Post by Ross Report on Dec 2, 2019 20:21:43 GMT
While one door closes, another opens! And now that the 2019 King of the Ring has wrapped up, all eyes are turning towards our annual Super Brawl extravaganza! However, as we learned this week, Super Brawl XIX will be one with a major twist! Indeed, Harry Smith made a rare appearance on this week's SLAM! to reveal that we won't be going the traditional route on December 29th! Rather, we'll be seeing a special "Free-For-All" version of the match, where 20 superstars will enter at random intervals and it's every man for themselves! One champion will join the fray every five entries, where they need to pin or submit an opponent to retain their title...yet if they are pinned or submitted before that can happen, then whoever does so will become the new champion! That technically means someone could win multiple titles throughout the match, depending on how long they're able to go without being eliminated, while the last man standing will either earn the World Title itself or an opportunity at the gold if they don't manage to defeat Marty Scurll before he can beat someone else! And to add a bit more drama to proceedings, this week will see our four current men's champions participating in a draft, where they get to choose the participants in this match! Will they pick foes who they want to get their hands on on the grandest stage of them all? Or will they pick friends who might help them retain their titles? I guess we'll have to wait and find out, but stay tuned to EWA.com to keep abreast of all the latest Super Brawl news!
Getting back to this week's SLAM!, we picked up where King of the Ring left off, with an update about "The Reaper" after the vicious assault he suffered at the hands of the man he beat in the finals, "MJF." Todd Grisham was still in Greensboro and spoke to one of the doctor's taking care of the former National Champion, revealing he'd been in a coma ever since the Pay-Per-View. Just when it seemed as if we might never see "The Reaper" again though, the man himself miraculously came to life on live television, and was understandably in a foul mood as he ripped on everyone and anyone! This was like watching a phoenix rise from the ashes, only it's no longer "The Reaper" seeking revenge...but the returning Gabriel instead!
In terms of our first match of the evening, it was our first opportunity to see Jon Moxley and Tommaso Ciampa in action as a team, making impressively short work of their opponents. This new duo would then waste little time in calling out our brand new Tag Team Champions, stating their intentions towards a shot at the gold, much as they did last Sunday. However, they're not the only new team on the block eager to get into the title mix, with Tom Lawlor and Brady Pierce making it clear they too want to face the champs as well! As such, these two duos had a bit of back-and-forth until "The Honky Tonk Man" and my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler finally showed up on the EWA-Tron to offer a solution. Namely, by suggesting a number one contenders match on next week's SLAM! where the winning team will get a shot at "Honky" and "The King" on the following week's show! Color me surprised that these two Memphis legends aren't trying to avoid defending their titles before Super Brawl like their lives depended on it, but I guess it just goes to show that leopards can change their spots after all! Either way, that creates a barnburner of a match for next week's show, with both Moxley and Ciampa as well as the duo of Lawlor and Pierce vying for a shot at tag team gold!
Speaking of the tag division, I can't say I'm entirely sure what to make of the bizarre return of "The Vaudevillains" in this new "LA noir" guise, but it certainly caught my attention! Regardless, I'm glad to see the former Tag Team Champions on their way back after many months on the sidelines.
The temperature has been heating up between Shawn Spears and the "Glorious Bs" for several weeks now, but "The Perfect Ten" this week got his chance to go one-on-one with the leader of the group, Bobby Roode! It's fair to say that Spears came into this one with a whole lot of fire in his belly as he looked to knock Roode down a peg or two, but give credit where it's due, "The Glorious One" is about as canny as they come inside the ring. Indeed, when Spears started putting together a flurry of offence, Roode wisely cut out into ringside to put a stop to that, slowing the match right down. That soon forced his opponent to come after him, which in turn led to Roode re-establishing dominance. From there, there was no coming back for Shawn Spears, as Roode finished him off with a big time Northern Lariat leading into a Perfect Plex for the victory. A tough loss for "The Perfect Ten," I'm sure, but one which I'm sure he won't take lying down! At the same time, Roode and his "Glorious Bs" continue to go from strength to strength, though how much of that is to do with their "lord" and how much of it is due to their nefarious tactics, I wouldn't like to say.
Elsewhere, it was confirmed in dramatic fashion that despite his loss to Marty Scurll at King of the Ring, "PCO" is far from dead and buried! On the contrary, "The Undead King" was strapped into an electric chair by Shelly De La Muerte and zapped with more power than ever before, creating a truly terrifying prospect when he returns to the EWA on next week's SLAM!
