Yori Yakamo jr
League Member
The Wrestling Chronicles WNW Report
Live from The Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY
9/13/06
Matt Burke back to give you the lowdown on the latest episode of MBEs Wednesday Night Warriors. BUT FIRST~! Mailbag response to the no less than 12 smartasses out there that wrote to inform me that I was full of something for pretending to be in the actual arena for my reports when I was describing the commentary by Till and Dr. P. Congratulations, youve all figured me out. Im a total fraud. OR I watched the tape of the show later that night before doing my review. Get a life, boys and spend your time usefully by finding out the name of that crazy submission El Terrible II used last week.
ON WITH THE SHOW (recap) !!!
MBE invades The Big Apple this week and we are LIVE at the Hammerstein Ballroom with Week 3 of the Resurrection. This weeks rumored no show half the friggin roster. Scary week for the company as things behind the scenes have been shaky since the reports about Promos contract leaked. Yamada and the rest of the suits were able to put all of the fires out for the time being and despite the distractions the show goes on as scheduled. Im not going to try and tell anyone how to do their job, but maybe operating out of the MBE Arena (or a similar venue, as that place is pretty well trashed and word is they may be giving it a makeover if this thing works) without the burden of touring might be the way to go.
QH1
Anyway, show opens cold with a podium in the center of the ring (no WCW ramp this week, but with the limited space in the Hammerstein, that could just be a real estate issues). Promos music hits andandand (stall session to rile the crowd up), hes here! In the flesh. He dodges trash and full cups of beer you really gotta hate a guy to toss a full cup at him on his way to the ring as the place goes wild. Promo takes his place behind the podium and waits for silence. Good luck with that one. The fans are out for blood. Camera cuts to a whole section of fans who have turned their back on Promo. This actually catches on and pretty soon half of the arena wont even look at Promo. Thats pretty cool.
Promo finally starts speaking. He, of course, refers to himself as the MBE World Champion and goes into Yamada courting him to come back as one of the links to MBEs past and an important bridge between then and now. He had his doubts, knowing that hes got enemies here and he was essentially a lamb being led to slaughter. But being the stand up champion that he is (COUGH COUGH) he decided to come back and give MBE the benefit of the doubt only to find that he wasnt being shown the proper respect that the reigning champion should be shown. This is by the book heel stuff, but its getting exactly the response they want from the crowd. He actually references the crowd heat saying that it does nothing but validate his actions and that if the idiot MBE fans hate him so much that he must be doing something right, so yes, he will sign the contract. Yamada appears walks to the ring and hands Promo a contract as the fans chant about Promos penchant for felatio. Promo hands the contract to Yamada and exclaims that he is here for good no matter what anyone says or does. And heres the pitch
and Jogi Fresh (!?!) is the first to swing. He comes out onto the ramp and calls Promo an overrated hack, which doesnt sit well with the former champ. Jogi cuts off his comeback though saying that Promo is boring the fans to sleep with his drama and that they came to see some wrestling, not a press conference. Amen. Jogi says in the absence of wrestling, maybe a fight will do. He charges the ring and Promo stands his groundthen bails at the last minute, escaping through the crowd as Jogi stands in the ring, grinning and egging him on.
Decent end to the Promo contract saga (now can we book him in a real match please?) and an unexpected appearance by His Freshness, which the crowd was digging. Be interesting to see if Jogi can keep the momentum going after last weeks match in another main event. Hes definitely been busting his ass the past few weeks and it looks like management has noticed.
Outside the arena a Yugo pulls up and parks on 34th Street. Justin Evitable gets out and tells the hobo who is passed out in the passenger seat to make sure they dont get a ticket and that hell be back in a few minutes.
Commercial
QH2
We come back and see that Justin has already gotten one parking ticket as his friend continues to sleep one off. We go to the ring and Mac Forrest is pacing around sans the rest of the Sheffield Wednesday Lot. Funny sighting as weve apparently got some hooligans for the hooligans two rowdy guys dressed in Sheffield Wednesday jerseys in the front row of the balcony. Love this town. Where the hell did they get those shirts?
AJ is announced and gets quite the reaction. And who said the Angry Canadian gimmick wouldnt get real heat these days? Whoah. Mac wont let him into the ring, kicking away at him whenever he tries while the ref attempts to back him off. Finally AJ enters the ring and the bell rings and its a donnybrook, which is pretty much all Mac is qualified for at this point in his career. AJ is definitely more of a technical guy, but hes definitely game here, actually beating Mac at his own game of throwing hands. He drives a knee into the Brits gut and flips him with a snap mare, driving a knee into his shoulderblades and pulling back with a rear chin lock. Mac wriggles free and runs the ropes only to get dropped with a high knee to the chops. AJ covers for a one and a half.
Mac crawls to the ropes frantically, but AJ grabs him and drags him back to the center of the ring before drilling him with a german. He holds on for the pin and gets two this time. Marion once again goes for the ropes looks like he is trying to run actually. AJ grabs his feet again and tries to bring him back for more punishment but hes in the ropes and ref calls Cirrus off. Mac leans over the apron and Juen Lee rolls out from under the ring and hands Mac a bag of dirt, which pops the crowd??? Mac takes a handful and when AJ approaches, tosses it in his face, blinding him. I think the ref was tying his shoe.
Mac takes the advantage with punches and kicks. He actually hits a spinning neckbreaker out of nowhere and looks just as surprised as anyone. Mac covers for a two, but thats it. AJ is still trying to clear his eyes when he gets nailed with something that looks like it was supposed to be a bulldog. Mac follows this with you know it! The Garvin Stomp. He climbs the ropes, but AJ takes a powder on the outside, pissing off the crowd. Someone (I dont think a plant) actually takes a swing at AJ outside and the camera quickly cuts back to Mac who blows a snot rocket at AJ. AJ gets back into the ring and after exchanging right hands gets tossed to the ropes. Mac telegraphs a backdrop and just like that he tastes The Thunder Clap. 1,2,3, AJ wins.
WINNER: AJ Cirrus (The Thunder Clap -> Pinfall 6:14)
He doesnt have time to celebrate though as Nate runs out from the back and Juen crawls out from under the ring and they corner AJ, but he thinks better of the odds and retreats to the back as The Lot tend to their fallen.
Decent match but would have liked to have seen it go a little longer. And maybe its just me but if I am splitting a tag team act for the week to wrestle one of the best guys on the roster Im probably gonna go with the guy that actually, you know, knows how to wrestle.
Back outside and the Yugo now has two parking tickets. The bum, we see, has slid down to the floor in his stupor. Yori Yakamo bursts through the front doors of the building screaming about egg whites and falls completely silent when he sees Justins car (conveniently parked under a particularly powerful street light). Yori falls to his knees and crawls to the car. He hugs the bumper and begs the car to guide him like it did last week. He IMPLORES the Yugo to tell him what to do. The bum clears his throat from inside the car and asks for a meatball sandwich. Yori asks the car to repeat itself and the bum asks for the sandwich again. Yori promises the best meatball sandwich he can find and takes off into the night.
Im not even really sure what I could say about that segment that isnt right there in the description.
Commercial
We come back from commercial and weve got Justin Evitable making his in-ring return to MBE. And the crowd digs the nostalgia of his entrance. Cowboy Jimmy D. is next and honestly, Im not sure if people know what to make of this guy yet. I guess hes a heel this week if hes facing off against the True Face, although to be quite honest this new MBE is being booked sort of Wild West style where its every man for himself thus far and Im kind of digging on the shades of gray aspect to be honest.
Match starts off quick with Justin going off and unleashing a barrage of offense of CJD. Seriously, its tough to even describe it as much more than a whirling dervish type thing. Till tries valiantly to keep up but Justin is a house afire and were not even a minute into this thing. Might be some nerves there for being back on the big stage. Donovan is almost as confused as he is in peril and finally takes a powder, but Justin is having none of it and climbs to the top and just does this insane and careless leap to the outside, smashing Jimmy headfirst to the floor with a DDT. At least I think thats what it was. And the crowd appreciates that. A lot.
