OOC: Three months late, to the day, but better late than never. Been stupidly busy with work, a wedding and various other personal nonsense, but now I'm back on track (hopefully). Apologies for how lengthy this card is, the weekly results will be considerably shorter.NSP & WCA Present...
THE GREAT GOLD RUSH
LIVE! KeyArena, Washington
(26/07/2009)
Northern State Pro drew a respectable crowd for their debut event at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Though not quite a sell-out, the fans made up for what they lacked in numbers with raw enthusiasm. The show began with NSP President Jesse Ventura welcoming the world to a “new chapter in professional wrestling history”. He gave an impassioned if somewhat cliché speech about the sport’s noble heritage, before promising that tonight the fans would see “the best in the business” collide in a race for the three championship belts that were on the line – “a Great Gold Rush”.
We were then handed over to our ringside commentary team of Vincent McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon who ran down the card for the evening and speculated on who we could see competing in the – as yet – unbooked main event for the WCA Northern Heavyweight Title. They were interrupted, mid-sentence, by the arrival of Captain Lou Albano who joined them at the commentary table and dismissed all other competitors in the Heavyweight Title race, except for his client – Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. He promised that tonight we would see Snuka’s “meteoric rise” to the top of the company.
No sooner had Captain Lou said his piece, than our commentary team was interrupted once again – this time by the arrival of Jim Cornette, manager of the Midnight Express, who said that whoever might emerge as Heavyweight Champion tonight, there should be no doubt in the fans minds who their inaugural Tag Team champions were going to be. “I’m so confident in the abilities of my clients,” he bragged, “That I have invited my dear, sweet mother to watch the title match from ringside!” Gorilla Monsoon chastised Cornette not to be over-confident, as the Midnight Express would first have to defeat the Killer Bees to even have a shot at championship gold.
With the interruptions apparently at last over, Monsoon and McMahon turned us over to ring announcer Howard Finkel as the action began…
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The Road Warriors vs. The Valentines(Northern Tag Team Titles Tournament)
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The crowd were eating up the fan-favourite Road Warriors, with practically every move they landed getting a pop. The Valentines put up a Valiant (no pun intended) effort but just couldn’t build any momentum, as the Road Warriors kept them permanently on the defensive with hot tags and double teams. The match was finally brought to an end after Johnny Valentine found himself on the receiving end of a Doomsday Device, allowing Hawk to pin him for the three.
WINNERS: The Road Warriors
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The Killer Bees vs. The Midnight Express(Northern Tag Team Titles Tournament)
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In sharp contrast to the popularity of the Road Warriors in the previous contest, there was no shortage of heel heat for the Midnight Express who made it clear how they were intending to advance here in the NSP. As B. Brian Blair hit the ropes looking for a big cross-body, Jim Cornette nailed him in the back of the head with his tennis racket, allowing Stan Lane to roll Blair up.
WINNERS: The Midnight Express
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Jimmy Snuka (w/ Captain Lou) & Bobo Brazil
vs. Frank Gotch & Harley Race(Northern Heavyweight Title Tournament)
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Gotch & Race spent much of the early part of the match isolating Bobo Brazil and wearing him down. Brazil’s cause was not helped by the fact that his tag team partner, Jimmy Snuka, refused to be tagged in. He eventually obliged and surprised everyone by destroying the competition. Frank Gotch was nearly knocked clean out by a flying headbutt and Harley Race fared no better a couple of minutes later when he was crushed by a HUGE Superfly Leap.
Snuka’s high-flying antics caught up with him in the end, however, as a now rested Bobo Brazil entered the ring and showed him how a headbutt was really done. Sensing his client was in trouble, Captain Lou scrambled into the ring, only to be clotheslined right back out of it by Bobo, who then pinned Snuka to win the match.
Order of Elimination1. Jimmy Snuka eliminated Frank Gotch via flying headbutt
2. Jimmy Snuka eliminated Harley Race via Superfly Leap
3. Bobo Brazil eliminated Jimmy Snuka via Coco Butt
WINNER: Bobo Brazil
Jimmy Snuka and Captain Lou were irate as Bobo Brazil celebrated his victory. The Captain quickly got on the microphone and accused Bobo of doing a “pearl harbour job” on his client, before promising that this would not be the last that he – or NSP as a whole - would see of The Superfly.
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Nick Bockwinkle & Buddy Rogers
vs. Giant Baba & Mil Mascaras[/color]
(Northern Heavyweight Title Tournament)
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It was all “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers from the get-go in this match. Rogers picked up a shock early tap out from Giant Baba with his signature Figure Four Grapevine, before tagging out to his partner Nick Bockwinkle, who quickly got himself disqualified by referee Nick Patrick with some ill-advised smash-mouth brawling. Mil Mascaras then attempted to blind Buddy Rogers with his aerial prowess, but the “Nature Boy” was having none of it and swiftly brought the Mexican legend down to earth and straight into another Figure Four Grapevine for the submission.
Order of Elimination1. Buddy Rogers eliminated Giant Baba via Figure Four Grapevine
2. Nick Bockwinkle got DQed
3. Buddy Rogers eliminated Mil Mascaras via Figure Four Grapevine
WINNER: Buddy Rogers
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15 Man Over-The-Top-Rope Challenge[/color]
(Tri-Cities Title Match)
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This match was utter chaos from the opening bell. Bodies were flying over the top-rope at a rate of knots as The Destroyer and King Kong Bundy cemented themselves as easily the two most dangerous men in the Tri-Cities Division. Bundy racked up some impressive eliminations - including Nikolai Volkoff and Ox Baker - while The Destroyer was no slouch himself – dispatching such accomplished superstars as Ted DiBiase and the Iron Sheik.
