Jingo Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Round 1: Johnny Martin vs. Eddie Chandler Round 2: Jimmy Cox vs. JD Morgan Round 3: Ed Monton vs. Brent Hill Round 4: Freddie Datsun vs. The Wolverine Mexico's Most Wanted vs. Raven's Angels - Tag-Team Championship Hard 8 Semi-final 1: Johnny Martin vs. JD Morgan Hard 8 Semi-final 2: Brent Hill vs. Freddie Datsun Panda Mask vs. Eric Tyler - DAVE Extreme Championship Hard 8 Finals: Johnny Martin vs. Brent Hill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwink Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 DAVE Hard 8 Tournament Monday, Week 4, July 1997 Pennsylvania Park (Tri-State) – 2,000 people ______________________ The usual industrial beat that accompanies the opening videos is gone here, and the footage is switched out for short clips of the Hard 8 tournament members in action. Short soundbytes from Phil Vibert accompany each wrestler, obviously taken from a longer interview about how and why they made the rankings. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpg "...Am icon, a former champion..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EddieChandler.jpg "...the sneakiest bastard alive..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JimmyCox.jpg "...constantly learning, looking for his shot..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JDMorgan.jpg "...always underrated, always dangerous..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EdMonton.jpg "Three words: Survived. Larry. Wood." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg "...a future legend..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg "...he's like a stain you can't get rid of, only people seem to like him..." http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TheWolverine.jpg "...unbeaten...agressive...out to do damage..." Rating: D ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EddieChandler.jpg w/http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EmmaChase.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/WilliamFletcher.jpg Johnny Martin vs. Eddie Chandler w/Easy Emma & William Fletcher The commentary team spends the majority of the match talking about the Hard 8 rankings, with Vibert rattling off glib commentary about Eddie Chandler’s ability to suddenly change the landscape of DAVE if he can topple Johnny Martin and shoot to the top or the contendership. “Right now we’ve got Eddie Chandler pegged as the number 8 seed,” Vibert says. “That’s a bad place to be, Mitch. You can find yourself losing your shot just because a guy above you has a bad night.” Eddie Chandler puts everything he’s got into the match as a result, cheating like hell to keep himself viable, but Martin is hard to put down and communication issues among the entourage don’t help. About fifteen minutes in William Fletcher goes to interfere, swinging a chair at Martin’s head, and Johnny Martin pulls Eddie Chandler into position to take the hit. Chandler goes down and Martin covers to advance in the Hard 8 tournament. Johnny Martin defeated Eddie Chandler in 14:45 by pinfall. Rating: C ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JimmyCox.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JDMorgan.jpg Jimmy Cox vs. JD Morgan Morgan unleashes his nasty side here, taunting Cox with hard slaps and cusswords between the inevitable submission holds he uses to grind the younger man down. Jimmy Cox responds as the fans have come to expect, unleashing a stiff striking game that increasingly relies on elbow shots and running kicks. The match is even enough that both men are forced to pull something new and unexpected out of their bag of tricks. For Cox it’s a spot at ringside where he gets Morgan next to the ringpost and charges in with a leaping chair shot, following it up with a rolling elbow while his victim is stunned. For Morgan it’s a move that comes later, after he’s put Cox down in the ring, where the British technician goes to the top rope for the first time in his career and comes down on Cox with a diving knee drop that earns a two-count. Neither is enough to win the match, but they do mark the turning points in the match, eventually leading to JD Morgan clamping on the Cross Atlantic Stretch for the submission to move onto the next round. JD Morgan defeated Jimmy Cox in 13:50 by submission. Rating: C ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EdMonton.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg Ed Monton vs. Brent Hill After two opening-round matches that performed above expectations, this was something of a let-down. Both men are capable of much better than this – Hill’s claims of being one of the best wrestlers in the world aren’t all that unfounded, and while Monton’s skill-set isn’t anywhere near as deep his mastery of ring-psychology usually means that doesn’t matter. Not that this is bad, not by any stretch of the imagination, but there is the definite feeling that the pair can do better. Fifteen minutes of back-and-forth ends with Brent Hill landing the King of the Hill for the pinfall. Brent Hill defeated Ed Monton in 15:08 by pinfall. Rating: C- ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg Born in the USA plays over the loudspeakers as Freddie Datsun emerges from the curtains for his round one match. The American Everyman makes his way to the ring to a considerable pop, but Phil Vibert stands at the announce desk to interrupt. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/PhilVibert.jpg “I like to think that I’m a fair man,” Vibert says. “I don’t let personal grudges get in the way of business. I could have kept you out of the hard eight, Freddie. I could have said no the moment people brought your name up. But no matter how much you like to think I’m a monster, no matter how much you blame me for taking food out of your daughter’s mouth when *you* were the one who hit *me*, I’m not that petty. “And hell, these fans like you so much Freddie, I figure it’s only fair to let them be involved in your match. This is Fans Bring the Weapons rules, and your opponent is the Wolverine.” Rating: D+ ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TheWolverine.jpg Freddie Datsun vs. The Wolverine Fans Bring the Weapons It’s a simple equation: one of the companies most over faces plus it’s most terrifyingly over heel plus more weapons than you can poke a stick at. There’s nothing particularly technical here, just a hat-filled brawl that played directly to the strengths of both men with a manic Phil Vibert cackling with glee on commentary every time Datsun took a big hit. The American Everyman gets bloodied about eight or nine minutes in, busted open when a fan hands The Wolverine a tennis racket that gets grated against Datsun’s forehead. Eventually the man-beast has worn his opponent down far enough to go for the Maul… http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/PandaMask.jpg …only to get cut off by Panda Mask springboarding off the top rope, cutting off Wolverine’s charge with an hurricanrana that flips Wolverine into the ropes. Panda Mask immediately leaps to his feet, snarling like he’s ready to launch into the ENDAGERED SPECIES ATTACK MODE, but the fire is extinguished the moment the Wolverine gets back on his feet and starts hammering Mask with fists. Freddie Datsun takes advantage of the distraction, nailing Wolverine with a Patriot Press for the win. Freddie Datsun defeated the Wolverine in 13:57 by pinfall. Rating: C+ ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/SpanishSuperfly.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/RafaelRuiz.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TaylerMorton.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BlackEagle.jpg Mexico's Most Wanted vs. Raven's Angels DAVE Tag-Team Championship For the first time since the belts were first created, the DAVE fans actually give the impression that they give a damn about a tag-team title match, popping for the fast-moving offense of both teams. The fast tags of Mexico’s Most Wanted are bolstered by the definite shift in style when each man is the ring – Ruiz is all ground and pound, working the neck in preparation for the Lockjaw, while Superfly is all fast-paced arm drags and lucha high-spots. All four men wrestle at a hundred miles an our for twelve minutes before the match ends with Superfly catching Black Eagle with the Spanish Superfly Splash. Mexicos Most Wanted defeated Raven's Angels in 11:59 by pinfall. Mexicos Most Wanted make defence number 1 of their DAVE Tag Team titles. Rating: D+ ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JDMorgan.jpg Johnny Martin vs. JD Morgan It’s surprisingly technical match that sees Johnny Martin forgo his usual high-impact offense in favour of trading holds with Morgan, relying on the fact that Morgan’s first-round match proved a slightly tougher fight than Martin’s. It’s a solid theory, but even though people underrate Martin on the mat he’s just not in the same league as Morgan when it comes to grappling. The Brit finds counters to everything, frequently putting Martin on the defensive, working the right arm in preparation for the Cross-Atlantic Stretch. Martin struggles free, unleashing a burst of offense, and eventually sacrifices the arm in a charging lariat to get the win. Johnny Martin defeated JD Morgan in 14:44 by pinfall. Rating: C ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg Freddie Datsun’s music plays and he comes out for his next match, his head bandaged after getting split open in his bout with the Wolverine. The American Everyman looks confident despite his battered state, climbing into the ring and settling into a crouch while he waits for his opponent, but Phil Vibert makes an appearance before Hill can emerge. