September 2nd, 2001
Manchester Evening News Arena
Attendance: 24,966
PPV buy-rate: 4.08561
[Dark Match]:
The New Young Lions defeated Tony Simms and
Danny Payne when Coulbourne pinned
Payne after a sunset flip in 0:09:31.
Rating: ***
[Dark Match]:
Skyfire Sullivan pinned Scottie Hero with the
Diving Headbutt in 0:09:20.
Rating: **** 1/2
(The scene opens inside the Manchester Evening News Arena with Chris Freeman and Adam Wheeler standing in the middle of the ring. The crowd begin a deafening “Hammerlock” chant. Chris Freeman starts to introduce the show.)
Chris Freeman: Hello everyone and welcome to NWA-UK Hammerlock’s third pay-per-view spectacular!
(The crowd pops.)
CF: This is Hammerlock’s debut in Manchester!!!
(The crowd goes absolutely crazy.)
CF: I’m Chris Freeman…
(Adam Wheeler snatches the microphone.)
AW: And enough about you, I’m your host, “The
Lyrical Miracle” Adam Wheeler on the mic…not too hard, not too soft, but just
right…
(Boos and jeers from the fans. Freeman can’t help but
crack a smile.)
CF: Tonight, in the MEN Arena, we are going Back 2
Skool!!!
(Another huge crowd pop.)
CF: You can expect plenty of thrills and spills,
because usually Hammerlock pay-per-views are as unpredictable and unorganised
as the German defence…
(The crowd goes wild. A “5-1” chant breaks out.)
CF: We have four championships on the line
tonight, including…
(“The Bitch Song” by Bowling for Soup hits and
Valkyrie makes her way out to the ring. She looks out at the crowd with disgust
before climbing into the squared circle.)
CF: Valkyrie, it’s great to see
you and all, but what are
you doing out here?!
Valkyrie: First of all Chris, I want you to shut
your mouth. I don’t need your sarcastic, disingenuous comments.
(A “shut the hell up” chant commences.)
Valkyrie: You know Chris, every week I hear you on
TV, complaining about how I’m selfish. According to you, I’m egocentric, all
because I want to make a name for myself. Well, do you know why I’m selfish?
Because I get absolutely nothing from the people in charge around here!
(More boos from the crowd.)
Valkyrie: At Heatwave, I tried to break through
the glass ceiling, and what happens? These moronic fans turn on me. Well…
(The boos get louder.)
Valkyrie: Well, screw these fans and screw you
too, Freeman. Tonight, I’m gonna make sure people sit up and take notice of me
by kicking Luke Champion’s ass, but first, I’m going to start with you!
(Valkyrie grabs Freeman by the lapels and drives him
back into the corner. Suddenly, “Freak on a Leash” by Korn blasts over the
speakers and Luke Champion sprints down to the ring. Valkyrie throws Freeman
out of the ring and readies herself for Champion. The Legacy slides under the
bottom rope and Valkyrie swings wildly at him with a clothesline attempt, but
Champion ducks under and boots Valkyrie in the stomach, before planting her
with a DDT. Champion looks down at The Female Fighting Phenom’s fallen body,
which gives Valkyrie the chance to boot Champion low and she hurls him
headfirst into the top turnbuckle. The crowd are loving every minute of the
impromptu brawl. Referee Martin Pike runs down to the ring and calls for the
bell, and Back 2 Skool gets off to an volatile start!)
Luke Champion pinned Valkyrie after a Russian
legsweep in 0:11:31.
Rating: *** 1/4
CF: What a frantic start to the pay-per-view, and what a great win for Luke Champion to kick it all off!
AW: I’ll never forgive Luke Champion for that. She was just about to kick your ass! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for someone to do that?!
CF: That was a superb performance by Champion, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t put himself into some sort of title contention.
(The Back 2 Skool opening titles roll. The scene then opens in the backstage area, where the NWA-UK Tag Team Champions Society Bites are ready to be interviewed.)
Society Bites interview, w/ Big Poppa Pete.
(Phil Robinson is standing by backstage with the World
Tag Team Champions. Kevin Bradley and Chaz Harris are joined by their devious
manager Big Poppa Pete, busy shining up their belts. Bradley is wearing a Y2J
T-shirt, while Harris is decked out in a “Chosen One” shirt.)
