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[GCW] Monday Night Explosion - 11/15/04

Snabbit888Posted on 02/25/05 at 03:04:50

For those of you anxiously awaiting Glory, that wait is almost over as we are only six days away! Memphis, Tennessee is gearing up for the pay-per-view, but we had one more stop in Terre Haute, Indiana, President Ryan Niemiller's old stomping grounds, as the Hulman Center played host to Monday Night Explosion! Kurt Angle would defend his World Heavyweight Title against the man who pinned him in a tag match last week, "Primetime" Elix Skipper! Also in a match signed as a result of last week, the North American champion Monty Brown took on his partner a week ago, Eddie Guerrero, in a non-title match! Other matches signed for tonight included Paul London against teddy Hart of Team Canada in a Cruiserweight Title match, the Italian Stallions, Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore, and the World's Greatest Tag Team in a triangle match, and Matt Hardy taking on Petey Williams in singles action! But the show was all set to kick off with a preview of the main event for Glory as Steve Bradley went one-on-one with Randy Orton!

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Before the scheduled match between Randy Orton and Steve Bradley, World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle grabbed the microphone and went down a laundry list of complaints. He expressed his displeasure with having to defend the World Heavyweight Title this close to Glory against Elix Skipper, someone who he feels is inferior competition. Angle also brought it to our attention how unfair it was that he and Bradley both had matches tonight, but only Randy Orton had a match scheduled tonight from the opposing team. This brought out Orton and his partner for Glory, "Y2J" Chris Jericho. Jericho showed that he is certainly not lacking in confidence about this Sunday, and said he would be more than happy to wrestle a match tonight. He went as far as to let Kurt Angle and Steve Bradley choose his opponent. It's good to be confident, but this could have been a mistake. Jericho has never shown self-esteem problems before though, so why start now?

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Match #1
Randy Orton (w/ "Y2J" Chris Jericho) vs. Steve "Who's Your Daddy?" Bradley (w/ World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle)
What a match to kick off Explosion as we had a preview of the Glory main event with Randy Orton taking on Steve Bradley. A win would have been huge for both of these competitors with Glory being a mere six days away and this being the last show before that event. You could tell there was a lot of bad blood between these two based on how hard they took it to each other. As the match progressed, you could tell that Kurt Angle was just itching to interfere, but Chris Jericho's presence in Orton's corner countered this.

Bradley has progressively become meaner and meaner as the weeks have gone by, and Orton got the brunt of it tonight. Orton has a very deceptive style, because you look at him and you see his pretty boy looks and his cocky attitude, but you often forget just how tough he is. Orton, to use a bad cliche', can take a lickin' and keep on tickin', and it frustrated the Baddest Mofo on the Show. Orton refused to keep his shoulders on the mat, which could have mixed results. On one side, he remained competitive to try to win this match. On the flip side, the longer this match lasted and the more punishment Orton took, the more worn down he'd be for this Sunday. Late in the match, Orton was able to fire back with a flurry of offense, but Bradley cut him off by hitting the Smashmouth. It may have been enough to pin Orton, but Jericho made the save by putting Orton's foot on the ropes. Kurt Angle was livid at this as Jericho just smiled at him. Bradley jawed with Jericho for awhile which allowed Orton to regain some of his energy. When Bradley finally put his focus back on Orton, he caught Angle's enforcer by surprise and dropped him with the R.K.O.! An exhausted Orton dropped onto Bradley and surely would have gotten a pin, but he was too close to the ropes and Angle returned the favor and put Bradley's foot on the ropes. Orton got up and yelled at Angle, who had had enough and jumped on the apron. Angle took a swing at Orton, but Orton ducked. Things were about to get worse for Angle as Jericho had made his way to this side of the ring and pulled Angle's feet out from under him, causing the World champion to smash his face on the apron! Jericho began taking it to Angle, but during the chaos, he didn't see Bradley catch Orton by surprise with a sunset flip and with the aid of his feet on the ropes, Steve Bradley had won the match.

Steve Bradley pinned Randy Orton after a sunset flip in 0:11:42.
Rating: *** 1/2

Jericho quickly slid in the ring and Bradley just as quickly slid out having stolen a victory from Orton. Kurt Angle and Steve Bradley may have been a little shaken up, but the smile on Angle's face said it all. A huge swing of momentum in the direction of the World Heavyweight champion and his enforcer.


