A Global Uprising? [Effganic]

Zergon · December 19, 2020

(P) Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

Cool name Cash, don´t think it will help you win this one though.

(P) Slay and Bee vs Mitchell and Derby

Thinking Derby is the biggest name here.

(P) Trent Stevens vs Roger Cotton

Stevens gets a win after jobbing in last show.

Black Hat Rodeo vs Man Mountains

Man Mountains might have gotten rare win over random jobber pair but pretty sure they won´t get another here.

Jimmy G vs Sebastien Durant

Sorry Jimmy, don´t think your new puush carries this far.

Josilyn Darville vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

I could see a title chance just because I don´t know who on the heel side would challenge Criss past Darville and DeGeorge but then again Darville getting the belt here wouldn´t really help that much either since other than Criss and Derby, there´s not really any women on the face side that feels ready for title shots. With this in mind, I think I have Criss retain here.

Big Hank Banner vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Match

Surely there´s a limit how much your willing to push Banner for storyline´s shake.

Night Stalker vs Ryan Osburn

When this diary started, thsi might have been a close call but Stalker has risen up on the card enough that this doesn´t feel close call anymore.

Nations and Kramer vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

I could see Nations and Kramer getting the tag belts eventually, just don´t think it would be quite yet.

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Thinking Kandori bite more than he can chew here considering how the feud with Jack ended

MJ Abruzzi vs Jack Raiden – Steel Cage Match

Going to stick with the logic of heel champ -> face winning another top feud as not sure were Abruzzi would go at the moment if he wins.

Carver Wells vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

Wells is likely future champion but he´s time ain´t yet. I would currently say that either Wolf or Raiden is the next champ, don´t really see anyone else on the face side who I feel could take the belt off from Poseidon right now.

jokerdesilva · December 20, 2020

April 6th, 1986 GCW Stampede

Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, 4757 in attendance

In good news, Gabe Pilcher’s test results came back and his tailbone should be healed in about a month. He says he can still work, but we’ll probably let him take it easy – it’s not like I had big plans for the Dregs at the moment, and better to have him good shape when I do need him.

vs

Pre-Show – Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

The amazingly named Cash Firestone, which appears to be his real name, is our final signing for the moment. He’s not too shabby in the ring, looking closer to Isaac Holman than Zach Waldron, which is a good thing. Redcloud has shown a bit of a lack of development that is disappointing, since there’s something about him I like, and he just feels like he could be a star. At least he's only 25. He has time. He got the win here regardless in 6:06 with his overhead slam. (22)

vs

Pre-Show – Slay and Bee vs Mitchell and Derby

Now this was much better, though it was largely Lilyanna’s doing. She carried the match and helped guide the newbies, which is pretty much what I hired her for. Then again, she probably deserves better. This time, Bertha got the pin on Adrianna with her running clothesline in 7:43. (40)

vs

Pre-Show – Trent Stevens vs Roger Cotton

Strong showing for Trent, and a deserved one after his loss to Big Hank on Wednesday. Roger is another one who shows a spark of something that could be developed, even if his stamina needs work. For now, he laid down for the Running Knee in 5:32. (34)

vs

Black Hat Rodeo vs Man Mountains

A match that I’d once upon a time been saving for a tag title program. Frankly, I'm glad now that that never panned out, seeing what it would have gotten me. Maybe a more cohesive Man Mountains would have been slightly stronger, but they were in the full swing of dysfunction here. The Black Hat Rodeo worked them over nicely, isolating Beltran in particular and making him pay with ease. Jase Marshall got the Spinebuster on Beltran at 7:42. Grady stormed off in a huff after the match, leaving his partner behind in the ring without a second thought. (34)

We went next to Jimmy G with Adonis Lash backstage.

"I've been hearing a lot about the so-called future of this company, this guy and that guy. Well let me tell you what the future is. The future is this man right here. A multi-tool athlete. Big, jacked, handsome, fast as lightning and strong as thunder. This is your future right here, Ice Cold Jimmy G, and he's going to steam-roll over the so called Prince of Wrestling. Aren't you, Jimmy?"

"You know that's right," Jimmy said, nodding curtly. "They'll be calling me the Prince of Wrestling after today." (39)

vs

Jimmy G w/ Adonis Lash vs Sebastien Durant

Jimmy G has been such a reliable team player I figured he deserved a slightly bigger stage. He came in looking hot, more solidly muscular and squat than the taller Sebastien and trying to barrel him over with running attacks, while Lash tried to lead him by instruction from ringside. He didn't exactly have the technical acumen to put over the submission-based offense Adonis was trying to guide him through, and it let Sebastien power out of any attempted holds to batter him away. Sebastien's resiliency helped him win the day again, as he endured the offense and reversed a spear tackle into the ring post, leaving Jimmy G dazed. From there he took Jimmy G up in a Fallaway Slam to win at 7:58 and "defend" his Prince of Wrestling crown. (39)

vs

Josilyn Darville vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Another safe if not especially dazzling match between these two. Lily-Rose hasn’t really clicked as the starting star that I’d hoped for in my women’s division, though she’s far from bad. More of just a reliable anchor piece that looks good but not great with almost anyone. She dazzled Josilyn yet again with her high flying offense, taking her over with arm drags and leg trips and flying forearms, and staying out of the way of those lethal kicks, and hit her crossbody in 11:30 for the win and her third title defense. (44)

vs

Big Hank Banner vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Match

Honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised. Okay, it was 90% Bragg carrying him, but Banner didn’t embarrass himself and they had an excellent match. Really, Bragg was the one I was far more impressed by, as this time he wasn't able to act like the bruising bully in the ring against the much larger Banner. Hank stormed out to start, clubbing him with forearms and slinging him around with slams. Bragg bailed to the outside, where the other Black Hats tried to talk him through his game plan, but Banner ran out to bulldoze the three of them over with a roar. He tossed Bragg back in the ring but Marshall and Olivares tripped him up, and Bragg distracted the ref so they could get in a few kicks and punches to the downed man before tossing him back in, too. Bragg bounced, trying to wear him over with headlocks and chin locks for a bit, pummeling him with elbows and cranking them in nicely, but Banner still tried to fire up. He went for the running splash once and missed, and nailed Bragg with a big boot instead on the come around for a close two. This time when he came in for a running splash, though, Bragg blasted him with a brass knuckle shot - hidden thanks to Marshall and Olivares once again playing distraction - which gave him the time needed to hit a running High Knee and get the pin at 10:24. (50)

vs

Night Stalker vs Ryan Osburn

To be honest, this was more of a match to put over the new Night Stalker in his revitalized persona than anything else, but I knew that Ryan Osburn was the right man to set against him. He's a truly solid and reliable contender who can have a good match with just about anyone, and the Night Stalker is an easy one to have a good match with. He, in fact, looked even better, a vicious striking machine that hammered down on the technician and left him reeling. He fought valiantly, trying to slow down the powerful legs of the Night Stalker, but he couldn't sink it in, and soon he was knocked dizzy with a thrust kick fro the win at 9:29. (54)

We went backstage to Jack Raiden next, who looked fully on fire.

"Today is the day," he said. "Today is the day we finally settle this, you and me. There will be no second chances. No short cuts. No escapes. Just two men, locked in a cage, ready to fight with everything that they have. Ready to fight to the bitter end. These are the moments that I live for. It's times like this that truly make me feel alive. Can you feel it, MJ? Can you feel your heart pounding? Your blood racing? I can almost taste it. The blood in my mouth. I know what this is going to be. A war. A war, between you and me, and we're going to take each other apart, piece by piece. I know it. You know it.

