Post by Joe on Dec 22, 2023 14:41:17 GMT -5
ULTIMATE PRO WRESTLING
"WAR ON CHRISTMAS"
12/23/2023
The Globe Theater in Reseda, CA
IN-RING SEGMENT
The show starts off in Sillytown, as we get two guys dressed as The Grinch and Krampus heading to the ring and they are antagonizing the audience. The Grinch gets on the microphone and says the only thing worse than Christmas is Christmas in California! If it's going to be Christmas, it should at least be snowing, like it does in New York! He says they don't deserve any holiday cheer this Christmas, and that he and Krampus are stealing this show right now and putting it to an end!
This leads to War Machine, Hanson and Rowe, emerging from the back; Hanson is wearing a Santa Claus hat and red pants with suspenders, and Ray Rowe is wearing an elf hat and ears with green pats, but his large tattooed upper body is exposed. Ray gets on the mic and says he and Santa have heard enough, and they are here to save Christmas for all the good, well, mostly boys in the crowd tonight!
A referee runs down, and we've got a match.
Santa & Big Elf (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. The Grinch & Krampus (Daniel Garcia & Trent Beretta)
This was a pure comedy match that didn't go long. Big Elf would attempt a heart punch on The Grinch in the corner to no effect, which Colt Cabana explained on color was because The Grinch's heart is too small! The Grinch used his long, hairy fingers to poke Big Elf in the eyes and then sent him out of the ring with a dropkick! Santa would toss Krampus out in the crowd with authority, and then made it back into the ring and saw The Grinch and Big Elf on the outside. Mike Tenay shouted out, "Santa's going to fly!" and Hanson ran and hurtled himself over the ropes and smashed the Grinch! Santa rolled The Grinch back into the ring and then flew off the top with a Big Splash that Cabana called "Santa's Sleigh Ride" and it was all over! Santa and Big Elf saved Christmas.
Winners: Santa & Big Elf
IN-RING SEGMENT
The next segment that perhaps starts this show in earnest is The Undisputed Era of Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish making their way out to the ring holding all of the gold here in UPW. Fish gets on the microphone and enthusiastically introduces the fourth member of the Undisputed Era, making his long awaited UPW debut, ADAM COLE BAY BAY!
The fans give Cole a great reaction. Cole says he's surrounded by championship gold, and all it does is make him want to strive higher and get some gold for himself to prove once and for all that we are ready to shock the system and stand tall as the most dominant faction in the history of this sport! He says that means they are ready to do whatever it takes, and that no one is safe!
AR Fox vs. Matt Sydal vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Nathan Frazer
For everything that was this display of orchestrated chaos, one thing seemed clear: Nathan Frazer is insanely fast, even beside other very quick competitors. That being said, he is still young and prone to mistakes, a miscalculated Phoenix Splash probably cost him this match. Mike Bailey was probably the favorite going into this, and he would deliver a Flamingo Driver to AR Fox that seemed like it might end it, but Matt Sydal would break up the pin attempt with a Penalty Kick to back of Bailey, followed by a Running Shooting Star Press to Fox to secure the win! Matt Sydal has done it again!
Winner: Matt Sydal
After the match, Bailey gets up in Sydal's face, and these two have a stare down. Bailey asks for a mic, and proceeds to challenge Sydal one-on-one at the next show. Sydal smiles and says he'd be glad to beat him again in a few weeks. Bailey now smiles, and they exchange a very stiff handshake and a few gameful bits of smack talk to each other off the mic before exiting.
Drew Gulak vs. Jamie Noble
After that wild four way match, it's time to slow things down a bit, as two of the best technicians in UPW set off to do battle here. Gulak is dressed more like a throwback to the 1960's, while Noble is sporting John Deere inspired short trunks and has the fans behind him all of the way. Noble looks maybe more fired up than ever, and seems to be more dangerous, as he catches Gulak in multiple near submission attempts that forces Gulak to get to the ropes to save himself. Gulak tries to overwhelm Noble with a barrage of heavy blows out of frustration, but he can't seem to keep the West Virginia native down. Gulak delivers a Northern Lights Suplex, trying to hold Noble down, but Noble shows just how crafty and dangerous he is, kicking out and reversing it right into a Guillotine Choke! Gulak gets to his feet and tries to get Noble off of him, but Noble is like a pit bull and is locked on tight! Noble wraps his legs around Gulak's midsection as he stands in the center of the ring and cranks his neck to the side, and Gulak is forced to tap out! Jamie Noble gets a very impressive submission win here, and the fans are loving it! Mike Tenay also cannot stop gushing about Noble's technical prowess on commentary, as it's clear he really appreciates his approach to the sport.
