TH
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- Jun 18, 2004
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- Philadelphia
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- wallsofjerichoholic.blogspot.com
[Fade into Tom Holzerman in front of the big screen; Dan Ryan staring down Rob Franklin.]
TH: The TEAM Invitational Tournament... wrestlers from all around the world come to compete. We start with 64 men. After the proceedings tonight, we're down to 48. Who's gone home? Well, that's what we're going to tell you in the next hour...
[Cue up "Down" by Stone Temple Pilots.
Cut to BEAST thumping JOE AVERAGE with a powerbomb.
Cut to MR. AMAZING! assaulting D! with the Championship of Champions Belt.
Cut to KARINA WOLFENDEN delivering the Dual Halo to ADAM BENJAMIN.
Cut to ULYSIS SOLIAN staring down DANNY BOY VEGAS.
Cut to KARL BROWN hoisting the Merrit Trophy, then flash cut to D! with the Championship of Champions Belt across his waist, then flash cut to Team NEW hoisting the Dupree Cup.
Cut to: The Epicenter logo once more, fading into Tom Holzerman and Steve Murray at the Epicenter desk.]
TH: Hello, I'm Tom Holzerman...
SM: And I'm Steve Murray. Welcome to another edition of EPICENTER, where we'll run down first round action in the Mexico City and Portland brackets.
TH: That's right, we saw some upsets on opening night action, we saw some squashes, but we saw some really good wrestling action. We'll start with what everyone is calling the best match of the night.
[Cut to a close-up of Holzerman with an inset featuring The Canadian Loonie and Sean Stevens.]
TH: On one side of the ring, The Canadian Loonie, Mexico City's eleventh seed, a wrestling icon looking to put one last exclamation point on a career everyone thought to be over half-a-dozen years ago. On the other, "Triple X" Sean Stevens, the sixth seed, a savvy and stylish veteran who's but a year into his remarkable comeback, a man who's proclaimed he's here to stay. Each man had his own, steadfast reason to win this tournament. The proverbial irresistable force and immovable object. What would happen when they collided?
[Cut to the ring in Auburn.]
TH V/O: And here we go! The match started out surprisingly. Loonie showed barely any ring rust, taking it to Stevens early with some chops into the Irish whip... right into an Ipponzei (Japanese style armdrag).
[Cut to Loonie with Stevens in a back waistlock.]
TH V/O: Stevens struggles a bit, looks like he's going to wiggle out of this one, but the Loonie clamps down and nails The Blue Eyed Badass with a rear suplex.
[Cut to Stevens running the ropes.]
TH V/O: But it's here where Stevens will turn the tables. Loonie goes for a lariat but Stevens ducks, and before the Canadian Hardcore Icon knows it, Stevens is back and seamlessly nails him with a swinging neckbreaker.
[Cut to Stevens running the ropes, only this time offensively.]
TH V/O: Man, that Stevens sure likes to run, but this time, he doesn't need an Irish whip to get started. On the rebound and a flying forearm smash right to the nose of the Canadian Loonie.
[Cut to Stevens with Loonie in a rear waistlock.]
TH V/O: And a little tete-a-tete and a game of one-upsmanship here. Loonie had the back suplex earlier, and Stevens goes up one. The Canadian takes a trip to Germany. Ouch, no bridge, all impact too.
[Cut to Loonie scooping up Stevens.]
TH V/O: After a countered standing headscissors, Loonie in control and he's got Stevens up and back with the Coin Toss (fallaway slam right into the turnbuckles).
[Cut to Stevens on the top rope.]
TH V/O: Folks, when I tell you this was a see-saw match, it was a see-saw match. Stevens on the top rope and nails Loonie with a missile dropkick right in the head. Loonie is dazed, and Stevens knows this.
[Cut to Stevens with Loonie in a reverse facelock.]
TH V/O: Stevens smells blood. He sets up for the X-Terminator, but at the height, Loonie slips out and grabs Stevens' head on the way down. Edge-o-Matic and Loonie hooks the leg, one, two, three! The Canadian Loonie's dream lives on for at least one more round, and Stevens falls in the minor upset. Steve?
[Cut to the Sheriff Center ring in Hawaii. Fred "The Poet" Cook and Irishred circling each other.]
