Post by fifthhorseman on Jul 7, 2020 21:26:14 GMT -5
CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA
EPISODE 18
EPISODE 18
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, ending with a still shot of a weary Rick Rude slinging his Florida Heavyweight title belt over his shoulder, while Razor Ramon laid on the floor of Bobby Heenan's office.
Cold open with the house lights down, and a single spotlight shining down into the center of the ring.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the owner and president of Championship Wrestling from Florida... Bobby Heenan!”
“The Brain” strode down the ramp and into the ring. He turned to the giant monitor above the stage, and a split-screen shot appeared – one side from inside the “good guy” locker room, the other inside the rulebreakers'. They were all, in turn, watching monitors, interested to hear what their boss had to say.
“Just a few months ago, I saw a glorious opportunity to expand into Florida, and thanks to my vision, my shrewd negotiating skills, and my business acumen, the CWF was reborn. And you're welcome.” He paused for effect, and continued. “The roster of talent I hired was excellent, a mixture of the old Florida guard and fresh faces, each of them incredibly eager to do whatever I wanted them to.”
“But over the last few weeks, it's become pretty clear that the MUW Network is trying to hold me back. Not only did they let the NWA run a major pay-per-view in my state, but they also let Ron Fuller and that embarrassment to our sport, Andy Kaufman, re-start CCW just a few miles from the state border! How is that protecting my interests? And furthermore, they sanction a match in Lucha Underground, of all places, just because Brian Pillman asked them to? What if he got hurt? How the hell does that help me?”
“But no, that's not all. 2020, it seems, hasn't been very kind to a couple of other promotions, and that flooded the market with a glut of free agents. As the owner and president of CWF, I would have been a fool if I didn't make some offers to some of them – that's just good business – but even I have to admit it wasn't something I projected in my annual budget. But hey, it's just money, right? Doesn't more talent make the promotion stronger?”
Heenan slowly shook his head. “In the long term, sure. But in the meantime, the roster turnover has done a number on a bunch of my licensing agreements. Likewise in merchandising – all those CWF Buddy Murphy T-shirts are worthless now! Even my television partners want to reopen our deals – I gotta go convince them all that we're stable and better than ever, and we're not going to release a bunch of you guys without warning.”
“So here's the deal. Unless ten Rick Rudes suddenly become available, I don't plan on making major changes to the roster. However -” and he gave the monitor a long stare - “that doesn't mean you should get complacent. Not by a long shot. If you think you're safe and you start mailing it in, you're gonna be wrestling the opening match in every hot, humid, high school gym I can find from now until Christmas. And rest assured, the guys wrestling those high school gym matches aren't exactly cleaning up on their merch deals, either.”
Heenan smirked. “In conclusion... show me what you got. Show those snooty, arrogant MUW Directors what you got. You've all got a clean slate with me – except for maybe you, Pillman – and we're gonna separate the men from the boys... starting tonight. Razor Ramon, take a seat – it's time to find a new number one contender for Mr. Rude's championship. So in our main event, we'll have a 12-man elimination tag-team match. In one corner, six men who have been with me from the beginning, patiently waiting for a shot... and in the other corner, six men, any of whom can jump right to the front of the line. If only one of you survive, congratulations. You're the top contender. But if one of the teams has more than one man left – well, we'll figure that out next week.”
“We'll be right back.”
COMMERCIAL
“SUPERSTAR” BILLY GRAHAM vs. SHANE THORNE:
vs.
The former WWWF World champion must have been inspired by Heenan's words, because he won in extremely convincing fashion, making Thorne submit to a bearhug in about four minutes. The crowd reaction was mixed at best, but the boos rained down a bit more when the House of Humperdink, led by their manager, came down to the ring to congratulate Graham.
Humperdink had a microphone, and he said, “Impressive as ever, Superstar! You squeezed the life out of that chump – let me tell you something, those guns have never looked bigger! Like I told you before, you are perfect for the House of Humperdink – look around and consider! The 'Total Package', Lex Luger; 'Lethal' Larry Cameron; the 'One Man Nation', Uhaa Nation... and you. Come on, Billy... what do you say?”
Graham waited several suspenseful seconds before responding. “Sorry, big daddy, but the Superstar is a solo act right now. I -”
As if anticipating the answer, Luger nailed Graham from behind with his loaded forearm, driving him to the canvas. The Stronghold joined in the attack, and all three men put the boots to Graham, with Humperdink directing the assault until his friend-turned-enemy was hoisted up in Luger's Torture Rack backbreaker. Eventually, officials broke it up, and as the House left, Graham shrugged away the medics.
The scene shifted back to the broadcast table, where Lance Russell set up a taped interview clip with a man he knew very well, “the King”, Jerry Lawler. It was a typical introductory interview, with Lawler in a face role, eager to get a shot at Rude, Pillman, or anyone else that wanted to take him on.
COMMERCIAL
Coming out of the commercial, Russell and Stu Bennett were murmuring excitedly at the broadcast table. The legendary play-by-play man said, “During the break, Bobby Heenan sent us the list of the athletes participating in tonight's huge main event... and my goodness, the star power in this match is second to none.”
Bennett: “That is absolutely correct, Lance. Bobby promised us a big match, and he has delivered that and then some. On one side of the ring – your good friend Jerry Lawler, plus Billy Jack Haynes, Nigel McGuinness, David Von Erich, Rusev, and Jack Brisco.”