Justin gets up, a little worse for wear, and rolls back into the ring. He soaks in the cheers and feeds off the crowd, riling them up with his weird sort of charisma that they have always been into. Donovan almost eats the count out here, but rolls in at a 9 count only to be covered by Justin. He gets a foot on the ropes though, and the match continues. Justin tosses Jimmy to the ropes and misses a forearm smash. Jimmy stops dead in his tracks and reaches back, flooring Justin with a neckbreaker that was absolutely sick looking. This gives him some breathing room and a chance to get his shinola together as the ref counts both guys down.
Jimmy is up first and drops a knee square onto Justins spine. He works that for a while with a Boston Crab, but Justin makes the ropes and the ref calls for a break. He drags Justin off of the mat and shoves him to the ropes chest first, hitting his back again with a forearm smash on the rebound. He follows this up with a knee to the gut and a float over DDT. Nice sequence that leaves Justin hurting. He kicks out of the pin attempt at 2 though. Donovan floors Justin with a short clothesline then hoists him up for an atomic drop. He moves towards the corner looking to drop him nethers first on the top buckle, but Justin counters by putting both feet on the ropes and pushing backwards, sending both guys tumbling. Cowboy gets up and eats a boot to the face. Slugfest follows with CJD taking advantage and tossing Justin to the ropes. He misses (badly) the Discus Lariato which leaves him open for a stunner courtesy of Mr. Evitable. Justin sets up the After Party (complete with just about the most perverse hip thrust Ive seen sincewell, since the Robot was dancing last week) and covers, hooking a leg for good measure. 1, 2, 3 successful return to the ring for Justin.
WINNER: Justin Evitable (After Party -> Pinfall 7:33)
Good match as a showcase for Justins comeback, but I honestly would have like to have seen more from the Cowboy here, as it looks like he can go. Hes definitely got some fun offense of his own, but I see what they were going for here with the duke for the True Face, who exits through the crowd. Replay shows the sick top rope to the floor DDT and honestly, it looks like Donovan might have been knocked loopy there.
Commercial
QH3
We come back and Justin is ready to go. Still sweating and in his ring gear he exits the Ballroom and walks to the car, which has about 5 tickets on it at this point. He tells the hobo that hes too excited to even get upset about him letting the car get tagged so many times and takes off into the New York night with a huge smile on his face.
Back inside and AJ Cirrus is THIRSTY~! He walks over to the craft service table and DEMANDS WATER. And he gets it. He takes a healthy slug and turns to walk back to his dressing room and walks directly into Andrew Gilkison. Tense staredown and give AJ credit for not backing off. Finally the Canadian steps aside giving Andy a free pass to the delicious food and beverages. Andy smirks and AJ wishes him luck in his match tonight. Andy tells him to watch closely to see an example of what is going to happen to AJ when Andy gets his hands on him. AJ asks why wait and Andy just smiles saying he just came from Yori Yakamos office and hes been assured that he will get his chance to take AJ out permanently and that hes patient enough to wait for that time to come because he knows he wont have to wait long. Andy turns to get his own drink and AJ shoves him into the table, knocking the whole set up to the ground. Andy is covered in food as AJ laughs and takes off. Total dick move, but Andy just smiles and shakes his head. Juen Lee walks into frame, does a double take at Andy and runs off. OK then.
Speaking of Yori Yakamos office, we go there now as Yori is leaving saying that hes got to meet someone very important about matters of his eternal soul but to continue with the preparations without him. He takes off toward the exit and we get a peek into the office which has been decorated in black and gold velvet from ceiling to floor. Smitty, Riki, The YoROBOT and a cast of other miscreants are dressed in every manner of undress, revealing pretty much everything the censors would possibly let slide (bad choice of words there). In the back of the room there appears to be some kind of jungle cat in a cage (wearing a leather mask would love to have THAT GUYS job) along with two person kayak, which has been suspended from the ceiling. Smitty starts screaming that there arent enough different flavors of custard for this to be anything but a disaster and the producers agree with me that now is just about the best time ever to cut to commercial. And so they do.
Commercial
QH4
Back outside and Yori tips a delivery boy with 2 crisp one hundred dollar bills, then takes the bag from him. He runs off down the block to where Justins Yugo was parked, but its long gone. The look on Yoris face is absolutely priceless as he stands there contemplating his fate, greasy delivery bag in hand.
We cut back inside to catering where a couple of PAs are just getting things cleaned up from the Andy/AJ situation when The Sheffield Wednesday Lot comes screaming into frame, all wielding weapons. Nates got his helmet on which tells me that theyre ready for business. Both PAs freak out and while one just takes off the other trips into the table, knocking everything over again. He takes out his wallet and offers it to the Lot but they just want to know where the fight is. The PA has no idea what they are talking about and they summarily start to beat on Juen, presumably for giving them bad info on where to find a good brawl. Cowboy Jimmy Donovan staggers into the frame looking for some aspirin and instead takes a ****kicking from The Lot just because theyre all amped up and as revenge for last weeks brawl. This brings out The Thrillbillies and its on. After a few minutes of chaotic fighting our security heroes arrive and try to break things up, leading each group in different directions down the hall and leaving the poor PA still cowering in the rubble of the table, still holding his wallet up as an offering.
To ringside and Garbage cues the arrival of Doc Silver who appears from backstage to the delight of many in the NYC crowd. Doc cant help but be impressed by the reaction, but doesnt respond to the dozens of hands looking for a high five on the way to the ring. His partner is announced and thankfully his entrance has been edited somewhat since last week, although we still get the streamers and the flower girls. Im not gonna complain about half of that equation anyway. Yowza. Doc and Ezeki dont really seem to have much to say to one another, but its still an impressive looking duo.
Irishred is announced next and the place goes nuts, as per usual. Nice to see Red back in his regular ring gear which is much less revealing than last weeks sumo garb. He heads to ringside but wisely stays on the outside, waiting for his partner. El Terrible II is announced, but no one appears. After a minute or so his music is actually recued and they make the announcement again. Nothing. Red is looking less than thrilled as Doc and Ezeki share a bit of a laugh and a knowing glance. Farva says Shenanigans! What will happen next???
Commercial
QH5
Aaaaaaaaaaand were back. And Red is in a world of hurt as Ezeki punishes him with a nasty looking nerve hold. We get a quick recap from Till and Dr. P. who let us know that no one has seen or heard from El Terrible Segundo all day and that Yamada issued an edict that the match must go on without him. We also see a recap to catch us up of Doc starting things off with a baseball slide through the ropes, which sent Red headlong into the barricade while he was looking to the back. Back to live action and Ezeki chops Red viciously in the shoulderblades and shoves him into the corner. He tags in Silver who comes into the ring and takes over with a belly to belly out of the corner. He picks Red up, backs him into the opposite corner with punches and chops and then repeats the belly to belly. He goes for the pin, but Red is out at 2.
Doc stands Red up and slaps him in the face. He picks him up for a knee breaker, but Red goes all lucha and counters that into a DDT. That was pretty sweet looking actually. Doc is smart enough to know he needs to get his bearings though and tags out to Ezeki. Red tries to avoid the big man for a minute or two but gets cornered and then squeezed in a bear hug. Thats no good for the ribs and back that took such a beating last week. Red frees an arm (Ezeki had him wrapped up like the Abominable Snowman and Bugs Bunny) and delivers a blatant thumb to the eye, which loosens the hold enough for Red to squirm out. He drives a couple of all American closed fists into the PBPro Q-Crown champs face, then bounds off of the ropes with a clothesline. That does nothing, so Red follows it up with a second. Ezeki takes half a step back. Red goes again, this time leaving his feet with a Steiner line. That rocks the big man back a full step. Building a head of steam Red bounds off the opposite ropes first, hits the ropes again and leaps at Ezeki with a cross body. The sumo catches him in midair and almost destroys the ring with a falling slam. Sweet Jesus, that looked nasty. Ive seriously never seen a guy the size of Ezeki move so fast. He covers and Red is dead, but he SOMEHOW kicks out at two. Ezeki says a bad word and smashes Reds head into the canvas before rolling to the corner and tagging in DocS.
Doc is right back on the ribs with a series of elbow drops and then locks Red in a body vice. Ezeki distracts the ref as doc digs his fingers into Reds face and eyes. Till has a conniption about the lack of honor displayed by the PBPro Champ as we go to another commercial.
Commercial
Back and Red is still taking one for the team literally. We find out that El Terrible II never signed in with the talent coordinator today. You think they might have been aware of this before his match, but whatever, its still a good announcing detail and plays up the mystery of where El T II is and why hes not here.
