DIW 2024: Waging War Weekly

[John Lions]

Worried that it might be Wrecker on the way out, given his unceremonious loss of the Australian title. Sad, since I feel like he has a lot more stories to tell in DIW.

[HiPlus]

5 hours ago, John Lions said:

Worried that it might be Wrecker on the way out, given his unceremonious loss of the Australian title. Sad, since I feel like he has a lot more stories to tell in DIW.

Really I think it's Cesar putting the final nail in the coffin for Ares Death Cult.

[Satyr24]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was Seth Wish going

[619]

@John Lions @HiPlus That's reassuring that it feels like it could go either way as I always worry my booking is too predictable or, on the few occasions it isn't predictable, it's because it feels like too much of a swerve because I haven't foreshadowed well enough 😅

@Satyr24 It's Wrecker or Cesar Sionis this time but I'm sure Seth Wish's time will come as CEW seem to be working their way though the DIW roster.

Part 31: Weighing up The Pros

The first episode of To The Extreme after Hardcore Heatwave eased some of my concerns about the new faction. Lori was leaning into their shared Australian Pro Wrestling history by naming them The Pros, but their first mic time together focussed on stylistic and ideological differences with the rest of the DIW roster, rather than presenting an APW takeover of DIW.

Dexter Mattell’s line about them being the most influential group in wrestling history was deliberately hyperbolic, but I think the collective threat to walk out with all the gold was effective because it was grounded in reality. CEW were the biggest heels in DIW, so why not have your in-ring villains align themselves with a hated enemy? It also meant the exit storyline would write itself if ever Gerard Knights and Dumfrey Pinn decided to turn this work into a shoot.

Effectively holding DIW hostage gave The Pros the air of menace that past antagonists like Pinn Enterprises, The Barracudas and Ares Death Cult carried despite not being as physically frightening as those groups, and explained why they felt able to call the shots without fearing The Comedian’s wrath.

However, my doubts over Mattell as champion persisted. That might seem strange given that I handed the bloke his break, but he’d never been the top man before, and succeeding at the first attempt was a lot harder when you were following someone as bloody great as Rob Edwards.

He had the edge on the former champ on the microphone, but he lacked the ability of Edwards, or previous champion Milton Hittlespitz for that matter, to go all out in a main event. That’s why, even though his match with Hendrix Hughes had a real story behind it, you couldn’t escape the sense that Edwards would have brought more out of his opponent and himself.

There was no Mattell main event on episode 10, which was being headlined by Wrecker taking on Cesar Sionis. The winner would get the first shot at the new DIW Champion, while the loser would be forced out of DIW and maybe, just maybe, show up in CEW soon after. Lori was obviously confident in that high-stakes bout bringing in the viewers, because the undercard was The Wild Things v Saracens, Carl Paris v Lloyd Banks and Kobra Khan v Pat Rigsby.

[HiPlus]

I don't think being predictable in terms of storylines is a bad thing, in fact it's the opposite as it makes those swerves way more impactful and less 50/50 booking actually clearly builds your guys.

 

Wrecker vs Cesar

Honestly a coin flip on who CEW will be picking up but I am going Wrecker to win as CEW then get an established tag-team, while I think Wrecker is the perfect guy with credibility to take on Dexter and build him up. Sending out Cesar builds him up after losing his title. 

 

The rest of the card is predictable but again not a bad thing. 

 

The Wild Things - Need to establish they are still a tag-team and they aren't losing to Saracens.

Lloyd Banks - By the end of the night he may be without Cesar. Either way he needs to build into a credible ally of Cesar, or build to forge his own path. If it is Cesar who bows out it gives him a decent retribution storyline against Dexter Mattel as a small feud to continue building Dex. 

Kobra Khan - Khan lost and needs a win while we continue to await Rigsby character change happening with the married? Engaged? Man. 

[John Lions]

Wrecker vs Cesar Sionis

CEW hiring Sionis to fill out the tag team makes too much sense and I think that might be the pick, but I'm sticking with my original choice. I hope it's not Wrecker, though, because I think he's in a position to be the next "face" of DIW. 
The Wild Things v Saracens
Carl Paris v Lloyd Banks
Kobra Khan v Pat Rigsby

While Paris is not even close to ready to win a singles match against a former champion, and Saracens are long past being ready to win any match they are a part of, I would argue that Rigsby could be given a look for a win here. He's been a solid, dependable midcarder while his record is comparable to Paris's. Rather than being the gatekeeper for the bottom of the card, I think he could find his way as a gatekeeper to the top of it.