I am ready to go to war. I am ready to fight you with everything I have. This is the way. The way of the warrior. And I hope you're prepared to feel what a warrior can truly do, in that ring. I hope you're ready to prove yourself. By the end of tonight, we're going to find out just what kind of man you are, and if you're man enough to go toe-to-toe with the Kodiak bear." (78)

vs

Nations and Kramer vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

Once again, Scorpio was in the hardest match to decide the outcome of recently. I'm not sure how much of it is him alone and how much is working with Marcus Kramer, but he's stepping up to another level, and looked excellent in the ring against the Gwinns. He was the perfect little weasel, picking his shots to attack the Gwinns - they worked on isolating Bill as the smaller of the two brothers - while sending in Kramer to abuse him. As a duo it worked excellently, too, as Kramer could come in and batter an opponent, then tag in Scorpio to do the heavy-lifting on selling and the like. The Brothers had superior chemistry and polish, though, and they used it to weather the storm, and they used it to cut off the ring, hammer their opponents, and Darrell hit a big High Knee to win in 10:56 so they could retain yet again. (49)

vs

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Reijiro has, unfortunately, aged quite a bit since his feud with Raiden and seems on the way out, as he could barely withstand even this short match. He also managed to break Wolf’s fingers, so. That’s fun. Though, to be honest, that was probably just Wolf catching a wild punch or chop wrong - I couldn't see exactly where the injury happened, and no one seemed overly mad at Reijiro backstage. Still, a damn good little sprint of a match, which saw Reijiro lock in the armbar at 5:27 after Umari distracted Wolf from ringside. (48)

vs

MJ Abruzzi vs Jack Raiden – Steel Cage match

The brutal capstone to this feud saw another excellent match between these two men. It was everything that had been promised, really, as they took it to the limit, Abruzzi showing a more vicious and aggressive side now that he couldn't slip to the outside at all. He'd prepared for things, though. He slipped a steel chair he'd prepared from under the ring and took it to the Kodiak, blasting him across the spine and pounding him to the mat, but pure steel wasn't enough to stop Raiden. Similarly, he hurled Abruzzi into the steel cage, raking his face across the steel and leaving him bleeding, but that wasn't enough. It didn't take long for Raiden to bleed, either, as Abruzzi drove him face first into the turnbuckle post, and rained blows down upon his face while he was on the mat. Both men ended up wearing a crimson mask as they battled back and forth, Abruzzi trying to take out the legs but Raiden too strong and too determined this time to go down. In the end, with nowhere to go, nowhere to escape, Abruzzi had no choice but to face the powerbomb, and Raiden scored the victory at 22:07 to end Abruzzi's undefeated streak in our company. (60)

We went backstage next to Poseidon, who was sitting in the dark dripping water from his long hair as usual.

"I'm looking very much forward to this. You told me that you wanted a fair shot, Carver? Then consider this your fair shot. No tricks. No treachery. My masked assassins will stay far away and let you step into that ring healthy and strong. And that will make it so much more satisfying when I break you. You are young, Carver, and fiery, and proud, but you are nowhere near taking down a King. Maybe in ten years, maybe in five, maybe even less, you could hope to stand on a keel with me. But not now. I am the best I have ever been. The most powerful. The most dangerous. The most ruthless. And you are going to find out just what it takes to be a King."

He held up his championship, holding it in front of the camera.

"This means that you are the best. This means that you are a man among men. This means you stand above. I have taken my place on top of this throne of bodies, and you will have to kill me to drag me down. But I'm not the one who's going to fall tonight. I will wrap my arm around your neck, I will choke you out, and I will show you what drowning feels like." (79)

vs

Carver Wells vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

Wells’ performances on the lead up had me a little wary of going back to this, but like his on-screen mentor, he stepped up big when the time was right and showed up as a star. He was explosive from the get go, trying to bring down the bigger champion with everything he had, but Poseidon was as resilient as ever, and as strong as an ox. He threw Wells around, smashing him with heavy forearm shots to leave him reeling. True to his word, he kept going for the Sleeper, but Carver slipped out a few times, turning it into a nice jackknife cover once that nearly got him the win, and turning it into a jawbreaker another time. He hit a basement dropkick into a stunning DDT that got him a hair away from victory, but Poseidon refused to stay down. In the end, Poseidon proved himself a liar, as Mean Machine and Night Stalker ran down to ringside. Ryan Osburn and Dustin Robinson did the same, cutting them off before they could actually interfere, but the brawling at ringside led to Carver getting caught with a running knee, and then locked in the Sleeper at 14:45. Carver passed out, and Poseidon racked up his 13th straight victory. (58)

We seem to have hit just a bit of a ceiling, but another very good show that ran consistent all the way through. The only question now is, do I go to the obvious next step, or draw things out just a little longer… (59)

Luckily, I was not crazy enough to put the belt on Big Hank, but there's a part of me that almost wishes I had done, just to see how it would have turned out.

Badly. It would have turned out badly.

Next Week:

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

(P) Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

(P) Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

DinoKea · December 20, 2020

Sorry I'm kind of going to do these predictions quickly

Predictions:

Preshow: Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

Preshow: Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

Preshow: Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

KyTeran · December 20, 2020

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

(P) Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

(P) Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

smw88 · December 20, 2020

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

(P) Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

(P) Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

Zergon · December 20, 2020

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

Tommy keeps building momentum in the pre-show for now

(P) Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

No idea, to be honest so bit of a coin flip

(P) Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Another piar who´s currently building momentum in pre-shows

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Same match, same outcome

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Right, forgot about Slay being likely next challenger during my last predictions. Assuming she gets a win over Criss here to build that potential challenge up.

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Poor Osburn just can´t seem to find a win but thinking Machine is slighly higher on pecking order thanks to his association with Poseidon

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

With Bragg already having a belt and Whitlock seemingly on his way down, I don´t think they get the tag belts here.

Herrbear · December 21, 2020

Next Week:

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

(P) Camile St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

(P) Lail and Demand vs Danger Boys

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

jokerdesilva · December 22, 2020

April 9th, 1986

Milford Ice Palace, 716 attendance

vs

Pre-Show – Tommy Carleton vs Roger Cotton

The now “Texas” Tommy Carleton, leaning into a more rugged and hoss-like style than his previous "cool guy" kind of gimmick, put on another good showing as he rolled over Roger Cotton – who is looking like a decent young undercarder himself. Carleton got the win with a lariat in 5:53. (27)

vs

Pre- Show – Camille St. Croix vs Adrianna Mitchell

Pretty rough, to be honest. These two are still pretty green and need someone to guide them along a little more. But, hey, that's why they're both on the pre-show so they can get more experience. Adrianna got the win with a thrust kick in 8:29. (16)

vs

Pre-Show – Lail and Demand vs The Danger Boys

Another test run for Lail and Demand in general, and to see if they can have a safer match. They succeeded, at least, so that was good, even if they both still look remarkably green. Meanwhile, Auston looked like the standout in the ring, which was nice. He might have a future after all. He got the win, too, with a crossface in 8:13. (21)

The four members of the Black Hat Rodeo were assembled backstage, Billy Ray looking smug up in front with his title belt slung over his shoulder, the two younger brutes looming behind him, Dale at his side.

"Well, it was another good day for the Rodeo, wasn't it, boys?" he drawled. "Big Hank got shown up, just like we all knew he would. Ain't man enough to tangle with a cowboy, I'll tell you that much. Means that I'm starting to run out of competition around here."

"Not a bad problem to have," Dale said.

"No, not a bad problem at all," Billy Ray replied, chuckling. "But y'see, I am a fighter by nature. I love nothing more than bloodying up some young gun and proving that I am the Sidewinder, and I am shooting for the tops of this company. That I am the man to beat."

"And that we are the men to beat," Dale cut in.

"Sure 'nuff. So me and Dale, here, we are officially throwing our names back in the hat. See, we stumbled a little last time we took a crack at them Gwinn Brothers, but I reckon you got lucky, and you ain't gonna be lucky twice. And just to show there ain't no hard feelings with our boys Dwayne and Jase," he added, "They're going to get a nice little morsel to snack on. About time they humiliated those Man Mountains and rousted out those big useless lumps once and for all. Who knows? Maybe when we win those shiny tag team belts, the four of us can have a nice little match, just a celebration of this here Black Hat Rodeo. That sounds damn fine to me." (59)

vs

Black Hat Rodeo (Olivares and Marshall) vs Man Mountains

The Man Mountains stomped out looking especially cross, in a very foul mood after being disrespected by the Black Hat Rodeo. They definitely didn’t seem to be on the same page, though, clumsy in action and mis-timing tags and moves, and the Black Hats took full advantage of that fact. Beltran tried to throw Olivares into Marshall, but he ended up wiping Grady out off the ring apron, leaving him sprawled. When turned around, he ate a Spinebuster, and Marshall got the pin at 7:22. (35)

vs

Slay and Darville vs Criss and Pfeiffer

Well, once again my babyface women weren’t on the same page at all and had little chemistry. That’s a bit of a bummer. Maybe Lily-Rose and Rosemary just couldn’t click. It sold the storyline, though, with Slay and Darville looking like a well-oiled and hard-hitting machine that was all too happy to isolate the women and work them over. Lily-Rose had the skills and the elusiveness to stay out of the hardest hits, but Rosemary clearly didn't, and Bertha Slay ended up pinning Rosemary with her running lariat in 11:07. (38)

Bertha met an interviewer backstage after the match.

"Hoo, you see that? You 'n me in the ring, miss Lily-Rose, and look who came out on top? Look, I ain't no high-class lady or city slicker like you might be used to, but what I am? I'm one tough lady, and you're gonna find out soon enough that it don't take good looks or fancy hair to get ahead in this business, no sirree. I just hope you got the brass in ya to face me woman-to-woman, because I'm lookin' forward to showin' you some real backwoods muscle." (35)

The interview was cut a little short by shouting from backstage. Cameras and medical personnel rushed over to find that Garry Beltran was the latest victim of the mysterious backstage attacker, left laid out in a pool of blood from where his scalp had been busted open. Doctors were fitting him with a neck brace and getting ready to wheel him out. (19)

vs

Mean Machine vs Ryan Osburn

A solid, well-worked match between two established veterans. The new even darker and crueler Mean Machine showed some serious aggression after tying up with the Riptide, and it seems to be paying dividends for him already. He out-muscled the thoroughly technical Osburn, bruising his way out of submission holds and throwing Osburn back and forth in the ring. It seemed for a moment that Osburn might lock him in the Spinning Toe Hold all the same, but the Night Stalker slithered out of the crowd and started making noise, breaking Osburn's concentration. That made it academic for him to walk into an Axe Bomber at 8:53 for the win. (44)

We went backstage to Jack Raiden, next, looking far more pleased with himself than he had in his last few appearances.

