TEAM EPICENTER: 2nd Round Mexico City and Portland Recap

[TH]

[Fade into Tom Holzerman in front of the big screen; Hoyt Williams and Dan Ryan engaged in a staredown.]

TH: A clash of the titans, an inter-circle dream match, and it's all part of TEAM Tournament action. Who won out, the Irresistable Force or the Immovable Object? Sit right there, because you'll find out in thirty seconds. This is EPICENTER!

[Cue up "Down" by Stone Temple Pilots.
Cut to JASON PAYNE, shouting out in primal fury with a man's blood as his war paint.
Cut to MR. AMAZING! delivering Amazing Grace to JAKE HIX.
Cut to YORI YAKAMO, JR. grappling PROFESSOR TREMENDOUS.
Cut to ULYSIS SOLIAN staring down RAVAGER.

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 ladies and gentlemen, I'm Tom Holzerman...

SM: And I'm Steve Murray. Welcome to EPICENTER!

[Cut to Tom Holzerman, close up, in front of a Ryan/Williams inset.]

TH: This match was hyped as a Clash of the Titans. Dan Ryan, multiple-time World Champion across multiple promotions. Hoyt Williams, youngest PRIME Universal Champion and one of the most revered PTC superstars ever. Both men, great big men and great techincal wrestlers as well. Both in the same ring. Very rarely does a match rise to the level of its hype of this magnitude, but this was one of those times.

[Cut to the Autry Court ring.]

TH V/O: And here we go, Autry Court in Ryan's hometown and the home ring advantage worked early to The Ego Buster's advantage. Here we see him leveling Williams with a Hansen quality lariat.

[Cut to Ryan with Hoyt in a front headlock.]

TH V/O: And here, Ryan just spikes Williams with that DDT. Big impact from one of the big men in this match.

[Cut to Hoyt with Ryan in an abdominal stretch.]

TH V/O: Williams reversed momentum and here, wearing down Ryan with that abdominal stretch. Old-school move from God's Champion there.

[Cut to Hoyt running the ropes.]

TH V/O: And here, Williams plants a knee right in Ryan's gut, that's everything including the kitchen sink there! Hoyt working over that midsection, but that doesn't stop the Dan Ryan Expressway.

[Cut to Ryan whipping Hoyt.]

TH V/O: Back in control, The Ego Buster off the whip nails Williams with that belly to belly. Even with Ryan's strength, Hoyt's size dictates that he needs that extra momentum from the whip to get that move off.

[Cut to Ryan on the turnbuckles.]

TH V/O: And you know that Ryan means business when he busts this one out. Split-legged moonsault, and Dan Ryan only pulls that one out in big matches. They don't come much bigger than this.

[Cut to Hoyt whipping Ryan.]

TH V/O: But after all that, Williams comes back, here with an amazing 720 degree rotation powerslam! Gyroscopic forces with the impact, and it's a miracle that Ryan isn't spitting up blood by this point.

[Cut to Williams with Ryan in a standing headscissors.]

TH V/O: And here, God's Champion pulling a page out of the Styles playbook with the Styles Clash. Still not enough to put Ryan away.

[Cut to Ryan with Hoyt in a standing headscissors.]

TH V/O: Ryan looks to finish Williams off for good... HUMILITY BOMB and a beauty, but he only gets two with the cover. Ryan can't believe it! The Houston crowd can't believe it!

[Cut to Hoyt with Ryan over the shoulder.]

TH V/O: Now Williams in control of the match with a chance to finish, and with all the pounding he put on Ryan's stomach, you'd think this would do the trick, right? CRUCIFIED AND SAVED [Oklahoma Stampede], but that only gets a two, too.

[Cut to Ryan with Williams in Argentine backbreaker position.]

TH V/O: But the buck would stop here, as Ryan, in a tribute to his late friend Rob Sampson, finds the strength to pick Hoyt Williams up here and nails him with the Headliner! [Burning Hammer] He gets the cover... one... two and Dan Ryan moves onto the Sweet Sixteen! Steve?

[Cut back to the TEAM studio, Ravager/Fusenshoff inset, close up of Steve Murray.]