Winner: Jamie Noble
Bandido vs. Tony Nese
Olé! Olé, Olé, Olé! It's time for some lucha libre! Bandido is the clear favorite here, but Tony Nese is far from a slouch. Nese has Bandido hurting a few times in this match, but it was clear this was meant to be the Bandido show. Bandido catches Nese going up top and proceeds to deliver a massive Inverted Cradle Shock off the top rope to get the win and the crowd goes wild!
Winner: Bandido
Cameron Grimes vs. Jay Lethal
Grimes is vicious in this match, and seems to determined to do anything necessary to get the win, but Lethal just wouldn't stay down. Lethal would get fired up and land a series of Topes to the outside, leaving Grimes staggering, and then sent him back into the ring, where he hit a Flying Elbowdrop for a near fall. Lethal would then attempt the Lethal Injection, but Grimes would reverse it with a Lariat to the back of Lethal's head! Colt Cabana yells out that Lethal's neck might be broken from that, as Tenay comments on the whiplash! Grimes recovers and lifts Lethal off the mat and lifts him up and attempts an Orange Crush, but Lethal reverses it into a Huracanrana, but only gets a two count! They get back up and Lethal tries to whip Grimes, but it's reversed. Grimes runs past him and Lethal turns, leading to Grimes nailing the Cave In! Grimes covers, but Lethal still kicks out! Grimes mushes the ref across the face in anger, and then lifts Lethal again. Grimes attempts another Orange Crush, and this time hits it! Grimes grabs the tights like he did last show against Wes Lee, but Lethal manages to reverse it and flip Grimes over into a Sunset Flip style pinning predicament! Lethal now grabs a handful of tights for good measure, and he gets the three count! Grimes is livid, as Mike Tenay declares turnabout is fair play! A win is a win, and Grimes is throwing a tantrum!
Winner: Jay Lethal
Grimes is quick to attack Lethal from behind with another brutal Lariat, and then stomps him into the mat until officials make their way out to break things up. Grimes yells at the fans to shut up as he leaves, and cries out that he's been cheated as he heads to the back.
Adam Cole vs. "The Hurricane" Shane Helms
These two were both making their debuts, and both are popular, but it was clear Adam Cole was the main attraction starting out. Helms would end up winning the fans over throughout the match, though, as he picked up momentum and Cole became frustrated. Both men would get near falls, as Cole would try to put down Helms with the Kneecap Brainbuster and Straight Jacket German Suplex, while Helms would deliver the Nightmare On Helms Street and the Shining Wizard to no avail. Helms would catch Cole on the outside with a high flying crossbody block off the top, and then sent him into the ring, where he went up to the top and came off with a Blockbuster for another two count. Helms calls for the end, and the fans think they may be about to see an upset. Helms lifts Cole off the mat and hooks him in, turning him and lifting for the Vertebreaker, but Cole escapes, landing on his feet behind Helms and then kicking "The Hurricane" between the legs as the ref was changing positions and couldn't see it! Cole then comes off the ropes and The Boom knee strike to the back of Helms' head, and that's it! Cole makes the cover and gets the three count as the fans give him a very mixed reaction!
Winner: Adam Cole
Cole is greeted by his fellow Undisputed Era members on the outside. Roddy and Bobby congratulate him, patting him on the back, as Kyle looks a little more reserved. Cole smiles and slaps Kyle on the back and says, "Hey, man, whatever it takes, right!? We're taking over!" Kyle just kind of shrugs it off and they head to the back.
American Wolves: Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards vs. British Strong Style: Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate
This match featured some very hard hitting back and forth between these two teams, with Richards and Dunne also having some very spirited mat grappling exchanges throughout. The pace would pick up near the end and things would get a bit chaotic, which played right into the hands of the British boys. Dunne would manage to send Edwards into the crowd with a kick over the railing and then slide back into the ring. Bate would roll out of the way of a Double Stomp from Richards, sending Richards and popping up right into a Running European Uppercut from Dunne that sent him inside out! Bate grabs Richards and delivers his Tyler Driver '97 as Dunne kicks the back of Richards head and neck on the way down, and it's all over! Edwards would attempt to make the save, but only just made it under the bottom rope as the referee counted the three. The BSS are back on the winning track in a big way!
