Classic Wrestling Alliance

[Deleted]

Prologue, Part One… 

By the year 2088, the science of holograms had been all but perfected. By manipulating waves of light, one could create visually perfect three-dimensional illusions, and this technology had revolutionized nearly every industry, from education to entertainment to marketing. Virtual reality was commonplace, and nearly every home had at least a VR headset, if not a fully immersive capsule. Artificial intelligences were rare, and very expensive, but they were spreading. In fact, no less than three publicly traded companies were run by an AI rather than a flesh and blood CEO.

It was widely believed that the next frontier to conquer would be tactile holograms: illusions one could touch as well as see and hear. Of all the companies involved in this cutting-edge research, none were more advanced than Luminex Holographic Industries, and LHI had no more dedicated employee than Senior Programmer Melanie Blood. Working largely from home, except for the occasional unavoidable staff meeting at LHI’s Honolulu headquarters, Melanie routinely put in twelve to fourteen-hour days, at least five days a week (and more often six or seven).

On this particular Sunday, however, Melanie had shut down her terminal early and flipped on the switches that would activate the cooling system for the half-petabyte solid-state hard drive that held both her research and her personal files. She had put on her lone dress, put her hair up into a stylish bun, and even applied a little makeup because today, May 9th, 2088, Melanie Blood had a date.

It was closer to a blind date than anything else. She knew Benjamin Hutton vaguely; that is to say, she knew his name and had even met him once at a particularly detestable staff meeting. He was attractive, funny, and seemed to know almost as much about coding as Melanie herself. They had agreed to meet for a late lunch—at a restaurant of Melanie’s choosing—and then go out on the town to an event of Benjamin’s choosing. It was at lunch that Benjamin finally held up his Personal Communication Device to reveal a barcode. “And these,” he said with a confident smile, “are our tickets to the GWF!”

Melanie blinked uncomprehendingly. “What’s a GWF?”

Benjamin laughed incredulously. “It’s the Galaxian Wrestling Federation.”

Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Wrestling? Is that even still a thing? I thought it had died out when everyone realized it was fake.”

“Oh, it used to be fake fifty, sixty years ago. But now it’s different. It’s like shoot fighting, with music and capes.” Melanie leveled her eyes at him, but Benjamin just smiled. “We agreed I could pick where we went tonight.”

And that was how Melanie found herself at the Sheriff Stadium, watching the GWF put its best foot forward. The opening contest saw the Henchmen taking on the Royal Family in a rare villain vs. villain tag team match. The crowd booed both teams liberally, and though Melanie couldn’t explain it, she soon found herself booing along with them.

And just like that, she was hooked...

[Swarm]

Great start! Very creative beginnings.

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2020 7:53:32 GMT -5 Swarm said:

Great start! Very creative beginnings.

Thanks! Part Two will be posted today sometime, and Part Three tomorrow. Then I can get into some hardcore dice-rolling and card-posting!

[Deleted]

Prologue, Part Two...

Melanie cheered wildly when Star Warrior put away Bishop Hell with his NOVA LAUNCH. She winced in sympathy as Omega fell to the younger, stronger Invincible Krakan. She growled in frustration as Mesmer and Spike battled to a double count out, and in the main event, she howled in outrage as GWF Tag Team Champions Brute and Massacre retained their titles with a cheap DQ loss to the Greek Gods.

When the night was over, and Melanie was on the monorail that would take her back to her neighborhood, her PCD chimed, and she saw it was Benjamin. Suppressing a smirk, she took the call.

“I knew you would like it.” Not the most traditional opening to a conversation, and she didn’t like the smug overtones in his voice, but she could not deny the truth of his words.

“And how did you know that?”

“It’s your name—Ricky Steamboat was one of the best wrestlers of all time, and his real name was Richard Blood. I’ll bet you’re related to him.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, it’s not that common of a name, is it? And you sort of look like him. Only much prettier!” He hastily added that last part, sensing (rightly) that she was about to protest. “Seriously. When you get home, you should submit a query to the Colonial Genetic Database and see if it’s true.”

They spoke a little longer, then said their goodbyes as the monorail glided to a smooth stop. Melanie disembarked and made the short walk to her townhouse, activating the lights and her stereo by punching in a few codes on her PCD. She arrived to a well-lit house, Mozart, and a gnawing curiosity. Despite telling herself she wouldn’t do it, she pricked her finger with a stylus and smeared the blood on her crystal matrix scanner, entering her DNA into the Genetic Database. She turned on her computer and typed in a few commands, sending her query to the CGD before resuming work on a particularly troublesome bit of code. It was only a matter of minutes before her PCD chimed twice, indicating she had a message. It was from the CGD.

