
MMP MARCH MAYHEM
Wednesday, March 22, 2000
Cameron Indoor Stadium – Durham, NC
MMP March Mayhem is on the air! Cameron Indoor Stadium in
Durham, NC is packed to the rafters for tonight's huge event. Commentators Jerry Wood
and Ray Brewer are at ringside.
Wood: Welcome, everyone, to MMP March Mayhem! I'm Jerry
Wood alongside Ray Brewer here live in Durham, North Carolina where tonight six
championships will be decided, including our huge main event where the MMP world
champion, the man from right here in Durham, Virus Richards, puts the belt on the line
against his longtime friend and ally, fellow Cartel member The Bootlegger. This is a
match we have seen before, though there has never been a definitive winner between these
two. Their battles have always ended in one man laying down for the other, often as a
means of getting that man out of a mandatory title defense. I don't think we'll be seeing
that here tonight, though. Virus won't be handing that belt over so easily, and there's no
way The Bootlegger will pass up on what will be only his second opportunity at the one
belt he has chased yet been unable to capture throughout his wrestling career, and that is
the MMP world heavyweight championship.
Brewer: Both champion and challenger in that match will be pulling double-duty here
tonight as well. For Virus to be successful he will have to make like another local sports
icon, the Duke Blue Devils basketball team, and win two matches back to back. The Blue
Devils won back to back games over the weekend to advance to the Sweet 16 of the
NCAA basketball tournament, while tonight not only will Virus have to defeat The
Bootlegger, first he will have to get by The Ryno in a match we have never seen here in
the MMP, and that is a noose match. This is something that Ryno is holding over from his
days in the Hardcore Wrestling Alliance, and he might be able to use the fact that Virus
has never been in such a match before to his advantage as he looks to recapture the MMP
extreme championship.
Wood: Ray, you mentioned that The Bootlegger will also be pulling a double here tonight,
and of course that will be in the final round of the tag team championship tournament
when Gene Barlotta, along with Inferno as his partner, takes on the unlikely duo of Death
and Wolverine, with the winner capturing the vacant tag team titles. Not since the fall of
1999 have we had a championship tag team in the MMP, but that stretch will come to an
end tonight as new champions are crowned. The universal championship is on the line
tonight as The Regulator defends against The Cult Master. The Destroyer puts the TV
title up against Wolverine, and we've got a three way dance for the midwestern
championship between Andrew Peters, Ambush, and Death. We kick things off tonight,
though, with a battle to determine exactly who is the best of the recent crop of newcomers
to the MMP. Five men go in, but only one man will come out victorious in the pentagon
match, our opening contest here at MMP March Mayhem!
Pentagon Match
THE CLOAKED SHROUD vs.
CONTROVERSY vs. HADES vs. JOHN "THE FOCUS" ASHLEY vs. MAXIMILLIAN
SUPREME
One by one the participants made their way out to the ring. Supreme,
followed by Hades, Ashley, and Controversy. As Controversy, who strangely was without
his usual trio of assistants, stepped through the ropes, the ring suddenly filled with smoke.
When the smoke cleared The Cloaked Shroud had arrived, and had Maximillian Supreme
up on his shoulders in an airplane spin. He spun the man around and delivered a
devastating DDT, prompting the referee to call for the bell and get the match underway!
The Focus and Hades wasted no time hooking up with one another while Shroud, not
resting on the laurels of his early attack on Supreme, took Controversy to the canvas and
began choking the man with his cloak. Supreme crawled over to the ropes and tried to
shake the cobwebs loose while Hades floored Focus with a big running clothesline that
nearly knocked the newcomer from Philadelphia out of his boots. The Greek then looked
to avenge his loss from the recent Saturday Night Slams card and nailed Shroud with a
forearm to the back of the head, releasing the chokehold that Shroud had on Controversy.
Hades kept his attention on Shroud while Controversy quickly moved away from the two
and started pounding on Supreme in the corner. After delivering a series of kicks to the
body Controversy pulled Supreme up and dumped him through the ropes out to the floor.
Rather than following him out, though, Controversy simply sat down in the corner,
relaxing against the turnbuckles and watching as Hades went to work on the Shroud's
shoulder, driving repeated knees into the part of the body that had occupied most of his
focus during their SNS match. Shroud was obviously still feeling the effect of the
punishment he had endured on Saturday night, and Hades' assault was not helping matters.
A smile crossed Controversy's face as he watched on, though that smile disappeared when
The Focus re-emerged and came towards the bizarre man. Controversy got a kick up into
Focus' midsection to keep the man from getting a shot in, and then blew Ashley a kiss,
prompting Focus to wildly swing a kick at Controversy, who was now up on his feet. The
kick missed and Controversy countered with a kick of his own, which he followed up by
grabbing Focus and delivering a devastating powerbomb. Controversy quickly made the
cover for the 1...2...Hades broke up the count, pushing Focus out to the floor in the
process. By this time Maximillian Supreme was back to his feet and stepping back
through the ropes, but while he was doubled over The Cloaked Shroud bounced off the
ropes and delivered an ax kick to the back of Supreme's head, spilling him over the ropes
back into the ring. On the other side of the ring Hades was working over Controversy.
He whipped the painted man off the ropes and caught him on the rebound, driving him to
the mat with a punishing sidewalk slam. Hades then went to work on Controversy's leg,
driving kicks and knees into the hamstring, trying to knot up the muscle and make it hard
for Controversy to get around. While Hades and Controversy battled, Shroud was
working over Supreme on the other side of the ring. He nailed the big man with a bulldog
headlock and went for the cover, hooking the leg for the 1...2...this time, it was The Focus
breaking up the pin, desperately lunging back into the ring and hitting Shroud in the back
to stop the count. Focus and Shroud then battled back to their feet, trading punches back
and forth. Hades soon became involved as well, nailing Focus with a big running
clothesline that put both Hades and Focus over the top rope to the floor. This gave
Shroud the opening he needed. Seeing that his opponents were temporarily out of the
picture, he pulled Supreme up and delivered the Maelstrom modified neckbreaker and
quickly made the cover. Controversy tried to get over to break it up, but his injured leg
slowed him down too much. The ref made the three count, giving The Cloaked Shroud
the victory.
