Last week on Ruckus: Rich Ward won the War of the Wards by successfully cheating where little brother Jason couldn’t, much to the shocked disgust of the International Workrate Consortium • Autumn Powers successfully defended the Women’s World Championship only to be waylaid by Summer Rose, who hit her with her own finisher then stood above her holding up the title and three fingers • the main event saw Razorblade successfully defend his TV title against Serge Batroc, which lead to a post match jumping from the IWC; when Katsuji Ootsuka got jumped by “These Hands” Roy Fade and the Proper Villains & Rich Ward couldn’t turn the tide, a surprising man would – Nazir el-Fadal (no, seriously), who took down Pyotr Caviar while the rest of the babyfaces regrouped and cleared the ring, though when Razorblade tried to ask Naz, y’know, WTF, Naz rolled out of the ring and left through the crowd.
The opening to Ruckus is mostly the same but with some new faces sprinkled into it: Super Avión and “Dashing” Pierce Moore got a couple spots in, These Hands is back in the mix with his return, and the close with all the champions got updates due to the Cruel Summer title changes, so welcome in more prominent spots the Game Changers, Autumn Powers, and to close before we hit the Arena, Mason “Razorblade” Savage yelling triumphantly holding up QCW’s two major singles titles.
Set off the pyro and listen to the Quaranteers cheer as the usual suspects welcome us to the show: tonight a 20-person battle royale starts off a road to TV title shot on next month’s limited commercial interruptions Ruckus, and "the Wonderful" Rich Ward will face Razorblade for the TV title in tonight’s main event.
But before all that…let's cue Arcarsenal and try to get some answers. Out strode Nazir el-Fadal in street clothes and the loud, suddenly mixed reaction seemed to shock even Naz, who looked out across the Arena as if he'd never seen it before. He couldn't even get halfway down the ramp before the Arena was in dueling chants somehow, with a louder contingent chanting that he sucks than his name but both sides definitely being heard. An attractive Quaranteer held up a NAZ ZADDY sign in the front row that made Naz back away from the young woman quietly before heading over to Duck, who smiled as he handed him the mic and offered up a fist pound. Naz reluctantly then barely did one, which was good enough for the ring announcer, who then proudly announced to the Arena that we welcome from HAYT Corner, Nazir el-Fadal! Duck got a more solid fist bump after that, and Naz came to the center of the ring and marinated in ratcheting up the decibel meter inside the Arena.
Arcarsenal died off but the chants didn't, Naz shimmying a little bit to them before lifting the mic like it was a glass of fine brandy before speaking.
"Hey yo."
Crowd popped huge as Naz asked them the question you might expect next: were they here to see QCW, or were they here to see Nazir el-Fadal? Another mixed monster reaction for that, and when he tired of it, Naz resumed speaking. He said that while he had maintained radio silence since last week, he'd seen everybody talking about him, everybody wanting answers, everybody asking why, Naz, why? Why did that Russian land monster get some iron added to his diet courtesy of a few Greetings From Hayt Corner?
Well, he said, the answer was simple. For two years straight he stood in this ring, made history, fought off all comers and beat everyone there was to beat. But what he took just as seriously as his win-loss record was being a man of his word. And sometimes the rabble hated the words. But if the choice was between being some color palette swapped Cena or true to himself, he was going to pick himself every time. And now, some of the rabble seem to be recognizing that what separated Nazir el-Fadal from everyone else was the fact that his word wasn't just to hear himself talk, as much as he loved it and it drove Starr crazy so he loved it a little bit more.
He'd proven it time and again: two years ago he said he'd climb to the top of QCW and become champion - that took him the better part of a year and he did it, not only doing it but doing it clean in the middle, because beating Jupiter Jones for a major title demanded nothing less. Last year, he said he'd go on a working worldwide vacation to prove himself as the best in the world, and it was a title he held proudly until he got Mayhemed out of it.
