Battle For The Belts 2023
Jan 28, 2023 2:14:54 GMT -5
"Emperor Norton" (Mark T) and jerkbronson like this
Post by paladin18 on Jan 28, 2023 2:14:54 GMT -5
I recently moved and haven't really had much of a chance to roll the dice but found some time lately and held my first big event card today. It seemed like it took forever to finish but I had a great time.
The overall organization is LOW, LEGENDS OF WRESTLING. Under that umbrella are (and will be) various territories, such as MEMPHIS and CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA. There may end up being a few more but we will see.
It was under this umbrella that LOW presented BATTLE FOR THE BELTS 2023.
High on the wrestling, low on any other content.
Without further ado, the results.
OPENING MATCH:
FOR THE UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
BOBO BRAZIL vs. BARRY WINDHAM (c)
The match only went six minutes with Windham controlling much of the action. He finished the match by making Bobo submit to the Blackjack Claw. *1/2
FOR THE LOW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
THE ROAD WARRIORS vs. THE BRISCO BROTHERS (c)
There was a twenty-minute time limit for this match. It was a controversial choice for the Road Warriors to receive the first shot at the champions, as they were not the finalists in the tournament to crown the champions a week prior. The Heavenly Bodies had an issue with this choice but in the end, it was the Road Warriors that got the shot.
Paul Ellering joined the boys from Chicago midway through the match, which surprised the announcers. The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering have been having some issues of late and not seeing eye to eye. But Ellering stood in their corner and gave them sound and sage advice for the rest of the match.
The Brisco Brothers, Jerry and Jack, looked every bit the champions that they are, with Jerry especially putting forth an incredible display of both guts and determination, having been beaten bloody and on the verge of defeat a few times through the match.
The end came with a whimper, as the time limit ran out and the teams had to settle for a draw. No one wanted to hear that bell or Gary Michael Cappetta announce that it was a draw. ***1/2
FOR THE VACANT CWF HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
KEVIN SULLIVAN vs. BLACKJACK MULLIGAN
This match was an out-of-control brawl from start to finish. It, too, had a twenty-minute time limit on it and both men were determined to make sure that the other man could not walk out of the ring under his own power. As a result, they seemingly forgot all about the title and the time limit and went to a draw, as well. ***
FOR THE VACANT SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
TOMMY RICH w/JIMMY HART vs. BILL DUNDEE
Tommy Rich seems to have all of the luck. Perhaps he's Irish, somewhere in that DNA. He didn't even need Hart's usual shenanigans to win the match and the title. In fact, it took him less than five minutes to win and he did it with the Thesz Press. *1/2
FOR THE VACANT SOUTHERN TAG TEAM TITLES
THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS w/JIM CORNETTE vs. BENETT COLE and ROCKY REYNOLDS w/THE DARK MENACE
All of the title matches had a twenty-minute time limit on them and this one was no exception. It almost came down to the time limit, which would have been tragic, in that it would have been the third match of that night so far that would have been a time limit draw. But The Midnight Express was crafty and Dennis Condrey hit an atomic drop on Rocky Reynolds that ended things at 17:09. In an interesting twist, neither of the managers got involved at any point during the match. **
30 WOMAN GAUNTLET BATTLE ROYAL FOR THE VACANT SHIMMER WOMEN'S TITLE
Crazy Mary Dobson and Dr. Britt Baker were numbers 1 and 2, respectively. Angelina Love came in at number 3. Cheerleader Melissa was number 4.
Dobson eliminated Baker at 4:15.
MsChif entered at number 5. She promptly eliminated Dobson. Madison Rayne and Jody Threat entered at numbers 6 and 7, with Threat being eliminated by Angelina Love exactly at the horn for number 8, Saraya Knight. MsChif was bloodied on her way to being eliminated by Saraya Knight. Cheerleader Melissa was also eliminated by Saraya Knight. LuFisto came in at number 9 and eliminated Knight shortly thereafter.
