What's the story, marks for manufactured mayhem?!
This is a special edition of the Wrestling Vault! A special hijack! I won't spoil it anymore than that, you'll just need to read on to find out more! Just trust me when I say this, it's worth it.
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| NXT |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
The Dijak Hijack
This past Saturday, my friends and I ran a wrestling day. A day filled with Taco bell, stupid jokes, and good-to-great-to-amazing-to-terrible matches galore.
While looking at has-been wrestler Shawn Stasiak's website and alter ego Fobia, my one friend decided to see what wrestlers were available on cameo! We wanted to spice our day up with something different, and we were dangerously close to sending Stasiak an email for whatever reason.
We eventually landed on sending a wrestler some money on cameo and asking for them to give us match recommendations for our wrestling day! We settled on Dijak because he was reasonably priced for our stupid spur-of-the-moment decision, and after being confident he'd respond within an hour, we sent him the request and waited.
A day later, he got back to us! Sure, we didn't get to watch the matches on this wrestling day, I decided that they would be the picks for my Weekly Watchlist. I wasn't about to let this cameo money go to waste, dammit!
Here's the cameo for you guys to enjoy.
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist;
• • • • •
Hollywood Hogan vs. The Rock - "Everything Great About Professional Wrestling"
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| "Larger than life" doesn't begin to describe it. WWE |
Basic Breakdown
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| If "that doesn't work for me brother" had a look. WWE |
Hulk Hogan, now under the moniker of "Hollywood" after his unprecedented heel turn at WCW's Bash at the Beach 1996, was happily clad in nWo black and white after WCW went under and was bought out by McMahon and the WWF. Able to bring the nWo to the WWF, for better or for worse, Hogan hadn't received universal love and adulation and praise from fans in almost a decade. The tail end of his WWF run had people tiring of him as the top guy, and his WCW run until his gargantuan heel turn was mired with controversy and half-assed reactions. It's safe to say, Hogan was a difficult figure to get behind for a lot of people, so it seemed more than fitting for him to lean into the reactions with his nWo presentation.
The Rock, on the other hand, was being accepted as the top face of the company. Arguably still jockeying for position with a Stone Cold Steve Austin on the last legs of his legendary career, Rocky was leaning into his other-worldly charisma and charm to win over crowds left and right. Few other people in wrestling, save for Hogan, could have a crowd eat out of the palm of someone's hand like Rocky could, and he was at the absolute apex of his career here. It had been around a year since he was presented as a heel, spending a good portion of his WWF career as some sort of heel, with The Great One getting a chance to show that he can hang with the rest of the top babyfaces.
But what happens when Hulk Hogan makes his first appearance in Toronto since 1992 (with the WWF, he wrestled in Toronto with WCW in 1999, thus not being received as a face), with the crowd being told to accept the biggest star this business has ever seen as the most evil, villainous bastard ever?
Magic. That's what.
🔔 Bell to Bell 🔔
With both men in the ring, they take a moment to soak up the reaction of the crowd, a "mixed" reaction, as Jim Ross says on commentary, but much louder Hogan chants than Rocky chants, from my perspective. It's honestly nuts that this match is taking place, given the magnitude of the players involved, the only way this match could possibly be bigger is if it was Ausin in place of Rock, but we all know that Hogan and Austin didn't get along well at all, so that match wouldn't have had the same magic and feeling as this one.
They back off to their respective corners and the bell rings, with both men locking up in the centre, pushing back and forth. It's not a great lockup, but it does what it needs to do, and that's set the pace for this match. Hogan shoves off Rocky to wild boo- wait, what?! Hold up... Hogan, the villainous, nWo clad heel, just shoved down the WWF's top face... and gets cheered?! Yes, dear friends, for those who have never heard of nor seen this match, the reactions to these men has flipped completely for this match. Hogan is received as the babyface hero once again, and Rocky is back to playing the heel. For one night only, Hogan may as well be wearing red and yellow again, fighting Shiek or Piper. It's nuts.
Hogan hits a flex and the crowd fucking explodes, it's a wild reaction. Barely a soul sitting down in the arena. A side headlock catches Rock in the middle, with Hogan squeezing along to "Ro-cky sucks! Ro-cky sucks!" chants. A shoulder tackle sends Rocky down to the canvas for Hogan to flex again, with the crowd reacting just as loud as they did the first time. Genuinely, this is insane.
