July 14th, 2001
Civic Hall, Bedworth, Warwickshire
Attendance: 2,800
TV rating: 4.5
(The Saturday Fight Night opening titles roll and the scene opens inside Bedworth’s Civic Hall, which is full of rabid Hammerlock fans. They are ready for another action packed Hammerlock card of wrestling. Chris Freeman and Adam Wheeler are sat at the commentary table at ringside.)
Chris Freeman: Hello everyone, welcome along to
the Civic Hall in Bedworth for another rollercoaster ride of Hammerlock
wrestling action here on Saturday Fight Night! We have a superb card booked for
your viewing pleasure tonight, which includes a World Television Title defence
from the most lily-livered champion in professional wrestling history, “Picture
Perfect” Jason Prentice!
Adam Wheeler: What the hell are you talking about,
Freeman? Prentice is the most courageous, gutsy and daring, not to mention
photogenic, champion in wrestling history! If only all champions in this
business could be more like Prentice. He defends his title at every
opportunity; in fact, he’ll be defending it at our next pay-per-view, Heatwave,
on August 5th against Luke Champion!
CF: That’s very true, and I hope he loses the
gold!
AW: Nice to see you’re being impartial as usual.
CF: In fact, he may lose the gold tonight when he
defends against “Shotgun” Steve Bailey, who is very capable of dethroning
“Picture Perfect”.
AW: Bailey’s a wonderful wrestler, but I don’t
think he’s got what it takes to defeat Prentice tonight. You can say what you
like about him, but Prentice always seems capable of raising his game when the
time calls for it.
CF: Well, I’ll agree with you on that point.
AW: That’s because I’m right. I’m always right
Freeman, it’s just sometimes you don’t like what I have to say.
CF: Our opening contest here this evening on
Saturday Fight Night will be a World Tag Team Title defence by Society Bites
against The Hammersmith Hard Men.
AW: And both Bradley and Harris better not have
one eye on Heatwave and that match against The Punk Junkies, or they could end
up as former champions tonight…
(“My Own Summer (Shove It)” by The Deftones blasts
over the arena speakers.)
CF: Er, what’s going on here? That’s neither
Society Bites’ nor The Hammersmith Hard Men’s music.
AW: Nope, it’s Bryan Campbell’s music!
Bryan Campbell interview.
(The Blue Chipper walks down the ramp with an
arrogant swagger. He has a microphone with him. The crowd get on his case with
a “Campbell sucks” chant.)
CF: Here comes the self-appointed manager of
NWA-UK World Heavyweight Champion Hiro Kakuhari.
AW: What a big heart Campbell must have, to take a
young naïve foreigner under his wing like that.
CF: Yeah, it’s charming. I think Campbell’s
jumping on Kakuhari’s bandwagon. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw
him.
AW: Oh come on, Freeman. You could learn a lot
from a guy like Campbell. He’s a Blue Chipper, you know.
CF: I’ve heard that. He’s arrogant, too.
(The crowd continue their “Campbell sucks” chant
as The Blue Chipper readies himself to speak.)
Campbell: I do not suck!
(Boos from the crowd.)
Campbell: You know, Hiro Kakuhari, this company’s
Heavyweight Champion of the World, wants some competition! But, we have a
problem. You see, there’s no man in the back who wants to challenge my
dangerous killer, Kakuhari. There’s no man in the back that wants a piece of
Kakuhari!
(“Flight of the Valkyrie” hits and the crowd get
to their feet. Valkyrie emerges from the back.)
CF: Bryan Campbell said no man wanted any part of
the champion, and the Female Fighting Phenom wants to get noticed on TV!
AW: Valkyrie is a magnificent, magnificent
athlete. I don’t want to discriminate because of gender, you know.
(Valkyrie gets in the ring, but Campbell looks on,
unimpressed.)
Campbell: No, no, no! Toots, you’re a woman!!!
CF: Toots?!