Match #2
Matt Hardy (w/ Jeff Hardy/Lita) vs. Petey Williams (w/ Teddy Hart/Dawn Marie)
After the tremendous match between the Hardy Boyz and Team Canada last week, a singles match was signed for this week pitting Matt Hardy against Petey Williams. These two had something to prove for their respective teams, something they didn't get to do a week ago thanks to Shaniqua and the Basham Brothers. This match was fast-paced like we thought it might be as these two can move. Hardy and Williams went back and forth working on the other's neck, setting up their respective finishers, the Twist of Fate and the Canadian Destroyer. Things were going Matt Hardy's way in the early minutes until Dawn Marie tried to trip him up when he hit the ropes. Lita wasn't about to stand for this as she ran around to the other side of the ring to confront Marie, but instead she was cut off by Teddy Hart, who threatened to actually hit Lita! It didn't take long for Jeff Hardy to intervene and we almost had a huge ordeal on the outside of the ring.

Matt Hardy saw what was happening outside and turned his attention there, which allowed Williams to nail him from behind. Williams got Hardy in a standing headscissors and called for the Canadian Destroyer. Williams flipped over Hardy's back, but the larger Hardy put on the breaks and held Williams up, backing him into the turnbuckles. Williams had the wind knocked out of him as he got to his feet, only to catch a boot to the midsection. Seconds later, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and got the win.

Matt Hardy pinned Petey Williams with the Twist Of Fate in 0:04:23.
Rating: *** 1/4

After the match, everyone spilled into the ring and we had a stand off: Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Lita on one side, Teddy Hart, Petey Williams, and Dawn Marie on the other. It looked as if things were going to boil over when the music of THE BASHAM BROTHERS began playing, and out came the World Tag Team champions and Shaniqua! Everyone in the ring turned their attention to the ramp as Shaniqua and her men started to the ring, and the Hardyz and Team Canada were all ready to get it on. However, Shaniqua stopped and flipped everyone in the ring the bird and took the Bashams to the back. Shaniqua is a master of mind games, and she is definitely in the head of the Hardy Boyz and Team Canada. If they are too emotional, it could cost both teams in Tag Team Turmoil. A smart move by Shaniqua, as the Bashams are going to need every advantage they can get.

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We were then taken to the office of President Ryan Niemiller who was paid a visit by "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. HBK, in a surprisingly cool and collected way, asked Niemiller for a match at Glory against Justin Credible, jokingly saying that he wanted to teach Credible to "respect his elders." Niemiller gave him the match, so we will officially see Shawn Michaels vs. Justin Credible at Glory this Sunday. After HBK left, there was a knock on the door. Matt Morgan answered it and on the other side of the door was Goldust. Goldust asked for a few minutes alone with Niemiller, and the President thought what the heck and told Morgan to leave. Morgan and the cameraman left and after a few moments, we heard Niemiller screaming in disgust from within. Morgan rushed in find Goldust standing on top of Niemiller's desk in a seductive pose. Niemiller screamed, "I already told you, Booker T didn't do any of this! He just asked for the spot in Tag Team Turmoil! You and Booker are still in the match, and just because of this, you and Booker T have just officially been added to the match with the World's Greatest Tag Team, Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore, and the Italian Stallions, making it a Four Corners match! Now get out of here!" Why Goldust thought seducing the President of Global Championship Wrestling would be a good idea is beyond me, but it backfired on him in a huge way. We get to see how Booker T and he operate as a tag team though.

