Saturday Night Slams 2000 03/18

March 18

MMP Saturday Night Slams is on the air! More than 15, 000 fans are jammed into the MMP Coliseum for tonight’s huge event. Commentators Jerry Wood and Ray Brewer are at ringside.

Wood: Welcome, everyone, to MMP Saturday Night Slams! I’m Jerry Wood alongside Ray Brewer where tonight we’ve got a huge tag team main event, possibly the biggest tag team match we’ve ever seen on a Saturday night. Virus Richards and The Bootlegger, the two men who only days from now will do battle for the MMP world championship at March Mayhem, will be tag team partners to take on the very unlikely duo of Masochrist and The Ryno, the newest incarnation of The Congregation.

Brewer: No matter how many times I see Ryno and Masochrist together, it just doesn’t seem right to me. As I think back to what those two were like a year ago, I can’t imagine why these two are together, or how this even came to be. But who knows…two hall of famers on one tag team…it could be the biggest thing to ever happen to the tag team division. Or it could blow up in both of their faces.

Wood: Also tonight we’ve got The Regulator here defending the universal championship as he takes on the seven-foot monster known as Aries. The number-one contender for the universal title, The Cult Master, goes one on one with his former follower Death. Two newcomers make their debut tonight, and we kick things off right from the start with one of those two men, John “The Focus” Ashley, stepping into an MMP ring for the first time against the man who last week handed Hades a loss in that man’s debut, referring of course to Hyoga. Let’s go to the ring here on Saturday Night Slams!

JOHN “THE FOCUS” ASHLEY vs. HYOGA

With Hyoga already waiting in the ring, The Focus came running down the aisle, sliding into the ring under the bottom rope. Hyoga rushed his opponent, but Focus caught him coming in with a charging headbutt, staggering the Swiss star back, allowing Focus to follow up with a powerful running lariat. Focus was all over Hyoga, not even letting the man get back to his feet before applying a sleeperhold, which had all the more effect with Hyoga already down on the canvas, forcing him to carry the brunt of Focus’ weight as he tried to break free. The rookie even started slamming Hyoga’s head against the canvas while they were both down, but all this did was motivate Hyoga to dig down for a second wind. He fought his way to one knee, and with a series of elbows to the midsection he broke free before whipping Focus across the ring into the corner. After pausing for a second to take a deep breath Hyoga charged in after Ashley, crushing him against the corner with a big avalanche. Focus fell forward but Hyoga caught him with a hand around the throat, thrusting him back into the corner and blatantly choking the man, right in front of the referee. The official began his count, with Hyoga breaking just before five. After a few chops to the chest Hyoga moved Ashley out into the ropes and whipped him off the far side, catching him on the rebound with an elbow smash to the face that dropped Focus to the canvas. He then pulled the rookie up and delivered a back suplex before taking his attack to the air, climbing to the top rope and waiting for Focus to get back to his feet. When the man finally got back to his feet Hyoga came flying off, nailing Focus with a big flying clothesline that nearly took the newcomer’s head clean off his shoulders. As the action continued another newcomer, The Cloaked Shroud, made his way down to the ring, repeatedly circling around the outside watching the match. Hyoga continued his dominance, sending Focus off the ropes one more time, this time connecting with a boot to the face as Ashley rebounded, putting him back to the canvas one more time. Finally Hyoga was ready to finish Focus off, and motioned for the chokeslam. He pulled Focus up and grasped him around the throat, but before he could get the man up in the air Focus fired off and nailed Hyoga with a hard kick below the belt. Hyoga released his grip and doubled over in pain, and before he could respond Focus lifted him up and delivered the Bone Spur!! A quick cover and a three count later, and John Ashley had his first win in the MMP.

Wood: John Ashley begins his career on the winning track here in the MMP, startling everyone by pulling the Bone Spur out of nowhere and knocking off Hyoga, who’s winning streak comes to an end at one here tonight.

Brewer: Ashley is being picked by some of the so-called insiders as the man to beat in the upcoming pentagon match at March Mayhem. We saw The Cloaked Shroud out here scouting the competition, and I’m sure Hades and the other competitors in that match were watching closely backstage as well. Hyoga may not have a lot of victories but he does have a lot of experience, and since this is the first time that any of the five men in the pentagon match has picked up a win in the MMP, the four other guys had better take notice of what happened in our first match here tonight.

