Post by Ross Report on Aug 19, 2019 22:24:12 GMT
It's fair to say that this week's SLAM! felt Pay-Per-View quality with the incredible high stake matches that took place, so God only knows what Summer Stampede will be like in a couple of weeks time! All I know for sure is, the EWA is cooking up a storm on the way to its annual summer blowout!
Things quickly kicked off with the shocking discovery that JoJo had been laid out backstage mere moments before we came on the air! You didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out who was responsible either, with a parchment stabbed into the wall next to the scene of the crime indicating Kairi Hojo and the "Blood Diamond Exchange!" However, perhaps it wasn't as "cut and dry" as it seemed, with Bradley confronting Hojo, Viper and Nixon Newell upon their apparent arrival at the arena, taking out the latter two cohorts before trying to get his hands on "The Dread Pirate of Dark Water"....only, Bradley's face was engulfed with a fireball from Prince Nana! With "The Mustachioed Megaman" down for the count, much like his best friend JoJo, that's when Ruby Riott would make another attempt to confront the "B.D.E.", swinging a Louisville slugger like she was possessed by the ghost of Babe Ruth! However, Nana, Hojo, Newell and Viper all managed to escape before any damage could be done, hightailing it out into the Norfolk night! Meanwhile, it was soon revealed that Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans were the true perpetrators of that vile assault on the Women's Champion, having planted evidence to falsely give the impression it was the "Blood Diamond Exchange." However, while "The Queen" might have thought she'd got away with her master plan, she soon found herself face-to-face with a ticked off Ruby Riott, who announced she'd be making her return to the ring next Sunday on SLAM!...and she'd be doing so against "The Dominion's" own, Lacey Evans! Talk about a tough test for "The Punk Rock Ragdoll" as she looks to shake off her injury woes, but sometimes you've just got to dive straight into the deep end and see what happens! And what of JoJo in all of this? Well, after the attack by Flair and Evans, the resilient Women's Champion appeared live from a local medical facility to not just update the EWA Universe on her condition, but also lay out the challenge for Summer Stampede...a fatal fourway match in which the "bWo Babe" defends her gold against Charlotte Flair, Ruby Riott and Kairi Hojo all at the same time! That's what I call taking the bull by the horns, with JoJo showing no fear whatsoever despite the odds being against her! Yet if anyone can pull it off, it's the ultimate underdog herself!
Each week we see Toni Storm in action is like a revelation to the senses. Just when I think she can't get any better than she already was, the young lady from Gold Coast, Australia proves me wrong with another sterling performance! It's been an honor and privilege to be able to watch Toni introduce herself to the EWA Universe over these last few weeks, and this might have been the most dominant display of the lot for the new face of women's wrestling! No doubt about it, she earned all three of those "SLAM of the Night's" this week! And while we're at it, what an entrance she made too, riding that Harley Davidson motorcycle down to ringside in tribute to the late, great Peter Fonda! Talk about one "cool cat!"
Color me shocked to see Chris Sabin back in the EWA once again, but in a good way! I feared after the disappointment of coming up short at Super Brawl XVIII, we might have seen the last of "Detroit's Finest," but clearly that's not the case! And the surprises kept on coming as Sabin revealed he was returning with Alex Shelley by his side, a man who had virtually disappeared off the face of the earth this time last year! However, the former World Champion is back and realigned with his old friend Sabin, meaning a couple of dangerous machine guns are currently taking aim at perhaps the most stacked tag team division the EWA has ever seen! And I, for one, can't wait to see them start mixing it up with our talented roster!
Tommaso Ciampa is a name that many have wanted to see join the E-Wrestling Alliance for a long time now and, at last, the wait is finally over! "The Psycho Killer" isn't really here to make friends either, wasting little time in scoring a debut victory over Bart Gunn while showcasing the talent which has made him such a coveted free agent for so long! Keep your eye on this one, folks! There's big things in Ciampa's future, that much I'm sure of!