Nora Greenwald entered at number 10, Hudson Envy at 11, Jessica Havok at 12 and Masha Slamovich at number 13. Greenwald eliminated LuFisto. Tessa Blanchard entered at 14, April Hunter at 15. Hunter was in the battle royal for fifty-five seconds when she was eliminated by Nora Greenwald. Cherry Bomb entered at 16 and eliminated Greenwald. Giselle Shaw came in at 17 and eliminated Masha Slamovich when Masha came running at her in the corner and Shaw ducked then shoved the rest of Slamovich's body over the ropes.
Chelsea Green came in next at 18 but was only in the match for thirty-seven seconds as she was bundled out by Tessa Blanchard. Cherry Bomb and Tessa Blanchard were back-to-back victims of the nineteenth entrant, Sherri Martel. Angelina Love was next in the sights of Martel and she eliminated her just before Leva Bates entered at 20. Angelina, by the way, was the Iron Woman of the match, lasting a total of 32 minutes and 56 seconds.
Leva Bates attempted to go on her own elimination tear, taking out Madison Rayne, the (at that point) next longest-lasting participant. Before she could ring up her next elimination, though, Vanessa Kraven entered at 21 and was eliminated by Sherri Martel and Shotzi Blackheart came in at number 22 and was eliminated with a hard-hitting Lariat out of the corner by Jessica Havok. Havok herself would be eliminated next by Giselle Shaw.
Heidi Lovelace entered at number 23 and Bates took her out after a minute and forty-seven seconds. At number 24, Willow Nightingale joined the fun and eliminated Giselle Shaw. Nicole Matthews was number 25. Hudson Envy was eliminated by Sherri Martel after lasting in the match for 28 minutes and 27 seconds. Sherri eliminated Leva Bates quickly after Envy. Trish Stratus entered at 26. Trish and Sherri locked up and Sherri was getting the better of it when she decided to come off the top rope. That was her fatal mistake as Trish grabbed Sherri and tossed her to the floor for her elimination.
By that point, Trish had been beaten bloody. Madison Eagles entered at 27 and threw Trish out. The Alpha Female Jazzy Gabert and Candace LeRae were numbers 28 and 29. LeRae was not long for the match, only in it for a minute and twenty-five seconds before she was shown the floor by The Alpha Female. Courtney Rush came out as entrant number 30.
The Alpha Female and Willow Nightingale faced off and The Alpha Female came out on top, eliminating Nightingale. Next to leave the match was Madison Eagles, also a victim of The Alpha Female. Courtney Rush did not heed the cautionary tale of Sherri Martel, went up top and got tossed to the floor by, who else, The Alpha Female. It appeared that Jazzy Gabert might run the table.
But Nicole Matthews had other plans and found a way to bundle The Alpha Female over the top rope and to the floor, winning the vacant SHIMMER WOMEN'S TITLE.
FOR THE LOW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
VADER vs. CACTUS JACK (c)
Vader entered the ring attempting to intimidate Gary Michael Cappetta, but Cactus Jack ran to the rescue and started out hot against the challenger. It wasn't long, though, before things started to swing Vader's direction. They fought outside and at one point, only three and a half minutes into the match, it appeared as if Vader might get disqualified for power bombing Cactus through the announce table. Referee James Beard thought better of it and let the fight continue. Four minutes later, Vader hit the Vader Bomb and followed that with a Release Power Bomb for the victory and the LOW World Heavyweight Title. **1/2
30 MAN GAUNTLET BATTLE ROYAL FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP TO THE LOW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Entering numbers 1 and 2, Disco Inferno and The Masked Superstar. They fought for the next two minutes when entrant number 3 came out. It was Hulk Hogan. Hogan was less than pleased about his pick and you could see it all over his face. Hogan and The Masked Superstar went at it until number 4 came out. Ray Stevens. Stevens went right for Hogan, who was lackluster to say the least, taking a beating from Superstar and a brief beatdown by Stevens. Sgt. Slaughter entered at 5 and started up a fight with Stevens, who was eliminated shortly thereafter by Disco Inferno. Disco Inferno was eliminated by Slaughter right after Stevens.