Wood: The Cloaked Shroud is your winner in the pentagon match,
and will now go on to receive a shot at the MMP midwestern championship coming up at
our two-year anniversary card at the end of May as one of the three men that will be
involved in the gauntlet for that title. This really is a big win for The Shroud in more ways
that one.
Brewer: Yeah, it is, Wood. Last time we had a match like this with so many newcomers
competing head-on like this was back in September at Vindication. The winner that night
was "Amazing" Andrew Peters, and we've all seen what Peters has done since then. He
has put together a very impressive record so far in the MMP, he is the reigning
midwestern champion, and during an extended absence back in late 1999 he actually went
to the Atomic Wrestling Alliance and was the only man to ever hold that federation's
version of the heavyweight championship. So the precedent is there, Wood. Whether
you're talking about the old rookie battle royals or these pentagon matches, it's very rare
that the winner of a newcomers competition doesn't go on to big things in the MMP. That
certainly sets a solid precendent for The Shroud to try and live up to.
Wood: It certainly does, Ray. It certainly does. But as you would say, only time will tell
if The Shroud will be able to put together a solid run or whether he will just be a flash in
the pan. Well, as you know, it's the middle of March, and as any sports fan knows that
means it's the time of year where wild tournament action is center stage, especially down
here in North Carolina. So for the second year in a row here at March Mayhem, we are
going to see new tag team champions crowned in the final round of a tournament. The
Instruments of Destruction are the heavy favorites here for the simple reason that they are
the only one of the two teams involved that can actually get along with one another.
Death and Wolverine, on the other hand, have been uneasy partners at best, and have
almost been at each other's throats more since becoming a tag team than they ever were
before. There's no way they can co-exist long enough to defeat a top team like The
Bootlegger and Inferno, but either way, the tag team championship is about to be awarded
here in Durham, NC!
MMP Tag Team Championship
Tournament
Finals
INSTRUMENTS OF DESTRUCTION vs. DEATH &
WOLVERINE
The Bootlegger and Inferno came to the ring first with Passion, and
stood together in the center as they waited for their opponents to be introduced. Things
looked bad for Death and Wolverine right from the start. Even as the two reluctant
partners were making their way to the ring they couldn't keep from arguing with each
other, shouting back and forth at one another all the way down the aisle. They stepped
through the ropes and bickered with one another about who would start the match while
their opponents used a much more civilized if not arbitrary means of selection, a good old-
fashioned game of rock/paper/scissors. While Bootlegger and Inferno were deciding,
though, Death and Wolverine seemed to put their disagreement aside and BOTH men
charged the opposition. Wolverine nailed a big clothesline that put Inferno over the top
rope and out to the floor while Death caught Bootlegger with a hard kick to the
midsection. While Wolverine and Inferno did battle on the outside Death was taking the
fight to Bootlegger, whipping him off the far ropes and catching the Italian on the rebound
with a sidewalk slam. He then dropped a knee across Bootlegger's forehead, ignoring
Wolverine's loud demands from the corner that Death tag him in. Death pulled
Bootlegger back to his feet but was met with a stern rake of the face from the Cartel
member, who then whipped Death off the ropes and delivering a running high knee. The
Bootlegger went over to the opposition's corner and nailed Wolverine with a forearm to
the side of the head, prompting Wolverine to come charging into the ring. The official
quickly stepped in and stopped him, giving Bootlegger a chance to go over to his corner
and make the tag to the giant known as Inferno. Inferno took over control on Death,
pounding him with right hands before whipping him across the ring into the far turnbuckle.
Death hit hard and Inferno came charging in with a big splash, but Death stepped out of
the way at the last second, causing Inferno's chest to hit nothing but cornerpad. While the
big man was staggered Death snatched him by the back of the head and drove him down
with a bulldog before going over to his corner and tagging Wolverine in for the first time.
Instead of coming in through the ropes, though, Wolverine climbed to the top rope.
Death pulled Inferno up and delivered a snap suplex, leaving him in position for Wolverine
who was coming off the top with a flying splash. Wolverine stayed down in a cover and
hooked the leg, but Inferno kicked out after only two. The Detroit native pulled his
opponent up and was met with a weak kick aimed for the chest. Wolverine easily caught
the kick, but he wasn't able to defend himself against the insigury kick that Inferno
delivered to the back of Wolverine's head. Wolverine went down face-first, and the
momentum shifted back in favor of the Instruments of Destruction. Inferno grabbed
Wolverine and brought him over to the Cartel corner where he scooped his opponent up
and dropped him throat first across the top rope before tagging Bootlegger back in. The
Italian immediately went to work on Wolverine, stomping the man into the canvas before
pulling him up and applying an abdominal stretch. While the ref was down checking to
see if Wolverine wanted to submit Bootlegger reached his free hand backwards, grabbing
onto Inferno for extra added leverage. Despite the additional pain Wolverine still refused
to give it up, and the referee eventually saw what was going on. A kick to Bootlegger's
arm from the ref broke the grip between the two Cartel members, and allowed Wolverine
to hiptoss his way free from the hold. Wolverine held onto the ropes as he stood doubled
over catching his breath, and when Bootlegger got back to his feet Wolverine bounced off
the ropes and caught the Italian with a spinning heel kick. He then crawled over to his
corner where Death stood reaching desperately into the ring, anxiously waiting for a tag.
