Post by fifthhorseman on Aug 21, 2019 23:31:45 GMT -5
MLW FRIDAY NIGHT HEAT
EPISODE 37
EPISODE 37
60-second video montage recapping the events of last week’s show, followed by title graphics and explosive pyro.
Cold open in the ring. MLW Commissioner Chuck Norris: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to call out the two men who reached the finals in the MLW War-Nament, and the two men who also reached the finals of the MLW Pure-Nament. Steve Williams and Tazz… Chad Gable and Bret Hart… I want you all to come down to the ring.”
The four men walked down the ramp, one by one, and the USF Sun Dome crowd gave them a standing ovation. When they were all in the ring, Norris continued. “Sometime in the future, Bret Hart, you will face Chad Gable, one-on-one. And Tazz, you will battle ‘Dr. Death’. However, that time isn’t tonight… because my boss, the Boss, George Steinbrenner, has decided that both tournaments... are over.”
The crowd booed, and Norris raised his hands, as if to signal it wasn’t his idea. “Mr. Steinbrenner loves tournaments. Remember, his Yankees won 27 of them. But with MLW Beach Blast approaching in just a couple of weeks, he also wants to give our fans here and around the world a main event of epic proportions. So he isn’t going to give any one of you a match against the MLW World Heavyweight champion, Ted DiBiase… he’s going to give all of you a match against Ted DiBiase.”
Confusion and anger flashed over the quartet’s face for a few second until Norris uttered just two more words.
“Elimination Chamber.”
He continued with a grim smile on his face. “At MLW Beach Blast, it will be Ted DiBiase, versus Steve Williams, versus Chad Gable, versus Tazz, versus Bret Hart… versus the MUW World champion, Seth Rollins!”
The crowd was incredulous. So was MLW lead announcer Joey Styles, and his color commentator for the night, 3 Count’s Shane Helms. And so, too, apparently, was the Conglomerate.
DiBiase led the way across the stage, microphone in hand, followed by JBL, EC3, and the Accountants. “This is an outrage! I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, Norris, but rest assured, when my lawyers get done with you, you won’t be able to run a fantasy football league! And another thing-“
Norris: “No, you listen to me! I’m glad you came out here too, because I have a couple of things to say to you. For instance, your ‘Accountants’, Harper and Rowan? They’re both fired – right now. After we closed the investigation on why Steve Williams nearly missed his match against JBL, we received a video from an anonymous source, clearly showing your men running his car off the road. I told you, no interference in these matches. Harper, Rowan – you’re gone!”
“Furthermore, I’ve scheduled an eight-man tag-team match as tonight’s main event. It’ll be these four men in the ring against EC3, JBL, and two other men of your choice… but you, Mr. DiBiase, are barred from ringside for this match. I changed my mind about having you wrestle this week – take the night off. I insist. And if your team wins, you will be the final man released into the Elimination Chamber, and the man that gets pinned or submits will be one of the men that starts the match. But, if your team loses, you’ll be the first man out… and the man who scores the winning pin or submission tonight will come out last.”
The 18,000 fans in the Sun Dome went berserk, the Conglomerate were furious, and the show went to
COMMERCIAL
Styles: “Fans, what can I say, but oh my God! I’m here with Shane Helms, and I gotta tell you, that might have been the biggest announcement in MLW history! But we don’t have any time to catch our breath – we have four outstanding matches on the docket tonight, so let’s get back down to Howard Finkel, and get this extremely important broadcast underway!”
CEDRIC ROUGEAU and TEAM DE TABERNAK vs. the JERSEY TRIAD:
vs.
Both trios were making their MLW debuts; the three men from Quebec were on try-out contracts, eager to make an impression. Their opponents’ debut was promoted for weeks via cryptic vignettes, and at nearly 900 combined pounds, the Triad was the literal heavy favorite in the match.
Bigelow started against the fourth-generation wrestler Rougeau, and despite the Frenchman’s imposing size, the “Beast from the East” easily overpowered him. From there, it was all downhill. DDP and Kanyon, along with Bigelow, tagged in and out at will, toying with each of their foes. They got a few hope spots in, but the match was a squash, with Page hitting the Diamond Cutter on Dubois at 5:53.
But he didn’t stop there. After the bell, his partners roughed up St-Jacques and Rougeau some more, and the former WCW champ hit cutters on both of them as well. They left the three Quebecers lying in the ring, and gloated all the way up the ramp.
COMMERCIAL
MATT HARDY (w/Jeff Hardy) vs. RODDY PIPER (w/Bob Orton, Jr.):
vs.
vs.
“Hot Rod” was in fine fighting form, and as arrogant as ever, and he laughed at the multi-time WWE tag champs in the opposite corner. Once the match got underway, though, it was an evenly fought struggle. Too even, it seemed, for “the Ace” on the outside. He constantly jawed at the older Hardy, and after he took a swing at him from the apron, Jeff shoved him and the two started fighting on the floor. The referee broke them up, and banished them from ringside. However, during that melee, Piper rammed Matt head-first into the ringpost, then as soon as the official returned, locked a sleeper on Hardy. He was barely conscious to begin with, and the ref signaled for the bell at 11:49.
COMMERCIAL
TOP CONTENDERS MATCH FOR THE MLW INTERCONTINENTAL TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The ADDICTION vs. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED vs the BRISCOE BROTHERS:
vs. vs.
The ADDICTION vs. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED vs the BRISCOE BROTHERS:
vs. vs.
