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Post by Neo Zeed on Mar 25, 2023 18:46:45 GMT
The executive offices of the Westminster Kennel Club, early February 1996...
CEO and chairman of the board of the Westminster Kennel Club is shown at his office with the door open, activity buzzing in the background in the days leading up to their biggest event, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show live annually on the USA Network(usually preempting WWF Raw once a year every February, breaking the heart of a little boy in Texas once every year that had waited all week hyped for wrestling). The president of the Kennel Club is overheard on the phone already in conversation with somebody saying "Frank, Frank no, you're not listening to me...It doesn't matter who they are, this deal has brought in a TON of ad revenue for the network, there is no way we're moving from this timeslot". As the president talks with the phone clinched to his shoulder he's shown going through his mail piled up in his in-box on his desk, tossing junkmail envelopes into the trash bin before catching one particular envelope and stopping everything he's doing. The president of the Kennel Club tells whoever it is on the phone he has to call them back before hanging up and opening the strange envelope, addressed from Japan.... from.... Neo Zeed....The Westminster Kennel Club president opens the envelope only to find a few pink Japanese cherry blossom pedals, floating out of the envelope onto his desk, causing his eyes to open wide as he gasps.... The CEO of the Kennel Club shouts at his secretary Jennifer, get me the network, NOW! The secretary hesitates and questions what, why!? The CEO freaks out at her in a nervous panic, WILL YOU DO YOUR F#%&ING JOB AND GET ME THE NETWORK ON THE LINE! F%&#!! Jennifer scrambles back to her desk, "Ok ok, Jesus Christ! What is with you?!"... The speaker phone on the desk begins dialing out as the CEO turns in his chair with a shaken, spooked look on his face as he looks at the cherry blossom pedals. The phone line on the other end picks up with the receptionist at USA Network Corporate Offices answering the phone just as we cut away to the LIVE shot of JUDGEMENT NIGHT from BEAUTIFUL San Diego California!....  Sports Arena(San Diego, CA)February 12th, 1996The San Diego Sports Arena is SOLD OUT tonight, and this crowd is HOT! The hard opening shot of the arena hits the USA Network airwaves LIVE with Joey Styles standing in the middle of the ring and the crowd going F#@&*NG NUTS! The black and silver theme of the arena, the million dollar lighting rig giving the whole arena a certain 1996 glow, the entrance stage with the huge banner hanging over it, the elevated catwalk ramp to the ring, the hard steel guard railing, and the most ominous cyclone fence steel cage hanging over the ring set the tone right off the bat! Joey Styles welcomes the live audience but his usual opening monologue is soon interrupted when all of a sudden a woman walks out of the back that steals all attention.... it's.... SUNNY!
Sunny makes her way to the ring wearing a black silk robe like what a boxer would wear walking out for a fight! Joey Styles is frozen, surprised, confused, stuttering with his voice cracking as he asks her what the hell are you doing here, this is LIVE television!? Sunny takes the microphone from Joey Styles and tells him that she's here because this promotion needs ratings. Sunny breaks the news that she has been hired by Best Of The Best as the NEW host and interviewer of Judgement Night right here every week! Sunny officially relieves Joey Styles of his duties, asking him what he thinks that people would rather see on their television, him, or.... this..... Sunny disrobes to reveal a swimsuit, causing Joey Styles to collapse backwards in total shock, sending the crowd off into a FRENZY! Sunny waits for the crowd to die down before officially kicking off the show, THIS.... is JUDGEMENT NIGHT! Sunny drops the mic and we fade right into the hard hitting opening highlight montage set to Tupac's All Eyez On Me! The opening highlight focuses on Undisputed World Champ, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, as well as Bret Hart, Evander Holyfield, and all of the stars that are set to compete this weekend in Las Vegas on Sunday night at Caesars Palace, it will be Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors on pay per view! The opening highlight music video segues into the live shot of the arena with a huge pyro explosion going off over the ring and entrance stage with Jim Ross welcoming the television audience alongside a recovering Joey Styles joining him as his new permanent co-commentator of Judgement Night! There will be no dog show tonight folks, and we are just DAYS away from The Revenge Of The Warriors, ANYTHING can happen here tonight this is LIVE, and it just does not get any bigger than our main event! The Steel Cage will be lowered down and the six man battle between Sting, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior against the Horsemen will determine the fate of the #1 Contender status for Shawn Michaels Undisputed Title in Vegas THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! ***** As Sunny makes her exit the opening ceremonies are suddenly interrupted when Deep Purple's Perfect Strangers hits the PA system to bring out Shane Douglas, the man who at the time right now has moved into the #1 spot in the top 20 rankings here at Best Of The Best....
Shane Douglas takes the ring and Jim Ross gives a disclaimer and a warning for folks watching at home, this is live television and this has been one man that has kept the network censors here at BOTB on their heels whenever he gets a microphone. This man Shane Douglas is the sorry as#^ole that threw down the most prestigious title in this sport less than 2 years ago, and he really get the crowd booing him with the insults and smug as#*@le vibes right off the bat. Shane cuts a promo about the new rankings that just came out earlier today, there is a NEW #1 at the top, and it's the baddest motherf#%@er in this sport right now, you're looking right at him! Douglas addresses the events on Shockwave this past Saturday night with The Four Horsemen scouting for a new 4th member, with Arn Anderson and JJ Dillon coming out during Shane's match against Brad Armstrong. Shane sends the message to the Horsemen, read my lips.... kiss my ass! Douglas says that the only thing he wants from Ric Flair is to pin his F#%*ING shoulders to the mat, 1, 2, 3! Douglas then calls out the pu$%y boy toy, pretty boy Shawn Michaels, the poster boy of this bull$#*t promotion, bring your fuc*#ng ass and your belt out here RIGHT NOW! BRING HIM OUT! WHERE IS HE!? Douglas demands a shot at Shawn Michaels and the Undisputed World Title on the spot, RIGHT NOW, but he knows that Michaels is not even here tonight. He's not here tonight, because he's on the run, because he knows damn well what's going to happen if he steps into the ring with Shane Douglas. " All of these marks in the crowd and all the idiots at home can buy into Shawn Michaels fake poster boy act all they want, but at the end of the day Shawn knows it, the Kliq knows it, anyone who knows the sport of professional wrestling knows it, I'M THE FU#%^NG MAN!"The crowd boo's intensify as Douglas sends the message that this company can keep putting all the promotion behind HBK, strap a fu#%*@ rocket to his back and push him to the god damn moon. This god forsaken company can try to protect their golden boy World Champion for as long as they want, but it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when, sooner or later Michaels is going to have to face the man that he knows deep down in his heart he can not beat, and that man is Shane Douglas. So since the biggest pus## in this sport isn't even here tonight, Shane Douglas is laying down another open challenge for anybody in the back that has the balls to come out here right now, any one of the Horsemen, anyone from The "Kliq"... BRING IT ON! Douglas is FIRED UP! The man has been on a roll here since he debuted here earlier this year, he's ditched the Dean gimmick and he's just a bitter wrestler that is boiling over with frustration and resentment for the entire sport of wrestling, his run through Savio Vega, Barry Horowitz, Bob Holly, and Marty Jannetty last week in Mexico City was a true grabbing the bull by the horns moment that padded his record and made a real statement for where he is in his career in 1996. Shane's open challenge goes unanswered for a brief period as the crowd lets him have it. A full drink flies into the ring and nearly hits him, spilling soda all over a spot near the ropes. All of a sudden a small, 5'6", 170 pound, young 21 year old masked wrestler walks out.....
Joey Styles is surprised on commentary, that's REY MYSTERIO JR. from the Mexican AAA Lucha Libre promotion! Mysterio takes the ring with a microphone and looks up at Shane Douglas as he accepts his challenge! Shane laughs at him as he looks down towering over him! You got to be fu#@*&g KIDDING me! Shane Douglas tells Rey Mysterio that he's got a lot of balls, but he's in way over his head, get out of the ring before you get embarrassed right here on live television kid. Shane pats Rey on the head with disrespect as he laughs at him! Mysterio tells Shane Douglas that he's here to show everybody what he's got, he's not afraid of Shane Douglas, if he wants a fight right here in San Diego tonight he will give it to him RIGHT NOW! Mysterio slaps Shane Douglas across his mouth! The crowd goes nuts! Shane Douglas pauses in total shock before boiling over with RAGE! Mysterio backs into his corner and calls for Douglas to bring it on! A referee runs into the ring calling for the bell and we're off with our opening match!... Singles Match Shane Douglas vs Rey Mysterio Jr. Shane Douglas meets a match that he was nowhere near prepared for, Rey Mysterio's speed and agility is otherworldly in a fascinating display of lucha. Douglas whiffs with every attempt at an offensive maneuver, getting red in the face from embarrassment after having his own over-aggression and momentum used against him. Mysterio owns Shane Douglas in the ring in the opening minutes before Douglas gets knocked off the apron to the floor, setting up an AMAZING running somersault seated senton! Shane finally catches the smaller man with a brutal counter, throwing him almost all the way across the ring by pushing him off of a tornado DDT attempt! Shane kicks Mysterio around the ring spitting at the crowd, flipping the referee off, but Mysterio brings the fans back to life with a huge underdog comeback. Douglas stuffs a rana attempt only for Rey to pull himself back up onto his shoulders, spin around, and pull him down into a victory roll.... 1.... 2.... 3! DOUGLAS KICKS OUT RIGHT AS THE REF'S HAND HITS THE CANVAS! But it's over! REY MYSTERIO JR WINS! The crowd EXPLODES as the referee calls for the bell! UNBELIEVABLE! This young star, Rey Mysterio, has made his debut here by STUNNING the top ranked wrestler in Best Of The Best with a pinfall at 7:50! Mysterio escapes the ring and celebrates the win in the crowd as Shane Douglas screams at the referee that he kicked out! Shane Dougals snaps and gives referee Charles Robinson a BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX! NO! As Rey Mysterio Jr. makes his exit being loved by the San Diego crowd Shane Douglas throws a MASSIVE tantrum down at the ringside area, taking Joey Styles commentary headset and demanding to see the replay! The replay shows inconclusive with the shot of the referee's hand hitting the 3 count partially obscured as Douglas kicks out in the footage! Douglas throws the headset down and flips the commentary table over! JR and Joey Styles back away as Shane Douglas destroys one of the monitors in a fit of rage! Charles Robinson is tended to by EMT's as Douglas is finally confronted by security as we cut away to commercials... ***** After the break we get a mid-90's MTV music video style interview clip with the final ever ECW World Champion The Sandman, accompanied by the mastermind behind his success, Woman. These two made a surprise debut here back in the 30 Man Champions Rumble, with Woman using Sandman's ECW World Title to get him a spot in the match for a shot at the Undisputed World Title. The video cuts in and out from color to sepia tone, with random avant guard cut aways to shots of television static, distortion of the camera shots, the smoke wafting through the air in the dim lighting, the kind of editing and effects you would come to expect from an Oliver Stone film.  The Sandman is shown in the background smoking cigarettes and drinking beer while Woman does all of the talking, introducing herself and The Sandman, giving the backstory of their success in ECW, what ECW was, the most violent promotion in North America, a format that she used to elevate her own status to be here in Best Of The Best. Woman says that she is the most dangerous mind in this sport, she is here to take this company over and it all starts with that Undisputed World Championship belt that Shawn Michaels is wearing. Clips and highlights of the Sandman vs Steve Austin vs Mikey Whipreck feud in ECW cut in and out as Woman talks about the history Sandman has with both men in the dying days of ECW. Woman addresses the recent events from 2 weeks ago where Steve Austin interrupted The Sandman's match against Mikey Whipreck here on Judgement Night. Austin bloodied The Sandman before ending the wrestling career of Mikey with a neck injury that put the 22 year old in a wheel chair the rest of his life. Woman talks about the incident with such a cold, evil, heartless look in her eyes. Woman says that Mikey was just collateral damage, life isn't always fair. The promo closes with Woman sending a message to Steve Austin and Paul E. Dangerously, we both want the same thing, but I always get what I want. Steve Austin... don't cross me again.... The video ends with The Sandman slowly putting his cigarette out into the camera lens... ***** We return to the live shot of the San Diego Sports Arena with the all time legendary Funk Brothers making their entrance for the following World Tag League Qualifying Match set to kick off on Judgement Night from Las Vegas next Monday night. Jim Ross and Joey Styles put Terry and his brother Dory Funk Jr. over as one of the all time legendary tag teams, both of them former NWA World Champions back when that was THE premier World Title. Billy and Bart Gunn come out next to If The Good Die Young by Tracey Lawrence, wearing blue jeans with holes in them, worn out cowboys boots, and sleeveless Tracy Lawrence/Metallica t-shirts, with bandannas instead of cowboy hats. This match has been weeks in the making ever since the Smoking Guns hired Dory Funk Jr. as their new manager last month. The former NWA World Champion Dory Jr. trained Billy and Bart Gunn down in Texas and gave them a newfound toughness and attitude that was missing. The legendary trainer just didn't have enough time to work with the Gunn brothers, they would end up being defeated in a highly anticipated match against Harlem Heat on Judgement Night last week in Mexico City. After the match the Smoking Guns beat Dory Funk up and wrapped him in barbed wire. Last week The Smoking Guns appeared with a new edgier look and attitude. They publicly fired Dory Jr. and blamed him for their loss to Harlem Heat before announcing that they had changed their name to The Hardcore Guns. Terry Funk made his debut to back up his brother to set up tonight's NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH! The winners of this match will get one of the last remaining spot in the upcoming World Tag League set to determine the first ever BOTB Undisputed World Tag Champs! World Tag League Qualifying Match
No Disqualification The Hardcore Guns vs Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. This is all out MADNESS! Billy Gunn and Terry Funk take the fight down to the ringside area right away as Dory Funk Jr. ties up with Bart through the ropes out onto the elevated entrance ramp! Terry and Billy Gunn brawl over the railing through the crowd while Bart Gunn beats Dory Funk Jr. through the backstage area into the locker room! This ugly brawl goes on throughout the San Diego Sports Arena for several minutes before all 4 men end up back near the ringside area. The Hardcore Guns pull out the BARBED WIRE but it backfires on them, the old timers work together to send Bart crashing into the tangled mess wadded up in the corner in a gruesome, SICKENING moment that makes the entire arena collectively gasp! OH MY GAAAAAAWD! Everyone in the arena continues gasping as Bart Gunn separates the barbed wire from his skin while screaming in pain, JESUS! Bart rolls out to the floor as Dory and Terry double team Billy Gunn in an attempt to go for the finish! Billy counters both Funk brothers with a DOUBLE DDT! Bart recovers and throws a steel chair into the ring for Billy to use to SMASH into Dory's FACE! GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY! Dory Funk Jr. is knocked out! Bart rolls into the ring with another steel chair still bleeding and grimacing in pain! The Hardcore Guns finish Terry Funk off with a barrage of chair shots to his head, chest, and back until he finally goes down! Both men make the cover and it's over.... 1... 2... 3! Thank god! Enough is ENOUGH! The Hardcore Guns are barely able to celebrate as both Billy and Bart are a beaten, exhausted mess! The Guns have earned their spots in the World Tag League, but it's just not enough! Billy and Bart recover and continue to beat Terry and Dory Funk Jr. down with the steel chairs in a sickening attempt to put themselves over even further. Billy Gunn holds Dory Funk up on his knees in the corner while Bart kayo's Terry with a BRUTAL chair shot to the face! Dory screams out for his brother but he's helpless to do anything! Terry recovers to his knees and Bart gets ready to deliver the final deathblow until all of a sudden.....
AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH WHHHHAAAAAAAAT AAAAAAAAAA RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!
OHHHHH MY GOOOOOOD! The crowd blows THE FU#&@ing ROOF OFF THE ARENA! THE LEGION OF DOOM IS HERE! Hawk and Animal ARE BAAAACK! The Hardcore Guns freeze in the ring in total shock as the crowd goes totally fuc#&ing unhinged! Hawk and Animal run into the ring and the Guns run for it! The Legion Of Doom take the ring and the crowd is INSANE! Billy and Bart Gunn retreat to the entrance isle in total disbelief! Hawk gets a microphone and sends the message to The Hardcore Guns and every other tag team here, The Legion Of Doom are BACK and they are OFFICIALLY IN THE WORLD TAG LEAGUE! The crowd goes CRAZY! The LOD celebrate as their music plays as we fade out to commercials.... ***** After the break Jim Ross and Joey Styles are still in complete shock, one of the greatest tag teams of all time, The Legion Of Doom, is BACK and they are signed for the World Tag League! Joey Styles breaks the news that we will have a HUGE Qualifying Match for the World Tag League this Thursday night on Bushido on TBS at 8:05pm, it will be the team of Chris Benoit & Arn Anderson looking to get The Horsemen a spot in the World Tag League as they will face the foreign challenge from Japan in the team of Hiromitsu Kanehara & Kazushi Sakuraba from the UWFI promotion that is looking to make a move on Best Of The Best. The Horsemen will be the only thing standing between the UWFI and a spot in the World Tag League, it will be a huge qualifying bout on Bushido THIS THURSDAY NIGHT at 8:05 on TBS! Styles and JR kick it over to the backstage area to our new interviewer Sunny, where she has put some more clothes on and is standing by to break the news for Shockwave this Saturday night on TBS at 6:05, we will have an 8 team one night tournament for the FINAL open spot in the World Tag League! This entire tournament will go down THIS SATURDAY NIGHT on SHOCKWAVE! This will be from the historic Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles! You do not want to miss this episode of Shockwave! 6:05 on Saturday Night on TBS: THE SUPERSTATION! Sunny also breaks the news that she has a massive announcement for the World Tag League, right here, one of the BEST OF THE BEST tag teams in the international wrestling scene, Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon! This is huge news! Furnas & Lafon, aka The Can-Am Express, one of the premier tag teams in All Japan Pro Wrestling for the past 6 years. Both men make their debuts on camera with Sunny for a brief interview, where they make it official they have signed a contract here with Best Of The Best and their Championship pedigree in AJPW has earned them a spot in the World Tag League!.... With this news we are down to the final 2 spots remaining in the league. We will see one of those spots taken either by The Horsemen(Benoit & Arn) or the invading UWFI(Kanehara & Sakuraba) as they are set to clash in a Qualifying Bout under UWFI rules on Bushido this Thursday night at 8:05pm on TBS. Then, the final spot in the league will be up for grabs when 8 teams will compete in a one night tournament on Shockwave this Saturday night on TBS at 6:05pm! This tag league will go down over the course of 12 weeks with an NFL season style format. Each team will wrestle a 12 week schedule, wrestling against division opponents twice. The teams with the best records in their division at the end of the regular season will clash in the final 4 tournament to determine the very first ever Best Of The Best Undisputed World Tag Team Champions! ***** We return to the live shot with Jim Ross and Joey Styles absolutely hyped for the World Tag League set to kick off here on Judgement Night next week from LAS VEGAS! Suddenly JR and Joey Styles are interrupted by the entrance music of Harlem Heat! Booker T and Stevie Ray get the San Diego Sports Arena raising the roof as they make their way out to the ring to cut a promo about the World Tag League! Harlem Heat issue the challenge to any team in the league to bring it on, they will not back down from the LOD, The Eliminators, The Steiners, or anybody else! All of a sudden the crowd's boos pick up when Jim Cornette leads out Owen, Bulldog, and Vader to the ring to confront Harlem Heat! Cornette revealed recently that he had Owen and Bulldog signed for the World Tag League. The order was issued by the Championship Council that all of the teams in the League are forbidden from wrestling each other until the official start next week. Vader takes the mic and issues a challenge to Harlem Heat to take him on in a handicap match right here, RIGHT NOW! Harlem Heat accept the challenge and it's on! Handicap Match
Two On One Harlem Heat vs Vader Vader dominates both Stevie Ray and Booker T, with Harlem Heat barely able to do any damage to the massive 400 pound force of nature. Once Harlem Heat are finally able to work together to stagger the Mastadon it's Jim Cornette that is able to distract the referee for Owen and Bulldog to interfere! Stevie Ray gets knocked out to the floor to get double teamed by Owen and Davey Boy while Vader cuts Booker T down! Vader lays Booker out for the Vader splash out of the corner, nearly flattening him with sickening impact! Vader gives up the pinfall and goes up top and hits Booker with ANOTHER VADER SPLASH! Booker is HURT! Vader again abandons the pinfall attempt and pushes the referee out of the ring! The ref recovers and calls for the bell, this is a NO CONTEST! Stevie Ray continues getting jumped by Owen and Bulldog on the floor while Vader does what his mission was all along, going to permanently injure the top ranked tag team going into the World Tag League to give an advantage to Owen and Bulldog! Vader drags Booker T out of the corner and climbs up to the top turnbuckle, bringing the entire arena to their feet before flying off with a MOONSAULT! Booker is nearly CRUSHED! Jim Cornette slides a steel chair into the ring where Vader pulls Booker up and gets ready to kill him with a powerbomb onto it! Just as Vader goes to lift Booker T up for the powerbomb.... THE LIGHTS GO OUT! The crowd goes bananas! The entire arena is pitch black dark! The lights finally kick back on to reveal.... SABU! Sabu stands before Vader pointing to the sky as the crowd loses it! Vader throws Booker T to the side and calls for the scarred up freak to bring it on! Sabu takes the fight to Vader in a crazy exchange of punches! Sabu backs Vader into the corner before quickly setting the steel chair up opened in front of the ropes, using it to hit Bulldog and Owen with a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA off the chair, over the ropes down to the floor! All three men roll around on the floor as Vader recovers and follows Sabu out! Vader attacks Sabu with vicious strikes! The brawl goes over to the Spanish commentary table where Vader lifts Sabu up with a BRUTAL CHOKESLAM THROUGH THE TABLE! Monitors fly and Cabrerra and Savinovich scatter out among the wreckage! Camp Cornette recover and retreat, leaving Sabu and Harlem Heat laying in a scene of total devastation as we cut away!
*****
We cut away to a pre-recorded video package that is a hybrid of training footage of Bret Hart rehabbing his knee that was injured last month, mixed with interview clips where he talks about his upcoming one-on-one match against Chris Benoit live on pay per view in the outdoor pavilion of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas THIS SUNDAY NIGHT it will be Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors! The training footage shows Bret working in the gym focusing on building strength back up in his knee. The knee was crushed in a steel chair by the Four Horsemen in a scene where he was attacked by the Four Horsemen last month. Then Horsemen Brian Pillman destroyed the WWF Championship belt with a sledge hammer before directing it at Bret's knee, causing the injury that led to him failing to get medical clearance for the WCW/WWF Championship Unification Match last month against Ric Flair. Flair would end up being crowned Undisputed World Champion, while Bret's knee injury played a major role in Chris Benoit forcing him to tap out in an attempted gauntlet match against The Horsemen(Benoit submitted Bret in the second match of the gauntlet, a huge shocking upset moment). The loss to Benoit led to Bret losing his spot in the 30 Man Champions Rumble Match to The Horsemen. Bret got a bit of revenge by eliminating Chris Benoit from the 3 Team Triangle Elimination Match last week in Mexico City with a Sharpshooter submission. In the interview clips Bret reveals his true thoughts about Chris Benoit being a Four Horsemen. Bret says that Benoit has lost his identity, he's lost focus due to the lifestyle of Ric Flair and The Horsemen, the jet planes, the limos, the women, the money. In all of that Chris Benoit has forgotten where he's come from, there isn't much of any of that in Canada. Now Benoit is going to be faced with his own roots in the ring this Sunday night on the pay per view when he has to face The Hitman one on one! ***** After the commercial break we are set for a huge co-main event, the one on one debut of one of the most hyped new athletes to hit the sport of pro wrestling in a long time, former Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson! Hunter Hearst Helmsley is shown wrapping up his entrance when all of a sudden generic patriotic music brings out Kevin Jackson wearing a hoodie over his red, white, and blue wrestling singlet. The 1992 Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medalist gets a nice reaction from the fans as he makes his way down the elevated ramp ready to go! Jackson made his debut back at A New Beginning in the 30 Man Champions Rumble where he eliminated Aleksandr Karelin and was among the final 5 men in the match. Now after completing his training camp he's set to make his one on one in-ring debut here, his contract signing with Best Of The Best last month was major news. All of the hype and all of the talk it all comes down to this now, Kevin Jackson has his hands full here against a very intelligent, experienced opponent in Helmsley, who is coming off of a huge win over Alex Wright(as well as an impressive time limit draw against a debuting 2 Cold Scorpio). Singles Match Kevin Jackson vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley This match goes back and forth in a highly competitive 10 minute battle that blends elements of Jackson's freestyle wrestling background into the crossover into the professional world here in his debut. Jackson's athleticism and intensity is on another level, he dominates Helmsley early on, but soon falls prey to Helmsley's dirty tactics. Helmsley uses his experience to control the ring for what feels like long stretches of time, yielding at times to Jackson's pure strength, but finding a way to cut him down. Jackson gets the crowd behind him to work his way through an Indian Deathlock to transition into a counter, ripping Helmsley dead weight off the mat into a brutal BELLY TO BACK SUPLEX! Helmsley is folded in half! Jackson goes to finish Helmsley off with another suplex but Helmsley counters him into a reversal only to get countered again, snatched up and driven into the canvas with a DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! GOOD NIGHT! 1... 2... 3! The crowd matches Jackson's intensity as he celebrates screaming! What a debut! Kevin Jackson pins Hunter Hearst Helmsley after a Death Valley Driver into the canvas at 9:49! The instant replay shows one hell of a test given here by Helmsley with a near submission with the Indian Deathlock that almost finished it. The slow motion replay shows a smooth transition from the escape by Jackson, he was able to win the position on the scramble and land the belly to back suplex that really turned the tide of the match. What an incredible athlete Kevin Jackson is, what a professional debut here, we should expect big things from this talent in 1996! ***** After the match we get exclusive footage of the massive press conference held in Vegas earlier today by Best Of The Best to promote Revenge Of The Warriors live on pay per view. ESPN, USA Today, CNN, and mainstream sports media from London, Moscow, Japan, and Australia were on hand for the face to face staredown that everyone is talking about, "The Real Deal" Evander Holyfield vs Aleksandr Karelin... The two heavyweights squared off in a highly publicized press conference in Vegas today as both athletes prepare for their massive heavyweight showdown at Caesars Palace THIS SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE on pay per view. It was revealed last week that there will be nearly $4 million in prize money on the line here, with both athletes pledging to donate the winnings to their cause should they win. Karelin has vowed to donate his winnings to a childrens hospital in Russia, while Holyfield has vowed to donate his winnings to the Benny Hinn Ministries, his spiritual advisor for the match. The two men stood face to face at the end of the press conference in a moment that is sure to makee headlines and front page newspapers all around the world this week. Karelin and Holyfield stood face to face looking on at each other with flash bulbs going off around them. This Boxer vs Wrestler contest is a special attraction that has all of Las Vegas buzzing this week, when these two clash there is expected to be maximum violence in the ring. It all goes down this Sunday night, live on pay per view it will be Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors! Call your cable or satellite provider today and DEMAND IT! ***** The sold out crowd in San Diego Sports Arena is on their feet blowing the roof off the place as the steel cage is lowed down over the ring! Fireworks explode over the ring as the cage takes it's place! Ring announcer Michael Buffer gets the crowd even crazier with his LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAAAL! The Macho Man Randy Savage makes his entrance first solo, then Sting to a heroes welcome from the crowd! The tension between both men can be felt as they stand in the steel cage together! The crowd gets the loudest of the entire night when THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR'S music hits the speakers to bring him out! Warrior, Savage, and Sting are JACKED, but there is a tension among them. The #1 Contenders status to the Undisputed World Title shot at BOTB II: The Revenge Of The Warriors this Sunday night on PPV is on the line! The Four Horsemen's entrance music brings out Flair, Arn, and Chris Benoit(with JJ Dillon) with focused and determined looks on their faces. This could be their last shot to get their hands back on the Undisputed World Championship that is held by Shawn Michaels. Jim Ross and Joey Styles recap their firing of Brian Pillman following the events in Mexico City, they are down to just 3, but what a hell of a trio this is right here. The Horsemen hit the ring and the cage door is chained and locked shut! IT'S ON!... Steel Cage Challenge Sting, Randy Savage, & The Ultimate Warrior
vs
Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Chris Benoit All out madness ensues! Randy Savage goes right after Ric Flair in a crazy brawl! The Ultimate Warrior and Sting work together to toss Arn and Benoit around to get the crowd white hot! The Blade Runners ARE BACK TOGETHER! These two started out as a tag team and it's all come full circle in this steel cage tonight! It's back and forth chaos in a no rules six man inside the cyclone fence steel cage. The cage sits down on the apron of the ring, Flair gets thrown into the fence by Savage and his face rubbed across it until he's bleeding out within the first 5 minutes! Savage beats Flair from pillar to post, sending him face flopping, getting the blood flowing EVERYWHERE! Sting and Warrior's dominance of Arn and Benoit breaks once JJ Dillon is able to pass a foreign object to Arn Anderson through the fence! Arn holds something in his hands to deck Warrior and Sting with, knocking both of them down! Benoit and Arn take control of the match for The Horsemen! Ric Flair is passed two pair of handcuffs by JJ Dillon as Arn and Benoit control Warrior, Sting, and Savage! The Horsemen work together to handcuff Randy Savage up in the crucified position on the fence! More handcuffs are passed by Dillon into the cage and used to handcuff Sting to the ring ropes in the corner, completely helpless as The Ultimate Warrior is destroyed! The Ultimate Warrior is dropped with a brutal DDT by Arn Anderson but he kicks out of the pin attempt at 2! Flair locks Warrior into the Figure Four while Chris Benoit climbs up to the top turnbuckle and flies off to hit him with a FLYING HEADBUTT! Sting and Savage are handcuffed to the cage helpless to stop as Warrior is out! Flair torques on the Figure Four while Arn stretches Warriors arms out for Benoit to go up for another headbutt! All of a sudden the arena goes bonkers ape sh#t crazy when all of a sudden..... AHMED JOHNSON RUNS OUT! Ahmed storms the cage and RIPS THE DOOR OFF IT'S HINGES! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! The crowd goes ballistic as Ahmed destroys Ric Flair and Chris Benoit before whipping Arn into the ropes for a SPINEBUSTER! Ahmed helps Warrior roll over to make the cover before fighting Flair and Benoit off..... The entire arena counts along with the ref's count!.... 1..... 2..... 3! UNBELIEVABLE! Ahmed Johnson has saved Warrior, Sting, and Savage to help them defeat the Horsemen! Ahmed is JACKED! Folks we are out of time! We will see you on Thursday night on BUSHIDO!.... *****
After the match, tonight's episode of Judgement night runs over just a couple minutes long into reruns of Silk Stalkings with a time slot paid for by Paul E. Dangerously. It's a dark shot of an empty dimly lit locker room where Steve Austin sits on the bench in front of the lockers. Austin cuts a promo looking directly into the camera in a close up shot, he's got a newfound confidence in his eyes to go along with the psychotic edge he's developed. Austin is talking about what happened last week in Mexico City, going on about why he signed on with Paul E. Dangerously as his manager, revealing that Dangerously is the only man that that's been there for him over the last year and a half of pure hell that he's been put through by this industry. Paul E. Dangerously was there to bail him out of jail for what he did to Mikey Whipreck in San Antonio, and he'll bail him out again if need be. Austin exclaims that Mikey Whipreck will never walk again. He's laid up somewhere right now shitting into a bag, having a bed pan changed out, having somebody wash him in a tub, having somebody feed him like a baby. Austin pauses and looks on with a long sigh before saying hell, the kid would have been better off if he would have just finished the job....  Steve Austin continues on going deeper, you've only seen just the beginning, he couldn't cut it in WCW, he dropped the ball in the ECW, and he damn sure wasn't made to play any bullshit gimmicks in the WWF! What you seen in San Antonio with Mikey Whipreck was the product of four long years of being flat out disgusted, with myself, with everything going on in this sport. Now Austin is healthy, he's about to make everybody in this business pay for the last 4 years, Eric Bischoff, The Sandman, the little poster boy they have parading around with the Undisputed World Title, it's all about to come crashing down, and Paul E. is the man this is going to make it all happen... Austin says that he doesn't work for Eric Bischoff, he doesn't work for Best Of The Best, his contract is with Paul E. Dangerously and it gives him free reign to do whatever the hell he wants to do, to whoever the hell he wants to do it to, and there's nobody.... nobody... that can stop him.... Austin's intense, cold fury is overwhelming.... The camera shot backs up wide revealing Paul E. Dangerously standing propped up against the corner looking on with his arms crossed nearby in the locker room, hidden in the shadows.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Mar 28, 2023 23:04:22 GMT
 The Manhattan Center(New York, NY)February 15th, 1996Tonight's episode of Bushido kicks off with Mike Tenay and his broadcast partner Phillip Rhee, with backstage interviewer Don "The Dragon" Wilson on standby because TONIGHT is one of the most critical and urgent episodes of this program since it debuted here on Thursday nights at 8:05 on TBS: The Superstation as the lead in for Movies For Guys Who Like Movies. This one hour program has brought the heat here in the Manhattan Center in what has been a brutally cold month so far here in New York at our tri-weekly tapings, and tonight we are just DAYS away from Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors LIVE on pay per view from Caesars Palace in LAS VEGAS! The crowd in the Manhattan Center is showcased with several big names from Japanese wrestling in attendance as we are set for an honorary ceremony for one of the biggest legends, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, set to be honored here by the Championship Council. It has been heavily rumored that Fujiwara is one of the key figures that could be up for a vote by the Council to add as the 7th member. The official reveal of the new 7th and final member of the Championship Council will be presented in a major honorary ceremony in Vegas this Sunday night at Revenge Of The Warriors!  In the crowd for Yoshiaki Fujiwara's special honorary ceremony tonight are many Pancrase hybrid wrestlers, including his proteges Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Also in the crowd is the wrestling legend himself Antonio Inoki. The camera shot cuts to another shot of the UWFI grand champion, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion; Nobuhiko Takada, seated among other UWFI wrestlers in black tie. Mike Tenay notes Takada delivering perhaps a deathblow to New Japan by defeating their last hope Shinya Hashimoto in Mexico City on Judgement Night two weeks ago in a massive international title match. Across the venue on the other side of the crowd is the current reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champ Akira Maeda, the ace of the Rings shootfighting promotion that has invaded All Japan in recent weeks. Tonight's episode of Bushido could be the biggest one yet, as two of the toughest shooters from the Takada Dojo will represent UWFI in a World Tag League Qualifying Match against Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit from The Horsemen. One of the final spots in the League will be on the line, and The Horsemen could be all that stands in the way of UWFI getting their hands on the Undisputed World Tag Team Titles through the League(which kicks off this coming Monday night on Judgement Night from Vegas). Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee(the screen writer and star actor in the Best Of The Best action films, signed on as co-host of Bushido at the start of the year) talk about the honored open mat/open mind/no way as a way policy of Bushido, with an open invitation for all martial artists to test their might here. This open system gave UWFI the foot in the door of American wrestling and Best Of The Best has no choice but to yield to their requests for their own rules here tonight in the tag team main event....
*****
The commentary duo kicks it down to the ring where announcer Joel Gertner gets the show started introducing the world warriors standing in the ring prepared to go to battle in the opening match. Mike Tenay mentions the developing rivalry between Dutch kickboxers from Holland and lucha libre style wrestlers from Japan here on Bushido over the past few weeks. It all started with the K-1 Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts taking on Ultimo Dragon in hybrid rules action here last month. The bout went to a critically acclaimed draw as one of the best matches on Bushido so far this year. The two warriors would meet again in the 30 Man Champions Rumble on pay per view on January 27th, where Aerts would eliminate Ultimo Dragon from the match. Dragon would re-enter the match illegally and attack Aerts, leading to his elimination(at the hands of Dan Severn). It was last week on Bushido we seen Ultimo Dragon score a HUGE submission victory over Dutch kickboxer John Kleijn in a hyrbid rules bout. Now Aerts has returned to the Manhattan Center to take on one of the best high flyers from the Michinoku Pro promotion, Gran Naniwa!... Hybrid Rules Match
Kickboxing vs Lucha Libre
Peter Aerts vs Gran Naniwa Aerts enters this match much better prepared with seemingly well scouted strategy for the speed and high flying abilities of the Japanese lucha style. The 1995 K-1 Grand Prix Champion spends the majority of the first 5 minutes of the 10 minute opening round feeling Naniwa out. Naniwa is quick with the footwork, using rope running to set up a huge dropkick that sets the crowd off! Near the end of the first round Aerts finally finds his range and wobbles Naniwa with a HUGE overhand right! Naniwa goes down! The referee's count hits 7 before Naniwa finally recovers to his knees! 8.... 9.... HE'S UP!! GRAN NANIWA IS STILL IN IT! Naniwa is still wobbled but he keeps his hands up and manages to evade an RIP high head kick attempt from Peter Aerts! Naniwa hits the ropes and rolls before springboarding off the opposite side to catch Aerts with a FLYING HEADSCISSOR! Peter Aerts is rolled into the canvas stunned! Naniwa runs and steps up Aerts body as he is on his knees, quickly spinning around and pulling him into the canvas with a rolling ARMBAR! Aerts screams in pain as he reaches for the ropes! Naniwa cranks back on the arm but Aerts is able to reach over to get to the ropes with his foot! The referee breaks the hold! Gran Naniwa circles Peter Aerts after the stand up and throws strikes of his own, catching the kickboxer with a combo of leg and body kicks followed by a spinning back hand chop! Aerts covers up and blocks the chop before UNLOADING with a furious combo of strikes, left and right hand punches so fast they can barely be registered by the human eye on standard definition 1996 CRT televisions! Even on CABLE! Aerts follows up with a BRUTAL head kick that sends Naniwa to the canvas for the full 10 count! It's OVER! Peter Aerts wins via knockout at 7:08 of the first round! Naniwa is tended to by his cornermen and the medical staff while Peter Aerts has his arm raised for his first victory in Best Of The Best! After Naniwa is brought to his feet Aerts offers a handshake out of respect, the crowd cheers as Naniwa shakes his hand and raises his arm before making his exit. The Ultimo Dragon is shown during the ovation watching on in the crowd, with a black 3 piece suit on and his classic green mask, but he's not clapping like everyone around him.... ***** After the match and just before the vintage mid-90's TBS commercials we get a special highlight video package narrated by Mike Tenay, telling the story of the Yoshiaki Fujiwara, the man that is set to be honored later tonight in a ceremony by the BOTB Champions Council. Fujiwara is truly one of the godfathers of the hybrid wrestling concept that is seen every Thursday night here on TBS on Bushido. Yoshiaki had a tough background in Judo before becoming the very first graduate of the New Japan Dojo, where he would become the star pupil of legitimate submission catch wrestling god Karl Gotch. Gotch passed on a direct lineage of a long lost art of submission wrestling to Fujiwara, who would become a cornerstone in New Japan with Antonio Inoki. Fujiwara was instrumental in the defection of the shoot style wrestlers from New Japan to form the UWF with Tiger Mask in 1984.  It was here in the UWF where the hybrid concept of martial arts wrestling truly came to reality. Fujiwara was the backbone of the UWF along with Tiger Mask, Akira Maeda, and the young Nobuhiko Takada. After the original UWF died in 1986 Fujiwara returned to New Japan along with Maeda and Takada as an invading force in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The UWF invasion of New Japan failed, but the group had established themselves as a real threat to the point where they would launch a reborn UWF in 1988. Fujiwara stayed behind in New Japan after Maeda and Takada restarted the UWF in 1988. While in New Japan Fujiwara took on 2 star pupils and passed on his shoot wrestling lineage, those two men were Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Eventually Fujiwara would take Suzuki and Funaki with him to leave NJPW to rejoin the UWF in 1989, but political issues would see the reborn league collapse again in the end of 1990. In the beginning of 1991 Fujiwara(backed by Karl Gotch) took his rising star shooters Suzuki and Funaki to form the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi promotion, perhaps the finest of all the early days shoot style wrestling promotions in Japan. It was in Fujiwara's dojos where Suzuki and Funaki refined their skills to become some of the best shooters in the world, while a young American gaijin named Ken Wayne Shamrock would become a legitimate force in the ring. In the end of 1993 Suzuki and Funaki broke away from Fujiwara and took Ken Shamrock with them to start the Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling promotion. We have seen Pancrase compete under their rules here on Bushido last month, and their King Of Pancrase Champion Bas Rutten competed in the 30 Man Champions Rumble on the very first BOTB PPV... ***** After the break we get a shot of Joey Styles in the Revenge Of The Warriors control center for a special segment hyping the upcoming pay per view, just 3 days away! Before we get to Las Vegas we have a stop in the historic Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles for a massive episode of Shockwave here on TBS on Saturday night at 6:05! The big news about Shockwave is that there will be a 1 night tag team tournament, open invitation, 8 teams, in the end.... there can be only one! And the winners of this tournament will earn the FINAL spot in the upcoming World Tag League to crown the very first ever Undisputed World Tag Team Champions! Already signed to show up for this tournament; The Nasty Boys, The Powers Of Pain(Barbarian & The Warlord), The Bruise Brothers, The Body Donnas, and former ECW World Tag Team Champs Public Enemy, BUT the biggest news is that RAVEN and Stevie Richards have signed to compete in this tournament! More news, this has drawn the attention of former ECW and WCW Tag Champ Cactus Jack, who just lost his former tag team partner Mikey Whipreck to a career ending neck injury at the hands of Steve Austin. Cactus has sent out notice to the entire locker room that he is searching for a new partner to team with him to enter this tournament on Shockwave this Saturday night! Already signed is that whoever teams with Cactus WILL face the team of Raven and Stevie Richards IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT! Who in the world is going to step up to team with Cactus Jack of all people? Whoever it is will have to be somebody that really wants a crack at the gold here, because if they can help Cactus Jack take down Raven and win this tournament they will have earned a spot in the World Tag League that is set to kick off in Las Vegas on Judgement Night THIS MONDAY NIGHT! Also scheduled to be on the show this Saturday night, The Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, and STING, because it has officially been announced that all 3 men will face off in the opening match of Revenge Of The Warriors on pay per view, and the WINNER will earn a shot at Shawn Michaels Undisputed World Championship in the MAIN EVENT! This Earth shattering news pushes this pay per view event into being perhaps the biggest must see event of 1996. We will see the highly anticipated showdown between Evander Holyfield vs Aleksandr Karelin along with a major one on one match between Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit, and now we will see Shawn Michaels defend his Undisputed World Title against the winner of a Triangle Match between Warrior vs Savage vs Sting! THIS SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE on pay per view, Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors! *****
We return to the shot of the Manhattan Center crowd for the black tie affair type vibe with all of the Japanese wrestling figureheads in attendance for Fujiwara's honoring ceremony later tonight. The UWFI wrestlers Hiromitsu Kanehara and Kazushi Sakuraba are shown wrapping up their entrances disrobing matching red Takada Dojo jumpsuits as Mike Tenay briefly recaps the crushing blow that UWFI delivered to New Japan Pro Wrestling on nuetral soil in Mexico City two weeks ago on Judgement Night when Nobuhiko Takada defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title by defeating NJPW's last hope, Shinya Hashimoto. The UWFI issued an Imperial Edict Of Battle to Best Of The Best at the onset of the promotion in 1996 with the scroll delivered personally to head Championship Councilman Lou Thesz. The Four Horsemen's entrance music hits to bring out Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit in what has to be a do or die match for the Horsemen. Tenay recaps the Horsemen's failures to hold onto or regain the Undisputed World Title, with Brian Pillman being fired from the group after costing them the 3 Team Triangle Elimination Match. After being down to just 3 the Horsmen have recently pledged that they are scouting for a new 4th man. Tenay also hypes up Chris Benoit's huge one on one showdown against Bret Hart this Sunday night at Caesars Palace in a highly anticipated showdown between 2 of the top ranked contenders to the Undisputed World Title. The Horsemen enters the ring for the intros from Joel Gertner as the commentators recap the rules of UWFI that this match has been signed for. There are no pinfalls in UWFI, matches can be won by knockout(10 count), submission or loss of points(each team starts off with 21 points, points are deducted for using rope breaks or committing fouls). World Tag League Qualifying Match
UWFI Rules
The Horsemen(Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit)
vs
Takada Dojo(Hiromitsu Kanehara & Kazushi Sakuraba) Arn Anderson starts the match off against Kanehara and the two lock up in an intense grappling battle in the clinch. It just doesn't get any bigger or more critical than this. So much is on the line here, if The Horsemen are defeated they suffer a critical blow on the heels of major losses and a swirl of drama and controversy surrounding the whole Brian Pillman saga. The UWFI want to tear Best Of The Best down and it all starts with them getting a spot in the World Tag League, the promotion is stronger than ever after conquering New Japan, they have all of the momentum. Anderson overpowers Kanehara in the standing clinch but once it goes to the ground it's Kanehara that keeps Arn on the defense, keeping him fighting off one hold after another before getting trapped in a headscissor that forces him to use a rope break. Arn regains his composure after the break and takes the advantage by battering Kanehara with strikes, huge forearm shots and elbow strikes right to the head! Kanehara is staggered! Arn attempts to deliver another strike but he's countered and taken down to the mats, amazingly pinned to his back! Kanehara manages to pin Arn and keep him on his back in a sidemount position that Arn ends up stuck in for what feels like forever. Finally Kanehara makes a move and takes the full mount position but Arn explodes in an attempt to buck him off of him. In the scramble Arn rolls and exposes his neck and is caught in a sleeper! The two roll around with Arn trying to fight off the sleeper until ultimately being forced to use another rope break! Arn is frustrated after another restart, he adjusts his knee pads and looks on at the UWFI wrestlers regrouping. The two re-engage and end up clinched back up in a violent struggle. Arn fights to create enough room to connect with hard forearm strikes but Kanehara manages to answer back with a quick combo of palm strikes followed up by a HUGE kick to the body that creates a sickening smack! The crowd gasps as Arn goes down to one knee! Kanehara attempts to swarm Arn while he's hurt but The Enforcer quickly snatches him up off the ground, spins him around and SLAMS HIM POWERSLAM STYLE! Kanehara is hurt! Arn struggles to reach over and make a tag to Benoit! Benoit comes in hot destroying Kanehara with chops until getting tied up and transitioned around into a rolling kneebar! Benoit immediately spins around out of the kneebar in a wild furious grappling scramble, transitioning around from a feint armbar transitioned into a bicep crusher! Kanehara screams out as he scrambles to push and grab the ropes for a break! Kanehara rolls around clutching his arm before making a tag out to Sakuraba! Sakuraba comes in and goes toe to toe with Benoit, feinting kicks before connecting with chops. Benoit ties up with Sakuraba and reverses him into the corner for a violent flurry of forearm strikes! Sakuraba absorbs the shots and clinches up with Benoit, attempting a leg sweep takedown only for Benoit to rip him around into the canvas on the way down. Benoit wraps his way around in the scramble and hooks Sakuraba in the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! Sakuraba reaches for the ropes but Benoit torques back and forces him to tap out! The Horsemen win by submission after 6:33! CHRIS BENOIT! Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit celebration is immediately cut short when Kanehara is joined by a group of UWFI wrestlers that jump the railing to help beat them up! It's a full blown UWFI ATTACK! There's nobody here to help them! Nobuhiko Takada is shown watching on from his spot in the audience nodding as Arn and Benoit are mercilessly beaten down and left laying as we cut away..... ***** After the final break we get a shot of the ring and red carpet being set up for tonight's special honorary ceremony for Yoshiaki Fujiwara while Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee talk on commentary about the ruthless attack by UWFI on the Horsemen's Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit. Benoit and Arn defeated the UWFI to earn one of the last remaining spots in the World Tag League but all of this with the UWFI has gotten out of hand here in Best Of The Best... After security has cooled things down and the ring is set up the arena cheers for Antonio Inoki to take the ring and bring out Yoshiaki Fujiwara to present to him a bouquet of flowers given by the Best Of The Best Championship Council.... Fujiwara comes out and receives his honor in a great moment. The legendary shooter takes the mic and makes some surprising statements that get translated from Japanese to English.... Fujiwara comments on the recent events with UWFI invading NJPW and Rings invading AJPW, saying that these two forces Takada and Maeda have exposed the sport and proven who the real kings are.... the king of kings.... Inoki and all 6 members of the Championship Council are shocked and appalled when Fujiwara requests both Akira and Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada to come to the ring and unite as one force, reunite the ways of the UWF as the living spirit of the U-Cosmos here and now... Takada and Maeda both hesitate to enter the ring and stare each other down face to face!.... Fujiwara stands his ground between them looking them both back and forth in the eyes when suddenly Takada extends his hand to Maeda.... Inoki's jaw drops, the Championship Council is STUNNED.... Maeda shakes Takada's hand with an INTENSE stare..... UNBELIEVABLE..... Yoshiaki Fujiwara has just united Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda... UWFI and RINGS are together..... WE'RE OUT OF TIIIIII..... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Mar 30, 2023 21:18:33 GMT
 Grand Olympic Auditorium(Los Angeles, CA)February 17th, 1996Shockwave hits the airwaves of TBS right at 6:05 on the eve of Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors tomorrow night LIVE on pay per view from the outdoor pavilion of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas! The whole world is buzzing about what has got to be one of the biggest special attraction bouts that Vegas has ever seen, in a special hybrid boxer vs wrestler rules match we will see former Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield, "The Real Deal" take on inarguably the strongest wrestler alive on the planet today, 2 time Olympic Gold winner Aleksandr Karelin! This heavyweight showdown is now just 24 hours away, this will be the event that you do not want to miss, pick up your phone now and order TODAY! After the hard opening of the SOLD OUT Olympic Auditorium Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan kick it down to the ring for Mike Tenay to open the show, bringing out the current reigning, UNDISPUTED World Heavyweight Champion of Professional Wrestling.... The Heartbreak Kid... SHAWN MICHAELS... Michaels gets the high pitched cheers and screams from the crowd as he makes his way out with the big gold Undisputed Championship belt over his shoulder high fiving all the fans in the entrance isle and around the ring before joining Tenay for a special interview about his upcoming title defense TOMORROW NIGHT at Revenge Of The Warriors on LIVE pay per view from Las Vegas! Shawn takes the mic from Tenay and smugly pushes him back out of the camera shot where he looks and sends a message directly to the entire locker room of Best Of The Best. HBK has heard all of the talk going around, he's heard everybody running their mouths calling him the poster boy, everybody wants a crack at The Champion, everybody thinks they can take HBK, WELL BRING IT ON!(crowd cheers)..... Shawn says there's one guy in particular that he's seen here on TV every week, Shane Douglas, running his mouth about HBK, running his mouth about The Kliq, but look at what happened to him on Monday on Judgement Night he got beat, 1, 2, 3! Shawn sends the message to Shane Douglas if you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch! Michaels then talks about how everybody here in Best Of The Best have been taking sides and joining together, The Horsemen are looking for a new 4th man, Sting put his posse together in Mexico City, even Bret put his own little team together. Shawn says that he thinks maybe it's time for him to bring some of his friends here to Best Of The Best, when you need somebody to watch your back, you need somebody that you can trust you call on.... THA KLIQ!.... HBK gets the crowd going nuts when he brings out the Best Of The Best debut of none other than..... Thats THE 123 KID! He's HERE in BEST OF THE BEST!.... The KLIQ! HBK and the 123 Kid reunite with the 1996 Kliq vibes running wild! The Kid is HYPED, the crowd is going NUTS! Mike Tenay is bullied out of the ring like the total dork he is while Shawn and Kid officially throw their names into the final open spot in tonight's World Tag League QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT! WHOAH! The pandemonium from the audience is suddenly interrupted when BOTB CEO Eric Bischoff makes his way out to the ring with a microphone and officially shuts it all down, no way this is not happening. Bischoff informs HBK that he is contractually forbidden from entering the tournament here tonight, because he's forbidden from entering the World Tag League, as the Undisputed World Champion he has other obligations for this promotion as the face of the company. Shawn Michaels gets intense with his jaw clinching and flexing as Bischoff informs him that this is not the WWF, he's heard all of the stories about The Kliq, they are not going to have free reign here in this company! Eric Bischoff informs Shawn Michaels that he is expected to handle himself as a respectable athlete as the Undisputed Champ, if The Kid wants to enter tonight's World Tag League 8 Team Qualifying Tournament he will have to find another tag team partner, Shawn Michaels is contractually obligated to defend his Undisputed World Championship TOMORROW NIGHT on Revenge Of The Warriors against the winner of a Triangle Match between Randy Savage vs Sting vs The Ultimate Warrior! Shawn Michaels steps away and gets the crowd riled up teasing a superkick on Eric Bischoff! Bischoff turns to face him but HBK holds back! Shawn gets on the mic and tells Bischoff he is ready to defend his title tomorrow night in Vegas against any man! Shawn tells Bischoff that he will find a tag team partner for the 123 Kid TONIGHT for the tournament! Wow! It's ON! ***** After the opening round of TBS commercials we return to the Olympic Auditorium with The Body Donnas, Skip and Zip making their entrances for the first match in our open invitation 8 team tournament set to unfold here tonight with the FINAL spot in the World Tag League on the line! Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brian" Heenan are so caught up in what happened in the opening segment with the debut of the 123 Kid that they really no-sell the former WWF Tag Champs making their entrances. The auditorium comes alive when Inni Kamoze's Hot Stepper hits the speakers to bring out "The Mack Daddies Of Violence", Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock, The Public Enemy! Heenan talks about how much hype this team has on the independent scene on the East coast, they are a bit out of their element here on the West coast these guys come from the mean streets of Philadelphia where they are former ECW World Tag Champs. World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Quarterfinal Round Match
The Public Enemy vs The Body Donnas
The Public Enemy make quick work of The Body Donnas, outbrawling them and surprising them with some high flying moves. Zip gets taken down to the floor at one point and SMASHED with a steel chair by Johnny Grunge while the ref is distracted! Skip gets finished with PE's Drive By assisted somersault senton for the pin after 3:11! The Public Enemy score the win to advance to the semi-finals! ***** After the match Public Enemy make their exit to get some much needed rest for the next round of the tournament when Cactus Jack gets a huge pop by walking out to the ring! Heenan and Shiavonne note that this guy as crazy as he has always been seems to have really been going off the deep end ever since what happened to his former tag team partner Mikey Whipreck at the hands of Steve Austin. Shiavonne notes that Cactus was signed to compete in this tournament with Mikey before Mikey suffered his injury that paralyzed him for the rest of his life and ended his career. Now Cactus is left without a partner and what's worse he is scheduled to face the team of Raven and Stevie Richards here in the first round.... Cactus takes the ring with a mic and says that it's down to the last minute that he can not find a new partner, seeing as his was put in a wheel chair for the rest of his life in one of the most despicable and disgusting acts he's ever witnessed by the gutless coward Steve Austin. Cactus says that he has one last final man that he wants to ask right here and now to come out here, and that man is a man that he used to train with back at Dominic Denucci's wrestling academy, that man is.... Shane Douglas..... After a delay and repeated call outs, finally Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple hits the speakers of the auditorium to bring out Shane Douglas! Shane steps out in street clothes with a seething fire burning of frustrated hatred for life right now after his undefeated streak was brought to a surprise end this past Monday night by the debuting Rey Mysterio in a HUGE upset. Douglas enters the ring and SNATCHES the mic from Cactus Jack but as he goes off on it there is no volume! Shane's mic has been cut off! Eric Bischoff comes storming out to the ring shaking his head, no way! Bischoff gets a live mic and tells Shane Douglas there is no way he's allowed anywhere near a live microphone here on Shockwave, this isn't the USA Network, this isn't Judgement Night, no way. Shane Douglas is FURIOUS! Cactus asks Shane Douglas one more time to team with him tonight, for a chance to go after the gold right here in this tournament, for a spot in the World Tag League, for a shot at The Kliq, two men that learned from the same wrestling academy together starting out. Douglas looks around for a moment before accepting Cactus' offer! Shane snatches the mic away from Eric Bischoff and tells Cactus that he will team up with him just to get his hands on THE KLIQ TONIGHT, and he wants THE GOLD! Douglas begins to threaten Cactus that if he costs him tonight.... all of a sudden the mic is cut off again!   Shane Douglas slams the microphone down when all of a sudden Raven and Stevie Richards come out for the next match RIGHT ON THE SPOT! Eric Bischoff scrambles out of the ring as Raven and Stevie stand face to face with Shane Douglas and Cactus Jack! Stevie is jumping around like a moron while Raven looks on at Cactus and Shane Douglas with intensity! Cactus gets the fight started and the brawl is on! The referee calls for the bell!... World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Quarterfinal Round Match
Raven & Stevie Richards vs Cactus Jack & Shane Douglas
All out chaos and pandemonium breaks out in the Grand Olympic Auditorium as Heenan and Shiavonne note that the importance of this tournament with the final spot in the World Tag League on the line means that the referee's tonight are going to be far more lenient with the rules, countouts, disqualifications, these matches must have clear winners! The brawling gets more and more violent out on the floor, in the crowd, on the elevated entrance ramp! Shane Douglas beats the life out of Stevie Richards while Raven sends Cactus Jack bouncing off of the concrete! Raven and Shane Douglas tie up later on in the match with both men landing HUGE moves for close nearfalls! Raven at one point reverses Shane and counters him with a quick DDT! Douglas is knocked out but Cactus breaks up the pinfall attempt to save him! Cactus and Shane Douglas work together to dump Raven out of the ring later on and Stevie Richards is put away with a BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX from Shane Douglas! 1... 2... 3! Cactus Jack and Shane Douglas win! UNBELIEVABLE! Talk about an odd couple, these two former training partners have defeated Raven and Stevie Richards in a WILD 9 minutes of madness to advance to the next round of the tournament! Raven could care less as he makes his walk out through the crowd, stopping only for a moment to look back with a snarl at Cactus and Shane's hands being raised!... ***** We are halfway through the first round of the tournament with the team of Shane Douglas & Cactus Jack and The Public Enemy both advancing to the Semi-Finals so far! After the match we cut away to a very special Mikey Whipreck tribute video set to Mad Season's River Of Deceit.... The rising 22 year old former ECW World Champion was cut down last month when an accident paralyzed him from the chest down and put him in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. The montage video shows highlights of his ECW career, his wins over The Sandman and Steve Austin, his surprise underdog run in the 30 Man Champions Rumble. Whipreck appeared to be on the verge of being one of the major breakthrough talents here in the early days of BOTB. It was Steve Austin that interfered in a match between Mikey vs The Sandman and attacked both men on live TV on Judgement Night. Austin threw a section of the steel guard rail into the ring and dropped it onto Mikey Whipreck. The heavy railing twisted awkwardly on the way down and fractured several of Mikey's vertebrae in his neck, causing permanent paralysis. It was truly one of the most controversial live moments we've seen on television in any form of entertainment so far in 1996. Most of the program was shut down as medics worked to move Mikey out of the ring, while Austin was legitimately arrested by San Antonio police. Whipreck's wrestling career was brought to a swift end, and his life will forever be filled with misery and suffering as he will depend on constant around the clock hospice care for the rest of his life. To make matters worse, Whipreck had been wrestling with Best Of The Best without a contract and was not covered under any form of health insurance with the promotion. In an even more cruel twist, the corporate owners of the promotion(The Neo Zeed) filed a major lawsuit against Whipreck and his family(along with promoter Dennis Corroluzzo) for attempting a tribute show in Philadelphia at the former ECW Arena without their permission. The show was put together to raise money for Whipreck's medical expenses was subsequently cancelled following news of the lawsuit. Still through it all Mikey Whipreck remains an honored warrior for his sacrifice. Even though he acknowledges that the dream of being a wrestler is over, Mikey remains hopeful that he will someday walk again.... ***** After the break we return to the Olympic Auditorium for the next match in the first round of the open invitation tournament tonight for the FINAL spot in the World Tag League that is set to kick off this coming Monday night on Judgement Night live on USA Network from LAS VEGAS! The Bruise Brothers are shown wrapping up their entrances getting the boos and thumbs down from the fans! MAJOR thumbs down vibes to these two twins. The same thumbs down vibes keep going when The Powers Of Pain make their entrance, The Barbarian and The Warlord, still JACKED! Referee Tim White has his hands full with this one as these four get the fight going right off the bat!... World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Quarterfinal Round Match
The Powers Of Pain(The Barbarian & The Warlord)
vs
The Bruise Brothers
It's just another super ugly brawl all over the ring and down on the ringside area! Sloppy punching, kicking, eye gouging, back rakes, people being slammed into the ring steps and the posts, just ridiculous! Finally at the 4:41 mark one of the Harris twins gets put down for good after taking a running powerslam by The Warlord followed by a diving headbutt by The Barbarian! 1... 2.... 3! The Warlord and Barbarian have their arms raised and they are J-J-J-J-JAAACKED! Heenan and Shiavonne note the tournament bracket that with this victory the Powers Of Pain are set to face Public Enemy in the Semi-Finals! All of a sudden the celebration is cut short when The Bruise Brothers recover and attack The Powers Of Pain from behind! Barbarian and Warlord are stomped down until all of a sudden THE NASTY BOYS RUN OUT! Nobbs and Scaggs beat The Bruise Brothers up and throw them out of the ring! The Nasty Boys are back! The Barbarian and Warlord make their exit as we cut away to commercials.... ***** The former WWF Tag Champs The Nasty Boys have returned to answer the open invitation here for the tournament! Their opponent The 123 Kid comes out to reveal his mystery tag team partner to replace Shawn Michaels(who was not allowed to compete tonight by BOTB CEO Eric Bischoff). And it's none other than.... ALDO MONTOYA! The Portugese Man Of War! The Kid and Aldo take the ring and take the fight right to The Nasty Boys and we're off with our final quarterfinal round match! The commentators note that whoever wins this match will face Cactus & Shane Douglas in the semi-finals! World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Quarterfinal Round Match
The 123 Kid & Aldo Montoya
vs
The Nasty Boys
After The Kliq babyfaces shine early on the Nasty Boys are able to isolate Aldo and beat him down for several minutes. Finally Aldo makes the tag to The Kid and the crowd goes NUTS as he comes in throwing kicks that take The Nasties down! The 123 Kid rides the momentum of the crowd to finish off Knobbs with a moonsault press for a pinfall, 1... 2... 3! THEY DID IT! The Kid and Aldo Montoya defeat The Nasty Boys in an impressive upset in 3:10! Kid and Aldo retreat to the isle to celebrate as The Nasty Boys are furious! The 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya have moved one step closer to earning that final spot in the World Tag League here by advancing to the Semi-Finals of tonight's tournament! ***** After the commercials we get a special video package intermission at the end of the first round of the World Tag League Qualifying Tournament. We are down to the final 4 teams, in the semi-finals it will be The Powers Of Pain taking on The Public Enemy while the odd couple duo of Shane Douglas and Cactus Jack will square off against Kliq crew 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya! In the end... THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! While we are in the intermission Mike Tenay hosts a special video package focusing in on the recent events that went down on Bushido this past Thursday night here on TBS. Everything that has been happening with the UWFI invading NJPW and the hostile takeover of AJPW by the RINGS promotion, it all reached a boiling point on Bushido in The Manhattan Center. In what was supposed to be an honorary ceremony for potential 7th Championship Councilman Yoshiaki Fujiwara, it took a turn for a shocking twist as Fujiwara brought UWFI king Nobuhiko Takada and RINGS king Akira Maeda into the ring, uniting them. All of Japanese wrestling, all of the Championship Council here in Best Of The Best, everyone is shocked. RINGS and UWFI have seemingly joined forces.... What truly seems to be at the heart of the UWFI's Imperial Edict Of Battle scroll delivered to head Championship Councilman Lou Thesz, seems to revolve around his history with the prestigious World Championship Of Pro Wrestling title belt that Lou Thesz wore proudly as undisputed King of the sport from 1949 to 1956. When Nobuhiko Takada founded the UWFI promotion on real shoot pro wrestling he built the honor of the promotion based on the blessing of Lou Thesz, and his granting of the promotion to resurrect as The Real World Championship of Pro Wrestling. Takada wore and defended the title in UWFI's biggest matches as the crown jewel of the promotion in Japan. Things took a downturn when Takada took his dojo of UWFI fighters to the doorsteps of New Japan Pro Wrestling last year in 1995. The dishonorable invasion of New Japan by UWFI led to Lou Thesz repossessing the World Championship belt and relinquishing his support of the UWFI league. UWFI's invasion of NJPW resulted in Takada capturing the IWGP Championship in January. New Japan sent their greatest warrior Shinya Hashimoto to face Takada in one final chance to regain their title in Mexico City on Judgement Night two weeks ago. In a thrilling match on neutral soil, an ocean away from the political influence of Japan, Takada was able to defeat Hashimoto. The victory was considered a death blow to New Japan. Meanwhile a new invasion developed with Akira Maeda's RINGS federation taking on All Japan Pro Wrestling. Maeda captured the Triple Crown Championship from Misawa earlier this month. Now the two former tag team partners turned rivals in the UWF, the centers of the U-Cosmos, Takada and Maeda are reunited by Yoshiaki Fujiwara, who crowned them as "The Kings Of Kings"... At the heart of Takada and the UWFI coming to Best Of The Best is Lou Thesz and his Championship Belt. It was revealed in a massive interview on Japanese television by Takada that he held deep resentment towards Lou Thesz for rescinding his support from UWFI and the Takada Dojo, turning his back on them to instead grace his honor upon the new Best Of The Best promotion in America. Takada has called even the top shooters in North America very weak, promising to bring the new Best Of The Best league down to it's knees.... Mike Tenay breaks the news that the Best Of The Best Championship Council has dropped any and all association with Yoshiaki Fujiwara, as they felt completely dishonored by his actions on Bushido on TBS this past Thursday night. The Council has broken the news that they have settled on a vote for the new 7th member of the Council, and Mike Tenay breaks the news that it will be none other than Tiger Mask himself, Satoru Sayama! Tiger Mask highlights show the revolutionary hybrid warrior in his prime, one of the original godfathers of the UWF concept, the founding father of Shooto as recently covered recently on Bushido. The vote is final and Sayama is going to be made the official 7th Championship Councilman here in Best Of The Best in Las Vegas in an honorary ceremony at Revenge Of The Warriors! Mike Tenay is shown in the Revenge Of The Warriors control center breaking even more major blockbuster news for the pay per view tomorrow night. It has been officially signed for a MASSIVE rematch, the 1995 K-1 Kickboxing Grand Prix Champion, Dutch Kickboxer, Peter Aerts will take on The Ultimo Dragon in a hybrid rules REMATCH from their draw they went to on Bushido back in January here on TBS! Aerts vs Dragon 2, LIVE at REVENGE OF THE WARRIORS! Just an unbelievable addition to this pay per view event. This is the show that everybody will be talking about next week, the international coverage for Holyfield vs Karelin is unlike anything we've seen in this business. All of Las Vegas is buzzing about this confrontation, all of Russia is buzzing about this confrontation. The only way to see this event is to CALL YOUR PPV PROVIDER NOW and DEMAND to see REVENGE OF THE WARRIORS! Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan continue the hype back down at the commentary table, Revenge Of The Warriors is SOLD OUT in the outdoor pavilion in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the only way to see this event is to call your local cable company or satellite provider now and order on pay per view, Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors! ***** We return to the ring for the first Semi-Final match in tonight's World Tag League Qualifying Tournament. This tournament was open invitation and the final spot in the World Tag League is on the line here tonight with this final 4 teams left. The Powers Of Pain are shown already in the ring wrapping up their entrance, still favoring injuries, limping from the attack at the hands of The Nasty Boys after their first round match. Here Comes The Hotstepper brings Public Enemy back out! The whole Grand Olympic Auditorium gets into it as Flyboy Rocco and Johnny Grunge come out jamming. PE take the fight right to the bigger stronger Powers Of Pain trying to catch them off guard, starting the match off with a 4 man brawl in the ring!... World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Semifinal Round Match
The Powers Of Pain(The Barbarian & The Warlord)
vs
The Public Enemy
The PE put up a tough fight at first but The Barbarian and Warlord are just too strong, even if they are still hurt from the Nasty Boys beating them down following a pretty physical battle against The Bruise Brothers. The referee Jim Maulinaux somehow manages to restore order to this and we get a straight tag team match, with The POP dominating Johnny Grunge. Grunge counters both Barbarian and Warlord before making the hot tag to Rocco, who comes in and take both big men over the top to the floor with a double lariat! Rocco climbs up to the apron and springs off with an ASAI MOONSAULT ONTO BOTH POWERS OF PAIN ON THE FLOOR! Johnny Grunge recovers out on the floor and sets the crowd off by pulling out a TABLE FROM UNDER THE RING! PE set up the table but Warlord and Barbarian recover and overwhelm them with an attack. The table gets propped up against the steel guard railing on the floor. The Warlord goes for a running powerslam with Rocco on his shoulder only for Rocco to push off at the last second, sending the huge musclebound madman plummeting THROUGH THE TABLE! The wood crunches on impact and folds in half in a brutal crash! The Public Enemy work The Barbarian over back into the ring and finish him off with their Drive By assisted somersault SENTON!... 1... 2.... 3! THE PUBLIC ENEMY WIN! Rocco and Johnny Grunge can't believe it! They've defeated the Powers Of Pain and advanced to the FINALS! TPE retreat to the isle exhausted in celebration as The Barbarian and Warlord are shown recovering from the wreckage.... ***** After the commercials we show the ring crew cleaning up the broken table wreckage as the instant replay of The Warlord taking himself out through the propped up table is shown. Cactus Jack and Shane Douglas make their way out next for the next Semi-Final Round match and this is a big one, Shane Douglas is finally getting what he asked for here tonight taking on two of Shawn Michaels' close friends in The Kliq, the group he blames all of his career failures on. The duo gets mostly boo's and thumbs down as they make their way to their corner mostly keeping their distance from each other. The high energy entrance of 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya bring the crowd back to life! The Kid takes the ring for his team to take on Shane Douglas to start the match!.... World Tag League Qualifying Tournament
Semifinal Round Match
Cactus Jack & Shane Douglas
vs
The 123 Kid & Aldo Montoya
The Kid goes toe to toe with Shane Douglas in a back and forth exchange early on, with both men trading momentum, landing devastating moves for nearfalls. Eventually Kid gets caught and dropped throat first across the ropes by Shane. Douglas targets Kid's throat for a long stretch, driving his boot into it using the ropes for a full 5 count with a sick smile. Finally Kid rallies behind the fans support and fights back, creating an opening to land a HUGE spinning heel kick that takes Douglas down! Both men tag out to bring in Aldo Montoya and Cactus Jack! After a spirited offensive attack from Aldo he's ultimately just DESTROYED by a sickening lariat from Cactus! Cactus slows the pace down mauling Aldo on the mats, dominating him around the ring by his goofy yellow mask. The Kid rallies the crowd to get behind Aldo to help him fight back and make the HOT TAG! 123 Kid comes in with the kicks on Cactus before he works with Aldo for some quick double team moves, tagging in and out together quickly, using the full 5 count to frustrate Shane Douglas on the apron! As Aldo Montoya tags 123 Kid back in later on Cactus catches both men with a counter and drops them with a DOUBLE DDT! Cactus crawls over and tags in Shane Douglas! Douglas comes in attacking both Aldo and The Kid before he gets countered with a double assisted back body drop over the top rope! Douglas flips over the ropes and crashes down to the padded floor! Cactus comes running into the ring and double clotheslines both Kid and Aldo over the ropes to the floor! The match devolves into a brawl on the floor with Shane battling Kid while Cactus beats the life out of Aldo Montoya. Aldo gets vertical suplexed into the padded floor with his legs smashing into the ring steps with a sickening clang! Meanwhile The 123 Kid grabs a steel chair and goes to swing at Shane Douglas! Cactus grabs the chair from behind at the last second! Cactus goes to knock The Kid out with the chair but he moves out of the way, causing him to BLAST Shane Douglas IN THE FACE! Shane Douglas is knocked out! Cactus accidentally hit Shane Douglas with the chair! The 123 Kid drops Cactus with kicks before rolling Shane into the ring and finishing him off with a moonsault off the top rope for the pin!.... 1.... 2.... 3! THEY DID IT! The 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya WIN! Cactus recovers just heartbroken on the floor as Shane Douglas stirs around still out from the chair shot. The Kid and Aldo Montoya have defeated Shane Douglas and Cactus Jack to make it to the finals of the World Tag League Qualifying Tournament to face off against Public Enemy! Cactus is just beside himself as Shane Douglas finally recovers and realizes he's been hit in the face with a steel chair by Cactus Jack and then PINNED by The 123 Kid! Douglas snaps and pushes the referee down! Cactus enters the ring Shane Douglas pushes him, WHAT THE #%*@!! Cactus puts his hands up and pushes Shane Douglas back, pointing at his face as the two men argue inaudibly! Referees and security rush out to seperate the two and Shane Douglas throws a massive tantrum ringside, ripping the timekeepers table up and flipping it over! Shane tosses the ring bell into the crowd and grabs the time keeper by his tux and spins him around throwing him across the floor!.... ***** After more commercials for Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors pay per view event of the year tomorrow night we return to the ringside area where Mike Tenay is in the ring to bring out the three top contenders signed to face off in a Triangle Match tomorrow night on Revenge Of The Warriors live on pay per view... The crowd loses it as The Ultimate Warrior comes out first! Warrior comes out wearing a black Best Of The Best hat and street clothes, but his face is still painted as he takes the ring and rambles on in a promo about Sting at one time being a brother of the spirits of the universe that binds and contracts us like blood is to the rivers that breathe life of everyday people that try to live the life of gods.... of WARRIORS!..... It is this life that is of one breath, one one wind, of one BROTHERHOOD!..... The Warrior says that Sting chose to walk the path of his own way, of a separate way, of a separate destination within this same existence. But he still walks his own path, as a man of destiny of his own. TOMORROW NIGHT.... STING.... RANDY SAVAGE..... SHAAAAAAAWN MICHAELS..... FEEL THE POWER OF 100 MILLION WARRIORS!..... THAT CAN NOT BE DENIED!..... All of a sudden Warriors interview is interrupted when Macho Man Randy Savage comes out to confront him! The Mega Maniacs face off! The crowd loses it! Are you serious!? This is Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior 1996! Savage tells the Ultimate Warrior that some things never change, and nothing stays the same, because what it is... is what it is.... he has a score to settle with the Ultimate Warrior tomorrow night in Vegas OOOOOOOH YEEEEAAAAAH!.... The crowd is apex nuts right now as Warrior and Savage are ready to fight right now. All of a sudden Sting's entrance music hits the speakers to get the fans even louder somehow! The Stinger is HERE! The three way face off keeps the crowd going ballistic! Sting... The Ultimate Warrior.... The Macho Man..... The 3 top contenders to Shawn Michaels' Undisputed World Title. These three men will face off in a Triangle Match tomorrow night at Revenge Of The Warriors and the WINNER will earn the shot at HBK and the Undisputed Title in the main event! Sting gets the mic and sends the message to Ultimate Warrior that he still considers him a brother, the two of them got started in this sport together and nothing will ever take that away... but that's in the past.... The Stinger tells both Warrior and Savage that they are the greatest challenge that he will ever face tomorrow night, but they are standing in the way of him and the Undisputed World Championship! Savage snaps back at Sting and points at his face, reminding him that it's HIS Championship! Neither Sting nor Warrior can STOP THE MACHO MAN TOMORROW NIGHT IN VEGAS OOOOOOOH YEAH! The tension between Savage, Sting, and Warrior is unbelievable until all of a sudden AHMED JOHNSON comes out! The crowd loses it as Ahmed makes his way to the ring in street clothes with a fanny pack to confront Sting, Warrior, and Savage! Ahmed was a member of Sting's Squadron in Mexico City to win the Triangle Elimination Match, and he saved all 3 men to help them win in the Steel Cage Challenge against The Horsemen last week. Ahmed gets a mic and tells all 3 men that he's the one that should be getting the shot at Shawn Michaels, he's THE #1 CONTENDER! Ahmed challenges all 3 men to throw his name into the #1 Contenders Match at Revenge Of The Warriors, make the match a 4 Corners Match! The Warrior looks back and forth at Savage and Sting, then around at the crowd that is going NUTS! Warrior sets the crowd off by screaming into the mic.... CHALLENGE.... ACCCCEEEEEEPTEEEEEED!!!..... IT'S ON! The match has been changed! It will be Ahmed Johnson vs Randy Savage vs Sting vs Ultimate Warrior in a 4 Corners #1 Contenders Match at Revenge Of The Warriors TOMORROW NIGHT! The winner of this match will go on to get a shot at HBK's Undisputed World Title in the main event! UNBELIEVABLE!....
