Most episodes of Ruckus start from the Arena with a sold out crowd chanting Queue Cee Dub! at the top of their lungs and tonight was no different.
What was different was that we were starting off with a rare TV appearance from Commissioner Holmes, who stood in the ring as he welcomed us all to Ruckus on G+. This started another round of QCW chants, but Holmes quickly said that time of year brings maybe his favorite QCW event of the year: the Duquesne Classic! Huge pop for that, then Holmes said that if you notice around ringside, he is surrounded by the qualifiers for the Classic and at the end of next week's show one of them will be the #ANDNEW holder of the Duquesne Cup!
While the crowd cheered we got to see all eight competitors around the ring (Beckett Carpenter, Roy Fade, Jacques Krieger, Autumn Powers, Anton Stahl, Super Avión, Drake Tremble and Karyn Tisch-Warren). Holmes continued, saying that this year's qualifying matches had a specialty he loved growing up as a fan and former champion: Beat the Clock. The three fastest winners were all going to get to choose their first round opponents right now - welcome to the Pick 'Em Protocol!
Looking a little chagrined at the respectful applause that got instead of a raucous pop, Holmes cleared his throat and got things underway. He invited us to welcome the #1 seed and the man challenging for the TV title in tonight's main event: the undefeated Jacques Krieger!
The man from Atlantic City stepped into the ring to a huge pop and KRIIIIIIEEEGERRRRRR! chants, giving Holmes an all business nod. The Commissioner said he could literally call his first round shot - who is he going to fight? (+10 to the Controllers for breaking out a Homeresque FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! chant.)
Krieger didn't take too long to make his choice and pointed at These Hands. Roy Fade sneered up into the ring as Krieger explained it was nothing personal; he's fresh off the injured list. Fade shook his head and said a punkass newbie had no chance to hold his old belt - he was going to enjoy watching the Rev whoop that ass and clean up the leftovers next week..
Krieger left the ring and actually headed to the back with bigger fish to fry later on. Fade glared at him the entire way out but Krieger didn't notice or probably care.
Fade eventually followed suit up the ramp and Holmes' face got a little bit of Morton's in his eye as he asked us to welcome the #2 seed - representing the Red, White and True, Drake Tremble.
The crowd booed but Tremble was all smiles, practically rubbing his hands together as he slimed his way over to the Commish and said even though he had a week to choose, he was such a very stable genius that it only took him a few seconds to know who he was going to beat in the first round: him.
Him turned out to be Super Avión, whose body language was saying WTF without him having to swear on the air. What he did was hold up 3 fingers and point in the ring. Holmes went over to Avión and spoke to him briefly then went back to Tremble and pointed out that Avión was the #3 seed. Tremble said that didn't have anything to do with him. He got to pick his fight and he was going to show that masked clown. The Voice of Freedom would send him back home sorry he ever stepped foot over here. Avión looked like he was going to get in the ring and get the Classic started early but Holmes interceded and called for Quality Control to come out. The purple and gold shirts came out but Avión left peacefully on his own.
This left Holmes in a bind and he consulted with Duck, who pulled out his phone and then they looked over something while Steve and Naz killed some time parsing potential matchups. Holmes returned to the ring and said that after consulting the records it turns out with the #2 and #3 seeds facing off against each other that the person with the next fastest winning time will get to pick their opponent - and that's the two time former Women's World Champion, Autumn Powers!
The crowd popped big as Autumn came into the ring and shook hands with the Commissioner. Holmes said to Autumn that the floor and the choice was hers. Autumn looked around the ring to her potential choices on the floor and said that she'd had so much fun beating the alleged leader of the Consortium that she might as well go after the real thing. "So, Anton? See you next week."
The usually stone faced Stahl had a wry grin on his face as if he were laughing at a private joke. Beckett Carpenter and Karyn Tisch-Warren engaged in a sort of diagonal staredown on the floor while in the ring Holmes got in another plug for the Classic and asked us to enjoy another episode of Ruckus.
LAST WEEK ON RUCKUS:
Las Vegas was announced as the host city for Mayday Payday; the Thomas & Mack Center is almost sold out already
Both Jacques Krieger and Roy Fade qualified for the Duquesne Classic with Krieger’s win putting him atop the Beat the Clock leaderboard
The Revenant retained his TV title over Autumn Powers but when he tried to chokeslam her off the stage, The Unified Champ would have none of it and after laying out the security a champ vs. champ fight ended last week’s show
No open and no pyro; instead we went back to the ring where Duck announced that the following match had a 15 minute time limit & and was for the Crush championship!
| • “Night Sky” Diana Spare d. “Bollywood Diva” Sohla Patel to retain the Crush championship 5️⃣ • | This one’s been brewing for a few weeks now.