When Hogan starts to lay in his signature, crummy looking offence, if we can be honest, Rocky sells like the heel in peril, getting his ass beat beautifully. The difference between this selling and Shawn Michaels' selling in their Summer Slam 2005 match, was Rock was more than happy playing ball and doing business with Hogan, even though this clearly went against what they had planned in the back. Michaels, on the other hand, was too much of a whiny bitch and couldn't handle being second fiddle to the biggest star this business has ever fucking seen. Oh, sorry? Did I let my opinion show there? That's my bad. Let's carry on.
Rock rebounds off the ropes and ducks a shot from Hogan, hitting the ropes again and flying off with a forearm shot to the noggin of Hogan, sending him to the canvas. Initially, the crowd pops, but slowly the reaction shifts. Like a wave crashing along the beach, the soundscape slowly shifts from unanimous cheers to boo's, Rocky's offence received as the heel starting to work over their hero. Hogan loses his bandana and sells up to the corner, accepting the "just bring it" challenge from Rocky as they exchange shoves in the centre. Rock blocks a fist and comes back on Hogan, nearly sending him over the top rope but Hogan can't quite get over (never heard that one before, eh? "Hogan can't quite get over." Ha! As if!) so he opts to roll to the floor instead.
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| "Hogan can't quite get over." Ha! WWE |
Another thing that I really, really love about this match, is knowing that this entire thing had to not only be called in the ring, which wasn't all that abnormal back then, but had to be changed on the fly. Let me break down my thought process here. Like I said at the start, the heel/face ledger read "Hogan: Heel. Rock: Face," maybe I'm wrong and I'm not as familiar with the build to this match, but from everything I understand, this reaction wasn't something either of these men expected until they got inside the ring in the Skydome. So they obviously had a few moments and spots in their head for the match, maybe discussed them with each other, maybe even had a sequence or two worked out! Who's to say! But when they got out there? Fuck the script, fuck everything, these two had to not only call it in the ring, but call it in a way that was completely different to how they had been presented on TV for months, for years, up to this point. That's insane. I mean, modern WWE wrestlers couldn't go off script for a moment if their life depended on it, everything they do is so finely scripted, I refuse to believe that a match like this will ever happen in WWE again. For a number of reasons, but the scripting issue being chief among them. This match is completely unique in its presentation, it's so special for that reason alone.
Out on the floor, Rock blindsides Hogan and sends him back inside, reversing a whip and taking Hogan down with a lariat. He's coiled for the Rock Bottom, but Hogan fights out, catching Rock with a right hand that drops him like a shot. Rebounding Rocky, Hogan catches him with an elbow to the head, driving a downed Rock further into the canvas with two more elbow drops and looking to call for a third, but instead, he goes for... a boot scrape?! Hold up. Wait. That is, like, old school heel 101, right there. A boot scrape?! And he gets cheered for that?! I'm convinced that Hogan could eye rake, low blow, or even pull out a gun and kill Rocky in the centre of the ring and these fans would be fucking ecstatic. Like, shirts off, waving their arms in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs. This is nuts.
Shooting Rock in the corner, a heavy lariat and punches work Rocky over, and a running boot-ish catches Rock in the gut. Hogan looked like he could barely get his leg up for it so it barely connects with Rocky. Back in the middle, Rock catches Hogan with a takedown, lacing him with punches as the crowd responds with deep, deep boo's. Hogan is able to come back with a suplex, the crowd fully behind him as he goes for a cover, with Rock escaping at two. An abdominal stretch holds Rocky open wide in the middle, and an inside cradle from Hogan (thankfully, brother) catches Rock for two.
Hogan, my god, he rakes the back of Rocky, and the crowd pops! Insane work. Punches and chops in the middle before Hogan corner mounts Rock and rains down punches, and then he... he bites The Rock?! Mother of god. Catching a running Rock with a modified chokeslam, he keeps Rock down with a choke on the canvas as referee Mike Chioda gives him the 5 count to break. In the centre of the ring, Rock catches Hogan with right hands, over and over and over, eventually rebounding off the ropes for something huge but Hogan side steps and sends Rock flying over the top rope!
