Post by fifthhorseman on Nov 3, 2019 21:37:29 GMT -5
MLW FRIDAY NIGHT HEAT
EPISODE 2.5
EPISODE 2.5
60-second video montage recapping the events of last week’s show, followed by title graphics and explosive pyro from the ramp.
Mauro Ranallo: “Welcome to Major League Wresting Friday Night Heat! I’m Mauro Ranallo, and we have four incredible matches in store for you tonight – matches so good I can’t believe we’re giving them away on free television! Mssrs. Mondt, Cornette, and Borash have put together a mini-tournament to determine the new top contender for the MLW World Tag-Team championship titles currently held by Edge and Christian, which will get underway in just a few seconds, and in our main event, MLW World Heavyweight champion Roddy Piper defends the gold against the man who lost it at Beach Blast – the ‘Million Dollar Man’, Ted DiBiase! So let’s get down to the ring and get things going!”
The HART FOUNDATION vs. SOUTHERN COMFORT (w/Dexter Lumis):
vs.
This match was reminiscent of the classic Foundation/Demolition battle at Summerslam 1990; Wyatt and Mercy used their superior size to try to wear down their foes, but the two-time WWF champs used pure teamwork to combat that strategy. It started slowly; with three of the four wrestlers weighing close to 300 pounds, they wanted to pace themselves. But the pace got faster and faster, and it ended at an even 11 minutes when “the Anvil” rolled up Mercy from behind.
The heels skulked off first, and then, as the Hart Foundation made their way up the ramp, they were met by the MLW World tag champs, who wore the belts over their shoulder. A brief stare-down ended with handshakes, and then after Hart and Neidhart left, Edge borrowed a microphone from Ranallo.
“I gotta admit, I’d welcome the opportunity to put these championships up against the Hart Foundation. We’ve never faced them in the ring before, they’re legends, and it might be the toughest test we’ve ever had. But on the other hand… Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson are pretty tough, too. Hell, so are Steve Williams and Terry Gordy – and Christian and I, we’ve never fought them, either.”
Christian: “If I may? What my partner is trying to say is this: we’ll take any of them on. If it was up to us, we’d be on Friday Night Heat every week, hitting the five-second pose –“
They paused for the five-second pose.
“ – but in the meantime, we’re going to watch these guys do what they do, and when it’s time to get in the ring with the number one contender, you’re going to see one hell of a match. I guarantee, it will be an instant classic.”
Edge: “And that’s a tagline.”
COMMERCIAL
A Team Challenge Series graphic was shown, along with still images from the 2014 AWA event.
NICK BOCKWINKEL (w/Terry Funk) vs. SHANE THORNE:
vs.
The Australian was looking to impress in his try-out match, but he had no idea he was signing on to take on the AWA legend. Bockwinkel was formidable enough, but he was seconded to the ring by the hardcore icon, Terry Funk. The match itself was a competitive squash; Thorne had his moments, but he was ultimately outclassed by Bockwinkel, who ended the bout at 6:17 with an old-school sleeper.
COMMERCIAL
JJ Dillon walked out to the ring, microphone in hand. “Before we get underway with tonight’s next match, and we all get to sit back and watch Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson start down the path to bringing championship gold back to the Horsemen… it’s time to confront the lowlife who has been sticking his nose in our business. I don’t know why, and quite frankly, I don’t care. You’ve gotten us twice – there will be no third time. So get out here, now, and let’s settle this, man to man!”
All eyes turned up the ramp in expectation… so Dillon, and most of the crowd, didn’t see the hooded man roll from underneath the ring to stand right behind the veteran manager. When the crowd cheered in anticipation, Dillon realized that he was not alone, and he whirled around, and the man threw his sunglasses away and pulled his hood down.
It was the former Horseman, Brian Pillman.
He grabbed the microphone and said, “Remember me? Did you think that I would lie back and take that beating from your goons back in the spring? @#$!# that! I got better, I healed up, and I thought about you five bastards all the while. And now I’m back under contract to Major League Wrestling, and mark my words, I’m not done making your lives a living hell! See ya later, JJ!”
He picked Dillon up and nailed him with an inverted atomic drop, and then left through the USF Sun Dome crowd. The manager slowly staggered to his feet as Finkel entered the ring to make the next set of introductions.
The BRAIN BUSTERS vs. the MIRACLE VIOLENCE DIVISION:
vs.
vs.