While Brewer is speaking, the camera spots former MMP superstar Mr. Marvellous making his way towards two empty front row seats in the company of his wife. A mild chorus of boos reign down for the former leader of High Society as he sits down to watch the rest of the night’s action.

Wood: Well, this certainly is a surprise. It’s been about a year since an injury forced Mike Marvellous to retire from pro wrestling, and it has been several months since he has been seen around the MMP when he was Godly Dropped by Aries and run out of the company. I wonder what his reasons for being here tonight could be. He’s about to get a very close look at a man I’m sure he knows very well, and that of course is Hades, the brother of Marvellous’ longtime associate Aries. Hades will be looking to rebound from his loss last week to Hyoga as he goes one-on-one with a man who, like him, will be competing in the pentagon match this week at March Mayhem, and that is the mysterious Cloaked Shroud. They are up next here on Saturday Night Slams.

THE CLOAKED SHROUD vs. HADES

Hades came to the ring first, accompanied by his giant brother Aries, who was carrying his trusty lead pipe in his right hand, keeping a close eye all around for anyone who might try to get a cheap shot in on either of the two men as they made their way down the runway. The Cloaked Shroud then made his entrance, escorted to the ring by the mysterious Lady Enigma, who quietly took her place in the corner as the Shroud entered the MMP ring for the first time. Hades, though, wasn’t about to wait for the bell to get the match underway, nailing Shroud with a running knee to the kidneys as the man stepped through the ropes, then using a hiptoss to send the man out towards the middle of the ring. The Shroud was clearly caught off guard by the surprise attack and was slow to respond, enabling Hades to get in a few kicks to the body before grabbing him by the head and tossing him over the top rope to the floor. Hades went to follow the man out but the referee intervened, scolding Hades for his actions and telling him that he wanted the match to stay in the ring. While the official’s back was turned, though, Aries circled around to where Shroud was pulling himself together and nailed the rookie in the arm with his lead pipe before helping him back into the ring. The crowd booed loudly showing their displeasure, but those boos turned to cheers when the fans saw Lady Enigma sneak up on Aries from behind and toss a big handful of salt right into the Beast from Greece’s face!! Aries stumbled around blindly on the outside, distracting Hades and giving Shroud a chance to regroup. When Hades finally turned back to his opponent Shroud was waiting for him and delivered a hard open-handed thrust to the throat, staggering the Greek newcomer back into the ropes. Shroud then whipped him off the far side and caught him coming back with a running lariat, and then executed a standing moonsault. Rather than going for a cover, though, Shroud yanked the man back to his feet where he delivered a punishing DDT, driving Hades’ head right down into the canvas. He then went to the corner and climbed to the top rope where he delivered a big flying elbowdrop right across the back of Hades, who lay face down on the canvas. The move, though, also took it’s toll on Shroud, who made the mistake of using the same arm to deliver the elbow that Aries had hit with the pipe earlier in the match. As a result he was slow in following up on the high impact move, giving Hades a chance to catch his breath. When Shroud finally pulled Hades up he was met with a rake of the face and a bodyslam that put him down hard to the canvas. He then went to work on Shroud’s injured arm and shoulder, kicking and dropping knees down on the joint, and wrenching on the arm for extra pressure. Hades pulled Shroud back to his feet and backed him into the corner, hammering him with punches to the side of the head before reaching up and pressing his large boot across the Shroud’s throat, choking the life out of the man right in front of the referee. The official was quick to intervene and order the break, prompting Aries to jump up on the apron. The distraction gave Hades a few more seconds with the choke, though the referee did finally threaten to disqualify Hades if he didn’t let up. He did, but the Shroud was in bad shape. Aries, with pipe in hand, wound up to deliver another shot to the Shroud, but this time he was met with a hard back elbow that sent the big man off the apron and crashing to the floor. This allowed Hades to get another shot in, enabling him to scoop Shroud up in position for a shoulderbreaker. As Hades walked out towards the center of the ring, though, Shroud managed to wrestle his way free and catch his unsuspecting opponent with the Maelstrom!! The Shroud quickly made the cover and got the 1…2…3 and the victory.