And even though we were barely halfway through the year, he'd continued to be a man of his word: Roy Fade tried to step to him and found himself suddenly titleless. Bennett Carpenter thought it was a good idea to get in the way of his World title ambitions, so he beat them into the hospital twice and made them realize they hadn't done enough looking inward, and they came back with their squad and were now proud champions, thanks to Jihad Finishing School. And last year he said he would destroy the Myth of Mayhem – and anyone who saw Cruel Summer or the side of a milk carton the past few weeks knew that it was six feet under like a Weeknd track.
Because Naz wanted the heat, that's why. Because he didn't name himself the One Man Jihad to put fear in his opponents but to motivate himself, that's why. Because in order to become the champion of champions he dreamed of being as a kid watching professional wrestling on TV, it meant he had to step between these ropes and defend every single word he ever said, that's whyyyyyyy.
So as amused as he was by the reaction, it was as irrelevant now as it was in 2021 and 2020, or would be in 2027 or 2028.
"Because everything that's mine comes due in time, and I'm Nazir Allah-damned el-Fadal, people.
THAT'S why."
Watching Naz get the subsequent somewhat positive reaction was mind boggling, and not just to Starr and Steve. But as Naz started moving towards Duck to give him back the mic, he would learn a little bit about positive reactions.
Because "Unscripted Violence" hit the PA, and to Naz's small surprise, the champ champ was here here. Razorblade got a mic of his own from Duck and stopped at the top stair, shaking his head at Naz before stepping into the ring.
“You know Naz, I was listening in the back as you were talking about facing all comers and beating everyone there is to beat.
I gotta say…it reminded me a lot of me.” The crowd popped for this and Naz’s head tilted a little, but Razorblade waved down the crowd and rolled on: “You’re mostly right on that, but there’s a small–scratch that, big problem with that: you haven’t beaten me.”
Monster pop for that as Naz shook his head almost disappointedly, but it wasn’t like Savage noticed. “I find myself in a similar situation as you, though, because I’ve fought all comers and taken on then beaten everyone who’s worthy. The list grows longer and longer by the day, and soon the day will come where we make our Arena return to PPV by celebrating QCW’s AnIIversary.”
Another pop lead to Queue Cee Dub chants that both men waited out. “Naz, everyone knows you want back the World title. You’ve been complaining about it for almost a full year. These people deserve a good fight, but they aren’t going to get one if you don’t cut the shit.” That got bleeped at home, but if you can read lips it was pretty obvious, as was the crowd reaction (leading to a “Cut the [bleep]!] chant for a few seconds that was hilarious to everyone except the suddenly overwhelmed censor). Savage stuck out his hand for a handshake, and said simply as a man of his word if what Naz wanted was what he thought he wanted, all he had to do was say it and the fight was on. Huge “Razorblade” chants followed as Naz looked down at the hand for a few beats, the shake on the other wrist after last week’s opening segment.
Naz smiled thinly and said that if it hadn’t been for Mayhem in May, he would’ve beaten Savage then, just as he had with the TV title on the line in February. So he knew what the champ champ wanted him to say, but the fact of the matter was that Savage was around here acting like a king when everyone and their senile grandmother knew who the true Ace of QCW was: the man putting on instant classics in technical wrestling in QCW since Day One, and the man who this year had put on so many instant classic brawls on pay per view that pretty soon he’d have to get Five Star Zaddy shirts made. If Razorblade wanted to give Scott Holmes a heart attack by giving Naz the title shot at AnIIversary – a shot Naz would take and win – then that worked out perfectly fine for him. But he didn’t ask for this, Razorblade did, and after the dust settled Mason would have plenty of time post AnIIversary to rue the day he made a challenge to Nazir el-Fadal. Naz scoffed, but then shook his hand, and the crowd popped as the announce hyped up the World title rematch between Razorblade and Naz.