They made the exchange and Death was all over Bootlegger, nailing him with a kick to the
midsection followed by a DDT. Death made the cover but Inferno came in to break it up
just before the three count. In the meantime Death's manager, Q, made his way down to
the ring. With his right hand in his pocket he made his way over towards Passion, who
stood in the Instruments of Destruction's corner. While keeping the ASSociate distracted
with meaningless chit-chat, Q managed to hook a pair of handcuffs to the ring. He then
abruptly reached out and grabbed Passion, forcably putting her right arm in the free ring of
the cuffs. In the ring the referee was arguing with Inferno over his break up of Death's pin
attempt, ordering the big man to stay on the apron until he could be tagged in. Wolverine,
though, wasn't as patient as the official, and came running into the ring, nailing Inferno
with a forearm to the back of the head. With Death pounding on Bootlegger, the match
had deteriorated into a wild four-way brawl. A thumb to the eyes from Bootlegger
subdued Death, and allowed the Italian to nail Wolverine with a knee to the kidneys that
put Wolverine through the ropes and out to the floor. The two men in the ring then
focused their attention on Death. Bootlegger nailed him with a boot to the midsection and
hoisted him up in the Heart's Desire as Inferno climbed to the top rope. After taking a few
steps Bootlegger slammed Death down with his dreaded finishing move, and then stepped
out to the floor to keep Wolverine occupied. With the ref distracted by the action on the
floor, Q started to slide into the ring towards Death. Passion, though, still had one free
arm and grabbed Q by the leg of his pants, keeping him from getting all the way into the
ring. Q's hand touched Death's, but that was as far as he would get. Once Q had been
pulled out Inferno came off the top rope, but just as he landed Death got his right hand up,
catching Inferno square in the jaw. Inexplicably, Inferno's head snapped back and he
rolled off Death, lying flat on his back. The camera then picked up the reason for this
surprise reaction - Q had passed a pair of brass knuckles in to Death, and when Inferno
landed Death had nailed him with a loaded right hand. Death rolled over and made the
cover with one arm as the referee turned around to count the 1...2...3, making Death and
Wolverine the new MMP world tag team champions.
Wood: I don't believe what I'm about to say, but Death and
Wolverine are the winners, and are your new MMP tag team champions! This has to be
considered a major upset, wouldn't you agree Ray?
Brewer: I certainly think so. I was the first guy to come out and say that there was no
way these two guys could get together and work together long enough to actually work
through this tournament. For them to defeat a team like Bootlegger and Inferno comes as
a huge shock to me, as I'm sure it does to a lot of fans watching at home. But you know
what they say, Wood, it's harder to hold onto a championship than it is to win it.
Everyone's coming for you when you're on top. Can Death and Wolverine's partnership
stand up to the pressure? I'm sure we'll find out before too long.
Wood: So one title match is in the books here tonight and we have seen one new
champion crowned. A good start for both Death and Wolverine who will challenge for
singles championships later on tonight, but a bad omen for The Bootlegger, who's shot at
the world championship is still to come. Our next bout is a return match from a match
that took place last June at Chaos on the Coast, and quickly became one of the most
infamous matches that has ever taken place in the MMP. It was back in Sacramento last
summer when Mr. Beumont, with the help of more than a dozen other wrestlers, scored a
pinfall victory over Hyoga in a no disqualification match in one of Virus Richards'
"festivals". That loss has plagued Hyoga ever since, and many feel that he needs to
avenge that defeat if he is to ever truly achieve stardom here in the MMP. He gets his
opportunity to do just that tonight, as he meets Mr. Beumont one on one for the first time
since that fateful night last year. That match is up next here at March Mayhem!
MR. BEUMONT vs. HYOGA
Mr. Beumont made his way to the ring first, wearing his stolen
Regulator battle mask and carrying Loui Slugger. Accompanying him was the rest of the
Cec's World Order, Welfare William, Hobo Richard, and China Town Lee. As Beumont
entered the ring Hyoga's music played and the Swiss star came to the ring with two men in
tuxedos representing Milov Scorpio. Once the bell rang Beumont took a swing at Hyoga
with Loui and, predictably, missed, allowing Hyoga to nail Beumont with a right hand that
took the man clean off his feet. On the outside the two men in tuxedos immediately
launched an attack on the CWO to keep them from getting involved, hammering William,
Richard, and China Town and preventing them from getting anywhere near the ring.
Hyoga was taking the fight right to Beumont in the ring, slamming him to the canvas with
a belly to belly suplex before using a foot across the throat to try and choke the life out of
the man who had bested him in both of their previous meetings. The ref quickly stepped
in and ordered Hyoga to break the choke, and while an argument started to brew between
the two men The Joker's Child and Ponch emerged from the audience and climbed into the
ring. Ponch dragged Beumont to the floor while Joker pulled the cast off his arm and
nailed Hyoga across the back of the head with it, right in front of the referee. The official
immediately called for the bell and disqualified Beumont, while Joker put the cast back on
and pretended like he had just injured his arm. Scorpio's men charged the ring but Joker
made his exit through the crowd before they could get their hands on him.
Wood: So Hyoga finally picks up a win over Mr. Beumont, but I
don't think a disqualification was quite what he had his heart set on going into this match
up here tonight.
Brewer: No, I wouldn't think so. If you go up against Mr. Beumont and come away with
any less than a pinfall or submission, hell if Beumont lasts in the ring with you for more
than about thirty seconds, you can consider it a personal failure. Hyoga shouldn't have
wasted his time worrying about getting revenge. He should have just beat the man and
gone back to the dressing room to take care of things more important that Mr. Beumont,
such as counting the number of ceiling tiles in the dressing room or debating how they
really get the caramel in the Caramilk bar.
Wood: That's advice I'm sure Hyoga would have liked to hear about ten minutes ago, as
his chance to finally avenge the losses against Mr. Beumont goes somewhat unfulfilled
here tonight at March Mayhem. We've got more championship action ready to come your
way here in Durham as Virus Richards gets ready for his first of two title defenses here in
front of the hometown crowd. It's the first noose match in MMP history, and the extreme
championship is at stake as Virus goes one on one with The Ryno.
