Post by fifthhorseman on May 20, 2017 22:59:07 GMT -5
UWF FRIDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT
EPISODE 26
EPISODE 26
Mauro Ranallo: Good evening, wrestling fans around the world – we are live from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi for UWF Friday Night’s Main Event! I’m Mauro Ranallo, joined tonight by Dalton Castle on commentary. We have four world-class matches in store for you tonight, headlined by UWF North American Heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel defending his title against Drew Galloway! You’ll also see the Junkyard Dog, who accepted last week’s challenge from the “Bulgarian Brute”, Rusev! In other one-on-one action, Ricky Steamboat clashes with Manny Fernandez… and leading things off is an elimination match between the Midnight Express and the Dudley Boyz! Let’s go down to Christy Hemme now.
ELIMINATION MATCH
THE DUDLEY BOYZ AND DROZ vs. the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette):
THE DUDLEY BOYZ AND DROZ vs. the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette):
vs.
“Another week, another partner,” Castle observed as the “newest” trio entered the ring first. The Express followed with their ever-excited manager. Hemme explained that to win, all three member of the opposing trio had to be defeated, and then the match was on in high-gear. It was the Dudleyz’ power versus the Midnights’ speed and chemistry, and to his credit, Droz blended in seamlessly. The ECW stalwarts took over and pounded on Condrey, but at the eight-minute mark, Eaton made the blind tag while Cornette smashed Droz in the back unseen with his loaded tennis racket. “Beautiful Bobby” flew from the top rope and hit his doubled-over foe with a legdrop, and pinned him a few seconds later.
Bully Ray entered the ring, furious… but he switched his focus from the Express to his dazed teammate. He screamed, “You let a freakin’ manager beat you?!”, before picking him up and throwing him into their corner. Their opponents stood back, confused but ready to fight, as D-Von came in and flung Droz into the ropes for the inevitable 3D. Disgusted, Bully Ray and D-Von left their now-former friend behind, and the referee counted both men out. The win, such as it was, went to the Midnight Express.
Eventually, the scene shifted backstage to the UWF World Trios champions, the Fabulous Freebirds. Michael Hayes did most of the talking for his side, bragging that if that was the type of competition they were going to see in the Crockett Cup, “they should just give us the trophy and we’ll find a nice spot for it down on Badstreet, U.S.A. But before we win that – and we will – I wanted to send a message to the Authority. You’re the new number one contenders for our gold. So, let’s get right to it then. Next week, the three of you and the three of us. Contenders come and go, but the Freebirds are forever, baby.”
COMMERCIAL
Before the next match began, Ranallo announced that another match had just been signed for the Crockett Cup – and this time, the champion couldn’t alter the time limit, like he did against Ricky Steamboat two weeks earlier. Barry Windham would defend his UWF Western States Heritage championship in a rare (for the UWF) fatal four-way match… against Jake “the Snake” Roberts, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, and Umaga!
MANNY FERNANDEZ (w/Gary Hart) vs. RICKY STEAMBOAT:
vs.
The crowd favorite Steamboat entered the ring first, followed by the bullrope-wearing “Raging Bull”. It was an old-school, mat-oriented match between two veterans of their craft, with liberal doses of outside “encouragement” from the master tactician Hart. “The Dragon” and Fernandez were no strangers to each other from their NWA days, and they laid into each other for a solid 13 minutes before the closing series of maneuvers. After trading a series of exhausting chops, Fernandez bounded off the ropes and hit Steamboat with a high cross-body – but his opponent rolled through and reversed it, keeping the angry Texan’s shoulders down for the three-count.
As Steamboat’s hand was raised, Fernandez bashed him from behind with his bullrope around his fist. He followed that up with cracking him in the forehead with the bell, then began choking him with the thick rope. However, the attack was broken up by a man that jumped the ring barricade, a man who had never been seen before in the UWF…
…Daniel Bryan! The crowd went berserk as Fernandez and Hart skulked off, while Bryan helped a bloodied Steamboat to his feet. The two men shook hands in the center of the ring and walked the ramp together, the audience still in a frenzy over the appearance of the former multi-time World champion.
