Battalion 2008 Week 1, Show 1
Mar 23, 2008 0:22:57 GMT -5
Post by OrochiGeese on Mar 23, 2008 0:22:57 GMT -5
Universal Battalion League - 2008
Week 1: Show 1
*The camera focuses on "Mean" Jean Carter who is standing near the ring with a microphone*
[MJC:] "Hi everyone and welcome to the first show of the first week of the 2008 Universal Battalion League! I'm Jean Carter and I'll be assuming my role as official "hostess" of this league much like I did for the Universal Championship League! Only this time, no harrassment!"
(You can't spell harassment without "ass", Miss Carter)
[MJC:] "I could have just sworn someone made an inappropriate remark but it was drowned out by the TREMENDOUS crowd noise emanating from this arena. Unlike the Champions League, the Battalion League is going around the world to visit the "home arenas" of some of the teams in this league. And tonight we start this epic league journey off at the New Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
*The crowd acts generally raucous when their city is mentioned*
[MJC:] "Now, some of the more astute or, "smart" fans, as you apparently like to be called, may recognize this arena as a historic one. In fact, some of you might even connect it with three letters. Three letters that represent GREATNESS in pro wrestling history. That's right, you can hear the crowd chanting it now!"
*The first letter sounds muffled but the second and third are clearly "C" and "W", respectively*
[MJC:] "Yes, that's right! This was the home arena for that trail-blazing promotion, PCW! The promotion where an icon of professional wrestling got his start, Jason Blackhart. And the main event tonight involves the man, the legend, who both trained Mr. Blackhart and held so many PCW titles that you wonder why they didn't just award him it as a lifetime achievement, Book Matthews."
*The crowd erupts at the sound of Book's name.*
[MJC:] "Book's partner is a PCW legend in his own right, Mike Sandberg. And they will be taking on the feared Orochi Army. However, no one knows just yet which members of the Orochi Army will be competing tonight, but we're sure it will at be at least two of them! Get it? Cause it's tag team and...forget it."
*MJC pouts*
[MJC:] "Now, apparently, 'Sergeant Yoshida' has asked that I go over all the rules of the Battalion before we get started. But if he honestly thinks we'll be able to keep your attention by wading through like 10 pages of minutiae, then he clearly is out of touch with this electric audience!! An audience that craves excitement!! So let's just get the card for tonight posted on the Battle-Tron and get right to the action!
(Quick Notes: The Block Matches are for league rankings and consist of 2 on 2 elimination tags. The InterBlock match is not for league rankings and consists of a one fall, 3 on 3 tornado match)
Block D matches:
Black Venom vs. BINGO-1 Heroes
PTFW vs. Los Salseros Americanos
ARMADA vs. Los Rudos Infernos
Interblock Match: Dod Squad vs. Team Moon Gas 200Y
Block C Matches:
Team SMN vs. Clan of the Sun
Fatman Pro Wres vs. Canada Brothers
PCW Originals vs. Orochi Army
*The camera pans around the capacity crowd as it does its best to mug for the camera. We see many wearing vintage PCW merchandise and also many in more modern FPJ garb as well. One standout being a "Jason Blackhart Delivers" Shirt. which has been said to be a huge seller on FPJ shows.*
Block D
*The BINGO-1 team of Johnny Bingo and the Destroyahh make their entrance. The crowd goes absolutely NUTS for Johnny Bingo who is loving the reaction and milking it with his signature hand gestures. Destroyah soaks in the crowd love as well and it's clear we have a pro-BINGO-1 crowd in Philly tonight. And that is contrasted by the relative quiet reaction that the next team gets. Black Venom's Kurobara and Dokuja look like an interesting sort, but they don't appear to be as well-known. Though a few fans do seem to recognize Kurobara from the OJ-FWA Champions Soul Tournament, Dokuka does not yet even have that level of awareness. Well, besides the small group of "tape trader" fans who apparently have some bootleg tapes of Dojuja wrestling Naja Mask in the "Snake Pit International Team" dojo. But those fans are quickly quieted down and made to feel foolish for publicizing such things. So what do you say? This being the first match of the entire Battalion, ought we start things off with a video match!? YEAH!
Match #1: Black Venom vs. BINGO-1 Heroes
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What an incredible match to start things off!! And as rabid as the fans were for Johnny Bingo BEFORE the match, we are approaching frightening levels of IDOLATRY now!! After Destroyer was taken out of the match, Johnny faced a one on two disadvantage but somehow managed to win the match!! He used his long time experience to pull one over on Dokuja. And then Johnny used his BINGO fortitude and awe-inspiring arm musculature to defeat the younger Kurobara with the "BINGO*BOMBAH!"