[619]

Brilliant comments @HiPlus @John Lions and, without spoiling too much, strong hit rates on the predictions. I promise the Pat Rigsby love isn't being ignored: he's finally getting something a bit meatier to work with but, as I've already booked/written a few shows ahead of this point, unfortunately this period is Rigsby's LA Knight Mania-to-SummerSlam stretch of not being given the booking to match his online buzz 😄

Part 32: To The Extreme #10

The Comedian and I immediately handed over to DIW’s unlikely super sleuth Markus Rush, who had managed to get his cameraman in position to overhear a conversation between Dexter Mattell, Donovan Boon, Rusty Mills, Con McReady and Seth Wish. Mattell told Wish that he wanted to find him before the show to personally reassure him that he was very much part of The Pros’ plan. He was the one bloke in DIW with that air of professionalism the other amateurs lacked. He’d spotted McReady’s potential when everyone else was sleeping on it. Strewth, he’d probably had Milton Hittlespitz on his back even more times than Raw Sex had that drongo’s sister on hers. Mills stepped in to say that to show their appreciation for Wish, and that they had no intention to step on The Wild Things’ toes, they’d arranged a tag team match for them against Saracens, and would even be in their corner. Wish seemed to appreciate the camaraderie.

Kobra Khan v Pat Rigsby
Rigsby started this match by signalling that his opponent was a loser, referencing his recent setbacks against Con McReady and Seth Wish but, as was so often the case, it was him on the losing end here, floored by a Ripcord Knee. Kobra Khan was impressive, but I was still stiff on the masked midcarder on commentary, suggesting that while he could put on a show on nights like this when the pressure was off, he consistently failed to deliver on the big occasions.

Former Australian Champion Wrecker wasn’t one of DIW’s more established talkers. However, for the second week in a row, he was given a short interview slot with Markus Rush, using it to relay the simple message that The Pros would regret not seizing their opportunity to finish him off last week like they had Seb Shaw and Hendrix Hughes, daring them to try.

Carl Paris v Lloyd Banks
I used this commanding performance by Lloyd Banks, in which he overcame having the wooden board he’d introduced used against him to fight back and win with a Piledriver onto the same apparatus, as an attempt to further intrigue in the night’s main event: Wrecker v Cesar Sionis. I argued that it showed Ares Death Cult were on form. The Comedian wasn’t so convinced, pointing out that someone who recently held the Australian Title for six months might be harder to put away than a 20-year-old kid.

Death Ref had no doubt Ares Death Cult were on the road to redemption though, promising that next week would be a new beginning for the group, in an apparent reference to the fact that tonight’s main event winner would be challenging Dexter Mattell for the DIW Title on the show.

Saracens (Cueball and Tank) v The Wild Things (Con McReady and Seth Wish)
It wasn’t too clear why The Wild Things needed The Benchmark at ringside against a team they boasted a 2-0 record against, except to show The Pros’ support for the duo’s continued partnership. I leaned into this theme on commentary, pointing out it was the first time they’d teamed up in two months, and how selfless it was of The Benchmark to help them stay united despite their recent singles success and keep the tag division strong. The Comedian wasn’t impressed with my claim that it hinted The Pros were being sincere when they said about using their power to create more opportunities for others. One thing that was certain was that there weren’t many opportunities for Saracens here. Seth Wish finished Cueball with the Suicide Senton to the applause of the watching Tag Title holders.

The Barracudas’ music sounded after the bell and the fans (253 of them, the highest attendance yet for the weekly show) were loud as Chopper Rourke and Vaughan emerged through the crowd. Intriguingly, The Benchmark and The Wild Things retreated before they reached the ring despite their strong numerical advantage, allowing The Comedian to suggest that the new champions were afraid of the possibility of having to defend against Chopper and Vaughan.

Wrecker v Cesar Sionis
The Comedian and I found rare agreement in the fact this was probably the highest-stakes match in the short history of To The Extreme: the winner getting the first shot at new DIW Champion Dexter Mattell next week, the loser leaving DIW. These two went at it hard from the fist fight as soon as the bell sounded, which was admirable given one of them was clocking off after tonight and could’ve played it safe. Both men survived weapon shots to the head, Wrecker getting up from a chain between the eyes at two and Sionis raising a shoulder on the same count after a DDT onto a trash can lid. It was Sionis who connected with his finisher first, throwing Wrecker into the turnbuckle when he attempted a Mighty Bulldog and hitting the Running Knee Side-Swipe as he got up, but Wrecker somehow survived. The Greek Punisher tried to follow up with the Backbreaker that had done so much damage to Rob Edwards, but Wrecker fought out and this time hit his Mighty Bulldog. It only got a two count, and Death Ref smiled smugly as I reminded viewers of his prediction that it would take more than a Bulldog to beat his Bulldozer. Unfortunately for Sionis, Wrecker had heeded Death Ref’s warning and was ready with a Plan B, striking Sionis in the temple with a vicious elbow (subsequently known as the Bulldozer to commemorate this moment) that wiped him out for the count.

Both of us commentators put over our shock at the outcome as Cesar Sionis threw a tantrum, tearing off the turnbuckle pads and kicking the steps over. DIW Champion Dexter Mattell appeared on the stage to survey the scene, laughing at the carnage his meddling had caused.

[AboardTheArk]

RIP (whatever was left off) Ares Death Cult, you kept the company alive for like 6 tough years. 

