MMP BATTLEGROUND 3
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
First Union Center – Philadelphia, PA
MMP BattleGround 3 is on the air! More than 20, 000 fans are jammed into the MMP Coliseum for tonight’s huge event. Commentators Jerry Wood and Ray Brewer are at ringside.
Wood: Welcome, everyone, to the MMP’s July tradition! Welcome to BattleGround 3! I’m Jerry Wood alongside Ray Brewer here at the First Union Center in Philadelphia where tonight all six MMP championships will be on the line, not to mention of course the traditional team elimination matches that we will see right here, exclusive to the BattleGround pay per view event. And, of course, it all leads up to our huge main event for the MMP world championship where The Cult Master, making what many would claim is his first legitimate title defense as he takes on the reigning midwestern champion “Amazing” Andrew Peters.
Brewer: There will be no whispering in the challenger’s ear and telling him to lay down tonight. Cult Master practically had a bye last month when The Destroyer was the number one contender after winning the survivor’s cup, but things will be very different here tonight. If he tries telling Peters to just lay down, Peters is likely to slap the taste out of his mouth and snap his arm with that Antagonizer. And let’s not forget it was just this past Saturday night when Peters went out and defeated The Destroyer on live television. I’m telling ya Wood, I’ve got a feeling we’ll see a new champion crowned here tonight.
Wood: I’m almost inclined to agree with you there Ray, except for the fact that before the big world title match coming up later Peters must first defend the midwestern championship against Twisted Steel, a man who has been on an incredible tear since coming to the MMP. As a matter of fact, let’s not waste any more time talking about it because that match is up first. The midwestern championship is on the line to kick things off here at BattleGround 3!
MMP Midwestern Championship Match
”AMAZING” ANDREW PETERS (C) vs. TWISTED STEEL
Twisted Steel came to the ring first, proudly wearing his television title belt around his waist. He had his returning manager, Adam Kogler, following closely behind, much to the chagrin of the Philadelphia fans. As Steel entered the ring Peters started to make his way down, joined as always by Amanda. The duo entered the ring where Amanda removed her man’s robe and championship belt, and while Steel was receiving some last minute advice in his corner from Kogler Peters ran across the ring and caught the stunned challenger with a hard kick to the midsection. The referee, also taken by surprise, quickly turned to call for the bell to get the match officially started as Peters took his startled opponent over with a snap suplex. Peters got a small run-up off the ropes and drove a knee down across Steel’s forehead, and then mounted his opponent and began hammering down on him with repeated right hands to the side of the head. The referee started yelling at Peters to let Steel get to his feet, and after administering a four-count on Peters the champion finally let up and pulled Steel back to a vertical base. He backed Steel into the ropes and went to whip him off the far side but Steel reversed it, and instead of sending Peters into the ropes he hooked Peters around the head and took him down with a Russian legsweep. Peters’ head snapped back off the canvas but Steel yanked him back to his feet and locked on a full nelson, looking for the Living End early. The champion, though, was able to reach around and hook Steel’s leg with his own leg and block the slam, so Steel countered by reaching around and sweeping Peters’ feet out from under him, driving him face first into the canvas. He then put his knee in Peters’ back, right between the shoulderblades, and pulled back on the champ’s arms, employing a version of the bow and arrow to wear the man down. Peters, though, had a lot of fight still in him and started to battle back to his feet. Once up Peters thrust his hips back into Steel’s midsection twice to break the hold, and with the challenger stunned he laid into him with a series of European uppercuts that backed the TV champ into the corner. With his opponent dazed Peters brought him out of the corner with a snapmare and dropped an elbow across his chest before going for a cover, but he got only a two count before Steel managed to kick out. Undaunted Peters pulled Steel up and whipped him off the ropes, this time catching the man in a sleeperhold as he came back. The referee was in good position to check on Steel, but the TV champion fought the hold with all he had. Slowly, though, the hold started to take effect. Steel started to fade, and dropped to one knee. A wide smile crossed Peters’ face, as he could tell victory was at hand. The official checked Steel’s arm, and it fell once. It fell twice. On the third time Steel held his arm up, and slowly started back to his feet. A back elbow into Peters didn’t break the hold, and neither did a second. Out of desperation Steel ran towards the ropes, and the momentum carried both men through the ropes to the outside. They both hit hard on the concrete floor, but it did what Steel needed to do and that was break the hold. Peters was the first man to his feet and he started to pull Steel up, but then he turned and saw what was happening on the other side of the ring. Adam Kogler was advancing on Amanda, waving a twenty dollar bill in the air and telling Peters’ valet to “take it off”. Peters saw this and flew into a rage, running around the ring and grabbing Kogler by the back of the shirt, warning him to stay away from Amanda. Before long, though, Steel was to his feet, and he came around to where Peters and Kogler stood. Kogler tried to pull away but Peters held on and wouldn’t let go. The plan worked, though, as Kogler was drawing Peters closer and closer to the ring post. Once the got close enough Steel nailed Peters with a version of the Crazy Train on the floor, sending the champion head first into the post and sending Kogler to the floor in the process. While Kogler made one final attempt to get Amanda to strip down, Steel rolled Peters back in the ring and made a cover, but Peters managed to get a shoulder up just before the count of three. The champion, though, was busted open as a result of being run into the post, and as he slowly struggled to his feet, Steel grabbed him from behind and applied a version of The Antagonizer!! The fans started to cheer, but it wasn’t for Steel. The Ryno came running down to the ring with a crowbar in hand, slid into the ring, and slugged Steel across the back of the neck with it!! Steel broke the hold and crumbled to the mat alongside Peters while the referee called for the bell, awarding the match to Steel on a disqualification. At the sight of Ryno Kogler took off running back to the dressing room, and a group of referees came out to keep Ryno from continuing his attack.
Wood: Twisted Steel picks up the victory here tonight at BattleGround, but I imagine he’ll be disappointed when he realizes that he didn’t get his hands on the midwestern title. I thought he had Peters beaten, but thanks to Ryno now we’ll never know.