At number 6, Adrian Adonis, in biker gear, came into the match and didn't do much before he was eliminated by the number 7 man, Andre The Giant. Tony Atlas was number 8. And then Andre went on a tear, eliminating Sgt. Slaughter and Atlas within seconds of each other. Andre apparently did not watch the women's battle royal and Sherri Martel or Courtney Rush, as he went up top and got tossed out by The Masked Superstar.
One Man Gang was number 9 and came out two seconds after Andre had been eliminated. The Masked Superstar was eliminated by Hogan. Nick Bockwinkel was number 10 and eliminated The One Man Gang immediately. Rick Rude came in next at 11 and took out Hulk Hogan. Diamond Dallas Page came in at 12, Magnum TA at 13 and Greg Valentine at 14. Bryan Danielson came in at number 15 and eliminated Greg Valentine. Shane Douglas at 16 and Lou Thesz came into the match at number 17. Thesz eliminated Rick Rude. Gorilla Monsoon came in at 18. Shortly thereafter, Nick Bockwinkel eliminated DDP. Ted DiBiase entered at 19 and threw Bryan Danielson off the top rope to the floor. So much excitement going on that it's costing a lot of people their chance to be a champion.
Stan Hansen and Eddie Gilbert came in at 20 and 21. Gilbert only last a minute and forty-two seconds before Bockwinkel puts him out. It was gang up on Bockwinkel time every now and again and Shane Douglas thought that he would catch Bockwinkel sleeping while he recovered from tossing Gilbert out. Bockwinkel was sent into the corner and Douglas attempted to spear him but Bockwinkel moved out of the way. Shane Douglas hit the ring post with his shoulder and Bockwinkel resourcefully grabbed Douglas and tossed him out of the ring.
Buddy Rogers came in next at 22 and targeted Bockwinkel, finally being able to eliminate him. The bloody Bockwinkel got a standing ovation from the crowd. Meanwhile, Magnum TA and the next man in, number 23, couldn't wait to rip into each other. Tully Blanchard was number 23 and made a beeline for TA, just as TA went right for Blanchard. Blanchard eventually succeeded in bloodying up Magnum TA. Kurt Angle was number 24 and was eliminated quickly and precisely by Buddy Rogers.
Fun fact: The next elimination was Ted DiBiase. He was eliminated by Stan Hansen. Here's the punchline. DiBiase was not eliminated until after number 30 got into the ring.
James Storm was number 25, Dusty Rhodes was 26, Angelo Mosca was 27, Bob Backlund 28, Harley Race 29 and The Grappler came in at number 30.
Ted DiBiase was eliminated next, after having been in the ring 23 minutes and 9 seconds. Bob Backlund eliminated Tully Blanchard. Buddy Rogers showed his smarts for a moment, as he attempted to eliminated Magnum TA. He saw Dusty Rhodes coming to help out of the corner of his eye and ducked when Dusty swung. Dusty's right cross connected with TA's face and TA fell backward out of the ring to the floor. Dusty was distraught but not distraught enough to eliminate Buddy Rogers next.
Magnum TA lasted 43 minutes even in the match and he was not even the Iron Man of the match. More on that later.
A bloody James Storm was eliminated next by Stan Hansen. It looked like Hansen might get a on a roll and parlay it into a win for the number one contendership to the World Title. But fortunes change in an instant in this type of match. As he and Bob Backlund fought, he measured Backlund in the corner and missed him, flying over the top rope to the outside. Backlund had eliminated one big man standing in his way. But he also seemed to be on the wrong end of things, as there were more people gunning to take him out left in this match than were willing to help.
The Grappler, however, gave Backlund hope when he attempted the exact same move against Backlund that Hansen had just a moment previous. The Grappler experienced the same result and it was off to the showers. Dusty Rhodes was eliminated next by Harley Race and Backlund could feel the cold creeping in.
By this point, blood was streaming down Backlund's face but he refused to give up. He eliminated Angelo Mosca and then Lou Thesz, both very dangerous men. Thesz, by the way, had lasted 48:01 and even HE was not the Iron Man of the match.
Harley Race and Gorilla Monsoon teamed up to take on Backlund and took turns beating him to the mat. Backlund could not last much longer and he didn't, with Harley Race eliminating him to set up the last two for the number one contendership:
Harley Race vs. Gorilla Monsoon
Race took Monsoon to school and eliminated him as quickly as he could, winning the battle royal and taking aim at the title that Vader now holds, the LOW World Heavyweight Title.
