Heartland Championship Wrestling proudly presents: January 1, 2023
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio The show opens with the tune, "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys playing overhead. EPICDAVE & VELVET SKY enter the arena to the cheers of the fans. Velvet wears a red sequined cocktail dress, and EpicDave wears a sharp grey suit with red and black trim. EpicDave appears crestfallen but waves to the fans as he enters the ring.Velvet: Heartland- WHAT IS UP?!?!? I am PUMPED to be here- and Happy New Year! It's New Year's Day and it is time for
Heartland Championship Wrestling to kick off the new year in our traditional style- it's
Buckeye Bowl 2023! EpicDave, we know you are still heartbroken about the Buckeyes losing last night- so we offer our condolences.
EpicDave: My guys fought their hearts out and they did Buckeye Nation proud. It was a heartbreaker- but I am ready for some WRESTLING! It's the Buckeye Bowl and it's anybody's match to win- and the winner moves on to a title shot against
NWA World Heavyweight Champion TED DIBIASE. We've got 30 wrestlers lined up- eight apiece from each of the three territories- and SIX wild-card entries. Let's take a look at tonight's participants!
EpicDave: So there you have it- the new year is upon us, the stage is set, and the wrestlers are ready for
Buckeye Bowl 2023. So relax, grab yourself a cold one, and enjoy the show!
ENTRY #1: BLACKJACK MULLIGANENTRY #2: STAN HANSENENTRY #3: BOBO BRAZILENTRY #4: KURT ANGLEAs soon as Angle hit the ring, he was ambushed by Hansen but was able to escape elimination.
ENTRY #5: NIKITA KOLOFFBrazil and Mulligan battled back and forth! Brazil got Mulligan in trouble, and Angle came over to lend a hand, but Mulligan fought his way off the ropes and survived.
ENTRY #6: RICK STEINERAngle and Hansen had a battle, and Angle dropped Hansen with the Olympic Slam, but was unable to make the elimination.
ENTRY #7: SGT. SLAUGHTERSarge was greeted by a skull-splitting Russian Sickle from Nikita, but managed to hang on and slide back into the ring.
ENTRY #8: STINGEpicDave: It's
STING! Our first Wild Card entry is here!
Velvet: Sting is back! Omigawd!
Sting was greeted by high-fives from all the wrestlers in the ring. Angle stepped up and challenged Sting to grapple. Unfortunately for Sting, Angle quickly took control and dumped Sting over the top rope with an Olympic Slam.
KURT ANGLE eliminated STING with the Olympic SlamVelvet: Well wasn't that a buzz kill.
BLACKJACK MULLIGAN eliminated SGT. SLAUGHTER with a Big Boot to the FaceNIKITA KOLOFF eliminated STAN HANSEN with an overhead pressENTRY #9: MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMANVelvet: Are you serious? Who invited him?
EpicDave: The fans demanded it!
NIKITA KOLOFF came after MJF with a flurry, but MJF begged off and Nikita was unable to corral him.
ENTRY #10: SHANE DOUGLASVelvet: Three surprises in a row!
EpicDave: Douglas had a stellar performance in last year's
Filsinger Cup Tournament. He's on the market and I think all three territories are watching this guy.
BLACKJACK MULLIGAN eliminated SHANE DOUGLAS with a LariatVelvet: I hope nobody blinked.
Meanwhile, the chaos between MJF and Koloff continued as the big Russian was on the attack and MJF was running for cover. Finally, Kurt Angle caught MJF and shoved him into Nikita, who overpowered MJF and put him away.
NIKITA KOLOFF eliminated MJF after a Body SlamENTRY #11: VADERVADER eliminated RICK STEINER with a Release Power BombENTRY #12: DUSTY RHODESVADER eliminated DUSTY RHODES with a Running Body AvalancheEpicDave: Vader is on a rampage!
ENTRY #13: SHAWN MICHAELSMichaels found himself on the receiving end of a double-team from Mulligan and Angle and immediately took a pummeling.