Valkyrie: Bryan, I’m out here trying to prove
myself…
Campbell: Prove yourself?! Prove?! If women have
proven anything in this industry, it’s that they’re worthless and they’re just
simply T & A! So take your flat-chested, Valhalla booty…
AW: Whoa!
Campbell: …and your £1.99 hairdo…
(Valkyrie shoves Campbell on his rear end, to a
huge pop. Campbell backs off, but Hiro Kakuhari runs out to the ring and
viciously kicks Valkyrie in the back of the legs. With Valkyrie grounded,
Kakuhari nails several roundhouse kicks to the head and then blasts the Female
Fighting Phenom straight in the face with a dropkick. Campbell instructs the
World Champion to continue punishing Valkyrie, but Migraine runs out, armed
with a steel chair, for the save.)
CF: Thank God Migraine arrived on the scene when he did! Things were getting ugly!
AW: You know Freeman, that’s harsh. Valkyrie can’t
help the way she looks.
CF: You know rightly what I mean.
AW: I was enjoying that. Campbell seems to have
turned Kakuhari into a heartless assassin!
CF: He already was dangerous before, but with
Campbell guiding his career, who knows what he is capable of? Well, the Tag
Team Championship is on the line next, as Big Poppa Pete’s protégés, the young
disrespectful punk combo of Society Bites, take on The Hammersmith Hard Men.
AW: I’ll tell them you said that!
Hammersmith Hard Men defeated Society Bites when
Phillips defeated Bradley by
countout in 0:10:29.
Rating: 1/2*
(Society Bites retained the NWA-UK World Tag
Team Titles.)
CF: Can you believe that? When the going gets tough, the NWA-UK World Tag Team Champions get going!
AW: Well, they are obviously saving themselves for
The Punk Junkies at Heatwave!
CF: Please…hold on a second, it looks as if their
exit is going to be cut short!
Post-match:
(As Big Poppa Pete and Society Bites back up the
ramp, talking trash to The Hammersmith Hard Men, The Punk Junkies walk out and
stand behind them. The Tag Team Champions turn around, straight into a series
of punches from Twitch and Brainstorm! The Punk Junkies throw Bradley and
Harris back into the ring, straight into the clutches of the “lions” – Rick
Knight and Gaz Phillips! The Hard Men nail Harris with a double flapjack to a
big pop. Phillips blasts Bradley with a pumphandle powerslam and then Knight
follows up with a diving headbutt. Meanwhile, The Punk Junkies dismantle Big
Poppa Pete at ringside. The fans love every minute of it!)
AW: Those men are our Tag Team Champions! They
can’t be treated like this, it’s not right! And Big Poppa Pete, he’s a damn
legend!
CF: Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys!
AW: I’m gonna knock you out!
CF: Easy. Migraine, whom we saw earlier in our
opening segment, is scheduled up next against rookie upstart Jawaid Kaleeq.
AW: I think Kaleeq has surprised a lot of people
since he debuted here in Hammerlock. He has all the tools to go a long way in
this business, although I think the experience of Migraine will be too much to
overcome.
CF: Let’s find out.
Jawaid Kaleeq pinned Migraine after the Running
Forearm Smash in 0:13:27.
Rating: *** 3/4
CF: Kaleeq picks up the biggest win of his career thus far, thanks to Campbell’s unconcealed interference against Migraine!
AW: Kaleeq won’t care.
CF: Well, Migraine does care, and he looks
as if he’s about to do something about it!
Post-match:
(Bryan Campbell makes a swift exit up the ramp.
When at the top, he begins to taunt Migraine. Migraine leaves the ring and
sprints up the ramp, in hot pursuit of the self-professed Blue Chipper.
Migraine peels back the entrance curtain, but is met by a spray of red mist to
the face. Hiro Kakuhari then attacks the blinded Migraine with a barrage of
lethal kicks.)
CF: My God! Migraine never saw that coming!
