Post by fifthhorseman on May 24, 2020 16:12:33 GMT -5
PRELIMINARY MATCH
BUDDY MURPHY vs. BRIAN PILLMAN:
vs.
BUDDY MURPHY vs. BRIAN PILLMAN:
vs.
Pillman was irate. Relegated to the pre-show, in a non-title defense (yet another one of those)... he was not in a good mood. Murphy wasn't too happy either, because he craved the CWF Southern Heavyweight championship belt that the “Loose Cannon” sported over his shoulder. Regardless, the Australian wanted to stake his claim to a future title shot.
In that respect, he failed miserably. Pillman let all of his frustrations out on his foe, seemingly unconcerned with getting disqualified. He battered Murphy from pillar to post, and aside from a few random punches and clotheslines that pushed him back, the champ dominated. Pillman nailed Murphy with a pair of stunners, and pinned him in less than four minutes. He looked back at the broadcast table, hoping that Heenan was there – he was not – and then he shouted into the camera, “I always get the last laugh, Bobby!”
CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA
BATTLE OF THE BELTS
BATTLE OF THE BELTS
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. When it ended, CWF's legendary ring announcer, Lance Russell, was standing in front of the desk, and he recited the entire card for both the television audience and the sold-out Sun Life Stadium crowd, all 75,000 of them.
BLITZKRIEG vs. RICHIE STEAMBOAT:
vs.
vs.
The young faces shook hands before the match started, suggesting that this would be a cleanly-contested battle... and it was. The first few minutes were fought with barely any striking at all, as the two relied on chain wrestling, aerial tackles, and amazing counters, often bringing the crowd to its feet.
Then, in a scene strangely reminiscent of the first WCW Monday Nitro episode... Lex Luger emerged from the crowd.
He walked down one of the aisles and vaulted over the ringside barrier. When he was within a few feet of the ring, Steamboat and Blitzkrieg finally noticed him. They were startled, but they kept going, trying to ignore the 275-pound piece of granite on the floor. Their mistake. When they locked up in an opposite corner, the “Total Package” jumped into the ring and attacked them both. He power-slammed Blitzkrieg, picked him up, and press-slammed him to the floor. Steamboat dropkicked Luger from behind, who bounced off the ropes, spun, and hit the second-generation star with a lethal clothesline. Not wasting a moment, Luger picked him up and put him in the Torture Rack, and held him there until a trio of officials ran down to join the helpless referee.
Luger shrugged Steamboat away, and casually walked up the ramp. As if the last two minutes weren't shocking enough, the multi-time United States champion was joined on the stage by a man who smiled from ear to ear as he shook Luger's hand... Sir Oliver Humperdink.
They walked together, and as the cage was set up for the first in back-to-back steel cage matches, a vignette showcasing the skills of Kevin Sullivan and Jack Brisco aired. When it was over, Russell noted that, despite their long tenures in Florida, the two men only squared off twice.
CAGE MATCH
JACK BRISCO vs. KEVIN SULLIVAN:
vs.
JACK BRISCO vs. KEVIN SULLIVAN:
vs.
It wasn't Brisco's preferred element, but the tough Oklahoman could handle himself in the cage. Sullivan, on the other hand, was eager to fight, and he tried to jump Brisco before the bell rang. But the NWA legend side-stepped the attack, and he rammed Sullivan into the steel early.
There was no escape rule in this bout – pinfall or submission only. Brisco did his best to neutralize Sullivan's violent tendencies by grappling with him, and he was able to withstand several ferocious flurries of offense from his opponent before putting him away with a figure-four leglock at 10:34. Brisco exited the cage with a triumphant scowl on his face, and wiped a trickle of blood from above his eye as he left the fallen “Prince of Darkness” behind.
Before the next match started, another short video played; it was a “rise and fall” piece on the Natural Born Thrillers, Sean O'Haire and the man formerly known as Mark Jindrak.
CAGE MATCH
MARCO CORLEONE (w/Art Barr) vs. SEAN O'HAIRE (w/Dexter Lumis):
vs.
MARCO CORLEONE (w/Art Barr) vs. SEAN O'HAIRE (w/Dexter Lumis):
vs.
The sinister O'Haire was accompanied to the ring by both of his henchmen, but the referee made him send one of them – Leo Kruger – back to the back. Inside the ring, the two giants attacked each other with reckless intent. They were no longer friends, and there was no turning back – they wanted to hurt each other. Unlike in the earlier cage match, O'Haire and Corleone were able and willing to use the dangerous mesh, and they were both bleeding by the end of the match. It went back and forth for 15 painful minutes, ending only when the 270-pound O-Haire crushed his former ally with his Seanton bomb... from the top of the cage. The “Devil's Advocate” draped one arm across Corleone, pinning him at 15:19.
