TEAM EPICENTER: Dupree Cup Week 1 Recap

[TH]

[Fade into Tom Holzerman, standing in front of the big screen at the TEAM Studios in West Chester, PA. On said big screen, Joey Melton delivers a slingshot suplex to Brian Stinberg in slow-motion.]

TH: The first week of Dupree Cup action is in the books. Six meets, eighteen matches... who comes out with the early jump on the playoff spots? You're about to find out, EPICENTER is next!

[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.

Cut to: The Epicenter logo once more, fading into Tom Holzerman and Steve Murray at the Epicenter desk.]

TH: Welcome everyone to TEAM Studios. I'm Tom Holzerman, and as always, this is Steve Murray. Welcome to Epicenter.

[Cut to Steve Murray with an AWC/RDJW inset.]

SM: We'll begin by taking you out to Phoenix, Arizona for Group C action. Our first contest wasn't much of a contest as the Battlin' Brazilians of Rio de Janeiro Wrestling took on the Atlantic Wrestling Club. Let's recap.

[Cut to Anton Assault with Jaco Patterson in a keylock.]

SM V/O: First up, it was "The Lion" Anton Assault taking on "The Miracle Baby" Jaco Patterson, and right now, it's a miracle that Patterson is able to breathe. Keylock and a beauty.

[Cut to Patterson begging off of Assault.]

SM V/O: Things wouldn't exactly stay peachy for the Lion, even if he never lost control of the match. Already sore from two groin shots earlier in the match, Assault's grapefruits get assaulted again, blatant low blow from Patterson. Referee Monet Samuel has seen enough, and she calls for the bell.

[Cut to Chainz and Joe McManus slugging it out.]

SM V/O: Next up, it's the Countdown Trophy holder Chainz taking on the illegal pit-fighter Joe McManus in a first blood match. Both men are slugging it out here, but Chainz gets the advantage.

[Cut to Chainz with McManus by the head, dragging him towards a corner with an exposed turnbuckle.]

SM V/O: The match wouldn't be too long now. McManus took the covering off that turnbuckle earlier in the match, but Chainz would use it to his advantage here. Noggin knocker in the corner, and McManus is busted wide open. Chainz wins in convincing fashion.

[Cut to Paddy O'Shea using Ronaldodinho as a punching bag.]

SM V/O: The tag match was last here, and Team RDJW was trying desperately to ward off the sweep. Wasn't working though, as Paddy O'Shea shows off his bare-knuckle boxing skills.

[Cut to Brazilian Disaster, clearly woozy and near the ropes, Red Rock running them.]

SM V/O: Red Rock here making it look easy. Big clothesline to send the Blanka rip-off over the top. The Disaster is clearly disoriented, and Red Rock smartly doesn't go after him here. The count reaches 10 and AWC wins the match and the meet via clean sweep. Tom?

[Cut to Tom Holzerman with an NFW/LoC inset.]

TH: The other meet out on Phoenix wasn't so lopsided. Legacy of Champions has said on record that they feel they will be walking out of the whole thing with the Dupree Cup. Team NFW might have something to say about it, even as the so-called experts were maligning and underestimating them.

[Cut to Jason Payne and Derecho grappling in the ring.]

TH V/O: First up, it's Jason Payne battling LoC's Legacy Champion, Derecho. These two guys had such a war of words coming into this, and the hate was palpable, shown right here with a vicious DDT from Derecho to Payne. Derecho wouldn't let up, as he'd soon segue into his F-3 combo, vertical suplex, snap suplex and a split-legged gordbuster. You don't see many people able to pull that off.

[Cut to Payne running the ropes.]

TH V/O: Payne would turn things around a little quicker for the Dog of War, as he ducks the clothesline attempt from the Legacy Champion and then on the rebound... LARIATO~! Huge impact sending Derecho to the canvas. Payne would start to slow it down a little bit, grinding down Derecho here with this cobra clutch.

[Cut to Payne with a half-nelson applied, trying for a full nelson.]

TH V/O: Here we see Payne going for his patented Payne Killer, but Derecho's fighting it off, elbows to the face. He's free and then just cracks Payne in the chin with a superkick. I was surprised that the Dog of War didn't spit a tooth out there, but he's definitely bleeding, both from one of those elbows to the forehead and from the kick to the mouth. Then, it was time for some punishment, Derecho grabbing the Dog of War by the scruff of the neck and just pounding his head into the turnbuckle there, ten times before exhausting referee Monet Samuel's count. Payne looked to be on dream street.