MMP Extreme Championship
Noose Match
VIRUS
RICHARDS (C) vs. THE RYNO
The champion came to the ring first, accompanied by his bodyguard
Spikes. The two stopped in the entrance way to absorb the hatred from the crowd, a
reaction that brought a mocking shocked and offended expression to Virus' face, as if he
had expected a different reaction from his hometown crowd. While the two men stood in
the entrance way The Ryno came charging out, pushing a shopping cart that was filled
with weapons. He ran into Virus from behind with the cart, knocking the extreme
champion to the floor. Virus quickly stumbled to his feet and hurried towards the ring,
with Ryno and his cart following closely behind. Grabbing a hockey stick out of the cart
Ryno wound up and took a Marty McSorley-like swing at aimed at Virus' head, but the
champ ducked out of the way and the stick struck the steel ring post, snapping the blade
clean off. A rake of the face stunned the challenger, and Virus then shoved the man into
the waiting arms of Spikes, who lifted Ryno in a bearhug. Spikes then charged forward
and rammed Ryno back-first into the ringpost before dropping him limp to the arena floor.
The double team continued on the outside as Virus grabbed a steel chair from Ryno's cart
and passed it to his bodyguard, who stood back and waited for Ryno to get up. When
Ryno did get up Spikes held the chair in front of Ryno's face as Virus delivered a
superkick, slamming the chair back into the challenger. He then rolled Ryno into the ring
under the bottom rope, and the bell sounded to officially get the match underway. Ryno
didn't stay in the ring long, though, crawling across to the other side and rolling out under
the bottom rope just as Virus had followed him in. The champ crossed the ring, but
before he could follow Ryno out to the floor the challenger reached in, tripped Virus up,
and pulled him by his legs over to the corner where he executed a wishbone splitter on the
champion, driving the post hard into Virus' groin. Virus lay in the corner writhing in
obvious pain as Ryno grabbed something out of his cart before getting back in the ring.
Once inside he held the object high for all to see - it was a cheese grater! He walked over
to where Virus was just starting to pull himself up, pulled the champ's head back by his
ponytail, and proceeded to run the grater back and forth across Virus' forehead until he
was busted open and blood was pouring down his face. The crowd cheered loudly at the
champ's misfortune, something that seemed to drive Ryno even further. With the cheers
reaching a deafening tone, Ryno pointed out to the announce table where Wood and
Brewer were sitting, which was met with even louder approval. He pulled Virus to his
feet and nailed a solid kick to the midsection before picking Virus up in the Ryno Charge.
After taking a couple steps forward Ryno dropped Virus, sending him plummeting over
the top rope and onto the announce table!! Remarkably, though, the table didn't break.
Virus landed right on top of the two television monitors, causing obvious pain to his lower
back. Ryno then rolled out of the ring and picked up the chair that Virus and Spikes had
used on him earlier, sat Virus up, and nailed the champ right between the eyes with it.
Then, for good measure, he turned around and floored Spikes with the chair, payback for
the bodyguard's earlier involvement. After setting Virus in position on the table Ryno got
up on the ring apron and, looking out to the crowd for approval, climbed to the top rope.
He paused momentarily before diving off with a flying splash, but at the last moment Virus
rolled out of the way and Ryno went crashing right through the table to the floor. Both
men were down amongst a heap of broadcasting equipment when Spikes, who was now
over by the entrance way, reached into his pocket and pulled out...an old-fashioned party
noisemaker. He blew on the noisemaker twice, bringing The Joker's Child out from the
dressing room. Joker headed right over to where Virus and Ryno lay, and as Virus
crawled away from the wreckage Joker went right to work on Ryno, stomping him
repeatedly on the floor. While this was going on the duo of Aries and Hades made their
way down, and it wasn't long before they joined Joker in pounding on Ryno. By this time
Virus was back to his feet and was shouting instructions, telling the three men to get Ryno
in the ring. They complied and Virus soon joined them, creating a four-on-one attack, but
Virus wasn't done there. He waved towards the back, this time bringing out "Amazing"
Andrew Peters. Peters walked over to the timekeeper and grabbed the ring bell, which he
brought into the ring. Aries and Hades held Ryno up as Peters swung the bell, nailing
Ryno right in the shoulder. The midwestern champion then locked Ryno in the
Antagonizer while Virus pulled out a noisemaker of his own. He gave a blow, and out
came The Bootlegger and Inferno. Virus' two Cartel stablemates then got in the ring and
started stomping on Ryno while he was locked in Peters' submission hold. With
everything well in hand Virus motioned for the noose to be lowered from the ceiling and,
while the other six men continued the assault on Ryno, the champ went to the top rope.
He waved for Peters to release the Antagonizer, allowing Virus to come flying off the top
with his Picture Perfect frog splash. Then, with Ryno badly beaten, Virus, Bootlegger,
and Inferno together put the challenger's head in the noose and pulled the rope tight,
causing the referee to call for the bell and award the match to Virus Richards.
Wood: Virus Richards is still the MMP extreme champion, but if you
ask me his methods are absolutely dispicable! I mean, Ryno was tossing him all around
the ring before those other guys came out here. It took Virus plus six just to beat Ryno
here tonight at March Mayhem!!
Brewer: But did they beat him, Wood? Yep. Sure did. Hey, Ryno's been around, and it's
hardly the first time we've seen Virus Richards whip up one of these little "festivals". He
should've known in the back of his mind that something like this could have happened. Is
it fair? Probably not, but hey, there's no disqualification, right? And hey, I have no
sympathy for the ignorant.
Wood: Well, ignorant or no, what just happened wasn't right. Ryno had that match won,
and if not for the outside interference I'm sure we would be sitting here right now talking
about how we had a new extreme champion. Instead we're getting ready for the steel cage
match which is up next, pitting the first man we saw show up to Virus' aid in the noose
match, The Joker's Child, against a man who will no doubt be looking to score a measure
of revenge for Ryno, and I'm referring of course to Masochrist. The cage is lowering into
position, so let's go back to the ring.
Steel Cage Match
THE JOKER'S CHILD vs.