*****
We return from commercials with Tony Shiavonne and Bobby The Brain Heenan still shocked, Ahmed Johnson has been added to the #1 Contenders Showdown that is set to open Revenge Of The Warriors tomorrow night on pay per view. It will be a 4 Corners Match, Ahmed Johnson vs Randy Savage vs Sting vs The Ultimate Warrior, with the winner going on to face HBK for the Undisputed World Title in the main event! Both teams make their entrances with all four men showing signs of fatigue and wear and tear from wrestling two matches already earlier tonight to get here in the finals, for the FINAL spot in the World Tag League! World Tag League Qualifying Tournament Finals
The Public Enemy vs The 123 Kid & Aldo Montoya
It's a back and forth battle with all four men pushing it to the limit to give everything they have! The Public Enemy end up pulling out ANOTHER table once they are able to take the match out to the floor for a brawl ringside! Aldo Montoya gets set up and laid out for a DRIVE BY THROUGH THE TABLE! Rocco smashes Aldo through the table with a sickening crunch! Aldo is out on the floor! The referee is distracted with Aldo as The Public Enemy attempt to take 123 Kid out with a DOUBLE STEEL CHAIR SHOT! All of a sudden the crowd goes nuts when SHAWN MICHAELS RUNS OUT! HBK drops Public Enemy both with SWEET CHIN MUSIC! Rocco eats a steel chair! The crowd goes insane as Michaels drags Kid over his lifeless body and pushes the referee back into the ring to count the pin.... 1.... 2.... 3! The 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya have won the tournament and earned the final spot in the World Tag League! Shawn celebrates the win with Kid and WE ARE OUT OF TIIIIII.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 3, 2023 14:35:40 GMT
BREAKING NEWS
February 17th, 1996
Shamrock Taps Kimo at UFC 8 In Puerto Rico UFC VIII: David vs Goliath went down in Puerto Rico earlier tonight on pay per view with the dominant UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock defeating the massive brawler Kimo by ankle lock submission in an intense main event. The victory solidifies Shamrock as arguably the worlds most dangerous man today, as he's currently on an 18-3-2 run in the 3 years since he was forced to tap out to a choke by Royce Gracie at UFC 1. All 3 of those losses came in Japan in the Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling promotion(two of them were to Minoru Suzuki, and one to Masakatsu Funaki, the two godfathers of the promotion and training partners that Shamrock learned submission wrestling from masters Karl Gotch and Yoshiaki Fujiwara in Japanese dojos). Shamrock is unanimously considered the king of the renegade outlaw UFC bareknuckle fighting league after appearing to get the better of Royce Gracie in their rematch last year(there were no judges so the bout was ruled a draw after the time limit and double overtime).  Shamrock ruled as King Of Pancrase in Japan before winning the inaugural UFC Superfight Championship(essentially the promotion's World title) last year by forcing Dan Severn to submit to a guillotine choke. After submitting Kimo tonight the hype is building for a rematch between Ken Shamrock vs Dan Severn after Severn went on a tear last year after losing their first match at UFC V. Shamrock's victory over Kimo capped a wild night of brutality in the Octagon earlier tonight in Puerto Rico, with unknown former Arizona State wrestler Don Frye running the 8 man gauntlet to win the UFC VIII David vs Goliath tournament, defeating 3 Goliath's in one night.
UFC Parent Company SEG Turns Down Offer From Neo Zeed To Buy PromotionSources have been confirmed via Wrestling Observer Newsletter author Dave Meltzer that the Neo Zeed sent officials to negotiate with UFC parent company SEG to buy the promotion this weekend. SEG turned down whatever offer was made despite growing political opposition in North America over the backlash of the blood and violence they have put on PPV over the last 3 years. The company has been outlawed in most states in America and is set to engage in a heated court battle over their upcoming UFC IX event scheduled for Cobo Hall in Detroit in May.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 3, 2023 16:59:21 GMT
 Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)February 17th, 1996Tonight's Worldwide hits the airwaves with Joey Styles in the Control Center of the Universal Studios Florida headquarters, we are now just HOURS away from the biggest pay per view event of the year Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors LIVE from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas! It was just made official earlier tonight on TBS on Shockwave, there will now be a 4 Corners Match to open up the pay per view for the #1 Contendership to Shawn Michaels Undisputed World Title in the MAIN EVENT! Four Corners #1 Contenders Match The Ultimate Warrior vs Sting vs Ahmed Johnson vs "The Macho Man" Randy Savage
These 4 Warriors all teamed up together in Mexico City on Judgement Night two weeks ago to defeat Bret Hart's "Dungeon" team and The Four Horsemen in a 3 Team Triangle Elimination Match. Since Sting was the captain of the team, he was set to be crowned the new #1 Contender to HBK's Title, but Macho Man had something to say about it on Shockwave later that week on TBS The Superstation. The current belt being used as the Undisputed World Championship, the literal exact same belt that is currently held by Shawn Michaels, is the same big gold belt that Randy Savage lost to Ric Flair when he was screwed by The Horsemen back at the final ever WCW show Starrcade this past December 1995. Savage and Sting had an agreement, man to man, to team up in Mexico City to take down Flair and Bret's teams and iron out the #1 Contenders title shot afterward. It was also revealed later that The Ultimate Warrior had returned to help his former tag partner Sting win in Mexico City because he wants to reign over the Best Of The Best realm as the supreme Champion for every Warrior out there that ever believed in the spirit of the Cosmos that flows through the veins feeding the power and the force that breathes life into every living thing that walks this planet. After the events in Mexico it was set up with one final battle for the #1 Contenders shot on the line, it would be Savage, Sting, and Warrior teaming up one last time to take down Flair, Arn, and Chris Benoit in a Steel Cage Challenge on Judgement Night in San Diego last week. The Horsemen had Sting and Savage handcuffed to the cage and had Ultimate Warrior dead to rights until Ahmed Johnson ripped the steel cage door open to make the save to help his boys win the match. Earlier tonight Ahmed confronted all three men, Sting, Savage, & The Warrior and threw his name into the challenge, making it a 4 Corners Match tomorrow night LIVE on pay per view at Best Of The Best 2! IN CAESARS PALACE! ***** Joey Styles segues it down to the BOTB Arena here at Universal Studios where Steve Armstrong is making his entrance for our opening match here tonight on Worldwide. Jeff Jarrett makes his way out getting the boo's as he threatens to smack the taste out of the mouths of some of the ringside fans. Styles on commentary notes the recent events with "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman being fired by the Horsemen after he ultimately cost them the 3 Team Elimination Match in Mexico City. Ever since then The Horsemen have made it clear that they are scouting for a new 4th member to fill the open spot. Jeff Jarrett revealed on Shockwave last week that he felt like it was his destiny to join his rightful place as a Horsemen. Singles Match
Jeff Jarrett vs Steve Armstrong Steve Armstrong puts up a decent challenge here in a solid back and forth technical 7 minute wrestling match. Jarrett ultimately takes the momentum in the ring as Joey Styles talks about his family pedigree in the sport that has been covered in depth here since Jarrett put in one of the longest lasting performances in the 30 Man Champions Rumble in Houston last month on the very first ever BOTB pay per view. Jarrett wears Armstrong down with holds while Joey Styles speculates to himself on commentary, if not Jarrett, who could possibly be the new 4th Horsemen? Jarrett puts Armstrong away with a textbook Figure Four Leglock for the submission victory, moving his BOTB record to 2-0. Ever since debuting here in Best Of The Best Jarrett has dropped the showmanship and the singing and has really focused in on utilizing his athleticism, he is very fast, and he is a very smart wrestler. No doubt about it he proved that here tonight. Whether or not Jeff Jarrett is really Horsemen material we will have to find out.... ***** Tomorrow night when Aleksandr Karelin meets Evander Holyfield in a heavyweight showdown between perhaps the worlds most dangerous athletes, it very well could possibly be one of the most violent confrontations in recorded human history. Viewers should be warned that Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors will be on live pay per view. This is not going to be on TBS or the USA Network, this will not be censored, there will be blood, somebody could actually die in the ring tomorrow night live in the ring in the middle of the outdoor pavilion of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Nevada.... Aleksandr Karelin is the pride of Russia, a country in search of heroes as they still recover from the Cold War that sent the entire region into economic collapse. As poverty broke the hopes and dreams of the nation the people looked to an unstoppable force to be inspired, a 286 pound beast that ran roughshod over the international sport of Greco Roman wrestling. Karelin destroyed everyone en route to the Gold medals in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. Going into this Summer's 1996 Olympics in Atlanta nobody is really expected to challenge Karelin, he's heavily favored to win the Gold for a 3rd time.  Aleksandr Karelin is really a once in a generation athlete. He is the product of the country of Russia putting all of their national resources into his training as the pride of their nation. Many speculate that Karelin's strength and size is the product of cutting edge Russian steroids, but in a recent interview translated into English Karelin revealed "No one can completely believe that I am natural. The most important drug is to train like a madman – really like a madman. The people who accuse me are those who have never trained once in their life like I train every day of my life." Karelin's training camp for his match against Holyfield in Vegas tomorrow night granted the BOTB cameras very rare access to his workouts in the build up to the event. The cameras caught really one of the most startlingly intense training regimens ever seen by any athlete in any sport. The hours and hours long rowing sessions, the long brutal runs through the Russian forest with a massive log on his back, then the absolute barbaric weight training sessions daily. Karelin's weight lifting clips from his training for this match have been otherworldly, 450 pound overhead clean and presses, 440 pound deadlifts at 10 reps, a 450 pound bench press, then the amazing footage of him at 286 pounds ripping 42 pull ups and 55 chin ups, having the flexibility to do the splits when stretching, hitting standing backflips....   The strength and power of Karelin is unimaginable. The only athlete on the planet today that could rival Karelin's athleticism and dominance over his sport would have to be Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. Once in a generation, once in a lifetime, once EVER athlete. We seen what he can do last month on pay per view at Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning when he eliminated 6 men(the most of anybody) and lasted an unbelievable 42:34 in the match(second longest run behind only Shawn Michaels, who won the match). Aleksandr Karelin will step into the ring to face an American challenger known as "The Real Deal", former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, Evander Holyfield. This match has been signed on for 3 rounds, with the first round being 10 minutes, while the 2nd and 3rd rounds will be 5 minutes each. The match can be won by knockout, submission, or by pinfall. If the bout goes the distance it will go to 3 judges to render a decision for a winner. Holyfield will compete wearing standard boxing gloves while Karelin will be bare fisted. Holyfield will be able to use unlimited rope breaks due to the grappling disadvantage of wearing the boxing gloves, while Karelin will only be permitted to strike to the head with an open palm(though he will be free to use elbows to the head). Evander Holyfield has been on a crusade in 1996 after his white wale fight against Mike Tyson continues to elude him. The pursuit of a fight against Tyson has driven Holyfield to the brink of religious psychoticism, to the point where he donated $250,000 to the Benny Hinn televangelist ministries last year. Holyfield credits the controversial faith healer Benny Hinn for curing his heart ailment last year, and he's hired him on as his spiritual advisor for this hybrid rules bout against Karelin. The coals of the Cold War reignite this battle between USA vs Russia tomorrow night on live pay per view. The weigh ins took place earlier today in Vegas with Karelin coming in at 285 pounds RIPPED while Holyfield weighed in at 230 pounds at perhaps the most muscular he's ever been in his career. The face to face showdown at the podium after the weigh ins is shown with both men standing fearlessly against each other with intensity burning in their eyes... Karelin and Holyfield have put their guaranteed show up money($550,000 each) on a wager on themselves in Vegas, making this an all or nothing match. With those bets and the total purse prize the winner of this bout will receive over $4 million in total prize money, while the loser walks away with nothing. Karelin has pledged to donate all of his winnings to a Russian childrens hospital that treats burn victims, cancer patients, terminally ill children, as well as providing free corrective surgeries like dental and cleft palette work for the needy children in poverty stricken regions of his country. Evander Holyfield has pledged to donate every penny of the $4 million in winnings to the Benny Hinn Ministries, with Hinn himself expected to be in his corner for the bout. ***** After the commercial break we get Joey Styles in the control center here at BOTB headquarters here in Universal Studios Florida hyping up the upcoming highly anticipated kickoff of the World Tag League, a 12 week journey to crown the very first ever Best Of The Best Undisputed World Tag Team Champions. The league will be comprised of the 12 best tag teams in the world today.... It all kicks off this Monday night on an absolutely MUST SEE episode of Judgement Night that will be LIVE on the USA Network at 8pm from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in LAS VEGAS! The biggest news regarding this Tag League was the return of the Legion Of Doom this past Monday night on Judgement Night. The LOD are back and will be a force in this league in the Tiger Division. Also in the same division as the LOD is the top ranked tag team in the world today in Harlem Heat, the final ever WCW World Tag Champs that scored a huge victory over former WWF Tag Champs The Smoking Guns in Mexico City two weeks ago. The Tiger Division is stacked from top to bottom without a doubt, with Camp Cornette's Owen and Bulldog, The Horsemen being represented by Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit, The Kliq being represented by the recently debuting 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya, then the extreme mad dogs of war, The Pit Bulls. These Tiger Division matches will be fierce battles every week here across all BOTB programming.  The Dragon division sees the bitter enemies The Steiners and The Eliminators in the same division, and those 2 scheduled meetings will be huge matches that will set the tone for this entire World Tag League season. The Dragon division also features 4 of the best young tag teams in the league with Chris Jericho and Lance Storm's Thrillseekers, former WCW Tag Champs The American Males, All Japan's top team of Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon, and the newfound extreme attitude of Billy and Bart Gunn of the newly christened Hardcore Guns. It all starts this Monday night on Judgement Night and will unfold across Shockwave, Bushido, and Worldwide over the next 12 weeks until the final 4 teams square off in the 1 night tournament to crown the Undisputed World Tag Champions.... ***** After the final round of commercials on your locally syndicated network we get Joey Styles bringing it back to the smaller little studio arena in Universal Studios Florida for tonight's main event! The former WCW United States Champ, The One Man Gang, the final man to ever wear that title is here wrapping up his entrance. We seen Gang debut here in BOTB last month where he competed in the 30 Man Champions Rumble. This has to be one of the biggest matches we've had here on Worldwide since the show premiered last month as Gang is set to take on one of the top ranked contenders, Hakushi, who is undefeated so far here in BOTB... Singles Match
Hakushi vs One Man Gang Hakushi is given his toughest test so far here in BOTB as the sheer size, experience, and toughness of the former Mid-South/Universal World Champ puts the Japanese phenom in serious trouble. Gang survives an early onslaught of backflip kicks, chops, and strikes to pound Hakushi and keep him grounded with big moves. The crowd rallies behind Hakushi to inspire a comeback, he lands a huge counter into a handspring back elbow. Gang retreats out to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp but Hakushi climbs up to the top rope while his back is turned. Hakushi does a praying rope walk across the top rope before turning and leaping off with a MOONSAULT PRESS! The One Man Gang catches Hakushi on his shoulder! Gang turns and slams HAKUSHI THROUGH THE ENTRANCE RAMP! OH MY GAAAAAAAAWD! The small little crowd in the Universal Studios arena goes CRAZY! EVERYONE is on their feet! Hakush and One Man Gang have crashed THROUGH THE ENTRANCE RAMP! UNBELIEVABLE! The referee doesn't even know what to do as both men are still inside the ramp, with the crowd going NUTS all standing trying to see inside the hole! This is CRAZY and we are completely OUT OF TIIIIIIII.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Baker on Apr 4, 2023 1:51:22 GMT
Warrior/Ahmed/Sting/Macho is a mid 90s babyface fan dream match.
Hakushi/Gang is such a gloriously oddball pairing you have to love it. Surprised to see Gang get the Bigelow spot.
The earlier Rocky IV stuff got me hyped for Holyfield/Karelin. Burning Heart for the win. Used it in my old NGW fed to hype Patriot/Borga.
Tag League is coming together nicely
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 4, 2023 13:04:04 GMT
Warrior/Ahmed/Sting/Macho is a mid 90s babyface fan dream match. Hakushi/Gang is such a gloriously oddball pairing you have to love it. Surprised to see Gang get the Bigelow spot. The earlier Rocky IV stuff got me hyped for Holyfield/Karelin. Burning Heart for the win. Used it in my old NGW fed to hype Patriot/Borga. Tag League is coming together nicely I was going to try not to reply to feedback in here because its just kind of tacky and I like to keep a classy operation here but that fucking avatar is about as GOAT as it gets. It's like Vince is reaching the Raul Julia phase of his life, truly fucking spectacular. Deep sigh man I'm so happy with this little fed. It's really beautiful. The Hakushi vs OMG cliffhanger ending just came with the flow of that match as I wrote it, I felt like that was a natural thing to happen in that moment and gave Worldwide a nice little holy shit cliff hanger it needed. I been building up that ramp for 6 weeks of TV now and the urge to smash somebody through it was just too strong. Now Worldwide is established that even though it's the clear C(or D?)-show it's still anything can happen and a reason to tune in next week to see what the fuck happened. I have been happy with being able to focus the Shockwave episodes on a common theme that runs through the episodes, The Horsemen scouting for a new member, Sting/Bret putting their teams together for Mexico City, the tag team tournament for the last spot in the league. Judgement Night is just Jerry Springer Hard Copy Pulp Fiction Beavis and Butthead Cops 1996. Bushido I'm pretty fascinated with and could spin that off into it's own fan fiction that I could have a real blast with. Just an absolutely gorgeous little alternate universe that is fun to think about. I will definitely be trimming down the format after this next pay per view to get this thing moving at a quicker pace.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 8, 2023 17:38:34 GMT
Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors
Due to graphic content, viewer discretion is advised for the following live and uncensored pay per view event.... Tonight's pay per view event hits the airwaves LIVE with a hard opening shot of the special outdoor pavilion set up at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas! The crowd is going NUTS! Sunny is standing in the middle of the ring wearing... a Greek toga?! She's got one of those gold leaf Caesar crowns with her hair in a bun and the toga is covering her entire body from head to toe. It's a beautiful February afternoon here in Vegas, with the bright late afternoon sun casting a glowing aura over everything. It's the kind of glowing sunlight you will only really find the closer you get to the west coast, seemingly different from anywhere else in North America, richer, deeper, making every color appear even more dynamic. The ring is blood red, with a big white Best Of The Best logo in the middle. The ropes, turnbuckles, and apron hanging over the sides all as back as the elevated catwalk entrance ramp that connects the ring to the black entrance stage. The crowd continues going off as Sunny stands in her Greek toga waiting for them to die down with a cunning smile. Finally as the crowd dies out Sunny delivers an opening monologue filled with gambling puns before letting her hair down and concluding that THIS is NO toga party.... Sunny drops the mic and disrobes her toga to reveal nothing on but... a BIKINI!... Sweet mother of god... The crowd LOSES IT!
The entire venue is going bonkers! Sunny slowly pics the mic back up off the canvas and proclaims... THIS.... is THE REVENGE... OF THE WARRIORS!..... As the entire Caesars Palace venue goes crazy for Sunny we cut away to a hard hitting opening montage music video set to brand new music, Only God Can Judge Me off of the BRAND NEW Tupac album All Eyez On Me. The montage moves from clips of Shawn Michaels putting Konnan away in Mexico City with the Sweet Chin Music, having trash and debri thrown at him as he tried to make his exit from Estadio Azteca after the match. Clips of Bret Hart's amazing 51 minute run in the 3 Team Triangle Match on a busted knee, Ahmed Johnson ripping the door off of the steel cage, The Ultimate Warrior's return and the 4 way face off with Savage/Sting/Ahmed, Paul E. Dangerously bringing out Steve Austin with his new shaved head, Taz choking out Kama, then finally rounding out the video with clips of absolute savage violence of Aleksandr Karelin wrestling takedowns, ending with Evander Holyfield fluid poetry in motion working the speed bag, hitting amazingly smooth combos on the focus mitts, bobbing and weaving with scientific precision in a rhythm that grooves along with the music.... WE ARE BACK.....  Fireworks explode over the ring as we cut back to the LIVE shot of Caesars Palace! This place is ELECTRIC! Jim Ross and Joey Styles welcome the pay per view audience to the broadcast with Jim Ross saying what a huge difference 3 years makes, he was right here wearing a toga calling play by play for Wrestlemania IX in this same venue in 1993. Now, tonight, this is a completely different atmosphere here in Caesars Palace as everyone is here to see the biggest heavyweight showdown this town has seen in quite some time. Joey Styles takes over and talks about the frenzy of media coverage that is here tonight to cover the hybrid rules "Boxer vs Wrestler" showdown between Evander Holyfield vs Aleksandr Karelin, this is truly one of the biggest international sports events that everyone is talking about around the globe. Jim Ross notes that everyone is here tonight to see Holyfield vs Karelin, but it really just doesn't get much bigger than our opening Four Corners Match set to kickoff tonight's event. This match will determine the #1 Contender to Shawn Michaels Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship, and they will get their shot later tonight in our main event as The Heartbreak Kid is here tonight in Vegas ready to defend his title! JR and Joey Styles kick it up to ring announcer Michael Buffer in the ring....  Buffer gets the Caesars Palace crowd going with his trademark "LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAL" intro, getting things going for our opening match! The fans stay hot when "The Macho Man" Randy Savage's entrance music hits! The Macho Man comes out to the ring for perhaps the biggest match of the rest of his career, perhaps his final real shot to regain the gold that he was robbed of at the final ever WCW event back at Starrcade 95 just under two months ago. Folks, this is the big one, this is the clash of titans if there ever was one. Man Called Sting hits the speakers to set the crowd off as Sting comes out to reveal blue and gold face paint matching his pants. The tension between Sting and Randy Savage is palpable and growing with The Stinger's every step towards the ring, nearly boiling over once he steps through the ropes. The Vegas crowd gets the loudest when Ahmed Johnson's entrance music hits! Ahmed walks out INTENSE as Joey Styles and Jim Ross recap his undefeated run here in Best Of The Best so far in 1996, he is the #1 ranked wrestler and without a doubt one of the fastest rising young stars to hit this sport ever since he debuted in the WWF last year. All of the tension grows as Ahmed takes his corner staring opposite of Randy Savage and Sting. All of a sudden all out pandemonium erupts when The Ultimate Warrior's music hits! The Warrior comes RUNNING OUT full speed to the ring! The crowd is going ape shit! Warrior hits the ring and IT'S ON!.... The bell rings as all four men go right after each other! The commentators note that there is so much on the line here in this match that the referee has no choice but to let these men battle it out. This is not a "no-DQ" match officially but still, the rules will only loosely be enforced here, there is no way a match of this magnitude can end in a disqualification or countout. There will most likely be no tagging, and this match is ONE FALL to a finish, THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! Sting and Randy Savage immediately tie up in brawl while Ahmed and Warrior exchange punches in the center of the ring! Warrior reverses Ahmed and clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor while Sting backdrops Randy Savage over the top to the floor on the opposite side! The crowd goes nuts as Sting and The Ultimate Warrior back into each other, turning around quickly but holding their punches when they see each other! The crowd is white hot as Sting and Warrior eye each other down for a moment before finally Warrior puts a hand up to challenge Sting to a test of strength in the middle of the ring in broad daylight in a makeshift outdoor pavilion in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1996! The Ultimate Warrior overpowers Sting and dominates the match with the fury of all 16,000 Warriors in attendance running through his veins! Savage and Sting stand no chance, while Ahmed is able to only match Warrior's power, none of his offense has any effect! The Ultimate Warrior RULES! The Warrior sets the crowd off by incredibly managing to PRESS AHMED OVER HIS HEAD! Randy Savage clips Warrior's knee out from under him, causing him to drop to the canvas! Ahmed Johnson recovers as Sting and Savage spill over the top rope in a brawl that ends up on the floor! The big moment of the match comes with Ahmed clotheslining Warrior over the top rope to the floor before running across the ring and diving OVER THE TOP ROPE WITH A PLANCHA! Ahmed crashes awkwardly down onto both Sting and Savage taking them out! As the battle rages on Sting, Savage, and Ahmed are only able to have brief moments while The Warrior is driven by an energy and spirit raging throughout Caesars Palace, driving him to his destiny, giving him the ability to fight through pain and fatigue with superhuman power. It's only after Sting, Savage, and Ahmed realize that they must work together to hurt The Ultimate Warrior are they able to stand a chance. The temporary alliance wears Warrior down until he's finally stunned by the force of Ahmed's PEARL RIVER PLUNGE! Sting, Savage, and Ahmed wilt with fatigue as they watch The Ultimate Warrior amazingly recover from the Pearl River Plunge still trying to get back up! The crowd is ELECTRIC! All three men put the boots to The Warrior before Ahmed pulls him back up for ANOTHER Pearl River Plunge! This time The Ultimate Warrior doesn't get back up! Ahmed goes to make the pinfall but he's attacked by Sting and Savage to break it up, causing their alliance to dissolve! Ahmed, Sting, and Savage battle it out, with Sting taking control by hitting both men with HUGE Stinger Splashes in the corners! Sting screams and pounds his chest to get the crowd fired up! Ahmed and Savage recover to overwhelm Sting but he's soon helped out when The Ultimate Warrior recovers and sends Macho Man over the top rope to the floor! Sting dumps Ahmed over the top and turns to face The Ultimate Warrior one on one! This time Sting wastes no time in firing off with punches! The Warrior fights back and the crowd loses it! Sting and The Ultimate Warrior fight it out until Sting taps into the flowing energy in the arena, feeding off of the crowd to overpower The Ultimate Warrior, stunning him with a series of chops, dropkicks, one handed running bulldogs, before finally dropping him with a snap DDT! The Warrior is HURT! Randy Savage brawls with Ahmed Johnson on the floor as Sting pulls Warrior's legs up and locks him in the SCORPION DEATHLOCK! The Warrior tries to fight it off but Sting rolls him over and locks it down! The crowd is going bonkers as Sting torques back on the Scorpion Deathlock on The Ultimate Warrior while Randy Savage pulls Ahmed up and spikes him with a piledriver on the padded floor! Ahmed is out! The Warrior screams out in pain in the Scorpion Deathlock as he reaches for the ropes, but he's locked down in the center of the ring! Randy Savage sets the crowd off into a frenzy as he makes his way up the turnbuckles in the corner to the top rope! Savage flies off the top rope to hit The Ultimate Warrior with the flying elbow drop WHILE he's being torqued in the Scorpion Deathlock! AW GAWD! Sting falls forward breaking his hold on impact as Savage drives his elbow into Warrior's skull in an amazing gravity defying leap! Warrior is out cold! Macho Man scrambles to make the cover for the pin but Sting pulls him off to break it at 2.99999! The crowd gasps! Macho Man puts the punches to Sting before clotheslining him over the top to the floor! Savage brings all of Caesars Palace to their feet as he climbs back up to the top turnbuckle again, raising his arms up before flying off to hit Warrior with ANOTHER FLYING ELBOW DROP!..... Savage bounces off of Warrior with sickening impact, driving his elbow right down into his face! The crowd is going INSANE as Macho Man hooks Warrior's leg for the pinfall!..... 1...... 2....... NO!... WARRIOR KICKS OUT AT 2.999999999999999999999999!.... The entire crowd all gasps, he almost had him! Randy Savage was SO CLOSE! The Ultimate Warrior is not a mortal human being! This is INSANE! Randy Savage goes after the referee in total disbelief, that should have been a 3 count! 1-2-3! The Macho Man is snapping! Warrior recovers and hulks up with the crowd behind him as he puts the punches to The Macho Man! Macho gets press slammed and hit with the running splash before being covered for the finish! 1..... 2..... STING PULLS THE REFEREE OUT OF THE RING AT 2.99999999999!.... The Ultimate Warrior had Randy Savage BEAT! Sting just barely made the save and the crowd is just RIDICULOUS now. Sting recovers to the ring and faces off with Warrior again but Ahmed makes it back to the ring and slugs it out with Ultimate Warrior in an all out battle! Randy Savage recovers and rolls Sting up from behind for a close 2 count! Warrior's face paint begins to wear off as he takes the battle with Ahmed over the top rope out to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp connected to the apron! Sting and Randy Savage recover and battle it out in the ring while Ahmed and The Warrior fight down the entrance ramp towards the stage! Warrior locks Ahmed up and hits him with a vertical suplex, bouncing him off the hard ramp! Back in the ring and Randy Savage has Sting finished off with a piledriver! The Stinger is down and out as Savage climbs up to the top rope for a flying elbow drop! Sting rolls out of the way at the last second! Savage crashes into the canvas! In this moment ALL four men are down and out, totally exhausted as we pass the 25 minute mark! The Warrior recovers and struggles to make it back down the long entrance ramp to the ring but Ahmed recovers to his hands and knees behind him closer to the entrance stage, hurt, gasping for air, but screaming a battle cry right at The Warrior! Ahmed can barely stand! The Warrior stops in his tracks and turns to see him with a snarl on his face! Back in the ring Sting recovers and locks Randy Savage in the.... SCORPION DEATHLOCK! Savage fights it off but he's turned over right in the middle of the ring! Sting cranks back in the Scorpion Deathlock on Randy Savage as The Warrior runs back down the elevated catwalk entrance ramp FULL SPEED, screaming before leaping and hitting Ahmed WITH A FLYING SHOULDER BLOCK! Both men go down! The Macho Man screams in pain in the Deathlock as he fights and tries to reach the ropes! Sting SCREAMS as he torques back in the hold, forcing Macho Man TO SUBMIT!... IT'S OVER!.... STING! STING! STING!.... HE DID IT! Unbelievable! Sting breaks his hold and collapses beside Macho Man as the referee calls for the bell! It's all over! The Ultimate Warrior recovers on the ramp and he's stunned as he looks on at Sting recovering to his knees victorious in the ring. STING has won the match by forcing Randy Savage to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock at 26:05! THE STINGER! Sting recovers and screams as he has his hand raised in victory!...  The Ultimate Warrior looks on from the ramp until Ahmed Johnson recovers and attacks him! A mob of referees and security race out to break up Warrior and Ahmed as Sting celebrates the victory back in the ring! The Macho Man recovers in disbelief, completely crestfallen, he has failed, his shot at regaining his title has slipped through his fingers. Savage turns Sting around and offers him a handshake and the crowd goes NUTS as the two former allies patch things up! Savage raises Sting's arm before bowing out! The brawl between Ultimate Warrior vs Ahmed Johnson has a full scene of chaos on the entrance ramp as security fights to pull them apart!.... ***** We cut away backstage to the shot of "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels in his private dressing room with the Undisputed World Championship title belt over his shoulder, accompanied by his mentor and trainer Jose Lothario backing him up in the interview with Sunny. Sunny tells Michaels that he is set to defend his title in the main event later tonight against STING, the REMATCH, HBK vs STING 2, later TONIGHT! Michaels looks into the camera sending the message that he is ready for Sting tonight, he still remembers everything that happened in Houston last month, he's trained harder than ever for tonight with his mentor Jose Lothario. The Heartbreak Kid reveals that he is in the absolute best shape he's ever been, he knew he would have to be ready for any of these 4 men to bring his greatest challenge he's ever faced and he's glad it will be STING. Tonight IT IS ON, the rematch between Shawn Michaels vs Sting this time for HBK's Undisputed World Title! Sting defeated HBK in a one on one match last month at Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning but Michaels returned later that night to win the 30 Man Champions Rumble before taking down Ric Flair to win the title immediately after. Now these two will face off in a revenge match here tonight, with the title on the line. Sting has just survived a 26 minute war but he still has hours to recover and prepare for his shot at the Undisputed Championship later tonight in our finale!  vs  HBK vs Sting 2, THE REMATCH, this time for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Title LATER TONIGHT!
*****Sunny kicks it back to Jim Ross and Joey Styles at the commentary table down ringside cranking up the hype for tonight's main event, it has now been set that Sting will face Shawn Michaels here tonight for the Undisputed World Title. It was in the Houston Astrodome last month at Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning where Sting forced HBK to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock when they faced each other for the first time. The hype is suddenly interrupted when War Machine by Kiss hits the speakers to bring out "The Human Suplex Machine", Taz! Joey Styles notes that Taz issued an open challenge for anybody to face him here in Vegas tonight but as of the start of this show it was unknown if anybody was willing to step up to face him on short notice. Taz makes it out down the ramp with a shredded black towel over his head obscuring his face. He has his fists heavily taped, and he wipes his boots and bows before entering the ring. Jim Ross notes how impressive Taz looked in his debut here in Best Of The Best last month on the first BOTB pay per view in Houston where he choked "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama unconscious despite giving up nearly a foot of reach and considerable weight disadvantage. Taz followed up with a tapout victory over Kama in a rematch on Bushido on TBS last month, he's a ruthless hybrid athlete similar to what we seen on the Ultimate Fighting David vs Goliath pay per view event last night from Puerto Rico. Joey Styles leaves his spot at the commentary table to get a word with Taz, who reveals that he's laid down an open challenge for anybody to face him here tonight. The Human Suplex Machine sends the message to any Ultimate Fighter, any wrestler, boxer, any martial artists around the world that the doors of his dojo are open and he will fuck up any man that steps foot onto his mats. Taz calls out Tyson, the Gracie family, anybody in Best Of The Best, Japan, it doesn't matter, bring me the biggest and baddest motherfucker in this ring right here and I'll choke his ass out! ANYBODY! Taz then directs his attention to the fans in the crowd, saying that there isn't a single man here tonight in Vegas in this crowd that would last 1 minute in this ring. Taz says all he sees here tonight, its a lot of chicken shit. The crowd cranks up the boo's as Taz gets furious! Taz pushes Joey Styles back and rips the mic away from him! Taz says that he's not leaving this god damn ring! Taz takes over the whole pay per view and refuses to leave the ring until somebody is man enough to come out here and remove me from this fucking ring! "You're going to have to come out here and drag my dead fucking body out of this ring!" All of a sudden Taz's open challenge is accepted by none other than.... YOKOZUNA! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! Taz tenses up as Yokozuna walks out to the entrance ramp and eyes him with INTENSITY! Jim Ross freaks out on commentary, Taz might have bit off way more than he could chew here, Yokozuna has seen a career resurrection here in Best Of The Best in 1996 he's coming off a huge win over Butterbean in hybrid rules action on Bushido. This man is 600 pounds, a 2 time former WWF Champion, in fact this is the exact same spot where he defeated Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IX to win the WWF title just 3 years ago! Yokozuna takes the ring and stands towering over Taz in a face off as the referee scrambles into the ring frantically calling for the bell!.... Jim Ross takes a shot at last night's UFC VIII: David vs Goliath tournament as Taz stares up at Yokozuna towering over him literally twice his size if not more, you want to talk about a David vs Goliath matchup folks this is it right here, these aren't part time amateur strip mall martial arts wannabes like you seen in Puerto Rico last night, ladies and gentleman these are the professionals, this is a former WWF World Champion against a third degree black belt, this is Sumo vs Judo right here! Taz looks up at Yokozuna without fear in the sun soaked scene in the middle of the blood red ring in the outdoor pavilion at Caesars Palace in Vegas... Taz breaks the staredown and takes the fight right to the monster Yokozuna with a barrage of strikes to the head! Taz works his way around the big man for a belly to belly Tazplex! Taz manages to get Yokozuna's feet off the ground but he can't finish the Tazplex, he falls back into the canvas with Yokozuna pivoting his body weight to smash him on the way down! Yoko engulfs Taz for a pinfall attempt with all 600 pounds and Taz BARELY manages to get a shoulder up at 2.999! Yokozuna keeps his weight on Taz to wear him down for several minutes, smashing him with chops, a devastating superkick, splashes in the corners, even grounding him with a nerve hold at one point. Taz fights through the pain to transition around and reverse the nerve hold into an armbar from his back! Yokozuna is in trouble with his arm fully extended grimacing in pain but he manages to rip Taz up off the canvas and toss him off his arm into the corner turnbuckles! Taz is knocked out! Yokozuna takes his time breathing heavily as he stalks Taz near the corner. Taz is stunned, still trying to recover as Yoko lumbers over to him breathing with his mouth open looking around at the crowd. Yokozuna pulls Taz up and shakes the entire ring with a BRUTAL belly to belly suplex! Yoko makes the cover for the pin but Taz kicks out at 2! Joey Styles is in disbelief on commentary as we are witnessing Taz being completely dominated here. Yokozuna drags Taz's limp body over to the corner and gives him his last rights before going up for the Bonzai Drop! As Yoko climbs slowly all 600 pounds up the corner turnbuckles the top one, the same one Yoko tossed Taz into to escape the armbar, it BREAKS! Taz rolls out to the apron at the last second as Yokozuna drops backwards into the canvas holding the broken turnbuckle with the top rope still attached! Taz is still dizzy and hurt as he recovers on the apron! This is unbelievable! Yokozuna has broken the top rope turnbuckle and he's so big he can barely get up! Taz recovers and climbs up to the middle turnbuckle as Yoko recovers staggering to his feet with his back turned! Taz jumps off onto Yokozuna's back locking him into the KATA HAJIME... THE TAZMISSION! Yokozuna staggers around with Taz on his back choking him! Yoko trips as he tries to reach for the ropes because the top rope is broken and laying on the canvas! Yokozuna collapses to his knees before falling over and passing out with his face turning purple! The referee stops the match! UNBELIEVABLE! TAAAAAZ!!!
The Human Suplex Machine has defeated former WWF Champion Yokozuna here in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in a wild battle! Yokozuna is out cold as the referee Charles Robinson raises Taz's hand in victory! Taz clutches his ribs and grimaces in pain, struggling to stand, he's been crushed! Yokozuna remains unconscious as EMT's work on him while Taz is too hurt to even celebrate, he bows out to the elevated catwalk ramp hurting as he raises his hand victorious on his exit... ***** After the match we cut away with Sunny backstage hyping up the kickoff of the new World Tag League set to start tomorrow night live on Judgement Night on the USA Network. This league will take place across all Best Of The Best television for the next 12 weeks, with the best 12 teams in the world aligned into 2 divisions. Sunny breaks the news that the BOTB Championship Council and Eric Bischoff have reversed the decision of the final match of Shockwave's Qualifying Tournament, the 123 Kid & Aldo Montoya have been stripped of their victory over Public Enemy due to interference from Shawn Michaels! The Public Enemy have been awarded the victory in the tournament final via disqualification! Sunny is joined by Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge who are thrilled with the decision! Rocco talks like a clown as he says that PE are all about following the rules, they feel in their hearts that the Council made the right decision and they will honor them by being on their best behavior throughout the next 12 weeks in the tag league! Johnny Grunge takes over saying yeah! That means they will absolutely not brawl outside the ring, that means no brawling in the crowd, that means no chairs, no weapons, and that most of all most definitely absolutely means under no circumstances will they use ANY tables!.... NOOOOOOOT! PE get serious and send the message that it's about to get violent, and Shawn Michaels, 123 Kid, The KLIQ, we got a table with YOUR name on it! PE make their exit as Sunny breaks the news that she has exclusive report revealing the official first week matchups set for next week!...
