Post by Ross Report on Jul 8, 2019 21:55:13 GMT
Believe the hype, folks! Expectations have been running high all week for Red, White & Bruised 2019, and boy did it ever live up them, and then some! There was something for everybody on this mammoth broadcast, and I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it not only took the prize for "Best Show of the Year," but "Best Show in EWA History" too! Let's break it all down!
We kicked off with a Triple Threat Match that acted as a tremendous showcase for three new signings who've been making waves over the past month or so. Indeed, "Luchasaurus," "MJF" and "The Miz" have all had their problems with one another for the past several weeks, with Maxwell Jacob Friedman making an example out of Mike Mizanin, "The A-Lister" looking for his revenge, and the half-dinosaur/half luchador getting caught in the crossfire! Things came to a head last week on SLAM! when "Luchasaurus" laid out both Mizanin and "MJF" before demanding this match, giving us a fast-paced and frantic start to the hottest show of the summer! The personalities of all three superstars shone through here, with the doggedness of "Luchasaurus," Friedman's disdain for everyone but himself, and "Miz's" will to do whatever it takes all on full display! As Scott Stanford mentioned on commentary though, one needs to have eyes in the back of your head during these multi-person matches as there's always someone ready to break up a pin attempt or attack from behind just when you think you've got the match won! We saw that on several occasions here, yet in the end, there had to be a winner and that man was "Luchasaurus!" Having survived a figure four leg lock from "The Miz" as well as "MJF's" attempts to pin him while prone in the hold, Mizanin looked to finish the Jurassic grappler off with the Director's Cut: Extended Edition, only for the wily dino-luchador to surprise his opponent with a roll-up to secure the huge victory! Talk about making an impact in your Pay-Per-View debut, not to mention setting the right tone for the rest of the evening's wild action!
For weeks now, "Honky Tonk Man" has been desperate to reclaim his Carl Perkins guitar from my old pal, Jerry "The King" Lawler! Well, Red, White & Bruised would turn out to be his final chance to do so, in a Carl Perkins Guitar On A Pole Match! It seemed both "Honky" and "King" were more intent to climb the corner to retrieve the guitar than they were to hurt one another, which in turn left them distracted enough for two mysterious masked men to hop the guard rail and bumrush the ring, sending both superstars crashing to the floor! And who were these two disguised delinquents? Why, none other than "Desperado" Joe Gomez and Ken Raper, two men who have had their own issues with "Honky Tonk Man" and Jerry Lawler recently after a match of theirs was interrupted so the warring Memphis veterans could set up this encounter at Red, White & Bruised! That wasn't all they did though, with Gomez and Raper taking the guitar down from the pole and then shockingly turning it into Carl Perkins' 1000 matchsticks! Needless to say, this caught everyone by surprise! We thought the future of the Carl Perkins guitar was finally going to be settled, but instead, that future has been snuffed out by two jealous individuals! God only knows how Lawler or "Honky" are going to respond to such an outrage, but I suspect it won't be good for Gomez or Raper!
Tom Lawlor has been building a lot of groundswell support recently as both he and his "Singularity" teammate Rhea Ripley have found themselves the target of a mysterious newcomer to the EWA, Ilja Dragunov. From leaving "Filthy" a bloody mess backstage to sending ominous tarot cards, "The Russian Nightmare" has conducted a campaign of terror against "Singularity," resulting in this grudge match that also happened to double as Dragunov's in-ring debut! "Unbesiegbar Zar" took the early advantage through underhanded means, but Tom Lawlor showed the kind of grit and determination that made him a UFC legend to fight his way back into the match. That relentless spirit in the face of adversity finally led to "Filthy" connecting with the Death Valley driver he'd been searching for seemingly the entire match, allowing him to cinch in the Singularity Clutch! While Lawlor may not have got the satisfaction of making his rival tap out, he can at least take some comfort from the fact that he made Dragunov pass out instead! And with this win, you've got to believe it puts him right up there with the victorious "Luchasaurus" earlier in the night as potential future National Title contenders!