AW: And he hadn’t even been misted at that stage!
(Campbell comes back out and pounds Migraine. He
boots Migraine in the gut and then viciously piledrives him onto the steel
staging. Migraine thrashes about in agony, clutching his head. Kakuhari and
Campbell laugh assertively and leave.)
CF: What a cowardly attack by those two pathetic
human beings! Campbell thinks he’s a big man now with the World Champion by his
side!
AW: Campbell is so smart. People are finally
taking notice of him! I’m pretty sure he’s definitely got Migraine’s attention
after that piledriver on the stage!
CF: I think it’ll be unwanted attention when
Migraine gets his hands on The Blue Chipper. We hope to bring you an update on
Migraine’s condition very soon.
Backstage:
(In Jason Prentice’s dressing room, Smashmouth is
shown talking to the World Television Champion. Prentice notices the camera and
slams the door angrily in the cameraman’s face.)
CF: What was that all about?
AW: What?
CF: Prentice talking to Smashmouth.
AW: For God’s sake Freeman, they were just
talking! Prentice is a very popular guy backstage, you know.
CF: Heh, I thought Linda was the popular one.
AW: Oh, you’ll regret saying that.
CF: Coming up here on Saturday Fight Night,
“Everybody’s Favourite Wrestler” Devon Ferrari battles the suicidal Spanish
sensation Muerte de Antedicho!
Devon Ferrari pinned Muerte De Antedicho with
the Ego Has Landed in 0:19:19.
Rating: ****
CF: Wow, a great win there for Ferrari!
AW: That man is really starting to build a
reputation for himself here in Hammerlock. A lot of people had him down as a
comedy act, but he’s demonstrated to me that he is more than capable of getting
the job done between the ropes.
CF: Migraine is standing by with Phil Robinson.
Migraine interview.
(Migraine is backstage, holding an ice pack to the
side of his head. Phil Robinson is preparing to interview him.)
Phil Robinson: Migraine, tonight Bryan Campbell
cost you yet another match and the afterwards…
Migraine: What?! He kicked my ass?
PR: Well, I wasn’t going to put it quite like that,
but…
Migraine: What other way is there to put it? He
and that little Japanese punk beat my ass!
(Migraine grimaces due to the pain in his head.)
Migraine: I’m sick and tired of that so-called Blue
Chipper! He’s a damn crybaby! All he’s doing is manipulating Kakuhari and
everybody can see it! For the last month, he’s been on my case. Well, I’ve had
it up to here with him. It’s time to end this feud, and I am determined to do
so. I know the perfect time.
PR: Really?
Migraine: Campbell, I am demanding that we face
off at Heatwave, live on pay-per-view, so the entire world can see me beat your
ass! Try and grow some balls between now and then so you can accept my
challenge.
(Migraine walks off, but then stops in his
tracks.)
Migraine: Oh yeah, one more thing. Campbell, I had
a little word with the booking committee earlier and you can tell your little
Japanese lackey that he will defend his World Title tonight…against Valkyrie!
CF: Wow! The World Title is on the line this
evening – Hiro Kakuhari will face Valkyrie!
AW: Now when did Migraine make the matches around
here?
Cuthbert D. Fharquar and Lord J.T. Potemkin III
interview.
(Backstage, Kelly is standing by with the
aristocratic duo.)
Kelly: Sirs, last Monday night on Hammerlock TV,
Junior Jones and Scottie Hero took off in your brand new Rolls Royce…
Fharquar: And I’ll bet you found that whole
situation rather amusing, didn’t you, you little hussy?!
Kelly: Well, duh!
(Fharquar and Potemkin are shocked by the young
interviewer’s impertinence.)
Fharquar: Can you possible fathom how much that
car cost me?
Kelly: Aww, “mummy and daddy” probably bought it
for you anyway!
(Potemkin grabs the mic.)
