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[GCW] Monday Night Explosion - 5/9/05

Snabbit888Posted on 02/25/06 at 07:56:46

We had one more stop before Mayhem, and it was at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona for Monday Night Explosion! We were going to have a preview of many matches all wrapped into one as our main event is a huge 10-man tag team event! On one side it will be Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, and Goldust. On the other is World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle, Eric Angle, the World Tag Team champions Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, and Rhyno! We will also see Star Quality take on Elix Skipper and Low-Ki! Plus our first match of the evening, a rematch from Deadly Draw with Frankie Kazarian defending the Cruiserweight Title against Paul London!


Match #1
Cruiserweight Title Match
Frankie "The Future" Kazarian (c) vs. Paul London
Paul London decided to invoke his rematch clause after losing the Cruiserweight Title to Frankie Kazarian last month at Deadly Draw. London seemed better prepared this time, though in his defense, how could he have really prepared to be Pearl Harbored by Red like that? London looked sharp and was a step ahead of Kazarian at every turn, exploiting every chink he could find in the Future's armor. After brutalizing Kazarian with a high impact dragon suplex, London went up top with the London Calling on his mind. London was in position, but we knew it had been too long to not see Kazarian's backup. Kid Kash shoved London off the top rope, causing him to splat on the mat where Red was ready to put the boots to him as the referee called for the bell.

Paul London defeated Frankie Kazarian by disqualification in 0:03:16.
Rating: ***
(Frankie Kazarian retained the GCW Cruiserweight Title.)

Disqualifications don't get much more blatant than that. London was in trouble as Kazarian, Red, and Kash all were taking their shots until help arrived in the form of AJ STYLES! Styles peppered all three men with punches, but the numbers soon overwhelmed him. Kash grabbed a hold of Styles and planted him with the Dead Level while Red hit the InfraRed on London. The heel cruiserweight contingent left the ring standing tall while Styles and London struggled to get to their feet.


AJ STYLES AND PAUL LONDON WANT REVENGE
After we returned from commercial break, AJ Styles and Paul London came back to talk to Tommy Dreamer and demanded a match with Frankie Kazarian, Red, and Kid Kash at Mayhem. Dreamer obliged, but gave them the option of a third partner to make it a six-man tag team match instead of a handicap match. Styles and London left to find a partner, but soon after them JUSTIN CREDIBLE and THE COLONEL came in and as is the norm, Credible was unhappy. Credible was demanding to know who he would be facing at the pay-per-view. Dreamer just smiled at him before reminding him that he was in charge and no one gets to make demands to him. "The only piece of advice I can give you, Credible, is to be ready for anybody." The Colonel yelled something incoherent at Dreamer, but not surprisingly, Dreamer stood by his decision. Go figure.


Match #2
On Commentary: Randy Orton
"Y2J" Chris Jericho vs. Petey Williams (w/ Dawn Marie)
Randy Orton decided to grace Joey O'Donnell and Brian Wagner with his presence as he joined them at the announce position for special insight during Chris Jericho's match against Petey Williams. Jericho was distracted by Orton's presence at the booth, and that was exactly what the third generation superstar was looking to accomplish. Petey is a handful in the ring without the added annoyance of your arch enemy sitting at ringside to taunt you. Petey Williams was building up a lot of steam and had Y2J on the ropes throughout a lot of this match. Petey had Jericho all set up for the Canadian Destroyer, which is guaranteed to put anybody out, but Jericho showed that he is a wily veteran and caught Williams in a small package that caught the youngster by surprise and got him the win.

Chris Jericho pinned Petey Williams after a small package in 0:06:32.
Rating: ****

Randy Orton used this opportunity to blindside Jericho, but Jericho was one step ahead as he ducked and sent Orton flying out of the ring wih a backdrop. Orton tried to get back into the ring, but when he got on the apron, Y2J met him with a springboard dropkick. Orton didn't suffer too much physical damage, but his psyche certainly was thrown as he slammed his hands down on the ring apron an threw the top half of the ring steps. As of this point, Jericho seems to have the mental edge going into Mayhem. But it still remains to be seen if he can get his hand raised when there is no disqualification.