 

There's still homegrown talent that is getting built up, Wrecker just got a big crowning as a major player and I don't think I can downplay that this was a really big moment for him, but this departure is definitely a hit to the company's identity. Makes you think if someone of the young guys is turning (de facto since DIW is not dependent on it) face to crown the new top guys at the expense of the APW stable. 

 

Of course, it's early to think about The Pros going down, and I'm not saying anything you're doing is shockingly unrealistic but...it's still the Comedian's company, therefore I wouldn't expect a year of these outsiders lording over the true DIW guys. 

 

Seth Wish is one to watch out for perhaps. Or...Pat Rigsby to the rescue! 

[Tiberious]

Farewell Cesar, shame we didn't get more of a chance to see how he'd fare as a solo star but those are the breaks in the wrestling business. It certainly makes sense for CEW to go after him since not only is he friends and tag team partners with Gyula Laktos, but he also has a friendship with Blitz Simpson so he's got two guys to talk him up to management there.

On the plus side Cesar is on the wrong side of 40, so this saves some potential awkwardness once age starts catching up to him and Lori has to balance her friendship with him versus what's best for the company. Biggest issue is what this means for the remaining members of the group since a bit too much has happened to just have Death Ref start counting pins again. With the Pros as the big new dominant heel faction I'm not really sure where they fit into DIW right now.

If the raids from continue than perhaps Lori will have to go back and add a women's division out of necessity, though I wouldn't put it passed CEW to add their own just so they can keep poaching your workers.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Tiberious

[619]

@AboardTheArk I'll have to run the numbers on how many CEW defections we are away from Pat Rigsby as DIW Champion 😅 You're right about wanting to give more homegrown talent the chance to step up: 2022 and 2023 were played fairly safe being built around Milton and Edwards, so hopefully at least one of the card-climbers resists CEW and makes a main event impact.

@Tiberious I think you're right that Cesar Sionis is a significant loss, a logical hire for CEW given the relationships you mentioned, and someone who would've needed replacing at some point due to his age. Any plans for a proper women's division are hindered by my idiotic decision to only load Oceania at the start of the save, wiping out a lot of hardcore hires, but it may still be a possibility.

Part 33: Cesar’s sign off

So that was it for Cesar Sionis, who became the third DIW main eventer in under six months to be poached by CEW.

It arguably wasn’t quite as big a loss as Blitz Simpson or Gyula Lakatos in that he wasn’t a former DIW Champion. However, it continued the trend and was also a heavy blow for Ares Death Cult’s credibility so soon after losing Lakatos and Rob Edwards and being supplanted at the top of the card by The Pros.

For Lori Cooper, this was the second close ally she’d been unable to convince to stick around. I joked to her that, on the bright side, it would be harder for critics to accuse her of playing favourites now she had no favourites left to play, which I’m not sure she found funny*.

In all honesty, I think Sionis had earned the spot he had occupied on the DIW roster. The Greek Punisher was one of the most over blokes there, he was a solid in-ring performer, he had more in the tank than most of the roster despite being its oldest member and was a believable presence near the top of the card.

He had a reputation as a bully that I was aware of long before arriving in DIW, but I never saw it. Perhaps that was to Lori’s credit and she had been a calming influence, as the only blow-up I was aware of was his confrontation with Edwards after a blown spot damaged The Human Weapon’s tailbone, and I’d seen that kind of hostility in every company I’d ever worked for.

I preferred his write-off to his partner Lakatos’ a few months earlier. The stablemates turning on a long-term member had been effective with Simpson and The Barracudas as it had already been built towards, but had been overdone since.

Doing it this way helped establish The Pros as politicking pricks who had orchestrated the removal of one of their main threats without getting their hands dirty, and it gave Wrecker the biggest win of his career just when it looked like he might be losing momentum. And again, contrary to his surly reputation, I’d been told Sionis enthusiastically endorsed the plan to put the 25-year-old over on his way out.

Was Wrecker a future DIW Champion? I’d probably have said no around the time I arrived in the company, but the recent departures made it more plausible. He was as logical a choice as anyone to try elevating at this time given he’d consistently been presented as a threat and also as someone unafraid of standing up to powerful groups.

Episode 11 of To The Extreme would see him main event for the second straight week as DIW Champion Dexter Mattell’s first challenger. We’d also get Con McReady’s first Australian Title defence against former champion Tank (seriously, someone needed to calculate how many title shots the Saracens pair had received versus how many actual wins they’d recorded), an update on April’s Havoc main event and an announcement from The Comedian.

*However, Lori did give me two bits of information that she was perhaps optimistically taking as a sign that CEW’s chokehold on DIW might be weakening. Apparently, it took them two offers to snatch Sionis, whereas Simpson and Lakatos didn’t take much persuading, and Australian Champion Con McReady turned down a CEW offer before his recent title win to stay with DIW.

[John Lions]

Glad Wrecker is staying - I think he's the best pick of the lot to be the next homegrown DIW star, and agree with SQ's sentiment that he's a future DIW Champion.

 

How on EARTH did Tank win the Australian title??

