6 . 1 . 2008
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Alan Ducard: Somehow I don’t think Justin Moreno is someone Jake Dominion or Gryffin Anselm would be hoping to see! Tearing off his Team Monster shirt and tossing it into the crowd, Justin Moreno runs across the entrance ramp and does a flip up and over the top rope with a modified handspring. Wasting no time, Justin hops off the mat and sends a dropkick right to the middle of the chest of Jake Dominion, who is still in the nerve hold. The force causes Crazy Boy to release the hold, but as soon as they get up off the mat, Crazy Boy and Justin Moreno high five each other. Bryan Harris: I suppose you all think THIS is fair?! Justin Moreno and Crazy Boy working together? They’re not even on the same team! Heck, they’re advertising for competing energy drinks!! Jimmy Yates: You didn’t seem to have a problem with John Thomas was working together with Gryffin Anselm on Crazy Boy a few minutes ago… Bryan Harris: TOTALLY different! Alan Ducard: Enough, there’s too many people in the ring right now to be focused on whether or not perfectly legal double-teams are fair. Picking Jake Dominion up off the mat, Crazy Boy bodyslams Dominion down to the mat. Reaching underneath both of Jake’s legs, Crazy Boy lifts Dominion up off the mat, leaving only his shoulders and head on the mat. Hopping up off the mat again, Justin Moreno connects with a dropkick to Jake’s gut. Without getting up off the mat, Justin Moreno rolls out onto the apron. Getting to his feet, Justin waits as Crazy Boy lifts Jake Dominion up off the mat, and Moreno holds onto the top rope and hops up for a springboard move, but before Justin can do anything, John Thomas hops up onto the apron, grabs and shakes the top rope, causing Moreno to drop down to the mat. Reaching under the bottom rope, JT pulls Moreno outside the ring by his leg. Bryan Harris: Quick thinking there by John Thomas to not only get involved in the match again, but to do so against the best person to go after – the freshest guy in the match – and to do so in a way as to not put himself in danger. Jimmy Yates: A cowardly way, if you ask me. Surprised by what John Thomas just did, Crazy Boy takes a moment to decide what to do next, but before he can act, Crazy Boy gets drilled with a straight kick to the gut by Gryffin Anselm, who then takes Tyrone by the wrist and violently sends him to the mat with a short-arm clothesline. Alan Ducard: Now it’s Gryffin who once again takes advantage of the chaos going on here in the Co-Op Challenge, which thus far has lived up to the hype and will probably only get better as it goes on, with the second half of the competitors still yet to enter the ring, and thirteen other eliminations still yet to go. Bryan Harris: Chaos is what The Diabolik thrives on, which is why there’s no doubt in my mind that either Jake Dominion, Gryffin Anselm, or Crash is going to leave here with the World Title tonight. Alan Ducard: There’s still a lot of match left to happen yet, and with Jake Dominion and Gryffin Anselm already involved in the match, it’s going to be hard for any of the three members of The Diabolik to pick up the win… that is, of course, unless they’ve gone and recruited another new member of the team that we don’t know about yet. Jimmy Yates: You heard Gryffin Anselm talking to Cronos Diamante at the pre-show on Friday night, and I don’t know if Gryffin was playing mind games with Cronos to mess with him, or if they’re both using Game Theory to run some deceptive tactics to throw everyone else off, but I think there’s a distinct chance that we already know who the next member of The Diabolik is.. because they told us already! Bryan Harris: You heard Cronos Diamante deny it, right? Well to me, it sounded like he protested a bit too much! Alan Ducard: Time will tell, but I’d say we’ll probably have a good idea by the end of the night. Jimmy Yates: The countdown just got started again, so we’re about to get the our eighth competitor, who will be the seventh man in the ring unless someone else gets eliminated in the next few seconds, which I don’t see possibly happening. Replacing a camerashot of John Thomas working over the shoulder of Justin Moreno outside the ring, the LEGACY Vision jumbotron goes black, and then it comes back to life with the word “MoFo” on it, and the crowd erupts in a mixed reaction of mostly cheers, with about a quarter of the crowd booing.
Stepping through the curtain with his team’s signature shirt on, Loco walks right out onto the entrance walkway and doesn’t stop, even as T.Rex and Arch Angel step out onto the stage, bringing Loco’s trophy case with them, not surprisingly wearing white gloves. Alan Ducard: Here comes the second team captain to enter the match, and it appears that if Loco wins this match, he has every intention of putting that belt back into the trophy case where he feels it belongs. Jimmy Yates: Something tells me that this time around, the fans won’t mind as much if the trophy gets carried around in that piece of furniture, so long as it’s not with The Diabolik anymore. Making his way to the ring, Loco gets to the edge of the apron and looks down and spots John Thomas, who just executed a shoulder-breaker on Justin Moreno. Loco and John Thomas lock eyes for a moment and there’s a bit of tension, but Loco enters the ring and springs to life, going right to work on Gryffin Anselm. After connecting with a punch, Loco blocks a right hand from Gryffin and then leaps up and swings his leg over, connecting with the side of Gryffin’s head, dropping him to his knees with an enzuigiri. Alan Ducard: Gryffin Anselm hits the mat like a ton of bricks, and he could be in trouble! Bryan Harris: As long as Jake Dominion is still in there, I wouldn’t say Anselm’s in trouble at all of being eliminated! Outside the ring, JT twists Moreno into a standing armbar, backs up a step and then jumps up and connects with a dropkick to J-Mo’s shoulder, knocking him down to the arena floor. Getting to his feet, John Thomas locks on a Fujiwara Armbar on Moreno. One of the ringside referees runs over and checks, but Moreno refuses to tap out. Back inside the ring, the threesome of Loco Martinez, Stephen Rawlings and Crazy Boy all work over Jake Dominion, taking turns kicking him. Suddenly Stephen Rawlings turns his focus on Crazy Boy, dropping him with a high flipping dropkick. Bryan Harris: If there’s going to be any chance of this match ending with someone other than Crash, Gryffin Anselm, or Jake Dominion holding on to the World Title, the non-Diabolik guys in this match are going to have to make a more concerted effort to work together than what you just saw. Alan Ducard: Well those three were working together for a moment, but I believe that Stephen Rawlings saw an opening to put Crazy Boy back down on the mat, and he wanted to take it. Back up off the mat, Gryffin Anselm starts to try to come to Jake Dominion’s aid, but Loco Martinez sees him coming and leaps off the mat, throwing his body sideways and connecting with a spinning heel kick which works to put Gryffin back on the mat. When Loco Martinez gets up, Anselm grabs him by the leg, not letting him get away. By the time Loco kicks Anselm and breaks free, Loco turns around just in time to see Jake Dominion throw a desperation Iced Out superkick his way, which Loco ducks at the last moment. Jimmy Yates: Now that’s what I call good reflexes! As Jake’s foot flies over his head, Loco reaches out and grabs Jake’s wrist, spins him around… Loco’s foot goes straight up, aimed at Jake’s jaw… LOCapitator!!!! Alan Ducard: Looks like that was an understatement, Jimmy! Jimmy Yates: Loco for the pinfall… One… TWO…!! THREE!!! The fans cheer as they see the referee signal to Josephina Colbert, quieting down a bit as she makes the official announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by Loco Martinez, Jake Dominion has been eliminated!