This World Tag League will be a 12 week road to crown the very first ever Undisputed World Tag Team Champions. The top 2 teams in each division with the best win/loss records will face off in a 1 night 4 team tournament to crown the Champions live on pay per view in May. It all starts tomorrow night LIVE on Judgement Night!... ***** We return to the live shot down ringside here at Caesars Palace and just out of nowhere here comes Paul E. Dangerously walking out unscheduled and unannounced out to the ring like he owns the whole town... Jim Ross on commentary stops mid-sentence to moan the arrival of one of his least favorite human beings, "Aw will you look at this, what the hell is this guy doing here!?".. as Paul E. takes the ring with a smug, intense demeanor of 1,000 assholes. Dangerously takes a microphone and immediately draws heat by calling the fans a bunch of low life gambling degenerate garbage, introducing the term "money marks" into the 1996 BOTB lexicon. He's not here to win any popularity contests for this god forsaken promotion, he's here to warn everybody here that all of this, everything you see here, its all about to come to a bitter end at his hands. Paul E. Dangerously says that he has been busy making moves that are going to cripple Best Of The Best to it's knees. Dangerously is interrupted by Best Of The Best CEO Eric Bischoff, who comes out with a furious look on his face! Eric Bischoff enters the ring for a showdown with Paul E. and tries to shut him down! Bischoff smiles at Paul E. with his smug little smile, his full head of model black hair flowing in the wind, his dimples seemingly glowing in the late afternoon Las Vegas sunlight. Paul E. nods at him with a cocky little smile of his own... As Eric and Paul E. face off with furious intensity in the ring all of a sudden out comes.... Cactus Jack!Paul E. and Bischoff both are perplexed as to why Cactus is here tonight in Las Vegas, JR on commentary notes that he's not on the card here tonight, hell NONE of this was on the format we apologize folks, this is live pay per view after all. Cactus takes a microphone and looks Paul E. up and down before telling him how truly disgusting he is with him! Cactus tells Paul E. that the two of them go way back in this business, he always respected Paul E. Dangerously for being the real man, Paul Heyman. Cactus tells Paul E. that seeing his little buddy Mikey Whipreck get put in a wheel chair by Steve Austin last month made him sick, but seeing Paul E. capitalize on it by signing Steve Austin as his manager made him EVEN SICKER! Cactus Jack tells Paul E. Dangerously that he's even worse than these bloodthirsty fans, the big difference is that these people come here and pay to see somebody get hurt, while Paul E. on the other hand is actually a sorry enough of a human being, a bottom feeder thats just here to make money off of the suffering! Eric Bischoff slowly and quietly backs out of the ring scared for his life as Cactus Jack gets more and more crazy, backing Paul E. Dangerously into a corner before snapping and attacking him! Cactus smacks Paul E.'s hat off his head before shoving his fingers down his throat! What the hell!? Paul E. chokes and gags as Cactus shoves his middle two fingers down his gullet! All of a sudden the crowd gets loud when Steve Austin runs out from the back and attacks Cactus Jack from behind! Paul E. rolls out of the ring to the floor choking and vomiting as Steve Austin beats the hell out of Cactus Jack! All of a sudden a man comes running out to the ring with a Singapore cane!... It's.... THE SANDMAN! With Woman!... The Sandman lays into Austin's back with the Singapore cane! The crowd goes nuts! Austin drops to his knees as Sandman looks around for a moment taking a puff off of a lit cigarette! Woman stalks the outside floor screaming for the referee, pushing him into the ring and ordering for the bell! The Sandman stands tall over Steve Austin and Cactus Jack as the bell rings for an impromptu TRIPLE THREAT MATCH... WITH NO RULES!... The Sandman takes turns blasting Cactus Jack and Steve Austin with Singapore cane shots to their backs and faces as Woman stalks around on the floor watching with a conniving look in her eyes! Paul E. still lays on the floor outside the ring clutching his throat gagging after Cactus just raped his gullet with his two middle fingers in some form of new hold or something he's come up with in his sick twisted mind just to hurt Paul E. for what happened to Mikey Whipreck... The savagery intensifies as Austin fights back and knocks the cane out of Sandman's hand, delivering a beat down for the ages, unleashing all of his penned up frustration of his losses in ECW that drove him off the deep end. The Sandman gets punched down in the corner then stomped out into the canvas in a violent fit of rage until Cactus recovers and takes Austin over the top rope to the floor! Cactus and Austin fight it out around the ringside area on the floor until Sandman recovers and joins in, taking the battle over the steel guard railing INTO THE CROWD! All three men destroy each other through the audience up into the makeshift bleachers in a wild brawl in broad daylight! At one point all three men battle with steel chairs with Austin battering both Sandman and Cactus with vicious shots to the backs and heads. Cactus ends up knocked down the steps with a sickening roll down! Sandman tries to suplex Austin down the bleachers but Austin counters him and drops him back first onto the bleachers behind him! GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY! Austin leaves Sandman laying in pain to go after Cactus, pulling him up and kicking his ass back down through the crowd over towards and over the guard railing near the elevated catwalk entrance ramp. The Sandman is fucked up up in the bleachers but he's recovered to a seated position and grabbed a beer from one of the nearby fans to guzzle it down! Sandman grabs another plastic beer cup from another nearby fan and pours it over his head before wobbling around dizzy back towards the action with the fans jumping in and out of the shaky camera shot! Back up on the elevated catwalk entrance ramp and Cactus has reversed Austin to drop him on the ramp with a swinging neck breaker on the ramp! Austin is down and out! Cactus sets the Vegas crowd off by climbing up to the top turnbuckle of the ring and diving out to hit Austin on the ramp with a FLYING ELBOW DROP! Both men are hurt! The Sandman is shown still grabbing beers from fans and downing them as he stumbles through the crowd back to the ringside area! Cactus Jack and Steve Austin are down hurt on the ramp as The Sandman works his way over to them, hitting both of them with a slingshot somersault legdrop sloppy as hell from the ring out to the ramp! All 3 men are out of it on the ramp just outside the ring while Paul E. finally begins to recover on the opposite side. Woman round the corner with a lit cigarette to put into Sandman's mouth as he's propped up against the ropes a mess! Sandman takes a few drags off the smoke and it gives him new life! The brawl continues as all 3 men recover on the elevated catwalk entrance ramp with The Sandman throwing Cactus Jack off, sending him flipping over and CRASHING DOWN INTO THE PADDED FLOOR WITH A SICK SMACK! JESUS! Cactus Jack writhes around in pain after just smashing into the floor from the elevated entrance ramp with the sickest possible landing imaginable as Steve Austin recovers and drops Sandman with a low blow from behind! Austin recovers to his feet and looks down at Sandman with total absolute disgust before smacking the cigarette out of his mouth and kicking him over! Woman screams at Austin from down on the floor near the ring but Austin flips her off with both middle fingers! Austin and The Sandman battle it out on the ramp until Austin whips Sandman into the ring ropes and lifts him up to spin and drop him neck first with the STUN GUN! The Sandman is KNOCKED OUT on the ramp! Jim Ross calls Steve Austin "stone cold" as he looks around with about as heartless a look in his eyes ever seen while pulling up the padding to expose the cold hard concrete where Cactus is laying. Austin pulls Cactus up for a piledriver into the concrete but Cactus counters him with a BACKDROP! Cactus gets cheered by the fans as he makes his way up to the apron of the ring and runs to dive off and hit Austin with a DIVING ELBOW ON THE CONCRETE! The crowd comes alive as all 3 men lay down and out with Woman stalking the ringside area and Paul E. Dangerously still shaken, spitting and trying to recover while looking on at the madness. Cactus brings the crowd alive when he rolls Steve Austin into the ring and begins unhinging a section of the steel guard rail to throw into the ring! Cactus tosses the steel railing into the ring and rolls in before looking around at the crowd going nuts! Jim Ross freaks on commentary, AWW GOD SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO STOP THIS! DON'T DO THIS! Cactus is going to break Austin's neck! THIS IS FOR MIKEY! Cactus Jack raises the steel guard railing over his head as he looks down at Steve Austin trying to get up off the canvas! All of a sudden Paul E. Dangerously scrambles into the ring to stop him! Cactus drops the railing down and goes to take out Paul E. until all of a sudden Shane Douglas comes running into the ring to blast him in the back with a STEEL CHAIR!.... Shane Douglas drops Cactus Jack with the chair and spits on him! What the hell! This is a receipt for what happened on Shockwave last night in the Tag Team Tournament! Shane Douglas waits for Cactus to recover to his knees before delivering the home run chair shot RIGHT TO HIS FACE! The chair cracks into Cactus Jack's skull with a sickening unprotected impact that immediately knocks him out, causing Jim Ross to gasp with the crowd on commentary, "AHH! NO!"... Shane Douglas makes his exit to the ramp cussing and flipping the fans off as he gloats with a sick smile! Cactus Jack is knocked completely out! Steve Austin recovers and lays an arm over Cactus for the pinfall but The Sandman rolls into the ring to break the count up at 2.99999! The Sandman sets up the steel guard rail in the ring in an upright position before trying to whip Austin into the ropes! Austin reverses The Sandman and pulls him in to catch him with a STUN GUN ONTO THE STEEL RAILING! The Sandman is out! Austin makes the cover for the pin.... 1..... 2..... 3! Paul E. Dangerously scrambles into the ring still clutching his throat but urgently rushing to raise Austin's hand in the middle of the ring for one hell of a victory, defeating Cactus Jack and The Sandman in what has got to be one of the most violent matches we have seen in Best Of The Best so far. Steve Austin has pinned The Sandman here to avenge his loss in ECW last year, I think it's pretty clear that this man has shaken off whatever ring rust was there, he's got a new ruthless attitude, he's got Paul E. Dangerously with incredible leverage here in this promotion backing him, watch out... ***** After the match we cut away backstage with Sunny set for an interview with none other than "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair alongside Arn Anderson and the legal advisor of The Four Horsemen; JJ Dillon! Flair, Arn, and JJ are decked out for Vegas tonight and Flair is fired up in rare form! WHOOOOO!...   Flair reveals that he and Arn are here tonight in support of Chris Benoit as he takes on Bret Hart later in the show one on one. Arn tells Sunny that Chris Benoit stands for everything the Horsemen are all about, and he's proven that his loyalty to this group trumps any ties to his home country of Canada or any ties to his roots with the Hart Family Dungeon that he came from, Benoit has proven his loyalty to the Horsemen. Arn Anderson takes over the mic and says that they will not interfere in Benoit's match against Bret because Benoit doesn't need their help, he's one of the most dangerous young wrestlers in this sport today and win, lose, or draw tonight against Bret he's going to earn everybody's respect like a true Horsemen. Arn tells Sunny that after Benoit takes out Bret tonight the two of them are set to take on the World Tag League next week and they will be on a quest to bring those World Tag Titles to the Horsemen when the dust settles! Arn Anderson passes the interview to JJ Dillon who breaks the news to Sunny and all of the TV audience that the Four Horsemen have made their final decision and will reveal the NEW 4th man tomorrow night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here in Vegas LIVE on the USA Network at JUDGEMENT NIGHT! Dillon tells Sunny that The Four Horsemen are about to be reborn tomorrow night on Judgement Night with this new member, this is BIG time, and you absolutely do not want to miss this TOMORROW NIGHT on Judgement Night! Flair ends the interview hitting on Sunny and gets her to drop the mic and walk out of the show with him! Unbelievable! Sunny is leaving with The Nature Boy! WHOOOOOO! ***** We return to the live shot of Caesars Palace's outdoor pavilion with ring announcer Michael Buffer bringing the fans to their feet with the introduction for the following Hybrid Rules MATCH! The Ultimo Dragon makes his way out first as Joey Styles on commentary talks about the fierce rivalry that is beginning to develop on the Bushido series between Dutch kickboxers and the Japanese lucha libre style wrestlers. You couldn't possibly have any more contrast in two fighting styles than these, and these two warriors you are about to see go into hybrid rules warfare here in the afternoon daylight outdoors at Caesars Palace are the best in the world at their respective styles. Peter Aerts makes his way out next as Michael Buffer introduces him on his walkout as the reigning 1995 K-1 Kickboxing Grand Prix tournament Champion. Peter Aerts represents the country of Holland and without a doubt is the best kickboxer in the world today in 1996. Joey Styles says on commentary that he is not very familiar with the world of kickboxing like Tenay and Phillip Rhee that call Bushido on Thursdays on TBS at 8:05, but he has watched the footage of Peter Aerts and he has LETHAL high kick knockouts that are regularly featured in any K-1 highlight videos in Japan. Jim Ross notes the size difference for this hybrid rules bout, with Aerts coming in at 6'3" and weighing 227 pounds, while Ultimo Dragon came in at the weigh ins last night at 5'8" and 185 pounds... Peter Aerts enters the ring graciously and humbly raising his gloved fist as Ultimo Dragon stares him down bouncing up and down in his corner. Joey Styles talks about how this match will have the same rules as their first match that we seen back on the January 25th episode of Bushido that went the distance and was ruled a draw by the judges. These two locked up again later that weekend in Houston in the 30 Man Champions Rumble Match, with Aerts high kicking Dragon out of the match. Dragon re-entered the match illegally with a missile dropkick that sent Aerts into the arms of Dan Severn, who eliminated him with a suplex over the top rope. Peter Aerts took out his fury on Gran Naniwa in a brutal finish in their bout on Bushido earlier this month, while Dragon did the same with a quick submission over Dutch kickboxer John Kleijn. Referee Tim White brings both Peter Aerts and Ultimo Dragon to the center of the ring for a face to face showdown as he goes over his final instructions! This match will be under the new round format for Best Of The Best Hybrid Rules Bouts, there will be 3 rounds. The first round will be 10 minutes, while rounds 2 and 3 will both be 5 minutes....  Both Dragon and Aerts come out cautiously circling each other in the open air daylight of Caesars Palace after the bell rings. Its a very careful feeling out process early on with both men displaying very quick footwork, setting up feints. Dragon causes Aerts to flinch by feinting a spinning back kick. Aerts corners Dragon later on with crafty footwork cutting the ring off for him, only for Dragon to be able to quickly move out of range of his jabs. JR and Joey Styles cover the rules of this particular hybrid style bout, that Peter Aerts wearing the kickboxing gloves means that he will get unlimited rope breaks if he gets caught in any submissions. Ultimo Dragon has no gloves on so he's not allowed to strike with open fists, he can strike with palm strikes, forearms, and both fighters are allowed to use kicks, knees, and elbows. Very little happens in the first two minutes until finally Aerts is able to cut Dragon off again near the ropes and unload a rapid fire punching combo! Ultimo Dragon amazingly manages to stand his ground and bob and weave around all 7 of Aerts smoothly thrown, tight, crisp, perfect combo of lefts, rights, uppercuts, overhands, hooks, Dragon bobs and leans back into the ropes to EVADE EVERYTHING! WOW! Dragon escapes and runs the ropes to build up momentum to springboard and roll under a vicious high kick attempt on the return, springing off of the ropes behind Peter Aerts to catch him with a hurricanrana that sends him rolling across the canvas! Peter Aerts fights much more aggressively after recovering, clinching up with Dragon and driving him up against the ropes before battering him with knees to the body! Dragon manages to cover up and protect his body before breaking out of the clinch! Aerts tracks him down and unloads with another furious punching combo, only for Dragon to bob and weave perfectly around every punch! Dragon leans all the way back on the top rope and Jim Ross notices that the rope is way loose! It's still loose from the top turnbuckle being broken by Yokozuna in our earlier match! Dragon amazingly manages to move out into open real estate of the blood red ring as Peter Aerts stalks him down! Dragon evades several strikes and manages to tie Aerts up, puling him down with a spinning rolling armbar! The ultimate struggle builds with Dragon fighting to extend Aerts' arm with the armbar, while Aerts fights against him to keep his arm from being broken! Aerts' gloves get stuck in Dragon's grips and both of his arms get extended into a double armbar! Aerts screams in pain but flips over and manages to get the ropes with his bare foot! The referee breaks the hold! Peter Aerts recovers favoring his left arm as the ref prepares to restart the match standing following the rope break. Dragon gets in range to get Aerts to throw a shot so he can shoot in and take him down into a fujiwara armbar on his left arm in the center of the ring! Aerts fights to try to transition out of the hold but Dragon keeps the pressure on him, riding out the rest of the 10 minute round! The bell rings and Dragon is slow to give up the hold! Peter Aerts cornermen protest until the ref forces Ultimo Dragon to break the hold! Aerts gets up and takes a swing at Ultimo Dragon, just barely missing him! The ref scolds him as he pushes him to his corner! Dragon taunts Peter Aerts and his cornermen with his hands out! After the first 10 minute round Peter Aerts cornermen scramble to desperately ice down and doctor his left arm, which appears to have been injured by Ultimo Dragon's double armbar that forced the Dutch kickboxing legend to use a rope break. Peter Aerts cornermen pantomime back and forth with the referee about the top rope being too loose, giving Ultimo Dragon an unfair advantage to avoid 100% of every punch thrown by Aerts in that first round! Both warriors recover for the second round and the action picks up! Ultimo Dragon stands his ground and trades strikes with Peter Aerts! Dragon connects with multiple palm strikes before NAILING him with a SPINNING BACK KICK TO THE BODY! Aerts is hurt! Aerts backs into the corner covering his ribs while Dragon attacks his left arm with a nasty roundhouse kick! Dragon unloads a furious combo of kicks to the legs and body causing Aerts to drop to his knees before chopping him down with VICIOUS kicks to his left arm, over and over again until he goes down! The ref backs Dragon away to count Aerts down!.... 1.... 2.... 3.... 4.... 5..... Peter Aerts winces in pain as he recovers to his knees clutching his arm!... 6..... 7..... HE'S UP!.... The crowd goes wild! Peter Aerts struggles to keep his left arm up as he re-engages with Ultimo Dragon standing! Dragon closes in cautiously with another low kick attempt only for Aerts to check him by raising his leg! Dragon winces in pain and limps back! Aerts stalks Dragon down and backs him against the ropes for another combo! Dragon bobs and leans back on the loose top rope but Aerts quickly clinches up with him in a Thai clinch and spins him around off the ropes! Aerts batters Draon with vicious knees in the Thai clinch before breaking free and unloading with a killer roundhouse kick to the head! Dragon ducks down causing Aerts to spin all the way around from the momentum of the missed kick! Ultimo Dragon quickly springboards up Peter Aerts body and spins around to pull him down with his own momentum with his left arm into an ARMBAR ON THE CANVAS! Peter Aerts is in TROUBLE! Aerts screams as he fights to keep his arm but Dragon leans up and transitions from the cross armbreaker into a BICEP CRUSHER! Aerts desperately rolls up into a seated position with his arm folded like a pretzel, lifting Ultimo Dragon up off of the canvas and into the air! Aerts stumbles backwards and loses Dragon, FLIPPING OVER THE TOP ROPE! Both men bounce off of the apron and spill out to the floor! Unbelievable! Peter Aerts and Ultimo Dragon have spilled out to the floor! Aerts rolls around struggling to get up as he keeps his left arm clutched to his side! Ultimo Dragon recovers and shakes it off as he scrambles up to the apron of the ring! Peter Aerts recovers to his feet and turns around just in time to get hit with an ASAI MOONSAULT! OH MY GAAAAAAAWD!!! Both men are laid out on the floor with the crowd going CRAZY! Referees and agents rush out to restore order as any kind of action outside of the ring is strictly forbidden in hybrid rules bouts! Both men are seriously hurt! Dragon clutches his ribs as Peter Aerts left arm is in bad shape as they both recover to the ring in their corners out of breath near the end of the second round! Both men recover and go back at it getting a standing ovation from the fans! Peter Aerts can barely hold his left arm up! Ultimo Dragon closes the distance and targets Aerts left arm with hard roundhouse kicks right at it, one after another! Peter Aerts stands his ground and counters Dragon with leg kicks and right hands that wobble him! Dragon drops down to one knee but right as he does the bell rings for the end of the second round! WOW! Both Ultimo Dragon and Peter Aerts struggle to make it to their corners and this has turned into an all out WAR here in Caesars Palace, the same spot where Haggler fought Hearns, right here we are seeing Peter Aerts and The Ultimo Dragon lay it all on the line folks, THIS is what it is all about here in Best Of The Best! Peter Aerts corner is desperately icing his left arm as he can barely stand to hold it by his side, nobody can understand Dutch but judging by the urgency in Aerts corner Jim Ross says it's a good guess to say his left arm may be broken. How he's able to stay in there and keep taking shots to that arm is a true testament to the Warrior spirit of Peter Aerts.... Both fighters struggle to stand for the start of round 3 and the crowd of over 16,000 here in Caesars Palace cheer them on with a standing ovation! Both men circle each other hurt in their own way, totally exhausted. Dragon feints shots to Aerts left arm and attempts to shoot in for a takedown, only for Aerts to spin him around and NAIL HIM with a soccer kick to the back of the head! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! The Ultimo Dragon is hurt! Aerts attempts to throw another brutal soccer kick to Dragon's head but Dragon somehow manages to roll away and recover to his knees so dizzy he can barely stand! The crowd goes NUTS! Peter Aerts left arm hangs useless to his side as he closes in on Dragon and KNOCKS HIM OUT with a right high kick! Dragon collapses backwards hitting the ropes with his head on the way down! HE'S OUT!.... The referee counts Dragon down but somehow he manages to begin stirring around at the 6 count! Dragon turns to his side and uses the ropes to recover to his knees with his head wobbling, pulling himself up to his feet at 9.99999 on pure instinct! The referee checks on Ultimo Dragon as he's clearly using the ropes to hold himself up! Dragon nods his head and pushes the ref back! Dragon staggers away from the ropes in his fighting stance causing the crowd to lose it! Peter Aerts quickly rushes in on him and chops him down again, this time brutalizing him with a nasty kick to the body while he's down! Aerts follows up by holding Dragon's head down to spot it for another ridiculous soccer kick right to the face followed up by a barrage of downward elbow strikes to the back of the head and neck! Dragon collapses down and out as the referee pushes Peter Aerts back! Ultimo Dragon lays lifelessly through the ref's count before setting the crowd off, showing that he's still alive at 7.... 8...... Dragon pulls himself up to one knee at 9..... Then to his feet! HE'S UP! What effort... WHAT EFFORT! The Ultimo Dragon barely gets to his feet at 9.99999999 and again pushes referee Tim White away as he attempt to check on him! Peter Aerts again stalks Dragon down on the restart but Dragon is able to lean back to use to loose top rope to bob and weave, luring Aerts into another Thai clinch, only this time as he attempts to spin him away from the ropes Dragon climbs up his body and rolls him back down into the canvas with an ARMBAR ON HIS LEFT ARM! Dragon HAS HIM! THIS IS IT! The clock for the 3rd round is winding down as Peter Aerts REFUSES to submit! His arm has got to be broken! Dragon cranks back and fully extends the arm as the clock hits the final 10 seconds! Peter Aerts screams out in pain! Aerts manages to lean up and pull his arm in just as the final bell goes off for the end of the match! UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT A BATTLE! The Ultimo Dragon and Peter Aerts both lay down and out next to each other a beaten and savage mess after going the distance for a 20 minute battle that very well could be the defining moment for the hybrid rules concept here in Best Of The Best. What an incredible showcase of athleticism and warrior spirit here. Both men continue to lay down and out as they are surrounded by cornermen and EMT's as the ringside judges scramble to make a decision for the winner. Finally Aerts is able to recover to his feet in pain with his left arm in a sling with ice while Dragon is slow to get up nearby. The two warriors are brought to the center of the ring where the ref awaits ring announcer Michael Buffer to render the judges decision.... The first judge Gene Lebell rules the bout for..... DRAGON! The second judge Dave Meltzer ruless the bout for..... AERTS! The third judge Vic Venom rules the bout for.... the winner... by SPLIT decision..... THE ULTIMO DRAGON! Dragon has his arm raised in victory as Peter Aerts retreats completely in disbelief along with his cornermen, feeling as though they have been robbed here tonight by a bad decision. Dragon celebrates this HUGE monumental victory over what has to be the most dangerous opponent he has ever faced, and he had his number here tonight going the distance and coming out with the decision victory!.... ***** After the match we cut away to a special honorary video clip showcasing a highlight package of the legend that is set to be honored next as the new 7th member of the Best Of The Best Championship Council.... Tiger Mask... Satoru Sayama... Tiger Mask is without a doubt one of the godfathers of so many ideas and concepts being presented by Best Of The Best in 1996. Nobody in the sport represented the hybrid concept of mixing pro wrestling with other martial arts with the open mind like Tiger Mask did. He blended shoot style technical wrestling with high flying lucha, while also incorporating a Bruce Lee "No one way as a way" concept of mixing the martial arts, the throws and takedowns of Judo, the linear strikes of Karate, the long range kicks of Tae Kwon Do, and he did it all with an explosive athleticism rarely ever seen in any combat sport.  After ruling NJPW as one of it's biggest stars Tiger Mask left and was the founding godfather of the UWF hybrid wrestling promotion in the early 1980's(alongside his arch rival; Akira Maeda). After the revolutionary promotion went out of business and many of it's wrestlers returned to New Japan, Tiger Mask retired from pro wrestling and founded the Shooto martial arts dojo competition lifestyle. Shooto was announced last month as an affiliate of Best Of The Best with many of the same concepts. Now tonight, Tiger Mask becomes the 7th member of the prestigious Championship Council that is the governing body over every competition aspect of Best Of The Best, joining Lou Thesz, Danny Hodge, Billy Robinson, Karl Gotch, Nick Bockwinkle, and Verne Gagne. We return from the montage video package narrated by Mike Tenay to the live shot of Caesars Palace with the ring set up with Thesz, Hodge, Robinson, Gagne, Bockwinkle, and Gotch all in the ring with random Japanese women standing with bouquet of flowers and a burning torch to pass to the new 7th member of the Council.... Satoru Sayama... Sayama steps forward and accepts the flower and holds his torch, signifying the solidarity between Shooto and Best Of The Best, with the flame symbolizing the honor that burns eternally in this realm. All of a sudden the elaborate ceremony is interrupted when a group of men walk out to all enter the ring and surround the entire Championship Council!.... It's..... Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda.... The UWFI and Rings....TOGETHER!The Council members are shocked as Takada and Maeda enter the ring with Yoshiaki Fujiwara by their side and a mob of UWFI(Hiromitsu Kanehara, Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoji Anjo) and Rings(Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Kiyoshi Tamura) wrestlers all together backing them up taking over the ring! What in the world is going on here!? Akira Maeda reaches out and takes the lit torch away from Satoru Sayama and puts the flame OUT before tossing it down to the canvas smoking.... The other 6 members of the Championship Council are totally stunned as they watch on in horror as the new 7th member of the council Tiger Mask Sayama gets KICKED IN THE FACE BY TAKADA! Security race out to help the other members of the Championship Council out of the ring in a panic as Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada ATTACK SATORU SAYAMA! Maeda waits for Sayama to recover to his hands and knees before delivering a LETHAL kick right to his jaw, shattering it!... Nobuhiko Takada takes a mic and his words are translated with English subtitles that the dishonor is in the hands of the Championship Council. The Best Of The Best has brought this on themselves. The UWFI and RINGS are hereby declared dead, the two energies have become one power.... The power that once burned in the UWF that this man Sayama turned his back on... Now this... is.... The Kings Of Kings..... Jim Ross CAN'T BELIEVE IT, the UWFI and RINGS have merged to form THE KINGS OF KINGS.... and they've broken the jaw of the new 7th Championship Councilman Satoryu Sayama! This organization has completely dishonored everything that makes this promotion what it is, this is absolutely disgusting! Sayama is spitting up blood! His jaw has been broken by Akira Maeda! Security and police take the ring to order this group of outsiders out and to restore order as EMT's tend to Sayama's badly broken jaw. This group, this Kings Of Kings organization does not work for Best Of The Best, this is the merger of two promotions(UWFI and RINGS) that have completely taken over Japanese pro wrestling in 1996, they currently hold the IWGP Heavyweight Title(Takada) and the Triple Crown World Heavyweight Championship(Maeda), now they are right here at our doorsteps. Takada has made it clear already that they want the original World Championship of Pro Wrestling title belt that Lou Thesz repossessed from him when UWFI launched their invasion of New Japan last year.... ***** As the new Kings Of Kings group are escorted out by police and security Jim Ross and Joey Styles at their commentary table ringside are just in total shock and disbelief at what they just witnessed. This entire promotion has been shaken to it's core with that attack by Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda, this whole thing has really snowballed into a major threat here right at the doorsteps of this promotion. JR and Styles are focused on at their booth hyping the rest of the card still to come, we still have Shawn Michaels "The Showstopper" defending the UNDISPUTED World Title against Sting in a HUGE rematch later tonight. Plus, still to come is the big one, the one that everybody is here to see Aleksandr Karelin taking on Evander Holyfield in the heavyweight showdown of an entire generation. JR and Styles talk among themselves about how big those two matches are, but how this upcoming match is the one they both agree to have each personally been waiting for all day. Make no mistake about it, this next confrontation between Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit will be straight to the core, one on one, professional wrestling just like it aught to be! The Four Horsemen entrance music hits the speakers to bring out "The Crippler" Chris Benoit solo by himself. The sun is beginning to set over the horizon of the Vegas skyline as Benoit steps out onto minimal plain black entrance stage leading to the elevated catwalk ramp connected to the ring apron. It's not quite dusk yet, but the sun has fallen over to cast a late afternoon shadow over the entire outdoor pavilion. The commentators note that Chris Benoit has been arguably the best wrestler in Best Of The Best so far since this promotion launched on New Years Day. Benoit is one of the fastest rising young talents in this sport today, really ever since he became a Horsemen last year. Benoit immediately made a name for himself here in BOTB by forcing Bret Hart to tap out for the first time ever in his career during the second match of a gauntlet where Bret attempted to take on all 4 of the Horsemen(Benoit shockingly defeated him in the second match). Joey Styles makes an interesting point on commentary during Benoit's walk out, he shares a lot of the same roots in the Hart Family Dungeon as Bret, and really he is very similar to where Bret Hart was in his career earlier in this decade. As Benoit takes the shaded ring Joey on commentary notes that when Benoit forced Bret to tap in Houston last month, at that time, and really still to this day, Bret had really technically never lost that WWF Championship. Styles compares Benoit's submission over Bret at BOTB I: A New Beginning to Bret's submission over Ric Flair to win the WWF Title back in October 1992 in one of the biggest upsets in this sport at that time. Benoit takes his corner stretching and getting ready when Bret Hart's music brings the fans to their feet in Caesars Palace! The Hitman is back in Las Vegas, back in Caesars Palace! The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be! Bret walks out to the stage in classic pink and black with his trademark glasses and black leather jacket, taking a brief look around at the crowd for a moment before eyeing the ring with Benoit staring back at him. The Hitman makes the walk down the ramp to the ring with honor and pride, the poise and focus of a fallen Champion looking to claw his way back to prove deep down once again that he is the very finest craftsman to step foot inside a ring of any kind in the entire world. This is the man that really represents everything that Best Of The Best stands for, honor, respect, facing impossible challenges and never backing down even when the entire world is stacked against you, always fight back.... Jim Ross talks about how he feels like Bret totally underestimated Benoit back in Houston last month when Benoit caught him at A New Beginning. In that match Benoit targeted Bret's injured knee with a modified version of the Crippler Crossface hold, using a stepover toe Bret was much more prepared for Benoit in Mexico City on Judgement Night when he forced him to submit to the Sharpshooter early on in the 3 team Triangle Elimination Match. Both of these men have forced each other to submit in multi-man matches, now it's down to one on one and in the end.... there can be only one.... Bret gives his glasses away to a young fan ringside before taking the ring eyeing Chris Benoit! Both men step toward each other as the referee gets ready to call for the bell!.... Chris Benoit and Bret Hart stare each other down face to face in the center of the ring as the commentators note the heavily taped knee of Bret, the same left knee that was seriously hurt by The Horsemen last month in the same incident where Brian Pillman destroyed his prestigious WWF Championship belt, gone forever. Bret and Benoit talk back and forth amongst each other in a face to face showdown for a moment before finally Benoit takes the first punch! Bret blocks it and lays into his face with a right hand and we're off! It's a battle! After a violent early striking exchange Chris Benoit outwits Bret to counter his reversals and score a quick series of nearfalls in a technical mat chain wrestling sequence! Bret is finally able to use a slight size and strength advantage to overpower Benoit to control the match. Benoit makes a move in the scramble to escape a hold and manages to hook Bret in the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! Bret immediately works his body into a roll to counter the move and break his arm out of Benoit's grasp, catching him quickly into a reversal for a pick rollup pinfall for a 2.99999999! Benoit BARELY kicks out! Both men scramble to their feet in their stances! Bret looks around at the crowd cheering on before adjusting his left knee pad and the taping over it. Benoit resumes circling Bret pawing out for clinches in an almost amateur wrestling style stand off on the feet. Bret picks his spot and lunges in to tie up with Benoit, quickly taking his back with a standing switch, fighting off an explosive counter into a reversal into a go-behind duck-under backslide into a tornado single leg twister reversed by Bret into a crucifix rollup for 2! Benoit scrambles around after kicking out to catch Bret's leg into a kneebar! Bret immediately rolls around and reverses Benoit right into the SHARPSHOOTER! JUST LIKE MR.PERFECT SUMMERSLAM 91! Bret manages to get up and sit back but Benoit amazingly pushes his upper body back up, creating just enough space to rolls under and out of the hold! DAMN! Benoit scrambles to his feet and Bret can't believe it! Chris Benoit just escaped the Sharpshooter like nobody has ever done! Both of these men have each other's signature finishing holds completely scouted! The match turns into an all out brawl after the grappling stalemate, and Benoit turns up the intensity! Whatever advantage in strength and size Bret has over Benoit it's negated by his sheer will and explosive intensity that is unmatched! Benoit refuses to back down to Bret Hart, with every big move Bret lands, Benoit kicks out and stays in the match by fighting back with an intense rally. Bret counters Benoit's irish whip and sends him crashing into the corner turnbuckles with sick force! Bret props Benoit up for a superplex off the top turnbuckle but Benoit fights him, awkwardly repositioning himself before ripping The Hitman off the top into a SUPER BOMB! Benoit is down and out next to Bret but he manages to roll over to make a cover for a pin! The crowd gasps as Bret kicks out at 2! The crowd comes alive for The Hitman! He's still in it! Chris Benoit recovers frustrated with the referee's count before putting the boots to Bret to keep him down. Everyone in the crowd stands as Benoit climbs up to the top rope before flying off almost all the way across the ring... FLYING HEADBUTT!.... NO!... BRET MOVES OUT OF THE WAY! Chris Benoit crashes into the canvas face first! The crowd comes alive trying to rally behind The Hitman to make a comeback! Both men are down and out as the ref counts them both down! Bret beats Benoit to his feet to break the 10 count at 9! Bret's attempt for an inverted atomic drop gets countered with a quick go behind by Benoit, who attempts a german suplex, only to get stuffed and countered with Bret transitioning from a feinted backslide attempt into a snap vertical suplex! Bret gets Benoit up but his knee gives out under him and he staggers back into the ropes, dropping Benoit backwards over the top! Both men spill over the top rope and bounces off of the apron to the floor in a sickening spill! Benoit rolls around clutching his back before getting to his knees and noticing Bret clutching his knee, the same knee that was smashed inside a steel chair by a sledge hammer by Brian Pillman last month! Benoit pulls himself up and attacks Bret with kicks to the body and head before pulling him up and outbrawling him around the ringside area! Bret is chopped down in between being slammed around into the ring and railing down on the floor before Benoit takes it back into the ring to break the ref's count at 9! Benoit notices Bret clutching his knee as he pulls him up by the hair, but yet... he doesn't go after it. Benoit attacks Bret to set him up for a razor close nearfall after a perfectly executed Dragon suplex with a bridge! Bret just BARELY kicks out at 2! Benoit attempts a maneuver later and gets countered into Bret's Pendulum Backbreaker! Benoit is down! Bret limps his way up and works up to the second rope to dive off into Benoit with an elbow drop! Bret rolls around next to Benoit on the canvas clutching his knee! He's hurt bad! Bret fights through the pain in his knee and goes to put Benoit away once and for all with the SHARPSHOOTER! Benoit scrambles to counter into a kneebar but Bret quickly spins around out of it, only to get caught into a small package roll up in the scramble!.... 1..... 2..... NO! BRET REVERSES THE ROLLUP!..... 1..... 2.... 3!!! HE GOT HIM!
Bret THE HITMAN HART, has defeated Chris Benoit with a pinfall at 13:49, what a contest! Chris Benoit got caught here with a reverse rollup for the pin and he's completely heartbroken after suffering his very first loss here in Best Of The Best in 1996. The Hitman winces in pain limping to his feet as the referee raises his hand to a heroes ovation from the audience! Bret Hart is BACK! Chris Benoit finally recovers to his feet in total disbelief, he had the biggest victory he could ever have in his entire career slip right through his fingers, he gave Bret Hart the battle of a lifetime and he earned his respect here in Vegas today. Benoit steps towards Bret and the two men have a tense stand off until finally Benoit extends a handshake out of respect! The crowd cheers! Bret looks around at the crowd almost cautiously before finally reaching out and shaking Benoit's hand! Chris Benoit gets cheers and applause from the fans as he makes his exit leaving Bret to celebrate the win with his music playing. Bret gets up onto the turnbuckles saluting the fans when all of a sudden pink and black fireworks EXPLODE above the awning over the ring! ***** After the match we get a quick cut-away side-by-side shot of the locker rooms of Sting and the Undisputed World Champion, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. Both men are lacing up and getting ready for a major showdown for the title in tonight's main event. Sting came out of the 4 Corners Match against Ahmed Johnson, Ultimate Warrior, and Randy Savage with a huge victory earlier tonight in our opening match. Now Sting has had time to recover and get ready to come back out as he will get the shot at HBK later tonight in a rematch of their first encounter in Houston on PPV last month. It was last month in Houston at the Astrodome when Shawn Michaels glided into the ring on a zip-line in a big elaborate entrance for that first match, and that first match also had major WWF vs WCW pressure on it with the weight of the entire legacy of the WWF on HBK's shoulders. Sting would end up finishing Michaels with a clean submission with the Scorpion Deathlock in the middle of the ring for the victory. With the win Sting won the #30 spot in the 30 Man Champions Rumble later that night. Michaels would enter the match much earlier but would run the gauntlet, eliminating Sting last to win it all and go on to win the Title from Flair immediately after. We return to the ringside shot here at Caesars Palace with dusk settling in on the venue and clouds rolling in on the Vegas skyline. The camera's focus in on several celebrities in attendance including none other than Tupac himself alongside Suge Knight and several other Death Row Records associates flashing gang signs at the camera. Also in attendance is action film star Gary Busey, along with Paulie Shore!  The tension and electricity in the atmosphere here at Caesars Palace continues to build as we are now set for the biggest clash that has the entire sports world talking. This is the match that everyone paid to see tonight. This is the match that ESPN and USA Today, New York Times, they have been covering this battle and the international ramifications of this are truly spectacular. This will be a hybrid rules bout between former Boxing heavyweight Champ, Evander Holyfield, against Greco Roman Wrestling's dominant demi-god, the 2 time Olympic Gold winner Aleksandr Karelin from Russia. The tale of the tape graphics on the screen show the weigh in results from last night here at Caesars Palace Casino. The computer graphics are very 1996, like a cross between Windows 95 MS Paint and something you would see in a sports game for the Playstation. Holyfield comes in at 6'2" and has bulked up with nearly 20 pounds of muscle to 226 pounds for tonight's bout(he was 208 for his win over George Foreman). Karelin wowed the press last night stepping onto the scales, standing at 6'3" and weighing in at a ripped 282 pounds! Now the time is at hand, after all of the hype, all of the talk, all of the media coverage, all of the training, it is now time for these two Warriors to step inside this ring... and in the end..... THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
***** Ring announcer Michael Buffer gets the crowd going absolutely ape shit when he announces that the following bout is the special attraction of the evening.... a HYBRID RULES showdown between the two baddest heavyweights walking the planet! USA against Russia... Boxing against Wrestling..... ARE YOU READY!?..... For the thousands in attendance... and the MILLIONS watching around the world.....
LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL! It is ON ladies and gentleman! This crowd is ELECTRIC! Michael Buffer lists off the unbelievable wrap sheet of medals and accomplishments of Aleksandr Karelin as he walks out with a group of cornermen. He's a true specimen as we seen in his freakish training videos in the build up for this. He outweighs Holyfield by over 50 pounds and as you can see he is all muscle at 282. The crowd comes alive as Buffer introduces the former Heavyweight Champion Of The World, Evander Holyfield! Holyfield makes his way out with his cornermen to Keep Their Heads Ringing by Dr. Dre and he's all business, The Real Deal, completely focused and composed as he walks closer and closer to the gravest challenge any man alive today in 1996 can possibly face, to step into the ring and go one on one with Aleksandr Karelin.... Referee Big John Mccarthy is on stand by as Jim Ross talks about how impressive of a ref he has been here in Best Of The Best on the Bushido series on TBS, he is a former police officer and also referee's for the Ultimate Fighting Championship so he's got the experience needed for a match of this magnitude. Karelin and Holyfield get the crowd going CRAZY as they both finally stand across from each other in the ring! Both the Russian and USA national anthems are played in the pre-fight ceremony and the look in both of these Warrior's eyes is a look of fire burning hotter than 1,000 suns, THIS is intense! Joey Styles is the one to point out that Holyfield's spiritual advisor Benny Hinn is here ringside watching on. Big John brings both men to the center to go over his final instructions and the crowd swells with cheers as Holyfield looks eye to eye with Karelin! WOW! THIS IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!  The ref backs both men up and checks with the timekeeper before checking with each man ARE YOU READY!? ARE YOU READY!? WELL LETS GET IT ON!!... HERE WE GO! Holyfield comes out light on his feet as Karelin circles him in a low stance with his arms up as the crowd comes unglued! The flash bulbs from ringside photographers light the ring up with flashes as both men cautiously circle each other. Jim Ross talks on commentary about just how surreal this is to see this, this is something that will be talked about for a long time folks, it truly just does not get any bigger than this! Both Holyfield and Karelin are very cautious early on as Karelin keeps his distance, showing no interest in trading any strikes with Holyfield. Holyfield keeps the outside perimeter of the ring as Karelin stalks him around cautiously bobbing and weaving anticipating strikes as the commentators talk about the new round format for these Hybrid Rules bouts here in BOTB, with the first round being 10 minutes and the second and third rounds being 5 minutes each, that first 10 minute round is truly a war of attrition. The crowd gasps as Holyfield takes a shot with a jab that misses! Karelin bobs and weaves and shoots in quick to tie up with Holyfield and push him into the ropes! Holyfield grabs the ropes to keep Karelin from taking him down! Both men scramble around in a VIOLENT clinch battle before they both end up in the corner locked up head to head! Holyfield keeps one arm hooked around the top rope as Karelin stays clinched up with him in the corner! The cameras zoom in to show Holyfield fighting for his life to stay off the mat while Karelin is shown to have a NASTY cut above his eyebrow bleeding down over his face! The cut is HUGE! The referee steps in to stop the match after a stall in the action and the crowd cheers as they separate to reveal blood pouring down over Karelin's face! The camera's catch a shot of Benny Hinn ringside praying before cutting back to the referee ordering both men to their corners, calling for the doctor! The doc scrambles up to the apron and begins spreading the cut apart, revealing white meat visible as it's the size of a cut someone would get from being hit in the face with an axe, one of the worst cuts ever seen on a live pay per view. Karelin's face is wiped clean of the blood and the doctor immediately calls the fight OFF! IT'S OVER! Holyfield's cornermen scramble into the ring in celebration and this one is OVER! The doctor has stopped the fight just 1:24 into the first round due to a disgusting cut over Karelin's eyebrow as a result of a clash of heads in the clinch when these two finally tied up. Alexandr Karelin is swarmed by his corner and EMT's but the cameras catch through their work to see Karelin is completely gutted and in total disbelief that this all ended this way. Evander Holyfield has his arm raised in victory and the crowd is mixed with boo's and cheers, this was a bittersweet ending to this battle, the short little moment where they did tie up was about as violent a collision between two athletes imaginable and it's a real shame we didn't get to see these two keep fighting. After the bout Holyfield is interviewed by Joey Styles and he gives all full total credit and glory all to God, he's the one that did all of this. Holyfield confirms that he is going to donate every penny of his $4,000,000 winnings to the Benny Hinn Ministries and he credits all of this to him and his healing powers for everything. Joey Styles asks Holyfield what is next for him if he would fight Karelin again and he immediately calls out Mike Tyson, he want's TYSON! Holyfield thanks everyone and all of the fans before bowing out and hugging a very happy Benny Hinn ringside as we cut away for an ad for the next Best Of The Best pay per view event.... ***** After the match we get a hard hitting promo advertisement for the next BOTB pay per view spectacular, perhaps the biggest wrestling show ever.... LIVE from the Tokyo Dome.... Live on pay per view on March 31st and on replay on April 1st this will be the biggest international wrestling event perhaps of all time. All of Japanese wrestling and all wrestling around the world will hang in the balance, it will be REDEMPTION CITY SHOWDOWN '96! ***** After the break we return to the ringside area with Jim Ross and Joey Styles hyping up tonight's main event, this is what it is all about folks, this is for the BIG ONE, the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Of The World! The crowd comes back alive as Michael Buffer announces that this is the MAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING! Fireworks explode over the ring! Flames shoot out of all four corners! This is IT! Sting's entrance music hits to bring him out and his facepaint is still worn off his face from his epic battle in the four way match earlier tonight, he came out on top of an all out war against The Ultimate Warrior, Ahmed Johnson, and "The Macho Man" Randy Savage and he's had time to rest and prepare to go to war here now for the ultimate prize in this sport! Shawn Michaels entrance music gets the screams from the ladies but he comes out all business with Jose Lothario by his side, in the best shape of his entire career, with the Big Gold Belt strapped proudly around his waist! Michael Buffer waits for both men to enter the ring before introducing them, first Sting, who gets the much bigger crowd ovation but deeper voices and cheers, while HBK gets the higher pitched cheers and screams! Michaels unstraps the title and passes it to referee Charles Robinson and we are set for the biggest match in this promotions jouney up to this point so far! STING AND SHAWN MICHAELS 2!  The sun has set and the cool February Vegas desert wind blows Shawn Michaels hair as he stands face to face with Sting in an EPIC faceoff. The crowd gets going as both men lock up and engage in a rapid fire back and forth battle at a lightening quick speed, going back and forth with arm drags before HBK moves out of the way of a dropkick attempt from Sting, causing him to crash and burn into the canvas! HBK backs up and mocks Sting by pounding his chest and screaming before flipping him off... fuck you! Sting looks on from one knee as he recovers looking around at the crowd cheering! The two men lock up again and reverse each other into a rapid speed rope running sequence! The two men criss cross and leap frog each other a few times before HBK flies at Sting with a Flying Forearm Smash, only for Sting to roll under it! HBK crashes and burns, flying into the ring ropes! Sting gets the crowd fired up as he stands over HBK flexing, pounding his chest and screaming like a wild animal! Michaels is fired up! The Stinger shines by kicking HBK's ass all around the ring for a period until Michaels ultimately counters him and hurts him with his old finisher, the good ole TEARDROP SUPLEX '92! Sting is down and out but HBK doesn't hook the leg with the pin, allowing him to kick out at 2! Fatigue begins to set in on Sting as Michaels keeps the momentum into the 10 minute mark of the match, keeping Sting grounded mostly with chinlocks, side headlocks, a camel clutch, even a FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK! Michaels follows instructions shouted to him by Jose Lothario outside the ring to keep Sting grounded, wearing him down into the 15 minute mark of the match to push him past his breaking point. Sting did wrestle nearly 30 minutes in an all out war just hours ago, he has to have aches and bumps and possible injuries from that war, now Michaels has taken the crowd support away from him by keeping him locked down on the mats Lothario style. The crowd gradually builds more and more for Sting as he refuses to give up to the Figure Four, eventually swelling to a grand cheer for him, driving him to overturn HBK and reverse the hold! Michaels screams out in pain! After HBK gets a rope break Sting takes over and smashes him with one handed running bulldogs, arm drags, dropkicks, and vicious whips into the corner turnbuckles so hard they send him flipping and bouncing! Sting has the crowd in a full frenzy as he destroys HBK with a series of STINGER SPLASHES that send Michaels face flopping to the canvas! The crowd loses it as the Stinger pulls HBK's legs up and locks him in the SCORPION DEATHLOCK! HBK tries to fight it off but STING TURNS HIM OVER AND CRANKS BACK! The fans are going CRAZY as Sting screams pulling back on Michaels with the Scorpion Deathlock, he can taste the Undisputed World Title! This is how he beat Shawn Michaels in Houston last month! He's got him here again! HBK screams and reaches for the ropes as Jose Lothario shouts at him not to quit! Michaels cries out in agony as he muscles his way closer to the ropes, causing Sting to partially lose his balance! HBK reaches out and is JUST BARELY ABLE TO GRAB THE ROPES! The ref forces Sting to break the hold, he almost had it! Jim Ross's voice is fucking GONE but he's still shouting! Sting pulls HBK away from the ropes and tries to put him back in the Scorpion Deathlock but Michaels kicks him down and kips up, setting the crowd OFF! HBK clutches his back in pain as he takes his stance to throw the SWEET CHIN MUSIC at Sting! Sting ducks down under and batters Michaels with chops and punches before whipping him into the corner for a HUGE STINGER SPLASH! Michaels is HURT! Sting props him up onto the top turnbuckle and pulls him down with a devastating SUPERPLEX! Michaels bounces off the canvas with sickening impact! Sting collapses down after trying to get up and he's too tired to even make the pin! He's gasping for air as he falls back into the corner looking at HBK stirring around in pain clutching his back! The Stinger sets the crowd off as he climbs up to the top rope to put HBK away with a diving splash! Michaels fights through the pain in his back to KIP UP TO HIS FEET AT THE LAST SECOND! Sting flies off into.... SWEET CHIN MUSIC!... TO THE FACE!! Right to the face! IN MID AIR! Sting is down and OUT! SHAWN MICHAELS! SWEET CHIN MUSIC! HBK collapses with his arms over Sting for the pin!.... 1.... 2.... 3! UNBELIEVABLE! SHAWN MICHAELS HAS DEFEATED STING! The Heartbreak Kid! Sting remains down and out completely exhausted as HBK recovers overwhelmed with emotion as Jose Lothario drapes his Undisputed World Championship belt over his shoulder with pride in his eyes. Michaels has avenged his loss to Sting here tonight with a clean pinfall at 18:21, he NAILED Sting with the Sweet Chin Music in mid air as Sting was coming at him off of the top rope and that was it. Sting is shown recovering barely able to walk as he rolls out of the ring watching Michaels hand raised in victory! Confetti and fireworks explode all over Caesars Palace as HBK's celebration to end the show!... Michael Buffer's announcement, "The winner.... and STILL the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of The World....The Heartbreak Kid.... SHAWN MICHAELS!".... Michaels has the title belt strapped around his waist as Joey Styles bids farewell to the pay per view audience, we will see you tomorrow night on JUDGEMENT NIGHT! OH MY GAWD!.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 16, 2023 15:12:45 GMT
 February 19th, 1996Today on Montel.... You've seen him on Hard Copy, Inside Edition, American Journal, and A Current Affair. He's the bad boy of professional wrestling.... "The Loose Cannon", Brain Pillman, the man that was arrested after running onto the field during the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl last month in Arizona. This once promising young former pro football player with the NFL was at one time considered one of the fastest rising stars in the sport of wrestling, but his downward spiral has everyone questioning where the line is between fiction and reality. After his over the top actions in and out of the fantasy world of wrestling led to his very real firing by the biggest wrestling company in the world, Pillman is now on a crusade to reveal the truth. Is it real? Or is it all an act? Today... on Montel Williams....  Last month in Arizona the NFL Super Bowl between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers was the most watched television event in history. With over 138 million viewers around the world in over 150 different countries everyone seen the Cowboys win their 3rd NFL title of the decade. It was a great game, but the moment that everyone was talking about the next day was a wild interruption in the third quarter when a man somehow got onto the field and attempted to pull his pants down to expose himself before cameras cut away while security and police arrested him. That man was none other than pro wrestler Brian Pillman, a man that is here today(crowd boo's)....  Pillman was a former Cincinnati Bengals player in the NFL before he became a pro wrestler, he was a wildly popular star in the WCW promotion where he became a Four Horseman with Ric Flair last year. The all new Best Of The Best promotion that launched earlier this year is something that has a lot of people talking, everything going on with Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas, but something else that has everybody talking is this downward spiral of Brian Pillman and this insane stunt at the Super Bowl. Now Pillman is here and he's promised to tell all about the entire world of wrestling. Montel Williams- "I guess the one thing that we have to ask is.... is this real?" Brian Pillman- "Is what real?"... Montel Williams- " Pro wrestling, you, everything... this whole attitude, the glasses, the look, is this an act or is this really you or is this a some kind of wrestling... uh, angle?... storyline?" Brian Pillman- "Well if you want to ask me about what's real or what's fake Montel, you got to ask yourself first what is reality. To ask me if this is real first one has to look into the mirror and ask himself, what is fact and what is fiction? What will people really believe? You got to ask yourself Montel, how blurry does that line between fiction and reality get when I ask you to really believe that the biggest wrestling organization in the world would fire a man of my talents and skills.... or that Vince Mcmahon killed himself... or that OJ.... didn't do it? To answer your question Montel, is it real... no... I'm afraid that wrestling isn't real, none of this is real. NOTHING...What is real is that I have a constitutional right to express myself, and the former company that I used to work for..... doesn't want me to do that.... hahahaha......" Montel Williams- "So tell us what is it that this company, the Best Of The Best, what is it that they don't want you to say? They fired you for going off script correct? For being unpredictable, for being a loose cannon?" Brian Pillman- "Montel we're talking about a company, the Neo Zeed, that runs the entire professional wrestling business, they do what they want, whenever they want, and to whoever they want to do it to. They put a 90's whiz kid, ERIC BISCHOFF in charge as the CEO of Best Of The Best. ERIC BISCHOFF hahaha... Let's just say.... he's a very popular man with my legal team.... He's the one that tried to shut me down, he's the one that wants to censor me. ERIC BISCHOFF FIRED ME... because they know the truth will set the people free." After fielding questions from the audience Montel asks the question that has been burning on everyone's mind since Super Bowl 30 last month....
Montel Williams- "Did you... or did you not...(dramatic pause)... expose your penis... at Super Bowl XXX?".... Pillman- "Montel, the only thing I'm here to expose to the American people... is the truth".... After initially getting boo'd by Montel's in-studio audience, Pillman eventually wins the crowd over after answering questions and inadvertently making everyone laugh with some of his answers. After more questions Pillman spends the rest of the program revealing all of the inside secrets of pro wrestling, how the matches are "booked" by a "booker", how all of the wrestlers are playing characters like in a movie, explaining insider terms like "marks", "shoot", "work", even describing how rampant steroid use still is in the business, and even how wrestlers will "blade" themselves to get blood(Pillman offered to demonstrate this live on set but Montel begged him not to)..etc. Later Pillman does a live demonstration with a large pencil how the matches are called and executed in the ring... The Loose Cannon also reveals the launch of his own 1-900 hotline number with all of the details and facts about the Neo Zeed, the death of Vince Mcmahon, everything that went on with Turner and WCW buyout in December, all on the new hotline 1-900-288-PILL. Pillman then reveals that he believes he has a bright future, he's already in the works for several movie and tv roles including a guest star on Walker Texas Ranger, Highlander, and Renegade, as well as a role in the new upcoming Wesley Snipes film set to begin filming soon. Pillman later reveals that he is well aware that he is a marked man, but he doesn't follow anybody's rules and answers to no one, so watch out because you just never know where he may show up next...
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 17, 2023 18:29:56 GMT
MGM Grand Garden Arena(Las Vegas, NV)
February 19th, 1996 Judgement Night hits the airwave LIVE on USA Network from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, completely sold out with over 16,880 in attendance going CRAZY for Sunny walking down the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to the ring in a glamourous evening gown that sparkles under the lights... Sunny takes the ring and goes through her opening monologue to bring the crowd to a frenzy, "This... is JUDGEMENT NIGHT!", leading into the opening highlight music video set to All Eyez On Me by Tupac... The opening video shows still images from Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors pay per view last night in the beautiful outdoor setting of Caesars Palace. The montage moves from images of Sting in broad daylight winning the 4 way #1 Contenders Match to earn his shot at HBK later in the evening, to images of Taz choking out Yokozuna, to images of the wild impromptu no-DQ Triple Threat match between Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, and The Sandman with Austin earning his very first BOTB victory. The music video rounds out with images of the 3 round hybrid rules war between K-1 Kickboxer Peter Aerts against Ultimo Dragon, Bret Hart's rollup pin over Benoit(the fireworks over the ring during his post-match celebration), the grand spectacle of Holyfield vs Karelin, and HBK nailing Sting with the Sweet Chin Music to retain his title and close the show celebrating... Jim Ross' voice is still not recovered from a wild night at Caesars Palace last night, but he soldiers on in welcoming the television audience with Joey Styles at their commentary table. What a HUGE night we have in store tonight LIVE, Shawn Michaels "THE CHAMP" is here, Bret Hart is here, The Four Horsemen are here and are promising to shake the earth with their newest 4th member set to debut tonight. Also we are set to kickoff the World Tag League, plus Raven will finally make his one on one BOTB debut here tonight as he takes on THE SANDMAN, then in our main event, two of the best lightweights in the sport will clash when the 123 Kid takes on Rey Mysterio Jr! World Tag League Match: The Eliminators vs Doug Furnas & Phil LafonDuring their intros Joey Styles hypes up Furnas & Lafon as former All Asia Tag Team Champions in AJPW, with Doug Furnas being a very strong former powerlifter from Oklahoma while Phil Lafon is a very dynamic athlete and proud French-Canadian. This is truly one of the best international tag teams in this sport today. The Eliminators make their entrance to Demanufacture by Fear Factory.
The match opens up with a rapid pace opening with both teams going back and forth, countering and reversing each other's double tandem move attempts, dueling in striking and grappling exchanges, testing each other on the mats in one on one scrambles. The Eliminators end up turning it into a brawl that the ref can't control. Kronus lands his handspring cartwheel moonsault plancha over the ropes onto both Furnas and Lafon, setting the crowd off! After a brief brawl around the ring between both teams on the floor they take it back to the ring with Furnas and Lafon slowing the pace down isolating and dominating Kronus. Furnas and Lafon work Kronus on the mats with crafty submission wrestling and chess match level strategic positioning in the ring, along with excellent teamwork in their tagging. This is the pure art of tag team wrestling at it's finest here from one of the absolute finest international teams in the sport today.
The turning point of the match comes when Saturn interferes, dropping Furnas off the apron with a superkick to the face before running the ropes and delivering a BRUTAL flying knee to the face of Lafon to break his camel clutch on Kronus! Furnas attempts to take Saturn out but gets dropped with a brutal suplex. Lafon seemingly never recovers from the knee strike, giving The Eliminators a chance to take the momentum with a hot tag to Saturn moments later. The Eliminators brutalize Furnas as he rises to his knees with a double roundhouse kicks, one to the back and another to the chest at the same time. Saturn's flying elbow drop is a five star work of art, and The Eliminators deliver dueling stereo moves that devastate Furnas & Lafon, breaking them down to set up the finishing Total Elimination on Phil Lafon at 10:12! What a debut here with Furnas & Lafon having The Eliminators in trouble for really the first time we have ever seen here in BOTB. In the end it was the Total Elimination that scored the knockout pin for the huge victory for Saturn & Kronus to start off the World Tag League!
In The Ring: StingThe Vegas crowd gives Sting a heroes welcome as he comes out to the ring just 24 hours after going nearly 40 minutes last night, beating Randy Savage, Ahmed Johnson, and The Ultimate Warrior in the 4 Corners Match before falling to HBK in their rematch for the title later in the evening. Sting is somber but grateful for the cheers as he waits for the fans to die down to cut a promo about his loss to Shawn Michaels for the Undisputed World Title last night. Sting says he makes no excuses, Shawn Michaels last night was in the best shape of his career and has proven to have reached a new level in the ring. Sting says that HBK last night was faster, stronger, more focused than the HBK that he beat in Houston last month, but make no mistake, they will meet again and when that time comes Sting will be ready to lay it all down on the line in one final showdown!  Sting says that he will fight his way back to another shot at the Undisputed World Title, he will keep fighting for all of his fans, and he will keep flying the flag for all of the fans that followed him here from WCW to have someone to fight for them. All of a sudden Sting is interrupted when Lex Luger walks out with his agent, the CEO of Hype Central Promotions, Lance Wright!   Luger and Lance Wright take the ring and Sting is served papers for a lawsuit, he's being sued for damages and emotional stress for stabbing the pen into Lance Wright's back on Saturday Night Shockwave on February 3rd! Sting has been SERVED! Sting looks down at the paperwork shaking his head! Lex tells Sting that he was really pulling for him to beat Shawn last night and win the Undisputed World title but he really dropped the ball, it was the biggest disappointment Luger has ever seen Sting put his fans through in his entire career since they had been friends. Luger tells Sting that it's time to change with the times, it's not the 1980's anymore, it's not 1992 WCW anymore, this man(Luger puts arm around Lance Wright) is the future of this business. Luger tells Sting that Lance Wright is going to be the Eric Bischoff of the new Millennium. Lance Wright takes over and tells Sting that he is willing to drop the lawsuit and let bygones be bygones if he is willing to sign an exclusive deal with Hype Central Promotions! Sting pushes Lance Wright's contract offer away and directs his attention right to Lex Luger, telling him that throughout their entire friendship through all these years, it's always been one way. Sting tells Luger he always supported Luger through thick and thin, and it's always been unrequited. Sting calls out Luger for leaving WCW in 1992, then coming back 3 years later and expecting all of these fans to take him back, now he's signed with this Hype Central agency and sold his soul! Sting pauses in an emotional moment before telling Lex Luger that he's finished with him, they are no longer friends, you go your way and I'll go mine.... Sting turns his back on Luger in an emotional moment and goes to make his exit from the ring. Luger looks on at him, back and forth at Lance Wright and the audience before ATTACKING STING as he tries to climb through the ropes! Luger puts the boots to Sting and holds him up on his knees for Lance Wright to smack him in the face over and over again! The crowd suddenly goes APE SH#* when The Ultimate Warrior comes running out FULL SPEED to make the save!....  The Warrior clears Luger out of the ring with a clothesline before getting his hands on Lance Wright! Wright pisses his pants on LIVE television as Warrior holds him by his Armani suit looking around at the crowd going NUTS! Warrior presses Lance Wright over his head and throws him out of the ring onto Lex Luger! Luger catches Wright and falls backwards to the floor and The Ultimate Warrior RULES! Sting recovers and Warrior pumps the crowd up before hugging it out with his former brother in arms in an EPIC moment! Sting and The Ultimate Warrior celebrate together with Warrior's music playing as we cut out to commercials!.... No Disqualification Match: Raven(W/Stevie Richards) vs The Sandman(W/Woman)Raven makes his one on one in-ring BOTB debut in an absolute bloodbath against The Sandman that goes all through the audience, into the backstage area, into the parking lot out in the Vegas strip battling on the tops of cars. It's all out violence and blood with shaky camera shots. The brawl makes it back through to the arena down to the ring where Stevie Richards tries to get involved with a Superkick to The Sandman. Sandman ducks under and drops Stevie with a Singapore cane shot to the face. Raven catches Sandman distracted and finishes him off with a brutal DDT onto a steel chair for the pinfall finish at 12:33! Raven and Stevie make their exit together after the match and Woman trashes Sandman while he's a bloody face beaten mess after the match. Woman kicks Sandman in the balls while he's down before she walks out on him for good! Breaking News: Kings Of Kings Barred From BOTBAfter the match Sunny is shown backstage with Mike Tenay for a special breaking news report following up on the VICIOUS attack on new 7th Championship Council member Satoru "Tiger MasK" Sayama last night at Revenge Of The Warriors by the now unified forces of UWFI and Fighting Network Rings promotions. The new alliance between UWFI and Rings revealed their new name to be "The Kings Of Kings" after breaking Sayama's jaw last night, ruining his induction ceremony and dishonoring the entire Best Of The Best. Tenay breaks the news that Championship Council member Billy Robinson, one of the key trainers in the UWFI/Takada Dojos has officially cut all ties with the dojo and all of it's fighters. Furthermore The Championship Council announced an emergency ruling that the entire Kings Of Kings organization has been outlawed from appearing on any BOTB television. Singles Match: Ahmed Johnson vs Devon StormDevon Storm is shown already in the ring ready to make his Best Of The Best debut here tonight live on the USA Network on Judgement Night when suddenly Ahmed Johnson's entrance music brings the crowd to their FEET! Ahmed comes out JACKED intense! This man made his presence felt in the 4 Corners Match last night for the #1 contenders spot in the opening match in Caesars Palace on pay per view. Ahmed clashed head on with The Ultimate Warrior and matched him power for power, with the two of them brawling it out until the bitter end last night. Jim Ross with his raspy worn out voice says that he feels like maybe after last night Ahmed has unfinished business with The Ultimate Warrior. Devon Storm gets absolutely killed with power moves from Ahmed Johnson. Ahmed brutalizes Storm with a sickening spinebuster before finishing him with a pinfall at :41 after a Pearl River Plunge! Ahmed gets on the mic after throwing Storm out of the ring and he's so jacked he can barely get the words out, saying that he wants to face the Ultimate Challenge! Ahmed Johnson calls out The Ultimate Warrior to face him one on one! Backstage report: SunnyAfter the bout we cut away to Sunny with a special report with breaking news around Best Of The Best that is just now developing. First of all, Marc Mero, the undefeated prospect that was injured in the 30 Man Champions Rumble, WILL RETURN this Saturday night on Shockwave! Mero looked impressive in his 2-0 run in January but suffered a bad concussion at A New Beginning when Aleksandr Karelin suplexed him out of the ring in the 30 Man Champions Rumble. Now Mero will return in the ring on Shockwave this Saturday Night on TBS at 6:05 and Sable will be with him! On that same episode of Shockwave from the Bellagio Hotel & Casino this Saturday night on TBS we will see 2 more World Tag League matches. The Steiner Brothers will take on The American Males, then Harlem Heat will take on the team representing the Four Horsemen, the team of Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit! Sunny then recaps the insane event that happened at the end of Worldwide this past Saturday night with a replay showing Hakushi taking on the massive 6'9", 400 pound One Man Gang in what turned out to be a surprisingly awesome confrontation. Hakushi went to hit One Man Gang with a moonsault off of the ropes out to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp only for Gang to catch him and powerslam him THROUGH THE RAMP! Sunny shows exclusive footage of what happened after the show went off the air with a HUGE lightning bolt striking down into the hole with both men still down in th......... The broadcast is suddenly interrupted with television static, like a scramblevision type of static you would get watching the pay per view porn channels on cable without paying for them..... The scramble effect fades into a brief advertisement.... for Brian Pillman's 1-900-288-PILL hotline! THEY don't want you to know the truth, but I will set you free........ World Tag League Match: The Thrillseekers(Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) vs The Hardcore Guns(Billy & Bart Gunn)
What the hell was that? Are we back on? Are we live? Folks we apologize for the technical difficulties The Thrillseekers Chris Jericho and Lance Storm are hitting the ring ready to rock Las Vegas here in our next World Tag League bout! The HC Guns make their way out next with their new hardcore attitudes, wearing Metallica and Tracy Lawrence t-shirts, with bandannas instead of cowboys hats. The Guns hit the ring and immediately take the brawl to Jericho and Storm to get things going! Storm and Jericho weather an early onslaught from Billy and Bart to outwit them with quick technical tag team moves, including some sensational tandem moves we've never seen before. The Guns take the match out to the floor for a brawl where Bart uses the ring bell to knock Lance Storm completely out cold! Jericho manages to fight both men off by himself until Billy pulls out a foreign object from his boots and lays him out! The Hardcore Guns get the pin for the victory at 5:19! After the match Jericho and Storm protest the cheating of the Hardcore Guns but the referee can't find any foreign objects on Billy or Bart. The Guns retreat celebrating getting trash thrown at them as Jericho and Storm protest the ruling... In The Ring: The Four HorsemenAfter the commercial break we get the crowd coming unglued when The Four Horsemen entrance music hits the speakers! JJ Dillon leads Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Chris Benoit out to the ring as Joey and JR on commentary hype up that tonight is the night they are set to announce the new 4th man. As Flair, Arn, and Benoit make their way down the ramp Joey Styles talks about the downward spiral of Brian Pillman, a man we have all seen and heard enough of this past week on just about every newsmagazine tabloid talk show selling his soul. Pillman cost the Horsemen their opportunity to regain the Undisputed World Title with his actions in Mexico City, which led to him being fired both from The Horsemen and from this company altogether. Arn, Flair, and Benoit get a great reaction from the crowd as they take the ring! Flair gets the mic WHOOOOOO, and says that tonight, right here in Vegas is the new era of the Four Horsemen. Things have changed around them, times have changed, after tonight the Four Horsemen will retake their places as the rightful rulers of this sport once and for all. Arn Anderson take the microphone and and talks about how they took a look at what is going on around them here in this promotion and around the world in this sport when they made their final decision. Arn says they looked real close at some of the best talent in this sport today, but in the end it came down to one thing. Arn says that the bottom line is that what the Horsemen need now more than ever is strength, muscle, legitimacy. Arn says that they are about to bring out a new 4th member that is about to restore the honor and the pride of this group back to the old days when people were AFRAID of the Horsemen. The Horsemen entrance music comes back on again as Arn brings out the new 4th Horsemen.... And it's none other than.... DAN "THE BEAST" SEVERN!
