Basic Training: Field Leader Title Tourney PT 2

Field Leader Tournament - Phase 2


Field Leader: Matt Rivers

Hello fans. Our first two encounters tonight constitute the semi-final matches in the tournament to appoint a new Field Leader. Then we are honored by the first Battalion Title match to ever occur on a Basic Training show. The second half of our main event will be the tournament finale which pits the winner of match 1 against the winner of match 2.



Match 1 - Helmar Hammerstrom vs. Land Storm

During the report for the last show, I neglected to highlight a major honor that Helmar Hammerstrom earned a few months back. He won the Super NOVA Rising Star Cup in a tournament late last year. I'd like to apologize for that omission and further emphasize this man's incredible potential going forward. But he has a very difficult challenge tonight in facing Land Storm, arguably the most effective submission wrestler on the Basic Training roster right now. Even though Helmar's body proved to be difficult to manipulate by Thomas Mills, Land Storm is a man who has seen actual military experience and can improvise when need be. He is also adept at striking and utilizes a number of unorthodox but high impact suplexes.

The match starts with a nod of mutual respect from both men. After a few seconds pass and the two circle each other, Land Storm goes in for a double leg takedown and executes it perfectly. Helmar is a big guy but anyone can get knocked off their feet when they aren't prepared for a certain move designed to test their balance. Storm spends the next few minutes keeping Helmar on his back, transitioning to any submission attempt that he can cinch in. This proves difficult, even for him, but his strategy does not appear to focus on any one limb as much as to throw Helmar off his game by constantly switching his target. This also makes it difficult for Helmar to grab Land Storm and throw him off, as he's constantly moving. This frustrates Helmar who lets out a yell and wills his body onto his feet, throwing Land Storm off in an almost supernatural display of strength.

Land Storm seems to recognize this, as does the crowd who once again finds themselves supporting this charismatic brawler known as Helmar. Storm doesn't go back in for another grappling attempt just yet but begins peppering Helmar with standing roundhouse kicks and punching combinations. This strategy finds some success but really has limited long term potential as Helmar isn't even concerned enough to keep his hands up to block the attacks. Storm finally hesitates in confusion due to his strategy losing effectiveness, and Helmar immediately connects with a double hammer blow that knocks Storm down onto this face. Now it's Helmar going on the offense with a camel clutch and the distribution of his weight makes it very difficult for Land Storm to break out. But Storm shows a degree of technical mastery by using only one arm to twist Helmar's ankle despite being caught in the camel clutch at the same time. Single armed joint manipulation like that is very difficult and the hold is broken by Helmar.

Storm spends the next few minutes attempting to isolate Helmar's ankle with strikes and stretches with a degree of success. Helmar's walking speed has decreased and he appears more wary about moving around too much. While Storm does over commit on a few double leg take downs and finds himself getting gut-wrenched suplexed, the match is still in his favor. That is until he attempts some higher level suplexes which Helmar easily blocks. This allows Helmar to throw off the balance of Storm and he connects with a non-running but hopping "Dwarven Thunderbolt" for a two count.

(Note: There is a bar called "The Hopping Dwarf" not to far off from this Arena.)

Helmar is in control here and is dropping Land Storm with short-armed clotheslines as well as arm-tweaked bodyslams. This makes it even harder for Land Storm to connect with any meaningful offense since his arms have been too weakened to grab Helmar. Helmar even gets a near submission with a nasty combination of a pendulum back breaker into a step over arm breaker which he calls the "Tap Puller". Meanwhile, there was something going on backstage near the "Figaro position". it looked like someone was going to move through the curtains but was pulled back. I'll try to get word on the specifics.

Things are looking bad for Land Storm but, in a flash of genius, he transitions a drop toe hold into a submission only using his legs. This was similar to his single limb joint manipulation from before. It seems that Land Storm has made his entire body into a submission weapon. What was even more impressive was how, after his initial drop toe hold was blocked, he quickly readjusted his legs to kick and then trip Helmar. Storm rests his arms and uses the leverage of the position to hold onto the submission. Finally. Helmar is able to break out of it but he is having a lot of trouble moving at this point.