Alan Ducard: And Jake Dominion is the second man eliminated from this match! Jimmy Yates: More importantly, The Diabolik now have one fewer person to help them come away from tonight with the World Title! Grabbing Jake by the leg, Loco Martinez gets out of the ring underneath the bottom rope and pulls Jake’s lifeless body with him. Once on the outside, Loco lets the referees look after him, and Martinez gets right back into the ring. Up on the LEGACY Vision jumbotron, the countdown timer hits zero, and a blue and red anarchy symbol appears on the screen. Parts of the symbol change color, a small portion fades away, and the symbol becomes a G and an A as Greg Allocca steps through the curtain.
Alan Ducard: Greg Allocca officially a member of Team Monster, but as you can see, he’s not wearing a shirt at all, let alone advertising for the team he’s a part of. Jimmy Yates: Well clearly Greg Allocca has no team loyalty. I think the only reason he even joined Team Monster is because it meant he would have a shot at bloodying up X-Calibur again as well as getting him a World Title shot. Bryan Harris: And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Aside from Loco’s team and The Diabolik, do you think any of those other teams are really trying to help their team captains get championships? I don’t think so. There’s no reason why Crazy Boy or Devastation would want to see Cronos Diamante with the belt, they just agreed to be on his team because they’d be willing to watch his back for a couple minutes if need be. Same with Ron Bailey and John Iley on X-Calibur’s team, as well as Greg Allocca and Stephen Rawlings on Moreno’s team. Stop thinking about this in terms of loyalty, guys, because that only applies to 40% of the teams involved. The other three teams? They’re basically in this for themselves! Entering the ring, Greg Allocca walks over and rakes the eyes of Crazy Boy, pulling him away from Gryffin Anselm. With Crazy Boy trying to regain full vision again, Allocca takes the opportunity and hits a modified European uppercut on him, backing up him towards a corner, and then Greg hops up off the mat and nails a dropkick to the gut that lands Crazy Boy into a seated position in the corner. Jimmy Yates: Lightning quick moves by Greg Allocca, he’s been in there not even thirty seconds yet and he’s already put one guy down! Bryan Harris: You get a guy who has as much speed and experience as Greg Allocca does who likes to hurt people as much as Greg does, they’re going to be able to do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. As soon as Greg turns around, he’s met with a hard right hand to the face from Loco Martinez. Allocca throws a right hand of his own, rocking Loco a bit. Martinez moves in with a kick to the gut which looks to stun Greg for a moment, but as Loco moves in, The Angel of Violence grabs him around the neck, puts his head underneath Loco’s chin and drops down to the mat, split-legged so his feet hit, pulling Loco down with him for a modified jawbreaker which springs Loco backwards and drops him to the mat. Alan Ducard: Take Allocca’s count up to TWO people he has put down onto the mat! When Allocca works his way back up to his feet, Stephen Rawlings moves in, grabs him by the head, pivots, and takes him down to the mat with a fireman’s carry takeover. Greg fights to get back to his feet, but Stephen immediately follows it up with a snapmare, continuing to hold onto Rawlings’ head with a headlock. Bryan Harris: Well that’s one way to slow him down… keep him off his feet and slowly choke the life out of him! Jimmy Yates: Try as he might, it looks like Greg Allocca is having trouble breaking free from that headlock, and it’s no surprise that a technical wrestler like Stephen Rawlings could expertly apply a move as simple as a headlock. Alan Ducard: I can hardly believe it, but another ninety seconds has past, and it’s about time for another competitor to enter the match. The audible signal blares through the P.A. system as the timer reaches zero, and the LEGACY Vision jumbotron fades to a camouflage pattern in which the words “Honor Above All” appears, and then Cronos Diamante comes through the curtain, wearing his Team Vault shirt.
Jimmy Yates: Here comes Cronos Diamante, and you would think that his first order of business might be to help out Crazy Boy, who also represents Team Vault, unless of course you buy into the idea that Cronos might be secretly working for The Diabolik. Alan Ducard: That very thought is probably going through the minds of a large portion of the viewing audience right now, as well as all of the competitors currently in the ring aside from Gryffin Anselm. If he is a member of The Diabolik, then that could be a huge blow to the chances of crowning a champion who is unaffiliated with their faction. If he’s not a member of The Diabolik, then I would say that they have at least succeeded in casting doubt in a lot of people’s minds as to Cronos’ loyalties, and when people are looking over their shoulders to see what Cronos might be doing, that gives Gryffin Anselm and Crash another opportunity to strike. Bryan Harris: Don’t act like Cronos Diamante might be some little pawn, here. There’s a good reason why people would be wary of Cronos’ allegiances, and that’s because of the history Cronos has of NOT being an Honorable guy, despite what he might have you to believe! Alan Ducard: Actions speak louder than words, so I guess we’ll get a good look here tonight, especially when Devastation comes to the ring, because as we heard on Friday night, that’s the guy who Gryffin Anselm and The Diabolik have mentioned that they want Cronos to target. As soon as Cronos Diamante gets into the ring, Gryffin Anselm drops to the mat and rolls to the outside. Seeing this happen, Cronos quickly makes his way over to that side of the ring, looking intent on following. Before he exits the ring, though, Cronos spins around and drills Stephen Rawlings in the back with a roundhouse kick, forcing him to release Greg Allocca from the headlock. Diamante then turns around and exits the ring through the ropes and hops to the arena floor. Jimmy Yates: I guess we’re really about to find out what’s going on with Cronos and The Diabolik, because Cronos is following Gryffin to the outside! Cronos hops down off the apron and walks around the corner of the ring, headed for where Gryffin, John Thomas, and Justin Moreno are. Taking Moreno by the wrist, John Thomas sends Justin in Cronos’ direction. Not expecting it, Cronos reaches out his arms and tries to stop Moreno from running into him, but the two stumble back a couple steps. Pushing to the side, Diamante gets J-Mo out of his way, but in taking a couple steps, Justin falls back-first into the security guardrail. Cronos continues his pursuit of Gryffin Anselm and John Thomas, who have now both backed away further, having turned another corner. Bryan Harris: Looks like Justin Moreno is none too happy about being tossed aside into the guardrail! Getting to his feet, Justin Moreno moves in and pushes Cronos from behind, causing him to pump into the steel corner ringpost with his shoulder. Wincing just a little, Cronos turns around to see what’s going on, and as Justin begins to say something to Cronos, that’s when John Thomas rushes in and attacks Cronos from behind, hitting a flying forearm shot to the back of the head. As Justin Moreno tries to help out Cronos, Gryffin Anselm moves in and pulls him away. Taking J-Mo by the arm, Gryffin sends him towards the steel guardrail barricade in front of the fans, but Moreno puts up his foot as he gets to the barricade, stopping his momentum, then he turns around and hits a dropkick to Gryffin’s thigh, putting him down onto his knees. After having absorbed a couple punches from John Thomas, Cronos gets up from a knee, grabs John around