Black Venom (X) ["BINGO*BOMBAH" - 32:12] (O) BINGO-1
Despite losing, I think the Black Venom team earned themselves a measure of recognition and respect for their in-ring skills tonight. They did manage to defeat the Destroyahh and came very close to beating Johnny. But this match and its victory, the first one of the league, belongs to BINGO-1.
Match #2: PTFW vs. Los Salseros Americanos
Martin Fairbairn/Jimmy Cliffs vs. Karen "Nectarine" Hughes/Neil "Avocado" Schwartz of LSA.
This got ugly fast as Martin Fairbairn started making uncalled for remarks such as the Martinese equivalent of "you're a bunch of fruits!" (I believe the word "poofters" was used but it was hard to make out). This did not seem to have the intended insulting effect, however, as Los Salseros Americanos are indeed...a bunch of fruits. Perhaps they took a wrong turn on the road to LAWL and ended up here instead.
But Martin did not care for his insults to be no-sold and was extremely aggressive in the early going. Just tossing them fruits like it was a carnival game. LSA, to their credit, capitalized on some very quick tag work and managed to frustrate Martin: as just when it seemed he had one fruit squeezed, they would tag to their partner and pose a fresh challenge. (what? Just cause this isn't LAWL I can't make fruit jokes?) Martin's frustration continued to become quite visual until...wait, is that Stuart Robinson of LRI? Yes! It's Stuart! And he has some kind of portable dry erase board and is calling Martin over!
Martin looks annoyed but Stuart seems very adamant about getting Martin's presence. Martin leaves the ring as Stuart then attempts to instruct him in some "football strategies" in how to counter the tactics of LSA. But Martin isn't hearing it and then attempts to explain to Stuart that THIS ISN'T A GAME OF FOOTBALL. Unfortunately, that explanation took 20 seconds (and Stuart STILL didn't accept it!) and Martin has been counted out of the match!! Stuart tries to protest on Martin's behalf saying that they had taken a "regulation timeout" but the referee isn't hearing it. Too bad Coach McGuirk wasn't on assignment for this match cause I think he may have actually been sympathetic to their protests. But Fry refuses to overturn Martin's elimination and chooses instead to focus on the future (what are the odds HE would do that!?).
This leaves Jimmy Cliffs in a 1 on 2 situation against two somewhat impatient wrestlers...annoyed by the lengthy break Martin took. Jimmy does his best to brawl with each of them and even manages to get close to eliminating Avocado when he counters Avocado's "Yiddish Fall" (British Fall) into a beautiful looking northern lights suplex. But as Jimmy is bridging to hold the move, Nectarine Hughes runs off the ropes and hits her devestating "Salsa Bomb Press" (Muscle Bomb Press) right onto his prone chest, breaking up the pin. Schwartz picks up Jimmy and then sends him packing with a Spine Bomb for the 3 count.
PTFW (X) [Spine Bomb - 14:34] (O) Los Salseros Americanos
The fans give LSA their support while Jimmy Cliffs is helped out of the ring by an enraged Martin. He barely even got started in this match before getting counted out and his anger causes LSA to make a quick exit.
Martin, however, takes his time in the ring, no doubt aware of one of the teams that is competing next: LRI. But ARMADA comes out first and expresses much resentment that PTFW are still in the ring. This gives LRI just the chance they need to blindside ARMADA and it looks like this match has started a bit earlier then expected! Martin looks annoyed that he just unwillingly gave Stuart a shortcut considering how Stuart's involvement cost Martin the match. But UBL security finally is able to get Martin and Jimmy out of there (after Martin slugs a few of them) so that this next match can start....well, officially, that is.
Match #3: ARMADA vs. Los Rudos Infernos
Adam Galcian/Ryan Ramirez vs. Stuart Robinson/VD Dod
After the sneak-attack, LRI manages to hold onto control for a while. ARMADA forces some breaks in momentum but overall its LRI who continue to regain hold of the match using cheap tactics. However, it appears that LRI gets a bit uneasy at the fight that ARMADA continues to give. And it's Stuart's impatience in ending this match early that ends up costing their team the momentum. Stuart goes for a huge fireball around the ten minute mark, but Galcian deftly sneaks under it and hits a double leg tackle on him. Stuart is still a bit winded from the fire attempt and is unable to defend against some very revenge-inspired elbows.