Brewer: Steel doesn’t have time to be disappointed, he’s still got to defend the TV title tonight as well as being involved in one of the elimination matches. He can’t be dwelling on this match. Likewise Peters can’t spend any time thinking about this match either…he survived with his title and he should be thankful, now it’s time to get ready for The Cult Master.
Wood: It’s like I said at the top of the broadcast, The Cult Master has a huge advantage going into tonight’s title defense in that Peters has already gone through a gruelling match with Twisted Steel while Cult Master sat back and rested. You could see as he walked back that Peters is going to need some medical attention, and that’s only going to cut into his rest and preparation time as he gets ready to challenge for the world title. We go now from one tag team match to another, this time it will be the tag team titles that are on the line. Synthetic Dawn finally gets the title shot they earned a couple of months ago in the body count match, and they will face the other co-winners of that contest, two men that since have gone on to win the tag team championship, Aries and Hades. Let’s go back to the ring.
MMP Tag Team Championship Match
ARIES & HADES (C) vs. SYNTHETIC DAWN
With Synthetic Dawn already waiting in the ring, the quartet of Aries, Hades, Baital, and Nashira made their way down. Hades and Baital climbed into the ring, but when they got inside they turned and saw that Aries and Nashira were still on the floor. Nashira had a microphone in her hands, and began to speak as she passed the tag title belts to the timekeeper.
Nashira-Ok listen up. Baital and Hades, both Aries and myself are sick and tired of your lack of ability to work together so. Baital you get one half of the tag belts and Hades you keep you half. You two have no choice but to work together.
Hades and Baital looked at each other in disbelief as Aries and Nashira left, and it wasn’t long before the two men got into an argument in their corner. Hades finally went out to start the match, but he walked right into Barricade who took Hades over with an armdrag. The champ, though, held on as he went over and brought Barricade to the canvas as well, locking the man in an armbar. After driving two kneedrops down into Barricade’s shoulder Hades pulled the challenger up and slammed him down before making the tag to Baital. Baital came in and continued where Hades left off, stomping the man in the rib cage before pulling him up and delivering a backbreaker. He then whipped Barricade into the champions’ corner and came charging in with a spinning heel kick, but Barricade moved out of the way and the kick instead connected with the side of Hades’ head. Hades fell off the apron to the floor and Baital climbed out to help him up, but Hades would have none of it and responded by shoving Baital back against the post. The argument continued on the outside, with both men oblivious to the referee’s count in the ring. Barricade slowly went over to his corner and tagged in Ambush, but by the time Ambush got in the ring the ref had hit ten and Hades and Baital had been counted out. The new champions argued all the way to the back, leaving Ambush and Barricade with disappointed looks on their faces as their hands were raised.
Wood: Looks like we have new tag team champions, but not in the form of Synthetic Dawn. Hades and Baital, I’m now being told, are officially the MMP tag team champions after Aries handed his belt over.
Brewer: This presents an interesting situation, Wood. There’s an obscure clause in the MMP rule book that says that all wrestlers are committed to all matches in which they agree to compete. Now, Aries was signed to be involved in this match tonight, but instead Baital wound up taking his place. What does this mean? My interpretation would be that Aries and Hades forfeited the match, and in that case, should Synthetic Dawn not be the tag team champions?
Wood: You bring up an interesting point, Ray, and you’re right, that clause is clear in the MMP rules. The referee’s decision was that Synthetic Dawn won by countout over Hades and Baital, but I’m not exactly sure what to make of this issue you have just brought up. I’m sure we will see a ruling over the next few days as to the state of the tag team titles. Coming up next we have the first of our team elimination matches, and strangely enough Synthetic Dawn will be right back out here competing after their countout victory in the tag title match. They join forces with the reigning universal champion Death and “Die Hard” Dave Williams to take on The Joker’s Child, Controversy, and The Raggedy Annes.
Elimination Match
DEATH, “DIE HARD” DAVE WILLIAMS & SYNTHETIC DAWN vs. THE JOKER’S CHILD, CONTROVERSY & THE RAGGEDY ANNES
Joker and his team all came to the ring together, showing much stronger solidarity than the Death team, which all came out as individuals, save Synthetic Dawn, which came to the ring as a team. Once all eight men were in the ring The Raggedy Annes wasted no time going right after Ambush and Barricade, and after ordering the others to the apron the ref called for the bell to start the match. The brute strength of the Annes allowed them to pound Ambush and Barricade down to the mat, but once they started trying to improvise strategy, problems arose. Ambush and Barricade pulled themselves up with the aid of the ropes and Annie Christ came charging in with an attempt at a double clothesline, but both members of Dawn ducked and countered with a double clothesline of their own, sending Annie Christ over the top rope to the floor. Annie Christian simply stood in the middle of the ring with a confused look on his face as his partner went over the top, allowing Dawn to deliver a second double clothesline, this one taking Christian off his feet. From there they immediately went for a finish. Barricade hoisted Christian up onto his shoulders and Ambush climbed to the top rope where he nailed the Mindbender! Ambush then made the cover and scored the easy pinfall, making Christian the first man eliminated from the match. He didn’t have much time to celebrate, though, as as soon as the ref’s hand hit the mat the third time Controversy was in the ring and stomping Ambush across the back. Ambush fell face down to the canvas, and Controversy’s relentlessness made it impossible for him to get to his feet. It wasn’t until Controversy pulled the man up that Ambush regained his vertical base, and then Controversy nailed him with a clothesline that put him right back down. It was the second mistake of the match for The Beautiful Ones, as Ambush fell back into his corner where he made the tag to “Die Hard” Dave Williams. Williams came in and caught the startled Controversy with a running kneelift to the midsection followed by a European uppercut, and then a dropkick that sent Controversy back into the corner. He delivered a series of chops across the chest of his painted opponent, and then hoisted him up to the top rope where he positioned Controversy for a super DDT. He hooked Controversy around the neck, but before he could drive the man down Controversy hooked the top rope with his foot, throwing Williams’ balance off. Controversy held his position, but Williams collapsed to the canvas. With his opponent down Controversy re-adjusted himself and came off with the Cherry Popper, and then hooked the leg as the ref counted 1…2…3, evening