Post by fifthhorseman on Sept 22, 2020 19:08:21 GMT -5
CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA
EPISODE 27
EPISODE 27
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 Mike Rotunda and Dan Spivey, representing the Gulf Coast Varsity Club, with their hands in the air as CWF President Bobby Heenan presented them with the Southern Tag-Team titles.
Cold open in the center of the ring, and Gene Okerlund introduced Heenan to the crowd. The reaction was less than positive, as usual, and it got even louder when “the Brain” asked the CWF Florida Heavyweight champion, Rick Rude, to come to the ring. He was dressed in a custom-tailored suit, and followed to ringside by his manager, Percy Pringle III. They both shook Heenan's hand, and the CWF owner addressed the crowd.
Heenan: “Mr. Rude insisted on being here tonight because... well, he's disappointed. Disappointed that he hasn't had any competition since winning the Florida Heavyweight title six months ago. So he asked me – no, he insisted – that I find someone to give him a challenge. And over the last several weeks, I know who deserves that next opportunity. So, I'd like Jack Brisco and Dusty Rhodes to come down here as well.”
About ten seconds later, Brisco emerged from the curtain in street clothes. When he got in the ring, the “American Dream” made his entrance, wearing his wrestling gear and ready for action. When everyone was in the ring, Heenan continued.
“It's pretty clear to me that both of you want a shot against the champ... and your resumes speak for themselves. You're both legends in this sport, and former World champions. There's just one problem – and that's you, Rhodes. You're in the CWF Television title tournament, and in fact, you're facing Nick Nemeth later tonight. I don't want to just hand you a World title shot - it might make you lose focus on the prize right in front of you. So let me make you an offer. If you drop out of the tournament tonight, I'll book a best-of-five series between you... and Jack Brisco. Winner gets Rick Rude for the title. And if you both agree, then I'll even let the two of you choose your replacement – I'm not about to lose one of my matches tonight. Well? What do you say?”
Rhodes and Brisco looked at each other, intrigued, bemused, and most of all, eager to get their hands on Rude. They both agreed, solemnly shook hands, and in the same order they arrived, left the ring. Heenan shouted after them, “Don't forget! I need a name! Surely the two of you gentlemen can agree on somebody before main event time!” Then he and Rude exchanged a glance and smirked about the whole thing, and the champion told the crew to hit! His! Music!
Lance Russell: “Hello wrestling fans! What an announcement, what a turn of events to start things off tonight! I'm joined on commentary by Jesse 'the Body' Ventura, and it's good to see you, Jesse... but we have to get right back to the ring for tonight's first match, so let's go!”
CWF TV TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH – PURE RULES
RYBACK (w/Reckless Youth) vs. BARRY WINDHAM:
vs.
RYBACK (w/Reckless Youth) vs. BARRY WINDHAM:
vs.
The coin flip came up pure rules, favoring the big Texan... but the bigger man from Las Vegas still had plenty of power-based moves in his arsenal that didn't require his fists. When the match began, Russell stated that Heenan called a summit with the CWF locker room earlier that night and warned them that any extraordinary attack on them – meaning any attempt to drive them out of Florida – would not be tolerated.
Ventura: “Yeah, that little locker room chat went over real well. But look, even I'll get them credit – they came in, kicked ass, and made a name for themselves right away. That's just smart. But mark my words – if any of them ever get in the ring with Adrian and myself, the East-West Connection is gonna up the ante. It ain't like we can't just beat them up in the ring. You know, with ordinary violence.”
Onto the match. The master technician, Reckless Youth, was there to coach, and he had his Nexus teammate use a suplex-heavy offense. Windham didn't need any outside help, and he used the usual tools in the toolbox, minus the closed fists. Despite the ten-minute time limit, they didn't hurry, and the match did creep into its final minute before Windham reversed a Shellshock attempt with a crucifix, pinning Ryback at 9:33.
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, Rhodes and Brisco were (cordially) arguing about who they'd select to face Nemeth. Brisco favored Dory Funk, Jr., another NWA stalwart – but Rhodes looked ahead and thought if he won, he'd face his brother Terry in the next round. He wanted to put Rusev back out there to avenge his loss – but the burly Oklahoman said that he blew his shot by letting his temper get the best of him. The debate continued for a while until a familiar voice off-camera said, “Hey guys, I'm not doing anything tonight.” The camera swung around to reveal Jerry Lawler.
NON-TITLE MATCH
BRAD ARMSTRONG (w/Jesse James) vs. MUHAMMAD HASSAN (w/Freddie Blassie):
vs.
BRAD ARMSTRONG (w/Jesse James) vs. MUHAMMAD HASSAN (w/Freddie Blassie):
vs.