ARMADA, through Galcian, finally claims the match as their own as he begins battering Stuart with a variety of suplexes before he tags in Ramirez to finish the job. Before leaving the ring, Galcian puts Stuart up on his shoulders and Ramirez connects with a huge missile dropkick!! Galcian instructs Ramirez to pin Stuart immediately afterwards, but Ramirez instead goes to the top rope and gets into position for a moonsault. But before he has the chance to jump, VD Dod runs over and pushes him off of the post! Ramirez crashes and burns onto the outside guard rail! And momentum has changed yet again! But due to the severity of that impact, and the fact that Ramirez was already winded heavily up to that point due to the pre-match attack, LRI looks to be in strong position. Stuart also manages to save his own spot in the match and tags out to VD Dod. Once Ramirez crawls back into the ring, VD Dod does not delay and hits the "Silencer" (Flatliner) immediately right in the LRI corner. Stuart gets back into the ring just to ensure that Galcian can't make it over there to break up the pin. And we now have a 2 on 1 advantage for LRI.
Galcian is greatly angered by this turn of events but he does his best to keep his anger under control by taking VD Dod down to the mat and attempting to gain a quick flash victory to even the odds. Considering how fresh VD is up to this point, it's a testament to Galcian's technical ability that he is even able to get VD down to a 2 count to begin with. But seeing that VD isn't about to be pinned anytime soon, Galcian chooses to go higher impact and went back to the suplex offense that worked so well against Stuart earlier. But VD obviously had this scouted as a Galcian german suplex attempt was countered by a low blow. VD wasn't admonished though as Stuart had masterfully distracted the ref in the meantime! With Galcian on the mat rubbing his tender area, VD hit yet another low blow before making the tag to Stuart. After a few more seconds of groin-grabbingly painful offense, Stuart applied the figure-four to the prone Galcian. Finally, Galcian tapped so as to not risk incurring any serious injury on the first show of the league.
ARMADA (X) [Figure-Four - 20:39] (O) Los Rudos Infernos
Before LRI could do any further post-match damage (in order to take out a potential top competitor in their block), ARMADA's Vigoro came down to break it up and chase them away.
*Intermission begins as the merchandise table opens. Generic "Universal Battalion 2008" shirts are selling well due to this being the first show (and before people tire of it!). A few people are also sporting new UBL-branded Kyle Walker shirts. (offered in vintage "shiny" variety as well as the more subdued dark color that he is seen wearing these days). Shirts of Battalions that have already won tonight are selling quite well: BINGO-1, LRI, and Los Salseros Americanos. But we see a great number of Philly fans buying ARMADA and Team NDP shirts as well due to their local loyalties. The merch table remains open until the Block C matches but it is NOW time for the interblock 6 man tag between Team Moon Gas and the Dod Squad!*
Interblock Match: Team Moon Gas 200Y vs. Dod Squad
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You gotta hand it to TMG200Y for the very strong effort here but the Dod Squad is just too experienced and dominating in these types of encounters. It isn't easy for anyone competing against the size of Caleb Dod mixed with the Ron Quan Do of Ronnie Dod combined with the JACK DOD'ness of Jack Dod (he gets his own adjective. You would too if you won the Universal Battalion 2007!). Still, the fans definitely had their interest piqued by TMG as this was their first encounter in a UBL ring and did not back down from the Dods, a Battalion that is largely believed to be a top favorite to win this league. And since interblock matches don't count for rankings, while the Dods won the brawl, TMG seemed to win itself some fans who then promptly went to buy some shirts. (Dod Squad shirts had already sold out by the end of the match).
TMG200Y (X) [Side Belly to Belly - 14:12] (O) Dod Squad
Block C
Match #4: Team SMN vs. Clan of the Sun
Mike Poe/Razgriz vs. Apollo Helios/Ra-Horus-Aten
This is our first look at the Clan of the Sun team and their two representative members tonight did NOT disappoint. After a very strong separate showing from both Mike Poe and Razgriz in previous Open show matches, they were tested hard here. Razgriz, who pushed Mr. Figaro to the limit during the previous Open show, was outmatched in power by Apollo. This Apollo guy was just running through both SMN members with clotheslines throughout the match. Finally Razgriz was able to keep the guy down though and tagged in Mike Poe to brawl with Apollo which seemed to be a good strategy. As these two went AT it in slobberknocking fashion. Apollo looked as ready to brawl as Mike did and these two just kept smashing the shit out of each other with punches, running shoulder blocks and especially lariats. But once we got up to the lariat point, it was clear that Apollo lived and BREATHED them. He hit one of them that caused an audible SMACK throughout the arena and caught Mike by surprise that he couldn't even motion to Razgriz that he was in trouble. Apollo then quickly went for the pin and Razgriz was cut off by Ra.