Considering both of these men are favoring body parts and either one of them is going to advance to the Finals tonight, this could mean an easier ride for the winner of the second match. But right now Helmar and Land Storm have to concentrate on winning this one. Land Storm's moving well but can't seem to shake his arms out to get feeling back. Helmar is walking slowly but his main offensive power is alive and well in his arms and core strength. Storm feints with a running high kick, but ducks under Helmar's missed lariat, then runs the opposite ropes and attempts a momentum-based jumping double leg takedown. However, Helmar side steps that takedown and catches Storm under his arm. He dead lifts him up from this position and slams him down onto the mat with a loud thud via Spinning Dr. Bomb! I think this is it. 1..2...3. Helmar takes the match.

Helmar (O) ["Mjolnir falls" - 14:00] (X) Land Storm


That was quite a display of power from Helmar and overall resiliency from both men. You have to respect the last second attempt by Land Storm but it wasn't enough. Helmar literally hung on for victory.

For those curious about my earlier mention of a disturbance behind the ring curtain, security told me that there is a masked man backstage who is knocked out. Apparently he was wearing all black and was hiding backstage, creeping up closer to the curtain as Land Storm found himself in trouble during the match. But then someone pulled back and jumped the masked man as he was going through the curtain. We don't know the identify of the attacker but the victim does not appear to be a member of the security or production team since no one recognizes his face without the mask. No one knows what provoked the masked man to be there or be taken out. I don't see either part of this mystery as especially good news.


Match 2 - Yoshiro vs. Darius

But let's move on. We are now ready for our second semi-final match. Although he is not a submission based wrestler, I think that Yoshiro will be comfortable against Darius. Sumo wrestling involves body manipulation with the intent of knocking people off balance. And a man of Yoshiro's size can resist Darius as long as he's standing. But once this gets to the ground, Darius has an overwhelming advantage. We already saw Yoshiro have trouble getting back to his feet against Kurt Sanders. Darius isn't as aggressive or violent as Kurt but is far more capable of staying in charge with his technical and submission abilities. He just has to avoid going head on with the much larger Yoshiro. And Darius should avoid striking the head as it's a wasted effort. He should focus on the arms and shoulders of Yoshiro and Yoshiro should focus on the upper and lower back of Darius.


Looking to potentially avoid the hostility of his previous match, Yoshiro holds out his hand to Darius who enthusiastically obliges him and the two show their sportsmanship. The crowd claps as the two gentlemen start things off with a collar and elbow tie up. This maneuver starts off, predictably, terrible for Darius due to Yoshiro's superior size and power. But Darius easily turns the actual hold into a top wrist lock which Yoshiro has no technical answer to. But when you are over 300 pounds and taller then your opponent, sometimes your only response needs to be "push first, ask questions later." Despite being in the top wrist lock, Yoshiro heaves Darius up and pushes him forward. This breaks him free of the hold sends Darius careening backwards. It also gets the crowd on their feet cheering for the display of raw power.

Darius picks himself up, dusts himself off, and shakes Yoshiro's hand again. He says out loud "I will have to try harder then." The two lock up again, this time Darius switches to the back of Yoshiro and attempts a take down. No deal. He tries a takedown next but Yoshiro just smiles and doesn't budge. Note to UBL: Don't try this. Yoshiro is not one of those "light" 300 pounders, you will feel every pound of this man breaking your back if you attempt to lift him.

Yoshiro easily shakes Darius off and they are again at a staredown. Darius is trying to find an opening to exploit while Yoshiro now takes the offensive initiative. Unfortunately for him, this was a bad move as Darius easily sidestepped an attempted shoulder block then turned it into a crossface maneuver. I do not think Yoshiro expected Darius to be able to take a sumo down but he underestimated Darius' technical knowledge and speed. Darius keeps the pressure on the crossface until Yoshiro grabs him by the back and rolls for an attempted pin, only getting a 1 count. The two get up again but Darius hits a really quick dropkick, surprising Yoshiro. This backs him up a few paces and allows Darius to hit another quick dropkick, this time to the legs. Yoshiro goes down easily and Darius goes into a hammer lock. I don't see this winning the match but I also don't see Yoshiro getting out of this on his own. He's on his stomach with his arm getting twisted by a very capable grappler.