PALUMBO'S PIZZA PLACE - SPECIAL GUEST - KEN DOANE
Ken Doane was this week's guest on Palumbo's Pizza Place, as Chuck Palumbo calls "the highest rated segment in all of Italy." After Palumbo did his best to berate Doane (he's too much of an idiot to really be effective at dishing out insults), talk turned to John Bradshaw Layfield's challenge from a week ago. Doane said that it was an honor to be on such a big stage at such a young age, and he understands the great opportunities he has. "I know that I'm young and that to get respect I'm going to have to prove that I belong here. I'm going to take on the best competition in the world and show that I can hang with these guys. So JBL, you're on at Mayhem!" This is going to be a good test to see just how far along the Teen Phenom is in his development. If JBL loses to Doane, he's definitely going to be unbearable (more so than normal).


Match #3
Star Quality vs. "Primetime" Elix Skipper/Low-Ki
Elix Skipper practically begged for this match after he suffered an embarrassing setback in his recent losing streak when Matt Morgan was able to pin him in only 20 seconds in last week's Fatal Fourway. Skipper is so anxious to break this losing streak that he's letting it affect his game plans and how he tries to go about his business in the ring. Low-Ki did his best to ground his partner in this one, but Skipper is out on an island right now. Low-Ki started out the match and got an advantage for his team, but when he tagged Skipper in, that was the last in ring action he was going to see tonight. Skipper took a few lumps, and despite that, even when he had chances he didn't make tags that might have helped him win this match. Skipper was taking so much punishment that Low-Ki finally had enough and jumped in the ring in an attempt to buy his partner some time. Good idea in theory, but "Ravishing" Rob Conway saw him coming and moved out of the way of a big martial arts kick from Low-Ki. Ki's foot connected squarely on Skipper's head, knocking him loopy. Conway tossed Ki from the ring and made the cover, grabbing the pinfall victory.

Star Quality (Matt Morgan and Rob Conway) defeated Elix Skipper and Low-Ki when Conway defeated Skipper via pinfall in 0:06:28.
Rating: *** 1/2

Star Quality with another impressive win, as they've now beaten two of the three teams that have ever held the World Tag Team Titles. Meanwhile, Low-Ki tried to explain what happened and apologized to Skipper, but Primetime wasn't hearing it and yelled at his partner. Ki wasn't about to take that kind of abuse though and yelled right back, citing that if Skipper had made the tag when he had the chance, he wouldn't have had to try to save him like that. Skipper and Low-Ki continued to argue as they made their way to the locker room.


AJ STYLES AND PAUL LONDON FIND THEIR PARTNER
AJ Styles and Paul London had been spending the night trying to find a tag team partner to join them for a six-man tag team match at Mayhem against Frankie Kazarian, Red, and Kid Kash. Styles and London came across REY MYSTERIO JR. and asked him if he would be their partner. Mysterio was a bit tentative at first, citing that he doesn't quite trust AJ Styles, who has just recently "changed his ways" and hasn't earned his trust yet. Mysterio continued though by saying he's not happy with the way that Kazarian and his cronies have been representing the Cruiserweight Title and wants to put them back in their place. Mysterio agreed to be the partner, and we have a six-man tag team cruiserweight spectacular scheduled for Mayhem!