With Mike now eliminated, Apollo officially tagged in Ra and we got to see what he could do. Razgriz is no stranger to mysterious styles of wrestling but even he seemed a bit thrown for a loop as to what to do against a man who had such high-flyer abilities and mixed them with amateur wrestling and judo. Every time Razgriz would try to cut off Ra's aerial moves, Ra would just get the better of him on the ground! And with Mike eliminated, Razgriz just could not stand up to the skills of Ra and Apollo alone. You had to feel for the SMN team here as there was no way to prepare for Clan of the Sun due to this being their UBL debut. But by the time the match was over, via a phenomenal Phoenix Splash by Ra, you got the feeling that the Clan would have been hard to prepare for even if SMN studied tapes of them for hours.
SMN (X) ["Great Flight of the Aten"- 30:15] (O) Clan of the Sun
Match #5: Fatman Pro Wres vs. Canada Brothers
Park Hyun Soo/Sit Kwok Fu vs. Canada Bob/Canada Doug
We have seen three out of these four men on UBL Open shows in the past but tonight was the debut of Sit Kwok Fu. And he developed a fan following within minutes of his stepping into the ring. This guy is built like a tank and has a mindset that comes with it. He just goes AT his opponents and there was little that either Canada Brother could do to stop him. After they finally combined their efforts to stop him, a lot of damage was already done to the Canadians. And yet, it did not seem that Sit was even that tired when he tagged in the "Burning Kid", but rather, that he wanted to give Park some ring time!!
And Park began to then show the progress he had made in the last few months. Once a total rookie, Park has really started to grow into his own. And he had no trouble dispatching of Bob but when the Canada Brothers AGAIN took to some "questionable" double teaming, Park had more trouble then Sit had. Those crafty Canadians began to isolate Park and take him down with a number of top rope double team moves, the final one (a doomsday device setup with a shining wizard), almost resulted in him being pinned by Canada Bob. Sit did not anticipate this, nor did he like it. So he threw Canada Doug out of the ring and then CRUSHED Canada Bob with an impact straight punch right to the jaw. Bob's legs got all wobbly as he collapsed to the mat, and Park then had the good sense to pin him. Fatman Pro now have the advantage.
Canada Doug came back in...more then just a BIT apprehensive after seeing the damage that Sit just did and realizing the bad state of the odds here. And with Park wisely choosing to tag Sit back in, it was clear that Doug was in for a rough remainder of this match. So rather then attempt to run into a train and expect to be left standing, he quickly pulled a chair out from under the ring and willingly got disqualified for holding it past the five count!! Those Canadians are crafty, and this was likely a wise move. Cause Sit looked ready to pulverize Doug and Doug felt it wise to "run away and fight another day".
Fatman Pro Wres (O) [Disqualification - 14:39] (X) Canada Brothers
*We now go backstage, via Battletron, to the Orochi Army locker room where we see Geese speaking with Mr. Clyde and Mr. Figaro. Drake Yoshida is also there*
[Drake:] "Have you all decided which two members will represent your Battalion for the main event?"
[Mr. Clyde:] "Yes, Mr. Geese, will it be Figaro or I to accompany you?"
[Geese:] "Or?"
[Mr. Figaro:] "It rhymes with whor-"
[Geese:] "Enough. It won't be "either" of you, it will be BOTH of you."
[Mr. Clyde:] "But...this is the main event and, this PCW team is no joke."
[Geese:] "I would not have chosen you and Figaro as members of my Battalion if I thought you were not equipped to handle ANY match on your own. You two are both former tag champions, afterall."
[Mr. Figaro:] "I heard that Book Matthews trained Jason Blackhart!"
[Geese:] "Yes, and you once got a beverage from the same stand that Jason Blackhart did."
[Mr. Figaro:] "Yeah! I think I won my match that night, too!!"
[Geese:] "Listen, I'm gonna make this very clear. In about two weeks time at the next Open show, Kyle Walker and I are set to face Tommy Fiero and Thunder Strike. I can NOT afford to go into that match any less then 100%. I finally have the chance to end the careers of both of them and I will not do anything to get in the way of that. You two can handle PCU or whoever their name is."
[Mr. Figaro:] "THEN WE'RE NOT GONNA PROTEST YOUR DECISION! WE'RE NOT GONNA PROTEST!"
[Mr. Clyde:] "If you want us to compete, then we shall do so. Let's go, Figaro."
*After they walk out the door*
[Drake:] "Are you sure this is wise, sir?"
[Geese:] "I have confidence in them."
[Drake:] "This team would have been no trifle for you, and every victory counts in this league."
[Geese:] "Every move I make counts. I have priorities and the elimination of Thunder Strike and Fiero is on the top of the list. When that is taken care of, I will single-handledy bring this Battalion to its knees."