[Cut to Payne in a standing headscissors.]

TH V/O: And it would be the end here for Payne as Derecho sets up for the Vortex Powerbomb, or would it? Payne counters with a back body drop. Derecho's up, but Payne catches him with a haymaker right that turns Derecho around. Payne locks in the full nelson and... PAYNE KILLER! This match is academic, Payne wins.

[Cut back to the studio.]

TH: Of course, the action wouldn't stop there. After the match, Derecho and Payne got into a full-fledged brawl where both men busted each other open further than they already had during the match. At one point during the brawl, Payne had Derecho prone for a long enough time to set up a table. He lit the table on fire then put Derecho through it with another Payne Killer. After that, Payne went on to write "NFW" across his chest in his own blood. Payne could not be reached for comment after the match on why he decided to taint his victory with such actions, but word from the LoC camp is that Derecho was not happy being shown up like that, and we can only speculate as to how he'll retaliate. Meanwhile, Payne has been fined his entire purse for this week for his actions.

[Cut to Lone Wolf grappling with Ryan Billows.]

TH V/O: Tag action up next, as the team of Lone Wolf and WildStar battled bitter rivals yet interesting teammates Turk and Ryan Billows. Billows and Lone Wolf tangling here, and Wolf gets the advantage early with an Irish whip into a Samoan drop from the Native American.

[Cut to WildStar with a prone Turk on the canvas.]

TH V/O: WildStar just disrespecting the former Underground Champion here, boots to the face and then he steps back and Rolling Thunder with authority.

[Cut to Turk with Lone Wolf in vertical suplex position.]

TH V/O: Things would be better for the LoC tag team, as now Turk's in control with that delayed vertical suplex, all that blood rushing to Lone Wolf's head before being crashed back down to the canvas.

[Cut to Billows on the top with WildStar standing in front of him.]

TH V/O: Billows here takes to the air and he's about to work the Headache Machine right on WildStar's dome. Beautifully done enziguri-style kick.

[Cut to Turk and Billows lying in wait for Wolf to run towards them for a double team move.]

TH V/O: We get to the end of this match, and WildStar tags himself in here. He leaps into the ring, taking out Ryan Billows with a springboard clothesline, while a distracted Turk is prone to a regular lariat from Lone Wolf. They take it to the outside, and with the Native American and the Underground Icon now brawling around, the two legal men are left in the ring. WildStar sees Billows prone there and climbs to the top rope. Five Star Frogsplash attempt FANS! and Billows gets right to his feet, grabs WildStar and... Pennsylvania Plunge. This one's academic, Turk and Ryan Billows win.

[Cut to Kin Hiroshi whipping Ulysis Solian into barbed wire.]

TH V/O: It's now all up to the Muffin Man and the Prodigal Son to decide who takes home this meet. Early on, it was Kin Hiroshi, who found the arena in Phoenix after mistakenly thinking that it was week 2 in Wyoming. Whip into the barbed wire ropes and then Hiroshi showing his sadistic side, raking Solian's back across the barbs. Brutal.

[Cut to Hiroshi with Solian in a front facelock.]

TH V/O: Still making use of the barbed wire, Hiroshi with what looks like a vertical suplex, but he just drops Solian gut first over the top rope.

[Cut to Solian grabbing Hiroshi by his neck and head.]

TH V/O: Hiroshi wasn't the only one who could use the wire to his advantage. After turning the tables, Solian now has Hiroshi by the neck, raking his forehead across the top wire there.

[Cut to Hiroshi hanging over the bottom rope.]

TH V/O: And now, Solian about to go Bossman on the Muffin Man here, jumping right on Hiroshi's back, driving those barbs deep into his chest. Solian was nicked a little there too, but all in the name of inflicting punishment.

[Cut to Hiroshi with Solian in a standing headscissors.]

TH V/O: Hiroshi was able to turn it around, and he's got Solian in place for his NFM, his version of the Canadian Destroyer. However, Solian blocks it mid flip and Hiroshi lands on his ass. AS soon as the Muffin Man gets up, he's scooped up by Solian and nailed with the Burning Hammer for a pinfall. LoC takes the match and the meet.

[Cut to a standings graphic:

W L D (Sweep) Pts
AWC 1 0 0 1 3
LoC 1 0 0 0 2
NFW 0 1 0 0 0
RDJW 0 1 0 0 0]

TH V/O: And after one week, AWC takes the early lead with their sweep of RDJW. LoC keeps pace though, trailing by only one point.

