The Duo division had plenty of other heat surrounding it, particularly with Zangief and Aleksey Zalazof emerging as possible rivals to Alex and Lucky Colt in the quest to claim the CWA Tag Team Championship.
The show kicked off backstage with the parking lot arrival of one of Metro City's favourite sons and current CWA Commissioner, Mike Haggar. The Macho Mayor marched proudly toward the arena when CWA Heavyweight Champion, Victor Ortega, emerged to assault him in what seemed to be a premeditated attack! Ortega stomped on the fallen Commissioner, giving few clues as to exactly what his intentions were, other than to humiliate and physically beat the retired Muscle Bomber. Ortega held the Heavyweight championship over a beaten Haggar, before leaving arriving officials to check on his well being.
Kimala versus King Rasta Gomes
Rasta Gomes was showing signs of physical and mental injuries sustained during his hardcore match last week against Sheep the Royal. Without the presence of his monkey manager, it seemed Gomes was losing coherrency. After finally making his way to the ring for singles competition, it was to be an unceremonious beating for the wild man. Kimala was as sadistic as ever, taking a methodical pace as he drove Gomes' body into the mat with repeated powerslams. A big splash put the finishing touches on a sickening exhibition.
Winner: Kimala the Bouncer
In the arena offices, Mike Haggar was joined by his former student and popular Muscle Bomber, Aleksey Zalazof. Haggar, holding an ice pack to the back of his head, dismissed the Russian's concern, coaching him to get his head back in the game because he was being schedule in an exhibition match against Tag Team Championship contenders, Lucky Colt & Alex. The "Uncivil Servant" instructed that a victory would help him more than confronting Ortega, who would be forced to pay for his actions in due course.
In the ring; a clearly distraught Rainbow Mika and El Fuerte made their way out for a challenge.
They denounced the actions of The Wraith and his
followers, demanding they come out and face them. Darkness throughout
the arena signalled an answer as The Wraith paced steadily to the ring
accompanied by his part-time partner, Black Widow. It
was seemingly circumstantial booking that had brought Wraith and Widow
together at the CWA comeback event, The
International Blowout, but now the Widow appeared to be playing
a much larger role in the dark machinations of Wraith. With their
silent enemies now in the ring with them, Mika & Fuerte offered a
challenge that determined if they won a tag team match tonight, the
abducted El Stinger would be returned to them
unharmed. By retreating to a corner, The Wraith appeared to agree.TAG TEAM MATCH
Rainbow Mika & El Fuerte versus Black Widow & The Wraith
The Widow posed a slightly less intimidating figure than his 7' partner, but still his bizarre style of agility and contortion had Mika on the back foot. Mika's attempts to grapple were met with strange archs that allowed the Widow to twist his legs into powerful kicks. Like a tilt-a-whirl, the Black Widow spun Mika into oblivion, forcing the tag. Fuerte went straight to a lucha strategum, using the ropes to fling himself like a human bullet. A crossbody only provided further opportunity for Black Widow to twist, resulting in a convoluted counter attack into a Mexican surf hold.
El Fuerte was fortunately able to power out of the move, scoring an inadvertent lowblow from a ricocheted baseball slide. The move didn't appear to phase Black Widow at all, however, who utilized the ropes in a very different way to tax El Fuerte's limbs with a hung crab lock. Referee Harry Hicks forced the controversial hold to break, sending El Fuerte scrambling back to his corner for the tag, while The Wraith remained silent and unmoved by the events.
Rainbow Mika made valiant attempts to capitalize on any advantage El Fuerte might've earned, but even a dubious inverted atomic drop failed to sufficiently slow Black Widow. Fatigue had a part to play, but even as Mika followed chop blocks with an ascension to the top rope, the Widow was still able to roll out of the way of a shooting star peach, leaving the impact to be absorbed by Mika. Proximity gave Mika the desperation tag, but El Fuerte ran right back into a modified crucifix. Finally the Wraith extended his arm to accept a tag, entering with apparent sinister intentions. He dropped El Fuerte with a tombstone piledriver, before beginning his strange ritualistic attack of the soul. R. Mika interrupted the moment, but suffered a goozle for her troubles.
Winners: The Wraith & Black Widow
The Wraith resumed his bizarre ritual over El Fuerte's defeated body, but as he did, Sheep the Royal burst from the entrance chasing Rasta Gomes' monkey manager, Freak! Freak charged to the ring, leading Sheep into the path of The Wraith and Black Widow, who opted to leave the ring the opposite way without El Fuerte. Why they chose to do this, and exactly what had prompted Sheep's early arrival, remain as much a mystery as the fate of El Stinger, who has not been seen since suffering the strange ritual of The Wraith on the last Slam Masters!