In the ring Doc has kept the advantage with ****heel tactics, and the crowd is totally eating it up, although we DO have a nice dueling chant for both Red and Doc going on. Silver throws everything at Red backbreaker, back supex, another belly to belly. Nothing will keep Red down though. Silver is getting frustrated but wont tag out. He drives a nice European uppercut into Reds jaw, knocking him back into the corner. He then charges the corner, but Red charges back and with what appears to be his last ditch and just flattens Doc with a spear. Both guys are out and the ref lays the count on them.
At 7 Red is up first and he cuts off Docs progress towards his corner with an elbow to the back of the head. Ezeki looks to interfere, but Red is able to trip the big man up and he falls outside the ring as his foot gets tangled in the ring ropes. Crowd loves that as Red just gets the nastiest look on his face. Doc charges, but Red sees it coming and tosses the veteran from the ring to the outside. The ref is busy trying to untie Ezeki, who is threatening to tear the whole ring down ropes first which gives Red a chance to lay the boots into DocS. He picks him up and slams him face first into the announce table and then repeats the process with the steel steps. And now say it with me kids Doc is busted open. Hes bleeding pretty good too, but nothing near one of his patented gushers. Red slings him back first into the barricade and then tosses him into the ring as the crowd stays on top of everything. Red rolls into the ring and sets Doc up for Bad Company, but Doc is able to squirm out of the hold and drop behind Red from his shoulders. Red turns to grab him again and eats a fist to the head. He drops like hes been **** and Doc slips a pair of knucks off his hand into his tights. He staggers to the corner where the ref finally has Ezeki back on his feet. Doc tags in the giant who climbs the ropes inside to the middle strand and leaps off with a splash on Red that kills him dead for like the 10th time. 1,2,3 and its over.
WINNERS: Doc Silver & Ezeki (Ezeki -> IrishRed; Big Splash Pinfall 14:03)
Good effort by all involved. Ezeki has a lot of typical fat guy stuff, but breaks from that mold with some quickness and a more varied offense. Hes not Vader or anything, but then again, hes literally almost twice as big. Doc was Doc, which is always good for me and he did a good job carrying the heavy load for his team (irony!) and Red put up a valiant fight as he always does. I cant believe Im going to say this, but Red vs. the Sumo is actually a match that Id like to see at some point even though I think there is real money in a Red/Doc program somewhere down the line. No segments, we go right to commercial as Doc and Ezeki celebrate their win.
Commercial
QH6
Backstage Smitty is leading what appears to be an X-Rated Mardi Gras parade through the hallway. There is actually a small float. The revelers come across Yori, who is in a bad state emotionally, shall we say, since his God forsook him. Smitty tells her boss that the Sexy Party is ready to go and find Doc Sliver, their guest of honor, and initiate him properly but Yori just says hes not in the mood and that the party is cancelled because hes too depressed. This brings us Professor Tremendous, who continues his tradition of kicking doors open and entering with the blinding lights of the Team T minivan behind him. He carries with him a championship belt of some sort and has the usual band of idiots behind him. He of course assumes that those in attendance have gathered to welcome him. He thanks Yori for the honor and grabs the meatball sandwich for himself, stomping off to find his dressing room. The midget kicks Yori in the shin just because hes surly. Not Yoris night I guess. Allworld casts a sideways glance at Smitty as he passes, which actually seems to make Yoris second blush. Oh man, ProfT and Yori in the same Fed is just going to get weird on so many levels.
Commercial 1 hr. 21 Mins
Duchess is in the ring as we return and she is waiting on her opponent. The unmistakable sound of Poison can mean only one man, and Michael J Cox, still dressed in his sexy party gear, enters the arena, his eyes laser beams, right on Duchess. She appears to gag mildly. The ref calls for the bell and Cox approaches slowly, remembering what his full body grope-down got him last week. Collar and elbow tie up and Duchess slides behind for a quick roll up. Two and a half there as she surprises Cox. He is frustrated, but tries to play it off. They lock up again and Duchess transitions into an armwringer. Cox protests, then moves to the ropes and impressively flips out of the hold and tosses Duchess with an armdrag. She lets her temper get the best of her and walks into a series of right hands which backs her into the ropes. Cox tosses her to the other side of the ring and he tackles her to the mat on the rebound. Mr. Moneyshot then locks his hands into Duchesss and pins her arms over her head. Going for humiliation rather than an actual move he gyrates on top of her for a second, his face just inches from hers. Duch is no dummy though and counters this with a nose bite. Cox screams and stops his gyrations. Duchess bucks him off and places her feet in his midsection, flipping him off of her. Cox hangs onto her hands though and lands on his back, their heads next to eachother on the mat. Duchess uses the momentum to flip over. She hooks Coxs legs and goes for the pin. He kicks out at 2. Nice sequence.
Cox is up to his feet and attacks with a series of forearm shots. He tosses Duch into the corner and goes for the Sky High on the rebound, but she floats over and counters beautifully into a back cracker. That was awesome and the crowd agrees. They show the replay like 5 times and its still hard to figure out just how she accomplished that. Cover only gets two though. Duchess drags Cox to his feet and goes for a standing hurricanrana, but he counters and drives her back first into the turnbuckle. Duchess is hurting after that one and Cox signals for the Painful Penetration and no one likes to be on the receiving end of that.
Just then the lights go out and crazy techno dance music fills the arena. RoboYori appears in the entrance and apparently he hasnt been informed that the Sexy Party has been cancelled because he informs the crowd that he is about to get nasty with all of them. Cox throws a fit in the ring as Smitty runs out and powers RoboYori down just as he is about to engage his Lubinator. The lights come back on and Duchess is up behind Cox, who appears thoroughly confused. Duchess trips him from behind and laces in the ankle lock which quickly promps MJC to wisely tap.
WINNER: Duchess (ankle lock -> submission 6:16)
Duchess rolls out of the ring and slaps some hands as she heads to the back. In the ring Cox is PISSED off royally. Another nice showing from both. Duchess is always solid and despite his record, Cox is showing to be a reliable hand as well, but I still dont think weve seen his full potential. Will be interesting to see where his relationship with Yori goes after constantly getting screwed over by his minions.
We go to Yamadas office, where Ezeki the Sumo stands, sweating yet victorious. A PBPro representative is with him and Yamada gladhands him congratulating Ezeki and PBPro on their show of superiority. He says that Ezekis trip to MBE has been a wild success and he can now return to PBPro with not one but two victories over one of Americas greatest wrestlers. PBPro guy is happy about this, but just needs some more information for his report to the suits back home just what is up with Yori. Yamada does some impressive soft shoe trying to downplay Yoris involvement with the week to week running of the company and says that his position is merely out of respect to the Yakamo family and their generous support of PBPro. Just then Yori comes in (shirtless, but still wearing his tie and suit jacket, but sporting what appears to be a fresh would that may or may not have come from a jungle cat across his abdomen), he says something about wanting to get back to the party, which apparently has started again in his locker room quick recovery there and I say good for Yori as one cant grieve forever but he just wanted to congratulate Ezeki on his win over IrishRed and to wish him luck at MBE Awakenings. Yamada demands to know what he is talking about and Yori remembers that he forgot to tell Yamada, but right after the tag match he signed a PBPro Quintuple Crown Championship Match at the PPV between Red and Ezeki. Crowd cheers this wildly. Yamada has an aneurism and PBPro guy flips out and starts screaming in Japanese as Ezeki puts his sizeable fist through the wall.
Commercial.
QH7
ProfessorTremendous makes his way to the ring and hes got Team T with him (no goat unfortunately). He again lays claim to being some kind of a champion and goes on to list all of the great things he has done in his career. This is friggin hysterical stuff and he literally just riffs on the mic for about 5 minutes about what a dump the Ballroom is, how ugly the fans in attendance are and the vast number of better ways he could be spending his time. But he has chosen to give the fans a gift tonight and he reiterates his open challenge. Before hes even finished issuing the thing Tuss steps up and screams that he accepts. Prof T just slaps him in the face and he steps back behind the giant. Awesome. Prof says that his underling is the only one with any chutzpah and says how disgraceful that is. Suddenly someone leaps the barricade and enters the ring. Its The Idiot Fan!!! Crowd goes ape**** and he grabs the mic and accepts the challenge (WHOOOO~!). Prof says fine and explains the fine print of the challenge which is actually the Tyrone The Tidy Giant Chokeslam Challenge meaning anyone who can withstand a chokeslam from Tyrone and beat The Professor will then win a title shot at him on a date to be determined. The Idiot Fan is just that and accepts. So Tyrone chokeslams him. Hard. ProfT then orders Allworld and Tuss to pick TIF up and he locks up with him. The Fan drops in a heap and The Professor makes the cover with the midget making the count.
