Tag Team Invit. ROUND ONE!!!!!

[Linguistic]

(Cameras fade in to a large domed arena that is jam packed with wrestling fans of all ages. Panning the crowd, the camera spots signs supporting many of the teams that are participating in the MCW Tag Team Invitational Tournament.

“Silver & GOLD: Natural Tag Team Excellence”

“Beast & Beastlet... er... um... Adam Benjamin”

“Onward Christian Soldiers!”

“We’re down with CCP! Cameron Cruise Project Roolz!”

“WWE, no cease and desist for the New & Improved D-X!”

After panning through the fans, the camera fades out and back into the broadcast table where two very familiar MCW faces are standing by. Their names, identified at the bottom of the television screen under each respective broadcaster, are Simon Van Helder and Creek Wineberg.)

SVH: Hello everyone, and let me welcome you to history in the making. This is the MCW Tag Team Invitational Tournament and I am Simon Van Helder. Right next to me is my very robust but knowledgeable friend, Creek Wineberg.

CW: I’ll try to forget the robust comment, since you made sure to follow that up by finally admitting that I am more intelligent than you.

SVH: That wasn’t what I said.

CW: Well, that’s what I heard! What a night we have ahead of us.

SVH: Indeed. There are no flashy pyrotechnics. There are no fancy set designs. It’s the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California... and tonight is the first round of the tournament. The best tag teams from all around are here and ready to stake their claim on the holy grail of tag team wrestling, the Hegstrand Award!

CW: It was a classy move by Jalen Latham to name the trophy the Hegstrand Cup in honor of one of the best in tag team wrestling, Michael Hegstrand of the Road Warriors.

SVH: I have to agree.

CW: But, I’m sure that one of the biggest incentives for joining this tournament has to be the TWO MILLION DOLLARS that will be split between the winners... along with a few endorsement deals.

SVH: As you may have heard, originally the chairman of MCW had decided to fork over only five-hundred thousand dollars to the team that one the tournament, but after much discussion with TEAM, another wrestling organization... Jalen Latham decided that they cool pool together as financial partners and offer each individual wrestler on the winning tag team a cool million.

CW: Speaking of Latham, after MCW took a hiatus from regular televised weekly programming he had me work for him cutting his yard once a week with some illegals. I was in charge. I thought that was really nice of him. What did he have you doing, Van Helder?

SVH: Well, honestly he had me working over at his wrestling magazine’s corporate offices.

CW: What!?

SVH: Yeah, I was making pretty good money. Not as much as I will be for this tournament, but still enough to keep food on the table.

CW: Latham and I are going to have a little chat once all of this is over with.

SVH: Enough about our side jobs. Tonight is all about tag team action. Sixteen tag teams broken down into four brackets. MCW has opted to name the brackets after branches of military in honor of the troops that are still fighting overseas.

CW: Classy move on the part of Jalen Latham and his board of directors. Which bracket would you say is the strongest?

SVH: All of them seem to be equally stacked, to tell you the truth. There are some underdogs in each of them... and some tag teams that are odds on favorites, too.

CW: I’m going for a team in NAPW to take it. I mean, they have half of the teams in this tournament so one of them SHOULD be able to pull it off.

SVH: (laughing) Yeah, that is true... but its more than that. The tag team division in NAPW is very strong. I believe they are seven deep.

CW: We can’t forget feds like EPW, A1E, and MBE.

SVH: Each fed sent more than one team to the invitational.

CW: The Highland Park Social Club’s latest incarnation.

SVH: And UCW sends one team to the big dance.

CW: UCW is one of those wrestling organizations that has tons of talent, but not a lot of it is homegrown. When most of the interfed meets take place, most of the UCW talent heads off to other organizations. It’s disheartening, but this year for the Tag team Invitational they have a very unlikely entrant on their behalf.

SVH: F.A.T.E., or Rob Franklin & Nakita Dahaka, have entered under UCW’s name. Former members of MCW when it was a regular weekly television show, they have since aligned themselves with MCW again in an invasion of UCW.

CW: From what I hear, this is one of the first steps that UCW President Ken Cloverleaf plans to take in establishing an honest-to-goodness tag team division there.

SVH: They recently signed a tag team that goes by the name of the French Commandos to help bolster that endeavor, although the French Commandos were unable to be contacted and thus could not make it to the tournament.

CW: We’re forgetting another big piece of this tournament.

SVH: And that is?

CW: Silver & GOLD.