UNBELIEVABLE! Dan Severn is the new 4th Horsemen! The Beast walks out with his NWA World Heavyweight Title and both of his UFC Tournament Championship title belts(UFC V and the Ultimate Ultimate 95) as he takes the ring and shakes hands with Arn, Flair, Benoit, and JJ Dillon before posing with them as the NEW Four Horsemen! Arn is FIRED UP, he says that this CHRIS BENOIT, ARN ANDERSON, RIC FLAIR, DAN SEVERN, these are the Four Horsemen, a group of the past, living in the present, and now stepping into the future in 1996. Now, the entire Best Of The Best is back on notice, The Four Horsemen ARE BACK! Flair struts and all four men pose together with the four fingers as their music plays on and the crowd cheers them! World Tag League Match: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(W/Jim Cornette) vs The Legion Of DoomAfter the commercials we get the intro of Owen and Davey Boy along with Jim Cornette with his dreaded tennis racket. Camp Cornette take the ring getting boo'd while Joey Styles and Jim Ross talk about the magnitude of this World Tag League kicking off here tonight, this 12 week journey will culminate in a final four tournament to crown the very first ever Best Of The Best Undisputed World Heavyweight Tag Team Champions! The LOD get the BIGGEST pop of the night by far as they come out sporting their all new blue colored look. Hawk and Animal come out INTENSE as JR notes on commentary that they are the odds on favorite to win this whole league by the bookmakers here in Vegas! After an initial 4 man tornado style brawl Owen and Bulldog are able to slow the match down to build up the hot tag to Animal, who comes un slamming both opponents all around the ring! The LOD clear Bulldog out of the ring and destroy Owen with the Doomsday Device! Just as they make the cover for the pin Vader comes out and drags the referee out of the ring and knocks him out! Vader hits the ring and the crowd FREAKS as he has a stand off with Hawk and Animal! Bulldog and Owen jump Hawk and Animal from behind! Vader joins in for a 3 on 2 beat down until all of a sudden SABU runs out! Sabu attacks Camp Cornette before regrouping with the LOD and we have an impromptu six man brawl on our hands, Sabu and the LOD against Vader, Owen, and Bulldog! Pandemonium, chaos, and madness ensues! Camp Cornette take the upper hand with Vader about to powerbomb Sabu through a table that has been propped upright in the corner! The LOD beat down Owen and Davey Boy before saving Sabu! Vader is knocked over towards the table! Sabu runs and springboards off of Owen's back with a flying leg lariat to put Vader through the table FACE FIRST! OH MY GAAAAAAWD! Camp Cornette drag Vader out of the ring to retreat as Sabu and the LOD celebrate in the ring! Camp Cornette really hurt the LOD here with a no-contest finish to start off the World Tag League but Sabu was able to save them from being injured and put out of the tournament by Vader! Vader recovers in the entrance isle and has to be held back, he's going BERSERK! Vader wants SABU! In The Ring: Sunny W/Shawn Michaels & Bret HartAfter another round of commercials we return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a special ceremony in the ring as Sunny(decked out in high class evening gown for the special occasion) is joined by 6 of the 7 Championship Council members(Satoru Sayama is still hospitalized after emergency surgery last night on his broken jaw at the hands of Kings Of Kings). Lou Thesz, Billy Robinson, Verne Gagne, Nick Bockwinkle, Karl Gotch, and Danny Hodge are all on hand as Joey Styles gets the crowd alive to it's feet by bringing out the newly announced #1 Contender to the Undisputed World Championship.... Bret "The Hitman" Hart! Bret takes his time high fiving all of the ringside fans before passing off his glasses to a young fan ringside. The Hitman takes the ring and waits on standby as Sunny brings out the current reigning Best Of The Best... UNDISPUTED World Heavyweight Champion... THE HEARTBREAK KID... SHAWN MICHAELS! Michaels comes out with Jose Lothario and is wearing the big gold Championship Belt over his shoulder as he strikes his poses on the elevated catwalk ramp! HBK takes the ring and looks at The Hitman with a cocky edge about him as the two men stand across from each other. Sunny breaks the news that is has been announced that LIVE on pay per view on Sunday night March 31st from The Tokyo Dome in Tokyo Japan, at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown, it will be Bret "The Hitman" Hart taking on Shawn Michaels for the UNDISPUTED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! The crowd goes CRAZY! Sunny asks Bret first if his knee will be a factor in his training for this match, he appeared to have still been having issues with the injury last night in his victory over Chris Benoit. Bret tells Sunny and Shawn Michaels and everyone in the arena that he has a full 6 weeks to prepare for Japan for Shawn Michaels, he will be 100% ready for his shot at that title. Bret makes the bold statement that he really still considers himself the Champion of this sport, he never lost the WWF Championship, nobody ever beat him for that title. Bret says that that belt is gone forever and Shawn Michaels will never know the feeling of having that belt strapped around his waist just like The Hitman did 3 times. Bret says that as far as he is concerned Shawn Michaels is a great champion, but he's not the "Undisputed" Champion. Shawn takes over the interview and says that the Hitman has had his number in the past, they've met for the tag team titles, they've met for the Intercontinental Championship, they've even met for the WWF Championship and yeah, Bret beat him almost every time but it's only going to make it that much sweeter when he drops Bret with the Chin Music to the FACE in Japan! Shawn tells Bret he's the new age new era face of this entire generation, whether Bret likes it or not, there is no dispute to his title, he earned it and fought for it, scratched, clawed, and battled his way to this title and he will not lay it down for ANYBODY! Michaels holds the belt up as Bret stands face to face with him in an intense stand off! This is ON! Tokyo Japan in six weeks! Bret vs Shawn for the UNDISPUTED TITLE! Singles Match: The 123 Kid vs Rey Mysterio Jr. After the break we get a very special main event match with Michael Buffer doing the full elaborate walk out intros with the LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAAAAAL! JR and Joey Styles talk on commentary during Rey Mysterio Jr.'s entrance(to Sad But True by Metallica) about his HUGE debut back in San Diego last week where he shocked then ranked #1 contender Shane Douglas with an upset pin. Douglas had completely underestimated Mysterio due to his incredible small size, weighing in around 160 pounds at just 20 years old the masked luchadore pulled off the biggest upset in BOTB so far in his own hometown in his DEBUT! Mysterio takes the ring and the 123 Kid comes out hyped up for his one on one singles debut. JR and Joey Styles talk about how different Best Of The Best is, this is a tremendous spotlight on two very young stars in one hell of a matchup here in our main event. The Kid and Mysterio go at it and a lightning quick opening exchange after the opening bell and this match tears the HOUSE DOWN! Mysterio and The Kid counter and reverse each other's counters and reversals back and forth in a chain series of nearfall finish rollups! The Kid showcases his incredible kicks while Myserio's speed and springboarding off of the ring ropes is otherworldy! What an ATHLETE! Both men tear the house DOWN in an absolute thriller of a match, perhaps maybe even arguably the best match this promotion has seen yet until all of a sudden a true motherless f#*k comes walking out with a sick smile around the 8 minute mark to fu#* everything up.... SHANE DOUGLAS! Shane Douglas, what the hell is he doing out here!? Douglas takes the ring with a steel chair and ruins the best match this promotion has ever seen, SMASHING both Rey Jr. and The Kid with the chair to their backs over and over again! The ref Charles Robinson rings for the bell to call the match off as a no contest but Douglas shoves him out of the ring like a ragdoll! Douglas gets boo's from the crowd as he continues to BASH Kid and Rey Jr. with the chair. Joey is disgusted on commentary as he talks about Shane getting his revenge for being upset by Rey last week, then getting pinned by 123 Kid in the semi-finals of the World Tag League Qualifying Tournament on Shockwave(his makeshift tag partner Cactus inadvertently hit him and led to him being pinned). The crowd comes alive as Shane's attack on both Rey and Kid is saved by Cactus Jack running out trying to shove his middle fingers down his gullet! Shane Douglas tries to fight off Cactus' new twisted sick maneuver with the fingers down the throat when all of a sudden out comes running.... STEVE AUSTIN with Paul E. Dangerously! Austin picks up the steel chair and destroys Cactus Jack with it! Paul E. Dangerously enters the ring and gives Shane Douglas another steel chair and Jim Ross is like what the hell is going on here!? Shane Douglas and Steve Austin look at each other with sick evil in their eyes for a moment before taking turns obliterating Cactus Jack with the chair shots to the back and head! Cactus is down! Shane Douglas and Steve Austin stand side by side with Paul E. Dangerously! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!.... Paul E. Dangerously looks on at the carnage with a disgusting fat evil fu#* look in his eyes as Shane Douglas and Steve Austin stand to his sides with the steel chairs, what kind of new alliance has Paul E. Dangerously put together here we are out of TIIIII..... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 18, 2023 3:15:40 GMT
The Manhattan Center(New York, NY)February 22nd, 1996 Tonight's episode of Bushido opens up with a shot of the sold out Manhattan Center on hand for Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee to open the show up on commentary here on TBS: The Superstation. The entire combat sports world is still reeling from one wild night in Caesars Palace this past Saturday Night at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors where we seen Evander Holyfield defeat Aleksandr Karelin via technical doctor stoppage due to a bad cut suffered by Karelin. The very next night on Judgement Night this past Monday we seen the shocking announcement that Dan "The Beast" Severn has been signed as the newest member of the Four Horsemen along with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Chris Benoit. Tenay's opening intro segues into a highlight montage as he's still talking about Severn narrating the clips.... Highlight Video: Dan "The Beast" SevernDan Severn was born and raised in Coldwater Michigan and was a dominant force in college wrestling at Arizona State. Severn would become a 2 time NCAA Division I All-American at Arizona State and would become an Olympic alternate after college for the US teams in 1984 and 1988. After capturing over 13 amateur wrestling titles around the world, Severn finally went pro by signing with the Japanese UWFI promotion in 1992.  It was in UWFI in Japan in 1992 before the UFC even existed where Severn was introduced to real submission wrestling when he faced the shooters of the Takada Dojo(the same group that is behind the Kings Of Kings faction today). Severn became a top heavyweight gaijin in UWFI in a build up to a huge wrestling match against top star Nobuhiko Takada(Takada would defeat him). Severn took his career to America where he would end up in the tournament for UFC IV in December 1994. Dan's background in the UWFI prepared him for the Octagon, as he dismantled two opponents to advance to the tournament finals against Royce Gracie(the undefeated all time greatest UFC fighter). Severn became a huge fan favorite in the UFC when he took Royce Gracie into one of his toughest fights of his career before ultimately being submitted to a triangle choke after nearly 30 minutes. Severn earned the nickname "The Beast" for his performance at UFC IV. Three months later in February 1995 The Beast captured the NWA Heavyweight Championship before making a return to The Octagon bigger, faster, and stronger at 6'3" and a lean 253 pounds at UFC V. Severn ran the table and destroyed 3 opponents in the same night to win the UFC V tournament, hoisting the UFC tournament championship belt alongside the NWA World Title to end the show as truly one of the baddest men walking the planet. After losing to Ken Shamrock at UFC VI via submission Severn would return to win an "All Stars" type Ultimate Ultimate 95 tournament this past December, defeating 3 men in the same night to capture his second tournament title. Severn shocked the world by joining The Four Horsemen this past Monday night on Judgement Night. The reigning NWA World Champion and 2 time UFC Tournament Champ brings the gold and the legitimacy to the Horsemen, making them tougher than they have been perhaps since the group's inception. Now with The Beast, The Horsemen are set to make a stand here in Best Of The Best. Satellite Interview: Evander Holyfield(W/Benny Hinn)Mike Tenay and co-host Phillip Rhee(actor and screen writer from the Best Of The Best movies) are shown at their commentary booth for a live side-by-side on-location satellite interview with "The Real Deal" Evander Holyfield and his spiritual advisor Benny Hinn. Tenay recaps Holyfield's controversial win over Olympic wrestling legend Aleksandr Karelin where the match was stopped by doctors due to a really bad cut over Karelin's eyebrow that was the result of an accidental clash of heads in the clinch. Tenay asks Holyfield how he feels about the victory and the controversy surrounding it this week in the aftermath. Holyfield declares that all praises go to god and all of the glory goes to god for protecting him in that ring against Karelin. Holyfield feels that the lord blessed him through Benny Hinn's anointing powers before the fight and his presence ringside, that is the only way he was able to win that fight. Tenay asks what is next for Holyfield and he's set to take on a yet to be named opponent in Madison Square Garden in New York in May and his managers have entered negotiations to finally get him in the ring to face Mike Tyson later this year. Benny Hinn gets a moment to send a message at the end of the segment that the doors of his ministry are open to any and all struggling athletes including pro wrestlers from Best Of The Best, through the lord all things are possible.... International Report W/ Don "The Dragon" WilsonAfter the first round of commercials we return with a special international report segment with Bushido correspondent, actor, and former kickboxing legend Don "The Dragon" Wilson with the report that the ban issued by the Championship Council on the Kings Of Kings being outlawed from Best Of The Best live events and television will NOT be withheld! The Kings Of Kings issued a statement from Japan earlier this week stating that the ban on them from the BOTB Council could not be upheld legally because it was issued without any type of hearing, which goes against the strict regulations of the honor code of the Championship Council. The ban was issued as an emergency but the KOK have had it legally rescinded in the United States as their conquest over the entire sport rages on into American soil.... The Kings Of Kings statement was that they had won an emergency Federal Injunction legally allowing them on Best Of The Best television, that the Council's ban on them without any type of hearing was deemed unconstitutional and invalid. The KOK also issued a statement from Japan this week challenging senior councilman Lou Thesz to put his original World Championship Of Professional Wrestling title belt on the line in a battle in Japan at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown. When the press reporter asked the KOK group what they thought about Undisputed World Champion Shawn Michaels and his title the entire group just laughed. They only want the old original belt from Lou Thesz, the same title belt that he took away from the group when the UWFI began their dishonorable invasion of the NJPW last year. Don "The Dragon" Wilson covers the timeline of events leading up to what is going on internationally now with the Kings Of The Kings organization from Japan. Really at the core of it, it all traces back to the original UWF shoot style wrestling promotion in Japan in the early 80's built around Tiger Mask and Akira Maeda(and their mentor, Yoshiaki Fujiwara). After that group dissolved Tiger Mask retired from wrestling to start Shooto, while the UWF group was reborn with Maeda and Takada later in 1988. Political turmoil brought the reborn UWF down in the end of 1990, and this brought on the split into 3 different shoot style wrestling promotions. Nobuhiko Takada formed the UWFI, Akira Maeda formed the Fighting Network Rings, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara formed Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi all in 1991. Lou Thesz blessed Takada's UWFI and graced them with the use of his classic vintage World Title belt but he repossessed the title and stripped Takada when his group began their invasion of New Japan in 1995. Thesz brought the title here to the United States as the head councilman of the Best Of The Best Championship Council. The Rings promotion launched their invasion of All Japan Pro Wrestling earlier this year with Akira Maeda capturing the Triple Crown World Heavyweight Championship(Takada currently holds NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight belt). Takada and Maeda united their forces of UWFI and Rings recently here in Best Of The Best to form one force, the Kings Of Kings.... Beyond The Mat: All Japan Pro WrestlingThe Beyond The Mat series launches as a regular staple segment here exclusively on Bushido every week focusing in on promotions, fighting styles, martial arts, taking a closer look at the culture and history of various forms of combat all around the world. This week the series puts a spotlight on the legendary All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion from the land of the rising sun.  All Japan Pro Wrestling was founded on the back of Giant Baba in the early 1970's. As the growing threat of the Kings Of Kings organization becomes more and more of an inescapable reality the Best Of The Best has extended a treaty to unite with AJPW along with other promotions to form an alliance. We seen a taste of the AJPW style with an incredible match from Furnas & Lafon taking on The Eliminators on Judgement Night this past Monday, and later tonight veteran wrestler Rob Van Dam is here in action in the Manhattan Center to showcase the hard hitting style of All Japan. AJPW prides itself on a tougher, harder hitting sport style of puro with some of the most brutally physical technical matches from stars like Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuhara Misawa, and Toshiaki Kawada, truly some of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport. The AJPW promotion has hit hard times in early 1996 after an invasion by the Fighting Network Rings promotion led by Akira Maeda, who defeated Mitsuhara Misawa recently to capture the league's prestigious Triple Crown World Heavyweight Championship. Singles Match: Rob Van Dam vs Pat Tanaka
We return to the ring in the Manhattan Center with tonight's special main event. Pat Tanaka is shown already wrapping up his entrance as we are set to see the Best Of The Best debut of Rob Van Dam, a new young talent with a few tours of AJPW under his belt where he really looked impressive recently. Van Dam squares off against Tanaka under standard Best Of The Best rules but both men bring the martial arts style offense in an early striking exchange. Van Dam ends up winning the early exchanges with some beautiful spinning kicks. Tanaka cuts the young striker off with a throat thrust before grounding him with some submission holds. Van Dam rallies for a comeback and finishes Tanaka with a spinning roundhouse kick to the face followed by a split legged moonsault off of the corner ropes for the pinfall at 7:21. Pretty impressive debut here by the youngster Van Dam here on Bushido, even though the audience is not sure how to react to him.... In-Ring Interview: "The Human Suplex Machine" TazAfter the final round of commercials we get a special interview segment in the ring with Don "The Dragon" Wilson bringing out "The Human Suplex Machine" Taz, fresh off of his victory over Yokozuna this past weekend at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors. Taz walks out in street clothes to join Don "The Dragon" Wilson in the ring for an interview. During his entrance Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee on commentary talk about his impressive victories so far here in BOTB over Kama and Yokozuna, beating both men decisively with the Kata-Hajime judo choke. Taz takes the time while on TBS to send the message to every wrestler or martial artist or boxer or kickboxer, anybody watching this program, the Taz Dojo doors are open to any man that wants a piece of Taz they can get it on on the mats no rules Dojo challenge style. Taz calls out Holyfield, Tyson, the Gracie family, Dan Severn, and that fat miserable piece of s#*t Yokozuna come and get it! Taz proclaims that he's the baddest motherfu#*er in New York on this show every week, this is HIS show from now on, Bushido is the Taz show! Don "The Dragon" Wilson asks Taz how he feels about the way he defeated Yokozuna, reminding him that the big 600 pound former WWF Champion had Taz in deep trouble for most of the contest. The Dragon reminds Taz that Yokozuna had him finished with the Bonzai Drop, had the top turnbuckle not broken Taz may have very likely been defeated. The Dragon asks Taz how he feels about that and The Human Suplex Machine visibly gets more and more pissed! Taz pushes Don "The Dragon" Wilson back and snatches the microphone away from him! The Human Suplex Machine gets furious with The Dragon and shouts at him that he will choke the life out of Yokozuna until the worthless piece of sh#* isn't breathing anymore! ANYTIME! Taz grabs Don Wilson by the collar of his suit and shoves him back into the corner until all of a sudden a mob of security guards hit the ring to pull him back! Wilson escapes the ring but Taz drops several security guards with brutal suplexes, tossing them directly onto their heads as the show goes off the air!.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 24, 2023 14:22:39 GMT
Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion(Las Vegas, NV)
February 24th, 1996 Shockwave hits the air on TBS with a hard opening of Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on commentary from the famous indoor sports pavilion back here at Caesars Palace with a sold out crowd of over 4,500 going crazy! Tonight we are on our last stop in what has been a wild week here for Best Of The Best in Las Vegas, starting with Revenge Of The Warriors on pay per view in the outdoor pavilion here at Caesars Palace on Sunday night, then a WILD live episode of Judgement Night from the MGM Grand on Monday, and now we are set for a full 6 match card of the best wrestling in the world here tonight from the smaller more intimate Sports Pavilion at Caesars! Heenan and Shiavonne hype up tonight's full card of action inside the squared circle here on TBS, we will have STING in action in our main event as he comes off of the devastating loss in his rematch against HBK for the Undisputed Title on pay per view this past weekend. The Stinger steps right back into the challenge of facing the very dangerous "Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama in our main event! Shiavonne kicks it down to the ring for announcer Joel Gertner for the intros as both wrestlers for our major opening bout are already in the ring!.... Singles Match: Bob Backlund vs Eddie Guerrero Backlund gets boo'd a lot during his intro but he shakes Eddie's hand with honor prior to the bout. This isn't the same Backlund we were used to seeing in the WWF for the last few years this is much more like the version we seen of him in his UWF and UWFI appearances in Japan, he's here to make one last run at a World Title to finish his career with the respect he's always felt like he never got. The two men tie up early on and put it all on the line in a duel between an aging technical submission grappling master against a young high flyer in his prime that can also hold his own on the mats(as we seen in his debut victory over Dean Malenko last month). Eddie's speed gives him an advantage in the match but Backlund seems to be able to stay 2-3 moves ahead of him, keeping Eddie in serious trouble and forcing him to use several rope breaks and bridges to escape nearfalls. As Backlund keeps Eddie grounded in a body scissor Shiavonne on commentary notes that Backlund is a 2 time former WWF World Champion making his debut here in BOTB in this match against a top ranked Eddie Guerrero, who comes in tonight with a 2-1 record after beating DDP earlier this month on Shockwave. Eddie is also coming off of an impressive performance on Bret's team in the 3 Team Triangle Elimination Match in Mexico City in a match that was stacked with the biggest stars in the sport today. Backlund keeps Eddie down on the canvas in holds past the first commercial break. Guerrero's crafty, resourceful grappling counters and his speed in the scrambles keep him alive after nearly being forced to submit to Backlund's bicep crusher and calf slicer holds. The two men end up dueling it out with strikes and European uppercuts before Eddie takes the momentum, countering a suplex by breaking out of Backlund's grip and springing off of his body for a dropkick to the face! Eddie later counters another transition into a Tornado DDT followed by a Fog Splash for the pinfall victory at 11:04! What a huge win! Eddie shakes hands with Backlund before celebrating the victory with a passionate outburst from the top turnbuckle... Backstage Interview: Jeff JarrettAfter the match we cut away to Mike Tenay backstage in the locker room with none other than Jeff Jarrett, who is very unhappy about the Four Horsemen's choosing Dan "The Beast" Severn over him as the new 4th man. Jarrett cites his lineage in the sport of wrestling with his father and grandfather, saying it was always his destiny to become a Four Horsemen before asking who the hell even is Dan Severn's father!? Nobody! Dan Severn is not even a wrestler he's an Ultimate Fighter, this is wrestling not the Octagon! This ain't the UFC! Jarrett says he's lost all respect for Ric Flair and threatens to show Flair and Arn that they made the wrong choice! Jarrett officially lays down the challenge that he wants to face Ric Flair one on one right here on Shockwave! All of a sudden the interview is crashed when Four Horsemen's legal advisor JJ Dillon walks in with Dan Severn wearing a 3 piece suit with the NWA World Title! JJ Dillon informs Jeff Jarrett that from now on any and all challengers of The Nature Boy will have to first get through The Beast, he can easily arrange for Jarrett a match against Severn here next week if he wants a match against Flair! Jarrett backs down his challenge, he's not a UFC fighter he's a wrestler, he wants no part of Dan Severn. Dillon informs Jarrett that in fact Dan Severn was a professional wrestler long before the UFC even existed. Dillon also reminds Jarrett that the belt Severn is wearing is the exact same belt worn by some of the all time legends of this sport, Flair, Race, Funk, Rhodes, the list goes on and on. JJ Dillon tells Jeff Jarrett that Severn is a pro wrestler, not only that he's one of the best in the world and he's a Four Horsemen, whether you like it or not learn to love it. Jarrett is outraged as he makes his exit.... World Tag League Match: The Steiner Brothers vs The American Males
After the commercials we return with the entrances of the American Males the heavy underdogs here set to take on The Steiner Brothers, one of the favorites to win their division in the World Tag League. The commentators talk about the World Tag League kicking off this past Monday Night on Judgement Night with some surprising results. The Eliminators upset one of the favorites in Furnas & Lafon from All Japan, the Hardcore Guns cheated The Thrillseekers(Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) and Camp Cornette screwed the Legion of Doom into a no-contest finish in their bout against Owen & Davey Boy. Rick and Scott toss the Males around the ring before finishing them with a pin at 3:31 after their Steinerizer(Scott lifts the opponent up and Rick performs the diving bulldog) on Bagwell. What a dominant start to the WTL by The Steiners here starting off 1-0... Ringside: The Kings Of KingsDuring and after the bout we get ringside shots of a group of the Japanese "Kings Of Kings" contingency, the recently merged group of UWFI and Rings wrestlers Yoji Anjo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Mitsuya Nagai, and Yoshihisa Yamamoto(the man that battled Rickson Gracie for nearly 30 minutes in Shooto's touranment in Japan last year) sitting on the front rail together watching the action. Shiavonne notes that these men DO NOT work for this promotion, these are the same men behind the despicable act at Revenge Of The Warriors where new Championship Council member Satoru Sayama(Tiger Mask) had his jaw broken. The Championship Council attempted to ban this group from appearing on BOTB television but the decision was legally overturned by the KOK due to the lack of a hearing this week(the Council will be unable to hold any hearings due to Sayama's jaw being wired shut after emergency surgery following the attack). Now the Kings Of Kigns are here in full form tonight, even without Takada(the IWGP Champ) or Maeda(the Triple Crown Champ) these six men ringside are among the most dangerous shooters in the sport. It was announced earlier today that Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki has reached out to Best Of The Best to deal with this international threat that has taken over Japanese wrestling and crippled it to it's knees in 1996. Inoki has already issued a plea for the major Japanese promotions to unite to battle the KOK but we are expected to hear an announcement from Inoki this upcoming Thursday night on Bushido on TBS at 8:05. Singles Match: Vader vs Devon StormJim Cornette joins Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan at the commentary booth for the following total annihilation of Devon Storm by Vader. Cornette notes that Storm is one of the many virtual Sabu copycats out there in the sport today as Vader shrugs off of his similar springboarding offensive attacks. Vader savors the punishment as he brutalizes the smaller man with strikes and power moves, vicious clubbing forearm strikes, punches to the body, running splashes into the corner. Cornette on commentary sends the official challenge to Sabu to face Vader in Japan at Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome as Vader holds Devon Storm's lifeless head up screaming into the camera! Vader finishes Storm off with a pinfall after the Vader Bomb after 4:14. On Location: The Ultimate Warrior
After commercials we return with a shot of The Ultimate Warrior completely JACKED in front of a green screen effect of his logo in the background. Warrior screams incoherently about Ahmed Johnson and their battle in Caesars Palace, then the challenge that was issued to him by Ahmed on Monday night on Judgement Night. Warrior acknowledges Ahmed as the greatest power he's ever faced but it is a challenge he will ACCEPT! AHMED JOHNSON, YOU WILL FEEL THE REDEMPTION OF THE WARRIOR! Ahmed Johnson's challenge has been accepted! It will be The Ultimate Warrior vs Ahmed Johnson live on pay per view on March 31st at Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome! UNBELIEVABLE! Singles Match: Marc Mero(W/Sable) vs Mike RotundaWe return to the indoor Sports Pavilion here at Caesars Palace on a beautiful night in Vegas with the wrestler formerly known as IRS/V.K. Wall Street, none other than former WWF Tag Team Champ; Mike Rotunda. Rotunda ignores the boo's and thumbs down treatment from the crowd as he enters the ring for his BOTB debut wearing a traditional wrestling singlet. Rotunda's opponent Marc Mero gets a huge ovation as he makes his return from the injury he sustained in Houston last month at A New Beginning with the lovely Sable by his side. Mero spends several minutes on his back in a classic striker vs grappler confrontation, with Rotunda's amateur wrestling background at Syracuse clashing with Mero's amateur boxing background. Sable encourages Mero and rallies the crowd behind him to make a valiant comeback, dropping Rotunda with a huge left hook before finishing him off with a pinfall after a STELLAR shooting star press at 6:38! Mero and Sable celebrate the huge victory after the match, what a return here with a big win to move his BOTB record to 3-0. Music Video Highlight: Kevin Jackson(The Jesters Dance by In Flames)Just prior to the commercial break we get a special highlight music video montage of Best Of The Best's brightest young star Kevin Jackson, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist that signed a pro contract with the promotion earlier this year. The montage is set to all new music The Jesters Dance by In Flames. Kevin Jackson entered into a grueling training camp under Dory Funk Jr. after signing a contract to go pro with Best Of The Best. Jackson chose pro wrestling over going for another gold medal at this Summer's Olympics in Atlanta. The highlight montage shows Jackson's hard training with Dory Jr. leading up to his incredible performance in the 30 Man Champions Rumble last month(where he eliminated Aleksandr Karelin, and was one of the final 5 men in the match). The clip shows highlights of Jackson's hard fought victory over veteran Hunter Hearst Helmsley in his debut earlier this month. Kevin Jackson has proven that he has taken the transition from amateur freestyle to professional wrestling very seriously in his training, he's committed, driven by the Undisputed World Championship belt. Kevin Jackson returns to the ring this Monday night on Judgement Night live on USA Network! World Tag League Match: Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit vs Harlem HeatAfter the break we return to the ring here in the Sports Pavilion at Caesars Palace with Harlem Heat coming out raising the roof for perhaps the most anticipated week 1 matchup in the World Tag League. Tony Shiavonne notes that Harlem Heat truly are at this point the uncrowned kings of tag team wrestling after they were the final ever WCW World Tag Champs, then they defeated the Smoking Guns(the final WWF Tag Champs) in Mexico City on Judgement Night earlier this month. The Horsemen Music brings the fans to their feet and they get EVEN louder when "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair walks out with Arn and Benoit ready to go! Flair takes the spot with Shiavonne and Heenan on commentary as Benoit and Anderson eye the Kings Of Kings group of wrestlers seated ringside during their entrances. Benoit and Arn push Booker and Stevie Ray to their limits in a highly physical battle, arguably the most tense so far in the league's first week. The commentators note that the World Tag League will be a 12 week schedule and every single match will be so crucial in the final standings for the Final Four tournament for the titles. Benoit clashes with Booker T for a long extended stretch of the match while Stevie Ray battles Arn after the first commercial break. As the Horsemen control Stevie Ray for a long stretch of the match Ric Flair talks on commentary about how proud he is to have Dan "The Beast"" Severn as the newest member of the Horsemen, he's all class and brings nothing but prestige and legitimacy to the group along with some of the biggest major titles in this sport. Chris Benoit and Stevie Ray spill out to the floor and referee Randy Anderson loses control of the match! Arn Anderson and Booker T battle it out in the ring while Stevie Ray brawls with Benoit on the floor! All of a sudden Hiromitsu Kanehara of the KOK group seated ringside jumps the railing and NAILS Benoit in the face with a roundhouse kick that knocks him out cold! Benoit collapses face first to the mats on the floor! Stevie Ray knocks Kanehara down before returning to the ring to help Booker T overpower Arn! Benoit is knocked out on the floor as Harlem Heat finish off Arn Anderson with their Towering Inferno(backbreaker by Stevie followed by a diving leg drop from Booker) for the pin after 13:09! Harlem Heat win! Harlem Heat's celebration is short lived as they are quickly jumped by all of the Kings Of Kings wrestlers that jump the front guard rail! Flair leaves his spot at the commentary booth to rush to the ring to help Arn! The hybrid united group of UWFI and Rings shooters destroy Flair, Arn, and Chris Benoit until all of a sudden Dan "The Beast" Severn comes out and clears the ring with HUGE SUPLEXES! The Beast clears the ring of the KOK and the crowd goes NUTS! Severn is FIRED UP! Flair, Arn, and Benoit recover to rally around The Beast and challenge all six of the KOK(Yoji Anjo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Mitsuya Nagai, and Yoshihisa Yamamoto) to bring it on! The KOK retreat to the crowd and are suddenly surrounded and escorted out of the building by security as The Four Horsemen stand tall! Control Center Report W/Mike Tenay: Best Of The Best IIIAfter the break we cut away to The BOTB Control Center with Mike Tenay breaking all of the latest reports around the fed. The biggest news coming out of this past Monday night's episode of Judgement Night was the Undisputed World Title match set for Best Of The Best III live on pay per view from the Tokyo Dome it will the Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels, "The Heartbreak Kid", taking on the challenger Bret "The Hitman" Hart! The news was broke today that the match is now official and both men have already entered into their training camps for the match. As we have seen throughout tonight's episode of Shockwave the card for Best Of The Best III is already coming together. In the Tokyo Dome we will see HBK vs Bret for the Undisputed World Title, plus The Ultimate Warrior vs Ahmed Johnson, and Vader vs Sabu! Mike Tenay also covers the shocking events that we seen as Judgement Night went off the air this past Monday night. A thrilling bout between the 123 Kid vs Rey Mysterio was crashed by Shane Douglas, who came out to destroy both men with a steel chair. Cactus Jack came out to attack Shane Douglas but this brought out Steve Austin and Paul E. Dangerously. Austin beat Cactus Jack down and united with Shane Douglas, standing tall with Paul E. Dangerously as the show went off the air. Shane Douglas and Steve Austin both at one time were considered future superstars in this sport, but for whatever reasons both men found themselves on the outer fringes of the sport by the end of 1995. These are two of the most talented, yet bitter, disgruntled, frustrated young athletes in Best Of The Best, now Paul E. Dangerously has brought them both together for an alliance that we really never seen coming. It was just 4 years ago that Dangerously attempted to bring WCW to it's knees with his "Dangerous Alliance" faction. Steve Austin was a part of that group, what type of alliance has Paul E. got going on with him and Douglas now? Another huge news announcement was that the legendary Antonio Inoki is expected to have a message this week on Bushido on TBS at 8:05 as he attempts to unite Japanese wrestling against the Kings Of Kings organization that has run roughshod over the sport in Japan. We've seen their presence felt here tonight and their unforgivable attack on Satoru Sayama completely dishonored the entire Best Of The Best. Inoki will be on Bushido this Thursday night to address the Kings Of Kings, the state of Japanese wrestling and it's new partnership lifeline from Best Of The Best. Tenay segues into coverage for the rankings of the World Tag League as of tonight, as well as the top 10 rankings courtesy of the AOL page for Best Of The Best. Tenay also hypes up tonight's episode of Worldwide where we will see the final week 1 World Tag League bout with The Public Enemy taking on The Pit Bulls! Also on Worldwide, we will see the aftermath of the insane ending of the Hakushi vs One Man Gang battle that seen both men crash through the elevated entrance ramp as the show went off the ai.... The TBS broadcast begins to suddenly distort and change colors, with technical difficulties that make the picture look like what you would expect when trying to watch the x-rated channels on cable without paying for them... The distortion fades in and out into a brief advertisement hacked into the Turner feed for Brian Pillman's 1-900 hotline ad.... Believe the lie.... the truth is out there... Call me NOW!.... Singles Match: Sting vs Kama
After the final round of TBS commercials we return to the indoor Sports Pavilion here in Caesars Palace with "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama making his entrance getting major boo's/thumbs down vibes from the smaller, more intimate crowd of around 4,500 on hand. The entire crowd comes unglued with the biggest pop of the night for Sting's entrance along to his vintage WCW music. Sting comes out and takes his time high fiving all of the fans in the isle and around the ring with his glorious surfer facepaint in the trademark WCW yellow and purple colors. Shiavonne and Heenan note that this is one tough opponent for Sting's first match after losing to Shawn Michaels last weekend on pay per view. Heenan says he bet all of his money on Kama to pull off the upset here, the conditions are ripe for it to happen, Sting should have found an easier opponent. Shiavonne notes that Sting doesn't work like that he wants to face the toughest challenges he can get, and he's got one here tonight in Kama... Sting takes the fight right to the Supreme Fighting Machine and keeps the crowd hot with all of his signature offense. Kama tries to cheat with an eye gouge before unloading with some strikes but Sting is totally unaffected by them due to the energy of the crowd! Sting dominates Kama until all of a sudden Lex Luger comes out with his agent and CEO of Hype Central Promotions; Lance Wright(wearing a neck brace, and accompanied by an attorney). Sting gets distracted by Luger watching and Kama almost catches him with a quick rollup for 2.9! Bobby Heenan loses it! He had him! Heenan gets urgent and desperate on commentary realizing his gambling on Kama to win... The Stinger redirects his attention back to his opponent and after wearing him down finishes him off, first with a snap DDT, then a dive off the top rope(before screaming out at Luger watching) for the pin at 7:21! Sting's music stops and his celebration is cut short when Lance Wright's attorney enters the ring and serves him papers for ANOTHER lawsuit! Luger smiles beside Lance Wright as he gets on the mic and informs Sting that he was injured slapping him in the face last week, and he's suing both Sting AND Ultimate Warrior for damages, emotional stress, medical bills, et. al. Sting rips the papers in half before pulling the attorning into the position for a DDT! The crowd goes CRAZY! Luger and Lance Wright are totally stunned! Sting looks around at the crowd for a moment before dropping the attorney with a DDT! HE'S OUT! Sting screams from the turnbuckles as Luger and Lance Wright watch on outraged as this week's episode fades out to the copyright screen! ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 25, 2023 22:32:55 GMT
Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)February 24th, 1996 Tonight's episode of Worldwide picks up right where last week's episode left off, with Hakushi climbing up the turnbuckles in the corner and balancing himself out onto the ropes while praying as The One Man Gang stumbles and staggers to his feet out on the elevated catwalk entrance ramp that connects level with the ring apron! Gang turns around right in time to get hit by Hakushi's praying rope walk moonsault plancha! The massive 400 pounder catches Hakushi on his shoulder, turns, and powerslams him THROUGH THE ENTRANCE RAMP! Both men disappear through the crunch of the wood and the whole crowd in the smaller little studio is on their feet! The footage rolls on to show what happened after the camera's cut last week, with a BOLT OF LIGHTNING striking down into the hole! Sparks fly out of the hole before it starts to smoke! The One Man Gang climbs out of the hole and rolls away looking as if he has been electrocuted! Officials and emergency staff swarm the scene to tend to OMG but after the smoke clears the cameras and lights look down into the ramp to see that... Hakushi is... GONE!..... Joey Styles welcomes the television audience to Worldwide from his spot in the control center here at Universal Studios with a wall of monitors behind him. Last week's finale on Worldwide was truly an Oh My God moment, tonight we are expected to hear from The One Man Gang after the crazy ending to his match last week. Also tonight we will have the final week 1 match in the World Tag League with two of the most extreme teams in the league going head to head, The Public Enemy vs The Pit Bulls!... Singles Match: 2 Cold Scorpio vs David Tyler MortonScorpio gets the party going in the small BOTB Arena here at Universal Studios with all the tourists in attendance jamming to his entrance music, This Is How We Do It by Montel Jordan. To all my neighbors, you got much flava(This is how we do it). Let's flip the track, bring the old school back(This is how we do it). Scorpio's entrance and dancing takes up just about as much TV time as his wrestling as he makes short work of his opponent, finishing him for the pin after his Drop The Bomb(Moonsault Leg Drop) at 4:16. Very impressive victory here for Scorpio to recover from the time limit draw he went to in his debut against Hunter Hearst Helmsley. On-Location: Benny Hinn MinistriesAfter the commercial break we return with Joey Styles recapping the crazy night in Las Vegas last weekend with Evander Holyfield taking on Aleksandr Karelin in a bout that ended quickly after an accidental head clash resulted in a massive cut over Karelin's eyebrow. With the technical doctor stoppage victory Holyfield won a total of $4 million in prize money, and every penny of it went to the Benny Hinn Ministries. Hinn has been the spotlight of several investigative news reports over his false claims of healing his followers, taking a fortune in donations and living the high life of luxury like a rock star. Evander considers Hinn his spiritual advisor and claims to have been healed by Hinn's anointing supernatural healing powers. Hinn was in Las Vegas to support Holyfield last weekend against Karelin(whom Hinn called a demon from Satan that needed to be killed by god, through Holyfield's hands). This past week on Bushido Benny Hinn appeared in a satellite interview with Holyfield where he claimed that he felt like wrestling was a beautiful outlet for his Ministry.  Joey Styles segues into a video package captured by BOTB film crew this week at Benny Hinn's lavish tax free mega church for an interview with Mike Tenay. In the interview Benny Hinn said that professional wrestling was God's sport, and through his hands he could touch the lives of those in need, the same way he was able to do for Holyfield. Hinn informed Mike Tenay that through the lord and savior all things were possible, and he was now extending an outreach program to wrestlers to come to him for Jesus' anointing, to be cured of injuries, to be stricken from evil and temptation.  The footage shows one of Benny Hinn's first adopters of his outreach program for athletes, with the reveal of none other than the former "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase attending one of Hinn's services! Dibiase is shown in an interview revealing his struggles with greed and money as well as the physical toll wrestling has taken on his body. The footage shows Dibiase taking the stage at Benny Hinn's church and flopping out on the floor after being batted by Hinn's coat! Dibiase GOES DOWN! The interview footage with Dibiase plays along with him saying that Hinn has opened his eyes and he's totally healed of everything. Dibiase reveals in the interview that he's going to become a major part of the Benny Hinn Ministries and his door is open for anybody in the sport of wrestling that is lost and needs to be saved.... World Tag League Match: The Public Enemy vs The Pit BullsThe Public Enemy make their way out along to Here Comes The Hotstepper with a blowup inflatable doll dressed like Shawn Michaels(complete with childs toy version of the Undisputed Title wrapped around it's waist) along with a table! PE set the table up on the floor with the blowup doll set up on it before taking the ring waving their arms with the crowd! White Zombie's Thunderkiss '65 brings out The Pit Bulls along with their new manager.....  Whoa! Who in the hell is this woman!? Joey Styles talks about his familiarity with both of these teams from his days in ECW, this match will not be pretty and will not be for the feint of heart. Once the bell rings all out chaos breaks out as all four men brawl it out all over the little studio theater! Public Enemy take the upper hand in the brawl when the reveal an almost endless supply of weapons under the ring, frying pans, trash cans, broom sticks, cookie sheets, even a bird house that smashes to a million tiny pieces after being smashed over Pitbull 1's head by Rocco Rock! The battle rages on throughout the entire little theater here before spilling out the exits and out in the open area outside at Universal Studios Florida theme park! After the brawl goes outdoors and back through the backstage area the Pitbulls take the upper hand after using a fire extinguisher on both Rocco and Johnny Grunge! The Public Enemy are SMOKED OUT!.... As the chaos ensues the video feed starts to have strange technical difficulties, with picture begins distorting and twisting like pay per view channels on cable when you watch them without paying for them.... The distortion clears up to reveal a quick cut-in advertisement for Brian Pillman's 1-900 hotline.... CALL ME NOW.... Parents, get your kids permission HAHAHAHA..... The picture distorts again before the video feed of the program is restored with the brawl between Public Enemy and The Pit Bulls returning to the ringside area! Public Enemy overtake The Pit Bulls with steel chair shots! Pitbull 2 gets busted open with a stream of blood running down his face as he gets set up on the table with the blowup doll! The Public Eney work together to fly off of the apron to put Pitbull 2 THROUGH THE TABLE with their DRIVE BY!! The table smashes on impact on the floor and the crowd goes nuts! Joey Styles credits this referee John Finnegan for letting these teams do their thing here tonight, THIS IS EXTREME! Any other referee would have disqualified these teams already. PE go to finish The Pitbulls but their new mysterious leather clad valet interferes when the ref is distracted! The Pitbulls rally to put Rocco Rock away with the SUPERBOMB for the pin after a wild 12:47! The Pitbulls are a beaten mess as they stand tall posing with their mystery valet after the match! What a WAR! Around The World W/Mike TenayMike Tenay is shown in the locker room with the news coverage of the Best Of The Best III pay per view event that will take place on March 31st at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The match has been signed and set, Shawn Michaels will defend his Undisputed World Title against Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Both men have entered their training camps for this match with a full 6 weeks to prepare, and we will be dropping in to cover both men's road to what is truly the biggest match in this sport in 1996 so far. Along with HBK vs The Hitman for the Title the pay per view is shaping up to be a Super Bowl of Wrestling level card, with Ahmed Johnson vs The Ultimate Warrior, Vader vs Sabu, and the new Kings Of Kings hybrid shoot style organization has issued the challenge for Best Of The Best Championship Councilman Lou Thesz to put his original World Championship belt on the line in a challenge match. The KOK currently holds the NJPW IWGP Heavyweight title(Takada) and the AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Title(Maeda). Inoki is set to appear on Bushido on TBS this Thursday to issue a statement in rallying Japanese wrestling along with Best Of The Best to stop the KOK. Mike Tenay recaps another threat that came to form on Judgement Night this past Monday night at the MGM Grand, when Paul E. Dangerously ended the show with a new alliance of Steve Austin and Shane Douglas. The replay of the segment cuts in with Shane Douglas crashing the match between 123 Kid vs Rey Mysterio... It was a shocking scene to end last week's Judgement Night. Paul E. Dangerously and his newest clients Steve Austin and Shane Douglas are expected to be on this Monday night's episode, which Tenay plugs as being a LIVE episode of Judgement Night at 8pm on the USA Network from the Cow Palace in San Francisco! The new incarnation of the Four Horsemen(Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, & Dan "The Beast" Severn) will be in the building. Week 2 of the World Tag League kicks off with The Eliminators taking on The Hardcore Guns, and The Legion Of Doom taking on the powerful Pitbulls that we seen in action here with a win tonight. Mike Tenay takes a closer look at the current standings for the league after the end of the first week... Also on Judgement Night at the Cow Palace on Monday night we are expected to see a face to face showdown between Ahmed Johnson and The Ultimate Warrior as the challenge has been accepted for their battle in Tokyo on the 31st. Plus we will see Marc Mero(with Sable) in action, plus rookie sensation Kevin Jackson has been signed to be on the card all on Judgement Night! In The Ring: The One Man GangAfter the final round of commercials The One Man Gang makes his entrance but he's not acting like himself, he's acting very funny after suffering the burns and electrical shock in the hole in the entrance ramp last week after slamming Hakushi through to the floor. The Gang takes the ring and he's.... dancing!?... OMG takes the mic and talks an awful lot like Akeem as he talks about what it felt like to ride the lightning last week. OMG sends the message that he has unfinished business with Hakushi, next time he gets his hands on him he's.... All of a sudden the lights go out!... LIGHTNING STRIKES ALL FOUR CORNERS OF THE RING! Sparks fly and the lights come back on to reveal... HAKUSHI! The little crowd is going crazy! Hakushi is standing behind the One Man Gang waiting for him to turn around! Gang finally turns around to notice Hakushi and he's SPOOKED! Hakushi obliterates the One Man Gang with chops and kicks before knocking him out of the ring to the floor! OMG retreats as the crowd goes NUTS! Hakushi has taken him out! ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 27, 2023 22:33:45 GMT
The Cow Palace(San Francisco, CA)
February 26th, 1996 Judgement Night hits the air LIVE with a completely sold out crowd at the legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco! Sunny is standing in the middle of the ring waiting for the crowd to die down before going into her opening monologue intro! Sunny gets a few lines out when all of a sudden she is interrupted with Paul E. Dangerously leading Steve Austin and Shane Douglas out to the ring!.... Sunny is puzzled about the interruption as this is not the usual routine for opening the show here every week. We are supposed to cut away to a music video set to Tupac's All Eyez On Me but the camera's stay with the live shot as Dangerously takes the ring with Austin and Douglas, his new alliance that was revealed last week as Judgement Night went off the air. Sunny makes a remark towards Paul E., hello this is live television and they are interrupting her opening when suddenly Steve Austin snatches the microphone away from her! Shane Douglas taunts the crowd as Austin intimidates Sunny, telling her to get her pretty little ass out of the ring because he could break her neck with the snap of a finger, just like that(snaps). Sunny flinches in fear as Austin violently snaps his fingers at her with intensity, scaring her out of the ring! Shane Douglas laughs and waves bye-bye to Sunny as she makes her exit visibly shaken. Paul E. Dangerously stands smiling proudly as Austin and Shane Douglas look around at the crowd booing them(a full drink flies into the ring and barely misses his face). Austin keeps the microphone and cuts a promo pissing the crowd off even more as he states that he's never been more flat out disgusted than he is to be in this god forsaken s#*thole tonight. Austin runs down San Francisco saying it's safe to say we've found the biggest world capitol of pus*#es he's ever seen in his entire life, its enough to make his stomach turn, quite frankly it pisses him off. Shane Douglas takes the mic and gets the boo's cranked up hot when he says that he looks around at the crowd here tonight and all he see's is a bunch of Shawn Michaels and Bret Harts, nothing but limp wristed p^#sies that would rather hide and piss their pants than face him in the ring. Shane Douglas sends a message to Shawn Michaels and the Kliq, they can all kiss his ass! Steve Austin, with Shane Douglas, and Paul E. Dangerously calling the shots; You can call this the new alliance, you can call this the future of professional wrestling, whatever the hell you want to call it these are two of the most pissed off motherf**kers in the world and we're about to take everything that's been coming to us. Shane Douglas challenges Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels to face him and Austin here on Judgement Night TONIGHT! BRING IT THE F#*K ON! COME ON! All of a sudden out comes the Best Of The Best CEO Eric Bischoff to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp! Bischoff informs Paul E., Austin, and Douglas that HBK and Bret are not here tonight. HBK is in San Antonio and Bret is in Canada, both of them are training for Best Of The Best III to face off for the Undisputed World Title in the biggest match this promotion could ever put together. Bischoff threatens Paul E. to stop this crusade, he's already done enough damage to this promotion, he's just wrecked a live opening of a cable television show that millions are tuning in to see, this isn't going any further. Bischoff threatens Paul E. to get his 2 thugs out of the ring before he orders security and police to haul all 3 of them out of here in HANDCUFFS! Shane Douglas and Steve Austin only get more fired up, they call for Bischoff to bring them on! All of a sudden out comes.... CACTUS JACK! Cactus walks out to the entrance stage and actually gets cheered. Cactus says he knows he's no Bret Hart in the ring, he's certainly no boy toy sexy boy, and his tag team partner is in a wheel chair for the rest of his life but he's got 2 middle fingers for Shane Douglas' dirty mouth and he wants payback for what Austin did to Mikey Whipreck! Cactus challenges both Austin and Shane Douglas to take him on in a handicap match TONIGHT! FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE! Bischoff says no way, until Cactus adds a stipulation, if he somehow manages to win, he gets 5 minutes alone in the ring with the most disgusting fat motherfu#*#r Paul E. Dangerously! Paul E. laughs as he accepts the challenge, Bischoff agrees and the main event is SET! Cactus Jack will take on Shane Douglas and Steve Austin in a HANDICAP MATCH, if he wins he gets 5 minutes with Paul E! Singles Match: Marc Mero(W/Sable) vs Mr. JLWe return from the commercial break with Marc Mero making his entrance with the incredible lovely Sable as Jim Ross and Joey Styles welcome the TV audience on commentary. JR apologizes for the opening of the show being crashed none of that was on our format, Sunny usually always opens Judgement Night as the host then we get a music video and an elaborate opening with pyro explosions and all but this is LIVE television folks, we wanted to keep our cameras on what was happening in the arena. Joey Styles notes that he really really doesn't like this whole thing Paul E. has going on with Austin and Shane Douglas, these are 3 very evil, very dangerous individuals, this is pretty scary. Cactus Jack could get seriously hurt later tonight, Joey doesn't like it one bit. JL makes this a competitive match for the first 3 minutes of high paced back and forth high flying action. JR and Joey Styles note Mero's impressive win over Mike Rotunda this past Saturday night on Shockwave in his return from the concussion that put him out of action for a few weeks. Mero hurts Mr. JL with a counter into a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster, setting up the incredible shooting star press for the pinfall at 5:33! Sable takes the ring to celebrate the victory with Mero after the match and she is all class, stunning. Mero is on a roll with this win pushing his record to 4-0 in Best Of The Best.... Backstage: Raven(W/ Stevie Richards & Beulah) After the match we cut away to the bowery of the Cow Palace where Raven sits in the shadows with his grunge slut Beulah curled up in his lap curling his hair as he talks. Stevie Richards is in the background practicing his Shawn Michaels poses and double Mongolian karate chops, flexing in front of a mirror that is out of the camera shot. Raven cuts a promo about Cactus Jack, the man that brought him here to Best Of The Best. Cactus seen what happened to Mikey Whipreck at the hands of Steve Austin and it changed him. Raven says that Cactus turned his back on their brotherhood and it broke Raven's heart. Mikey Whipreck will never walk again, he requires around the clock 24/7 hospice care for the rest of his life, but what about me? What about Raven? Cactus turned his back on Raven and now he's going to sit back tonight and watch him get fed to the wolves, alone. Raven says that for him to see the suffering that Cactus is going to go through tonight, and to not do anything about it, is going to hurt Raven even more. Cactus Jack... It's the suffering that binds us... quothe the Raven... nevermore.... Backstage Interview: StingWe return from the commercial break with Sunny backstage for an interview with none other than STING! Sting is JACKED and he's coming off of a HUGE victory over "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama this past Saturday night on Shockwave on TBS. The Stinger tells Sunny that he is going to continue fighting for every WCW fan that keeps watching and coming to the shows to cheer him on, WCW will live on forever in his heart and WCW will live on each and every single time he steps into the ring here in Best Of The Best. Sting sends the message that he's even with Shawn Michaels, they are both 1-1, that HBK's title belt around his waist may be called a new name now(the BOTB Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship of Professional Wrestling) but lets call it like it is, that is STILL the WCW World Championship Title belt the BIG GOLD BELT and it's coming back to where it belongs around the STINGER'S waist for all of these loyal fans that stick with him! Sting challenges the Championship Council of Best Of The Best to line up the biggest and baddest dudes they can find, he will fight on EVERY single show, night after night until he gets back to the top of the mountain in 1996. Sunny asks what Sting thinks about the upcoming HBK vs Bret Title Match at BOTB III on pay per view on March 31st when all of a sudden the whole interview is crashed by Lex Luger with his sports agent Lance Wright(wearing a neck brace). Sting rolls his eyes as Wright informs Sting that he has a litany of major lawsuits against him but he's prepared to file criminal charges for the assault and the embarrassment he endured last week when he pissed his pants. Wright informs Sting to keep his schedule open and hope he has a great attorney, or... he gets one final chance to sign with his sports agency Hype Central Promotions, to sign his likeness over to his representation firm in order to have all lawsuits and criminal charges dropped. Sting tells Lance Wright to STICK IT! Luger and Sting are separated by security as they both challenge each other to a match on Shockwave on Saturday night on TBS! Luger challenges Sting to a match on Shockwave with the stipulation that if he beats Sting, he MUST sign with Hype Central Promotions, if Sting wins Lance Wright must drop all of his lawsuits and assault charges! The match is SET! "The Total Package" and The Stinger will battle it out one on one this Saturday Night on TBS ON SHOCKWAVE! In The Ring: The Four HorsemenBack to the live shot of the Cow Palace in San Francisco and the crowd comes alive when The Four Horsemen entrance music hits the speakers! "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The Crippler" Chris Benoit, "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson, and the newest member "The Beast" Dan Severn walk out to a heroes welcome from the crowd as they take the ring all class, dressed for success, with Severn holding the prestigious NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt. Ric Flair takes the mic and is full blown fired up, the HORSEMEN are in the house TONIGHT! This is legacy, this is heritage, this is greatness, this... is.... WRESTLING... HORSEMEN! WHOOOO! Flair says that Dan Severn has brought one of the greatest titles in the history of this sport back to where it belongs with The Horsemen, Arn and Benoit will bring home the Undisputed World Tag Titles in the World Tag League, and Ric Flair is about to make another run at the Undisputed World Championship. Together, these 4 men right here are the most powerful, unstoppable force in this sport. Whether you like it, PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY, or you don't, learn to love it WHOOOOOOOO! All of a sudden the crowd's adulation for The Horsemen is interrupted when Jeff Jarrett walks out to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp calling out Ric Flair!... Jarrett tells Flair and Arn that they made the biggest mistake of their careers passing him up for the spot in the Horsemen for Dan Severn, he's going to make them regret it! Jarrett calls out Flair, don't hide behind a 260 pound UFC fighter, face him to see first hand what he's missing out on because ain't I great! Flair looks around at the crowd booing Jarrett for a moment before accepting his challenge, calling him a cheap remake that you can never duplicate the original classic! WHOOO! Ric Flair accepts Jeff Jarrett's challenge for a one on one match this Saturday night on Shockwave on TBS at 6:05! UNBELIEVABLE! Flair struts and removes his jacket, laying it on the canvas before running the ropes and dropping an elbow on it! WHOOOOO! All of a sudden Flair's antics are suddenly interrupted when the hybrid shooter Kings Of Kings organization make their way through the crowd down to the ringside area in a militant takeover....   Jeff Jarrett backs up to the entrance stage and the Horsemen tense up as the group of 10 Japanese shoot wrestlers(Nobuhiko Takada, Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Yoshihisa Yammamoto, Kiyoshi Tamura, Yoji Anjo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Mitsuya Nagai, and Koji Kitao) in matching red jumpsuit windbreakers make their way down to the ringside guard rail, eventually jumping over! Security rush to the scene and it's all out pandemonium! The Kings Of Kings; Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, the aligned forces of the UWFI and Rings shooters is HERE! A huge MOB of security rush to keep the group held off at ringside as The Horsemen stand their ground in the ring calling them to bring it on! Jim Ross and Joey Styles are stunned, these men do not work here this was not on the format what the hell is going on here! Eric Bischoff runs out with even more security as the Kings Of Kings fighters are boxed off down on the floor near the ring calling and threatening to the Horsemen! Police come out, more wrestlers come out of the locker room(Alex Wright, JT Smith, DDP, 2 Cold Scorpio, The Armstrong brothers, and The American Males) for a HUGE standoff! The Kings Of Kings shooters stand their ground ringside as they are faced with dozens of security guards and armed police as the rest of the locker room has cleared on the stage, on the ramp, down on the ringside area in a massive scene of chaos. THIS IS CRAZY! After the commercial break we return with the KOK retreating into the crowd and still having a major standoff with security and police as they are arguing and being backed through the crowd(some even arrested in handcuffs) as the whole show is held up. Jim Ross and Joey Styles on commentary are in disbelief, this group the KOK has overtaken Japanese wrestling, they've taken the major titles the IWGP Heavyweight and Triple Crown titles, they've crippled NJPW and AJPW, the imperial edict of battle was delivered by this group to Lou Thesz, the head Championship Councilman. They broke the jaw of Satoru Sayama and dishonored this entire promotion during his induction ceremony to the Council at BOTB II at Caesars Palace last weekend. This group is out for blood here in Best Of The Best.... World Tag League Match: The Eliminators vs The Hardcore GunsThe KOK's stand off with security and police spill into the next match after another commercial break as the Hardcore Guns, Billy and Bart Gunn make their way out ready for the following World Tag League bout. The Eliminators make their entrance to Demanufacture by Fear Factory, this is set to be a clash between 1-0 teams in the Dragon Division of the World Tag League. The Guns take it to the extreme in a hardcore battle with Saturn and Kronus with any and all tagging quickly going out the window. All four men brawl out on the floor with Billy and Bart working together to send Saturn crashing into the steel steps. Kronus hits both Hardcore Guns with a handspring moonsault plancha, clearing the top rope to take both me out on the floor! The Guns hang tough and are able to save one another from nearfalls after Kronus' 450 splash and Saturn's flying elbow drop. The Eliminators take over with stunning double tandem stereo martial arts kicks and moves on both men before finishing Billy Gunn with the TOTAL ELIMINATION for the pin at 9:49! The Eliminators celebrate the victory moving their World Tag League record to 2-0! Music Video: All Eyez On Me(HBK vs The Hitman at Best Of The Best III)After the match we cut away to a highlight music video set to Tupac's All Eyez On Me, showcasing the history between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart mixed with footage of their training camps that have begun in their respective hometowns. The footage of The Rockers vs The Hart Foundation tag action cuts in and out with Shawn Michaels training footage with Jose Lothario training in San Antonio Texas for his major title defense against Bret in the Tokyo Dome at Best Of The Best III on pay per view on March 31st 1996. The duels between Bret and Michaels in the WWF for the Intercontinental and World Championships cuts in and out of footage of Bret working on the mats with training partners in Stu Hart's dungeon as he trains for the Tokyo Dome. Stu watches on in the background as Bret grapples with a random sparring partner, fading into the shot of Jose Lothario doing the same with Shawn Michaels in a sparring session.
The biggest match of 1996 will go down March 31st at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, Shawn Michaels will defend his Undisputed World Championship against a man that he's never beat, the man that truly never really lost the WWF Championship belt, the best there is.... the best there was.... the best there ever will be, Bret "The Hitman" Hart! Call your local cable or satellite provider and order NOW! Singles Match: Kevin Jackson vs Joel Hartgood
After the commercial break we return to the live shot of the Cow Palace with the entrance of Olympic Gold Medalist Kevin Jackson making his entrance as JR and Joey Styles hype him up as perhaps the future of Best Of The Best, a freestyle wrestling champion that made the transition to go pro this year signing with BOTB and he's really looked amazing so far in his rookie year. Jackson takes the ring and totally dominates his opponent with world class grappling transitions, speed, and strength on another level. Hartgood gets completely destroyed with a BRUTAL Death Valley Driver for the pinfall after just 1:51. Jackson has his arm raised in victory and he's fired up! What a dominant performance! Backstage Report: SunnySunny is backstage with a special report with news from around Best Of The Best, beginning with the news that we won't be seeing anymore Brian Pillman 1-900 hotline ads, the FCC has officially fined Pillman for hacking into the BOTB satellite feeds last week to run his ads for the hotline. These ads were not a part of Best Of The Best programming and it's suggested that Pillman used his connections inside the cable industry to hack the feeds, much like he used one of his connections to get a press pass and run onto the field at Super Bowl 30 last month. Sunny also breaks the news that we will have an on-location with Mike Tenay catching up with Randy Savage at his home with his update on the state of his career. Catch this interview this Saturday night on Shockwave on TBS at 6:05. Also on Shockwave we will see the huge matchups set up earlier tonight, Ric Flair will take on Jeff Jarrett, and Sting will take on his former friend Lex Luger. All of this plus 3 MASSIVE World Tag League matches from week 2; Harlem Heat vs The Public Enemy, The Steiner Brothers vs Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon, and a main event caliber matchup of Owen Hart & The British Bulldog taking on Chris Benoit & Arn Anderson of the HORSEMEN! Its all this Saturday night on Shockwave at 6:05 on TBS: The Superstation! Sunny says before we make it to Shockwave on Saturday we head to the Manhattan Center in New York for BUSHIDO at 8:05 on Thursday night on TBS, with a massive announcement with Antonio Inoki set to make an appearance. Plus, Yokozuna looks for revenge against Judo for his controversial loss to Taz in Vegas last weekend, as he takes on Judo black belt Christoph Leininger in a Sumo vs Judo hybrid rules bout! Sunny concludes the update backstage with the news that the match has been signed, Sabu vs Vader will go down at Best Of The Best III and it's been announced today that Sabu has requested that the Championship Council make this bout a BARBED WIRE MATCH! The Championship Council awaits Jim Cornette and Vader's answer to the challenge from Sabu before they hold their final hearing. If Sabu's request is approved by the Council, this will be one of the most violent matches ever, Sabu vs Vader, BARBED WIRE MATCH in the Tokyo Dome at Best Of The Best III in JAPAN! World Tag League Match: The Legion Of Doom vs The Pit Bulls(W/Kimona)We return from commercials with Joey Styles and Jim Ross hyped to the gils about the following World Tag League bout, this is going to be one hell of a clash. Business is about to pick up folks as White Zombie's Thunderkiss '65 brings out The Pit Bulls with their recently debuted valet, Kimona. The Pit Bulls are 1-0 after a violent victory over The Public Enemy on Worldwide this past Saturday night. The Legion Of Doom entrance music hits and the crowd goes absolutely APE S#*T! Hawk and Animal take the ring with blue flames exploding on the stage matching their new blue gear. The LOD was screwed into a no contest last week by Vader and Camp Cornette but Sabu came to Hawk and Animals aid to help them fight off the monster Vader. The Legion Of Doom are pushed to their limits by a strong challenge from The Pit Bulls! Kimona gets involved with a distraction and then later an interference that turns the tide! The Pitbulls isolate Hawk and beat him down to build up a HOT TAG to Animal! Animal overpowers The Pit Bulls and the LOD are able to finish them off after the Doomsday Device for the pin at 6:13! The Pit Bulls retreat with Kimona to the ramp as Hawk and Animal celebrate with fireworks exploding over the ring! The LOD RULE! In The Ring: The Ultimate Warrior & Ahmed JohnsonAfter the break we return to the live shot of the Cow Palace with the crowd going nuts as Ahmed Johnson and The Ultimate Warrior are standing in the ring in street clothes. Ahmed has his fanny pack on and Warrior is wearing his black BOTB hat with his face painted. Sunny stands between both men and security is on standby in the ring for the interview. Sunny makes the announcement official that the match of the century has been signed and made official, in the Tokyo Dome it will be a battle of powerful giants, The Ultimate Challenge! The Ultimate Warrior vs Ahmed Johnson live on pay per view March 31st! Ahmed and Warrior look around at the crowd going NUTS but they are both tensed up, feeling the power and energy, these two unstoppable forces locked horns in the 4 Corners match in Caesars Palace and nothing was settled. Who is the strongest man in the world? The one in six billion!? The strongest force in the galaxy. Both men get their chance to take the mic, with Warrior going nuts for a solid minute about the stars and planets aligning in the universe behind the power and the force of one million suns in an ocean of endless never ending energy. Warrior states that he and Ahmed are cut of the same cloth but they do not speak the same language, the language of 2 different Warriors. THE BATTLE OF THE FORCE OF THE WARRIOR... of one which does not die.... can only make me stronger.... (snarls)... Warrior screams that he will face Ahmed Johnson man to man, god to god, clash of the power in Japan, in the end... there can be only one.... Ahmed takes the mic and says there will be no handshakes, on the 31st this is not his friend this is his ENEMY, this is his time, he's not backing down from the Ultimate Warrior he will face the challenge! Ahmed screams into Warriors face what doesn't kill him only makes him stronger! Warrior and Ahmed step forward and stand fearlessly eye to eye with each other, face to face, man to man! Falls Count Anywhere Handicap Match: Cactus Jack vs Shane Douglas & Steve Austin(W/Paul E. Dangerously)We return from the final round of commercials with Shane Douglas and Steve Austin already in the ring together with Paul E. Dangerously stalking the outside of the ring looking on with an intense aura about him. Cactus Jack makes his way out and both Austin and Douglas are licking their chops as he makes the long walk down the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to the ring. Jim Ross and Joey Styles are nervous on commentary, Styles says he has just a bad gut feeling that this is all going to end badly. Cactus is in trouble.... The match turns into an all out massacre. Steve Austin and Shane Douglas beat the hell out of Cactus Jack in the ring, on the floor, and in the crowd, then back up onto the entrance ramp back into the ring. Cactus has his moments where he's able to hurt one man but the other always snuffs out any momentum he can get going. Cactus takes several sickening concrete bumps throughout the battle before finally Austin and Shane Douglas end up in the ring with him with steel chairs. The shots to Cactus' back and head are truly sickening as Jack is beaten down one after another, loud sick metal thuds to his skull, smacking impact to his back, over and over until he's not moving.... Jim Ross is totally disgusted on commentary as Austin and Shane Douglas work together to bring a section of steel guard railing into the ring to set Cactus up to be paralyzed the same way Austin did Mikey! Cactus lays limp as Austin and Shane work together to raise the guard rail up only for all of a sudden TERRY FUNK COMES RUNNING OUT AS FAST AS HE CAN! That's TERRY FUNK! Funk tries to stop and plea with Austin and Shane Douglas that enough is enough, even dropping down to a knee over Cactus to protect him! Douglas and Austin drop the railing but Douglas picks up the chair and cracks Funk in the back! Austin and Shane Douglas put the boots to Funk and Cactus Jack while Paul E. hobbles his disgusting fat ass up into the ring with a sick gleeful smile. Eric Bischoff suddenly comes out with armed police! Just as police attempt to get into the ring.... THE LIGHTS GO OUT!.... The crowd goes NUTS!.... It's pitch black dark in the cow palace with only flash bulbs going off! The lights kick back on and the crowd goes FU#*ING NUTS when they reveal....  BRIAN FUC#*ING PILLMAN!OH MY GOD! Brian Pillman assists Steve Austin and Shane Douglas in kicking the two armed cops off of the apron of the ring to the floor! Eric Bischoff's jaw DROPS! The crowd is going nuts with a mix of boo's and cheers! BRIAN PILLMAN IS HERE! He's back! Pillman jumps around the ring like a madman with Paul E. Dangerously, Steve Austin, and Shane Douglas before staring at Eric Bischoff and beginning to unbutton his pants! More security and police rush out passing Bischoff on the way to the ring as Brian Pillman unzips his pants and WE'RE OUT OF TIIIIIII.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Apr 29, 2023 8:24:25 GMT
The Manhattan Center(New York, NY)
February 29th, 1996 Bushido opens at 8:05 sharp on TBS: The Superstation on a dreary cold night in New York City in 1996 with highlight clips of the David vs Goliath battle between Taz vs Yokozuna in Las Vegas at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors on pay per view earlier this month. It was in this impromptu battle where we seen Taz physically dominated really for the first time ever, at one point even failing to lift Yoko for a suplex(and nearly getting pinned after being crushed under all 600 pounds of the former 2 time WWF Champion). Taz's only offense in the bout was a counter into an armbar from his back but Yoko lifted him off the canvas and threw him into the turnbuckles in the corner, knocking Taz out. It appeared in hindsight that Yoko threw Taz into the turnbuckles with so much force that it broke the top turnbuckle, setting up the finish where Yoko broke the top rope going for the Bonzai Drop in the same corner. Taz was able to recover and choke the big man out for the stunning upset victory in broad daylight at the outdoor pavilion at Caesars Palace(the same place where Yoko won the WWF Championship from Bret at Mania IX).  The clip cuts to the final moments of last week's episode of Bushido here on TBS with Taz's reprehensible actions towards interviewer Don "The Dragon" Wilson. During his interview with the retired kickboxing legend Taz snapped after being asked about the controversy surrounding his victory over Yokozuna. Don "The Dragon" was shoved down into the corner by Taz before security stormed the ring to protect him. The show went off the air last week with Taz dumping several security guards on their heads with suplexes in a violent fit of rage.... Mike Tenay welcomes the television audience to the show inside the historic Manhattan Center with his co-commentator Phillip Rhee, the actor that wrote and starred in the Best Of The Best movies where the promotion was inspired for it's name. Tenay hypes up tonight's program with the news that the all time legend, Antonio Inoki is here tonight to meet with the Best Of The Best Championship Council to address the international threat of the new unified UWFI/Rings group known as The Kings Of Kings. More news and announcements will develop during the course of tonights show with Best Of The Best on the verge of breaking into Japan with a new union with AJPW and NJPW to make a stand against the KOK. We will see All Japan Wrestling in action tonight in the ring and the main event will see Yokozuna return to take on Judo champion Christoph Leininger in a hybrid rules bout! In The Ring: Antonio Inoki/The Championship CouncilTenay shoots it to the ring where Bushido interviewer Don "The Dragon" Wilson stands with the entire 7 man Chapionship Council of Best Of The Best(Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Danny Hodge, Nick Bockwinkle, Verne Gagne, Billy Robinson, and Satoru Sayama with his jaw wrapped in bandages still). Wilson brings the fans to their feet with a standing ovation for the introduction of one of the all time living legends of the sport of wrestling, Antonio Inoki! Inoki makes his way out very serious as he walks down the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to the ring to join Wilson and the Council. Inoki shakes hands with each of the 7 Councilmen before being presented a bouquet of flowers in his honor. A translator joins Inoki in the ring as the cameras show the increased security here tonight ringside, in the crowd, even cutting to the outdoors Times Square shot to show guards at the Manhattan Center watching for the KOK.  Inoki's translator translates his promo to the Council from Japanese to Engrish, saying that the sport of wrestling in Japan right now is on it's knees, crippled by the KOK. The Kings Of Kings have the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the two crown jewels of the sport for AJPW and NJPW respectively. Without their titles, these promotions have no honor and are on the verge of death process. This threat is now here in America, no longer at the doorsteps of the Best Of The Best but now it is in the living room, soon the KOK will eat from the table and this promotion will begin death process. Everything you see here will be gone forever. Inoki reveals that the threat of the KOK is a threat that he accidentally created with his own hands, a threat that has been growing from the NJPW dojos into the UWF over a decade ago, into the UWFI, Rings, for years this threat grew to where it is now, now these shooters have no honor and want to burn the world of pro wrestling. Inoki pleads with the BOTB Championship Council to help him make a stand at Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome on pay per view on March 31st. Lou Thesz takes the microphone and graciously thanks Inoki before pulling out a suitcase and holding it open to reveal his original classic vintage World Championship Of Professional Wrestling title belt. The same belt that Thesz wore around his waist as the final ever real true World Champion of wrestling... Lou Thesz tells Inoki that this title belt is the gold symbol of honor that the entire Best Of The Best is built upon, that the true secrets of this title was that the gold used to make it came from the crowns of the original Kings from ancient times that had the blood of the angels that wrestled in the bible. This is the title that Thesz granted to Nobuhiko Takada to build UWFI into a wrestling sport that demands real respect. Instead, Takada dishonored the sport with the UWFI invasion of NJPW. For these actions of dishonor Thesz repossessed the title from Takada and brought it here to America to start this promotion Best Of The Best in 1996. Lou Thesz closes the suit case and hands the title over to Antonio Inoki before asking him on behalf of the Championship Council to use this to put together the strongest team of Japanese wrestlers from all promotions, a united 5 man team led by Inoki to face the KOK in a 5-on-5 battle at Best Of The Best III in the Tokyo Dome. This is the title belt that Takada and Maeda want, they will put the IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line for a shot at this belt. Thesz tells Inoki that this is the sport of wrestling's only hope against the KOK, to stop this threat in Japan where it started.... Inoki takes the suit case and bows to the Championship Council before accepting their plea. Inoki will return to Japan with Lou Thesz's original World Championship belt to use to form a team of 5 united Japanese wrestlers in an attempt to lure the KOK to put the IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line in one final battle in the Tokyo Dome at Best Of The Best III! All Japan Pro Wrestling Rules Bout: Yoshinari Ogawa vs Masao InoueWe return from the break with a special AJPW rules bout with one of their top junior heavyweights Yoshinari Ogawa in action in a rematch against Masao Inoue. These two battled recently in AJPW in Japan and get the spotlight here on TBS in the Manhattan Center in an exciting fast pace contest. Though Ogawa is smaller and not quite as strong as Inoue, he's very strong and crafty mentally. During the grappling stalemates Mike Tenay talks on commentary about the recent invasion of AJPW by the Rings promotion, with Akira Maeda taking down Mitsuhara Misawa to capture the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship recently prior to the union with UWFI into the Kings Of Kings group. Last week here on Bushido we took a closer look at the history and importance of AJPW in the sport of wrestling, and we are seeing it in action here in an epic battle with Inoue pushing Ogawa to his limits past the 10 minute mark. Ogawa is able to put Inoue away with a pinfall after moving out of the way of a missile dropkick off the top, then catching him with a quick inside cradle for the 1,2,3 at 11:13. International Report W/ Don "The Dragon" WilsonDon "The Dragon" Wilson starts this week's International Report segment off with a disclaimer apologizing to viewers for the scene last week here on Bushido with him and Taz. Wilson says that he truly did not mean any disrespect towards Taz last week with his questions during the interview and he apologizes for provoking his attack on the security guards that suffered injuries. Taz was fined $5,000 by the Championship Council after a hearing earlier this week with a statement that his actions are truly unacceptable here on Bushido, which is all about a strict code of honor here. After the disclaimer the retired kickboxing legend breaks the news that Best Of The Best will be taking the Bushido series to Japan on March 12th to the legendary historic Budokan arena!..  The Budokan is holy ground for martial arts competition in Japan. This event will truly be a landmark event for Best Of The Best and will air EXCLUSIVELY here on Bushido on TBS on Thursday nights over the course of 3 weeks from March 14th, 21st, and 28th as we continue on the road to Best Of The Best III at The Tokyo Dome on March 31st. This Bushido event at the Budokan will be a joint venture with AJPW, NJPW, Pancrase, K-1, and several other Japanese promotions. We will see a celebration of all styles of wrestling and martial arts at this event, with hybrid rules bouts, lucha, shoot style, puro, even a scheduled bout with AJPW Women's Pro Wrestling. With the Bushido open mat code of honor we could see the challenges laid down for the Kings Of Kings to face a united front on this card. Tune in to Bushido in March to see all of the coverage of this major event from the Budokan in Japan, 8:05 every Thursday night right here on TBS: The Superstation! Beyond The Mat: Fighting Network RingsAfter the commercials we return with another episode of the Bushido "Beyond The Mat" series of segments that launched on last week's episode taking a closer look into the different fighting styles and martial arts around the world. Last week we took a closer look at All Japan Pro Wrestling, a legendary puro league that has been brought to it's knees in 1996 by an invasion from Rings. With the rising threat of the Kings Of Kings it is wise in combat for one to truly understand and know his enemy. For that reason we focus tonight's Beyond The Mat segment on one half of the Kings Of Kings organization, the Fighting Network Rings group led by Akira Maeda... We have seen the Rings group covered here on Bushido last month when Maeda entered the 30 Man Champions Rumble in Houston at BOTB I: A New Beginning on PPV. It was in that Rumble match where Maeda clashed with Nobuhiko Takada in an epic reunion of two former rivals that at one time formed the backbone of the UWF in Japan. Takada managed to eliminate Maeda from the match via submission but their battle in Houston sparked the flames that had been extinguished with the death of the UWF in 1990. Shortly after that confrontation the Fighting Network Rings group began appearing at AJPW events. Challenges were made and the AJPW vs Rings showdown at the Tokyo Dome drew one of the biggest crowds in Japan so far this year. During the event Rings went 3-1 against AJPW wrestlers. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka defeated Kenta Kobashi, Kiyoshi Tamura defeated Toshiaki Kawada, and Maeda captured the Triple Crown by defeating Misawa in the main event(Akira Taue's victory over Yoshihisa Yamamoto was AJPW's lone victory in the 4 match series). It was earlier this month when the Rings group was united with the UWFI forces to form the new Kings Of Kings. With tonight's episode of BTM we put the magnifying glass on one half of this group, we take a closer look at the history and culture of Rings...  Fighting Network Rings launched in early 1991 after the premature death of the UWF in December 1990. Akira Maeda was the biggest star and most dominant warrior in the UWF but he was mostly left on his own when he formed Rings, since all of the other major stars of the UWF joined Takada in UWFI or Yoshiaki Fujiwara in Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. Rings kicked off in early 1991 built almost solely around Maeda taking on foreign challengers like Volk Han, Andrei Kopylov, and Dick Vrij. Rings represents pure shoot wrestling style as it's own form of hybrid combat almost as it's own sport, with the annual "Mega Battle Tournament" to crown the worlds strongest man. Eventually by 1994-95 Rings developed it's own homegrown roster of shooters and became truly one of the strongest shoot wrestling leagues in the world. Hybrid Rules Bout(Sumo vs Judo): Yokozuna vs Christophe LeiningerAfter the final commercials we get the entrances of Christophe Leininger and former WWF Champion Yokozuna for the following 3 round Hybrid Rules main event BOUT! Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee go over the traditional Hybrid Rules on commentary, which are usually flexible depending on what martial artist or wrestler agrees on in the contract. All hybrid rules bouts are 3 rounds, with the first round 10 minutes, then rounds 2 and 3 will be 5 minutes. With this bout being Sumo vs Judo the rules have been set that this bout can be finished by submission, pinfall, or throwing your opponent over the top rope out of the ring(both feet must touch the floor). Ring announcer Joel Gertner does the intros for both warriors, with Leininger announced as a 4th dan black belt in Judo and the Arizona State Judo Champion while Yokozuna is announced a 2 time former WWF World Champ. Both men bow to each other, Leininger is wearing a blue martial arts gi with his black belt. Tenay notes on commentary as the bell rings that Yokozuna is coming off of that very controversial loss to Taz at BOTB II: The Revenge Of The Warriors, with Taz being a Judo black belt he choked him out in the match with the Kata-Hajime(a controversial Judo choke) after the turnbuckle broke when Yoko was going for the Bonzai Drop. Yokozuna's size advantage is just way too much for the Judo master to handle, he outweighs him by over 400 pounds(Leininger is 6', 189 lbs). Leininger ties up with Yoko and attempts a Judo throw but he can't lift the big man up, he ends up crushed into the canvas with all 600 pounds coming down on him. Leininger is able to survive on the mat from his back as all of a sudden "The Human Suplex Machine" Taz walks out in street clothes to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to watch the match with a furious look in his eyes. Leininger goes for the Kata Hajime later on but Yoko crushes him backwards into the corner turnbuckles! Yoko spots Taz and eyes him with intensity as he destroys the Judoka with a huge Belly to Belly suplex, a massive legdrop, then the last rites before dragging him into the corner for the Bonzai Drop. Leininger is absolutely crushed before being pinned at 2:55. Yokozuna has his hand raised in victory as he locks eyes with Taz as the copyright fades in.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on May 29, 2023 11:44:05 GMT
