Post by fifthhorseman on Aug 13, 2016 0:05:41 GMT -5
Day two of the Universal Wrestling Federation Tournament of Champions – live from Dallas, Texas!
The opening match of the night – and of the UWF Mid-South Junior Heavyweight championship tournament – was a high-flying, technical affair, ending at 12:16 when Rich Swann defeated Mike Quackenbush with a standing 450 splash. This was a match where the man who hit the last big move would win, and after Swann squirmed free from Quackenbush’s QD II piledriver, he landed his finisher seconds after landing a hard enziguri kick.
Will Ospreay pinned Alex Shelley at 16:46 with a shooting star press to advance in the Junior Heavyweight bracket. The English newcomer and the American young vet put on a show-stealing match, but Ospreay had a little bit more stamina in an extremely fast-paced match, and won over a divided crowd by the end of the fall.
The three-man wrecking crew known as Demolition made relatively quick work of the Castoffs (Chris Harris, Marty Jannetty, and Jim Neidhart) with a middle-rope elbow at 7:49, in the first of three UWF World Trios championship tournament matches. That said, the Castoffs showed potential – all three being former World Tag champs in various organizations – but lacked the chemistry required to conquer such a dominant team so early on. For the record, Smash pinned Jannetty.
In the third Junior Heavyweight match of the night, Chris Sabin, representing the Motor City Timesplitters, pinned the Midnight Express’s Bobby Eaton at 11:50 with his “Cradle Shock” driver. This was the most grounded of the four tournament matches, but certainly far from disappointing. Eaton held the early advantage, but seemed to lose steam near the end, possibly attributable to the weight cut “Beautiful Bobby” made to get to the 225 pound weight limit.
Kyle O’Reilly submitted ACH with a cross-armbar at 9:25 in a battle of ROH alumni. They were very familiar with each other, and moves were countered, re-countered, and counter-countered. As the match wound down, ACH nearly finished off the Canadian member of reDRagon with a top-rope cross-body, but O’Reilly rolled through to cinch the arm, forcing his foe to tap.
Bob Backlund pinned Monty Brown at 13:42 with a hammerlock suplex , progressing in the UWF World Heavyweight championship tournament. Brown relied on his strength and explosiveness to gain the advantage early on, but Backlund’s underrated strength enabled him to battle back and eventually take the “lead” in the match that he never relinquished. He used a variety of suplexes on Brown before the ultimate three-count.
In another Trios qualifier, the Newer Age Outlaws (Jesse James, Billy Gunn, and Chuck Palumbo) defeated reDRagon at 15:57 when Gunn used the “Fameasser” legdrop on O’Reilly. The ongoing theme of the match was that both Quackenbush and O’Reilly had already wrestled in an earler match, while all three Outlaws were fresh and well-rested. Bobby Fish tried to carry the load for his team, and fared quite well, nearly submitting the Road Dogg midway through the match… but in the end, the NAO got the big win.
The final match (of the night) of the UWF World Trios tournament saw the Freebirds defeat the Midnight Express. This battle was as old-school as they came, and the legendary team of Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts were the fan favorites coming into it. Lane and Condrey cut the ring off expertly, keeping “Buddy Jack” in their corner throughout (while also trying to minimize Eaton’s time in the ring, due to his having wrestled earlier in the night). However, a hot tag to Hayes late in the contest turned the tide, and Gordy mashed Condrey with a big powerslam at 15:33.
The main event was a proverbial slobber-knocker. Two of the toughest, proudest, Texans in wrestling lore squared off in a brawl that lasted just over 25 minutes. Stan Hansen and Terry Funk respected the hell out of each other… and they also beat the hell of each other as well, taking the action outside the ring several times throughout the match; it should be noted that the referee was very lenient. In the end, though, Terry Funk pinned Stan Hansen in the middle of the ring after a DDT, moving on in the UWF World Heavyweight championship tournament.
The opening match of the night – and of the UWF Mid-South Junior Heavyweight championship tournament – was a high-flying, technical affair, ending at 12:16 when Rich Swann defeated Mike Quackenbush with a standing 450 splash. This was a match where the man who hit the last big move would win, and after Swann squirmed free from Quackenbush’s QD II piledriver, he landed his finisher seconds after landing a hard enziguri kick.
Will Ospreay pinned Alex Shelley at 16:46 with a shooting star press to advance in the Junior Heavyweight bracket. The English newcomer and the American young vet put on a show-stealing match, but Ospreay had a little bit more stamina in an extremely fast-paced match, and won over a divided crowd by the end of the fall.
The three-man wrecking crew known as Demolition made relatively quick work of the Castoffs (Chris Harris, Marty Jannetty, and Jim Neidhart) with a middle-rope elbow at 7:49, in the first of three UWF World Trios championship tournament matches. That said, the Castoffs showed potential – all three being former World Tag champs in various organizations – but lacked the chemistry required to conquer such a dominant team so early on. For the record, Smash pinned Jannetty.
In the third Junior Heavyweight match of the night, Chris Sabin, representing the Motor City Timesplitters, pinned the Midnight Express’s Bobby Eaton at 11:50 with his “Cradle Shock” driver. This was the most grounded of the four tournament matches, but certainly far from disappointing. Eaton held the early advantage, but seemed to lose steam near the end, possibly attributable to the weight cut “Beautiful Bobby” made to get to the 225 pound weight limit.
Kyle O’Reilly submitted ACH with a cross-armbar at 9:25 in a battle of ROH alumni. They were very familiar with each other, and moves were countered, re-countered, and counter-countered. As the match wound down, ACH nearly finished off the Canadian member of reDRagon with a top-rope cross-body, but O’Reilly rolled through to cinch the arm, forcing his foe to tap.
Bob Backlund pinned Monty Brown at 13:42 with a hammerlock suplex , progressing in the UWF World Heavyweight championship tournament. Brown relied on his strength and explosiveness to gain the advantage early on, but Backlund’s underrated strength enabled him to battle back and eventually take the “lead” in the match that he never relinquished. He used a variety of suplexes on Brown before the ultimate three-count.
In another Trios qualifier, the Newer Age Outlaws (Jesse James, Billy Gunn, and Chuck Palumbo) defeated reDRagon at 15:57 when Gunn used the “Fameasser” legdrop on O’Reilly. The ongoing theme of the match was that both Quackenbush and O’Reilly had already wrestled in an earler match, while all three Outlaws were fresh and well-rested. Bobby Fish tried to carry the load for his team, and fared quite well, nearly submitting the Road Dogg midway through the match… but in the end, the NAO got the big win.
The final match (of the night) of the UWF World Trios tournament saw the Freebirds defeat the Midnight Express. This battle was as old-school as they came, and the legendary team of Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts were the fan favorites coming into it. Lane and Condrey cut the ring off expertly, keeping “Buddy Jack” in their corner throughout (while also trying to minimize Eaton’s time in the ring, due to his having wrestled earlier in the night). However, a hot tag to Hayes late in the contest turned the tide, and Gordy mashed Condrey with a big powerslam at 15:33.
The main event was a proverbial slobber-knocker. Two of the toughest, proudest, Texans in wrestling lore squared off in a brawl that lasted just over 25 minutes. Stan Hansen and Terry Funk respected the hell out of each other… and they also beat the hell of each other as well, taking the action outside the ring several times throughout the match; it should be noted that the referee was very lenient. In the end, though, Terry Funk pinned Stan Hansen in the middle of the ring after a DDT, moving on in the UWF World Heavyweight championship tournament.