Post by fifthhorseman on Dec 4, 2021 23:18:41 GMT -5
AWA SUPERCLASH 2021
DARK MATCH
DUSTIN RHODES vs. RICKY STARKS:
vs.
DUSTIN RHODES vs. RICKY STARKS:
vs.
This was their chance to impress and warm up a notoriously tough Chicago crowd, and the rookie grapplers knew they had their work cut out for them. It took a few minutes, but eventually the fans were on Rhodes' side - and Starks definitely made it easy for them to hate him the longer the match went. It wasn't anything fancy, but they did their job – by the end of the 15-minute time limit draw, the crowd was primed and ready.
After the match, a camera crew was outside, where they spotted the new UWA Universal champion, Nicholas Aldis, entering the arena with his championship belt carried proudly over his shoulder.
Another angle was shown, and Mad Dog Vachon entered the arena in a different door, limping and favoring his left leg.
Pyro from Chicago, Illinois, with a flashy video package hyping up the crowd even more.
Joey Styles was at the broadcast table as usual, and he introduced Nick Bockwinkel as his color partner for the night. The Chicago crowd cheered for the legend, and he acknowledged them with a wave. “You can't imagine how disappointed I am not to be wrestling tonight. But I'm a professional, and all of this is just going to inspire me to train that much harder, to scout my opponents with more focus, and ultimately, put myself in a position to contend for the AWA Heavyweight championship."
MASATO TANAKA vs. MIRO:
vs.
vs.
Styles reminded the audience that Miro made an open challenge the week before on All-Star Wrestling, and the former ECW champion stepped up to the plate. Before Tanaka could even get through the ropes, “the Redeemer” jumped him, and drove him to the mat. But he couldn't keep him there, and the double-tough Japanese legend angrily fought back. In fact, it was a very ECW-esque brawl, and each man was determined to show that they deserved to be in the upper card. Miro was just too big and powerful, though, and he locked in the Accolade for the win.
As he celebrated, the scene suddenly switched to a backstage corridor, where Jeff Cobb and Buzz Sawyer viciously attacked Vachon. He tried to fight back, but he was outnumbered, and Cobb hit him with a Tour of the Islands slam through a table. As officials appeared to break it up, Sawyer snared Vachon's left ankle in a steel chair, and stomped it with both feet.
AWA SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TYLER BATE vs. ILYA DRAGUNOV:
vs.
TYLER BATE vs. ILYA DRAGUNOV:
vs.
Bockwinkel expressed his surprise that these were the two men battling for the title, but he also noted that they deserved to be there. They shook hands in the middle of the ring, but neither man broke the grip, so the match started just like that. Exchanging grips, head- and waistlocks, and other maneuvers at close range, they fought to a stalemate before finally breaking contact five minutes into the bout.
The crowd roared, and Dragunov and Bate went back at it. They fought 50 pounds above their weight, using powerful strikes and painful submissions over the course of a 25-minute classic. The “Big Strong Boy” from England impressed the crowd with his abnormal power, press-slamming his enemy, suplexing him from corner to corner, and powering out of all of Dragunov's pinning attempts. Conversely, the “Mad Russian” was even faster and more dynamic, and everything he hit Bate with, was hard, and delivered with pinpoint accuracy.
They were exhausted, trading forearms in the center of the ring. Bate got the upper hand, and he spun Dragunov around in a lengthy airplane spin that brought the audience to their feet. After a LONG time, the two men crashed to the mat, rolling to opposite corners. However, Dragunov recovered first, and ran full-speed at Bate, smashing him with the Torpedo Moscow. He fell on top of Bate, still woozy, but held him down enough to get the pin, and the AWA Southern title, in the process.
There was a moment of post-match tension as the referee was about to hand the belt to Dragunov. Bate snatched it away from him, looked at it for a few seconds, and then handed it to Dragunov himself. They exchanged a more sportsmanlike handshake, and the Brit rolled out to give the Russian his glory.
A video package aired, recapping the brief but intense feud between the men in the next match.
TAPED FIST MATCH
DON LEO JONATHAN vs. the SPOILER:
vs.
DON LEO JONATHAN vs. the SPOILER:
vs.
Neither man hated the other, per se, but Commissioned Stu Hart wanted to give this match a little more juice. Besides, it wasn't as if the two wrestlers weren't used to fist fights in the ring. They weren't cruiserweights, but they were arguably the two most agile big men in the AWA, with Jonathan doing dropkicks and cartwheels, and the masked man always walked the ropes with ease. They went about ten minutes, and when a particularly hard right hand from the Spoiler connected, the “Morman Giant” started to bleed. As the referee checked on him, the Spoiler slipped a flat, foreign object into his mask, went to the top rope again, and hit Jonathan in the back of the skull with a vicious flying headbutt. Though dazed himself, the villain rolled onto Jonathan and made the pin.