WINNER: ProfessorTremendous (Collar and Elbow Tie Up -> Pinfall - :47)
And with that the celebration begins. ProfessorT is hoisted into the air and marched around the ring. Crowd is in on the joke and cheers like its the main event of High Stakes. The Professor clutches his title and actually cries as we go to commercial.
Commercial 1 hr 42 Mins
After the break Duchess is walking in the back and runs into Cowboy Jimmy Donovan, who still seems a little loopy after his match with Justin and the brawl with The Lot. He mentions the tag match they had last week and how they made a good team (CONTINUITY~!) and that they should think about tagging up again no strings attached for the Tag Title Tourny next week. Duchess says that shell think about it but that she has another idea in mind for a partner. She continues around the corner and runs into Jogi Fresh and his entourage. She asks one his boys if she can talk to him but he tells her sorry, the man is getting ready for the main event. Duchess laughs and says their old friends and she just wants to talk to him for a second, but she is physically blocked from getting to him. She mentions that this is something Jogi would want to talk about as it concerns the tag team championship and she is once again stopped and informed that the only gold His Freshness is interested in is the MBE World Heavyweight Championship. She is asked to move along and she does, reluctantly.
Nice to see a Duchess segment, as she is pretty much underutilized everywhere she goes. Sets up an interesting dynamic too with Jogis Entourage.
QH8
Jogis music starts and we follow him and his crew from the back, through the curtain and to ringside. I really like that they are playing up this boxer type entrance vibe with him as it sets him apart and gives him his own distinct thing that the crowd seems to be getting into. It hasnt hurt that his matches have been so strong since he got back either. Once he is in the ring we hear some classic AC/DC and Andy Gilkison is out next. Crowd is loving both guys and before the bell even rings weve got dueling chants.
Match starts with Andy cautious of Jogis quickness and with an uncharacteristic stall job. Its actually smart though as he is wisely taking Jogi out of his game and it plays into the level of calm he exuded earlier in the night when he got into the confrontation with AJ. Its working too as Jogi is getting frustrated. Every lock up leads them to the ropes and Andy keeps breaking clean, then backing off to the other side of the ring to come back slowly and lock up again. The crowd isnt really digging that, but honestly its establishing a nice pattern. Finally Jogi has had enough and overpowers Andy in a lock up and tosses him to the mat. The crowd cheers but Andy rolls out of the ring. Jogis posse surrounds him immediately and Andy just backs off. The ref interjects immediately though and banishes the entourage from ringside. This further pisses Jogi off as Andys smile just gets bigger and we go to commercial.
Commercial
Back to action and things seem pretty even as both guys are still jockeying for position. During the break Jogis camp left ringside and we had some back and forth action in the ring which ended with an ECW style face off with the crowd cheering. Now were back to the lock up and Jogi goes to an overhand wrist lock. Andy armdrag/monkey flips out of it though, but Jogi lands on his feet. Impressive to see a big guy like that so agile. Jogi charges and Andy drops him with a snap mare to a side headlock. Jogi bridges out though and mule kicks Andy in the face. This finally pisses Andy off and he charges right into a military press. Andy scrambles out of that and into a sunset flip though for a 1.5 count. Jogi swings with a clothesline, but Andy ducks and nails a back suplex. He covers again and gets two.
Andy clamps on the rear chinlock, but Jogi battle back to his feet. Andy transitions into a side headlock, but Jogi pushes him off and into the ropes. Both guys have the same idea on the rebound with a standing shoulder and Andy is shaken, but doesnt fall. Then we go back to the 80s with a criss cross as both guys run opposite ropes. Crowd is so hot that they eat THAT up too. Andy drops to the mat and Jogi bounces over him then eats a spinebuster for his troubles on the rebound. Andy covers. 2 count.
Andy lifts Jogi and tosses him to the ropes again, but telegraphs a backdrop. Jogi raises the knee which sends Andy sprawling back into the ropes. Fresh follows up with a running clothesline and both guys go over to the floor. They pick up the fight out there with Jogi reversing and Irish Whip and Andy going back first into the steps. Jogi tosses him into the ring and covers, but only gets two. Without skipping a beat Jogi nails a powerslam and covers again, but Andys not done. Fresh is more than happy to keep it up and goes to his roots, throwing rights to pepper Andy and dropping him with a nasty left. Till is pretty awesome here with his knowledge of Jogis history and boxing in general. Who knew? Tillrules, thats who.
Jogi signals for the end and sets Andy up for The Bixby Stretch. Andy shakes one arm free before Jogi gets the hold locked though, slips behind him and drills him with a German. Both guys are down, but Jogi is just dazed briefly and starts back to his feet. Andy crawls to the ropes and starts to use them to get back to his feet. Jogi sees this and delivers a running knee to the back, which knocks the wind out of Andy and leaves him draped over the second rope. The ref admonishes Jogi for attacking his opponent while on the ropes which gives AJ Cirrus an opportunity to run out from the back and smash Andy across the head with the old MBE Unified Title. Andy is out as AJ runs back up the ramp laughing. Jogi grabs Andy from behind and lifts him high into the air by the throat and nails The Freshness, which gives him his second main event win in as many weeks.
WINNER: Jogi Fresh (Freshness -> Pinfall: 14:14)
Good main event albeit hurt by the interference with the finish. I can see why they went that way though as this matchup probably has legs somewhere down the road and they didnt want to totally give it away though. Jogi was impressive again though and deserved the win while I liked that Andy was actually the one playing mind games for the first part. Nice layer to his character there with the patience to fight AJ bleeding into this match. Well see how patient he is next week now that AJ pulled this.
Jogi starts to celebrate in the ring but Promo is in the ring from out of nowhere and he just assaults Jogi from behind. He levels him with a lariat and then grabs a steel chair. Andy rises and sees Promo with the chair and Jogi laying prone in the ring. He then turns and sees AJ on the ramp. Andy leaves the ring and chases AJ through the curtain to the back. Promo tees off on Jogi with the chair. He places it in the center of the ring and hoists Jogi up to the top rope. Crowd is losing it and Promo threatens a PromoPlex from the top to the chair, but Jogis entourage hits the ring and chases Promo off. Backstage we see Andy chase AJ all the way outside, but he cant catch up with him as AJ gets in his car (still painted, nice touch) and takes off. Andy is left swearing and out of breath as we get a nice split screen of that and Jogi being held up in the ring by his boys.
THE WRAP UP
Wow. Loaded show. Felt like things just kept happening at sort of a crazy pace, but it all sort of made sense and kept everyone involved, which is good. The crowd was way into things too, which always helps.
Show might have been a little comedy heavy for my tastes, and Id actually like to see more time spent in the ring rather than backstage, but I understand the limitations of a small roster have sort of forced their hand. Plus we got ProfessorTremendous, which is always...worth tuning in for. Might be cool to see some longer matches where the workers really show what theyve got to offer though as an alternative to so many segments though. But the backstage stuff hasnt been terrible or anything and it seems like they are trying to give everyone something to do and a reason to be there, which is important.
The PPV seems to be shaping up nicely. Im guessing Andys deal with Yori is a match with AJ at the show, and they announced Red vs. Ezeki. Looks like Promo and Jogi might be headed that way too. Plus weve got the tag championship finals and Im sure there will be some fallout after next weeks show where the teams that arent in the finals have some issues that need to be settled too.