The Women's Championship Match was one I have been looking forward to for a long time! Despite the recent woes of the "bWo" (more on that a little later), JoJo has enjoyed somewhat of a career resurgence as of late, picking up a non-title victory over Flair as well as a tag team win over "The Dominion" with Bradley as her partner! However, Charlotte Flair worked tirelessly to capture the Women's Title and there was no way she intended to let the gold slip through her fingers without a fight! As hinted though, this wasn't just the "Charlotte and JoJo Show," with Lacey Evans being in the champ's corner while Bradley backed up the challenger! "The Southern Belle" soon committed the classless act of getting involved in the action, which in turn spurred Bradley to come to his friend's rescue...but in a surprising moment, Lacey somehow ripped off Bradley's mustache and threw it into the crowd! I can only imagine how much pain the "Mustachioed Megaman" was in after that follicular assault! Meanwhile, Charlotte took control of the contest and again utilized help from her fellow "Dominion" member at ringside, setting up for the big finish...yet that's when Bradley returned to ringside, having seemingly grown back his impressive upper lip hair and rediscovered his muscular powers! After chasing Lacey all around ringside, the two ended up in the ring as JoJo delivered her patented lungblower and went for the victory, only for the outside involvement to leave the official no choice but to call for the bell! This may have been a dissatisfying ending to a hell of a contest, but something tells me this rivalry is far from settled. And with plenty of new recruits waiting in the women's division wings, it seems like there will be no shortage of interested parties to see where this battle for supremacy goes next!
Looking out for one's family is a commendable act, but one that isn't necessarily without its own problems. It would appear Roman Reigns has found this out first hand after a falling out with his large brood of cousins, brothers and in-laws over the holidays. As such, "The Juggernaut" looks like he's about to go it alone, which may just prove to be for the best! And furthermore, he's apparently been inspired to add a few new moves to his repertoire as well! We'll have to wait and see where this new direction takes the third-generation superstar in the coming weeks and months!
The Briscoes deserve a ton of credit for the way they've found their niche ever since the "nWo" disbanded and their alliance with John Cena came to an end! They've been racking up victories left, right and center, leading them to a well-earned shot against the makeshift duo of Chris Hero and Nick Aldis! Speaking of whom, it's probably the worst kept secret in the EWA that "The National Treasure's" time with "The Kings of Wrestling" hasn't exactly gone smoothly. There's been plenty of rumors of ruffled feathers behind the scenes, culminating in Samoa Joe damn near slapping a few of Aldis' teeth loose at the conclusion of the final "Pick Your Poison Match" on last week's SLAM! With that tension hanging over them, it was Nick's partner who started things off here with Jay Briscoe, where the two men had themselves an extended war of words before finally trading blows! As soon as the action got underway, it didn't let up either! Even if Aldis and Hero might not have been on the exact same page, there's no doubt that both superstars are extremely talented and with plenty of tag team experience between them, allowing the champs to take control and isolate Jay Briscoe for a sizeable chunk of the match. Still, "Dem Boys From Delaware" have been fighting with and against one another their entire lives, and that kind of bond is one that can't be broken! And as soon as Hero accidentally knocked Jay back into his corner and allowed Mark to make the tag, the entire complexion of the match was turned on its head! Full credit to Mark and Jay here...as soon as they found their opening, the brothers from Sandy Fork made sure to put it to good use, leaving the champs reeling! In the end, it was a malfunction at the junction which would cost Aldis and Hero when they inadvertently collided heads, before Jay was able to finish "The Knockout Artist" off with a Jay Driller for the win! This title victory was similar to how "The Kings of Wrestling" won the gold late last summer, where a runaway steam train full of momentum proved virtually unstoppable at the end of the day! And would you believe, this marks 16 years since the Briscoes were last EWA Tag Team Champions! Talk about a long time coming!
