Post by fifthhorseman on Oct 13, 2016 21:38:44 GMT -5
UWF FRIDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT
EPISODE 4
EPISODE 4
Tony Schiavone: It’s Friday night, and it’s time for 90 or so minutes of the greatest wrestling action in the country! THIS is UWF’s Friday Night’s Main Event! We have four scheduled matches on tap tonight - right here in San Antonio, Texas, at the AT&T Center - including a four-way elimination Trios match to determine the number one contender for Demolition’s titles! You’ll see the Fabulous Freebirds, the Motor City Timesplitters, the Midnight Express, and the Newer Age Outlaws duke it out, but that’s not all, right, Mike?
Mike Tenay: Absolutely not! “The Iceman”, Dean Malenko, battles “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher in the Junior Heavyweight division. Dick Murdoch and Manny Fernandez are sure to brawl it out in a lumberjack match, and in our opening night of the match, “Doctor Death” Steve Williams makes his debut against UWF North American heavyweight champion Jack Swagger in non-title action… and it looks like that match is right now!
JACK SWAGGER (c) vs. STEVE WILLIAMS:
When it was announced that “Dr. Death” had signed a UWF contract, Swagger was eager to meet him in the ring: both men were dual-sport athletes at the University of Oklahoma, and All-American superheavyweights to boot. Though there was no pre-match handshake, it was obvious that there was mutual respect.
It was a 20-minute war. For the first couple of minutes, the two sought to outmuscle each other; when Williams began to take charge, Swagger switched gears and began using a variety of amateur holds and throws that “Dr. Death” was quick to match back up with. Professional pride took over in both, and they seemed determined to literally out-wrestle each other.
After a few minutes of that, the rest of a match was pure smashmouth. Cleanly fought, but hard-hitting and rugged. Shoulder-tackles, suplexes, and big right hands connected in flurries, but in the end, Williams won the match with his patented “Doctor Bomb”. Afterwards, the two took turns lifting the other man’s hand overhead, and the two left, Williams first, followed by the still-champion.
COMMERCIAL
Kevin Kelly interviewed UWF World champion Bret Hart from one of the suites at the AT&T Center to discuss the match he just saw, and “the Hitman”, needless to say, was impressed. Noting that later on in the night that a new top contender for the UWF World Trios title would be decided, Hart finished the interview by saying, “I expect Commissioner Watts will be announcing something very soon when it comes to me and my UWF World Heavyweight championship, too.”
JACK GALLAGHER vs. DEAN MALENKO:
Quite the contrast from the opener, but entertaining in its own right. Malenko took charge early by jumping his opponent before the bell, and laid in kicks and chops before grounding him with a headlock-bodyscissors combination. However, Gallagher escaped and utilized his own brand of submission-based stretches, aggravating Malenko and delighting the Texas crowd.
But a missed dropkick turned the tide. “The Man of 1,000 Holds” was even more aggressive than usual, and ended the bout with the “Texas Cloverleaf” leglock submission. After the match, he called out Danny Hodge, challenging him to a match anywhere, anytime.
Though Hodge didn’t appear (he was at a live event halfway across the country, as Malenko well knew), Mid-South Junior Heavyweight champion Roderick Strong did. With Kevin Kelly at his side, he declared that he was a fighting champion, and he was ready to start defending his championship against any man in the division.
COMMERCIAL
As the lumberjacks made their way to the ring, a video package aired, focusing on Manny Fernandez’s crazed quest for the North American title, that eventually led him into a confrontation with one-time tag partner Dusty Rhodes, which resulted in Rhodes’ shoulder injury, and the surprise appearance of another former partner, Dick Murdoch.
MANNY FERNANDEZ vs. DICK MURDOCH:
Rhodes joined the commentary team ringside, assuring them that he’d be back in action within days. Murdoch entered the ring first. Fernandez sprinted down the ramp next, sliding into the ring… and then right past his foe, out the far side of the ring, past the still-getting-settled lumberjacks, and straight towards Rhodes! The two briefly traded right hands until the lumberjacks launched Fernandez back into the ring.
Murdoch was waiting. He floored the “Raging Bull” with a big clothesline, then kept up the attack with heavy lefts and rights. There was little science in this match, and when Fernandez finally rallied, it was punches, kicks, eye-gouges, and every other dirty trick in the book that got him over despite the referee’s best efforts. Several two-counts later, “Captain Redneck” turned the tide, and it spilled outside, where the lumberjacks wound up brawling with each other. It was chaotic, and after the two primary combatants got inside, Fernandez stole the win with a roll-up and a handful of tights.