The new Southern Heavyweight champion had the perfect opponent to showcase his villainy. Armstrong got in a fair bit of offense in, at all the appropriate times, but Hassan proved to be just too much for him. They went about seven minutes, but with the help of a timely distraction by Blassie, the Arab-American locked in a camel clutch to finish Armstong off.
After the victory, Hassan took the microphone from Okerlund and said, “Now I know how 'Ravishing' Rick Rude feels around here. Where's the competition? As you just saw by the easy way I beat that tag-team specialist, it wasn't worth putting my title on the line. I'll fight anybody, anytime... but will I put my Southern Heavyweight championship up every time? That's up to -”
Suddenly he was interrupted from the stage by Drew McIntyre, who had been tearing through his foes over the last month. The Scotsman said, “Are you in the right place at the right time, then! It seems like Rick Rude doesn't want any piece of me, and Bobby Heenan didn't even see fit to let me enter the TV title tournament... so I guess that means that if I want some gold here in Florida, I'm gonna have to take it from you! I'm always up for a good fight – what say you put that title on the line for once, say, next week?”
Blassie grabbed the mike from Hassan and yelled, “You think you can just call us out? You got it backwards, you pencil-necked geek – we're in charge, not you! How about you put together another few wins, and then, maybe, we'll look in your direction – but until then, take a walk!”
The two wrestlers stared each other down, neither giving an inch, as the show went to
COMMERCIAL
A mysterious vignette aired from a weight room, in that it didn't reveal the man's face. He was obviously powerful, as he deadlifted and bench-pressed fantastic amounts of iron. He stepped on the scales, weighing in at 260 pounds, and from behind, his physique looked incredible. It ended with a “Coming Soon” graphic.
When it ended, Okerlund was on the stage, and he introduced the new Southern Tag-Team champions, the Gulf Coast Varsity Club. Rotunda and Spivey came out with the belts around their waists, and they were accompanied by Nemeth, who looked like he was getting ready for his match. It was a standard interview, leaning on the heel side, as Rotunda and particularly Spivey was especially proud of their win, and they promised – unlike Hassan – to be fighting champions.
“SUPERSTAR” BILLY GRAHAM vs. DAVID VON ERICH:
vs.
vs.
For the first time in months, the “Yellow Rose of Texas” had no backup. The other Freebirds left CWF when the Nexus invaded, but he did not, for reasons only known to him. Conversely, Graham was always ready to go, whether he had a manager or team with him or not.
It only lasted a few minutes, but they were a very entertaining few minutes. Von Erich carried the action from a technical standpoint, as you'd expect, while “Superstar” was equal parts power and charisma. Neither man had the opportunity to take over, though, because the House of Humperdink suddenly invaded their space, and the three men – Luger and the Stronghold – jumped Graham. Russell bitterly reminded the audience that Graham defeated the “Total Package” at Bash at the Beach. During the melee, Von Erich simply stood to the side – until Cameron got shoved into him by Graham. David took exception, shoved him back – and then he was gang-jumped as well. The House was eventually ushered from the ring by CWF referees and officials, and Graham and Von Erich slowly got to their feet, distrustful of each other as well.
COMMERCIAL
Another vignette aired, a “compare and contrast” video featuring Terry Funk and Timothy Thatcher. They seemed to be as different as could be, but they did have one thing in common: in two weeks, when the semi-finals of the TV tournament got back underway, they'd be battling on opposite sides of the semi-final bracket.
Backstage, a cameraman tailed Graham and Von Erich, who were still arguing and on the verge of fighting again. The second-generation star tried to convince Graham that he would team with him to take on Luger and the Stronghold, but the former WWWF champ wanted nothing to do with him, and he shouted, “Why should I trust you? You're looking for an easy ride to the top, daddy! You even sided against your own flesh and blood – I'm not letting you stick a knife in my back, too!”
CWF TV TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH – PURE RULES
JERRY LAWLER vs. NICK NEMETH:
vs.
JERRY LAWLER vs. NICK NEMETH:
vs.
The pre-show coin toss certainly seemed to be on Nemeth's side, and the Kent State alumnus was fired up. Lawler had no amateur background to draw from, but he might have been the smartest man in CWF – and that was saying something.
Nemeth was more than a collegiate wrestler, though, and he mixed in plenty of pro moves – strikes, dropkicks, and other things within the Pure handbook. Lawler stuck to what worked best for him over his career, and “the King” found a chink in Nemeth's armor by attacking his foe's knee. He twisted and wrenched at it, dropped the hard part of his own knee on it several times, but Nemeth eventually escaped.