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| Watch out! A Rock has taken flight! WWE |
Back on the floor, Hogan rebounds the Rock's noggin off the steps and the barricade, removing the top off the table as Chioda gets in the face of Hogan, trying to restore order. Rock is able to come alive and rebounds Hogan off the table, nearly connecting with a chair until Chipda takes it from his grasp mid-swing. A clothesline sends Rock down to the floor before Hogan sends him back inside the ring, shooting Rocky off the ropes and sidestepping him, with Chioda catching strays and getting knocked out in the process. Poor zebra. A spinebuster sends Hogan to the canvas, with both men struggling to their feet. Rocky is able to hook Hogan with the worlds shittiest sharpshooter, with Hogan pulling himself to the ropes to try and break. He gets it, but the referee can't see and Rock pulls him to the middle. Desperate, Hogan taps! But with no ref, it's meaningless! Rock lets him free and goes to check on Chioda, trying to revive the zebra.
Returning to centre, Rock grabs the little bit of hair Hogan has on his head to pull him from his feet, but Hogan! Hogan! He low blows Rock! Huge pop! Insanity. Catching Rock, he Rock Bottom's Rocky and covers him, with Chioda awake enough to count a slow one... two... thr- Rock gets out! Removing his weight belt, Hogan lays into Rock with that yapapi strap, brother, over and over again. He wraps his fist and shoots Rock off the ropes, but Rock ducks and catches Hogan with a DDT instead, saving himself from certain disaster.
Snatching the belt, Rock lays into Hogan now, the crowd booing with wild fever. Whipping Hogan until he stands in the centre of the ring, he catches a staggering, wounded Hogan and drills him with a Rock Bottom! Pinning, Chioda is recovered enough to count, but only counts two, with Hogan Hulking up out of the pin! Eating Rock's punches, Hoagn is on his feet and points at The Great One, blocking a shot and coming back with a right of his own. Right after right and a whip off the ropes lets him score with the boot. Hitting the ropes, Hogan rebounds and drops the leg! He covers for three, but Rock survives! What in the fucking world.
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| Not so fast, brother! WWE |
Another big boot drops Rock, but a leg drop is avoided as Rock looks for another Rock Bottom, and scores! Rocky is down with Hogan, catching his breath before slowly getting to his feet and pulling Hogan to his feet. Another Rock Bottom, and Rocky looks to cover Hogan, but he opts to drop to his back and nip up, doing so with crazy quickness! Setting up for the most electrifying move in sports entertainment (blegh), he rebounds and drills Hogan with the Peoples Elbow, covering, and scoring the three count! Woah!
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| The elbow the people can't get enough of. WWE |
Match Time: 16:24
Rock celebrates his victory to a pretty decent reaction, honestly, given how he was received in the match. Hogan fights to his feet and meets Rock in the middle, extending a hand to the Rock in a sign of respect. Rock meets him and shakes his hand, offering Rock the corner to celebrate some more. They exchange words in the middle as Hogan gives Rock his moment, until Rock leaves the Hogan alone in the ring, giving him a chance to soak up the crowd as well. Because, y'know, Hogan needs to get over too.
Joined by his nWo mates in the ring, Scott Hall is visibly upset with Hogan for not winning his match, with Kevin Nash getting in his face and attacking Hogan! The nWo is beating on Hogan! Hitting the ring, Rocky is there to save Hogan! Now, I'm genuinely curious if this was meant to happen or if this was all a great big audible. Surely, this part was planned. Surely. Rock lays into Nash while Hogan deals with Hall, both men clearing house and standing tall in the ring. Christ, what a team that is, Hoagn and Rocky. Kings of thew Politicking right here.
From there, it's more celebrating and giving each other their flowers until they march up the ramp together, celebrating at the top. Fantastic stuff all around. Maybe could have gotten less of Hogan trying to leech off of Rocky's spotlight, but you know that will never happen. I digress.
Overview & Final Rating
🟡 - For the crowd alone, recommended.