Richard Henry Blood Senior, Melanie Megan Blood: Match 99.9982 percent confirmed.

Huh.

Melanie’s curiosity grew by leaps and bounds. Putting aside her coding project, she began researching her ancestor on the colonial cybernet. She devoured some of his greatest matches: against Jake Roberts, Randy Savage, Ric Flair (three times), and more. As she watched, her analytical mind could not help noticing similarities in the matches: not just moves Steamboat used regularly, but commonalities in pacing, facial expressions, timing sequences. And as she noticed them, she absentmindedly jotted down notes in her coding journal. Random lines of programming that would replicate certain behaviors Steamboat exhibited, and which could be put into a linear matrix—controlled by an AI—and interact with an orthogonal linear matrix to produce a wrestling move. Or a series of moves or even…an entire match?

The seed of an idea took root in Melanie’s brain, and chewing her lip thoughtfully, she began to code…

[Deleted]

Prologue, Part Three… 

One evening turned into a week, and the week turned into a month. Melanie no longer burned the midnight oil on behalf of LHI; she solved her problems and completed her projects, then turned her attention to her new passion, which kept her up late every night, except for the nights she went out with Benjamin—often to another set of wrestling matches. 

Melanie had always lived a modest lifestyle, and she worked very hard—and was very good at her job—so she had accumulated quite the nest egg, which allowed her to request…no, to tell her boss that she was taking a sabbatical. It wasn’t unheard of for a programmer to get burned out, so her superiors agreed, promising she would have a job waiting for her when she returned. 

One month became two, then three, then six. Her server’s storage space was almost completely full, and she had ordered a second server to complement the first. But Melanie’s hard work was about to pay off. She had invited Benjamin over, and was setting up a 3D holographic emitter in the center of her living room when he arrived. “Alright, Mel, I’m here. What’s the surprise?” 

Melanie just grinned at him over her shoulder. “Wait. Watch.” Attaching the last cable and adjusting the focus one last time, she took a seat on the sofa, two seats down from Benjamin. Tucking one leg beneath the other, she tapped a series of commands into her PCD. The lights dimmed, the emitter fluttered to life…and Ricky Steamboat was standing in her living room. 

Benjamin nearly jumped off the sofa. “What the…? Mel, what did you do?” She grinned in response, tapped in another series of codes…and now Jake Roberts stood next to Steamboat. Benjamin’s eyes widened in surprise, and he leaned forward, reaching out a hand and passing it through the Dragon’s knee. “Holograms?” Benjamin worked in the industry, yet even he had never seen them look so...lifelike.

“Watch.” Melanie tapped her PCD, activating voice commands. “Initiate Protocol Sigma Beta Two. Initiate Protocol Rho Chi Five.” The handheld device beeped several times, transmitting the commands to her server. 

All at once, the Snake and the Dragon turned towards one another. Steamboat’s lips set themselves in a grim line, while Roberts turned an ugly glare on his old enemy. They locked up with a collar-and-elbow tie-up, but Roberts broke free and drove a knee into his opponent’s midsection. He took two steps back and went for a clothesline, but Steamboat ducked under his arm, spun, and countered with a karate chop. The match went on for several minutes, building to a flurry of punches and chops until Roberts kicked Steamboat in the midsection and dropped him with a DDT. The Snake made the cover and Steamboat stayed down for three seconds, then the holograms flickered into nothingness.

Benjamin was all questions, all the time. “How did you do that? How did you solve the collision detection problem? Was that a programmed result?”

Melanie shook her head, smiling proudly. “It was two AI’s, each governing a database of over a hundred terabytes of data and variables. I factored in fatigue, emotional vectors, personality quirks…even the way they breathe when exerting themselves.” Benjamin stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth agape. Melanie just gave a little shrug. “I’ve been watching a lot of matches.”

“I guess so!”

“But that’s not all!” Melanie tapped more buttons on her PCD, and Roberts and Steamboat reappeared, side by side. They were joined in short order by Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, and Curt Hennig. “That’s all I have room for right now, but I’m adding another server, maybe two, and it’s not just me! I’ve found other programmers working on similar projects, and we shared our data and code and now they are creating wrestlers, too! Hulk Hogan, the Dream Team, the Road Warriors…”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Benjamin held up his hands. “You left LHI for six months doing…this? Mel, I love wrestling, but what’s your end game? You and this…alliance of programmers?”