Darius realizes the advantage he has and then maneuvers Yoshiro into a double armed Tiger clutch. He slowly lifts Yoshiro to his feet and...no, not in his dreams. Darius can NOT lift Yoshiro up with a double arm suplex and this actually gets a laugh out of Yoshiro who easily back body drops him. Then he just falls right down on Darius' chest and gets a quick two count. Darius got the wind knocked right out of him. Yoshiro has control now and actually, this is unexpected...

Kurt "The Hurt" Sanders is approaching the front security gate from the audience. It appears he has an admission ticket and is, therefore, not being removed. But since he lost to Yoshiro last show and brawled with him after the match, I can only assume he is trying to get into Yoshiro's head. He lights a cigarette and a ring of smoke gradually forms above his head.

Meanwhile, Yoshiro has Darius down with a Boston crab. This maneuver appears to be working well as Darius has no escape against the larger man. But then Yoshiro starts coughing which I think is due to the cigarette smoke. Yoshiro lets go of the Boston Crab so that he can stand up and take a few deep breaths. He goes back on the attack and hits a huge belly to belly suplex on Darius who is now in serious trouble. That back body drop and chest splash turned the momentum of the match and Darius hasn't had control since. Yoshiro gets a 2 count as a result of the suplex. But rather then kicking out normally, Darius lifts his own shoulder then immediately grabs Yoshiro's arm to manipulate it into a kimura submission. Yoshiro is taken by surprise but still has enough leverage to lift Darius up off the mat and into the air. Darius attaches his own legs to Yoshiro's arm, turning this into a dangerous hanging jujigatame. Yoshiro has to grab the ropes to escape but damage was done. Darius dropkicks his legs again, and applies another cross arm breaker variation with Yoshiro face down. Again, Yoshiro has nowhere to go but is bothered less by the hold then the smoke and actually starts coughing again. Darius notices this and breaks the hold due to his confusion and concern. A cross arm breaker has numerous ill health effects for opponents but coughing is not typically one of them.

Darius looks around and sees a large cloud of smoke coming from the audience, then he sees Kurt Sanders. He complains to the referee about Kurt's effect on Yoshiro, realizing that this isn't fair to have his opponent targeted like that. The referee doesn't know what to do. Then Darius goes above and beyond his duty to his opponent to ensure a fair match. He rolls outside and stands in the cloud of smoke until he is coughing as well. This annoys Kurt who shouts out "This ain't for you, bro!" But Darius stares right into Kurt's eyes the whole time as he's polluting himself to ensure an even playing field. Then he gets back into the ring and tells Yoshiro to resume their match. I don't know if that would be the way I would have handled it, but at least the smoke is neutralized. Darius still has the upper hand but when he tries to use a running arm breaker, Yoshiro pulls Darius back into a short arm body splash and then unloads on him with fast palm strikes. Darius lands in the middle of the ring. As he starts to get up, Yoshiro starts stomping the floor near the corner. It looks like he is about to use the second half of his famous "Teppo Tap" to "Shiko Smash" combination. The "Shiko Smash" is a running tackle and he is halfway there when again, he starts coughing and stops to breathe. A man of his size is going to be heavily affected by all of that smoke.

Now that there is a notable effect on the match, security gets Kurt to leave. He is mocking Yoshiro by saying "Can't breathe, bro?" while being dragged away. Darius waits for him to catch his breath. The two lock up again and Yoshiro is able to just use his raw power and frustration to drive Darius hard to the ground with a front sumo slam. Darius just turned into a pancake. Yoshiro is fed up and attempts the "Mount Fujiplex". This is a belly to back suplex from mount while Darius is on the ground. But as Yoshiro is lifting him, Darius grabs a hold of Yoshiro's arms, breaks his grip, and applies a Kimura while being lifted. Yoshiro is no longer able to complete the snap of the suplex and both men fall onto their backs: Darius slightly to the right of Yoshiro due to the kimura. Darius then uses his grip on Yoshiro's arm, via kimura hold, to tuck it behind Yoshiro's back, then secures and tucks the other arm. He then floats over into the cattle mutilation!! Darius has applied his finisher, called "Double Arm Dreams," and Yoshiro has no idea what to do. He looks exasperated at the entire situation as well. He knocks his foot on the mat, signaling a tap out, before any real damage is done. That is a wise maneuver. If you truly don't know how to break a hold, you don't want to risk permanent injury staying in it when you are already too tired to power out. Darius has won this match and advances to the Finals later.