Match #4
The Hurricane/Abyss/Matt Hardy (w/ Lita) vs. The Prophecy (w/ Daffney)
This match came about after High Voltage last night in a match between Abyss and Jeff Hardy, a match that Abyss won after a brawl erupted on the floor between The Hurricane, Matt Hardy, Sean O'Haire, and CM Punk. Tommy Dreamer signed a six-man tag team match for tonight, and what a match it ended up being. This match was interesting on certain levels. For starters, The Hurricane and Abyss have a World Tag Team Title shot at Mayhem and Sean O'Haire will be challenging for the North American Title on the same event, so an injury in a match like this could be catastrophic. Also, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy will meet for the first time in a singles match in GCW this Sunday, but tonight would serve as the first time they'd be in a match across from each other. As one would predict, Jeff stayed away from Matt for the duration of this match, frustrating him by not locking up with him and making him wait until this Sunday. Jeff Hardy had no trouble locking it up with Abyss or The Hurricane though, mostly because he'll do whatever CM Punk commands him to do. The aggressiveness of Jeff Hardy these days is really quite the turn around from the trampoline act of years past. However, with Punk's command for Jeff Hardy to avoid any contact with Matt Hardy at all, it made for an uphill climb for the Prophecy, who fell when The Hurricane hit the Eye of the Hurricane on Hardy for the win.

Abyss, The Hurricane and Matt Hardy defeated The Prophecy (CM Punk, Jeff Hardy and Sean O'Haire) when Hurricane pinned J. Hardy with the Eye Of The Hurricane in 0:12:54.
Rating: **** 1/4

Though the Prophecy didn't win, CM Punk always has a method to his madness. Sean O'Haire came out of this match unscathed, and Matt Hardy's eagerness to rip Jeff Hardy's head off is through the roof, which will make him more prone to make mistakes in the match at the pay-per-view. That's the scary thing about a guy like CM Punk - you just never know what he has in mind.


Match #5
Lance Storm vs. Randy Orton (w/ Bob Orton Jr.)
Before our next match started, we were shown a video from last year's Summer Sizzler event where Lance Storm made Randy Orton submit to the Maple Leaf to become the North American champion, a title he would be forced to relinquish a month later after a severe shoulder injury. Storm has about seven months of ring rust and a still not 100% shoulder this time though, and Randy Orton was looking to exploit that at the encouragement of his father at ringside. Storm has been around the ropes enough to know how to compensate for some small bumps and bruises, but his shoulder is obviously in bad shape these days. Storm fought hard and was highly competitive, almost getting Orton to submit to the Maple Leaf. Because of his weak arm though, Storm couldn't prevent Orton from reaching the ropes. Not much later, Orton surprised Storm with the R.K.O. and nobody gets up from that.

Randy Orton pinned Lance Storm with the R.K.O. in 0:11:36.
Rating: *** 3/4

Randy Orton joins Chris Jericho in the winner's circle for the evening as they look forward to their clash at Mayhem. Lance Storm was noticeably upset with himself post match, knowing that his bum shoulder pretty much cost him this match. It would be a shame if Storm had to take more time off because of this injury, but for now it looks like he's going to keep fighting through it.


SHARK BOY CHEERS LANCE STORM UP
After a commercial break, the camera cut back to Lance Storm, who was looking a bit depressed to say the least. As he disappointedly untied his boots, suddenly SHARK BOY entered the room. Shark Boy wanted to know why Storm was so down to which Storm tried to politely usher the goofy Shark Boy from the room. Sharky was persistent though, saying he wouldn't leave until Storm told him what was wrong. Storm finally broken down and told Shark Boy that his arm is giving him all kinds of problems and it's affecting how he's wrestling. Sharky told Storm not to be so sad and tried to cheer him up with a little shark dance, but it didn't even get a smile out of the ultra serious Storm. Storm finally just grabbed his stuff and left, leaving Shark Boy to vow to cheer Storm up.


MARIO RIVIERA BACKSTAGE WITH THE WORLD CHAMP
Before the big ten man tag main event, Mario Riviera caught up with Kurt Angle, the World Heavyweight champion, and asked him what his thoughts were going into Mayhem this Sunday where he defends the title against former champion, "The Crippler" Chris Benoit. Angle said, "Benoit thinks he got one over me, that he got one over Team Angle. If he thinks that he's out of his mind! I've beaten Benoit more times than I can remember. Why is Mayhem going to be any different? So Steve Bradley's out of prison and I'm still going to be the World champion. Oh it's true." Angle is confident going into this title defense, but it should also be noted that Kurt Angle has tapped out to Benoit's Crippler Crossface on more than one occasion, so Benoit has a good shot at becoming a two-time World Heavyweight champion.