SM V/O: Thanks Tom, and another barnburner took place out there in Hawaii in the Portland bracket. Number seven seed Irishred takes on newcomer and tenth seed, Fred "The Poet" Cook, and the man of rhymes gave Red some trouble early. Here he slips behind Red and rolls him up, school-boy style. In fact, eight out of the first ten offensive moves in the match for the Poet were pin attempts and combinations. He didn't get much more than barely a two, but he did accomplish something...
[Cut to Red with the Poet by the wrist.]
SM V/O: He made Red mad. Short-arm clothesline here and a vicious one.
[Cut to the Poet on Red's shoulders, electric chair style.]
SM V/O: But a little something like a short-arm clothesline isn't gonna stop the Poet from his game, and that's pinning combinations. Another pin, this time a roll up out of the electric chair. And all this does is make Irishred even more angry...
[Cut to Red on the top with the Poet on his belly.]
SM V/O: ...and you won't like him when he's angry. Cold Shot (TR knee to the kidney) on the Poet, and he'll be pissing blood for a week.
[Cut to the Poet and Red both on the ground.]
SM V/O: But they say if you try at something long enough, you'll get it, and Cook's been trying to get Red's shoulders to the mat for the three? And after a missed clothesline by Red and a drop toehold by the Poet, he gets it. Oklahoma roll, Red's kick out not in time, and Fred Cook moves onto the second round.
[Cut to the ring in Houston.]
SM V/O: Up to Houston where number four seed in Mexico City, James Irish took on the MBE rising star and thirteen seed Fusenshoff. Things started out well for Irish as he nails one half of the International Icons with this DDT. He is the master of 'em, or so they say.
[Cut to Fusenshoff with James in a side headlock.]
SM V/O: But the tables would quickly turn the A1E Champion. Fusenshoff with the side headlock that's seemingly countered by the Clown Prince of A1E, shoving off. But when the Hoff runs the ropes, he runs 'em with AUTHORITAH! Big clothesline sending the Champ to the canvas.
[Cut to Fuse with James up in an elevated rear waistlock.]
SM V/O: The hit parade continues, as James may need to see a proctologist after this one. Atomic drop and a beauty. Fusenshoff in control but not for long.
[Cut to James with the Hoff in a trapped front underhook.]
SM V/O: This program is about to be preempted by the Headbangers' Ball. James is ringing the bell himself, but he's looking to get the timekeeper to do it for the win.
[Cut to James on the top rope.]
SM V/O: So he's up for a little Funk Number 49 (somersault leg drop) but it misses! Fusenshoff moves, then quickly snaps up James into Domination! Big impact face-first powerbomb, and Fusenshoff scores the BIG upset. James Irish is seemingly out, and he's lucky his World Championship wasn't on the line here.
[Cut back to the Houston ring, only this time with Dan Ryan and Rob Franklin in it.]
TH V/O: We're gonna stay in Houston for this one, as Dan Ryan, Mexico City's Numero Uno battles the sixteen Rob Franklin. Usually you expect these kinds of matchups to be bloodbaths, and this one looked like it early. Ryan overpowering Franklin here in the test of strength and just shoves his ham hock of a knee right into the Icebreaker's gut.
[Cut to Ryan with Franklin in a choke slam set up.]
TH V/O: And just when you think this is going to turn into a bloodbath early, Franklin pulls something out of his bag of tricks, namely a kick right to Ryan's face. No chokeslam today. Now, if you're giving up 160 pounds and almost two decades of experience to your opponent what do you to do even the odds?
[Cut to Franklin with a slightly dazed Ryan.]
TH V/O: You stun 'em! Ace crusher from Franklin and Ryan is dazed.
[Cut to Franklin on the top rope.]
TH V/O: Dazed enough to let Franklin pull off a picture perfect moonsault on the Ego Buster.
[Cut to Franklin with Ryan in a Dragon sleeper.]
TH V/O: Franklin was able to keep Ryan off balance with a combination of quick strikes, high risk, high reward moves from the top and moves like this, grind-down submission holds. The Dragon sleeper kept the big man at bay.
[Cut to Franklin on the top again.]
TH V/O: And then, Franklin going for the the coup d'grace, the completion of the upset, his Icebreaker (diving headbutt)... and it misses! He almost knocks himself silly, and Dan Ryan takes immediate advantage.
[Cut to Ryan with Franklin in standing headscissors.]