They had time to do so since neither man let go of the handshake for some time. Naz actually pulled Razorblade in and almost hissed that if Savage was lying to him, he’d burn down this entire federation (hmmmmmmmmm) with him inside. On that note, Naz broke the handshake and left the ring, the announce predictably up in arms that Nazir el-Fadal could accuse Razorblade of lying when he was giving him exactly what he wanted. Before he went behind the curtain, he took a long look at Razorblade holding up the Twelve Pounds of Gold before yelling out “Good luck tonight! I’m looking forward to watching you wrestle!” So we probably have about 80 minutes before the other shoe drops.
Let Us Take You Back To Last Month, where the International Workrate Consortium bested Los Nuevos Caballeros to win the Ambassadors Trios championships.
| • the International Workrate Consortium (w/Pyotr Caviar) d. Los Nuevos Caballeros • | The IWC benefited from having their leader Serge in the ring for this modified rematch instead of on the floor, where the imposing Caviar dwarfed all the sombreros blancos, even Obscuro. Starr noted on commentary that he was going to be the Consortium's sole representative in the battle royale later to get #1 contendership and a shot at the TV title come the limited commercial interruptions edition of Ruckus on the 5th. The rollup titles victory had to give the Caballeros hope they could reverse their fortunes here, but down the stretch the IWC tags were too quick and once Serge isolated Caballero Blanco and his teammates ran interference, it was a matter of time (but not Anton's) until the Arc de Triomphe earned the Duquesne Cup holder a bounce back victory. *** As the IWC celebrated in the ring to the jeers of the crowd, Starr added that they'd been on the hunt for the World TV title ever since winning the Ambassadors titles, and with the big Russian going to war for them they might be two weeks away from adding yet another title to an already stuffed trophy case.
We had another in the series of This Week In QCW History segments, though this was a somber one: 1969 saw long reigning QCW Champion "Rocket" Ray Gunn tragically pass away due to a heart attack before a title defense. In a sick irony, the moon landing happened the next day, obscuring his death and causing a postponement for his tribute show.
| • "Dashing" Pierce Moore d. Lucius Patton (w/Jupiter Jones) • | Moore made his in ring debut on the Cruel Summer preshow and bested Crusazdo del Oro; this was Patton's first match back in nearly two months. But Sweet Lu didn't show any ring rust and was actually in control for a majority of the match while Moore took pains to avoid getting punched in the face. QCW's Dashing newcomer weaseled his way to a W when he used the ref as a shield to set up a rake to the eyes, then dropped Patton with a cutter to get the fall. ** Moore celebrated with a cocky grin and brushing the dirt off his shoulder but left the ring as Jupiter came in. Jones had some words with the referee before checking on Patton, who seemed more embarrassed than hurt; as the former World Tag Team champions walked to the back you could see Jupiter talking and Patton nodding occasionally, the student/teacher relationship still continuing with Jupiter trying to impart lessons to his best friend on the roster.
TOTHEBACK~!, where Enya Face brought on "the Wonderful" Rich Ward to a decent pop, Ward with a smile on his face for the first time in a while. Enya congratulated Rich on winning the War of the Wards last week but noted that he cheated to do it; Rich essentially waved it off by bringing up the fact that Jason put him in the hospital, had his goons jump Rich to delay the War and then tried to cheat to win it last week. So far as Rich was concerned, a bruised ego to match Mr. Terrible's little Timbits barely scratched the surface. Enya pivoted to tonight, where Rich would be in his first main event: a TV title shot against Razorblade. Even in absentia the champ champ got the pop of the night, and Rich let it taper down before speaking. He said he came to QCW to capture gold, and while it might not be the belt he originally had eyes on, it was matches like this he lived for as a professional wrestler. He liked Razorblade plenty, but what he was doing wasn't sustainable: months as World Champ, then winning the TV title in Phoenix, then going to war with that bastard Serge again last week. Razorblade was racking up the miles, but tonight the wheels would come off against the pride of Canada and the show would end with a Wonderful new TV champ. That got a fair share of boos as you might expect, but Rich thanked Enya for her time and left to prepare for the main event.
| • "the Voice of Freedom" Drake Tremble d. Ichi-Go • | Former three time champion Tremble has returned to the promotion that made him famous to Make It Great Again. It seemed as if Ichi would come out of the fight with his first W, but Tremble stalled and used a bunch of shady tricks before opening up the offense against the former pureso star and eventually winning with the Truth Bomb (very stable genius Tremble calls his backbreaker driver this). ** Post match he over celebrated his victory and made the Familiar Gesture Around His Waist. Your recapper's atheist, but heaven forfend.