SVH: Yes, a very capable tag team... but like some of the other tag teams in this tournament, they haven’t been very active as of late.

CW: We could be looking at the revitalization of tag team divisions across the wrestling world!

SVH: With that in mind, let’s take you down to ringside where our first match is about to take place! It’ll be the Cameron Cruise Project taking on the Christian Soldiers!

 

[Linguistic]

Cameron Cruise Project vs Christian Soldiers


The match never takes place. It is explained that the Christian Soldiers never accepted their plane tickets from Canada to California, to which the crowd boos incessantly. After this is announced, they tell the crowd that the Cameron Cruise Project were also unable to attend the festivities. The crowd boos this, as well, until Jalen Latham himself comes out and tells the capacity Los Angeles crowd that it’s for a very good reason.

Evidently stemming from some events in both the MCW Tag Team Tournament and in Empire Pro, Joey Melton ran to the rescue of a group of orphans who were supposed to be treated to a good time by Chip Friendly of the Highland Park Social Club. Chip, as was revealed earlier in the week on MCW television, was exploiting these orphans rather than treating them to a happy holiday season. Melton heard about this, and quickly rushed to the aid of the orphans.

Cameron Cruise was actually in the building as of six hours before the tournament was to kick off. After a phone call from Melton, Cruise – fearing it might be a HPSC setup – flew out of LAX to go help Melton in Seattle.

Jalen Latham continued with the story. He told everyone that the story had a happy ending. According to eyewitness reports, Melton and Cruise were seen at a Hooters in downtown Seattle with a restaurant full of very happy orphan boys. The boys were happy, it was said, because they had an excellent view from where they were sitting... of the Space Needle.

The match was ruled a no-contest.


SVH: What is going to happen now that both of these teams are out of the tournament?

CW: We’re only one match into the tournament and there are two teams eliminated? I can only hope that things turn around. I’d like to keep this job for more than one week!

SVH: You can always go back to your standby job, working for Latham...

CW: Hardy-har-har! You are so funny! I didn’t realize you had become a comedian while we were away from each other. In other words, shut the hell up!

SVH: Tough words from a fat man! Folks, the MCW Tag Team Invitational has started on a very interesting note, but things look to heat up with some of the matchups we have in store for you.

CW: It seems that while the Christian Soldiers didn’t even bother to pick up their plane tickets, others chose to travel using interesting modes of transportation.

SVH: Watch this video package, brought to you by the Inadvertent Nerd. Yes, the Inadvertent Nerd. If you are one of the coolest people you know, with loads of cool skills that net you women on a regular basis, but you still find yourself doing things that are considered geeky and/or nerdy... then you, my friend, are an Inadvertent Nerd. Go check out the Inadvertent Nerd at http://inadvertent-nerd.blogspot.com

 

[Linguistic]

(Fade out from the broadcast booth and the noise of the crowd to a video package that is, obviously, sponsored by the Inadvertent Nerd. The video package features some of the interesting travel circumstances that arose for various tag teams participating in the MCW Tag Team Invitational. All played to the tune of Roger Miller’s “King of the Road”.)

(Scenes of Irishred and James Irish arguing in the car with Erin in the back looking a little angry.)

(Scenes with Simply Beautiful and Big Bad Brian Bruno on board Disco Air.)

(Scenes of Irishred and James Irish sitting on the side of the road with the hood up on their car.)

(Scenes of the Celtic Assassins and their abuse at the hands of the Boston Police... to include police leading them into rooms with rubber gloves on.)

(Scenes of the Sheffield Wednesday Lot trying to navigate the roads and almost wrecking in the ensuing carnage.)

(Scenes of a Boston police officer holding a picture of Larry Bird up and interrogating one of the Celtic Assassins.)

(Music and Video fades...)

SVH: Here we are, back from that wonderful video package! We’re set to see our next matchup! It’s the MBE Tag Team Champions versus the interesting team of Beast and Adam Benjamin.

CW: I heard that Beast and the Brit don’t like each other at all...

 

[Linguistic]

Thrillbillies vs Beast & Adam Benjamin


Hoss Garrison and Jake McCody of the Thrillbillies were in the ring and ready for a fight, but the fight never made it to them. The cameras showed everything from back in the locker room on the MCW-tron, and it wasn’t pretty. Both “Yours Truly” Adam Benjamin and Beast were locked in a huge brawl back there. The camera cut to the brawl just in time to see Beast stagger backwards from a standing sidekick from Benjamin, only to shake it off and obliterate Benjamin with a GORE through a sturdy wall locker.