"It's been a long few months. I've had menace after menace trying to pull me in this direction and that, whether it's the Sunset Army or MJ Abruzzi. But that business is concluded. We went to war in that steel cage, I won't argue that even slightly, but when the chips were down, I proved that I am the better man. And when I initially challenged MJ Abruzzi when he came here, well, we made a particular agreement. That whoever won would be the next one at the front of the line."

His expression hardened and he looked dead into the barrel of the camera.

"Poseidon. This is my official declaration. I am coming for you. You've been sitting at the top for too long, using your nasty tactics and underlings to keep you there. Well no more. I know what it takes to be a champion. The Heavyweight Champion, no less. I held that belt for over 200 days, taking on all comers, and I'm going to do it again. You can throw whatever you like my way - I know you will - but I want you to know that I am coming after you, and I am not going to stop until that belt is around my waist. It's time for you to be truly tested, Poseidon, and we are going to find out what kind of man you are, and if you're man enough to go one-on-one with a Kodiak bear." (77)

vs

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Champion

A very nice battle between the two teams, with the Gwinns increasingly impressing and Bragg and Whitlock of course being two solid uppercarders to say the least. While they were both individually fantastic wrestlers, though, the Rodeo didn't seem to be fully on the same page. Bragg spent a lot of time on the apron trying to call the shots for Dale Whitlock, who didn't look entirely pleased with the idea, at one point marching over to slap Bragg's chest as a tag to send him in. The Gwinn Brothers, meanwhile, were a well-oiled machine as always, and though Billy Ray could probably beat either one of them singly - and proved it with his bruising ring work - he couldn't handle both together, especially with Dale Whitlock and him not clicking. A missed tag ended up with Whitlock eating a High Knee in 14:48 for the Gwinns to retain, leaving the Black Hats outside the ring to think over what had happened. (52)

A more upper midcard focused show, light on the main event, so it didn’t quite explode coming out of Stampede, but solid all the same. (53) We got a .31 and 234k viewers for the night.

Ryan Osburn approached me after the show was over, and to be honest, I kind of had a feeling what he was going to say before the words even came out of his mouth.

"Can we have a word?" he asked.

"Absolutely, Ryan," I said, leaning back in my seat. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, to be honest, it's the booking as of lately," he said, frowning. "Now, listen, I understand you want to help the young guys get ahead, and I think I've been more than reasonable in putting them over. I don't mind helping the next generation. But I'm not some broken down old man ready to be taken around behind the barn, yeah? I've still got a lot to offer, and if me doing the job is gonna mean something, you've gotta let me get some momentum back."

I winced a little and nodded. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry about that," I said, holding up my hands. "I take that fully. I was too busy looking at the future and not the present, and that's not fair to you." After all, at least Dustin Robinson got a long title run, and Reijiro got a major feud against Jack Raiden. What did Osburn really have? A semi-final match against Scorpio in the Prince of Wrestling tournament? "But I swear to you, hand on my heart, I've got plans to help you back into things."

"That's all I want to hear," he said, though he didn't look entirely like he believed me. Which was, perhaps, fair at this point. "I like this company, I just need to know I have a future."

"You've got one," I told him, honestly, though how much of one, perhaps, I couldn't say. "I like what I've been seeing of you and Carver, and I think there's real potential there. So, trust me. You're too good in that ring for me to leave you behind."

"I appreciate it, boss," he said. "Alright, well, I'll let you get back to it, and see you next week."

"See you then, Ryan."

*****

And the day after the show, I got confirmation of our next big signing from WWB...

Next Week:

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Edwin Riddle

(P) Bertha Slay vs Rosemary Pfeiffer

(P) Isaac Holman vs Big Hank Banner

(P) Lash and Jimmy G vs Tallman and Waldron

King Kong Grady vs Kurt Grey

Heavenly Bodies vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Tarzan Brownfield

Riptide vs Raiden and Koziol

KyTeran · December 22, 2020

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Edwin Riddle

(P) Bertha Slay vs Rosemary Pfeiffer

(P) Isaac Holman vs Big Hank Banner

(P) Lash and Jimmy G vs Tallman and Waldron

King Kong Grady vs Kurt Grey

Heavenly Bodies vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Tarzan Brownfield

Riptide vs Raiden and Koziol

Zergon · December 22, 2020

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Edwin Riddle

Not sure Sunset Army has much more shot on Wolf than what they had on Raiden but either way, pretty sure they are build up during the feud so Kajitani picks a win here.

(P) Bertha Slay vs Rosemary Pfeiffer

Slay ain´t going to drop this one after putting out challenge for the champ

(P) Isaac Holman vs Big Hank Banner

Banner keeps winning against lower card talents.

(P) Lash and Jimmy G vs Tallman and Waldron

These two seem to be forming a short term team at least and while they might not go for tag titles they at least seem to be gaining bit of momentum and got a storyline going

King Kong Grady vs Kurt Grey

I assume Grady is the big name signing but either way, Grey ain´t winning any matches at this point.

Heavenly Bodies vs The Mechanics

No idea who Mechanics are so going with more established talent

MJ Abruzzi vs Tarzan Brownfield

Abruzzi will get some momentum back here.

Riptide vs Raiden and Koziol

Not sure which two Riptide members are in the match here but thinking faces get one over champ (or he´s henchmen if he´s not in this) here

DinoKea · December 22, 2020

Quick Predictions:

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Edwin Riddle

(P) Bertha Slay vs Rosemary Pfeiffer

(P) Isaac Holman vs Big Hank Banner

(P) Lash and Jimmy G vs Tallman and Waldron

King Kong Grady vs Kurt Grey

Heavenly Bodies vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Tarzan Brownfield

Riptide vs Raiden and Koziol

jokerdesilva · December 23, 2020

April 16th, 1986

Milford Ice Pavillion, 860 in attendance

As I walked into the Ice Pavillion, I was greeted almost immediately by the powerful aroma of cheese and tomato sauce filling the air. It led me, like a cartoon pair hovering through the air, right to the locker room.

There, standing in the midst, was Jack Raiden handing out a few boxes to the rest of the locker room. Pizza slices passed from hand to hand - cheese and pepperoni and meat lovers and even, disturbingly, some pineapple-laden Hawaiian, which Wolf Koziol was happily gobbling down side by side with Giant Kajitani.

"Come on, dig in," Jack said, pulling his own slice of pizza out, the cheese dripping in strands of golden gooey goodness in truly mouthwatering fashion. "Just nobody puke in my ring, okay?"

"Awful generous of you," I said, as I walked over to a stack of paper plates that were sitting on one bench. I couldn't help smiling up at him. "You know you're already getting a match with Poseidon, right?"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, I'm just trying to pay it forward. Anything I can do to help the lockerroom, eh?"

"Well, it's appreciated." I snagged a couple pieces out of the box, wishing idly that Dustin or Wolf would think the same, or even Poseidon, for that matter. They'd definitely grown up in the more cut-throat, every man for himself environment, I supposed. "And it's a good example to the young guys," I added, gesturing at Sebastien and Aaron Redcloud over in one corner, or Scorpio having a laugh with Marcus Kramer, who was still a bit on the outs with the rest of the roster.

"Ah, we got good kids," he said. "Been nice seeing them get some shine."

Was it just me, or was there an implication there? I slid my gaze over to Dustin Robinson, again, who was munching on some pizza with his feet up - and resting on a bag that I was willing to bet money didn't belong to him. Or to Wolf, who had now stolen the box of Hawaiian away from the Sunset Army, and was making moves at some of the women instead.

"Well, I've been trying," I said, mildly. "Got to keep a company young to keep it moving forward. We have great vets, but they won't be here forever."

"Always an eye on the future, eh? I like that."

"Glad to hear it," I said. Because I knew that many people wouldn't. And maybe it was easier for him to say it than, say, Ryan Osburn, who'd been doing all the jobs as of late, but it wasn't like I'd been protecting Raiden too hard yet. He'd willingly lost to Kandori, to help establish MJ Abruzzi, or the Riptide, and those were things I'd never forget. Those were things I'd happily reward. Who knew if, say, Dustin Robinson would do the same? "You're one of the good ones, Jack. Don't forget it."

"Hey, I'm just doing what anyone should, eh?"