Arco Arena(Sacramento, CA)
March 2nd, 1996 Best Of The Best kicks off the month of March here tonight at 6:05 on the Superstation with one of the most stacked cards we have seen so far on Shockwave! Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan open up the show with a sold out crowd showcased in the Arco Arena here tonight to see "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair take on Jeff Jarrett, plus former friends collide with Sting facing "The Total Package" Lex Luger in our massive double main event. We will also see 3 World Tag League bouts as well as current NWA World Heavyweight Champion and the newest member of the Four Horsemen; Dan "The Beast" Severn in action! Everyone in this promotion and all around the business has been talking all week about the controversial return of "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman on Judgement Night this past Monday night. Paul E. Dangerously's alliance of Shane Douglas and Steve Austin were on the verge of crippling Cactus Jack until his mentor/friend Terry Funk came out to try to save him. Austin and Douglas beat Funk and Cactus down until CEO Eric Bischoff brought out security and police. Before the police entered the ring the lights went out, when they came back on Brian Pillman was standing in the middle of the ring with Austin, Douglas, and Paul E. Dangerously. The new alliance kept police and security out of the ring and Eric Bischoff was in total shock and awe while the show went off the air with Brian Pillman going nuts, cutting to black just as he began to unzip his pants. Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan are shown at their commentary booth talking about the incident, calling it one of the most shocking moments on live television so far this year. We can't show the footage or even any of the pictures of what happened after the live telecast went off the air, but lets just say arrests were made, and the ring crew for Judgement Night is going to need a new canvas for the ring. Bobby Heenan points out that Paul E. Dangerously has somehow aligned 3 of the most dangerous and controversial young personalities in this sport today, he's got the money, the legal resources, and now the power to do some serious damage to this promotion. We're all in deep deep doo doo pal, they want The Horsemen, they want the Undisputed Championship, they want Shawn Michaels, they want to burn this whole place to the ground! Shiavonne and Heenan talk about tonight's absolutely stacked card of wrestling action, including all 4 Horsemen in action tonight right here in the ring on Shockwave. It was Brian Pillman's deal with Jim Cornette back in January that backfired and pitted both the Horsemen and Camp Cornette against each other after the damage was done to then WWF Champion Bret Hart. That unauthorized deal made between Brian Pillman and Jim Cornette began the chain reaction of events that seen the debut of Vader and the downfall of Pillman as a member of the Horsemen. Tonight in our opening match in a major World Tag League bout we will finally see these two units collide! World Tag League Match: Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit(0-1) vs Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(0-0-1)Jim Cornette gets the boo's and thumbs down vibes going as he leads Owen and Bulldog out to the ring with his dreaded tennis racket. The Four Horsemen theme song hits to bring the Arco Arena crowd to it's feet when Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit make their way out for the opening match! Chris Benoit wrestles with a snap and aggression against Owen Hart, taking out whatever frustrations linger on from suffering his very first BOTB loss to Owen's brother Bret last month at Caesars Palace at BOTB II: Revenge Of The Warriors. Owen has his moments in chain wrestling sequences early on but gets beaten down by Chris Benoit and nearly finished with several nearfalls. Arn and Benoit tag in and out smoothly and have the full support of the fans as they wear Owen down with textbook tag team wrestling strategy. Cornette gets involved with the referee distracted to create an opening for Owen to crawl over and make the tag to Davey Boy, who comes in hot tossing both Arn and Benoit around with big slams! Arn ends up one on one with Bulldog later on and it's power vs technique. Davey Boy still has agility and can outmuscle Arn but Arn wrestles smarter, with wise positioning and leverage. Two of the greatest tag team wrestlers of this generation dazzle the crowd with back and forth sequences leading up to the commercial break. After commercials we return to the match with Owen and Bulldog dominating Arn Anderson in their corner, tagging in and out and taking cheap shots as the referee is distracted trying to hold Benoit back(or dealing with Cornette). Fatigue begins to set in as the match pushes close to the 15 minute time limit(Tag League bouts will be given a 5 minute overtime if they go the distance). Arn gets the crowd alive when he manages to counter Bulldog with a swinging neck breaker. Anderson fights back to his feet as Cornette climbs up onto the apron to distract the ref! Arn runs into the ropes to send Cornette down to the floor! Bulldog recovers and counters a whip set up for the spinebuster, ending a rope running sequence with both men going down with a DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE! Both Arn and Bulldog fight to crawl at the same time to their corners but Arn manages to make a giant leap to tag in Benoit! The crowd goes crazy! Benoit runs in and drops both Owen and Bulldog with strikes and suplexes! Benoit disposes of Owen over the top rope to the floor before tagging Arn back in, working together with him to drop Bulldog with a spinebuster, followed immediately by Benoit's FLYING HEADBUTT! Arn makes the cover on Bulldog as Owen rolls around in pain on the floor! Owen pulls himself up and rolls into the ring to attempt to break up the pin but he's too late!... 1.... 2.... 3! What an OPENING MATCH! Chris Benoit and Arn Anderson score the victory over Owen and Bulldog to even out their World Tag League record at 1-1 with a pinfall at 13:56! The crowd cheers for The Horsemen as they have their hands raised! Owen, and Bulldog recover and retreat to the entrance ramp with Jim Cornette furious, red in his face as he screams back up at the ring!... In Ring Interview: Ahmed JohnsonAfter the commercial break we get Mike Tenay in the ring getting a HUGE pop from the crowd when he brings out the undefeated top ranked contender, Ahmed Johnson! Tenay gets Ahmed to speak about his upcoming clash against The Ultimate Warrior set for Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st in Japan, calling it the single biggest heavyweight showdown so far this year. Ahmed talks about facing the Ultimate Challenge against Warrior on the 31st, talking about all of the respect he has for Warrior. Ahmed mentions how he see's how loved the Ultimate Warrior is by all of the fans but he knows he has his own posse that has had his back and cheered him, he knows that his fans are going to have his back on the 31st. All of a sudden the crowd begins standing and swelling with cheers when STING comes walking out of the back down to the ring! Sting enters the ring for a staredown with Ahmed Johnson before taking the microphone and telling him how much respect he has for him. Sting tells Ahmed that he knows he was a rookie in the WWF last year but the way he fights has earned more of his respect than any other wrestler out of that WWF locker room. Sting knows how strong Ahmed is from when they tied up at Caesars Palace last month, he's been in the ring with some of the strongest ever, but Ahmed is all heart. Sting tells Ahmed that he knows Warrior and will forever be connected with him through their history, they will always have a brotherhood. Sting warns Ahmed to be at the top of his game when he steps into the ring with Warrior because it will be a force unlike anything he's ever faced. The Stinger tells Ahmed that he has his full support and he believes in him just like all of these people do(fans cheer), but lets him know that whoever comes out of Tokyo in that match between him and Warrior, they will have to be ready to face him next! Sting says that he only cares about one thing and one thing only, that is the Undisputed World Championship title. Ahmed is the #1 contender standing in his way! Just as things start to get tense between Ahmed and Sting all of a sudden out comes Sting's scheduled opponent for later tonight, his former best friend Lex Luger(accompanied by his agent Lance Wright, CEO of Hype Central Promotions representation agency). Lance Wright informs Sting that Lex Luger has officially been pulled from their co-main event bout scheduled for tonight! Due to a pulled tendon in Luger's index toe he has chosen to exercise the option to opt out of this match against Sting per the stipulation in the contract that was signed. Lance Wright says that Luger is one of the top undefeated heavyweights in the sport and a valuable commodity that needs to be protected and saved only for pay per view, not throwaway matches on free TV!(crowd boo's) Sting replies to Lance Wright saying he's turned Lex Luger into a joke, his lone victory is over Barry Horowitz and he couldn't even pin the guy he won by countout! Sting asks Luger what happened to him? This isn't you! Lance Wright cuts Sting off and tells him that Luger put his best interests first when he signed with Hype Central Promotions, business is business. Wright informs Sting that Hype Central Promotions is working to expand our capacity, he's JUST signed a major international talent, a massive name in the world of martial arts film, a rising young star in wrestling that is set to take Luger's place against Sting later tonight!! Wright then turns his attention to Ahmed Johnson and tells him that he's taken great interest in his career. Wright offers Ahmed a contract with Hype Central Promotions with promises for major sponsorships and endorsement deals, major league revenue. Lance Wright tells Ahmed he's prepared to offer him a contract right now, right here on the spot! The crowd boo's as Ahmed looks around like he's seriously considering signing Lance Wright's offer! Ahmed takes the contract and looks at it for a moment before ripping it in half and scaring Lance Wright by flexing and screaming at him! Lex Luger takes a cheap shot at Ahmed from behind but Sting fights him off and knocks him out of the ring! Luger and Lance Wright retreat as Sting and Ahmed stand tall together in the ring! UNBELIEVABLE! Lance Wright has pulled Lex Luger from tonight's co-main event against Sting and promises to debut his newest signing to Hype Central Promotions to take his place later TONIGHT! Who could it be!? Singles Match: Dan "The Beast" Severn vs Mike RotundaWe return from another round of 1996 TBS commercials with the wrestler formerly known as IRS/VK Wallstreet already wrapping up his entrance; Mike Rotunda(getting boo's and thumbs down from the fans). Rotunda is a former WWF Tag Champion that shed his cartoon gimmicks when he debuted here in Best Of The Best as himself here on Shockwave last week in a losing effort against Marc Mero. The Four Horsemen entrance music hits to bring out the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion and newest member of the legendary faction, Dan "The Beast" Severn. Severn gets cheered as he makes his way to the ring all business with the NWA title belt focused on prominently. Both men tie up in an explosive upper body clinching standoff with a struggle for underhooks as the commentators talk about how even of a matchup this is. Both men are virtually identical in size(around 6'3" and 250 pounds). Both men also have accomplished amateur backgrounds with Rotunda being a product of a strong wrestling program at the University of Syracuse, while Severn has a mile long wrap sheet of amateur accomplishments out of Arizona State(not to mention his 2 UFC tournament titles). The stiff heavyweight grappling battle ends up on the canvas with an explosive scramble for positioning. Neither man is able to pin the other's shoulders to the canvas in an intense struggle before ultimately they end up on their feet in a clinch near the ropes. Severn transitions around to take Rotunda's back before locking on a Gable grip style sleeper in the standing position! Rotunda reaches and grabs the top rope but Severn forcefully pulls him back away and down into the canvas with a body scissor! Mike Rotunda's face turns purple and his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets before he finally taps out! Severn has his hand raised in victory via submission at 2:52! Just as the referee raises Severn's hand all of a sudden a group of Kings Of Kings wrestlers(Yoji Anjo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Mitsuya Nagai, and Yoshihisa Yamamoto) make their way through the audience and jump the railing! Hey wait a minute! They're going after the NWA World Title belt! All six men attack Dan Severn and attempt to take his NWA title belt but The Beast stands his ground with suplexes! Bodies fly around the ring until finally Severn is grounded with kicks! All of a sudden the crowd goes nuts when Chris Benoit, Arn Anderson, and Ric Flair race out to back up Dan Severn! The Horsemen unite to fight off the KOK and Severn manages to keep his hands on his NWA belt as the group of Rings/UWFI shooters retreat back into the crowd! On Location: The Florida EvergladesAfter the melee we cut away to a pre-recorded video of Mike Tenay taking the BOTB camera crews to the Florida Everglades where "The Macho Man" Randy Savage has retreated into isolation in his cabin in the swamp after his failure to recapture the Undisputed Championship back in Caesars Palace at the last PPV last month...  Mike Tenay interviews Randy Savage on the docks about the state of his career, asking him to address the rumors of his retirement that have been swirling. Savage talks about where he stands in the sport of wrestling, he's been to the top of the mountain in the WWF and the WCW, he's been in some of the most epic battles the sport has ever seen against the best of all time. Randy says that he failed to get back to the top in Las Vegas at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors last month and it makes him sick. The Macho Man gets more and more intense as he says that the WCW World Title belt was wrapped around his waist going into Starrcade back in December, he was screwed out of the title by The Horsemen. Now everybody is cheering Ric Flair and the Horsemen, everybody's got a short memory but Randy doesn't care, he hates Ric Flair's GUTS! Randy Savage breaks the news that he WILL NOT retire anytime soon, he has unfinished business with Ric Flair, he has unfinished business with the big gold belt that is currently wrapped around HBK's waist, that was his title and he wants it back! Randy Savage gets INTENSE, red in the face, spit flying, veins popping out of his neck, his eyes bulging as he sends the message that he's returning to Best Of The Best next week IN THE RING on Shockwave and he's coming after EVERY SINGLE TOP CONTENDER, ONE BY ONE, UNTIL HE GETS HIS BELT BACK! World Tag League Match: Harlem Heat(1-0) vs The Public Enemy(0-1)The Public Enemy make their way out to Here Comes The Hot Stepper carrying a table with them as Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan recap their insane battle against The Pit Bulls last week on Worldwide. It was the type of violence that the Championship Councilman Lou Thesz recently spoke out against with mandates to referees that there is no place for it in Best Of The Best. Harlem Heat get the fans going when they make their way out raising the roof. Harlem Heat dominate Public Enemy in the ring. PE fight back with heart but they are no match for arguably the best tag team in wrestling today. Heat nearly finish PE after executing their trademark Heat Seeker(Electric chair by Stevie/Missile dropkick by Booker) but Rocco Rock manages to break up the pin at 2. The Public Enemy resort to taking the match out to the floor and turning it into a brawl around the ringside area! Rocco Rock takes out Stevie Ray with a steel chair that knocks him back onto the table set up near the apron! Booker fights with Rocco on the floor when all of a sudden Johnny Grunge recovers and does a catapult somersault over the top rope to crash onto STEVIE RAY THROUGH THE TABLE! The crowd goes NUTS as the table crunches on impact! Referee Randy Anderson immediately calls for the bell to call the match off as a disqualification after 4:12! The Public Enemy have been DISQUALIFIED for using the table! Booker T and Stevie Ray manage to fight off Public Enemy before recovering to the ring to have their hand raised in victory, giving them sole position in first place in the Tiger Division with a 2-0 record! Backstage Interview: Cactus Jack
We cut away to the backstage locker room area where Mike Tenay is shown solo in the camera shot talking about the recent events this past Monday night on the live episode of Judgement Night on the USA Network. We seen the return of Brian Pillman and his seeming alliance with Paul E. Dangerously's duo of Shane Douglas and Steve Austin after the merciless beating delivered to the man set to join us right now. None other than Cactus Jack walks into the camera shot to join Tenay for an interview, giving his thoughts on what all happened this past Monday night. Cactus was facing Austin and Shane Douglas in a Falls Count Anywhere Handicap Match, and was holding his own until being overwhelmed and nearly crippled(just like Austin did to his former ECW World Tag Team Championship partner Mikey Whipreck last month). Cactus Jack tells Mike Tenay that he's grateful to be here able to stand on his own two feet, unlike his little buddy Mikey Whipreck who is back home paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. Cactus says that it was Terry Funk, his former friend, former rival, his hero, who saved him from being in a wheel chair for the rest of his life, Terry Funk is a man of integrity, unlike Paul E. Dangerously(gutless coward- *spits*). Cactus promises to be in Seattle for Judgement Night this Monday night and to bring Terry Funk with him! Jack calls out Paul E. Dangerously's alliance of Pillman, Austin, and Shane Douglas, promising to shove his two middle fingers down Paul E.'s gullet FOR MIKEY! BANG BANG! Singles Match: Sting vs ?After the break we get the entrance of Sting to the sold out Arco Arena bringing the fans to their feet for his co-main event match! Sting takes his time high fiving all of the fans around the ringside area as the commentators talk about how this was advertised and originally supposed to be Sting vs Lex Luger, but Luger's manager agent Lance Wright pulled him from the bout earlier tonight due to a minor injury. Lance Wright promised a replacement to be his latest signing to his sports representation agency Hype Central Promotions, we're all wondering who it could be. Bobby Heenan recaps that Lance Wright promised him to be some kind of international martial arts superstar. Sting takes the ring and awaits his mystery opponent when all of a sudden Lance Wright walks out with his newest client.... Heenan wonders who in the world is that? Shiavonne says he believes, yes that... he's being told in his headset that's Rob Van Dam!? Heenan replies WHO!? This is the young man we seen on Bushido last week on TBS last Thursday night, he's an impressive talented athlete that has a lot of experience in Japan. The crowd and Sting all look on in bemusement as Lance Wright leads the cocky young superstar down the elevated entrance ramp with him talking crap back and forth with Wright, the ringside fans, and the camera throughout his entrance. The Stinger takes on Lance Wright's latest client Rob Van Dam in a surprisingly competitive bout, with Sting being stunned by a barrage of rolling strikes and kicks. Van Dam gets too cocky and Sting catches him posing, turning him around and screaming to get the crowd fired up before taking the youngster to the schoolhouse, battering him with strikes, chops, running bulldogs, and Stinger Splashes in the corner! Sting goes to finish Van Dam off with a Scorpion Deathlock but Lex Luger comes running into the ring to stop him with an attack! The referee calls for the bell to call the match off at 5:33 as Luger and Van Dam beat Sting down! The attack is stopped when Ahmed Johnson blows the roof off the place running out full speed to make the save! Luger, Van Dam, and Lance Wright make their retreat as Ahmed checks on Sting.... On Location: Benny Hinn MinistriesAfter more commercials we return with a video segment focusing on the recent expansion at Benny Hinn Ministries after their success with Evander Holyfield's victory over Aleksandre Karelin back in Vegas at Revenge Of The Warriors last month. The new construction has began at Hinn's mega-church with a new 12,000 square foot addition(all tax free). The Ministries have opened their doors to other athletes in professional wrestling, including retired veteran Ted Dibiase, who was revealed to have been blessed by Hinn himself recently on BOTB television. The former Million Dollar Man has turned in his greed for the lord and is acting as ambassador for other wrestlers in Best Of The Best to discover the lord's blessings. The video footage reveals Dibiase working with the American Males, Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs, making an appearance at one of Hinn's recent rallies in Atlanta Georgia. Hinn used his deep personal connection with Jesus and works as a conduit for his supernatural healing, and he put this healing blessing on both Bagwell and Riggs to protect them in their battles in the World Tag League over the next few months. The video shows both Bagwell and Riggs flopping out on the floor in seizures after receiving Hinn's anointing onstage at the worship service. The footage shows interview clips with both men cut in and out of footage of them working with the homeless as part of Hinn's ministry, handing out the cheapest canned food, wearing sunglasses that most likely cost more than every possession combined of the people they are helping. The American Males are now anointed by Benny Hinn and have declared that they will be wrestling for Jesus from now on in Best Of The Best. Catch the American Males in World Tag League action taking on The Thrillseekers(Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) later tonight on Worldwide(check your local listings)... World Tag League Match: Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon(0-1) vs The Steiner Brothers(1-0)We return to the ringside area with Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan hyped for the following World Tag League bout, one of our triple header main events for tonight! Furnas and Lafon wrap up their entrances as Shiavonne notes that this bout could be one of the key matches to determine who will be the biggest threat to the Eliminators dominance in the Dragon Division of the World Tag League. The Steiner Brothers make their way out to a huge ovation as they take the ring ready to go. Furnas and Lafon push Ric and Scott to their limits in what has to be one of the stiffest and most technical bouts so far in the first 2 weeks of the WTL. After a stiff hard hitting opening the action goes back and forth until a stall in the action. Furnas and Lafon isolate Ric Steiner and focus on working on his left knee while tagging in and out, slowing the pace down with several submission holds. During one of the rest holds we get a cut in interview with Mike Tenay backstage in the locker room of Jeff Jarrett as he prepares for his HUGE main event battle with the legendary Nature Boy Ric Flair later tonight. Jarrett talks in the side by side cut away about how this is finally his big breakthrough, after all of the years of hard work, all the years of being passed over and disrespected, finally he gets the chance once and for all to prove here tonight he's the greatest wrestler in this sport. Jarrett promises tonight to prove to Flair, Arn, and the Horsemen they made the wrong decision when they passed him over. After a commercial break we return with Furnas and Lafon still keeping Ric down in their corner with holds and tandem moves on his left knee. Ric ends up getting the crowd back alive with a valiant comeback effort, fighting through the pain and limping to counter both Furnas and Lafon. Ric makes the hot tag to Scotty who comes in tossing both Furnas and Lafon with BRUTAL suplexes! After an initial surge Scott is cut off with Furnas and Lafon working together to take him down. After another commercial break we return with another explosive back and forth series, with both teams scoring nearfalls until finally Furnas and Lafon are able to bring the match to a dead crawl again with rest holds. During another lull in action we get another cut away to Mike Tenay backstage, this time in the locker room of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, who is fired up as he prepares for tonight's massive main event showdown against Jeff Jarrett. Flair gives props and respect for Jarrett being one of the best young talents in the new generation coming up, he respects Jarrett's lineage, but make no mistake about it, he's no Horsemen! Flair gets fired up and sends the message that he's going to shut Jarrett's mouth tonight and finish the clean sweep for the Horsemen WHOOO! Furnas and Lafon's dominance is broken by Scott Steiner when he manages to counter both of them into a double vertical suplex, sending both men crashing into the canvas with incredible strength! The crowd rallies behind The Steiner Brothers as the final minute winds down and the match reaches the 15 minute time limit! Both teams are totally exhausted as they take their corners for a brief break as we are set for our very first overtime so far in the WTL! The Steiner Brothers fight their way back into the match during the 5 minute overtime period and finally are able to put Furnas and Lafon away for the victory after Scott pins Furnas following his Corkscrew Vertical Suplex Piledriver! Ric and Scott have their hands raised but they are so tired they can barely stand, Furnas and Lafon have pushed them to their limits in an 18:21 battle! Furnas and Lafon recover and offer handshakes out of respect and the audience cheers them as both teams shake hands. Furnas and Lafon make their exit and the Steiner Brothers celebration carries us out to commercial break, they have now tied The Eliminators at 1st place in the Dragon Division with identical 2-0 records... Control Center Report W/Mike Tenay: Best Of The Best IIIAfter the match we cut away to Mike Tenay in the Control Center with an update on all of the news around Best Of The Best on the road to our next pay per view on March 31st at the Tokyo Dome in Japan! Tenay immediately gushes about the previous WTL bout between The Steiner Brothers vs Furnas/Lafon. Tenay states that the match that everyone has circled on their WTL schedules is the showdown between The Steiners vs The Eliminators set for March 16th on Judgement Night live on the USA Network. Both teams are currently undefeated at 2-0 atop their division tied for first place and both teams have been eyeing each other ever since this promotion launched back in January. Mike Tenay hypes up a HUGE month of international action for Best Of The Best coming up in the month of March 1996. We are set to cross the border for a Canadian tour with huge shows in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg in the coming weeks but the big event that has everyone talking will be the Bushido taping set for the Budokan arena in Japan on March 10th. The Budokan is like holy ground for martial arts competition in Japan, and we will see footage from this event across 3 weeks of programming on Bushido at 8:05 on Thursday nights right here on TBS in the month of March! It's all a part of our journey to the finale of the trilogy of Best Of The Best's inaugural pay per view events of 1996; Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown live at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st!.... The Undisputed World Championship will be on the line in one of the most anticipated showdowns of all time as Shawn Michaels is set to defend his title against Bret "The Hitman" Hart, a man that has had his number in the past. That was then, this is now, it's 1996 and HBK has taken it to the next level as one of the most dynamic athletes of any sport today. Also on the pay per view will be a highly anticipated clash of the titans when The Ultimate Warrior faces undefeated rookie phenom Ahmed Johnson one on one, two men will enter the ring, but in the end... there can be only one. In Japan the biggest news surrounding this event is the recent challenge laid down by BOTB Championship Councilman Lou Thesz in their recent meeting on Bushido earlier this week here on TBS. Thesz granted Antonio Inoki his original World Championship Belt, the most coveted prize in the history of this sport, to put on the line at the Tokyo Dome in a winner take all challenge against the feared "Kings Of Kings" organization(the new hybrid union of Rings and UWFI). It was at this meeting between Thesz and Inoki on Bushido where it was revealed that the KOK want the title belt because the gold used to make it came from the crowns of the original kings that were bloodline descendants of the angels that wrestled in the bible. Inoki has issued the challenge to the Kings Of Kings with Lou Thesz original title belt on the line, a 10 man tag team match, Team Inoki vs Team KOK in the Tokyo Dome on March 31st. Inoki has challenged the KOK to put together a team of their 5 strongest warriors to face him and a yet to be named squad in the main event at Best Of The Best III, with Thesz's original World Title belt on the line as well as the KOK's IWGP World Title and the Triple Crown World Heavyweight Title. Winner take all in the biggest match in the history of this sport. Singles Match: "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs Jeff Jarrett
Tonight's massive main event brings out a special rare Shockwave appearance by ring announcer Michael Buffer with his "LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAL" intro followed by pyro explosions gets the sold out Arco Arena going nuts! Jeff Jarrett comes out first to boo's and thumbs down but he's unaffected, totally focused on this the biggest match of his career. The Four Horsemen music hits to get the fans going crazy as "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair walks out to the stage with pyro exploding behind him! Heenan and Shiavonne hype Flair as truly one of the all time greatest legends of this sport. Jarrett outmaneuvers Flair with speed and cunning agility but Nature Boy is in prime form here tonight, feeding off the crowd riding a wave of adrenaline as he manages to outwit his younger opponent to take the early advantage. Flair chops and punishes Jarrett, getting the WHOOO's going in the crowd with his trademark antics. Jarrett later cuts Flair off with cheating tactics but The Nature Boy beats him at his own game, as truly one of the dirtiest players in the game. The match turns into a heated battle in and out of the ring, with nearfalls and a figure four/reversal spot that brings the arena to their feet! Flair finally manages to put Jarrett away with a rollup pinfall holding the tights and using a foot on the ropes for the 1, 2, 3 at 13:49! Ric Flair is STILL the man! Jarrett can't believe it! The referee Charles Robinson raises Flair's arm and the crowd cheers him! Jarrett is completely distraught but he regains his composure and stands across from Flair, both men gasping for air after giving everything they had to give in an all out battle. Finally Flair looks around at the crowd before extending a handshake! Jarrett looks around for a moment before accepting Flair's handshake, only to pull him in for a kick to the stomach! Jeff Jarrett puts the boots to Ric Flair until the rest of the Horsemen race out to chase him out of the ring!... Jarrett retreats as Dan Severn, Arn Anderson, and Chris Benoit lift Flair up in celebration. The Four Horsemen theme music hits the speakers as the group stands tall after having gone undefeated tonight in all 3 of their matches. The celebration is short lived as all of a sudden the cameras catch Brian Pillman standing up on the upper balcony of the Arco Arena in the cheap seats watching on with his circle glasses with the metal plates. Seated next to Pillman is Paul E. Dangerously with his feet propped up on the seat in front of him while talking on a 1996 Nokia cell phone... The Horsemen notice Pillman up in the cheap seats of the Arco Arena with the spotlight on him as he looks on with a smile. Benoit has to be held back from trying to jump the guard rail to go after him! We are out of TIIIIIII.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jun 4, 2023 12:44:11 GMT
Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)March 2nd, 1996 Joey Styles opens up Worldwide from the control center within the BOTB Arena inside Universal Studios Orlando and we are on the road to Best Of The Best III with the biggest Undisputed World Title bout ever. Champion Shawn Michaels will face The Challenger Bret "The Hitman" Hart live on pay per view from the Tokyo Dome on March 31st! Best Of The Best kicked off a new month earlier tonight on Shockwave and the twisting tornadoes of all the forces working for and against this promotion are beginning to converge within the same wind. Tonight on Worldwide we take a closer look at the controversial Brian Pillman, plus, we are set for a big night of action inside the ring, we will have Rey Mysterio Jr. and Hakushi both in action, then in our main event we will see the final World Tag League bout for week 2 when the American Males take on The Thrillseekers! Singles Match: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Mr. JLThe 21 year old luchadore Rey Mysterio Jr. comes out to Sad But True by Metallica and scores a quick victory over Mr. JL via pinfall at 2:49 after a reverse into a rana rollup. This is Mysterio's second victory after he made a big splash in his surprise debut back on Judgement Night in his hometown of San Diego last month(where he shocked then #1 contender Shane Douglas with a surprise upset victory). Shane Douglas got his payback on Mysterio after crashing his main event match against 123 Kid and attacking both men on the February 19th episode of Judgement Night. Standing at just 5'3" and weighing less than 155 pounds, Mysterio has the heart of a lion and incredible gravity defying athleticism that is otherworldly. We seen it on full display here with this impressive victory over Mr. JL. After the match we cut away to Joey Styles in the control room breaking the latest news, Rey Mysterio Jr. has been set to take on none other than Steve Austin this Monday night LIVE on the USA Network on Judgement Night! Talk about putting it all on the line, this 21 year old rising young star will truly be putting his career and life on the line this Monday night when he takes on arguably the most dangerous man in this sport; Steve Austin, one on one in the Key Arena in Seattle on JUDGEMENT NIGHT! LIVE! On-Location: ?After the match we get a pre-recorded promo shot on location in the middle of the night somewhere in what appears to be an abandoned playground. The slides and swing sets are all dilapidated in the background as Raven sits on a merry go round with Beulah sitting nearby. Raven cuts a promo about faith, the faith that Cactus Jack put in him that has been lost, the faith that Evander Holyfield had in Benny Hinn Ministries. Raven says that he wishes he could put his faith in charlatans and fables, he wishes he could believe like a normal man, but he was born without faith, without the ability to believe in false profits. Raven says that even though he's rid the world of both Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman, his two sworn enemies, he got his girl Beulah, yet he's still unfulfilled. Raven still feels the sting of abandonment from having Cactus Jack turn his back on him, spurred by seeing his friend Mikey put in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Raven asks; "What are you chasing Mick?... What are you trying to believe?.... What about me?... What about Raven....". The camera shot pans back to reveal a wide shot, showing Stevie Richards in the background swinging on a broken swing set in front of an abandoned boarded up old school.... Singles Match: Hakushi vs JT SmithHakushi brings the lightning strikes down for his entrance into the smaller more compact, more intimate studio setting here at Universal Studios. JT Smith stands no chance at all as Hakushi sends him out of the ring after a barrage of kicks and chops, followed by a handspring moonsault plancha over the top to hit him on the floor! All of a sudden The One Man Gang comes out of the back and attacks Hakushi from behind! The referee calls for the bell to call the match off as a no contest as One Man Gang beats on Hakushi with a massive chain out on the floor! OMG rolls Hakushi up onto the elevated entrance ramp and squashes him with a big running splash! Hakushi is left laying, spitting up blood as One Man Gang drops his chain over his lifeless body while looking down on him with fury in his eyes!... Around The World W/Mike TenayAfter the commercial break we return with our weekly Around The World segment with Mike Tenay covering all of the happenings around the sport this past week. The biggest news story that has everyone talking is the shocking return of Brian Pillman this past Monday night on Judgement Night, where he appeared to have aligned with Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance of Shane Douglas and Steve Austin as the show went off the air. Wrestling fans have seen the rise and fall of Brian Pillman in 1996, he was just recently fired(very publicly) by this promotion after a series of wild, unpredictable, highly controversial incidents. Pillman appeared to be living up to all of his massive potential when he became a member of the Four Horsemen last year. As the group took over the Best Of The Best at the start of the company earlier this year he began a downward spiral, his behavior on screen changed. He became much more unpredictable, his demeanor shifted into that of a loose cannon psychopath. It all started with a deal that Pillman had made without the knowledge or authorization of the Horsemen, a deal with Jim Cornette made behind their back that brought the BOTB debut of Vader on the January 15th episode of Judgement Night. Pillman gave up his spot in the match against then WWF Champ Bret Hart for Jim Cornette to debut Vader to do the damage and soften The Hitman up for his scheduled WWF/WCW World Title Unification bout that was scheduled against Ric Flair the next week. The Horsemen took control of Best Of The Best during the first month of television earlier this year. Pillman's deal with Cornette led to Bret Hart being injured and unable to face Ric Flair in the scheduled WWF/WCW World Championship Unification bout after Pillman had smashed his knee in a chair with a sledge hammer(before destroying the coveted WWF title belt into pieces). Still even with all of their success, Pillman's behavior and his backdoor deal with Cornette started a lot of problems within the group, particularly between Pillman and Arn Anderson.... Even with their quarrels at the end of that night Flair would end up as the one true Undisputed World Champion when it was said and done. The Four Horsemen were back on top of the sport of pro wrestling. After Arn smacked him in the face Pillman's behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable until he made national headline news by running onto the field during the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl XXX in Arizona.... Pillman capitalized on the incident and became somewhat of a celebrity household name after the stunt in Arizona(which landed him a night in jail and banned for life from Sun Devil Stadium). After his 15 seconds of fame(on the most watched television event of all time) tensions continued to rise with him and his Horsemen stablemates... It all came to a head and boiled over on the February 5th episode of Judgement Night at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, as the Horsemen banded together to take on teams captained by Bret Hart and Sting in a Three Team Triangle Elimination Match. During the course of the bout Pillman and Arn came to blows, with Pillman directly being responsible for both Arn and Flair's eliminations from the match. Pillman fought on as one of the final survivors of the match before finally being eliminated and attacked by Benoit, Arn, and Flair. Shortly after the Mexico City incident Pillman was not only fired from the Horsemen but he was publicly released from his contract by Best Of The Best. In retaliation Pillman made his rounds on Fox News, Hard Copy, Inside Edition, American Journal, and A Current Affair on a crusade to reveal "the truth" about this promotion. It all led up to a highly controversial appearance by Pillman on the Montel Williams show on February 19th, where he gave away a lot of the secrets of pro wrestling. Pillman then hacked into the BOTB TV satellite feed to advertise his 1-900 hotline number, where callers could get the full rundown on all of the "dirt" behind the scenes news about how BOTB came into existence(including information and wild conspiracy theories about the death of Vince Mcmahon last year). The Four Horsemen moved on with the decision to replace Pillman with current NWA World Heavyweight and UFC tournament champion Dan "The Beast" Severn. Meanwhile former ECW owner Paul E. Dangerously had grown increasingly disgruntled with his job as a commentator(after selling ECW to the parent company that owns BOTB in the end of last year under the assumption that he would be hired as CEO, a position that he was passed over for in favor of Eric Bischoff). Paul E. publicly quit his job as commentator on Judgement Night before revealing that he had taken advantage of a loophole in his original BOTB contract to form his own organization within Best Of The Best, funded by Best Of The Best, with the goal of crippling the promotion at the corporate level, picking up where he failed with the Dangerous Alliance in WCW four years ago... Paul E. capitalized on the most controversial moment on television so far in 1996 by signing Steve Austin on the heels of him crippling Mikey Whipreck for the rest of his life(after an attack on Judgement Night that essentially shut down the whole live show). Dangerously then revealed an alliance with Shane Douglas, one of the most censored personalities on BOTB television and the man that threw down the NWA World Title belt in one of the most controversial moments of the decade in ECW just 2 years ago.... So Pillman's return this past Monday night on Judgement Night and his alliance with Paul E. Dangerously was truly one of the biggest shocking moments of the year. Paul E. Dangerously is an opportunist, he has brought Brian Pillman back to Best Of The Best in an alliance with Steve Austin(Pillman's former tag team partner in WCW as "The Hollywood Blondes") and Shane Douglas(a man Pillman teamed with in ECW two years ago)....   After the camera's cut last week on Judgement Night it was reported that Pillman urinated on the ring. No video footage has surfaced but even if it did we wouldn't be able to show it on air. Pillman was arrested(along with Steve Austin for assaulting an officer) but both were quickly released and are expected to be free of any charges thanks to the unlimited legal resources of Paul E. Dangerously. This trio of Brian Pillman, Shane Douglas, and Steve Austin could be one of the most controversial alliances we have ever seen in this sport. The trio has already been given names on internet message boards, with some fans calling this "The New Dangerous Alliance" or "Dangerous Alliance '96" even though nothing official has been stated from the group as of the airing of this program. Whatever you want to call it, this new organization led by Paul E. Dangerously is expected to be in the Key Arena in Seattle this Monday night for Judgement Night LIVE on the USA Network. Steve Austin is scheduled to take on top ranked Rey Mysterio Jr. in a matchup that has everyone nervous after what happened to Mikey Whipreck earlier this year. Shane Douglas is expected to be in the Key Arena and the censors will have to be on their toes because this will be live, and Brian Pillman is expected to be in the building(even though he is not under contract with Best Of the Best). It's no secret that Paul E. Dangerously is out to burn Best Of The Best to the ground. His bitterness over the demise of his ECW promotion this past December has driven him to the brink of crazed psychoticism. It was just 4 years ago when Dangerously united the "Dangerous Alliance" faction that tried to kill WCW. Paul E. nearly succeeded, his actions led to the release of president K. Allen Frey and brought an end to one of WCW's golden periods when the promotion seemed to be on the track to becoming a viable competitor to the WWF. Paul E.'s original Dangerous Alliance was defeated in the epic War Games Match by Sting's Squadron, stopping the group from outright killing the promotion. But the damage had been done, WCW fired K. Allen Frey due to the havoc wreaked by The Dangerous Alliance during his tenure. Frey was replaced by Bill Watts and WCW fell back into a dark period creatively before losing their identity altogether when they signed Hulk Hogan in 1994. Current Best Of The Best CEO Eric Bischoff faces the same heat from the Championship Council(the governing body of the promotion) that K. Allen Frey did from WCW back four years ago. The Council is very unhappy with the entire state of Best Of The Best just 3 months into Bischoff's reign as CEO. Not only does the promotion face the threat from Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance but also from the invading "Kings Of Kings" faction, the united UWFI/RINGS union of shooters that has brought almost all Japanese wrestling to it's knees. Everything is building up to the trilogy event on March 31st with the biggest Undisputed World Title bout so far this year.... The Undisputed World Champion Shawn Michaels has emerged as one of the most dynamic all around athletes in any sport in 1996. His loss to Sting in the opening of Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning seemed to have been the catalyst in his change in focus, he would come back out later that night to win the 30 Man Champions Rumble and defeat Ric Flair to capture the Undisputed crown. He defended his title in hostile territory with a victory over Mexican Champion Konnan in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Michaels also got his revenge with a stunning victory over Sting in the rematch at Caesars Palace at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors last month. Now in the finale of the opening trilogy of Best Of The Best pay per view events Michaels will defend his crown against his greatest foe, his greatest challenge.... The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.... Michaels vs Hart for the Undisputed World Championship live on pay per view on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Tune into all of Best Of The Best programming all month long as we will bring you closer than ever inside the training camps of both men leading up to their battle in Tokyo. Also on the card will be perhaps the most important wrestling match of our generation, as Atonio Inoki has laid down the challenge for the Kings Of Kings to put their 5 strongest warriors in the ring against a team led by him in the Tokyo Dome with every title on the line, the IWGP Heavyweight title, the Triple Crown World Heavyweight Title, and Lou Thesz's original prized World Championship title belt(that he recently revealed to be made from the gold from the crowns of the original kings that were bloodline descendants of the angels that wrestled in the bible). Tenay shifts gears to cover the first 2 weeks of the World Tag League with the emergence of Harlem Heat in first place in the Tiger Division. We seen the World Tag League really come of age earlier tonight on Shockwave with some matches that may go down as the defining matches that established the concept of this league. Earlier tonight we seen a stellar contest between Arn & Chris Benoit against Owen & The Bulldog, as well as an overtime thriller between The Steiner Brothers against Furnas & Lafon. Mike Tenay continues coverage of the league as a 1996 NBA style font/computer graphics show the current standings... Later tonight we are set for the final bout from week 2 as the Thrillseekers are set to take on The American Males in a battle of 0-1 teams that will be desperate to salvage their season with their first victory. As competitive as this league is with a 12 week schedule if either of these teams fall to 0-2 tonight they face the serious risk of missing the Final Four tournament for the Undisputed World Tag Team Championship set to conclude the league later this year. The two teams with the best records in each division will face off in a one night tournament live on pay per view at the end of the season to crown the very first ever Undisputed Champions. Tenay concludes his segment hyping Monday's LIVE episode of Judgement Night from the Key Arena in Seattle, already sold out in record time with Ultimate Warrior, The Four Horsemen, Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance, Cactus Jack all set to be there as well as 3 World Tag League bouts and Steve Austin looking to break into the rankings taking on #8 ranked Rey Mysterio one on one! This Monday night LIVE on the USA Network at 8pm it will be JUDGEMENT NIGHT! World Tag League Match: The American Males(0-1) vs The Thrillseekers(0-1)Chris Jericho and Lance Storm make their way out for tonight's main event to an odd mixture of indifference and even some thumbs down(both wearing Canadian flag colored tights/gear) even though they are poised and focused. The American Males make their way out with Ted Dibiase to a much more positive reaction as Joey Styles on commentary talks about the recent video that aired earlier tonight on Shockwave of their blessings from the Benny Hinn Ministries. Last week it was revealed that Benny Hinn Ministries were planning to capitalize on the success of Evander Holyfield's victory over Aleksandre Karelin in Las Vegas that they were extending an outreach program to all athletes, including wrestlers in Best Of The Best. The Ministries revealed former WWF Champion Ted Dibiase to be one of the first adopters of the outreach program, receiving Hinn's anointing live on stage to rid him of the demons of greed for money that had plagued his morality in the past. Now Dibiase is serving as Benny Hinn Ministries' ambassador to other wrestlers in Best Of The Best seeking the blessings of the lord to help them in their personal and professional lives, much like what Hinn has done for Evander Holyfield. Earlier tonight on Shockwave we seen the footage of Bagwell and Scotty Riggs connecting with the Benny Hinn Ministries through Ted Dibiase. The American Males they spent volunteer time doing charity work with Hinn's ministries in the Atlanta region before being anointed by him in a live sermon at his mega-church. Bagwell and Riggs are now converted Christians representing Benny Hinn's Ministries and with his anointing and the chaplain services of Dibiase by their side they believe they can rejuvenate their careers and make a run at the Undisputed Titles in the WTL! Bagwell and Riggs come out getting high fives and cheers from the crowd. Jericho and Storm look on as Bagwell and Riggs perform a brief prayer together in their corners prior to the bell. The Thrillseekers work together in tandem impressively to take an early advantage with a sharper technical skill. The crowd rallies behind Bagwell and Riggs to make a comeback with USA chants. At one point with Bagwell in peril being isolated in submission holds, Riggs is shown praying in his corner. The Males make a huge comeback and Riggs manages to score a quick rollup on Lance Storm for the 1-2-3! Storm kicks out just at the 3 count and protests that he got his shoulder up but the Thrillseekers are quickly brushed out of the ring for The American Males celebration! What a victory! Bagwell and Riggs clap along to their music celebrating the victory with Ted Dibiase as the show fades out.. ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jun 11, 2023 17:28:17 GMT
Key Arena(Seattle, WA)
March 4th, 1996 Judgement Night opens up LIVE from Seattle with Sunny standing in the middle of the ring in the SOLD OUT Key Arena with over 15,000 fans going NUTS! The most searched personality on AOL opens the show with an opening monologue proclaiming that THIS.... is JUDGEMENT NIGHT!... Sunny's opening monologue fades into a highlight music video set to All Eyez On Me by Tupac, showing clips of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels training for their upcoming clash at Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome on pay per view on the 31st. The highlights move along with the beat of the music, showing clips of One Man Gang powerslamming Hakushi through the Universal Studios arena catwalk ramp on Worldwide, Brian Pillman's "lights out" return last week on JN, Paul E. Dangerously' obsessive sadistic smile, The Legion Of Doom and Ultimate Warrior kicking asses, Ahmed Johnson Pearl River Plunge, Harlem Heat raise the roof, Dan Severn choking out Mike Rotunda with a Gable grip/body scissor, Benoit & Arn defeating Owen & Bulldog, Ric Flair pinning Jeff Jarrett on Shockwave, The Horsemen standing tall and proud together as a unit.... The music continues with the transition into the live shot with pyro exploding all around Key Arena, over the ring and on the entrance stage! Jim Ross opens the show shouting over the crowd with Joey Styles by his side at the ringside booth! All of a sudden the intro is interrupted when Paul E. Dangerously walks out with Steve Austin, Shane Douglas, and Brian Pillman. The group passes Sunny on her way to the backstage area with Pillman scaring her into running away after taunting her. Austin looks on with a stone cold stare, in his own world, as intense as ever while Shane Douglas smugly inspects the fans booing and flipping him off. Pillman is in rare form all up on the camera as the group makes their way down the isle to the ring.... In The Ring:
Brian Pillman, Steve Austin, & Shane Douglas(W/Paul E. Dangerously)The mixture of boo's and cheers drown each other out as the most controversial trio in the history of the sport stand in the glorious USA Network hue lighting in the middle of the gray and black ring. Paul E. Dangerously takes the mic and mockingly salutes the fresh, brand new ring apron after what happened after the cameras cut here on Judgement Night last week. Paul E. talks about how Brian Pillman went from being a Four Horsemen to increasing his value as one of the hottest free agents in this sport, his whole ploy to get Eric Bischoff to release him from his BOTB contract was a masterstroke in business. Now Paul E. has signed Pillman and this organization, whatever you want to call it, can not and will not be stopped. Paul E. pledges to finish what he started four years ago, saying that ECW was his baby, his child, and they killed it. Paul E. promises that these three men standing with him now are the 3 most pissed off, most frustrated, most feared, most unpredictable, most dangerous alliance THERE HAS EVER BEEN! Eric Bischoff is on his way out and this entire Best Of The Best promotion will pay the price for the sins and for the blood on their hands, for all of their lies, and all of their false promises. Brian Pillman takes the microphone and cuts a promo about Eric Bischoff being the mark for perhaps the biggest con since the OJ Simpson trial. Pillman laughs off the Four Horsemen and proclaims when he whipped out his d*ck and pissed all over this Best Of The Best logo last week after the cameras cut he was just finishing what he started at the Super Bowl! Pillman says that what you got now is the most dangerous man in America "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and the man that has had his constitutional rights violated more than anyone else in America, the most censored man on television Shane Douglas. Pillman states that all 3 of them have been passed over and screwed around in this business long enough, with the legal and financial services of Paul E. Dangerously this is an unstoppable force in the 1990's... Steve Austin gets the mic and gets boo'd mercilessly before addressing his scheduled bout against Rey Mysterio later tonight. Austin says he doesn't know what makes him more disgusted, the fact that they put him in the ring with a 21 year old midget kid or that this little Mexican piece of s*it is actually ranked in the top 10. Austin says everybody knows Rey Mysterio's win over Shane Douglas was the biggest fluke anyone's ever seen, it was a set up to build up their young star they want to be the face of the promotion. Austin sends a message to Eric Bischoff that he's going to make a statement with what he's going to do to Mysterio tonight, you do not want to change your channel, he's going to make an example. Stone Cold says that he told Eric Bischoff he wasn't here to be fed garbage, we're going to see what happens when you play games with Stone Cold later tonight.... Shane Douglas takes the microphone and pisses the crowd off with insults saying he's never seen a more sad pathetic f*ck**g pieces of **it marks in his life(Pillman laughs uncontrollably before getting right up into the camera like a madman). Douglas addresses the age old dinosaurs still clinging onto their spots at the top of the sport, the Ric Flair's, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, you got to be god damn fuc**ng kidding me! Their time is up, and this trio is out to put them all out to pasture one by one! Douglas then addresses "The Boy Toy" Shawn Michaels and his schedule World title match against Bret Hart. Shane Douglas says that it's ridiculous that Bret Hart is the top contender being hot shotted into a title shot against a fake paper champion like Shawn Michaels, what a FU*KING JOKE! Shane Douglas gets FURIOUS with every other word censored all the way out! All of a sudden the group is cut off from the microphones as CEO Eric Bischoff comes out backed by security. Bischoff walks out halfway down to the middle of the elevated catwalk entrance ramp where he sends the message to all four men that he's prepared to take all measures to stop this organization from doing anymore damage to this promotion. All of a sudden Eric is interrupted when Cactus Jack walks out to the entrance stage to crash the whole segment!.... Cactus addresses the beat down that was delivered to him and his mentor Terry Funk last week when Pillman made his comeback. Cactus also points out how sick this all is to be going down while his little buddy Mikey Whipreck is at home in a wheel chair for the rest of his life, all while Paul E. Dangerously makes a profit off of it. Cactus vows to stuff his fingers down Paul E.'s gullet and calls out his former training partner Shane Douglas to put his money where his dirty mouth is tonight to face him ONE ON ONE in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH! Cactus says he's got somebody here to watch his back if Paul E or anybody else sticks their nose where it doesn't belong. All of a sudden Terry Funk walks out to join Cactus on the stage and the crowd cheers them on! Eric Bischoff is caught in the middle as Shane Douglas furiously accepts Cactus' challenge! It's ON! Cactus Jack vs Shane Douglas in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH TONIGHT! Terry Funk is here to watch Cactus' back! World Tag League Match:
Harlem Heat(2-0) vs The Pit Bulls(1-1)Harlem Heat raise the roof in their intro after we return from the opening commercial break. Stevie Ray and Booker T have taken the lead in their division in the WTL with a 2-0 record. Their opponents The Pit Bulls are shown already in the ring with their valet Kimona stalking the ringside area. Harlem Heat pass Seattle Supersonics NBA players seated ringside, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton are here! Booker and Stevie Ray salute them and get the crowd fired up as they wrap up their entrance. Harlem Heat dominate The Pit Bulls with superior athleticism and teamwork but the ravage Pit Bulls put up a tough fight after the commercial break by turning it into a wild brawl ringside. Booker and Stevie retake the advantage later and appear to have the match finished after their Heatseeker but Kimona pulls Pit Bull 2's leg up on the ropes, causing the ref to break his count at 2.9999! Later on Kimona gets involved again providing a distraction for The Pit Bulls to hurt Stevie Ray with a steel chair shot that eliminates him from the match. Booker T puts up a fight solo but gets overwhelmed by the combined strength of the Mad Dogs Of War. Booker gets tripped up by Kimona and finished after a Super Bomb for a pinfall victory for the Pit Bulls at 6:38! The Pit Bulls try to beat Harlem Heat down with their dog collar chains after the bout but Harlem Heat recover and clear them from the ring! Harlem Heat are furious arguing with the referee in the ring as The Pit Bulls celebrate with Kimona as they retreat to the isle, moving their record to 2-1! Breaking News:
Kings Of Kings/Best Of The Best III Prior to another round of commercials we get a special report on the HUGE pay per view event, Best Of The Best III live from the Tokyo Dome(and airing on replay all the following week, call your local satellite or cable provider today!). The Undisputed World Championship will be on the line when Shawn Michaels defends his title against his old rival Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the man that many still believe to be the technical WWF World Champion(he never really lost the title, the belt itself was destroyed by Brian Pillman). Also on the card The Ultimate Warrior is schedule to face Ahmed Johnson one on one in the ultimate clash of the titans. Perhaps the biggest and most important match on the card though is the main event, the main draw of the pay per view in the Tokyo Dome. Last week on Bushido the BOTB Championship Council head chairman Lou Thesz gave Antonio Inoki his classic old World Championship Of Wrestling title belt to take back to Japan to put on the line in a challenge to the Kings Of Kings for one final battle. Mike Tenay narrates the news report breaking the news that Inoki's challenge has officially been accepted by the Kings Of Kings. The KOK has agreed to face "Team Inoki" in a 10 Man Tag Match and they have agreed to the terms of putting the IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line in exchange for Inoki putting Thesz's classic title belt on the line in a winner-take-all bout. The KOK released a statement in Japan announcing their team being a hybrid of Rings and UWFI shooters. Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda will be co-captains of the team, while UWFI/Takada Dojo defector Kiyoshi Tamura will bury the hatchet with his former dojo and represent both UWFI and Rings on the team as a symbol of honor and forgiveness for his betrayal when he defected to Rings late last year. Representing Rings will also be rising heavyweight shooter Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Takada Dojo capo Yoji Anjo was also announced to be representing the UWFI side on the team. 
Kiyoshi Tamura||Yoji Anjo||Nobuhiko Takada||Akira Maeda||Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
Now the match has been made and it truly will be the single most important wrestling match of our generation. If the KOK win this bout they gain control of the entire sport and earn the right to compete in Best Of The Best. If Inoki's yet to be named team can stop the KOK at Best Of The Best III they will perhaps save all of Western style pro wrestling from being taken over and changed into something else entirely. The entire culture of pro wrestling as we know it will be on the line on March 31st at Best Of The Best III with this 10 man tag team match! In The Ring:
The Four Horsemen(Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, & Dan Severn)The Key Arena crowd goes bonkers when the Four Horsemen entrance music hits to bring out the legendary group in all of their glory. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson, "The Crippler" Chris Benoit, and "The Beast" Dan Severn(with the NWA World Heavyweight title belt). This is a new Horsemen for 1996, perhaps the strongest the group has ever been. Ric Flair takes his time on the mic reveling in the crowd adoration for them. The Nature Boy gets the crowd going with his traditional antics, "WHOOOO!", before bragging about The Horsemen's clean sweep on Shockwave this past Saturday Night. All four of the men were in action and went 3-0, with Benoit/Arn winning their WTL bout, Dan Severn making quick work of Mike Rotunda in a heavyweight clash, then Ric Flair taking down Jeff Jarrett in the main event. The Four Horsemen are at the strongest they have been since the glory days when they broke Dusty Rhodes arm. Dan Severn has given the group strength and the prestigious NWA World Title belt brought back home where it belongs, it's a proud belt that has been worn by some of the all time best there has ever been and it's a belt that belongs with The Horsemen. Flair takes a shot at Shane Douglas for throwing the title belt down he threw his own career down, real garbage, while Dan Severn elevated that title back to World elite status. Arn, Benoit, and Severn look on as Flair addresses Brian Pillman's return, saying making him a Horsemen was the biggest mistake this group ever made. Flair calls Pillman the worst Horsemen there ever was and a disgrace to the Horsemen name, a real embarrassment. Flair sends the message to Paul E. Dangerously to keep his circus sideshow freakshow out of their way, take it all back to the Bingo Hall where it all belongs. This is the big leagues when you mess with The Horsemen pal. None of those 3 men are in the same league, we're talking minor league talent just like Jeff Jarrett found out Saturday night. Flair hypes up Benoit and Arn set to take on the Legion Of Doom in the WTL match on Shockwave this Saturday night, an old rival of the Horsemen are going to find out all about what the new Horsemen are all about. The KOK, the Dangerous Alliance, anybody that wants to get in the way of this group and their quest for the gold will find out that times have changed, this is Horsemen country! WHOOOO! World Tag League Match:
Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon(0-2) vs The American Males(W/ Ted Dibiase)(1-1)After the break we return with the intros of Furnas & Lafon for another week 3 bout in the WTL. JR talks about the amazing battle that Furnas & Lafon put up against The Steiner Brothers that went into overtime on Shockwave on Saturday night on Shockwave on TBS this past weekend. This team was really one of the heavy favorites entering the league so their 0-2 start has been one of the biggest surprises of the league so far. The crowd comes alive with cheers for The American Males, Scotty Riggs and Marcus Alexander Bagwell(accompanied by Ted Dibiase). The team comes out with their new attitude after recent developments with them devoting their careers to the Benny Hinn Ministries after being recruited by Ted Dibiase(who was saved from his greed by being anointed by Benny Hinn, vowing to be a conduit for other pro wrestlers to be saved through Hinn's blessings). Riggs and Bagwell pause in their corner for a prayer with Dibiase prior to the match then go on to get overwhelming crowd support from the sold out crowd. Chants of USA erupt when Riggs is trapped in submissions later in the match, rallying him to make a comeback and hot tag to Marcus Bagwell. Bagwell rides the momentum and counters a reversal for a surprise rollup on Doug Furnas for the 1-2-3 at 5:19! The MALES WIN! WHAT AN UPSET! Furnas and Lafon are totally stunned as The American Males celebrate the victory giving all credit to Jesus. Ted Dibiase holds both Bagwell and Riggs' arms up in victory, what a huge win. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon have fallen to 0-3 what a shocker. Backstage Interview:
Marc Mero(W/Sable)After the match we cut away to the backstage locker room area where Sunny has an interview with Marc Mero with the lovely Sable. Both Sunny and Sable eye each other at times while Mero gets intense about recently being ranked 10th in the BOTB top 10 rankings by the Championship Council. Mero says that he's dropped all the gimmicks and the games and focused on being himself here in BOTB, he knows he's a bad ass and he's got the baddest woman in the whole sport by his side, he's undefeated 4-0 and unstoppable! Mero says he will continue to fight his way up the rankings to get his shot at the Championship! The tension between Sunny and Sable is palpable as they lock eyes, Mero notices it and nods while stroking his chin... Singles Match:
Steve Austin(W/Paul E. Dangerously) vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
After the commercials we return to the live shot with a Rey Mysterio Jr. making his entrance for a huge match set to take place next, a matchup that has everyone nervous. Rey Mysterio Jr. is currently ranked 6th in the top 10 but he's a 21 year old kid, just 150 pounds maybe 5'7". All eyes are on this match after what Austin did to the young rising star Mikey Whipreck here on Judgement Night earlier this year, Mikey is paralyzed for the rest of his life. Steve Austin makes his way out next accompanied by Paul E. Dangerously coming out to his new entrance music, Just Another Victim by Helmet/House Of Pain. JR and Joey Styles talk about what a huge match this is for Austin, he's coming off of a huge win over The Sandman and Cactus in Las Vegas in the 3 Way Dance. This is is his shot to break into the rankings and he's more focused and ice cold than he's ever been as he enters the ring. The tension rises as Austin towers over Mysterio while referee Charles Robinson goes over his final instructions. Mysterio looks up at the much bigger Austin without any fear in his eyes, all heart! The bell rings to start the bout and it's a cat and mouse game of footwork for Mysterio to evade Austin's aggression. Mysterio uses the ropes and incredible athleticism to frustrate Austin early on, hitting him with aerial attacks that get the crowd behind him as the major underdog! Finally Austin finds his spot and decapitates Mysterio with a vicious lariat after sidestepping one of his moves. Austin sadistically dismantles the young luchadore with sickening slams all around the ring, ultimately dumping him over the top rope down to the floor with a sickening landing! Mysterio gets the crowd going by making a comeback out on the floor, running across the steel guard rail to evade Austin and hit him with a flying Rana! Mysterio backs Paul E. back before climing up and fling off the ring ropes with a HUGE AIR PLANCHA! Austin gets taken down on impact! The crowd goes NUTS! Both men roll around briefly before Austin just fights through and mauls Mysterio with a vicious assault. Stone Cold batters the kid back inside the ring before finishing him off with multiple piledrivers, scoring the clean pinfall at 5:51! Austin spits down onto Mysterio before pulling him up and looking around sadistically before spiking him into the canvas with ANOTHER piledriver! Mysterio is out! JR goes nuts on commentary SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO STOP THIS! Paul E. climbs up into the ring as Shane Douglas and Brian Pillman make their way out to join them in the ring beating on Mysterio! Shane Douglas pulls Mysterio up into the full nelson position and holds him while Austin gets a steel chair ready! Mysterio manages to kick backwards into Shane Douglas' groin dropping him to his knees! Mysterio manages to roll away from Pillman and Austin and escape into the crowd barely able to stand on his feet! Mysterio makes his escape as Pillman eyes him from up on the turnbuckles, Shane Douglas is PISSED!... MOTHERF*CKER! On Location:
San Antonio, TX(Shawn Michaels' training camp)After the match we cut away with a special video package showcasing inside footage of Shawn Michaels training camp in San Antonio Texas at Jose Lothario's gym. The training footage shows Michaels working hard sparring inside the ring with his training team he's put together for this bout, including "Kliq" members The 123 Kid and Aldo Montoya. The footage shows Michaels also breaking down the wall of "good guys vs bad guys" working with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, with Michaels interview narrating saying that Helmsley has been a good friend of his and a rising star in his own right that needs to break into being himself. Michaels pledges that Helmsley is going to be a future champion and he's given him all he can handle in some intense sparring sessions training for Bret. The interview footage also shows controversial footage of the BOTB camera crews being escorted out of the facility while "special guests" are scheduled to work with HBK in the ring. The footage shows more interviews with Jose Lothario saying that he has pushed Shawn to a new level beyond anything he's ever been in the ring before. Shawn is shown in another interview being asked if he's trained any with his former friends Diesel and Razor Ramon, two of his Kliq friends we've yet to see in BOTB. Michaels says everybody knows it's no secret that they are best friends and he's not going to tell everything about his training camp, all he is going to say is that he will be ready for Bret on March 31st at Best Of The Best III.... World Tag League Match:
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(W/Jim Cornette)(0-1-1) vs The Public Enemy(0-2)Back to the live shot of the Key Arena with The Public Enemy rocking the house during their entrance to Here Comes The Hotstepper, bringing a table with them! PE set the table up on the floor and enter the ring a JR and Joey Styles talk on commentary how it really appears that PE aren't really here to try to win in the WTL but it's like they are just out to cause as much damage, chaos, and violence every week they can possibly cause. Needless to say they have become a major pain in the ass for the Championship Council, with Lou Thesz himself recently saying they were an embarrassment to the sport. Jim Cornette leads out Owen and Davey Boy next to boo's, they are currently winless at 0-1-1 but put on truly one of the defining matches of the entire WTL so far this past Saturday against Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit on Shockwave. Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge are truly no match whatsoever for Owen & Bulldog in the ring even though they fight hard with all they have. It's not until the referee gets accidentally kayoed that PE finally take the upper hand after pulling weapons out from under the ring! Cookie sheets, pans, toasters, even a huge STOP sign! PE turn the place into a mess! Public Enemy get their hands on Jim Cornette after he tries to interfere but this brings out VADER! Vader clobbers PE with vicious shots! Sheer barbaric stiffness! Vader goes to powerbomb Rocco Rock through the table set up on the floor until SABU RUNS OUT! SABU!!! Sabu attacks Vader and floors him by tossing opened steel chairs at him! Jim Cornette tries to hit Sabu with the tennis racket but it doesn't hurt him! Sabu knocks Jim Cornette out spread out on the table and returns to the ring before running and diving over the top rope THROUGH THE TABLE! The crowd gasps upon the violent crunch, Joey Styles creams on commentary OH MY GAAAAAAAWD! The referee finally recovers just in time to see The British Bulldog put Rocco Rock away with a running powerslam! Bulldog hooks the leg to score the victory by pinfall after 6:18! Sabu retreats as Vader tries to revive Jim Cornette out of the wreckage of the broken table! Owen and Bulldog have scored their first win in the WTL , evening their record out at 1-1-1! Meanwhile the PE have dropped to 0-3 in last place...
Ringside:
Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp
After the break we return to the live shot inside Key Arena in Seattle with the ring crew frantically trying to clean up the wreckage of the previous match, the trash and weapons littered everywhere, the broken table ringside. The cameras focus on NBA superstar duo Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton seated ringside and the crowd goes nuts for the Seattle Supersonics heroes!... JR and Joey Styles on commentary talk about how hot the Sonics are right now in the NBA, currently riding a 13 game win streak they are in first place with a 45-12 record and easily one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the sport and possibly the only real threat to the Bulls this year. The hometown crowd gives the duo an extended standing ovation in their home arena until all of a sudden it's interrupted by Lance Wright, the CEO of his "Hype Central Promotions" along with his clients Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam.... Lance Wright gets boo'd relentlessly by the crowd as he comes out talking about how The Ultimate Warrior no-showed his scheduled appearance tonight, letting all of his fans down. Lance says that it's really sad that Warrior passed up the deal that he had offered him with seven figures, with limited dates much like Luger has. Instead now Warrior faces a litany of lawsuits from Hype Central for his attack weeks ago and he's embarrassed himself by not showing up here tonight. Lance Wright hypes up Lex Luger as the best heavyweight prospect in the sport and on his way to becoming the biggest pay per view draw of this century. Wright also promotes his newest signing that was revealed on Shockwave, international martial arts superstar Rob Van Dam! Lance directs his attention to Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp ringside and offers them the opportunity to sign with his sports agent representation firm Hype Central Promotions! Wright instructs ringside security to let Kemp and Payton into the ring where they stand across from RVD and Lex Luger! Kemp and Payton turn down Lance Wright's offer and he gets pissed! Luger and Rob Van Dam attack both men from behind! It's Rob Van Dam vs Gary Payton and Lex Luger vs Shawn Kemp! The brief struggle is interrupted when Ahmed Johnson blows the roof off of Key Arena running out to make the save! Ahmed Johnson clears Hype Central Promotions out of the ring and celebrates with Shawn Kemp & Gary Payton along with his music(and the crowd going bat s*it crazy) fading out to the commercial break!... Falls Count Anywhere Match:
Cactus Jack vs Shane Douglas(W/Paul E. Dangerously)
After the final commercial break we return to the live shot with Cactus Jack wrapping up his entrance. Shane Douglas makes his way out to Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple, accompanied by Paul E. Dangerously. Douglas and Cactus immediately take the battle outside the ring to the floor and into the crowd! The brawl goes all through the Key Arena back into the dressing room before going outside into the parking lot! Shane Douglas pulls Cactus Jack up and drops him into the hood of a 1992 Cutlass with a PILEDRIVER! Both men drag each other back through the arena to the ringside area where Cactus wins a steel chair duel before dropping Shane onto the exposed concrete with a double arm DDT! Cactus goes up to the apron of the ring for his running diving elbow drop but Paul E. drags Shane out fo the way at the last second, causing Cactus to slam down into the CONCRETE! GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY! All of a sudden Terry Funk comes out wearing USA flag zoobas pants backing Paul E. into the ring begging for mercy! Just as Funk goes to knock Paul E. out all of a sudden out comes running Steve Austin and Brian Pillman! The crowd boo's as Shane Douglas recovers to help Austin and Pillman destroy Funk and Cactus Jack. All of a sudden the crowd goes nuts when REY MYSTERIO JR. comes running out to even the odds! Mysterio fearlessly flies into the ring attacking all 3 men! Mysterio brings the crowd to their feet with an all out assault until he's floored from behind by Pillman! Austin, Pillman, and Shane Douglas beat Rey Mysterio down into the canvas before Austin pulls a section of the steel gaurd railing into the ring! Pillman and Shane Douglas hold Rey down as Austin lifts the guard railing up to cripple him until all of a sudden all 4 of the Four Horsemen come rushing out to the ring to make the save! Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Dan Severn, and Arn Anderson go after Austin, Pillman, and Douglas! Paul E. Dangerously retreats with Pillman, Austin, and Shane Douglas as The Four Horsemen take the ring and stand tall to end the show with the crowd going NUTS! WE'RE OUT OF TIIIIII!!! ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jun 25, 2023 20:03:28 GMT
The Manhattan Center(New York, NY)
March 7th, 1996 Best Of The Best's Bushido series hits the airwaves of TBS at 8:05 sharp on a Thursday night from the Manhattan Center in NYC, with Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee opening the show on commentary. The co-hosts welcome the audience tuning in to Bushido, hyping up tonight's Hybrid Rules main event battle between the red hot Ultimo Dragon(fresh off of a MASSIVE victory over K-1 heavyweight kickboxing champion Peter Aerts at Caesars Palace last month) taking on Swedish Judoka Lars Adolfsson, an Olympian in the 1988 and 1992 Summer games in Judo. Truly a spectacular battle set for our main event between Lucha Libre vs Judo under Hybrid Rules competition. Mike Tenay quickly segues into hyping up the massive pay per view event of the year on March 31st LIVE(and airing the following week on tape delay, call your cable/satellite provider today!) from the Tokyo Dome in Japan, it will be; Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Phillip Rhee(black belt, actor, screenplay writer of the Best Of The Best movies that inspired this promotion's name) puts this Bushido series over on the opening monologue as something that exists within Best Of The Best as it's own culture, it's own lifestyle, it's own creed, it's own mantra. It's the mantra of open mind/open mat, accepting no one way as a way, recognizing the honor and respect of all fighting styles and martial arts, providing a dream stage for any and all warriors to test their might here in this ring. Beyond The Mat:
The Budokan ArenaMike Tenay narrates the opening Beyond The Mat feature on the legendary mecca of martial arts; The Budokan Arena in Tokyo. Footage shows the amazing venue in Tokyo with it's classical Japanese octagonal architecture as Mike Tenay's narration talks about how every episode of Bushido you see here on TBS is taped here at the Manhattan Center in Times Square in NYC(the exact same venue that hosted the first ever episode of Monday Night Raw). The in-ring matches you see here every Thursday night on these hour long episodes of Bushido are all filmed at events held here in New York on a tri-weekly schedule. On March 12th the Best Of The Best federation will be taking Bushido international, overseas into the Land of the Rising Sun at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo... This Bushido event at the Budokan on March 12th will be featured here every week on TBS on Thursday nights throughout the month of March at 8:05 pm(eastern). It all will lead up to the spectacular pay per view event of a generation set for Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st! Bushido's Budokan event will be a joint venture with all of the aligned forces that have united against the Kings Of Kings organization, including NJPW, AJPW, All Japan Womens Pro Wrestling, FMW, Pancrase, and many others. In order to understand the significance of this event one truly has to understand the history of The Budokan... this is holy ground. The Budokan Arena was built in 1964 specifically for martial arts competitions; judo, kendo, karate, aikido, sumo all held their biggest events here throughout the past 30 years. This was the arena where Muhammad Ali fought Antonio Inoki in the battle that changed everything.