Week 1: Show 1
*The camera focuses on "Mean" Jean Carter who is standing near the ring with a microphone*
[MJC:] "Hi everyone and welcome to the first show of the first week of the 2008 Universal Battalion League! I'm Jean Carter and I'll be assuming my role as official "hostess" of this league much like I did for the Universal Championship League! Only this time, no harrassment!"
(You can't spell harassment without "ass", Miss Carter)
[MJC:] "I could have just sworn someone made an inappropriate remark but it was drowned out by the TREMENDOUS crowd noise emanating from this arena. Unlike the Champions League, the Battalion League is going around the world to visit the "home arenas" of some of the teams in this league. And tonight we start this epic league journey off at the New Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
*The crowd acts generally raucous when their city is mentioned*
[MJC:] "Now, some of the more astute or, "smart" fans, as you apparently like to be called, may recognize this arena as a historic one. In fact, some of you might even connect it with three letters. Three letters that represent GREATNESS in pro wrestling history. That's right, you can hear the crowd chanting it now!"
*The first letter sounds muffled but the second and third are clearly "C" and "W", respectively*
[MJC:] "Yes, that's right! This was the home arena for that trail-blazing promotion, PCW! The promotion where an icon of professional wrestling got his start, Jason Blackhart. And the main event tonight involves the man, the legend, who both trained Mr. Blackhart and held so many PCW titles that you wonder why they didn't just award him it as a lifetime achievement, Book Matthews."
*The crowd erupts at the sound of Book's name.*
[MJC:] "Book's partner is a PCW legend in his own right, Mike Sandberg. And they will be taking on the feared Orochi Army. However, no one knows just yet which members of the Orochi Army will be competing tonight, but we're sure it will at be at least two of them! Get it? Cause it's tag team and...forget it."
*MJC pouts*
[MJC:] "Now, apparently, 'Sergeant Yoshida' has asked that I go over all the rules of the Battalion before we get started. But if he honestly thinks we'll be able to keep your attention by wading through like 10 pages of minutiae, then he clearly is out of touch with this electric audience!! An audience that craves excitement!! So let's just get the card for tonight posted on the Battle-Tron and get right to the action!
(Quick Notes: The Block Matches are for league rankings and consist of 2 on 2 elimination tags. The InterBlock match is not for league rankings and consists of a one fall, 3 on 3 tornado match)
Block D matches:
Black Venom vs. BINGO-1 Heroes
PTFW vs. Los Salseros Americanos
ARMADA vs. Los Rudos Infernos
Interblock Match: Dod Squad vs. Team Moon Gas 200Y
Block C Matches:
Team SMN vs. Clan of the Sun
Fatman Pro Wres vs. Canada Brothers
PCW Originals vs. Orochi Army
*The camera pans around the capacity crowd as it does its best to mug for the camera. We see many wearing vintage PCW merchandise and also many in more modern FPJ garb as well. One standout being a "Jason Blackhart Delivers" Shirt. which has been said to be a huge seller on FPJ shows.*
Block D
*The BINGO-1 team of Johnny Bingo and the Destroyahh make their entrance. The crowd goes absolutely NUTS for Johnny Bingo who is loving the reaction and milking it with his signature hand gestures. Destroyah soaks in the crowd love as well and it's clear we have a pro-BINGO-1 crowd in Philly tonight. And that is contrasted by the relative quiet reaction that the next team gets. Black Venom's Kurobara and Dokuja look like an interesting sort, but they don't appear to be as well-known. Though a few fans do seem to recognize Kurobara from the OJ-FWA Champions Soul Tournament, Dokuka does not yet even have that level of awareness. Well, besides the small group of "tape trader" fans who apparently have some bootleg tapes of Dojuja wrestling Naja Mask in the "Snake Pit International Team" dojo. But those fans are quickly quieted down and made to feel foolish for publicizing such things. So what do you say? This being the first match of the entire Battalion, ought we start things off with a video match!? YEAH!
Match #1: Black Venom vs. BINGO-1 Heroes
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What an incredible match to start things off!! And as rabid as the fans were for Johnny Bingo BEFORE the match, we are approaching frightening levels of IDOLATRY now!! After Destroyer was taken out of the match, Johnny faced a one on two disadvantage but somehow managed to win the match!! He used his long time experience to pull one over on Dokuja. And then Johnny used his BINGO fortitude and awe-inspiring arm musculature to defeat the younger Kurobara with the "BINGO*BOMBAH!"
