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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