Robinson: Guys, tonight you face what will
undoubtedly prove to be your toughest challenge to date when you defend the
gold against Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho from Florida Championship
Wrestling.
Bradley: Robinson, you ass clown, would you please
shut the hell up?! It’s obvious to us that Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho want
to get over at our expense. Well I hate to disappoint Jarrett, Jericho and all his
little jerkoff-aholics, but there’s not a chance of that happening. We are using
those two punks to prove that we are, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest
team in the entire National Wrestling Alliance!
Harris: And after that, the name of Society Bites
will be synonymous with all those great tag teams – The Midnight Express, The
Road Warriors, The Steiners and The Beverly Brothers…
(Pete and Bradley cast a blank look at the mention
of the last team.)
Harris: …but even they aren’t better than us. Now
why don’t you choke on that, slapnuts?!
AW: Heh, heh, heh. I love those guys.
CF: I just hope they don’t end up with egg on
their faces after this match. Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho are no pushovers.
AW: Sure, Jericho and Jarrett are great athletes,
but compared to Bradley and Harris, they are mediocre.
CF: Well, let’s find out, shall we? The NWA-UK
World Tag Team Titles are on the line next as Society Bites defend the gold
against Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho from Florida Championship Wrestling.
Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho defeated Society
Bites when C. Jericho pinned
Bradley after a rollover in 0:22:18.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho won the NWA-UK
World Tag Team Titles.)
CF: Jericho got him! For the first time ever, the NWA-UK World Tag Team Titles are out of Hammerlock!
AW: Surely that was a fast count! That referee doesn’t look too familiar either, are you sure he isn’t from Florida?
CF: That’s Stuart Baines, he’s been here since the start!
AW: Well he should be fired for his incompetent refereeing! I can’t believe this!
CF: It appears that right here at Back 2 Skool, all of Society Bites’ bragging, gloating and show-boating has come back to bite them on the ass!
AW: Hmmph!
CF: Let’s go backstage, where Kelly is going to attempt to grab a word with “Shotgun” Steve Bailey.
Steve Bailey interview.
(Kelly walks into Steve Bailey’s locker room as
“Shotgun” is lacing up his boots, preparing for his match against Ahmed Chaer.)
Kelly: Steve, the nation is on a high after
England’s incredible result last night in Munich. Does that make you even more
determined to defeat Ahmed Chaer tonight for the German Heavyweight
Championship?
Bailey: Kelly, if you thought that the beating
England gave Germany last night was bad, well it will be nothing compared to
what I do to Ahmed Chaer tonight. Sure, he’s a wonderful athlete with an
impressive finisher, but I’m the innovator of impressive and remarkable moves.
He’s hit me with his best, and I’m still here, still gunning for him. Tonight
I’m gonna prove to the entire world that Hammerlock’s athletes are better than
those from the GWF, and that German Title is heading around my waist.
CF: Steve Bailey there, clearly ready for his
German Heavyweight Championship Match with Ahmed Chaer this evening.
AW: He’d better be ready, Freeman. The Manchester
crowd are expecting him to win here tonight, and he won’t want to send
them home disappointed.
CF: The Mexican Death Match is up next…
AW: Excellent!
CF: …this contest was set up to end the ongoing
dispute between Muerte de Antedicho and Devon Ferrari. And as an added bonus,
it is a Hair vs. Mask Match.
AW: What?!
CF: Well, if Antedicho loses, he must unmask.
However, if Ferrari loses, he will have his head shaved! Either way, someone is
going to be humiliated here tonight in Manchester.
AW: I can’t believe Ferrari has agreed to this.
Can you imagine him as a skinhead?
CF: Don’t you think Ferrari is going to win?
AW: Of course he is. He’s “Everybody’s Favourite
Wrestler”!
CF: Well what are you worried about then?!
[Hair vs. Mask]: Mexican Death Match:
Muerte De Antedicho pinned Devon Ferrari after a
spinebuster slam in 0:19:25.
Rating: *** 1/2
CF: He got him! Antedicho wins it! Now comes the small matter of cutting Ferrari’s hair!
AW: Wait, you’re not serious! Ferrari isn’t really
gonna get his head shaved, is he?
CF: Oh yeah!