Melanie smiled. “We’re going on tour...”

[Deleted]

Set in the late 2080’s (and hopefully extending into the 2090’s and beyond), the Classic Wrestling Alliance is owned and operated by a cabal of brilliant computer programmers with extensive experience in the holographic imaging industry. Collectively, they have spent months, even years, coding historic wrestlers they have taken a fancy to (for whatever reason) into enormous data banks of move sets, personality traits, physiological strengths and weaknesses, and a host of other variables.

Each data bank is controlled by a specially-programmed Artificial Intelligence. When the AI is attached to its data bank, it “simulates” a living, breathing wrestler. When two or more AI’a are exposed to one another, they form relationships (either alliances or something more antagonistic) with one another, which leads to wrestling matches. The AI-governed data banks are fed through a series of holographic emitters, and the matches can be witnessed live by an audience. Each AI is capable of growth, learning, and self-awareness, but each is also tied to code that enforces fatigue, injuries, and the like.

The result: a collection of wrestlers from the distant past that will be competing in the CWA for pride, glory, and titles. Because managing the roster requires so much in resources (time, money, equipment, etc.), the programmers who run the CWA cannot just go hog wild and create hundreds of competitors. With their current resource profile, they can manage a roster of twenty-four wrestlers and one manager. The roster will expand gradually as they add more resources (and as I add expansion sets), but for now, this is the CWA.

Welcome to my world.

[Deleted]

December 3, 2088

Systems Check…
Stationary Emitter Array online…
Drone Emitter Alpha online…
Drone Emitter Beta online…
All Audio Channels are a go…
Primary Power Couplings online…
Secondary Power Couplings…offline
Reroute power from Secondary Audio Channels…
If the Primary Audio Channel fails, we’ll have no sound!
If the Power Couplings fail we’ll have no anything!
Roger…
Colonial Cyberlink at ninety-four percent…
We are go for live broadcast in four…three…two…one…


Explosions of pyro and the driving beat of Shinedown’s “Bully” welcomed the sparse live crowd to the debut of the Classic Wrestling Alliance. Though they were relatively few in number, the crowd was raucous and eager to sample this new flavor of professional wrestling. The first competitors materialized in the holographic ring with no entrances, music, or pyro, drawing a round of boos from the live audience—apparently they wanted the full twentieth-century experience.


CWA World Championship Tournament Match: The Ultimate Warrior vs. “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig

Hennig started the match with an eye rake and an attempted hip toss, but Warrior blocked it and countered with a short clothesline. After that, it was a show of dominance by the Ultimate Warrior. A gorilla press slam knocked the wind out of Hennig and a follow-up shoulder block put Mr. Perfect down for two. Body slams, suplexes, and clubbing fists followed, leading to Warrior’s BIG SPLASH, which earned him the first victory in CWA history.

WINNER: The Ultimate Warrior via pinfall (3:18) *


CWA Holovision Championship Tournament Match: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Bruiser Brody

This was nothing short of a wild brawl. Brody managed to keep Duggan off-balance with his power advantage, but Duggan’s raw toughness (and one quick shot with his trusty 2x4) kept him in the match. The restless crowd—composed primarily of knowledgeable and well-studied wrestling fans—gasped in collective surprise when Duggan kicked out after a JUMPING KNEE DROP, and when he planted Brody with a sick piledriver that nevertheless only earned him a two-count. As the action spilled onto the floor, Brody took the advantage and never let up, dimming Duggan’s lights with a big boot, then a huge clothesline. Brody through Hacksaw back into the ring and dropped a big leg across his throat, then delivered another JUMPING KNEE DROP for good measure, which Duggan could not survive.

WINNER: Bruiser Brody via pinfall (9:24) **


In-Ring Promo: “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase

DiBiase had been entered into the World Tag Team Championship Round-Robin Tournament without a partner. Once the Dream Team had materialized in the ring (again drawing boos from the crowd), DiBiase followed, and his words were clearly audible even without a microphone.

“I’ve always said that everyone has a price for the Million Dollar Man, and I’m here to prove that it still holds true. I was going to come out here and offer these nobodies in the ring with me a fat payday to forfeit their match…but now that I see them—Valentine with his gut spilling out over his trunks, and Beefcake looking like he can’t afford tights without holes in them—I don’t think they deserve any of my money. So here’s what I did: I got myself the best tag team partner money can buy, and here he is: Jake “the Snake” Roberts!”