The overall organization is LOW, LEGENDS OF WRESTLING. Under that umbrella are (and will be) various territories, such as MEMPHIS and CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA. There may end up being a few more but we will see.
It was under this umbrella that LOW presented BATTLE FOR THE BELTS 2023.
High on the wrestling, low on any other content.
Without further ado, the results.
OPENING MATCH:
FOR THE UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
BOBO BRAZIL vs. BARRY WINDHAM (c)
The match only went six minutes with Windham controlling much of the action. He finished the match by making Bobo submit to the Blackjack Claw. *1/2
FOR THE LOW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
THE ROAD WARRIORS vs. THE BRISCO BROTHERS (c)
There was a twenty-minute time limit for this match. It was a controversial choice for the Road Warriors to receive the first shot at the champions, as they were not the finalists in the tournament to crown the champions a week prior. The Heavenly Bodies had an issue with this choice but in the end, it was the Road Warriors that got the shot.
Paul Ellering joined the boys from Chicago midway through the match, which surprised the announcers. The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering have been having some issues of late and not seeing eye to eye. But Ellering stood in their corner and gave them sound and sage advice for the rest of the match.
The Brisco Brothers, Jerry and Jack, looked every bit the champions that they are, with Jerry especially putting forth an incredible display of both guts and determination, having been beaten bloody and on the verge of defeat a few times through the match.
The end came with a whimper, as the time limit ran out and the teams had to settle for a draw. No one wanted to hear that bell or Gary Michael Cappetta announce that it was a draw. ***1/2
FOR THE VACANT CWF HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
KEVIN SULLIVAN vs. BLACKJACK MULLIGAN
This match was an out-of-control brawl from start to finish. It, too, had a twenty-minute time limit on it and both men were determined to make sure that the other man could not walk out of the ring under his own power. As a result, they seemingly forgot all about the title and the time limit and went to a draw, as well. ***
FOR THE VACANT SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
TOMMY RICH w/JIMMY HART vs. BILL DUNDEE
Tommy Rich seems to have all of the luck. Perhaps he's Irish, somewhere in that DNA. He didn't even need Hart's usual shenanigans to win the match and the title. In fact, it took him less than five minutes to win and he did it with the Thesz Press. *1/2
FOR THE VACANT SOUTHERN TAG TEAM TITLES
THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS w/JIM CORNETTE vs. BENETT COLE and ROCKY REYNOLDS w/THE DARK MENACE
All of the title matches had a twenty-minute time limit on them and this one was no exception. It almost came down to the time limit, which would have been tragic, in that it would have been the third match of that night so far that would have been a time limit draw. But The Midnight Express was crafty and Dennis Condrey hit an atomic drop on Rocky Reynolds that ended things at 17:09. In an interesting twist, neither of the managers got involved at any point during the match. **
30 WOMAN GAUNTLET BATTLE ROYAL FOR THE VACANT SHIMMER WOMEN'S TITLE
Crazy Mary Dobson and Dr. Britt Baker were numbers 1 and 2, respectively. Angelina Love came in at number 3. Cheerleader Melissa was number 4.
Dobson eliminated Baker at 4:15.
MsChif entered at number 5. She promptly eliminated Dobson. Madison Rayne and Jody Threat entered at numbers 6 and 7, with Threat being eliminated by Angelina Love exactly at the horn for number 8, Saraya Knight. MsChif was bloodied on her way to being eliminated by Saraya Knight. Cheerleader Melissa was also eliminated by Saraya Knight. LuFisto came in at number 9 and eliminated Knight shortly thereafter.
Nora Greenwald entered at number 10, Hudson Envy at 11, Jessica Havok at 12 and Masha Slamovich at number 13. Greenwald eliminated LuFisto. Tessa Blanchard entered at 14, April Hunter at 15. Hunter was in the battle royal for fifty-five seconds when she was eliminated by Nora Greenwald. Cherry Bomb entered at 16 and eliminated Greenwald. Giselle Shaw came in at 17 and eliminated Masha Slamovich when Masha came running at her in the corner and Shaw ducked then shoved the rest of Slamovich's body over the ropes.