Black Venom (X) ["BINGO*BOMBAH" - 32:12] (O) BINGO-1
Despite losing, I think the Black Venom team earned themselves a measure of recognition and respect for their in-ring skills tonight. They did manage to defeat the Destroyahh and came very close to beating Johnny. But this match and its victory, the first one of the league, belongs to BINGO-1.
Match #2: PTFW vs. Los Salseros Americanos
Martin Fairbairn/Jimmy Cliffs vs. Karen "Nectarine" Hughes/Neil "Avocado" Schwartz of LSA.
This got ugly fast as Martin Fairbairn started making uncalled for remarks such as the Martinese equivalent of "you're a bunch of fruits!" (I believe the word "poofters" was used but it was hard to make out). This did not seem to have the intended insulting effect, however, as Los Salseros Americanos are indeed...a bunch of fruits. Perhaps they took a wrong turn on the road to LAWL and ended up here instead.
But Martin did not care for his insults to be no-sold and was extremely aggressive in the early going. Just tossing them fruits like it was a carnival game. LSA, to their credit, capitalized on some very quick tag work and managed to frustrate Martin: as just when it seemed he had one fruit squeezed, they would tag to their partner and pose a fresh challenge. (what? Just cause this isn't LAWL I can't make fruit jokes?) Martin's frustration continued to become quite visual until...wait, is that Stuart Robinson of LRI? Yes! It's Stuart! And he has some kind of portable dry erase board and is calling Martin over!
Martin looks annoyed but Stuart seems very adamant about getting Martin's presence. Martin leaves the ring as Stuart then attempts to instruct him in some "football strategies" in how to counter the tactics of LSA. But Martin isn't hearing it and then attempts to explain to Stuart that THIS ISN'T A GAME OF FOOTBALL. Unfortunately, that explanation took 20 seconds (and Stuart STILL didn't accept it!) and Martin has been counted out of the match!! Stuart tries to protest on Martin's behalf saying that they had taken a "regulation timeout" but the referee isn't hearing it. Too bad Coach McGuirk wasn't on assignment for this match cause I think he may have actually been sympathetic to their protests. But Fry refuses to overturn Martin's elimination and chooses instead to focus on the future (what are the odds HE would do that!?).
This leaves Jimmy Cliffs in a 1 on 2 situation against two somewhat impatient wrestlers...annoyed by the lengthy break Martin took. Jimmy does his best to brawl with each of them and even manages to get close to eliminating Avocado when he counters Avocado's "Yiddish Fall" (British Fall) into a beautiful looking northern lights suplex. But as Jimmy is bridging to hold the move, Nectarine Hughes runs off the ropes and hits her devestating "Salsa Bomb Press" (Muscle Bomb Press) right onto his prone chest, breaking up the pin. Schwartz picks up Jimmy and then sends him packing with a Spine Bomb for the 3 count.
PTFW (X) [Spine Bomb - 14:34] (O) Los Salseros Americanos
The fans give LSA their support while Jimmy Cliffs is helped out of the ring by an enraged Martin. He barely even got started in this match before getting counted out and his anger causes LSA to make a quick exit.
Martin, however, takes his time in the ring, no doubt aware of one of the teams that is competing next: LRI. But ARMADA comes out first and expresses much resentment that PTFW are still in the ring. This gives LRI just the chance they need to blindside ARMADA and it looks like this match has started a bit earlier then expected! Martin looks annoyed that he just unwillingly gave Stuart a shortcut considering how Stuart's involvement cost Martin the match. But UBL security finally is able to get Martin and Jimmy out of there (after Martin slugs a few of them) so that this next match can start....well, officially, that is.
Match #3: ARMADA vs. Los Rudos Infernos
Adam Galcian/Ryan Ramirez vs. Stuart Robinson/VD Dod
After the sneak-attack, LRI manages to hold onto control for a while. ARMADA forces some breaks in momentum but overall its LRI who continue to regain hold of the match using cheap tactics. However, it appears that LRI gets a bit uneasy at the fight that ARMADA continues to give. And it's Stuart's impatience in ending this match early that ends up costing their team the momentum. Stuart goes for a huge fireball around the ten minute mark, but Galcian deftly sneaks under it and hits a double leg tackle on him. Stuart is still a bit winded from the fire attempt and is unable to defend against some very revenge-inspired elbows.
