Post by Ross Report on Oct 30, 2020 23:18:47 GMT
Welcome to another Ross Report as we discuss one of my favorite annual EWA events, All Hallows' Evil! This one always seems to have a different (and some might say "spooky") energy to it, and this year's show looks to be no different! Hosted for the second year running by Joe Bob Briggs, star of "The Last Drive-In," and taking place on Saturday rather than Sunday night, let's break down the entire card and how we got here!
The Television Championship has been a real highlight of 2020, providing excellent matches and exchanging hands more than any other EWA title! Our current champion is none other than Santino Marella, who defeated One-Eye Lorcan just prior to last month's Final Four, and "The Italian Stallion" has been taking on all comers ever since! Alas, that's seen him cross paths with "The Glorious B's" in recent weeks, as Santino was initially invited onto "The Pulpit" as a guest, eventually resulting in his little pal "Hornswoggle" biting Brodie Lee on the posterior! Well, Brodie didn't take too kindly to that, accepting the "Official Santino Marella TV Title Open Challenge Extravaganza" (or "OSMTVTOCE" for short) in a match that saw the big Rochester native dominate his smaller opponent. Against all odds though, Santino somehow emerged victorious, but rather than lay his rivalry with "The B's" to rest, "Pastor" Bobby Roode chose to step up to the plate instead, looking to use the TV Championship as a platform to spread his lord's message! Will Roode be successful in his efforts? Or can Santino defy the odds once again? I guess we'll find out tomorrow night!
Moving onto our second contest, and "The New Freebirds" find themselves defending the Tag Titles for the second time this month! Having already dispatched the winners of the "Final Four" tournament in "Power & Glory," they've now drawn the ire of the team that arguably made just as big an impression at last month's Pay-Per-View, "The Butcher" and "The Blade." Those two remind me of some of the brawlers I had the pleasure of watching back in my youth, two rough-and-ready fighters who are more interested in beating opponents down rather than electrifying audiences. And boy, did they ever prove that after interrupting "The New Freebirds" celebration on SLAM! two weeks ago, with "The Bunny" providing the distraction, allowing "The Butcher" and "The Blade" to decimate Joey Janela, "Jungle Boy," and Shawn Spears all at once! Not only that either, but they took some trophies from the champions as well, namely the arm of Janela's leather jacket, a clump of "Jungle Boy's" hair, and a portion of the leather tag team championship strap! With two of the three members still recuperating from that assault, Joey Janela showed up on last Sunday's show to make clear "The Freebirds" would be defending the gold against their attackers at All Hallows' Evil, yet "The Bunny" once again caused the distraction, allowing "The Butcher" and "The Blade" to destroy him for the second week running! On that basis, I think it's a safe bet that it'll be "Jungle Boy" and Shawn Spears defending the gold this Saturday, although it's worth pointing out that that has been the most successful combination of the three thus far, racking up the most wins. Still, no matter which two "Freebirds" it ends up being, there's no doubt they face their toughest test to date this Saturday! With the momentum "The Butcher" and "The Blade" have behind them (not to mention the eye-catching "Bunny" in their corner), the champions could be in some major jeopardy when we head to the PPG Paints Arena! And with this being a "Bedlam Brawl" match, once has to suspect that kind of "anything goes" environment may favor the challengers sensibilities moreso than "The New Freebirds" as well!
Neither Asuka or Sasha Banks will hold anything back when the Women's Title is on the line this Saturday!
Part of the privilege of watching professional wrestling for so many years is getting to witness dream matches become reality. The kind of matches where you take one incredible competitor and put them in the ring with someone equally as skilled, and magic inevitably occurs. Well, this Saturday's Women's Championship match certainly has that feeling about it! Asuka has been a force to be reckoned with in 2020, showing a level of dominance that has proven tough to beat. That led her to the Women's Championship back at Summer Stampede...and yet, her opponent this week is someone who never lost the title to begin with! I'm sure I don't have to remind you that Sasha Banks started this year with the gold around her waist, only to succumb to the knee injury suffered at the hands of Charlotte Flair, thereby forcing her to give up the title. It's been a long road back to contention since then, with a lengthy detour courtesy of Alicia Fox along the way, but Sasha finally got her opportunity at last month's Final Four...only for Asuka to throw in a curveball by adding Kairi Sane to the mix! Alas, that one wasn't exactly the match we'd hoped to see, finishing with a controversial triple countout that denied us a definitive winner. Tensions soon escalated even further in the weeks since then, as Sasha and "La Hiedra" challenged Asuka and Kairi to a tag team match on SLAM!, with "The Dreamchasers" picking up the win when Asuka attempted to "mist" "The Boss," only for Jimmy Golden to pull her out of harm's way and Asuka to blind the Referee instead! Things clearly needed to be settled in a one-on-one situation, with Asuka and Banks finally agreeing to do battle at All Hallows' Evil...but before that, we'd see how their seconds matched up as Kairi Sane squared off with "La Hiedra!" In the end, it was "The Pirate Princess" who walked away with the win in a highly technically contest, but will the same be said for Asuka this Saturday? Or could Sasha Banks finally reclaim the championship she was never beaten for in the first place? The only thing I know for sure is, you're not gonna want to miss out on this slobberknocker!
