New Year's Brawl 2021

Catch Up: TNM Christmas Brawl

Opening

We welcome you tonight to the Cox Pavilion in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. The City of Sin hosts the first annual TNM New Year's Brawl where careers will be made and dreams will collapse.

TNM Christmas Brawl winner Dan Mastriani will face the only man to beat him in the tournament, The Bob, in our main event tonight. Mastriani is going into this match with everything to lose and only his pride to gain. While The Bob hasn't even arrived in the building yet, Mastriani insists we play the following message he sent from his hotel room earlier.

In the semi-main event of the evening, Basher Loadstone, who looked virtually unstoppable in winning the TNM Christmas Rumble ten days ago, will be facing off against The Masked Marvel in a Two-Out-Of-Three-Falls Strap Match. These two gentlemen have no love lost for one another which is quite apparent in how Marvel first challenged Loadstone to a multi-fall affair, with Loadstone upping the ante by demanding they be tied to one another by the wrist. He wants to make sure The Masked Marvel won't be able to get away.

Our colleague Michael Dropps is standing by in the backstage area with the Marvel, and we understand he has a few choice words for Basher Loadstone.
🎵"Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a brain..."🎵
Isn't that how the song goes? I must admit that you seem to have lodestones the size of grapefruits if you are willing to face me again after the beating I gave you the last time. But listen to your brain, that tiny thing between your ears. It wants you to stay safe. So here's the deal: when the bell rings, you lie down and nobody gets hurt! I'll even invite you to a nice masked Mojito afterwards.

But if you want a fight, you will be welcoming the new year in the worst pain you have ever experienced.

Wear a mask!
From Parts Unknown to Baton Rouge - let's go to Jean Trollund who is with Basher Loadstone.
I told everybody the Christmas Brawl Royal Rumble was going to be a free-for-all like ain't never been seen! And it was! What I didn't tell ya was that I was bringing the Cajun Crazy! I even helped out that ghost dog the Black Shuck a couple times. Which brings me to another dog. I'm talking to you Masked Marvel! Don't kid yourself! I'm always ready to bring the fight!

Now the man from the Commonwealth of the Unknown wants me to wear a mask! Down here in Louisiana we have a shindig called Mardi Gras. And buster, there are a lot of masks. Right here I have this mask [pulls out a purple face mask with sequined figures on it] and as you can see all these little sequined figures are the "Mahvelous Maskt Mahvel" lying on his back! I'll wear this little mask for ya, Marvel. Now right here, I also have this fine, leather strap. Marvel, since you don't like the rules why don't we throw the regular rules out the window and bring this strap into it? That way I can beat you like the mangy mutt you are and nobody can't say nothin' about it! Basher Loadstone is ready to bring it and take care of business! And remember, it ain't the size of the brain but the size of the beating!
Rounding out our triple main event tonight is a highly-anticipated match between Christmas Brawl finalist Kenta Sawada and Christopher Tiberius, and it is one dark horse of a match. Sawada came within inches of winning the tournament on a few occasions and a win tonight will position him well in the upcoming hunt for the Brawlers' Guild Championship. You can rest assured, however, that the Japanese superstar isn't taking his opponent lightly. Christopher Tiberius has a major chip on his shoulder, having only been eliminated from the tournament on a technicality - and he is determined to snipe Sawada tonight. A win might give him the opportunity to get even with the person who caused his elimination: Dan Mastriani.

Before we begin tonight's action, please join all of us at the TNM Brawlers' Guild in a ten-bell salute to the late great... Brodie Lee.


Match #1

Michael Dropps is backstage with Clint Tomasson. Michael?
You know, there comes a time in every man's life, where he has to evaluate his goals and expectations. The Christmas Brawl did not go as planned. I lost every match. Looking back at the video tape, I see the mistakes that were made, and how to correct them. Some of those corrections were made in the Rumble, last week, but there's always more room for improvement. Lee Campbell, nothing personal, but you're just a stepping stone to where I want to be and that's at the top of the wrestling world. It all starts on tonight, New Year's Brawl. Be prepared, and be afraid of what is to come.
Clint Tomasson defeated Lee Campbell when Lee Campbell passed out in the Figure-Four Leglock in 0:08:15.
Rating: ****
This was what they call a "statement match". Clint Tomasson knocked Campbell silly with a Tombstone onto a chair and then put him in his finisher, the Figure-Four Leglock, for the win.

Match #2

Bobby Goodwin and Ravenous defeated Nico Voight and Gorgeous Greg when Ravenous pinned Greg after an Exploder suplex in 0:11:24.
Rating: *** 1/2
Scandalous! Shocking! There is no other way to describe referee Guy Mauvais' performance in this tag team match. After an Exploder suplex by Ravenous against Gorgeous Greg, Mauvais literally looked the other way while counting the pinfall, choosing not to see Greg's foot clearly being on the bottom rope. Mauvais couldn't have cared less, counted three and gave the win to Bobby Goodwin and Ravenous.