Hoss and Jake looked thoroughly amuse during the whole fiasco. Eventually, Beast looked into the camera and made plain what had caused this to transpire. He told the capacity crowd that the Thrillbillies were lucky Adam Benjamin has a huge mouth. Benjamin, he said, had bragged one too many times about being an MCW Legend. That was why he had to shut Benjamin up.

The cameras cut off and the announcer made the official announcement that the Thrillbillies had officially advanced to the second round of the tournament due to their opponents’ failure to appear ringside.

The Thrillbillies looked like their namesakes, Thrilled Hillbillies, and played around a little in the center of the ring before heading back to the back.

CW: Are we going to have a match, yet?

SVH: I know you are annoyed, Creek, but I’ve been promised that the next match is ready to get started and both teams are actually in the building ready to compete. We’ve had one team advance so far, and that team was from MBE. The next organization to send a team forward will be from NAPW because it’s the Sexy Adorable Drunks, from NAPW, taking on the team of Simply Beautiful and Big Bad Brian Bruno, also of NAPW!

 

[Linguistic]

Thomas Deathrow & Rex Caliber vs Simply Beautiful & Big Bad Brian Bruno


The clash of two NAPW teams delivered, as both tag teams gave a strong effort and put on one hell of a show. The broadcast team hated to see two NAPW teams square off in the first round and continually made comments about how both teams could have easily met in the second round if conditions were different.

The match started with Simply Beautiful and Thomas Deathrow. Although the match wasn’t held in typical NAPW territory, the crowd seemed to really get into the match. It was technically their first one of the night. Most cheers from the crowd went to Beautiful and Bruno.

Simply Beautiful tried to make the start of the match considerably more technical, but Deathrow succeeded in making it a brawl. Being a brawl, Deathrow quickly got the upper hand... but he didn’t immediately go for the tag to Rex Caliber.

About 4 minutes into the match, Simply Beautiful was able to fight his way out of the corner with a desperation atomic drop. When Deathrow regained composure and tried to close the gap again, Simply Beautiful hit a fisherman’s suplex for a 2 count. From here Simply Beautiful got three near falls via small package and inside cradle. Thomas Deathrow got frustrated and backed into his own corner. He teased a tag to Rex Caliber and the crowd really marked out.

Finally, at around the 6 minute mark, Rex Caliber was tagged in and the crowd seemed to really appreciate it. For not being a New Alberta crowd the majority seemed to know Rex Caliber and understood what he had meant to the business before his trip to NAPW’s version of the hall of fame. Simply Beautiful gave applause to Rex Caliber for a moment and then made a tag to Brian Bruno. Just like that two fresh men entered the ring.

Bruno seemed to use all of the rage that he had pent up inside from his trip to Los Angeles for the tournament. Power move after power move kept Caliber off balance and in serious pain, culminating in a sit out power bomb that got seriously close to being a three count. At 12 minutes, Caliber made a comeback with an array of technical moves that kept Big Bad Brian Bruno on the mat. Within a couple of minutes, Caliber had Bruno trapped in his “Nexus Cloverleaf” and all seemed lost for the big guy.

Bruno didn’t give up, though. Slowly and steadily he inched his way to the ropes for a rope break. After a brief exchange where it looked like Caliber would take the upper hand, Bruno caught him in a bear hug. It took some time, but at about 18 minutes Caliber broke free and through some fast moving made it to the corner for a tag. He was in a lot of pain, and rolled to the outside.

Deathrow attempted to mount some furious offense but was overwhelmed by both Simply Beautiful and Big Bad Brian Bruno. Bruno executed his Bruno Bomber and covered Deathrow for the victory.

Simply Beautiful and Big Bad Brian Bruno defeated Thomas Deathrow and Rex Caliber when Bruno pinned Deathrow after a Bruno Bomber at around the 20 minute mark.

SVH: I still say it’s a shame that these two teams had to meet in the first round.

CW: Yeah, and I hated to see Rex Caliber’s team exit the tournament. He’s one of the greats.

SVH: Well, Thomas Deathrow couldn’t have picked a better partner, it just seemed like Simply Beautiful and Big Bad Brian Bruno were on a different level tonight.

CW: Which is a shame; because we both know who the better team would have been any other day of the week.

SVH: Whatever you say, my little round mound of knowledge.