the sides up and three on three. Controversy got back to his feet, but as he did he was met immediately by Death, who grabbed the painted man and whipped him off the ropes, catching him on the rebound with a big boot to the face. Controversy hit the canvas hard, allowing Death to go over to the corner and hop up to the second turnbuckle, where he waited until Controversy got back to his feet. Once Controversy was up Death came off and nailed him with a flying clothesline before going over and making the tag to Ambush. In the meantime Controversy tagged in Annie Christ, but in typical fashion the Anne was slow to figure out what was going on, and thus by the time he got into the ring he walked right into the arms of Ambush, who picked him up and drove him down with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Ambush then immediately applied the Shotgun, and just as quickly Annie Christ gave up, giving the Death/Synthetic Dawn team the numbers advantage once again. With things looking bad for their team Joker and Controversy both got into the ring and started double-teaming Ambush, but all that did was bring Death and Barricade running in to the aid of their partner. Death went right for The Joker’s Child, who quickly jumped out of the ring and started running back to the dressing room at the sight of his opponent for later on. The universal champion gave chase, while in the ring Barricade nailed Controversy with a running clothesline. The referee had to step in and usher Barricade back to the corner since he wasn’t the legal man, leaving Controversy alone with Ambush. Ambush got to his feet first and charged Controversy, but the painted man lowered his shoulder and sent Ambush over the top to the floor, landing him at the feet of Ponch. Ponch then pulled Ambush up and slammed him into the ring post before the referee turned around, leaving Ambush laying dazed on the concrete floor. When the official finally turned back to the match he saw Ambush on the outside and began to administer his count. Ten seconds later Ambush was counted out, and a second official came down to explain to the man what had happened and make sure he left the ringside area. As Ambush passed through the curtain Death and Joker made their way back out, with Joker still running from the rightful owner of his universal title belt. In the ring Barricade was all over Controversy, driving the man down to the canvas with a big powerslam. He then waited for Controversy to get up before nailing a big spear tackle which knocked the wind right out of the man. Barricade made the cover and scored the 1…2…3. Joker finally slid into the ring, coming in right behind Barricade and locking on the Last Laugh. Death was right behind Joker, but the ref cut him off before he could break the hold, warning Death that if he came in before a tag he would be disqualified. Death reluctantly stepped out to the apron as Joker wrestled Barricade down to the canvas. A few seconds later Barricade tapped out, and the match was down to Joker against Death. Death entered the ring and Joker got a big run up towards his opponent, but Death was ready for him and caught Joker coming in, picking him up on his shoulders and delivering a Samoan drop! The universal champion then dropped a leg down across Joker’s chest, prompting Ponch to hop up on the apron. Turning his attention away from Joker Death came over to confront Ponch, but this proved to be a mistake. Joker pulled himself to his feet, grabbed Death from behind, and ran him right into Ponch. Death and Ponch hit heads and Joker rolled Death up for the 1…2…3 to win the match for his team.
Wood: Thanks to considerable outside interference from Ponch The Joker’s Child is the sole survivor of this first elimination match here at BattleGround 3, and that has to give him a huge psychological edge over Death going into that caged ladder match later on tonight.
Brewer: Well sure it does, Wood. Death is going into this match with no momentum at all. Officially he’s the champion, but Joker has the belt and now Joker has a pinfall victory, tainted though it is, over Death only about an hour before the big title match. Death is going to have to forget about all that and focus on the task at hand, or Joker may just steal the championship here at BattleGround.
Wood: I have to admit things aren’t looking good for Death, but let’s not forget that this is a man who survived three challengers over three days to retain that title back at WrestleFest, and he also advanced all the way to the finals of the survivor’s cup challenge back during that same event. He’s never a man to be taken lightly, and I’m sure Joker will find that out later tonight. Our next match is a match between two of the recent newcomers to the MMP, pitting the thus-far undefeated Glycerine going one on one against The Train. You know, ever since Glycerine arrived in the MMP he has been trying to earn himself a spot in The Cult, and tonight might be his best opportunity to do that. If he can prove himself to be the best of the new talent, he just might be able to sway The Cult Master enough to achieve that which he seeks. Train, on the other hand, is coming off a tough loss against Guru this past weekend on Saturday Night Slams, and is eager to get back on the winning track here in the MMP.
GLYCERINE vs. THE TRAIN
The Train was introduced first, coming to the ring alone to a mild response from the sold out crowd. He was soon followed by Glycerine and Vanessa, whose desire to align themselves with The Cult made them quite unpopular with the Philadelphia fans. The negative reaction of the crowd didn’t phase Glycerine, though, as he went right after his opponent once the bell sounded, hammering Train with right hands before finally taking him down with a clothesline. Train shot back to his feet and went for a clothesline of his own, but Glycerine ducked out of the way and hooked the man in a t-bone suplex, sending Train right back down again. This time Train was somewhat slower in getting to his feet so Glycerine helped him up, only to whip Train across the ring into the far corner. As Train bounded out Glycerine caught him with a kick to the midsection, and then planted him face first into the canvas with a DDT. From there Train was easy pickings for Glycerine, who pulled the man up again to hit the Ignition before making the cover for the 1…2…3. Glycerine and Vanessa started to leave the ring, but just then the lights in the arena went out. Loud booms of thunder and flashes of lightning filled the arena. After a few moments the lights came back up, showing Glycerine and Vanessa in the entrance way with uneasy looks on their faces. Glycerine walked back to the ring and grabbed a mic:
Glycerine: Ok, this isn't funny. Whomever this is had better stop or you will have me to answer too. I'M NOT KIDD...
In mid sentence Glycerine’s mic cut out and an unknown voice came over the loudspeakers.
Mysterious Voice: NO! You have me to answer to boy! You are the one who is in trouble now. I'm coming for you Glycerine... I'm Coming. There is no escape, the Light shall save your soul...
The voice stopped just as suddenly as it started, and the pair headed back to locker room.
Wood: Glycerine continues his undefeated streak in the MMP with an impressive win over The Train. If he keeps this up it could only be a matter of time before we see him in The Cult Master’s fold.
