Post by fifthhorseman on Jun 23, 2017 0:55:17 GMT -5
CROCKETT CUP – SATURDAY, NIGHT 2
AT&T STADIUM – ARLINGTON, TEXAS
AT&T STADIUM – ARLINGTON, TEXAS
DARK MATCH
DANIEL BRYAN vs. RICKY STEAMBOAT:
DANIEL BRYAN vs. RICKY STEAMBOAT:
vs.
There was no rivalry, no blood feud, no score to settle here – in fact, far from it. This was simply two competitors who had a ton of respect for each other, who wanted to participate on a UWF supercard and show the rabid crowd at AT&T Stadium what a clean wrestling match looked like.
Not a single punch was thrown. Chops, of course, and kicks, but these two superb grapplers kept it clean for the entire match. It was a chain-wrestling clinic, and was as closely and evenly contested as one could imagine. Near the end of the match, Steamboat locked in a double-chickenwing submission than Bryan fought his way out of; a couple of minutes later, the tide was turned with a Yes Lock. But “the Dragon” escaped that as well, and at the end of 20 minutes, the match was declared a draw. The two men shook hands in the middle of the ring before leaving, together, to a standing ovation.
Mauro Ranallo: It’s Saturday night, the second night of the 2017 UWF Crockett Cup! We have nine incredible matches in store for you tonight, and to help me call the action, I am joined by Dusty Rhodes and Dalton Castle. The second round of the tournament begins in just a few moments, and this will be our first opportunity to see the teams that were seeded in advance. But as exciting as those matches will be, I daresay that tonight will feature the single greatest contest in UWF history. Our main event is title versus title, champion versus champion… MUW World champion Brock Lesnar and UWF Heavyweight champion Bret Hart. Enough said. So let’s get to the ring where Christy Hemme is standing by!
THE AUTHORITY vs. TEAM EXTREME:
vs.
The brand-new UWF World Trios champions entered the stadium first, proudly showing off their gold to a very unhappy, and pro-Freebirds, crowd. The rebels from WCW were received much better, and when the match began, familiar foes Saturn and Dreamer started it off. Quickly, though, the “Innovator of Violence” was the face in peril, as frequent tags to O’Haire and Orton kept him down. “The Apex Predator” toyed with Dreamer, but after a lengthy beatdown sequence, he finally escaped and made the tag to RVD. The former ECW champion cleared house, and he was joined by frenemy Sabu in the ensuing brawl. All six men got involved, and amidst the chaos, Orton hit a vicious RKO on Dreamer, who had just tagged himself back in. About three seconds later, the Authority earned the right to move onto the next round.
THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette) vs. the NEW DAY:
vs.
The X-factor in this contest turned out to be Langston’s power; the Express had a scouting report, of course, but none of them realized how strong he truly was until they were in the ring with him. Thus, Eaton, Lane, and Condrey focused on Woods about halfway through the match. Several times, he appeared down for the count, but a hot tag to Kingston turned the tide. The Ghanaian was a whirlwind, dropkicking every foe in the ring while even taking a swipe at Cornette. After softening up Condrey, Kingston brought Big E in, who hit the Big Ending. As Kingston and Woods repelled Lane and Eaton, the referee made the count, and the match was done.
THE BULLET CLUB vs. the TRIPLE THREAT:
vs.
Despite being approximately the same total size, the two trios could not have wrestled more differently. The Jacksons and Page were flashy and wanted to go airborne at every opportunity; Guerrero, Douglas, and especially Malenko preferred to ground their foes. The crowd, meanwhile, was entertained because neither team was able to hold the advantage for very long and they got to see a little bit of everything. It was back and forth for nearly 15 minutes, and after “the Hangman” leveled Guerrero with a clothesline, Matt and Nick fired dual superkicks at him. Page picked up the barely conscious “Chavito” and brought him crashing to the mat with his Rite of Passage piledriver while the Bucks kept their opponents out of the ring. The Bullet Club was moving on.
THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS vs. THE MIGHTY DON’T KNEEL:
vs.
