Post by Ross Report on Dec 10, 2018 18:37:59 GMT
I tell you, folks, it wouldn't be the final SLAM! before Super Brawl without some kind of landscape-shaking event to throw the EWA Universe through a loop! We'll get into those details shortly, but for now, let's take a look at how last night's show started with Charlotte sending out a "call to arms" to the rest of the Women's division, warning them about the threat that "Revelation" pose. That would bring out Tessa Blanchard, with the Women's Champion echoing Charlotte's sentiments after finding out first-hand just how deadly Daffney and Becky Lynch can be in recent weeks. Indeed, "Revelation" would prove that once again when they surrounded the ring before revealing their newest ally in Dominatrix, who helped them put Charlotte and Tessa under their heels! Just when it looked as if Becky was about to mark Charlotte with a branding iron though, AJ Lee came running to the rescue, assisting "The Nature Girl" and "The Queen of the Carolinas" in chasing their foes off! Not only that, but it now means that the planned tag team match at Super Brawl has grown into a six woman tag match instead, pitting Tessa Blanchard, Charlotte Flair and AJ Lee against Becky Lynch, Daffney and Dominatrix, with the person scoring the deciding pinfall or submission walking out with the Women's Championship! Just when you think Super Brawl XVIII can't get any bigger, the superstars in the EWA Women's division go ahead and prove you wrong!
We saw a hint of the kind of alliance Chris Sabin has put together on Team Good Boi's, minus Chris Hero, who took the week out to try and cool off after "The Kings of Wrestling" lost the Tag Titles last Sunday. Questions were raised about Chris Sabin's lingering ankle problems that have plagued him for much of the last few months, teasing some possible dissension in the ranks. One wouldn't put it past either Gabriel or Cesaro to force some changes if they thought their Captain was going to be the proverbial "weak link" of the team, but here's hoping Sabin's continued use of crutches is the precautionary measure he claims it is and nothing more serious.
It seems "The Bayou Bullies" have really found their groove recently, much as I suggested they would once they got that elusive first victory under their belts. This week saw Jethro take on Shawn Michaels, who noticably didn't have Marty Jannetty in his corner. That allowed Skinner to play a role from the outside, leading to Jethro putting "The Heartbreak Kid" away with a Cody Rhodes-esque bulldog. How will "The Rockers" bounce back from this latest setback against their sworn enemies, I wonder?
The new Tag Team Champions checked in after the fight of their lives last weekend, although Braun Strowman and Santino Marella don't exactly have an awful long time to enjoy the fruits of their labor before Super Brawl...a fact that the "Italian Stallion" somehow seemed oblivious to. Needless to say, he definitely knows about it now!
Elsewhere backstage, we saw a meeting between Scotty Flamingo's latest associate and his former protege, as Johnny Flamingo (formerly Gargano) bumped into the locker room-less Buh Buh Ray Dudley and his best friend/lawn decoration, Scott E. It would appear as if both Buh Buh Ray and the real Scotty Flamingo are still as lost without one another as they were last week, perhaps only needing that nudge in the right direction to get both of them out of this existential funk.
We heard some interesting words from Frank Shamrock, brother of Ken and one of the most surprising picks in this year's Super Brawl draft. What ensued could best be described as the former MMA veteran not exactly proving himself to be a "all-in" on his team-mates or his brother's leadership skills, making him a wildcard in more ways than one. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out next Sunday.
When Renee Young tried to conduct an in-ring interview with the legendary Jushin "Thunder" Liger, she was instead cut off by the returning Dolph Ziggler. We've not seen "The Show-Off" since his despicable assault on Ruby Riot and subsequent failed attempt to take the National Title off Chris Sabin, but it appears his suspension has done little to hurt his ego, as evident by the "apology" he issued here. Or indeed his attempts to prey on poor Renee, at least until Liger showed up in dramatic fashion to save the day. That then led to an impromptu match between the two superstars, where the masked man made short work of Ziggler, utilizing his deadly strikes to wear him down before finishing Dolph off with a Running Liger Bomb and then forcing him to apologize for real! After being humiliated like that, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the last we see of Ziggler for some time. Still, it warms the heart to know that at least there's someone out there willing to fight for the little guy and stand up for what's right. In these dark times, Jushin "Thunder" Liger might just be the hero we all need.
After some quick commercials, "The Vaudevillains" made a point of calling out the bWo, with Simon Gotch again trying to stoke up the flames between the two groups. However, rather than the likes of "The Snowman" and Colt Cabana, he was instead greeted by Perry Saturn and Nova, members of the old bWo B-Team from about seven years ago! It seems they were sent out as proxies by Al Snow, who still doesn't quite understand Gotch's beef with him and his friends. As a result, Simon found himself beaten and embarrassed in an arm-wrestling contest with Nova, only to send both him and Perry Saturn packing before again calling out the real deal. When the bWo finally answered, things quickly broke down into a mass brawl which "The Vaudevillains" got the better of, leading to Aiden English reaffirming his faith in his partner and suggesting an eight person tag match at Super Brawl, although thankfully without the stipulation that the losers get banished from the EWA. After that same stipulation didn't go so well for the Blue World Order at last year's Super Brawl, it's probably for the best that this is just a straight up tag match this time around!