Announce reluctantly put over Tremble and wondered briefly if the former champion had his eyes on a title before setting up a split screen interview from the locker room with the Women's World Champion Autumn Powers, who got a big ovation from the Quaranteers. Steve congratulated her on her title win at the PPV and her successful defense last week. Autumn smiled while taping up her wrists as Starr asked her if she was biting off more than she could chew by being in the 20 person battle royale coming up to determine a #1 contender for the TV title. Autumn said that being a double champion was all the rage in QCW these days, and she'd be a fool to not take the opportunity, especially when – and suddenly Autumn was launched headfirst into the camera, though it took a few seconds to reveal why:
Summer Rose.
The former World Women's champion jumped Autumn just as she had last week, though this beating was worse: Summer replaced the crowd's jeers with gasps when she dragged a slightly bleeding Powers towards the door of the locker room then emphatically slammed it into her head twice. Powers went limp as Rose grabbed the camera by both hands and hissed that as long as she was in QCW, Autumn wasn't going to know a moment's peace. If any woman on the roster was going to win the Clash and be the first women's TV champ, it'd be her…and once Autumn recovered, she'd take back her belt too and show this fickle hellhole what a real double champion looked like. Steve and Starr tried to ask Summer a follow up question, but she dropped the camera and left; even though it was on its side at a weird angle, it still picked up the line of blood almost sluicing towards us at home while a rattled Powers tried to recover.
| • Forbidden Book Club (Agrippa/LaVey) d. The Sound of Thunder (Curry/Rokker) • | Action continued on in the women's division, with the bonus of this being tag action. The former and first Women's World Tag Team champions showed why they'd had such a lengthy reign at the top of the division. Although their long time rivals gave them fits, Agrippa's power game has long been the key to Club success and so it was here. Rokker fought off a powerbomb attempt and landed on her feet, only to get victimized by the Attack of Uncertainty - Agrippa tagged in LaVey, who came off the top with the Fallen Angel splash to secure the win. ** 1/2
Ahead of the semi main, we got a parade of brief pretaped backstage promos by the participants in the Clash of the Contenders; this battle royale ends with two survivors who'll face off on next week's show to get a World Television championship shot in two weeks on the limited commercial interruptions edition of Ruckus.
We heard from Naz at the top of the show, though unless I'm miserembering it he somehow failed to bring it up…the Proper Villains said they'd team up to win it and loser was buying the pints next week (of course, they both think they'll win)...between Fated to Become Champions and the Forbidden Book Club, they have 20% of the field which is probably what they were cackling about…we also heard from Summer Rose earlier after she probably took Autumn Powers out of the battle royale…the Hard Way, looking to get their hands on anyone in the FBC…Katsuji Ootsuka looking to take the next step in his QCW career and be a champion again as he was in Japan…Super Avión looking forward to featuring the finest Lucha Libre in the world every week and making that cabron Holmes cut him even bigger checks…Tiki God looking forward to following his comrades' leads and changing the game when all three of them held titles…"These Hands" Roy Fade swearing he was no chump and would take back his TV title no matter how many people got in his way…Crusazdo del Oro saying he wanted to prove to Avión, the IWC and anyone else that he hadn't forgotten to be a champion and would show everyone when he took the Clash and then the TV title…powerful newcomer Atum Pharaoh grinning evilly in lieu of words…Jupiter Jones saying that since he was only a TV title reign away from becoming the first Triple Crown holder in QCW history, he was going to bring some gold back to Collipark and hold the one QCW title he hasn't - yet…a surprise entrant: the returning Karyn Tisch-Warren, who plugged her OnlyFitness as the reason behind her quick recovery and now thanks to that she's in a position to be QCW's first female TV champion - what better place for Karyn, OnlyFitness and Scott then on TV every week looking even more beautiful despite the fact that the belt would add a few pounds?...Pyotr Caviar didn't cut a promo. When you're the brute squad, you can just glare down at the camera and give first graders the wiggins.