Gordy and Williams bounced back and forth in their corner, waiting for their opponents. They waited some more, as Finkel called their names again. Reluctantly, the referee began his count, and ten seconds later – to the utter confusion of Ranallo, the MVD, and the 18,000 fans at the Sun Dome – Anderson and Blanchard were counted out.
Ranallo: “Fans, it’s an undisputed fact that ‘Dr. Death’ and ‘Bamm Bamm’ are two of the most intimidating grapplers on the planet, but the Horsemen I know would never turn down a fight. I’ve been informed by Jim Cornette that we do have a stand-by match booked, and we’ll get to it in just a few moments, after we show you – wait, I’m getting someone else! Do… do we have a camera back there?”
As if on cue, a backstage cameraman was in front of a padlocked-and-chained dressing room. A member of the ring crew wielded bolt cutters, and he snapped the lock after a couple of tries. The door was immediately flung open by Arn Anderson, and he was furious. His partner was right behind him, and as Dillon limped onto the scene, the three men angrily realized that Pillman had put yet another one over on them.
The pre-taped vignette that Ranallo promised was aired, and it featured the new MLW Florida Tag-Team champions, the Point One Percent. They were sitting in a luxury box at a Dallas Cowboys game, obviously enjoying the high life, bolstered by the two gold belts that sat on a table in the suite. Needless to say, EC3 and JBL were cocky, arrogant, and dismissive… and they promised that they would defend those titles in two weeks.
STAND-BY MATCH
LAX vs. DOMINIC DIJAKOVIC and KEITH LEE:
vs.
LAX vs. DOMINIC DIJAKOVIC and KEITH LEE:
vs.
All four men were ready to go, eager to impress the championship committee. It was a typical speed vs. power battle, and a very good one. Santana and Ortiz were dazzling with their double-team offense, but the two behemoths on the other side of the ring were able to immediately shut it down with a single maneuver. As the minutes ticked by, it became exponentially more intense, and at the ten-minute mark, all four men were standing in the ring swinging chairs. However, the unexpected arrival of Shane Helms, who acted as a peacemaker, defused the situation. It was ruled a double-disqualification.
COMMERCIAL
Ranallo: “I’ve just been told that the Brain Busters have both challenged Brian Pillman to a match next week! Tully and Arn, along with JJ Dillon and the other Horsemen, are seeing red, and Jim Cornette is working out the details of that match as we speak. But let’s get to the ring for tonight’s huge main event – take it away, Howard!”
MLW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TED DiBIASE (w/Steve Williams) vs. RODDY PIPER (c, w/Paul Orndorff):
vs.
TED DiBIASE (w/Steve Williams) vs. RODDY PIPER (c, w/Paul Orndorff):
vs.
Big-match intros for the only two men to ever wear this title. They stood nose to nose in the ring in a rare heel vs. heel confrontation, while their allies paced on the outside like hungry wolves. Once the bell rang, the two ring veterans put on a show that the audience didn’t really want to cheer, but had to simply because they were both that good. They didn’t mind breaking the rules, either, and head referee Tommy Young had his hands full with two of the smartest, wiliest wrestlers in the world.
As the match progressed, Williams and Orndorff became more impatient – chirping from ringside, sticking their hands underneath the bottom rope, things of that nature. Eventually, and inevitably, they wound up just a few feet from each other, and they began brawling with each other. Young had to shift his focus from the combatants in the ring to admonish the two outside, and he ejected both of them.
However, in just those few moments, both the champion and the challenger resorted to devious means. The “Million Dollar Man” reached into his trunks and pulled out a familiar weapon from his Mid-South days, a loaded black glove; “Hot Rod” went to his left boot and found a weighted roll of tape. Right before Young wheeled around, Piper and DiBiase hit each other with right crosses that buckled their knees, and they both fell to the mat in a daze.
Most importantly, Piper’s arm fell across DiBiase’s chest, and their weapons were obscured by their bodies. Young went down to the canvas and made the count… and at 18:26, Piper was declared the winner. The rest of the Real Main Event – Don Muraco and Bob Orton, Jr. – jogged down to the ring and picked him up in celebration, while Gordy made his way down as well to take care of the head of the Conglomerate. The show ended with a dazed but delighted Piper arrogantly waving the title belt at the crowd.