Nothing close to a stellar match for either of these men, this match is easily remembered because of the reactions these men received and how massive the feeling was that these two icons were locking up. Honestly, if you can switch your brain off and just enjoy the atmosphere of this match, it's incredible, truly insane. But because I watch too much wrestling and am far too tapped in to what is actually happening between the ropes, I can't watch it like that. As a match, it's fine. It's kinda exciting at best and completely unremarkable at worst. As far as a "spectacle," or "everything great about wrestling," I get it. It's a show of how much star power and nostalgia can alter the chemistry of a match. This match should have gone down and been played out in a totally different way, but it didn't because of how the crowd reacted, and that's what makes it so special. From that perspective, this match is timeless. Try and watch with the most open minded, whimsical mindset possible. It makes this fairly middling match 20x better.
• • • • •
Iron Survivor Challenge Match - Do or Dijak
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| Who will... Iron Survive?! NXT |
🔔 Bell to Bell 🔔
A match that, Dijak himself claims is his favourite match of his career, is far and away WWE's most ambitious and crazy match they've ever come up with. I remember when the Iron Survivor match was first announced, back when I was actively watching NXT, I was so confused by how it worked. They explained it pretty well, but it just made no sense in my head. It's definitely one of those "it'll make sense when you see it" matches, but I'll give you a rundown of the rules super quick so we're on an even playing field. Cool? Cool.
So, it's basically a pseudo-elimination Iron Man match. 2 wrestlers start off for 5 minutes, then someone else comes in every 5 minutes until there's 5 people in the match. Match time limit is 25 minutes. When you get pinned, you're in a penalty box for 90 seconds. All about getting the most pins in 25 minutes. I'll throw up the graphic they've made for the rules of the match, but I feel I did a much more concise job of summarizing the match in 4 sentences than they did with a whole ass graphic. But that's just me.
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| A regular rules rundown. WWE |
Dijak is the first man out with his sick ass entrance. I've always been a Dijak guy and this NXT run revived a career that was set to be totally torpedo's on the main roster. I always loved how his entrance slowly turned black and white while the screen went from fullscreen to letterboxed. A cool touch that always made his entrance feel extra special. Also, I have his theme set to one of my CAW's in 2K24 cause it's just so sick. Fight me on that.
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| Sick ass entrance, dawg. WWE |
Shit talking the entire way down the ramp, Dijak is more confident than ever, mouthing "you're looking at the Iron Survivor. It's been me all along. It's always been me. There's nothing you can do about it." Josh Briggs is next, a man equal to Dijak in stature and, quite possibly, power. We're a few months out from Dijak, Briggs and Femi from stealing the show at Stand & Deliver, but this sets the foundation for the match that is still to come.
For 5 minutes, it's Dijak and Briggs one on one, with Briggs looking for a quick pin right out of the gate. They lock up like bulls and shove each other around the ring, both men looking for the early advantage. Charging into each other with shoulder tackles, they find each other in a stalemate at centre, with Dijak going for a boot and flipping out after Briggs catches his foot. For being 6'7", Dijak is insanely athletic, able to land flips and shit that guts half his size sometimes struggle to do. It's nuts. Briggs, to his credit, is hyper athletic too, landing a headscissors on Dijak that shits the momentum in his favour.
A shoulder tackle drops Dijak and Briggs looks for a pin, but Dijak survives. It's interesting to see how often these guys go for pins in this match, knowing they'll need to do some significant damage quickly and early if they want to get the most falls. With both men hooked for a vertical suplex in the middle, Dijak gains the advantage and takes Briggs over, meeting him in the corner as he pulls himself to his feet. Hooking him again, Dijak declares that it's "time to fly!" sending Briggs soaring across the ring with a huge vertical suplex.
A chokebomb from Dijak gets him a close two count as the clock turns to 4 minutes. Briggs is up and counters Dijak's discus boot with a boot of his own, nearly scoring a fall early. Dijak fights out of a goozle from Briggs and sends him into the corner, catching Briggs as he climbs up to the middle rope, allowing him to get him in position for a picture perfect Feast Your Eyes. He pins and scores the first fall, sending Briggs to the penalty box as the next entrant makes his way to the ring, Tyler Bate. The Big Strong Boi.
Dijak sits at the top of the heap with 1 fall to his name.
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| Feast Your Eyes, baybee. WWE |
Despite his size, Bate is very strong, pound for pound. He charges in the ring and takes it straight to Dijak, catching him with forearms off the ropes until Dijak catches him and slows his momentum. Bate is able to fight out and get to the corner, fending off the encroaching Dijak with a knee to the jaw and a European uppercut that sends him rolling across the ring. Trying to set Dijak up for an exploder suplex, Dijak is able to fight out the first time, but ends up walking into the arms of Bate, getting tossed into the corner before being pulled to the middle for a pin. Dijak survives, but just barely.