On Location:
Taz Dojo
After the feature we cut away to a dark shot inside the grimey old gym in Brooklyn where Taz is shown cutting a promo with his face obscured by a shredded black towel. Taz calls out Yokozuna to face him one on one in a rematch at the Budokan, this time there will be no shred of doubt left in anybody's mind who the last man standing is going to be. The Human Suplex Machine addresses the broken top rope during their first impromptu match in Vegas at Caesars Palace, the criticism from Bushido interviewer/analyst Don "The Dragon" Wilson about being dominated throughout the match, not being able to Suplex the 600 pound former WWF World Champion. Taz says that it's all building up and driving him to push harder, train more extreme, TO CHOKE THE LIFE FROM YOKOZUNA'S LUNGS! Taz also sends the message to Don "The Dragon" Wilson, insulting him as a has been that gave up on being a real athlete so he could be a Hollywood movie star, saying he used to have real respect for him when he was in his prime as a kickboxer, but now he's a disgrace to martial arts. Taz calls out Don Wilson to shut his mouth and look at the real athlete, the real man and go back to making b-movies... before he gets choked out.... Beyond The Mat:
Stu Hart & The Hart Family DungeonAfter commercials we get another Beyond The Mat feature narrated by Phillip Rhee(the actor that starred in and wrote the screen plays for both Best Of The Best and Best Of The Best 2 movies, two really fucking rad movies) about Stu Hart and the Hart Family Dungeon in Calgary Alberta Canada. The feature really focuses on the connection of Bret "The Hitman" Hart has to his roots back home where he came from, who he came from. Bret is preparing now in an extensive training camp to get ready to challenge "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels for the Best Of The Best Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Of Professional Wrestling. The match is set for March 31st at the Tokyo Dome in Japan and will be live on PPV at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! The feature shows Bret taking a break from his brutal training camp for the upcoming Championship bout against HBK to spend time drawing wisdom from his father, Stu Hart back home in Calgary. The footage of the two spending time together is cut in and out with narrated footage of Stu's history and influence on the sport of pro wrestling. Stu learned the art of catch style wrestling at a very young age, and would excel as a shooter in his pro wrestling career. Once he founded his own promotion with Stampede Wrestling he would go on to train some of the finest technical pro wrestlers in the sport today.  The Hart Family Dungeon is focused on extensively with footage of Bret rolling through a light grappling session with his father, getting advice about the upcoming match in Tokyo against HBK(as his father stretches some jobber, who screams as if being tortured). The feature rounds out with interview footage of Stu giving his thoughts on the current Champion Shawn Michaels, saying that he has little respect for entertainers like him, he's a pretty boy, a wimp. Stu says that Michaels may be one of the best athletes but he doesn't have the wrestling to be a Champion, he will give his son his full support for March 31st in Tokyo in his title shot. Stu says he knows Bret never truly lost his WWF title, the belt is gone but he's still got that title forever, he believes he has what it takes to take HBK down and become the one true Champion... International Report W/ Don "The Dragon" Wilson
We get backstage footage of Ultimo Dragon and Lars Adolfsson in their respective locker rooms getting ready for tonight's huge main event battle before Bushido analyst/interviewer Don "The Dragon" Wilson joins Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee(the one guy that wrote the Best Of The Best movies, seriously, check them out). Don Wilson is a former kickboxing legend, a World Champion Hall Of Fame caliber retired kickboxer. Wilson gives a disclaimer before his weekly International Report addressing Taz's comments earlier tonight. Don Wilson says that he is retired from in-ring competition but he's not scared of Taz, he's not going to back down from him. Wilson states that he was hired here at Bushido essentially as a broadcast journalist, which means he has tough questions to ask, if Taz doesn't like that he can always decline to be interviewed. Tenay asks Dragon's thoughts on the Taz vs Yokozuna rematch at the Budokan in Japan and he says he thinks that Yokozuna will take this rematch, he dominated Taz in the first match until the rope broke on the ring. We seen in their first battle that Taz could not suplex the 600 pound Sumo wrestler, Taz is going to need a whole lot more than a nasty attitude and a big mouth to beat Yokozuna at the Budokan. The Dragon is all class segueing into his weekly report... The major news this week is that Antonio Inoki has announced the first 2 members of Team Inoki for the 5-on-5 battle against the Kings Of Kings at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96. The Kings Of Kings united forces of UWFI and Rings named their team to be Nobuhiko Takada, Akira Maeda, Kiyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, & Yoji Anjo. Don "The Dragon" Wilson announces that Antonio Inoki has reached out to the Pancrase organization, and has brought in 2 of the worlds greatest shooters to Team Inoki with.... Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki!.... Inoki sent the message with this alliance that the only way to fight fire... is with fire... Suzuki and Funaki are the founders and biggest stars of the Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling promotion in Japan. The two were proteges of Yoshiaki Fujiwara and big stars in his PWFG shoot wrestling federation in the early 90's. The two young shooters had a falling out with their mentor and split away to start Pancrase in 1993. Pancrase was revealed to be in a working relationship with BOTB(they sent their King Of Pancrase Champion Bas Rutten to the 30 Man Champions Rumble in January) while Fujiwara double crossed Inoki when he endorsed and united Rings and UWFI in their attempts to resurrect the UWF spirit and conquer all pro wrestling. Team Inoki still has 2 spots open yet to be named and this match will be for both the Triple Crown and IWGP Heavyweight titles, as well as Lou Thesz's original World Championship Of Pro Wrestling title belt. Beyond The Mat:
All Japan Womens Pro Wrestling One of the special attractions on the Bushido event at the Budokan on March 12th will be a featured bout from All Japan Womens Pro Wrestling. The scheduled bout between Toshiyo Yamada vs Etsuko Mita will air next week here on Bushido on TBS on Thursday night. AJW debuted in 1968 and has roots going back to the 1940's. This is a promotion with women's wrestling on another level than anything seen in the United States, as evident in the brutal battle between Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori at AJW Dream Slam I just three years ago... The bout was hailed as one of the greatest in the history of the sport from either gender. The Bushido open mind/open mat concepts and philosophies provide the dream stage for warriors of any race, nationality, or gender to test their might, we will see two of AJW's finest young warriors battle at the Budokan in a true showcase here on Bushido next week!... Hybrid Rules Bout
Lucha Libre vs Judo:
Ultimo Dragon vs Lars AdolfssonAfter the final round of TBS commercials we get the entrance of The Ultimo Dragon walking out to the Manhattan Center getting cheers from the crowd as he looks around from the elevated catwalk entrance ramp with a cocky air of confidence. Dragon's opponent Lars Adolfsson is already in the ring ready to go, wearing a traditional white Judo gi with his black belt. The rules of the bout are showcased with the traditional 3 rounds for Hybrid Rules bouts, the first round is 10 minutes then rounds 2 and 3 are both 5 minutes each. The bout can be won by submission or knockout, and it has been agreed upon by both competitors that there will be no pinfalls in this match. Ultimo Dragon keeps his distance in the first round and lands devastating low and middle kicks that rock the Swiss Judoka. Lars eats several nasty leg kicks to his thigh as he attempts in vain to lock up in a clinch, eventually he's knocked down after a combo of palm strikes and a spinning back kick right to his mid-section! The referee institutes a 10 count while Lars is down but he's able to get back to his feet at 5. Lars limps on his left leg but fights through the pain to finally close the distance and tie Dragon up in a clinch. Dragon amazingly spins through a Judo throw in mid air to land in a neutral position on the ground, spinning around in a fluid transition into a bicep crusher, transitioned around into a calf crusher! The Judoka screams as he reaches for a rope break. Ultimo Dragon picks Lars apart with strikes whenever he is able to fight off his clinching attempts. The Judoka's gi becomes a pulled apart mess as Dragon is able to defend his throws in clinching stalemates near the corner ropes. Finally Ultimo Dragon crushes Lars with a spinning back elbow to break out of the clinch! Lars staggers stunned before being drilled with a spinning back kick to the mid-section and finished off with a moonsault off the ropes into a Dragon Sleeper! Lars quickly taps out to give Ultimo Dragon an impressive victory via submission at 4:49 of the first round! Tenay and Rhee(you know, the guy that, oh ok... ) cover the instant replay showing Dragon's impressive skills in all 3 of the phases of combat, grappling, striking, and clinching, as well as thriving in another perhaps uncharted phase of combat as well; suspended in mid-air.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 1, 2023 19:12:41 GMT
Rose Garden Arena(Portland, Oregon)
March 9th, 1996 Shockwave opens up on Saturday night on TBS with Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on commentary and a packed crowd of over 10,000 on hand in the sold out Rose Garden Arena in Portland. The crowd is JACKED and we have an absolutely stacked show for you tonight on The Superstation! "The Macho Man" Randy Savage returns to the ring tonight to begin his road back to the Undisputed World Title in a HUGE matchup against 2 Cold Scorpio in our main event! Also on the card we have 3 major World Tag League bouts, including the resurrection of the Road Warriors vs Horsemen rivalry as the LOD are here to take on Arn & Benoit! Plus "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in action in the ring TONIGHT!... World Tag League Match:
The Eliminators(2-0)
vs
The Thrillseekers(0-2) Chris Jericho and Lance Storm come out wearing matching Canadian flag long pants as Tony Shiavonne talks about inside scoop he got about The Thrillseekers spending this week in Calgary training with Bret Hart in his training camp for the Undisputed Title fight against Shawn Michaels at BOTB III. Jericho and Storm were upset by The American Males last week on Worldwide dropping them to 0-2. Kronus and Saturn come out to Demanufacture by Fear Factory. Both teams engage in one of the sharpest and most advanced tag team wrestling matches we have seen on North American wrestling television. Bobby Heenan notes on commentary that this is the new generation right here, this is the future, these two teams have taken tag team wrestling to a new level and this match has put that on full display with both teams executing double team stereo tandem moves with next level athleticism. The Eliminators mostly dominate Jericho and Storm with a superior strength and toughness. The dual tandem springboard high flying and stereo martial arts kicks devastate the young Canadian team. The match grows and builds in tension and urgency to bring the crowd into a frenzy in a back and forth battle of HUGE moves and razor close near falls. Both teams seem to be attempting to one up each other with advanced, innovative double tandem moves. Once fatigue begins to set in Jericho and Storm really take over the match, isolating Kronus. Jericho and Storm work together to overwhelm The Eliminators and take them into perhaps the deepest water they have been in in BOTB so far as the match passes the 12 minute mark. Eventually The Eliminators abandon tagging and the bout breaks down into a 4 man brawl as the referee loses control. Jericho and Storm hold their own in a brawl that spills out to the floor with Jericho and Saturn taking it over the steel railing into the crowd! Lance Storm back in the ring drops Kronus with a superkick before ascending the ropes and diving into the crowd to hit SATURN WITH A PLANCHA! The crowd goes CRAZY! Jericho is knocked to the concrete floor on impact and the crowd surrounds all three men in the camera shot going nuts! The battle eventually finds its way back into the ring and after a crazy 4 way counter/reversal sequence Chris Jericho manages to score a rollup on John Kronus for the PINFALL! 1, 2, 3! The Thrillseekers beat The Eliminators at 14:37 just seconds away from the end of the regulation time limit! The Eliminators have suffered their very first defeat in BOTB! Jericho and Storm celebrate the win with a highly emotional celebration until another referee comes running out full speed into the ring to inform the other ref that he made a mistake! The referee's argue briefly before finally the original ref stops the celebration and orders the ring announcer Joel Gertner to rule that the decision has been REVERSED! Chris Jericho was not the legal man in the ring for The Thrillseekers, therefore this match will..... CONTINUE! Lance Storm and Saturn finish the final seconds in a stalemate in the clinch near the corner when the bell goes off for the end of the 15 minute time limit! This match will go to OVERTIME! The break during the delay and then the commercial break before overtime seems to give Saturn and Kronus enough time to recover and retake the momentum after the restart. Eventually Storm gets knocked down to the floor and Chris Jericho gets finished after a Total Elimination for the pinfall at 17:28! The Eliminators have fought back from the brink of defeat to overcome one hell of a challenge from The Thrillseekers to remain undefeated in the WTL at 3-0. Jericho and Storm exit the ring completely dejected after having victory ripped away from them, dropping them to a surprising 0-3 start to the WTL.... In The Ring:
The Ultimate Warrior & Ahmed JohnsonMike Tenay brings the sold out Rose Garden Arena to their feet when he brings out the two men that will go to war at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st, Ahmed Johnson and The Ultimate Warrior! As Ahmed walks out Shiavonne and Heenan show the still images taken from Monday night's episode of Judgement Night in Seattle where Ahmed came to the rescue of the NBA's superstar duo of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton when they were attacked by Hype Central Promotions after they rejected Lance Wright's offer to sign them to his agency. The Ultimate Warrior and Ahmed Johnson have a tense stand off in the ring prior to the interview. Both men are in street clothes and both of them have fanny packs on(Warrior is also wearing his black and red BOTB baseball cap). Ahmed answers Tenay's first question asking if he feels like he's ready in this early stage of his career to take on a challenge of this magnitude, taking on an all time legend and former WWF World Champion. Ahmed says he's more than ready, he's undefeated 5-0 in BOTB nothing can stop him, Warrior has NEVER faced anything like him in his career he's the one that should be asked if he's ready. Warrior takes the mic and snarls! The crowd goes nuts! Just as Warrior goes to respond he's suddenly interrupted when Lance Wright leads out his Hype Central Promotions athletes from his sports agency representation firm, "The Total Package" Lex Luger and international martial arts superstar Rob Van Dam! Lance Wright stops on the entrance stage with Van Dam and Luger as Warrior and Ahmed look out at them ready for them to bring it on! Lance Wright addresses Ahmed's attack on him as well as Warrior's pending lawsuit with Hype Central after the embarrassing scene that happened back on Judgement Night in Vegas last month(where Wright urinated on himself on live television in front of a sold out arena after Warrior got his hands on him). Lance Wright says that both Ahmed and Warrior had their chance to be a part of greatness and that window is closed forever. Wright officially issues a challenge for Warrior and Ahmed to TEAM UP tonight to take on his team of Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam! Warrior and Ahmed look back and forth at each other with intensity before accepting the challenge! It's ON! We have a NEW main event! The Ultimate Warrior and Ahmed Johnson will team up to take on Lance Wright's Hype Central Promotions' duo of Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam! TONIGHT! World Tag League Match:
The Steiner Brothers(2-0)
vs
The Hardcore Guns(1-1)
After the break we get The Hardcore Guns wrapping up their entrance getting boo's and thumbs down from the audience. Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan discuss the new attitudes of Billy and Bart Gunn, who have adopted much more "Extreme" personas. Heenan notes that times are changing and we seen these athletes evolve, just like The American Males going a different direction by adopting Benny Hinn Ministries as reborn Christians giving them a sharper focus, we seen it work for the team formerly known as the Smoking Guns as well. The Steiner Brothers get a heroes ovation from the audience as they come out and dominate Billy and Bart from bell to bell, eventually finishing them with a pinfall after Scott drops Billy with his Steiner screwdriver at 7:04! The Steiners celebrate the victory after moving to 3-0 to remain tied atop the Dragon Division with The Eliminators. These two teams are on a collision course for their first head to head meeting and it's been a battle that has been months in the making here at BOTB this year... Backstage Interview:
Vader W/Jim Cornette
After the match we cut away to a backstage interview of Vader with his manager Jim Cornette, who is still hurt and wearing a neck brace from being put through a table by Sabu on Monday night. Cornette has to stop his screaming and ranting due to pain in his neck but Vader takes over the promo and promises extreme violence is coming for Sabu, new scars, fresh blood is going to spill. SABU!.... FEAR ME!..... Singles Match:
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs Terry FunkBack in the ring after the commercial break and Terry Funk is shown making his rounds around the ringside area saluting the fans wrapping up his entrance. Just Another Victim by Helmet/House Of Pain brings out the newly officially christened "Stone Cold" Steve Austin alongside Paul E. Dangerously. We've heard Austin referred to by this moniker in passing by commentators and recently in a Brian Pillman promo but now he's being introduced as Stone Cold by ring announcer Joel Gertner and it's shown in his computer graphic during his walkout. Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan talk about how much they really don't like this guy. This is the man that put Mikey Whipreck in a wheel chair for the rest of his life, this is one sick individual. As Austin walks out we cut away to a prerecorded promo with Austin just vehement about recently being nudged back out of the top 10 rankings by Ultimo Dragon taking the 10th spot on the strength of his victory over Judo olympian on Bushido this week. Austin is furious and promises to make a statement here tonight... Paul E. Dangerously lurks the floor during the total beat down that Austin delivers to the past his prime former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and fellow tough Texan. Funk tries to fight back with all heart but he's beaten down and stomped into the corner by Austin. The bout spills out to the floor and Funk manages to put up a fight before getting whipped into the steel railing with sickening force! Austin rolls back into the ring to break the ref's count at 9, intimidating him back away from the ropes before rolling back out and putting the boots to Funk. Austin rolls the old legend back into the ring and finishes him off after a series of piledrivers one after the other, scoring the pin at 5:31! Stone Cold celebrates the victory up on the corner turnbuckles getting boo'd until suddenly noticing Terry Funk still showing signs of life! Austin looks down with a disgusted and surprised look as Funk somehow manages to recover up to his knees a wobbly hurt mess! Funk motions for Austin to keep fighting and the crowd cheers him on! The old man can barely hold his head up but still wants to go! Austin stomps Funk back down and all of a sudden the boo's intensify as Shane Douglas runs out to join in on the beat down! Paul E. Dangerously looks on with a sick grin until all of a sudden Cactus Jack runs out with..... A BARBED WIRE BASEBALL BAT! Austin, Douglas, and Dangerously retreat as Cactus comes in swinging the bat! The crowd goes nuts as Cactus stands protecting his mentor Terry Funk from any further damage while Austin and Shane Douglas look back up at him from the ramp just FURIOUS! Bobby Heenan questions "Where's PILLMAN!?"... Breaking News:
Team Inoki
Prior to another round of TBS 1996 commercials we get a pre-recorded breaking news segment report from Mike Tenay about the major 5-on-5 main event battle at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96. The Kings Of Kings organization has put together their team of hybrid warriors from Rings and UWFI, including IWGP Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada(UWFI) and Triple Crown World Heavyweight Champion Akira Maeda(Rings) co-captaining a team that will also feature Kiyoshi Tamura(representing both UWFI/Rings), Tsuyoshi Kohsaka(Rings) and Yoji Anjo(UWFI). On Bushido on Thursday night here on TBS it was revealed that Team Inoki will fight fire with fire, announcing that 2 of the most dangerous shooters in wrestling Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki(two wrestlers with deep roots in the UWF, with experience in the ring in that style against several members of the KOK team) as the first 2 men to join Antonio Inoki in battle. Tonight we get the announcement for the remaining 2 men that will join Team Inoki, and those men will be AJPW representative Kenta Kobashi and NJPW representative.... THE GREAT MUTA!
Minoru Suzuki|||Masakatsu Funaki|||Antonio Inoki|||Kenta Kobashi|||The Great Muta
Truly unbelievable news out of Japan. Antonio Inoki has put together a united hybrid team with Pancrase, AJPW, and NJPW together in a unique mix of styles under his leadership. Inoki, Suzuki, Funaki, Kobashi, and The Great Muta will face off against The Kings Of Kings at The Tokyo Dome in what is essentially the biggest match in this generation. The KOK will put their IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line while Inoki has been granted BOTB Championship Councilman Lou Thesz's original World Championship Belt to put on the line, the belt that was just recently revealed to be made of the gold from the crowns of the kings that were the original descendants of the angels that wrestled in the bible. It is also being investigated of recently claims that the belt could also contain the bronze from the Spear Of Destiny... The belt was worn by Lou Thesz during his legendary reign as the one true recognized World Champion, the last of his kind in this sport. It was a belt that Thesz granted to Nobuhiko Takada to build the UWFI with, then it was taken away from him after their dishonorable assault on NJPW last year. Now Takada has united the KOK organization and they will stop at nothing to regain possession of this belt... and with it control of the entire sport around the world.... World Tag League Match:
The Legion Of Doom(1-0-1)
vs
Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit(1-1)The crowd in the Rose Garden Arena is on their FEET for the following co-main event of the evening! The Horsemen entrance music brings out Arn and Benoit to a huge ovations of cheers and support. Tenay and Shiavonne note that this match right here is the big one ladies and gentleman, this is the one that all the other wrestlers are huddled around the monitors in the back, everybody will have their eyes on this one. It just does not get any bigger than this! The LOD entrance music hits to a tremendous pop, WHAAAAAAAAT A RUUUUUUSHHHHHH!..... Hawk and Animal are JACKED in their blue gear! The audience is hanging onto every move and every shift in momentum in a back and forth battle, stiff, intense, hard hitting back and forth tag team action. The LOD toss Benoit around for a while before Arn gets the hot tag and comes in to change the course of the bout with superior tag team strategy. Benoit recovers and is able to do some damage as the Horsemen work to isolate Animal for several minutes. Benoit has Animal locked up in the middle of the ring in a submission at one point but the crowd rallies behind him to make it to the ropes for a break. The LOD ride the momentum of the crowd to overtake the Horsemen until suddenly the cameras catch Brian Pillman sitting up in the cheap seats of the arena watching the match with his feet kicked up on the chair in front of him, sunglasses on... Benoit and Arn get distracted as the fans attention turns to Pillman up in the seats watching them! Benoit can't stand it anymore and walks out on the match, racing over the steel guard railing into the crowd to go after Brian Pillman! Arn is left to fight off Hawk and Animal in a valiant effort on his own as Benoit races through the crowd up the stairs to the upper section! Arn is able to hold his own with a double clothesline that drops the LOD in the ring while the camera follow Chris Benoit up into the upper section of seats trying to go after Brian Pillman! Security rush onto the scene to hold Benoit back as Pillman taunts him! Back in the ring the LOD overwhelm Arn Anderson and finish him off with their DOOMSDAY DEVICE for the pinfall at 8:22! Arn rolls out to the floor hurt looking up at the melee going on up in the upper deck of the Rose Garden Arena with security holding Benoit back from Pillman! This is NUTS! The LOD celebrate the victory moving their record to 2-0-1 and Brian Pillman has cost The Horsemen BIG TIME here.... Backstage Interview:
Rey Mysterio Jr.After the match we cut away to Mike Tenay in the backstage locker room area with an interview with the 21 year old phenom Rey Mysterio Jr., who survived a vicious battle against Stone Cold Steve Austin on Judgement Night on Monday night. Mysterio says that Austin truly is Stone Cold like everyone says he is and he's grateful to have survived the Dangerous Alliance's attempts to put him in a wheel chair and end his career just like Austin did Mikey Whipreck. Mysterio sends the challenge that he's not scared of the Dangerous Alliance, he's beat Shane Douglas, he's taken all that Austin can give and still walking, if Brian Pillman wants to stick his nose in Mysterio's business he's ready to complete the trilogy and take him on one on one! Mysterio says that he used to have respect for Brian Pillman when he was an innovator, he was an inspiration that guys like him could make it in this sport. Now he's lost his mind and he's got Paul E. Dangerously in his ear he's not scared of them and he will take on Brian Pillman any place any time! Singles Match:
"The Macho Man" Randy Savage vs 2 Cold ScorpioAfter the break we return to the arena going nuts for Scorpio as he wraps up his entrance dancing along to Whomp There It Is by Tag Team. The Macho Man makes his return to a huge ovation as he walks out for the first time since his loss in the 4 Way match back in Vegas at BOTB II last month. Savage has made it clear that he's focused on regaining his belt that was robbed from him back at Starrcade at the final WCW event this past December. Savage attacks Scorpio with intensity right from the onset of the bout. The Macho Man has rejuvenated snap to his punches and moves with a purpose as he works Scorpio over early on. Scorpio finds an opening after a chain series of back and forth reversals and nearfalls and drops Savage with a hard superkick right on the button! Scorpio and Savage thrill the crowd with a high impact back and forth battle that has the entire arena gasping with every big time aerial spot and nearfall from Scorpio on the verge of pulling off a HUGE upset right here on Shockwave! Savage fights his way back into the match and really hurts Scorpio out on the floor with a vertical suplex that sends his legs crashing into the steel steps. Scorpio badly clutches his right leg and Savage goes after it for the rest of the match, even grapevining him with a figure four on the ring post, nearly getting disqualified with a nasty attitude towards referee Charles Robinson. After working Scorpio's leg over and beating him down Savage puts him away with a clean pinfall after the flying elbow drop at 12:12! The Macho Man is BACK! And he's still got it! Scorpio gets cheered after shaking hands with respect before bowing out.... On Location:
Calgary, Alberta CanadaAfter the match we cut away to exclusive footage inside the training camp of Bret "The Hitman" Hart as he prepares for his upcoming title shot against current Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 in the Tokyo Dome live on pay per view. The footage shows Bret inside the ring sparring in intense sessions with guest training partners The Thrillseekers, Chris Jericho then Lance Storm, as well as Best Of The Best rookie sensation(and Olympic Gold Medalist freestyle wrestler) American Kevin Jackson. Bret is shown going hard at it in training drills as well as physical grappling sessions in the ring with Jackson, Jericho, and Storm as well as various other nameless Canadian sparring partners in the footage. Interviews with Bret cut in and out with the footage showing him talking about the benefits of training with The Thrillseekers saying that he feels like they are very similar to what Shawn Michaels looked like early on in his career, saying they remind him of a young Rockers team but better. Bret also discusses what it's been like working with Kevin Jackson, an athlete that is just on a different level as a gold medalist. The Hitman has sharpened his game in the past 3 weeks of this training camp working with these guests, but he also feels like it makes him sharp to teach these up and coming athletes, reminding him to reevaluate his own fundamentals, he's made a lot of progress this month. Bret promises to be at the peak of his abilities and in the best shape he's ever been on March 31st at BOTB III against Shawn Michaels he will wrestle this match as if it were the last final title shot he will ever get, this will be do or die in Japan at the Tokyo Dome...
Tag Team Match:
The Ultimate Warrior & Ahmed Johnson
vs
"The Total Package" Lex Luger & Rob Van Dam(W/Lance Wright)
Ring announcer Joel Gertner brings the fans to their feet with the intros for tonight's main event of the evening! Lance Wright gets boo'd mercilessly by the crowd as he leads Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam out to the ring. Ahmed Johnson blows the roof off the arena with his entrance as does The Ultimate Warrior, who comes out separately later. The crowd stays hot and on their feet as Warrior starts the match off taking on Lex Luger! Luger and Van Dam are able to capitalize on the tension between Ahmed and Warrior just as Lance Wright planned as the friction is just too insurmountable. The bout spirals out of control and ends in a double countout at 4:17. Ahmed gets taken out with a chair shot to the back from Van Dam before both men double team up on Warrior stomping him down in the ring! Warrior tries to fight back but Lance Wright joins in on the beat down! Boo's and trash fly into the ring until all of a sudden STING runs out full speed to make the save! Sting clears Rob Van Dam, Lance Wright, and finally Lex Luger out of the ring to send the crowd into a wild frenzy! Hype Central Promotions retreat to the entrance isle stunned as Sting stands tall in the ring and WE'RE OUT OF TIIIIIII...... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 9, 2023 5:04:49 GMT
Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)March 9th, 1996 It's 2am on a Saturday night in 1996 and Worldwide hits the airwaves of your locally syndicated network with Joey Styles in the control center of BOTB Arena here within Universal Studios Florida! Joey stands in front of walls of monitors as he welcomes the television audience to tonight's program, wasting little time before plugging the march closer and closer to the single biggest professional wrestling pay per view event of an entire international generation; Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan! Tonight we have a full hour of hype with exclusive matches and even bonus footage from inside the training camp of Bret "The Hitman" Hart as he prepares to challenge the Undisputed World Champ; "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels at "The Dome" on the 31st!
Singles Match:
Psicosis vs Octagon
The sensational Octagon is shown already in the ring in the brilliantly lit, smaller, more intimate BOTB Arena setting here in Universal Studios where Worldwide is filmed. Octagon is a formidable luchadore from the AAA promotion in Mexico that is no stranger to his opponent here for his BOTB debut on Worldwide... The entire arena goes pitch black to debut the new intro and music for Psicosis, with the long elaborate build up of his new music Il Triello by Ennio Morricone hitting it's trumpeted crescendo just as the vile rudo makes his walk out to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp with a nasty snarl upon his face. The two luchadores absolutely tear the house down with an insanely stiff, rapid paced battle that keeps the crowd hot. During the lone lull in action(where Psicosis wears Octagon down with a camel clutch) the broadcast begins to have technical difficulties. Joey Styles commentary track skips and stutters while the picture flashes and distorts for a moment before correcting... Psicosis finishes Octagon with a brutal guillotine legdrop for the pinfall after 6:49 of pedal to the medal lucha libre action! Psicosis pushes referee Charles Robinson down after ripping his arm away from him. Joey Styles notes that Psicosis just only recently returned from his suspension after putting referee Randy Anderson on the shelf with a piledriver, he's as nasty as they come, and this victory puts him in serious contention with an undefeated 3-0 record in Best Of The Best... On Location:
Calgary, Alberta CanadaAfter the commercial break we get a special exclusive bonus feature on the training camp of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, quite simply the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. The 3 time former WWF World Champion technically never lost the WWF title, he is still the unofficial lineal World Champion in the eyes and hearts of millions of his fans around the world. Bret's opponent on the 31st in the Tokyo Dome is one of the most now athletes in any sport in 1996, there's Jordan, Favre, and the current reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion... "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels... Bret's training camp in Calgary has seen him return to his roots in his father's legendary dungeon in his childhood home, as well as a high intensity training regimen that brought in guests The Thrillseekers(Jericho and Storm) and Olympic Gold medalist(and frontrunner for BOTB rookie of the year) Kevin Jackson. Tonight's bonus footage shows Bret working in his private gym in Calgary with none other than Mil Mascaras, the legendary luchadore from Mexico. The video shows Bret working on the mats and taking instruction in the gym with Mascaras as his interview narrates the footage. During the video the audio and video feed continues to suffer from technical difficulties, freezing, skipping, scrambling...  Bret's interview that cuts in and out with his training footage with Mil Mascaras explains that he's had Shawn Michaels number in the past, he's defeated him in big matches before. Bret feels like this Shawn Michaels in Best Of The Best is a different animal than what he faced in the WWF, and he attributed his improvement and focus to his reuniting with his former mentor Jose Lothario. Bret reveals that he sent for Mil Mascaras because he knows Jose Lothario and his methods better than anyone else, the two of them had a long and storied history as tag team partners. Lothario and Mil Mascaras traveled the roads training and wrestling together as NWA Texas and American Tag Team Champs.... The broadcast of the program continues to distort into a similar effect that you would get trying to watch explicit pornography on PPV channels without paying for them.... Finally the broadcast clears up to show a black and white sepia tone shot of Brian Pillman... The Loose Cannon.... The video effects continue shifting back and forth from sepia tone to static to random shots of lightning, like an Oliver Stone film as Pillman informs the television audience; "There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. I am now controlling this transmission. I control the horizontal and the vertical.... I can deluge you with a thousand lies or expand one single work to crystal clarity.... hahahah... and beyond. I can shape your vision to anything that my imagination can conceive.... You are now watching BRIAN FUC#*ING PILLMAN TV!".... Pillman's mad laughter cuts out randomly to a full uninterrupted L7 music video.... Music Video:
"Andres" by L7
After the video and another round of commercials we return to the shot of Brian Pillman somewhere in some type of audio/video control room. The shot continues to stretch and distort and change colors as Pillman cuts a promo about Rey Mysterio Jr. and his challenge on Shockwave earlier tonight. Pillman laughs Mysterio off as a midget wrestler that was lucky to have survived Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he would be more than happy to finish the job this Monday night on Judgement Night at 8pm on the USA Network! Pillman officially accepts Rey Mysterio Jr.'s challenge for a one on one match!
After accepting Mysterio's challenge to face him on Judgement Night Pillman segues into a replay of the full match where he faced Jushin Thunder Liger at the very first ever episode of WCW Monday Nitro just six months ago in the Mall Of America... Singles Match:
Brian Pillman vs Jushin "Thunder" Liger(replay from September 4th, 1995)
Following the commercial break we return to the Oliver Stone style over the top cutting edge film style shots of Pillman giving a state of the Union address. Pillman talks about how much has changed beat Liger, we've come a long way from the Mall Of America in six months. Everybody thinks he's lost his mind and that he's slipping but Pillman is going to show Rey Mysterio and everybody else on Monday night on Judgement Night in the ring that he's more dangerous now, the stakes have never been higher.... With the legal services of the one and only Mr. Paul E. Dangerously there is nothing that can stop Pillman from doing whatever, whenever, to whomever he wants to do it to. Whether that's Rey Mysterio Jr. or The Four Horsemen(holds up the four fingers before folding his pinky down), or Bret, or the posterboy Shawn Michaels, or the 90's whiz kid himself... Eric BISCHOFF!(laughs diabolically).... Pillman talks about his controversy stirred up when he returned to BOTB after being fired, the piss all over the ring apron, assaulting police officers, the look on Eric Bischoff's face when the lights kicked back on to reveal him in the ring. Pillman says that we are living in the future, this is a time when a closed mouth don't get fed. Eric Bischoff more than anybody else knows that business is business. The Loose Cannon plugs his 1-900 number that is still in operation before breaking the news about his latest promotion, the lucky 13th caller tonight will win a grand prize(Pillman holds up a Hulk Hogan lunch box, which falls open with matching thermos falling out) Match Highlights:
The Hollywood Blondes vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson(June 1993)
Shane Douglas & Brian Pillman vs Ron Simmons & 2 Cold Scorpio(November 1994)Pillman's monologue continues over footage of his match with Steve Austin against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson from Clash Of Champions in WCW three years ago. The clips cut in and out with highlights of Pillman's tag match with Shane Douglas taking on Scorpio and Ron Simmons in ECW back in 1994. Throughout the highlights Pillman talks about how misunderstood Paul E. Dangerously has been, everyone thinks he's a madman but he's a genius. Everybody thinks he's a hustler or a con man, but he's an artist. What has Paul E. Dangerously done but unite the 3 most dangerous, censored, hated men in America.... Paul E. Dangerously is a dangerous man. He's a very smart man. He's a man that wants to burn the world down. The Loose Cannon says that this new alliance is on a crusade against normalcy, decency, tradition, family values, and that this revolution will be televised hahahaha..... Brian Pillman points a tv remote control into the camera with a smirk on his face as bids farewell before clicking off into a music highlight video to close out Brian F'N Pillman TV..... Music Video:
"Tyler" by The ToadiesThe music video cuts in and out with highlight clips of all of Pillman's downward spiral into madness ever since joining the Horsemen late last year, his running onto the field at Super Bowl XXX, his appearances of Montel Williams and Hard Copy, his scuffle with Chris Benoit earlier tonight on Shockwave..... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 15, 2023 22:22:24 GMT
Pacific Coliseum(Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
March 11th, 1996 Best Of The Best's groundbreaking debut in Canada hits the airwaves of the USA Network LIVE with a hard opening of Sunny standing in the center of the ring with the crowd going APE S#IT! Sunny opens the show all lit up under the lights of primetime LIVE TV with her weekly sexual innuendo laden introductory monologue, capping every week with an enthusiastic "THIS is JUDGEMENT NIGHT!" fading directly into an opening highlight music video set to A ll Eyez On Me by Tupac! The music video shows clips of Ahmed Johnson coming the aid of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton in Seattle at the Key Arena last week when they Sonics' duo were attacked by Lance Wright's new tag team of Rob Van Dam and Lex Luger. Clips roll along of Brian Pillman, Rey Mysterio Jr., the LOD, Eliminators, on to clips of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart in their past battles, the cage match, the ladder match, Survivor Series '92 main event, even clips of Hart Foundation vs The Rockers.... The music continues on with the live shot of the sold out crowd of nearly 9,000 in Pacific Coliseum with pyro exploding from all four corners of the ring and around the entrance stage. The elevated catwalk entrance ramp leads to the black and grey ring with the Judgement Night logo. Jim Ross and Joey Styles welcome the television audience hyping up tonight's LIVE show with the Legion Of Doom in action here tonight, plus a massive one on one main event, Brian Pillman will enter the ring to take on the young rising star Rey Mysterio Jr.! The opening intro is suddenly interrupted when Just Another Victim by Helmet/House Of Pain hits the pa system to bring out the new Alliance... In The Ring:
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, & Shane Douglas(W/Paul E. Dangerously)The crowd mostly boo's the trio as they make their way down the ramp distant from each other, with Paul E. Dangerously following behind them with a smug, evil grin from ear to ear as he scans around to look at the sold out arena from the catwalk ramp.... Brian Pillman takes a live mic first and leans into the corner for a moment as he watches Austin and Douglas soaking in the boo's from a fired up Canadian crowd. Shane Douglas climbs up onto the ropes and shouts threats back and forth with ringside fans while Austin backs him up with some sign language. Pillman cuts a promo talking about how big of a night tonight is for his career and for the whole Dangerous Alliance. Pillman vows to prove himself tonight on live television that he's still one of the most dangerous athletes in sports in 1996, we all seen what he did on the field at Super Bowl XXX, we all seen what he did when he made his return and whipped out his johnson and pissed all over this ring. The Loose Cannon threatens to do whatever he wants to do tonight, just like he did on Worldwide this past Saturday night(Brian F'N Pillman TV!), tonight is his NIGHT! "Stone Cold" takes the mic from Pillman and proceeds to run down the entire country of Canada as the biggest waste of space filled landfill of a country truly filled with nothing but trash. Austin says he's not very happy about having to wrestle in this god forsaken sh*thole for the next few weeks, in fact he's pretty god damned pissed off about it. Austin says that it really tells you everything you need to know about a country that's so ass backwards that everybody runs around here worshipping pus**ies like Bret "The Hitman" Hart like he's some kind of hero..... Austin says he looks around at the crowd here tonight and that's all he sees, pu**ies. There's not a man in this country that has the spine to take on Stone Cold, not The Hitman, not anybody, the smell in the air around here is nothing but chicken s*it and that's the bottom line.... (crowd unloads with furious boo's)... Shane Douglas takes the microphone and gets the boo's even more intense as he sends the message; Bret, the entire Hart Family, all of Canada, kiss my FU*KING ASS! HAHAHA!... Douglas unloads a rant with so many cuss words he keeps the bleeeeeeeeeeeep going for a solid minute, with only small breaks allowing for the occasional "CK!", or "IT!" breaking through the censorship! Douglas talks about being censored because this promotion doesn't want him to tell these marks the truth, that they don't want you to know that their big stars; Flair, Savage, Warrior, nothing but old fu*king dinosaurs holding on to their top spots, keeping the real talent in this sport DOWN, when they are the ones that need to be put out to pasture, just like Terry Funk! This promotion censors him because they don't want him to tell the truth about how their poster boy toy paper champion Shawn Michaels is a fake, and this entire World Championship match with Bret Hart in Tokyo on the 31st on PPV is bulls**t! Douglas talks about how next week this show will be live from Bret Hart's hometown in Calgary before challenging him to face the Alliance in his own hometown! Right here next week on Judgement Night! If you really are the #1 contender, prove you got the fuc*ing balls! Paul E. takes the mic and sends the message to the BOTB CEO Eric Bischoff, what everyone is about to see here tonight happen to Rey Mysterio will be a lesson, an example, like a lamb to the slaughterhouse, and the blood is going to be on Bischoff's hands. Just like poor Mikey Whipreck, who will never walk again, Rey Mysterio will suffer the same fate TONIGHT. Let this be an example for Eric Bischoff, for the Four Horsemen, for Cactus Jack, for Shawn and Bret, this organization, this new Alliance is out to finish what was started four years ago... In The Ring:
Rob Van Dam(W/Lance Wright)After the commercial break we get the entrance of Rob Van Dam alongside his new representative Lance Wright, the hottest sports agent in wrestling today. Wright launched his new agency "Hype Central Promotions" earlier this year, building his new company around the signing of the hottest free agent at the time, "The Total Package" Lex Luger. Wright just recently revealed the signing of the international martial arts superstar Rob Van Dam as his newest member of Hype Central. Van Dam takes the ring to mostly indifference and a slight spattering of boo's as he takes the mic with Lance Wright by his side in a $3,000 suit and Jerry McGuire sunglasses. Van Dam puts himself over with awkward promo saying he is the future of Hype Central promotions and the future of this sport. Van Dam issues an open challenge to any of the enhancement talent looking for some TV time tonight, any of the jobbers in the locker room looking to come out and get some time with one of the biggest international martial arts superstars here on LIVE tv, bring him out... Van Dam's open challenge goes unanswered for a moment until all of a sudden a song hits the speakers to set the crowd off with the BIGGEST pop in the history of this show... THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR! He's HERE!...
Lance Wright and Rob Van Dam are SHOCKED! The arena goes BALLISTIC as Ultimate Warrior comes sprinting out full speed to the ring to answer Van Dam's open challenge!.... IT'S ON!..... Singles Match:
The Ultimate Warrior vs Rob Van DamVan Dam hits Warrior with a spinning martial arts kick but it has NO EFFECT! Warrior bashes Van Dam with punches before sending him into the ropes to set him up for the FLYING SHOULDER BLOCK! Warrior hits Van Dam with so much force he does a full backflip into the canvas! The crowd is going NUTS! Warrior pulls Van Dam up and finishes him with a brutal press slam that causes Van Dam to bounce several feet off the canvas! The Ultimate Warrior finishes Van Dam off with his running splash to his back before rolling him over and hooking his leg! The entire arena counts along, Lance Wright has his hands up on his hair in panic disbelief,.... 1... 2... 3! UNBELIEVABLE! The Ultimate Warrior has defeated Lance Wright's bright young prospect Rob Van Dam in just 8 SECONDS!!! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! Lance Wright pulls Van Dam out of the ring and helps carry him to the back as Ultimate Warrior celebrates the victory with all of the Warriors going crazy for him! Fireworks explode over the ring as his music plays along with the celebration! Warrior continues to salute his fans until all of a sudden Ahmed Johnson is shown walking out of the back to the stage to watch on with intensity in his eyes! Warrior notices Ahmed and eyes him from up on the corner turnbuckles! These two are set to lock horns in the Ultimate Battle at the Tokyo Dome on the 31st LIVE on pay per view at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96; Ahmed Johnson vs The Ultimate Warrior!... Music Video:
More Human Than Human by White Zombie(Sabu vs Vader)After the match the program cuts to a music video set to Sabu's entrance music, More Human Than Human by White Zombie. The montage shows various highlight clips of Sabu and Vader's developing rivalry that has resulted in their official match being signed this week. It has been made official, Sabu will face Vader one on one in the Tokyo Dome in Japan at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96. The clip shows the escalating violence between the two ever since Sabu came to the rescue of El Hijo Del Santo when Vader attempted to unmask him in front of his home country fans in Mexico City last month. Sabu is the fearless extreme beholder of justice in BOTB, and he's the only man that has been able to stand up to Vader. The video shows the clips of Sabu putting Vader and later Jim Cornette(putting him in a neck brace) through tables. The news was broken recently that Sabu requested the match against Vader in the Tokyo Dome to be a barbed wire match but head Chairman of the Championship Council Lou Thesz rejected Sabu's request in utter disgust(without even holding a hearing). Sabu has filed an appeal through the Championship Council and requested a hearing but Thesz has continued to do everything he can to block his requests. As of the time that this match has been signed and made official it will be held under traditional one on one wrestling rules, live on pay per view March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! World Tag League Match:
The Eliminators(3-0) vs The Public Enemy(0-3)The PE are shown wrapping up their entrance as we get a picture in picture cut-in of a pre-recorded backstage promo from earlier tonight from Flyboy Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. Grunge and Rock talk in their cartoonish clown voices as the address the recent news reports that BOTB Chairman of the Championship Council Lou Thesz hated them and thought they represented the worst of the worst in this sport in the 1990's. The duo laughed him off and continue to promise to wreak havoc in his World Tag League, they don't care win or lose they are going to bring the VIOLENCE! The Eliminators make their entrance to Demanufacture by Fear Factory with a mighty confidence, undefeated here in Best Of The Best. JR and Joey Styles talk about how all eyes are on next week's clash with the Steiner Brothers in a match that has been one of the most highly anticipated showdowns in BOTB this year. The Public Enemy turn the Coliseum into a madhouse after pulling out weapons from under the ring! Cookie sheets and trash cans litter the ringside area in an all out brawl! PE pull out a table and set it up to set the crowd off with cheers! The Eliminators pop the crowd even louder when Saturn pulls out a ladder from the opposite side of the ring! Referee John Finnegan lets the action go as the four men kill each other out in the audience and ringside area! The entire arena stands to their feet and goes CRAZY when Saturn dives off the ladder to crash through Johnny Grunge on the table down below on the floor! Joey Styles screams on commentary... OH MY GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD!... The Eliminators finish Public Enemy with Kronus pinning Rocco Rock after a 450 splash after 8:21 of pure chaos! Kronus and Saturn are barely able to stand as they have their hands raised in victory, raising their WTL record to a perfect 4-0! They are set to face The Steiner Brothers right here on Judgement Night next week right here on the USA Network LIVE at 8PM! In The Ring:
The Four Horsemen(Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, & Dan Severn)After the break we get the crowd being brought to their feet again with the Four Horsemen entrance music bringing out The Nature Boy, The Enforcer, The Crippler, and The Beast!.... The Horsemen come out and soak in the adulation of the Vancouver crowd. Dan Severn is decked out with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship all class. Arn Anderson takes the mic first and makes it clear, he and Chris Benoit are focused in on the World Tag League. The Horsemen have their sights set on the Undisputed World Tag Team Championship belts on the line in this league, make no mistake about it. Brian Pillman cost them their match against the Road Warriors on Shockwave this past Saturday night, and he's going to pay the price for everything he's put them through. Arn sends the message to Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon that they will be ready for them on Saturday night when they face off on Shockwave on The Superstation at 6:05... But... Brian Pillman, Paul E. Dangerously... you're about to bring back the OLD Horsemen. You don't play with fire unless you're ready to get burned. Arn talks about how he's worked with Paul E. in the past, they were a Dangerous Alliance, that was a great unit... but they were no Horsemen..... Steve Austin, Pillman, Shane Douglas, no match for what you see in this ring right now. Brian Pillman is a marked man, and Paul E. Dangerously would be wise to keep his dogs off and let nature take it's course, it's only a matter of when, not if they get their hands on The Loose Cannon!... Ric Flair takes over the mic from Arn and has to wait for the crowd's cheers to die down before putting Vancouver over as Horsemen country. Flair puts this incarnation of The Horsemen over as the strongest the group has ever been, with Arn Anderson in his prime, The Crippler being one of the proudest Canadian wrestlers in this entire sport(huge pop) and The Beast Dan Severn giving them the edge that has been missing from them for a few years now. Flair makes the official announcement that the Horsemen are backing Dan "The Beast" Severn in the big news story announcement that he has been signed to face UFC Superfight World Champion Ken Shamrock one on one in the Octagon at UFC IX at Cobo Hall in Detroit in May! Severn has already brought the NWA World Title, the most prestigious title in this sport, back to the Horsemen where it belongs. On May 17th Severn will bring the UFC World title to the Horsemen and they will be there in Detroit for the event! Dan Severn will represent the Four Horsemen in the Octagon when he challenges UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock at UFC IX, on May 17th live on pay per view! All of a sudden Flair is interrupted when "The Macho Man" Randy Savage comes out to the entrance stage cutting him off, "WHOOOOOAAAAAAA YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH".... The Macho Man gets the crowd going CRAZY! Randy Savage is HERE! Savage tells Ric Flair that he must have a short memory, because The Macho Man still hasn't forgotten about getting screwed out of his WCW World Title back at Starrcade in December! Savage tells Flair he doesn't care if he's popular, if he's the good guy, the bad guy, he hates his stinking GUTS more than anyone he's ever hated in his LIFE! Savage threatens Ric Flair to take him down, he's just the next step on his way to getting his belt back! Savage challenges Flair to face off in one final battle, man to man, one on one! Just as Flair attempts to reply Savage is shockingly attacked from behind by Jeff Jarrett, smashing a guitar over the back of his head out of nowhere! Savage is down! Jeff Jarrett looks on at Ric Flair and the Horsemen in the ring with an intense threatening gaze before pulling Savage up and throwing him OFF THE ENTRANCE STAGE! Jim Ross shouts GOOD GAWD as Savage crashes and rolls on the concrete on impact! EMT's race to Savage's aid as Jarrett threatens The Horsemen from the entrance stage! Security races out to hold Flair, Benoit, Arn, and Severn back as we cut away to commercials!.... Singles Match:
"The Total Package" Lex Luger vs ?After another round of commercials we get Lance Wright coming back out with his main event attraction, "The Total Package" Lex Luger getting boo'd. Wright leads Luger to the ring for his scheduled bout and plugs his opponent that he's hand selected, a well respected Canadian wrestler that was trained by the Hart Family..... Jake Steele?! WHO? Lance Wright takes a spot at the commentary table with Joey Styles and JR as Luger takes on the 499th ranked wrestler in the PWI 500, Jake Steele. Jim Ross takes a shot at Lance on commentary, asking isn't he scraping the bottom of the barrel here with this challenger, Luger is a former World Champion. Joey Styles notes Luger's lone victory here in BOTB a countout win over Barry Horowitz of all people. Luger works Steele with rest holds while Wright on commentary talks about rebuilding his drawing power as a heavyweight star attraction on pay per view. Lance Wright puts Luger over as one of the premier main event draws in this business going into the future of this sport. Luger finishes his opponent by press slamming him out of the ring down to the padded floor! Steele rolls around unable to get up and answer the ref's 10 count, giving Luger the victory via countout after 2:11! Lance Wright leaves his spot at the commentary table to join Luger in celebration in the ring! The two jump around celebrating Luger's victory(giving him a 2-0 record in BOTB) until the current BOTB CEO Eric Bischoff comes out to the ring furious! Bischoff gets a microphone and orders this mockery of the sport to be brought to an end. Bischoff informs Lex Luger that this Best Of The Best league is all about being the best, not coasting through easy matchups with safe wins. Eric informs Lance Wright that Lex Luger must face a real challenger or else he will be fired! That challenger will be STING one on one this Saturday night on SHOCKWAVE or else Luger is GONE! Lex and Lance Wright are furious! It's been set! Lex Luger must face Sting finally one on one this Saturday night at 6:05 on TBS on Shockwave or else he's fired from Best Of The Best! Music Video:
Perry Mason by Ozzy OsbourneAfter the match we get another music video highlight package, this time set to Perry Mason by Ozzy Osbourne playing along to clips of the events leading up to the big 10 Man Mega Battle Tag Match set for the main event of The Tokyo Dome on March 31st in Japan on pay per view at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! The clips show the dominance of the UWFI over the New Japan promotion last year, with Takada capturing the IWGP Heavyweight title(then defending it by taking down Hashimoto in Mexico City last month). The Rings promotion made it's move on the AJPW promotion with a near clean sweep in one of the biggest events this year, culminating in Akira Maeda capturing the Triple Crown World Heavyweight title. Yoshiaki Fujiwara shocked the Japanese wrestling world when he dishonored a ceremony held at BOTB Bushido in his honor, hosted by Inoki, when he united Maeda and Takada in the spirit of the old UWF. The union of the UWFI and Rings became The Kings Of Kings, the strongest organization in the sport.  The news was broke recently that Lou Thesz has granted Antonio Inoki his original World Championship Of Professional Wrestling title belt to put on the line in a match to face the KOK in one winner take all battle at the Dome on March 31st. The KOK accepted the challenge to put the IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line in exchange for Inoki to put Thesz's title belt on the line. The KOK announced the team of Nobuhiko Takada, Akira Maeda, Yoji Anjo, Kiyoshi Tamura, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Team Inoki was made official with Antonio Inoki, The Great Muta, Kenta Kobashi, and the alliance with Pancrase shooters(and UWF veterans) Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Tickets for the event sold out in record time.... On Location:
Calgary, Alberta Canada(Bret Hart's training camp)After the break we return with exclusive footage inside the training camp of Bret "The Hitman" Hart as he prepares for the battle of his career, his shot at the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels in the Tokyo Dome on March 31st on pay per view live(and on tape delay) from The Tokyo Dome in Japan, it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96!  We've seen Bret's training for this match with footage over the past few weeks showing him returning to his roots in Calgary for a full 6 week training camp(Michaels also removed himself from the BOTB road travel schedule to go back home to Texas for a 6 week camp of his own dedicated solely for this match). Last week we seen Bret training with special guest The Thrillseekers, and Rookie Of The Year frontrunner(Olympic Gold Medalist freestyle wrestler turned pro wrestler this year) Kevin Jackson. This week the footage shows Bret training all week just focusing on defending Michaels most lethal maneuver; The Sweet Chin Music....  Bret is shown studying the tapes of HBK using this move to finish opponents of all different styles and sizes. The Hitman is shown in an interview about the Sweet Chin Music saying he feels like this move is something HBK has really mastered only recently in his career, noting that he used a different finisher in their past matches. Michaels has been using the move since his days with The Rockers as a tag wrestler, but his mastery of the move led to his impressive victory over Sting in his title defense in Las Vegas last month at BOTB II: Revenge Of The Warriors. The exclusive footage shows Bret Hart working this week with more special guests in his gym in Calgary to prepare for Michaels' Sweet Chin Music, including one of the original masters of the move; "Gentleman" Chris Adams. Adams is a well accomplished British wrestler that found great success using the Superkick in the 1980's. Bret is shown sparring with Adams in training sessions working to avoid and counter his Superkick.  Another special guest shown working with Bret in the footage is the legendary Canadian kickboxing legend Jean Yves Therault, one of the all time greatest kickboxers ever. Bret is shown working on technical strategy and in-ring on defense of the Sweet Chin Music with Therault with clips of his interview playing alongside the footage. Bret is heard in the interview saying that he will be ready for Shawn Michaels on the 31st and he knows Shawn will not beat him with the Sweet Chin Music, he will have to find another way, he's going to force this into a wrestling match, and he knows Shawn can't hang with him move for move.... World Tag League Match:
The Legion Of Doom(2-0-1) vs The Hardcore Guns(1-2)We return to the live shot in the arena with the Hardcore Guns already wrapping up their entrance getting boo'd. A picture in picture cut-in shows a pre-recorded backstage interview of Billy and Bart Gunn talking about how old and washed up the LOD are, it's 1996 and whats up with those blue outfits? The Hardcore Guns are going to prove tonight that this isn't the same LOD, it's a new era! The LOD come out to a MASSIVE pop, WHAAAAAAAT AAAAAAAA RUUUUUUSH! Hawk and Animal hit the ring and destroy Billy and Bart through the first 5 minutes, keeping the crowd hot as they toss them around the ring with brute force and reckless abandon! The momentum is turned when a cheap shot counters Hawk and sends the action out to the floor. The Guns take the battle into the audience for a four man crowd brawl! Billy and Bart work together to drop Animal through a mound of chairs with a double vertical suplex! The HC Guns isolate Hawk back to the ringside area and pull out a mound of tangled BARBED WIRE! The crowd loses it! Hawk gets double back body dropped ONTO THE WIRE! JR shouts in disgust AW GAWD! SOMEBODY STOP THIS! Hawk quivers in pain in the barbed wire as Animal recovers and attempts to fight both Billy and Bart back inside the ring! The Guns work togethrer and manage to finish him off with their back suplex/neckbreaker slam combo finisher! Animal is pinned to give the Hardcore Guns a SHOCKING upset victory at 5:19! The LOD have been defeated! The Hardcore Guns retreat celebrating in the entrance isle as Hawk and Animal are left struggling to recover! Billy and Bart celebrate the win from the stage as the LOD are shown beaten and bloodied(Hawk's back from the barbed wire)... On Location:
Austin, TX(University Of Texas)
After the match we get a special exclusive footage from inside the training camp of HBK, the Undisputed World Champion of Best Of The Best. Michaels has spent his camp so far working with his mentor Jose Lothario in San Antonio, but this week he took his camp on the road up north to Austin to work at the state of the art facilities at the University Of Texas. The footage shows Michaels under Jose Lothario's guidance working with UT's Strength and Conditioning coach Roger "Rock" Gullickson. Michaels is shown in an interview talking about making the trip to Austin throughout the rest of his training camp in an effort to be at his strongest he's ever been against Bret at the Tokyo Dome. HBK is shown being pushed beyond his limits in some of the his most grueling training sessions. The Heartbreak Kid has never been this strong, this fast, this focused. HBK narrates the training footage talking about how the WWF Championship title belt itself is gone forever, it kills him that Bret will go down as the final ever WWF Champion and that he will never know what it feels like to hold that belt. Michaels pledges that even though the belt is gone forever it's still the title that Bret carries that he will look to conquer finally in Tokyo on the 31st, he will prove himself once and for all as the one true Undisputed Champion.... Singles Match:
"The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
After the final commercial break we get the entrance of the 21 year old phenom Rey Mysterio Jr. to Sad But True by Metallica as he is focused and determined to complete the trifecta, he defeated Shane Douglas last month in his debut, he went toe to toe with Stone Cold and lived to tell about it, now he's going one on one against The Loose Cannon... Pillman comes out all smiles and cocky laughter accompanied by Paul E. Dangerously. Pillman wastes little time in attacking Rey Mysterio Jr, prompting referee Charles Robinson to call for the bell! Mysterio counters and reverses Pillman in a mat scramble that leads to a lightning fast rope running sequence that ends with Rey springboarding off of Pillman into a Rana! Pillman recovers and quickly backdrops Rey out onto the apron before running and springboarding off of the corner to take him down to the floor with a haphazard tornado DDT! The arena gasps as both men plummet into the floor awkwardly before rolling around in pain! Pillman leans up laughing into the camera flashing the broken 3 finger Horsemen symbol... Paul E. is shown stalking around the ringside area as Pillman and Rey Mysterio tear the house down in a technical high flying 1996 thriller of a classic that keeps the entire arena gasping! Mysterio stays move for move with Pillman, outflying him in the air, only to struggle against Pillman's newfound nastiness. Pillman hurts Mysterio with ruthless tactics, fishhooking his mouth, using his mask to throw him around, gouging his eyes, choking, pushing referee Charles Robinson to his limits. Mysterio sets the crowd off into a standing ovation after flying out of the ring with a somersault senton plancha! Just as it looks like Rey may have Pillman legitimately hurt Paul E. Dangerously gets involved as the ref is distracted! Paul E. stuns Rey after kicking him while he's down! Pillman recovers and takes Rey Mysterio back into the ring to finish him off until all of a sudden out comes sprinting Chris Benoit to the ring! The crowd goes ballistic! Benoit rushes into the ring and immediately tackles Pillman to the mat in a mad scramble fight! The ref calls the bout off as a no contest as Pillman and Benoit fight out of the ring and INTO THE CROWD SLUGGING IT OUT! Security struggles to keep the crowd back as both men tear into each other with stiff punches! Rey begins to recover in the ring just as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shane Douglas hit the ring to attack him with steel chairs! Paul E. watches on as Rey is beaten down and his neck placed inside a steel folding chair! Just as Austin reels back to crush Mysterio's skull all of a sudden the crowd goes crazy as Cactus Jack and Terry Funk hit the ring, with Cactus carrying a BARBED WIRE BASEBALL BAT! Cactus and Terry Funk fight Austin and Shane Douglas out of the ring to save Rey Mysterio! Paul E. retreats with Austin and Shane absolutely FURIOUS as Cactus and Funk stand tall protective over little Rey. Meanwhile Brian Pillman and Chris Benoit are show tearing into each other in a WILD brawl through the crowd and WE ARE OUT OF TIIIIIIIIIII...... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 22, 2023 22:42:54 GMT
The Budokan Arena(Tokyo, Japan)
March 14th, 1996 Tonight's very special episode of Bushido hits the air on TBS with Mike Tenay narrating an opening video package that showcases the legendary Budokan Arena in all of it's glory, from the inside out. The Budokan isn't a church, but for combat sports and martial arts... this is holy ground... Best Of The Best has packed up the Bushido series and taken it out of it's permanent home in the Manhattan Center in Times Square New York to the Land Of The Rising Sun for this exclusive event at the legendary mecca for martial arts; The Budokan Arena. Starting tonight and all through the rest of March tune in right here at 8:05 on TBS as Bushido will bring you all of the exclusive action and aftermath from this landmark pro wrestling/martial arts hybrid event. Tonight's episode we will see Dean Malenko, "The Man Of 1,000 Holds", "The Shooter" step into the Bushido realm to test his might under UWF rules against one of the most dangerous veterans from the Kings Of Kings; Yoji Anjo. We will also see a featured bout from All Japan Womens Pro Wrestling along with all of the hype and news from around the world on our trek down the road to Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 live on pay per view on March 31st from The Tokyo Dome!.... All Japan Womens Bout:
Toshiyo Yamada vs Etsuko MitaMike Tenay and co-host Phillip Rhee(black belt martial artist, actor, and screen play writer for the Best Of The Best films) welcome the television audience to tonight's opening match on commentary from the historic Budokan Arena in Tokyo. Toshiyo Yamada and Etsuko Mita are introduced in Japanese with a respectful applause as they stare each other down from opposite corners. Mike Tenay notes the historical significance of this bout being the first Womens wrestling match in Best Of The Best's brief existence being put together in honor of the Bushido open mind, open mat, no one way as a way philosophy that accepts all different styles of martial arts and pro wrestling. Tenay brings the goods with backgrounds on both women as they lock horns early on after the bell. Both Yamada and Mita are among two of the best that the AJW promotion has to offer, both came from the same rookie class of 1987 and at one time were tag team partners in a team called "Dream Orca". They captured the AJW Tag Championship in 1989 but had to vacate the title after Yamada suffered an injury. The bout develops into an all out war that brings the crowd to life with a stiffness and intensity that is different, kicks and slaps with vicious impact, suplexes, moves performed with clean snap with perfect bridging and a physicality that is downright nasty at times. Neither warrior backs down or gives up even after the action spills out onto the floor into the steel railing around the ring! The battle turns into a brawl that sees both women take vicious falls onto the thinly padded concrete floor, including a double underhook suplex by Yamada that drops Mita off the apron! Yamada drags Mita back into the ring to break the count from the ref. The finish comes after Yamada evades a spin kick and counters with a Death Valley Driver, only for Mita to escape and counter with a spinning wheel kick right to the face. Yamada is knocked out for the pinfall after 12:52. What an incredible battle, this is the Bushido way... Music Video:
Kumite by Paul Hertzog(Bloodsport Soundtrack)After the commercial break we get a highlight music video montage set to Kumite from the Bloodsport Soundtrack. The video shows clips of Taz and Yokozuna training along with clips of both men arriving separately to Japan for their rematch at the Budokan. The montage shows Yokozuna stepping off of the plane to a huge mob of Japanese press with flash bulbs going off. The former 2 time WWF World Champion seen a career resurgence in BOTB in 1996, with impressive one on one victories over William Regal, Craig Pittman, and even a win over popular American "Toughman" brawler Butterbean in a hybrid rules battle on Bushido last month. Yokozuna seemed primed for another run at a World Title shot until he answered the open challenge made by Taz in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace at Best Of The Best II: The Revenge Of The Warriors... Taz is a dangerous Judo black belt that developed into a hyrbrid style warrior in the renegade ECW promotion where he got his start in South Philadelphia. There were no rules in ECW, anything goes. The undersized heavyweight hit BOTB with a big splash in his debut earlier this year when he choked out the much larger "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama. After choking out Craig "The Pitbull" Pittman on Bushido in January Taz forced Kama to tapout in their rematch on the February 8th episode of Bushido. When The Human Suplex Machine came out to Caesars Palace at BOTB II on pay per view last month he called out anyone that had the balls to face him, he would end up taking on the greatest challenge of his career when Yokozuna answered him. The David vs Goliath battle between Taz and Yokozuna would end in controversy. After Taz's attempt to suplex the 600 pound former Sumo grand champion failed, Yokozuna dominated Taz like we had yet to see anyone do here in BOTB. Taz weathered a devastating attack from Yokozuna before countering him with an armbar attempt off his back. Yoko lifted Taz up off the canvas and threw him into the top turnbuckle to escape his armbar. The impact stunned Taz and damaged the turnbuckle, causing it to break when Yoko went for his Bonzai Drop in the same corner. The top rope broke and Yokozuna fell to the canvas, due to his enormous size he struggled to get back up. Taz recovered and locked the big man in his Kata-Hajime submission for the huge upset victory(in the same exact venue where Yoko won the WWF title from Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IX three years ago). Taz's win over Yokozuna in Las Vegas was heavily disputed by Bushido interviewer/commentator(and kickboxing legend) Don "The Dragon" Wilson, who cited that Yokozuna would have defeated Taz had the rope not broken. This started a heated beef between Taz and Wilson and infuriated Taz, who has used the controversy to drive him to train even harder for the highly anticipated rematch. Taz vs Yokozuna II at the Budokan, this time there will be no controversy...
