Post by fifthhorseman on Mar 27, 2019 19:57:21 GMT -5
MLW FRIDAY NIGHT HEAT
EPISODE 24
EPISODE 24
60-second video montage recapping the events of last week’s show, followed by title graphics and explosive pyro.
Howard Finkel: “Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the new Major League Wrestling World Tag-Team champions… ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig, and ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude!”
A couple of dramatic seconds later, the two men parted the curtain with the belts wrapped around their waists. They were led to the ring by JJ Dillon, and followed by Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, all of them smiling. Dillon took the microphone from Finkel amidst a chorus of boos. He began by saying that Brian Pillman was with them in spirit, and he was hard at work rehabbing back in Cincinnati. He then congratulated Anderson and Blanchard; although they didn’t win the gauntlet themselves, they were the true MVPs of the match, and cleared the way for the men who won the gold right now.
Rude: “Listen up, you overweight, out of shape, Florida fleshpiles. Did you really have any doubt in those thick little brains of yours that it would take me very long to be a champion? You’re looking at the MLW World Tag-Team champions, and God, they are two handsome, sexy beasts.”
Hennig: “When Brian went down, the Horsemen got together and put together a plan, and it paid off in spades. I reached out to my closest friend in the industry, a man I’ve known since high school back in Minnesota, and it didn’t make much convincing at all to join us. We’re the Horsemen, the most elite of talent in professional wrestling today. And Rick, and I, are going to hang onto these belts, for as long as we want them.”
The five men held out their hands, and raised four fingers to the sky, then left the ring as arrogantly as they entered it. They left, and the cameras focused on Joey Styles to set up the rest of the broadcast.
Styles: “Good evening, wrestling fans! My name is Joey Styles, and I’m joined on the commentary table this week by Jim Cornette, manager of the Dynamic 2uo. We have four matches in store for you tonight, capped off by a MLW World Heavyweight championship match between Ted DiBiase and his challenger, Bray Wyatt. But let’s get straight to the ring, for our first contest of the night!”
AMERICA’S MOST WANTED vs. the AUTHORS OF PAIN:
vs.
vs.
The young behemoths jumped Harris and Storm before the bell rang, squashing them in the corner and throwing them through the ropes. The TNA stalwarts were hurt, but far from out, and they gestured towards their foes to meet them on the floor.
Akam and Rezar were happy to meet them out there, and then all hell broke loose… because the Road Warriors ran down the ramp and attacked them.
They were still bitter about the fact that the AOP cost them their shot at the championship gauntlet, and the Intercontinental titles, by interfering in their match a couple of weeks earlier. The four powerhouses brawled on the outside, the referee unable and unwilling to jump in between them. Storm and Harris rolled back in the ring… and then they were attacked from behind by the newly-formed team of Power Personified! Batista and Vicious never gave them a chance, and gave each man a powerbomb that took them both out.
It got worse. The Heroes of the Republic made their way through a crowd of referees and stared down the AOP… and then turned their attention to the Legion of Doom as well, who by now were trying to fend off Batista and Vicious. It was a six-on-two mauling, one that even the mighty Road Warriors could not get up from. Commissioner Norris finally ran down to break it up, and the crowd was shocked into silence at the sight of the fallen musclemen. It was still chaos as the scene faded to
COMMERCIAL
A cameraman was backstage. The Authors of Pain and the Heroes of the Republic were already gone, but an interviewer caught up with Sid Vicious and Dave Batista. The question was asked – why?
Batista: “We just sent a message to the entire locker room. In fact, we just sent a message to the entire MUW Network. In just a few minutes, we wiped out America’s Most Wanted and the Road Warriors, and we made it look easy… because it was easy! There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Power Personified is the most dominant tag-team in the world today, and no team – anywhere! – can say otherwise.”
Vicious: “Listen up! I’ve had a lotta people ask me lately, ‘Hey Sid, why did you guys wipe out Edge and Christian last week? Why didn’t you straight-up wrestle them?’ Well, let me tell you why! Like Big Dave says, we’re all about sending messages… and that was the first. We didn’t need to win the gauntlet and the titles last week – we can win those belts any damn time we want to! And the money we made that night when Ted DiBiase paid us what he owed me from our Million Dollar Corporation days – plus interest – was just the icing on the cake.”
Batista: “We’re done here. End scene.”
CACTUS JACK (w/Terry Funk) vs. OWEN HART (w/Davey Boy Smith):
vs.
vs.