Potemkin: That’s enough out of you! The last thing
we want is to listen to an insignificant broad like you! Jones, Hero, you
heathens! You’d better return that Rolls Royce back to us, just the way you
found it, or we’ll turn this matter over to the authorities…
(Potemkin is interrupted by the sound of
screeching tyres.)
Kelly: What the hell is that?!
(The upper class pair run out to the car park,
only to be greeted by the sight of their Rolls Royce performing several
wheelspins and skids, leaving black tyre marks on the ground!)
CF: Jones and Hero are here, and so is the Roller!
AW: Look at what they’re doing!!
(Jones and Hero sped out of the car park in
Fharquar’s Rolls. Fharquar and Potemkin start to run after the car, but realise
their pursuit is hopeless. Their anger and frustration is all too apparent.)
AW: Who do those punks think they are? That’s
joyriding!
CF: I guess they are just enjoying cruising in a
Rolls Royce for the first time in their lives.
AW: Well, they’ve got no right to! It doesn’t
belong to them! You know, I wouldn’t be surprising if they’ve been drinking…
CF: Oh, please! Up next, the challenger for Jason
Prentice’s TV Title at Heatwave, Luke Champion, faces the intimidating
powerhouse known as Smashmouth!
AW: This is a big challenge for Champion, but just
think what a win would do for his confidence going into Heatwave!
CF: It won’t be easy though!
Smashmouth pinned Luke Champion with the
Hospitaliser in 0:12:43.
Rating: *** 1/4
CF: Smashmouth picks up a big win here on Saturday Fight Night after the disappointment of missing out on the World Championship last Monday!
AW: It doesn’t look like he’s finished yet,
either!
Post-match:
(As the referee helps Luke Champion back to his
feet, Smashmouth mows him down with a powerful clothesline. He then nails The
Legacy with a crushing T-Bone Suplex, before taking him down again with the
Hospitaliser!)
CF: NO! Why is he doing this?!
(A group of referees run down to the ring to
restrain Smashmouth, but he threatens them and plants Luke Champion again with
the Hospitaliser power bomb.)
AW: We are gonna need a lot more help out here.
CF: I can’t understand what has possessed
Smashmouth to lay this beating on Champion.
AW: I think there’s your answer!
(Jason Prentice emerges from the back with a huge
smile on his face. He is applauding Smashmouth’s efforts. Prentice gets in the
ring, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash, before handing it to
Smashmouth. Smashmouth counts the money and then shakes Prentice’s hand, as the
crowd voice their disapproval.)
CF: So that’s what it was all about! That’s what
Prentice and Smashmouth were talking about earlier. He paid off Smashmouth to
lay a beating on his Heatwave opponent!
AW: Brains, not to mention cash, will get you a
long way.
CF: I think that Prentice will be the one made to
pay at Heatwave. Devon Ferrari is standing by.
Devon Ferrari interview.
(Ferrari is standing alongside Phil Robinson in
the backstage area.)
Phil Robinson: Devon, tonight you defeated
high-flying sensation Muerte de Antedicho and just a couple of weeks ago, you
were victorious in a Triangle Match, outlasting Luke Champion and Bryan
Campbell. You are on quite a run of form here in Hammerlock!
Ferrari: Exactly. That’s two huge wins I’ve scored
lately. It’s about time my talents were noticed around here. The people deserve
to get their money’s worse, and they all pay to see everybody’s favourite
wrestler…ME! I’m not on TV nearly enough, and when I’m not on TV, it’s a
hardship for the nation!
CF: Hardship for the nation? You don’t think
Ferrari’s getting a big head, do you?
AW: If it gets any bigger, he won’t be able to fit
it through the entrance way!
CF: A big test up next here on Saturday Fight
Night for “The Pride of East London” Ian Powers – he faces the 330 pound
Iceman, Ben Winter.
AW: It is a huge task for Powers to get the win,
but it’s also a huge opportunity for the young man. He’ll give it his all, you
can bet on that.