So let me get this straight. "Honky Tonk Man" and my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler didn't like the locker room they were assigned by EWA management at the Norfolk Scope, so they decided to just up and leave in protest? Actually, that does sound like the kind of thing those two would do, come to think of it. Just like them running down the various teams who've all been staking their claim for a future Tag Team Championship match, not to mention the champs themselves! I don't think "Honky" or "King" care too much about making enemies though, given they've spent the best part of 50 years doing just that!
We saw the "Alpha Club" make their debut last week when they interrupted Maxwell Jacob Friedman's post-match celebrations (despite "Luchasaurus" doing the majority of the work against the Basham brothers), which in turn led us to this knock-down, drag-out tag team battle! Both duos went at it hard, with Chris Jericho and Caleb Konlay eager to put down a marker in their first official match as partners, while the tension between "Luchasaurus" and "MJF" continued to bubble away. In truth though, we were left with a fairly inconclusive result as "Luchasaurus" and Konlay brawled at ringside and eventually found themselves being counted out, while Chris Jericho would get one over on "The Top 1%er" back inside the ring, laying "MJF" out with the Codebreaker! I'd suggest things are far from settled between these two teams though!
Alex Shelley isn't the only former World Champion to make their comeback this past week, with Bray Wyatt delivering some ominous words of warning to the entire roster. "Someone" has apparently let Bray back in, but the question is, who? And what does Wyatt intend to do now that he's back? I guess we'll get some answers in the coming weeks...
Glacier returned to action after a lengthy period of inactivity, having seemingly been inspired by a mysterious mentor known as the "Mystik." Speaking of mysterious masked men, last week saw "UltraMantis Black" put the proverbial "whammy" on Cesaro while using the "Eye of Tyr." Indeed, while the "Swiss Cyborg" still seems to be his usual self, there is something slightly off about him that I can't quite seem to put my finger on. Whatever it is, it would be an impressive back-and-forth battle between Glacier and Cesaro as they each looked for that crucial victory, only for Cesaro to surprise his opponent with a wild European uppercut from out of nowhere followed by a sunset flip to score the three count! The "Swiss Superman" is on a real hot streak right now, but I can't help but wonder where "UltraMantis Black" is going to fit into that equation over the coming weeks.
Well, that situation between Bobby Lashley and Tom Lawlor sure escalated quickly! After several weeks of Lashley calling the "Singularity" leader out only to get humiliated in one of the shortest matches of the year, and then Lashley's attempts to gain a measure of revenge blowing up in his face during last week's wild tag team affair also involving R-Truth and Ken Shamrock, these two MMA veterans have settled on one final battle behind the confines of steel mesh in two weeks at Summer Stampede! They clearly have experience fighting in that kind of environment, but who's gonna walk out of this one with the victory? I couldn't possibly hazard a guess, although I will say this...something tells me the match will be going longer than two minutes this time around!
Shortly thereafter, it was time for the huge number one contenders match pitting Pete Dunne against the National Champion himself, "The Reaper!" This one got off to a fast and furious start with neither man able to take much of a clear cut advantage, yet that soon changed when the man formerly known as Gabriel started rough-housing the "Bruiserweight" in a manner he's not used to. Indeed, Dunne had to fight from underneath to claw his way back into this one, showing that trademark tenacity which has served him well over the last six months! Despite repeated attempts by Dunne to deliver his patented Bitter End, "The Reaper" kept finding a means of escape, eventually setting up for what looked to be the Descension...only he never got a chance to deliver it, as "The Villain" suddenly waylaid Dunne from behind, blasting him with the World Title! As confirmed later on in a tense backstage moment, "The Reaper" clearly hadn't been clued in on this plan as he was forced to watch Scurll get some more licks in before "Mustache Mountain" thankfully arrived on the scene to run them off, but one can't help but wonder if everything is still copacetic within the ranks of "The Horde" right now! At the same time, given the nature of Scurll's assault, there's also a big question over Pete Dunne being 100% for his title opportunity at Summer Stampede? If our brief check-in with "British Strong Style" later in the show is anything to go by, that might not be the case!