Two men will enter the ring in the Budokan Arena, but in the end... there can be only one. Tune into Bushido next week at 8:05 on TBS: The Superstation to see the highly anticipated rematch between "The Human Suplex Machine" Taz vs the 600 pound former 2 time WWF World Champion, Yokozuna! International Report W/ Don "The Dragon" Wilson
After the video we rejoin Mike Tenay and Phillip Rhee at the commentary booth ringside at the Budokan with them being joined by kickboxing legend(current Bushido analyst/interviewer) Don "The Dragon" Wilson with his weekly "International Report" update. Wilson hypes up the Taz vs Yokozuna rematch set to be featured here next week on Bushido before plugging the recent news that broke this week that the contract has been signed, the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion and current Four Horsemen; Dan "The Beast" Severn will step into the Octagon to take on the reigning UFC Superfight Champion; Ken Shamrock live on pay per view in May at UFC IX from Detroit...  This will be a huge matchup where we will see the Four Horsemen attempt to bring in another World Championship from the UFC. The Horsemen are expected to be there in the building for the bout in the Cobo Hall in Detroit. The match is a rematch from Shamrock and Severn's bout last Summer at UFC VI where Shamrock choked Severn out with a standing guillotine choke to become the Undisputed king of the Octagon... Shamrock's submission win over Severn came after he mostly dominated Royce Gracie in their time limit draw at UFC V earlier in 1995. After beating Severn to win the UFC's Superfight title Shamrock would go on to defend the title in a dominant performance against "The Russian Bear" Oleg Taktarov at UFC VII followed by a submission win over Kimo in a thrilling battle at UFC VIII last month. Both Shamrock and Severn started out in professional wrestling, with Shamrock being a veteran of Japan's UWF and Pancrase hybrid wrestling promotions while Severn had a successful run in the UWFI prior to making a splash at his UFC debut in December 94. Severn is currently ranked 6th in Best Of The Best official Top 10 rankings with a 2-0 record(his German suplex on Alex Wright has become a permanent fixture in BOTB highlight reels). The biggest news in Japan at the moment was the immediate selling out of the Tokyo Dome upon the announcement of the official 10 Man Mega Battle Tag Team main event. The bout will see the Kings Of Kings organization(the aligned forces of UWFI and Rings) taking on Team Inoki. The teams were finalized last week with the KOK being co-captained by Nobuhiko Takada and Akira Maeda, while starring Kiyoshi Tamura, Yoji Anjo, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Team Inoki will be captained by Antonio Inoki and will see an all star cast including the aligned forces of AJPW(Kenta Kobashi) and NJPW(The Great Muta). In order to stand a chance against the shooters of the KOK Inoki has reached out to get Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki to join Team Inoki. The two top Pancrase shooters were born and bred in the dojos of the UWF and will be able to match any shooting skills from the KOK in the Tokyo Dome on March 31st; it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Clips from recent news reports are replayed with interviews with Masakatsu Funaki(from Team Inoki) and Akira Maeda(from the KOK). Funaki in his interview talks about the alliance of Pancrase and the Best Of The Best that started earlier this year when the King Of Pancrase; Bas Rutten, competed in the BOTB 30 Man Champions Rumble. The partnership of Pancrase with the BOTB became about because of the connections Pancrase has with one of the Championship Councilmen; the legendary Karl Gotch. Funaki says in his interview that he will fight for Team Inoki at the Tokyo Dome in honor of his mentor Karl Gotch. Funaki also stated that what the KOK are doing to the sport of wrestling has no honor, they've taken the original message of the UWF to the darkness. Akira Maeda's interview is translated to English to reveal his feelings towards Funaki's statements, saying that Funaki doesn't understand the KOK are fighting against all of the darkness that Inoki has brought to the sport, the dishonor, the dishonesty, lying to the people to take their money. Maeda stated that the KOK is the burning spirit of the UWF still alive, they will make a stand in the Tokyo Dome on the 31st... Beyond The Mat:
Jose LotharioTonight's Beyond The Mat feature focuses in on the mentor of the current reigning and defending Best Of The Best Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels, the legendary Jose Lothario. Michaels turned his career around from a near career ending concussion late last year to become arguably one of the most dynamic Champions of any sport in 1996. Many cite the source of HBK's newfound focus to be his return to his roots, his reunion with his original mentor Jose Lothario in San Antonio Texas, the place where it all started for him. Shawn Michaels rallied to be the last man standing in Houston in January at Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning when he won the 30 Man Champions Rumble. Immediately after the match he took his shot at the Undisputed Champ, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. With the assistance of Bret Hart coming out to fight off The Horsemen, Michaels was able to defeat Flair for the title to become the one true Undisputed World Champion. HBK would defend his title to unify with the Mexican Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Konnan in Mexico City on Judgement Night last month, then avenge his lone defeat in BOTB when he pinned Sting at Caesars Palace in Vegas at BOTB II: The Revenge Of The Warriors. Now, HBK is set to face his greatest rival, the man that never truly lost the WWF Championship(and still considered the true Champion by many of his fans); Bret "The Hitman" Hart, one on one, Tokyo Dome in Japan, live on pay per view on March 31st it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Shawn Michaels has reached a level of athletic conditioning and focus that is unparalleled in any combat sport today. For his training camp for his upcoming title defense against Hart in Japan HBK has removed himself from the road schedule of BOTB, turned down all press appearances(including invites for Letterman, and Regis & Kathy Lee) and returned to San Antonio for a full 6 week training camp with Jose Lothario at the helm. Lothario's background in boxing made him one of the toughest Luchadores in Monterrey Mexico prior to moving to the United States in 1957. Jose became one of the best of the best in the ring in Texas and Florida throughout the 70's decade, winning numerous NWA Tag Team titles and becoming one of the all time legends of the sport. Lothario took Michaels under his wing in training in San Antonio in the 1980's and had a tremendous impact on his career as a father figure. After HBK returned to train with Lothario he has refined his focus to being the best wrestler in the world today. Jose Lothario has been in HBK's corner and given him an edge as a true Champion, he will have Michaels ready when he steps into the ring in the Tokyo Dome to face Bret "The Hitman" Hart.... UWF Rules Bout
Yoji Anjo vs Dean MalenkoThe crowd is on edge for tonight's main event from the Budokan as the Kings Of Kings are set to make a statement against one of the finest grapplers that Best Of The Best has to offer, "The Shooter" Dean Malenko. Yoji Anjo lands a HUGE kick to Dean's body early on and manages to overpower him in the clinch, taking him down with ease after several hard knees to the body. After a stalemate on the ground near the ropes the crowd goes silent and the referee Yuji Shimata stops the bout to stand both men up for a restart. As Yoji Anjo gets up he throws a nasty kick that drills Dean Malenko right in the face! The crowd gasps! The referee pushes Yoji Anjo back and issues a foul for the illegal kick! Dean rolls around wincing in pain for a moment before pulling himself up with fire in his eyes! Anjo has a point deducted for the illegal strike and Malenko charges in on him with fury after the bout is restarted! The crowd swells as Malenko batters Anjo with forearm strikes before rolling down into a rolling kneebar, transitioned up into a stepover toelock facehold! Anjo manages to get a rope break but Malenko has to be pried off of him by the referee! Malenko is issued a foul by the ref for refusing to break the hold! Both men are even with one foul a piece and things get even more intense after another restart! Anjo manages to stay out of Malenko's grasps and punishes him with kicks to the legs and body, bruising his right leg with visible welts. Anjo takes a shot at a high kick but Malenko shoots in under and takes Anjo's back for a sweep takedown into side control. Anjo manages to sweep Malenko over to take the top position. Both men struggle for wrist control until Anjo gouges Malenko in his eye with a thumb! Malenko shouts and winces in pain until the referee frantically calls for a stop! Anjo is pulled off of his top position arguing with the referee until he's issued ANOTHER foul for eye gouging! Anjo and his KOK cornermen argue with the referee briefly as Dean struggles with his eye. After a brief delay the bout is restarted again with Mike Tenay on commentary noting that one more foul or rope break and Anjo will lose this bout under UWF rules. After another restart Anjo lands another devastating low kick that nearly drops Malenko! Malenko limps on his right leg but keeps fighting back. Both men lock up in a violent clinch that ends up with BOTH OF THEM PLUMMETING THROUGH THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR! The crowd in the Budokan gasps! Both men roll around brawling as ringside referees attempt to break them up! This is MADNESS! This match has spiraled out of control and is ruled a no contest after Anjo's KOK cornermen get involved in an attack on Malenko on the floor and WE ARE OUT OF TIIIII.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 27, 2023 20:41:23 GMT
Northlands Coliseum(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
March 16th, 1996 Shockwave opens up tonight on TBS with backstage parking lot footage of Sting wearing street clothes and sunglasses arriving to the venue in his truck ready to go to work, all business. A black stretch limo pulls up in another shot with "The Total Package" Lex Luger stepping out with his agent Lance Wright and fellow Hype Central Promotions stablemate Rob Van Dam following him behind. We are set for the battle between two former friends turned foes, finally TONIGHT, Sting vs Lex Luger! IT'S ON! Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan welcome the television audience to the program as the crowd in the Northlands Coliseum is shown going crazy around them. The BOTB tour of Canada continues tonight with Shockwave here in Edmonton and we have a STACKED full card of wrestling action for 2 hours here on The Superstation as we continue on the road to Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 set for pay per view from the Tokyo Dome on March 31st! Tonight's opening match is one that has been months in the making, ever since Bret Hart brought Chris Jericho to Best Of The Best as a surprise challenge for Ric Flair's WCW World Championship(Jericho scored an upset to win the title but the decision was reversed later in the week due to outside interference). Owen Hart was overcome with bitterness and jealousy that his own brother would pass him over for a shot at a major title for a young unknown in Jericho. This would lead to Owen's deal made with The Horsemen to double cross Bret, leaving him in a tag match against the group to get his knee injured and his WWF Championship belt destroyed. This has been a match that Owen and Bulldog have had circled on their World Tag League schedule and licking their chops, especially after last week's footage of both Jericho and Storm working with Bret in his training camp in Calgary helping him prepare for his Undisputed Title shot at HBK on the 31st at BOTB III... World Tag League Match:
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(W/Jim Cornette)(1-1-1)
vs
The Thrillseekers("Lionheart" Chris Jericho & Lance Storm)(0-3) Jericho and Owen start off the match one on one in a thrilling back and forth battle that establishes the pace of the match right from the very start. The crowd is white hot throughout what turns out to be an instant classic and easily without a doubt the best wrestling match of Best Of The Best's young 3 month existence so far in 1996. The teams battle through multiple commercial breaks with Owen and Bulldog holding an advantage through most of the bout. Bulldog tosses Jericho and Storm around with ease at times, but gets tested in a late match grappling exchange with Lance Storm that ends with him getting dropped with a desperation superkick to the face. The nearfalls get the dramatic gasps from the crowd as the regulation clock winds down after 15 minutes! Incredible! Both teams are totally exhausted during the break before overtime as the crowd cheers them both on with a huge standing ovation! This is the second week in a row the Thrillseekers are going into overtime, last week they took The Eliminators into deep water in another thriller. Lance Storm starts the overtime period off against Owen Hart and they take it back to the mats in a thrilling grappling exchange, quick nearfalls one after another, reversals, flips, counters, until finally Owen lands his ENZIGUIRI! Storm is out but Owen is completely exhausted! Desperation grows between both teams as the final minutes of overtime wind down with the ref losing control of the action. A 2 on 2 brawl erupts in the ring with The British Bulldog and Chris Jericho being the legal men for their teams. Jericho dumps Owen over the top rope while Bulldog smashes Lance Storm with his running power slam! Bulldog counters a move from Jericho before lifting him up into position for the powerslam only for Jericho to reverse him into a victory roll.... 1..... 2..... 3! UNBELIEVABLE! The crowd goes NUTS! The Thrillseekers have upset Owen Hart and The British Bulldog with a clean pinfall victory at 19:04! Jim Cornette is on the floor stamping his feet throwing a fit in disbelief! Chris Jericho and Lance Storm! WHAT A MATCH! WOW! Backstage Interview W/Mike Tenay:
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, & Shane Douglas(W/Paul E. Dangerously)After the match we cut away to Paul E. Dangerously standing by with Mike Tenay with his clients in The New Alliance, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, and Shane Douglas. Paul E. Dangerously cuts a promo about the upcoming LIVE episode of Judgement Night set for Calgary on Monday night on the USA Network. Bret "The Hitman" Hart is scheduled to be in the building in his home arena to promote his upcoming challenge of HBK's Undisputed Championship title, the entire Hart family is expected to be in the building. The New Alliance will also be in the building and they are laying down the challenge to Bret, prove that he truly is the #1 contender to the Undisputed World Title. Paul E. pleads to The Hitman, PLEASE prove to your home country how much of a fighting champion you are, put your shot on the line against any one of these 3 men behind me... take your pick... Shane Douglas steps up and pledges to be the man that challenges Bret first, he wants Shawn Michaels and he feels like he's the true #1 contender because everybody knows that his only loss was a set up fluke. Shane exclaims that he's got the most wins of anybody in the top 10 and he wants what he deserves a shot at the F.... Mike Tenay cuts Douglas off informing him that he's on thin ice being on Shockwave he's been ordered not to give him the microphone this is a family wrestling program. Shane tells Tenay to cut the *%#@*&%, everybody with a brain knows that this show is taped, they're going to cut out whatever they want to cut. Shane snaps and goes nuts! The censor beep just keeps going continuously as Paul E. fights to hold him back as the censors bleep him out... Brian Pillman laughs about it hysterically before taking over the interview saying that Bret "The Hitman" Hart is a valiant hero but the time is at hand, what you're going to see on Monday night is Bret facing his own personal Judgement Night hahaha RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS OWN FAMILY! Pillman vows that Shawn Michaels, Eric Bischoff's poster boy, fear the consequences because the censors can't stop us, the networks can't stop us, ERIC BISCHOFF.... (Pillman gets very serious suddenly).... a man so smart, A MAN SO SMART.. HE'S HIS OWN WORST #*%@*#* ENEMY! Austin seems disgusted with Tenay, Pillman, and the whole interview as Pillman goes nuts behind him kicking things offscreen, jumping in and out of the shot snarling with his broken four Horsemen hand gesture. Paul E. smiles from ear to ear with evil as Stone Cold reveals that he really doesn't care for Brian Pillman or Shane Douglas to be quite honest, he doesn't need their help, and he damn sure doesn't trust either one of them but if you want to talk about anybody that believed in Steve Austin last year when he was injured, when he was down and out you can count them all on one hand and still have fingers left. Austin says that the one man that still believed in him all along was Paul E. Dangerously. The only fingers he's got left for everyone in this industry, this sport, for everybody that counted him out last year are his middle fingers, and he's sticking them up tonight for Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and the entire god forsaken country of CANADA! Austin calls Bret the biggest sissy he's seen since Wayne Gretzky, saying that Bret calls himself a "Hitman" but Austin has put together his own hit list; Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Rey Mysterio, one by one by one, they're all gonna end up just like Mikey Whipreck rolling along on wheels with a colostomy bag attached to them if they step in front of him again.... Singles Match:
Kevin Jackson vs William Regal
Regal gives the rookie Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist his toughest challenge yet after nearly hooking him in a multitude of holds within the first three minutes on the mats. Jackson is barely able to escape Regal's transitions from hold to hold in a textbook mat clinic. Shiavonne and Heenan talk about Jackson's transition from Olympic gold medalist wrestler into the professional realm here in Best Of The Best with an impressive victory over Hunter Hearst Helmsley in his debut. Regal gets countered in the clinch later on in the match and dumped with a vicious side suplex that stuns him. Jackson is able to counter Regal again later on into his Death Valley Driver finisher for the pinfall at 6:31! The impressive victory gives Kevin Jackson a 3-0 record while the crushing defeat moves Regal to 0-4 in his BOTB run in 1996. In a rare gesture from Regal he offers a handshake after the bout. Jackson accepts and Regal raises his arm out of respect before bowing out of the BOTB ring perhaps for the final time... Up Close W/Mike Tenay:
Ahmed Johnson
After the commercials we get the first installment of a new introspective series from Mike Tenay, "Up Close With Mike Tenay" with this week's focus being on the rising sensation Ahmed Johnson. The 60 Minutes style production focuses in on Ahmed's rise in the WWF in 1995 on into his transition into the Best Of The Best in 1996, where he remains undefeated at 5-0(Ahmed is currently ranked #2 in the Top 10). Ahmed's footage of his rise is shown juxtapose with a sit down interview with Tenay. Tenay asks Ahmed about the biggest match of his career when he steps into the ring to face The Ultimate Warrior in Japan at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st on pay per view at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96. The segment focuses on Ahmed's lack of experience compared to his opponent on the 31st in Tokyo; The Ultimate Warrior, a former WWF World Champion that has defeated Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania at the Skydome in Toronto. Many question is Ahmed ready for this challenge at this stage of his career? Ahmed answers the question with intensity in his eyes that he is ready, that he came here to Best Of The Best because he wants to face the ultimate challenge, he will not back down. Ahmed Johnson vs The Ultimate Warrior, one on one on pay per view on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Call your cable or satellite provider now and do not miss the biggest heavyweight showdown of the decade! Two of the strongest warriors will step into the ring, but in the end.... there can be only one.... World Tag League Match:
Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit(1-2)
vs
Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon(0-3)The Four Horsemen entrance music brings the Edmonton crowd to their feet! The Nature Boy, Ric Flair leads out Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit to the ring to a huge ovation from the fans. Furnas and Lafon are already in the ring ready to go for the following World Tag League matchup and they are desperate to salvage their season as they are currently 0-3, with a 4th loss essentially dooming them to miss the final four tournament to crown the first one true Undisputed World Tag Team Champions. Flair takes the commentary booth with his good friend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Shiavonne as a special guest as Arn and Benoit take it to the limit with Furnas and Lafon in a killer all out technical tag team battle that gets the crowd going just as hot as the opener did. Benoit goes at it in technical chain wrestling sequences and BRUTAL stiff striking exchanges with the AJPW veterans Furnas & Lafon, while Arn controls the bout for The Horsemen with smart strategy, focused attacks. Flair on commentary chums it up with Heenan and boasts about how strong and proud the Horsemen are right now, with Dan "The Beast" Severn bringing a level of class and dignity to the organization, bringing the NWA World Championship belt back to the fold, the Four Horsemen are elite. Shiavonne briefly notes Severn's scheduled UFC fight against UFC Champion Ken Shamrock at UFC IX that was recently announced for May with The Horsemen planning to be there in Detroit to support Severn for the bout. Flair confirms that the Horsemen will be there for Severn as he will attempt to bring the UFC Superfight Title, their World Heavyweight title, to the Horsemen while Benoit and Arn are focused on taking the Undisputed World Tag Team belts and Flair is focused on another run at the Undisputed World Title... As Arn and Benoit control Phil Lafon in the ring all of a sudden Ric Flair is attacked at the commentary by... BRIAN PILLMAN! The cameras cut away as Pillman viciously beats on Flair with punches and stomps! Pillman grabs a nearby steel chair and DESTROYS Ric Flair with it with shots to his back and head! The entire crowd focuses on what is going on at the booth(which is back near the entrance stage kinda like WCW would do for Nitro), causing Benoit and Arn to divert their attention to notice Pillman beating Flair with the chair! Arn and Benoit race out of the ring and chase after Pillman, getting counted out by the referee in the process! Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon win the bout by countout at 7:12! Arn stays with Flair trying to help him as Benoit chases after Pillman off to the backstage area as we cut away to commercials.... On Location:
Big Bear, California
After the break we get exclusive training montage footage of the current reigning and defending Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels! Michaels is shown on location in Big Bear the high altitude training center alongside boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya. HBK is shown in the clips being watched by his mentor Jose Lothario as he works with De La Hoya as well as Kliq members The 123 Kid and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Michaels is shown in an interview that plays through the training footage talking about traveling from Texas to California to train here at 8,000 feet high altitude and the benefits it has on endurance. Shawn in the interview says that this match against Bret in Japan is the biggest match of his career, he wants to be the best version of himself he can possibly be, he refuses to lose this Undisputed Championship to Bret Hart, he will be ready for Japan on the 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Singles Match:
Marc Mero(W/Sable) vs Rey Mysterio Jr.Rey Mysterio Jr. comes out first to Metallica's Sad But True and the crowd gives him a warm reception. Shiavonne and Heenan note the tough lineup of competition Mysterio has stepped into the ring to face since making his debut in a stunning surprise upset win over top ranked Shane Douglas on Judgement Night in San Diego last month. He's the only wrestler that has been in the ring with all 3 of Paul E. Dangerously's New Alliance(Douglas, Austin, and Pillman) and remarkably somehow has lived to tell about it. Mero makes his way out next with the lovely Sable by his side with Shiavonne talking about how tough of a challenge this is for Mysterio, Mero is currently undefeated at 4-0 in BOTB and ranked 8th in the top 10. Mero and Mysterio bring the house down in a stunning high flying back and forth battle until all of a sudden Shane Douglas comes running out. Douglas drops Mysterio with his double underhook DDT out on the padded floor before rolling him back in the ring while the ref is distracted. Mero recovers and hits Rey's lifeless body with his Shooting Star Press and scores the pinfall at 8:14! Unbelievable! Shane Douglas has cost Rey Mysterio Jr. a major matchup here. Mero goes to celebrate the win but Sable stops him frantically explaining what happened. Mero is in disbelief as he notices Shane Douglas laughing from the elevated entrance ramp. Mero and Sable refuse to take the tainted win and tell the referee what happened. The referee reverses the decision and calls the bout off as a no contest. Mero calls for Shane Douglas to bring it on as Sable and the ref work to revive Rey Mysterio... In The Ring:
Jeff JarrettAfter more commercials the Edmonton crowd comes unglued with boo's as Jeff Jarrett makes his way out to the ring for an interview with Mike Tenay. Jarrett brags about what he did to Randy Savage on Judgement Night in throwing him off of the entrance stage to the concrete floor after smashing a guitar over his head. Tenay notes that Savage had no problems with Jarrett, he only wanted Ric Flair and the Horsemen why did Jarrett committ such a heinous attack on The Macho Man? Jarrett proclaims that Ric Flair and the Horsemen really make him sick. They had their chance to make Jeff Jarrett the 4th member and passed him up for a nobody like Dan Severn and they still have a receipt coming their way, nothing is over. As for Randy Savage he can snap it into this, that he's an old has been that needs to be put out to pasture.... All of a sudden the crowd's attention begins directing to something happening in the crowd when suddenly the cameras catch "The Macho Man" Randy Savage coming in through the audience! Jarrett carries on his promo oblivious to what is going on as Savage jumps the guard railing and attacks him from behind! THE MACHO MAN IS HERE! Savage destroys Jarrett ripping his shirt off and beating him all over the ringside area towards the locker room backstage! The vicious attack continues with Savage stringing Jarrett upside down using electrical cables nearby! Savage beats on Jarrett with him strung upside down until security come storming into the scene to stop him! Savage fights off security and continues beating up Jeff Jarrett! He's SNAPPED! The Macho Man is out of control! Finally the police(mounties?) tackle Savage to the concrete and fight to cuff him and carry him away to a nearby police car! The Macho Man is being arrested! Jeff Jarrett has been completely destroyed! This is OUT OF CONTROL! World Tag League Match:
The Steiner Bros(3-0)
vs
Harlem Heat(2-1)Harlem Heat and the Steiner Brother clash head to head in an all out tag team war between the two division leaders in what very well could be a preview of the finals of the Final Four tournament to crown the new Undisputed World Tag Champs at the end of the season. Booker T and Scott Steiner go at it in a long extended one on one battle before Harlem Heat end up taking control of the match, isolating Scott and working together to wear him down. Scott counters a tandem move with a HUGE double suplex on both Stevie Ray and Booker T before making the hot tag to Ric! Ric comes in throwing suplexes before working together with Scott to put Harlem Heat away with their Steinerizer(Scott lifts the opponent up and Rick performs the diving bulldog). The Steiners pick up the win via pinfall at 14:21! The Steiner Brothers remain undefeated at 4-0! After the bout the Steiner Brothers offer a handshake to Booker T and Stevie Ray out of respect. The crowd cheers both teams on when Harlem Heat accept the handshake before bowing out of the ring upset over the loss.... Weekend Update @the Control Center W/Mike Tenay:
After the match we cut away to backstage shots of Sting and Lex Luger in their respective locker rooms pacing, stretching, preparing to face off in tonight's HUGE main event. This match has been 4 years in the making ever since Sting defeated his best friend Lex Luger at Superbrawl II back in 1992. Luger left WCW following the loss to join the WWF but he returned to WCW last year at the very first episode of Nitro in September. Luger and Sting's friendship was rocky at best leading up to their Triangle Match at WCW Starrcade 95, the final ever WCW show, where they ultimately cost each other a shot at the WCW World Title(Ric Flair would go on to stand tall at the end of the night). Now after all the jockeying and all of the maneuvering from Luger's new hotshot agent Lance Wright, they have no choice but to step inside the ring, LUGER VS STING... NEXT... We follow Mike Tenay's voice to the shot of him inside the control center with a wall of television monitors and studio equipment around him. Tenay gives the full rundown of all the news and hype on the road to Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 live on pay per view on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan... The big news this week has been the buzz surround the colossal main event 10 man tag team mega-battle between the Kings Of Kings vs Team Inoki with the IWGP and Triple Crown titles on the line as well as Lou Thesz's original World Championship title belt. The teams were made official this week and the Tokyo Dome sold out all tickets in record time. The Kings Of Kings revealed their team to be Nobuhiko Takada, Akira Maeda, Kiyoshi Tamura, Yoji Anjo, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. They will take on Team Inoki captained by the legend Antonio Inoki himself, joined by The Great Muta, Kenta Kobashi, and the Pancrase duo of Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. This bout will determine the fate of the entire sport of pro wrestling for the rest of this decade and beyond... Also on the card will be the highly anticipated one on one showdown for the Undisputed World Championship between the champion Shawn Michaels and the challenger Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Ahmed Johnson will face off against The Utlimate Warrior. Vader and Sabu will square off for the first time ever, and just announced... Eddie Guerrero will take on Dean Malenko in a rematch from the very first Best Of The Best match back in January when they opened up the debut episode of this program Shockwave! This rivalry will return to Japan, Guerrero vs Malenko! Tenay segues into coverage for the ongoing World Tag League, which we seen some incredible matches earlier tonight.... Week 4 of the World Tag League wraps up later tonight when the American Males take on the Pitbulls. Also later tonight on Worldwide we will see the revenge match between Hakushi against The One Man Gang in a STEEL CAGE MATCH! These two had an incredible battle on Worldwide last month that left everyone talking after The OMG put Hakushi THROUGH the elevated catwalk entrance ramp in Universal Studios arena. Now there will be no way out, Hakushi and The One Man Gang will enter the steel cage structure, in the end... there can be only one! Later tonight on Worldwide, check your local listings! The big news that is growing right now out of the WTL is the scheduled clash between the two undefeated 4-0 teams that have been on a collision course all year, The Steiner Brothers vs The Eliminators, will FINALLY face off this Monday night LIVE on Judgement Night on the USA Network! Then on THIS Thursday night tune in here on TBS The Superstation at 8:05 for a very secial episode of Bushido from the Budokan Arena in Tokyo with a rematch that you do not want to miss, Yokozuna vs Taz II!
Singles Match:
Sting vs "The Total Package" Lex Luger(W/Lance Wright)
Luger gets boo'd as he walks out with his agent Lance Wright. Lex has backed out of so many tough matchups here with legal maneuvering with his new manager. Heenan notes that Luger was one of the hottest free agents when he came back to WCW last year, he really could have taken his pick for whoever his new manager was going to be, he chose this young kid Lance Wright because he's young, he's smart, he's hungry, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to take Luger to the top of this sport! Sting gets a HUGE ovation from the fans when he walks out with half his facepaint in red/white/blue, and the other half in the red/white scheme of the Canadian flag! The Stinger goes at Luger right at the bell and takes 4 years of frustration out on him with a dominant beat down! Luger gets dropped and slammed around the ring before rolling out to escape for a timeout alongside Lance Wright! The crowd is going NUTS for Sting! Sting dominates the bout until Luger manages a counter and accidentally sends Sting crashing into the referee! The referee is OUT! Lance Wright attempts to get involved but Sting catches him! Sting goes to hit Lance Wright when all of a sudden Rob Van Dam comes running out with a steel chair to Sting's back! Van Dam drops Sting with two vicious shots before pulling him over to the corner and hitting him with his Split Legged Moonsault WITH THE STEEL CHAIR LAID ON HIM! Sting is hurt badly! Van Dam scrambles out of the ring as Lance Wright revives the referee while Luger crawls over to drag Sting away from the corner! Luger makes the cover and hooks the leg... 1.... 2.... 3!!!!! The Total PACKAGE! Luger WINS! The crowd goes silent completely stunned! Rob Van Dam and Lance Wright scramble into the ring to celebrate with Luger briefly before all working together to stomp Sting down! Van Dam and Luger hold Sting up on his knees for Lance Wright to taunt him in his face, smacking him over and over again! The crowd throws loads of trash into the ring going nuts with the boo's until all of a sudden.... The ULTIMATE WARRIOR! Warrior races out full speed quickly clearing the ring of Luger, Van Dam, and Lance Wright to save his former tag team partner!... The crowd goes BONKERS as Warrior rules the ring protecting Sting and we're OUT OF TIIIIII..... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Jul 30, 2023 15:26:47 GMT
Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)March 16th, 1996 Joey Styles welcomes the television audience to this week's episode of Worldwide from Universal Studios Florida with a hard opening of the smaller, more intimate, well lit BOTB Arena here at Universal Studios(there is an orange and white color scheme around the smaller arena, with a white ring/apron, white middle rope, while the top and bottom ropes are orange). There is a classic WWF style blue bar steel cage suspended over the ring for tonight's main event battle between Hakushi vs One Man Gang! We are set for a HUGE episode of Worldwide tonight and it kicks off with a bang with World Tag League action in our opening bout! White Zombie's Thunderkiss '65 brings out The Pitbulls with their valet Kimona! The American Males come out next with their spiritual advisor Ted Dibiase, the born again Christian that has found salvation in the Benny Hinn Ministries. The Males have been on a serious roll ever since discovering Christ through Dibiase's connections with Benny Hinn, but tonight they are really swimming with sharks taking on the Mad Dogs Of War... The PIT BULLS! We are set for a HUGE match here to open up Worldwide in a battle between former ECW and WCW World Tag Team Champions!...
World Tag League Match:
The American Males(2-1) vs The Pit Bulls(W/Kimona)(2-1)
The Pit Bulls await their opponents with savage intensity, foaming at the mouth and barking in their corners as Kimona stoically holds them back by their dog chains. Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs complete their pre-match prayer with their new spiritual advisor Ted Dibiase. Amen. Riggs and Bagwell face off against the Mad Dogs Of War with a lot of confidence and without any fear or intimidation. Once the bout gets started Joey Styles on commentary notes that the Pit Bulls currently sit atop the Tiger division after Harlem Heat fell to The Steiner Brothers earlier tonight, if they can pull off this win against the former WCW World Tag Champs they will take a definitive 1st place lead. The Pit Bulls weather a spirited early attack from Bagwell & Riggs before taking control of the match with sheer power and raw toughness. As Pitbull 2 ground Riggs in their corner Ted Dibiase holds hands with Bagwell praying together for the strength to make a comeback. The Florida crowd rallies behind the American Males and suddenly Riggs finds an opening to counter both Pitbulls with a huge flying DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE! The crowd cheers for the hot tag to Bagwell and he turns the whole momentum of the match in the Males favor. After another back and forth series the American Males score a win with Riggs getting tagged and doing a diving somersault sunset flip rollup for a shocking pinfall! The American Males defeat the Pitbulls via pinfall at 5:11! WOW! What a victory for Bagwell and Riggs! The Pitbulls recover and go ballistic over the loss but Dibiase regroups Riggs and Bagwell out of the ring to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to safety! Kimona joins the Pit Bulls in total disbelief in the ring as American Males retreat victorious. The Males have moved to 3-1 in the World Tag League, what a difference Ted Dibiase and the Benny Hinn Ministries have made for Bagwell and Riggs! Pre-recorded Promo:
Cactus Jack & Terry FunkAfter the match we get on-location promo somewhere with Cactus Jack and Terry Funk together addressing the new Dangerous Alliance trio of Brian Pillman, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Shane Douglas. Cactus and Funk came to the aid of Rey Mysterio Jr. last week on Judgement Night when the trio attempted to cripple him the same way Austin did Cactus' former tag team partner Mikey Whipreck.  Cactus leads off the promo calling out Paul E. Dangerously, calilng out his former training partner at Dominic Denucci's academy; Shane Douglas, and that heartless reptile Stone Cold Steve Austin. Cactus vows that Terry Funk is here to back him up and the two of them will take on any combination of Paul E.'s New Alliance any place at any time! Terry Funk takes over the promo and calls out Austin, Pillman, and Shane Douglas telling Pillman that you're looking at the original loose cannons of professional wrestling right here, these are the 2 craziest and toughest son of a bitches in wrestling! Funk pledges to be in Calgary Alberta Canada with Cactus Jack this Monday night LIVE on Judgement Night calling for Paul E. to bring his boys and if you want to get crazy LETS GET CRAZY son of a bitch!.... Breaking News W/Mike Tenay:
Mike Tenay narrates a special breaking news segment with a full hype rundown of this coming Monday night's LIVE episode of JUDGEMENT NIGHT from Canadian Airlines Saddledome in Calgary Alberta Canada. All tickets have sold out for this event the ONLY way you will be able to see this is to tune into the USA Network LIVE at 8 this Monday as Bret "The Hitman" Hart is scheduled to make an appearance on the eve of his Undisputed World Championship title shot against Shawn Michaels at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown! Bret returns to Judgement Night to address his hometown fans and the entire Hart family is expected to be in attendance to show their support. You truly do not want to miss this Monday's live Judgement Night from Calgary along with Bret the Four Horsemen are expected to be there as well as Paul E. Dangerously's New Alliance, Cactus Jack & Terry Funk, Camp Cornette, along with the Legion Of Doom taking on The Public Enemy in World Tag League action as well as Rob Van Dam in action as Hype Central Promotion looks to rebound from his embarrassing 8 second loss to The Ultimate Warrior last week. The biggest match that has been signed for The Saddledome in Calgary on Monday night, live on USA Network on Judgement Night it will be a showdown between 2 of the best tag teams in the world in a match that everyone has been waiting for all year so far, The Steiner Brothers vs The Eliminators. With The American Males defeating The Pit Bulls here on Worldwide tonight that wraps up week 4 of the World Tag League. After 4 weeks there are only two undefeated teams remaining and they will face off head to head on Judgement Night on Monday night LIVE... The build up to this Eliminators vs Steiners battle all really started on the very first ever premier episode of Judgement Night on January 8th. During the course of the program a Unified World Tag Team Championship bout was arranged with The Steiner Brothers making their return to North American wrestling TV taking on all 3 major World Tag Champs from WWF(The Smoking Guns), WCW(Harlem Heat), and ECW(Cactus & Mikey). It was set up as a Four Corners match but The Eliminators would make their BOTB debut by crashing the match and destroying everyone(including the referee, with a Total Elimination). The very next week on Judgement Night The Eliminators made short work of former WCW World Tag Champions The American Males by crushing them in less than 5 minutes. After the match the Steiner Brothers came out and challenged The Eliminators to face them the next week. The match that was set for Reunion Arena in Dallas on Judgement Night on January 22nd never happened however, as The Eliminators ambushed The Steiner Brothers as they were walking out to the ring. Ric and Scott were destroyed with Kronus' 450 splash and the devastating Total Elimination in front of everyone on live Judgement Night. The two teams would finally hook up in the ring at the Astrodome on the special live edition of Shockwave that aired prior to Best Of The Best I: A New Beginning. The Steiner Brothers teamed up with Ahmed Johnson in a 3 team triangle match against Camp Cornette(Vader, The British Bulldog, & Owen) and a special one time pairing of The Eliminators with Hakushi. The Steiners and Eliminators hatred grew for one another during the course of the match, their focus on battling each other led to Camp Cornette winning the bout.  When the World Tag League was announced The Eliminators made a statement with a quick squash over Chaz Warrington and Glen Ruth here on Worldwide on February 2nd. After the match they threw their names in the WTL and immediately made their intentions clear, they were coming after The Steiners. Ric and Scott made a surprise appearance and attacked The Eliminators, leaving Kronus out of action for weeks after Scot dropped him with his jumping sitout tombstone piledriver.  The Steiners had gotten their revenge and left The Eliminators laying. One the World Tag League kicked off last month the Eliminators and Steiners were both placed in the same Dragon Division of the league. Both teams have been on a collision course to this point with identical 4-0 records in the WTL. Now they will finally clash this Monday night LIVE on Judgement Night at 8pm on the USA Network. BOTB CEO Eric Bischoff has appointed former ECW referee John Finnegan to handle this match on Monday night and Finnegan has made it clear there will be no count outs or disqualifications in this bout, there must be a winner and a loser....  vs  Steiners vs Eliminators.... the battle between the only undefeated teams remaining in the WTL for 1st place in the Dragon division... in the end... THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! Music Video:
The Ultimate Warrior
Prior to the commercial break we cut to a full music video set to The Ultimate Warrior's entrance theme highlighting all of his best moments... The montage starts out with clips of Sting and Warrior's days as The Bladerunners in the UWF, segueing into clips of Warrior capturing the WWF Intercontinental Championship with his quick win over The Honkytonk Man at Summerslam '88. After becoming a two time IC Champ, the Warrior captured the WWF World Title by defeating the mighty Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI in 1990. The highlight carries on to recap The Ultimate Warrior's return here in Best Of The Best in February when he shocked everyone as the final member of Sting's Squadron in the 3 Team Triangle Elimination match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Warrior would dominate the 4 Corners match at Caesars Palace even though he fell short(Sting would win the match by finishing Randy Savage while Warrior clashed with Ahmed Johnson). Last week Warrior scored his first official one on one victory in Best Of The Best when he answered Rob Van Dam and Lance Wright's open challenge. The Warrior ran through the young Rob Van Dam and defeated him in just seconds. Now Warrior is set to face perhaps the strongest opponent he's ever faced when he goes one on one with Ahmed Johnson at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on March 31st, it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! In The Ring:
Stevie RichardsAfter the break we get Joey Styles in the ring for an interview, he brings out none other than Dancin' Stevie Richards, aka "The King Of Swing". Stevie comes out with Raven's girlfriend Beulah but Raven is nowhere to be found. Joey Styles asks Stevie the question that has been on everyone's mind here in BOTB lately, the reason for the interview, where is Raven and what has he been up to? Stevie breaks the news to Joey Styles that Raven has officially taken a personal leave of absence but he's going to be coming back real soon. Stevie reveals that Raven has given him a job to do while he's gone, two jobs actually. One is to watch over his girl Beulah, the other is to begin a search for some new muscle! Raven has given Stevie Richards the task of finding the biggest, meanest, strongest, most intimidating, most unstoppable monster to watch their backs from now on! Stevie promises that Raven is coming back this Monday night on Judgement Night and he will have just the man! Steel Cage Match:
Hakushi vs The One Man Gang IIAfter the break we get the crowd going crazy in the smaller little BOTB arena here at Universal Studios Florida as the WWF style blue bar steel cage is lowered down over the ring for our main event! Joey Styles shows the replay of the clips from the shocking moment last month on Worldwide when One Man Gang powerslammed Hakushi through the elevated catwalk entrance ramp here in the studio arena. Joey also breaks the news that this cage match can only be finished via pinfall or submission, there will be no disqualifications and there are no escape rules/finishes in the BOTB cage match rules. There must be a pin or a submission! Hakushi's entrance stuns One Man Gang with the lightning crashing down into the steel cage, sending sparks flying everywhere! The One Man Gang weathers Hakushi's strikes and dominates him, sending him crashing through the cage door and breaking the lock! The cage door flies open and the battle spills out to the ringside area, up over onto the elevated catwalk entrance ramp! The One Man Gang scoops Hakushi up onto his shoulder to attempt to put him through the ramp again! Hakushi kicks out at the last second and drops the big man with a superkick to the face! Gang drops to one knee! Hakushi brings EVERYONE in the little arena to their feet as he climbs up onto the steel cage and springs off the halfway up point with a MOONSAULT ONTO THE ONE MAN GANG! OH MY GAAAAAWD! Hakushi fights One Man Gang back into the cage and finishes him off with an AMAZING flying headbutt off the top of the cage! Hakushi hooks the leg and finishes One Man Gang once and for all with the pinfall at 7:49! Hakushi has vanquished The One Man Gang and stands tall over his lifeless body as he has his hand raised in victory with the crowd cheering him on!... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Aug 15, 2023 23:21:03 GMT
Canadian Airlines Saddledome(Calgary, Alberta Canada)
March 18th, 1996Judgement Night blasts onto the airwaves LIVE on a Monday night on the USA Network with a hard opening shot of a SOLD OUT Saddledome, over 16,000 fans going BONKERS! All of them here to see their hometown hero, Bret "The Hitman" Hart in his final farewell before departing for Japan to acclimate for the upcoming World Championship bout at the Tokyo Dome in just 2 weeks! We are set for a very special 3 HOURS LIVE! Our host of Judgement Night Sunny is shown dressed for the occasion in western wear, daisy dukes and a cowgirl hat in the center of the ring Sunny stands in awe with this crowd ELECTRIC! On standby in the ring with Sunny is the legendary patriarch of the Hart family Stu Hart along with his wife Helen accompanied by Bret's brothers Bruce and Keith Hart as well as his brother in law/former tag team partner Jim "The Anvil" Neidhardt... Sunny as the host of Judgement Night always kicks it off with a weekly opening monologue that's always sultry, seductive, laden with sexual innuendo, but this week it's a lot more respectful and toned down in honor of the Hart family in attendance. Bret's wife and children are seated on the front row along with more of Bret's brothers and sisters. All of the Hart family is on hand tonight to send Bret off to the biggest match of his career in the Tokyo Dome on March 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 live on pay per view, as he's set to take on the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Shawn Michaels... Sunny's THIS IS JUDGEMENT NIGHT opening monologue sends the crowd into a FRENZY before fading into a fast pace highlight music video set to Tupac's All Eyez On Me. The montage showcases Bret's career from his early days in his fathers Stampede Wrestling promotion here in Calgary wrestling Dynamite Kid, going through his days as WWF Tag Champ, his Intercontinental Championship victory over Mr. Perfect at the Summerslam 91, the blood running from his face in his battle against Piper at Mania VIII, his WWF World Championship victories over Ric Flair in 92, Yokozuna at Wrestlemania X, and his upset rollup win over Diesel to at Survivor Series just four months ago. The clip ends with footage from the bloodbath against The British Bulldog at the final ever WWF show this past December and Bret's victory over Chis Benoit at Best Of The Best II in Las Vegas last month.... After the video we get the live shot of the Saddledome with pink and black colored pyro fireworks going off over the ring and stage area prior to Sunny bringing out the man himself, the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.... The sold out Saddledome crowd goes absolutely ape s#*t as Bret's entrance music brings out The Excellence Of Execution, the man that never officially lost the WWF World title and the man that many still consider the real true World Champion of this sport... Bret steps out to the entrance stage in street clothes, his trademark glasses and leather jacket as he soaks it all in with an emotional look in his face, these are his people, this is his home, and this is his family. The Hitman takes his time down the long elevated catwalk entrance ramp before dropping down to the ringside area to give his glasses to one of his children seated ringside. Bret kisses his wife before entering the ring and getting a huge standing ovation, tonight this is his night.... In The Ring:
Bret "The Hitman" Hart(W/The Hart Family)Bret embraces his parents and brothers before Sunny gives up the microphone and stands back in awe at the long standing ovation from the fans. This is INCREDIBLE! Bret waits patiently with appreciation as the ovation ramps back up over and over again in one of the most emotional moments we've seen here in this promotion's young history. Bret's brothers and his mother Helen applaud along with the crowd as Stu looks around at the totally sold out arena in amazement, with teary eyes... The Hitman finally is able to speak and cuts a promo about how hard he has been working and training for this match on the 31st in Tokyo. Bret talks about how he's had to tune everything out in his life to focus on the training for this match at the Best Of The Best III, he's had to step away from being a husband, a father, a brother, a son, he's isolated himself for this match and focused on Shawn Michaels like no other opponent he's ever faced. Bret knows this is what it's going to take to face Michaels at this stage of his career because he knows that the version of Shawn Michaels that he's up against he'll be the best version of HBK. Bret acknowledges that while he doesn't necessarily agree or even respect Michael's lifestyle or his attitude, he has respect for the way he's stepped up as a Champion... So Bret reveals that tonight is his last night here at home, that immediately after tonight's show he's head to Calgary International Airport for a flight to Japan, where he plans to acclimate for the next 2 weeks of training there in the Land Of The Rising Sun before going to battle against HBK at the Tokyo Dome. The Hitman has decided to spend this night tonight here with his fans and his family(crowd interrupts him with another huge pop)... The Hitman says that even though he respects Shawn Michaels as a Champion he knows it, everybody here knows it, Shawn Michaels knows it, that he never truly lost the WWF World Championship(another huge crowd pop interrupts Bret, this time the cheers sustain on for several seconds)... All of a sudden Bret is interrupted out of nowhere by Paul E. Dangerously cutting him off as he leads out his new alliance to the ring to a chorus of boo's!.... Sunny scrambles to get out of the ring and leave the scene as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Shane Douglas, and Brian Pillman join the ceremonies with Paul E. in a TENSE standoff! Paul E. ruins the moment by verbally shi#*ing on the city of Calgary en route to the ring. Once in the ring standing across from the Hart Family Paul E. properly introduces himself to Bret while Austin, Pillman, and Douglas stand across from Bret, Anvil, Stu & Helen, Keith and Bruce in a clash of energies so tense you could cut it with a knife. Paul E. tells Bret that his tunnel vision on Michaels and the Tokyo Dome on the 31st on pay per view has made him blind to the challenges that his organization have been making to his legitimacy as the real rightful #1 contender to the Undisputed World Title. Paul E. informs Bret that his 20 year multi-million dollar contract that he signed to launch this company was the product of a lot of collateral damage, signed with all of the blood, the sweat and the tears that he poured into his own promotion in ECW, his brain child, his baby. Paul E. challenges Bret Hart in front of his family, his wife, his children, and all of his fans, to prove himself that he really is the real #1 challenger, put it all on the line right here tonight in front of god and everybody against ANYONE from the Dangerous Alliance TONIGHT!(crowd goes NUTS!).... Paul E.'s intensity is so strong as he shouts at Bret that his fat cheeks on his face visibly tremble with his jaw clinched, his eyes burning with the fire of 1,000 furies. The Hitman stands his ground acros from Austin, Shane Douglas, and a psychotically smirking Brian Pillman as he looks around at his family and fans almost seeking their approval. Before Bret can even answer the challenge all of a sudden the Best Of The Best commissioner/CEO Eric Bischoff comes racing out full speed with a mob of over a dozen security guards and a few armed police!... Eric gets boo'd as he shuts it all down, there will be no match with Bret against anybody in this ring tonight under any circumstances whatsoever! Bret has a contract for Best Of The Best III in Japan on the 31st, there is now way Eric will allow the biggest match in this company to be jeopardized by a conniving hustler and a bunch of rejects that couldn't cut it anywhere in any promotion. Steve Austin jaws back and forth with the policemen standing in between him and Keith/Bruce Hart trash talking him while Pillman begins jumping around erratically taunting Eric Bischoff. Shane Douglas takes a mic and immediately gets the censorship beeps going proclaiming that this is BULLSH*&#!! Douglas screams with fury about Bret being 3-1 in BOTB and a fuc#*ing rigged joke that he's ranked #1, while Shane has a 7-1 record the most fuc*ing wins in this god dam company! Shane Douglas gets INTENSE as he continues a heavily censored rant, the tension grows as Douglas shouts that Bret, Eric, everybody here in Canada, the whole Hart family can KISS MY ASS! Shane Douglas throws the mic and SPITS IN STU HART'S FACE!!.... ALL OUT CHAOS ENSUES!..... Steve Austin fights through the security guards and fights with both Keith and Bruce HART! Pillman flies over the pile Walter Payton style and lands on Bret throwing punches in a hockey style puching exchange with both of them pulling each other's jackets/shirts over their heads with UPPERCUTS! Shane Douglas ties into it with The Anvil as more of the Hart family brothers jump the steel guard railing to jump in! THIS IS MADNESS!..... Trash, drinks, debri fly into the ring at Paul E, Austin, Shane Douglas, and Brian Pillman as security and police get the upper hand on the situation in an all out scene of violent pandemonium. Austin has Keith Hart cornered and down flat getting stomped into oblivion as Bruce tries in vain to stop him. The police finally get Austin and Shane Douglas down in handcuffs and pulled out to ringside as Pillman jumps out of the ring and escapes through the crowd! Stu and Helen are being protected and shielded by Bret and his brothers, Helen is in tears as Stu continues to wipe Shane Douglas' spit off his face! Several ringside fans are forcefully arrested as they attempt to attack Shane Douglas as him and Austin are BOTH hauled off in handcuffs by police! Somebody throws a steel chair and accidentally hits one of the security guards JESUS! Paul E. escapes to the catwalk entrance ramp in a panic while police cant get through the crowd to go after Pillman! Pillman escapes through the crowd into the nosebleed section where he smiles for the camera flashing his broken Horsemen hand gesture..... Eric Bischoff is furious! This is OUT OF HAND! CUT TO COMMERCIALS! Ringside:
Jim Ross & Joey StylesAfter the commercial break we return to the wild scene in the Saddledome with Jim Ross and Joey Styles FINALLY being seen and heard at their commentary booth both totally shocked at what just happened. Paul E. Dangerously crashed this whole segment and totally disrespected Bret and his whole family here in front of all his hometown fans, with Shane Douglas doing one of the most despicable things JR says he's ever seen in this sport, spitting in the face of Stu Hart. JR and Joey Styles apologize to all of the television viewers and the fans here in attendance. Steve Austin and Shane Douglas have been arrested but Brian Pillman escaped the melee and is still here in the Saddledome somewhere.... Our scheduled opening rematch bout between Rey Mysterio Jr. and Marc Mero has been cancelled and we've had to change the format because things got totally out of control here with a near riot, with this being live television we only have so much control over things like this and we do apologize to all of our fans, we will reschedule this match. Both Rey Mysterio and Marc Mero(along with Sable) are actually shown out among the various other jobbers/enhancement wrestlers that came out of the back to help calm things down here in the Saddledome, Stu Hart is truly one of the most respected figures by all of the wrestlers in this sport, many of them are out here now to back Bret up, this was just ridiculous. Jim Ross shows the shaky Cops-style replay of the backstage footage of Shane Douglas and Steve Austin in handcuffs being attacked by Owen and Bulldog(both in street clothes, with Bulldog wearing a fanny pack) backstage as Police escort them against their will to the police cars. Security fights to hold Owen and Bulldog back in a fiery struggle with Austin and Shane spitting and shouting back at them! Both Douglas and Austin are shown being fought into police cars and driven off into the dark night with sirens and lights blasting.... Singles Match:
Sabu vs Mike RotundaAfter another round of commercials we return to the live shot of the Saddledome with things calmed down finally. Mike Rotunda(formerly IRS) is shown wrapping up his entrance while we get cut away clips of Bret backstage consoling his parents while also shouting angrily at security and Eric Bischoff standing nearby in a scene of frantic scramble. This whole arena is still in shock at what we just seen. Sabu makes his way out to cheers to White Zombie's More Human Than Human with JR and Joey both hyping up his signed bout against VADER at Best Of The Best III on March 31st at the Tokyo Dome. Sabu has his hands full tonight with a refocused and rededicated Mike Rotunda, who has shed his IRS cartoon gimmick from the WWF here in BOTB and taken his career back to his roots as a standout heavyweight wrestler at Syracuse. Rotunda weathers a rapid fire attack from Sabu at the onset and puts the most homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, death defying athlete in sports in 1996 in peril early on with strong amateur style transitions. Rotunda wears Sabu down in an STF hold before later setting up a HUGE butterfly suplex that hurts him. Sabu refuses to quit, his spirit as the extreme beholder of justice in BOTB is too much for Rotunda to overcome with any textbook suplex or wrestling maneuver. Sabu takes him out with a high flying springboard/catapult oriented attack, popping the crowd later on with a somersault senton over the top to the floor to knock Rotunda down. Sabu hurts Rotunda by springing off a chair to nail him against the railing with a double leg lariat! Sabu puts Mike Rotunda away with a pin at 5:31 after the referee gets tripped up, Sabu uses him as a springboard off his back while he's down on all fours to hit the ropes and finish it with the Triple Jump Moonsault for the 1, 2, 3! After the win the celebration is short lived as THE LIGHTS GO OUT!... The crowd goes NUTS! The lights kick back on to reveal..... VADER standing behind Sabu.... WITH A BARBED WIRE BASEBALL BAT! Jim Cornette watches on from the entrance stage with glee, still wearing the neck brace that Sabu put him in when he put him through a table recently. Vader lays waste to Sabu with the barbed wire baseball bat, leaving the bat STUCK INTO HIS SKIN as Sabu quivers in agony! OH MY GOD! This is a receipt! Security rushes in to stop the attack but Vader lays them out with strikes, lifting one of the guards up and chokeslamming him out of his BK Knights shoes! Backstage Parking Lot:
The Legion Of DoomWe cut away to the backstage parking lot and the crowd goes NUTS as they can see on the Jumbo Tron the arrival of Hawk and Animal on their Harley Davidson motorcycles. The LEGION OF DOOM are here! They are set for World Tag League action later tonight against the Public Enemy. They have their blue spiked shoulder pads strapped to the backs of their bikes. As Hawk and Animal kickstand their Harleys all of a sudden they are VIOLENTLY attacked out of nowhere by Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge! Grunge smashes Hawk with a trash can while Rocco obliterates Animal with a steel chair! Hawk and Animal are laid out on the concrete as Rocco and Johnny Grunge work to take both pairs of blue spiked shoulder pads before kicking one of the Harley's over! Both of them jump on the other bike together and ride off as Hawk and Animal recover PISSED! The Public Enemy just laid them out and stole their shoulder pads AND one of their Harley's, the other one is trashed! Unbelievable! On Location:
The Benny Hinn MinistriesAfter the break we return with footage on location from Benny Hinn Ministries headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, where construction is being completed on a new 11,600 square foot Sports Faith complex, all state of the art training facilities that has all been paid for by the over $4 million in donations from Evander Holyfield's winnings from his victory over Aleksandre Karelin at BOTB II back in Vegas last month. With the additional funding for Hinn's church they launched a new outreach program for other young athletes like Holyfield in need of the blessings and annointings that can only come from the one true conduit of Jesus' supernatural power, and that is the man himself Benny Hinn....  Benny Hinn was contacted by former pro wrestler and manager Ted Dibiase, formerly known as "The Million Dollar Man" and one of the most evil bad guys the sport has ever seen. Dibiase shed his sinful ways, his greed, and was forever changed when Benny Hinn put his hands on him in a recent ceremony on his television program. Dibiase fell to the floor and flopped like a fish, when he got back up he was a new man. Ted Dibiase was given the task of running Benny Hinn's new outreach program to young professional wrestlers in BOTB, his first recruits have been the former WCW World Tag Champions The American Males, Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs....   Riggs and Bagwell have seen a career resurgence since accepting Jesus as their lord and savior through the Benny Hinn Ministries outreach program led by Dibiase. The Males have pledged countless hours of their time volunteering for Hinn's charity programs in inner cities with passing out bibles, helping with canned/dried food/peanut butter drives, going door to door to spread the word of the lord. Dibiase, Bagwell, and Riggs have become regular features on Hinn's televised programs syndicated around the country and with the strength of prayer and protection from Hinn's blessings they have gone 3-1 in the ultra competitive World Tag League. The Males have become especially popular on the Worldwide program that is taped in Florida, the fans there have embraced them through impressive victories over The Thrillseekers and The Pit Bulls just last week. Make no mistake about it, Benny Hinn Ministries is a powerful force of positivity and inspiration and we could see this outreach program adopt other BOTB wrestlers in the future if the Males success is any indicator. Catch The American Males this Saturday night in World Tag League action taking on The Hardcore Guns on Worldwide, check your local listings! Singles Match:
Rob Van Dam(W/Lance Wright) vs Mr. JLBack down to the ringside area and Mr. JL is shown already in the ring ready for action as Son Of A Bitch by Kyuss brings out Rob Van Dam with his agent Lance Wright of Hype Central Promotions. Joey Styles recaps the cut in replay from Shockwave this past weekend where Rob Van Dam interfered and helped Lex Luger score a victory over Sting in a huge match. Sting was humiliated by Lance Wright and left laying until The Ultimate Warrior rushed out to make the save after the damage had been done. Van Dam seriously takes his time making it down the long elevated catwalk ramp as he trash talks with the fans and talks back and forth with Lance Wright, whom JR refers to as a wannabe Paul E. Dangerously, a wannabe Eric Bischoff. After all the hype he put behind the debut of Rob Van Dam as this huge International Martial Arts Superstar it was all selling wolf tickets, as Van Dam found himself smashed in just 8 seconds in an embarrassing loss to The Ultimate Warrior recently in an impromptu challenge match. Rob Van Dam shows Mr. JL no respect, declining a handshake before the bell and mocking him. JL ends up holding his own against Van Dam in a fast back and forth chain sequence where both go all over the ring with a series of rollups, each getting rapid fire nearfalls one after the other before both kipping up and staring each other down in their fighting stances! What a series! Mr. JL came to bring it tonight, he's a huge underdog here! Once the two engage again it's all Van Dam until JL lands a huge counter with a sunset flip powerbomb out of the corner! JL attempts to go back up to the top rope for a move but Lance Wright shakes the ropes and causes him to lose his balance, falling and racking himself on the top rope! The referee is distracted by Van Dam holding him while he pulls himself up as Wright pushes Mr. JL off the turnbuckle sending him tumbling down into the canvas! Van Dam pounces and lands his full splits springboard moonsault off the top rope for the pin at 4:11! Rob Van Dam wins! After the match Van Dam's celebration with Lance Wright is short lives as Sting comes running out full speed flying into the ring and nailing him with a flying clothesline over the top rope from the elevated catwalk entrance ramp! THE CROWD GOES APE S#*T! STING IS HERE!.... Sting beats the hell out of Van Dam as Lance Wright sits back unable to do anything about it! Van Dam gets locked into the Scorpion Deathlock and his back torqued in the middle of the ring! The crowd is going mad as Sting wrenches back and destroys Van Dam in the hold! Lance Wright tries to sneak into the ring behind Sting to attack him but the Stinger breaks the hold and turns to grab him just in time! The crowd cheers as Sting holds Lance Wright by his suit jacket lifting him off the ground with his feet dangling! All of a sudden LEX LUGER COMES RUNNING OUT FOR THE SAVE! Sting drops Lance Wright and sends Luger right back out of the ring on the other side, OVER THE TOP! The Stinger is FIRED UP! The crowd is going NUTS! Lance Wright retreats with Rob Van Dam and Lex Luger defeated and furious as Sting stands tall going nuts with the fans!.... In The Ring:
Cactus Jack & Terry FunkAfter the break we return to the live shot with Cactus Jack and Terry Funk making their way out to the ring together! These two hardcore legends have banded together to fight off Paul E.'s new alliance in recent weeks. Cactus Jack has seen the light after watching Paul E.'s client Steve Austin cripple his little buddy Mikey Whipreck earlier this year. Cactus and Funk take the ring and issue the challenge, calling out Paul E. Dangerously to put together any combination of his new alliance to take them on in a NO DISQUALIFICATION bout, FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE in the Tokyo Dome at the pay per view on March 31st, at Best Of The Best III! To everyone's surprise Paul E. Dangerously answers Cactus' challenge by coming out to the entrance stage! Paul E. tells Cactus and Funk they have a lot of nerve to challenge his alliance, since Paul E. still has pull within the booking committee of this promotion he still is able to pull certain strings to make certain things happen within this company. Paul E. reveals that he's used that influence tonight to put together a special surprise for them and all these fans here tonight, to give everybody what they want, to draw the BIG ratings. Paul E. Dangerously reveals that he's had a special match booked for tonight's Judgement Night, a NEW type of match that he's concocted just for the occasion, TONIGHT it will be Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk ONE ON ONE in a..... MAXIMUM VIOLENCE MATCH! What the hell!? Paul E. has used his corporate pull within the booking committee to pit Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk against each other TONIGHT in a MAXIMUM VIOLENCE MATCH, the mentor and the protoge will square off TONIGHT! Cactus and Funk look back and forth at each other and around at the audience as it all soaks in, the match has been SIGNED this is going to be crazy GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY! Paul E. Dangerously is one twisted and sick son of a bitch! Backstage Interview W/Sunny:
Bret "The Hitman" HartWe cut away backstage with Sunny for an interview with a still heavily distraught Bret and the crowd pops huge at the sight of him on camera. Bret is PISSED, he sends the message to Paul E. Dangerously, Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, and Shane Douglas that they got a lot of nerve spitting in the face of an 80 year old defenseless man. Bret wants payback, each of Paul E.'s thugs are on his hit list and he will take any 3 of them on any time! All of a sudden Bret is approached by Arn Anderson and Dan "The Beast" Severn from The Four Horsemen! Bret stands his ground in a tense standoff! Arn tells Bret that they are here out of business, they have nothing but respect for Stu Hart and the Hart Family and they don't condone what Paul E. and his thugs did tonight. Arn tells Bret they have a common enemy in the new Dangerous Alliance. Arn then tells Bret that he knows the Horsemen cost Bret a lot earlier this year, but it was never anything personal just business, and as far as they are concerned Bret got even when he cost Flair the title back in Houston. Business is business, they did what they had to do, and Bret did what he had to do, turnabout is fair play and it's water under the bridge. Be that as it may, that business may still be unsettled. Dan Severn pulls out an envelope from his suit jacket and hands it over to Bret. Bret hesitates looking at the envelope for a moment before taking it, never breaking eye contact with Dan Severn. Arn tells Bret they have something in this envelope that he needs to see, and that when the dust settles in Japan, if he comes out of there with the Undisputed World Title the Horsemen want their shot to get that belt back.... Arn and Severn walk off as Bret looks at the envelope for a moment before opening it, revealing a blank VHS tape.... Singles Match:
Eddie Guerrero vs Devon StormAfter the commercials we get Devon Storm already in the ring ready for action in our next bout. Eddie Guerrero makes his way out to Back To The House That Love Built by Tito & Tarantula. JR and Joey Styles talk about the bout that was just announced last week with Eddie Guerrero signed to take on his arch rival Dean Malenko one on one at Best Of The Best III at the Tokyo Dome, in a rematch of the very first ever match in Best Of The Best history. Eddie keeps the crowd hot with a stellar performance, riding the momentum of the fans cheering him on. Devon Storm is put away with a brainbuster followed by a beautiful Frog Splash for the pinfall after 3:41! Eddie Guerrero is FIRED UP and the crowd is firmly behind him here in Canada, what a victory! On Location:
The Budokan Arena(Japan)After the match we cut away to a shot on location in the empty Budokan Arena in Japan for a pre-recorded interview with Taz in the empty arena on the eve of his rematch against the 600 pound former WWF World Champion Yokozuna set to air this Thursday night at 8:05 on TBS: The Superstation on BUSHIDO! Taz addresses all of the controversy surrounding his last battle against Yokozuna in Las Vegas where the top rope broke, with many analysts(including Bushido co-host, former kickboxing legend Don "The Dragon" Wilson) questioning the legitimacy of the victory for Taz. Yokozuna destroyed Taz through all of the match leading up to the top turnbuckle snapping, causing Yokozuna to collapse after going for the Bonzai Drop. Taz was able to capitalize on the fall to choke Yokozuna out with the kata-hajime despite being dominated for the entire match. Taz talks about his failure to lift Yokozuna to suplex him in the bout as something that has haunted him over the last month, something that has driven him to the brink of madness. There is no honor in failure for Taz, he will die in this arena before he fails again.... YOKOZUNA! I'M GONNA CHOKE YOU OUT!....