Few superstars in recent memory have had as impressive a debut year in the EWA as Jeremy Wyatt, especially considering he came into the company as a relative unknown. Well, I dare say every member of the EWA Universe knows exactly who he is now, having captured the TV Title earlier this year and then the National Title at last month's Final Four! One could argue he took the backdoor to achieve much of his success, but whether you like him or loathe him, there's no question Wyatt gets the job done. Already declaring himself the greatest National Champion we've ever seen, "The Monarch" apparently felt there was no worthy contenders for him to face off against this month. However, Keith Lee, Miro and Eddie Kingston all disagreed with that sentiment, leading to Wyatt suggesting a number one contenders match between the three of them to decide who gets the shot. Unfortunately though, things didn't exactly go smoothly in that one! Indeed, Kingston had a bone to pick with both Miro and Keith Lee, with the former having handed "The Last of a Dying Breed" his first EWA loss, while the latter arguably played a small part in that, having inadvertently distracted Kingston while trying to help remove Lana from the equation. Still, as the battle raged on, Jeremy Wyatt didn't seem particularly impressed by the action after joining Scott and Don at the announce table, as it soon became apparent he had no intention of facing any one of them! Instead, the National Champion interrupted the match, leaving the official with no choice but to throw it out, seemingly leaving him without a number one contender this Saturday. However, Harry Smith would have something to say about that, turning the tables by forcing Wyatt to defend the gold against all three of Miro, Keith Lee and Eddie Kingston in a Gauntlet Match! That means we start with two randomly drawn competitors, and once one man has been defeated, the next entrant comes in, with the last man standing walking out with the National Championship! I've got to say, with all the different permutations depending on the luck of the draw, I'm intrigued to see how this one pans out and where the title ends up! For Miro, this would help put him on the map! For Kingston, it would be a chance to show he's still got it! For Keith Lee, this may well be his last opportunity at the gold after two tough losses in recent months! And for Jeremy Wyatt? Well, it could be the moment that proves there's more to his outrageous claims than this old Okie gave him credit for!
Few superstars have been put through the ringer as much as Daizee Haze in 2020, yet The Haze is still standing!
There's a good argument to be made that this year has seen the women's division become the standard bearer for the entire EWA. And while that's meant a lot of highs for a lot of our incredibly talented female superstars, it's also brought about a few lows as well. Case in point, Daizee Haze and her best friend, Bayley. For weeks on end, Daizee was the victim of insidious stalkers who eventually revealed themselves to be "The Coven," a trio of Jezebels in the shape of Daffney Unger, Shelly Martinez and Rosemary, with the latter of whom soon blinding Daizee with a mysterious yellow mist that seemed to put "The Haze" in a trance-like state for weeks on end! Nothing Bayley or EWA newcomer Shotzi Blackheart could do seemed capable of breaking that spell, culminating in the two of them challenging "The Coven" to a match at Final Four. To the shock of everybody though, Daizee Haze would come out of her stupor to enter the ring during the chaotic closing moments of the contest, only to turn on Bayley, laying her "Hug 'N' Haze" partner out with the Mind Trip! Indeed, Daizee had fallen under the sway of Daffney and her fellow witches, willingly drinking from "The Coven's" goblet to give herself over to the demented sisterhood, before having an out-and-out war with Shotzi Blackheart the following week! In the aftermath of that battle, Bayley tried pleading with "The Haze," desperate to bring her friend back, and even taking a chair shot that was meant for Shotzi...yet nothing could seemingly rouse the Daizee of old! Instead, she demanded a match with Bayley, seemingly looking to end their friendship once and for all! While Bayley might have won that by disqualification, she didn't look like a winner at the end of it, bleeding heavily from the forehead thanks in large part to Daizee biting her like some kind of crazed animal. And it seemed for all the world that things were about to get worse too, as "The Coven" loomed over "The Huggable One," ready to deliver the final blow...that is, until Shotzi Blackheart