Looking forward to next week where Im guessing well get more actual wrestling with the first two rounds of the tag tournament, so until then, heres the Review Rewards:
Match of the Night ProfessorTremendous vs. The Idiot Fan
Just kidding - it's Andy Gilkison vs. Jogi Fresh
Bump of the Night Duchess Back Cracker on Michael J. Cox
Line of the Night Ummmhows about a meatball sammich? The Hobo
Live from The Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY
9/13/06
Matt Burke back to give you the lowdown on the latest episode of MBEs Wednesday Night Warriors. BUT FIRST~! Mailbag response to the no less than 12 smartasses out there that wrote to inform me that I was full of something for pretending to be in the actual arena for my reports when I was describing the commentary by Till and Dr. P. Congratulations, youve all figured me out. Im a total fraud. OR I watched the tape of the show later that night before doing my review. Get a life, boys and spend your time usefully by finding out the name of that crazy submission El Terrible II used last week.
ON WITH THE SHOW (recap) !!!
MBE invades The Big Apple this week and we are LIVE at the Hammerstein Ballroom with Week 3 of the Resurrection. This weeks rumored no show half the friggin roster. Scary week for the company as things behind the scenes have been shaky since the reports about Promos contract leaked. Yamada and the rest of the suits were able to put all of the fires out for the time being and despite the distractions the show goes on as scheduled. Im not going to try and tell anyone how to do their job, but maybe operating out of the MBE Arena (or a similar venue, as that place is pretty well trashed and word is they may be giving it a makeover if this thing works) without the burden of touring might be the way to go.
QH1
Anyway, show opens cold with a podium in the center of the ring (no WCW ramp this week, but with the limited space in the Hammerstein, that could just be a real estate issues). Promos music hits andandand (stall session to rile the crowd up), hes here! In the flesh. He dodges trash and full cups of beer you really gotta hate a guy to toss a full cup at him on his way to the ring as the place goes wild. Promo takes his place behind the podium and waits for silence. Good luck with that one. The fans are out for blood. Camera cuts to a whole section of fans who have turned their back on Promo. This actually catches on and pretty soon half of the arena wont even look at Promo. Thats pretty cool.
Promo finally starts speaking. He, of course, refers to himself as the MBE World Champion and goes into Yamada courting him to come back as one of the links to MBEs past and an important bridge between then and now. He had his doubts, knowing that hes got enemies here and he was essentially a lamb being led to slaughter. But being the stand up champion that he is (COUGH COUGH) he decided to come back and give MBE the benefit of the doubt only to find that he wasnt being shown the proper respect that the reigning champion should be shown. This is by the book heel stuff, but its getting exactly the response they want from the crowd. He actually references the crowd heat saying that it does nothing but validate his actions and that if the idiot MBE fans hate him so much that he must be doing something right, so yes, he will sign the contract. Yamada appears walks to the ring and hands Promo a contract as the fans chant about Promos penchant for felatio. Promo hands the contract to Yamada and exclaims that he is here for good no matter what anyone says or does. And heres the pitch
and Jogi Fresh (!?!) is the first to swing. He comes out onto the ramp and calls Promo an overrated hack, which doesnt sit well with the former champ. Jogi cuts off his comeback though saying that Promo is boring the fans to sleep with his drama and that they came to see some wrestling, not a press conference. Amen. Jogi says in the absence of wrestling, maybe a fight will do. He charges the ring and Promo stands his groundthen bails at the last minute, escaping through the crowd as Jogi stands in the ring, grinning and egging him on.
Decent end to the Promo contract saga (now can we book him in a real match please?) and an unexpected appearance by His Freshness, which the crowd was digging. Be interesting to see if Jogi can keep the momentum going after last weeks match in another main event. Hes definitely been busting his ass the past few weeks and it looks like management has noticed.
Outside the arena a Yugo pulls up and parks on 34th Street. Justin Evitable gets out and tells the hobo who is passed out in the passenger seat to make sure they dont get a ticket and that hell be back in a few minutes.
Commercial
QH2
We come back and see that Justin has already gotten one parking ticket as his friend continues to sleep one off. We go to the ring and Mac Forrest is pacing around sans the rest of the Sheffield Wednesday Lot. Funny sighting as weve apparently got some hooligans for the hooligans two rowdy guys dressed in Sheffield Wednesday jerseys in the front row of the balcony. Love this town. Where the hell did they get those shirts?
AJ is announced and gets quite the reaction. And who said the Angry Canadian gimmick wouldnt get real heat these days? Whoah. Mac wont let him into the ring, kicking away at him whenever he tries while the ref attempts to back him off. Finally AJ enters the ring and the bell rings and its a donnybrook, which is pretty much all Mac is qualified for at this point in his career. AJ is definitely more of a technical guy, but hes definitely game here, actually beating Mac at his own game of throwing hands. He drives a knee into the Brits gut and flips him with a snap mare, driving a knee into his shoulderblades and pulling back with a rear chin lock. Mac wriggles free and runs the ropes only to get dropped with a high knee to the chops. AJ covers for a one and a half.
Mac crawls to the ropes frantically, but AJ grabs him and drags him back to the center of the ring before drilling him with a german. He holds on for the pin and gets two this time. Marion once again goes for the ropes looks like he is trying to run actually. AJ grabs his feet again and tries to bring him back for more punishment but hes in the ropes and ref calls Cirrus off. Mac leans over the apron and Juen Lee rolls out from under the ring and hands Mac a bag of dirt, which pops the crowd??? Mac takes a handful and when AJ approaches, tosses it in his face, blinding him. I think the ref was tying his shoe.
Mac takes the advantage with punches and kicks. He actually hits a spinning neckbreaker out of nowhere and looks just as surprised as anyone. Mac covers for a two, but thats it. AJ is still trying to clear his eyes when he gets nailed with something that looks like it was supposed to be a bulldog. Mac follows this with you know it! The Garvin Stomp. He climbs the ropes, but AJ takes a powder on the outside, pissing off the crowd. Someone (I dont think a plant) actually takes a swing at AJ outside and the camera quickly cuts back to Mac who blows a snot rocket at AJ. AJ gets back into the ring and after exchanging right hands gets tossed to the ropes. Mac telegraphs a backdrop and just like that he tastes The Thunder Clap. 1,2,3, AJ wins.
WINNER: AJ Cirrus (The Thunder Clap -> Pinfall 6:14)
He doesnt have time to celebrate though as Nate runs out from the back and Juen crawls out from under the ring and they corner AJ, but he thinks better of the odds and retreats to the back as The Lot tend to their fallen.
Decent match but would have liked to have seen it go a little longer. And maybe its just me but if I am splitting a tag team act for the week to wrestle one of the best guys on the roster Im probably gonna go with the guy that actually, you know, knows how to wrestle.
Back outside and the Yugo now has two parking tickets. The bum, we see, has slid down to the floor in his stupor. Yori Yakamo bursts through the front doors of the building screaming about egg whites and falls completely silent when he sees Justins car (conveniently parked under a particularly powerful street light). Yori falls to his knees and crawls to the car. He hugs the bumper and begs the car to guide him like it did last week. He IMPLORES the Yugo to tell him what to do. The bum clears his throat from inside the car and asks for a meatball sandwich. Yori asks the car to repeat itself and the bum asks for the sandwich again. Yori promises the best meatball sandwich he can find and takes off into the night.
Im not even really sure what I could say about that segment that isnt right there in the description.
Commercial
We come back from commercial and weve got Justin Evitable making his in-ring return to MBE. And the crowd digs the nostalgia of his entrance. Cowboy Jimmy D. is next and honestly, Im not sure if people know what to make of this guy yet. I guess hes a heel this week if hes facing off against the True Face, although to be quite honest this new MBE is being booked sort of Wild West style where its every man for himself thus far and Im kind of digging on the shades of gray aspect to be honest.
Match starts off quick with Justin going off and unleashing a barrage of offense of CJD. Seriously, its tough to even describe it as much more than a whirling dervish type thing. Till tries valiantly to keep up but Justin is a house afire and were not even a minute into this thing. Might be some nerves there for being back on the big stage. Donovan is almost as confused as he is in peril and finally takes a powder, but Justin is having none of it and climbs to the top and just does this insane and careless leap to the outside, smashing Jimmy headfirst to the floor with a DDT. At least I think thats what it was. And the crowd appreciates that. A lot.