As everyone found their way to the back, a video package aired with highlights from last week’s show: the debuts of Hodge and TJ Perkins; the Freebirds’ victory over reDRagon; the successful UWF World championship defense by Bret Hart; also, the declaration from Commissioner Bill Watts that there would be a permanent roster cap of 50 wrestlers was shown to the crowd.
COMMERCIAL
THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS vs. THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette) vs. THE MOTOR CITY TIMESPLITTERS vs. THE NEWER AGE OUTLAWS:
vs.
vs.
vs.
Before the match began, Hot Stuff International (Eddie Gilbert, Chris Candido, and Missy Hyatt) set up chairs upstage, near the ramp, again scouting for their “corporation”. As the trios made their way to the ring, HSI conversed, while ring announcer Christy Hemme explained that this was an elimination-style contest: when any member of the trio was pinned, submitted, counted out, or disqualified, the whole team was eliminated. As the Express entered the ring, Cornette’s disparaging comments about the Castoffs were replayed.
The tags were fast and furious, and the action was intense. Every man had, at one moment or another, his individual chance to shine; whether it was the flawless speed displayed by every member of the Timesplitters, or Bobby Eaton’s underrated polish, or Terry Gordy’s uncanny blend of power and agility, or Chuck Palumbo’s efforts to match “Bamm Bamm” move for move.
Any attempt to describe the action in a 12-man tag match would be futile, so here is what happened first. Perhaps to the Castoffs’ delight, the Midnight Express was the first trio eliminated, when the “Road Dogg” pinned Dennis Condrey 11 minutes in with a pumphandle slam.
Eight minutes later, Kushida, and the rest of the Timesplitters, were taken out of action via a Michael Hayes/Buddy Roberts double DDT.
Ten hard-fought minutes later, the match ended, albeit with some confusion and controversy. All six men – Freebirds and Outlaws – were brawling in and around the ring. The referee, as per usual in the UWF, decided to let a lot go. Billy Gunn was duking it out with Gordy in the center of the ring, doubling him over with a kick to the midsection, and he set up for his “Fameasser” legdrop… when a loud and familiar song blasted over the arena speakers…
“The Game”, by Motorhead.
Gunn turned toward the ramp, expecting to see a familiar ally. A few seconds elapsed, and no one appeared. Recovering quickly, Gordy blasted Gunn with a clothesline to the back of the head, then crushed him with a wicked piledriver. Three more seconds elapsed, and the referee had finished his count. The Fabulous Freebirds was victorious, the Newer Age Outlaws were confused, and Schaivone and Tenay tried to make sense of the whole thing as the show faded to black.
The tags were fast and furious, and the action was intense. Every man had, at one moment or another, his individual chance to shine; whether it was the flawless speed displayed by every member of the Timesplitters, or Bobby Eaton’s underrated polish, or Terry Gordy’s uncanny blend of power and agility, or Chuck Palumbo’s efforts to match “Bamm Bamm” move for move.
Any attempt to describe the action in a 12-man tag match would be futile, so here is what happened first. Perhaps to the Castoffs’ delight, the Midnight Express was the first trio eliminated, when the “Road Dogg” pinned Dennis Condrey 11 minutes in with a pumphandle slam.
Eight minutes later, Kushida, and the rest of the Timesplitters, were taken out of action via a Michael Hayes/Buddy Roberts double DDT.
Ten hard-fought minutes later, the match ended, albeit with some confusion and controversy. All six men – Freebirds and Outlaws – were brawling in and around the ring. The referee, as per usual in the UWF, decided to let a lot go. Billy Gunn was duking it out with Gordy in the center of the ring, doubling him over with a kick to the midsection, and he set up for his “Fameasser” legdrop… when a loud and familiar song blasted over the arena speakers…
“The Game”, by Motorhead.
Gunn turned toward the ramp, expecting to see a familiar ally. A few seconds elapsed, and no one appeared. Recovering quickly, Gordy blasted Gunn with a clothesline to the back of the head, then crushed him with a wicked piledriver. Three more seconds elapsed, and the referee had finished his count. The Fabulous Freebirds was victorious, the Newer Age Outlaws were confused, and Schaivone and Tenay tried to make sense of the whole thing as the show faded to black.