[Tiberious]

I hope Dexter can step it up a level now that he's champion. He hasn't been bad exactly, but Quartermainne has a point in his assestment that Rob Edwards was always going to be a tough act to follow and in a way being part of the Pros stable is a double edged sword because the Benchmark are damn good and there's a definite risk of him being overshadowed if he can't match their speed. Honestly this upcoming title match between Dexter and Wrecker seems pretty important, not so much for the result of the match itself but for whether each guy can rise to that next level.

The tag title picture is a problem of a different sort with the Benchmark being fantastic champions, but the tag team scene being so decimated that there's a real lack of credible challengers. The Barracudas are the only real established team available right now, but with Blitz gone and the others showing their age it's not quite the clear big money feud it would have been if they were in their prime. At the very least the Pros being such a solid squad means that you can probably count on any combination of the group to deliver in multiman tags if you want to put on a good match for your weekly shows if you want to save your premier matches for the big events.

[619]

@John Lions It's true, in the 2022 Alt CVerse, Tank managed seven months as champion early in the 2020s, winning it from and giving it back to Kobra Khan 😆

@Tiberious I really enjoyed your analysis. Luckily losing Seb Shaw and Switchblade didn't disrupt the immediate plans for the tag division, buying a bit of time to try to build up some new teams, but as you say it definitely stripped any depth from the division.

Part 34: To The Extreme #11

DIW Champion Dexter Mattell opened the show in the ring, flanked by his fellow Pros. He complained that nobody appreciated how meticulously they had taken control of DIW. It wasn’t just that they’d won all the titles and united, nobody else in the company trusted one another enough to combine against them. Sure, The Barracudas were still a tag team, but they were no longer a brotherhood. Everyone knew they hated each other now but clung together for relevance. He’d beaten them both and The Benchmark could easily do likewise. Who else was going to overthrow The Pros? They’d overseen the destruction of Ares Death Cult (at this point, they all waved down the camera, saying bye to Cesar Sionis). Rob Edwards couldn’t buddy up to Milton Hittlespitz, who wasn’t going to be able to align with Kobra Khan, and so on. Mattell said there was one exception: Two Badass MFers. That’s why they’d taken out Seb Shaw first and Hendrix Hughes second. The MFers would’ve even had Wrecker’s back tonight for his DIW Title challenge, but instead he had to find out how lonely it was for an amateur to encounter The Pros. As if Mattell wasn’t being unbearable enough, he revealed his next scheme to pit his enemies against one another: a battle royal next week to determine who would face him at Havoc, dismissively referring to this spectacle as Amateur Hour. As he closed by raising his title in the air alongside his fellow champions (Seth Wish hoisted his cane instead), The Comedian suggested he might regret looking ahead to Havoc before tonight’s defence against Wrecker.

Australian Title: Tank v Con McReady (c)
Con McReady and Seth Wish stayed out for the former’s first Australian Title defence against one-time champion Tank. The challenger retained an imposing frame but, with no momentum, nobody was buying a title change here, though Wish still made a nuisance of himself on occasion to negate Tank’s size advantage. This was kept under seven minutes, and reprised a finish we’d seen once before with McReady using a cane held in place by Wish to make his Iron Fist extra painful.

Kobra Khan entered for his match as Con McReady and Seth Wish were heading to the back, and he dared the Australian Champion to test himself against another ex-champion soon, a reference to his record three reigns with the title. The Wild One didn’t really address the challenge.

Kobra Khan v Cueball
Like Con McReady minutes earlier, Kobra Khan worked as hard as possible to get something out of his less accomplished opponent without complete success. The masked man hit the Ripcord Knee for the 1, 2, 3 in around six minutes, though I was again dismissive on commentary. I claimed that Kobra never had a problem picking up low-pressure wins like this but, if McReady was generous enough to give him a shot, he’d fall short like he did against Rob Edwards at War Machine or in the contender tournament final or against Seth Wish and Milton Hittlespitz at Hardcore Heatwave, and so on and so on and so on.

The Comedian took to the stage and said that DIW didn’t take kindly to outsiders, and were very careful about who they let through the door to steer clear of the gymnasts, actors and imposters polluting other so-called Aussie wrestling companies. But even some of the people he thought were tough enough for DIW had got scared lately and taken the easy way out, so perhaps it was time to open the doors to more people brave enough to step inside a DIW ring, warning that they had to win if they wanted to stick around. He introduced the first person to take up his invitation: a muscular, scarred-up and scary-looking bloke called Psych Ward.

Psych Ward v Lloyd Banks
This had to be the most violent match we’d aired on WrestleWorld Australia yet between two barbarians with a shared barbed wire lust. At one point, Psych Ward wrapped barbed wire around Banks’ torso and took turns to launch him into every turnbuckle. The Comedian noted at this point that Death Ref promised this show would signal a new beginning for Ares Death Cult, and that new beginning seemed to be getting dragged bleeding around the ring by a novice. Banks refused to be beaten though and, barbed wire still around him, introduced even more in the form of a barbed wire board for the most gruesome spot of all, lifting Psych Ward in a Gorilla Press and dropping him face and, umm, male anatomy first onto the board, before climbing on top to deliver a Piledriver for a win at huge personal cost.