It's fair to say that one of the most highly anticipated matches at this year's Red, White & Bruised was the culmination of the jaw-dropping rivalry between Samoa Joe and Pete Dunne! Over the last four months, there's been so many ups and downs, so many twists and turns, and their Three Stages of Hell Match continued that pattern! From the two sworn enemies mauling one another with a litany of weapons in the No DQ portion until Dunne scored a fluke roll-up while trapped in the Conquina Clutch, to Joe's relentless attempts to force Dunne to give up in the Submission stage finally succeeding after two devastating moves onto the ring apron, and then a wild brawl inside the confines of the Steel Cage, the action was off the charts from start to finish! This was undoubtedly one of the most brutal wars I have ever witnessed in all my years in this business, almost sickeningly so at points. There's no question in my mind that both "The Destroyer" and "The Bruiserweight" have shortened their careers after what they put their bodies through last night, but I don't think anybody expected any less given how much unmitigated malice was shared between them. In the end though, the score had to be settled and it would be Pete Dunne who finally managed to put Joe away after superplexing him through a table and then delivering the Bitter End onto a pile of broken chairs! It's also a win that a lot of folks seem to think could propel Dunne into World Title contention as well, which makes a lot of sense for my money. Still, while Pete Dunne at least has the victory to soothe his aches and pains this morning, I can only imagine how Samoa Joe must be feeling after swallowing the bitter taste of defeat. Joe is a proud man, and even though he gave everything he had to take his arch rival to hell and back, I suspect he'll be furious with this result. In times past, this kind of setback has caused Joe to disappear from sight for months or even years at a time...will the same happen on this occasion, I wonder?
It wouldn't be Red, White & Bruised without a patriotic surprise of some kind, and on this occasion, that surprise came in the form of "The Great Khali" heading down to ringside, dressed in full-blown "Uncle Sam" get-up! Alas, "Khali's" speaking skills still leave a lot to be desired, meaning most of his holiday message may have got lost in translation. God bless him for trying though, even if his list of things about America he's not so keen on did turn the EWA Universe against him. Thankfully, the Punjabi redwood's tirade was interrupted by the welcome return of Hulk Hogan, with the "Hulkster" on hand to bring this segment back on track by setting up an impromptu match! Despite the best efforts of "Khali" and his manager "devious" Dave Meltzer, Hogan was able to "Hulk" up and put his opponent away with the deadly big boot/atomic leg drop combination which has served him so well over the years, giving the fans what they wanted to see! And that's a fact, Jack!
It's fair to say that Buh Buh Ray Dudley shocked the world when he won the National Championship several weeks ago. Indeed, even Bubbs himself seemed to think this was all some kind of cosmic mistake, expecting the universe to correct itself at any given moment. That is, until a conversation with Scotty Flamingo in the "Flamingo Family's" swanky locker room seemed to ease the Dudleyville native's worries. Meanwhile, "The Reaper" has been on some journey over the last year since arriving in the EWA! After being indoctrinated into "The Horde" and shedding his old identity for that of "The Reaper," it's been a rebuilding process that has seen the man formerly known as Gabriel come a long way from the superstar who fell short at Sin City Survival, King of the Ring, Super Brawl and a World Title opportunity earlier this year. But even that wasn't able to help him against Buh Buh's fist hitting him in the face, which was the early theme of this contest! However, "The Reaper" would soon turn things around with a mix of his new attitude and that same ol' hoss-like strength he's always displayed! Indeed, this battle was just as intense as you'd imagine it would be, with the two superstars going back-and-forth in search of the victory! Just when it looked as if Bubbs had it in the bag though, "The Reaper" escaped a Buh Buh Bomb with a Stunner before finally rolling his opponent up and securing his first EWA championship! Some might say this has been a long time coming for "The Reaper," someone who pundits (including yours truly) have talked about in terms of "potential" for the last year. Well, that potential has at last been realized, bringing the National Championship back to "The Horde!" As for Buh Buh, one has to wonder if this confirmed his theory about the universe being out to get him, and if so, how this will affect his psyche going forwards! I dare say "The Flamingo Family" might need a whole lot of bacon to pick him back up after this result!