[Cue up "No Quarter," Led Zeppelin. Cut to Ice Cold striking Dan Ryan inside a cage.]

SM V/O: Coming up, it's rage in the cage, EPW vs. WZW, and some highlights from the barnburner that was NAPW and NEW. Don't tune out, we've got more recaps coming your way after this.

[Cut to a commercial for Geico... so easy, even a caveman can use it!]

 

[TH]

[Fade back from commercial to Tom Holzerman with a EPW/WZW inset.]

TH: War Zone Wrestling talked a big game coming into this match. Could they back it up against Empire Pro Wrestling, regarded as one of the top feds around today?

[Cut to the ring, Hunter McKay grappling with Steven Shane.]

TH V/O: Tag action first at the legendary Mid-South Colosseum, and Hunter McKay is having a tough time with Sensational Steven Shane here. Knife edge chops, into an Irish whip, into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker nicely executed by the Sensational One.

[Cut to The Wolf grappling Frankie Scott.]

TH V/O: Wolf would get his team back into things, knee to Phenomenal Frankie Scott's gut and then a beautiful overhead belly to belly suplex.

[Cut to Hunter McKay on the mat, Shane with legs wishboned.]

TH V/O: But in the end, it would be Steven Shane with his California Clutch. Wolf tries to break the hold up, but he's clotheslined over the top by Frankie Scott. McKay has no recourse but to tap, and EPW wins the first match in this meet.

[Cut to Brian Stinberg and Joey Melton.]

TH V/O: Brian Stinberg and Joey Melton here, and Stinberg gets the upper hand early. Chops, chops and then an Irish whip into a flapjack. The smooth sailing for Stinberg wouldn't last though.

[Cut to Melton with Stinberg on the top rope.]

TH V/O: The Sexual All-American shows no mercy here with a superplex from the top rope.

[Cut to Melton with Stinberg in the Figure Four.]

TH V/O: And once you're in this hold, there isn't much of an escape. Stinberg taps out and Melton gets the win and clinches the meet for EPW.

[Cut to Ice Cold climbing the cage.]

TH V/O: The cage match was for pride on WZW's part and for the sweep on EPW's part. Dan Ryan stepping out of the owner's box to take up arms for EPW, but he almost got his arms taken off. Ice Cold with the elbow drop from the cage on Ryan. He scampers back up to the cage again, but he underestimates Ryan's recuperative abilities here. Another leap from the cage gets him caught by Ryan and slammed down to the canvas.

[Cut to Ryan with Ice Cold at the height of a powerbomb.]

TH V/O: After that, it wouldn't be too much longer, as Ryan goes for the Humility Bomb here with twist. He smashes Ice Cold against the cage first before hitting the regular impact. Ice Cold is... out cold, and Ryan escapes the cage with the win and the sweep. And due to the match lasting less than ten minutes, Ryan escapes with the extra point on his record.

[Cut to Steve Murray with the NAPW/NEW inset.]

SM: From a clean sweep to what was probably the match of the tournament, New Alberta Pro Wrestling took on New Era of Wrestling. NAPW didn't have TEAM Champion of Champions D! on their squad, but they wrestled like they didn't even know who D! was. The real question though... would NEW have an answer?

[Cut to Patrick Bickle and MWG.]

SM V/O: First up on the dance card was MWG and Patrick Bickle in a lumberjack match. Bickle starts out in a big way surprising MWG with a Thesz press right off the bat. He rolls through the hold and nails MWG with a lionsault. Excellent combo there.

[Cut to Bickle on the top rope, MWG standing woozy.]

SM V/O: And here, Bickle on fire with the missile dropkick.

[Cut to MWG with Bickle in his clutches.]

SM V/O: With any high flyer, they're bound to make mistakes, and after a Bickle error, MWG capitalizes, here with a Russian leg sweep...

[Cut to Bickle in the corner.]

SM V/O: And here with the boot choke in the corner...

[Cut to MWG behind Bickle with an abdominal stretch.]

SM V/O: And here with the abdominal stretch slam. What impact.

[Cut to MWG attempting an Irish whip.]

SM V/O: MWG trying for the whip, but Bickle reverses it and tosses MWG out of the ring into the sea of lumberjacks. Bickle sees this and goes for a suicide plancha. He nails it, taking out Priest, Eisenkreuz and The Phantom Republican. Everyone thinks he took out MWG too, but that wasn't the case. MWG escaped last second, he comes out of nowhere, tosses Bickle back in the ring, follows in and... BAM! Disappear Here DDT, and MWG takes the first match for NEW.