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/PhilVibert.jpg “You know, Freddie, I’ve been thinking,” Vibert says, “It was unfair putting you in hardcore match so early in the tournament, making you brawl and bleed in order to advance. It was wrong of me. I’m sorry.” Datsun just glares and waits for the other shoe to drop. He doesn’t have to wait long. “To make it up to you, I’m going to do you a favour,” Vibert says, “I’m going to ensure there’s absolutely no weapons used in this match. No chairs, no tables, no kendo sticks. Hell, odds are you’re not going to bleed at all. ‘Cause this time, Freddie, its you and Brent Hill, and I’m making this a submission match. “ Rating: D+ ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg Freddie Datsun vs. Brent Hill Submission Match Brent Hill emerges with a smug grin on his face, but Datsun is quick to remind the fans that he can go on the mat, outwrestling Hill to lock in a camel clutch relatively early in the match. From there the match largely gets carried on the heat between Datsun and Vibert, the in-ring action hindered by a lack of timing and chemistry between the two combatants. Datsun fights hard, but the injuries sustained in his first round match ultimately prove to be his undoing and Hill picks up the victory with a Perfect Package. Brent Hill defeated Freddie Datsun in 13:53 by submission. Rating; C ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EricTyler.jpg Eric Tyler comes out to the ring with the Extreme Title over his shoulder. He cuts a promo about the importance of giving rookies an opportunity, speaking in glowing terms about the veterans who gave Tyler himself a break when he was starting out, and claims that Phil Vibert’s accusations are largely unfounded. “Everyone’s career starts somewhere,” Tyler says, “and for these kids, stepping into the ring with me is the start of something special. Johnny Martin’s had his chance at the belt; it’s time for some new blood.” Rating: C ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/PandaMask.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EricTyler.jpg Panda Mask vs. Eric Tyler DAVE Extreme Championship A confident Tyler looks to start this match slow, working under the assumption that Panda Mask needs to be goaded into action, but Mask surprises everyone by launching into the ENDAGERED SPECIES ATTACK MODE as soon as the bell rings. He flies at Tyler, hammering the champion with a series of elbow shots, then takes him down with a rana and goes to work on the arm with a series of driving knees. Tyler fights free and goes to ringside, eyeing the savage Panda carefully, but that’s not enough to stop the assault. Panda Mask goes over the top rope with a tope to a roar of approval from the crowd. It takes Eric Tyler a few moments to catch his breath, but eventually he cuts off the ringside assault with a chair-shot and rolls Panda Mask back into the ring. The champion immediately starts picking the challenger apart, chipping away at Panda with chops and knee lifts before taking the cruiserweight down to the mat and working on the shoulder joint. The fans hiss as Tyler gets increasingly smug, then cheer when a bettered Panda Mask catches the champ by surprise with a kip-up rana pinfall. There’s a two-count before Tyler kicks out, but another rana follows soon after, setting Panda Mask up for the top rope Panda Attack. Tyler hits the ropes, knocking Panda Mask off, sparking a furious exchange between the two men that eventually sees Eric Tyler lock in the Tradition Lift and secure the submission. Eric Tyler defeated Panda Mask in 11:36 by submission. Rating: D+ ______________________ A sixty second video runs through the current rankings of the Hard 8 after the opening matches of the tournament. 8. Jimmy Cox 7. Eddie Chandler 6. The Wolverine 5. Ed Monton 4. Freddie Datsun 3. JD Morgan And fighting it out for the 1st and 2nd ranked spots in the finals… http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg Rating: C- ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpg vs. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg Johnny Martin vs. Brent Hill Fans Bring the Weapon's Match There’s very little messing around here – both men are tired after their earlier matches and they’re familiar enough with each other to know what’s coming. Martin’s primary tactic seems to revolve around taking Hill out of his comfort zone, going to ringside and encouraging fans to throw weapons into the mix, eventually borrowing a pair of crutches from someone sitting at ringside to inflict real damage on Hill when he tries to go for the roll-up that worked so effectively when he faced Martin as champion. Brent Hill responds with some brutality of his own, albeit without the use of the chairs, cookie-sheets and walking sticks he’s offered by enthusiastic fans. Instead Hill uses a combination of holds and strikes, trying to lock Martin down and hammer him with elbow strikes or snapping Hill’s knee against the ringpost. Both men are limping by the twenty minute mark and Hill’s bleeding from a cut around his eye, sending the fans crazy as they sense Martin moving for the kill. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EricTyler.jpg Then Eric Tyler charges the ring, the Extreme Championship in hand, and smashes it across the side of Martin’s head. Martin crumples, but he doesn’t stay down, fighting back on pure instinct when Hill attempts to lock in the Perfect Package. It takes nearly five more minutes of action before Hill finally finds the combination to put Martin away, picking up the pinfall with the King of the Hill. Brent Hill defeated Johnny Martin in 25:17 by pinfall. Brent Hill becomes the number 1 seed in the Hard 8 rankings Rating: C+ ______________________ http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EricTyler.