Post by fifthhorseman on Aug 6, 2019 23:32:41 GMT -5
MLW FRIDAY NIGHT HEAT
EPISODE 35
60-second video montage recapping the events of last week’s show, followed by title graphics and explosive pyro.
Joey Styles: “Hello wrestling fans – and welcome to MLW Friday Night Heat! My name is Joey Styles, and I’ll be calling the action tonight with my special guest, the Intercontinental Heavyweight champion, Dave Batista. Mr. Batista, it’s great to have you here on commentary for these Pure-Nament and War-Nament matches.”
Batista: “The pleasure is all yours. After getting rid of that brainless deadweight, Sid Vicious, I had some free time on my hands. And since no one has asked me my opinion yet, I figured I should use this platform to tell the world that I think it’s a joke that I haven’t gotten a title shot at Ted DiBiase, regardless of any contrived tournament.”
Styles: “Be that as it may, and it’s a fair statement to make, it’s time to get to the ring! Howard Finkel, let’s get the night started.”
MLW PURE-NAMENT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
CHRISTIAN vs. CURT HENNIG:
vs.
It had been several weeks since “Mr. Perfect” – one-half of the former World Tag-Team champions – stepped foot in the USF Sun Dome, and it infuriated him to see his opponent standing across from him wearing “his” gold. When the bell rang, Hennig was the aggressor, and head official Tommy Young nearly disqualified him before reining the Horseman in. After that (and a dropkick from Christian that sent his foe to the outside), it was a see-saw battle between two of MLW’s best. Ground work, counter-wrestling, even top-rope offense; everything was done on-target. However, Hennig was able to utilize his size and strength advantage, and after 18 grueling minutes of action, he reversed an Unprettier and caught the “Instant Classic” with a perfectplex to move on to the semis. As he left, he pointed at the timekeeper’s table – toward Christian’s belt – and said, “That’s next!”
COMMERCIAL
A vignette similar to last week’s was aired, showing three (?) men together, in a dark room, but this time they spoke. The voices were distorted, but the message was crystal clear: they were coming to Major League Wrestling, and they were better than any faction there.
MLW WAR-NAMENT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
ANIMAL vs. STEVE WILLIAMS:
vs.
ANIMAL vs. STEVE WILLIAMS:
vs.
These two warriors were no strangers to one another, having fought with and against each many times in the NWA. Quite possibly the two powerful wrestlers in the territory, they tested each other with a series of tests of strength. As another announcer might put it, it was a slobberknocker, and he might also say it was bowling shoe ugly. They beat the hell out of each other under the tournament’s “Last Man Standing” rules , mostly within the ringside area. “Dr. Death’s” conditioning was the deciding factor, though, and he got to his feet after hitting Animal with not one, but three Oklahoma Stampede powerslams. The ref called it at 13:28, and the two titans wearily shook hands before the show went to
COMMERCIAL
Coming out of the break, a backstage interviewer was encircled by Camp Cornette: the Destruction Crew, War Machine, Keith Lee, and the “Louisville Lip” himself. He made it clear that he was unhappy that not one of his men were entered in either tournament, and neither of his teams had gotten a shot at the World or I-C tag team belts at all. So to try to get the attention of the “blind, senile, and biased” MLW championship committee, he was issuing an open challenge to any four wrestlers on the roster for next week.
WINNER GETS AN MLW INTERCONTINENTAL TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The ADDICTION vs. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED:
vs.
The ADDICTION vs. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED:
vs.
After Finkel made the introductions, the two teams stood in their corners, waiting for a referee. A few moments later, one finally appeared on the ramp – sort of. It was Mark Briscoe, wearing a striped shirt, and he was joined a couple of seconds later by his brother Jay, who also wore a referee’s shirt. Neither man looked impressed.
Styles: “Fans, I’ve just been told that Commissioner Chuck Norris made this call after conversing with our owner earlier in the week. After seeing the three teams fraternize on the show last week, he thought it would be good television to put them all together with an Intercontinental tag match on the line!”
Mark stepped through the ropes, while Jay went to the timekeeper’s table and rang the bell. Daniels, Kaz, Storm, and Harris were very familiar with each other, and though they largely ignored Briscoe’s instructions, they also kept the match fairly clean. However, because a title shot against Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton, Jr. was up for grabs, the intensity was ramped up as well. The punches got harder, the rope breaks took longer, and the smack-talk got more personal. Inevitably, all four competitors wound up in the ring, followed by Jay Briscoe… and then all three teams began to brawl. It was officially a no-contest, and a swarm of MLW officials ran down to separate them all, and the show broke to
COMMERCIAL
MLW PURE-NAMENT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
CHAD GABLE vs. TYSON KIDD:
vs.
vs.
The two were mirror images – they were almost the exact same height and weight, same physiques, even the same hair color. However, they brought contrasting styles to the ring; Kidd was a hybrid, blending high-impact maneuvers with Dungeon-inspired grappling, while Gable used his vast Olympian repertoire. It was the “purest” match of the Pure-Nament thus far, and the crowd was on the edge of their collective seat throughout. However, it was a lightning-fast Chaos Theory suplex that gave Gable the victory at 13:36.
After the battle, the two shook hands, and Gable was greeted backstage by his tag partner, and the other half of the MLW Florida Tag-Team champions, Jason Jordan. The two men were ecstatic, but the celebration was short-lived as the Real Main Event – Orton, Orndorff, and Roddy Piper – sauntered into the shot. As usual, “Hot Rod” did most of the talking. “Way to go, kid! That was one hell of a match, and you should be real proud of yourself! But don’t get too cocky, because you see, a little birdie just told me what the Pure-Nament semi-final matchups are. On the one side, it’s gonna be ‘the Hitman’ versus ‘Mr. Perfect’. And on the other side, you - a short little fella with no nickname at all - against a close, personal friend of mine… ‘the Ace’… ‘the Cowboy’… that’s right, Mr. Bob Orton, Jr. himself! So on behalf of us all, again, good job! Too bad that’s as far as you’re gonna go.”
COMMERCIAL
MLW WAR-NAMENT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
DAVEY BOY SMITH vs. JBL:
vs.
vs.
The main event would determine the final semi-finalist in the War-Nament; Steve Williams, Taz, and Terry Funk were already through. The big Texan had a substantial size and reach advantage, but he wasn’t necessarily the strongest man in the ring, and the “British Bulldog” used his speed and power to baffle him early on.
But JBL was willing to do anything to secure a victory, and about halfway through the match, when they were both on the floor, the 300-pounder started using anything that wasn’t tied down to batter the Englishman. A well-placed chairshot cracked Smith open, and he was fighting through a wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding. Yet he did fight, and he started fighting fire with fire. The two men battled up the ramp and into the backstage area, brawling past catering and the DPA’s makeshift office, before they fought down a long row of stairs from the upper deck of the Sun Dome. They were closing in on 20 minutes, and both men were on their last legs.
And then, the arena lights flickered and strobed for several seconds.
When they were back on, Smith and JBL were both on the mat. “The Bulldog” was wearing a crimson mask, his wound open wider than before, and the self-proclaimed “Wrestling God” was clinging to the bottom rope. The ref began his count, and both men scratched and clawed to get to their feet… but only one man did. Smith collapsed at the count of eight, never fully on his feet, but JBL made it to his at nine. He was declared the victor at 19:06.
After medical officials, and Owen Hart, jogged down the ramp to check on Smith, one other individual came through the curtain as well. It was the MLW World Heavyweight champion Ted DiBiase, and as he congratulated JBL near the broadcast table, he released his trademark laugh while Styles stated at him very suspiciously - and the show faded to black.