Post by fifthhorseman on May 9, 2020 10:44:25 GMT -5
CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING from FLORIDA
EPISODE 12
EPISODE 12
A 60-second video montage showcasing some of the greatest stars that competed in the classic CWF, as well as FCW and NXT, opens the telecast. The clip ended with a still shot of Razor Ramon getting his arm raised by the referee, and the CWF Florida Heavyweight champion, Rick Rude, lying on his back.
Lance Russell: “Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Championship Wrestling from Florida! We have four great matches scheduled for you tonight, including in a first for CWF – a handicap tag-team match for the Florida tag-team championship! But first, let me introduce another champion to the stage... accompanied by Percy Pringle III, the Florida Heavyweight champion... 'Ravishing' Rick Rude!”
His infamous music blared through the arena, and the chiselled champ slowly walked out, and he was in a foul mood. Russell led it off, asking, “Champ, last week, you were pinned in a non-title, tag-team match by the man that you'll be facing later this month at Battle of the Belts... Razor Ramon. Tell us, if you will, your thoughts on what happened last week, and your upcoming title defense against Ramon.”
Rude scowled. “The most important thing to note, right here, right now, is that I'm still wearing the most prestigious title in the entire MUW Network around my waist. Last week was a fluke, plain and simple. I beat that greasy muscle-head from one corner to the other all night long - and his partner, too, by the way. And while I was doing all that, I was learning all of his weaknesses, and Percy was scouting him from the outside. I bet Razor Ramon thinks he's got my number now, right? Well, that chump thinks what I want him to think!”
“Here's what's going to happen at Battle of the Belts. 'Ravishing' Rick Rude, is going to walk into the ring as your champion, and he's going to leave as your champion. Razor Ramon – you're no threat to me. You're nothing. When I'm done with you, you're gonna swim all the way back to Cuba, and my good friend, Bobby Heenan, will try to find someone else more suited to my skill level. Now... hit my music!”
Rude and Pringle exited stage right to a chorus of boos, and Russell sat back down, shaking his head as he prepared to call the opening match.
BLITZKRIEG vs. BUDDY MURPHY:
vs.
vs.
The action started with two of the youngest and most exciting stars in CWF, and they came out flying. The masked man took it to Murphy early, via his nearly indefensible aerial skills. “The Juggernaut” tried to stall and slow the pace, an unusual measure for him – but it seemed to work, as Murphy took charge. He was stronger, and more vicious, and despite a late rally in a very competitive bout, the Australian sealed the deal with Murphy's Law at 11:16.
Murphy was handed the microphone for the post-match interview, and the winner took a moment to catch his breath. “And another one bites the dust at the hands of 'the Juggernaut.' Bobby – Mr. Heenan – I'm the big-match, big-money man around here. Look around – all these fans paid a lot of money tonight to watch Buddy Murphy beat Blitzkrieg up. So why aren't I on Battle of the Belts yet? You still have time to make it happen. Come on, you're 'the Brain'! You need to put me on the show!”
COMMERCIAL
A highlight vignette was shown, hyping the “Bulgarian Brute”, Rusev.
MARCO CORLEONE (w/Art Barr) vs. SEAN O'HAIRE (w/Dexter Lumis):
vs.
vs.
O'Haire wore a sinister smile on his face as he awaited his foe; his disciple, Lumis, was eerily expressionless. Corleone strode through the curtain and as soon as he saw his former partner, he sprinted to the ring. Several weeks of pent-up anger was released as the two men traded punches to start the match, not even trying to defend themselves.
It was obvious that at the pace the one-time Thrillers fought at, it wasn't going to last long. And that was indeed the case, but not because one of them bested the other. The referee couldn't control the action, and after stepping in between them one too many times, he was thrown over the top rope by both men, resulting in a double-disqualification at just 3:32.
As soon as the bell rang, it turned into a big brawl, with Barr and Lumis going at it as well. Leo Kruger also appeared, but he was cut off halfway down the ramp by a pair of referees, while several other officials raced past them to try to stop the fight. It took almost as long to separate the combatants as the match itself, but eventually, O'Haire and his crew were led backstage, followed – at a distance – by los Gringos Renacido.
The cameras continued to drift backstage to Bobby Heenan's office. The door was open, a rarity, and the shot focused on Heenan listening impatiently to Sonny Siaki. The young Samoan said, “You can put me in any match you want! I need this – please, put me on Battle of the Belts. Otherwise, just cut me now so I can look for another-”
The boss cut him off. “Listen here, you don't tell me what to do. You're mine until otherwise notified – got it? But I'll give you credit, you're a glutton for punishment. Tell you what I'll do. I'll put you on the card against... against the next person that walks through my door! Deal?
Siaki warily shook hands with Heenan, who suddenly looked past him into the hallway. “Hey, you're right on time! Come on in, I have a contract for you to sign.”
The camera turned toward the door, and the Nasty Boys entered and stared at Siaki, who didn't back down from either of them. Heenan smirked and waved Siaki out, and said, “Guess you better go find a partner, pal!”
COMMERCIAL
A split-screen shot of Kerry Von Erich and Uhaa Nation was shown. They were preparing for their match, and Nation looked supremely confident as he finished taping up with his colleague Larry Cameron by his side, while Oliver Humperdink stood in the background psyching him up. In the other locker room, the Texan looked over his shoulder, as if hearing something, and said, “Nah, you're my guest - stay back here and relax. I got this.”