Wood: The Cloaked Shroud picks up his first victory here tonight, joining The Focus as men who will head into the pentagon match with victories already under their belts. As for Hades, a stronger performance in the ring tonight, but it looks like he got a little too cocky in there towards the end and The Cloaked Shroud took advantage of the small opening he had to score the win.

Brewer: Yeah, and that’s what you’ve gotta do if you’re gonna make it in this company. On the other hand, if you let your mind wander in the ring like Hades did just there, you’re gonna wind up like one of these guys that only wins one match every six months and you’ll wonder what the hell you’re doing here. Physical attributes are a big part of this business, but if you can’t keep your head straight and focus on what you’re doing you won’t even get out of the blocks. Better luck next time Hades.

Wood: Our next match is another preview to what we are going to see at March Mayhem coming up this Wednesday night. The final round of the tag team championship tournament will be held that night with The Bootlegger and Inferno taking on Wolverine and Death for the vacant belts. Tonight, though, it will be one-on-one, with Inferno and Wolverine doing battle here on SNS.

WOLVERINE vs. INFERNO

”Firestarter” blared over the loudspeaker as Inferno, accompanied by his fiancée Kimberly Brandon, made his way down to ringside. Kimberly was carrying a black leather purse and was wearing a nightgown with the letters “C-A-R-T-E-L” imprinted on it diagonally in large silver print. She glared at almost every woman around the ring as her man stepped between the ropes, where Wolverine was already waiting. Inferno wasn’t waiting for the referee to start the match and immediately rushed Wolverine, taking him down with a hard spear tackle. He followed up with a big legdrop but Wolverine rolled out of the way, causing Inferno to hit the canvas. Wolverine snatched him up and sent him to the corner, where he delivered a series of quick shoulderblocks to the midsection before hip-tossing the Cartel member out towards the middle of the ring. Inferno got back to his feet quickly, but walked right into his opponent’s waiting arms and was scooped up and slammed back down hard. Wolverine then dropped a pair of elbows across the chest before pulling Inferno back to his feet, although that proved to be a mistake. Inferno simply dropped back to his knees and nailed Wolverine with a low blow, and while the man was doubled over he connected with an inverted DDT, rocking the back of Wolverine’s head off the canvas. Still feeling the effects of Wolverine’s earlier assault Inferno was slow to follow up, and when he did it was with a very simple hold – a straight choke using the sole of his boot to try and crush his opponent’s larynx while leaning on the ropes for extra added leverage. The referee quickly began to administer a count, forcing Inferno to break the hold and pull Wolverine up. He whipped Wolverine off the ropes and hooked him in a sleeperhold on the way back, gradually sliding his forearm down under the man’s chin until it had become another chokehold. After about a minute the referee realized what was going on and warned Inferno that another chokehold would cause him to be disqualified, but the big man hardly seemed to pay the warning any attention. He released the hold and backed up towards the corner, where he waited for Wolverine to get back to his feet. When he did Inferno charged in with a superkick, but Wolverine ducked underneath and caught his stunned opponent with a surprise swinging neckbreaker! Both men were down and slow to respond, prompting the ref to start a ten count. When they started to come around it was Inferno that was first to his feet. He swung at Wolverine with a clothesline, but Wolverine moved out of the way and grabbed Inferno from behind, nailing him with an atomic drop, which lead into a back suplex. Wolverine then waited for Inferno to get up before attempting a superkick of his own, but just as Wolverine had done earlier to Inferno’s attempted kick, Inferno ducked out of the way. Once Wolverine turned around he was caught with a big boot to the face that put him down like a ton of bricks. Inferno quickly pulled Wolverine up and lifted him high in the air, dropping him down throat-first across the top rope. While Wolverine stumbled back holding his neck, Inferno spun him around and delivered the Elder’s Vengeance heart punch. Wolverine went down hard and Inferno made the cover, hooking the leg for the three count and the victory.