Brewer: That’s probably true, but why would a guy on such a tear want to join forces with a group like that. The man is undefeated…what could The Cult Master offer him? A nice basement dwelling in the Compound? Then again, if The Cult Master loses that world title belt tonight, a lot of his appeal might just leave with it.
Wood: It very well could, Ray. The world title carries a lot of political stroke with it, and by connecting with the champion Glycerine could very well set his career on the fast track to title shots and main event matches simply by association. Either way, tonight’s world title match between Cult Master and Andrew Peters could provide us with some of the answers we are looking for. Up next we have another championship match, this time for the MMP television championship. Shannon Shag-Nasty gets his first opportunity at MMP gold, but he faces a tough test against the reigning champion, a man who has yet to be pinned or made to submit here in the MMP, Twisted Steel.
MMP Television Championship Match
TWISTED STEEL (C) vs. SHANNON SHAG-NASTY
With Shannon already waiting in the ring, Twisted Steel came down the aisle, accompanied as usual by Adam Kogler, who was carrying a microphone.
Kogler: “Well, if it isn't Mr. I-wanna-make-a-name-for-myself ready to take the Television Title away from Twisted Steel. I hate to inform you Shaggy, but it's time for you to come crashing back down to Earth. This isn't The
Train or Glycerine. This is the TV Champ, Twisted Steel! This is Pay-Per-View! You're out of your league, buddy and you're five seconds away from feeling the Steel!"
The crowd booed loudly at the sound of Kogler’s voice, but the reporter almost seemed to enjoy the crowd’s hatred. Steel confidently stepped through the ropes and removed his leather vest, revealing clearly where Ryno had hit him in the back of the neck with a crowbar in the opening match. He tossed the vest over to Shannon, temporarily distracting the challenger and allowing Steel to get an early upper hand by driving a running kneelift into the man’s midsection. While Shannon was stunned Steel took him over with a belly to belly suplex. He quickly rolled Shannon over into the Dirty Deed half crab, but Shannon was able to kick out, sending Steel into the far corner. Shannon got to his feet and charged in after Steel but the champ moved out of the way, sending the challenger hard sternum first into the buckle. Before Shannon could react Steel caught him from behind with the Crazy Train running dropkick in the corner, causing the challenger to go over the top rope and hit his head on the ring post. He stumbled back into the ring and into Steel’s waiting arms. The champ quickly applied a full nelson, and slammed Shannon down with the Living End. From there he made the cover and scored an easy three count to hang on to the title.
Wood: Twisted Steel keeps his un-pinned streak, along with his TV title reign, alive here tonight with a very impressive victory over Shannon Shag-Nasty. I must say, Ray, I was expecting much bigger things out of Shannon than what we saw here tonight.
Brewer: This kind of thing happens a lot though, Wood. This was Shag-Nasty’s first high profile match…a shot at the TV title on a major pay per view event. Sometimes guys can’t adjust to the pressure as fast as others, and I can only assume that’s what happened here. Twisted Steel is a talented wrestler despite that little rodent he has for a manager, so you have to take your hat off to him for taking care of a quality opponent in such short order.
Wood: This time last week we would have been referring to Twisted Steel as undefeated rather than just un-pinned, but that all changed on Saturday night when he was disqualified in that debacle of a match against The Ryno that saw Adam Kogler score a bogus pinfall over the former world champion. Tonight Ryno looks to vent that frustration in a pair of matches, the first of which will see him challenge Aries for the MMP extreme championship. Aries is a two-time holder of that title, and tonight Ryno looks to join that club with a victory in this no disqualification match up!
MMP Extreme Championship Match
ARIES (C) vs. THE RYNO
The scene shifted to backstage, where The Ryno was coming out of his locker room, a steel chair in one hand and a ladder in the other. Before he could make it to the entrance into the arena, Aries came running up on him from behind and nailed Ryno with a big clothesline to the back of the head, dropping Ryno hard to the cold concrete floor. As the dazed challenger struggled to pull himself up Aries reached over and grabbed a nearby metal trash can and began slamming it down repeatedly across Ryno’s back, refusing to let the Toledo, Ohio native get to his feet. After a few moments the assigned official came running back from the ring and demanded that Aries bring the match to the ring. Aries ignored him, and instead began stomping Ryno, who looked severely injured even though the match was only a couple of minutes old. Finally Aries pulled Ryno to his feet. He attempted a whip that would have sent Ryno face first into the cement wall of the arena, but the challenger was able to reverse the momentum and instead it was Aries whose forehead struck the cement, sending Aries into a daze. While Aries tried to shake the cobwebs Ryno picked up the chair that he was going to bring to the ring before Aries’ attack and set it up in the hallway. When Aries turned and lunged towards Ryno the challenger dropped down and caught Aries with a drop toehold, driving him down face first into the steel chair. Ryno stood back as Aries grabbed his face in pain, his nose bloodied and broken, catching a breather while the champ struggled to his feet. Once Aries was up Ryno used the already positioned chair as a springboard and nailed Aries with a leaping leg lariat against the wall, the heel of his boot catching Aries again in the nose. Aries started to crawl towards the curtain into the arena and the fans, who could see the action on the giant video wall above the entrance way, started to cheer as they saw Ryno taking over the match. The champion made it through the curtain on all fours, and slowly started to get to his feet as Ryno came into the arena right behind him. Aries stood slumped over a pile of audio equipment back near the entrance when he finally did regain his footing and Ryno charged right in after him, but as he did he was caught with a baseball-style swing of a broomstick that Aries had found in amongst the tech area. Ryno fell to his knees and Aries tossed the broom away, opting instead to grab Ryno by the hair and drag him down towards the ring. He stopped along the runway and slammed Ryno twice head first into the steel safety rail before finally sending the man under the bottom rope into the ring. Once inside Aries yanked Ryno up and whipped him hard to the corner, where the champion ran in and attempted a clothesline in the corner. At the last split second, though, Ryno moved out of the way, causing Aries to hit nothing but turnbuckle. The champion stumbled a couple of steps back where Ryno grabbed him by the back of the head and snapped him down with a reverse neckbreaker. With Aries lying flat on his back in the ring, Ryno jumped out to the floor and grabbed another steel chair. Instead of going right in after Aries, though, Ryno kept the chair with him as he climbed to the top rope. Seeing that Aries wasn’t moving, Ryno jumped off and held the chair under his legs as he delivered a devastating legdrop right across the already bloody face of the reigning extreme champion. Aries appeared to be unconscious, but Ryno wasn’t finished. Instead of going for a cover Ryno slid out to the floor, looked under the ring, and pulled out a ladder! He opened the ladder up and set it up out on the floor, and as Aries tried to gather his senses, Ryno climbed to the top. Once he was at the top of the ladder Ryno looked back into the ring and, seeing that Aries was back to his feet, dove off with a moonsault…right into the waiting arms of the “Beast from Greece”. Aries held Ryno up for