We started to get some introductions before we went to commercial, then we came back from that with a fuller ring and the Hard Way coming out. A temporary blackout and four red lights later, the FBC representatives were surrounding the ring on the floor. As they slithered into the ring Ootsuka got a good pop, Caviar got the opposite of that with an undercurrent of respectful murmurs, and then Naz came out to a huge mixed reaction (guesstimate 60/40 against) to give his nazir World order shirt a breeze to flap in. As he neared the ring, Starr let out a manly cackle over the fact that Naz should be a favorite in this kind of environment, but being in a battle royale was dicey enough without most of the field being current or former rivals. The next time he gives an eff will be the first one, and he got right into Caviar's face and hit him with a Scott Hallesque machine gun taunt that popped the crowd (hilariously enough in the background you could see "The Fury" Jim Jaspers elbow Jupiter Jones and gesture to Naz, both of them shaking their heads at…whatever it is the One Man Jihad is up to). As the weird vibes just began to settle down, Commissioner Holmes popped up on the Quarantron to welcome the Quaranteers and go over the rules.
Once he said that, he had an unexpected bit of bad news to break: Autumn Powers had indeed been taken out of the Clash due to Summer's backstage attack, saying that he would levy a fine against her for $2,500 (she had the reaction to this that you might expect) and that if she pulled another stunt like that, she'd get suspended.
But this would still be a 20 person battle royale…because he almost forgot to invite someone important to the party.
And out came another immediate favorite to win the Clash, the former World TV champion Party Animal. The Claw Is Law chants rang out as the Champion of Claw came to enter the fray, Steve noting that meant that all three former TV title holders were going to be involved in the Clash.
The referees started to leave the ring as everyone starting sniping and sizing everyone else up. Then the bell rang and the second circle of Hell opened up.
| • Clash of the Contenders • | I don't rate battle royales (though this one was worth the watch) and I'm not going to kill a forest doing BPB, but I'll hit the big moments leading up to the two survivors.
🌟 It looked like the expected rivalries were going to come to bear in the opening moments but first the Hard Way, then Jupiter, then of all people Naz joined in to do a sort of pincer movement on the entirety of the FBC. The field did best the FBC, though VillaLobos managed to take Atum Pharaoh with him on his way out; in under four minutes a quarter of the field was licking their wounds
🌟 Although all nominally babyfaces, the Hard Way and the Proper Villains exchanged hands on numerous occasions, and the last fight ended up with them all on the apron; the ever opportunistic Karyn Tisch-Warren took that opportunity to deliver a trifecta of kicks that eliminated Fifita, Windsor and Goodish. Jaspers caught her superkick attempt and dragon screwed her to the apron but a bull rush from Pyotr Caviar sent them both out of the Clash.
🌟 With the field halved, five one on one fights broke out in the ring for a few minutes. Unfortunately for the Tiki God, Caviar picked him off and drilled him with a Russian sickle. Buffett managed to briefly skin the cat but a big boot ended his night. A still rampaging Caviar then sprinted over to where rivals Crusazdo del Oro and Super Avión were brawling and eliminated them both with a double clothesline.
🌟 Caviar, el-Fadal, Fade, Jupiter, Ootsuka, Party, and Summer were the remaining competitors, el-Fadal and Jones stopping their fight to nudge each other, then point to Caviar. Jupiter seemed to be almost upbraiding Naz, but el-Fadal just kept nodding and gesturing increasingly faster towards Caviar. Jones started trying to get the attention of everyone else in the ring but Caviar executed another bull rush that sent both Roy Fade and Katsuji Ootsuka over the top rope.