Russell set up a video package promoting the Jack Brisco vs. Kevin Sullivan cage match at Battle of the Belts. In recent weeks, Brisco had demanded tougher competition to put him in the title picture, while the Army of Darkness was similarly impressive over that same timeframe. Also, Heenan wanted to punish “the Taskmaster” for not defeating Brian Pillman in their cage match a couple of weeks before... not that Sullivan would ever take it that way. On the contrary, he was excited to get back inside a steel cage.
UHAA NATION (w/Oliver Humperdink) vs. KERRY VON ERICH:
vs.
vs.
Two of the strongest men in Florida started things off with the Greco-Roman knuckle-lock, eager to assert their superiority. Almost 30 seconds elapsed before the two broke the hold – it was a stalemate. From there, they settled into a stiffly-fought, hard-hitting battle. Nation was the most freakish athlete in the building, as agile as he was strong, but the “Modern Day Warrior” was just as powerful, and Texas tough. Humperdink was also a factor from the outside, but his presence wasn't quite enough, as Von Erich finished things off with a discus clothesline at 13:55 in a contest that could have gone either way.
Von Erich: “That guy... man, is he tough. But that was just what I needed to get ready for the Texas bullrope match against my brother. You know...”
His words trailed off as he looked up at the stage, where David was standing, flexing his big hands. And a few seconds later, he was joined by the rest of the Freebirds. With smug smiles on their faces, the quartet walked down and surrounded the ring. Kerry's head was on the proverbial swivel as each man got up on the ring apron, one in every corner, enjoying the moment.
But before they could swarm Von Erich, a man ran down the ramp in street clothes, steel chair in hand, and he joined the “Texas Tornado” in the center of the ring. It was Billy Jack Haynes, and he was ready and willing to take on any or all of the Freebirds. The crowd was eager to see them fight, but one by one, the heels backed off. They gathered together on the stage, with Hayes yelling and threatening Haynes and Kerry, as the show went to
COMMERCIAL
As usual, Heenan made his grand entrance to do color for the upcoming final match of the night. But before he could sit down, another man entered the arena, turning the jeers to cheers – he was the CWF Southern Heavyweight champion, Brian Pillman, and he had a microphone in his hand.
“Hey, Brain! I don't want to put you on the spot or anything, but I still don't know who I'm facing at Battle of the Belts. Are you waiting till the last minute to spring an opponent on me? What's the deal?”
The owner and president looked flustered for a second, then shot back angrily. “Listen here, Pillman. I haven't forgotten about you. I just wanted to make sure that I found you suitable competition. And tonight, someone stepped up and proved himself. So at Battle of the Belts, you're going to face... Buddy Murphy! Satisfied, 'champ'? You should be – you're gonna be in for the fight of your life!”
Pillman nodded, as if in agreement, and he was about to leave before he remembered what had happened a few weeks earlier. “Wait a damn minute! When Murphy lost to Razor Ramon a while back, you said that the loser wouldn't get any title shots for 90 days! So either you're going back on your word – and I don't doubt that, knowing you – or... it's not a non-title match? I'm not even defending the title at a show called Battle of the Belts? What the hell, Heenan?!”
“You should just consider yourself lucky you're on the card, Pillman! Now get out of here, so we can get on with the show, or by God, I'll have security escort you out. Got it?”
The “Loose Cannon” slammed the mike down, shattering it into several pieces. He pointed at Heenan and seemed to say, “This isn't over,” and left before “the Weasel” could summon security.
HANDICAP MATCH FOR THE CWF FLORIDA TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (c) vs. the MOD SQUAD and the NEW BREED:
vs.
THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (c) vs. the MOD SQUAD and the NEW BREED:
vs.
Russell: “Well, the champions wanted a test before their TLC match at Battle of the Belts, and boy, have they got it. Just a reminder, if any of their four opponents pin or make submit either Michael Hayes or Jimmy Garvin, that man and his regular teammate will win the match and the Florida tag-team belts. And I assume, that team would slot into the TLC match in a couple of weeks instead!”
Their partners, Gordy and David Von Erich, stayed backstage – and based on what happened a few minutes ago, that was probably a good idea. But if Garvin and Hayes were worried abut the four-on-two odds, they didn't show it. Despite the numbers, they knew that it was otherwise a traditional tag-team match; the Freebirds also knew that with their belts on the line, the two teams standing across from them wouldn't play well together.
And they were right. Champion and Royal, Spike and Basher – every time they had their foes on the ropes, their collective lack of cooperation cost them, and it gave the weakened champion, whoever it was, the chance to tag out. Soon enough, Hayes and Garvin sealed off Royal from the New Breed, keeping him on their half of the ring. Simple, Southern-styled tag work did the trick, and they toyed with the young challenger for a few minutes. He escaped, though, and dove to the corner for the first outstretched hand he could find, bringing in Basher. Alas, Hayes planted him as soon as he came in with a vicious DDT, and it was all over at 10:41.
When the ring cleared, Hayes grabbed the microphone and shouted, “Two guys, four guys, it don't matter! Whether it's those college jocks or fatman Humperdink's posse – me and 'Gorgeous Jimmy' hold all the cards, daddio. While those guys beat the hell of each other, we'll be sippin' some Jack watching it all – and when we decide to strut our stuff, it's all over. We're from Badsteet, U.S.A. - and we're allowed to use tables and chairs legally that night? Boys, do yourself a favor and don't even bother showin' up.”
“Badstreet” plays, credits roll, fade to black.