After the two men cleared the ring, another mysterious, shadowy vignette aired on the monitors, featuring the same lanky, athletic athlete as was shown on the last episode of All-Star Wrestling. A British flag was part of the backdrop as he lifted heavy weights, and it ended with a “Coming Soon” tagline.
Back to live action, and Lee Marshall was trying to get into the trainer's room, where Vachon was getting checked out. The door suddenly opened, and Commissioner Hart stormed out without saying a word.
In yet another backstage area, Dragunov cut a short but passionate promo, putting over Bate and the rest of the men he defeated en route to the Southern title. He was, in his words, the best pound-for-pound champion in the entire Universal Wrestling Alliance, and he would defend his belt against the best competition the AWA could offer.
TRIPLE-THREAT TAG-TEAM MATCH
The GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS vs. the KILLER BEES vs. the NASTY BOYS:
vs.
vs.
The GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS vs. the KILLER BEES vs. the NASTY BOYS:
vs.
vs.
Styles recapped the background story for this match as each team made their entrances. It made for a weird dynamic, with two heel teams against the Bees – neither the Nasty Boys nor the GYV could be considered tweeners at all. And all three teams wanted to use this opportunity to catapult themselves into a title shot against the eventual AWA tag champions.
As expected, in a triple-threat, this was a fast-paced whirlwind of a battle – times two, given that there were twice as many competitors. The Bees brought the science, the Nasties brought the power, and the British team brought vicious teamwork. The referee had a hard time keeping up with the action, and when he inevitably got caught in a collision, Knobbs took advantage of the situation by posting Blair. The Bee fell out of the ring, and then Knobbs nailed Gibson with a wicked low blow. With the other men battling on the floor, the ref recovered in time to count the fall; winners, the Nasty Boys.
They bailed out and celebrated on the ramp before either team could get them, and the GYV left as well, bitter at the results. But as the Bees acknowledged the crowd, they were jumped from behind by the Midnight Express! Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton were both fresh, and mean, and they laid out Brunzell and Blair before AWA officials separated the two teams... but by then, the message was delivered.
Marshall found the “Universal Treasure” in the best suite in the arena. Aldis, looking every bit a champion, commended the “start-up promotion” as putting on an excellent card thus far, and added, “I'm looking forward to watching the main event up close and in person. Let's see if the American Wrestling Association crowns a man that might someday, just someday, be considered worthy of stepping in my ring. Gagne and Vachon, they're certainly... good professional wrestlers. I hope it's a good match.”
Elsewhere, Verne Gagne waited outside Hart's office. He was flanked by Cobb and Sawyer, the two former amateur all-stars, and as hard as he tried not to look complicit in the attack, it was blatantly obvious that he was. Then the door opened, and Hart waved Gagne – and just Gagne – inside.
LUMBERJACK MATCH
BAD NEW BROWN vs. JACOB FATU:
vs.
BAD NEW BROWN vs. JACOB FATU:
vs.
Most of the wrestlers that weren't on the card surrounded the ring: the six trainees (Steiner, Helms, Rhodes, Hammerstone, Starks, and Jungle Boy), Joe and Larry Hennig, Wade Barrett, Kanyon, and Ken Kennedy. They warily watched Fatu and Brown enter the ring, wondering if they'd be targets. Luckily for them, the two combatants were more than satisfied teeing off on each other. But whenever either of them was ejected from the ring, they also didn't mind taking a shot at the lumberjacks. It was a back-and-forth battle, neither man willing to give an inch, but after Brown missed a Ghetto Blaster kick, Fatu went to work on his foe's ankle, until he was unable to stand. Then, he hit a massive moonsault on Brown, putting a rare pinfall loss on the former judo champ.
After the two behemoths left ringside, Styles announced that Hart was multi-tasking – next week, the Killer Bees would take on the Midnight Express.
A lengthy VTR aired, highlighting the fighting skills and career achievements of the teams due up next. At stake: the AWA tag-team titles.
AWA TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The NEW AGE OUTLAWS vs. the NORTH:
vs.
The NEW AGE OUTLAWS vs. the NORTH:
vs.