TH V/O: After pounding on the rookie for a bit, Ryan sets him up for the move that 9999 times out of 10000 is going to put you down. The Humility Bomb.... Franklin goes thud and Dan Ryan narrowly escapes the super-huge upset bid. Steve?
[Cut back to the studio, Steve Murray close up with an inset saying "Forfeits."]
SM: It's not uncommon in this business to see matches forfeited. They are all the time. But it is uncommon to see both competitors in a match have to forfeit, and twice in the Portland bracket this happened. The first match, second-seeded Cameron Cruise and fifteenth-seeded Sanket Desai, was a double forfeit due to both of them failing drug tests. Apparently, someone spiked Cruise's Eggo Waffles with crack cocaine. Cruise was cleared of all charges as the culprit, who was outed as former A1E Triple Star Champion Roderick McRatrick, confessed after intense police interrogation. Desai's drug test was for marijuana, although he claims it was only a contact high from spending too much time in the same locker room as the Illustrious Face Eater, a story that's odd seeing as the two aren't even in the same wrestling circle let alone fed.
The other double forfeit came in the eight-nine matchup. Tsuyoshi Tanaka apparently missed his flight into Los Angeles from Chicago and didn't make it in time to the Galen Center. Unfortunately, his opponent, Drunken Tiger, was apprehended on dognapping charges and spent the night in jail. He was released after the charges were proven false, and apparently Tiger is filing suit for racial discrimination against the LAPD. Good luck with that.
So what's going to happen wtih those spots? TEAM officials decided in lieu of offering byes to the would-be opponents of the winners of those matches that sudden death play-in matches will be held in their place. The four losers from the matches we highlighted to start the show will be booked in these matches. For the spot vacated when Cruise and Desai forfeited will be decided when Rob Franklin takes on "Triple X" Sean Stevens. For the spot vacated by Drunken Tiger and Tanaka, James Irish will battle his old rival, Irishred.
[Cue up Led Zeppelin, "No Quarter." Cut to a shot of Promo clubbing Matthew Kurtis with forearms.]
TH V/O: Coming up next, we revisit Hawaii to see the MBE World Champion that PbPro recognizes taking on an NAPW stalwart. Plus, more action from Houston, Auburn and Los Angeles as well. Stay tuned!
[Cut to a commercial for Emerald Nuts featuring... GOULET!]
TH: The TEAM Invitational Tournament... wrestlers from all around the world come to compete. We start with 64 men. After the proceedings tonight, we're down to 48. Who's gone home? Well, that's what we're going to tell you in the next hour...
[Cue up "Down" by Stone Temple Pilots.
Cut to BEAST thumping JOE AVERAGE with a powerbomb.
Cut to MR. AMAZING! assaulting D! with the Championship of Champions Belt.
Cut to KARINA WOLFENDEN delivering the Dual Halo to ADAM BENJAMIN.
Cut to ULYSIS SOLIAN staring down DANNY BOY VEGAS.
Cut to KARL BROWN hoisting the Merrit Trophy, then flash cut to D! with the Championship of Champions Belt across his waist, then flash cut to Team NEW hoisting the Dupree Cup.
Cut to: The Epicenter logo once more, fading into Tom Holzerman and Steve Murray at the Epicenter desk.]
TH: Hello, I'm Tom Holzerman...
SM: And I'm Steve Murray. Welcome to another edition of EPICENTER, where we'll run down first round action in the Mexico City and Portland brackets.
TH: That's right, we saw some upsets on opening night action, we saw some squashes, but we saw some really good wrestling action. We'll start with what everyone is calling the best match of the night.
[Cut to a close-up of Holzerman with an inset featuring The Canadian Loonie and Sean Stevens.]
TH: On one side of the ring, The Canadian Loonie, Mexico City's eleventh seed, a wrestling icon looking to put one last exclamation point on a career everyone thought to be over half-a-dozen years ago. On the other, "Triple X" Sean Stevens, the sixth seed, a savvy and stylish veteran who's but a year into his remarkable comeback, a man who's proclaimed he's here to stay. Each man had his own, steadfast reason to win this tournament. The proverbial irresistable force and immovable object. What would happen when they collided?
[Cut to the ring in Auburn.]
TH V/O: And here we go! The match started out surprisingly. Loonie showed barely any ring rust, taking it to Stevens early with some chops into the Irish whip... right into an Ipponzei (Japanese style armdrag).