Tune into TBS this Thursday night at 8:05 for a huge episode of Bushido, Yokozuna looks to rebound his career resurgence by taking out the Human Suplex Machine once and for all. For Taz this battle is all about proving himself, in the most sacred arena in the history of martial arts, in one of the biggest underdog roles of any David vs Goliath matchup ever in the sport. This Thursday night on BUSHIDO! In The Ring:
Jeff JarrettAfter the commercials we return to the live shot of the Saddledome with Jeff Jarrett making his way out to the ring in street clothes to cut a promo about his recent attack when he was jumped by Randy Savage last weekend on Shockwave. Jeff Jarrett is outraged, calling out Randy Savage to face him one on one like a man instead of sneak attacking him from behind! Jarrett talks about how he is out to prove to Ric Flair and the Horsemen that they were wrong to choose Dan Severn as the newest member of the legendary group, it should have been Jeff Jarrett! Jarrett offers to Flair and the Horsemen that he will take out Randy Savage once and for all just to prove that he was worthy, as a favor to the Horsemen! All of a sudden Jarrett is interrupted by a loud OOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAH, the crowd goes nuts as Randy Savage is up in the crowd with a microphone! Savage looks a bit edgier, not quite as colorful as we're used to seeing The Macho Man as he informs Jeff Jarrett that he will take him on any place, any time, that he doesn't care anymore if these fans want to cheer for him or boo him, all he cares about is the Undisputed World title, the belt that was ROBBED from him at Starrcade back in December by the Horsemen! Savage challenges Jeff Jarrett to face him THIS SATURDAY NIGHT on Shockwave, saying that he's going to take him out just to show Ric Flair what he's got in store for him because he's NEXT! DIG IT! Jeff Jarrett accepts Savage's challenge and it's on for Shockwave this Saturday night on TBS at 8pm, The Macho Man Randy Savage vs Jeff Jarrett one on one! International Report W/Mike Tenay:Jim Ross and Joey Styles segue into a special international report segment with Mike Tenay showing all of the firestorm of media coverage that the main event for Best Of The Best III has generated in Japan this week. The news was broken that the match was finalized, Team Inoki would take on the Kings Of Kings in a winner take all bout, a 10 Man Tag Team Mega-Battle for the AJPW Triple Crown titles, the NJPW IWPG Heavyweight crown, and Lou Thesz's original World Championship Of Professional Wrestling belt(which was recently revealed to contain melted down bronze from the Spear Of Destiny that killed Jesus Christ on the cross). Once the teams were finalized the Tokyo Dome sold out within minutes. This will be the single most important match in the history of Japanese wrestling, the entire fate of the sport hangs in the balance. Antonio Inoki has brought together the forces of AJPW(Kenta Kobashi) and NJPW(The Great Muta) along with the bold move to unite with Pancrase hybrid wrestlers Funaki & Suzuki in order to stand a chance against the united forces of UWFI/RIngs, collectively known as The Kings Of Kings. All last week Japanese media was abuzz with Inoki's interview about the importance of the match being aired on one of Japan's biggest networks. Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada(the co-captains of the Kings Of Kings) have also been running their mouths since the match was made official, running down the legitimacy of AJPW and NJPW, stating that they were on a mission to kill the charlatan style wrestling that has conned generations of wrestling fans into paying for a farce. The Kings Of Kings stand for one common goal, to make wrestling a real sport. One thing is for certain when Inoki steps into the ring on March 31st with either Maeda or Takada it will set the Tokyo Dome on fire, it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! World Tag League Match:
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(1-2-1)
vs
Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit(1-3)
The crowd in the Saddledome comes back to life when the Four Horsemen theme song hits the speakers to bring out Arn Anderson and "The Crippler" Chris Benoit! Arn and Benoit get a huge ovation from the fans as they make their way out to the ring all business for this critical rematch in the World Tag League. Owen and Bulldog make their entrance next to a HUGE pop as they make their way out to the ring without Jim Cornette, who is still nursing a cervical concussion suffered at the hands of Sabu. Jim Ross and Joey Styles are hyped for this rematch as they show highlight clips from their first battle back on Shockwave on March 2nd won by The Horsemen. Arn and Benoit are desperate for a victory here since Brian Pillman cost them in each of their last 2 WTL bouts, dropping them to a 1-3 record. The crowd is ELECTRIC as Owen and Chris Benoit start the match off, two of the best young veterans of the hometown Calgary Stampede promotion here where these two cut their teeth and made their starts in this sport, now locking horns in the biggest arena in Alberta in front of the biggest crowd, totally sold out. Benoit and Owen take it to the limit in a back and forth chess match that goes through several back and forth chain sequences, test of strength exchanges, striking exchanges, near falls, and near submissions that keep the crowd on the edge of their seat gasping! Benoit tags Arn in and out and the duo concentrate on double teaming Owen until he finds an opening with a HUGE counter enziguiri that sets the crowd off! Owen makes the hot tag to Bulldog and the crowd goes nuts as he comes in tossing Arn and Benoit around with all of his strength! Both teams battle it out through the commercial break picking up right where they left off in their first match!. Arn is able to hit Bulldog with his spinebuster like in their first match earlier this month, and Benoit is able to dive off and connect with the Flying Headbutt just like that match, but this time Owen is able to break the count at 2.9999! The crowd goes ballistic! Later on once Owen is able to tag in he's able to lock Arn in the SHARPSHOOTER! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING! Bulldog drags Benoit out of the ring and scoops him up for a running powerslam onto the PADDED FLOOR! Both men bounces off the padding with a sickening thud as Benoit is left rolling around in agony clutching his back! Arn reaches out for the ropes but Owen synches back and it's all over, ARN TAPS OUT! Owen and The British Bulldog pull off the victory with a submission at 13:55! Owen and Bulldog celebrate the victory together with intensity as Arn and Benoit retreat to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp defeated, WHAT A BATTLE!... Music Video:
"Epic" by Faith No More
After the match we get a music video highlight montage set to Epic by Faith No More, highlighting the build up between the most anticipated heavyweight showdown this sport has seen in a very long time, Ahmed Johnson vs The Ultimate Warrior one on one at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96!
The music video shows classic Ultimate Warrior highlights, full blown sprint to the ring, shaking the ring ropes, destroying The Honkey Tonk Man for the IC title. Ahmed Johnson's rise in the WWF as a rookie in 1995 is documented in the highlights building up to clips of Ahmed and Warrior locking horns in the 4 Corners Match in Caesars Palace in Vegas at BOTB II. Ahmed Johnson has vowed to step up to the Ultimate Challenge on March 31st at the Tokyo Dome at Best Of The Best III, two titans will enter the ring, but in the end..... there can be only one.... Maximum Violence Match:
Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk
We return from the commercial break with Jim Ross and Joey Styles talking in somber tones in total disbelief at what they are witnessing; the ring crew has REMOVED the pads around the ring exposing the cold hard concrete. Several ring crew members hurry to set up tables of spikes and glass in the corners of the ring. The turnbuckles have all been removed. Tables have been opened up all around the ring, ladders set up on the entrance stage, and a burlap sack laying in the middle of the ring as the focus of the camera. Jim Ross notes that this is all part of Paul E. Dangerously's sick twisted imagination here, he's still deeply entrenched within the corporate structure of this company, he still has influence with the matchmaking committee here and he's used that to pit Cactus and Funk against each other in this Maximum Violence match. Jim Ross doesn't like it, he doesn't like it one damn bit... Terry Funk makes his way out first visibly nervous but still with that fire in his eyes, he's never backed down from a fight of any kind and he's not going to start tonight. Paul E. knows exactly what he was doing by making this match happen, he knows damn well that these two are about to seriously destroy each other... Cactus makes his way out reluctant at first, looking at the ladders, the tower of 3 tables stacked on top of each other, the can of lighter fluid and the lighter laying on the stage. Cactus' reluctance turns into a sick, sadistic type of glee that overcomes him, he develops a sinister look in his face as he makes it down the elevated catwalk entrance ramp to take the fight to his mentor! The referee rings the bell as both begin trading punches! What proceeds to unfold is some of the most sickening and sadistic violence ever shown on cable TV in the 90's. Cactus Jack and Terry Funk rip each other apart, sending each other through the FMW style spike and glass boards set up in the corners of the ring, piledriving each other through the tables set up around the ring, slamming each other onto the exposed concrete floor, BASHING each other's skulls with unprotected chair shots. Joey Styles cracks with several OH MY GAAAAWD's, while Jim Ross' disgust has him calling for somebody to stop this damn match! The blood flows from both Cactus and Funk but neither man backs down from the other. Finally Cactus pulls up the burlap sack that lays in the middle of the ring and pours out...... THUMB TACKS! GOOD GAWD! THIS IS GONE TOO FAR! Cactus attempts to piledrive Terry Funk head first into a pile of thumb tacks but Terry Funk BACKDROPS HIM ONTO THE PILE! Cactus screams and the crowd all gasps as he rolls around stabbing hundreds of tacks into his back! JESUS! STOP THIS! Funk and Cactus beat each other over to the entrance stage where Funk empties out the entire bottle of lighter fluid onto the 3 high stack of tables! Terry goes to light the stack but Cactus attacks him to stop him, taking the lighter from him as he climbs up one of the tall ladders near the edge of the stage! Funk follows Cactus up just as Cactus throws the lit lighter down and ignites the 3 high stack of tables into a TOWERING INFERNO! Cactus tries to knock Funk off the ladder into the fire but he catches himself and stops him to save him, finally realizing what is going on, realizing that he's been manipulated into trying to kill his mentor when all of a sudden Brian Pillman comes out to the stage and pushes THE LADDER OVER! Funk and Cactus plummet through the stack of flaming tables TOGETHER with a sickening crunch! Pillman laughs and jumps around as the crowd goes F*#KING CRAZY! Cactus and Funk are immediately sprayed with fire extinguishers as they roll around in pain! That sick son of a bitch Brian Pillman! What has he done! After the commercial break we return with the tragic scene of both Cactus Jack and Terry Funk being stretchered out into ambulances. Brian Pillman is long gone. Jim Ross and Joey Styles are in total disbelief as they talk about this sickening display that we just witnessed, there was no humanity in what we just watched, this was just disgusting. The ring crew is scrambling to clean up all of the wreckage as Paul E. and Joey go over the instant replay. Terry Funk and Cactus Jack are never going to be the same after this.... On Location:
Elbow RiverDuring the clean up we cut away to a live shot of the Elbow River, the body of water that flows alongside the Saddledome outdoors here about 200 yards to the west of the arena. The Public Enemy are shown pulling up on a bridge on the LOD's Harley Davidson's they stole, along with the blue spiked shoulder pads they took with them. Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge know they f#*ked up, bad. Rocco asks Johnny what they are going to do, they were supposed to wrestle tonight and all they did was piss Hawk and Animal off worse. Johnny talks about how much trouble they are in now. PE toss the shoulder pads INTO THE ELBOW RIVER and kick the Harley over, leaving it laying on the side of the bridge as they take off walking on foot.... World Tag League Match:
The Eliminators(4-0)
vs
The Steiner Brothers(4-0)After the break we return to the live shot of the Saddledome with ring announcer Michael Buffer bringing the Canadian fans to their feet with his trademark LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAAAL introduction! Tonight's main event is truly one of the most highly anticipated showdowns we have been waiting for. No two separate entities here in Best Of The Best have been on a collision course the likes of which we have seen develop between the Eliminators and The Steiner Brothers in 1996. Both teams are undefeated, the final undefeated teams left in the highly competitive World Tag League, and this match is for clear cut 1st place in the Dragon Division. The Steiner Brothers and Eliminators make their entrances to elaborate introductions from Michael Buffer. Saturn and Kronus come out first to a mix of boo's and cheers to their entrance music Demanufacture by Fear Factory. This is big time, primetime LIVE main event here and the USA Network has given us the green light, all commercial breaks have been taken this match will be 1 fall and there MUST Be a winner! The Steiners and Eliminators tear the house down in an urgent battle for total control of the entire World Tag League! The Steiners are hurt and overwhelmed by Saturn and Kronus double stereo martial arts attacks, everything in perfect double tandem with a cunning ability to isolate the two brothers apart. The Eliminators turn the bout into a wild fast paced battle with each team barely able to make the saves for nearfalls after landing their finishers on each other. Kronus eats a corkscrew spinning sitout tombstone from Scotty at the 10 minute mark only for Saturn to BARELY break the fall at 2.9! Later on near the end of the regulation The Eliminators drop Rick Steiner with the Total Elimination only for Scotty to make the save at 2.99999! The Steiners are able to work together to overpower Saturn and Kronus through the course of the match, Kronus gets dispatched with a vicious suplex while Rick hoists a stunned Saturn up onto his shoulders! Scott Steiner climbs up to the top turnbuckle and flies off to hit Saturn on Rick's shoulders with the FRANKENSTEINER! Saturn is out! Rick makes the cover.... 1... 2.... 3! THEY DID IT! The crowd goes crazy! The Steiner Brothers have defeated The Eliminators to hand them their first loss ever in Best Of The Best! The Steiner Brothers have taken first place in the Dragon Division in the WTL, STILL undefeated at 5-0! Kronus and Saturn retreat to the entrance isle defeated, beaten, limping, exhausted, but still eyeing Rick and Scott as they celebrate! The Steiner Brothers stand tall in celebration as the crowd cheers them on! Backstage:
Bret "The Hitman" HartJudgement Night comes to an end with a brief shot of Bret Hart thanking everybody backstage, hugging his family as he rounds up his bags to head to the airport to catch his flight to Japan to prepare for his shot at Shawn Michael's Undisputed World Championship title belt at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! As Bret turns and makes his exit he pauses in the control room with one of the big TV's and a VCR. Bret puts the tape that was given to him by Dan Severn and the Four Horsemen into the VCR and static gradually clears up to show a black and white surveilance camera shot of Shawn Michaels with Jose Lothario in Dallas Texas walking into The Lions Den.... Ken Shamrock's martial arts submission wrestling academy.... The footage shows brief clips of Michaels working in the Lions Den on how to defend the Sharpshooter..... Bret looks on at the screen focused in on it as this week's episode fades into the copyright screen.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Aug 19, 2023 15:14:38 GMT
The Budokan Arena(Tokyo, Japan)
March 21st, 1996 Tonight's episode of Bushido opens up with a shot of the inside of the legendary Budokan Arena with Seiichi Tanaka And The San Francisco Taiko Dojo performing live on the entrance stage, cloaked in a mock bamboo forest and a huge backdrop of the Japanese rising sun flag. The Budokan is SOLD OUT with the crowd watching on silent in amazement at the drum performance.... Best Of The Best is BACK with the 2nd part of a 3 week series presenting the historic March 12th joint event here at the mecca for martial arts competition; The Budokan Arena! Tonight is the BIG one, Yokozuna vs Taz in the REMATCH with everything on the line! Taz is undefeated in Best Of The Best at 4-0 with dominant wins over Kama(twice) and Craig "The Pitbull" Pittman before his controversial victory over the 600 pound former WWF Champ at Caesars Palace last month. Prior to his loss to Taz(a match which he dominated thoroughly until getting choked out in the end)Yokozuna looked the best he had been in the ring in years this year in BOTB with wins over Pittman, William Regal, even going 2-0 in hybrid rules bouts here on Bushido with big wins over toughman boxer Butterbean and judoka Christoph Leininger. Tonight Yokozuna looks to rebound by handing Taz his first loss here in Best Of The Best, while Taz looks to put away all the doubt and all the controversy from Las Vegas last month to prove that victory was legit. Mike Tenay, Phillip Rhee, and Don "The Dragon" Wilson hype the match on commentary as the biggest match this show has seen since it premeired here on TBS The Superstation. Taz vs Yokozuna II TONIGHT!
Hybrid Rules Bout
Kings Of Kings vs Pancrase:
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshiki TakahashiThe opening match of the evening see's Pancrase representative Yoshiki Takahashi already in the ring as the KOK shooter Kiyoshi Tamura makes his way out in fuscia tights/shin pads/boots. Tamura at 27 years old is one of the sharpest young shooters from the Rings organization that recently merged with the UWFI to form the Kings Of Kings group. Tamura at one time was trained by the Takada Dojo as one of Billy Robinson's star pupils and a rising star in UWFI. After defecting from UWFI to Rings earlier this year there was a tension that developed and a rivalry with him and his former stablemates in the UWFI. Tamura has made peace with the Takada Dojo for the sake of the Kings Of Kings, with him honoring both Rings and UWFI in a symbol of unity. Tamura was announced as one of the 5 members of team KOK for the 10 Man Mega Battle against Team Inoki at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Takahashi represents the Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling promotion, an ally promotion of Best Of The Best that has positioned itself against the KOK with their founders Funaki/Suzuki recently joining forces with Team Inoki for the battle at the Tokyo Dome. Both men wow the crowd with a STIFF exchange of kicks to the body before tying up in an explosive clinch and taking it to the mats! Takahashi stays on the defense as Tamura transitions around him with smooth technical wrestling, from one submission to the next, using holds to set up transitions into other submissions one after the other. Tamura cleverly baits Takahashi with a triangle choke(head scissor hold) off his back to set up a sweep over with a transition into a brutal bicep crusher that forces Takahashi to tap out(while screaming out in pain) at 4:16! Mike Tenay gushes on commentary; What technique! This was vintage Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz style grappling, old school shooting, THIS is wrestling! Tamura stands tall with his hand raised as Takahashi remains down cradling his arm in agony as his cornermen work on it. Don Wilson on commentary shows the replay with the animated telestrator circling the edge of Tamura's forearm wedged tightly in the crease of Takahashi's elbow in the "Bicep Crusher" hold, he may very well have torn Takahashi's bicep here when he whipped his legs around into the grapevine that crushed down with all of that force. Absolutely devastating injury that will require surgery, Kiyoshi Tamura looked very dangerous here. What a statement by the Kings Of Kings... Beyond The Mat:
Dutch KickboxingAfter the commercial break we get a very special edition of Beyond The Mat featured with host of the segment Phillip Rhee, co-commentator here on Bushido every week on TBS(Rhee is also black belt in multiple martial arts, along with being an actor and screenwriter of the Best Of The Best action films that inspired the name of this promotion). Every week here this Beyond The Mat segment focuses on various martial arts, moments, or individuals that represent the spirit of what this Bushido series is all about. Bushido is Best Of The Best wrestling, but with a Bruce Lee twist, using no way as a way, accepting all styles of combat to create the ultimate dream stage... This week's Beyond The Mat feature begins with footage of brutal Muay Thai kickboxing bouts in Thailand. Muay Thai; otherwise known as "The Science Of Eight Limbs", a vicious kickboxing style that specializes clinch fighting with close range knees and elbows being legal(many Western styles of kickboxing outlaw these strikes). While Thailand is the mecca of the lethal martial art of Muay Thai all of the fighters have always been in the lightest weight classes. For the heavyweights of Muay Thai style kickboxing the sport really found another mecca in another part of the world, The Netherlands in Holland.... When it comes to Muay Thai kickboxing the Netherlands is where the big boys play. The story though all begins right here in Japan with a man named Kenji Kurosaki. Kurosaki was co-founder of Kyokushin style Karate, a brutal hard hitting full contact variant of the popular Japanese martial art. Kurosaki moved to Thailand to study under the masters of Muay Thai for several years, incorporating the techniques with his Kyokushin style Karate in a hybrid form of striking style. Kurosaki moved back to Tokyo Japan to teach his new hybrid style. This was when Dutchman Jans Plas entered Kurosaki's dojo to learn this hybrid style, he took it back home to The Netherlands to lay the foundation of Dutch Kickboxing style...
Dutch kickboxing blended elements of Kyokushin Karate with Muay Thai in total fusion, a seamless hybrid style of kickboxing that found great success on the world stage. Coming out of Holland's Dutch Kickboxing scene were all time greats, Ramon Dekkers, Ernesto Hoost, Rob Kaman, and perhaps the greatest of them all; the reigning 1995 K-1 Grand Prix Champion.... Peter Aerts, "The Lumberjack".... Aerts earned the nickname The Lumberjack with his crushing high head kick knockouts. The Lumberjack crossed over into the Best Of The Best realm in a thrilling Hybrid Rules bout against Ultimo Dragon here on Bushido in January that ended in a judges draw. The battle was truly one of the defining bouts of the Bushido series and an establishing moment to set the tone for the whole program here on Thursdays at 8:05pm every week on The Superstation. Aerts and Dragon crossed paths in the 30 Man Champions Rumble in Houston where Aerts eliminated Dragon from the match with his trademark high kick. Dragon re-entered the match illegally to help eliminate Aerts(dropkicking him into the arms of Dan Severn, who suplexed him out of the ring). After Aerts quickly dispatched The Gran Naniwa in brutal fashion here on Bushido in February the duel was set for the Dragon rematch at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas at BOTB II. The two warriors battled through the full 3 rounds in a back and forth war that could be called the best match in BOTB history so far. In the end the judges awarded Ultimo Dragon the victory via split decision, a decision that Peter Aerts and his management was very unhappy with(Aerts clearly dominated at least one round, while another was basically split even).  The news was broken here at the Budokan Arena in Tokyo that Peter Aerts has just signed a 2 year exclusive contract with Best Of The Best! Tune in right here next week on Bushido to see the historic contract signing and Peter Aerts addresses his Japanese fans here at the Budokan about the decision to leave K-1(on the eve of the 1996 Grand Prix) to sign with BOTB! In The Ring:
Antonio Inoki
We return back to the shot of the Budokan with the crowd applauding the legendary Antonio Inoki in the middle of the ring. Inoki cuts a promo that is translated to English via subtitles on the bottom of the screen saying that Inoki is prepared to lead his army into battle at the Tokyo Dome on the 31st at Best Of The Best III in what will be the single most important match of his career or anyone's career ever in the history of this sport. Inoki reveals to the fans that adore him that he has been training with Mutoh, Kobashi, Suzuki, and Funaki all together for this bout, they will work together as a single unit. All of a sudden the crowd is shocked as Yoshiaki Fujiwara walks out to the entrance and down to the ring! Fujiwara recently dishonored all of Best Of The Best, Inoki, and Tiger Mask when he showed his allegiance to his former mentors in the Kings Of Kings. Fujiwara stands face to face with Inoki and tells him that Suzuki and Funaki were foolish for aligning with him. Fujiwara tells Inoki to listen to reason, to yield now, give him Lou Thesz's World Championship Of Professional Wrestling title belt, and he will be spared the humiliation at the Tokyo Dome in front of everyone on the 31st live on pay per view at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96! Inoki looks around at the fans for a moment before turning and SLAPPING FUJIWARA IN THE FACE! The crowd GASPS! Fujiwara looks down stunned for a moment before slowly looking back up at Inoki, calming himself before smiling at him! Fujiwara turns and walks away, turning around to look at Inoki with a smile one more time before exiting the ring and walking out! Inoki watches on with a look of intensity burning in his eyes and his chin as we cut away to commercials..... Satellite Interview:
Bret "The Hitman" HartAfter the break we rejoin Mike Tenay, Phillip Rhee, and kickboxing legend Don "The Dragon" Wilson at the commentary booth ringside at the Budokan arena as they prepare for our HUGE main event battle, the revenge match between Yokozuna vs Taz right here at the mecca of martial arts the Budokan Arena! The commentators bring on a special split screen interview with the challenger for the upcoming Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship title at Best Of The Best III on March 31st on pay per view from the Tokyo Dome in Japan! It's none other than the Excellence Of Execution himself, Bret "The Hitman" Hart! Bret answers questions from Mike Tenay about the incident that occurred earlier this week on Judgement Night from Bret's hometown in Calgary. The Hitman and his entire family were confronted by Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance of Brian Pillman, Shane Douglas, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The confrontation got ugly when Shane Douglas spit in Stu Hart's face, causing a near riot in the Saddledome in one of the wildest and most chaotic scenes we've seen here in BOTB. Bret disses Shane Douglas on the satellite interview saying that he thinks he's real cool because he can cuss a lot, but all he remembers him for is being the Dean not too long ago in the WWF, he's a stooge. Bret says that he has no respect for Shane Douglas for spitting on an 80 year old man, there were a lot bigger and tougher guys there he could have picked on, he's a loud mouth coward. As far as Paul E. Dangerously is concerned he's nothing but a crooked promoter, he's a con artist, a yuppy scumbag. Bret declares that after the dust settles in Japan on March 31st, rest assured The Dangerous Alliance will be the first ones he goes after one by one! Don Wilson asks Bret about his thoughts on the recent footage that surfaced of Shawn Michaels training at the Lions Den submission wrestling academy in Dallas Texas, working with UFC Champion Ken Shamrock along with other accomplished submission wrestlers Guy Mezger, Jerry Bohlander, Vernon "Tiger" White, and Tra Telligman in methods to counter and escape Bret's finisher, the Sharpshooter. Bret replies that he's not worried about anything that Shawn's doing, as far as he's concerned Ken Shamrock is a UFC brawler and there is nobody like The Excellence Of Execution anywhere in that gym. Bret declares that he's only focused on what he's going to do in the Tokyo Dome, he will train in Japan to acclimate for 2 weeks leading up to the event, he will be ready to go the distance, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, even 60 minutes if that is what it will take, Shawn is going to be taken into deep water on the 31st at Best Of The Best III and he will prove to everyone finally that he never lost the true title of the best there is... the best there was... and the BEST THERE EVER WILL BE! Singles Match
Yokozuna vs Taz IIThe commentary team cuts it down to the ring for the Japanese ring announcer shouting the intros for tonight's Bushido MAIN EVENT! War Machine by Kiss brings out Taz, standing at 5'9", weighing in at 240 pounds, from the Red Hook section of Brooklyn New York, with an undefeated record of 4-0 in Best Of The Best, he IS The Human... SUPLEX MACHINE!.... TAAAAAAAZ.... The crowd ooh's and aaah's Yokozuna's elaborate entrance with the lights dimming in the Budokan and rain falling in the background of the entrance stage. The 2 time former WWF World Champion, weighing in at 600 pounds and standing 6'4".... YOKO... ZUNAAAAAAAA!.... The two men stand face to face with Yoko towering over Taz by nearly a foot, outweighing him by over 360 pounds! Taz looks up at Yokozuna totally fearless, intensity overflowing with each of his heavy breaths.... The referee Yuji Shimata backs both men up to their corners before calling for the bell!...  vs  Yokozuna picks up right where he left off in Las Vegas before the top turnbuckle broke(after Yoko used it to knock Taz out to escape his armbar), dominating The Human Suplex Machine with his huge size advantage. Taz is grounded in rest holds and brutalized with splashes in the corners. Taz fights back with all heart but he's barely able to hurt the big man, once again he fails to lift him off the ground with a failed suplex attempt! Yoko falls back onto Taz with a crash that shakes the ring to it's core! Taz barely manages to kick out of the pinfall at 2! On commentary Don Wilson notes that Taz just isn't strong enough, he lacks the size to be able to execute any of his offense against Yokozuna, this bout is going exactly as he predicted, Yokozuna is a powerful athlete. Yokozuna wears Taz down with more rest holds before SMASHING him into the canvas with the most devastating Belly To Belly suplex in the sport, getting a DEEP 2 count before Taz BARELY kicks out! Taz continues to try to fight back despite visibly being devastated, barely able to stand! Nobody ever in this man's career, be it here in BOTB or before in ECW where he came from, has anybody dominated him like Yokozuna has done here in both of these bouts. Yoko pulls Taz up into a bear hug at one point, trying to go for another Belly To Belly until Taz headbutts him in the face! Yokozuna is stunned! Taz escapes his clutches with several more headbutts before dropping down and getting the underhooks for a Belly To Belly of his own! Yoko stops the lift with a strike and a series of headbutts of his own! Taz staggers back stunned! Yokozuna goes for the superkick but Taz evades it and takes his back, struggling to lift him up before ripping him gradually up from his roots FOR A GERMAN TAAAAAZPLEEEEEEX!!!!.... HE DID IT! The crowd's OOOOOOOOOOH builds to a huge pop as TAZ HAS SUPLEXED YOKOZUNA ONTO HIS HEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! Yokozuna is OUT! Taz struggles to recover up to his knees dragging his thumb across his throat before locking Yoko in the KATA HAJIME! THE TAZMISSION! Yokozuna is rolled over and choked out! The ref scrambles to break the hold after calling for the bell at 9:14! Taz WINS! The crowd cheers as The Human Suplex Machine has his hand raised in victory with Kiss music ringing throughout the Budokan! Taz can barely stand! He's defeated Yokozuna to move to 5-0 what an incredible performance, what an athlete! The instant replay shows Don Wilson in total disbelief on commentary as they show Taz giving every ounce of strength in his body to lift the big man up for the German Tazplex, dumping Yoko onto his head for the knockout. What a moment! Taz celebrates the victory staggering and limping as the crowd cheers him on with a standing ovation bringing tonight's show to a close.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Baker on Aug 20, 2023 15:08:34 GMT
Taz vs. Yoko is a match I never knew I wanted to see. You wrote it out just right, too. Nice.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Aug 24, 2023 1:38:52 GMT
Winnipeg Arena(Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)
March 23rd, 1996 Tony Shiavonne has to shout to speak over the deafening crowd as he opens up Shockwave here on TBS at 6:05pm Turner Time alongside the smartest man in the business, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on commentary! We are SOLD OUT with over 12,000 fans here in the Winnipeg Arena for our final stop on a highly successful first ever Canadian tour for Best Of The Best. Tonight' show is PACKED with in-ring action, wrestling just like it aughta be for 2 hours here on THE SUPERSTATION, we will have World Tag League bouts, Ahmed Johnson in action, plus a massive main event showdown between "The Macho Man" Randy Savage vs Jeff Jarrett in our main event! It's all a part of the road to our next pay per view LIVE on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 in just 8 days! Call your cable or satellite provider NOW and order this TODAY! World Tag League Match:
The Thrillseekers(1-3)
vs
The Can-Am Express(1-3) The team of Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon are referred to as their proper AJPW tag team name for the first time as ring announcer Joel Gertner introduces them as t he Can Am Express to a huge ovation from the sold out arena(especially Phil Lafon, who is from Montreal). Chris Jericho and Lance Storm get an even louder pop for their intros and this crowd is ELECTRIC right from the start. Both Jericho and Storm are native Canadians with Storm being from Calgary while Jericho is the hometown hero tonight from Winnipeg! Both of these teams are here tonight with their backs against the wall in their Dragon Division after both getting off to 0-3 starts. Both teams won their first matches last week here on Shockwave, one of these teams will stay alive here tonight while the other will find themselves virtually eliminated from Final Four Tournament contention(The Steiner Brothers lead the division with a 5-0 record while The Eliminators are 4-1 in second place). It's a showdown between two desperate teams with a hot crowd eating up every minute. The Can Am Express take the upper hand early on isolating Lance Storm. Lionheart Chris Jericho gets a hot tag that sends the crowd into a frenzy as he batters both Furnas and Lafon with strikes, chops, dropkicks, arm drag takedowns, only to get snuffed out and destroyed after Doug Furnas counters him with a huge Tiger Driver for a deep 2 count. Furnas and Lafon dominate the rest of the match until Storm and Jericho work together to rally in the final minutes, showcasing incredible teamwork with double leap frogs, scoring a 2.999 count after a vertical suplex by Jericho on Lafon has Lance Storm flying off to hit him on the way down with a cross body press! Lafon barely manages to break the count to save the match with just seconds remaining in regulation! The 15 minute time limit expires and all four men are completely exhausted, the crowd goes NUTS! This match is going to OVERTIME! Furnas and Lafon pick up where they left off in the extra 5 minute overtime in an urgent attempt to salvage their season. The crowd rallies behind Jericho and Storm as they fight their way back into the match with incredible heart and spirit. Jericho hits Doug Furnas out on the floor with his Lionsault, from the middle rope OVER the adjacent rope! The crowd goes CRAZY! In the ring Lance Storm counters and reverses a suplex attempt from Phil Lafon, sending him into the ropes into a backwards rolling single leg BOSTON CRAB! Jericho keeps Furnas downed on the floor as Lafon falls short of the ropes! The Winnipeg Arena goes bonkers as Lance Storm cranks back to force Lafon to TAPOUT at 18:11! INCREDIBLE! The THRILLSEEKERS WIN!   Lance Storm and Chris Jericho are ecstatic as they have their arms raised in victory! The Thrillseekers have taken down the Can Am Express and won their 2nd bout in a row to STAY ALIVE in the WTL with a 2-3 record! Furnas and Lafon are completely crestfallen as they retreat to the elevated catwalk entrance ramp defeated, dejected. Jericho jumps down to celebrate the win with the crazy ringside fans as we cut out to another commercial break!.... Update:
Cactus Jack & Terry Funk hospitalizedAfter the break we get censored/blurred still images from the absolute madness that happened this past Monday night on Judgement Night on the USA Network. Paul E. Dangerously used his promoters license and influence within the corporate structure of Best Of The Best to get a match booked for the Calgary Saddledome, a "Maximum Violence" match pitting Cactus Jack and his mentor, the legend Terry Funk against each other. All of the padding was removed from the turnbuckles, the pads around the ring were removed to expose the concrete, there were beds of nails and glass set up in 2 corners of the ring, tables set up around the ring, and a triple stack of tables was set out out near the entrance ramp(with a huge ladder already opened up nearby, on the ramp, with lighter fluid and a lighter). There was also a burlap sack in the middle of the ring that turned out to be thumb tacks, which Cactus received into his back after he was backdropped by Funk once they had been poured all over the ring. Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan cut away to their commentary booth with disclaimer that they can't show any of the footage or even the pictures of what happened next. The stack of tables near the entrance was lit on fire and both Cactus and Funk climbed up to the top of the ladder on the stage. Cactus stopped Funk from falling backwards onto the flaming tables only for Brian Pillman to come out and push the ladder over, sending both men into the fiery hell below. This despicable act by Brian Pillman led to both Cactus and Funk to immediately be rushed to the emergency room in Calgary with 3rd degree burns, lacerations that required a total of 43 stitches, and both men being very badly concussed. Shiavonne reveals the update that Terry Funk was only just released from the hospital today while Cactus Jack remains hospitalized with burns, reports are that he was in a coma for over 22 hours before he returned to consciousness, while a lot of his eyebrows/hair was burned off..... In The Ring:
Hype Central Promotions(Lex Luger & Rob Van Dam W/Lance Wright)
The update is suddenly interrupted when Lance Wright comes out to the ring with "The Total Package" Lex Luger and one of the hottest international martial arts superstars Rob Van Dam. The trio gets total thumbs down boo's from the crowd as Wright comes out bragging about Lex Luger's victory over Sting here on Shockwave last week, one of the biggest wins of any wrestler in 1996, a victory that shot him to #4 in the current Best Of The Best Top 10 Rankings. Wright puts Rob Van Dam over as the future of this sport, establishing himself this past Monday on Judgement Night with a big win, Hype Central Promotions represents the best athletes in this sport, the top sports agency. All of a sudden Lance Wright is interrupted when STING cuts onto the jumbo tron screen over the entrance ramp with somebody flexing with their back to the camera behind him! The crowd goes NUTS! Sting calls out Luger and Van Dam to face him together on Judgement Night this Monday night LIVE on the USA Network! Sting tells Wright, Luger, and Van Dam that he's got a surprise tag team partner, meet the new tag team partner, same as the OLD TAG TEAM PARTNER..... THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR! The Warrior turns around to face the camera shot snarling and screaming, LUGER, VAN DAM, THE BLADERUNNERS ARE BAAAAAACK! Luger and Van Dam are stunned when Lance Wright accepts Sting and Warrior's challenge for Judgement Night! IT'S ON! Sting and The Ultimate Warrior will REUNITE to face Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam this Monday night LIVE on JUDGEMENT NIGHT! Singles Match
The 123 Kid vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley
After another round of TBS commercials for various Time Life products/ads for James Bond/Andy Griffith marathons, early Sunday morning oddball/obscure movies, we return to the Winnipeg Arena with The 123 Kid wrapping up his entrance high fiving all of the fans ringside before entering the ring for our next matchup. Hunter Hearst Helmsley is shown already in the ring with Heenan noting the attitude change we've seen in him, it's been well documented that both of these guys are good friends of Shawn Michaels, they all run together as "The Kliq", we've even seen Helmsley dropping his Blue Blood gimmick recently including footage we've seen of him training with Shawn Michales in his training camp for his upcoming match against Bret Hart at BOTB III. This is the new era of wrestler in 1996, no more cartoon characters, these are real athletes.... The crowd cheers both men on after they salute each other with the Kliq hand gesture prior to putting on a thrililng back and forth battle, fast paced, high intensity, with both men taking vicious falls outside the ring/through the ropes. The Kid is able to put Helmsley away at 9:12 after a SOMERSAULT SENTON off the top rope into a rollup for the pin! The Kid shows nothing but respect as Helmsley accepts his handshake after the bout! The crowd's cheers are suddenly interrupted when Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Shane Douglas, and Brian Pillman rush out to the ring to beat both men down! Austin, Pillman, and Shane Douglas stomp both the 123 Kid and Helmsley into oblivion as Paul E. Dangerously smiles on watching it all go down with a sick, smug look in his eyes. The crowd throws drinks and trash into the ring as Shane Douglas pulls 123 Kid up and drives him into the canvas with a sickening Belly To Belly Suplex! Pillman and Austin continue stomping Helmsley down until all of a sudden Rey Mysterio Jr. and Marc Mero(with Sable) come running out to the ring with steel chairs! The crowd loses it! YES!   Paul E. retreats with Pillman, Austin, and Shane Douglas to the ramp as Rey Mysterio and Marc Maro come in SWINGING! Mero and Mysterio stand tall with Sable in the ring checking on HHH and Kid! These guys are HURT! Shiavonne and Brain talk on commentary about how Shane Douglas came out and cost Mysterio in his match against Mero here on Shockwave last week. Mero earned a lot of respect when he did not accept the tainted victory and informed the referee(after being told by Sable what happened) about the interference, resulting in the decision being overturned to a no contest. Marc Mero did the right thing. Mero takes the microphone and calls out Paul E. Dangerously's thugs for interfering in his match last week, for sticking their nose in his business! Mero tells Paul E. for them to pick on somebody their own size, that he and Rey Mysterio will team up one time only TONIGHT to face off against any combination of his alliance right here in WINNIPEG TONIGHT! Paul E. screams into the microphone if they want it, THEY GOT IT! It's ON! TONIGHT! Rey Mysterio and Marc Mero will team up to face off against Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance right here on Shockwave! WOW! In The Ring:
The Public EnemyAfter another round of commercials we return with Here Comes The Hotstepper bringing out Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge, The Public Enemy! We get a replay during their entrance of their ambush of The Road Warriors this past Monday on Judgement Night. PE was scheduled to face the LOD in World Tag League action but they jumped Hawk and Animal before trashing one of their Harley Davidson motorcycles and stealing the other one(along with their blue spiked shoulder pads). Later that night Public Enemy ditched the stolen motorcycle before throwing the blue spiked shoulder pads into the Elbow River outside of the Saddledome in Calgary! Grunge and Rocco take the ring and brag about what they did to Hawk and Animal until all of a sudden the LOD music hits the speakers to bring them out to the entrance stage, with a trashcan full of weapons and a KITCHEN SINK! Hawk and Animal are here! The LOD challenge the Public Enemy to face them tonight here in Winnipeg since they were too scared in Calgary, and tonight they want to make it a WINNIPEG STREET FIGHT RULES MATCH! Rocco and Johnny Grunge look back and forth at each other in disbelief! What have they gotten themselves into! TPE reluctantly accept the LOD's challenge and we are set for tonight's NEW MAIN EVENT! The Public Enemy vs The Legion Of Doom in a Winnipeg Street Fight! Tony Shiavonne and Bobby Heenan are shown at the commentary booth recapping this unbelievable night of action that has developed right here before our eyes, we are already set for "The Macho Man" Randy Savage taking on Jeff Jarrett later tonight in a HUGE grudge match, now we also will see the team of Marc Mero & Rey Mysterio Jr. taking on some combination of Paul E. Dangerously's new alliance, and this NEW main event between the LOD taking on The Public Enemy in a Winnipeg Street Fight? Unbelievable! Singles Match:
Ahmed Johnson vs The BarbarianShiavonne and The Brain cut it back down to the ring where The Barbarian is walking his way out to the ring getting boo'd and thumbs down all throughout the arena. The Winnipeg crowd loses it when Ahmed Johnson's theme music brings out the undefeated 5-0 phenom of Best Of The Best! Ahmed takes his time walking down the ramp soaking in the crowd as Shiavonne and Heenan talk about his impressive string of victories here in BOTB in 1996, one has to wonder though if he truly is ready for a challenge like The Ultimate Warrior at this early stage of his career. We will find out as Ahmed is set to face off against Warrior in the Ultimate Clash Of The Titans at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 live on PPV from the Tokyo Dome on March 31st! Ahmed no-sells Barbarian's strikes and destroys him with all out power. Ahmed's destruction of The Barbarian is suddenly interrupted when Barbarian's longtime tag team partner, the massive Warlord comes running out to attack Ahmed from behind! The referee calls for the bell but Ahmed overcomes Warlord and clotheslines both him and Barbarian over the top rope to the floor! The referee is trying to call the match off as a disqualification but Ahmed stops him and challenges both of the Powers Of Pain to face him, AT THE SAME TIME! Ahmed tells the POP to BRING IT ON! The referee scrambles to call for the bell as both Warlord and Barbarian re-enter the ring!..... Handicapped Match
Two On One:
Ahmed Johnson
vs
The Powers Of Pain(The Warlord & The Barbarian)
Absolutely unbelievable, we have ourselves an impromptu HANDICAP MATCH here with Ahmed Johnson taking on BOTH of the Powers Of Pain! The Warlord and Barbarian double team Ahmed to overwhelm him early on, whipping him into the ropes for a double big boot! Ahmed ducks and rolls under the boots to hit the ropes and fly back on the return with a DOUBLE LARIAT! Barbarian and Warlord go down! The crowd pops huge for Ahmed as he incredible manages to lift The Barbarian up and press slam him onto The Warlord! The Barbarian rolls out to the floor clutching his ribs in pain as Ahmed pulls The Warlord up and whips him into the ropes for his SIDEWALK SLAM! The crowd goes bonkers as Ahmed rips Warlord up and finishes him off with the Pearl River Plunge for the pinfall victory at 2:39! Ahmed Johnson clears the ring of the Powers Of Pain and screams up on the top turnbuckle with intensity! What a dominant performance! Ahmed Johnson is ready for the Ultimate Warrior! Up Close With Mike Tenay:
Team Inoki
After the match we get a special Up Close With Mike Tenay segment focusing on Antonio Inoki's team that he's put together for perhaps the most important matchup in wrestling history set for Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 live on pay per view on March 31st in just 8 days at the Tokyo Dome in Japan... The segment begins with the team captain, one of the all time true godfathers of the sport in Japan; Antonio Inoki. Inoki along with Giant Baba were groomed as the successors to the great Rikidozan, the god of Japanese wrestling. When Rikidozan died the two would go on to found the biggest rival promotions in Japan. Giant Baba founded All Japan Pro Wrestling, while Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling. Inoki founded New Japan in the early 70's and built the promotion on his famous bouts against shooters, martial artists, even boxers like his infamous battle against Muhammad Ali. After the entire sport of wrestling in Japan was turned upside down by the aligned forces of UWFI and RINGS(which came to be known as the Kings Of Kings) this year. Inoki stepped forward to unite the forces of AJPW, NJPW, and the Pancrase Hyrbid Wrestling organization. Lou Thesz granted Inoki his original World Championship Of Professional Wrestling to put on the line against the Kings Of Kings to lure them into a 10 Man Mega Battle with the IWGP and Triple Crown titles(currently in the possession of the KOK) on the line at the Tokyo Dome at BOTB III!.... Inoki's bold move for his team was to align with the Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling organization, revealing that their founding father Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki as the first 2 members of Team Inoki. Suzuki and Funaki began their careers in Inoki's dojos in NJWP before following Yoshiaki Fujiwara to the UWF in 1989. After the death of the UWF in late 1990 Suzuki and Funaki followed Fujiwara to start a new shootfighting league called PWFG in 1991. Unhappy with their lack of opportunities working under their old mentor, Suzuki and Funaki broke away from his control to start Pancrase in 1993. While they've had a falling out with their mentor Fujiwara(who was responsible for uniting UWFI and Rings to form the KOK, giving his full endorsement in a dishonorable move to the BOTB), Pancrase is still an ally with the Best Of The Best and still has the endorsement of their original teacher Karl Gotch(current member of the BOTB Championship Council). Inoki's move to bring Suzuki and Funaki to his team for the Tokyo Dome gives them a level playing field against the dangerous legitimate shooting style of the KOK.... With the 4th and 5th members of Team Inoki the sport seen the uniting of the two rival promotions that had been brought to their knees by the KOK in 1996. For All Japan Pro Wrestling they sent their most spirited warrior, Kenta Kobashi. Kobashi has been a rising star in AJPW throughout this decade and has been in some of the most epic battles this sport has seen. For NJPW Inoki reached out to the man that lost the IWGP Heavyweight title to Nobuhiko Takada this January in the turning point in the war against the KOK, Keiji Mutoh. Mutoh has confirmed that he will summon the return of his demon alter ego, The Great Muta for the Tokyo Dome at BOTB III....  Antonio Inoki, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, The Great Muta, and Kenta Kobashi will represent Team Inoki against the Kings Of Kings at the Tokyo Dome. This will be the 10 Man Mega Battle with the IWGP, Triple Crown, and Lou Thesz' original World Championship Of Professional Wrestling title belt, March 31st live on pay per view it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96!In The Ring:
Raven(W/Beulah) & Stevie Richards
We return to the arena with Offspring's Come Out And Play bringing out Raven accompanied by Beulah and Stevie Richards. Raven looks at the fans with disgust as he makes his way to the ring with Tony Shiavonne recapping the events from Worldwide last week. Raven gave Stevie Richards instructions on last week's Worldwide to go out and find them some new muscle, he told Stevie to go out and find the biggest, meanest, nastiest, strongest musclebound freak he could possibly dig up to be their newest member of Raven's cult.... Raven takes a microphone and tells Stevie Richards that he's given him a full week to find their new freak, he wants the biggest and the baddest, somebody that can protect him and somebody that will follow him to the death! Stevie informs Raven that he's done the work, he's found somebody that he things Raven will be VERY happy with, a former UWF/Mid-South World Champion, standing at 6'9", weighing in at 450 pounds, he IS the final ever WCW US Heavyweight Champion.... THE ONE MAN GANG! Stevie is puzzled when unexpected music hits when he brings out the One Man Gang.... Raven looks completely disgusted as he watches..... Akeem? The African Dream? What the hell!? Akeem dances and jives his way into the ring and Stevie is wondering what happened, where's the mohawk, where's the chain? Akeem talks jive talk to Stevie as Raven hangs his head in disappointment, putting his palm to his face. Stevie tells Raven this isn't what he had in mind. Raven tells Stevie he's failed, try again, get rid of him! Stevie drops Akeem with the superkick to the back of the head! Down goes AKEEM! Raven turns and walks out of the ring with Stevie following behind still trying to explain(c'mon the guy was struck by lightning! His brains are scrambled!).... Tag Team Match:
Shane Douglas & Brian Pillman(W/Paul E. Dangerously)
vs
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Marc Mero(W/Sable)
Ring announcer Joel Gertner brings the Winnipeg Arena crowd to their feet for the intros of the following tag team contest, set for 1 fall! Rey Mysterio and Marc Mero make their way out to Mysterio's Sad But True Metallica entrance music with Sable DECKED out in all leather, bad to the bone! Tony recaps the incredible match these two put on here on Shockwave last week until Shane Douglas interfered and cost Mysterio the victory(Mero did the right thing and dind't accept the tainted victory). Now these two have combined forces to fight off Paul E.'s "New Alliance". Just Another Victim by Helmet/House Of Pain brings out Paul E. Dangerously with Shane Douglas, Brian Pillman, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, we still have no idea which combination Paul E. will put in the ring for this one. It becomes evident when Austin leaves the pack and joins Shiavonne and Heenan at the commentary booth! Mysterio and Mero will be taking on Shane Douglas & Brian Pillman! Rey Mysterio steps up and fearlessly takes on Shane Douglas at the start of the match despite giving up considerable size. Douglas has packed on some size here in Best Of The Best and in perhaps the best shape of his career so far. Steve Austin dominates the commentary booth during the match dissing everything about Shockwave, TBS, Best Of The Best, informing Tony Shiavonne that he's a joke of a commentator and a stooge while putting Bobby Heenan over as the real talent of the group. Austin talks on commentary about how much stupid crap this promotion is pushing, it's the biggest joke of a promotion he's ever seen much less worked in... Sable stalks around on the floor in Mysterio/Mero's corner shouting encouragement to Mysterio while Paul E. lurks on the opposite side screaming for Shane Douglas to break Rey's neck! Finally Mysterio is able to make a hot tag to Mero and the crowd goes NUTS as he comes in hot, dropping both Douglas and Pillman with shots! Paul E. gets involved and trips Mero up on a rope running sequence to turn the tide of the match. Mero and Mysterio fight back to retake control later on with Mero hitting his Shooting Star Press on Pillman before making the cover! Paul E. creates a distraction on the apron to break the referee's count at 2! Sable climbs up to the apron and drops Paul E. with a low blow! Steve Austin drops his headset and heads to the ring as Shane Douglas drops down to the floor and grabs Sable by her hair! Sable breaks Douglas' grip from her hair and SPITS IN HIS FACE before smacking him! Before Shane can react he's hit with a FLYING SOMERSAULT SENTON BY REY MYSTERIO! As the referee is distracted Steve Austin makes it into the ring and drops Marc Mero with a STEEL CHAIR TO THE FACE! Austin drags Pillman over Mero's lifeless body before escaping the ring! The referee turns his attention back to the match just in time to count the 1, 2, 3! Shane Douglas and Brian Pillman win via pinfall at 10:12! Paul E.'s Dangerous Alliance take over in the ring after the match with a beat down on Mero and Mysterio until all of a sudden the 123 Kid comes charging out full speed with a steel chair of his own! The Kid hits the ring like a madman running Austin, Pillman, and Shane Douglas out of the ring as the crowd goes BONKERS! Satellite Interview:
"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn MichaelsWe return from the break with Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan hyping up our next live satellite feed interview coming all the way from his training camp in San Antonio Texas, ladies and gentleman the current reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion... The Heartbreak Kid... Shawn MICHAELS... Michaels is accompanied by his mentor and trainer for this upcoming title defense against his arch rival Bret Hart at the Tokyo Dome on March 31st at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96!. Michaels is FIRED UP and wastes little time in addressing Paul E. Dangerously, Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, and Shane Douglas, calling them out for their attack on The Kliq earlier tonight! Michaels tells Paul E. to be careful if you mess with the bull you get the HORNS, if you mess with the Kliq you're in for a big surprise because everybody knows who has HBK's back! Michaels then addresses Bret Hart's recent interviews where he claimed that he was prepared to go up to 60 minutes with Michaels if he needed to in the Tokyo Dome. Michaels laughs it off and claims that Bret couldn't go 60 minutes in the ring with him he's at his peak, he's the best athlete in any sport in the world! Michaels challenges Bret to put his money where his mouth is, if he wants to go 60 minutes, LETS GO 60 MINUTES! Michaels officially challenges Bret Hart to a 60 minute Iron Man MATCH at the Tokyo Dome! UNBELIEVABLE! Talk about raising the stakes! Shawn Michaels has challenged Bret Hart to make their title bout at the Tokyo Dome a 60 Minute Iron Man Match! Shiavonne and The Brain discuss the rules of a proposed match, should Bret accept this challenge this means he would face HBK in a 60 minute time limit, with whichever man holding the most finishes over the other during the course of the time limit being declared the winner. Grudge Match:
"The Macho Man" Randy Savage
vs
Jeff JarrettRing announcer Michael Buffer brings the fans to their feet in the Winnipeg Arena for our first main event of the evening. LETS GET READY TO RUMBAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL! Buffer brings out Jeff Jarrett first to a chorus of boo's and thumbs down. Jarrett is focused tonight on serving Randy Savage's head on a platter to the Four Horsemen to prove that he was worthy of being the 4th man(the Horsemen passed him over to name Dan Severn the 4th member earlier this year). Jarrett enters the ring focused and ready for this perhaps the biggest match of his career. The crowd goes nuts when Buffer brings out "The Macho Man" Randy Savage, only when he comes out he looks edgier, darker, meaner, he's dressed in all black with the look in his eyes of a madman that was robbed of the World Championship back at Starrcade just 3 months ago, he's been brushed out of the World Title picture and he feels like nobody cares. To make matters worse, the fans here in Best Of The Best have recently embraced Ric Flair and the Horsemen as fan favorites, adoring them in every arena. The Macho Man has been pushed to the brink of madness!...  The Macho Man blitzes Jarrett as soon as he gets in the ring and we're off with a wild brawl! Savage turns this match into a fight out on the floor. Jarrett brawls back whipping Savage into the steel railings and the ring steps! Savage fights back dropping Jarrett onto the padded floor with a vertical suplex before climbing up top to the top turnbuckle of the ring! The crowd all stands and goes NUTS as Savage waits for Flair to recover before flying off with a double axe handle from the top turnbuckle! The wild chaotic brawl makes its way over the guard railing and through the crowd before back over onto the elevated catwalk entrance ramp that connects to the ring! Savage attempts a running forearm smash but Jarrett manages to backdrop him over the ring ropes from the ramp into the ring! Jarrett dominates the match wearing Savage down for the Figure Four Leglock, only for Savage to fight his way over to reverse the hold! Jarrett is forced to use a rope break! Savage fights dirty to retake the upper hand, even going as far as removing the padding from the top turnbuckle in one of the corners! Savage nearly gets reversed into the exposed steel turnbuckle until reversing Jarrett into it back first! Jarrett goes down! The Macho Man brings the crowd to their feet as he ascends the turnbuckles and flies off.... FLYING ELBOW SMASH! Jarrett is OUT!.... 1.... 2.... 3! The Macho Man rips his arm away from the referee after the match and has to be pulled off of Jeff Jarrett by multiple referee's as he attempts to continue the attack! Savage snaps and backs all of the referee's away from him before storming out..... Ringside Interview:
Ken Shamrock(UFC Champion)After the match our cameras catch a very special guest seated ringside, the current reigning UFC World Champ, one of the most dangerous men in the world... Ken Shamrock! Tony Shiavonne gets a few words with Shamrock asking about the recent footage that was revealed, that the Undisputed World Champ Shawn Michaels was training at his Lions Den Submission Wrestling academy in Dallas. Ken Shamrock confirms that Michaels did spend 3 days working with him on how to defend Bret Hart's "Sharpshooter" submission hold. Shamrock addresses Bret's recent criticism of him being nothing more than a "UFC bare knuckle brawler" informing Bret that he's actually got quite a bit of experience training in wrestling with Karl Gotch in Japan.  Shamrock says that he worked with Michaels on defending and countering the Sharpshooter, saying that Bret likes to say that his dad invented the hold but that's actually not true at all, it's a fairly common catch wrestling hold that has been used in Japan long before Bret ever used it. Shamrock invites Bret to step into the Octagon with him anytime if he has a problem, but he feels like Bret really has his hands full with Shawn Michaels. Shamrock puts Michaels over as a real dynamic athlete that really impressed everyone at the Lions Den. Finally Shiavonne asks Shamrock if any of the rumors are true about some of the offers he's gotten from Best Of The Best to crossover into the pro wrestling world. Shamrock reveals that he's received offers from several organizations around the world but he's focused right now on defending his UFC Championship against Dan Severn at UFC IX in May... All of a sudden Shamrock is interrupted when The Four Horsemen entrance music hits the speakers! The crowd LOSES it! Ric Flair leads Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, and Dan "The Beast" Severn out to the ring to a huge ovation from the fans! The Four Horsemen are here in Winnipeg! The Horsemen take the ring and Ric Flair is in rare form, getting the crowd going with his antics! Flair addresses Jeff Jarrett's loss to Savage just moments ago saying that Flair was never Horsemen material and he never will be! Flair sends the message to Randy Savage that they will meet again! Flair then turns his attention and informs Ken Shamrock, "WHOOOOO!", that Winnipeg Manitoba is HORSEMEN COUNTRY!(Crowd goes crazy!). Flair notes that the Four Horsemen stand behind Dan Severn when he takes on Ken Shamrock for that UFC title at UFC IX in May, they will be there in Detroit to back him up when he brings the UFC title to the Horsemen! Shamrock gets the crowd going NUTS when he jumps the steel railing and enters the ring to stand across from Dan Severn and the Four Horsemen! Security rushes out to stand in between them in a TENSE standoff! Shamrock has to be held back by security as Dan Severn eyes him until we cut away to the final commercial break!.... World Tag League:
Winnipeg Street Fight
The Legion Of Doom(2-1-1)
vs
The Public Enemy(0-4)
We return from the final break of the evening with Public Enemy coming out to Here Comes The Hotstepper carrying a table! The Legion Of Doom get a huge pop as they come out next with their trash can of weapons and the KITCHEN SINK! The LOD are visibly missing their blue spiked shoulder pads but they are still decked out in their new blue tights/facepaint color scheme... Madness ensues in a wild weapons brawl all over the ringside area! Trash cans, cookie sheets, toasters, a crutch, a pool stick, all smashed to pieces as LOD and Public Enemy tear into each other in Winnipeg Street Fight RULES! The Public Enemy work together later on to get Hawk set up on the table for their Drive By off the apron! Animal pulls Hawk off the table at the last second, causing Rocco Rock to crash through with a sickening crunch! The LOD take Johnny Grunge back into the ring and finish him off with the Doomsday Device for the pinfall victory at 7:21! The LOD still have it! What a wild victory! Public Enemy retreat to the entrance isle a beaten mess as LOD celebrate the victory and WE'RE OUT OF TIIIII..... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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Post by Neo Zeed on Aug 24, 2023 21:11:57 GMT
Universal Studios Florida(Orlando, FL)March 23rd, 1996 Worldwide hits the airwaves late night on a Saturday night on syndicated television with host Joey Styles in the BOTB Control Center standing in front of a wall of production monitors and sound boards behind him! Tonight here on Worldwide we have 2 MAJOR World Tag League bouts from both the Dragon and Tiger Divisions! We will also see "The Man Of 1,000 Holds" Dean Malenko in action! The Best Of The Best is now on the home stretch as next week will be the final week of programming before the big one, LIVE on pay per view on March 31st from the Tokyo Dome in Japan it will be Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96!
World Tag League Match:
Harlem Heat(2-2)
vs
The Pit Bulls(W/Kimona)(2-2)
The Pit Bulls are shown wrapping up their entrance with their valet Kimona seductively crawling around the ring. Joey Style on commentary talks about how crucial this matchup is in the WTL, both of these teams are in the Tiger Division. This is a rematch from back in Seattle when the Pit Bulls ended Harlem Heat's undefeated streak with a lot of outside interference from Kimona on Judgement Night on March 4th. Harlem Heat get the whole Universal Studios Florida arena going crazy as the raise the roof in their entrance! Booker T and Stevie Ray hit the ring and it's on! The referee calls for the bell! Harlem Heat dominate The Pit Bulls throughout the match until Kimona gets involved tripping Booker T up on the outside, turning the tide of the whole match! The Pit Bulls deliver a vicious beating but Harlem Heat fight back to overpower their opponents and fire the crowd up! Booker T and Stevie Ray take control of the match until Kimona climbs up onto the apron with the referee distracted! Kimona attempts to throw powder into Booker T's eyes but he ducks out of the way at the last second, causing the powder to blind Pitbull 1 instead! Pitbull 1 rolls out of the ring blinded with Kimona trying to help him as Harlem Heat finish off Pitbull 2 with their Big Apple Blast(Elevated bearhug by Stevie/Harlem Sidekick by Booker) for the pinfall victory at 6:56! The Pitbulls retreat with Pitbull 1 still blind from the powder! Kimona's interference backfired and Harlem Heat have scored the win here to take 2nd place in the Tiger Division with a 3-2 record! Booker and Stevie Ray celebrate with their music playing as Joey Styles hypes their HUGE showdown set against the Legion Of Doom this Monday night LIVE on Judgement Night it will be the battle for 1st place in the Tiger Division! The LEGION OF DOOM VS HARLEM HEAT! Satellite Interview(Japan):
Bret "The Hitman" HartAfter the first round of commercials we return with Joey Styles hosting a satellite interview with Bret "The Hitman" Hart on location in Tokyo Japan where he has set up to train for the upcoming title match against Shawn Michaels for the Undisputed World Championship of Professional Wrestling at Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 on March 31st at the Tokyo Dome in Japan LIVE ON PAY PER VIEW! Joey Styles interviews Bret about his training in Tokyo and Bret notes that it's going very well, he's acclimated to the time change and the long plane ride, he's set up here and made Tokyo his home to get ready for this match and he believes that his extra time here prior to the match will give him an advantage over Shawn Michaels at the Tokyo Dome on the 31st. Bret addresses Shawn's recent challenge to make their bout a 60 Minute Iron Man Match and Bret officially ACCEPTS his challenge! Bret cuts loose in the interview and reveals his true feelings about Shawn Michaels, being highly critical of his mentor Jose Lothario. Bret puts Lothario down as a middle of the pack wrestler from his era and you can see a lot of the flaws from his career in Shawn's in-ring style, and he fully intends to exploit all of those on the 31st. Bret also says critical things about Michaels' friends "The Kliq", and HBK's entire persona as a male stripper, it's an absolute joke. Bret reveals that he's never really liked Shawn Michaels, he always took great pride all the times he beat him in the past and he will take great pride in the Tokyo Dome on the 31st, if he wants to go 60 Minutes in an Iron Man Match, lets go 60 MINUTES! Singles Match:
Dean Malenko vs Chris Hamrick
After the interview Joey cuts it back to the shot inside the BOTB Arena here within Universal Studios Florida with Dean Malenko making his way out for the following match. Joey notes that Malenko has been signed to face his arch rival Eddie Guerrero live on pay per view at Best Of The Best III on March 31st, recapping Guerrero's victory over Malenko in the very first ever Best Of The Best match back in January. Malenko makes short work of Chris Hamrick, doing the most damage with his brutal top rope gutbuster! Hamrock is finished with the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission at 2:18! Malenko is not playing around here tonight, this is the sharpest we've seen him here in Best Of The Best! Control Center Update W/Mike Tenay:
After the match we cut to Mike Tenay with his weekly report about all of the breaking news and notes going around in Best Of The Best this week. We are just 8 days away from Best Of The Best III: Redemption City Showdown '96 at the Tokyo Dome and the card is coming together with every program. The news was broken JUST NOW that Shawn Michaels is expected to be in the Budokan Arena on Bushido on TBS this Thursday night for one final face off with Bret Hart before their highly anticipated battle at the Tokyo Dome.... Mike Tenay notes that we still have 1 week to go and as we all know, anything can and will happen here in Best Of The Best. We could see more matches added, however there are 2 men that we discovered this week that we will NOT be seeing in Japan, and that is Cactus Jack and Terry Funk. Tenay breaks the news that both Funk and Cactus have received medical suspensions and have NOT been granted permission to travel to Japan for this event due to the injuries they sustained at the hands of each other(in a match cruelly set up by Paul E. Dangerously) and at the hands of Brian Pillman(who pushed them off of the top of a ladder through 3 burning tables). Mike Tenay segues into promoting the blockbuster tag team match that was set up earlier tonight on Shockwave for this Monday night's LIVE episode of Judgement Night from The Denver Coliseum in Denver Colorado! It will be a reunion of the Bladerunners, STING AND THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR vs "The Total Package" Lex Luger and Rob Van Dam! This Monday night LIVE on the USA Network at 8pm from the Denver Coliseum you do NOT want to miss this episode of Judgement Night. Along with this blockbuster main event we will also see the LOD(3-1-1) taking on Harlem Heat(3-2) in a battle for 1st place in the Tiger Division of the World Tag League, Hakushi in action, plus Paul E. Dangerously's controversial new alliance is expected to be in the building THIS MONDAY NIGHT! Tenay continues coverage of the ongoing World Tag League, which will be completing week 5 in tonight's highly anticipated main event showdown between the American Males and The Hardcore Guns. Everybody is still talking about The Steiner Brothers and their impressive victory over The Eliminators to stay undefeated and take 1st place in the Dragon Division.... With 7 weeks left in the League the urgency continues to rise in these WTL bouts. We seen an absolute thriller earlier tonight between the Thrillseekers vs Can Am Express that will go down as one of the best matches of the year. One of the biggest surprises of the WTL is without a doubt the career resurgence of the former WCW World Tag Champs The American Males. Riggs and Bagwell really struggled when they entered The Best Of The Best earlier this year, they got off to a 0-1 start in the World Tag League after a loss to the Steiner Brothers on opening week. Since then they have found their way into the Benny Hinn Ministries outreach program led by born again Christian Ted Dibiase. Dibiase has taken The American Males under his wing and they've shown a newfound focus for Christ, helping make a difference in their communities, and in the ring!... World Tag League Match:
The American Males(W/Ted Dibiase)(3-1)
vs
The Hardcore Guns(2-2)The Hardcore Guns Billy and Bart make their way out to the ring to AC/DC Back In Black, rocking Metallica and AC/DC shirts, wearing bandannas, cut up blue jeans. The team formerly known as the Smoking Guns showcased a new shift in their attitudes earlier this year. The American Males make their way out to the ring next to a huge ovation from the smaller little crowd on hand here. Ted Dibiase leads Bagwell and Riggs out to the ring as Joey Styles talks about how the team has become popular here in the BOTB Arena in Florida, they scored impressive wins here on Worldwide recently over The Thrillseekers and The Pit Bulls. Billy and Bart laugh and mock as Ted Dibiase leads a brief prayer with Riggs and Bagwell in their corner prior to the match. The Males take the fight right to the Guns at the bell and keep the crowd hot with a high flying high intensity attack! The Guns cut off their momentum and quiet the crowd down as they slow the pace of the match with rest holds. Ted Dibiase leads the prayers from the apron and Scotty Riggs feels the spirit, the adrenaline drives him to fight through Bart Gunn's side headlock to drop him with a belly to back suplex! The crowd loses it as Riggs finally manages to tag in Bagwell, who comes in on a roll! The finish comes with both Bagwell and Riggs making it to the top rope on opposite turnbuckles, both doing crucifix salutes to Jesus before simultaneously drilling Billy Gunn with double missile dropkicks! Bagwell hooks the leg for the pin, 1, 2, 3! The crowd loves every minute of it as Bagwell and Riggs celebrate their victory thanking Jesus. Ted Dibiase raises both of their arms in victory! Joey Styles can't believe it on commentary, the American Males have just won their 4th match in a row to move to a 4-1 record! Look at the impact that Ted Dibiase has had on these athletes careers with the power of the Benny Hinn Ministries! How far can these guys go!?.... ©1996 Neo Zeed Corp.
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