Pulling Dijak onto his shoulders now, Bate takes Dijak around in an airplane spin as Briggs is let lose from the penalty box. Charging the ring, Briggs ignores Bate and clobbers Dijak with a boot to the skull, dropping him heavy before tossing Bate out to the floor. A JBL-esque rebound lariat catches Dijak under the jaw and a pin sends him to the penalty box, with Briggs setting his sights on Bate.
Dijak and Briggs are even now, 1 fall apiece.
Leaping off the steps, a European uppercut takes Briggs off his feet, with Bate able to toss him back in the ring and crotch Briggs off a boot attempt. Another European off the middle rope nearly scores Bate a fall, but Briggs survives. Trying to hook the arms of Briggs for the Tyler Driver '97, Briggs fights out and back bodies Bate, but Bate lands on his boots (say that 5 times fast). A bodyslam and splash nearly takes out Bate as Dijak's 90 second timer reaches zero. Bate manages to land the Tyler Driver '97 on Briggs and goes for the pin, but Dijak is in the ring to pull Bate off of Briggs, saving him from scoring any falls.
bate finds himself in a bad spot now, on the shoulders of a Feast Your Eyes-seeking Dijak, he nearly lands it, but Bate slips out and rolls up (brother why?) Dijak for a pin! Furious, Dijak is back on his feet in seconds and drills bate with a right hand, sending him timbering back and landing on Briggs. Arguing with the ref, Dijak takes his sweet time getting out of the ring, with Briggs pinned in the middle all the while! Finally, the ref notices, but he gets out before three, having had plenty of time to catch his breath.
Bate, Dijak, and Briggs all sit even at 1 fall apiece.
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| Double gotcha! WWE |
Pulling Briggs to his feet, Bate uses a whip into the ropes to get himself on the back of Briggs for a sleeper hold, trying to wear the much larger man down. Briggs tries to get him off by driving him into the corner, but Bate holds tight, finally letting go after Briggs sits out as the timer reaches 10 minutes. Trick Williams is out next to a monstrous pop. It's easy to forget jusgt how over this guy was in NXT. It's a shame that NXT was in such a weird state at this point in time, floundering and never really reaching the heights it once reached again. But man, Trick was over as shit. It's nuts.
Before even getting in the ring, Bate soars off the top rope but gets caught with a forearm shot to the gut from Williams, dropping him like a stone. Inside the ring, Williams lands a triplet of heel kicks on Briggs and Bate, using a Briggs rebound and back body attempt to soar over Briggs and catch Bate with a lariat! We're starting to cook now, boys! Dijak's time out is up, slipping into the ring before getting caught by a lariat from Williams. As luck would have it, Dijak had Briggs' legs held as if he were setting up for a Boston Crab. The momentum of the lariat sent Dijak down and Briggs up, who got catapulted into Bate, standing in the corner! We've got human Rube Goldberg (not that Goldberg) machines in NXT!
Briggs and Dijak try to team up on Trick, but they get caught with a cutter in stereo! A double pin is attempted, but both men power out. Bate tries to sneak in with a rope rebound, but Trick lands a Street Fighter-esque uppercut on the Big Strong Boi, standing as the lone man in the ring as his adversaries suck back wind to try and recover. Briggs fights out of his corner and goes for Dijak, but gets knocked down as Dijak ascends to the middle rope. Lining Briggs up for something, Dijak flies, but so does Williams! Firing out of the corner, he uses Briggs as a human springboard and connects with a lariat on Dijak! He covers, but Bate dives to break it up.
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| Does air traffic control know about this? WWE |
Pulling Trick on his shoulders, Bate takes Trick on a trip with a massive airplane spin, even going hands free at one point before spinning him out for a pin attempt. Both Dijak and Briggs gets in to break it, saving Bate from gaining the advantage. With Dijak and Briggs out on the floor, Bate soars to take out Briggs, while Dijak holds the foot of Williams to make sure he stays grounded. Trying to level Bate, Dijak charges him but gets tripped up and sent head first into the steps. Back inside the ring, Bate does his signature rope rebound, catching Williams with a slick lariat. Wasting no time, he pulls Williams in for the Tyler Driver '97, scoring his second fall.