Justin gets up, a little worse for wear, and rolls back into the ring. He soaks in the cheers and feeds off the crowd, riling them up with his weird sort of charisma that they have always been into. Donovan almost eats the count out here, but rolls in at a 9 count only to be covered by Justin. He gets a foot on the ropes though, and the match continues. Justin tosses Jimmy to the ropes and misses a forearm smash. Jimmy stops dead in his tracks and reaches back, flooring Justin with a neckbreaker that was absolutely sick looking. This gives him some breathing room and a chance to get his shinola together as the ref counts both guys down.
Jimmy is up first and drops a knee square onto Justins spine. He works that for a while with a Boston Crab, but Justin makes the ropes and the ref calls for a break. He drags Justin off of the mat and shoves him to the ropes chest first, hitting his back again with a forearm smash on the rebound. He follows this up with a knee to the gut and a float over DDT. Nice sequence that leaves Justin hurting. He kicks out of the pin attempt at 2 though. Donovan floors Justin with a short clothesline then hoists him up for an atomic drop. He moves towards the corner looking to drop him nethers first on the top buckle, but Justin counters by putting both feet on the ropes and pushing backwards, sending both guys tumbling. Cowboy gets up and eats a boot to the face. Slugfest follows with CJD taking advantage and tossing Justin to the ropes. He misses (badly) the Discus Lariato which leaves him open for a stunner courtesy of Mr. Evitable. Justin sets up the After Party (complete with just about the most perverse hip thrust Ive seen sincewell, since the Robot was dancing last week) and covers, hooking a leg for good measure. 1, 2, 3 successful return to the ring for Justin.
WINNER: Justin Evitable (After Party -> Pinfall 7:33)
Good match as a showcase for Justins comeback, but I honestly would have like to have seen more from the Cowboy here, as it looks like he can go. Hes definitely got some fun offense of his own, but I see what they were going for here with the duke for the True Face, who exits through the crowd. Replay shows the sick top rope to the floor DDT and honestly, it looks like Donovan might have been knocked loopy there.
Commercial
QH3
We come back and Justin is ready to go. Still sweating and in his ring gear he exits the Ballroom and walks to the car, which has about 5 tickets on it at this point. He tells the hobo that hes too excited to even get upset about him letting the car get tagged so many times and takes off into the New York night with a huge smile on his face.
Back inside and AJ Cirrus is THIRSTY~! He walks over to the craft service table and DEMANDS WATER. And he gets it. He takes a healthy slug and turns to walk back to his dressing room and walks directly into Andrew Gilkison. Tense staredown and give AJ credit for not backing off. Finally the Canadian steps aside giving Andy a free pass to the delicious food and beverages. Andy smirks and AJ wishes him luck in his match tonight. Andy tells him to watch closely to see an example of what is going to happen to AJ when Andy gets his hands on him. AJ asks why wait and Andy just smiles saying he just came from Yori Yakamos office and hes been assured that he will get his chance to take AJ out permanently and that hes patient enough to wait for that time to come because he knows he wont have to wait long. Andy turns to get his own drink and AJ shoves him into the table, knocking the whole set up to the ground. Andy is covered in food as AJ laughs and takes off. Total dick move, but Andy just smiles and shakes his head. Juen Lee walks into frame, does a double take at Andy and runs off. OK then.
Speaking of Yori Yakamos office, we go there now as Yori is leaving saying that hes got to meet someone very important about matters of his eternal soul but to continue with the preparations without him. He takes off toward the exit and we get a peek into the office which has been decorated in black and gold velvet from ceiling to floor. Smitty, Riki, The YoROBOT and a cast of other miscreants are dressed in every manner of undress, revealing pretty much everything the censors would possibly let slide (bad choice of words there). In the back of the room there appears to be some kind of jungle cat in a cage (wearing a leather mask would love to have THAT GUYS job) along with two person kayak, which has been suspended from the ceiling. Smitty starts screaming that there arent enough different flavors of custard for this to be anything but a disaster and the producers agree with me that now is just about the best time ever to cut to commercial. And so they do.
Commercial
QH4
Back outside and Yori tips a delivery boy with 2 crisp one hundred dollar bills, then takes the bag from him. He runs off down the block to where Justins Yugo was parked, but its long gone. The look on Yoris face is absolutely priceless as he stands there contemplating his fate, greasy delivery bag in hand.
We cut back inside to catering where a couple of PAs are just getting things cleaned up from the Andy/AJ situation when The Sheffield Wednesday Lot comes screaming into frame, all wielding weapons. Nates got his helmet on which tells me that theyre ready for business. Both PAs freak out and while one just takes off the other trips into the table, knocking everything over again. He takes out his wallet and offers it to the Lot but they just want to know where the fight is. The PA has no idea what they are talking about and they summarily start to beat on Juen, presumably for giving them bad info on where to find a good brawl. Cowboy Jimmy Donovan staggers into the frame looking for some aspirin and instead takes a ****kicking from The Lot just because theyre all amped up and as revenge for last weeks brawl. This brings out The Thrillbillies and its on. After a few minutes of chaotic fighting our security heroes arrive and try to break things up, leading each group in different directions down the hall and leaving the poor PA still cowering in the rubble of the table, still holding his wallet up as an offering.
To ringside and Garbage cues the arrival of Doc Silver who appears from backstage to the delight of many in the NYC crowd. Doc cant help but be impressed by the reaction, but doesnt respond to the dozens of hands looking for a high five on the way to the ring. His partner is announced and thankfully his entrance has been edited somewhat since last week, although we still get the streamers and the flower girls. Im not gonna complain about half of that equation anyway. Yowza. Doc and Ezeki dont really seem to have much to say to one another, but its still an impressive looking duo.
Irishred is announced next and the place goes nuts, as per usual. Nice to see Red back in his regular ring gear which is much less revealing than last weeks sumo garb. He heads to ringside but wisely stays on the outside, waiting for his partner. El Terrible II is announced, but no one appears. After a minute or so his music is actually recued and they make the announcement again. Nothing. Red is looking less than thrilled as Doc and Ezeki share a bit of a laugh and a knowing glance. Farva says Shenanigans! What will happen next???
Commercial
QH5
Aaaaaaaaaaand were back. And Red is in a world of hurt as Ezeki punishes him with a nasty looking nerve hold. We get a quick recap from Till and Dr. P. who let us know that no one has seen or heard from El Terrible Segundo all day and that Yamada issued an edict that the match must go on without him. We also see a recap to catch us up of Doc starting things off with a baseball slide through the ropes, which sent Red headlong into the barricade while he was looking to the back. Back to live action and Ezeki chops Red viciously in the shoulderblades and shoves him into the corner. He tags in Silver who comes into the ring and takes over with a belly to belly out of the corner. He picks Red up, backs him into the opposite corner with punches and chops and then repeats the belly to belly. He goes for the pin, but Red is out at 2.
Doc stands Red up and slaps him in the face. He picks him up for a knee breaker, but Red goes all lucha and counters that into a DDT. That was pretty sweet looking actually. Doc is smart enough to know he needs to get his bearings though and tags out to Ezeki. Red tries to avoid the big man for a minute or two but gets cornered and then squeezed in a bear hug. Thats no good for the ribs and back that took such a beating last week. Red frees an arm (Ezeki had him wrapped up like the Abominable Snowman and Bugs Bunny) and delivers a blatant thumb to the eye, which loosens the hold enough for Red to squirm out. He drives a couple of all American closed fists into the PBPro Q-Crown champs face, then bounds off of the ropes with a clothesline. That does nothing, so Red follows it up with a second. Ezeki takes half a step back. Red goes again, this time leaving his feet with a Steiner line. That rocks the big man back a full step. Building a head of steam Red bounds off the opposite ropes first, hits the ropes again and leaps at Ezeki with a cross body. The sumo catches him in midair and almost destroys the ring with a falling slam. Sweet Jesus, that looked nasty. Ive seriously never seen a guy the size of Ezeki move so fast. He covers and Red is dead, but he SOMEHOW kicks out at two. Ezeki says a bad word and smashes Reds head into the canvas before rolling to the corner and tagging in DocS.
Doc is right back on the ribs with a series of elbow drops and then locks Red in a body vice. Ezeki distracts the ref as doc digs his fingers into Reds face and eyes. Till has a conniption about the lack of honor displayed by the PBPro Champ as we go to another commercial.
Commercial
Back and Red is still taking one for the team literally. We find out that El Terrible II never signed in with the talent coordinator today. You think they might have been aware of this before his match, but whatever, its still a good announcing detail and plays up the mystery of where El T II is and why hes not here.