CF: Will it b enough though? Let’s find out!
Ben Winter pinned Ian Powers after a spinning
power bomb in 0:08:57.
Rating: **
CF: My God! Winter just totally destroyed Ian
Powers in the final portion of that match! That was quite difficult to watch!
(The replay of the last two minutes of the match
rolls.)
AW: Look at this final succession of moves, Freeman. Winter hits Powers with a full nelson faceslam, a brain buster, a powerslam, an inverted power bomb, a top-rope power bomb, another top-rope power bomb and a spinning power bomb, and finally he puts Powers out of his misery and pins him. I don’t care who you are, you’re never going to survive a combination of moves like that.
Post-match:
(Ben Winter aggressively demands the microphone from the startled ring announcer.)
Winter: Look at that! That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what The Iceman can do! I hope everybody at Hammerlock took notice of that destruction and devastation, because I will do that to anybody who steps in my way until I am named the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship!!
AW: Whoa! Winter just laid down the law!
CF: Wait a minute!!
(Byson hits the ring and lines up Winter for a spear, but the Iceman sidesteps him and Byson careens into the ringpost. Byson and Winter trade punches and kicks until a whole host of referees, officials and road agents attempt to intervene.)
CF: Look at this! Winter and Byson are simply beating the hell out of each other!
AW: I don’t think that number one contender comment sat well with Byson, who’s been on quite a tear himself lately!
(Byson and Winter continue brawling. The crowd start a “let them go” chant, but eventually the referees are able to separate the two behemoths.)
CF: It seems that Byson and The Iceman have started quite an issue with each other. The World Television Championship is on the line next!
Jason Prentice interview.
(Picture Perfect’s music begins to play and the World Television Champion makes his way out from the back, with Linda O’Neil by his side. He walks down the ramp with an extremely bogus looking limp.)
AW: There he is Freeman, the most photogenic champion in pro-wrestling!
CF: Why is he limping? He wasn’t when he was out here earlier, paying off Smashmouth!
AW: Oh no, I hope he’s not going to pull out of his match tonight!
CF: No, Prentice is too much of a stand-up kinda guy to do that(!)
AW: You know, if you look up the word “incredible” in the dictionary, underneath there’s a picture of Linda!
(Prentice gets in the ring gingerly and calls for the mic. The crowd boo him incessantly.)
Prentice: Unfortunately…
CF: (sighs) Here we go…
(The crowd’s boos suddenly turn to cheers as “Hey Man Nice Shot” by Filter hits and “Shotgun” Steve Bailey sprints down to the ring. Not even waiting to hear Prentice’s phoney excuses, Bailey attacks the TV Champion and the match begins!)
Jason Prentice pinned Steve Bailey with the
Perfect Plant in 0:11:57.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Jason Prentice retained the NWA-UK World
Television Title.)
CF: Prentice does it again. One Perfect Plant later and he retains the World TV Championship.
AW: See? I told you he was great!!
Post-match:
(Luke Champion storms the ring to an enormous
ovation, but Jason Prentice grabs his title belt and bails out of the ring. He
takes Linda by the hand and sprints up the ramp, before coming to a stop at the
top of the ramp and holding his championship aloft in victory. Champion takes
the microphone.)
Champion: Hey Prentice! I’m so sick of you running
away from me like the pathetic, spineless coward that you are! When are you
going to fight like a man for once?!
(Prentice is beside himself with anger.)
Champion: That title around your waist is on
borrowed time. You were lucky to beat me at GrandSlam to win that gold, but you
aren’t going to be so damn fortunate at Heatwave when I take it from you.
AW: Never gonna happen.
Champion: But you know, I can see you taking the
coward’s way out at Heatwave. You might have that little bitch of yours interfere
and get yourself intentionally disqualified to keep your title. You might walk
out of the ring and get intentionally counted out, thus keeping your title as
well. Well, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen!
(The crowd pops. Prentice looks ever more
anxious.)