Bate now sits at 2 points, with Dijak and Briggs even at 1.
14 minutes in, Williams is sent to the penalty box as Briggs gets back inside the ring. They trade heavy rights back and forth, with Bate actually able to hold his own against Briggs. I mean, he does until Briggs sends him crashing into the corner with a massive Irish whip. The timer hits 15 minutes and Bron Breakker is let lose. Like a pissed off bull kept in its pen for far too long, Breakker charges the ring and assaults Briggs with a spear, cracking him in half and covering him for three. Bate hits the ropes with his signature rebound, but Breakker stands firm, not flinching until the last second, spearing Bate for a second pinfall. Dijak decides to try and springboard in the ring, but he meets a similar fate, eating a disgusting spear before getting pinned for three.
⚡Move of the Match⚡
35 seconds into the match, Breakker has moved to the top of the pack, scoring 3 consecutive falls. Bate sits at 2, with Dijak and Briggs still tied at 1.
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| He came, he saw, hr Breakk-er. WWE |
Above all else, I'm impressed by the timing of this moment, because as Dijak is pinned and sent to the penalty box, Trick's timer comes up, leaving Williams and Breakker alone in the ring. Rough shift for Williams, if you ask me. Hesitantly, Williams gets in the ring, meeting Breakker face to face. They trade shots in the middle, with Williams able to dropkick Breakker to the corner. Williams makes a rookie mistake, shooting Breakker into the ropes as he hits and rebounds with unnatural speed, catching Williams with a nasty lariat. The straps are down, which means only one thing, it's time to fu- oh wait, wrong guy.
Breakker sits out on Williams, holding him in the Steiner Recliner, looking for a submission fall to put him even further in the lead. Williams holds on, crawling for the ropes. Meanwhile, a picture-in-picture cam shows that there's complete chaos inside the penalty box, with three peeved wrestlers locked in one box. When the door opens for Briggs to return, all three spill out to the floor. It should be noted, as long as they are on the floor, the timer counts down, they're just meant to be in the box, they don't strictly need to be in there for the timer to countdown.
Breakker rolls to the floor now after Trick fights out of the recliner, all four men in a brawling heap outside the ring. Taking advantage of the situration, Trick ascends to the top rope and flies, crushing all four men with a crossbody! He tosses Dijak in the ring, only to get caught with a discus boot for a pin from Dijak. Poor Trick.
Dijak and Bate sit tied at 2. Breakker still leads at 3, and Briggs sits at 1. Williams, however, is at 0.
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| Get tricked, Trick! WWE |
Bate charges the ring but gets aside, landing head over heels in the corner. Sitting himself on the top rope, Dijak gets caught by an ascending Breakker, ripping Dijak off the top rope with a huge head scissors! Bate is back on his feet, standing and waiting for Dijak to land into a perfect Tyler Driver '97! Sitting out, he pins Dijak for three.
Breakker's assist gives Bate fall number 3, tieing him up with Breakker. Dijak is still at 2, Briggs at 1, and Williams is at 0.
Pissed as ever, Breakker gets to his feet and charges Bate, hoisrting him onto his shoulders before landing a gutbuster for a pin. Bate gets free at two, but Breakker stays on him, backing him into the corner. Pushing him to the top, Breakker lands a flipping powerslam on bate in the centre of the ring, just beautiful. Falling into a pin, the referee starts to count the fall, but Briggs hits the ring after he and Williams are let free from the penalty box. He breaks up the fall and pins Bate himself, looking to poach the fall. Williams charges the ring this time, but Bate is able to get free before Williams breaks up the pin himself.
Taking charge of the ring, Briggs shoves Breakker and Williams into the corner to focus on Bate as Dijak gets in as well, leaning on the ropes to catch his breath and get a lay of the land. Briggs tries to land a chokeslam on Bate, but gets caught with a right hand under the jaw. Dijak snipes Briggs with a boot, dropping him out of the way as he goes for Bate, snatching him with a goozle. Briggs is back on his feet, helping put Bate away by snatching a goozle on him as well! Double goozle! Drilling Bate with a chokeslam, there's a temporary alliance as Dijak and Briggs fight off the rest of the playing field.