It was interesting to hear from Matt Morgan and Jim Cornette, as they continue to sell us on this change in attitude by "The Blueprint." I must admit, I was somewhat skeptical to begin with, but Morgan is winning me over with his sincerity the more I hear. Literally dying and being brought back to life again can have that kind of effect, after all. It all led to the former National Champion announcing an open contract for anyone who wanted to face him at Summer Stampede, a fact which brought out Brian Pillman Jr! The second generation superstar has been struggling to find a footing in the EWA recently, which is only understandable for someone so young and relatively inexperienced. Still, Pillman isn't young enough that he doesn't recognize an incredible opportunity when he sees one, and if this chip off the old block can put away a superstar with the credentials of Matt Morgan in two weeks, that would be a huge feather in his cap!
In spite of his fellow "Flamingo Family" members' best encouragement (not to mention suffering a heinous attack at the hands of "The Reaper" last week), it would appear that Buh Buh Ray Dudley still has no desire to cash in his rematch for the National Title. To poor old Bubbs, it feels like a wasted effort since he's so certain it'll end in his defeat again. And yet, it's a match "The Reaper" himself is still hungry for, so that he can prove their first go around wasn't a fluke!
With the Briscoes being understandably absent from the last SLAM! given Mark's knee injury suffered at the hands of "The Revival," we finally got an update from Jay. However, I don't think anyone was expecting to discover Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder had jumped Jay while he was supporting his brother at physiotherapy last week! Needless to say, he wasn't best pleased by that situation and came to Norfolk looking for some good ol' fashioned revenge! Well, Jay Briscoe would soon get his chance, when "The Revival" showed up and tried to demand that he hand over the Tag Team Titles since obviously "Dem Boys From Delaware" can't defend them while Mark is all banged up! Instead of giving up the gold though, Jay challenged either Dash or Dawson to "man up" by accepting an impromptu singles match right then and there! It was Scott Dawson who stepped up to the plate, leading to a wild encounter which initially saw Jay dominate proceedings, at least until Dash Wilder's involvement turned things around. The elder Briscoe would fight back though, surviving a close scare after Dawson got the knees up on a frog splash attempt, before trying to work his way back into the match...only to accidentally hit the Referee instead of his opponent at a crucial juncture! A quick low blow from Scott Dawson was soon followed by a Cradle DDT, before Dash Wilder then took the official's shirt and fast-counted the three! Far be it for me to cast aspersions, but something tells me this result might not hold up under much scrutiny. I guess that's a topic for another day though, as "The Revival" then looked to do to Jay what they had done to his brother...when all of a sudden, both "Monster Mafia" and the "Alpha Club" showed up on the scene to run Dash and Dawson off! Not that Jay Briscoe was particularly happy to receive the assist, as poor Ethan Page can attest! Still, things are getting mighty interesting in and around the Tag Team Title scene right now...
Not many superstars request a rematch against Brock Lesnar, and for damn good reason. Yet, that's exactly what Brian Kendrick demanded as he went one-on-one with "The Beast" for the second week running! Alas, things got off to a rough start for "The Man With A Plan" and it looked like they weren't destined to improve much either! The early goings here were an absolute mauling, to the point it was almost hard to watch. Yet Kendrick kept on fighting, even briefly taking Lesnar off his feet for a one count at one point! If anything though, that just enraged Brock even more than before, unleashing a cascade of hard-hitting maneuvers that threatened to make Kendrick one with the canvas, at least until another tornado DDT gave Brian some hope once again, just like last week! A second soon followed, as Kendrick showed the kind of grim determination that can't be taught, doing everything within his power to try and wear the former three-time World Champion down, including a sickening reverse rana. However, right when it looked like Brian might have it, Lesnar managed to counter a Sliced Bread #2 attempt into an F-5 to secure his second straight win over "The Man With A Plan!" Common wisdom suggests it's better to quit while you're ahead, but apparently not as far as Brian Kendrick is concerned, instead demanding a third match with Lesnar so he might finally get the duke over the most dominant force in EWA history! However, Lesnar refused in no uncertain terms, seemingly having more important things to focus on. Needless to say, Brian Kendrick wasn't too happy about that...at least, until a strange smile came over his face. What that might mean, I've no clue, but it's safe to say that Kendrick isn't done with Brock Lesnar yet, even if "The Beast" thinks he's done with Brian Kendrick!