SM: Fusenshoff defeated James Irish in the first round. James Irish is the A1E World Champion. Ravager, his opponent this round, is the NAPW World Champion. Would lightning strike twice for the MBE youngster?

[Back to Autry Court.]

SM V/O: The Hoff started out quickly, here nailing Ravager with that rebounding cross-body, a quick move from a man of his size.

[Cut to Fuse with Ravager in a front facelock.]

SM V/O: And another quick strike move from Fusenshoff here, snap suplex. Fuse not using his size advantage early on on the smaller Ravager, and that would cost him.

[Cut to Ravager with his head under Fuse's arm.]

SM V/O: Here, the NAPW Champion with a quick Northern lights suplex.

[Cut to Fuse with Ravager in a standing headscissors.]

SM V/O: The Hoff back in control and now getting the hint, powerbomb on Ravager.

[Cut to Fuse, head first on the bottom turnbuckle.]

SM V/O: But Ravager, back in control and here, just curb stomps the hell out of Fuse. I wouldn't be surprised if he lost a tooth. The Champ calls that the Silencer.

[Cut Ravager punching Fuse.]

SM V/O: Ravager here with one punch, two punches. The Hoff fights back with a jab that's blocked by Ravager and countered with a headbutt! Ravager in control, but like most good things, this ended in a flash.

[Cut to Ravager stalking a recovering Hoff.]

SM V/O: Ravager pounces on Fusenshoff with an inside cradle, but Fuse shifts his weight and reverses it so he's pinning Ravager, one, two, three and Fusenshoff knocks off his second World Champion in as many weeks!

[Cut to the dynamic brackets!]

SM V/O: And now we see one matchup in the Sweet Sixteen is set. Dan Ryan, seeded at one, battles the lucky number thirteen seed, Fusenshoff.

[Cut to Tom Holzerman in front of an inset that says "Challenge Championship."]

TH: Despite his loss, all's not lost for Ravager. TEAM announced today that it was adding a third Championship title to the slate. The Challenge Championship will pit the best wrestlers in the world against each other in varying gimmick matches, and the match to decide who gets to hold this belt the first will happen at TEAM SuperShow III: Final Four, at the Yori Palace of Dildos Hotel and Casino, formerly the MBE Hotel and Casino. Appearing in this match will be the aforementioned Ravager, member of the Dupree Cup Champion Team NEW Chaos, former A1E Triple Star Champion IrishRed and PRIME Universal Champion Nova. The stipulations for this match are yet to be announced, but it is rumored that it will be a tornado rules elimination match.

[Cue up Led Zeppelin, "No Quarter." Cut to Sean Stevens chopping Fred Cook.]

TH V/O: Still to come, Triple X Sean Stevens got a second chance. Could he make good on it against the upstart Poet? That, plus more highlights from both the Mexico City and Portland brackets. EPICENTER will be back in a few.

[Cut to the Taco Bell lion commercial. Carrrrrrrrne asada!]

 

[TH]

[Fade back into the TEAM studio, Steve Murray in front of a Retro/Loonie inset.]

SM: It's funny how you can spend a good part of your life in one place and never meet someone else of similar tenure in your time there. That's what the case is when we're talking about the Canadian Loonie and Joe Retro. Two old-school MBE legends, and this is their first meeting.

[Cut to the Beard-Eaves Coliseum.]

SM V/O: To Auburn, and Retro starts off with the regular old vertical su-play. Calling that one old school style for the Old School Icon.

[Cut to Loonie running the ropes.]

SM V/O: Loonie bouncing right back with this leaping elbow right to Retro's head, taking the big man down.

[Cut to Retro whipping Loonie off the ropes.]

SM V/O: Retro, right back though, shades of the Hulkster here with the big boot right to Loonie's grill.

[Cut to Loonie with Retro scooped up.]

SM V/O: But Loonie bouncing right back as well, he calls this one the Coin Toss [fallaway slam into the turnbuckles], and Retro's back goes right into the corner. Not a fun place to be.

[Cut to Retro steamrolling towards the corner.]

SM V/O: More see-saw action. Retro like a house on fire charges into the corner, leveling the Loonie with a huge clothesline. Loonie looks like roadkill here, but all's not lost for the Canadian...