Winners: British Strong Style
Edwards goes to check on Richards as he lays hurt in the ring, but Davey shoves Edwards away. Richards kind of pulls back like he might strike Edwards, but then just turns and leaves Edwards looking confused and angry in the ring. Mike Tenay points out that the American Wolves seem to be falling apart, and Cabana agrees, saying that taking tough losses like this can tear a team apart.
BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
We go backstage, where Jeremy Borash is standing in with Undisputed Title hopeful Johnny Gargano. Borash akas Gargano how he is feeling going into his title match tonight, and he says he's feeling pretty loose but now has to be extra cautious thanks to Adam Cole rearing his ugly head into UPW. He says he has a lot of respect for O'Reilly and what he is trying to do for the title, but he says he thinks he is the better wrestler and wants to prove it tonight. Gargano says he thinks he is ready to be the face of UPW, and he hopes he doesn't get that opportunity stolen from him tonight. Enter the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin step in, and Shelley tells Gargano they are also gunning for some gold that the Undisputed Era currently have, so they have similar worries. Sabin tells Gargano that he's not alone, and that despite him being from the trash city of Cleveland, the heroes from Detroit have his back. Gargano takes the Cleveland remark in jest and they share a hand slap as we cut back to the ring.
Tyson Kidd vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Tyson Kidd makes his return to the UPW ring here in Reseda to take on the white hot Zack Sabre Jr. "ZACK SABRE JR." chants to the melody of "Seven Nation Army" can be heard throughout the venue as the match is set to begin. Tyson Kidd is so fast and so technically sound, that Sabre is forced to just stand back after a couple of exchanges and give Kidd a nice round of applause, which also makes the fans get behind him. Sabre and Kidd exchange a competitive smile before getting serious and getting back to the action. The feeling out process turns into a full on war between these two, as they exchange quick kicks and European Uppercuts before Sabre delivers a Running Boot to nearly decapitate the Canadian star! Sabre attempts to lock on a Cross Armbar, but Kidd escapes it and locks on an Ankle Lock. Sabre attempts to roll through the Ankle Lock twice, but Kidd rolls with him and keeps it locked on and the fans go wild! Kidd attempts an STF, but Sabre stops it and then end up sitting across from each other and exchanging slaps back and forth! Kidd throws a kick and then Sabre kicks him back, and that rocks him. Kidd is staggered in the corner and Sabre runs in with a High Kick, but Kidd dodges it and grabs him and hits a Standing Blue Thunder! Kidd attempts to lock on a Sharpshooter, but Sabre pulls him down into an Inside Cradle for a two count! Kidd runs off the ropes and leaps up and takes Sabre down with a Crucifix Pin, but Sabre escapes and grabs him the wrists and hooks his legs behind his legs, bridging his back into the European Clutch pinning combination, and that gets him the three count! Sabre does it again!
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Talk about two very different personalities. Dragunov is about as intense as they come, with a very sort of clean cut image, while Nakamura is very eccentric and shaggy, and always trying to get into his opponent's head. The one thing these two have in common is they love to hit people really, really hard, and we had a lot of that in this match. Nakamura calls himself the "King of Strong Style" for a reason, and Dragunov certainly found out why. Both men would manage to land their best shots in this contest, and to both men's credit, each was able to kick out of that best shot at least once. It's just the name of the game when you get to this level, as both men knew full well that another title shot could be coming imminently with a victory. Each man has been so close in the past and fallen just short, and would love to get one more crack at it. Unfortunately for Dragunov, Nakamura would manage to catch him with a Running High Knee to counter the Constantine Special, knocking him inside out in a mesmerizing display. Dragunov would get to his knees with his fists up, clearly staggered as his head bobbed back and forth, but he just didn't want to quit. Nakamura put an end to that, though, rushing in and delivering a final Boma Ye kneestrike to Dragunov's face, knocking him unconscious and earning the "King of Strong Style" the win.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
The fans would give Dragunov a nice ovation once he was finally able to walk out. Dragunov would deny any medical help and would limp his way to the back holding his ribs and hanging his head in defeat. Mike Tenay laments that today may not have been his day, but he has a feeling his day will come sooner than later. Colt Cabana says he's coming close to putting it all together, and when he does, God help anybody who stands in his way.