(There is a short pause with just the crowd noise to keep things from being completely quiet.)

SVH: Folks, we’ve just received word that Adam Benjamin is on his way to the hospital from that devastating gore that he received earlier at the hands of Beast.

CW: And we’re not talking Tipper or Al... We’re talking about a gore from the Alpha Male. By far the worst gore to receive of the three.

SVH: I don’t know. The other two are pretty bad.

CW: (acting annoyed) Van Helder, which match is up next you pencil neck geek?

SVH: I’ll ignore the fact that you are stealing lines from Classy Freddie Blassie and humor you. Next up we have a match that is sure to deliver. We’ve got the Celtic Assassins of NAPW taking on Irishred and James Irish of A1E.

CW: I’m so glad the Boston Police were able to thwart that plot.

SVH: What are you talking about?

CW: I’m talking about the plot to kill Larry Bird and the rest of the Boston Celtics. You didn’t hear that the Celtic Assassins planned on murdering the whole lot of them?

SVH: Give me a break! You know that’s a bunch of crap. The Celtic Assassins didn’t even know who Larry Bird was!

CW: GREAT! If they did, they would have probably tried to take him out! I’ve watched Boondock Saints. I know these two aren’t always flawless with their follow-through, but they know how to kill.

(Van Helder just shakes his head.)

SVH: Sometimes I am at a loss for words.

CW: And that’s a bad thing?

SVH: (ignoring Creek Wineberg) Let’s take it down to ringside for the match.

 

[Linguistic]

Celtic Assassins vs Irishred & James Irish


In a highly anticipated matchup, the Celtic Assassins looked to become the third NAPW team to reach the second round while James Irish and Irishred looked to become A1E’s first representative.

After the first five minutes of the contest, the match was still very much up in the air, as all four men had been tagged in at some point and neither team was able to get the better of their opponent. The match finally settled into an Irishred and Bobby O’Brady affair. A violent affair.

Seriously, these two practically tore down the house. Both tag team partners stayed out of the match for close to ten minutes as these two brawled inside the ring, outside the ring, into the crowd, and up the ramp. The fans loved it. James Irish and Al Thoes seemed to love it. It was fun for the whole lot. At points during the match, James Irish would motion toward the fans to show their support for both wrestlers. It was really a site to see.

Meanwhile all over the Staples Center, Irishred and Bobby O’Brady brawled on and on. At times, they would actually give each other high fives (a la some MMA fights) in appreciation for the damage they were receiving from each other.

In the end, this one broke down into a four-man brawl in the middle of the ring. Irishred got a little overzealous in his hardcore brawling and hit Al Thoes, which added him to the brawl. Then James Irish, after watching for a few seconds, turned to the crowd, shrugged his shoulders, and joined the fray.

The referee attempted for a long time to separate the two teams, but it was to no avail. The crowd was so into the fight that it basically broke down into a no disqualification match. Almost as soon as Red figured that out, he feigned being hurt on the outside. With James Irish being double-teamed at this point, it looked as if the match would be over with soon. It was, but not in the way people saw the future happening. Just as James Irish appeared to be at his worst condition, Red flew into the ring with a steal chair and leveled both Celtic Assassins. The crowd went nuts and the referee didn’t disqualify Irishred.

James Irish looked absolutely bum fuddled as Irishred covered Bobby O’Brady. The ref made the count and it was as easy as one... two... three.

Irishred & James Irish defeated the Celtic Assassins by pinfall after Irishred went all hardcore and leveled both Celtic Assassins with a chair shot at around the 25 minute mark.

SVH: What in the hell did we just witness?

CW: I don’t know, but it looked like something that might have broke out at a local bar. It didn’t look like any tag team match that I have ever witnessed.

SVH: Irishred and Bobby O’Brady seemed to really enjoy doling out all of that punishment to each other, but I think what was more upsetting was the fact that it seemed like they were happier to receive than to dish out.

CW: I’ll go on record as calling Irishred one sick bastard. I guess he met somebody who might be just as twisted as him in one half of the Celtic Assassins.

SVH: It seemed like James Irish and Al Thoes were more than willing to watch the whole thing transpire until Irishred went postal on him halfway through the match.

CW: That’s what happens. You give a dog a little slack in the leash and he’ll take every inch of it.

SVH: Only time will tell whether this ruling will stand. I understand that Jalen Latham has been approached backstage by a group of people, possibly representing NAPW, who are lobbying against the validation of the results of this match. Folks, let’s take a look at a video segment of how this whole event was put together...