Champion: On August 5th at Heatwave, I
want our match for the NWA-UK World Television Championship…to be a CAGE
MATCH!!!
(The crowd goes crazy. “Picture Perfect” is now
livid. Prentice is handed a microphone.)
Champion: What do you say, Prentice? Do you have
the guts?!
Prentice: A c…cage match? You want us to wrestle
in a fifteen foot high…solid steel…(gulps)…cage?
Champion: Yep!
Prentice: Well, I’d love to, really I would, but
in a cage match, you have to climb over the top of the cage to win and…(clears
throat)…I have a fear of heights…
Champion: Just accept the damn match, you pussy!
(Prentice looks shocked.)
Prentice: Pussy?! Alright then you piece of
garbage, you’ve got your damn cage match!!!
(The look on Prentice’s face seems to suggest that
he regrets what he has just said. He begins to argue with Linda as they leave
the stage. Champion appears satisfied.)
AW: Can you believe that, Freeman? A CAGE match?
Champion can’t back Prentice into a corner like that!
CF: Well, he just did, and Jason Prentice will now
defend his TV Title against Luke Champion inside a steel cage at Heatwave! That
is set to be a superb match!
AW: Any match with Prentice is always gonna be
Picture Perfect.
CF: At least he can’t run like a little girl this
time. Our main event here on Saturday Fight Night, the fight of the night, is
scheduled up next. Hammerlock’s Female Fighting Phenom Valkyrie challenges
champion Hiro Kakuhari for the World Heavyweight Title!
AW: This should be a fantastic match. Valkyrie is
tough, there’s no doubt about that. Don’t shed a tear for her, she’s beaten
quite a few males in her time.
CF: And what part will Bryan Campbell play in the
outcome of this match?
AW: Listen, he’s just out there to manage the champion.
You know, Kakuhari is pretty much your typical foreigner, basically both
diabolical and untrustworthy, but ever since Campbell took him under his wing
he’s been a much nicer guy.
CF: I don’t like the way you say “foreigner”.
AW: Has Kakuhari got his British citizenship in
the last ten minutes?
CF: I don’t think so…
AW: Then shut up!
Hiro Kakuhari pinned Valkyrie with his special
move in 0:15:55.
Rating: ****
(Hiro Kakuhari retained the NWA-UK World
Heavyweight Title.)
CF: Kakuhari retains the World Championship thanks to that damn mist!
AW: Once you get an eyeful of that toxic spew,
it’s the beginning of the end.
Post-match:
(At Bryan Campbell’s instruction, Kakuhari continues
to hammer Valkyrie with stomps and kicks. Kakuhari then executes The Rising
Star Suplex on the Female Fighting Phenom. An “asshole” chant rings out around
the Civic Hall. Kakuhari sticks his fingers in his ears and Campbell pats him
on the head. Campbell then tells Kakuhari to set Valkyrie up for the Chip Off
The Old Block. All of a sudden, Migraine intervenes armed with a steel chair
and Campbell and Kakuhari get out of dodge. Migraine tends to Valkyrie as the
fans boo the World Champion and his heartless manager all the way back to the
dressing room.)
CF: What a night of action it has been here on
Saturday Fight Night! Some more matches and stipulations were added to the Heatwave card and it is evident that the dispute
between Bryan Campbell and Migraine is definitely not finished…
AW: Freeman, I am currently hearing of a match
that has just been signed this minute for this Monday’s edition of Hammerlock
TV! Byson will face Ben Winter in a number one contenders match, with the
winner challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship at Heatwave, live on
pay-per-view!
CF: That is huge news! You won’t want to miss that
this Monday on Hammerlock TV, live on Sky Sports 3. But from the Civic Hall
here in Bedworth, this is Chris Freeman for Adam Wheeler wishing you all a very
good night!
Match observations:
Click here to return to the card overview.
Peter Abram, 07-15-2001