Match #3

Ladies and gentlemen - the two of us have a combined forty years of broadcasting experience but we have never seen anything like this. To explain what is going on, our esteemed friend Jean Trollund is standing by with Jonny B. Gawdz.
25 years. I’ve been in this industry for 25 years and Christmas Brawl was my biggest opportunity for fame and glory. 1 minute, 2 seconds. That’s how long it took for it all to fall apart. Mo Kingweed, I tapped out to your camel clutch in just over a minute. That’s not how the story should have ended.

I have challenged you to a 5-minute Iron Man Match. If I can’t beat you in 5 minutes, then you’ll never see this Fu Man Chu in this Fu Man Ring ever again. Kingweed, you want the smoke? Well, I’m bringing the fire, so have 911 on speed dial! Just remember, I’m Jonny B. and at NYB I won’t just B. Gawd... I’ll B. Victorious!
We understand this... challenge... has been accepted. Michael Dropps is backstage, looking to get Mo Kingweed's response.
I beat you in one minute. You want me to beat you 5 times in 5 minutes? No problem. Challenge accepted.
5-Minute Iron Man Match
Jonny B. Gawdz beat Mo Kingweed 1 falls to 0:
x JBG beat M. Kingweed via the Fu Manchu Stunner in 0:04:56

Rating: *** 3/4
If there have ever been five crazier, more action-packed minutes in wrestling, I'd like to see them. Blood, a ring bell, three broken tables... and a Fu Manchu Stunner out of nowhere with only seconds to spare. Chapeau, Jonny... your gamble paid off. This was awesome.

Match #4

Next up is a rematch from the first day of the tournament between JL Stinger and Nick Demola in an I-Quit Match. Only one thing is for sure: Stinger's "Lilla Thrilla" finisher - which ended their first match - will be incapable of ending Demola's night this time around. We go backstage where Jean is standing with with Nick Demola.
JL Stinger. Nick Demola. Main Event of Night One of this tournament. And JL pulled off the fluke of the damn year. But it's not a shock. You're the golden boy, the longtime veteran, the one who the establishment wants to go over. And me? Nick Demola's the King of the S***feds. How dare I challenge the big, bad JL! Well, let's do it one more time. The hottest man in this tournament against the establishment. The man who puts the headlines in the papers and the butts in the seats, Nick Demola, will avenge the only loss I've had. This time on a level playing field. And I will show you, and show the world, why I am The Man, The Myth, The Legend... and the GOD of this damn sport! Strike up the band, Nick Demola... IS OUTTA HERE!
I-Quit Match
JL Stinger made Nick Demola submit to a bodyscissors submission in 0:20:21.
Rating: ****
JL Stinger takes the rematch after a hard-fought battle which would have ended in a draw, had the referee not called an audible. While Demola goes 0-2 against Stinger with this loss, it does beg the question whether he was just caught off-guard by the time limit extension. Stinger having attacked him from behind right as this was happening may offer a clue.

Match #5

Let's go backstage where Mike is about to get a statement from the mysterious Tarot.
Ah! The Christmas Brawl, the greatest tournament in pro wrestling. Yet the championship eluded me, c'est la vie. But all is not lost. The fans, they clamor for more and we as professional wrestlers must answer, no?

New Year’s Brawl, a chance to change our fortunes, is it not? I proclaim that 2021 will be the year of Tarot. Messieurs Lamb, Doubleday and Shuck, I am afraid that victory is not in the cards for you.

Au revoir!
And Jan is standing by with one of the more colorful personalities in the Brawlers' Guild, The Black Shuck. Jan?
So I got my way, my rematch with Doubleday and Lamb. For some reason Tarot has decided to stick his nose in my business which works out just fine. At this time of year the more the merrier, right?

TAROT... you won’t be reading my future anytime soon and you’ll become a past competitor that fell foul of folklore.
LAMB... dogs like meat. I’ll chew you up and spit you out as my New Year’s appetiser.

Then there’s DOUBLEDAY... the beating you’re about to receive will make you question what day you’re spinning around in. Let me be clear, my bite is worse than my bark.

