Post by fifthhorseman on Sept 24, 2016 1:23:48 GMT -5
UWF FRIDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 3
Tony Schiavone: Good evening, fans, we are live in the Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico – and this is UWF Friday Night’s Main Event! We are standing room only tonight, and for good reason – UWF World Heavyweight champion Bret “the Hitman” Hart defends his title in our main event! You’ll also see the debut of the high-flying TJ Perkins in a three-way dance with Rich Swann and Kushida! Professor, what else is on the card tonight?
Mike Tenay: Thanks, Tony – we have another man making his UWF debut tonight, the legendary Danny Hodge, in Junior Heavyweight action against Will Ospreay! Last but certainly not least, the reborn reDRagon takes on the Fabulous Freebirds! And who knows what else will happen! So let’s get to the ring, and get the festivities underway!
KUSHIDA (w/Alex Shelley) vs. TJ PERKINS vs. RICH SWANN:
Some of the action took place on the mat – video replay would confirm that. Still, for the 20+ minutes the match lasted, you would think the three men could fly. The double-team maneuvers were unique, and equal-opportunity: no one man had an advantage that lasted longer than a minute or so, and the referee was very generous with letting the outside action go.
12 minutes in, stereo 450 splashes by Kushida and Perkins took Swann out of the game. After that, it got even faster. Two of the best light-heavies in the world, combining speed and technical acumen, traded two-counts for the next ten minutes until Perkins dodged a 630 senton and hit his “Detonation Kick” to finish off the Timesplitter.
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, Kevin Kelly interviewed the Castoffs (footage from their match against UWF World Trios champs Demolition was shown beforehand). Neidhart, Harris, and Jannetty took equal turns speaking, each making their case that they were a force to be reckoned with. Just as they were about to walk off, Jim Cornette walked into the shot, and let them know in no uncertain terms that they were the warm-up act to the warm-up act, and that they may as well invest in sunglasses for all the time they were going to spend staring up at the lights.
THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS vs. REdrAGON:
vs.
It was a very pro-Freebird crowd; reDragon was greeted with considerably less enthusiasm. Curiously, Eddie Gilbert and Chris Candido joined Schaivone and Tenay on commentary, leading to speculation that “Hot Stuff International” was on a recruiting visit. Two men do not a company make.
The Freebirds dominated early, thanks to the heater, and former UWF World champion, Terry Gordy. “Bamm Bamm” worked over all three foes, and nearly finished it himself. The middle stages of the match belonged to the ROH stalwarts, though, with newcomer Chris Hero isolating Michael Hayes in the middle of the ring. Knees and elbows battered “P.S”, but he was tough, and he finally made the hot tag to Buddy Roberts. “Buddy Jack” cleared house, and two furious minutes later, Gordy connected with a crushing piledriver on O’Reilly for the pin.
COMMERCIAL
Cold open coming out of the break: a 60-second video package for “Dr. Death”, Steve Williams… debuting on UWF Friday Night’s Main Event, next week.
Another 60-second video package, with last week’s highlights: the two title matches (Swagger/Gunn and Demolition/Castoffs); the Rhodes/Fernandez collision, Jack Gallagher’s debut, and Terry Funk’s solid win over Chris Sabin.
DANNY HODGE vs. WILL OSPREAY:
Hodge got the hometown ovation, even from the New Mexico crowd. Ospreay played the heel role to perfection, but he still drew cheers because he was so damn skilled.
This was an interesting clash of styles: the old-school, amateur base of the Olympian versus the hybrid technical/aerial work of the Englishman. It was also, perhaps surprisingly, a very snug battle; the forearms, cross-faces, and throws were crisp and stiff, and Ospreay fought through a bloody gash over his eye to take it to Hodge. However, a frenetic 13-minute bout ended when the former Golden Glover finished it with a single right cross to the jaw.
After the stoic Hodge celebrated and left the ring, Kelly came to the ring to interview Manny Fernandez, who insisted that he was the rightful UWF North American champion.. and if that meant taking out competition like Dusty Rhodes, then so be it. That drew out “the American Dream” himself, his arm still in a sling after an earlier attack by Fernandez. As he made his way down the ramp, the “Raging Bull” left the ring to confront him… but he was intercepted by yet another of Rhodes’ former teammates, Dick Murdoch! The two went nose to nose, and
COMMERCIAL
Schiavone announced that the UWF booking committee acted at record speed, and next week, Dick Murdoch would battle Manny Fernandez in a lumberjack match!
BRET HART (C) vs. BRUTUS MAGNUS:
As the challenger made his way to the ring, a video vignette was shown, with Magnus revealing that part of the contract negotiations that got him into the UWF involved an automatic World title shot… and in his debut, no less.
The “Excellence of Execution” entered the ring last, to a raucous ovation. Magnus attacked him before the bell rang, and it was on. Hart fought back, though, and quickly took charge. Armdrags, back bodydrops, and crisp right hands had the Brit on his back. Hart slowed the pace, and tried to wear Magnus down… but he was too well-conditioned to stay down, and the former TNA World champ battled back, throwing “the Hitman” outside.
Again, the referee gave them plenty of leeway, and when it went back inside, Magnus kept control. However, a simple reversed Irish whip let the UWF champion take control, and he did, with clotheslines, leg sweeps, and elbow-drops. Fending off a brief flurry of offense from the challenger, Hart locked in his “Sharpshooter”, and after several long seconds, Magnus tapped out. As the show ended, Hart held his championship belt high overhead.