(Cue up video segment on how this whole event was put together.)

SVH: Ladies and gentlemen, we’re back from that informative video...

(Creek interrupts with a snoring sound.)

SVH: Classy, Creek. Just Classy.

CW: What? I came here to watch crazy action like the match we just witnessed, not the garbage video package that came on after it.

SVH: With that, let’s head back down to the ring to watch two teams that have no love for each other... Blitz and F.A.T.E.

 

[Linguistic]

Blitz vs F.A.T.E.

A match between the up and coming UCW team of Rob Franklin and Nakita Dahaka, who coincidentally enough still represent MCW, and an EPW tag team juggernaut in Blitz whose manager has ties to MCW as well. In Round One of the tournament, the war of words ended and instead, a battle for tag team tournament survival sprung up in its place.

Surprisingly, Nakita Dahaka and Rob Franklin faired well in the early going of the match with quick tags between the two and attempts to isolate one of the two Blitz powerhouses. It was tough going for the two but the young Rob Franklin managed to get Max in the corner, working him with double-team maneuvers, including a vicious double-clubbing in the corner when the ref’s back was turned. Max was sent out of the ring, which of course is where the four-hundred-plus pound pervert Pieske (one of F.A.T.E’s lackeys) joined the attack.

Once F.A.T.E. got Max back in the ring it looked as if the surprising team would be pulling off a victory at any moment, but Max tagged in Jecht after fighting through another double-team. Jecht came in, meeting any and all comers.

Bodies flew everywhere, with Pieske and Delilah from F.A.T.E’s corner jumping in and trying to steer the momentum. By that time, though, Max had picked up his second wind and Blitz stood united in the ring throwing bodies out of the ring left and right. Leonard Johnson, the manager of Blitz, cheered his team on as they were left in the ring with only one opponent left standing between them and a date with an opponent in the second round: Nakita Dahaka.

With the crowd cheering them on, Blitz double-teamed Dahaka. It was only a matter of time before they hit Dahaka with their tandem finishing maneuver, the Blitzkrieg, and Blitz secured a victory.

Blitz defeated Nakita Dahaka and Rob Franklin by pinfall when Max pinned Dahaka following a team-delivered Blitzkrieg at around the 16-minute mark.

SVH: I don’t believe I have ever witnessed a wrestler the size of either Max or Jecht that was able to do the things that those two are able to do.

CW: I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed a wrestler like Nakita Dahaka fly the way that Blitz made her fly at the end of the match. Really, I’m absolutely speechless.

SVH: Well ladies and gentlemen, look at what the cameras just spotted!

(Cue up a live shot of “Phenomenal” Frankie Scott in the crowd. He smiles and waves and he notices himself on the screen.)

SVH: It’s “Phenomenal” Frankie Scott of Empire Pro and UCW infamy! Last time we saw him on an MCW show, it was Finale and The Sergeant had stolen his escort for his match, none other than Carrie Underwood!

CW: I don’t see him with a lady friend this time around either.

(Just then, the camera does a wide shot. There are three soldiers, all in uniform, holding signs directly behind him.)

SVH: Are you reading that sign? Does it say what I think it says?

CW: (starts laughing) It does! It says “When Sergeant talks of being mother approved, he’s speaking of Frankie’s mom!”

SVH: I think Frankie has just noticed this, too. He turned around as if he wanted to say something but the cameras are still on him.

CW: It sounds like the crowd has started a chant, as well.

Crowd: FRANKIE’S MOM! FRANKIE’S MOM! FRANKIE’S MOM!!!!!

SVH: You never know what you’re going to find at the Staples Center, especially when the event being held there is an MCW event! Folks, we’ve just received word from backstage that we’ll be hearing from the Chairman of MCW, himself, Mr. Jalen Latham about the events of the first round and announcements regarding the second round of the tournament, as well. I know we don’t have to tell you anything, but don’t go anywhere.

CW: We have more matches right around the corner.

SVH: Indeed we do. In fact, we’ve got three more that will prove to be great. Next up, the A1E’s Tag Team Champions Big Dog and Dan Ryan square off with the NAPW’s Chad and Matthew Kurtis!