Medics rushed into the cage as soon as it was over. A concerned Barr helped carry Corleone out, and he was stretchered to the back. Lumis raised his mentor's hand up in victory, and only after insuring that Corleone was out of sight did O'Haire collapse to one knee – and then he was also helped out, with Lumis and two other medics manning a second stretcher.
As the ring crew took apart the cage, the scene shifted to one of the suites at Sun Life Stadium, where MUW World Heavyweight champion AJ Styles was shown taking in the action. CWF Owner and President Bobby Heenan was sitting beside him, and judging by the “no expenses spared” look of the suite, and the tone Heenan took with the champion, it certainly seemed as if “the Brain” was trying to recruit him. However, Styles gave the camera a big eye roll when the topic came up... even though he was extremely impressed by the action he had seen thus far.
The NASTY BOYS vs. SONNY SIAKI and ?:
vs.
vs.
As Siaki walked to the ring by himself, a picture-in-picture video of his confrontation with the Nasty Boys weeks earlier was shown, quickly giving the audience the backstory. Smartly, he grabbed a ringside chair to defend him – just in case – and turned back toward the stage, and waved his partner now.
His partner was a former ally from TNA... the Samoan bulldozer... the 350-pounder known as Umaga.
Knobbs and Sags were shocked, but they were still willing to fight anybody. Nonetheless, they wanted to isolate Siaki and keep him on their side of the ring whenever they could. They were consummate brawlers, but they also had years of ring sense, and they grounded and pounded the young grappler for several minutes. But Siaki evaded a pair of corner charges by Sags, and with the last bit of strength he had, dove toward his corner. Umaga tagged in, and he took it to both of his opponents. All four men eventually wound up in the ring, but the former IC champion ended it with a Samoan spike on Knobbs, pinning the Nasty Boy at 12:20.
TEXAS BULLROPE MATCH
GUEST REFEREE – FRITZ VON ERICH
DAVID VON ERICH vs. KERRY VON ERICH:
vs.
GUEST REFEREE – FRITZ VON ERICH
DAVID VON ERICH vs. KERRY VON ERICH:
vs.
WCW's Fritz Von Erich was waiting in the ring for his sons, a 12-foot-long coil of thick, coarse rope in his hands. Kerry came down first, and the two exchanged a half-hug as the strap went around his wrist. David followed, and he was all business, barely acknowledging his family. Fritz went over the rules, which were plain and simple: pinfall or submission wins the match. No disqualification, no countout, no four corners nonsense.
As soon as the bell rang, the two immediately tried to get the cowbell to use as a weapon. The whole match, in fact, seemed like a frantic, bloody tug of war, with the Von Erich boys lashing and choking each other with the merciless rope. They battled outside the ring as well, while their dad just tried to direct traffic and keep them from hurting any spectators. He was completely neutral.
They wound their way back to the ring for more. The “Texas Tornado” began to take control, and he used his fists, feet, the rope, the bell – everything at his disposal. After a series of two-counts, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin came down to ringside. They leaped up onto the ring apron, drawing Fritz's attention – and then Billy Jack Haynes appeared, yanking them both to the floor. Fists were raised, but Fritz jumped out of the ring to take care of it.
Unbeknownst to the burly patriarch, the fourth Freebird, Ray Gordy, jumped the rail on the opposite side, dropkicked Kerry square in the face, and DDTed him on the steel cowbell. All of this happened in about ten seconds, and then he slid out and under the ring.
A swarm of officials came out as well, separating Haynes from the tag-team champions before ordering them all to the back. Fritz got back in the ring, just in time to see David come to his senses, clock his younger brother with the bell – again – and then he administered the infamous iron claw. By now, Kerry was practically unconscious from both the DDT and blood loss. The “Yellow Rose” kept the pressure on, and his father dropped to his hands and knees to check on Kerry. He raised Kerry's hand three times, and it fell three times; though he wasn't pinned, and he didn't quit... he still lost. Fritz pointed to David to indicate he was the victor, in a bloody fight that lasted nearly 25 minutes.
The ring eventually cleared, and a camera panned around the stadium, settling on a specific spectator in the front row. It was the "Bulgarian Brute", Rusev, and the crowd went wild when he stood to acknowledge their cheers. Sitting inconspicuously a few rows behind him, in a “don't blink or you'll miss it” camera swing, was another man, whose face did not change expression at all... and that man was Ryback.
TLC MATCH FOR THE CWF FLORIDA TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
LARRY CAMERON and UHAA NATION (w/Oliver Humperdink) vs. the UPPERCLASSMEN vs. the FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (c):
LARRY CAMERON and UHAA NATION (w/Oliver Humperdink) vs. the UPPERCLASSMEN vs. the FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (c):
vs.
vs.