ARMADA, through Galcian, finally claims the match as their own as he begins battering Stuart with a variety of suplexes before he tags in Ramirez to finish the job. Before leaving the ring, Galcian puts Stuart up on his shoulders and Ramirez connects with a huge missile dropkick!! Galcian instructs Ramirez to pin Stuart immediately afterwards, but Ramirez instead goes to the top rope and gets into position for a moonsault. But before he has the chance to jump, VD Dod runs over and pushes him off of the post! Ramirez crashes and burns onto the outside guard rail! And momentum has changed yet again! But due to the severity of that impact, and the fact that Ramirez was already winded heavily up to that point due to the pre-match attack, LRI looks to be in strong position. Stuart also manages to save his own spot in the match and tags out to VD Dod. Once Ramirez crawls back into the ring, VD Dod does not delay and hits the "Silencer" (Flatliner) immediately right in the LRI corner. Stuart gets back into the ring just to ensure that Galcian can't make it over there to break up the pin. And we now have a 2 on 1 advantage for LRI.
Galcian is greatly angered by this turn of events but he does his best to keep his anger under control by taking VD Dod down to the mat and attempting to gain a quick flash victory to even the odds. Considering how fresh VD is up to this point, it's a testament to Galcian's technical ability that he is even able to get VD down to a 2 count to begin with. But seeing that VD isn't about to be pinned anytime soon, Galcian chooses to go higher impact and went back to the suplex offense that worked so well against Stuart earlier. But VD obviously had this scouted as a Galcian german suplex attempt was countered by a low blow. VD wasn't admonished though as Stuart had masterfully distracted the ref in the meantime! With Galcian on the mat rubbing his tender area, VD hit yet another low blow before making the tag to Stuart. After a few more seconds of groin-grabbingly painful offense, Stuart applied the figure-four to the prone Galcian. Finally, Galcian tapped so as to not risk incurring any serious injury on the first show of the league.
ARMADA (X) [Figure-Four - 20:39] (O) Los Rudos Infernos
Before LRI could do any further post-match damage (in order to take out a potential top competitor in their block), ARMADA's Vigoro came down to break it up and chase them away.
*Intermission begins as the merchandise table opens. Generic "Universal Battalion 2008" shirts are selling well due to this being the first show (and before people tire of it!). A few people are also sporting new UBL-branded Kyle Walker shirts. (offered in vintage "shiny" variety as well as the more subdued dark color that he is seen wearing these days). Shirts of Battalions that have already won tonight are selling quite well: BINGO-1, LRI, and Los Salseros Americanos. But we see a great number of Philly fans buying ARMADA and Team NDP shirts as well due to their local loyalties. The merch table remains open until the Block C matches but it is NOW time for the interblock 6 man tag between Team Moon Gas and the Dod Squad!*
Interblock Match: Team Moon Gas 200Y vs. Dod Squad
*POST MATCH SPOILERS*
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You gotta hand it to TMG200Y for the very strong effort here but the Dod Squad is just too experienced and dominating in these types of encounters. It isn't easy for anyone competing against the size of Caleb Dod mixed with the Ron Quan Do of Ronnie Dod combined with the JACK DOD'ness of Jack Dod (he gets his own adjective. You would too if you won the Universal Battalion 2007!). Still, the fans definitely had their interest piqued by TMG as this was their first encounter in a UBL ring and did not back down from the Dods, a Battalion that is largely believed to be a top favorite to win this league. And since interblock matches don't count for rankings, while the Dods won the brawl, TMG seemed to win itself some fans who then promptly went to buy some shirts. (Dod Squad shirts had already sold out by the end of the match).
TMG200Y (X) [Side Belly to Belly - 14:12] (O) Dod Squad
Block C
Match #4: Team SMN vs. Clan of the Sun
Mike Poe/Razgriz vs. Apollo Helios/Ra-Horus-Aten
This is our first look at the Clan of the Sun team and their two representative members tonight did NOT disappoint. After a very strong separate showing from both Mike Poe and Razgriz in previous Open show matches, they were tested hard here. Razgriz, who pushed Mr. Figaro to the limit during the previous Open show, was outmatched in power by Apollo. This Apollo guy was just running through both SMN members with clotheslines throughout the match. Finally Razgriz was able to keep the guy down though and tagged in Mike Poe to brawl with Apollo which seemed to be a good strategy. As these two went AT it in slobberknocking fashion. Apollo looked as ready to brawl as Mike did and these two just kept smashing the shit out of each other with punches, running shoulder blocks and especially lariats. But once we got up to the lariat point, it was clear that Apollo lived and BREATHED them. He hit one of them that caused an audible SMACK throughout the arena and caught Mike by surprise that he couldn't even motion to Razgriz that he was in trouble. Apollo then quickly went for the pin and Razgriz was cut off by Ra.