COMMERCIAL
Ranallo and Castle set up the next video vignette, alongside UWF Commissioner Bill Watts, the man who was ultimately responsible for deciding the eight teams that received the first-round byes in the Crockett Cup tournament. Clips of each trio were shown, they were announced in alphabetical order:
America’s Least Wanted (Chris Harris, Marty Jannetty, Jim Neidhart – UWF)
The Authority (Randy Orton, Sean O’Haire, and Perry Saturn – UWF)
The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Davey Boy Smith Jr. – UWF)
The Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Adam Page – PCW)
The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes, and Buddy Roberts – UWF)
The Heenan Family (Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Big Van Vader – LU)
The Lions Den (Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman, Owen Hart – NWA)
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E Langston, and Xavier Woods – BCCW)
The JUNKYARD DOG vs. RUSEV (w/Lana and Eddie Gilbert):
vs.
Two of the newest – and largest – additions to the UWF roster stood nose-to-nose in the middle of the ring. The Mid-South icon had no fear in accepting the dare set forth by Hot Stuff International, and after a series of evenly-matched strength challenges, the Dog finally knocked down Rusev with a shoulder-tackle. He followed it with a headbutt, and his foe scrambled outside.
The break did Rusev good, and he quickly took back over on JYD with a series of hard kicks, punches, and throws, manhandling the 280-pounder with ease. So it went for a few more minutes, but the Junkyard Dog refused to back down. Eventually the two heavyweights began trading punches, and every blow took its toll. A final series of punches gave the Dog an opportunity to hoist Rusev up for his patented powerslam, but the “Brute” slid off his back and pinned him in such a manner that the referee did not see his massive bicep wrapped around JYD’s throat; he was practically unconscious by the time the official counted to three.
Before Rusev and his entourage could even vacate the ring, a live shot from backstage came on, with Triple H and Kenny Omega ganging up on the Mid-South Junior Heavyweight champion Danny Hodge. Both men obviously wanted to hurt Hodge before the Crockett Cup, but before they could injure him, the odds were evened by “the American Dream”. Dusty Rhodes repelled both heels long enough for Hodge to get to his feet, and all four men went at it for several moments before a horde of UWF officials could separate them.
COMMERCIAL
A quick hype video was shown contrasting the next two wrestlers, highlighting the champ’s title win at Superblast, and Galloway’s FNME victory over Terry Funk, followed by a tale of the tape. Ranallo then announced that not one, not two, but THREE matches were already signed for the final UWF Friday Night’s Main Event before the Crockett Cup: the Freebirds would defend the UWF World Trios championship against the Authority; Daniel Bryan would make his official UWF debut; and Junior Heavyweight kingpin Danny Hodge, along with Dusty Rhodes, would take on Kenny Omega and Triple H in a “Texas Tornado” tag-team match!
UWF NORTH AMERICAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
NICK BOCKWINKEL (c) vs. DREW GALLOWAY:
NICK BOCKWINKEL (c) vs. DREW GALLOWAY:
vs.
The challenger walked down the ramp first, per custom. When both men were in the squared circle, Hemme made the big-match intros; neither wrestler was lacking in confidence. It started slowly, with the big Scot demonstrating his superior strength advantage, tossing Bockwinkel around like a rag doll. The champion was frustrated, but with unmatched experience, he re-entered the ring with a new plan in mind.
And it began with a poke to the eye. Bockwinkel then focused on Galloway’s left knee with every offensive trick in his bag; leglocks, kneedrops, running it into the post… everything he could muster. After several long minutes, he positioned the “Chosen One” in the middle of the ring and applied a perfect figure-four leglock. Galloway writhed in pain, but he did not submit. With extreme effort, he turned it over, reversing the pressure so that Bockwinkel was now crying out. He dragged himself – with Galloway – to the ropes, but the referee could not untangle their legs – and with a sudden jolt, both men were on the floor.
The two men threw punches at each other even while lying on the floor as the referee began his count. He got to four, and the challenger staggered to his feet. As the count continued, he began to slide under the bottom rope, but “the Smartest Man in the Room” – also with damaged wheels – yanked him back out by his injured leg and trapped it in the ring apron, a la Fit Finlay. Thus, the Scotsman was painfully stuck, as Bockwinkel gingerly rolled into the ring at the count of eight. By the skin of his teeth, 19 minutes from the opening bell, the UWF North American champion used the ropes to pull himself up and take the count-out victory. As referee Tommy Young scurried outside to untangle Galloway, the show ended with Bockwinkel standing on the middle rope, declaring himself the best wrestler in the world.