one million dollars. A million dollars! And I’m feeling pretty good about it right now, but here’s the thing. Daniel Bryan. I was better than those 29 others, and I’m better than you… and I’m willing to put up this briefcase against your AWA Heavyweight championship. What do you say?”