Birdie versus Sheep the Royal (w/ Freak)
Though his entrance had come far too early for the match, Sheep was apparently scheduled for an encounter with the British brawler, Birdie! Birdie entered the arena without the accompaniment of his tag partner, Titanic Tim, leading to further speculation about the status of their relationship.
The two big men displayed a very different blend of styles to the previous match, relying more on barroom brawling tactics than any finesse or technique. Birdie's mohawk took a little punishment as Sheep looked for a piledriver, buying some space for the rugby royal. It was not to be the victory Sheep anticipated however, with Rasta Gomes hobbling his way to the ring on a crutch to spoil proceedings. Try though Sheep did to talk the wildman down, the crutch was broken over his head, resulting in a disqualification victory against Birdie. The punk rocker was less than pleased, but despite taking Gomes down with a chain shot, it seemed Birdie was far from done. With his tag team partner nowhere to be seen, Birdie might very well blame Titanic Tim for not being there to watch his back!
Winner: Sheep the Royal (via Disqualification)
Darun Mister made his way to the ring next with a
special announcement concerning his plans as #1
Contender to the CWA Heavyweight Championship. Mister
talked about the long career that earned him mythic status in his
native India and once again lamented on what it would mean to finally
pit his legend against the Russian Red Cyclone,
Zangief. As in recent weeks, he inferred
that the current-champion, Victor Ortega,
was a short-lived phenomenon unworthy of legendary
status, declaring that a championship victory would result in an
immediate open-challenge to Zangief so that they could finally
actually face each other one-on-one.Victor Ortega interrupted the #1 Contender's moment to literally come face-to-face with the man he would fight at CWA: Muscle Bomber Meltdown. Ortega held the championship belt up, bringing it between their faces before turning his back on Darun Mister. The champion mocked Mister's fixation with a man he'd already defeated, promising that he would make sure Mister got what he wanted, and joined Zangief on the list of "humiliated losers." He acknowledged that he at least admired Mister for continuing to recognise his desire to fight, unlike Mike Haggar. It didn't take the Commissioner long to emerge at the entrance himself! Haggar threatened Ortega with suspension, but the champion only followed up his recent threats to leave and take the belt with him to find better competition. Ortega antagonised further, challenging the Commissioner to fight him like he clearly wanted to. Provoked, but always cool under pressure, Haggar gave Ortega the fight he wanted -- by forcing him to defend his Heavyweight Championship right then and there against Darun!
HEAVWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Darun Mister versus Victor Ortega (c)
The atmosphere was electric not only for an early taste of the Meltdown action, but for the long awaited clash of these two Muscle Bombers whose comeback careers have yet to include being pinned. As much as Ortega had disrespected Darun Mister over the past month, he was in no rush to break the methodical pace that started this spontaneous championship match-up. The two titans of the ring circled like predators in the wild before locking up, the jostling apparently ending in a stalemate. A second attempt saw a rolling succession of waistlocks, and when Mister looked for a hip toss to break the pattern, Ortega was able to grab the top rope to block the attempt.
Each Muscle Bomber returned to a neutral corner while the crowd bayed for action.
Ortega flashed a sinister smile to the crowd with a tap of his temple, suggesting perhaps the indomitable champion had merely been indulging the challenger. His actions, leading him to charge into a snapping belly to belly suplex, suggested otherwise, however. Mister took full intiative, locking in a camel clutch on the fallen champ. Any other Muscle Bomber would've been in trouble, but Ortega's inhuman power allowed him to fight through the pain and shake Mister off his back! Returning to a vertical base, the champ tossed Mister over the top rope, taking the fight to foreign territory for Mister -- a traditionalist at heart.
Despite the unsavory conditions, Mister did well to indulge the outside brawling. Even so, Ortega's penchant for "inadvertent" use of ringside scenery as weapons clearly began to tip the scales. As the action returned to the ring, Ortega shook off warnings from referee Harry Hicks, unrelenting in his pursuit of an undefeated streak. He thundered a floored Mister with stomps and forearm drops, challenging Mister's verticality by sheer force, rather than technique. He allowed the challenger to stand only on his own terms, hitting powerful moves like a double underhook powerbomb. Though Mister was able to resist several pinning attempts, the conclusion appeared academic. With the title on the line, the fight would never leave Mister, but Ortega's strategy had paid off. Back strain made a Mister piledriver vulnerable to counterattack, eventuating in a modified powerslam and pin.