I snorted softly at that. "Should? Yeah. Would? Well, that's another question entirely."

<div style="text-align:center;">*****

<img alt="49cSfZg.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/49cSfZg.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="PoE8C0f.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/PoE8C0f.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Pre-Show – Giant Kajitani vs Edwin Riddle

Plus side: these two had excellent chemistry. The bad news? It was still incredibly bad somehow. Kajitani won with his running powerslam in 4:54. (9 – somehow despite great chemistry, and a boost from Kandori at ring side, with both of them at 25 and 9 individually, it got a final match score of 9. Woof.)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="kpd6oRw.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kpd6oRw.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="X2YF9ch.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/X2YF9ch.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Pre-Show – Bertha Slay vs Rosemary Pfeiffer

A big step up from the previous match. Bertha is reliable and Rosemary seems to be getting better. Can’t complain much about that. Bertha got the win with her running clothesline in 8:28. (28)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="eHLljCQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/eHLljCQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="4IdASUz.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/4IdASUz.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Pre-Show – Isaac Holman vs Big Hank Banner

Despite one of these guys being a total newbie, and one a thirty-year old member of the roster who’d gotten a push into a mid-level title match, you could scarcely tell the difference between their skills. I’m not sure who that says more about. This was Banner’s day, though, and he got the win with a running splash. (20)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="p0xdieg.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/p0xdieg.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="8Us2YE4.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8Us2YE4.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="cZPrvLJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cZPrvLJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="3vpkM9H.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3vpkM9H.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Pre-Show – Lash and Jimmy G vs Tallman and Waldron

My hope was that Waldron and Tallman would prove they weren’t dangerous, and they got through this match okay, despite both looking rough. Jimmy and Adonis carried the reins, Adonis especially of course, and Jimmy got the win in 8:28 with a spear tackle. (33)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="9bGQlG7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/9bGQlG7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

A new face emerged to start the show, standing in the back with a pair of sunglasses on.

"A lot of you don't know me, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lester Haas, and I am an advocate and a manager, and I've set my eyes here on GCW, because it seems to be the going place as of late. Now, you might be asking yourselves, a manager, huh? Well, what's a manager without a client? Is he looking? Who's he gonna sign? Well, do I have a surprise for you yokels. See, I've been sending out feelers, and I've got a guy under contract already. He's been making a name for himself, as of late. You see, all those backstage beatings and broken faces? That's me. That's my doing. Because I saw a man who had all the talent in the world to be an absolute killer, and he was just wasting it, trying to be a friend to someone holding him back. Well. No more. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the new and improved King Kong Grady."

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="QP3G9ld.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QP3G9ld.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Cue Grady Holston stepping out to join him, a towering figure next to his manager, emphasizing his 6'9 height.

"Yeah, it was King Kong here who decided to brutalize the Danger Boys for letting him down, and just planted ol' Beltran to the concrete to finally put him in the rear view mirror. And I want all of you to know, from here on out, that this man is one to fear. He's going to rip all of you to pieces, starting with the next man through that curtain." (38)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="QP3G9ld.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QP3G9ld.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="WmhKVM1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/WmhKVM1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

King Kong Grady vs Kurt Grey

THe next man through the curtain ended up being veteran Kurt Grey. Unfortunately, both men looked a little off their game, Grady perhaps struggling to work a heel style for the first time, and Kurt Grey probably just slowing down as he got closer to retirement. It made for a bit of an ugly match, but it was short and featured Grady absolutely dominating, throwing Kurt around like he was nothing, to end up with the Stalling Suplex to win. (11)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="spCwuOE.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/spCwuOE.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

We went to an interview next with Lily-Rose Criss.

"There have been a lot of people in my life who have tried to intimidate me, push me around, make me feel like less. Well, it hasn't worked so far, and Bertha Slay, you're not going to be the one to buck that trend. I'll give you this, you are a tough, hard-hitting individual, and I know that you're going to give me one hell of a fight, but it's going to take a lot more than a big mouth and a heavy right hand to beat me. I've dealt with brawlers and monsters and fighters of all kind, and I can assure you, you are just going to be the next one down on my list." (44)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="9bWYTHx.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/9bWYTHx.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="hhWDtYl.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hhWDtYl.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="kzUgGEh.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kzUgGEh.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ckPwwbs.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ckPwwbs.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Heavenly Bodies vs The Mechanics

The Mechanics are the official name of Wells and Osburn as a unit for the foreseeable future. They work together very well, making quick tags and taking advantage of Carver's speed and Osburn's experience. The Heavenly Bodies worked hard, with Jupiter especially muscling over the other two, but constantly stopping to show off his muscles and gloat over his physique let them get regularly back into the game, and Saturn wasn't any less arrogant. He sprained his wrist somehow in there, too, which isn't ideal, but shouldn't slow him down too much. Osburn locked on the Spinning Toe Hold at 11:16 to get the win. (39)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="gFw14NW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gFw14NW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="XaZzcXq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XaZzcXq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

MJ Abruzzi vs Tarzan Brownfield

A rare appearance of the Godfather on regular TV, and he put on a barn burner with Tarzan. This was MJ’s show, but Tarzan stepped up nicely, too, as he usually does. He put up a lot of fight, but Abruzzi was the bigger man in the ring for a rare occurrence and pushed him around with ease, clearly showing some true viciousness as he tried to make up for his lost in the steel cage. Tarzan took a lot of abuse for it, with plenty of twisting his legs up in the ropes, dropping brutal knees, and smashing him in the face repeatedly. He locked on the Italian Deathlock in 8:43 for the win. (53)

Furious as he was, MJ Abruzzi wasn't satisfied with just winning the match and decided to keep the punishment going. He hammered Tarzan with a few more knee drops to his legs before locking the Italian Deathlock on again, leaving it cranked in while Tarzan howled in pain and pounded at the mat, trying in vain to break free. The ring bell rang again and again but he just shoved the ref away and went back to the abuse. It wasn't until Dustin Robinson ran out to chase him off that Abruzzi actually ended his assault, scampering away before Dustin could actually get his hands on the Godfather. (39)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="hVux6ns.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hVux6ns.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

We went backstage next to Poseidon, who had Mean Machine and the Night Stalker flanking him.

"As always, being the man at the top makes you a target. I have long ago accepted this, and really, I welcome it. I want a challenge. I want more food laid on my plate. More victims to suffer, or to be broken down and learn the true way of things. I wonder which you will be, Jack Raiden? Oh, I knew this day was coming. You've made your interested in my championship no secret at all, and it was only a matter of time before you finally cleared your head and turned in my direction. I've been long prepared for this.

But tonight, you're going to learn something. When you step into the ring with my disciples, you are going to see first hand that I am stronger and more dangerous than I have ever been in my career, and I have passed that wisdom and that darkness on to those you see with me. I have left that darkness scarred in Wolf Koziol's heart. He will break, in that ring, because I have left him mentally weak. Because he knows that I am untouchable. And you are going to suffer the same. You claim to want to challenge me, but I am going to prove to you, long before Big Bang comes around, that you don't even want to step in the ring with the King of the Seas. And if you do, you will learn what everyone else in this company that has tried to cross me has learned. You will learn what it feels like to drown." (77)

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="iPMwsYN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/iPMwsYN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ne7XagD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ne7XagD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> vs <img alt="cAnfqvK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cAnfqvK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="voovRf5.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/voovRf5.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div>

Machine and Night Stalker vs Koziol and Raiden

A high level battle between Poseidon’s underlings and two men with a lot of bad blood pointed that way. Of course, part of the match was clear from the moment the two teams came out: the masked agents of the Riptide stalked out in perfect harmony, moving as a unit to the ring and keeping their attention focused on the entranceway in preparation. Raiden and Wolf came out separate, though, both of them storming out, with Wolf especially on a tear, not even stopping to give his customary howl from the turnbuckle but instead leaping in to fight the Riptide single handed. He initially dazzled them with punches, perhaps too well since he seems to have legitimately potatoed Night Stalker somewhere in there, and Raiden had to run down and join him as the numbers game led to an early advantage for the Riptide. They pummeled Wolf, not that he sold that much to make it look good, before he managed to tag in Raiden and have a lie-down on the outside. Raiden blasted through them at first, but again facing two single-minded and focused adversaries was too much for any one man, and they wore him down with brutal strikes. Neither Wolf or Raiden could really get on the same page, and things only degraded when the four soldiers of the Sunset Army started to emerge around the ring, throwing Wolf further off his game. It led to him eating a thrust kick from Night Stalker in the end, who got the win at 13:57. (54)

A solid show, if again not especially remarkable. My hesitation to put on truly top level matches on free TV seems to have a ceiling on the card, but hopefully continuing to build up the mid and upper-midcard will pay dividends in the long run. Not bad by any means, at least. (54) We ended up at a .31 rating and 238k viewers.

