Universal Wrestling - Survival of the Fittest

[enemyviolent]

The year is 2017, and suddenly, a new player has burst onto the US Pro Wrestling scene. With financial backers providing a mysterious creative leader a large sum of money to get the project started, Universal Wrestling inked a deal with NBC Universal to get two hours of television on 11:00 pm Wednesdays. Universal Wrestling will also air on Canada's CTV Two at the same time. Monthly Pay Per View events are expected to begin, airing Sundays at the same time, 11 pm.

 

Universal Wrestling is expected to be similar to the kind of pro wrestling that Americans have come to expect, but with some twists that are sure to draw attention. Big stars like Rey Misterio Jr, the Hardys, and Alberto El Patron are already signed on for the new company. Will they be able to grow quickly enough to stay solvent, or will signing all this big name talent prove to be a dire mistake?

 

Universal Wrestling 1

 

This is "Critical" Ben Cantrell here for WrestlingReporter.Site to provide you with all the results from Universal Wrestling's first major event, live on Pay Per View in the USA. Apparently a Canadian PPV deal was not inked before the event went live. Sorry Canucks!

 

Thanks to our insider, we know that Alberto El Patron was involved in a backstage argument with fellow Luchador Pentagon, resulting in a fight. Yes, Alberto in another fight! It seems Alberto was fined for the incident, a result which has left both workers pleased. It seems the situation was handled as appropriately as possible.

 

Wrestler's Court has also made an appearance at Universal Wrestling, where Bully Ray was accused of failing to pay his tab at a bar where the wrestlers were celebrating their new venue of employment last night. Christopher Daniels was declared the judge, and found Bully Ray guilty, sentencing him to buy drinks for everyone after the show.

 

Tonight's show is based out of Casper, Wyoming, and will be held in the Casper Events Center. Joey Styles and Taz are our announcers.

 

Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" 3rd Movement hits, and Broken Matt arrives with Brother Nero. Matt declares that Universal Wrestling is his Broken Nation, and that he will become a World Champion here. Brother Nero says that if his brother is cheated out of the title, well, he's in the tournament too, just for a plan B. Matt says that's right, and that there's no force in wrestling that can stop them.

 

Out comes Rey Misterio Jr. Rey and the Hardys hug and slap each other's shoulders, and Rey says he's proud to be reunited with the Hardys, and that the three of them revolutionized high risk and high flying in wrestling. But he has to say, he's going for the World Title, and the force of Mystery can defeat even someone who's Broken.

 

Out comes Alberto El Patron, who stays at the entrance ramp. He declares that only a man of class and distinction should lead the new face of Pro Wrestling, and that none of the perros in the ring can be that man, but that he can.

 

Out comes Ryan Reeves, who the announcers tell us is now named Vor. Vor just runs into the ring, and a brawl breaks out. Alberto El Patron gets some licks in too, and security rushes out of the back to break up the chaotic fight.

 

Benpinion: This was a great intro segment and really made everyone look good. Matt Hardy's gimmick will be hard to express to this new audience quickly though. Ryback's new gimmick and gear is cool, and he looks like a real badass. A strong start. B-

 

Matt Sydal vs. Drew Galloway

The crowd got hot for this one, but these guys kind of came off as bland in compared to all the big stars we just saw. C-

 

Interview with Rob Van Dam, who cuts a quick self-hype promo, promising to win the World Title. Still comes off as a star. C+

 

Eddie Edwards vs. Edwyn Kennard

Edwyn Kennard is the former Wade Barrett, coming to the ring in a cape and carrying a black cane. It came across great. Eddie Edwards is still a machine in the ring. Looked like Barrett was used to WWE style scripted matches though, and they were told to call this one in the ring. As a result it was a bit sloppy. C-

 

Jeff Jarrett is interviewed, claiming that he has one solid run left in him, and warns whoever wins the World Title Eliminator tonight that he's coming for them. His cocky, franchise type gimmick came across poorly here. D

 

Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Jarrett

They had a quick match, which RVD won in less than six minutes. Not much to say. C-

 

James Storm is interviewed backstage, claiming the only reason he's not in the World Title Eliminator tonight is because it would be a foregone conclusion, and that while he may not have all his friends out tonight, he'll prove why he's one of the best in the business. Pretty bland. C-

 

Christopher Daniels, Mr. Anderson, and "Slick" Nick Aldis vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr., James Storm, and Michael Hutter

 

"Slick" Nick Aldis is the former Magnus, and has a "cool guy" gimmick. Came out wearing shades and a designer jacket. He pulls it off well. Michael Hutter is TNA's EC3, and is an oldschool egomaniac heel. It came off really poorly, it doesn't have much direction to it. They went twenty minutes, probably way too long, but everyone got their spots in at least. Seemed like filler. James Storm got the winning pinfall on Mr. Anderson. D+

 

The World Title Eliminator gets a quick hype video, showing off all the six competitors. UW has good production values. C

 

World Title Eliminator - Alberto El Patron vs. Bully Ray vs. Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Vor

We start with Vor running wild, and getting a bunch of big man spots, but then he's ganged up on, everyone hits finishers on him and he's eliminated. After this, Alberto El Patron and Bully Ray get weapons and start working the babyfaces. They put Matt Hardy through a table and eliminate him next, then do the same to Jeff Hardy and eliminate him. They start to act cocky, and toy around with Rey Mysterio, but Rey does a huge lucha comeback and takes on both guys by himself. He eliminates Bully Ray, and then goes one on one with Alberto El Patron. The two go back and forth, but Alberto wins with a low blow, becoming the first ever Universal Wrestling World Champion. I think this would've been better as a tournament, but they wanted a champion going into TV, so it is what it is. C.

[enemyviolent]

<p>In the aftermath of Universal Wrestling's first PPV event, fan feedback and other info has started to come in. People who were at the show confirm that Rey Misterio is viewed as the #1 star, but Alberto El Patron is a close #2 now that he's definitively won the World Title. Bully Ray is considered a big star too, and Ryan Reeves under his new gimmick of "Vor" has made a splash too. It seems that Jeff Jarrett has also drawn some of the estranged WCW fanbase with him too, making him one of the company's big name draws despite his waning star power.</p><p> </p><p>

Universal Wrestling has been criticized for relying on already established big name talent and older wrestlers. The booker for UW has stated on Twitter: "We need to make our name before we can make new stars. You'll come to us for the stars you love, and discover your new favorites." He later stated: "Please look forward to the debuts of Jay Briscoe, Cody Runnels, and Aaron Stevens on UW TV soon."</p><p> </p><p>

Universal Wrestling 1 drew approximately 500k buys. Apparently the advertising of the big name stars worked. About 8000 were in attendance live.</p>