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Match #3
Low-Ki vs. Sean O'Haire (w/ Daffney)
Sean O'Haire will finally get what he and Christopher Daniels believe to be his deserved shot at the North American Title when O'Haire meets Monty Brown at Glory, but O'Haire was looking to keep himself sharp this week against one of his mentor's old running buddies, Low-Ki. As a unit, Low-Ki and his partner Elix Skipper have been on a sensational roll, compiling several wins in the tag division, including one over Steve Bradley and World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle which earned Skipper a shot at the Big Gold Belt in our main event. Low-Ki, the former Cruiserweight champion, is wrestling with a considerably larger amount of confidence, and it caught O'Haire off guard. Low-Ki was overwhelming O'Haire with his strong kicks in the early part of this match. Low-Ki showed no signs of letting up, knowing that if he wanted to beat O'Haire, he had better keep on the offense. O'Haire needed to find an opening, and he found it when Low-Ki went for a Tidal Crush but he caught nothing but turnbuckle as O'Haire slid out of the way. O'Haire followed with a chopblock that effectively took Ki's kicks out of the match. Despite his best efforts to recover, O'Haire was too much for Low-Ki this night as he planted him with the Prophecy to walk away a winner.

Sean O'Haire pinned Low-Ki with the Prophecy in 0:06:42.
Rating: ****

This was a good test for both men going into their respective matches at Glory. O'Haire picked up a win which is always how you want to go into a big title match, and Low-Ki looked very impressive in a losing effort. Elix Skipper and he have the potential to make a huge impact in Tag Team Turmoil, especially if Skipper can pull off the upset of the decade by winning the World Heavyweight Title later tonight.


Match #4
Television Title Match
"Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels (c) (w/ Daffney) vs. The Hurricane
Being the Television champion in GCW is quite the double-edged sword from what we've seen thus far. On one side, you get the prestige of carrying this circuit's tertiary title, but as Television champion, you're expected to defend your title more often than the other champions. You don't have to like Christopher Daniels' methods, practices, or politics, but it's hard to argue with his success so far as the Television champion as his reign has passed the two-month mark. His opponent though, The Hurricane, was looking to bring that reign to a screeching halt as he looked to take the title in this one. The Hurricane is a gamer, and although he has had some tough luck at times, he is more than capable of pulling out a win at any time (just ask Abyss and Steve Bradley). The Man In Green looked as if he'd pull out another tonight after going back and forth with the Fallen Angel. The Hurricane managed to surprise Daniels with the Shining Wizard, but Daffney once again showed how deep her sick obsession with the Television Title is as she quickly grabbed Daniels' foot and put it on the bottom rope, breaking up the count. Referee JD Sanders didn't see Daffney's intervening, but The Hurricane did as he confronted her about it. The Hurricane shouldn't have taken his eye off the ball though as when he turned back to Daniels, he walked right into a screwdriver. Game, set, match.

Christopher Daniels pinned The Hurricane after a screwdriver in 0:06:47.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Christopher Daniels retained the GCW Television Title.)

Daffney once again showed how dangerous her loyalty to Christopher Daniels (and the Television Title for that matter) is. A good showing by The Hurricane, but he will walk out of Terre Haute with no gold. Daniels retains his title, but it could be his last successful title defense as Rey Mysterio Jr. is primed and ready to take the title back this Sunday at Glory.


Match #5
Elimination Four Corners Match
The World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Rob Conway/Nick Dinsmore vs. The Italian Stallions vs. Booker T/Goldust
The four teams in this match had one last opportunity to improve their chances this Sunday in Tag Team Turmoil as the World's Greatest Tag Team, Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore, the Italian Stallions, and Booker T and Goldust met in an elimination four corners match. Some interesting things came out of this match. For starters, Goldust was obviously less than thrilled that Booker T and he had to be involved in the Tag Team Turmoil this Sunday, let alone in a preview match tonight. Goldust insists that Booker T and he haven't "connected on a deep enough level" to be a successful tag team, and as protest, Goldust grabbed a chair and sat down at ringside for most of this match, leaving Booker T by himself. Booker could have cared less though, as he was happy to actually be wrestling for the first time in almost a month, and he didn't show much ring rust at all.