 

[Linguistic]

Big Dog & Dan Ryan vs Chad & Matthew Kurtis


Big Dog and Dan Ryan have rules a lackluster A1E tag team division for months, and were looked at as untried and untested for the most part after taking the A1E tag team titles months back. Don’t tell them that, though. Their challenge? Two brothers who wrestle, but not generally as a tag team. Prideful Veterans facing Sibling Rivalry. A1E squaring off against NAPW. Who would prevail?

For half of the contest, the match looked very even with nobody getting a clear upper hand. Big Dog and Chad Kurtis started off and had some good back-and-forth with Big Dog taking the advantage briefly after a German suplex that rocked Chad Kurtis. Chad managed to make the tag shortly afterward and Matthew came in with another short exchange, this time between him and Big Dog, but this time Matthew got the better of Big Dog by slapping him into a rear chin lock for a prolonged period of time. The crowd seemed to rally behind Big Dog and he escaped the hold.

Eventually, fatigue set in for the Kurtis Brothers with Dan Ryan leading a final assault on Chad Kurtis at around 11 minutes into the match. Big Dog was tagged in a little later, and after a brief four-man exchange of offense Matthew Kurtis was sent out of the ring by Big Dog and Chad was isolated.

These situations can go one of two ways, but this time around it was Dan Ryan and Big Dog that capitalized on their strength in numbers at that particular point and time. Dan Ryan gave Chad Kurtis a humility bomb and that was all she wrote. Big Dog went for the cover and the win.

Big Dog and Dan Ryan defeated Chad and Matthew Kurtis by pinfall when Big Dog pinned Chad Kurtis after a Humility Bomb by Dan Ryan at around 14 minutes.

SVH: I thought that the A1E Tag Team Champions really looked impressive tonight and may have made a statement that they are the team to beat. What do you think, Creek?

CW: Well, I have never been a fan of this team because even though I enjoy Dan Ryan, Big Dog has always rubber me the wrong way. That being said, when it comes to the tournament I think that with the exception of Blitz earlier you’d be hard pressed to find a more dominant team.

SVH: That is a good point. You know, Big Dog and Dan Ryan have been criticized as champs in A1E because most of the tag teams they have faced have been quickly thrown together. However, both of them are noted singles wresters who have actually formed a well-oiled tag team machine.

CW: Well, at the least they are going to be really fun to watch in the next round.

SVH: True. Folks, we’re going to show a brief video clip of the life of the MCW Invitational Tag Team Tournament’s trophy namesake, one Michael Hegstrand of the Road Warriors.

(Cue up a very touching video package about Road Warrior Hawk’s life and his impact on the business, especially tag team wrestling. After the video package airs, the camera pans the crowd to show many teary eyes.)

SVH: We’re back. I don’t know, but I’d like to think that adding Hegstrand’s name to the Invitational Trophy adds a sense of importance to the tournament. Who wouldn’t want to be the first ever Hegstrand Award recipient?

CW: It would be an honor and a privilege for any team.

SVH: That being said, it’s time for our next-to-last contest of the first round. Ladies and gentlemen, Silver & GOLD will see how they match up with the rowdy Sheffield Wednesday Lot!

 

[Linguistic]

Silver & GOLD vs The Sheffield Wednesday Lot


PRIME’s only entrant into the tournament, Silver & GOLD squared off against the ruffians of MBE, the Sheffield Wednesday Lot in what will never be called a technical wrestling classic... but was a classic for other reasons.

This one broke down almost from the get go. Brawling inside and outside of the ring in various combinations of two sometimes, and all four wrestlers at others, the referee had a very difficult time keeping the reigns on this match. Unlike the similar styled match from earlier in the night, however, the ref threatened the participants with a double disqualification about 7 minutes into the match. Lindsay Troy stopped the ref from following through and managed to calm the absolutely livid Sonny Silver down to help get things under control. The Sheffield Wednesday Lot protested, obviously having a ton of fun, but eventually they decided to settle down as well.

Lindsay Troy then paired off against Nate. It was an interesting technical battle, with some strange variations of holds on both sides. Nate managed to get the upper hand, putting Troy on the mat with an armbar, but the “Queen of the Ring” slipped out of it and put Nate into a kimura. Nate tried to feign happiness for the hold and his proximity to Troy, then slipped out of the hold and hooked Lindsay into a strange leg hold that even the broadcast team was unable to name. Both Creek and Simon attributed it to his weird style of wrestling stemming from Europe. It was a little more difficult to get out of, but Lindsay managed and made a break for her corner, tagging in Sonny Silver.