MASOCHRIST
Masochrist came to the ring first by himself, without Ryno who was
apparently backstage still nursing his injuries from the previous match. Joker, though, had
Ponch and the CWO, including Mr. Beumont who was still in his full Regulator attire, at
his side as he made his way down to the ring. Masochrist charged Joker as soon as he
stepped through the ropes, but Joker had a trick up his sleeve. As he turned around he
nailed Masochrist in the midsection with Loui Slugger, dropping the big man to his knees.
Joker then dropped the bat and took off his fur coat, which he tossed over Maso's head
before picking the bat back up and delivering two more shots to the body with it. While
this was going on The Ryno emerged from the dressing room and started down to the
ring, fighting through the members of the CWO that tried to hold him back and taking a
seat at the makeshift announce table that had been errected to replace the one that Ryno
broke during the noose match. Joker didn't pay Ryno any regard and kept the pressure on
Maso. He also shouted instructions at Ponch, who grabbed a steel chair away from the
timekeeper and started climbing the wall of the cage to toss it in to Joker. Ryno, though,
would have none of it. He got up from the announce table and grabbed Ponch by the
ankle to pull him down. Ryno then nailed Ponch with a hard right hand and slammed him
into the wall of the cage, leaving Ponch lying face down on the floor outside the ring.
Seeing what was happening Joker walked over to the side of the cage and shouted at
Ryno to get away from his match, but while this was going on Masochrist was pulling
himself together. He came up on Joker from behind and spun the clown around, nailing
him with repeated jabs to the side of the head before delivering a punishing uppercut that
knocked Joker to the canvas. Maso didn't let up though, quickly pulling Joker back to his
feet and whipping him off the ropes. He caught Joker on the rebound, hoisting him up in
the air and falling backwards, sending Joker head first into the steel. Joker staggered back
but Maso grabbed him by the back of the head and dragged him back over to the cage
where he raked Joker's forehead back and forth across the steel until Joker was cut open.
He then whipped Joker off the far side and took him over with a backdrop, again sending
Joker hard into the wall of the cage. Maso stayed on the man, dragging him over to the
corner and hoisting him up, setting him on the top rope. Maso followed and hooked
Joker's legs, catapulting him off the top rope and sending him most of the way across the
ring. The big man then went to the top rope himself and came off with a flying elbow, but
Joker rolled out of the way at the last second, causing Masochrist to find nothing but
canvas. Joker tried to pull himself up, but his main focus was waving at Ponch, sending
the man away from the ring, back to the dressing room area. Ponch seemed to understand
and left the ring, leaving Joker to fight on his own. Both men got back to their feet at
about the same time, but it was Joker who got the first shot in, flooring Masochrist with a
jump kick to the chest. Joker then tried to make his escape and started climbing up the
cage wall, but thanks to the beating he had taken from Masochrist throughout the match
he wasn't able to go very fast. Masochrist got up and climbed up a few feet away from
Joker, until the two men were both at the top. Maso reached over and nailed Joker with a
pair of right hands to slow the man down, but Joker countered by reaching over and
nailing Masochrist with his arm that was in a cast, shattering the cast and sending both
men down from the top of the cage back into the ring. Both men were down again, when
suddenly the giant video screen picked up a backstage shot of Ponch in the technician's
area. He was arguing with an MMP official before nailing the man with a right hand and
dropping him to the floor. Ponch then pressed a large red button, prompting the cage
around the ring to start rising back towards the ceiling. Joker saw what was happening
and quickly rolled towards the ropes. Once the cage had been raised high enough Joker
rolled out under the bottom rope to the floor, forcing the referee to stop the match and
declare Joker the winner.
Wood: The Joker's Child is your winner under some VERY
controversial circumstances here at March Mayhem. I have to say, Ray, that's the first
time I've ever seen anyone able to win a steel cage match by going out UNDER the cage.
We've seen people go over the top, through the door, we've seen people win by pinfall, by
submission, even by disqualification, but we've never seen anything quite like what we just
witnessed right before our very eyes.
Brewer: I never thought I'd put these words together in a sentence, but that was a pretty
clever plan from Joker. How Ponch lucked out and actually found what he was looking
for back there I'll probably never figure out but he did it, and it helped Joker to a win that
I'm not so sure he deserved. Whether he deserved it or not, though, a win is a win, and
I'm sure that's all Joker cares about.
Wood: I would say that's a pretty safe bet, Ray. The Joker's Child has always been known
for taking the low road, the short cut, or the easy way out of pretty much every situation
he's ever been in in the MMP, and tonight was no different. He picks up the victory, but
I'm sure Masochrist will be chomping at the bit to get another piece of the clown from
Philadelphia. Another title match is up next, this time it's the MMP TV title at stake.
Wolverine looks to make it a double by capturing his second belt of the evening as he does
battle with the gigantic man known as The Destroyer. Along with Death Wolverine has
already captured the tag team championship tonight. Can he reclaim the TV belt to go
along with his newly won tag title gold? We're about to find out as March Mayhem
continues!
MMP Television Championship Match
THE DESTROYER
(C) vs. WOLVERINE
Wolverine came to the ring first with one of the tag team
championship belts wrapped firmly around his waist, but it was clear from the first
moment he entered the arena that he was still feeling the effects of his battle with the
Instruments of Destruction earlier in the evening. Destroyer wasted no time in getting the
match started, ambushing Wolverine in the aisle even before the challenger could make it
to the ring. After a few moments Wolverine regained his composure and stood toe-to-toe
with the big man, trading punches back and forth with Destroyer was the two headed
towards the ring. Destroyer eventually gained the advantage once again by driving a big
kneelift into Wolverine's midsection, though when Destroyer went to whip Wolverine into
the steel steps the challenger was able to reverse the momentum and it was, in fact, the
giant champion that ended up crashing into the steel. The champ got back to his feet
quickly, but was brought right back down again as Wolverine dove down and took out
Destroyer's left leg with a well-aimed chop block to the back of the knee. With the referee
shouting at the two men to get the match in the ring Wolverine grabbed Destroyer and
slammed him into the safety rail, and then into the ring apron before shoving Destroyer
under the bottom rope and into the ring. Wolverine followed closely and waited for
Destroyer to get to his feet before firing off a hard kick into the big man's midsection and
taking him back down to the canvas with a swinging neckbreaker. As the match
continued it looked like Wolverine's earlier match had actually let him build some
momentum rather that sucking the strength out of him like many predicted it would.