a moment before nailing the Godly Drop!! Ryno hit the canvas hard, but the move also took a lot out of Aries, who collapsed to the mat right beside his fallen foe. The referee started a ten count, as neither man looked like he would be able to continue. Once the referee hit seven Aries started to stir. He lunged over and draped an arm across Ryno’s chest as the ref counted 1….2….Ryno got a foot on the bottom rope, forcing the referee to break up the pin. Aries looked up and simply glared at the referee, who tried to explain that he didn’t have a choice but to stop the count. The champion wasn’t interested in the ref’s explanation, and slowly advanced on the official. In the meantime, Ryno was pulling himself together. He reached over the top rope and grabbed the ladder, pulling it into the ring and closing it down before running up behind Aries and hitting him across the back with it!! Aries turned to face his opponent, who slammed the ladder into the big man’s midsection before dropping it to the canvas. With Aries doubled over Ryno pulled the man in and delivered the Ryno Charge, right down on the ladder! He pulled Aries off and made the cover, hooking the leg for the 1…2…3 to win the match and capture the title!!!
Wood: The Ryno has done it! The Ryno has done it! More than a year since he last had a taste of gold here in the MMP, The Ryno has re-captured the MMP extreme championship, and he did it in front of a packed house here in Philadelphia! If you ask me, this has been a long time coming for Ryno, and should finally silence the critics who claim that Ryno is not the man he used to be back when he was the world champion.
Brewer: Silence the critics? Ha! The extreme title has been passed around more than the proverbial hot potato as of late, Wood. I can’t remember the last time anyone successfully defended that title. It doesn’t matter, though, as I don’t really consider this so-called extreme garbage wrestling anyway. What would you call that finishing sequence, Wood? The old Greco-Roman ladder bash? And how about that old school favorite, the ever-popular broom-shot-to-the-waist lock from Aries? Fine wrestling, wouldn’t you say? If I wanted to watch a couple of thugs fight like this, I’d wait out in the parking lot of redneck bar out in the sticks somewhere. I’m here for wrestling. Do we have any of that left tonight?
Wood: Tons of action still to come here at BattleGround 3, although I’m not sure you’ll be a big fan of this next match either, Ray. You can see the steel cage being constructed around the ring as I speak, and the ladder that Ryno used to win the extreme title just moments ago is going to be brought back into the ring to serve the purpose it was originally brought out here for, and that is to decide the universal championship. Death has the championship, The Joker’s Child has the belt. After tonight, one man will hold both. Let’s go back to the ring for more action.
MMP Universal Championship
Steel Cage Ladder Match
DEATH (C) vs. THE JOKER’S CHILD
Once the four walls of the steel cage were in place the referee came down the aisle carrying a new ladder, replacing the one that Ryno and Aries had used in the previous match. Once the official was in the ring “Asshole” started to play and The Joker’s Child came down the ring with Ponch bringing up the rear. The challenger entered the cage and went right for the ladder, setting it up in the middle of the ring and starting to climb even before Death hit the ring. When he saw Joker climbing the ladder Death came running out from the dressing room, stopped to nail Ponch – who was blocking his path – with a right hand before sliding into the cage and grabbing Joker by the ankle. The ref locked the door behind Death, who went right for Joker and tried to pull the challenger down. Once Joker came down a couple of rungs Death reached up and nailed him with a pair of right hands to the midsection before bringing him all the way down with a side suplex off the ladder. Joker quickly shot back to his feet and went after Death again, but was caught with a big boot to the face from the champion, knocking him right back to the canvas. The champion then dropped a leg down across Joker’s throat before pulling the challenger up, but once Joker was to his feet he reared back and spit right in Death’s face, laughing out loud as the champion whiped his brow. While Death was clearing the saliva off his forehead Joker delivered a low blow and drove Death into the canvas with a DDT. Joker then walked over, grabbed the ladder, and waited for Death to get to his feet. Once the champion was up Joker used the ladder as a battering ram and slammed it into the side of his opponent’s head before setting the ladder back up and starting to climb after the belt once more. Before Joker could make it to the top, though, Death was back to his feet. He grabbed the side of the ladder and started to shake it, finally tipping it over and dropping Joker down from high above, straddling the challenger on the top rope. Joker grabbed his groin in agony and eventually slumping back into the ring where Death was waiting for him. Knowing that Joker couldn’t climb the ladder if he couldn’t stand up Death went to work on the challenger’s leg, draping it across the middle rope and delivering a pair of vertical splashes down on the knee. He then pulled Joker out towards the middle of the ring and applied a figure four leglock, furthering the damage to the leg. Joker screamed out in pain but Death had him positioned such that there was no way he could reach the ropes. Out of desperation Joker tried to roll over and reverse the hold, but both times he managed to get Death over Death rolled back with a reversal of his own, keeping the pressure on Joker. On the third try Joker was able to reverse the hold and keep Death from turning it back. Once he realized he couldn’t reverse the hold again Death released the figure four. Joker was slow to his feet, obviously feeling the effects of Death’s attack on his leg, and with the challenger slow to recover Death went over to the corner and hopped up to the second buckle. When Joker turned around Death jumped off with a clothesline, but Joker caught him coming in with a hard right hand to the midsection, and though Death landed on his feet he was left doubled over gasping for air. Before Death could stand upright again Joker grabbed the ladder, folded it up, and slammed it down across Death’s back, forcing the champion to the canvas. Joker then dropped the ladder and applied his Last Laugh finisher, holding it until Death appeared to be unconscious. The challenger released the hold and paraded around the ring with his hands raised in the air, celebrating prematurely as the fans booed loudly to show their disapproval. Out on the floor Ponch reached into his pocket and pulled something out of his pants, which he concealed his hand as he waved Joker over. Joker came to the side of the cage and Ponch passed the object into the ring, but while Joker was distracted Death delivered a running kneelift to the back, driving Joker head first into the wall of the steel cage. He then hooked Joker and delivered the Death Drop, leaving the challenger down and out on the canvas. Unfortunately for Death, he was still feeling the effects of the Last Laugh, and he wasn’t able to go right for the championship. After a few moments, though, Death made his move for the ladder. He set it up in the middle of the ring and started to climb, but by the time he got the ladder in position Joker was back to his feet and he started to climb as well. Death was a couple of rungs ahead but Joker was gaining on him, and by the time Death reached the top Joker was right there with him. The champion reached up to grab his belt when Joker reached out with the foreign object that Ponch had passed in and sprayed Death right in the eyes with the small canister of pepper spray! Death covered his eyes and fell from the top of the ladder down to the canvas more than twelve feet below, enabling Joker to reach up and snatch the belt from its hook to become the new champion.