In the ring Doc has kept the advantage with ****heel tactics, and the crowd is totally eating it up, although we DO have a nice dueling chant for both Red and Doc going on. Silver throws everything at Red backbreaker, back supex, another belly to belly. Nothing will keep Red down though. Silver is getting frustrated but wont tag out. He drives a nice European uppercut into Reds jaw, knocking him back into the corner. He then charges the corner, but Red charges back and with what appears to be his last ditch and just flattens Doc with a spear. Both guys are out and the ref lays the count on them.
At 7 Red is up first and he cuts off Docs progress towards his corner with an elbow to the back of the head. Ezeki looks to interfere, but Red is able to trip the big man up and he falls outside the ring as his foot gets tangled in the ring ropes. Crowd loves that as Red just gets the nastiest look on his face. Doc charges, but Red sees it coming and tosses the veteran from the ring to the outside. The ref is busy trying to untie Ezeki, who is threatening to tear the whole ring down ropes first which gives Red a chance to lay the boots into DocS. He picks him up and slams him face first into the announce table and then repeats the process with the steel steps. And now say it with me kids Doc is busted open. Hes bleeding pretty good too, but nothing near one of his patented gushers. Red slings him back first into the barricade and then tosses him into the ring as the crowd stays on top of everything. Red rolls into the ring and sets Doc up for Bad Company, but Doc is able to squirm out of the hold and drop behind Red from his shoulders. Red turns to grab him again and eats a fist to the head. He drops like hes been **** and Doc slips a pair of knucks off his hand into his tights. He staggers to the corner where the ref finally has Ezeki back on his feet. Doc tags in the giant who climbs the ropes inside to the middle strand and leaps off with a splash on Red that kills him dead for like the 10th time. 1,2,3 and its over.
WINNERS: Doc Silver & Ezeki (Ezeki -> IrishRed; Big Splash Pinfall 14:03)
Good effort by all involved. Ezeki has a lot of typical fat guy stuff, but breaks from that mold with some quickness and a more varied offense. Hes not Vader or anything, but then again, hes literally almost twice as big. Doc was Doc, which is always good for me and he did a good job carrying the heavy load for his team (irony!) and Red put up a valiant fight as he always does. I cant believe Im going to say this, but Red vs. the Sumo is actually a match that Id like to see at some point even though I think there is real money in a Red/Doc program somewhere down the line. No segments, we go right to commercial as Doc and Ezeki celebrate their win.
Commercial
QH6
Backstage Smitty is leading what appears to be an X-Rated Mardi Gras parade through the hallway. There is actually a small float. The revelers come across Yori, who is in a bad state emotionally, shall we say, since his God forsook him. Smitty tells her boss that the Sexy Party is ready to go and find Doc Sliver, their guest of honor, and initiate him properly but Yori just says hes not in the mood and that the party is cancelled because hes too depressed. This brings us Professor Tremendous, who continues his tradition of kicking doors open and entering with the blinding lights of the Team T minivan behind him. He carries with him a championship belt of some sort and has the usual band of idiots behind him. He of course assumes that those in attendance have gathered to welcome him. He thanks Yori for the honor and grabs the meatball sandwich for himself, stomping off to find his dressing room. The midget kicks Yori in the shin just because hes surly. Not Yoris night I guess. Allworld casts a sideways glance at Smitty as he passes, which actually seems to make Yoris second blush. Oh man, ProfT and Yori in the same Fed is just going to get weird on so many levels.
Commercial 1 hr. 21 Mins
Duchess is in the ring as we return and she is waiting on her opponent. The unmistakable sound of Poison can mean only one man, and Michael J Cox, still dressed in his sexy party gear, enters the arena, his eyes laser beams, right on Duchess. She appears to gag mildly. The ref calls for the bell and Cox approaches slowly, remembering what his full body grope-down got him last week. Collar and elbow tie up and Duchess slides behind for a quick roll up. Two and a half there as she surprises Cox. He is frustrated, but tries to play it off. They lock up again and Duchess transitions into an armwringer. Cox protests, then moves to the ropes and impressively flips out of the hold and tosses Duchess with an armdrag. She lets her temper get the best of her and walks into a series of right hands which backs her into the ropes. Cox tosses her to the other side of the ring and he tackles her to the mat on the rebound. Mr. Moneyshot then locks his hands into Duchesss and pins her arms over her head. Going for humiliation rather than an actual move he gyrates on top of her for a second, his face just inches from hers. Duch is no dummy though and counters this with a nose bite. Cox screams and stops his gyrations. Duchess bucks him off and places her feet in his midsection, flipping him off of her. Cox hangs onto her hands though and lands on his back, their heads next to eachother on the mat. Duchess uses the momentum to flip over. She hooks Coxs legs and goes for the pin. He kicks out at 2. Nice sequence.
Cox is up to his feet and attacks with a series of forearm shots. He tosses Duch into the corner and goes for the Sky High on the rebound, but she floats over and counters beautifully into a back cracker. That was awesome and the crowd agrees. They show the replay like 5 times and its still hard to figure out just how she accomplished that. Cover only gets two though. Duchess drags Cox to his feet and goes for a standing hurricanrana, but he counters and drives her back first into the turnbuckle. Duchess is hurting after that one and Cox signals for the Painful Penetration and no one likes to be on the receiving end of that.
Just then the lights go out and crazy techno dance music fills the arena. RoboYori appears in the entrance and apparently he hasnt been informed that the Sexy Party has been cancelled because he informs the crowd that he is about to get nasty with all of them. Cox throws a fit in the ring as Smitty runs out and powers RoboYori down just as he is about to engage his Lubinator. The lights come back on and Duchess is up behind Cox, who appears thoroughly confused. Duchess trips him from behind and laces in the ankle lock which quickly promps MJC to wisely tap.
WINNER: Duchess (ankle lock -> submission 6:16)
Duchess rolls out of the ring and slaps some hands as she heads to the back. In the ring Cox is PISSED off royally. Another nice showing from both. Duchess is always solid and despite his record, Cox is showing to be a reliable hand as well, but I still dont think weve seen his full potential. Will be interesting to see where his relationship with Yori goes after constantly getting screwed over by his minions.
We go to Yamadas office, where Ezeki the Sumo stands, sweating yet victorious. A PBPro representative is with him and Yamada gladhands him congratulating Ezeki and PBPro on their show of superiority. He says that Ezekis trip to MBE has been a wild success and he can now return to PBPro with not one but two victories over one of Americas greatest wrestlers. PBPro guy is happy about this, but just needs some more information for his report to the suits back home just what is up with Yori. Yamada does some impressive soft shoe trying to downplay Yoris involvement with the week to week running of the company and says that his position is merely out of respect to the Yakamo family and their generous support of PBPro. Just then Yori comes in (shirtless, but still wearing his tie and suit jacket, but sporting what appears to be a fresh would that may or may not have come from a jungle cat across his abdomen), he says something about wanting to get back to the party, which apparently has started again in his locker room quick recovery there and I say good for Yori as one cant grieve forever but he just wanted to congratulate Ezeki on his win over IrishRed and to wish him luck at MBE Awakenings. Yamada demands to know what he is talking about and Yori remembers that he forgot to tell Yamada, but right after the tag match he signed a PBPro Quintuple Crown Championship Match at the PPV between Red and Ezeki. Crowd cheers this wildly. Yamada has an aneurism and PBPro guy flips out and starts screaming in Japanese as Ezeki puts his sizeable fist through the wall.
Commercial.
QH7
ProfessorTremendous makes his way to the ring and hes got Team T with him (no goat unfortunately). He again lays claim to being some kind of a champion and goes on to list all of the great things he has done in his career. This is friggin hysterical stuff and he literally just riffs on the mic for about 5 minutes about what a dump the Ballroom is, how ugly the fans in attendance are and the vast number of better ways he could be spending his time. But he has chosen to give the fans a gift tonight and he reiterates his open challenge. Before hes even finished issuing the thing Tuss steps up and screams that he accepts. Prof T just slaps him in the face and he steps back behind the giant. Awesome. Prof says that his underling is the only one with any chutzpah and says how disgraceful that is. Suddenly someone leaps the barricade and enters the ring. Its The Idiot Fan!!! Crowd goes ape**** and he grabs the mic and accepts the challenge (WHOOOO~!). Prof says fine and explains the fine print of the challenge which is actually the Tyrone The Tidy Giant Chokeslam Challenge meaning anyone who can withstand a chokeslam from Tyrone and beat The Professor will then win a title shot at him on a date to be determined. The Idiot Fan is just that and accepts. So Tyrone chokeslams him. Hard. ProfT then orders Allworld and Tuss to pick TIF up and he locks up with him. The Fan drops in a heap and The Professor makes the cover with the midget making the count.