Russell: “Noticeable by his absence in that grouping, a man who's been here from the beginning, our Southern Heavyweight champion, Brian Pillman. But I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. Meanwhile, opposing them – Terry Funk, his brother Dory Funk, Jr., Ryback, Nick Nemeth, and two men making their 2020 CWF debut tonight, Drew McIntyre and Dusty Rhodes. What a match, eight former World champions all in there... but let's get to the ring for our next match.”
The BLOND BOMBERS (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. the SAMOA FIGHT CLUB:
vs.
vs.
The announcers were surprised to see “Classy” Freddy Blassie lead Patterson and Stevens to the ring, but in hindsight, they shouldn't have been – the three had a history together, and Blassie was nothing if not selective about the talent he managed. The Bombers showed why they were considered one of the best teams of all-time, even when they were bumped all over the ring by the 350-pound Fatu. It was a fast-paced sprint of a contest, and “the Crippler” earned the win for his team when he hit his Bombs Away knee-drop on Siaki.
COMMERCIAL
Another vignette for Barry Windham aired, featuring some of his earliest matches as a pro when he fought in Florida many years earlier. When it ended, Russell said, “And fans, Barry will be making his debut next week!”
2MB and JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. LEX LUGER and the STRONGHOLD (w/Oliver Humperdink):
vs.
vs.
This was a rematch of sorts, but Luger and Gabriel were added to the mix this time around. Both units showed good teamwork early on, with the offense you'd expect – the smaller team used its speed and science, while the HoH were raw power. However, it ended in premature fashion, as an enraged Billy Graham interrupted the match with a steel chair in hand, nailing Luger in the back a couple of times before the trio fled. Humperdink followed in their wake, making sure that they were recognized as the winners via disqualification. “Superstar” even showed rare humility, apologizing to Gabriel and 2MB... and in the process, made the transition from heel to face in one night.
COMMERCIAL
Heenan came out to the broadcast table with a literal bag of popcorn in his hand. He loaded this match up with a dozen alpha males, and he was eager to see what would happen.
12-MAN ELIMINATION MATCH
JACK BRISCO, BILLY JACK HAYNES, JERRY LAWLER, NIGEL McGUINNESS, RUSEV, and DAVID VON ERICH vs.
DORY FUNK, Jr., TERRY FUNK, DREW McINTYRE, NICK NEMETH, DUSTY RHODES, and RYBACK:
vs.
There was a lot of tension throughout the contest – not only in the traditional tag-team sense, but within the competing squads as well. Von Erich and Haynes, for example – they hated each other, and if the stakes weren't so high, they'd have thrown down before the bell even rang. Also, they were all under the impression that unless only one person made it to the very end, it was just one step towards getting a Florida Heavyweight championship shot.
It lasted over 40 minutes, and with so much action, here are the highlights...
Rusev and Ryback were the first two casualties of the match, simply because the “Big Guy” was still jealous of the Bulgarian's popularity. The two men battled on the outside of the ring, and when Rusev was about to slide back in, Ryback grabbed him and kept fighting, resulting in a double-countout.
Von Erich was the next man to be eliminated, and it was partially his fault; he turned his back to McIntyre and yelled at Haynes, “Watch this!”... and when he turned back around, the Scotsman leveled him with a Claymore kick.
The next several minutes were as old-school as it got, as the Funk brothers worked like a well-oiled machine, keeping Brisco in their corner and grinding his left knee to mush in the process. But the tough Oklahoman refused to quit, forcing the other two former NWA champions to take greater risks... so after Terry missed a moonsault to the floor, Brisco was able to tag out. However, the younger Funk was in obvious pain, and rather than stay to fight, Dory decided to help his brother backstage, waiving the opportunity to take that title shot. In his mind, both he and Terry were good enough to inevitably earn that match later on.
A few minutes later, Nemeth evened the odds after hitting Haynes with a ZigZag, and locking him in a bodyscissors/sleeper combination that knocked him out.
COMMERCIAL
Back from the break, three men on each side: Rhodes, McIntyre, and Nemeth versus Lawler, Brisco, and McGuinness. Two icons clashed in the next wave of action – the “American Dream” and “the King”. It went back and forth, other men entered and left the fray, but Rhodes pinned Lawler with a roll-up from behind.
The pace began to slow down – not only were the athletes tiring, but they were being cautious. The tags were more frequent, as if the five remaining men realized that you can't lose if you're on the outside... but at the same time, they also realized that Heenan was a fickle man, and they'd be more likely to impress him with action rather than inaction. The battle raged on, and McIntyre was the next to go, courtesy of a stungun/jawbreaker lariat combination by McGuinness.
But the former ROH star had no time to celebrate his victory, when Rhodes hit him with a bionic elbow before he could even get to his feet.
Brisco entered the ring, still favoring his knee, and to Rhodes and Nemeth, it had a big bullseye on it. The match continued, but the NWA icon was up to the challenge. He not only survived the de facto handicap tag-team work on the other side, but he had Rhodes on the ropes. It was his turn to work the big Texan's legs, and he cinched in a figure-four leglock on Rhodes. The Florida favorite writhed in pain, but he eventually pulled himself to his corner, and Nemeth made the tag. He knew the other members of the Gulf Coast Varsity Club was counting on him, and he went to the top turnbuckle and came down with a big splash – across both men's legs.
Rhodes was in pain, Brisco was in pain, and Nemeth went for the cover. One, two – but the bell rang before the referee could finish his count. The television time limit expired, and there were still three men left in contention for a match against Rick Rude. Before the show ended, the camera zoomed in on Heenan, who knew he had a very good dilemma on his hands, and one that, deep down, he knew he wanted - because people were definitely going to tune in next week.