The Benchmark entered the ring before the DIW Title match, with Donovan Boon and Rusty Mills claiming they were just there to observe. Mills said that Con McReady and Dexter Mattell making their first defences tonight had inspired them to do the same next week in the form of an open challenge. A “Cudas” chant broke out in the crowd, believing The Barracudas would get their shot, but Mills pointed out that unfortunately they won’t be eligible because they’ll both be in the Amateur Hour battle royal to crown the DIW Title contender at Havoc. After all, they’re both singles wrestlers at heart, far hungrier for individual success.

DIW Title: Wrecker v Dexter Mattell (c)
Mattell had outlined the story of this bout at the top of the hour: he was flanked by The Benchmark, while Wrecker went into battle all alone after his closest allies Two Badass MFers had been put on the shelf by The Pros. The champion had an experience, technique and speed advantage, yet Wrecker used his size and power to answer most of what was thrown at him. The only thing he couldn’t combat was the numbers. The closing sequence saw Mattell reverse the Mighty Bulldog into an Armbar, Wrecker use the ropes to power out, set up and this time hit the Mighty Bulldog, only for Donovan Boon to disrupt the ref’s count. He got a Bulldozer Elbow for his troubles, but Mills struck the challenger with a Tag Title before it was his turn. Wrecker kicked out, but Mattell responded quickly and viciously, shoving his grounded opponent’s head into the belt three times, lifting him to his knees to expose his bloody head and then drive him back onto Mills’ belt with a DDT. Even then, he took no chances, adopting a seated cover to use both his arms and legs to keep Wrecker’s shoulders down for the three.

Dexter Mattell, Donovan Boon and Rusty Mills looked like they were planning to put a further beating on Wrecker when they noticed a wounded Lloyd Banks and Death Ref walking down the ramp, leading Mattell to advise that they leave these amateurs to it. Banks picked Wrecker up for a Piledriver, but he wasn’t at full strength after his brutal match earlier and was flipped over and then struck by Wrecker’s new Bulldozer Elbow. Wrecker then grabbed Death Ref and lined him up for the Mighty Bulldog when Lori came running down the ramp, her first appearance in three months. She appeared to be pleading with Wrecker not to pull the trigger, but was in fact buying time while a powerhouse climbed over the top rope opposite the entrance, ambushing Wrecker with a vicious Low Blow, dragging him up for a Powerbomb and ending the beating with an S.T.O. Bryant Hall had arrived in DIW, and was seemingly a part of Ares Death Cult.

[John Lions]

Bryant Hall! One of my break out stars in my 2016 save - he's got loads of potential, and he's a great fit for DIW (though I have a hard time seeing him as a cultist).

[HiPlus]

Bryant Hall!! Big fan of him, and seemed destined for DIW before his sudden gimmick change for ZEN so excited to see him return to his brawling ways. Wonder how much of a talent he has become in the last few years

[AboardTheArk]

had to check who Bryant Hall is and he seems like an excellent get. Good episode as well around it, particularly enjoyed getting a really brutal deathmatch out of it.

[Satyr24]

Yay Bryant Hall push him to the moon   I'm surprised he isn't Switchblades replacement, let's see how he goes as a cultist.

[619]

Thanks @John Lions @HiPlus @AboardTheArk @Satyr24, it seems like Bryant Hall is even more over in the thread than Pat Rigsby 😆 I understand the scepticism over whether he will suit Ares Death Cult: time will tell whether he can be a natural fit or if it has to be a more Rob Edwards-like marriage of convenience. @HiPlus I'm a bit further ahead in the save, but therhere's a recent screenshot of his skills as a guide :

Part 35: Bad news Bryant

I couldn’t stand Bryant Hall.

Ability-wise, he was a booker’s dream: a brilliant look, menacing, athletic, in top condition and a solid talker too. And at 27, he had the potential to get even better. That’s why I brought him into APW in June 2017 and put the APW Australian Title on him just two months later.

As a person, I found him arrogant, self-centred, unprofessional and full of crap. That’s why he walked out on the company and booker who gave him his break at such a young age soon after dropping the title to his mentor Armando Guerrero the following year, refusing to do any business on the way out. He’d since spent over five years in New Zealand with ZEN as Aukland Raider without making as much of an impression as he did in those formative months with me.

And now here he was in DIW, probably earning almost as much an appearance as the rest of us combined. I was shocked that Lori didn’t consult me about this signing. Not in the sense that she needed my blessing, but if you’re doing your due diligence on a wrestler and see that he used to work for your colleague, surely you would sound them out for a bit of a character reference?

When I later told her that he’d been a nightmare in APW, she was surprisingly dismissive, saying he was a lot younger then and that our road agent Classy Paul Massey had worked with him closely in New Zealand for five years without encountering any problems. She was somewhat polite, but clear in the fact that she wasn’t too concerned what I thought about her new recruit.