[Cut to Mr. Entertainment, fist raised to a staggered Rex Caliber.]

SM V/O: NAPW would look to even things up here as they sent the Nexus One after the NEW Television Champion. They wouldn't have much luck early, as Mr. Entertainment is clearly in control, landing punches on Caliber's head.

[Cut to Mr. E behind a doubled over Rex Caliber.]

SM V/O: Mr. E working over Caliber here with a bulldog. Big impact.

[Cut to Mr. E looking for a stun gun.]

SM V/O: The Entertaining One looking to finish this match, trying a stun gun, but Caliber blocks it and nails Entertainment with a DDT.

[Cut to Caliber behind Mr. E.]

SM V/O: Working him over even further, Caliber with the brutal German suplex, all impact, no bridge.

[Cut to Caliber with Mr. E in the Rings of Rex.]

SM V/O: And he keeps working the neck of Mr. Entertainment here with the Rings. Wrenching and wearing him down.

[Cut to Rex with Mr. E on the top rope.]

SM V/O: Caliber ready to deliver the Muscle Buster, but Mr. E blocks it by shoving Caliber off. Mr. E leaps with the clothesline, but Caliber ducks. Mr. E stumbles around and Caliber reacts quickly, running in and delivering a high-impact STO. He grabs the pin and evens the meet at one apiece.

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

SM V/O: Let's dive right into the tag match, and Chaos here delivering a huge neckbreaker to the former NAPW Champion.

[Cut to HAL running the ropes on Ravager.]

SM V/O: It would get worse for Ravager here, as HAL comes in with the big clothesline, knocking Ravager for a loop. However, it wouldn't last too much longer.

[Cut to Ravager with HAL in a rear facelock.]

SM V/O: After a slick counter, Ravager here with the reverse DDT on HAL.

[Cut to Kyle Roberts with HAL in a liontamer.]

SM V/O: And Kyle Roberts finally got his assets in gear, here grinding down the computer techie with that Bear Tamer.

[Cut to HAL in Roberts' clutches.]

SM V/O: HAL continued to be in trouble until here, as Roberts goes for the Emerald Fusion, but HAL slips off his shoulder and delivers a neckbreaker. He tags in Chaos who goes to work.

[Cut to Roberts in the corner, Chaos atop him.]

SM V/O: Chaos with the ten punches, knocking some sense out of Roberts most likely.

[Cut to Roberts running the ropes after a whip.]

SM V/O: Chaos with the Irish whip on Kyle Roberts. He goes for a flapjack, but Roberts, midair, look at this counter. He catches Chaos' head with a tornado DDT.

[Cut to Ravager in the ring, delivering some vicious knees to Chaos' head.]

SM V/O: And perhaps in retaliation for messing up his name, Ravager delivers one, two, three, four, FIVE knees to the head of Chaos. Whatever brain cells the Prodigy Classic X-treme Champion had left before that were on their way to being gone.

[Cut to Chaos running the ropes.]

SM V/O: Fast forward, Chaos off the ropes and HAL blind tags himself in. Ravager is distracted for a split second by the tag, and Chaos RAILS him with a LARIAT! HAL bursts over to knock Roberts off the apron, then grabs Ravager and hits him with Control-Alt-Delete, that Dominator put Ravager on the canvas and gave NEW the hard fought win in both the match and the meet.

[Cut to a standings graphic:

W L D (Sweep) Pts
EPW 1 0 0 1 3
NEW 1 0 0 0 2
NAPW 0 1 0 0 0
WZW 0 1 0 0 0]

SM V/O: A cut to the standings, EPW leads NEW by one point due to their sweep of WZW. But it's only one week, and there's still plenty more wrestling to be done.

[Cue up "No Quarter," Led Zeppelin. Cut to Big Dog and AOD grappling.]

TH V/O: One more group, two more meets. Would these two affairs hold up, or were the brooms out en masse? Find out next.

[Cut to a commercial for 1-800-SAFE-AUTO. Pick up the phone, c'mon, IT'S FREE~!]

 

[TH]

[Back to the studio, Steve Murray with the A1E/EUWC inset in back of him.]

SM: Say what you want about A1E, but they've been having one hell of a year so far. Would it carry over in the first week of Dupree Cup action, or would the fed that Chad used to call home have something to say about it?