Wood: A huge win for Inferno here tonight on Saturday Night Slams over Wolverine. Could this be an indicator of what we’re going to see coming up at March Mayhem?

Brewer: Well, given that Inferno and his partner have been friends for years and Wolverine and his partner can barely stand the sight of one another, yeah, I’d say there’s a good chance that this is a preview of what we’re going to see at March Mayhem. Death and Wolverine have somehow fallen ass-backwards into this title shot, and there’s no way they’ll be able to beat a duo the caliber of the Instruments of Destruction on Wednesday night for those belts.

Wood: And speaking of belts, the universal championship is on the line up next. The Regulator, only days before he is scheduled to defend the championship against The Cult Master at the pay per view, must first go through the challenge of a seven foot monster who is a two time former world champion, a former extreme champion and, yes, a former universal champion. He is also a member of the MMP Hall of Fame. That man is Aries, and he’s the challenger here tonight on SNS.

MMP Universal Championship Match
THE REGULATOR (C) vs. ARIES

Aries came down to the ring first, on his own, with the lead pipe in his hand once more. He stepped into the ring and waited for The Regulator, but when “The Imperial March” played, no one came out from the back. Instead the giant video screen showed The Regulator lying face down backstage with the letters “FOE” painted on his back. The referee looked up at the screen and prepared to announce Aries as the winner and new champion by forfeit when suddenly, out from the audience came The Regulator! He nailed Aries in the back of the head with his universal title belt, knocking the big man down and nearly out. The champion stomped away on Aries, but before long Mr. Marvellous, who had been spotted in the front row earlier in the night, hopped over the guard rail with a steel chair in his hands. He slid into the ring behind Regulator and nailed the Brooklyn native right across the back with the chair, knocking him down and causing the disqualification. Marvellous rammed the chair down into Reg’s back as Aries slowly got back to his feet. Once up Aries grabbed Reg and hoisted him in the air, delivering the Godly Drop before he and Marvellous walked out of the ring and back to the dressing room.

Wood: It looks like Mr. Marvellous and Aries, the two original members of High Society, are back together once again! There have been rumblings backstage for a couple of weeks now that Aries was looking to do something to get his career jump started again, and given that most of his success came while he was under the guidance of Marvellous, this could just be what the Beast has needed.

Brewer: There’s only so much a manager can do for you though, Wood. He may be able to help you with strategy and maybe get in a cheat here or there, but it’s not like the guy can get in there and wrestle the matches. I don’t know if it’s guidance that Aries has been lacking or what, but if there’s anything extra that can be brought out of him, maybe Marvellous is the guy that can do it.

Wood: I’m sure it won’t be long before we find out what effect this High Society reunion will have on the MMP, but for now we’ve still got two huge matches to go here on Saturday Night Slams. A week ago all was well in The Cult. That was, of course, until Death came out following the Andrew Peters/Ambush match and announced that he was quitting The Cult Master’s fold and going out on his own. A surprise attack backstage by Cult Master and The Destroyer soon followed, bringing us to where we are tonight. The Cult Master meets his former follower Death right here tonight live at the MMP Coliseum!