Match #6
MAIN EVENT
"The Crippler" Chris Benoit/Brock Lesnar/"Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero/Booker T/Goldust (w/ Sharmell & Nancy Benoit) vs. Kurt Angle (World Heavyweight champion)/Eric Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team (World Tag Team champions)/"The Gore Machine" Rhyno
The main event for the evening promised to be explosive (pun completely intended) as we had a massive 10-man tag team battle. The ring was going to be hard pressed to contain these ten superstars, and on more than one occasion, it wasn't able to do so. You had to feel bad for Jimmy Appleseed whose job it was to try to maintain order. There was almost too much action going on in this match to report on. Both teams tried their best to keep one man from the opposing team isolated in the ring, but when you have five opponents, that is a task far easier said than done. As a result of this, this match went over the half hour mark before things completely degenerated.

Chris Benoit had Kut Angle locked in the Crippler Crossface when Eric Angle ran in to break it up. This of course led to the unpredictable Eddie Guerrero running in and attacking the elder Angle brother. Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin ran in from there to save their partner, but Booker T and Goldust cut them off and brawled as well. During this chaos, Rhyno was in the ring and had the Rabid Wolverine set up for the Gore, but Brock Lesnar cut him off and drilled him with a spinebuster! Appleseed was trying his absolute best to get things back under control, but he was fighting a losing battle. Benoit maintained his focus though and was going to go back for the Crippler Crossface, but Kurt Angle caught him with a picture perfect fireman's carry. Now this is a move that will not generally result in a pinfall, but it will when you put your feet on the ropes for leverage. Benoit struggled to kick out, but he was unable to get free as Kurt Angle had pinned him again.

Team Angle (Charlie Haas, Eric Angle, Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin) and Rhyno defeated Booker T, Goldust, Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero when K. Angle pinned Benoit after a fireman's carry in 0:32:40.
Rating: *** 1/2

Kurt Angle got out of Dodge in a heartbeat, leaving Chris Benoit looking on in disbelief in the ring. Angle won the battle tonight, but this Sunday, Benoit can win the war if he can regain the World Heavyweight Title.

The card for this Sunday's Mayhem pay-per-view spectacular is set, and from top to bottom, it looks to be one hell of a card! The Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada will be packed to see this nine match event. Here is the FINAL card:

World Heavyweight Title Match - Kurt Angle (c) vs. "The Crippler" Chris Benoit

North American Title Match - "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown (c) vs. Sean O'Haire

World Tag Team Title Match - The World's Greatest Tag Team (c) vs. Abyss/The Hurricane

Brock Lesnar vs. "The Gore Machine" Rhyno

No Disqualification Match - "Y2J" Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

"Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero vs. Eric Angle

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles/Paul London/Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Frankie "The Future" Kazarian (Cruiserweight champion)/Red/Kid Kash

"The Teen Phenom" Ken Doane vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
djmasterscooterPosted on 02/25/06 at 17:41:56

Mayhem should be great.  I'm pulling for a Benoit victory, but I see Angle pulling it out with a sneak move.

I don't see O'Haire walking out with the NA Title, but it should be a good match.

I see The Hurricane & Abyss walking out with titles based on the momentum they've been building.

I always wanted to see Brock Lesnar and Rhyno go at it.  Since Brock is the challenger going into Super Cade, a loss here would be devastating, but I predict Brock wins it without a problem.

Am I the only one who wants to see Lance Storm pushed severely?  He should have beaten Orton, but I digress.  Jericho & Orton should probably be a showstealer.  Hard call, I hope the winner is in line for a title shot down the line.

Eddie Vs Eric?  I hope this leads to Los Guerreros Vs The Angle Brothers.  I see Eddie winning.

Matt/Jeff?  Not fond of it, but should be a decent spot fest.

Six-man tag?  Hope it leads to a six-way match for the Cruiserweight Title @ SuperCade.  Styles & company win.

I love what you have done with Ken Doane.  I see a victory in his future over JBL.

Overall, Super Cade should be the best yet.