The Italian Stallions looked great tonight. Mark Jindrak was his normal focused self, and every time that Chuck Palumbo would try to do some goofy Italian stereotype, Jindrak would shoot him a look and Palumbo would focus again. Jindrak was a man possessed, and singlehandedly dominated the early going, catching Nick Dinsmore with a beautiful exploder suplex to eliminate Dinsmore and Rob Conway from the match. This seemed to get Palumbo pumped up, who wanted in the ring now to go against Shelton Benjamin, who took Dinsmore's place. Surprisingly, Palumbo came in on fire, overwhelming Benjamin with his power and getting several nearfalls on Benjamin (an especially close one after a shoulderbreaker). Palumbo even hit the Jungle Kick on Benjamin, which would have probably gotten the three count, but the emotion of the situation got the better of Palumbo, who saw this as an opportunity to show everyone how Italian he is. Palumbo started parading over the ring like he was the godfather of the ring. Jindrak was about to lose it on the ring apron, yelling at Palumbo to go for the cover. Palumbo was audibly heard saying, "I'm gonna make this meatball an offer he can't refuse," whatever that meant, as he turned back to Benjamin, but Benjamin had time to recover and caught Chuckie by surprise with a Northern Lights suplex which put Palumbo's shoulders down just long enough to eliminate the Stallions from contention. Jindrak was furious, but Palumbo didn't notice as he called Jindrak a paisan.

This left the World's Greatest Tag Team and the old team of Booker T and Goldust, but Goldust was still refusing to tag in! Booker had had enough of wrestling this match alone, so he went to the floor and threw Goldust in the ring. Goldust was essentially thrown to the wolves by Booker T, and Benjamin and Haas tore him to shreds. The WGTT pulled out their great tag team moves to which Goldust had no counter for, leading to Haas almost putting the Golden One through the mat with a power bomb, giving this one to the former tag team champions.

Four Corners Match:
The World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) defeated The Italian Stallions (Chuck Palumbo and Mark Jindrak), Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore and Booker T and Goldust:
x Jindrak beat N. Dinsmore via an exploder suplex in 0:04:27
x S. Benjamin beat C. Palumbo via a Northern Lights suplex in 0:07:39
x C. Haas beat Goldust via a power bomb in 0:09:20
Rating: ** 3/4

Booker T got a little measure of revenge against Goldust for the hell he's put him through the past several months, but imagine what would happen if these two became World Tag Team champions this Sunday? It could very well happen, but it's hard for anyone to deny that Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas are on fire and look set to recapture the titles.


Match #6
Cruiserweight Title Match
Paul London (c) vs. Teddy Hart (w/ Dawn Marie)
We were expecting to see a great Cruiserweight Title match with Paul London putting his title on the line against Teddy Hart of Team Canada. Both men had been introduced, and right before referee Petey Pluck was going to call for the bell, the music of BROCK LESNAR played! What reason would the Monster From Minnesota have for coming out here during a Cruiserweight Title match? We soon found out when Lesnar grabbed the mic and uttered these simple words: "You can leave the ring and live, or you can stay in the ring and DIE!" Teddy Hart wasted no time in making his decision as Dawn Marie and he headed for the hills in prompt fashion. Lesnar turned to London, expecting the Cruiserweight champion to have hit the skids as well, but instead he was met by a dropsault! Paul London was here to wrestle a match, and he didn't care if it was Brock Lesnar! Petey Pluck called for the bell, and we had ourselves an unexpected match!


Match #6
Non-Title Match
Paul London (Cruiserweight champion) vs. Brock Lesnar
You have to admire Paul London's fighting spirit. He had prepared himself to defend the Cruiserweight Title against Teddy Hart, and had no earthly idea that he would end up wrestling Brock Lesnar instead. That didn't stop him from going all out against Lesnar, but honestly, from the get-go, he was fighting to survive. Lesnar is completely scary when he's having a good day, let alone when he's in a bad mood like he was here. Lesnar and his two opponents in the triple threat match, AJ Styles and Chris Benoit, were all scheduled to have the night off, but Lesnar didn't want to wait that long to release some frustrations. London's a hell of a competitor, no doubt about it, but he was over matched by the Monster From Minnesota. London's early offense was cut short by a tremendous lariat, and after a couple minutes of being bounced around by Lesnar, Brock put the Cruiserweight champion's shoulders to the mat with the F-5.

Brock Lesnar pinned Paul London with the F-5 in 0:03:24.
Rating: ***

An absolutely dominating performance from Brock Lesnar. Paul London fought hard, but he wasn't expecting to face Lesnar, and truthfully, Lesnar is in a world all of his own these days. It's going to be hard to bet against him this Sunday.