Post-match:
(Devon Ferrari bails out of the ring and pushes
the timekeeper out of his seat. “Everybody’s Favourite Wrestler” takes the
steel chair and returns to the ring, but Antedicho dropkicks the chair right
into Ferrari’s face.)
CF: Ferrari eats the steel!
(Antedicho drills Ferrari onto the chair with his
Antedicho driver and then receives the scissors from the referee.)
CF: Now I think a little off the sides…
AW:
Aww, shut up Freeman!
(The Spanish high-flyer uses the scissors to hack
away at Ferrari’s long, dark locks, when suddenly Smashmouth hits the ring and
clubs Antedicho in the back of the head with a huge forearm smash.)
CF: Smashmouth?! Where the hell did he come from?!
AW: Who cares?! I’m just glad he came out here to
stop this debacle!
(Smashmouth whips Antedicho into the corner and
crushes him with a giant avalanche. As Antedicho staggers out of the corner,
Smashmouth brutalises him with a gargantuan power bomb, and then places the
steel chair on top of him.)
CF: What does Smashmouth have in mind now?
(Smashmouth ascends the turnbuckles and flattens
Antedicho underneath the chair with a 300-pound frog splash. Antedicho rolls
around on the mat in agony.)
CF: Oh my God! That’s the biggest frog splash I’ve
ever seen!
AW: Antedicho’s insides must be totally crushed!
(Smashmouth helps the barely-conscious Devon
Ferrari out of the ring and up the ramp to a chorus of boos.)
AW: Total destruction by the 300 pound wrecking
machine, Smashmouth.
CF: Well speaking of destruction, and violence,
devastation and bloodshed, the StreetFight between The Baldies and The
Hammersmith Hard Men is up next.
AW: The war between these two teams has raged on
in recent weeks, and escalated when The Baldies sent Rick Knight to the
hospital after stapling him in the eye. In this anything-goes environment,
anything can happen…and probably will. Both these teams have no regard for
their own well-being, or anyone else’s. Somebody is going to get hurt here, and
hurt very badly.
CF: While we try and find something to hide
behind, let’s go up to the ring.
Manchester StreetFight:
The Baldies defeated Hammersmith Hard Men when
Angel pinned Knight with his
special
move in 0:14:56.
Rating: * 1/4
CF: Oh no! Angel has stapled Rick Knight in the eye AGAIN!!!
AW: That’s beyond too far. Knight is clutching his eye, and there is blood pouring from it.
CF: Let’s get this off camera. While Rick Knight gets some serious medical attention, let’s go to something else. Let’s go to Byson.
Byson interview.
(Byson is pacing back and forth in a damp, poorly
lit part of the arena.)
“Kakuhari! Kakuhari! Winning that belt means more
than anything to me. I have dedicated my LIFE to taking that belt away from you.
Kakuhari, what are you willing to do to keep that belt? Are you willing to
bleed for it? BLEED FOR IT?! I am, oh yeah. I’m willing to hurt you, Kakuhari.
I’m willing to cripple you. I’m willing to KILL YOU!!!”
(Byson glares straight into the camera lens.)
“Kakuhari, I am going to leave you laying in a
pool of your own blood, sh*t and piss! Then, you’ll look up at me, with the
gold strapped around my waist…and you’ll scream, scream the name of…BYSON!!!”
AW: Byson looks as if he is in the mood to maim someone.
CF: Isn't he always?
AW: He sure is, but what Byson does to Kakuhari
tonight may make what just happened to Rick Knight look like a slap in the
face.
CF: Let’s not joke about that, Adam. Rick Knight
is seriously hurt, I mean the man could be blinded. He is now on his way to a
local medical facility.
AW: Well, what did you expect, Freeman? It was a
StreetFight! That’s the Baldies’ territory! They are the Kings of the Streets,
and Rick Knight just found out why!
CF: Can’t you show some compassion just once in
your life?! Coming up next here at Back 2 Skool…
AW: Or should that be, zurück zu Schule?
CF: I don’t think so, Adam. In just a few moments, Ahmed Chaer defends his German Heavyweight Championship against “Shotgun” Steve Bailey.
AW: In my view, and Bailey eluded to it earlier,
he must avoid Chaer’s Super Iconoclasm finisher. If he gets hit with that, and
he knows what effects it has, then it will be gute Nacht.