Sonny didn’t want a technical match. He was looking for total annihilation of the Sheffield Wednesday Lot, and particularly at the moment, Nate. Hitting him with high impact moves that kept him off balance, Sonny tried to measure Nate up for his finisher early with a kick to the gut (or what Sonny likes to call the Best Move Ever), but Nate was wise to the move and dodged it, stumbling back to his corner and making the tag to Marion.

This is where an all out brawl erupted again between Marion and Sonny. Both men love the style, and rolled all over the mat clubbing each other with lefts and rights. Lindsay Troy looked a little annoyed, preferring to go for the win rather than just have fun, but Sonny seemed to have a differing opinion. Unfortunately for Sonny, these types of brawls were Marion’s forte, and within moments the match had settled in with the Sheffield Wednesday Lot taking the advantage.

Sonny was back in the Lot’s corner and hit with a devastating assisted DDT (Marion held Sonny’s feet and assisted driving his head into the ground) and all looked lost for the belligerent Chairman of PRIME. Nate settled in with a rear naked choke for what seemed like hours, but was actually only minutes. Sonny clawed and crawled to reach the ropes for a rope break, finally achieving one at about the 20-minute mark. When he was let up, he rocked Nate with a series of punches that held him off while Sonny made his move to the corner. Finally he tagged in Lindsay Troy and another fist of fire situation ensued.

The end came around the 26th minute when after finally being trapped by both members of the Lot, Lindsay was in trouble with Marion in the center of the ring. Sonny had surreptitiously taken out Nate and Juen on the outside and entered the ring, saving Troy. While Marion and Sonny brawled yet again, the legal woman, Lindsay, came out of nowhere with a beautiful Crowning Glory and the match was over with after she made the cover.

Silver & GOLD defeated the Sheffield Wednesday Lot by pinfall when Lindsay Troy pinned Marion after hitting him with the Crowning Glory at around the 26-minute mark.

SVH: We’re down to our last match of the night, folks. Silver & GOLD have secured a spot in the second round with a fantastic effort from both Troy and Silver.

CW: We can’t discredit Sheffield Wednesday Lot, though. This was another match where you just hate to see either team go. It was that good.

SVH: We’re going to keep the momentum going, fans. We’ve confirmed that Jalen Latham will make an announcement immediately after this match between the New & Improved D-X and the Highland Park Social Club!

CW: This could be the match of the evening!

 

[Linguistic]

New & Improved D-X vs The Highland Park Social Club


The relatively new incarnation of the Highland Park Social Club fought the New & Improved D-X in one of the closest contests of the night.

The match started with mind games being played by both tag teams. The HPSC would often purposely back out for a moment and cool the tempo, while D-X waved to the fans a few times after putting an HPSC member on their tail end. Neither team seemed really affected by these mind games, however, and the match kept a back-and-forth flow for a large portion of the match. About 7 minutes into the match, Steven Shane and Chip Friendly were able to isolate Kyle Roberts and work the double team with some very fast and furious tags. This set the tone in the audience, as they started cheering for New & Improved D-X at that point.

Seemingly wanting to add insult to injury, Chip posed before trying a DDT, but Roberts reversed it into a back body drop and made the hot tag to Bruce Richards. Richards subsequently cleaned house and initially sent the HPSC scrambling. The Highland Park Social Club, being no stranger to this scenario, left the ring and let the momentum slow down. Then, Steven Shane came in to square off with Richards.

At 14 minutes, Richards had just turned the tide again on another HPSC double team and fought his way out of the HPSC corner. He made the tag to Roberts, but this time there were no fists of fire as the HPSC purposely backed out of the ring to slow the momentum. As would be expected, the crowd booed the HPSC to no end when they did this.

After what seemed like an eternity, the HPSC finally stepped back in the ring with Chip matching up with Roberts. There was a good back-and-forth exchange between Chip and Roberts before Roberts got the upper-hand with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Chip, in a world of pain, wisely rolled out of the way quickly and tagged in Shane shortly afterwards. Shane and Roberts had a similar back-and-forth exchange and Shane received a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for his efforts. By this time, it was 21 minutes into the match and everyone seemed to be breathing heavy with fatigue.