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After this match, Mario Riviera caught up with Billy Kidman, the current number-one contender for the Cruiserweight Title. Riviera asked him about what just happened and said that Kidman must be pretty happy about Brock Lesnar's beating of Paul London. Kidman shrugged it of and said that he doesn't need Lesnar's help to beat Paul London, but this will simply make it that much easier so he doesn't have to waste too much time before he becomes the Cruiserweight champion. Kidman seems overly confident about his chances at taking the Cruiserweight Title which leads me to believe that he has something up his sleeve. London is going to need to put tonight behind him and get his head on straight if he hopes to keep the title at Glory.

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Match #7
"Y2J" Chris Jericho vs. Eric Angle
Earlier in the night, Chris Jericho told Kurt Angle that he would wrestle anybody the World Heavyweight champion could throw at him. Angle was on short notice to find an opponent for Jericho, and when time is an issue, where better to go than family as the man that Kurt Angle chose to wrestle Y2J was his own brother, Eric Angle! Eric Angle has yet to taste defeat in GCW, and with every win he's compiled in his six months here his armor has looked harder and harder to penetrate. Jericho showed zero fear or hesitation against his daunting task, wrestling his style of match, using his status as a veteran to control the flow of the contest and do something few people have been able to do against Eric Angle: throw him out of his game. Jericho was frustrating Angle to no end, using a hit and run style attack to prevent Angle from getting Y2J on the mat. Angle is a great grappler though, and took advantage of the few opportunities he got a hold of Jericho by dumping him on his head and back with some high impact suplexes.

The tide of this match would change dramatically after Eric Angle had Jericho down in the center of the ring and was climbing up top, presumably for the Anglesault, but there was a commotion in the aisle as EDDIE GUERRERO was walking to the ring, and he had a steel chair in hand! An unstable Guerrero and a steel chair are a dangerous combination and the GCW Official Brigade knew this, getting out to the ring area quickly and putting themselves between Guerrero and Angle. During the commotion, the referee assigned to the match, Antonio Santangelo, assisted the Official Brigade in keeping Guerrero at bay, but in doing so he left the window wide open for KURT ANGLE to come out from the crowd! Eric Angle was still perched on the top rope, but during the commotion, Chris Jericho had worked himself back up to a vertical base. Jericho was about to crotch Eric on the top rope, but before he could, Kurt had him in a rear waistlock and dropped Y2J on his head with a German suplex! Kurt slid out of the ring while Eric flew off the top and hit the Anglesault. Eric hit the Angle Slam to seal the victory and at the prompting of Kurt Angle, Santangelo slid in the ring and made the three count.

Eric Angle pinned Chris Jericho with the Angle Slam in 0:08:26.
Rating: **** 1/4

Kurt Angle had screwed Chris Jericho, and he couldn't have been happier about it. Between Steve Bradley pinning Randy Orton and now this, tonight hasn't been a good night for Jericho and Orton. Eric Angle's undefeated streak also remains in tact, but an angry Eddie Guerrero looks to fix that when he faces Angle at Glory in a Last Man Standing Match. Eric Angle's streak has been quite impressive, but a lot of it has been sheer luck. His luck may run out this Sunday.


Match #8
Non-Title Match
"The Alpha Male" Monty Brown (North American champion) vs. "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero didn't get a chance to get at Eric Angle with a chair in the previous match. The chair had since been taken away from him, but he wished he could still use it as he had to wrestle Monty Brown, the reigning North American champion, in our semi-main event. The North American Title wasn't on the line, but I don't think either man cared much. Eddie Guerrero has shown in recent months that he shows no regard for who he pisses off, as I honestly believe that in his mind, he's starting to think everyone is Eric Angle. He may have made a huge mistake though when he clocked Monty Brown with a punch last week after they were a team against Eric Angle and Sean O'Haire. Brown had little else on his mind other than bouncing Latino Heat around the ring, and he did a good deal of that in this one with big hiptosses and bodyslams. Eddie has let his meanstreak shine through in droves recently though, and he surprised a lot of people, including the Alpha Male, with how much he held his own in a brawl. Near the end, this match had completely deteriorated into nothing more than a fist fight that spilled to the floor. The count was administered, but Brown and Guerrero could have cared less as they brawled to a double countout.