Anyway, beyond my misgivings, I saw the logic behind the booking. If Ares Death Cult were to continue without Gyula Lakatos, Cesar Sionis or Rob Edwards, they needed a new main event lead. Lloyd Banks had carved out a good spot for himself in the midcard, yet it was hard to see the 34-year-old reaching the very top of DIW. Hall had the talent to assume such a position, it was whether he had the attitude to that I doubted.

Still, I wouldn’t have to put up with him on To The Extreme episode 12, which was being headlined by the “Amateur Hour” battle royal to determine the DIW Title challenger at Havoc. The card also featured Carl Paris and Demarcus Lee answering The Benchmark’s open challenge and another outsider accepting The Comedian’s invitation to fight for a place on the DIW roster.

Edited August 25, 2023 by 619

[HiPlus]

Love the in depth look at his stats and the turmoil he caused APW. Disappointed he didn't do much in ZEN but his gimmick over there did lend more to being the muscle or security to someone than being the guy. 

 

I like the angle being disappointed that Lori didn't ask for advice and Lori asserting herself by being dismissive right away. Is Psych Ward a generated character or someone with a new gimmick?

 

I think I speak for everyone when I say that Pat Rigsby should win the rumble but I believe it will be a surprising D.O.A

[619]

@HiPlus I think Psych Ward may be exclusive to the Alt CVerse mod. I've embedded a screenshot of his profile below for a bit more background, though I'm not sure who to credit for the render so I hope it's okay to post it. I also should've perhaps been clearer that Bryant Hall continues to work the Aukland Raider gimmick for ZEN since joining DIW. He's considered well known there so perhaps SQ's "without making as much of an impression" perspective is believing what he wants to believe, though he has lost over half his matches and never held a title there.

Part 36: To The Extreme #12

Once The Comedian and I had got through our intro, hyping the battle royal to determine Dexter Mattell’s DIW Title opponent at Havoc, The Comedian introduced footage Markus Rush and his cameraman had just captured of a heated debate between the champion and Seth Wish. Wish wanted to know why he was in a match that Mattell had labelled Amateur Hour, especially as none of the other Pros were in it. Raw Sex started out sharply, pointing out all the other Pros were champions who would be defending their titles at Havoc, before seemingly calculating that a different approach was necessary. He said the truth was that he had a special mission in mind and Wish was the only one he could trust to execute it. With Wish suddenly appearing more receptive, Mattell invited him to meet with the other Pros after the next match to talk strategy.

Tag Titles: Brains and Brawn (Carl Paris and Demarcus Lee) v The Benchmark (Donovan Boon and Rusty Mills (c)
When you watched a match like this where Boon and Mills got so much out of the inexperienced Paris and limited Lee, you can’t help wondering how CEW had tracked DIW closely enough to offer contracts to at least four wrestlers recently, but somehow didn’t contact The Benchmark. The champions went all out and the result was an opener on the level, if not better, than most To The Extreme main events, and a successful first defence courtesy of a Double Down on Paris.

Markus Rush caught up with The Barracudas after The Benchmark’s victory. While Chopper Rourke snarled, Vaughan said the champions couldn’t duck them forever. If they were too scared to take on both of them, then at least give one of them a match next week. Rush tried to follow up with a question about if they’d work together in the battle royal which really tested Rourke’s patience. Vaughan restrained him and said the only way they’d eliminate one another was if they were the last two standing.

The Comedian and I started reacting to those comments when Markus Rush asked us to go back to him. He’d spotted Rob Edwards, who told him he was back, cleared to compete in the battle royal and ready to make The Pros pay.

Rick Horn v Pat Rigsby
The Comedian introduced the second man to take up his offer to try to earn a place in DIW as “Farm Tough” Rick Horn. He was never going to get a warm welcome from Rigsby, who grabbed the hat he had left at ringside when making his entrance and spat in it, before throwing it on the floor and stamping on it. Horn started the match angry as a result and his veteran opponent was able to use that aggression against him, but the newcomer got to prove his farm strength by taking the punishment and later rallying, achieving a debut win with his John Deere Destroyer.

Markus Rush had seen Lori, Death Ref and Lloyd Banks heading towards the entrance. Banks got Death Ref’s attention and told him that he had identified another potential Ares Death Cult recruit. Death Ref started to ask for more information but then spotted the camera and suggested they should continue the discussion in private.

Lori, Death Ref and Lloyd Banks made their entrance, with Lori taking the microphone. She asked if we’d missed her. She didn’t like being away for so long as DIW was weaker in her absence, but she was performing necessary work rebuilding Ares Death Cult. Gyula Lakatos, Cesar Sionis and Rob Edwards weren’t committed to the cause so she had taken time to make sure their newest member was. “The Final Boss” Bryant Hall was the one. He hadn’t completed his conversion, but his initiation would be unleashing Havoc on Wrecker. That’s because he started Ares Death Cult’s darkest timeline by beating Lloyd Banks for the Australian Title and ended it by removing Sionis from DIW, and Hall was going to make him pay for his sins.