Koloff caught Angle off-guard and pitched Brazil into Angle from behind in a spectacular collision!
ENTRY #14: TERRY FUNKENTRY #15: KILLER KOWALSKIKURT ANGLE eliminated SHAWN MICHAELS with a BackbreakerVADER eliminated BLACKJACK MULLIGAN with a Samoan DropENTRY #16: ED 'STRANGLER' LEWISVADER eliminated KURT ANGLE with a Power Elbow SmashEpicDave: FOUR eliminations for Vader!
Velvet: And say goodbye to last year's winner.
ENTRY #17: KEVIN VON ERICHVADER eliminated BOBO BRAZIL with a Power BombENTRY #18: RIC FLAIRVADER eliminated KILLER KOWALSKI with a Release Power BombTERRY FUNK eliminated NIKITA KOLOFF with a PiledriverENTRY #19: NICK BOCKWINKELENTRY #20: 'DR. DEATH' STEVE WILLIAMSED 'STRANGLER' LEWIS eliminated TERRY FUNK with a backdropENTRY #21: CACTUS JACKA huge confrontation happened in the center of the ring as
VADER and
DR. DEATH went nose to nose. Blows were exchanged, but neither man prevailed as action raged around them.
ENTRY #22: TULLY BLANCHARDCACTUS JACK decided to have a go at
VADER! Cactus got the better of Vader with a series of head butts, but was unable to get the big man out of the ring.
NICK BOCKWINKEL eliminated 'DR. DEATH' STEVE WILLIAMS with a back suplexENTRY #23: BARRY WINDHAMEpicDave: Would you look at this? Three of the Four Horsemen are in the ring together! They have gone their separate directions, but I still think this could be trouble.
The Horsemen set their sights on Kevin Von Erich, but Von Erich was able to elude the attempted double-team.
VADER eliminated CACTUS JACK with a Power BombENTRY #24: STAN 'THE MAN' STASIAKVelvet: Who's that guy?
EpicDave: A former WWF World Heavyweight Champion and one of our special guest entries!
Blanchard squared off with Bockwinkel and found himself in trouble, but Windham came to the rescue. Windham and Tully tried to power Bockwinkel out of the ring, but Bockwinkel held on.
ENTRY #25: 'SUPERSTAR' BILLY GRAHAMNICK BOCKWINKEL eliminated STAN STASIAK with a Back SuplexVADER eliminated KEVIN VON ERICH with a Power ElbowFlair and Windham struggled with Graham, but the Superstar overpowered the double-team and broke free.
ENTRY #26:BRYAN DANIELSONEpicDave: Another Wild Card Entry joins the battle.
Graham and Vader tangled at the turnbuckle, and Ric Flair tried to intervene, but Vader powered his way out of the situation and slammed Graham and Flair with a double noggin-knocker!
BARRY WINDHAM eliminated STRANGLER LEWIS with a vertical suplexENTRY #27: JOHNNY VALENTINE No sooner did Valentine hit the ring than he was jumped by Flair and Blanchard and beaten down to the mat.
Velvet: They're cheating!
EpicDave: There's no cheating in the Buckeye Bowl. And there is no love lost between Valentine and Flair after their battle for the Atlantic Heavyweight Championship!
ENTRY #28: TERRY 'BAMM BAMM' GORDYGordy and Vader immediately squared off, but their confrontation was cut short when Flair got involved. Vader slugged both opponents!
NICK BOCKWINKEL eliminated JOHNNY VALENTINE with a Back Suplex ENTRY #29: MAGNUM T.A.Velvet: Here comes Magnum!
EpicDave: He's gonna have his work cut out for him against three of the Horsemen!
Magnum was waylaid by Superstar Graham as he hit the ring. As Magnum and Graham duked it out, Windham and Blanchard amused themselves by beating down Bryan Danielson.
ENTRY #30: PAT PATTERSONEpicDave: The final entrant is in! And the last of our guest entrants is the newest man to enter the Heartland. He just got into town yesterday!