CF: This has the potential to be an excellent
contest, and Bailey rarely lets us down.
Steve Bailey pinned Ahmed Chaer after an Asai
moonsault in 0:13:17.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Steve Bailey won the GWF World Heavyweight
Title.)
CF: Bailey’s the new German Heavyweight Champion!!!
AW: Can't the Germans beat us at anything?!
CF: What a fantastic win there for “Shotgun”, who just gunned down Ahmed Chaer for the title. Let’s go backstage, where Ben Winter is waiting.
Ben Winter interview.
(The Iceman is shown wheeling a stretcher down the corridor. He stops in front of the camera.)
Winter: See this, Anthony? See this stretcher? It’s all ready for you. You’re gonna be spending a lot of time on this tonight. This is the mode of transport that will take you out of the arena and straight to the medical room…
(Suddenly, Byson runs in and tries to Gore Winter, but the Iceman side-steps and Byson crashes into the stretcher. Hiro Kakuhari then arrives on the scene and lamps Byson with several kicks to the head, before an army of referees intervene and attempt to separate all three athletes.)
CF: Wow, emotions are boiling over in the back.
AW: Byson and Kakuhari can’t wait to face each other after what happened last night inside that steel cage, and Winter is desperate to get his hands on Robbie Anthony. It’s going to be a hell of a night.
CF: Well, it already has been, and it has the potential to get even better with our next match which sees Midnight Blue challenge “Picture Perfect” Jason Prentice for the World Television Championship.
AW: Both these men have been on an unbelievable run of form going into this pay-per-view and I have no qualms about Midnight Blue being number one contender, he deserves to be. But nobody, NOBODY, looks better than Jason Prentice with that title around their waist. Blue may have looked impressive in recent weeks, but I still don’t think that he has what it takes to remove that title from Prentice’s waist here tonight.
CF: You know it has often been said, usually by you, that Prentice is the best pure wrestler in Hammerlock. I feel however that Blue is extremely underrated as a grappler.
AW: Blue has a power game that he relies on to take apart guys that are smaller than him. I believe that Prentice is smart enough, and quick enough, to avoid those high impact moves. If Prentice wants to retain the gold, he has to wrestle Blue, as good as Blue may be as a mat technician. If Prentice tries to match power with Midnight Blue, then he’ll be the one left feeling blue.
CF: It’s bound to be an intriguing contest.
Midnight Blue pinned Jason Prentice with the
Blue Light Special in 0:16:21.
Rating: ***
(Midnight Blue won the NWA-UK World Television
Title.)
CF: We have a new World Television Champion!!!
AW: No, no, no, no, NO!!!
CF: Prentice only has himself to blame there. His own complacency cost him the match!
AW: Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!!
CF: Prentice looked like he had the match won, but implausibly he started doing one-armed push-ups! That was just the opportunity that Midnight Blue needed and he seized it!
AW: Aww shut up, Freeman. Can’t we go to something else?
Robbie Anthony interview.
(The NWA King of the Ring is getting set for his Stretcher Match, when Phil Robinson attempts to get a word.)
Robinson: Mr. Anthony, we are just moments away…
Anthony: Whoa, whoa, whoa, Robinson! If you want to talk with me, you must address me as “your majesty”.
Robinson: Get lost, I’m not doing that…
Anthony: Well, let me put it this way. Do it, unless you want a broken nose.
(Phil Robinson pauses for thought.)
Robinson: Your majesty, we are just moments away from your massive Stretcher Match with “The Iceman” Ben Winter, a match in which in order to achieve victory you must incapacitate your opponent enough so that he is stretchered out of the arena. That’s a tall order.
Anthony: Shut up, moron. I know the rules. As far as I’m concerned, this match is a no-brainer. A no-brainer such as, I’m a better King than that old buzzard Harley Race ever was, or I’m a better wrestler than Ben Winter will ever be. This is a match I’ve never lost, against a man who’s never beaten me. Can I make it more obvious than that?
Robinson: Well if you p…
(Anthony interrupts.)
Anthony: Did I say you could speak? Winter, I hope that the incompetent Hammerlock hierarchy booked a hospital bed for you, because you’ll need it once I drop the bomb on you!
(Anthony heads for the ring, while Robinson mutters under his breath.)
Robinson: Asshole.
AW: Robinson is a impertinent moron. No respect at all.