Before Fit Finlay and John Cena could put on a slobberknocker, "The Fighting Irishman" made a point of sending a message to his Captain, Brock Lesnar, that Finlay was going to be the man to win Super Brawl for Team Lesnar next Sunday! I'm not sure I can remember the last time the veteran was this confident in his abilities, something that certainly carried over into the match with Cena that followed. It was obviously an important match for John as well, in order to stamp his authority and get some momentum going for Super Brawl. After some hard-hitting back-and-forth action, "The Doctor of Thuganomics" seemingly had Finlay right where he wanted him, setting up for the Attitude Adjustment. However, that's when Sable and Brock Lesnar made their presence felt, with "The Beast" delivering a wicked F-5 on Cena right into the ring post while his wife ran interference with the Ref. It's little surprise then that Lesnar's underhanded tactics lit such a fire beneath Finlay, who only wanted to prove that he didn't need to sink to those depths to get the job done. Granted, it didn't stop him from taking the pinfall over Cena after Lesnar had struck, but I suppose one could argue what else could he have done in that kind of situation. Either way, that relationship between Finlay and Lesnar looks to be on thin ice already. And as for Cena himself? You've got to believe this wasn't the outcome he was hoping for when he agreed to face Finlay, with the result threatening to derail his preparations for the biggest match of his career. It'll be interesting to see what his fellow team-mates think of this loss as well, and whether or not it affects their faith in their Captain going forwards.
Much like Dolph Ziggler earlier in the show, WALTER was also on hand to issue an apology, in reference to his crazed appearance last week. Alas, the ire of one particular fan was enough to set the "Ring General" off once again, causing him to overstep the mark and viciously assault that member of the audience until security could finally drag him away. There's no excuse whatsoever for that kind of action, no matter how much sympathy I might have for WALTER's situation, and one would imagine he'll be extremely lucky if he's not punished heavily by EWA management, and perhaps even removed from the Super Brawl Match altogether. I hate to say it, but it would be no less than he deserved.
Truth be told, I was both really excited by the prospect of the triple threat match between Marty Scurll, Gabriel and Ricochet, while also dreading it. There was no doubt in my mind that the three of them would put on a spectacle that would be exciting from start to finish, but I can't say I was looking forward to this being the last time we'd see one of those superstars on EWA television. Just to heighten the drama, there were moments in this one where it looked as if any one of the three supremely talented competitors might walk away with the victory and the coveted spot on Team Good Boi's. Ultimately though, Gabriel weathered the storm before hitting Scurll with a Fall From Grace so big that it sent him flying out of the ring. That then allowed "The Solitary Reaper" to collapse on top of Ricochet instead (who'd just been downed with a Bird of Prey by "The Villain"), thus bringing Ricochet's tenure on the EWA roster to an end while guaranteeing Gabriel would remain in the Super Brawl mix! While the man formerly known as Trevor Mann might not have rubbed many within the EWA Universe the right way over the past six months, few can argue how talented he is, and how much of a loss it'll be to not have him around heading into 2019. It's a damn shame it had to come to this, but here's hoping Ricochet lands on his feet wherever he ends up next. I dare say things aren't necessarily over between Scurll and Gabriel either, with Marty having been denied the opportunity to sneak his way into the Super Brawl Match and obviously blaming Gabriel for that outcome. It might pay Gabriel dividends to grow some eyes in the back of his head while the villainous Scurll continues to lurk in the shadows.
Then came the moment we'd all been waiting for, as Ken Shamrock made good on his promise from the previous week to show up to the E-Arena and call out Brock Lesnar. The crowd were just as eager to see it as I was, yet rather than have that confrontation between two of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters this sport has ever seen, Lesnar made sure to keep his distance, refusing Shamrock's offer to fight it out then and there. However, the EWA Universe would soon be rocked by the return of "British Bulldog" Harry Smith, who made it clear while there was nothing he could do to force "The Beast" into action last night, there was something he could do about it at Super Brawl...namely by forcing Lesnar to defend the World Championship in the very first match of the night against none other than "The World's Most Dangerous Man!" Not only that, but it would be in the unique setting of the Lion's Den Match as well, something we've not seen in the E-Wrestling Alliance in 15 years! Talk about a bombshell right there, with the odds once again being stacked against Lesnar in a big way by the EWA's head honcho! This is history in the making, folks, as never before has any World Champion had to defend their gold at Super Brawl before the main event...and we even got to see a preview of what to expect, as Shamrock finally got his hands on the man who half-blinded him, right as SLAM! went off the air! At the same time though, you've got to think this is a move that could well highly benefit both Chris Sabin and John Cena! After all, there's every chance that Lesnar and Shamrock tear one another apart, leaving little in the tank left over for the Super Brawl Match and thereby allowing one of the other Captains to potentially swoop in and pick up the pieces. No doubt about it, the dynamic of next Sunday's "Showcase of the Immortals" has completely changed, and I wouldn't like to predict how it'll all shake out by the end of the night!
Here's my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Harry Smith
2. Fit Finlay
3. Jushin "Thunder" Liger
The long-awaited return of "The British Bulldog" saw Harry Smith shake things up in a major way heading into Super Brawl XVIII, much to the consternation of his old enemy Brock Lesnar! It may not have been the victory he had planned on, but the fact that Fit Finlay managed to defeat one of the four Super Brawl Captains just one week out from the "grand daddy of 'em all" has to be seen as a huge boost for Team Lesnar, as well as a stumble out of the starting blocks for Team Cena! And last but not least, Jushin "Thunder" Liger made another big impression after making the gifted Dolph Ziggler look decidedly ordinary, and also sticking up for Renee Young in the process.
All in all then, things are shaping up for Super Brawl XVIII to be a show unlike any other! Between the World Championship showdown, to the Women's Title being up for grabs in a six man tag, to the bWo and "Vaudevillains" finally facing off, to the return of several EWA legends in the Alternates Match, and then Super Brawl itself, next Sunday promises to be one for the ages! Don't you dare miss out!
BOOMER SOONER!