🌟 Both Fade and Ootsuka landed on the apron, and at that point Jones and el-Fadal snuck up on Caviar and tried to eliminate him as a temporary alliance. This didn't work, though they did start lifting Caviar and getting him over. Summer Rose and Party Animal went to help and it seemed the four of them would be able to pull off the feat, but Caviar fought everyone of them off after a few stops and starts; Rose trying to scramble away as the last victim but getting snatched up by the legs and giant swinging into Party, before Caviar's shotgun dropkick (!) sent them both to the floor.
🌟 A few beats after that, the crowd roared as a blur came to ringside. Once it was revealed that Summer Rose was getting further whaled on, the crowd popped for Autumn Powers getting a measure of revenge on her former friend…only to deflate when Autumn got jumped from behind by Karyn Tisch-Warren, who threw Autumn into the barricade back first and began stomping her out, Rose throwing her hands up and staggering to the back while referees tried to get Karyn off of Autumn.
🌟 With everyone distracted by that series of brawls, Naz got a running start and gave Caviar a full speed kick in the balls, Caviar going down in sections to the roars of the crowd for the second straight week.
🌟 Fade raked Ootsuka's eyes and suddenly lashed out with The Decision - a move Naz saw coming but Jupiter didn't, and as Naz was scrambling back into the ring Fade was pressing his advantage, clotheslining a staggered Jones over the ring post and to the floor to the shock of the Quaranteers.
Final 4: Caviar, Fade, Naz and Ootsuka
🌟 Naz tried to enlist Fade and Ootsuka into helping him get Caviar up and over, but not only do they hate each other, they both have beef with Naz. el-Fadal tried to get Caviar over the top on his own but couldn't do it while Fade and Ootsuka continued hostilities. Fade nailed a Superman forearm on Katsuji and looked to slam the door shut with the Decision but Ootsuka spun away from the knee strike and snapped off a basement rana driver. Katsuji then opted to go help Naz try to eliminate Caviar, but Caviar started fighting both men off with back elbows then went headhunting with another Russian sickle that Ootsuka ducked.
🌟 Naz didn't, and he went sailing to the concrete to make the next elimination the last one.
🌟 Ootsuka tried to get Caviar up and over, but found himself struggling to get enough leverage. A dazed Fade was starting to recover and got off a running knee to the pile, sending Ootsuka over the top with Caviar but both men landed on the apron in a heap. Fade seemed to be waiting to hit whoever got up first even if it was Caviar.
🌟 Ironically enough, someone beat Fade to the punch: Nazir el-Fadal, though what landed was a vicious uppercut below the Borscht belt that rattled and infuriated Caviar, who slowly turned and reached for Naz with the hand that wasn't cradling his bruised beets. Of course, this was the opening Fade had been waiting on, and he drilled Caviar with the Decision right in the jaw…giving Ootsuka a chance to rana driver Pyotr into the apron, which sent both men to the floor, Katsuji's legs over Pyotr's massive chest once they landed.
| • "These Hands" Roy Fade and Katsuji Ootsuka were the last two survivors of the Clash of the Contenders battle royale and will face off to determine the #1 contender for the TV title on next week's show • |
Naz smack talked the fallen Caviar than ran for the hills when the rest of the Consortium came out to protest the ending; as the crowd popped for Naz's fleeing, Fade was on the buckles loudly and proudly crowing that he was going to be a two time TV champ. After that went on for a stretch, Katsuji slid into the ring then pulled Fade down from the buckles and got in Fade's face, pointing between himself and Caviar on the floor. Fade's response to this was a pieface, Ootsuka's response in kind was a double handed shove, but before next week could show up early the entire zebra corps kept them both apart. It didn't keep them from smack talking each other but it kept things from getting physical. As the referees kept the rivals apart, announce used this as a fulcrum to plug some big matches coming to us from the Arena in a week's time:
⏩ It's a rematch from Golden Rule, but this time it's a #1 contendership fight between "These Hands" Roy Fade and Katsuji Ootsuka with the winner earning a TV title shot at the limited commercial interruptions edition of Ruckus in two weeks
⏩ After their dominant win earlier in the show, the Forbidden Book Club have exercised their rematch clause; they'll try to regain the QCW Women's World Tag Team champions from the Game Changers in a rematch from Cruel Summer
⏩ A big six man tag, as Fated To Become Champions face off against the unlikely team of the Hard Way and "Tiki God" Al Buffett
⏩ And, of course, a staple of Ruckus, the World TV title will be defended; but would Razorblade continue reigning as champ champ or would we have a Wonderful new champ?