CF: Well, here we go. This Stretcher Match is something I’ve been looking forward to all week.
AW: The Iceman is out for revenge. Anthony beat him to win the NWA-UK World Title, and then he threw it down. Anthony cost him his place in the King of the Ring Tournament, and then went on to win it. It’s time for Winter to get some payback, and he wants to hurt Anthony here this evening in Manchester.
CF: The rules of a Stretcher Match are simple. You must incapacitate your opponent so that he is wheeled out of the arena on a stretcher.
AW: And you know what, Freeman? That means anything goes. I hope these two guys don’t hold back in this one.
CF: I seriously doubt that they will. I believe Winter has something to prove. Psychologically, Anthony has the advantage because Winter’s never beaten him, and he isn’t shy about bragging about that. The Iceman knows he can beat Anthony, but until he does, that will always play on his mind.
AW: Well, let’s wait no longer. Can The Iceman really beat The King? I don’t think he can.
CF: Let’s find out!
No Holds Barred Stretcher Match:
Robbie Anthony defeated Ben Winter in 0:22:57.
Rating: **** 1/4
CF: Oh my God! Anthony just laid out Winter on that stretcher with a brick!
AW: And he wins the match!
CF: Oh, come on! That’s not the issue here.
AW: Hey, Anthony won, by any means necessary. It
was anything goes. That means Anthony can do anything, or use anything to
win…and he did.
CF: I don’t think that covers crushing your
opponent’s face with a brick, for God’s sake!
AW: You know, I’ll bet Winter’s glad he wears that
mask, because I think it’s the only thing holding his face together right now.
CF: We’ll try and bring you an update on Ben
Winter’s condition before we go off air here this evening, but the show must go
on and the World Championship is on the line next.
AW: Damn right Freeman, it’s Byson versus Hiro Kakuhari for the latter’s World Heavyweight Championship. For me, Byson has the advantage, purely and simply because of that attack on Kakuhari last night on Saturday Fight Night inside the steel cage. The Rising Star from The Rising Sun cannot be at 100%, it’s just not possible.
CF: I wouldn’t write off his chances that easily,
Adam. Kakuhari just loves to prove his critics wrong time and time again, but I
agree with you that he has a mountain to climb if he wants to leave Manchester
still in possession of the gold. Byson is the clear favourite here, and if he
can keep his temperament in check, it’s my firm belief that we’ll have a new
World Champion.
AW: So what you’re saying is that everybody should
get out of the way, get out of the way for Byson?
CF: Pretty much. And remember, every title that
has been on the line so far tonight has changed hands. Is that an omen for this
contest?
Hiro Kakuhari pinned Byson after a German suplex
in 0:23:24.
Rating: *****
(Hiro Kakuhari retained the NWA-UK World Heavyweight
Title.)
CF: Can you believe that?! Kakuhari retains the title, surviving two separate attacks from Bryan Campbell and then Robbie Anthony!
AW: No Freeman, I don’t believe it! For the second straight pay-per-view, Robbie Anthony has cost Byson the championship!
CF: And the Manimal doesn’t look too happy about it!
Post-match:
(Robbie Anthony helps a furious Byson back to his feet, while Kakuhari scurries out of the ring, clutching his championship belt close to his chest. Anthony is very apologetic towards Byson, but Byson is having none of it. He shoves the NWA King of the Ring away from him.)
AW: Oh dear!
CF: It appears we may have a confrontation here!
(That doesn’t sit too well with Anthony, who comes back and pushes Byson. The crowd are getting into this.)
CF: Could the alliance between Byson and Robbie Anthony be about to explode before our very eyes???
(Anthony interrupts the verbal confrontation between he and Byson by slapping the Manimal hard across the face. Byson is fuming.)
AW: I can’t believe Anthony just did that! Does he have a death wish?!
(Byson replies with a hard slap to Anthony. The two men seem ready to come to blows, but a whole host of referees and suited officials rush down to the ring and get between Byson and Anthony. The crowd voice their disapproval; they want to see a fight.)
CF: Look at this! Byson and Anthony are ready to go at it! This is bound to boil over to Hammerlock TV, so join us tomorrow night!!! Goodnight, everybody!
Match observations:
Click here to return to the card overview.
Peter Abram, 09-02-2001