Bad Influence: Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Motor City Machine Guns: Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
The SoCal natives Bad Influence would get a nice initial reaction from the crowd, but the Motor City Machine Guns were the favorites, hands down. It's hard not to love these guys and what they do in the ring, and the fans were cheering them on all the way. Daniels and Kazarian know both Shelley and Sabin very well, and knew what to expect coming into this, and Cabana pointed out on commentary you could see that familiarity in the way the veterans were anticipating the moves and making counters. Daniels and Kazarian had the Machine Guns well scouted, and were willing to do anything to get the win here, even if it meant bending the rules. The Machine Guns would rally after Shelley made a hot tag to Sabin, and the momentum seemed to be going their way. Shelley and Sabin would execute their Made in Detroit finisher on Kazarian and seemed like they might have the win, but Daniels would just barely break it up! Daniels would manage to send Shelley out of the ring and then caught Sabin with a Jumping Calf Kick to take him down. Daniels would pull Kazarian up and they would attempt their Bad Elimination on Sabin, but Sabin would evade it almost Matrix style, right into a kip up, avoiding the Lariat and the Chop Block in amazing fashion! Sabin would then send Daniels out of the ring with a Dropkick and then catch Kazarian coming onto his shoulders and deliver the Cradle Shock to get the three count! The Motor City Machine Guns get the win!
Winners: Motor City Machine Guns
Shelley and Sabin stand on the middle turnbuckles after the match and pantomime the title belts around their waists before doing their signature pointing at the bottom of their palm pose. Cabana says that Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong are going have their work cut out for them at some point in the future, as the Machine Guns are as good as they come in the tag team division.
UPW UNDISPUTED TITLE
Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O'Reilly (c)
This was as good a match as one would hope for from these two, though things got very muddied by the end. Gargano and O'Reilly are no strangers to one another, having battled numerous times over the years, so when Gargano offered a handshake of respect early, Kyle didn't take long to contemplate it before accepting it. Mike Tenay commented on how good it was to see that level of sportsmanship going into such a high profile contest, while Cabana says that both men have certainly earned a lot of respect for what they've accomplished so far here in UPW. O'Reilly showed a lot of swagger throughout, as he was very confident and he holds the title with pride. He was taking his time and taunted Gargano a bit throughout, as Gargano was clearly the underdog and fighting from underneath, but was trying to live up to his "All Heart" moniker. O'Reilly brought the violence and was looking for the finish many times, but Gargano proved to be very durable, and then very dangerous himself, surprising O'Reilly after a back and forth exchange and flying into the ring with a One Final Beat DDT, but O'Reilly managed to kick out at two. Gargano would stay on him with the Garga-No-Escape, but O'Reilly would reverse it into a roll-up pin for a two, followed by a Kimura Lock, causing Gargano to get to the ropes break. O'Reilly would try to hook Gargano into the Regal Plex, but Gargano would manage to escape and deliver a Hurts Donut! Adam Cole would emerge from the back as Gargano got a two count, but then transitioned into another Garga-No-Escape! Cole would grab the foot of the referee and pull him out of the ring as the fans booed! Cole would go over and grab the title belt off the time keeper's table. Gargano would check the referee and then go over to Cole, sticking his upper body through the ropes and trying to reach out and grab him, but Cole would BLAST Gargano across the head with the belt, sending him falling back into the ring limply! Cole would then shove the referee in, but O'Reilly would protest and SAY NO! He would get up and yell in Cole's face, saying he didn't want to win it like that, and the referee would finally just wave the match off as a no contest.
No Contest
Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish would then hit the ring, and there is argument here. Strong and Fish try to calm down O'Reilly and tell him he needs to just relax, it's all good. Cole starts yelling at O'Reilly, telling him he's gone soft since he's been gone! O'Reilly says he's a champion, and he doesn't need any help! Cole yells out to Strong and Fish, repeating it and twisting his words, saying that O'Reilly claims he doesn't need them! Cole turns his back on O'Reilly, still holding the belt, and O'Reilly demands he give him his title back. Cole yells out, "You want it!? Take a good look at it!" And he smashes O'Reilly right between the eyes with it, leaving him laying on the mat!
Cole stands over him with the title in his hands, stating that he doesn't deserve that belt and says the belt belong to the Undisputed Era! Cole holds up the title as the fans boo, and then he instructs Roddy and Bobby to put the boots to O'Reilly. They hesitate for a moment, but then all three men start stomping on O'Reilly in the center of the ring!
Out comes the Motor City Machine Guns! They hit the ring and start throwing fists, and Gargano joins in, and Gargano and the MCMGs run off the Undisputed Era! Gargano helps up O'Reilly in the ring and the four men stand tall, as O'Reilly looks absolutely pissed, a small amount of blood trickling down his forehead and nose as Mike Tenay proclaims, "There's going to be hell to pay for this!" and the show comes to an end.