[Cut to Loonie with Stevens in a back waistlock.]
TH V/O: Stevens struggles a bit, looks like he's going to wiggle out of this one, but the Loonie clamps down and nails The Blue Eyed Badass with a rear suplex.
[Cut to Stevens running the ropes.]
TH V/O: But it's here where Stevens will turn the tables. Loonie goes for a lariat but Stevens ducks, and before the Canadian Hardcore Icon knows it, Stevens is back and seamlessly nails him with a swinging neckbreaker.
[Cut to Stevens running the ropes, only this time offensively.]
TH V/O: Man, that Stevens sure likes to run, but this time, he doesn't need an Irish whip to get started. On the rebound and a flying forearm smash right to the nose of the Canadian Loonie.
[Cut to Stevens with Loonie in a rear waistlock.]
TH V/O: And a little tete-a-tete and a game of one-upsmanship here. Loonie had the back suplex earlier, and Stevens goes up one. The Canadian takes a trip to Germany. Ouch, no bridge, all impact too.
[Cut to Loonie scooping up Stevens.]
TH V/O: After a countered standing headscissors, Loonie in control and he's got Stevens up and back with the Coin Toss (fallaway slam right into the turnbuckles).
[Cut to Stevens on the top rope.]
TH V/O: Folks, when I tell you this was a see-saw match, it was a see-saw match. Stevens on the top rope and nails Loonie with a missile dropkick right in the head. Loonie is dazed, and Stevens knows this.
[Cut to Stevens with Loonie in a reverse facelock.]
TH V/O: Stevens smells blood. He sets up for the X-Terminator, but at the height, Loonie slips out and grabs Stevens' head on the way down. Edge-o-Matic and Loonie hooks the leg, one, two, three! The Canadian Loonie's dream lives on for at least one more round, and Stevens falls in the minor upset. Steve?
[Cut to the Sheriff Center ring in Hawaii. Fred "The Poet" Cook and Irishred circling each other.]
SM V/O: Thanks Tom, and another barnburner took place out there in Hawaii in the Portland bracket. Number seven seed Irishred takes on newcomer and tenth seed, Fred "The Poet" Cook, and the man of rhymes gave Red some trouble early. Here he slips behind Red and rolls him up, school-boy style. In fact, eight out of the first ten offensive moves in the match for the Poet were pin attempts and combinations. He didn't get much more than barely a two, but he did accomplish something...
[Cut to Red with the Poet by the wrist.]
SM V/O: He made Red mad. Short-arm clothesline here and a vicious one.
[Cut to the Poet on Red's shoulders, electric chair style.]
SM V/O: But a little something like a short-arm clothesline isn't gonna stop the Poet from his game, and that's pinning combinations. Another pin, this time a roll up out of the electric chair. And all this does is make Irishred even more angry...
[Cut to Red on the top with the Poet on his belly.]
SM V/O: ...and you won't like him when he's angry. Cold Shot (TR knee to the kidney) on the Poet, and he'll be pissing blood for a week.
[Cut to the Poet and Red both on the ground.]
SM V/O: But they say if you try at something long enough, you'll get it, and Cook's been trying to get Red's shoulders to the mat for the three? And after a missed clothesline by Red and a drop toehold by the Poet, he gets it. Oklahoma roll, Red's kick out not in time, and Fred Cook moves onto the second round.
[Cut to the ring in Houston.]
SM V/O: Up to Houston where number four seed in Mexico City, James Irish took on the MBE rising star and thirteen seed Fusenshoff. Things started out well for Irish as he nails one half of the International Icons with this DDT. He is the master of 'em, or so they say.
[Cut to Fusenshoff with James in a side headlock.]
SM V/O: But the tables would quickly turn the A1E Champion. Fusenshoff with the side headlock that's seemingly countered by the Clown Prince of A1E, shoving off. But when the Hoff runs the ropes, he runs 'em with AUTHORITAH! Big clothesline sending the Champ to the canvas.
[Cut to Fuse with James up in an elevated rear waistlock.]
SM V/O: The hit parade continues, as James may need to see a proctologist after this one. Atomic drop and a beauty. Fusenshoff in control but not for long.
[Cut to James with the Hoff in a trapped front underhook.]
SM V/O: This program is about to be preempted by the Headbangers' Ball. James is ringing the bell himself, but he's looking to get the timekeeper to do it for the win.