Ahead of his huge World Championship Match, Darby Allin had some choice words to share, making it crystal clear that he intended to shock the proverbial system by defeating Marty Scurll and walking into Summer Stampede the new EWA World Champion! He started this title encounter off with a bang too, taking the fight straight to "The Villain" in a way which almost seemed to catch Scurll off guard! "The Invisible Man" made sure Marty knew exactly who he was, leaving the leader of "The Horde" with no choice but to dig deep into his bag of tricks to claw his way back into the contest! However, a Fujiwara arm bar nearly ended it in the challenger's favor, damn near wrenching that limb from its socket! As it was, Scurll got to the ropes and Allin was forced to release the hold, with Ember Moon hitting ringside to accuse Darby of taking too long to do so, trying to encourage the official to DQ him! That in turn would result in Priscilla Kelly coming out to level the playing field, with the match continuing at a savage pace as Allin refused to let up, eventually connecting with his patented Coffin Drop! Alas, the toll of the war meant he wasn't able to pin Marty Scurll right away, but no doubt if he had been able to, we'd be talking about a brand new World Champion right now! I doubt anybody has ever come in and made a bigger impression despite losing two closely-contested contests like Darby Allin has these past couple of weeks! But lose the challenger would, after looking for a second Coffin Drop, this one while Scurll was outside of the ring! Rather than crashing into "The Villain" though, Allin would inadvertently bowl through his own wife after that damn bastard Scurll dragged Priscilla Kelly into harm's way! The shock of what he'd done was enough for the leader of "The Horde" to capitalize, with the fight seemingly sapped from Allin's body as he just wanted to make sure Priscilla was OK, allowing Scurll to score the Cradle DDT and the three count. Honestly, how can you not feel for Darby Allin after giving his heart and soul on this wild ride over the past couple of weeks? It's bad enough to come so close to the biggest prize in the game only to see it slip through your fingers, but to also have a loved one suffer as a result...that's got to be heart-wrenching for the former pro skateboarder from Seattle. Here's hoping he finds a way to bounce back from this disappointment. And in the meantime, Marty Scurll's victory (regardless of how underhanded it might have been) guarantees that it'll be "The Villain" versus "The Bruiserweight" at Summer Stampede in a match for the ages! Will Pete Dunne ascend to the top of the mountain? Or will Scurll continue to find a way to retain the gold by hook or by crook? I guess we'll find out on September 1st!
Here's my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Marty Scurll
2. Toni Storm
3. Brian Kendrick
Loathe as I am to give Scurll any credit for his deplorable actions, the fact that he sunk to such depths to retain his title is a testament to how far he's willing to go to remain World Heavyweight Champion. Coming in at number two, Toni Storm continues to set an incredibly high bar with her in-ring performances these last few weeks, putting the Women's Division on the map! And last, but by no means least, I've given third spot to Brian Kendrick. "The Man With A Plan" may have come up short against Brock Lesnar, but I can count the number of times I've seen someone take "The Beast" that close on one hand! There's no shame in being second best to Lesnar, so here's hoping Kendrick sees sense and walks away from this rivalry with his head held high, because Brock might not give him the chance to if he keeps pushing things further!
All in all then, another eventful show with plenty of talking points! It seems as if every week there's incredible matches that go right down to the wire, but it's a testament to the entire roster that they keep picking themselves up and dusting themselves off again to come back for more! And I can't wait to see what more we have to come as the EWA makes its final stop before Summer Stampede when we roll into Kansas City next Sunday! Until then,
BOOMER SOONER!