Monty Brown and Eddie Guerrero battled to a double countout in 0:09:52.
Rating: *** 3/4

The GCW Official Brigade had to make a second appearance in a row to get these two apart. A lot of hostility and animosity is building between Monty Brown and Eddie Guerrero, and it looks like this one is far from over.

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We only had one more match to go, and it would be a defense of the World Heavyweight Title. The challenger, "Primetime" Elix Skipper, was backstage warming up but he looked a little more than nervous. As Skipper started to make his way to the curtain, he was stopped by Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, the World's Greatest Tag Team. Benjamin and Haas gave Skipper a pep talk, reminding Skipper that he pinned Kurt Angle last week and that he could do it again. But that if he did it tonight, he would be the top man in all of wrestling. Benjamin told Skipper not to worry about the magnitude of this match but just to go out there and lay it all on the line. This nice gesture from the WGTT seemed to put Skipper's mind at ease a bit as he looked far more confident for what would be the biggest match of his career.

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Match #9
MAIN EVENT
World Heavyweight Title Match
Kurt Angle (c) vs. "Primetime" Elix Skipper
Elix Skipper shocked the wrestling world seven days ago when he pinned the reigning World Heavyweight champion's shoulders to the mat for the three in a tag team contest. Skipper was rewarded for this with a once in a lifetime opportunity for most professional wrestlers, and that's a chance to be the World Heavyweight champion. Defeating Kurt Angle once is a difficult feat to accomplish, but to do so two weeks in a row is almost unheard of, but that's what Primetime was looking to do. Even after the pep talk from Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, Skipper was still suffering from a case of nerves, and it was very obvious in the early going. Skipper was telegraphing much of his offense, and you just can't do that against Kurt Angle. Angle exploited all of Skipper's nervous mistakes and from the opening minutes, it looked as if Angle was on course for an easy title defense. Instead of going for the win, Angle chose to humiliate and essentially try to hurt Skipper, presumably for "embarrassing" him the week before. Angle suplexes Skipper all over the ring, but every time he'd go for a cover, he'd lift Skipper's shoulders off the mat so the match had to continue.

Angle was having a great time at Primetime's expense, taking much delight in the proverbial stumping of a mudhole into the challenger. Angle decided to have some fun outside the ring with Skipper on the floor, tossing Elix to the floor. Angle tried to irish whip Skipper into the ringpost, but Skipper caught Angle off guard by reversing it and sending the World Heavyweight champion into the steel! There was still life left in Elix Skipper as Angle was completely dazed by hitting the ringpost. Skipper tossed Angle back in the ring and dropped on him with a slingshot splash to get a two count. A brain buster and an Asai moonsault bodyblock got similar nearfalls. Skipper definitely had Angle on the ropes, but he couldn't find the right move to put the World champion away. Skipper went to the top rope hoping to find it, but Angle caught a burst of energy and brought Skipper crashing to the mat with a super armdrag! Angle couldn't capitalize right away with a cover as it took him several seconds to crawl over to Skipper. Angle could do little more than throw an arm over Skipper, getting him a 2 and 9/10 count.

The fans in Terre Haute were on the edge of their collective seat by this point, as they were starting to believe more and more that Skipper could pull this one off. Angle wasn't expecting to have this much trouble, and he has shown when he gets flustered that he will sometimes make foolish decisions, usually involving the top rope. Angle made the climb to the top turnbuckle, but just like he did to Skipper, Primetime prevented Angle from hitting the move, crotching the champion on the top rope. Skipper joined Angle on the top and brought him back into the ring with a top rope huracanrana, but it was only enough for a two and a half. A groggy Angle was back to his feet only to be caught in an arm wringer from Skipper, who quickly climbed to the ropes and hit the New School for another extremely close nearfall. Angle was reeling as Skipper called for the Play of the Day, bringing the packed Hulman Center to its feet. Skipper got Angle in position, but he slid out of it and hit a desperation Angle Slam to buy him some time. Both men slowly got to their feet, but that Angle Slam took a lot out of Skipper. Angle hit a German suplex, but Skipper kicked out. Angle wasted no time in hitting a second German suplex, but once again, Primetime barely got his shoulder up. Angle had had enough by this point, putting the straps down and calling for Skipper to get back up. When he did, Angle grabbed Skipper and planted him with three consecutive rolling German suplexes, the last of which he turned into a bridge. Elix Skipper simply didn't have anything left in the tank as Angle got the pin.