The crowd booed DiBiase’s bold words, but erupted into surprised cheers when Roberts’ old theme “Snake Bit” began playing, and the cold-blooded grappler from Stone Mountain, Georgia paced his way up the aisle, his familiar sack over his shoulder. He set the bag in his and DiBiase’s corner, then slithered into the ring, only to have the Dream Team attack immediately.


World Tag Team Championship Round-Robin Tournament Match: The Dream Team vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & Jake “the Snake” Roberts

After the initial attack, Brutus Beefcake and DiBiase fought their way to the floor, leaving Roberts in the ring with an irritated Greg Valentine. Valentine and Roberts traded blows, but the Hammer took the advantage with a kick to his opponent’s kneecap. Roberts dropped to the mat and rolled to the floor, trying to catch his breath, but Valentine followed and took him down from behind with a chop block. There was no referee to caution Valentine (the holographic mat was programmed to detect the pressure of a wrestler’s shoulders, and flashed brightly as it made each count), so he tossed the Snake back into the ring and clamped on his FIGURE FOUR LEG LOCK. DiBiase was still brawling with Beefcake on the floor, so he had no idea what was happening as Roberts quickly submitted.

WINNERS: The Dream Team via submission (1:37) –


CWA Holovision Championship Tournament Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Gorgeous George

Full entrances for both wrestlers this time, using “Pomp and Circumstance” for Gorgeous George and “Walk” for RVD, and the crowd ate it up. RVD went on the offensive early, but George displayed a solid advantage in ring intelligence, kicking Van Dam in the head when he telegraphed a back body drop, then tossing him to the floor so the Gorgeous one could fix his hair. Van Dam rolled back into the ring, right into a figure four leg lock, but George had him too close to the ropes, and he broke the hold. An airplane spin put RVD on his back once more, and he rolled out of the ring. This time, George went after him, only to have Van Dam clobber him with a steel chair as he was reaching through the ropes. The mat lit up a vivid red while a deafening buzzer sounded, and George began celebrating.

WINNER: Gorgeous George via disqualification (3:18) –


World Tag Team Championship Round-Robin Tournament Match: The Road Warriors (with Paul Ellering) vs. Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik

Road Warrior Animal and the Iron Sheik started the match for their respective teams, but Animal quickly overpowered the Sheik, who tagged in his larger, stronger partner. Volkoff and Animal butted heads briefly, but once again, Animal’s raw power proved to be the deciding factor and he quickly had Volkoff down. Hawk tagged in and a pair of clotheslines nearly took the big Russian out of his boots and led to a pair of near-pinfalls. Another quick tag and one DOOMSDAY DEVICE later, Volkoff was down, bleeding from the nose, and easy prey for the pinfall…had his partner not broken it up. The beating continued for another couple minutes, with Ellering calling for quick tags and his charges complying. The ending came as a complete surprise: Animal, and not Hawk, ascended to the top rope and took Volkoff down with a sloppy flying clothesline that nevertheless put him on his back for three.

WINNERS: The Road Warriors via pinfall (11:42) **


CWA World Championship Tournament Match: Lou Thesz vs. “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers

This match had loads of promise, but failed to deliver. Rogers took an early advantage and whipped Thesz into the ropes, but Thesz planted his foot awkwardly and tweaked his knee, leaving him hobbled. The Nature Boy charged and Thesz telegraphed a back body drop, allowing Rogers to take him down with a sunset flip for two. Thesz kicked out, but seemed to injure his knee even further in the process. Rogers saw this and applied his FIGURE FOUR GRAPEVINE, securing an immediate submission.

WINNER: Buddy Rogers via submission (1:15) ½


Sheriff Center Arena Capacity: 10,300
Paid Attendance: 843
Cyberlink Views: 14,261

[TTX]

Nice to see Buddy take down Thesz. Fun tournaments so far.

[Deleted]

Feb 25, 2020 19:52:11 GMT -5 TTX said:

Nice to see Buddy take down Thesz. Fun tournaments so far.

Thanks, Troy. Buddy Rogers will take on the winner of Ric Flair - Randy Savage in the Semi-Finals, so one-half of my hoped-for "Battle of the Nature Boys" is in place. Just a shame Rogers - Thesz was such a bummer. Three moves and it was over.