Wolverine dropped a leg across the throat of his opponent before yanking Destroyer back
to his feet. As always, though, helping a 500-pound man regain his vertical base proved to
be a mistake. Destroyer nailed Wolverine with a hard right hand, and while the challenger
was dazed he scooped him up and slammed him hard down to the canvas. Before
Wolverine could react Destroyer nailed him with a big standing splash that knocked the
wind out of the challenger and nearly caused him to be pinned, but Wolverine managed to
get a shoulder up just before the three count. Not letting up Destroyer grabbed Wolverine
and began slamming the back of his head repeatedly off the canvas before pulling
Wolverine to his feet and grabbing him around the throat with his massive right hand.
Destroyer lifted the man high in the air as if going for a chokeslam but instead slammed
the man down across his knee in a very painful version of the backbreaker. Wolverine
squirmed around the canvas in pain while Destroyer, always thinking ahead, walked over
and pulled the pad off the top turnbuckle in his corner. He grabbed the challenger and
pulled him over to the corner, but Wolverine managed to free himself from the big man's
grasp with a knee to the groin, and then with the crowd counting along the challenger
climbed to the second rope and began raining punches down on the big man's forehead.
After reaching ten blows Wolverine jumped down from the ropes and hooked the dazed
big man's head, driving him into the canvas with a DDT. With the champion apparently
ready to be polished off Wolverine went up to the top rope and came off with a flying
elbow, driving the point of the elbow down into Destroyer's heard. Rather than going for
a cover, though, Wolverine grabbed Destroyer about the legs and readied him for a figure
four leglock. He executed the first part of the hold but as he reached down to grab
Destroyer's other leg the big man kicked him off, sending Wolverine flying half way across
the ring. The big man pulled himself to his feet as Wolverine readied himself for another
attack. The challenger came back with a big flying shoulder tackle, but Destroyer showed
off his awesome strength by catching Wolverine in mid air and applying a bearhug. The
big man didn't waste any time and quickly charged forward with Wolverine in his arms,
ramming the challenger back-first into the exposed steel turnbuckle where Destroyer had
removed the corner pad earlier in the match. From there Destroyer turned the bearhug
into a belly-to-belly suplex, slamming Wolverine hard to the canvas before applying his
dreaded Will Breaker! Wolverine held on as long as he could but eventually had no choice
but to surrender, giving Destroyer the victory and allowing him to retain the TV
belt.
Wood: The Destroyer is your winner and still your MMP television
champion, defeating Wolverine with the Will Breaker for the second time in as many
outings in defense of the TV belt.
Brewer: It's not often I give Wolverine any credit for anything, and while a big part of me
thinks Wolverine is an idiot for going after that big man as often as he does, you have to
respect that at least he's out there giving it a shot. I never for a second thought that
Wolverine would win the TV title tonight, especially not after already going through a
match in the tag team title tournament, but given how rare it has been to have someone
step up and challenge Destroyer for the belt even I have to respect the fact that Wolverine
is even stepping in there with our current TV titleholder.
Wood: A very big test for Destroyer should come his way on Saturday when Inferno gets
a crack at the TV title, and after failing to capture the tag titles here tonight Inferno is still
looking for his first taste of championship gold here in the MMP. I'm sure he'll be ready
and willing to give The Destroyer all he can handle come Saturday night. Here at March
Mayhem, though, the action keeps coming, as we have yet another championship match
up next, this time it's a triple threat match with the midwestern title on the line.
"Amazing" Andrew Peters, fresh off a vacation in Paris, France, puts the gold on the line
against two men going along different paths in the MMP of late. Earlier tonight Death
captured his first championship by teaming with Wolverine to win the tag titles, while
Ambush recently announced that tonight will be his last match in the MMP. Will he be
able to leave as champion, or will Death be able to add to his collection of belts? Will
Andrew Peters be able to hang on to the title with two men gunning for him at the same
time? These questions are about to be answered as the midwestern title is on the
line!
MMP Midwestern Championship
Triple Threat
Match
"AMAZING" ANDREW PETERS (C) vs. DEATH vs.
AMBUSH
The match got underway quickly as Ambush and Peters, the first two
men to be introduced, didn't want to wait for Death's arrival to get the action going. The
two men traded punches back and forth in the middle of the ring despite the referee's
insistance that they stop until the third competitor could be brought out. Death finally
came down to the ring, walking slowly down the aisle while his two opponents continued
to battle. He finally got up on the apron and then stepped into the ring, but he was quickly
knocked down as Peters grabbed Ambush around the waist and pulled him backwards,
causing Ambush's head to strike Death's, knocking both men to the canvas. Peters took
this opening and ducked out to the floor, where he paced back and forth regrouping while
Death and Ambush locked up. A rake of the face allowed Death to take the advantage
over Ambush, and a DDT drove Ambush down to the canvas once more. Death, though,
was more concerned with the reigning champion than with his fellow challenger and slid
out to the floor to interrupt Peters' break. As he jumped down to the floor Peters was
there waiting for him, and caught Death with a quick thumb to the eye. With the
challenger holding his face in agony Peters hooked him and snapped him over with a
suplex before rolling the man back into the ring. Peters followed and pulled Death back to
his feet, but both men were then floored by a running double clothesline from Ambush,
who was getting his second wind. Ambush scooped Death up and slammed him down
before using a hiptoss to send Peters up over the top rope and back out to the floor. With
the champion out of the picture Ambush went to work on Death, nailing the new tag team
champion with a series of uppercuts that backed the man into the corner. While Ambush's
assault in the ring continued, Peters was slow in pulling himself up on the outside. In the
meantime Death's manager, Q, came running towards the ring through the crowd. He
climbed over the guardrail, grabbed a chair from the timekeeper, came up on Peters from
behind, and nailed the midwestern champ with a hard shot across the back with the
weapon! Peters went down hard, but Q's mistake was delivering the shot in clear view of
the referee. The official called for the bell, and leaned through the ropes to explain his call
to the ring announcer, who declared that Death had been disqualified. Death would have
to return to the locker room, and Peters and Ambush would continue the match as a one-
on-one affair. Death was livid at the announcement but it didn't phase Ambush, who
quickly disregarded Death and went to the floor after Peters. He tossed Peters under the
bottom rope and back into the ring, where he sent Peters off the ropes and caught him on
the rebound with a big backbreaker! Ambush then went up to the second rope and
delivered a flying elbow smash before covering Peters for the 1...2...Peters kicked out!