[Cut to Loonie with Retro in a front hold.]

SM V/O: Here he nails Retro with an EXPLOOODDAAAH~! suplex, then moseys over to the corner and heads to the top. Money Shot, and Loonie advances to the Sweet 16.

[Cut back to the same ring.]

SM V/O: Staying in Auburn, Karl Brown battling Chris Casino here. Karl Brown dominating this match early. Here, laying down some mean chops into a whip and that into a drop toe hold with that segueing into a side headlock. Good chain wrestling from the defending tourney winner.

[Cut to Brown with a woozy Casino.]

SM V/O: Here he takes the Kinski Cup winner down with a swinging neckbreaker.

[Cut to Brown with Casino in a full nelson.]

SM V/O: And here, he nails Casino with a Dragon suplex, but Casino kicks out of the pin attempt.

[Cut to Casino lining up Brown.]

SM V/O: But Casino found a break countering out of a Dragon's Bite attempt. Here he is winding up and just nailing the Dragon with a superkick here.

[Cut to Casino on the top rope.]

SM V/O: Building off that momentum, he heads to the top and nails Brown with that missile dropkick.

[Cut to Casino running the ropes.]

SM V/O: And here, look at this, running into Karl Brown and he just PLANTS the Dragon into the canvas with that running STO.

[Cut to Karl on the top.]

SM V/O: But the defending Champion finds a way to counter out of a Casino move and this is one of the prettiest moves you'll ever see. Dragonrana into a pin, and Karl Brown advances.

[Cut to the dynamic bracket.]

SM V/O: In the other Mexico City Sweet Sixteen matchup, that leaves the second seeded Karl Brown to take on the eleventh seeded feel good comeback story The Canadian Loonie.

[Cut to the Galen Center ring.]

TH V/O: Onto LA and the Portland bracket, number one seeded Shawn Hart against the play-in James Irish, and the A1E Champion is the one who draws first, nailing Hart with a DDT here. James Irish, master of the DDT, and he's used a variation of that move in every single one of his TEAM matches thus far.

[Cut to Irish with Hart in a double underhook.]

TH V/O: And when you've got a good thing going, why deviate? Double-arm DDT, and Irish is putting the first seed on the ropes.

[Cut to Hart whipping Irish.]

TH V/O: But the Prime Minister of Gettin' Sinister fights back. Here we see the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

[Cut to Hart with Irish in catapult position.]

TH V/O: And you wanna talk about old school. Joey Retro would have been proud here. Catapult right into the turnbuckle.

[Cut to Hart with a woozy Irish.]

TH V/O: And then, one El Codo Explosivo (Bionic elbow), ah ah ah, two Los Codos Explosivos, ah ah ah, three, THREE Los Codos Explosivos! Ah ah ah! Followed up by just one Roaring Elbow and James looks like he's on dream street. But you can never count the Clown Prince out.

[Cut to James with Hart in a double front underhook.]

TH V/O: Headbanger's Ball! (Trapping underhook headbutts) James having Hart's bell rung, but the only bell that counts is at the end.

[Cut to Irish going to whip Hart.]

TH V/O: And it wouldn't ring for James Irish as Shawn Hart reverses an Irish whip before it's even whipped into a Hart Attack (Diamond cutter). Hart gets the win and advances.

[Cue up Led Zeppelin, "No Quarter." Cut to Beast sizing up Sean Edmunds.]

TH V/O: Coming up, Beast and Sean Edmunds in action, plus more Portland bracket goodness. Stick around! More EPICENTER after this break.

[Cut to a commercial ASN's new reality TV show, "Real Desperate Housewives of Orange County... in the Canadian Rockies!"]

 

[TH]

[Fade in from commercial to Tom Holzerman at the TEAM desk, close up, XXX/Poet inset.]

TH: More action from the Portland region, this one, a play-in against an upset. Triple X Sean Stevens, victim of an upset himself in round 1, takes on the Poet Fred Cook.

[Cut to the Sherrif Center.]

TH V/O: Stevens starts quick with this flying forearm right to the Poet's grill. Cook down, but he's hard to put out, folks.