To say that this match was a contrast in styles would be an understatement. To add to the drama, Styles relayed the fact that the winner of this match would receive a title match against the MLW Wild Card champion, Jay Briscoe, next week.
Hart’s speed and unparalleled technical skill kept him from sustaining any real damage against Jack’s frenetic brawling. However, eventually, the wild man caught him and used his superior weight to grind him down. Funk cheered him on from the outside, and the mad grin on Jack’s face got wider and wider. But the “British Bulldog” rallied Hart to get to his feet, and he did. Dropkicks, suplexes, and dazzling pinning sequences brought him close to victory, but no three counts. He bounced off the ropes, eager to connect with a clothesline, but he veered too close to Funk, who tripped him up. Smith raced around the ring to threaten the interloper, but the damage was done: Cactus caught Hart in a double-arm DDT, and got his hand raised a few seconds later at the 13:57 mark.
COMMERCIAL
FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH
The ADDICTION vs. NICK ALDIS and ELI DRAKE vs. the STREET PROFITS vs. WBKS:
The ADDICTION vs. NICK ALDIS and ELI DRAKE vs. the STREET PROFITS vs. WBKS:
vs. vs
vs.
As Murphy and Kazarian got the action underway, Styles revealed a bit of breaking news: the winner of this match would get an Intercontinental Tag-Team title shot next week as well. Needless to say, Cornette was not impressed, wondering when the Dynamic 2uo would ever get a fair shake.
This match was fought at a blistering pace, and tags were frequent. Each team had its chance to shine and show why they deserved their crack at Koloff and Rusev; whether it was WBKS’s flawless teamwork, the Profits’ raw energy, Aldis’s and Drake’s methodical grappling, or the Addiction’s high-flying double-teams. In the end, though, after “the Australian Juggernaut” hit Ford with Murphy’s Law, he was dumped over the top rope from behind by Daniels, who hit the fallen Profit with the BME to win the bout at 12:04.
After the ring eventually emptied, the scene switched to Styles standing by with the Briscoe Brothers. While they were also eagerly anticipating a tag-team title shot – whether it was against the Heroes of the Republic, or Perfectly Ravishing – they also had to protect their own gold. Jay said it as only he could; he knew that Batista was chasing him, and he’d be happy to face him anytime, anywhere.
COMMERCIAL
A video was shown on the screens, reminding the fans how Ted DiBiase “earned” the MLW World Heavyweight championship – by doing a favor for George Steinbrenner, who in turn simply handed him the belt. However, Styles said, the MLW President wasn’t happy about the very few championship defenses the “Million Dollar Man” had made since that date… so he was defending that gold right now.
MLW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TED DiBIASE (c, w/Keith Lee) vs. BRAY WYATT (w/Barry Windham):
vs.
TED DiBIASE (c, w/Keith Lee) vs. BRAY WYATT (w/Barry Windham):
vs.
The “Eater of Worlds” was accompanied by his partner, the veteran who would coach him through the most important singles match thus far in his MLW stint. Lee led the arrogant champion out next; conspicuous by his absence was IRS.
Big-time match intros, and then the two locked up. Wyatt muscled DiBiase back and threw him down, once, twice, and three times before Dibiase disgustedly rolled outside. The first couple of minutes belonged to Wyatt, but a simple (and illegal) poke to the eye gave the champion his first opening. He used his vast wrestling knowledge to keep the advantage, and his underrated power helped him control the burly Widowmaker.
The minutes ticked by painfully for Wyatt, but he finally rallied with a series of shoulder-blocks. With Windham cheering him on, he had DiBiase on the ropes – literally – and hit him with several punches, dazing the champ. He took him to the canvas, but DiBiase kicked out at two every time he was pinned. As the crowd roared its approval, “the Taxman” finally made an appearance on the top of the ramp, but Windham made sure he got no further. The action continued while his back was turned, and he never saw the champion lock the Million Dollar Dream on his partner. But Wyatt refused to give up, and he fought his way out by ramming DiBiase into the turnbuckles, squashing him. He staggered out and charged back in, but the wily veteran slipped out of the way. With all of his weight and a handful of pants, he rolled Wyatt and kept him down just long to score the pin at 11:44.
…Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff… and Bob Orton.
The Scotsman had a microphone in his hand as well, and he said, “Remember that Battlebowl thing, where I won it all and I get a title shot at whoever I want, whenever I want?”
And then he dropped the mike, and the show faded to black.