Wood: This has to be considered at least a minor upset, but Ray, The Joker’s Child is the new MMP universal champion. What do you make of this?
Brewer: Well Wood, I know Death has been on a real slide as of late, but I never thought it would get this far. You know I’ve never been a fan of The Joker’s Child, and that’s why this is all the more shocking for me that this clown has actually captured the second highest prize in the MMP. He’s done a lot of talking over the past few months about guys like Death and Childs doing what we call de-valuing the championship over the past few months. If you ask me, Joker is about to take the universal title to all new levels of meaninglessness now that the belt legitimately belongs to him.
Wood: And judging by the reaction of the fans I would say that most everyone here at the First Union Center agrees with you, Ray. I think Ponch is the only one in here that is pleased to see Joker walking out with the title. Nevertheless, Joker is the new universal champion, and we can only hope he defends it against better opposition than he did the midwestern title last spring. So as the cage is being taken down we are set for another of our team elimination matches. The teams captained by Virus Richards and Aries are set to do battle next.
Elimination Match
VIRUS RICHARDS, PSYCHOTIC SAM, HARBINGER & MR. BEUMONT vs. ARIES, HADES, BAITAL & NASHIRA
The Greek contingent was already in the ring as the Spanish national anthem played over the loudspeaker to introduce their opponents. Sam led the way down, carrying the new “King of Spain”, Marbels the Cat and joined by Havoc. They were followed by Virus Richards, who was giving Harbinger some last minute instructions, and finally Mr. Beumont, who was wearing a cardboard championship belt with the words Hobo Wrestling Association Champion crossed out and the words MMP womens champion written over the top. As the group was approaching the ring Virus shouted something up front to Sam, who looked back with a furious look in his eyes before storming into the ring and going right after Aries. Virus and Harbinger joined in, attacking Hades and Baital, and finally Beumont came in looking for Nashira. The referee, unable to gain control early on, simply shrugged his shoulders and rang the bell, standing back while the eight people in the match went at it. While the six regular wrestlers battled, Beumont started slapping wildly at Nashira, trying desperately to keep her off of him. He then jumped out to the floor and looked back with a confused expression on his face, yelling to Nashira “but all I want is sex!!”. Enraged, Nashira jumped down to the floor and chased after Beumont, who ran all the way back to the dressing room with the valet on his tail. In the ring the referee was administering a count on both participants, and soon his count reached then, leaving both Beumont and Nashira eliminated by countout. After Beumont left Havoc discretely started making his way back to the locker room, leaving without the knowledge of anyone in the ring. Finally the referee managed to gain control of the action as Virus, Harbinger, and Hades were all sent out to the apron. While the official was tied up with Aries, though, Sam slid out under the bottom rope and snatched the bell away from the timekeeper. He came back in the ring and nailed Baital right across the back of the head with it, connecting just as the ref turned back around. Baital was knocked silly and Sam pulled him up to deliver the Psychotic Smash, but the official had seen the bell shot and thus called over to the ring announcer, who declared that Sam had been disqualified. Sam started arguing with the referee that he couldn’t leave, that he had to stay and defend the King against the Greek invaders, but while the debate was going on a large, near seven-foot tall Cult minion came running down from the dressing room and slid into the ring, nailing Sam with a moderately strong shot to the back with a steel chair. The shot wasn’t hard enough to put Sam down, but it was hard enough to let Sam know that the minion was there. When Sam turned and saw the man in the ring he forgot all about the referee and went after the minion, chasing him all the way back to the dressing room. Frustrated, Virus climbed into the ring to replace Sam, and luckily for him Baital was barely conscious after the shot with the bell and the DDT from Sam. Baital crawled over to his corner to make the tag, but both Aries and Hades refused to get in the match. Stunned, Baital slowly pulled himself to his feet while Virus stood back and watched the incident unfolding in the opposition’s corner. Hades finally pointed at Virus and told Baital to get back to work, but when Baital turned around he caught a superkick right to the jaw that knocked him flat on his back. Hades let out a mild chuckle as Virus covered Baital for the 1…2…3, bringing the match down to a return match of the previous week’s SNS card. Hades came in after Baital and caught Virus right away with a kick to the midsection, and then took him over with a hiptoss. After dropping a leg down across the sternum of Richards Hades went over to tag in his brother, but just as he had done to Baital moments earlier Aries refused to get in the ring. In the meantime Virus was able to get to his corner to tag in Harbinger, who came in charging right for Hades. Hades, though, saw him coming and scooped Harbinger up as he wildly ran in and drove him down with a shoulderbreaker. Harbinger reached back and grabbed his arm in agony and Hades pulled him out towards the center of the ring, where he locked on the Tortured Souls! Harbinger tapped out almost immediately, shocking Virus as he realized that he was now left on his own against both Aries and Hades. He reluctantly stepped into the ring as Hades had his back turned, again insisting on a tag from Aries. Again Aries refused, and an argument was brewing in the corner of the brother duo. Virus took full advantage of the distraction and grabbed Hades from behind, shoving him into Aries to daze him before rolling him up for the three count. Aries, furious, stepped over the top rope and into the ring just as the final three was hit. Hades kicked out just a little too late, but the momentum sent Virus off of the rollup and right into Aries, who nearly took his fellow Hall-of-Famer’s head off with a big boot to the face. Virus collapsed to the canvas and as the referee ushered Hades out to the floor Aries yanked his opponent back up and delivered the Godly Drop. From there he got down to make the cover and scored the three count to secure the bout for his team.