WINNER: ProfessorTremendous (Collar and Elbow Tie Up -> Pinfall - :47)
And with that the celebration begins. ProfessorT is hoisted into the air and marched around the ring. Crowd is in on the joke and cheers like its the main event of High Stakes. The Professor clutches his title and actually cries as we go to commercial.
Commercial 1 hr 42 Mins
After the break Duchess is walking in the back and runs into Cowboy Jimmy Donovan, who still seems a little loopy after his match with Justin and the brawl with The Lot. He mentions the tag match they had last week and how they made a good team (CONTINUITY~!) and that they should think about tagging up again no strings attached for the Tag Title Tourny next week. Duchess says that shell think about it but that she has another idea in mind for a partner. She continues around the corner and runs into Jogi Fresh and his entourage. She asks one his boys if she can talk to him but he tells her sorry, the man is getting ready for the main event. Duchess laughs and says their old friends and she just wants to talk to him for a second, but she is physically blocked from getting to him. She mentions that this is something Jogi would want to talk about as it concerns the tag team championship and she is once again stopped and informed that the only gold His Freshness is interested in is the MBE World Heavyweight Championship. She is asked to move along and she does, reluctantly.
Nice to see a Duchess segment, as she is pretty much underutilized everywhere she goes. Sets up an interesting dynamic too with Jogis Entourage.
QH8
Jogis music starts and we follow him and his crew from the back, through the curtain and to ringside. I really like that they are playing up this boxer type entrance vibe with him as it sets him apart and gives him his own distinct thing that the crowd seems to be getting into. It hasnt hurt that his matches have been so strong since he got back either. Once he is in the ring we hear some classic AC/DC and Andy Gilkison is out next. Crowd is loving both guys and before the bell even rings weve got dueling chants.
Match starts with Andy cautious of Jogis quickness and with an uncharacteristic stall job. Its actually smart though as he is wisely taking Jogi out of his game and it plays into the level of calm he exuded earlier in the night when he got into the confrontation with AJ. Its working too as Jogi is getting frustrated. Every lock up leads them to the ropes and Andy keeps breaking clean, then backing off to the other side of the ring to come back slowly and lock up again. The crowd isnt really digging that, but honestly its establishing a nice pattern. Finally Jogi has had enough and overpowers Andy in a lock up and tosses him to the mat. The crowd cheers but Andy rolls out of the ring. Jogis posse surrounds him immediately and Andy just backs off. The ref interjects immediately though and banishes the entourage from ringside. This further pisses Jogi off as Andys smile just gets bigger and we go to commercial.
Commercial
Back to action and things seem pretty even as both guys are still jockeying for position. During the break Jogis camp left ringside and we had some back and forth action in the ring which ended with an ECW style face off with the crowd cheering. Now were back to the lock up and Jogi goes to an overhand wrist lock. Andy armdrag/monkey flips out of it though, but Jogi lands on his feet. Impressive to see a big guy like that so agile. Jogi charges and Andy drops him with a snap mare to a side headlock. Jogi bridges out though and mule kicks Andy in the face. This finally pisses Andy off and he charges right into a military press. Andy scrambles out of that and into a sunset flip though for a 1.5 count. Jogi swings with a clothesline, but Andy ducks and nails a back suplex. He covers again and gets two.
Andy clamps on the rear chinlock, but Jogi battle back to his feet. Andy transitions into a side headlock, but Jogi pushes him off and into the ropes. Both guys have the same idea on the rebound with a standing shoulder and Andy is shaken, but doesnt fall. Then we go back to the 80s with a criss cross as both guys run opposite ropes. Crowd is so hot that they eat THAT up too. Andy drops to the mat and Jogi bounces over him then eats a spinebuster for his troubles on the rebound. Andy covers. 2 count.
Andy lifts Jogi and tosses him to the ropes again, but telegraphs a backdrop. Jogi raises the knee which sends Andy sprawling back into the ropes. Fresh follows up with a running clothesline and both guys go over to the floor. They pick up the fight out there with Jogi reversing and Irish Whip and Andy going back first into the steps. Jogi tosses him into the ring and covers, but only gets two. Without skipping a beat Jogi nails a powerslam and covers again, but Andys not done. Fresh is more than happy to keep it up and goes to his roots, throwing rights to pepper Andy and dropping him with a nasty left. Till is pretty awesome here with his knowledge of Jogis history and boxing in general. Who knew? Tillrules, thats who.
Jogi signals for the end and sets Andy up for The Bixby Stretch. Andy shakes one arm free before Jogi gets the hold locked though, slips behind him and drills him with a German. Both guys are down, but Jogi is just dazed briefly and starts back to his feet. Andy crawls to the ropes and starts to use them to get back to his feet. Jogi sees this and delivers a running knee to the back, which knocks the wind out of Andy and leaves him draped over the second rope. The ref admonishes Jogi for attacking his opponent while on the ropes which gives AJ Cirrus an opportunity to run out from the back and smash Andy across the head with the old MBE Unified Title. Andy is out as AJ runs back up the ramp laughing. Jogi grabs Andy from behind and lifts him high into the air by the throat and nails The Freshness, which gives him his second main event win in as many weeks.
WINNER: Jogi Fresh (Freshness -> Pinfall: 14:14)
Good main event albeit hurt by the interference with the finish. I can see why they went that way though as this matchup probably has legs somewhere down the road and they didnt want to totally give it away though. Jogi was impressive again though and deserved the win while I liked that Andy was actually the one playing mind games for the first part. Nice layer to his character there with the patience to fight AJ bleeding into this match. Well see how patient he is next week now that AJ pulled this.
Jogi starts to celebrate in the ring but Promo is in the ring from out of nowhere and he just assaults Jogi from behind. He levels him with a lariat and then grabs a steel chair. Andy rises and sees Promo with the chair and Jogi laying prone in the ring. He then turns and sees AJ on the ramp. Andy leaves the ring and chases AJ through the curtain to the back. Promo tees off on Jogi with the chair. He places it in the center of the ring and hoists Jogi up to the top rope. Crowd is losing it and Promo threatens a PromoPlex from the top to the chair, but Jogis entourage hits the ring and chases Promo off. Backstage we see Andy chase AJ all the way outside, but he cant catch up with him as AJ gets in his car (still painted, nice touch) and takes off. Andy is left swearing and out of breath as we get a nice split screen of that and Jogi being held up in the ring by his boys.
THE WRAP UP
Wow. Loaded show. Felt like things just kept happening at sort of a crazy pace, but it all sort of made sense and kept everyone involved, which is good. The crowd was way into things too, which always helps.
Show might have been a little comedy heavy for my tastes, and Id actually like to see more time spent in the ring rather than backstage, but I understand the limitations of a small roster have sort of forced their hand. Plus we got ProfessorTremendous, which is always...worth tuning in for. Might be cool to see some longer matches where the workers really show what theyve got to offer though as an alternative to so many segments though. But the backstage stuff hasnt been terrible or anything and it seems like they are trying to give everyone something to do and a reason to be there, which is important.
The PPV seems to be shaping up nicely. Im guessing Andys deal with Yori is a match with AJ at the show, and they announced Red vs. Ezeki. Looks like Promo and Jogi might be headed that way too. Plus weve got the tag championship finals and Im sure there will be some fallout after next weeks show where the teams that arent in the finals have some issues that need to be settled too.
Looking forward to next week where Im guessing well get more actual wrestling with the first two rounds of the tag tournament, so until then, heres the Review Rewards:
Match of the Night ProfessorTremendous vs. The Idiot Fan
Just kidding - it's Andy Gilkison vs. Jogi Fresh
Bump of the Night Duchess Back Cracker on Michael J. Cox
Line of the Night Ummmhows about a meatball sammich? The Hobo