“Amateur Hour” DIW Title Number One Contender Battle Royal: Rob Edwards v Milton Hittlespitz v Kobra Khan v Chopper Rourke v Vaughan v Seth Wish v Lloyd Banks v Mr. Blitz
Despite following battle royal rules, this main event was a different kind of spectacle due to the selective field of only main eventers and midcarders, longer gaps between eliminations and the ring being full of weapons.

Perhaps inevitably given he shared the ring with a group of Pros haters, Wish was the first out after being ganged up on, with the added insult for him being that his rival Hittlespitz scored the elimination with a chair shot. The Comedian questioned on commentary why The Pros had sacrificed him like that, and there was no obvious answer.

Mr. Blitz’s efforts to succeed at The Barracudas’ expense went badly: his optimistic attempt to Powerbomb Vaughan was thwarted by a pipe to the stomach from Chopper Rourke, and they regrouped to Double Powerbomb him through a table positioned outside the ring pre-match.

It was then Rob Edwards’ time to shine. Vaughan thought he’d survived being powered over the top rope by the former DIW Champion, only for Edwards to follow up with a Roundhouse Kick to send him off the apron, with the still-out Mr. Blitz’s body breaking the big heavyweight’s fall for a bit of physical comedy.

Lloyd Banks had adorned a bulletproof (or more pertinently barbed-wire-proof) vest wrapped in barbed wire and charged at his former Ares Death Cult ally, but The Human Weapon not only barely teetered or sold the pain, he caught his opponent and launched him over the top rope with a Belly-to-Belly throw.

Leaning back onto the ropes to assess the damage proved a fatal mistake by Edwards though: the already eliminated Wish leapt onto the apron and pulled the off-balance ex-champ over the top rope for the most contentious and unpopular elimination so far.

Three men were left: Milton Hittlespitz, Kobra Khan and Chopper Rourke, and it was Rourke who took charge, laying out both opponents with Spinebusters. Rourke lined Kobra up for the same fate as Mr. Blitz earlier: a Powerbomb over the ropes, but the masked man was able to lock his legs around the heavyweight’s head, use the ropes for momentum and score a huge elimination.

Hittlespitz threw a chair at Kobra, but he caught it, threw it back and then drove his knee into the chair and Crazy Blue’s face. Operating at rapid speed, Kobra followed up by getting Milton in the Small Package Driver position and hoisting him over the ropes, but Crazy Blue locked his right foot around the bottom rope to prevent his descent. Eager to capitalise while he still had an opening, Kobra charged at Hittlespitz to take him off the apron, but Crazy Blue recovered just in time to catch Kobra’s dive, sending him over his head and to the outside for the win.

The Comedian pointed out that Hittlespitz was the only person to have pinned Dexter Mattell in DIW, and now he’d be challenging him for the DIW Title at Havoc.

[619]

Part 37: Halfway to Havoc

With four of the eight To The Extreme episodes between Hardcore Heatwave and Havoc complete, the card seemed to be taking shape. Milton Hittlespitz v Dexter Mattell for the DIW Title and Wrecker v Bryant Hall were confirmed, while it looked as though The Barracudas and Kobra Khan were being lined up to challenge The Benchmark and Con McReady respectively.

After removing him from the battle royal, it looked as though Seth Wish might follow his Hardcore Heatwave victory over Milton Hittlespitz and Kobra Khan with a one-on-one showcase against Rob Edwards, unless Lori planned to use The Human Weapon’s contentious elimination as grounds for setting up a triple threat with Hittlespitz and Mattell.

At first glance, the currently scheduled main event looked a slight step down from anything featuring Edwards, but supported by a strong set of semi-main events, it was a card capable of outdrawing Hardcore Heatwave. That was assuming it didn’t fall apart on the week of the show like the February event did after Seb Shaw’s concussion and Switchblade’s death.

To The Extreme episode 12 had progressed things quite a bit. In addition to Hittlespitz being crowned top DIW Title contender, we saw Mattell manipulate Wish into doing his bidding, Edwards return without earning a title rematch, Rick Horn win a place on the roster, Lloyd Banks tease another new Ares Death Cult addition and Kobra Khan enjoy a spotlight moment at the expense of Chopper Rourke.

It also set up our episode 13 main event, with Donovan Boon agreeing on social media to take on Chopper Rourke after The Barracudas dared The Benchmark to at least give them a one-on-one match if not a Tag Title shot. The episode would also see Edwards’ first singles match since losing the DIW Title, Lloyd Banks partner Ares Death Cult’s unannounced latest recruit against Carl Paris and Demarcus Lee and Kobra Khan fighting Mr. Blitz.

[619]

Part 38: To The Extreme #13

DIW Champion Dexter Mattell started the show by announcing a triple reward for Seth Wish’s outstanding performance last week. Firstly, he’d arranged for him and Australian Champion Con McReady to be awarded the night off. Secondly, he’d organised a second opportunity for Wish to show Rob Edwards what a Pro looked like by facing him at Havoc. And finally, they were going to bond over their mutual affection for beating up Milton Hittlespitz by tagging against Crazy Blue and a partner of his choosing next week. Mattell also claimed to be delighted about facing Hittlespitz at Havoc, looking forward to correcting his one fluke defeat in 10 DIW singles matches, and promising that his revenge would start next week alongside Wish.

