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Pro Wrestling-RAGE Week #8-First Champion Crowned

xsouporheroxPosted on 04/22/04 at 03:42:34

[Round 1]
Mike Awesome pinned Altar Boy Luke with the Awesome Bomb in 0:13:14.
Rating: *** 1/2
[Father Jim Mitchell interfered against Altar Boy Luke.]
 
Comments
Really nice power versus speed match to open things off. Luke was doing really well and then James Mitchell tripped him up, allowing Awesome to go back on the offensive. Even then, Luke looked to be going for a Holy Driver but couldn't lift Awesome. Awesome took advantage of this and hit a few big moves leading up to the Awesome Bomb for the win and he advances into the quarterfinals.
 
[Round 1]
Frankie Kazarian pinned Elix Skipper after a flying cross body press in 0:06:52
.
Rating: *** 1/2
 
Comments
Lots of give and take here by both men as their styles really complimented one another. Both men are speedy and have solid technical skills and it showed in this quick but very tight match. Kazarian picks up the with with a flying cross body press and goes on to face Mike Awesome in one of the biggest challenges of his PW-RAGE tenure.
 
[Round 1]
AJ Styles pinned Joey Matthews with the Styles Clash in 0:06:31.
Rating: **** 1/4
 
Comments
Surprisingly the best match of the tournament so far. Matthews had a lot to prove tonight as he's been criticized as not being that good of a singles wrestler. He held his own fairly well against top seeded AJ Styles however, even dominating the early minutes of the match before getting caught in the STF for 32 seconds. The match was a dead heat from there on out but the damage had been done and AJ hit the Styles Clash to join Awesome and Kazarian in the quarter finals.
 
[Round 1]
Trent Acid pinned Matt Stryker with the Yakuza Kick in 0:12:37.
Rating: ****
 
Comments
Another really really good match here in the tournament. Stryker and Acid both showed up to play the game tonight and it showed. There was the requisite mat-wrestling of course, but these two also had a pretty intense ringside brawl during portions of the match. The end came when Stryker fell out of the ring and Acid went for a moonsault to the floor and missed, appearing to knock himself out. Stryker rolled him back in the ring and hit the Stryker Driver, appearing to put things away but Acid kicked out at 2.9!!! Stryker pulled Acid back to his feet looking for a second Stryker Driver but Acid pushed him off and hit a desparation Yakuza kick for a 2. Both men staggered back to their feet, slugged it out, then Acid bounced off the ropes and hit a second Yakuza kick for the 1...2...3. Now Acid will face AJ Styles in the second round.
 
[Semi-Finals]
Frankie Kazarian pinned Mike Awesome after a small package in 0:06:37.
Rating: ** 3/4
[Father Jim Mitchell interfered against Frankie Kazarian.]
 
Comments
Kazarian took it right to Awesome in this one, shocking everyone. This match heavily favored Kazarian on offense, though Awesome did get his shots in, including a top rope power-bomb and a belly-to-belly superplex. Kazarian managed to score with the Wave of the Future but James Mitchell put Awesome's foot on the ropes at two. Awesome then took control, and was looking to hit a power bomb when Kazarian small packaged him and got the win, quickly scrambling out of the ring and backstage before Awesome could do any damage.
 
[Semi-Finals]
Trent Acid pinned AJ Styles with the Yakuza Kick in 0:21:55.
Rating: *****
 
Comments
Wow! This was the best match in the history of PW-RAGE and it was between two men in their second matches of the night. Neither man could keep the other down and this one went to the time limit but the championship committee declared there must be a winner so the match continue. Acid backdropped out of a Styles Clash attempt and scored the Yakuza Kick to win a spot in the finals.
 
[Finals]: Match for the vacant RAGE Heavyweight Title
Trent Acid pinned Frankie Kazarian with the Yakuza Kick in 0:15:13.
Rating: *****
(Trent Acid won the RAGE Heavyweight Title.)
 
Comments
Trent Acid manages to do the impossible. He goes through one half of the tag champs in Matt Stryker after knocking himself out _and_ taking a Stryker Driver. He manages to defeat arguably the biggest star in PW-RAGE in AJ Styles during a 5-star classic. He then manages to defeat the other half of the tag champs, the red hot Frankie Kazarian in a _second_ 5-star classic. And give credit to Kazarian too, who defeated Elix Skipper, shocked the RAGE crowds by nearly dominating Mike Awesome, and then took Trent Acid to his limit. These two know each other well, their tag teams faced each other in the finals of the tag title tournament, a match which The Backseat Boyz won but Kazarian and Stryker won the rematch the next week. In fact, these two will face each other again next week for Acid's new RAGE Heavyweight title. Will Acid lose in his first defense yet again, or can he break his curse in matches against Kazarian. Only time will tell as these two young lions square off yet again.
rgarrardPosted on 04/22/04 at 03:56:25

two ***** and both have Trent Acid your NEW champion in them!  The future is looking bright for PW-RAGE!  What a tournament.  Lots to build the circuit with after those results.