Harper has been turning a lot of heads for all the right reasons recently. After years of standing in the shadows of others (or at least sharing the spotlight), he's been striking out on his own in a big way over the past couple of months. This was arguably his biggest test to date this week, as "The Goatsman" found himself up against a ticked off Pete Dunne. "The Bruiserweight" has not been in the best of moods since losing the World Championship, and missing out on the King of the Ring semi-finals has only compounded that dissatisfaction. Perhaps that's why we saw such an aggressive streak from Dunne this week, even more so than usual. That, or perhaps the fact his alliance with "Mustache Mountain" almost seems to be falling apart, if rumors are to be believed. Dunne was like a man possessed as he tried to chop down his giant of an opponent, but not even a bad wheel could stop Harper from battling back with everything he had to offer. Truth be told, he manhandled Dunne more in this match than I think any other opponent the young man from Birmingham has faced this year, using his size and strength to toss Dunne around like a ragdoll for much of the match. In the end though, the former World Champion finally managed to grind Harper down with a series of submission holds which focused on the knee he'd been working over, allowing him to finally hit a Bitter End to pick up the duke. An important victory for Dunne to help get back on track again, but also another impressive showing from Harper, who continues to make a name for himself in a big way.
As for our current World Champion, Marty Scurll was in the house this week looking understandably worse for wear after the slobberknocker he had with "PCO" at King of the Ring. I doubt anyone would have thought any less of him for taking the week off, yet "The Villain" refused to do so, instead looking to make an announcement about his next challenger. An announcement that was soon interrupted by the arrival of "MJF," with "The Salt of The Earth" naturally assuming Scurll was about to give him the shot. Alas, Friedman was in for somewhat of a surprise as Marty revealed he was talking about Tim Storm instead, the man who beat "MJF" by DQ during the King of the Ring semi-final, only to get screwed over when he begged the Ref to restart the match so he could prove he deserved to go to the finals! Needless to say, "The Top 1%er" didn't react to this news particularly well, but there doesn't seem to be much he can do about it, as we look set to see a huge World Championship match on December 15th!
In our main event of the evening, it was time for the eagerly-anticipated intergender tag team match pitting Buh Buh Ray Dudley and JoJo against Brian Pillman Jr. and Sasha Banks! After being damn near catatonic at King of the Ring, JoJo was far more fired up here, having to be held back by the National Champion as the match got underway. However, Pillman and Banks took advantage of that to double dropkick Buh Buh right into JoJo, inadvertently crushing his own partner and leaving her in no fit state to compete during the early stages of the contest! That lit a fire under Bubbs as he came after his second generation opponent with all guns blazing, at least until Sasha Banks managed to help turn the tide behind the official's back! "The Boss" then tagged herself in and started going to town on the man from Dudleyville, getting a bit of assistance from Brian Jr. before connecting with a frog splash! However, the Women's Champion didn't really have the mass behind her to cause Buh Buh Ray as much damage as she would have hoped, allowing the big man to regroup and lay Sasha out before finally tagging in a recovered JoJo! The "bWo Babe's" anger may have worked against her though, allowing Banks to take back control and eventually tag Brian Pillman Jr. back into the match, who looked to tap JoJo out with a dragon sleeper! Thankfully, Buh Buh Ray made the save at the crucial moment, as JoJo rallied to take Brian Jr. out with a nasty looking hurricanrana before again setting her sights towards Sasha Banks! The Women's Champion abandoned her partner though, running away like a scolded dog, as JoJo tagged out to Bubbs and gave chase after her! That allowed the National Champion to then capitalize with a Buh Buh Bomb to bring this one to its conclusion! While the match might have been over, the issues surrounding it clearly weren't, as "The Boss" clocked her sworn enemy from behind before running her down once again! After challenging JoJo to continue the fight right then and there, Sasha sucker punched JoJo once again and gloating over her...when all of a sudden, Bradley made his first appearance since having his true identity revealed, rescuing JoJo and seemingly saying goodbye to the EWA Universe at the same time. What does this mean? I haven't a damn clue, but I do know that Sasha's attempts to humiliate JoJo were thwarted, much to her chagrin!
Time now for a look at my picks for our top three movers and shakers this week:
1. Buh Buh Ray Dudley/JoJo
2. Bobby Roode
3. Pete Dunne
In at number one with a bullet are the odd couple duo of Buh Buh Ray Dudley and JoJo, who had to overcome the odds to defeat a game Brian Pillman Jr. and Sasha Banks! I've given Bobby Roode the nod for second spot, as he secured a huge victory in the "Glorious Bs" continuing war with Shawn Spears! And last but not least, Pete Dunne bounced back from recent disappointments with a hard-fought win over Harper, after "The Goatsman" took the "Bruiserweight" to the limit!
As exciting as this week's SLAM! was though, you can bet your bottom dollar that we're only just getting started! With the Super Brawl Draft expected to take place later this week right here on EWA.com, it won't be long before we find out who will make up the 20 superstars competing for all the gold in our end of year spectacular! But that's not all, as there's bound to more announcements regarding the "Showcase of the Immortals" over the coming days and weeks! Keep your eyes peeled, folks! Until next time,
BOOMER SOONER!