TMDK was surging with confidence after their first-round win over the Blue World Order, but the former UWF World Trios champions were an angry bunch. This was their first match since losing their belts to the Authority, and they sought to take that loss out on their young foes. The WCCW legends were cheered with every punch and kick they threw, and it took everything Miller had to survive as the rare heel in peril. He finally tagged Dunne in, who cleared house for a short while, but Gordy eventually settled things down the hard way. In the end, the two legal men were Thorne and “Bamm Bamm”, and in a brisk nine minutes, Gordy put his opponent away with a running big boot.
THE HEENAN FAMILY (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. TEAM UK:
vs.
The question in this match was whether the ad hoc European team would be able to match the chemistry of the Lucha Underground squad – particularly that of Blanchard and Anderson, who had several hundred matches under their collective belts together. Early on, the “brain busters” tried to pick on Gallagher, but he fought back with moves that baffled them. Then it was Ospreay’s turn, and to his credit, he survived, even when Vader made his sporadic entries in a rally-killing capacity. Galloway finally got back in the ring, ten long minutes after it started, and he went on a rampage. Stiff kicks, clotheslines, and spinebusters rocked his foes, even “the Mastodon”. The big Scot went for a pin on Blanchard, but Anderson made the frantic save, and then the match descended into chaos. Unseen by the ref, Heenan punched Gallagher – a distraction more than anything, but it allowed “Double A” to follow up with a DDT, which in turn set up a 450-pound Vader Bomb. The official made the count, and Team UK was out of the tournament.
EUROTRASH vs. the LIONS DEN:
vs.
Six very talented singles stars comprising two very talented trios – that was the theme in this match. They also had bonds that extended beyond the ring, given their respective training backgrounds. Scurll and Pillman locked up early, cocky and eager to prove themselves superior. After a couple of minutes, Hart and Sabre Jr. tagged in, and the two put on a technical clinic. No punches thrown at all, just hold to counter-hold to counter-counter-hold. The crowd stood for both men, and then when End and Benoit collided, it was violently scientific. The overall match was a see-saw struggle, lasting about 15 minutes, ending only when End missed a corner-charge, and Pillman soared from the top rope with a cross-bodypress. Hooking both legs, the “Loose Cannon” and his friends were onto the next round.
THE BRITISH BULLDOGS vs. the SKYSCRAPERS:
vs.
Spivey and Davey Boy wasted no time throwing punches in the middle of the ring. Despite the height difference, Smith was as powerful as any man involved in the match – or the entire Crockett Cup field. This was far from a scientific encounter, but the power game was on point, and the Bulldogs’ superior quickness helped them evade most of the big double- and triple-team moves the independent trio tried to land. The Dynamite Kid isolated Dijak, and worked over the young grappler with stiff clotheslines and headbutts. The younger Smith then took over with a series of slams and suplexes, before tagging in Dad, who finished the match with a crushing powerslam on Dijak, while Dynamite stood guard.
AMERICA’S LEAST WANTED vs. the DUDLEY BOYZ:
vs.
The “new” trio from Dudleyville riled up the audience from the moment they parted the backstage curtain. ALW followed to a thunderous roar; the crowd wanted to see them dispose of their opponents as quickly and as painfully as possible. Schultz and Neidhart began with a slugfest, and he was attacked from behind by both Bully Ray and D-Von. Harris and Jannetty jumped in immediately, and then all six men were fighting. It took two full minutes for the referee to separate everybody, but he was determined to see the last match of this round end without a double-DQ. The match resumed, and while it was violent and ECWesque, it was also surprisingly devoid of outside interference. Back and forth it went for close to 18 minutes, before Bully Ray and D-Von hit 3D on Jannetty for the three-count. The former top contenders for the UWF titles were banished from the Crockett Cup.
TITLE VS. TITLE
BRET HART (c) vs. BROCK LESNAR (c) w/Paul Heyman and Sable:
BRET HART (c) vs. BROCK LESNAR (c) w/Paul Heyman and Sable:
vs.
In short, this was the biggest match in UWF history. This was MUW World champion Brock Lesnar’s first visit to the territory, and this was the first time a UWF grappler wrestled for the most prestigious championship in the Network.