Winner and still CWA Heavyweight Champion: Victor Ortega
Despite an air of controversy surrounding Ortega's garbage wrestling tactics, the defending champion gladly received his title, as well as a microphone. With Darun Mister left to lick his wounds to the side, Ortega jumped on his victory, announcing it as further proof of the total lack of competition in CWA. Pointing his finger accusingly toward the empty entrance, he called for Mike Haggar to stop being a coward and come and face him. Holding the title belt over his head, Ortega received no answer, much like fans, who now had to ponder who could possibly end the undefeated reign of Victor Ortega.
Backstage, the interview trench featured top contenders to the Tag Team titles, Lucky Colt and Alex. The Muscle Bomber Duo were on hand to answer questions ahead of their main event clash with the newly formed tandem of Zangief and Aleksey Zalazof. Colt - an old rival of Zalazof's - did most of the talking, relishing the opportunity to assert superiority over two former Heavyweight title contenders. He described Zangief as a smart choice of partner for Zalazof, whose win/loss record had been less than impressive during the comeback era. His tone was playful, ending with affirmation that, unlike Darun Mister, they would not jeopardize their title shot at Muscle Bomber Meltdown on July 26th.
TAG TEAM MATCH
Aleksey Zalazof & Zangief versus Alex & Lucky Colt
With four of the most popular face wrestlers in CWA together in the ring at one time, the crowd was brimming with enthusiasm, if not some feelings of conflict. Alex & Colt could not lose their title shot in a loss, but there was a clear sense that Zalazof & Zangief had the potential to disrupt the rhytm that had guided the title-bound pair to a streak comparable to that of Victor Ortega's!
Zalazof and Alex started the action, the pair an eerie mirror of each other. Alex was perhaps the slightly stronger of the two, while Zalazof gained a slight edge of speed from being a little less bulky. Never the less, when the pair finally tied up, it was a remarkably even ball game! Alex found initial luck, stepping in to a hammerlock before Zalazof was able to break for the ropes. He ricocheted back, striking with a clean lariat. Despite having spent the better part of six months as rivals, it looked as if continuity wouldn't be a problem for the tagging Russians. Zangief entered with his own pace of hard body shots, scoring big with a German suplex. Another tag returned Zalazof to the fight, but a front facelock gave Alex opportunity to hit a vertical suplex, giving him a chance for a tag of his own.
Colt and Zalazof had an obvious chemistry, indicated by Colt's enthusiasm to get in. He delivered a series of slams, a Russian legsweep delivered with some irony. On the mat, he attempted a modifed leg lock, but was unable to force his rival to tap out. The situation created another tag opportunity, bringing Alex back into the match. He favoured grappling over mat holds, creating a powerslam an irish whip. Despite the impact, it was too soon for a cover, leading the Russian to kick out at a short two count. He was able to fight out of a side headlock, sending Alex into the ropes to meet a standing dropkick. Zalazof was then able to dive to his corner, picking up a much needed tag from Zangief. The Red Cyclone entered with victory in mind, attacking with the 360 lariat! When he exited the move, however, a very different script was about to unfold.
With no warning -- Sodom, Hugo, Kimala, Mysterious Budo, and Astro charged the ring!
The tag champs and Mad Gear attacked all four competing men, descriminating against no one!
With fatigue playing it's part in the scenario, the five-on-four
clash could only advantage the assailants whose numerical advantage
allowed Astro to direct the carnage whilst also partaking in it.
Referee Harry Hicks could do little more than cancel the match,
watching the chaos unfold.Winners: Draw (No Contest)
On a night when the championship was forced to be defended, it seemed inconceivable that anything could overshadow that. However, as Alex, Lucky Colt, Zangief, and Zalazof, all lay unconscious in the ring, it seemed it was the shock celebrations of Tag Team Champions, Astro, Mysterious Budo, their bouncer, Kimala, and the Mad Gear combination of Sodom and Hugo Andore, that had shocked the Muscle Bomber universe. Exactly what their actions signalled, and whether or not this was an act of alliance, would be a question for next week's Slam Masters -- the last before the titles go on the line at the July 26 special event, CWA: Muscle Bomber Meltdown!
Also on the agenda next week -- Who will Victor Ortega face now that he has successfully defeated the official #1 contender? What ill effects have been dealt by The Wraith's dark arts to El Fuerte and R. Mika? What new levels of insanity will emerge from Rasta Gomes as he pursues Sheep the Royal? And what sinister machinations has Astro been hatching all along?
No comments:
Post a Comment