Wood: Aries rebounds in a big way from losing the extreme title earlier on tonight against Ryno, as he is the sole survivor of this elimination match that included three former world champions and three Hall of Fame calibre wrestlers. I can’t for the life of me, though, figure out why he was refusing to tag in when Hades and Baital tried to make exchanges at various points in the match. His refusals led directly to both men being eliminated.
Brewer: That may be so, that may be so, but in the end it lead to the result Aries and his group was looking for, did it not? It was a risky strategy to be sure, but in the end it forced Virus, who was ultimately left on his own to fight this match after Sam was disqualified early and Harbinger was eliminated in only a matter of seconds by Hades. You know, come to think of it, it almost looked like Harbinger allowed himself to be beaten. He sure didn’t put up much of a fight, and…
Wood: Ray, why would Harbinger do something like that? He betrayed The Cult Master and all he has believed in since arriving in the MMP to join up with Virus Richards…surely he wouldn’t leave his new ally to the wolves like that. Hades got in a high impact move out of nowhere, and that Tortured Souls hold has quickly become one of the most popular finishing maneuvers across the country. A bizarre match all around I would say, and your winner, as I said, is Aries. We’ve got one more elimination match coming up, and it’s one my colleague Ray Brewer has been waiting to see for weeks. This is the handicap elimination match where Adam Kogler, yes Adam Kogler, will be teaming up with Twisted Steel, Super Cupid, and the returning Masochrist to take on the three-man team of the new MMP extreme champion The Ryno, Ace Manley, and Shannon Shag-Nasty. The crowd here can’t wait to see someone get their hands on Kogler, so let’s not wait any longer for the handicap tag team match!
Handicap Elimination Match
TWISTED STEEL, ADAM KOGLER & THE CONGREGATION vs. THE RYNO, ACE MANLEY & SHANNON SHAG-NASTY
Things were looking good for the Steel team right from the get-go, as at the beginning of the match The Ryno was nowhere to be found. Only Manley and Shannon came to the ring to oppose the quartet, and Shannon was heavily bandaged after his match with Steel earlier in the night for the TV title. Super Cupid opened the match for the Steel team, and there across the ring from him waiting to get started was Ace Manley, a man whose rivalry with Cupid stretched back more than two years. The two men didn’t waste any time in hooking up but it was Manley, with his deep boxing background, who gained the upper hand, hammering Cupid with repeated rights before finally taking him off his feet with a clothesline. Cupid rebounded to his feet only to be taken back down with a hiptoss. Seeing that Cupid was in trouble Adam Kogler made his first venture into the ring. The crowd errupted when Ace looked up and saw Kogler coming, and the cheers grew even louder when Ace ran after the reporter, who eventually escaped under the bottom rope. While Ace was distracted Cupid crawled over to the corner and tagged in Steel, who hurried into the ring and nailed Ace with a forearm to the back of the head. While Ace was dazed Steel took him over with a German suplex, holding it in a bridge and scoring the 1…2…3. With Ace eliminated Shannon was left all alone but he came out fighting, going right after Steel and backing him into the corner with a series of punches. He went to whip Steel across the ring but the TV champ reversed it, sending Shannon hard into the corner where he nailed Shannon with the Crazy Train for the second time in the evening. Shannon fell to the canvas and Steel, looking for the ultimate humiliation, tagged in Adam Kogler. Kogler strode confidently into the ring and stomped Shannon twice in the chest before hopping up to the second turnbuckle. He dove off with an elbowdrop but hit nothing but canvas, as Shannon rolled out of the way at the last second. Kogler rolled over on the canvas screaming in pain and clutching his elbow, telling the referee that he thought he had dislocated it. Shannon got to his feet and went to grab Kogler but the referee stopped him and ordered him back while he checked on the reporter’s injury. With the ref and Shannon’s backs turned, Steel stepped back into the ring. He quickly grabbed Shannon from behind in a full nelson, picked him up, and delivered the Living End!! Just as quickly as he came in Steel was back out on the apron, and miraculously Kogler’s injury seemed to heel. He shook the arm and told the ref he was good to go and, acting surprised to see Shannon down on the canvas, made a cover and scored the 1…2…3. Shannon was eliminated and there were no more opponents, so the team of Steel, Kogler, and The Congregation were declared the winners. Just then, The Ryno came charging in through the crowd, carrying a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. He shot into the ring while the other team was celebrating and nailed Cupid, Masochrist, and Steel all across the back with the bat. Adam Kogler ran for his life, sliding out of the ring and running all the way back to the entrance to the dressing room before he stopped and turned back towards the ring. What he saw was Ryno hammering away on Super Cupid and dropping Cupid down throat-first across the top rope. Cupid stumbled back into Ryno who delivered the Ryno Charge before making the cover for the three count to eliminate Cupid. Ryno was on a rampage, and the fans were all getting behind him. After defeating Cupid he got down to the floor and went right for Masochrist, who was involved in his first match back after getting out of the burn unit at the hospital. He grabbed Maso and slammed him into the post before delivering another Charge, this time right out on the concrete floor. Ryno slid back into the ring and held his bat high in a symbol of triumph as the referee began the count on Masochrist. Ten seconds later Maso was eliminated, and it was down to Steel, Ryno, and Kogler. Kogler was still back by the entrance and slowly started making his way back to the ring, taunting Ryno as he could plainly see Steel approaching his foe from behind. Steel wound up to deliver a double axhandle blow but Ryno turned just in time to see him coming and turned to cut Steel off with a kick to the midsection. He grabbed Steel and whipped him off the far side ropes, but before Steel could come back Kogler was in the ring, hitting Ryno from behind with a very weak double-axhandle shot of his own. Ryno turned and smiled broadly as he saw Kogler standing there, and without hesitation he grabbed Kogler by the shirt and hoisted him up in the air. Exposing his arms proved to be a mistake, though, as it allowed Steel to approach from behind and lock in a full nelson, which quickly led to the Living End. Steel made the cover and scored the 1…2…3 to end the match and secure the victory for himself and Kogler.