[Cut to Troy Douglas and Jay Smash trading punches.]

SM V/O: Jay Smash came out smashing, trading punches with Megatron at first, but getting the upper hand.

[Cut to Smash with Douglas in a front facelock.]

SM V/O: And here we go with a crisp vertical suplex. Smash would try and go to the well once too many times, as he goes for yet another suplex but is countered as Douglas floats behind him and nails him with a reverse DDT.

[Cut to Douglas with Smash in a standing headscissors.]

SM V/O: Douglas almost gets the win with the piledriver here. What impact, but he'd have to wait a few more holds...

[Cut to Douglas with Smash in the Scorpion Deathlock.]

SM V/O: And Troy "The Cheat Can't Say" Douglas earns a hard-fought submission victory for A1E.

[Cut to Big Dog running the ropes with AOD in the ring.]

SM V/O: EUWC was up early in this tag match, as AOD launches Big Dog off the ropes and catches him with a vicious dropkick to the face.

[Cut to Nero behind Big Dog.]

SM V/O: The punishment on Dog wasn't about to let up. Nero hits the former A1E Champ with a chop block and then a sweet Hennig special flipover neckbreaker. Dog in a world of hurt, but he turns the tides.

[Cut to Dog with Nero in the corner.]

SM V/O: The Baddest Dog in the Yard reversed his fortunes and started wailing away at Nero's ribs with those soup bones.

[Cut to James Irish in the ring with Nero's arms trapped underneath his.]

SM V/O: Of course the Mad Genius had to get his reps in, here with the move he likes to call the Headbanger's Ball. Nero knocked for a loop.

[Cut to Dog pounding away at Nero's ribs again.]

SM V/O: But the story of the match, Big Dog just not letting Nero's ribs go, pounding on them. He then grabs Nero up in a bearhug, and you can see the pain in his eyes. AOD doesn't even know that his partner is about to tap, because seriously, who taps to a bear hug these days? Apparently, Nero does. He escapes with only minor internal injuries for his sake, but A1E clinches the meet and now will think sweep.

[Cut to Andy Gilkison and Classy Mike C.]

SM V/O: Mike C would NOT make that sweep easy to come by though. Here he is throwing elbows in Andy Gilkison's face, then follows that up with a DDT.

[Cut to Gilkie and Mike C outside the ring.]

SM V/O: And Classy Mike C here taking full advantage of the no DQ rules in this match, tossing Gilkison into the steel ring steps. He then grabs Gilkie and rams his head into the steel guard rail four or five times for good measure.

[Cut to Gilkison in the corner in the ring.]

SM V/O: Gilkison in a world of trouble here as Mike C. charges in for a spear and nails it. Things wouldn't stay down for the Gilkinator for too long.

[Cut to Mike C whipping Andy off the ropes.]

SM V/O: Mike sends Gilkison into the ropes, but Andy delivers an unwanted result, big clothesline from the Gilkinator.

[Cut to Gilkison behind Mike C.]

SM V/O: Here Andy hits Mike C with the Gilkination, that backwards DDT that Andy's been known for for six years and counting.

[Cut to Gilkison with a trash can lid.]

SM V/O: And now it's Andy's turn to make use of the no DQ clause as he hits Mike so hard with that trashcan lid that it bends! Andy goes out of the ring to find a new weapon and he finds a chair, brings it back into the ring, only to have Mike C. regain his senses enough to grab the chair from Andy almost out of instinct. But instinct will only take you so far as Mike's too woozy to stop Andy from dropkicking the chair right into his face.

[Cut to Andy with Mike C in a headscissors over the chair.]

SM V/O: And now, Gilkison's ready to finish the match, Andy Bomb right on the steel chair, and it's academic. A1E sweeps EUWC.

[Cut to Tom Holzerman with an MBE/UCW inset.]

TH: Message Board Entertainment's nearly three year hiatus recently came to a halt when the venerable fed recently announced its comeback. No sooner did the doors reopen then did they enter a team into the Dupree Cup. Ultimate Championship Wrestling never went away since it opened in the middle of last year, and they were MBE's first test in the ring since the comeback.

[Cut to Adam Benjamin staring up at Spoiler.]

TH V/O: Yours Truly had a tough task ahead of him in the Force of Nature, but to his credit, he didn't back down. Benjamin goes right after Spoiler with that knife edge chop, but the Force of Nature barely budges. He comes in with another chop, but Spoiler stares at him. Finally Benjamin fakes the chop and kicks Spoiler in the shin, causing him to bend over just enough for Benjamin to plant him with a DDT. Smart move from the UCW US Champion.