On paper, the NAO were the odds-on favorites, and they were certainly more infamous. That said, Alexander and Page were so cocky and arrogant, they were happy to bet on themselves. “All Ego” and the “Road Dogg” started out, and throughout the match, that seemed to be a constant... meaning that Gunn and Alexander often paired off as well. Gunn's strength was the X-factor, so the North tried to isolate James as often as they could.
But the Outlaws controlled the first third of the match. Eventually, the North turned the tide and picked off Road Dogg, putting him in their corner and working his neck. They tried everything, whether it was in the rule book or not, but the second-generation star took all the punishment and made the hot tag to Gunn. He cleared house, and after a couple of minutes, all four were outside on the floor. It was chaotic, and while the referee tried to separate Gunn and Alexander, Page grabbed the bell from the timekeeper's table, kicked James in the gut, and DDTed him on the bell. When Page picked the barely-conscious Dogg up, he was already gushing blood, and he rolled him under the bottom rope. He added a Hoganesque legdrop for flourish, and as Alexander held onto Gunn's ankle for dear life, Page pinned James. Bockwinkel called it an upset, but the former Impact tag champions thought otherwise, and defiantly waved their belts at the crowd as Gunn checked on his friend.
In yet another backstage interlude, Miro was still in his trunks, and “the Redeemer” claimed that he was invincible. “Would anyone be able to defeat him?”, he asked rhetorically. As if on cue, Fatu walked up to him, eye to eye. Neither man blinked, neither backed down...
Meanwhile, the fan-friendlier rookies – Rhodes, Jungle Boy, and Helms – were discussing the lumberjack match in a small locker room. Out of nowhere, Brodie Lee entered the room, closing the door behind him. The sounds of a struggle were heard from outside, and several seconds later, the door opened. Lee left, and the three prospects were lying on the floor in obvious pain.
VTR time for the main event. Their countless AWA victories from the past, and the routes both men took to get to this match, were recapped to perfection.
But before it could get underway, Aldis walked onto the stage. He nodded to the hostile crowd, showed them the Universal title, and sat down beside Styles. He and Bockwinkel – as articulate as any two men in the UWA – jousted verbally for a minute or so.
Bockwinkel: “Did I hear you correctly? Do you really think the American Wrestling Association is, as you called it, a 'start-up'?”
Aldis: “Mr. Bockwinkel, no one respects the rich legacy of the AWA more than I do. But this isn't that. You had your moment in the sun, decades ago, and that was commendable. But you've been around for what, two months? How many matches have you personally had since its return?”
Bockwinkel: “Offhand, I think more than you've had since becoming the Univesral champion. This is, what, week two of the one-million-year galactic reign?”
AWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
VERNE GAGNE vs. MAD DOG VACHON:
vs.
VERNE GAGNE vs. MAD DOG VACHON:
vs.
Gagne strutted to the ring first, escorted by his proteges Cobb and Sawyer. He did jumping jacks and squats, as if mocking Vachon's situation. He never even took off his ring jacket.
A minute passed, and then Hart came out on the stage. He had a microphone, and didn't look happy. “Unfortunately, Mad Dog Vachon isn't medically cleared to compete tonight. Therefore, I am postponing this championship match until -”
Gagne grabbed the microphone from Marshall's hand in the ring and shouted, “You can't do that! I'm ready to wrestle! I'm a fighting champion! And you can't disappoint all of these fans here tonight – they're all here to see me get that title back!”
The crowd booed, for both the proclamation and at the Minnesotan's arrogance. Vachon then appeared on the stage, his entire left leg wrapped, his foot in an air cast, and supported by a pair of crutches. He shouted at Gagne and his henchmen, while that trio smirked at him.
Gagne spoke again. “Hey, he looks ready to me. I'll fight him right now. I told you! I'm a fighting champion! I'm ready to wrestle, right now!”
For several seconds, no one said anything. Hart looked at Vachon... then he looked at Aldis. Then, he looked at Bockwinkel.
And then the music blared over the PA system.
The Ultimate Warrior's music.
He ran down the ramp at full speed, the crowd roaring in disbelief. The Warrior double-clotheslined Sawyer and Cobb out of the ring, bounced off the ropes, and hit Gagne with a flying shoulder-tackle. He kept his momentum going, and hit his unprepared opponent a second time, and a third. Finally, he lifted Gagne up in a press-slam, turned in a complete circle, and dropped him. One more run into the ropes, one flying splash, and a somewhat hesitant three-count later, the referee held up the Ultimate Warrior's arm. He was presented with the championship by Hart himself, and as Styles went insane at the broadcast table and the show faded to black, the Warrior stood in one of the corners, holding the belt with both hands over his head.