Fresh off wrapping another Bollywood blockbuster, Patel made it known she would be returning to QCW in pursuit of a title, and you can understand how the haughty Patel might view the grittier champion Spare. For her part, since running off her former friends in the Forbidden Book Club Diana has been moving up the ranks, culminating at Golden Rule where she won a gauntlet match on the preshow (defeating Patel along the way) before lifting the title from Karyn Tisch-Warren and moving ever closer to a Women’s World Championship shot.
That got us to the opener, and things got chippy from the start when Patel baseball slid into Spare as she hit the ringside area and immediately started stomping away on Diana before throwing her into the steps. The referee had to get in between to separate them and check on Spare, who was obviously banged up but especially ready to fight after the sneak attack.
The bell rang and Patel kept up the swarming offense on Diana, even doing a 10 punches in the corner spot and then demanding that the Quality Controllers give her a standing ovation. They were not saying Boo-urns. Undeterred, Patel continued to unload on Spare, forcing her into nearfalls and even landing an impressive Blockbuster (of course) out of the corner for a long 2 count.
Everything was going swimmingly for Patel, and she looked to close things out with her signature Falcon Arrow to secure the belt – but Spare not only managed to wriggle free and slip out the back door, but turned it into a Lungblower for her first big move of the match. Spare crawled for a neutral corner and pulled herself up just in time to dodge out of the way of a charging Patel, who ended up shoulderblocking the ringpost and falling with a thud to the floor. Spare pulled herself to the top turnbuckle but then somehow tightroped her way to the ringpost before flying off with a tope con hilo that popped both the crowd and the announce alike.
The match was Spare’s to lose from that point on, and she didn’t despite Patel proving to be a tougher out than the champ might’ve given credit for previously. Spare put a sudden button on things about ⅔rds of the way into the time limit and retained the title by giving Patel a pop up Nightfall and pinning her in the center of the ring. ** ½
The crowd gave Spare a good pop while Patel slinked off into the night; after replays, Naz put over Spare and Steve mentioned that she was now halfway up the ladder with her fifth successful title defense - five more and she could cash in for a shot at the Women’s World Championship whenever she wanted, and it’s entirely possible no one in the women’s division is as hot as Night Sky right now.
From there we went not to the back but to the Duquesne Classic Control Center. Standing by were Julius Duquesne III and Enya Face, who were standing in front of a series of big screens, a few of which had stills from prior winners (including Serge) celebrating with the Cup. Enya welcomed the viewers to the Center and said that after the Protocol we finally could fill out the brackets ahead of the limited commercial interruptions edition of Ruckus featuring the Classic next week.
So let's begin at the top of the bracket and work our way down - the two people who weren't picked at all are going to face off with "Dark Mirror" Beckett Carpenter going up against Karyn Tisch-Warren from OnlyFitness. KTW was actually the first person to qualify, using chicanery to beat "Tiki God" Al Buffett…you know, longtime friend and up until recently tag partner of Carpenter, who not only came from behind to win their qualifying match but bested the current holder of the Cup (Serge Batroc) to do so. Two submission specialists are going to throw down but will it come down to Mirror's mind games or Tisch-Warren's numbers game?
Enya continued on and highlighted the next match. We'll see an unexpected fight with #3 seed Super Avión going up against #2 seed "the Voice of Freedom" Drake Tremble. The leader of the Red, White and True used some help from a prematch group attack on his opponent "the Proper King" Richard Windsor to earn the right to call out the #3 seed Super Avión. Fresh off helping send Naz to the commentary table at Golden Rule, Avión earned his way in by dusting off "Dashing" Pierce Moore, who we haven't seen since. Avión is on a roll, former QCW and TV champ Tremble is the toothache that never goes away and he's got backup to boot - whoever gets to impose their unique style on the match should go onto the semis from here.