Chelsea Green came in next at 18 but was only in the match for thirty-seven seconds as she was bundled out by Tessa Blanchard. Cherry Bomb and Tessa Blanchard were back-to-back victims of the nineteenth entrant, Sherri Martel. Angelina Love was next in the sights of Martel and she eliminated her just before Leva Bates entered at 20. Angelina, by the way, was the Iron Woman of the match, lasting a total of 32 minutes and 56 seconds.
Leva Bates attempted to go on her own elimination tear, taking out Madison Rayne, the (at that point) next longest-lasting participant. Before she could ring up her next elimination, though, Vanessa Kraven entered at 21 and was eliminated by Sherri Martel and Shotzi Blackheart came in at number 22 and was eliminated with a hard-hitting Lariat out of the corner by Jessica Havok. Havok herself would be eliminated next by Giselle Shaw.
Heidi Lovelace entered at number 23 and Bates took her out after a minute and forty-seven seconds. At number 24, Willow Nightingale joined the fun and eliminated Giselle Shaw. Nicole Matthews was number 25. Hudson Envy was eliminated by Sherri Martel after lasting in the match for 28 minutes and 27 seconds. Sherri eliminated Leva Bates quickly after Envy. Trish Stratus entered at 26. Trish and Sherri locked up and Sherri was getting the better of it when she decided to come off the top rope. That was her fatal mistake as Trish grabbed Sherri and tossed her to the floor for her elimination.
By that point, Trish had been beaten bloody. Madison Eagles entered at 27 and threw Trish out. The Alpha Female Jazzy Gabert and Candace LeRae were numbers 28 and 29. LeRae was not long for the match, only in it for a minute and twenty-five seconds before she was shown the floor by The Alpha Female. Courtney Rush came out as entrant number 30.
The Alpha Female and Willow Nightingale faced off and The Alpha Female came out on top, eliminating Nightingale. Next to leave the match was Madison Eagles, also a victim of The Alpha Female. Courtney Rush did not heed the cautionary tale of Sherri Martel, went up top and got tossed to the floor by, who else, The Alpha Female. It appeared that Jazzy Gabert might run the table.
But Nicole Matthews had other plans and found a way to bundle The Alpha Female over the top rope and to the floor, winning the vacant SHIMMER WOMEN'S TITLE.
FOR THE LOW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
VADER vs. CACTUS JACK (c)
Vader entered the ring attempting to intimidate Gary Michael Cappetta, but Cactus Jack ran to the rescue and started out hot against the challenger. It wasn't long, though, before things started to swing Vader's direction. They fought outside and at one point, only three and a half minutes into the match, it appeared as if Vader might get disqualified for power bombing Cactus through the announce table. Referee James Beard thought better of it and let the fight continue. Four minutes later, Vader hit the Vader Bomb and followed that with a Release Power Bomb for the victory and the LOW World Heavyweight Title. **1/2
30 MAN GAUNTLET BATTLE ROYAL FOR THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP TO THE LOW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Entering numbers 1 and 2, Disco Inferno and The Masked Superstar. They fought for the next two minutes when entrant number 3 came out. It was Hulk Hogan. Hogan was less than pleased about his pick and you could see it all over his face. Hogan and The Masked Superstar went at it until number 4 came out. Ray Stevens. Stevens went right for Hogan, who was lackluster to say the least, taking a beating from Superstar and a brief beatdown by Stevens. Sgt. Slaughter entered at 5 and started up a fight with Stevens, who was eliminated shortly thereafter by Disco Inferno. Disco Inferno was eliminated by Slaughter right after Stevens.
At number 6, Adrian Adonis, in biker gear, came into the match and didn't do much before he was eliminated by the number 7 man, Andre The Giant. Tony Atlas was number 8. And then Andre went on a tear, eliminating Sgt. Slaughter and Atlas within seconds of each other. Andre apparently did not watch the women's battle royal and Sherri Martel or Courtney Rush, as he went up top and got tossed out by The Masked Superstar.