THE CULT MASTER vs. DEATH

With Death already waiting in the ring “Carmina Burana” blared over the loudspeaker to introduce The Cult Master. The leader of The Cult was accompanied by several Cult minions, as well as the reigning MMP TV champion The Destroyer and the most recent addition to The Cult, the returning Crimson. As soon as Cult Master stepped through the ropes the two men were at one another, Death delivering chops to the chest and Cult Master attacking Death with forearms to the side of the head. It was Death that ultimately gained the upper hand and backed Cult Master into the corner, where he delivered a big headbutt before whipping Cult Master across the ring into the far corner. Death followed, nailing Cult Master with a dropkick agains the buckle. The force of the shot was enhanced by the fact that Cult Master had nowhere to fall, and the wind was knocked out of him. Death was able to take advantage of this, hoisting Cult Master up to the top rope for a superplex. Before Death could follow him up, though, Cult Master shot his right foot out, catching Death squarely in the chest. Death fell backwards to the canvas, giving Cult Master an opening to get down from his perch. He pulled Death up and snapmared him over, then delivered a pair of quick elbowdrops across the chest. Cult Master then went for an atomic drop, but Death let his own momentum carry him all the way over, enabling him to land on his feet behind his opponent, who was alerted to Death’s escape by a kick to the back of the leg. Death delivered a second such kick before backing Cult Master into the ropes and whipping him off the far side. As Cult Master rebounded back Death delivered a low dropkick, catching Cult Master squarely in the quadricep muscle. The leg had clearly become the focus of Death’s attack, a realization that was strengthened as Death pulled Cult Master out towards the middle of the ring and slapped on a figure four leglock. Death leaned on his arms and stretched back as far as he could to put even more pressure on Cult Master’s legs, but it still wasn’t enough to make the man give up. Cult Master slowly inched his way backwards towards the ropes and finally was able to lunge back and grab the bottom strand, but not before the damage had been done. As Cult Master pulled himself up with the aid of the ropes it was clear that his legs were hurting as a result of Death’s attack. Death followed up quickly and rushed Cult Master with a clothesline, but Cult Master ducked under at the last second and grabbed Death by the back of the head, snapping him down to the canvas with a reverse neckbreaker. He delivered a kneedrop to the forehead of his opponent, and slowly more Cult minions started pouring out from the dressing room. These ones, though, were completely covered in ceremonial robes, making their identities unknown to the camera. The Cult Master looked on questioningly, although he did not seem to disapprove of the extra supporters on the outside. While his attention was diverted, though, Death went back to work on his leg, using a chop block from behind to bring the leader of The Cult down to one knee. A hard kick to the face put Cult Master down on his back and Death climbed to the second rope and delivered a flying elbow right across the sternum of his opponent. Then, rather than going for the cover, Death simply started choking his former leader with his bare hands. The referee was quick to step in and, out of obvious frustration from what had been happening in earlier matches, warned both Death and The Cult Master that if either man used a chokehold during the remainder of the match they would be disqualified immediately. While Death argued with the official, his manager, Q, emerged from the audience carrying a baseball bat. He hopped over the safety rail, but was instantly cut off by The Destroyer, who laid out the manager with one hard right hand. In the meantime, the second crop of minions that had come out during the match made their way around the ring and encircled not only Destroyer, but Crimson as well. They then shed their robes, revealing not Cult minions but women from The Regulator’s Shadowlands Hotel. The debate between Death and the referee continued in the ring while Cult Master was getting back to his feet. Suddenly, out from the dressing room, The Regulator came running down to the ring with the universal title belt in hand. With Destroyer and Crimson both preoccupied Regulator slid into the ring and nailed Cult Master an inverted bulldog with the back of the man’s head landing squarely on the universal title belt. The referee had a perfect view of what had happened, and immediately called for the bell. The decision was awarded to The Cult Master by disqualification, as a result of Regulator’s outside interference. Death was livid and tried to get a piece of Regulator, but the universal champion slid out of the ring and ran back to the dressing room before he could do so. In the meantime Crimson slid into the ring, produced a pipe from under his cloak, and began to hammer on Death, whose attention had been focused on Regulator. The attack continued until a group of referees came running out to break it off.

Wood: The Regulator’s interference causes the disqualification, something I’m sure that neither Death nor The Cult Master will be happy with, but either way it will go down as a victory for The Cult Master here tonight, keeping his winning streak alive as we head into March Mayhem.

Brewer: Cult Master should be happy with it. He came here tonight looking for a win, and he got it. A win is a win. You saw it as plain as I did, Wood. Death was busy whining to the referee, and Cult Master was ready to finish him off. If anything, Death was saved by Onyx Cooper’s interference here tonight. You know as well as anyone that I don’t like The Cult Master, Wood, but I saw what I saw, and that’s how I saw it.

Wood: I don’t agree with you at all, Ray. Death had been carrying the load in that match, and it looked like he was getting ready to put The Cult Master away when The Regulator made his appearance at the end. I can guarantee you, though, that’s not the last we’ll see of The Cult Master and Death, or The Regulator for that matter. Well, it’s come down to this. It’s main event time here on SNS. The current MMP world champion, Virus Richards, teams with his Cartel-mate and the number-one contender to his championship, The Bootlegger, to take on two former champions and two members of the Hall of Fame, Masochrist and The Ryno, The Congregation.