[Deleted]

December 19, 2088

Like the previous card, a display of fireworks and Shinedown’s “Bully” welcomed the live crowd—bigger, but still far from capacity—to the Sheriff Center Arena. In the technical control area, the programmers responsible for creating the evening’s show ran their last-minute checks on their holographic emitters, audio transmitters, and cybernet uplink, but they kept an eye on their live stream numbers, which grew steadily upward from the last show, creating a buzz of excitement. Two of the programmers began entering commands into their computer terminals, and the show was underway.


World Tag Team Championship Round-Robin Tournament Match: Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & Jake “the Snake” Roberts

Full entrances with music for DiBiase and Roberts, and silence (except for the boos) for the Sheik and Volkoff. Of course, the big Russian performed his rendition of the Soviet Nation Anthem, and while the crowd enjoyed it (the rivalry between the United States and Russia had ended for good decades ago), Roberts covered his ears and DiBiase insisted that Volkoff stop singing, going so far as to offer him $500.

While DiBiase argued with the Russian, the Sheik ran up from behind and sent the Million Dollar Man through the ropes with a knee to the back. DiBiase was stunned, and the evil foreigners took the fight to Roberts, keeping him isolated in their corner and working him over mercilessly. DiBiase eventually made it back to his own corner and screamed angrily at Jake to make the tag, but the Snake was trapped in enemy territory. Roberts finally managed to turn things around with a DDT on the arena floor to Volkoff. The Sheik rolled his partner back into the ring, but Jake finally made a tag to his partner.

DiBiase wasted no time, immediately targeting Volkoff’s head with a fist drop, then clamping on his MILLION DOLLAR DREAM, though the Sheik was able to make the save. DiBiase hit a thunderous vertical suplex, but lifting the much heavier Volkoff took a toll on the Million Dollar Man, and the Russian was able to make a tag. With DiBiase on the mat and holding his back, the Sheik wasted no time in applying his CAMEL CLUTCH, and DiBiase was forced to submit.

WINNERS: Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik via submission (18:07) **


CWA Holovision Championship Tournament Match: Bobo Brazil vs. The Great Muta

This was a tremendous back-and-forth match, with neither man able to sustain an advantage for very long. Both Brazil and Muta displayed timely and intuitive counter wrestling—at one point, the Great Muta even went for a German suplex, but Brazil incredibly flipped over his back and clamped on a reverse bear hug. Muta survived one COCO BUTT and a pinfall attempt, and was nearly choked out by a head scissors. When the match spilled outside the ring, however, the Pearl of the Orient turned the tables on his opponent. A spray of green mist blinded Brazil and Muta rolled him back into the ring, where he was easy prey for a MOONSAULT and the 1-2-3.

WINNER: The Great Muta via pinfall (11:11) **½


CWA Holovision Championship Tournament Match: Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka

The crowd cheered for each man as he made his entrance, and Steamboat extended a hand to Snuka, only to have it kicked away. The Dragon gave a small shrug and went for a lock-up, but Snuka raked his eyes and delivered a head butt that sent Steamboat to his knees. Superfly followed up with a body slam, a backbreaker, and a piledriver that earned him a long two-count, but somehow Steamboat was able to roll his left shoulder off the mat. Enraged, Snuka went to the floor and grabbed the timekeeper’s bell, sliding into the ring and bashing his opponent over the head with it. The buzzer sounded and the mat glowed an angry red, leaving Snuka to fume while Steamboat wearily pulled himself to his feet and raised a hand in victory.

WINNER: Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat via disqualification (2:58) ½


In-Ring Promo: “Handsome” Harley Race

Race made his way down the aisle to “The Great Gate of Kiev” and a chorus of boos, though the latter seemed to have no effect on him (as one would expect from a hologram). He raised his arms in a triumphant pose and spoke; even without a microphone, his words reverberated through the arena. “Hulk Hogan, you’re always ranting about how the millions and millions of ‘Hulkamaniacs’ always have your back. Well, I consulted with my legal team, and they determined that it gave you an unfair advantage. Now, since we can’t file an injunction against these idiot fans—and believe me, we tried—I had to go with the next best thing. Now I have someone watching my back…”

All at once, it seemed as if the power couplings failed, as the entire arena went pitch black; even the holograms—composed purely of light—vanished. After a few tense moments, the lights came back on, and standing in the ring alongside Race was Bobby “the Brain” Heenan!