Styles: “I’ve been looking forward to this match all night. This one will be fought under ECW-style, three-way dance rules – so two teams will have to be eliminated from this match! Only one team will remain standing at the end.”
No handshakes to start this one – the six men knew the stakes, and they were all carrying a grudge. It was fought at an extremely brisk pace, with frequent tags to each other’s partners. Each man got their chance to shine early on, but it was the Addiction that drew first blood; after Mark Briscoe missed a corner charge on Daniels, Kazarian tagged himself in and hit a lightning-quick Fade to Black piledriver on the roughneck from Sandy Fork. The Briscoes were eliminated at 10:36, and the match continued.
AMW took over, using their superior size and strength to hit high-impact moves on the “Heavy Metal Rebel”. But he wouldn’t stay down, and after taking a lengthy beating, he made the hot tag to his partner. The “Fallen Angel” took both Storm and Harris on, connecting with kicks, dropkicks, and throws. He eventually set Harris up for the BME, but in doing so, missed his blind tag to “the Cowboy”. Daniels took flight, but Storm crushed him in mid-air with his Last Call superkick. Three seconds later it was over, and at an even 19:00, America’s Most Wanted was declared the winner.
COMMERCIAL
Coming out of the break, a cameraman was stationed in front of the DPA’s “office”. The two brawlers were shaking hands with JBL – a longtime friend and partner of Simmons. The inch-thick stack of bills he handed to Reed made it crystal clear that the Conglomerate had filled out their team.
Styles: “Fans, Beach Blast is quickly shaping into the must-see event of the summer! The first match announced, just last week, is a doozy, with MLW World Tag-Team champions Edge and Christian defending their belts against the mighty Road Warriors. We now know that the Real Main Event, Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton, will face America’s Most Wanted for the Intercontinental Tag-Team titles. And I know you don’t need reminding on this one, but Beach Blast will be the place for MLW’s first-ever Elimination Chamber! One of those competitors is on the phone with me right now… the MUW World champion, WWE’s Seth Rollins!”
The conversation was piped into the arena and, of course, to the TV audience. “The Kingslayer” was excited to participate, and prove to the world that he was the best wrestler alive, eager to take on any challenger. He was doubly excited about the fact that, for the first time in a long time, his coveted title was not on the line in this match – however, he was, for the night, a sanctioned MLW competitor. Thus, if he was the last man standing in the Chamber, he would win the MLW championship!
EC3, JBL, and the DOOM PROTECTION AGENCY vs. CHAD GABLE, BRET HART, TAZZ (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink), and STEVE WILLIAMS:
vs.
The heels entered the ring first, a formidable combination of power and experience. Tazz strode down to the squared circle next, defiant as ever, followed by Gable, then Hart.
However, just like last week… no Williams. However, another man walked through the curtain: Roddy Piper.
Piper: “Hey, hey, hey. I’m obviously not who you’re waiting for, and sorry to say, I don’t know what’s going on either. I got nothing to do with it – in fact, Commissioner Chuck can even vouch for me! So, if you think I had something to do with this, I don’t.”
“No, you see, the reason I’m out here is because Chuck and I were chatting back in the office. Roddy Piper likes violence. Roddy Piper craves chaos. Roddy Piper – that’s me, boys and girls – loves blood and sweat and tears and guts. So, I begged Chuck, I told him, ‘Here, I’ll give up my other two title shots for the World Tag and Intercontinental singles titles, just put me in the Elimination Chamber, too!’ And guess what – he did!”
Piper’s voice went from high-pitched and jovial to deadly serious in a heartbeat. “You’re looking at the seventh man in the Elimination Chamber. You’re looking at the next MLW World Heavyweight champion.” He dropped the microphone and walked back through the curtain.
COMMERCIAL
The focus was back in the ring, and Styles and Helms were calling a handicap match. Williams wasn’t there, and the ersatz Conglomerate had their foes on the ropes. Gable was the face in peril, and Simmons and JBL were teeing off on him. For the next few minutes, the Olympian was in trouble, but he survived and dove for a tag to the “Human Suplex Machine”, and Tazz slowly but surely brought the match back to even. He and Hart worked surprisingly well, and they took charge, eventually isolating Carter from his corner.
But after “the Hitman” took a Clothesline from Hell behind the referee’s back, the Conglomerate took charge again. The DPA battered him from pillar to post, and EC3 muscled him around the ring as well. He didn’t stay down, though, and his eyes widened when he saw Williams slowly limp down the ramp. Adrenaline surged through his body, and he evaded a top-rope Reed shoulderblock and made the tag to Tazz. The ECW icon hit everyone with clotheslines as Williams finally got to their corner, and he was shaking in anticipation on the outside. After hitting the young “One-Percenter” with a variety of throws, Tazz dragged Carter toward the faces’ corner by the wrist…
…thus, he never saw “Dr. Death” charge out of the corner. Williams turned Tazz inside-out with a murderous clothesline, and Hart and Gable were shocked. He pounded Tazz to the mat. Before the confused referee could break it up, the DPA launched themselves across the ring and tackled Gable and Hart to the floor. Just as quickly as that happened, Williams picked Tazz up and handed him to EC3, who took in the crowd’s jeers as he nailed his opponent with a facelock driver. Williams was out of the ring and heading up the ramp before the referee even made his count. It was strange, it was sudden, and it was over at 19:28.
Reed, Simmons, and Carter rolled out of the ring as the Eliminator Chamber participants sat dazed in the ring. The camera then panned back up to the top of the ramp, where Williams stood – and then, DiBiase met him on the stage, gave him a big hug, and laughed. End of show.