All throughout the night, the trial of Al Snow (and subsequently, the entire "bWo") was taking place concurrently with Red, White & Bruised. It didn't exactly start well for "The Snowman" with even his own lawyer walking out him upon hearing the sheer volume of charges, and things didn't improve as the night went on thanks to damning testimony from the likes of someone called Charles, Yoshihiro Tajiri, EWA legend Steve Corino, and likely the "Blue Meanie" too, had he not overdosed on cyanide pills. Just as things looked their darkest though, Colt Cabana stepped up and delivered a rather eloquent defence of the "bWo" and their antics over the years, while JoJo also spoke up for the positive influence "The Snowman" has had on her career. It looked like maybe they'd done enough to sway the jury's opinion...yet it's often been said that it's the hope that kills you, and in this situation, it proved to be false hope anyway as Al was found guilty of all counts. At least he won't have to go to jail alone though, with the judge deeming enough evidence had been heard of Colt Cabana and "Blue Meanie's" culpability in said crimes to charge them as well, meaning the "bWo" is seemingly no more! Honestly, after all these years, I can't even picture an E-Wrestling Alliance without them. And while there might be some folks (i.e., Don West) who are happy to see them gone, I can't help but think it's a crying shame to see the "bWo" come to an end like this.
Excitement was in the air for our main event, one which saw Marty Scurll defend the World Championship against Fit Finlay, the man he last eliminated to win this year's Civil War and the very same man who later won the "Beat The Clock Challenge" Scurll himself set up! For the past several weeks, "The Villian" has tortured Finlay by attempting to turn his wife and son against him, something that had to have a profound effect on "The Fighting Irishman's" headspace coming into the biggest match of his career! And what a career it's been, as Finlay's golden opportunity came exactly 45 years and one day after he wrestled his first ever match! Given the skill level of both champion and challenger, it's little surprise we saw a technical showcase in the early goings, but almost inevitably, it didn't take long for the action to start breaking down. Just as we saw Pete Dunne do earlier, Marty Scurll targetted the fingers of his opponent in gruesome fashion, swinging the match in his favor. Indeed, everything about Scurll's offence was cool and calculated, picking his shots and focusing on wearing Finlay down. In contrast, "The Belfast Bruiser" was wrestling on sheer emotion for much of the contest, not only looking to capture his first World Championship but make Scurll suffer for everything that's happened between them over the last several months! Both superstars ended up throwing some huge moves at one another, with Scurll surviving a Celtic Cross and Finlay a pumphandle neckbreaker right on the floor! Yet exchanging bombs like those will inevitably take its toll, resulting in "The Villain" looking like he was going to walk out on the match and take a countout loss that would mean he also retained the gold! That proved to be a ruse though, one which allowed Scurll to blast Finlay with the World Championship and take back control, but "The Fighting Irishman" still refused to say die, battling back from near impossible odds to set up for the Celtic Cross, only to have Scurll slip free and grab the Crossface Chickenwing instead! When Finlay tried to escape, Scurll planted him with a devastating Cradle DDT before going back to the Chickenwing, focusing on the damaged hand and arm that had been worked over earlier in the battle to finally leave Fit with no choice but to tap out to save his career! I don't have to tell you this was an absolute slobberknocker, both in the physical sense and the emotional! With everything that was at stake and the entire arena willing Fit Finlay on, Scurll had to dig deeper than we've ever seen him go before in order to retain the championship, but to "The Horde" leader's credit, he managed to do just that! And all by himself too, which is a rarity these days! Still, if this is as close as Fit Finlay comes to being World Champion, he's sure as hell still got my respect and the respect of the entire EWA Universe! Not just for the way he stood up to Scurll, but for pouring his heart and soul into his quest to defeat "The Villain" too. What an epic ending to an epic night!
Normally this is the part of the Ross Report where I'd pick my top three movers and shakers, but I'm gonna plead the fifth this week. Considering the high level of performances right across the board and some of the best matches I think the EWA has ever seen, there's no way I could narrow it down to just three choices! Kudos to every single competitor who helped make Red, White & Bruised 2019 one of the best ever!
And now that the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, we look ahead to the eagerly anticipated tour of Japan! But first, as revealed in an exclusive on EWA .com earlier today, Friday Night Fury returns for the first time in nearly five years for a special one-off show to shine the spotlight on exciting new signings such as "The Blood Diamond Exchange," Will Ospreay, Aliyah, and a main event that'll pit Ace Austin against Buff Bagwell! The hits keep on coming, folks...so don't you dare miss a moment! Until next time,
BOOMER SOONER!