Velvet: And there are TEN guys in the ring now! It's anybody's match to win!
Magnum and Windham threw hands with a rage in the center of the ring. While this was happening, Bryan Danielson caught Blanchard with a missile dropkick out of nowhere, stunning Blanchard. Flair tried to come to the aid of Blanchard, but before Flair could intervene, Danielson caught Blanchard with a Dragon Suplex that sent Blanchard over the top rope!
BRYAN DANIELSON eliminated TULLY BLANCHARDEpicDave: Wow! Tully Blanchard is out- and the Horsemen are down a man!
Pat Patterson tried to oust Windham, but Flair came to his assistance and prevented the elimination.
BRYAN DANIELSON eliminated MAGNUM T.A. with a RegalplexVelvet: Oh no! Magnum is out! Why would Danielson do that?
EpicDave: It's anybody's match to win now. All the feuds and rivalries don't matter!
PAT PATTERSON eliminated VADER with a backdropVelvet: Vader is gone! I Don't believe it!
EpicDave: That was a helluva performance by Vader- but he was totally gassed. He came in at number 11 and he put 7 guys out of the match. He just ran out of steam at the end.
TERRY GORDY eliminated PAT PATTERSON as Patterson was locked up with Superstar GrahamRIC FLAIR eliminated NICK BOCKWINKEL with a series of Thunderous ChopsBRYAN DANIELSON eliminated TERRY GORDY with a Discus Elbow SmashEpicDave: Holy Cow! What a move by Danielson! He just eliminated a guy over 100 pounds heavier!
BARRY WINDHAM & RIC FLAIR eliminated SUPERSTAR GRAHAM with a double-teamEpicDave: The numbers game was finally too much for Graham.
Velvet: And now it is Bryan Danielson vs. The Horsemen! This does not look good.
Danielson came after Windham, but was quickly double-teamed and beaten down. Danielson countered with a "stick-and-move" approach, fending off both opponents with spinning kicks. Windham tried to catch Danielson with a running lariat, but Danielson ducked low and flipped Windham over the top rope!
BRYAN DANIELSON eliminated BARRY WINDHAM with a Monkey FlipVelvet: I don't believe it! Danielson just eliminated Windham!
In the aftermath of Windham's elimination, Flair came after Danielson, but Danielson caught Flair with a double leg dive and drilled Flair with a series of vicious elbows to the head! Velvet: Is Flair out?
Flair absorbed several brutal elbow smashes before finally breaking free. Flair tried to get to his feet, but staggered and fell face down onto the mat! With the fans going crazy, Danielson got to his feet, grabbed Flair by the legs, and catapulted him over the top rope!
BRYAN DANIELSON eliminated RIC FLAIRBRYAN DANIELSON WINS THE 2023 BUCKEYE BOWL
After the eliminations, Windham and Flair climbed back into the ring and assaulted Danielson! Danielson was taking a beating, but STING dashed back to ringside and the Horsemen bailed out.EpicDave: That was unbelievable!
BRYAN DANIELSON has won the
2023 Buckeye Bowl- in a most improbable fashion! Danielson came in at #26 and he eliminated FIVE guys- including three Horsemen AND Terry Gordy!
Velvet: And
STING is back! I can't wait until he gets his hands on the Horsemen- especially
BARRY WINDHAM! EpicDave: This night was filled with excitement, no doubt about it. Congratulations again to your winner,
BRYAN DANIELSON! Danielson will move on to a World Championship Match and I can't wait to see what goes down. Let's also give a shout-out to
VADER, who wound up with EIGHT big eliminations on the night. All right, fans- we're done here. Thanks for checking us out tonight! Heartland will be back on Saturday night with another exciting night of action from
Heartland Ladies' Wrestling. It will be another showdown for the
Heartland Ladies' Championship as
SHERRI MARTEL squares off with
CHEERLEADER MELISSA. That's our show, and I AM OUTTA HERE!