[Cut to James on the top rope.]
SM V/O: So he's up for a little Funk Number 49 (somersault leg drop) but it misses! Fusenshoff moves, then quickly snaps up James into Domination! Big impact face-first powerbomb, and Fusenshoff scores the BIG upset. James Irish is seemingly out, and he's lucky his World Championship wasn't on the line here.
[Cut back to the Houston ring, only this time with Dan Ryan and Rob Franklin in it.]
TH V/O: We're gonna stay in Houston for this one, as Dan Ryan, Mexico City's Numero Uno battles the sixteen Rob Franklin. Usually you expect these kinds of matchups to be bloodbaths, and this one looked like it early. Ryan overpowering Franklin here in the test of strength and just shoves his ham hock of a knee right into the Icebreaker's gut.
[Cut to Ryan with Franklin in a choke slam set up.]
TH V/O: And just when you think this is going to turn into a bloodbath early, Franklin pulls something out of his bag of tricks, namely a kick right to Ryan's face. No chokeslam today. Now, if you're giving up 160 pounds and almost two decades of experience to your opponent what do you to do even the odds?
[Cut to Franklin with a slightly dazed Ryan.]
TH V/O: You stun 'em! Ace crusher from Franklin and Ryan is dazed.
[Cut to Franklin on the top rope.]
TH V/O: Dazed enough to let Franklin pull off a picture perfect moonsault on the Ego Buster.
[Cut to Franklin with Ryan in a Dragon sleeper.]
TH V/O: Franklin was able to keep Ryan off balance with a combination of quick strikes, high risk, high reward moves from the top and moves like this, grind-down submission holds. The Dragon sleeper kept the big man at bay.
[Cut to Franklin on the top again.]
TH V/O: And then, Franklin going for the the coup d'grace, the completion of the upset, his Icebreaker (diving headbutt)... and it misses! He almost knocks himself silly, and Dan Ryan takes immediate advantage.
[Cut to Ryan with Franklin in standing headscissors.]
TH V/O: After pounding on the rookie for a bit, Ryan sets him up for the move that 9999 times out of 10000 is going to put you down. The Humility Bomb.... Franklin goes thud and Dan Ryan narrowly escapes the super-huge upset bid. Steve?
[Cut back to the studio, Steve Murray close up with an inset saying "Forfeits."]
SM: It's not uncommon in this business to see matches forfeited. They are all the time. But it is uncommon to see both competitors in a match have to forfeit, and twice in the Portland bracket this happened. The first match, second-seeded Cameron Cruise and fifteenth-seeded Sanket Desai, was a double forfeit due to both of them failing drug tests. Apparently, someone spiked Cruise's Eggo Waffles with crack cocaine. Cruise was cleared of all charges as the culprit, who was outed as former A1E Triple Star Champion Roderick McRatrick, confessed after intense police interrogation. Desai's drug test was for marijuana, although he claims it was only a contact high from spending too much time in the same locker room as the Illustrious Face Eater, a story that's odd seeing as the two aren't even in the same wrestling circle let alone fed.
The other double forfeit came in the eight-nine matchup. Tsuyoshi Tanaka apparently missed his flight into Los Angeles from Chicago and didn't make it in time to the Galen Center. Unfortunately, his opponent, Drunken Tiger, was apprehended on dognapping charges and spent the night in jail. He was released after the charges were proven false, and apparently Tiger is filing suit for racial discrimination against the LAPD. Good luck with that.
So what's going to happen wtih those spots? TEAM officials decided in lieu of offering byes to the would-be opponents of the winners of those matches that sudden death play-in matches will be held in their place. The four losers from the matches we highlighted to start the show will be booked in these matches. For the spot vacated when Cruise and Desai forfeited will be decided when Rob Franklin takes on "Triple X" Sean Stevens. For the spot vacated by Drunken Tiger and Tanaka, James Irish will battle his old rival, Irishred.
[Cue up Led Zeppelin, "No Quarter." Cut to a shot of Promo clubbing Matthew Kurtis with forearms.]
TH V/O: Coming up next, we revisit Hawaii to see the MBE World Champion that PbPro recognizes taking on an NAPW stalwart. Plus, more action from Houston, Auburn and Los Angeles as well. Stay tuned!
[Cut to a commercial for Emerald Nuts featuring... GOULET!]