the challenger seemed frustrated that he didn't get the three but didn't let his frustration
slow him up. He pulled Peters up and snapped him over with a suplex, but Peters
repositioned himself in mid air and landed on his feet. Before Ambush could react Peters
hooked him in a rear waistlock and took him over with a German suplex. The champion,
breathing heavily, then waited for Ambush to get to his feet before delivering a blatant low
blow and hooking Ambush in a fisherman suplex. The ref got down and counted the
1...2...3, enabling Peters to retain the title.
Wood: A valiant effort from Ambush here tonight, but despite his
best efforts "Amazing" Andrew Peters remains the MMP midwestern champion. It's a
shame that Ambush has to leave now, just as his career was starting to take off here in the
MMP, but I know I speak for everyone here when I wish Ambush all the best in getting
his life together and maybe, some day, returning to action in the MMP.
Brewer: Never assume you speak for me, Wood, because I really don't care what happens
with Ambush. Look, sometimes in life things happen that aren't necessarily what you
would want. You know what? You gotta deal with them. That's the way things go, and
the answer isn't to take your ball and go home every time something doesn't go your way.
Hopefully Ambush will learn that, because as long you carry that attitude of helplessness
around with you, you're never going to amount to anything. Good riddance to
him!
Wood: That's a pretty callous way to look at the world don't you think, Ray?
Brewer: I like to think of it as a realist's point of view, Wood. It may not be all smiles and
sunshine, but that's the way things are. Now what's up next?
Wood: Well, we've got two matches to go here at MMP March Mayhem, with the two
biggest prizes in the company both still to be decided. The universal championship is on
the line next with The Regulator getting ready to defend the belt against a man whose ire
he has drawn quite a bit over the past couple of weeks by labelling himself "The Universal
Cult Master". I'm referring, of course, to the real Cult Master, who looks for his first
MMP title here tonight in Durham.
MMP Universal Championship Match
THE REGULATOR
(C) vs. THE CULT MASTER
The two men wasted no time locking up once the opening bell
sounded, and it was the champion getting the early advantage over his much taller
opponent. Reg slammed a knee into the midsection of his unsuspecting opponent and
followed up with a series of elbows to the back of the head while the man was doubled
over. A quick neckbreaker from Regulator took Cult Master down to the canvas, and had
the champion in total control in the early going. He then dropped a series of three quick
elbows across the back of Cult Master's head and neck, keeping the focus of his assault
quite clear as he continued to work on the challenger's upper body. Reg then mounted his
opponent and went right into a blatant choke hold, trying to suck the wind right out of
Cult Master's body while using his position on top of his opponent to put extra pressure
on the hold. The official was quick to step in and pull Regulator off, but the ref wasn't the
only one who was displeased with the champion's actions. A Cult minion climbed up on
the ring apron and began berating Regulator, condemning him not only for his actions
during the match but also for claiming to be the real Cult Master over the past several
weeks. Reg turned his attention to the angry minion just long enough to send him to the
floor with a right hand to the jaw, but that gave Cult Master the opening he needed. With
Reg's back turned Cult Master delivered a hard knee to the back before grabbing Reg
around the head and driving him to the canvas with an inverted DDT. Cult Master then
mounted his opponent as Regulator had done earlier in the match, but rather than
employing a choke hold Cult Master simply pounded Regulator with a series of hard right
hands to the side of the head. The ref had to intervene again, this time ordering Cult
Master to let Regulator get to his feet. The challenger assisted the champion in regaining
his vertical base, only to double him over and drive him down with another DDT. Cult
Master then grabbed Regulator and whipped him across the ring into the turnbuckle,
where he nailed the champion with a series of hard knees to the midsection. The official
then began a five count and ordered Cult Master to let Reg out of the corner, but while
Cult Master was distracted by the ref Reg got his knee up, catching Cult Master squarely
in the groin. The champion then spun the challenger around and slammed him head first
into the top turnbuckle before hoisting the man up and setting him on the turnbuckle in
position for a superplex. Reg followed Cult Master up, but before he could take the man
over Cult Master lowered his head and backdropped Regulator off the top rope, sending
him crashing through the timekeeper's table on the floor some fifteen feet below!! The
crowd errupted as Reg went down, crushing the small table and sending equipment flying
everywhere. After a few moments The Cult Master got down from the turnbuckle and
went to follow Regulator to the floor, but the champion had enough. Reg slowly pulled
himself up, grabbed his universal title belt, and took off through the crowd. The referee
started his ten count and, with The Cult Master looking on in confusion, counted
Regulator out of the ring. He called for the bell, with The Cult Master being declared the
winner by count out.
Wood: So The Regulator is still the MMP universal champion but
that's hardly something he can be proud of. What kind of champion just takes his belt and
walks out on a title match?