The cat and mouse games between the Highland Park Social Club and the New & Improved D-X would come to an end at right around the 30 minute mark… confusion between Shane and Friendly separated the HPSC teammates as they each individually got overwhelmed. The broadcast team even wondered aloud how it had happened. Friendly didn’t get into the ring fast enough when D-X double clotheslined Shane, so they pulled him into the ring via a slingshot-suplex and then rolled him out of the ring. Alone with D-X, Shane attempted to roll out of the ring but was cut off at the pass. After picking him up in a two-man snap-suplex, it was their patented Down & Dirty that finished him.

New & Improved D-X defeated Highland Park Social Club after a Down & Dirty when Bruce Richards pinned Steven Shane at around the 31 minute mark.

 

[Linguistic]

SVH: Folks, this one had my vote for match of the night. Two distinct styles of wrestling from these two tag teams. Only one could prevail. This is how my brackets look after tonight’s action.

First off, in the Army bracket…

(Simon Van Helder is cut off by Far East Movement, which could mean only one thing: MCW’s Chairman, Jalen Latham. Mr. Latham makes his way to the entrance at the top of the ramp, complete with custom-made pinstriped suit. The crowd gives a moderate pop before Latham motions them to be quiet.)

SVH: I wonder what Latham will have to say about the controversial finish between the Celtic Assassins and Irishred and James Irish?

CW: I’m more concerned about the decision with the no shows.

(Back to Latham…)

Jalen Latham: It’s been one hell of a night, for sure!

(Crowd pop.)

Jalen: I promised each and every one of you eight matches tonight, and I only delivered six. Needless to say I am not happy about that. It’s not good business. It’s not the Jalen Latham way. What have I done all night while the action has been raging in the ring? Well, I’ve been doing some serious thinking.

I’ve been thinking about how I am going to get you what you deserve, and my decision hasn’t come lightly.

First off, I need to tell everyone here tonight… from the fans to the competitors, that the decision in the match between the team of Irishred and James Irish and the Celtic Assassins…

(Long pause for dramatic effect…)

Jalen: … still stands!
(There is a mixed but very raucous reaction from the capacity crowd.)

Jalen: It was a tough decision, but one that I felt needed to be made. In this case, both the Celtic Assassins and the Irish cousins (a little bit of laughter from the crowd) were perfectly fine with the style of wrestling that broke out. Plus, the ref made a decision and I feel I should stick with it.

(Still a mixed reaction… but more cheers this time.)

Jalen: Now that I’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to get to the meat and potatoes. As you all know, we have had two teams who decided other things were more important than the tournament. On top of that, we had one team that couldn’t get on the same page and forced themselves out. What that leaves me with is a team, the Thrillbillies, that is advancing on basically a bye, and another team, Blitz, that look to have a bye in the second round.

This is where I am choosing to be a little more interactive.

I’ve been known to be a little bit of a bleeding heart when it comes to how I do business. I like to give the fans what they want, and I like to give deserving employees what they want, too.

CW: Like mowing grass with a bunch of illegals?

SVH: Shut up, Creek!

Jalen: I’ve decided to give a team that lost tonight a second chance.

(HUGE pop from the crowd.)

Jalen: Settle down. Settle down. What I need to know from you, is which team YOU would like to see face Blitz in the second round. Log on to MCW.com (OOC: PM me) and send me your votes. I will read each one personally and announce the team when I make the official card announcement in TWO DAYS!

Are you ready for the teams I felt gave the most reason for a second chance?

(HUGE “YES” from the crowd.)

Jalen: How about… the Celtic Assassins?

(Big POP!)

Jalen: The Sheffield Wednesday Lot?

(Another Pop with a mixed reaction.)

Jalen: OR… The Highland Park Social Club?

(Mixed reaction with a few more boos mixed in than the first two.)

Jalen: I understand that there are some teams that you don’t approve of because of how they conduct themselves. However, I am asking you to cast your vote based on who deserves another shot… not who your favorite team is.

I’m outta here… I got some money to count.

(HUGE POP from the crowd!)

SVH: Folks, what an announcement from the Chairman. He let’s James Irish and Irishred into the second round on a controversial decision but gives the Celtic Assassins, along with the Highland Park Social Club and the Sheffield Wednesday Lot, have an opportunity at a second shot.

CW: He’s leaving it to the mercy of the fans, though. I’m not sure that is a good decision!

SVH: Well, that’s all we have time for here in the first round of the MCW Invitational Tournament. Come back for the second round, and don’t forget to cast your votes (OOC: PM Linguistic) at MCW.com. Jalen Latham has promised to read each and every one of them!

CW: We’re out!

(Scene fades to the MCW logo from a very electric crowd.)