The two sets of challengers started things off, while Hayes and Garvin sat down with Russell at the broadcast table and put on a pair of headsets. The announcer explained the rules: the winner of the match would have to climb a ladder to retrieve the belts hanging 15 feet above the ring. The match could end anytime, but the Freebirds could wait up to ten minutes before they officially entered the fray – whenever they felt it was most opportune.
The crowd wasn't quite sure who to cheer for – this was a very rare heel vs. heel vs. heel match. Nowinski, Riley, Nation, and Cameron – they were all big, athletic, and hungry, but luckily for the Freebirds, they had very little TLC match experience. They were so intent on beating the hell out of each other with the weapons scattered around the ring, none of them even tried to bring a ladder into the ring until Riley finally slid one in...
...at the ten-minute mark, and then Garvin and Hayes, fresh as could be, ran down the ramp and launched the former college linebacker over the top rope and through a table. But they had no time to climb the ladder themselves. They were attacked by the other three men, who were eager to make them suffer as much as they already had.
Another ten frantic minutes went by, with plenty of the typical TLC bumps one would expect to see. Luckily, perhaps out of mutual respect, there were no chair shots to the head – but every other body part was fair game. Several tables were smashed, Nation took flight off more than one ladder, and the pace was intense.
But the champions' advantage was just too much to overcome in these vicious circumstances. With only half the ring time, and half the damage done to his body, Hayes was able to climb a ladder that Nowinski set up moments earlier. With Garvin standing guard, “P.S.” pulled both belts down with him as he crashed to the mat, ending the violent battle at 21:03.
A short vignette aired, briefing the crowd on the next match, along with predictions from some member of the CWF roster. After it ended, Heenan made his grand entrance, and sat down with Russsell.
Russell: “Bobby, you have got to be thrilled by the show these men have put on tonight. And what about some of the other things we've seen tonight, like the in-ring debut of Umaga, to say nothing about the... well, I don't know what you want to call it! Why is Lex Luger here? Did you know anything about that?”
Heenan smirked and said, “I know everything abut everything that happens around here, pal, and don't you forget it! Mr. Luger's appearance tonight was the culmination of weeks of negotiations, and I'm proud to announce that the 'Total Package,' Lex Luger is the newest member of the CWF roster!”
“Good stuff as always, and the competition just keeps getting tougher and tougher in the Sunshine State. But it's time for tonight's main event, so let's get down to the ring!”
CWF FLORIDA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
RAZOR RAMON vs. RICK RUDE (c, w/Percy Pringle III):
vs.
RAZOR RAMON vs. RICK RUDE (c, w/Percy Pringle III):
vs.
Big-match intros befitting big-match competitors. Ramon was bouncing up and down in one corner, while Rude and his manager arrogantly stood in the opposite corner. The referee brought them together to go over final instructions, and wisely backed them apart before the combined level of their testosterone blew the stadium apart.
The bell rang, and the first couple of minutes were cautious ones. Nothing was rushed; they engaged in a couple of tests of strength, but neither competitor gained the upper hand. Rude took a cheap shot, going to the eyes, and he momentarily took over. But not for long, as Ramon hammered him with a series of right hands before clotheslining him out of the ring.
Pringle waddled over and urged Rude on, and the match resumed. It was a true back-and-forth contest between two of the most evenly matched wrestlers in Florida; they were excellent workers, especially for two powerhouses, and they threw some stiff shots as well, laying in hard punches, kicks, and slams. They built the match from the ground up, with the pace and flow of the match always building, and as it moved along, Rude gradually took control. However, he could not keep the “Bad Guy” down for a three-count.
With the crowd cheering him on, Ramon battled back. He had the champion on the ropes – literally – and clotheslined him out again. Rude staggered to his feet, and got on the apron, but Ramon was waiting for him with a suplex. However, in a spot that looked like the Rude/Warrior finish at WrestleMania V, Pringle pulled on Ramon's ankle, and “Ravishing Rick” crashed down on the challenger. One, two... and a kick-out! Rude was furious, but he took charge again, stomping on Ramon while he was down. He slammed him a couple of times, hit him with a swinging neckbreaker, and then with cocky deliberation, set Ramon up for the Rude Awakening.
But before he could hit it, Ramon slipped out, and went for a backslide. The two men were deadlocked, fiercely trying to upend the other for at least ten seconds. Pringle was frantic, and he started walking up the ringsteps. The referee pointed in his direction, and shouted at him to back off – and that lapse in concentration was all it took for Rude to kick backwards with a low blow. Without missing a beat, he reapplied the Rude Awakening – and hit it.
Three seconds later, the match was over. His neckbreaker was a true finisher, and from bell to bell, the match went 19:38. Rude staggered to his feet, and cast a disrespectful glance down at Ramon as his hand was raised. Pringle scrambled between the ropes with the Florida Heavyweight strap in his hands, and passed it to his charge with a wide smile on his face, and the event ended with the “Ravishing One” standing on the middle ropes, holding the most prestigious title in the territory high overhead.