Brewer: I guess Onyx Cooper weighed the options and decided that was his best course of
action. That was a hell of a bump he took through the timekeeper's table, and we all know
that The Cult is capable of any kind of underhanded tactics when it comes to helping out
their precious leader, so I guess Cooper figured it would be in his best interest to take the
belt, get out of town, and live to fight another day. Not the route I would have chosen,
and it's certainly not something I would have done back when I was the midwestern
champion, but I'm not privy to Cooper's thought pattern. I guess you'll have to ask him
about it.
Wood: And so we go from one disappointing outcome in one of our feature bouts to our
main event tonight at March Mayhem. The MMP world title is at stake as Cartel members
meet one-on-one to determine the top man in this business. Virus Richards won the title
from Daark only a few days prior to Invasion last month, and it was at the German PPV
event that The Bootlegger, also by virtue of a victory over Daark, secured a guaranteed
shot at the world title here tonight. Both men have already done battle once here tonight.
Virus retained the extreme title over The Ryno while Bootlegger's attempt to capture the
tag team championship was thwarted by the cinderella team of the tag team championship
tournament, the unlikely combination of Death and Wolverine. If we get another sham
ending like we have seen in previous meetings between these two, thousands here and
millions watching at home on PPV will go away feeling cheated no doubt, but if we
actually get a clean match between Richards and Barlotta, we could have a match of the
year contender on our hands. It's time to find out as we send you back to the ring for the
main event here at March Mayhem!
MMP World Championship Match
VIRUS RICHARDS
(C) vs. THE BOOTLEGGER
"Paint it Black" blared over the loudspeaker as the challenger, The
Bootlegger, came to the ring accompanied by ASSociate Passion. He stood patiently in
the middle of the ring as the music changed to "Ode" and the MMP world champion,
Virus Richards, came down the aisle accompanied by his new bodyguard, Spikes.
Bootlegger offered Richards some polite golf-style applause as he stepped through the
ropes, which Richards humbly accepted with a slight bow towards his opponent, and then
another towards the crowd. The two men finally locked up, but didn't stay engaged long.
Virus wound up and...tapped Bootlegger lightly on the chest with his right index finger.
Bootlegger went down as if he had been shot. The champion got down, made the cover
and hooked the leg deep as the ref got down and counted the 1...2...Bootlegger kicked
out!! Virus was stunned!! He shot to his feet and stood face to face with his Cartel
stablemate, who simply shrugged his shoulders and nailed Virus with a hard right hand to
the face. The challenger then grabbed Virus around the throat and delivered a devastating
chokeslam. Bootlegger made a cover, but this time it was Virus kicking out at 2.
Richards still looked like he couldn't believe what was going on as Bootlegger pulled him
up and whipped him off the ropes, scooping him up in position for a fallaway slam. Virus,
though, had seen the move many times before and was ready for it, reaching out and
grabbing the top rope, pulling both men over the top and out to the floor. The champion
landed on his feet while the challenger fell to the floor. As Bootlegger stumbled to his feet
Virus charged and nailed the Italian from behind, sending him hard into the ring apron and
knocking him back to the floor. Virus then shouted over at Spikes, who grabbed the ring
bell away from the timekeeper and held it in front of Bootlegger. The challenger pulled
himself up, only to catch a superkick from his opponent, aided by the fact that Spikes was
holding the bell in front of Bootlegger's face. The champ then rolled Bootlegger back into
the ring, and was taking over control of the match. His gameplan was quite simple,
knocking the much heavier Bootlegger down as many times as possible and forcing the
Italian to expend the energy of repeatedly getting back to his feet while the champ stood
back and rested. Back in the ring a jumping leg lariat knocked Bootlegger down, and
when he got back up Virus whipped him off the far ropes and went for a clothesline.
Bootlegger ducked the clothesline, though, and grabbed Virus from behind, applying a
sleeperhold. The substantial size advantage was now working in Bootlegger's favor as he
was able to force Virus to carry his weight, putting extra pressure on the hold. Virus fell
to one knee but quickly pulled himself up and charged back into the turnbuckle, forcing
Bootlegger to relinquish the sleeper. The champ then whipped Bootlegger across the ring,
but the whip was reversed and it was Bootlegger who ended up sending Richards hard
into the corner. Virus stumbled out as Bootlegger bounced off the ropes and drove the
dual champion head first into the canvas with a bulldog headlock. Both men were down
and the fans, despite not having a favorite in the contest, were on their feet as they sensed
that the end could be near. Bootlegger was to his feet first and he waited patiently for his
opponent to join him. Virus got up and Bootlegger charged with a clothesline, but the
champ ducked and hooked Bootlegger from behind in a full nelson before reaching around
and sweeping Bootlegger's legs out from under him, driving him face first into the canvas.
With Bootlegger down, Virus appeared to believe he had the match in hand. He slowly
moved over to the corner and climbed to the top, facing out towards the crowd and
raising his hands in triumph, a gesture that was not well received by the sold out crowd.
The delay also proved costly, as it gave Bootlegger a chance to get back to his feet. The
challenger came over while Virus' back was still turned and swatted his legs out from
under him, causing Virus to straddle himself on the top rope. Bootlegger then positioned
himself behind Virus and lifted him high in the air, driving him down to the canvas with the
Ultimate Desire!! The vile Italian quickly made a cover, hooking the leg for the 1...2...3
to win the match and capture the MMP world championship. The celebration, though,
was very short lived. As soon as the bell sounded Spikes ran into the ring with the world
title belt in hand and nailed Bootlegger across the back of the head, knocking the new
champion clean out. The bodyguard stomped away on Bootlegger and was soon joined by
not only Virus Richards but also The Joker's Child, who came out from the dressing room
to join in on the assault. Spikes kept a watch over the entrance way to make sure no one
came out for the save while the former tag team champions continued to pound on the
new world champ. Joker nailed Bootlegger with a DDT as Virus went to the top rope and
delivered the Picture Perfect Frog Splash. The Upstanding Citizens stood together,
reunited, over the badly beaten Bootlegger as the screen fades to black.
© 1997 cnes@king.igs.net
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