the waist, lifts him up and slams his back into the corner ringpost, dropping him to the arena floor. Rejoining up with Justin Moreno, Cronos helps Team Monster’s captain toss The Diabolik member into the ring underneath the bottom rope. Jimmy Yates: Team Monster and Team Vault working together?! I hope their sponsors don’t get too upset! Alan Ducard: Maybe it will call for some cross promotion. Bryan Harris: I doubt it, Al. With Gryffin back in the ring, Loco Martinez stomps down onto him a couple times to keep him on the mat while Justin Moreno and Cronos Diamante work to get back into the ring. Meanwhile, Greg Allocca drills Stephen Rawlings with a back elbow smash to keep him from being able to hit a German suplex. Finding an opening, Allocca lifts Rawlings up off the mat into a scoop position and then drapes one of Rawlings’ legs over the top rope, hooking the foot underneath the turnbuckle bolt, leaving him to dangle in a Tree of Woe position. Moving across the ring, Greg immediately hits a back rake on Loco Martinez, then gets him into a full nelson and slams him forward, face first down onto the mat. Jimmy Yates: Face Breaker by Greg Allocca! Alan Ducard: There’s currently eight men in this match, and we’re about to add a ninth as the count down clock nears zero, let’s find out who is going to add to the chaos. The footage on the LEGACY Vision is replaced by darkness, and then the word “Devastation” slowly fades in, surrounded by black and white video of him hitting the Decapitator on various individuals. When they realize who’s about to show up, the fans begin cheering with moderate intensity.
Coming out from the back wearing only his ring attire, boots, and the
tape on his hands, Devastation is ready to go, slightly acknowledging
the fans reaction to him as he walks towards the ring, surveying the
scene to figure out where to start. Bryan Harris: Has anyone noticed that NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF X-CALIBUR’S TEAM IS OUT HERE YET?! Jimmy Yates: That’s how things sometimes happen with random draws, but even more interesting than that, I was just noticing that Jake Dominion is just now making his way back up the isle, three minutes after he was eliminated! Alan Ducard: He’s obviously not happy about being eliminated, especially given that the LOCapitator seemed to come out of nowhere… and it looked like he was almost ready to fight Devastation as he passed him on the entrance walkway. Jimmy Yates: That would’ve been a bad move by Jake Dominion... I think Devastation would’ve knocked him out, and being put out twice in the span of five or six minutes? That’s no good. Getting into the ring, Devastation spots his initial target as Gryffin Anselm is on his feet, backing away from Cronos Diamante and Justin Moreno, who are slowly approaching him. With a huge clubbing blow to the back of the neck, Devastation drops Gryffin Anselm down to the mat. Turning around to see what hit him, Anselm sees Devastation just as Devastation grabs him and lifts him up off the mat. Hooking his arm underneath Gryffin’s shoulder, Devastation takes Anselm down to the mat with a hiptoss, and Devastation immediately swings his body around to trap Gryffin’s arm in between his legs, then pulls back on Devastation’s neck with both arms. Alan Ducard: Devastation with a crossface submission on Anselm… and he taps out!! Bryan Harris: Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!! The fans cheer as they see Gryffin’s hand tapping the mat and the referee signalling to Josephina Colbert, quieting down a bit as she makes the official announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a submission to Devastation, Gryffin Anselm has been eliminated!!
Jimmy Yates: I can’t believe it! The only member of The Diabolik left in this match is Crash, and he hasn’t even shown up yet! So much for the strength in numbers!! Alan Ducard: Gryffin Anselm is only the third man eliminated from this match, and the fans have to be feeling good now about the chances of Crash not retaining the belt here tonight! Bryan Harris: There’s absolutely no need to rub it in, guys! The Diabolik have a huge target painted on their backs, and they had to know that something like this very well might happen! Having rolled out onto the apron, Gryffin Anselm slowly gets to his feet, obviously feeling a bit dejected about having to tap out. As the match continues, Cronos Diamante spots John Thomas outside the ring and heads in that direction, while Justin Moreno turns his attention to Stephen Rawlings, who is still in the Tree of Woe position. As J-Mo tries to help his team member get out of the corner, Crazy Boy runs in and hits Moreno with a full body attack, causing Moreno’s knee to hit Rawlings before Justin crumples to the mat. Alan Ducard: Funny thing, these teams. On STRIFE 36, Crazy Boy was the guy who Justin Moreno was hoping to recruit as the third member of Team Monster. Had Justin been a minute or two sooner in extending a Team Monster invite to Tyrone, Crazy Boy might actually have been helping him get Stephen Rawlings out of the tree of woe instead of attacking them. Bryan Harris: And Crazy Boy is better off for it! Having walked back to the entrance stage, Gryffin Anselm doesn’t even make eye contact as he silently passes by a very frustrated, practically belligerent Jake Dominion, who is still refusing to go backstage. It seems to piss off Jake even more that Gryffin got eliminated and didn’t say a word to him, but it doesn’t convince him to go backstage just yet. On the far side of the ring on the outside, John Thomas blocks a punch from Cronos Diamante, but JT can’t follow it up quick enough, and he gets hit with a kick to the midsection, doubling him over. Moving in, Cronos grabs John Thomas and hooks both of his arms in and executes an arm-trap belly to belly suplex, with the crowd roaring in approval as John Thomas lands on his back on the arena floor. Jimmy Yates: Thus far Cronos Diamante has been a MACHINE in that ring, expending very little energy, but yet doing quite a bit! Bryan Harris: Hold on to that praise until Cronos actually eliminates someone, alright, Jimmy? Eyeing his competition after having made an elimination, Devastation finds Greg Allocca staring back at him. Devastation doesn’t waste any time and he moves in and goes to lock up with Greg Allocca, but Greg ducks underneath the attempted grapple and hits a forearm shot which catches Devastation in the ribs. With a swift kick to the back of Devastation’s knee, Allocca weakens the stance of the former LEGACY World Champion, and then Greg steps on the back of Devastation’s calf, pushing him down to a knee. Before Greg can do any further damage, Devastation swings his arm around and catches Greg in the shoulder with his elbow. Getting his foot back underneath of him, Devastation turns around, grabs Greg Allocca and lifts up into a bearhug. Alan Ducard: Devastation showing off that strength, and if he can keep this hold on Greg Allocca for any serious amount of time, it’s going to slow down The Angel of Violence quite a bit. Bryan Harris: Which is EXACTLY why Greg Allocca is trying to get his arm free to try to fight back! Pulling one arm out from Devastation’s grasp, Allocca starts drilling him in the head repeatedly with hard rights, and after the fourth one, Devastation swings slightly to the side and lets Greg go, and both men fall to their knees. The bottom corner of the LEGACY Vision jumbotron lights up again with the countdown timer. Jimmy Yates: We’re about to get number twelve. Is it going to be a member of X-Calibur’s squad?! Alan Ducard: That would be my guess… The LEGACY Vision goes dark and it’s replaced with a red italic “D”, which sparks quite the negative reaction from the fans all over the arena, even before the World Champion steps through the curtain.