Wood: Well Ray, is there anything you’d like to say…
Brewer: No, no there isn’t. Wood, if I thought for a millisecond that Kogler wouldn’t run and hide behind Twisted Steel I’d be right up there in that ring flogging his carcus all over this town. This is a disgrace. The man was in the ring for all of about twenty seconds, and somehow, someway he managed to survive a BattleGround elimination match. This bring shame to this event, this city, and this promotion. That’s all I have to say. Just hype the next match. I can’t believe this!!
Wood: And with that we have come down to our final event of the evening. The MMP world championship is about to be decided. All the weeks of talk have come down to this…is Andrew Peters the next MMP world champion, or does The Cult Master have a trick up his sleave to possibly put an end to the Cult’s recent losing streak? We’re just moments away from finding out, so let’s go back to the ring.
MMP World Championship Match
THE CULT MASTER (C) vs. “AMAZING” ANDREW PETERS
The challenger came to the ring first, accompanied as always by Amanda, with a look of supreme confidence on his face. The valet removed Peters’ robe and his midwestern title belt as The Cult Master’s lengthy entrance procession began, bringing the world champion to the ring. Cult Master slowly stepped through the ropes but once he was inside he shot right out after the challenger with a clothesline. Peters, though, had Cult Master’s quick starts well scouted and ducked out of the way, countering with a series of stiff chops across the chest that backed Cult Master up towards the ropes. A boot to the midsection doubled the man over, enabling Peters to use a suplex to bring the champ to the canvas where he applied a rear chinlock to wear him down. After a few moments Cult Master began to rebound, fighting to his feet and then using a pair of elbows to loosen the hold. He grabbed Peters in a modified waistlock and attempted a whip off the ropes but Peters managed to reverse it, sending Cult Master off the far side and catching him on the rebound with a high knee to the jaw. Cult Master went down hard and Peters then went to work on his opponent’s right leg, stomping the knee before dragging the man over to the ropes and draping the leg across the middle strand. With the leg exposed Peters jumped up and came crashing down with a vertical splash across the knee joint, sending obvious pain through Cult Master’s body as seen by the expression of agony on his face. A second time Peters went for a splash but this time Cult Master countered, using his free leg to push Peters over the top rope and out to the floor. As Cult Master pulled himself up Peters shot back into the ring, but once inside he was floored with a vicious clothesline. Cult Master then went for a weardown hold of his own, applying a front facelock as Peters was down face first on the canvas. While he had Peters in the hold the world champ constantly berated his opponent, chastising him for having the nerve to challenge “God”. Cult Master eventually slid the forearm down and turned the move into a chokehold, which unfortunately for the champion was seen by the referee and in turn led to the hold being forcefully broken. The champion looked upon the official with scorn, but after slamming Peters face first into the canvas three times he pulled the challenger to his feet…or at least, he almost got Peters to his feet as Peters quickly rolled the man up for the 1…2….Cult Master got a shoulder up just in time, and as Peters charged in to follow up on his surprise pin attempt Cult Master lowered his shoulder and backdropped Peters over the top to the floor. The look on Cult Master’s face showed that he knew he had just averted a major disaster, but he didn’t hesitate in following Peters to the outside. He dragged Peters to his feet and went to whip him into the ring post, but Peters reversed it and instead it was the world champion’s skull that cracked against the steel. Peters bent over to take a couple of deep breaths on the outside when suddenly, for no apparent reason, Amanda hopped up on the ring apron and began screaming at the referee. While the ref went over to address Amanda Peters walked over to the timekeeper’s table and grabbed the ring bell. As Cult Master struggled to his feet Peters wound up and slammed the bell against Cult Master’s head, dropping him to the floor once more. Sensing victory was at hand Peters pulled Cult Master up and shoved him into the ring before climbing to the second rope where he delivered a flying elbowdrop. Peters made the cover, but Cult Master kicked out at two. After a belly to belly suplex Peters went for yet another pin, but again the world champ broke it up. Three near-falls without a three count had Peters visibly frustrated, and this frustration turned into a lack of concentration, as when Peters went to pull Cult Master up again the world champ was able to connect with a surprise DDT! Both men were down, and both were slow to get to their feet. The referee started his ten count, but at six The Cult Master began to move. The champion was up first and he used that advantage to pull Peters over to the corner and set him on the top rope. He tried to lift Peters up for the Final Prayer, but Peters had a firm grip on the top rope and was able to hold his position as he shrugged Cult Master off. The champ fell hard to the canvas below and Peters instead came off the top with a flying elbow. Rather than going for a cover, though, Peters waited for Cult Master to get to his feet. Once the champion was up to his knees, Peters grabbed the man from behind and locked in the Antagonizer!!! He wrenched back on Cult Master’s arm, shoulder, and neck, and the referee got down to see if the champ wanted to give it up. It looked like Cult Master was about to nod “yes” when suddenly the hold was broken. Peters collapsed to the canvas and Cult Master fell face first to the mat as well. When the referee looked up he saw The Family in the ring, hammering away on The Cult Master!! Sam, Havoc, and Mike were all in the ring stomping the world champion, and the referee called for the bell. He awarded the match by disqualification to Peters, who was enraged at the call, thinking he had the championship won. A huge swarm of referee’s and backstage workers came running out to break up the fight. Fans littered the ring with garbage to show their displeasure with the finish of the show as the scene fades to black.
© 1997 cnes@king.igs.net
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