A series of suplex reversals later, the two men went tumbling between the middle and bottom ropes to the floor, where they crashed hard. Tempers flared, and they fired vicious chops at each other. They got back in the ring, where the Memphis legend kicked away at Nemeth's knee once again. Lawler went for an atomic drop, but Nemeth flipped straight over his back and cradled him for a fast one-count – which was all it took for the win. Lawler was stunned, almost as if he forgot... but the match was over, and Nemeth extended his hand to Lawler before he limped away, savoring the win.
The scene shifted to Heenan's office, where he, Rude, and Pringle all sat. The heavyweight champion stared into the camera and sneered, “Hey, Brisco. Hey, Rhodes. Looks like you made the wrong choice – and hey, I'm sure you two geniuses will have a great best-of-five for the chance to lose to me, but at least I think one of you have a slightly better chance than the other. But I'm not gonna tell you who I think is better, you can figure that out.”
“But I did hear you throw out the names of... who was it... oh yeah, Dory Funk, Jr. and Rusev. I've heard of them. In fact, I told Bobby that the champ needs some exercise, so next week, I'm gonna take both of them on in a triple-threat match. I'm even going to put the Florida Heavyweight championship on the line, because 'Ravishing' Rick Rude is that damn good. See you next week.”
COMMERCIAL
As Bobby Heenan came out to the broadcast table for the main event, a video recap summarizing the Devil's Advocates' actions the past several weeks was shown, starting with their abduction of Razor Ramon over a month ago. Ramon hadn't been seen since, but VTRs were sent into the CWF office, in which Sean O'Haire seemed to interrogate and confuse the “Bad Guy”. Then, just last week, Dexter Lumis and Leo Kruger appeared to challenge the CWF Florida Tag-Team champions, who accepted the Advocates' offer.
And here we are.
CWF FLORIDA TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DEVIL'S ADVOCATES (c) vs. BILLY JACK HAYNES and KERRY VON ERICH:
vs.
The DEVIL'S ADVOCATES (c) vs. BILLY JACK HAYNES and KERRY VON ERICH:
vs.
Big-match intros to start the main event... but before Okerlund left the ring, Kruger took the microphone from him. “Before we get started, I want to let you two know that you're making a mistake. A big mistake. For you see... we're not your opponents tonight.”
The champions looked confused, and laughed it off, but Kruger continued while his stoic partner nodded in agreement. “You two signed a contract to face the Devil's Advocates. But Dexter and I aren't the Devil's Advocates... our entire brotherhood is. We all are. So you're going to face our esteemed leader, Sean O'Haire... and his partner.”
The crowd was stunned, and when Russell and Ventura questioned Heenan about it, he had the paperwork in front of him, and said, “The man's right. Smarter than I thought, too, but I suppose it doesn't take a brain surgeon to outwit those other two muscleheads in there. In fact -”
The curtain parted, and the sinister O'Haire strode onto the stage exuding confidence. A second later, his partner emerged... the equally tall and muscular Starship Coyote.
If the crowd was stunned before, they were bewildered now. O'Haire and Coyote marched down the ramp and attacked Haynes and Von Erich immediately, as the other Advocates scurried out the opposite side of the ring. The champions were totally unprepared to fight this combination, and it showed. Haynes was sealed off from his partner, and the two titaans on the other side wore him out, trading crisp tags with O'Haire constantly instructing and cajoling his new ally. The minutes agonizingly stretched by, and Haynes was doing his best just to survive.
The “Texas Tornado” had enough, and charged in to attack both of his opponents. It gave the Oregonian a bit of breathing room, and after a flurry of moves that saw O'Haire miss a Seanton bomb, both legal men made simultaneous hot tags. Coyote and Von Erich went toe-to-toe in the middle, trading hard right crosses. The Texan whipped Coyote into the ropes and locked a sleeper hold on, and it dropped the newest Advocate to one knee. The referee checked his hand and it fell twice – but before it could fall a third time, O'Haire kicked Von Erich in the back of the head.
All four men fought now, brawling in the ring and on the floor outside. In the melee, Kerry charged at Coyote, but he was backdropped onto the timekeeper's table. In obvious pain, he was at the mercy of his enemy, who would not let him get counted out. Coyote flung him into the ring and hit him with three backbreakers over his knee, one right after another, and then hoisted the 255-pounder up like he was a feather into an over-the-shoulder backbreaker. He paused for a second, as if remembering something, then straightened his arms and slammed Von Erich down hard... with a Razor's Edge.
O'Haire grabbed Haynes' leg on the outside as the referee counted to three. The match was over, and the Florida tag belts were presented to the unlikeliest of teams in perhaps the entire MUW network: Sean O'Haire... and the debuting/returned/reborn Starship Coyote. They wrapped the belts around their waists, and stared ominously into the camera as the show ended.