Bryan Harris: Here he is, folks, the man who will defy the odds and, without a single partner to help him out, leave with the LEGACY World Title still in his possession, Crash! Stopping on the edge of the entrance stage, Crash calls Jake Dominion over to him, and the two talk about something for a moment, and then they both walk across the entrance walkway, headed towards the ring. Jimmy Yates: I don’t like the looks of this a bit! Alan Ducard: It appears as though Jake Dominion might have a bit more usefulness left in him yet! Seeing the two Diabolik members coming, Crazy Boy looks around the ring and notices that he’s the only man still standing, and he readies himself for a fight. Crash gets to the ropes and starts to climb into the ring, and at that moment the referees from around the ring converge on the entrance walkway, climbing up the makeshift steps and a couple of them get in Jake Dominion’s way, keeping him from entering the ring alongside Crash. Jimmy Yates: Nice to see the referees are doing their jobs. I was afraid we were going to see Dominion get physically involved… Bryan Harris: Why, just because he was coming to ringside to support his long-time friend? Alan Ducard: Dominion got eliminated, so he has no right to be at ringside, but it doesn’t much matter at the moment, because Jake is being kept from being at ringside from the referees who are explaining to him that he can’t be there, and Crazy Boy is going right to work on Crash! Throwing right hands as quickly as he can, Crazy Boy attacks Crash from the moment he steps foot into the ring. Blocking a couple shots, Crash throws a right hand of his own, backing Crazy Boy up. Taking Tyrone by the arm, Crash tries to send him across the ring with an irish whip, but he misjudges the amount of force he’ll have to use and Crazy Boy is able to reverse the irish whip. As Crash comes back across the ring after bouncing off the ropes, Crazy Boy spins around and drills the World Champion with a roaring elbow, flattening him to the mat. Bryan Harris: Where in the WORLD does Crazy Boy get all that energy?! Jimmy Yates: He’s got some kind of a crazy reserve tank for it, I guess. Bryan Harris: Rhetorical questions don’t need stupid responses, Jimbo… Crazy Boy moves in and tries to grab Crash to lift him up out of his crouched position, Crash swings his arm upward and connects with an uppercut to Crazy Boy’s jaw which knocks him backwards. Tyrone is out cold before he even hits the mat, but once he’s there, he doesn’t move. The camera switches back over to Crash, and we see him taking brass knuckles off his hand he just used to punch Crazy Boy, and he puts the foreign object back into his tights, then rolls over and covers Crazy Boy. As soon as Jake sees Crash making the pinfall attempt, he runs back towards the entrance stage and points inside the ring. One of the referees gets the message and gets into the ring, counting the pinfall attempt. One… Two… Three. Completely stunned by what just happened, the fans remain in silence even until the referee signals to Josephina Colbert for the official announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by Crash, Crazy Boy has been eliminated.
The boos immediately start pouring in as Crash stands up with a smirk on his face, and he taps the spot on his waistband where he tucked the brass knuckles back into just prior to the pinfall. Alan Ducard: I should’ve realized that the Diabolik were up to something more complicated than to just have Jake Dominion get involved in the match… he was just a distraction so Crash could use those brass knuckles!! Jimmy Yates: If we would’ve had more experienced referees out there, then maybe they wouldn’t have all been surrounding Jake Dominion, and one of them could’ve seen the use of the brass knuckles! Bryan Harris: Stop crying about it… Crash got away with it, nothing’s going to change that now. What are they going to do, let Crazy Boy back in the match? He’s taking a nap at the moment… Walking over, Crash stomps down hard onto Devastation, connecting with four straight boots before he twists around and drops an elbow into the same spot on Devastation’s back where his kicks connected. When rash gets back to his feet, he turns around spots Loco Martinez across the ring from him, the only person currently standing. Jimmy Yates: Here we go… the moment a lot of people were hoping to see, Crash and Loco Martinez standing across the ring from one another, ready to go toe to toe. Alan Ducard: And here’s Cronos Diamante, coming back into the ring, and it looks as though he intends to play the role of the enforcer, keeping anyone and everyone from getting involved. Bryan Harris: You don’t think this is where he officially joins the Diabolik by helping them eliminate one of the big guns? Alan Ducard: Anything’s possible. With a burst of speed, Crash runs in and tries to get Loco with a Yakuza kick, but Loco does a shoulder-roll and avoids it, getting back to his feet and charging in, laying into Crash with a flurry of rights and lefts. Crash takes a step forward, puts his hand on Loco’s chest and shoves him backwards, absorbing some punishment in the process but putting Loco down on the mat. Grabbing Martinez by the head, Crash lifts him up off the mat and slams his forearm into the side of Loco’s face, then lifts him up over his head into a gorilla press. At that point John Thomas gets up onto the apron and gets into the ring and starts in towards Crash, but when he sees Cronos coming towards him, John Thomas changes his target, ducks his shoulder and buries it into Cronos’ gut and drives him into the corner turnbuckle. Jimmy Yates: It looked like Cronos Diamante was going to stop John Thomas from getting involved… do you think that’s a sign of whose side Cronos is on?! Alan Ducard: Crash tosses Loco Martinez to the mat… I think Cronos isn’t on a side. I think he wants to give the fans the chance to see Loco Martinez get some retribution on The Diabolik for what happened at FORGED BY FIRE. As John Thomas continues to drive shoulders into Cronos’ gut in the corner and Cronos continues to send clubbing blows into John Thomas’ back to slow his assault, Crash approaches Loco, who is laid out on the mat. Standing above Martinez’s head, Crash looks to try to help Loco up off the mat, but Martinez swings his leg up and drills Crash in the forehead, causing him to stagger back a bit. Getting his feet underneath him, Loco runs into the ropes, gets some momentum, then when he gets close to Crash he slides in on his knees, stopping just short of the World Champion before throwing his head forward, connecting just below where a belt buckle would be if Crash were wearing a belt. Jimmy Yates: Did he just do what I think he did?! Alan Ducard: I believe he just headbutted Crash in the groin!! Bryan Harris: Loco Martinez should be disqualified for doing that!! Furthermore, he should have his Man Card taken from him, because that’s just not right!! The crowd lets out a loud “OOOOHHH!!” when they realized what he did, and then a chant starts. Crowd: MoFo!! MoFo!! MoFo!! MoFo!! Bryan Harris: How SICK are these fans that they actually appreciate what Loco Martinez just did to Crash?! With Crash doubled over and on his knees, Loco Martinez gets to his feet, reaches into the waistband of his ring attire, pulls out a little bottle of hand sanitizer, pours it on his hands and then quickly scrubs his forehead with it, getting a good laugh from the fans. Meanwhile in the corner, Cronos has beaten John Thomas down to a knee, but as Diamante tries to lift him up off the mat, John shoves Cronos’ hand away, grabs a wrist and exits the ring through the middle rope, getting out onto the apron. Pulling down as hard as he can, John Thomas puts as much strain as possible on Diamante’s shoulder, pulling the armpit right down onto the middle rope. Jimmy Yates: John Thomas is trying to pull that arm out of socket! Alan Ducard: It looks like Cronos is about to get some more help from Team Monster! Seeing what’s going on, Justin Moreno gets up off the mat in the corner, runs over and does a baseball slide underneath the bottom rope and connects with the chest of John Thomas, forcing him to let go of Cronos’ arm. Grabbing onto the bottom rope, Moreno keeps himself from going all the way to the outside, then rolls back into the ring. Jimmy Yates: Quick thinking on the part of Justin Moreno, but if he keeps helping people like that, it’s going to seriously hurt his chances of winning this match. Bryan Harris: I couldn’t agree more, Jimbo, and that’s why I wouldn’t put ANY money on Justin Moreno or Cronos Diamante to win this match, they’re too focused on doing what’s right instead of doing something selfish and actually trying to find a way to get ahead! And now the countdown clock is about to strike zero again, another guy is gonna come to the ring, and the whole dynamic is going to change because a fresh competitor is going to be the new target… of the smart people, anyway. Turning completely orange, the LEGACY Vision jumbotron gets very bright before black letters start to appear on it, spelling out “The SURE THING”. As blue ink fills the letters, Ron Bailey steps out through the curtain and is met with mostly booing from the crowd, though there are a few cheers from random portions of the crowd.
Alan Ducard: And now we get the first member of Team X-Calibur… and if my math is right, it looks as though Ron Bailey and John Iley drew the final two entry spots prior to the guaranteed final spot which is held by X-Calibur, meaning that their entire team somehow got the luck of the draw! Jimmy Yates: Someone better go back there and make sure that Ron Bailey didn’t screw around with something… Bryan Harris: Can a guy help it when he’s got a lot of luck on his side?! Alan Ducard: He’d better hope seven is his lucky number, because that’s how many guys are in the ring who are gunning for him right now. Jimmy Yates: Wait, what? Alan Ducard: Ron Bailey is the ninth guy in the ring, John Thomas won’t be going for him, so that makes seven other guys. Entering the ring, Ron Bailey sees Cronos about to head out of the ring to go after John Thomas, so he runs over and grabs Diamante from behind and takes him down with a German suplex. Getting up off the mat, Ron Bailey looks around the ring and immediately spots Stephen Rawlings getting up off the mat, so he moves in to go after him. Before Ron gets to him, Stephen takes a couple quick steps in and surprises Bailey with a drop toe hold, slamming Bailey down onto his face. Stunned by the move, Ron puts his hand to his nose, obviously in a little bit of pain. Moving around in front of Ron, Stephen Rawlings puts Bailey into a front facelock. Bryan Harris: Another smart wear-down move on a fresh opponent, and this is the kind of mixture of deception and skill which is going to be beneficial to helping put Stephen Rawlings in the top five of this match. Jimmy Yates: Yeah? Well he better keep holding on, ‘cause Ron Bailey is fighting back! Struggling, Ron Bailey tries to break free from the hold. Trying to wear his opponent down a little more, Stephen Rawlings swings a knee upwards, connecting with the side of Ron’s head. Using his MMA background, Ron isn’t shocked by the knee shot to the face, and he immediately reaches out and grabs around Rawlings’ leg, then swings up and over, taking Stephen down to the mat with a make-shift suplex. Both men try to get up off the mat, but out of nowhere, Greg Allocca runs in and grabs both of them by the head and forces them to the mat with a double face-slam. Alan Ducard: Something of a comeback from Greg Allocca, taking down two of his opponents at once! Jimmy Yates: Ron Bailey’s going to try to get right back up… Loco Martinez in with a guillotine leg drop faceslam that puts Ron face down right back on the mat! Getting back to his feet, Loco Martinez pumps his fist in celebration, then he quickly backs up a step, just as Justin Moreno runs by, holding Greg Allocca by the head and then quickly dumping him over the top rope to the outside. When Loco turns around, he gets kicked in the gut by Devastation. Turning around, Devastation runs into the ropes, bounces off to get some momentum, but before he can go any further, Devastation is tripped up as John Thomas reaches into the ring under the bottom rope and grabs him by the ankle. Bryan Harris: John Thomas with a nice save there for his friend and team captain. Jimmy Yates: I don’t know if that was a good move or not, because that just drew Devastation’s focus onto him, and up until now, John was doing a decent job staying under the radar outside the ring. Getting up, Devastation moves over to the ropes to head for John Thomas outside the ring, but Loco runs in and nails Devastation with a double axhandle to the back, then grabs Devastation by the head and hops over the top rope and drops off the apron, pulling Devastation down and then releasing him, propelling him towards the middle of the ring onto his back with a hangman’s drop. On his feet outside the ring, Loco smiles at John Thomas and then pats him on the shoulder. Alan Ducard: I don’t know if Loco Martinez has completely forgiven John Thomas for walking out during that six-man tag on STRIFE 36, but he does look glad that John is there to help him out as we get to the 16 minute mark in this match. Bryan Harris: He’d better appreciate the help, because JT is the only one at this point who is probably going to be helping him, and what John said about Rocky Stellar being a liability? I’d say that was spot-on, seeing as how Stellar was the first one eliminated from this match! Returning to his feet, Cronos Diamante moves over and checks in on Devastation, then moves over and waits for Stephen Rawlings to get back to his feet, and as soon as he does, Cronos swings around with a roundhouse kick that gets Stephen in the back, causing him to stand up straighter. Diamante follows that up by swinging around and connecting with a knife-edge chop which backs Rawlings up a step. Cronos tries to follow that up with another kick, but Rawlings absorbs the punishment, grabs the leg and whips him over into a dragon screw leg-whip. Jimmy Yates: Nice takedown by Cronos Diamante, and now he’s going for some sort of a single-leg submission of some sort, maybe a crab hold. Alan Ducard: Cronos is fighting it… he’s got his elbows underneath him, using his strength to try to overpower Stephen and keep him from locking in the hold further… He’s up on his hands… AND CRONOS ROLLS THROUGH, GRABS THE LEG, PINFALL ATTEMPT!!! One… TWO…. NO! Rawlings breaks free and gets his shoulder up just in time! Sliding into the ring, John Thomas hops up off the mat and stomps down onto Cronos’ back, slamming him right back down to the mat. Stephen Rawlings tries to get up off the mat to go after John Thomas, but Ron Bailey runs in and does a double-leg tackle on Stephen Rawlings, putting him back onto the mat, twisting him around and putting him into an ankle lock. Rawlings struggles and tries to get himself released, but the best he can do is to reach back and grab the bottom rope. One of the referees from outside the ring slides in and gets close enough to Ron Bailey to tell him to release the hold. Jimmy Yates: This may be a big, chaotic match, but kudos to Rawlings for remembering that rope breaks on submission attempts are still to be enforced. Alan Ducard: He might not like it, but Ron Bailey is having to release the hold, and here goes the countdown timer, and we’re about to have a tenth person in this match for the first time. As Ron Bailey lets go of Stephen Rawlings, Justin Moreno runs in, does a front flip and lands with a senton splash onto Ron’s stomach. Reaching over, Moreno hooks the leg going for the pinfall attempt… One… Two… No!! Broken up by John Thomas!! The LEGACY Vision jumbotron goes dark and is then re-illuminated, the image of a bridge appearing, and then the name “John ILEY” appears, and there’s a lot of cheering from the fans as the exciting young John Iley steps out onto the stage.
John Iley walks to the left edge of the entrance stage and acknowledging the fans on that part of the arena, a big goofy grin on his face. Walking over towards the entrance walkway, the fans near the right side of the entrance stage get even louder, so John decides to wander over there. Still stewing from what he considers a disappointingly early exit from the match, Dominion stands on the right edge of the entrance stage where he has been watching the match with a snide look on his face ever since Crash entered the ring. When John Iley gets over there, Jake Dominion begrudgingly walks closer to the curtain, giving Iley a moment with the fans on his own. Alan Ducard: A nice show of respect there by Jake Dominion, and personally I’m a bit surprised to see it… Bryan Harris: If something’s too good to be true… As soon as John Iley turns around to head back towards the entrance walkway, Jake Dominion takes a quick step in and kicks Iley in the gut, reaches down and grabs underneath his leg with one arm, wraps the other around John’s neck, then quickly spins around and hits the ICE BREAKER fisherman’s swinging neckbreaker, and John Iley crumples to the mat. Jimmy Yates: Oh my God, what did Jake Dominion just do?! Alan Ducard: Good heavens, someone get the EMT’s out there NOW!!! John Iley has a neck injury he sustained in his match against Stephen Rawlings, and I think that probably made it a lot worse! The booing showers down from all corners of the arena as security staff and EMTs rush out from backstage. The security team backs Jake Dominion away, forcibly moving him back through the curtain with the help of a couple of police officers who are making sure that Jake Dominion doesn’t give anyone else any trouble. The EMTs work to stabilize Iley’s head and neck, cautious not to move him. Jimmy Yates: I can’t believe that Jake Dominion’s frustrations just lead him to do that. I knew he had to be frustrated… but what he just did? It could end John Iley’s career! Bryan Harris: Look, John Iley saw Jake Dominion over there, he had to have seen how frustrated Jake was, but he went over there anyway and in the process completely disrespected Jake Dominion! Alan Ducard: I can’t believe you’re actually defending the actions of… I just… I’m going to have to try to focus on this match, because I can’t… Bryan Harris: Might as well, because there’s no chance John Iley is coming into this match. Jimmy Yates: You’re right, Bryan, John Iley’s not going to be entered into this match at this point, and I hope Jake Dominion gets a serious fine for what he just did, along with some sort of serious suspension! Alan Ducard: It would serve him right if Jake Dominion got arrested for the kind of assault he just perpetrated. A mild chorus of cheers rings in from the fans as X-Calibur steps out from the back and comes out onto the stage, walking over and kneeling down near the EMTs, trying to assess the extent of the injuries sustained by the man who would’ve been on his team for the match. Jimmy Yates: Having won the Hawkins Memorial Tournament earlier tonight, X-Calibur already secured his spot as the final entry into this match, so with fourteen other individuals having already entered the match, we already knew that X-Calibur was coming out next. This is a great show of sportsmanship by X-Calibur. Getting up to his feet, X-Calibur walks over and stands at the edge of the entrance ramp, just waiting for his opportunity to go to the ring, gritting his teeth, clearly fuming mad. In the ring, Ron Bailey ducks a haymaker shot from Justin Moreno and drives a knee into J-Mo’s gut. Not wasting a second, Bailey hoists Moreno up into a fireman’s carry position. Justin wiggles around a bit, trying to avoid Bailey’s signature knee to the forehead. Running in, Greg Allocca drills Ron Bailey with a dropkick to the chest, knocking Bailey over backwards. Moreno holds on, and as soon as he hits the mat, Justin rolls Bailey back into a crucifix style pinfall, the referee right there to count the attempt. One! Two! Three! The referee signals for the announcement, and as Ron Bailey is let out of the pinfall attempt, a huge look of surprise is written all over his face. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by Justin Moreno, Ron Bailey has been eliminated.
As the referee tells Ron Bailey to leave the ring, he turns around and kicks the bottom rope, then ducks underneath the top rope and slowly heads towards the entrance stage. Halfway to the stage, Ron Bailey realizes that X-Calibur is standing there, and he starts shaking his head, realizing that he’s gotta face his team captain. Jimmy Yates: I don’t think Ron Bailey is looking forward to having to stand eye to eye with X-Calibur after getting eliminated. When he gets to the end of the walkway, Ron Bailey starts to apologize to X-Calibur, but after a couple seconds, it’s obvious that X-Calibur is focused on the match and waiting to make his entrance, so Ron Bailey stops talking and just backs up, heading through the curtain while watching X-Calibur and one last look on the ring. Alan Ducard: X-Calibur looks so intent on hurting someone as soon as possible to get a little payback for what happened to John Iley, he didn’t even acknowledge Ron Bailey as he tried to apologize. Jimmy Yates: The fans can sense just how badly X-Calibur wants to join this match, and this place is going to be ELECTRIC when that countdown timer actually appears. Spotting Devastation in the corner being pounded on by John Thomas, Stephen Rawlings moves in, shoves John away and starts kicking Devastation. Reaching out, Devastation puts a hand on Stephen’s face, takes a step forward and takes him down with a modified pie-face STO that gets the crowd excited. When the countdown timer starts up again, the excitement level increases significantly with each tick of the clock. When the final few seconds tick away, instead of showing a zero on the screen, a huge “X” appears and starts blinking. When the buzzer sounds, X-Calibur takes off his shirt and swiftly walks across the entrance stage, stretching his neck and arms, scouting the competition. Jimmy Yates: Here we go…
Returning to his feet after the STO, Stephen Rawlings blocks a punch attempt from Devastation and kicks him in the gut, doubling him over slightly. Grabbing Devastation by the head, Stephen attempts a suplex of some sort, but Devastation blocks it, then hits an uppercut to Rawlings’ sternum. Taking Stephen by the arm, Devastation spins him around and then pulls him into a knee-shot to the back, causing Rawlings to arch his back in pain. Scooping Stephen up off the mat, Devastation throws Rawlings over his shoulder with Stephens’ head facing down, the two men lined up back to back. Standing up straight, Devastation drops straight down, driving Rawlings’ head into the mat. Jimmy Yates: Decapitator!! Devastation goes for the pinfall… One! TWO!! THREE!!! The referee gets to his knees and signals to Josephina Colbert, then rolls back out of the ring while the official announcement is made. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by Devastation, Stephen Rawlings has been eliminated!
Alan Ducard: The fans all over the arena are cheering that Devastation just eliminated Stephen Rawlings, but there’s one man who just entered the ring who doesn’t appear to be happy about what he just saw. Walking over and standing above Stephen Rawlings’ lifeless body, X-Calibur continues to fume. Using his foot to roll Stephen over to the edge of the ring, X-Calibur then grabs the middle rope and creates leverage he uses to shove Rawlings out of the ring, dropping him off the apron down to the arena floor. Bryan Harris: What, X-Calibur still upset about how he got DUPED into not winning the Tao of Valor Championship earlier tonight?! Maybe he was hoping to take out some of his frustration on Rawlings?! TOUGH! X-Calibur turns around and looks to see who else is in the ring and immediately sees Devastation, but before he can make a move on him, Crash blindsides Devastation, knocking him to the mat. As Cronos approaches to go after Crash, he brushes past X-Calibur, and that’s all it takes. X-Calibur grabs Cronos by the arm, spins him around and starts laying into him with hard right hands. Diamante tries to block some of the attempts, but X-Calibur just moves in and hits an inverted atomic drop. The onslaught continues as X-Calibur throws more fists, which cause to back Cronos up into a corner. The shots Cronos takes from X-Calibur, including a knee to the gut, causes Cronos to drop to one knee, and at that point X-Calibur lifts him up off the mat and hits a couple hard knife-edge chops. Taking Cronos by the head, X-Calibur takes a couple steps out of the corner and takes Cronos down with a wicked X-Terminator. Jimmy Yates: X-Calibur hooks the leg… this is going to be it for Cronos Diamante! One… Two… Three! There’s a moderate response from the crowd who are unsure whether or not to be happy the elimination. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by X-Calibur, Cronos Diamante has been eliminated.
Alan Ducard: Wait, what’s the commotion that’s going on in the ring?! Bryan Harris: What, did you forget about the way this match worked?! Jimmy Yates: Wait, they’re informing Devastation that he’s been eliminated, too! Pointing at Cronos Diamante, the referees explain something to Devastation and then point to the entrance stage, informing Devastation that he, too, has been eliminated. One of the referees then walks over and starts explaining it to Josephina Colbert, who nods her head and then makes the official announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of the rules of this match, since we are not yet down to the final five, the elimination of Cronos Diamante results in the elimination of all members of his team, and therefore Devastation has also been eliminated.
Alan Ducard: It’s unfortunate to have to see a competitor like Devastation removed from the match solely because Cronos Diamante was eliminated, but unfortunately that’s how the rules were set up. Bryan Harris: All these fans around the arena booing right now might not like it that Devastation just got eliminated, but those are the same fans who loved the idea that people were going to have to work together to keep their team captain in the match until the final five. They can’t have it both ways. Jimmy Yates: Well we’re down to the final six guys in the ring, so that rule won’t last much longer. Quickly moving over next to Loco Martinez, John Thomas says something to his team captain, and the duo move over to the ropes where Greg Allocca is trying to re-enter the ring, each grabbing the top rope. Pushing outward for a quick moment, then they both pull back as hard as they can, slingshotting Greg into the ring over the top rope. Turning over onto his stomach, as Greg Allocca starts to get to his feet, Loco Martinez runs in and flips over him, grabbing him by the head and throwing him down onto his back. Alan Ducard: What in the heck was that?! That was one of the craziest modified falling reverse neckbreakers I’ve ever seen! Bryan Harris: Try saying that five times fast! Nearby Crash moves in and grabs Loco by the arm and starts lifting him up to his feet, but Justin Moreno rushes in and does a tornado kick that catches Crash flush against the back, dropping him to a knee. Loco nods to thank Justin, but Moreno is already working Crash. Seeing John Thomas move in and start pummeling Greg Allocca who is still laying on the mat, X-Calibur approaches JT from behind and drills him with a double axhandle smash, then lifts him up and drops him onto his knee with a backbreaker before rolling him away. Taking Allocca by the head, X-Calibur lifts him up off the mat, hooks his head under his arm, lifts him up into the air and then quickly drops him down to the mat with a brainbuster. Jimmy Yates: Great show of strength there by X-Calibur, and you had to know that he was going to want to target Allocca if they ended up in the ring together! When X-Calibur gets to his knees to return to a vertical base, Loco Martinez senses an opportunity, hits the ropes for some momentum and leaps, swinging his leg and connecting with a Shining Wizard that absolutely flattens X-Calibur. Alan Ducard: Brilliant move executed by Loco Martinez, and that kick to the side of the head should serve to bring X-Calibur down a notch, taking away some of the advantage of being the last guy to enter this match. Jimmy Yates: He already had a slight disadvantage from having to compete earlier tonight, but I’d say the time in between the Hawkins Final ending and his entrance into this match gave him some time to rest… and the stuff he experienced between now and then – with Stephen Rawlings screwing him out of becoming a two-time Tao of Valor Champion and seeing the injury sustained by John Iley – I’d say X-Calibur might’ve been running on a little bit of rest and a lot of adrenaline. John says something to Loco Martinez again, and after nodding, the duo move over and pull Justin Moreno off of Crash. After spinning him around to face the other way, both Thomas and Martinez each hook Justin under an arm and flip him over backwards, slamming him down to the mat with a modified double-hiptoss. Immediately John gets to his feet, spins around and drops an elbow into the back of the shoulder, then quickly rolls aside as Loco flips forward and nails a senton splash onto Moreno’s back. Alan Ducard: Quick succession of moves by… Bryan Harris: They’re not done yet! Quickly hoisting Moreno up off the mat, John Thomas twists J-Mo around into an abdominal stretch as Loco runs into the ropes. On the return Loco leaps into the air, holds his legs in tight, then at the last second extends them to drill Justin in the gut with a stalling dropkick. Crowd: LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! John untangles himself from Moreno, twists around into a hammerlock, spins him around into position for a DDT, then plants him down into the mat. Loco grins, proud of the chain of moves that the remaining members of MoFo’s Mob executed, then pats John on the shoulder as he gets up off the mat. Turning around to see what else is going on in the ring, Loco surveys the other opponents for a moment, but then John Thomas grabs him by the wrist, spins him completely around until they’re back to back and Loco’s arm is across his own throat… BAM!! SICK FALLING NECKBREAKER DROP!!! The crowd goes silent after an “OOOOHHHH!!” reaction to seeing the move. Jimmy Yates: Wait a minute, what the hell?! Reaching over, John Thomas hooks the leg of his team captain, and a referee slides into the ring, unsure of what to do, but he counts anyway. ONE… TWO… THREE. The booing begins as the fans watch the referee signal for the elimination to be registered, and it doesn’t quiet down even as Josephina Colbert makes the official announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by John Thomas, Loco Martinez has been eliminated.
Bryan Harris: Wait, what’s going on in the ring now? Alan Ducard: There seems to be some confusion amongst the referees, and some of them appear to be saying that John Thomas is also eliminated because his team captain has been eliminated… but John Thomas is now up from the mat and is arguing right in there with them. Bryan Harris: And rightfully so! This is the final five, the whole “team captain” rule thing goes out the window! Jimmy Yates: More importantly, does this mean John Thomas has fully turned his back on Loco Martinez and has joined the Diabolik?! The fans continue their booing as Loco Martinez is removed from the ring, not pleased at all with what John Thomas just did. With a smile on his face, Crash walks over and moves some of the referees away from John Thomas, patting him on the shoulder. Spinning around, John Thomas drills Crash in the face with a hard right hand, knocking him backwards, tripping over Greg Allocca in the process, who was on his way up off the mat. Alan Ducard: I guess that gives a little more insight into whether or not John Thomas is in The Diabolik, but who knows?! Greg Allocca looks back at Crash, grabs a leg and sends a kick into the back of it. Then another. Seeing that Allocca is going to work on Crash, John Thomas grabs Justin Moreno by the arm, twists around and locks him into a Crossface Chicken Wing. Fighting the move as hard as he can, Justin Moreno plants his feet and starts driving JT backwards, running him into the nearest turnbuckle. John Thomas starts to push away, but J-Mo pushes back again. Jimmy Yates: That’s an example of why people love Justin Moreno, because he always tries to keep fighting! Alan Ducard: It was that second impact with the turnbuckles that caused John Thomas to break the hold, and some people might’ve given up after the first impact didn’t work. Bryan Harris: Don’t get too excited just yet, John Thomas isn’t done with J-Mo. Maintaining a grasp on one of Justin’s wrists, John yanks down a couple times, continuing to put strain on the arm, then twists around into a standing armbar. Twisting it so much that Justin starts to double over, John sends a couple elbow shots right to the middle of the joint, then starts heading for the corner. Jimmy Yates: I think we all know what’s coming next. Reaching the corner, JT starts climbing up the turnbuckles one after another. The excitement level amongst the fans grows as John reaches the top and turns and starts walking across the top rope, still holding Justin’s wrist, the standing armbar applied. Bryan Harris: We’re about to see the New School… Out of nowhere, X-Calibur shows up, grabs Justin Moreno by the arm and pulls him towards the center of the ring. John Thomas, still holding J-Mo’s arm, loses his balance and starts to fall towards the mat, but X-Calibur steps in, leaps up off the mat, catches John’s head in his arms and executes a modified X-Terminator, and the fans go berserk. Crowd: LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! LEG-A-SEE! Jimmy Yates: That was one of the craziest things I’ve seen all night!! Flipping over onto his stomach, X-Calibur hooks the leg, a referee sliding into position… ONE!! TWO!!! THREE!!! The cheering maintains its intensity as Josephina Colbert makes the elimination official with her announcement. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a pinfall by X-Calibur, John Thomas has been eliminated.
Bryan Harris: It may not be the end result that he was looking for, but considering the fact that John Thomas was one of the initial three competitors to enter this match, making it into the top five is a huge accomplishment. Jimmy Yates: Why, because he hid outside the ring for a good bit of the match and the rest of the time relied on double-teams?! Bryan Harris: He played the game well, Jimbo, something that guys like Cronos and Devastation and Rocky Stellar can’t say!! Moving across the ring, X-Calibur lifts Greg Allocca up out of the mounted position he had over Crash, then irish whips him hard into the corner, with Allocca hitting chest first, then follows in with a big body splash. As Crash gets up off the mat, Justin Moreno moves in on him, but the World Champion lifts Justin up off the mat and easily bodyslams him back down. Measuring him up, Crash takes a couple steps back, then lifts both arms up near his face, elbows extended, but as Crash drops forwards towards J-Mo, he comes up with nothing but mat as Justin rolls away at the last second. Alan Ducard: Moreno with a very timely move avoidance, because those elbows could very well have done more damage than Justin Moreno could’ve sustained… and now it appears Justin is going to get some help from a former opponent… X-Calibur moves in and grabs Crash and lifts him up to his feet, gets behind him, lifts him up and slams him down onto his feet with an atomic drop. Yelling something to Moreno, X-Calibur moves out of the way as Justin runs in and hits a high bulldog onto the World Champion. Having gone over to the far corner, X-Calibur nails Greg Allocca with a forearm shot, but is then hit with a knee to the midsection, backing X-Calibur out of the corner. Allocca moves forward and grabs X-Calibur by the wrist and attempts an irish whip, but X-Calibur reverses it. On the rebound of the ropes, Greg Allocca gets taken down with a drop toe hold, but then X-Calibur swings his legs around, grabs Greg by the ankles, and starts lifting up. Jimmy Yates: He’s going for the Legendary Pain!! Bryan Harris: And here comes another non-strategic double team! Running into the ropes for momentum, Justin Moreno rushes in and drops a legdrop to the back of Greg Allocca’s neck. Reaching forwards, J-Mo pulls back on Allocca’s arm. Alan Ducard: Greg Allocca is locked into both the Legendary Pain AND a Fujiwara Armbar!! He’s got to be in an inconceivable amount of pain!! Crowd: TAP!! TAP!! TAP!! TAP!! TAP!! With nowhere to go and pain being inflicted simultaneously on his shoulder and his lower back, Greg Allocca grits his teeth and squints his eyes, then suddenly he stops fighting it all together. The nearest referee slides into the ring, grabs Allocca’s free arm and lifts it up. Falling completely limp, the referee has no choice but to signal to Josephina Colbert, and then he starts tapping on the shoulders of Justin Moreno and X-Calibur to release their respective holds. Josephina Colbert: As a result of a submission, Greg Allocca has been eliminated!
Bryan Harris: Final three!! |
page five
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