Next Week:

(P) Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

(P) Bertha Slay vs Laurette Lorio

(P) King Kong Grady vs Jacoby Disney

Heavenly Bodies vs Tarzan and Durant

Giant Kajitani vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Danger Boys

Dale Whitlock vs Darrell Gwinn

Night Stalker vs Jack Raiden

KyTeran · December 23, 2020

P) Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

(P) Bertha Slay vs Laurette Lorio

(P) King Kong Grady vs Jacoby Disney

Heavenly Bodies vs Tarzan and Durant

Giant Kajitani vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Danger Boys

Dale Whitlock vs Darrell Gwinn

Night Stalker vs Jack Raiden

Zergon · December 23, 2020

(P) Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

Aaron is higher on the pecking order

(P) Bertha Slay vs Laurette Lorio

Slaybuild-up continues

(P) King Kong Grady vs Jacoby Disney

Right, name changes can happen... Well, at least I wasn´t totally wrong as the new guy was Grady´s new manager. Oh, and Disney is here, hi Disney... annddd by Disney.

Heavenly Bodies vs Tarzan and Durant

I could see this one going the other way via interference but Durant is the one who has most going on here.

Giant Kajitani vs Wolf Koziol

I don´t see Wolf losing to anyone from Rising Sun 1 vs. 1.

Kramer and Nations vs The Danger Boys

Again, doing more. Oh, and also they higher on pecking order.

Dale Whitlock vs Darrell Gwinn

Dale seems to be on his way down and wonder if that miscommunication between him and Bragg singnals that Dale´s time as leader of the Black Hat Rodea might be over soon?

Night Stalker vs Jack Raiden

Stalker has surprised me time and time again but I still stay with the logic that challenger needs to be able to beat champions henchmen, regardless of how skilled the said henchman is.

DinoKea · December 26, 2020

(P) Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

(P) Bertha Slay vs Laurette Lorio

(P) King Kong Grady vs Jacoby Disney

Heavenly Bodies vs Tarzan and Durant

Giant Kajitani vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Danger Boys

Dale Whitlock vs Darrell Gwinn

Night Stalker vs Jack Raiden

jokerdesilva · December 29, 2020

April 23rd, 1986

Milford Ice Palace, 860 in attendance

ASW held Ready Steady Gold!, bringing in 17,359 fans. Darrell Gwinn lost the ASW All-American Championship to 45-year old veteran KP Rozier, while their main event saw Brent Treat and Bruce Villalba, two of their top stars and the most popular men in wrestling, in an absolutely dire match. So while they are still on top business-wise, that was at least nice to hear.

Especially because WWB went on a bit of an attempted hiring spree, trying to pick up two people I was keeping my eye on – and Bill Gwinn, who was working on a handshake deal. I immediately sent him a counter offer, which hopefully he’d take.

Also, Marcus Kramer suffered a bruised kidney at a New Steel Wrestling show. Just what I want to hear about my 48 year old vet. Luckily, he’s not letting it slow him down at all, and should be back in full strength in about a month.

vs

Pre-Show – Cash Firestone vs Aaron Redcloud

While he doesn’t have much stamina yet, Cash actually put on an impressive showing, and Aaron didn’t look bad – though not much better than usual, either. He won with the Overhead Slam in 6:28. (24)

vs

Pre-Show – Bertha Slay vs Laurette Lorio

Some momentum building with Bertha, who seems like an admirable midcard type at this point with perhaps promise for more. Laurette, meanwhile, is still too green to do much. Running clothesline in 9:50. (23)

vs

Pre-Show – King Kong Grady vs Jacoby Disney

Jacoby has been sour with me ever I had him do some jobs for new guys, and frankly, with him being 42, not especially good, and having worse stamina than Kurt Grey, I’m about done with him. This was an absolute squash job to hopefully get Grady over in his new gimmick, as he killed Jacoby with the stalling suplex. Didn’t make it pretty, but it was probably Grady’s best performance yet on his end. (8)

vs

Heavenly Bodies vs Durant and Brownfield

A fun little performance. Durant is really finding his footing, and Tarzan was as reliable as ever. They make a good if not overwhelming duo, and it might be time soon to properly package them up. The Heavenly Bodies, as usual, were good but not great, showing off and gloating a bit too much when they were working over Tarzan in the middle of the match, but Jupiter showed that he could hang with Sebastien power-for-power in a nice exchange of slams and forearms. Tarzan was still hurting from his match with Abruzzi and the beating he'd taken, too, moving gingerly on his legs, but the Heavenly Bodies were a bit too arrogant to take full advantage, and Sebastien was always there to save the day, and Tarzan and Durant got the clean win with Sebastien's Fallaway slam in 6:56. (38)

Sebastien and Tarzan made their way to the back for an interview after the match.

"Now this, this is what I've been needing. A partner. Someone I can rely on. It feels like alliances are only growing in this company, building and spreading, and Tarzan and I, it's time that we stood together. No more ambushes, no more betrayals. I'll have his back, and he'll have mine, and we will fight together as brothers."

"Brothers," Tarzan grunted.

"And to that end, I would like to remind someone that our business is not finished. Adonis Lash. You and Jimmy G liked to insert yourselves into my business. I've beaten your Ice Cold boy, I've proven that I am still the Prince of Wrestling, but I haven't forgotten how it felt to be locked in that submission, and I haven't forgotten that you are owed a beating. So if you want to put your team against mine, well, that would be just fine with me. I'm afraid of nothing, and I will show you what true strength looks like." (50)

vs

Giant Kajitani w/Sunset Army vs Wolf Koziol

Very little selling between Wolf “I’m Too Good For That” Koziol and the green giant, but a decent match all the same. Decent is probably the best I can hope for here. The Sunset Army lurked at ringside but didn’t interfere this time, leaving Giant Kajitani to purely show off his power, but it wasn't enough to slow down the fiery Wolf. He got the win with a crushing lariat at 4:47. (36)

Following that, we went backstage to join Dustin Robinson for an interview.

"I'm gonna make this real sharp and to the point. Last week, MJ Abruzzi, you proved what kind of man you really are. What kind of man the so-called Godfather really is. A cruel, callous, nasty little man, who wants to take his frustrations out on people who can't defend themselves anymore. Oh, you came in with a lot of fire, and a lot of talk, and you beat a lot of people. But you're weak where it counts. In your heart. In your head. And I'm not gonna let you run around and pretend to be some big shot by hurting people beyond the bounds of wrestling. You wanna be that kind of man, you're gonna have to answer to me. So I'm challenging you, Abruzzi, and I'm gonna put you back in your place." (47)

vs

Kramer and Nations vs The Danger Boys

A tune up match for one of my favorite heel teams at the moment, Kramer and Nations looked as good as ever, while the Danger Boys stood up admirably as plucky underdogs. They make for an excellent pair of bruising toughness in Bret Danger, and technical quickness in Auston Sandy, not unlike a mirror of Kramer and Nations themselves. Of course, Bret is no powerhouse like Kramer yet, and Scorpio was too vicious and too polished for Sandy to handle just yet. They kept their momentum rolling as Scorpio locked in the Scorpion Clutch in 11:22. (44)

vs

Dale Whitlock w/ Billy Ray Bragg vs Darrell Gwinn w/Bill Gwinn

Dale’s downward slide continued as he let the match go to Darrell. Billy Ray was at ringside, ostensibly to cheer Dale on and support him, but sometimes it seemed like he was being berated. Meanwhile, Bill largely left Darrell to do what he did - and what he did is prove why he's the ASW All American Champion in a very solid match. Dale only appeared to get more and more frustrated as his tackles and suplexes failed to put the younger man away, and as Billy Ray kept hollering at him to "choke him out, plant him, plant him you idjit, c'mon, show 'em how the Rodeo does it!" and that let Darrell fight back into it with stiff strikes and fast action. In the end, Dale couldn't get the job done, and ate a High Knee at 10:22 to give Darrell the win. (49)

vs

Night Stalker vs Jack Raiden

Well, we have a new high-bar in GCW, and an early contender for our match of the year. These two fought like animals, a crushing battle that still felt like it could have been more considering this was just a stepping stone on a larger story. The masked man was utterly vicious, if slowed based on the injury he was nursing under his mask, and boy if that doesn't make me dream about what Night Stalker could do against Jack Raiden at full health and with the full weight of storyline momentum behind him. He gave Raiden everything he could under the circumstances, trying to take the big man's legs out from under him, but Jack Raiden was unstoppable this time and got the win off a powerbomb in 12:02. (64)

While Jack Raiden stood up to soak in the adulation of the crowd, the vicious Night Stalker ambushed him from behind, hammering him with forearm shots to the neck and head. Mean Machine ran out to join him before Raiden could rally his strength, and the two fell on him with vicious strikes while Poseidon watched approvingly from the rampway. (54)

The closing angle almost took away a bit from a fantastic main event, but still one of our stronger shows, and it makes me very optimistic about Big Bang coming up. Hopefully we can deliver. (57) We were rewarded with a .33 rating and 250k viewers.