[Cut to Stevens going to grapple Cook.]

TH V/O: But remember Cook's moveset is mostly pinning attempts. That's a very disconcerting, disorienting moveset and he's working that mojo here. Slinks behind Triple X and rolls him up.

[Cut to XXX down on the canvas.]

TH V/O: Then the Poet with the Oklahoma Roll here. Stevens kicks out, but he's definitely ticked.

[Cut to XXX whipping the Poet into the corner.]

TH V/O: And when you piss off the Blue Eyed Badass, there's trouble. Hard whip into the corner, and Stevens follows that up with a Hornet Splash, only with more of a meanstreak. If you check this angle out, you'll see he smashes his elbow into the bridge of Cook's nose. The Poet doth have a nosebleed now.

[Cut to XXX attempting to whip the Poet again.]

TH V/O: Stevens goes to whip Cook again, but Cook shortarms the counter and hits with an inside cradle. Stevens is pissed even more, and he's gonna take it out on the Poet.

[Cut to Stevens on the top.]

TH V/O: He NAILS Cook with that frogsplash, but Cook won't go down, in fact, right as Stevens tries to pick Cook up, Cook rolls him up in an inside cradle again and gets the shock three count. The Poet advances again in another big upset.

[Cut to the same ring.]

TH V/O: Still in Hawaii, Cross battles Promo and the A1E Cyber Champion starts with a flurry to the Hardcore Icon. Right jab, left jab, right jab, right cross and Promo is down, but not out.

[Cut to Promo running the ropes.]

TH V/O: The MBE Champion as recognized by PbPro comes back with this running dropkick right to Cross' face.

[Cut to Cross running the ropes with a prone Promo.]

TH V/O: Cross showing some athleticism here, leaping lionsault and with 270-plus pounds coming down on you, that's not a pretty sight.

[Cut to Promo in the corner.]

TH V/O: Cross coming to charge in with the Hornet Splash, but Promo moves last second and just plants a sidekick right into the side of Cross' skull after he goes chest first into the turnbuckle.

[Cut to Promo with Cross on the top.]

TH V/O: And then here, Promoplex (German superplex) from the top and it's lights out for Cross. Promo advances.

[Cut to the dynamic bracket.]

TH V/O: And in the Portland bracket, the number one, Shawn Hart will be on a collision course with the aformentioned Promo. Should be an interesting affair at the Rose Garden. Steve?

[Cut to the Galen Center.]

SM V/O: Beast and Sean Edmunds, and the Apex Predator nearly takes Edmunds' head off with that Muay Thai roundhouse kick. Beast is a master of the martial arts, but that doesn't keep Edmunds down.

[Cut to Edmunds on the second rope.]

SM V/O: After a drop toe hold and some stompage, Edmunds goes up to the second rope here and shades of Bret Hart, elbow right to Beast's sternum.

[Cut to Edmunds with a woozy Beast.]

SM V/O: And here, he clocks Beast with a taste of his own medicine, a reverse crescent kick.

[Cut to Edmunds running the ropes.]

SM V/O: But it wouldn't be for the Sensational One. Beast here with the whip into the powerslam...

[Cut to Beast now running the ropes, Edmunds woozy.]

SM V/O: And here's the GOOORE! Beast almost breaking Edmunds in half, and he gets the pin and the win to move onto the third round.

[Cut to the dynamic bracket.]

SM V/O: Final matchup is set for the Portland Sweet Sixteen. Beast at the third seed, moves onto face the tenth seed in Fred "The Poet" Cook. Should be an interesting match.

[Cut back to a wide shot of Holzerman and Murray.]

TH: That's gonna do it for us.

SM: I'm Steve Murray.

TH: And I'm Tom Holzerman. Goodnight, everyone.

[Fade to...

...yep, we got a logo now, b*tches!]

 

[TH]

Write-up: Holzerman
Judging: Holzerman, Lindsay Branca, Chris Skowronski, Pete Russo, Skylar Green, Bobino (sorry, don't know your name!), Ryan Rogatschnigg
TEAM Banner: Jon Katz (thanks Katz!)