Today is a new day and tomorrow's a new year. I’ll start it strong and end it stronger because in the end, every dog has it’s day. HOOWWWWLLLLL!
Four Corners Match
The Black Shuck defeated Hampton Doubleday, John Lamb and Tarot:
x T.B.S beat H. Doubleday via the Folklore in 0:14:51
x Tarot beat J. Lamb via a spinning leg lariat in 0:15:45
x T.B.S beat Tarot via the Folklore in 0:19:44

Rating: *** 3/4
This was an incredibly fun match and showed that there was no love lost between any of these four competitors. Hampton Doubleday was caught in Shuck's camel clutch, not an enviable position to find oneself in. He yelled for some help but neither Tarot nor John Lamb had been born yesterday and did absolutely nothing to help. While Doubleday managed to grab a rope after about half a minute in the clutch, the damage had been done and Shuck quickly put him away with the Folklore piledriver. John Lamb was out next and under controversial circumstances. Tarot had hit him with a spinning leg lariat and went for the pin. Referee Guy Mauvais counted three in record time, leaving a stunned John Lamb behind... and eliminated. The final fall saw the crowd split down the middle between Tarot and The Black Shuck. Tarot went to the well one time too many with his flying attacks, ate the Folklore and The Black Shuck got the one... two... three.

Match #6

Next up is a match the fans have been looking forward to ever since the final night of the Christmas Brawl tournament's group phase where the Russian tank, "The Spyder" Vyacheslav Ivanov went to a 20-minute draw with "Lunacore" Luna Rose. Their paths crossed again in the Christmas Rumble, and it was clear that there is no love lost between these two. Tonight they meet again with no time limit and - at Mr. Ivanov's request - in a Buried Alive match.

While Ivanov makes his way to the ring, we understand that Luna Rose has a few choice words for her opponent tonight.
So, Mr. Ivanov, it appears that we meet again. We are yet to have a decisive winner between the two of us, even though I went on to the semis of the Christmas Brawl on points while you got eliminated, and then we briefly encountered in that battle royal. I feel there's a bit of history between us already.

The stage has been set for the past week, so now it's time to settle this once and for all on New Year's Brawl. I will bring everything I've got to give and give it all to prove that, between the two of us, I am the one who stands tall.

I am a lady of patience, but I do not do things by halves. At New Year's Brawl, there will be no such thing as draws, just a single victor. And, Mr. Ivanov, you will see that the single victor is the leading advocate of Lunacore, and when it's all said and done I will be wheeling and dealing while you fade away.
No-Time-Limit Buried Alive Match
Luna Rose defeated Vyacheslav Ivanov in 0:15:49.
Rating: *** 3/4
While Luna Rose had been the crowd favorite both times she had previously been in the ring with Vyacheslav Ivanov, the fans in Las Vegas decided to go in a different direction and adopt the Russian as their own. For long stretches of the match, it seemed as if the noticeable boos bothered Rose but then she entered a Zen-like phase in which she started eating them up. The more boos she heard, the more determined she seemed to become. After just under 16 minutes of hard-hitting action, she landed her Famous Last Aphorism and buried Ivanov six feet under.

Match #7

Christopher Tiberius pinned Kenta Sawada with the Imperial DDT in 0:09:55.
Rating: *** 1/2
Christopher Tiberius demonstrated once again tonight that he will do whatever it takes to get the win. He took full advantage of the referee having been on shaky legs after catching an errant elbow. Sawada tried a thrust kick to the head and left himself wide open for not one but two low blows, and it was to absolutely nobody's surprise that he ended up eating the Imperial DDT for the three-count in just under ten minutes of action. This was as shocking an upset as we've seen so far but the win stands. Wow.

Match #8

Two-out-of-three-Falls Strap Match
Basher Loadstone beat The Masked Marvel 2 falls to 1:
x Loadstone beat Marvel via the Flying Bulldog in 0:10:03
x Marvel beat Loadstone via the SuperKick in 0:13:59
x Loadstone beat Marvel in 0:14:22

Rating: ****
This was a worthy semi-main event between two guys wrestling at the speed of light. You know that when you get a handspring elbow and a two-count in the first ten seconds of a match, it's going to be a fun ride. Loadstone won the first fall with his Flying Bulldog after an exciting series of counters, during which The Masked Marvel almost managed to go 1-0 after Loadstone faceplanted coming off the second turnbuckle. Less than four minutes later, Marvel tied the score with his SuperKick. As both men got up, Loadstone yanked on the strap, pulled The Masked Marvel towards him, dropped him neck-first on the top rope and dragged the now Choking Marvel to all four corners, hitting the turnbuckles and taking the win in an excellent match.

Match #9

Dan Mastriani pinned The Bob with the Shining Wizard in 0:00:21.
Rating: *
The Bob hadn't even fully taken his ring jacket off yet when Dan Mastriani ran towards him and took off, buckling The Bob's knee with a dropkick. Fractions of a second later, Mastriani was back on his feet, ran into the ropes and took The Bob's head off with a Shining Wizard to win our main event in a truly shocking 21 seconds. If Mastriani's goal had been to make a statement, then mission accomplished. Between his tournament win and this incredible performance tonight, he left no doubt: He IS the #1 wrestler in the Guild. But if one thing is certain, then it is that he better watch his back. It's lonely at the top and everybody is gunning for you.