Well, apologies for the gap between replies, but that's the holiday season, isn't it? Happy to say that I'm not going anywhere and shouldn't for quite some time, as I have a decent backlog still and ideas to spare. I hope everyone reading this had a good holiday season as well!

Next Week:

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Jacoby Disney

(P) The Dregs vs Tallman and Waldron

(P) Jimmy G vs Danjou Nakasato

Adonis Lash vs Tarzan Brownfield

Sawyer Rodriguez vs Boston Sills

Slay and Darville vs Pfeiffer and Mitchell

MJ Abruzzi vs Big Hank Banner

Riptide vs Raiden and the Mechanics

KyTeran · December 29, 2020

P) Giant Kajitani vs Jacoby Disney

(P) The Dregs vs Tallman and Waldron

(P) Jimmy G vs Danjou Nakasato

Adonis Lash vs Tarzan Brownfield

Sawyer Rodriguez vs Boston Sills

Slay and Darville vs Pfeiffer and Mitchell

MJ Abruzzi vs Big Hank Banner

Riptide vs Raiden and the Mechanics

DinoKea · December 29, 2020

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Jacoby Disney

(P) The Dregs vs Tallman and Waldron

(P) Jimmy G vs Danjou Nakasato

Adonis Lash vs Tarzan Brownfield

Sawyer Rodriguez vs Boston Sills

Slay and Darville vs Pfeiffer and Mitchell

MJ Abruzzi vs Big Hank Banner

Riptide vs Raiden and the Mechanics

Zergon · December 29, 2020

(P) Giant Kajitani vs Jacoby Disney

Wonder if this manages to be even worse than what Disney´s last match was.

(P) The Dregs vs Tallman and Waldron

Dregs collect some momentum.

(P) Jimmy G vs Danjou Nakasato

Same with Jimmy, gets some momentum here to build him up for the ongoing storyline

Adonis Lash vs Tarzan Brownfield

Lash is the bigger name for his team while Tarzan is the lesser guy onn his team so Lash picks the win here.

Sawyer Rodriguez vs Boston Sills

Sills have had his ups and downs so far but thinking he´s higher than Rodriguez.

Slay and Darville vs Pfeiffer and Mitchell

Slay is really getting a nice win streak before the title match but that feels kind of needed consider were she started compered to champ.

MJ Abruzzi vs Big Hank Banner

Backstage politics won´t help Banner here.

Riptide vs Raiden and the Mechanics

Could see this one going either way but thinking Raiden gets one over Poseidon here.

jokerdesilva · December 30, 2020

April 30th, 1986

Vermont, 843 in attendance

In good news, Bill Gwinn agreed to his contract with us, so that’s one WWB won’t be stealing. They did sign the big kickboxer Kash Thao I’d had my eye on, though, as well as a tough as nails youngster from Tennessee by the name of Duke Archuleta who seemed to be really catching fire in the Mid-South area. Maybe I’d be able to snag him when his contract came due and I had more of an opening. Who knew?

Before the show, the freshly healed Gabe Pilcher was brought before Garner Bautista, our color commentator and “judge” of wrestler court, for ducking out on a bar tab. He was sentenced to buy drinks, and seemed to take it in stride.

vs

Pre-Show – Giant Kajitani vs Jacoby Disney

Another squash match as I essentially get ready to kick Jacoby out the door. Kajitani has actually been showing some improvement the last two weeks, so that’s nice, even if this match was a dreadful affair for obvious reasons. Running powerslam ends it. (7)

vs

Pre-Show – The Dregs vs Tallman and Waldron

Another way for Tallman and Waldron to show me they belong on the roster, and to get Gabe some revenge for his injury. This one went off clean, not to mention being one of the better showings the Dregs have had yet, and Gabe got the win off a backbreaker in 8:57. (26)

vs

Pre-Show – Jimmy G vs Danjou Nakasato

A tune up match for Jimmy G ahead of Big Bang, and he looked good out there. Danjou seems to be quietly coming along – I don’t have plans for him per se, but he’s a nice space filler for the moment and he’s getting some in-ring experience, so Hyperion should be happy. Jimmy G with the Spear Tackle in 9:06. (26)

We opened with Billy Ray Bragg backstage, ready to give an interview.

"So, here I find myself, another month, without a challenger willin' to step up and go against me. Well, I don't know if management has forgotten about ol' Billy Ray, or if people are just too afraid to step up against the real champion of GCW, the North American Champion, but I'm looking for a fight on Sunday, and I expect someone to offer it. So consider this my announcement to allayall in the back. I am issuing an open challenge, from here until someone can actually give me the fight I'm lookin' for. If someone wants to step up and get a shot at the gold, well, I'll be in the ring on Sunday waitin' for ya. Just don't disappoint me, alright, boys?" (72)

vs

Adonis Lash w/Jimmy G vs Tarzan Brownfield w/Sebastien Durant

Well, this was promising ahead of Big Bang. Tarzan looked good and Adonis looked better. It's entirely possible I really have been underutilizing him something fierce, but here he's in good position to make Tarzan look excellent - even if it is, as usual for Tarzan, in defeat. As promised, Sebastien Durant was at ringside with him, making sure that Jimmy G didn't interject himself at all, but a still-wounded Tarzan wasn't quite quick enough to stay ahead of Adonis and his offense - and it played into Adonis's focus on working the leg to begin with. Limited in how he could play off the ropes, Tarzan soon fell to the Half-Crab, and he submitted almost as soon as the hold was locked in at 6:47. (47)

vs

Sawyer Rodriguez vs Boston Sills

Probably not a match that belongs on TV, but Boston hasn’t been around much and needs some air time. Sawyer was the man to do the job, and he did passably. Boston looked better, of course, though once again not as much better as I might have liked, bouncing around and dazzling him with flying maneuvers like Tarzan had tried, and failed, to do earlier. Boston got the win with his Top Rope Elbow in 6:28. (33)

vs

Slay and Darville vs Mitchell and Pfeiffer

A solid battle between the women. Bertha is continuing to show up well enough, the other two less so, but it’s still early in their TV career so I’m not expecting too much. Darville, as usual, was the stand out, but the hot-headed Bertha kept tagging herself in to try and get the glory, leaving her veteran teammate largely on the ring apron so that she could dish out the punishment. This time, it paid off, and Bertha won with a running clothesline in 7:43. (32)

We went to MJ Abruzzi, who, as usual, wasn't in the normal backstage interview area but his own private dressing room, getting worked over by a pretty young masseuse.

"Dustin, Dustin, Dustin, haven't we been here before? I seem to recall kicking your ass once already, and making you regret getting in the ring with me. Seems to me you're the one who's forgotten who you're dealing with. Allow me to remind you. I am MJ Abruzzi, the Godfather of Professional Wrestling, and I am not a man you want to cross. Now, yes, I haven't been on the best run of luck as of late, but I am a still a man who entered GCW undefeated and undefeatable, and I will be that man again. Jack Raiden got lucky for three seconds. You will not do the same thing. And I am going to hurt you, old man, the same way that I did Tarzan Brownfield, and the same way I'm going to hurt Big Hank Banner tonight. Capisce?" (67)

vs

MJ Abruzzi vs Big Hank Banner

Hey, look, Big Hank’s on TV again. Losing, mind you, but he got a somewhat marquee spot and MJ gave him a lot. He looked, in fact, like a brutal brawler as MJ bounced around for the bigger man, helping all of his offense look good, but to anyone really watching, MJ was doing all the work, and much like Billy Ray he's impressing me with the kind of stand out performances he can have with just about any kind of opponent. That gets him a lot of credit in my books - and is reassuring, considering all the money we're paying him monthly. He attacked Banner's legs with surgical precision, slowly chopping the big man down and slowing him down bit by bit. In the end, the reckless powerhouse couldn't keep up with MJ's cunning, and he locked in the Italian Deathlock at 8:28 to win. (52)

We went again to Poseidon in a dark, isolated environment, with Mean Machine and Night Shade at his side.

"I can see that my lesson has gone unheeded, and that is a mistake on your part, Jack Raiden. So I am going to give you one final opportunity to learn something before you do something that you will very much regret. I have tried to teach you what fear can be. I have tried to teach you to be reasonable. I have tried to show you why you should never step in a ring with me. But the lesson hasn't stuck, and so I will have to take a harder tack, clearly. After all, when you spare the rod, you spoil the child, and you have a serious beating due, Jack Raiden."

"And we do so love to teach, don't we, my King?" Night Stalker drawled from behind his mask. "We're going to teach you so well tonight, you and your little friends. Bring whoever you want as allies, we will show you all the same, that none of you can stand to the Riptide."

"Oh, we're going to hurt you," Mean Machine added, clenching and unclenching his fists as he spoke "Hurt you so bad. Make you feel all the pain in the world, just like you deserve. Rip and tear and smash and beat. No more mercy. No more mercy! Just perfect, pure suffering."