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpg Tyler joins Hill in the ring with a microphone and steel chair, throwing the latter to a bloodied Hill. “You think this is a solution, Vibert?” Tyler says. “In case you haven’t noticed, you just handed me the keys to running this place. Your Hard 8 rankings fix nothing. Your number one seed works for me, and you’re number two…” Hill raises the chair and smashes it into Martin’s shoulder, causing the former champion to writhe in pain. Hill wipes the blood free of his forehead and grins at his mentor, waiting for further instructions. Tyler shakes his head, choosing instead to pick up Johnny Martin and lock in the tradition lift, adding to the pain of the chair-shot as he cranks the hold. The timekeeper starts ringing the bell urgently, calling members of the backstage crew out to break things up, but Hill wields the chair to fend them off until Tyler gets bored and dumps Martin onto the mat. “A true champion plans ahead,” Tyler says, “and a true champion knows how to turn anything into an advantage. Everyone in the rankings should take a good, hard look at what’s standing between you and my title, ‘cause there’s a world of pain waiting for you before you even get in the ring with me.” Rating: C- ______________________ Overall: C- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwink Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hard 8 http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BenCross.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/HarrisonHash.jpg We were halfway through the show when I was asked the inevitable question. It wasn’t really a surprise – Harrison Hash is a talented kid who’s struck upon a great gimmick with the Panda Mask character, but he’s smart enough to know that it’s a midcard gimmick and he’s eager to learn from veterans like Tyler and become a legitimate technician. Whether it’s psychology or long-term booking, he wants to know, and in this case it came down to “dude, what’s with you and the one-night tournaments?” It’s a fair question, especially given that the Hard 8 tournament came just six months after the Youngblood tournament and ended with the same kind of screwjob finish that stole victory away from the face. The truth is that we pulled the trigger on the Hard 8 rankings early because we needed to, and the tournament was a nice way of getting it established. The long-term plan for the year always revolved around Tyler claiming the belt from Johnny Martin and making a mockery of Martin’s title reign under the pretence of “giving the rookies a chance at stardom” and the formation of the Hard 8 was always going to be the long-term result of that, but we were forced to truncate things a little due to one important factor – Eric Tyler is overworked. He main events for us once a month on average, but on top of that he’s working 5 dates a month in the main event of CGC and another 5 dates on top of that as an upper card worker for Hollyweird. That he comes in and routinely puts on the show of the night for us is a testament to his skill, but the realities of his workload meant that he needed some padding in order to put on the kind of matches he wanted to have as the champ. Eric Tyler on top of his game could easily carry a rookie to a marquee quality match and elevate the younger wrestler while doing so; the slightly weary Eric Tyler who worked 11+ dates across America and Canada every month could still have very good matches with rookies, but he’d have great matches with top-tier opponents. Given the realities of the East Coast War, we opted to pull the trigger on the Hard 8 early and push for the better quality main events now. The added perk of instituting the Hard 8 is that it solved a bunch of other problems; ranking the top eight talents in the company meant there was a steady supply of marquee matches for lesser shows that didn’t rely on storyline angles for build. We could throw any two ranked wrestlers in a match together and there were tangible consequences for wins and losses, and the ability of an unranked wrestler to push a worker out of the Hard 8 made for a catalyst for new feuds and angles. The Hard 8 also meant workers who were getting lost in the shuffle (Wolverine and JD Morgan, for example) and those who weren’t able to be at every show (Ed Monton, Jimmy Cox) were kept visible and relevant, rather than fading into the background. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/BrentHill.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JohnnyMartin.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JDMorgan.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/FreddieDatsun.jpg http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EdMonton.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/TheWolverine.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/EddieChandler.jpghttp://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x15/arwink/JimmyCox.jpg Initial Hard 8 Rankings 1. Brent Hill 2. Johnny Martin 3. JD Morgan 4. Freddie Datsun 5. Ed Monton 6. The Wolverine 7. Eddie Chandler 8. Jimmy Cox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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