With Williams and Breakker down, Dijak and Briggs ascend to the top and land stereo moonsaults! Insane! Pinning, they each score a fall, with Breakker and Williams spending time in the penalty box.
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| Like flying buildings. WWE |
Dijak joins Bate and Breakker in a three way tie for 3 points, with Briggs at 2, and Trick at 0.
With less than 4 minutes left in the match, it's really, really time to do or Dijak. Their alliance severed, Dijak and Briggs trade forearms in the middle as Bate ducks between them, rebounding as only he can and catching them both with lariats. He slithers to the apron and springboards in on Dijak for a tornado DDT, with Dijak sliding out to the floor from the momentum created. Wasting no time, Bate rebounds off the far ropes and soars, crushing Dijak on the floor! He charges for Briggs, but gets rebounded off the ropes and caught with a forearm shot. Send Bate back in the ring, Dijak slips inside now and boots Bate aside, catching a flying Briggs with a thrust kick as he comes off the top rope.
With Bate in the middle of the ring, Dijak and Briggs stand across from each other and line him up in their crosshairs. Charging, they both go for a boot, but Bate ducks out of the way, leaving them to catch eat other with a pair of boots instead. 2 and a half minutes remain with Trick and Breakker still having 20 seconds left on their penalty. Both men fly out of the box once their time comes up, charging for the ring, but Breakker pull Trick out of the ring and sends him into the ringpost. Breakker slips across the ring to get from one side to another, lining up Williams and spearing him through the barricade, all but leaving him for dead. Poor Trick.
On the floor with Breakker now, Dijak snatches Breakker and crushes him with a chokeslam through the table! Bye Breakker! 90 seconds left in the match now, Briggs has Bate up on the top for a superplex, with Dijak snatching Briggs for Feast Your Eyes, but he fights out! He shoves Dijak into the corner and into Bate, only to get caught from behind! It's Trick! He rolls up Briggs for a three count! Briggs is all but eliminated from this match completely, by virtue of the match having less than 90 seconds left.
Bate, Breakker, and Dijak are sat at 3 points, Briggs at 2, and Trick with his first fall.
Dijak looks for Feast Your Eyes on Trick, landing it and covering him for, what would ultimately be, Trick's last gasp. The referee counts one, then two, then th- no! Eddie Thorpe pulls the ref out! He and Dijak have been at each others throats lately, so it only makes sense he'd want to screw Dijak out of this winning fall! He sends Dijak into the corner head first, catching him with a kick that staggers him into the arms of Trick. He rolls up Dijak for a pin, holding him down for three! Dijak is out!
Catching Briggs at 2 points a piece now, Trick is a fall away from matching Breakker, Bate and Dijak.
Still on the top, Bate flies with a corkscrew body press, crushing Williams and pulling him in for a Tyler Driver '97. Williams is able to pull Bate down and keep him down for three! Holy shit!
Tieing Breakker, Bate and Dijak, Williams scores his third fall, leaving Briggs behind at 2 falls!
Breakker is in the ring now, his crosshairs locked on Williams, a speak at the ready and 15 seconds left in the match. With 9 seconds, the lights flash red annd breakker charges, cutting Williams in ha- no! No! Williams catches Breakker with a knee! 7 seconds remain when Breakker hits the canvas, with Williams flying for the final pin of the match! He covers! It's one! Two! Three! Holy shit!
Passing Bate, Breakker and Dijak at 3 falls, leaving Briggs in the dust at 2, Williams scores his fourth consecutive fall!
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| Like a sniper. WWE |
All that's left is letting the last few seconds of the match play out, with Williams declared the Iron Survivor. Wow. That was mental.
Match Time: 25:00
Overview & Final Rating
🟢 - Fun as hell. Highly recommended.
I can see why Dijak loves this match, it's mental. Especially those last 5 minutes. The timing involved to get everyone in the right spots at the ring time to make sure everything worked out like it should, just plain crazy. I loved how intense and fast paced things were in this match with all 5 men involved. It's so much fun and I'd highly encourage you guys to find this match. The full show is available for free on YouTube, along with the Iron Survivor match itself, so its dealers choice how you watch this one. Seek it out and tell me later how much fun you had with it.
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Now, it's time to do or Dijak.
Until next week. Be well, stay safe, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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