Poseidon held up a hand, silencing them both.

"This is what you have to look forward to. I've tried to warn you, Jack, you're a strong man, with a long career ahead of you, and I really hope you do the right thing. I hope you walk away. Because I am going to step into that ring tonight, and I am going to show you what I am capable of, first hand. And we, my Riptide, are going to leave you broken, just the same way I will leave you on Sunday if you are stupid enough to step into the ring with me. You cannot defeat me. You will not defeat me. And you will suffer for the rest of your life if you try. This is your final warning. Heed it, or you will drown." (75)

vs

Riptide vs Raiden and the Mechanics

Not quite the blow away match I was hoping for, but still very strong. Night Stalker was still smarting from his injury and Machine and Osburn aren’t quite up to the level of the rest of them. Hopefully some renewed focus will help with that, but we’ll see. The Riptide stalked out together as a perfect unit, Poseidon striding out with his championship and his disciples stalking around him. The Mechanics made a nice pair, but once again it was clear early on that they weren't fully on the same page as Jack Raiden, who tagged in immediately - which caused Poseidon to tag out and send Mean Machine to do his dirty work. That trend continued, as Poseidon would tag in to brutalize Ryan Osburn or Carver Wells periodically, but always got out the second Raiden stepped in, refusing to lay a hand on him. The Cult of Personality that was the Riptide proved themselves strong once again, as they executed a perfect strategy: Machine and Stalker attacked Raiden on the outside to beat him down while Poseidon blasted Osburn and Wells with a double clothesline, sending Wells sprawling outside and leaving Osburn vulnerable to a brutal knee face crusher. He whipped him into Mean Machine, the legal man, who took him down with an Axe Bomber to end the match. (57)

A really solid show and one of our better go-homes so far. I can’t really complain about much at all, except it’s starting to feel like one hour just isn’t enough show. Maybe I can work with the networks… (57) We got a .32 rating and 247 viewers, so not too shabby.

GCW Big Bang:

(P) Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

(P) Sunset Army vs The Danger Boys

(P) DeGeorge and St Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Tarzan

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

??? vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Open Challenge Match

Riptide vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

KyTeran · December 30, 2020

(P) Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

(P) Sunset Army vs The Danger Boys

(P) DeGeorge and St Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Tarzan

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

??? vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Open Challenge Match

Riptide vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

Herrbear · December 30, 2020

GCW Big Bang:

(P) Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

(P) Sunset Army vs The Danger Boys

(P) DeGeorge and St Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Tarzan

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

??? vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Open Challenge Match

Riptide vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

smw88 · December 30, 2020

(P) Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

(P) Sunset Army vs The Danger Boys

(P) DeGeorge and St Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Tarzan

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

??? vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Open Challenge Match

Riptide vs The Mechanics

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

Zergon · December 30, 2020

(P) Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

Disnay continues to jobhis way out of the door

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

Tommy is the bigger name

(P) Sunset Army vs The Danger Boys

Tempted to go with Boys here but thinking Army gets the win since they are feuding with Wolf

(P) DeGeorge and St Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

Thinking DeGeorge is the top girl here.

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

I could see most of these guys winning but figuring mr. backstage influence has the best shot.

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Tarzan

I´d assume main reason for this feud is to put Durant over and Tarzan could use a rare win.

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

I doubt Slay is the one who gets the belt off from Criss.

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

I just don´t see Kandori going over here, maybe he could with shenigans bu I do feel that Wolf is just too big name to lose to Sunset Army.

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

With Bill locked to contract you have no need for title chance so figuring Brothers retain here. That said, I could well see Nations and Kramer getting the belts next, just don´t think it´s time for the chance yet.

??? vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Open Challenge Match

Pretty sure Billy will retain, more interesting question is who he will face. Also wonder if these open challenges are going to continue, might be an interesting way to kick start/continue Bragg vs. Dale Whitlock feud that looks to be around the corner.

Riptide vs The Mechanics

Mechanics get a win back after being on losing end in last show.

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

Don´t see Dustin stopping his losing streak here.

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

I don´t see Poseidon dropping the belt this quickly even if Jack would be the most likely next champ right now in my books.

jokerdesilva · January 3, 2021

May 4th, 1986 GCW Big Bang

Rupert C. Thompson Arena, 4029 in attendance

The good news on the lead up to Big Bang: Night Stalker was fully fit and had shaken off his orbital bruising. The less good news: Reijiro had, unsurprisingly, decided that he was going to retire in the next three months. Given his rapid physical decline, that wasn’t much of a surprise, and he was already making a better manager for the Sunset Army than a competitor per se. Hopefully he’d stay on in that kind of role, but we’d have to see.

vs

Pre-Show – Isaac Holman vs Jacoby Disney

Well, Jacoby wasn’t happy about this, but he’s not going to be working here much longer, so. Decided to give Isaac a test to see what he could do on the winning end: passable, but with a bitter, over the hill vet not really working with him, hard to say how much was really his talent or not. He won with a nice Powerslam in 5:38. (13)

vs

Pre-Show – Tommy Carleton vs Danjou Nakasato

A much better showing. Tommy is about ready to start making TV in my eyes, and he did just fine here, working with a game Nakasato and finishing him off with a Lariat in 9:55. (27)

vs

Pre-Show – Sunset Army vs Danger Boys

A battle with two of our younger teams. The Sunset Army have never really seemed to improve or catch on, despite Reijiro working nicely as a manager, so they did the job here for the slowly improving Danger Boys. Bret got the win with a Bulldog in 8:55. (26)

vs

Pre-Show – DeGeorge and St. Croix vs Derby and Mitchell

The jewel of the pre-show, as I figured a match with Madalene and Lilyanna would be. The rookies did okay, but it was clear who the stars were, and Madalane got the win with a DDT in 10:13. (42)

10-Man Battle Royale – Aaron Redcloud, Alonzo O’Toole, Gabe Pilcher, Big Hank Banner, Dwayne Olivares, Jase Marshall, Garry Beltran, King Kong Grady, Kurt Grey, Nehemiah

A nice little battle royale to start the card. It was an expected brawl, with a lot of big hosses in there in the form of Banner, Olivares, Marshall, Beltran, Grady, and Nehemiah, and a bit of a brawl because of that. Everyone slugged it out, with the Dregs getting quickly thrown out for daring to attack Big Hank Banner and biting off more than they could chew. Kurt Grey was out next, a victim of King Kong Grady, and the same happened to Nehemiah soon after. The Black Hats isolated Aaron Redcloud, who put up a game fight but couldn't take on both of them and ended up tossed out by Jase Marshall. Beltran, meanwhile, made a beeline for Grady at every opportunity, but King Kong showed his superior power and hurled his former tag team partner out. That left King Kong, Banner, and the Black Hats. The three of them all stormed down to attack Banner, who was left to fight them off as best he could, driving the Black Hats back with punches but eating a King Kong splash into the corner that had him crumpled. The Black Hats tried to attack King Kong from behind while he was distracted, but he shook them off, and Banner exploded out to dump them with a double clothesline that threw them over the top. That left Banner and Grady battling it out, and the newly turned King Kong managed to win out, hurling Banner over the top rope at 9:58. (32)

We went backstage to Sebastien Durant and Tarzan Brownfield for an interview.

"Adonis Lash, you are still a dangerous man. You have proven that well, against me, and against Tarzan. But you will find, sir, that it takes more than using distractions, or taking advantage of an injured leg, to prove yourself a star, here. This time you're not just dealing with one of us. You're dealing with a unit. And I have proven that I can beat Jimmy G as well, handily. I am at the top of my game. Tarzan has been healing up and is ready for anything. And while you are cunning, and dangerous, and you make a hellacious unit, we have the skills to beat you, and prove that we, as a unit, have a future here. This is just a step forward, and perhaps soon enough we'll find ourselves tag team champions. But first, we're going to beat you. Fairly." (49)

vs

Lash and Jimmy G vs Durant and Brownfield

A very solid match, with all four men being close to the same level, which was very nice to see. Lash tried to run the show as the cagey veteran, but Tarzan wasn't quite as slowed by his leg injury this time and bounced around nicely to keep from getting locked down, and Sebastien was able to blast Lash and Jimmy G both with heavy shots to keep them reeling. It was a clean, solid performance for the still nameless Tropical duo, and Tarzan scored a pin off a missile drop kick at 11:28 to get the win. (44)

vs

Bertha Slay vs Lily-Rose Criss – GCW Women’s Championship Match

Not quite the match I was hoping for, though by no means bad. I was just hoping Bertha would step it up more in this position, and while she wasn’t a bad performer, she didn’t exactly seem to excel. She was still a little clumsy and awkward and the fans haven't seemed to really take to her in her moderate push, which is perhaps nothing to be surprised by, but she at least hung in there, trying and failing to pin down Lily-Rose with her heavy shots while Lily-Rose once again showed what a high flyer can do. Lily-Rose won with the Crossbody in 10:28 for her fourth defense of the title. (38)

Lily-Rose's victory in the ring was cut off by going back to an interview with Madalene DeGeorge, freshly polished and coiffed after her victory earlier on the pre-show.