Brains and Brawn (Carl Paris and Demarcus Lee) v The Barbarians (Lloyd Banks and Psych Ward)
It turned out that Banks’ proposed addition to Ares Death Cult was the bloke he’d rolled around in barbed wire with a fortnight ago, Psych Ward. Who knew barbed wire built bonds? By The Comedian’s rules, you had to win your way onto the DIW roster and Ward was able to do that by assisting The Barbed Wire Messiah and applying the spike to his Piledriver on Lee onto his weapon of choice.

The winners didn’t hang around when Wrecker rushed to the ring after the bell. The Comedian used that to put over the 25-year-old’s toughness, noting that these barbarians weren’t afraid of being mutilated by barbed wire, but the thought of fighting Wrecker gave them both a fright.

It was time to switch over to Markus Rush. The man with DIW’s least hardcore job title (broadcast coordinator) had hoped to catch up with Milton Hittlespitz, but someone had beaten him to it: Rob Edwards. We got to overhear The Human Weapon tell Crazy Blue that they had two mutual enemies in Dexter Mattell and Seth Wish and offer to team with him to take care of them next week. Hittlespitz didn’t take any time to consider it, saying he’d been in that situation before and it didn’t end well for him. Edwards persevered by reminding his long-time rival of their 2-0 record as a team, but Hittlespitz stayed resolute with a reminder of his own about the fact that Edwards was the one who broke the trust.

Kobra Khan v Mr. Blitz
This clash of DIW’s two masked competitors started with The Comedian putting over Kobra Khan’s recent success, and impressive run to the final two of last week’s star-packed battle royal, eliminating former DIW Champion Chopper Rourke. I argued that it was another example of what I always spoke about: Kobra showing plenty of promise but losing in the end. I also noted that wins over Pat Rigsby and Cueball didn’t impress me, but if he defeated someone as talented as Mr. Blitz, I’d give him credit. And guess what, he did just that, laying out Mr. Blitz with his Ripcord Knee, and I lied, instead preferring to make excuses for his beaten opponent.

Hendrix Hughes was back and he had a microphone. He wanted to thank The Pros. Sure, they’d taken Seb Shaw out, they’d taken him out and were about as capable of winning a fair fight as Pat Rigsby. But he wasn’t really feeling the idea of going solo while his fellow MFer Shaw was out, and they’d given him motivation to not only give this singles thing a go but to go for gold, seeing as winning some would mean taking it for them. He knew how it worked, that he’d be made to start from the bottom, but they – management, The Pros and all the crazy MFers in the crowd – knew how he worked, and that he’d be on his way to the top in no time. He asked the fans to put their ciggies in the air for the baddest MFer in the building, and they obliged.

Rob Edwards v Brian Rampage
From a kayfabe perspective, poor Rampage, having his opportunity to earn a DIW contract occur against arguably the toughest bloke on the roster. Rick Horn only needed to beat Pat Rigsby for his. From a showreel perspective, Rampage was so lucky to gain tape of Edwards making him look like a passable performer given he contributed very little to this occasion. The Human Weapon won of course, and only needed a single Roundhouse Kick to do so.

Markus Rush was again looking for that word with next DIW Title challenger Milton Hittlespitz, but found him in company once more, this time with Rick Horn. Crazy Blue told the newcomer that he liked the whole Farm Tough thing, and he liked the way he backed it up in the ring last week, inviting him to team with him against Dexter Mattell and Seth Wish next week. Horn accepted the offer even faster than Hittlespitz had snubbed Rob Edwards earlier in the show.

Chopper Rourke v Donovan Boon
With The Wild Things taking the night off and Dexter Mattell nowhere to be seen despite his earlier appearance, the numbers were one-on-one both inside the ring and at ringside, so this was something close to a fair fight. Rusty Mills tried to change that, stepping between the ropes to try to set up a Double Down, but Vaughan was quickly in behind him, locking in the Choke Sleeper and dragging him between the ropes, so he could only watch as Rourke laid out Boon with a Spinebuster for the victory. The Comedian went big on the moment on commentary, emphasising that it was the first time anyone had scored a win over any of The Pros.

[AboardTheArk]

Ah I see, the ol' tag wrestler loses to established singles star routine.

 

P.S. I love the idea of The Comedian passionately doing his job well on commentary it's been popping me for a while.

[John Lions]

"The Barbarians" for two barbed wire obsessed guys is a genius tag team name, I might have to steal that one.

[HiPlus]

Wondering if we can look at Farm Tough Rick Horns profile as well.

 

Love the fact someone has looked strong against The Pros in Chopper, and such a good way to keep Rob Edwards away from the scene with Milton once again rebuffing the idea of them teaming up together.