VIRUS RICHARDS & THE BOOTLEGGER vs. THE CONGREGATION

The Bootlegger was introduced first, preceded by his wormy assistant Mr. Wind as well as the one remaining ASSociate, Passion. Following closely behind was Virus Richards, accompanied by his new bodyguard, a 6’6”, 366-pound bald man in a black-and-navy suit known simply as Spikes. The group of five then made their way towards the ring together, but they were quickly interrupted by The Congregation, who came running down the aisle, slid into the ring, and went right after their opponents as the opening bell sounded. Wind and Passion quickly stepped to the floor, but Spikes had to be ordered to the outside by the referee with the threat of a disqualification. The bodyguard reluctantly complied, allowing the referee to try and gain some control over the match. When he finally got things sorted out The Bootlegger started for the Cartel side, and the Italian demanded Ryno start against him, claiming that Masochrist wasn’t worth his time. Virus shouted his agreement with that reasoning, but questioned how Ryno qualified as Ryno obliged the request. Ryno rushed in but was met with a hard kick to the midsection from Bootlegger, who then applied a simple armwringer which was followed by several short shoulderblocks to the isolated arm. Bootlegger then made the tag to Virus, who took Ryno down with an armdrag takeover before dropping a knee across the injured shoulder. He then paused for a moment to make a hanging gesture with his right hand going up and down behind his neck before pulling Ryno up to continue. The delay proved costly, though. When Virus grabbed Ryno he was met with a hard right hand to the side of the head and was lifted high in the air in a gorilla press slam. Ryno dropped Virus down throat first across the top rope, causing the world champion’s head to snap backwards before he hit the mat. He hurried over and tagged Masochrist, who went right for Virus but was taken down with a simple leg trip. Virus dropped an elbow across the back of the head before making the tag to Bootlegger, who came back in and right away started stomping on Masochrist before applying a camel clutch. He kept the hold applied for nearly a minute before relinquishing the hold to drop a knee across his opponent’s back. Bootlegger then pulled Masochrist up and whipped him off the ropes, scooping him up as he came back and throwing him back with a fallaway slam. The Italian paused momentarily to absorb the hatred of the crowd, but while he did that Masochrist managed to crawl over to the corner and make the tag to Ryno, who startled Bootlegger with a running clothesline. Virus charged into the ring, only to be backdropped up and over the top rope by Ryno, who followed his hated rival and March Mayhem opponent out to the floor. Spikes tried to step in but the referee quickly jumped down from the ring and ordered the bodyguard away, allowing Ryno to grab Virus and slam him face first into the steps before rolling him back into the ring. When Ryno followed, though, Bootlegger, the legal man in the match for his team, was there waiting for him, and thus Ryno was met with a series of stomps to the back as he re-entered the fray. Before long, though, Masochrist came into the ring and Virus got involved as well, turning what was once a tag team match into a wild four-way brawl. Masochrist attacked Bootlegger leaving Ryno free, until Virus decided that it was the perfect time to get some licks in to soften up his PPV extreme championship challenger. A thumb to the eyes from Bootlegger stopped Maso in his tracks, but on the other side of the ring Ryno was mounting a comeback against Virus. As Bootlegger nailed Maso with a piledriver, Ryno floored Virus with a superkick and hoisted him up to the top rope for a superplex. Before he could execute the move, though, Bootlegger came across the ring and nailed Ryno with a double-axhandle blow to the back, sending Ryno off the second turnbuckle and over the top rope to the floor. Bootlegger then grabbed Masochrist and, while Virus repositioned himself on the top rope, delivered the Heart’s Desire. Just as Maso’s back struck the canvas, Virus came off the top and delivered the Picture Perfect Frog Splash. On the outside Spikes finally got ahold of Ryno, but received a right hand and a whip into the ring post for his efforts. Ryno tried to get back into the ring to break Bootlegger’s cover of Masochrist, but Virus came around the other side and pulled Ryno back out of the ring. The two men brawled back towards the dressing room and Bootlegger scored the three count as the screen fades to black.

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