One Man Gang was number 9 and came out two seconds after Andre had been eliminated. The Masked Superstar was eliminated by Hogan. Nick Bockwinkel was number 10 and eliminated The One Man Gang immediately. Rick Rude came in next at 11 and took out Hulk Hogan. Diamond Dallas Page came in at 12, Magnum TA at 13 and Greg Valentine at 14. Bryan Danielson came in at number 15 and eliminated Greg Valentine. Shane Douglas at 16 and Lou Thesz came into the match at number 17. Thesz eliminated Rick Rude. Gorilla Monsoon came in at 18. Shortly thereafter, Nick Bockwinkel eliminated DDP. Ted DiBiase entered at 19 and threw Bryan Danielson off the top rope to the floor. So much excitement going on that it's costing a lot of people their chance to be a champion.
Stan Hansen and Eddie Gilbert came in at 20 and 21. Gilbert only last a minute and forty-two seconds before Bockwinkel puts him out. It was gang up on Bockwinkel time every now and again and Shane Douglas thought that he would catch Bockwinkel sleeping while he recovered from tossing Gilbert out. Bockwinkel was sent into the corner and Douglas attempted to spear him but Bockwinkel moved out of the way. Shane Douglas hit the ring post with his shoulder and Bockwinkel resourcefully grabbed Douglas and tossed him out of the ring.
Buddy Rogers came in next at 22 and targeted Bockwinkel, finally being able to eliminate him. The bloody Bockwinkel got a standing ovation from the crowd. Meanwhile, Magnum TA and the next man in, number 23, couldn't wait to rip into each other. Tully Blanchard was number 23 and made a beeline for TA, just as TA went right for Blanchard. Blanchard eventually succeeded in bloodying up Magnum TA. Kurt Angle was number 24 and was eliminated quickly and precisely by Buddy Rogers.
Fun fact: The next elimination was Ted DiBiase. He was eliminated by Stan Hansen. Here's the punchline. DiBiase was not eliminated until after number 30 got into the ring.
James Storm was number 25, Dusty Rhodes was 26, Angelo Mosca was 27, Bob Backlund 28, Harley Race 29 and The Grappler came in at number 30.
Ted DiBiase was eliminated next, after having been in the ring 23 minutes and 9 seconds. Bob Backlund eliminated Tully Blanchard. Buddy Rogers showed his smarts for a moment, as he attempted to eliminated Magnum TA. He saw Dusty Rhodes coming to help out of the corner of his eye and ducked when Dusty swung. Dusty's right cross connected with TA's face and TA fell backward out of the ring to the floor. Dusty was distraught but not distraught enough to eliminate Buddy Rogers next.
Magnum TA lasted 43 minutes even in the match and he was not even the Iron Man of the match. More on that later.
A bloody James Storm was eliminated next by Stan Hansen. It looked like Hansen might get a on a roll and parlay it into a win for the number one contendership to the World Title. But fortunes change in an instant in this type of match. As he and Bob Backlund fought, he measured Backlund in the corner and missed him, flying over the top rope to the outside. Backlund had eliminated one big man standing in his way. But he also seemed to be on the wrong end of things, as there were more people gunning to take him out left in this match than were willing to help.
The Grappler, however, gave Backlund hope when he attempted the exact same move against Backlund that Hansen had just a moment previous. The Grappler experienced the same result and it was off to the showers. Dusty Rhodes was eliminated next by Harley Race and Backlund could feel the cold creeping in.
By this point, blood was streaming down Backlund's face but he refused to give up. He eliminated Angelo Mosca and then Lou Thesz, both very dangerous men. Thesz, by the way, had lasted 48:01 and even HE was not the Iron Man of the match.
Harley Race and Gorilla Monsoon teamed up to take on Backlund and took turns beating him to the mat. Backlund could not last much longer and he didn't, with Harley Race eliminating him to set up the last two for the number one contendership:
Harley Race vs. Gorilla Monsoon
Race took Monsoon to school and eliminated him as quickly as he could, winning the battle royal and taking aim at the title that Vader now holds, the LOW World Heavyweight Title.