[Cut to Benjamin going for a Shining Wizard.]

TH V/O: However, he couldn't scale Mount Everest, because Mount Everest just countered that Shining Wizard attempt into a Spoilerbomb. WHAM! To add insult to injury though, Spoiler didn't go for the pin, instead, he locks in Spoilerhold Omega. Benjamin has no choice but to tap out from the massive pressure, and MBE goes up 1-0.

[Cut to Cameron Cruise, who's a house on fire!]

TH V/O: Cameron Cruise would try to get the win back for UCW all by himself. Here he is taking it to IrishRed with flailing jabs and haymakers. WhiteNoise comes into the ring illegally, but Cruise is ready for him with the Thesz Press and mounted punching.

[Cut to Cruise with Red in the middle of the ring.]

TH V/O: And right here, this is one of the crispest DDTs you'll ever see in your life. Cruise looks as if he just might be able to take down both MBEers on his own, but then John Doe gets into the match and it's trouble.

[Cut to IrishRed with Doe in the Tree of Woe.]

TH V/O: Red has Doe in a bad way here, running in and baseball slide to the head.

[Cut to WhiteNoise with Doe in the corner.]

TH V/O: And now WhiteNoise's turn to get in on the action and he takes a chunk out of Doe's head. Ouchies.

[Cut to Cruise with WhiteNoise from behind.]

TH V/O: Doe able to make the hot tag to Cruise, and once again, we have Cruise Control. He nails WhiteNoise with a Dragon Suplex here on WhiteNoise. He tags in Doe again for a double team, but IrishRed comes barrelling in, taking out both UCWers with a double-armed clothesline. He tosses Cruise out of the ring, and WhiteNoise, the legal man, recovers do deliver a butterfly powerbomb with AUTHORITY to Doe. MBE clinches the match and the meet, and now, it's up to the Sarge to keep UCW from getting swept.

[Cut to The Sergeant with Hida Yakamo in a kimura.]

TH V/O: Sarge and Hida were just trading submission holds all match. This was a treat to watch. Sarge with the kimura locked in here, just like he was showing that youngster this week in training.

[Cut to Hida with Sarge in a Fujiwara armbar.]

TH V/O: Hida comes right back, working that arm with the side armbar there.

[Cut to Sarge with Hida in a full nelson.]

TH V/O: Shades of the old school here, Sarge has Hida in that full nelson, and thankfully, he's no Shawn Hart so we won't be seeing the Father Nelson.

[Cut to Hida with Sarge in a single-leg liontamer.]

TH V/O: Hida comes right back with the tight single leg elevated crab, switching from arm to leg on this one. Hida really did a number on all of Sarge's limbs throughout the match.

[Cut to Sarge with the ankle lock on Hida.]

TH V/O: Sarge can also work the leg too, specifically the lower leg with that ankle lock. Great pressure applied there.

[Cut to Hida with Sarge in a Mexican surfboard.]

TH V/O: How would Hida answer? With the Lotus Blossum, of course. One of Hida's signature holds from way back in the day.

[Cut to Sarge behind Hida.]

TH V/O: Sarge tried to end the match here, going for the Corrective Training, but before he could lock the rear facelock, Hida used his elbows to jab at Sarge's ribs. Sarge doubles back, and Hida out of nowhere just leaps back with the kick to the back of Sarge's head, almost like out of the Matrix. He then loads up the second version of that Lotus Blossum, the surfboard with the Dragon sleeper applied. Sarge tries valiantly to escape. He grabs for the ropes once, twice, but he knows he can't make it now and taps. Hida wins, and MBE sweeps.

[Cut to a standings graphic:

W L D (Sweep) Pts
A1E 1 0 0 1 3
MBE 1 0 0 1 3
UCW 0 1 0 0 0
EUWC 0 1 0 0 0]

TH V/O: A straight deadlock atop Group A here. A1E and MBE both with sweeps, but will they be able to keep it up?

[Cut to a wide shot of the studio desk.]

SM: That's it for now. Tune in next week, when we recap the next round of Dupree Cup matches.

TH: Or if you want to see those matches live and see this past week's matches in their entirety On Demand, sign up for TEAM Season Pass today. Until then though, I'm Tom Holzerman...

SM: ...and I'm Steve Murray.

TH: Goodnight everyone.

[Fade to the TEAM logo, all rights reserved 2006.]