suddenly appeared on the SER-Tron from the old house "The Coven" had set up in, burning down Daizee's room, and perhaps more importantly, the daisy plush she'd once held so dear! At last, "The Haze" felt something other than the hate she'd been fed by Daffney and co, turning her back on "The Coven" to embrace her best friend once again! Yet in daring to break free, "The Scream Queen" had finally had enough. She'd tried to add Daizee to her twisted family, but if she couldn't have her, Daffney was determined that nobody could, demanding a Six Woman Monster's Ball Match at All Hallows' Evil! Daizee, Bayley and Shotzi wouldn't hesitate to accept, before giving us a sneak preview when "The Coven" crashed last Sunday's "Bayley-Bration," setting up a wild brawl that saw all kinds of weapons being brought into the mix! In a fog of CO2, Daizee, Bayley and Shotzi managed to escape before "The Coven" could do any serious damage, but there won't be any such running away this Saturday when this intense conflict comes to a head! And it's worth noting, the Monster's Ball Match isn't just about hardcore weaponry either...on the contrary, each competitor will be locked in solitary confinement for 24 hours prior to the match, without light, food or water, to strip them of their humanity and amp up the intensity...not that there needs any extra vitriol between these six individuals! Still, I truly believe that this one has all the makings to steal the show on Saturday, though be warned...I fear it won't be for the weak of heart!
Moving onto our main event, and it's pretty wild to think how we got here! Buff Bagwell was riding high after emerging victorious in his rivalry with "MJF," reuniting with his mother once again. However, some run-in's with "The Honky Tonk Man," Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, and my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler soon put Bagwell on an unexpected path. With the trio of Memphis legends constantly poking fun and insulting Judy, Buff finally stood up for his momma, resulting in that incredible World Title showdown at Final Four! However, both Lawler and Hart played a big role in that one, assisting "The Honky Tonk Man" throughout the match before providing "Honky" with the megaphone which he used to deliberately get himself disqualified! As if that wasn't bad enough, they'd add injury to insult when Lawler attacked Buff from behind with a steel chair before teaming with Honky to piledrive him right on top of it! That left "Buff The Stuff" temporarily on the shelf as he recovered, yet when he returned to SLAM!, it was almost as if something had changed within him. Buff has always been somewhat of an easy-going, nonchalant kinda guy, but he looked more like a rabid dog being held back by security upon his initial return. Something seemed to snap even more during a match with Jerry Lawler that saw Bagwell viciously beating "The King" with punches to the unprotected face, causing the Referee to stop the match for Lawler's own safety! Of course, "The Honky Tonk Man" and Lawler disagreed with that sentiment altogether, instead accusing senior official Jim Molineaux of having been paid off by the Bagwell's to call off the match and hand Buff a cheap win, leading to them threatening to piledrive Jim unless he overturned the result. Instead though, Harry Smith would show up to lay down the law, decreeing that Buff Bagwell would receive his title rematch at All Hallows' Evil in a contest that would see Judy, Jimmy Hart and "The King" all banned from ringside! And furthermore, the match itself would be held within the confines of a steel cage too, thereby preventing "Honky" from running away or trying anything underhanded! Considering this new, more dangerous side to Buff Bagwell, not to mention all the things "Honky" has said and done to the Bagwell family over the last couple of months, one has to believe that the World Champion is about to live his worst nightmare on Halloween! And even as resourceful as he's proven to be over the last year, could this be the night where it all comes crashing down for "Honky," allowing Buff Bagwell to walk out with the biggest prize in the game? I guess we'll soon find out!
With all that in mind, I think it's safe to say that the sixth annual All Hallows' Evil is looking set to be just as "spook-tacular" as its predecessors! And with Joe Bob Briggs (and no doubt the lovely "Darcy The Mail Girl" too) on hosting duties, you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be a night to remember, so sign up to the EWA today to ensure you don't miss a single second of the action! Until next time,
BOOMER SOONER!