With Mike now eliminated, Apollo officially tagged in Ra and we got to see what he could do. Razgriz is no stranger to mysterious styles of wrestling but even he seemed a bit thrown for a loop as to what to do against a man who had such high-flyer abilities and mixed them with amateur wrestling and judo. Every time Razgriz would try to cut off Ra's aerial moves, Ra would just get the better of him on the ground! And with Mike eliminated, Razgriz just could not stand up to the skills of Ra and Apollo alone. You had to feel for the SMN team here as there was no way to prepare for Clan of the Sun due to this being their UBL debut. But by the time the match was over, via a phenomenal Phoenix Splash by Ra, you got the feeling that the Clan would have been hard to prepare for even if SMN studied tapes of them for hours.
SMN (X) ["Great Flight of the Aten"- 30:15] (O) Clan of the Sun
Match #5: Fatman Pro Wres vs. Canada Brothers
Park Hyun Soo/Sit Kwok Fu vs. Canada Bob/Canada Doug
We have seen three out of these four men on UBL Open shows in the past but tonight was the debut of Sit Kwok Fu. And he developed a fan following within minutes of his stepping into the ring. This guy is built like a tank and has a mindset that comes with it. He just goes AT his opponents and there was little that either Canada Brother could do to stop him. After they finally combined their efforts to stop him, a lot of damage was already done to the Canadians. And yet, it did not seem that Sit was even that tired when he tagged in the "Burning Kid", but rather, that he wanted to give Park some ring time!!
And Park began to then show the progress he had made in the last few months. Once a total rookie, Park has really started to grow into his own. And he had no trouble dispatching of Bob but when the Canada Brothers AGAIN took to some "questionable" double teaming, Park had more trouble then Sit had. Those crafty Canadians began to isolate Park and take him down with a number of top rope double team moves, the final one (a doomsday device setup with a shining wizard), almost resulted in him being pinned by Canada Bob. Sit did not anticipate this, nor did he like it. So he threw Canada Doug out of the ring and then CRUSHED Canada Bob with an impact straight punch right to the jaw. Bob's legs got all wobbly as he collapsed to the mat, and Park then had the good sense to pin him. Fatman Pro now have the advantage.
Canada Doug came back in...more then just a BIT apprehensive after seeing the damage that Sit just did and realizing the bad state of the odds here. And with Park wisely choosing to tag Sit back in, it was clear that Doug was in for a rough remainder of this match. So rather then attempt to run into a train and expect to be left standing, he quickly pulled a chair out from under the ring and willingly got disqualified for holding it past the five count!! Those Canadians are crafty, and this was likely a wise move. Cause Sit looked ready to pulverize Doug and Doug felt it wise to "run away and fight another day".
Fatman Pro Wres (O) [Disqualification - 14:39] (X) Canada Brothers
*We now go backstage, via Battletron, to the Orochi Army locker room where we see Geese speaking with Mr. Clyde and Mr. Figaro. Drake Yoshida is also there*
[Drake:] "Have you all decided which two members will represent your Battalion for the main event?"
[Mr. Clyde:] "Yes, Mr. Geese, will it be Figaro or I to accompany you?"
[Geese:] "Or?"
[Mr. Figaro:] "It rhymes with whor-"
[Geese:] "Enough. It won't be "either" of you, it will be BOTH of you."
[Mr. Clyde:] "But...this is the main event and, this PCW team is no joke."
[Geese:] "I would not have chosen you and Figaro as members of my Battalion if I thought you were not equipped to handle ANY match on your own. You two are both former tag champions, afterall."
[Mr. Figaro:] "I heard that Book Matthews trained Jason Blackhart!"
[Geese:] "Yes, and you once got a beverage from the same stand that Jason Blackhart did."
[Mr. Figaro:] "Yeah! I think I won my match that night, too!!"
[Geese:] "Listen, I'm gonna make this very clear. In about two weeks time at the next Open show, Kyle Walker and I are set to face Tommy Fiero and Thunder Strike. I can NOT afford to go into that match any less then 100%. I finally have the chance to end the careers of both of them and I will not do anything to get in the way of that. You two can handle PCU or whoever their name is."
[Mr. Figaro:] "THEN WE'RE NOT GONNA PROTEST YOUR DECISION! WE'RE NOT GONNA PROTEST!"
[Mr. Clyde:] "If you want us to compete, then we shall do so. Let's go, Figaro."
*After they walk out the door*
[Drake:] "Are you sure this is wise, sir?"
[Geese:] "I have confidence in them."
[Drake:] "This team would have been no trifle for you, and every victory counts in this league."
[Geese:] "Every move I make counts. I have priorities and the elimination of Thunder Strike and Fiero is on the top of the list. When that is taken care of, I will single-handledy bring this Battalion to its knees."