Kurt Angle pinned Elix Skipper after a German suplex in 0:17:53.
Rating: **** 1/2
(Kurt Angle retained the GCW World Heavyweight Title.)

Kurt Angle has to be thanking his lucky stars that he walked out of Terre Haute with the World Heavyweight Title still in his possession. Elix Skipper laid it all on the line and came within an eyelash on more than one occasion of shocking the world and winning the World Heavyweight Title, but he didn't have enough to pull it off. Angle grabbed his title and got out of there quickly, realizing just how close he was to defeat. It took Skipper a bit to regain his bearings, but when he did, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the fans, and a well deserved one at that.

With this Explosion in the books, the next stop is in Memphis, Tennessee for Glory, this Sunday night! The card is now complete and looks like this:

Kurt Angle/Steve "Who's Your Daddy?" Bradley vs. "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton/"Y2J" Chris Jericho

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

Tag Team Turmoil for the World Tag Team Titles - The Basham Brothers (c), The World's Greatest Tag Team, The Hardy Boyz, Team Canada, Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore, The Italian Stallions, Booker T and Goldust, Low Ki and Elix Skipper

Television Title Match - "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels (c) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Cruiserweight Title Match - Paul London (c) vs. Billy Kidman

Last Man Standing Match - "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero vs. Eric Angle

"The Crippler" Chris Benoit vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels vs. Justin Credible

We'll see you this Sunday for Glory!
Critic of the DawnPosted on 02/25/05 at 03:39:47

I guess this show is the debut of your new style of promos for most shows.  I can't claim that I'm not dissappointed, because that was one of the greatest strengths of your circuit.  Still, GCW is a lot of fun even without the kick ass promos.

Bradley goes over Orton in what has to be considered something of an upset, even considering Angle's interference.  I'm starting to sense that Jericho and Orton are getting the win at the PPV...  Great job with your upper midcard push of Bradley, by the way.  How high up the card do you figure he's going to get?

Woot!  Matt Hardy wins!  Go Matt Hardy!  I like him because he kicked all kinds of ass as a main eventer in NDW.  Obviously he's probably not in line for the same thing here, but oh well.  It's still nice to see him getting some love.

O'Haire splats Low Ki in a victory which should surprise nobody.  O'Haire is, after all, your Midcard Monster, and a mere tag team guy isn't going to upset him without some kind of story going into the match.

Daniels retains against The Hurricane.  Actually, that's a match that would be a lot of fun to watch.  I'd enjoy a feud between those two guys.  Maybe play up the superhero thing a bit for it...  Dunno.  Maybe it's just me.

Classic stuff with the Stallions and BookDust in the elimination match.  Considering WGTT has been at the top of the division for quite some time, their victory makes a lot of sense to me.  Dinsmore and Conway are just filling space, really.

Paul London vs. Teddy Hart is called off due to Brock.  Good.  Since he's guilty of general asshattery, Teddy Hart doesn't deserve any titles in my book.  But London decides to be a hero and fight Brock... STUPID!  He got splatted good by the NFL reject.

I would have been amused if you had accidentally given the Cruiserweight Title to Brock Lesnar.

Hey, wow, two match #6's!  Eric Angle defeats Jericho with the help of MASSIVE INTERFERENCE FROM THE ENTIRE ROSTER AGAINST EVERYONE.  Angle's winning streak stays alive for a little longer, but I think that Eddie is gonna end it at Glory.  And Jericho loses, which means he gets revenge at the show by making Kurt tap out.

Double Countout between Eddie and Monty Brown... a fairly standard way to protect both guys, really.  Incidentally, I think that the Official Brigade should get into the big tag team match at Glory.  Because they're obviously a great team if they can seperate Guerrero and Brown.

And Angle gives Skipper the Triple H/Taka Michinoku treatment and makes him look like a million bucks before winning the title.  Therefore, Skipper and Low Ki are almost certainly NOT winning the tag team titles at Glory.  Because Skipper already looks like a champ after that stupendous match.

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"