This is what you have main events for, kiddies.
The challenger out first with Rush blaring behind him got a good reaction, and Rich paused to look out over the cheering Quaranteers and give a nod before making The Familiar Gesture while standing atop the buckles. Of course his reaction, or pretty much anyone’s reaction in QCW was going to be subsumed in the wave of cheers that happened when “Unscripted Violence” brought out the man walking both sides of the razor’s edge as a double champion, Mason “Razorblade” Savage. The only things missing were parade floats and floating confetti as the World champion for over 100 days came out to defend the World TV title. Despite this, after introductions and the bell ringing, Ward went for a handshake that was accepted.
| • Mason "Razorblade" Savage [c/WC] d. "The Wonderful" Rich Ward to retain the QCW World Television championship • |
Fraught would be a good way to describe this match.
It was friendly, and neither man cheated, but after getting schooled a little bit on the mat in the early going, Savage caught Ward with a particularly emphatic back elbow and then a spinning back elbow that dropped him. Rich had a small look of surprise on his face, but the champ champ’s face was a brick wall. As Starr noted from the desk, friendships were one thing but titles were another, more important thing. Razorblade was doing well and getting the upper hand in the match when a surprise happened: Arcarsenal coming back on over the PA and Nazir el-Fadal coming out, though he opted to stay at the top of the ramp and watch the match. Everyone got so concerned about the Naz of it all that it gave Rich the opening to spin Razorblade around and deliver a Codebreaker to Mason’s left arm, which became his focus going forward in the match. Rich went to work as Steve revealed that he’d just gotten an announcement from the office of Commissioner Holmes and next week Naz would be going up against Pyotr Caviar one on one. Starr loved that, hoping that the big Russian would Apollo Creed Naz next week.
Ward worked it over with single-arm DDTs and Fujiwara armbars, Savage eventually finding ways out of or to counter the holds but Ward wearing down the arm. Steve noted it was going to be hard for Savage to pull off the Soul Crusher one-armed, and in fact outside of an attempt that quickly got snuffed out when Ward reversed into a hammerlock and shoved Mason into the top buckle bad arm first it didn’t happen in this match at all.
Rich fought gamely, hitting a familiar cutter to set up a second rope flying Thesz press that almost got him the three count, and the Arena settled down after the nearfall. Rich did look a little confounded, but went to the apron at the point that Naz started to come down to ringside. Naz stopped when Rich spotted him, then Ward refocused on the ring and springboarded in for another Thesz press…
…only to walk into a vicious roaring elbow that turned Rich’s body into almost a capital K, and with him down in sections Razorblade made a cover, hooked the leg and got the three count to put another successful TV title defense in the books. *** ½
Razorblade and the ref helped Rich get up, though he was still pretty clearly knocked for a loop. Despite this, Rich offered a handshake which was accepted, then Razorblade raised Rich’s arm before walking towards where Naz was on the ramp…and sat down on the middle rope, waving him on in. Naz gave a small chuckle, shook his head, and then headed to the back; the show ended with Razorblade triumphant on the buckles with his titles while the crowd roared and Steve hoped that Mason knew what he was doing, because if Naz became the first ever two-time World Champ at QCW’s signature celebration, he wasn’t looking forward to hearing about it every single second Naz was awake for the rest of his life.
Good night from the Arena, and we’ll see you again next Friday night when QCW continues to bring the matriarch fornicating Ruckus!
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