Yoshiro (X) ["Double Arm Dreams" - 14:00] (O) Darius

For as strong a showing as Darius put on here against Yoshiro, I think that Kurt really made his presence felt in this match as well. Even though Yoshiro's Samoan head is very hard on the outside, he's still prone to making emotional errors as a rookie. And Kurt got into his head and lungs with smoke and taunting, something he seems very adept at doing. This shouldn't take away from Darius' victory because he went above and beyond ordinarily sportsmanship by inhaling some of the cigarette smoke himself. Plus, he had an excellent counter that let him apply his finisher at the end of the match to a surprised Yoshiro. Helmar and Darius will now have some time to rest up for their final encounter tonight.


Universal Battalion Championship

We now have the opportunity to watch the Universal Battalion Championships being defended by JET Hamada and the Marauder against two up and coming wrestlers. Arthur Wingate was actually the one who scouted and brought his countryman, Mickey Revell, to Drake Yoshida's attention a few years back. And Mickey notified them both about Algernon LeBlanc. These two men did not have that many chances to show everyone what they could do in the United States version of the UBL, although Algernon managed to dispense Grant Thumb and Parachute Rousseau rather easily. However, since getting to England and forming "Eurosmash," Mickey and Algernon have had a lot of success and dominated the Canada Brothers a few weeks ago.


Both teams utilize a number of abilities that are hard to contend with. Tonight we are going to witness the catch wrestling style of Revell and leverage based power of LeBlanc vs. the judoka expertise of JET teamed with the experience and amateur wrestling of the Marauder. The teams resemble mirror images of each other in terms of in ring weapons. But styles alone do not win a match, a wrestler's internal motivation gets the job done. I know Mickey and LeBlanc are hungry but Jet and Marauder do not want to be known as the first Battalion Tag Champions to lose the Titles after just two months.


Match 3: JET Hamada/The Marauder (c) vs. Mickey Revell/Algernon LeBlanc



Field Leader Championship

And now we turn to the second main event and Finale match of the Field Leader Title Tournament. Darius made it to this point by defeating Tenshi and Yoshiro. Helmar made it to this point by defeating Thomas Mills and Land Storm. While Darius seemed to have the easier time in his semi-final match tonight, Helmar had more time to rest. It appears Helmar has his legs back under him while Darius managed to get enough time to rest his back after that high impact match with Yoshiro. While neither man is 100%, they both appear to have equivalent wear and tear so this at least feels fair.

Darius has to avoid making the mistakes that Land Storm did, especially since his back is certainly suspect right now. One of those spinning Dr. Bombs from Helmar could potentially end the match right when the bell rings. Helmar has to keep his balance and not allow himself to fall victim to any of Darius' technical knowledge. Darius will be targeting Helmar's arms but with a different pace then Land Storm targeted his legs. Helmar will throw Darius around, but not directly on his back like Yoshiro did. These two will have to dig deep to push through the pain they've already experienced and any further agitation of it as this match goes on. Helmar knows what it takes to win a major tournament but this is new ground for Darius, as far as we know.


Match 3: Helmar Hammerstrom vs. Darius


If you would all indulge me during my final moments holding this Title. It has truly been an honor and a career making accomplishment being the first UBL Field Leader. But now it is time to pass that responsibility and belt to our new Champion. I wish him and the entire Front Lines Basic Training division success through hard work, spirit, and dedication.

Atten hut, you are all dismissed.
- UBL NEXUS Champion, Matt Rivers