When at last only Bundy and Destroyer remained the two collided in the middle of the ring and traded big move after big move, with Bundy looking the stronger. But in the end The Destroyer turned the match on a dime and surprised Bundy with a sudden clothesline over the ropes and to the outside – which was no mean feat in itself.
Order of Elimination1. Red Bastien (Koko B. Ware)
2. Koko B. Ware (King Kong Bundy)
3. Cowboy Bob Orton (Nikolai Volkoff)
4. Dick Hutton (Don Leo Jonathan)
5. Nikolai Volkoff (King Kong Bundy)
6. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (Ted DiBiase)
7. Ox Baker (King Kong Bundy)
8. Iron Sheik (The Destroyer)
9. Gorgeous George (Killer Kowalski)
10. Ted DiBiase (The Destroyer)
11. Killer Kowalski (Don Leo Jonathan)
12. Buddy Rose (Don Leo Jonathan)
13. Don Leo Jonathan (King Kong Bundy)
14. King Kong Bundy (The Destroyer)
WINNER & FIRST NSP TRI-CITIES CHAMPION: The Destroyer
No sooner had King Kong Bundy crashed down to earth outside of the ring, than he rolled back into it – getting up in the Destroyer’s masked face. The two men stared each other down for a moment or two, but were split apart by referees and security before they could come to blows.
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The Road Warriors vs. The Midnight Express(WCA Northern Tag Team Titles Match)
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As promised, prior to the opening bell, Jim Cornette led his “mother” – whose face was concealed behind a wide-brimmed hat - down to a seat at ringside. Vincent McMahon commented that Cornette’s mother was looking “a little buff” for a woman of her supposed age. But with these theatrics out the way, the Championship match began in ernest, and the Road Warriors set to work demolishing the Midnight Express. Lane and Eaton seemed genuinely intimidated by the Warriors, with neither in any hurry to be tagged in by the other.
After a series of near-falls on Bobby Eaton, with Stan Lane continuously having to make the save, Jim Cornette clearly decided that it was time to interject himself and looked to repeat the trick he used against The Killer Bees – nailing Animal in the back of the head with his tennis racket as he hit the ropes looking for a clothesline. Unfortunately for Cornette, Animal proved a little more resilient than B. Brian Blair, and the Road Warrior turned around with murder in his eyes – grabbing Cornette by the throat and literally lifting him off his feet.
Before Animal could do any damage, however, the legal man, Stan Lane, came to the aid of his manager, taking Animal over with a German suplex. Bobby Eaton quickly also entered the ring, and the Midnight Express set to work with double-teams. As Hawk tried to come to the aid of his partner, Jim Cornette’s “mother” suddenly interjected “herself” in the match, leaping the guard-rail and pulling Hawk off the apron before laying him out with a Heart Punch! With the referee distracted by the action in the ring, Animal was unable to overcome the 2-on-1 odds and was pinned following a spiked piledriver from the Express.
WINNERS & FIRST WCA NORTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Midnight Express
After the bell, Cornette and his “mother” rolled into the ring, and the supposedly elderly woman revealed “herself” to be none-other than Ox Baker! The Road Warriors were clearly not happy with this deception and were vowing revenge as they helped each other to the back.
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Buddy Rogers vs. Bobo Brazil[/color]
(WCA Northern Heavyweight Title Match)
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There was a definite buzz of excitement around the arena for the inaugural WCA Northern Heavyweight Title contest. Buddy Rogers looked typically confident as the ring announcer ran down the tale of the tape and gave a smirk as the fans cheered for his opponent. This arrogance seemed warranted as the bell rang for the first fall, as Rogers methodically picked Bobo apart, repeatedly taking the fight to the canvas and tying him up in painful submission holds. Brazil tried to mount a comeback but was abruptly caught in the Figure Four Grapevine and forced to tap out – giving the first fall to Buddy Rogers.
After a sixty second rest period, the bell rang for the second fall and Rogers went straight back to the legs of Bobo. It looked to be all over as he slapped on the Figure Four for a second time, but this time Brazil managed to reach the ropes – to the delight of the fans. Frustrated, Rogers took the fight outside of the ring and brought out every dirty trick in his arsenal to weaken his opponent. This proved his undoing, as referee Mark Curtis did not hesitate to disqualify him following an irish whip into the steel ring post.
The falls were at one a piece, but the damage seemed to have been done as Bobo Brazil was busted wide open and visibly disorientated. When the bell rang for the third time, Rogers moved in for the kill with a sadistic grin. But the grin quickly faded as Bobo found a surprise second wind and floored Rogers with a big punch, for an even bigger pop. As Rogers staggered to his feet, he was met with a savage Coco Butt which left him spread-eagled on the canvas. Bobo dropped down for the cover… 1… 2… 3!!!
1st Fall: Rogers submitted Brazil via Figure Four Grapevine
2nd Fall: Rogers got DQed
3rd Fall: Brazil pinned Rogers via Coco Butt
WINNER & FIRST WCA NORTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Bobo Brazil
As we came to the end of the final match of the evening, our inaugural Heavyweight Champion celebrated his victory in the middle of the ring, with Buddy Rogers still laid out at his feet. Gorilla Monsoon commented that though three champions had been crowned, many questions still remained to be answered and advised the fans to tune in next week for the first edition of NORTHERN STATE LIVE and the fall-out of “The Great Gold Rush”!