CWA World Championship Tournament Match: Hulk Hogan vs. “Handsome” Harley Race (with Bobby “the Brain” Heenan)

Race came out of the gates strong, peppering his opponent with jabs and hitting a swinging neckbreaker that put Hogan on the ground for a one-count. Race stomped him for good measure, then hoisted him up for a PILEDRIVER that earned him a count of two. Heenan’s charge strutted to the ropes and walked back, dropping a knee across Hogan’s forehead, only to have the Hulkster push himself to his feet, his eyes bulging and his face contorted in anger. Hogan went on a tear, laying into his opponent with overhand rights, clotheslines, atomic drops and a big body slam—but every time he had Race in trouble, Heenan’s voice chirped out instructions and ring locations, and Race was able to reach the ropes and slip out of the ring for a breather. Eventually, the Hulkster grew frustrated and followed him out to the floor, and that’s when Heenan’s brilliance became apparent. He lured Hogan into a confrontation, and Race hit the Hulkster with his manager’s shoe while he had his back turned.

Race only held the advantage briefly, as all too soon Hogan powered his way out of a side headlock and, seeking to beat Race at his own game, hit a series of piledrivers. Two, three, four, five, and each time Hogan picked Race up off the mat rather than going for a cover. This finally brought the Brain up onto the apron, shouting at Hogan that he was just playing with his charge, and he should finish him if he was going to finish him. Face red with rage, Hogan drew back to belt Heenan, but Race attacked him from behind—well, more fell into him, really—with a chop block. Hogan went down hard, and Heenan grabbed his ankles, holding him down while the mat illuminated the three-count.

WINNER: “Handsome” Harley Race via pinfall (21:47) ***½


World Tag Team Championship Round-Robin Tournament Match: The Road Warriors (with Paul Ellering) vs. The Dream Team

The Road Warriors started off in control, with Animal matching up against Greg Valentine. The Hammer never stood a chance, as quick tags and a high-powered offense kept him on the ropes, unable to reach his corner, and in big trouble. Only timely interference from Brutus Beefcake kept the match from ending after a POWER SLAM by Animal, but Beefcake kicked Animal in the head and dragged his partner to their corner, so he could tag in.

Beefcake fared little better, facing off against Hawk after a quick tag by the Warriors. A pair of hangman’s neckbreakers put Beefcake on the mat for two, and Animal tagged back in to pick up the scraps. For some reason, Ellering did not advise his charges to go for the victory, instead instructing them to keep the Dream Team out of the ring where they could be pummeled by the men in paint. The Warriors slipped back into the ring just to break the count, then continued the assault until Ellering told them to finish things. Animal tossed Beefcake into the ring and hoisted the Barber onto his shoulders as Hawk flew from the top rope with a clothesline. Animal made the cover for one…two…

And then, before the mat lit up and chimed a third time, a bell sounded. The mat flashed yellow, and a blinking “20:00” appeared in the air above the ring. Beefcake ad Valentine beat a hasty retreat while the Road Warriors and their manager were enraged at being denied the victory.

NO WINNERS: Time Limit Draw (20:00) **


CWA World Championship Tournament Match: “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair

Both wrestlers earned pyro along with their theme music for this epic contest. Savage was clearly agitated even before the opening bell, while Flair tried to stay cool and collected, though a hint of concern could be detected in the Nature Boy’s eyes. Savage’s temper led him to an early advantage over Flair, but it also made him careless, and the Nature Boy was able to turn things around with a well-timed eye rake, a hip toss, and an inverted atomic drop. Flair went for a perfunctory cover with his feet on the ropes for leverage, but the mat did not light up while he had the illegal advantage. From there, the Nature Boy began working on Savage’s leg, blasting him with a knee breaker, two hamstring stretches, and a chop block that sent Savage crashing to the mat. The Macho Man was easy prey for the FIGURE FOUR LEG LOCK, but he fought his way to the ropes rather than submitting.

Savage managed a brief rally when the action spilled out to the floor, and even managed to hit his FLYING ELBOW DROP, but Flair was too close to the ropes and draped his foot across the bottom strand. Savage grew even more incensed and seemed to be looking for a referee to argue with, which allowed Flair to roll him up from behind. This time, when Flair grabbed the ropes for leverage, the mat flared once, twice…but that was all, as Savage was able to kick out. Still limping, Savage didn’t know what hit him when Flair took him down with another chop block. When the Nature Boy clamped on the FIGURE FOUR this time, there was nothing Savage could do but submit.

WINNER: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair via submission (9:51) ***½


Sheriff Center Arena Capacity: 10,300
Paid Attendance: 1,450
Cyberlink Views: 28,379