"I hate to interrupt, Lily-Rose darling, but I'm afraid I didn't want you getting the feeling you could rest on your laurels too long, my dear. You see, you've been holding onto that belt for quite some time, now, and I think it's long past due for you to give it up, don't you think? Now, I know what you're thinking, why, Madalene, didn't you already have a chance at the title? Well, yes, that might be true, but you see, times change, people change, and I've only gotten better, while you've just... slowed down. Do you really think three months ago Bertha Slay would have been any problem for you? Tsk, tsk, tsk. No, not at all. I'm going to beat you, Lily-Rose. This is a challenge, a direct challenge to you, that I will be your next opponent in the ring, and I will be the Women's Champion. Because you are going to find out that I am just in a different class than you, and class is all that matters." (50)

vs

Reijiro Kandori vs Wolf Koziol

Well, Reijiro is officially on his way out, so this was a short match to give Wolf a much needed decisive win. Reijiro came out with his Sunset Army, of course, who encircled the ring as usual, but Wolf just roared out to the ring, blasting Karasuma and Sanzo with a double clothesline before the bell even rang and rolled into the ring after dropping them. Umari and Kajitani tried to jump up to distract him, but he just dropper Umari with a running boot and Kajitani with a shoulder tackle, only then turning to Kandori. Reijiro grappled with him nicely, and looked technically sound and shrewd as ever, but Wolf was on another level of fire and battered him from pillar to post. It took one monster Lariat for him to get the win at 6:18. (55)

vs

Kramer and Nations vs The Gwinn Brothers – GCW Tag Team Championship Match

Once again, I walked into this match feeling rather unsure of who should walk away the winner and if I'd made the right choice. Kramer and Nations came in looking fired up, ready for round two, with Marcus Kramer in particular exploding out of the blocks to batter the Gwinns with brute force. But he looked like he was slowing down a tad, age finally catching up to him, and it wasn't long before he had to tag Scorpio in and leave him to the action. Out-sized by both Brothers, who were far more experienced tag team wrestlers, he didn't really seem to stand much of a chance, and they took turns working him over and hitting him with nasty double team moves. Kramer tried to tag back in but it was too little, too late, and Bill Gwinn hit the big backbreaker in 14:07 to retain. (49)

Billy Ray Bragg made his way out to ringside with a microphone in hand.

"Well, I'd say it's just about time to get some real action on the stage here. Y'all have been waiting to see a true champion in action, a true man, and Billy Ray Bragg is here to en'ertain. Now, I just need me a dance partner, so like I said, this here is an open challenge for anyone with the brass balls to step into the ring with the Sidewinder and see what he can do. Don't keep me waiting too long, y'hear?" (62)

vs

Boston Sills vs Billy Ray Bragg – GCW North American Championship Match

It was Boston Sills who answered the call, coming out to face Billy Ray, making it clear as soon as he stepped into the ring that he was out-sized by the tough as nails cowboy. He made himself into a game challenge here, at least, zipping around the ring and forcing Billy Ray to work for everything that he got, and it became clear pretty early that Billy Ray was growing frustrated as the match went on. That was part of the story, but seemed to be a little more real when Boston pummeled him with a series of low kicks to slow him down and Billy Ray started limping with a bit more convincing affect than I might have expected. He slowed down a bit from there, though was still the stand-out performer that I'd come to respect, and managed to roll out of the way of a Top Rope Elbow so that Boston crashed to the mat, making him easy prey for a Sidewinder Choke at 15:09. Billy Ray continued limping all the way to the back, and the doc diagnosed it as a badly swollen calf muscle - nothing too serious, luckily, but still a blow for one of my best rising stars. (46)

vs

Riptide vs The Mechanics

The Riptide came out looking like a perfect unit, ready to go to war, but this time they weren't the only ones. The Mechanics looked equally slick and on the same page early on, taking turns battling against the masked heels with perfect technical execution. Mean Machine was the bully of the day, clubbing Wells and Osburn both with equal fervor, while Night Stalker tried to keep him from getting too out of control and heated up. Meanwhile, Carver and Osburn dedicated their focus to taking Night Stalker's legs out from under him, both to limit his offense and set him up for a Spinning Toe Hold potentially. It didn't come to that, but it did leave him slowed down, making it easy for Ryan Osburn to blast him off the ring side while Wells hit a Neckbreaker on Mean Machine to get the win at 14:42. (53)

We went backstage to a Poseidon who looked more sullen and vicious than usual, without his usual cold arrogance.

"We will discuss the failure of my soldiers soon enough. That is a matter for another day and another time. They will learn the cost of disappointing me, and they will come back stronger from it."

He ran a hand slowly through his hair, breathing out.

"No. What I want to discuss is you, Jack Raiden. You, who was not wise enough to listen to your fear and understand what I have been trying to teach you, and warn you. You, who have not listened to the messages. The rolling tide of fate. You might think that my Riptide losing might worry me, like it's something of a portent. It is not. I am above such matters. And if you think, for one moment, that I am the one afraid? That I am the one intimidated in any way? You have another thing coming. I've heard the rumors and the suggestions and the whispers, and they are fallacious. Foolish. I fear nothing. I fear no one. And I am going to crush you. Decisively. Tonight, everyone will learn that there is no threat alive that can stand up against me. That no one stands a chance of taking this title away from me."

He held it up in front of the camera, glowering.

"This is everything. Everything to me, and everything that matters, and I will die before I let someone take it. And that won't be you, Raiden. That will never be you. I'll see to it." (75)

vs

MJ Abruzzi vs Dustin Robinson

A battle of the hot young upstart against the established hero. Dustin looked motivated and MJ looked excellent, playing as vicious as he had been for the last month since he fell to Jack Raiden in the cage. He tried to systematically destroy Robinson's legs, attacking him with kicks, leg twists, shin-breakers, anything that he could manage, but Robinson kept fighting back. He blasted out of it with chops and forearms, snapped him over in suplexes despite the pain, and every time Abruzzi tried to lock in the Italian Deathlock, Robinson struggled his way to the ropes to get away. It started adding up, of course, and he tried to crawl over to the corner to get away, but Abruzzi came after him, raking the eyes and leaving him slumped. That made it easy to hit him with a big running knee, then two more as he dropped to a sitting position, letting him get the pin at 9:39. (59)

vs

Jack Raiden vs Poseidon – GCW Heavyweight Championship Match

It wasn’t quite the match of the year that I was hoping for, but only by a hair or so, and it was still an excellent close to the show. Raiden went step for step with Poseidon, who only seemed to get more and more vicious as the match went on, and more desperate to hold onto his belt. He locked on the Sleeper early, but Raiden just muscled him up and smashed him back into the corner, shaking him off, and nailed him with a running shoulder tackle that sent him rolling out of the ring. Not looking to lose on counter out again, Raiden went out after him, but Poseidon tripped him into the post, then smashed his face into it repeatedly. He tossed Raiden back into the ring and hit a Face Crusher - but Raiden kicked out at 2 and a half to just barely stay in it. Snarling, Poseidon dropped down to start throwing hands, busting Raiden open after the repeated shots into the steel and leaving him bleeding, but Raiden fired up and threw him over in a big belly-to-belly for a nearfall of his own. He tried for the powerbomb but Poseidon backdropped him out of it, nailing him with a big clothesline as he got to his feet, driving him out of the ring. He threw Raiden into the guard rail and the post again, hammering him as hard as he could. In the end, he had Raiden back in the ring and hit him with another Face Crusher, driving his knee into the bleeding face of Raiden, then rolled him up - with his feet on the ropes for extra leverage. The referee didn't catch it, and Poseidon escaped with his title once again, looking powerfully mortal. (62)

Our best show since Walk Through Fire, and another strong showing for a good 1986. While I was still full of doubts about the main event in particular, it felt like there was money to be made in just a slightly longer chase, if I could fill the space in between. That was going to be the real tricky part, but… well. I had my plans. One of which would be making an appearance just next show, in fact. (61)

Next Week:

(P) Tommy Carleton vs Richard Auston

(P) Heavenly Bodies vs Tallman and Waldron

(P) King Kong Grady vs Mo Ponder

(P) St. Croix and Slay vs Derby and Mitchell

Black Hat Rodeo vs Hillbillies

Madalene DeGeorge vs Laurette Lorio

Sunset Army vs Durant and Brownfield

Reijiro Kandori vs ???

Mean Machine vs Jack Raiden

Black Hat Rodeo (Whitlock and Bragg) vs The Mechanics

Sign In

A Global Uprising? [Effganic]

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation