NWA Maximum 13/03/2015

[maximum]

I finished this show ahead of schedule and I'm really in the groove with my writing at the moment, having the most fun I've had writing in a long time, so here is my latest show 1 day ahead of schedule.

NWA Maximum 13/03/2015

Welcome back to NWA Maximum. Tonight we will crown our first TV Champion, and what a lineup of matches we have for the second round-

Karl Anderson vs Paul London
Damien Sandow vs Cody Rhodes
Johnny Gargano vs Wade Barrett
Bobby Roode vs Ted Dibiase

Remember that Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt goes byes into the semi finals after being the last 2 men in the 1st round battle royal last week.

Let's get straight into the action with our opening contest.


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament 2nd Round
"Machine Gun" Karl Anderson vs Paul London
Great opening match here as you had the no nonsense approach of Anderson going against the high flying style of London. And with both men not being below a cheap tactic or two, you had these two doing things that in any normal promotion would get them disqualified, from London poking at Anderson's eyes and removing the turnbuckle pad, to Anderson kicking London in the balls and smashing him repeatedly with a singapore cane. London setup a table and looked to finish it, going for a Londons Calling through the table. But Anderson moved AND LONDON GOES THROUGH THE TABLE! Anderson covers London and the victory is pretty much academic at this point.
Winner- Karl Anderson


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament 2nd Round
Damien Sandow w/Bobby Roode vs Cody Rhodes
On paper this looked like it would be a very good match, but we never got to see what these two could do against each other because before it could get started, "Big Bad" Brodus Clay charged out to the ring. He attacked all three men, turning Cody Rhodes inside out with a Lariat, then taking Damien Sandow down with a Fall of Humanity. Bobby Roode tries attacking him with a chair, but the chair has zero effect on Clay. Clay grabs the chair AND NAILS ROODE WITH IT! Roode is busted open as he does the same to Rhodes and to Sandow. He pulls Roode and Sandow over to the corner. BRODUS BOMB! Rhodes crawls over and covers Sandow to win the match, but nobody was a winner here other than Brodus Clay!
Winner- Cody Rhodes

Clay gets the mic.

"BROCK LESNAR! You want to cost me my title, get out here and fight me now!"

Brock Lesnar is not one to turn down a fight, he charges for the ring and the fight is on. The two pound away on each other with punches as Lesnar takes Clay down to the canvas with a double leg takedown and the two roll around the canvas firing punches at each other. Officials and some of the other wrestlers finally run out to break this thing up, albeit it took four men to each man to stop these guys. A fight between these two is sure to be wild!


And just to confirm, our first semi final will see Karl Anderson take on Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, who received a bye into the semi finals.


Its time for our next match, but Wade Barrett has something to say, as he talks from a podium setup on the top of the ramp-

"Johnny Gargano, you think that you have a free path to the TV Title don't you? Well I'm afraid I've got some BAD NEWS for you. I'm standing in your way John, and I will be the one walking away TV Champion tonight! "

It looks like Wade Barrett has once again embraced his Bad News persona, so I guess we can call him Bad News Barrett! Gargano seems unaffected by this revelation as our match gets underway.

NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament 2nd Round
Johnny Gargano vs Bad News Barrett
A good match this one, as we got a lot of entertaining mat wrestling action, in addition to a bit of brawling here and there. Barrett is an underrated mat technician as he showed here, but Gargano definitely had the overall advantage in that department, forcing Barrett to make use of his fists and his size advantage to take control. And when Barrett looked like he had it won, going for the Bad News Bull Hammer, Gargano would reverse the move, hitting the Hurts Donut that would get him the 3 count and allow him to advance.
Winner- Johnny Gargano


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament 2nd Round
Bobby Roode vs Ted Dibiase
Roode was not in great shape, he had his head bandaged up in perhaps a slightly over the top fashion after he was busted open by Brodus Clay earlier in the night. Damien Sandow was nowhere to be seen either, clearly still suffering after the beatdown he took from Clay. Roode gave him all here but being quite worn down, he was not at his best and Dibiase ended up controlling the action for a lot of this contest with his solid matwork, in addition to working on that head wound and busting it open once again. He would then lock in the Million Dollar Dream, only adding to the blood loss from Roode, and forced him to tap!
Winner- Ted Dibiase

So the second semi final will see Johnny Gargano take on Ted Dibiase and Bray Wyatt


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament Semi Final
"Machine Gun" Karl Anderson vs Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton
Rhodes, much like Bobby Roode in the previous match, was pretty worn out after the beatdown from Brodus Clay earlier in the night, so as a result he was not a big factor in this matchup outside of a big move here or there. Instead the focus was on Anderson vs Orton as the two brawled wildly for much of this and whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their intense exchanges of fists. Yet despite this Rhodes almost stole a win, as Orton recovered on the outside Rhodes managed to reverse a Gun Stun attempt by Anderson into a Diamond Dust. But when he got up and prepared to cover Anders, ORTON CAUGHT HIM WITH THE RKO! Orton covers and gets the 3 count!
Winner- Randy Orton


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament Semi Final
Johnny Gargano vs Ted Dibiase vs Bray Wyatt
We got a handshake between Johnny Gargano and Bray Wyatt to begin the match, as these two were of course allies in The Group, who took down The Prophecy in a big act of importance here in New Jersey. And this would prove to be bad for Dibiase, as Gargano and Wyatt spent the entire first half of the match taking turns to beat him up, hitting a few double team moves and all their signatures. However as the match went on tension began to build between Gargano and Wyatt, initially from who would get to cover Dibiase but then from a mistimed move or two. And eventually Wyatt would snap as Gargano looked to make Dibiase tap to a Crosston Crab, grabbing him and starting a brawl that would go back and forth between the two as Dibiase recovered. It would not end well for Wyatt though as he would eventually take a Hurts Donut from Gargano onto a chair, sending him flying outside of the ring. But Dibiase took full advantage of the scrapping between the two, he recovered and sneaked up on Gargano, hitting Dream Street, and got the shock 3 count to advance!
Winner- Ted Dibiase


Here comes Chris Jericho, getting a massive ovation from the fans as always. But he looks far from happy tonight, and why should he be. He lost to The Fallen alongside Shane Helms last week, getting pinned by "The Reject" Shannon Moore in the process.

Jericho: "I'd like to come out here Jerichoholics and say all the things you want me to say, but the truth is I can't, because I am angry. Last week The Fallen defeated me, and for the past two weeks Jeff Hardy has made my life hell, all because I tried to help him. Well I can accept now that Jeff Hardy is beyond help, he really had become his Personal Demons and cannot be saved. Jeff, what you did to your brother, to me, to Shane Helms and to everybody else who believed in you is unacceptable, and now you have to pay the price. I want you one on one, and I will do whatever it takes to get that match!"

Personal Demons obliges by heading to the ring, accompanied by The Reject.

Demons: "Heh heh, I admire you for this Chris. Unlike someone I know very well you have the balls to actually fight me in the ring before you end up in hospital. Now you did say you would do whatever it takes to fight me didn't you, and there are some conditions. The first condition is that you must defeat The Reject in a singles matchup, after all I shouldn't waste my time on a man who has already lost to my sidekick once. And the second condition Chris is one that fills me with a great sense of joy: you must agree that if you lose to me, you will RETIRE!"

The fans sound shocked and some fans are begging Chris to say he won't accept, or they will never get to see him wrestle again.

Jericho: "You know I can't answer that right now. I love this business Jeff, and I don't know if I'm ready to retire just yet".

Demons: "Well if you don't believe you can beat me then as far as I'm concerned your not getting any kind of chance to overcome Personal Demons."

Personal Demons goes to leave, walking up the ramp with The Reject, until Jericho interrupts him.

Jericho: WAIT! I accept, I will put my career on the line. But let me say one thing Jeff. If our match is going to be my last one ever, then I guarantee one thing. I'm taking you down with me, and you will never EVER be the same again!

Jericho throws the mic down and leaves, and what a revelation this is. next week Chris Jericho and The Reject will wrestle one on one. If Jericho wins, then he gets Personal Demons one on one in what could be his last ever match!


NWA Maximum TV Title Tournament Final
Randy Orton vs Ted Dibiase
Orton was a big favourite going in to the tournament, but I think with the quality of the field few had pencilled in Dibiase to make it to the final, despite his past achievements, but luck has been on his side tonight. And he would put in another very good display against his former Legacy team mate, as he tried to ground the explosive brawling and offense of Orton with mat wrestling, wearing him down and working on the shoulder, looking to make it easier to hit his finishing moves or lock on the Million Dollar Dream. He could only keep Orton down for so long though, he fought his way out of a submission and got back into the match, hitting a series of his signature moves before pounding the canvas, ready to hit the RKO. he goes for the move, but Dibiase throws him into the ropes AND LOCK THE MILLION DOLLAR DREAM! Orton begins to fade and Dibiase looked to have this all wrapped up. But Orton somehow manages to make it back to his feet again and battle the pain, AND HITS THE RKO! 1-2-3, Orton wins it and is the first NWA Maximum TV Champion!
Winner- NEW NWA Maximum TV Champion, Randy Orton

Orton celebrates with his newly won championship as Dibiase leaves, unlucky but having been very impressive overall on the night, and he will get more chances to shine.

Before our show can come to an end however, "Cowboy" James Storm heads for the ring, staring down Orton. He takes the mic.

"Randy Orton, first of all I want to congratulate you on winning that championship. My arrival in NWA Maximum was too late for me to compete as part of this tournament, but had I been part of this I know I would have given you a real run for your money. That's why Randy I want to be the first man to challenge you for that title. Are you up to the challenge?"

Orton stares down Storm, then nods and the two shake hands, showing a mutual respect that I think will translate well into a great matchup. I look forward to seeing these two wrestle, but until then see you next week everybody.

[Deleted]

I just really love that you continue to keep things on the hardcore fringe in this promotion, and it came in ways I didn't expect. That opener seemed pretty damn cool and physical, and I just love that. They could have just had a pretty good straight up match, but you made it into something just raw and gritty. The idea of Clay and Lesnar is great, as it would take a guy the stature of Clay to really take on a guy like Brock, who has few who could really compete with him. Nice to see the transition to Bad News Barrett here, and while I approve of Gargano going over, I'm not sure he could hit the Hurts Donut on Barrett, given his stature, but that's incidental. Not sure you knew this, but Roode and DiBiase had teamed for a long time in CPW as Money Inc., so that could have been played up, but otherwise, I like what you did there. Orton going over Anderson and Rhodes was great, as he really needs something and a win over those two is definitely big. Ted DiBiase going on to beat Gargano and Wyatt, a former World champ and a guy who's undeniably popular, is also a huge vote of confidence and I think it's great. The build up to Hardy and Jericho has me enticed. I find them to be a great match stylistically, always have, and given the format here and how personal it is getting, there's no way it's not going to be something special. Oh man, Orton breaks a big slump, getting this title win nice and clean in what was a stacked tournament, and now you've gone and brought in James Storm, a guy I really like and I'm glad somebody picked him up and that somebody was you. I just had too much on my plate to continue to write out his journey, but I think he landed safely where he should be and can be a big time impact player. Loving the product, man, keep up the great work.

[maximum]

Thanks man, much appreciated . Just to address a point, I must admit I completely forgot that Roode and Dibiase teamed, if i had remembered then it would have been addressed in the writeup, so bit of an oversight on my part there. Though with the Clay beatdown I think there would only have been so much that could have been done with this anyway, so maybe down the line they will have a lengthier match to settle the score.

[jp1985]

Good follow up to the last show. Never know after something like Lesnar attacking Clay if you would come back the next show with them going 1 on 1, but definitely the better choice here in adding to the build first. The match will have a good visual to it. It's a tough middle ground to navigate with this as the first match for Brock. Have Lesnar show up and kick everybody's asses, which is the mistake WWE made off the bat a few years ago in having Cena beat him out of the gate, or put Lesnar against guys that can go toe to toe with him and make him look average. If he destroys Clay, definitely helps his cause but further sinks Clay. If Clay puts up a fight or even wins, helps him, but doesn't do much for the aura Lesnar can bring with him to this product. Interesting to see which way you go as it is a match with actual repercussions for a win and a loss, presumably anyway, something you don't see much of anymore in wrestling because it's hard to get to.

Good to see Orton finally do something of note here. He was never booked poorly anywhere, but never given anything the character could run with or stand out. This was something, and really glad you went with him over DiBiase, who I've never really understood the pushes he gets in this league relative to who else he's competing with. He's alright, but I mean there were far better options in that tournament, first and foremost being Orton, but also guys like Wyatt, although he wasn't pinned either and protected at least whereas DiBiase wasn't in the end. Storm makes a good challenger at some point, and it seems like it won't be right away, a good move.

I'm really liking the Hardy vs Jericho stuff. Definitely has been the best twist on somebody with some originality in this league, vs the garbage TNA saddled him with as that awful Willow crap he was doing as an alter ego. Don't know I'd have went to a career being on the line this fast. It doesn't add anything to the match's value because it already such a great build already and the promotion is still so young that if a veteran like Jericho is putting his career on the line, it should take more than a handful of shows to really get the most out of the stip. Also reading it, it was so quick from the announcement to the acceptance and what it took to get Jericho to reconsider, it doesn't make it seem like any sort of big deal. That said, since only his career is on the line, even chance he doesn't even lose at least vs a normal 1 on 1 where Hardy pretty much would have to win. And again, the build you have given to just the match without taking into account the added stip has been really well done.

Some big matches coming up here, looking forward to them and now that all the title deciding is out of the way, getting some more meat in there to chew on with more rivalries instead of tournament stuff.

[maximum]

Yeah, with Lesnar vs Clay, I do have the problem of who goes over, and its something I still haven't 100% decided on. I might end up going the route of a series of matches depending on how much mileage I can get from the first match writeup, so that I can try to get both men to come out having gained something, but even then that is very difficult to book for two wrestlers of this stature. But I like a challenge and I'm going to try and find some way to balance things.

As for Hardy/Jericho, I do intend to give a bit of build to the matchup over the next few shows, in order to give that stipulation some more value, that and I feel there is unfinished business for Personal Demons with Shane Helms to deal with before the Jericho match. But i do have a plan in mind and I hope that everybody will be pleased with how that turns out.