Big-match intros by Hemme, and the two men stared daggers through each other in the middle of the ring. Head official Tommy Young went over the instructions, and the two went back to their corners. This was the last match of the night, but the crowd showed no signs of fatigue – far from it. When the bell rang, “the Beast” charged Hart, who was wary of being taken to “Suplex City”. Lesnar muscled him around the ring for the first few minutes, but was unable to inflict any serious damage. “The Hitman” was powerfully built in his own right, and smart enough to try to stay out of reach… but he also knew he wasn’t going to win by playing defense all night.
At about the 10-minute mark, after surviving the MMA-styled offense of the MUW goliath, Hart went on the offense with basement dropkicks meant to knock his foe down. Grounding him, Hart focused on Lesnar’s back and hamstrings. Stomps, kneedrops, and leglocks hurt the champion, but when the “Excellence of Execution” got too close with a vice, Lesnar locked in a flash Kimura armbar that had Hart scrambling for the ropes. Both men got to their feet, and the back-and-forth continued.
Another ten minutes in. The pace was intense, but both champions were conditioned to go all night if they had to. Lesnar was trying not to favor his left leg, but it showed; meanwhile, Hart’s left shoulder was throbbing thanks to a targeted attack. The Calgarian was backed into a corner, and as Young separated the wrestlers, Heyman swiped at Hart’s leg. One head turn was all it took – a second later, “the Conqueror” speared him with such ferocity that both men spilled through the ropes and onto the floor. Hart took the full force of the impact, and Lesnar stood over him, a wicked smile on his face. He picked up his challenger like he was a child, and placed him on the timekeeper’s table a few feet from the ring. After a couple of added punches, he paused and turned to his beaming advocate, and re-entered the squared circle… but the smile evaporated from Heyman’s face when he saw his client mount the top turnbuckle in the corner nearest his foe.
He was setting up for a Shooting Star press.
And then he was airborne, 285 pounds of mass and muscle. It was almost eerie to see him in flight, and his form – this time – was perfect. Unfortunately for him, Hart sensed his approach, and through instinct alone, rolled off the table just in time. Lesnar crashed through it hard, and both men were lying on the floor, neither in any condition to spring to their feet. Heyman and Sable were manic, and Young reluctantly began his count, milking it for every second that he could – like everyone in attendance, he didn’t want to see it end either.
Luckily, the man sprinting down the ramp didn’t let it happen.
Jay Lethal dove into the ring, interrupting the count at eight, the “Money in the Bank” briefcase he earned at WWE Wrestlemania 4 held tightly in his right hand. He implored Young to let him participate, and after assuming control of the case, the ref let him in. Lethal slid back outside and grabbed “the Hitman”, throwing him inside and setting him for his Hail to the King elbowdrop. He connected, and the count was on. One, two – but no! Hart lifted his shoulder just in time, and Lethal was shocked. He picked up the UWF champion and flung him into the ropes, but Hart countered with a clothesline, and miraculously began a comeback of his own. Punches, backbreakers, suplexes… it was as if he found a higher gear. He went for several pinfalls of his own, but “Money” kicked out of them all. The two men traded punches, and after Lethal missed, Hart spun him around and hit him with a short, quick, German suplex.
Getting to his feet, the crowd went wild as Hart slowly applied his Sharpshooter. The former ROH stalwart gritted his teeth, refusing to submit… and then Lesnar entered the ring. He was holding his ribs, and as if noticing Lethal for the first time, he paused. He was furious. And he chose to take it out on the man that wasn’t even supposed to be there. No longer caring about any belt, “the Beast” dropped down on the rapidly weakening third man, and cinched in another Kimura lock. Lethal was in agony. With nowhere to go and feeling like everything was about to snap, he tapped out with his free right hand.
The crowd was incredulous – entertained after nearly 30 minutes of intense action, but shocked by the result. Young backed everyone into separate neutral corners, and declared the match a submission victory for both Hart and Lesnar. Because it was fought under triple-threat rules – and not three-way dance, which was typical for strictly UWF-sanctioned matches – the first and only pin or submission ended the match. Hart was given back his UWF title, and Heyman accepted the MUW gold. The show ended with the two champions holding their titles overhead, and Heyman counting the dollar signs for a rematch.