On came JD3, wearing a crisp "King" Berger shirt (Berger being Julius' grandfather's long-standing tag partner in the ring and best friend IRL) and slacks to guide us through the opposite half of the Classic bracket. We could get a classic as Autumn Powers will face off against the International Workrate Consortium's impeccable German, Anton "Teknik" Stahl. Powers beat longtime rival Lolo Vuitton to earn her way in the Classic; Anton put a clean L on Katsuji Ootsuka to get here but now faces someone else the Consortium has been butting heads with all year, and has an opportunity to silence them here.
The last match might be the biggest first rounder, which is saying something. Jacques Krieger, the mysterious man from Atlantic City who makes his own luck - the mostly silent #1 seed - a man who isn't only undefeated but hasn't even wrestled a minute long match yet since showing up nearly half a year ago chose former two-time TV champ "These Hands" Roy Fade to go after in the first round. Fade came back last week from an injury he suffered at Cold As Hell then beat "the Fury" Jim Jaspers for his slot. And at least poor Atum Pharaoh got put out of his misery quickly. The question is the same it's been all year - how the damn hell do you survive Krieger? Can anybody else in the tournament?
The complete brackets went up on screen and stayed there for a bit before Enya and Julius put a bow on things from the Control Center.
Before we went to break a stinger played - up next is the QCW debut of "Superfine" Reggie Strong!
✨
| • El Guapo d. “Superfine” Reggie Strong • | Definitely not the result anyone watching was expecting, but it was because we didn't find out about the true nature of "El Guapo" until the three count was coming down.
It being Strong's debut, it looked like the setup for a usual debut showcase match especially because the Nephew of Style was making sure that he showed up and showed out to a good response from the Quality Controllers. Strong called for the end and scooped the "luchador" up in a fireman's carry only to get one eye bitten at and the other one raked; Strong was left clutching at his face which left him wide open to get dropped with a familiar looking cutter. The referee looked a little surprised but made the count…with "El Guapo" unmasking himself at 2 to reveal "Dashing" Pierce Moore by the time the 3 was official. ** ½
The crowd booed loudly as Moore laughed and laughed and laughed over his trickery while getting his hand raised. The referee had to step between the still recovering Strong and the Face of QCW, who was putting the bad mouth on Reggie. Eventually the referee managed to shoo Moore away, who laughed and celebrated his way up the ramp while "Fly Like Me" played.
From there we went TOTHEBACK~! where JD3 brought on his guests: "Dark Mirror" Beckett Carpenter and Super Avión!
The crowd popped as they walked in from opposite sides and flanked Julius, Avión playing with the cufflinks on his suit so they'd sparkle a little more. Duquesne mentioned that they were both in the Classic next week but tonight's action would see them up against Bobby Bash and Drake Tremble of the Red, White and True. Avión said that while he would love to pretend like he doesn't know why Tremble has it out for him, we all know why he does - because he looks better with this mask on than Tremble does without one (oh) and he flies through the air while Drake can barely spell air (and indeed snap).
JD3 looked like he was about to corpse as Carpenter pointed their agreement towards their partner tonight and said that while Avión might not have been their first choice of partner, that wasn't personal. But the fact Drake Tremble and his cronies were coming after them was.
Perhaps they didn't know who they were dealing with. Avión is the sort of man who ran Naz off to the announce desk - they're the sort of person who has been through the wars in QCW for years and it's just made them stronger and sharper with each evolution. So tonight a dual citizen and genderqueer icon are going to deliver the sort of beat down that these CHUDs so richly deserve and send a message to any bigot watching that QCW isn't a safe space for their BS.
After the respectful cheers died down, Julius pointed out that there was a decent chance that next week they would face each other in the semifinals of the Classic…would that make their teaming together later on weird?
Both Carpenter and Avión looked at each other for a few beats before Avión extended his hand to Dark Mirror.
"That's a next week problem," he said.
Carpenter looked at his hand for a couple more beats, then shook it.
"Maybe for you," Carpenter said.
They exchanged glances and both had slightly crooked smiles before the handshake deepened.
"Bobby? Tremble?
¡Buenos noches, culeros!" (It turns out the FCC lets you get away with a lot if you curse in a language besides English.) Avión and Carpenter left the interview set together while JD3 threw things back to trusty Duck Eko in the ring for the next fight.
| • Karyn Tisch-Warren (w/OnlyFitness) ds. Midsomnar • | Showcase for the former Crush champion, who was mostly backed up by her hubby here as Lolo Vuitton spent most of her time ringside taking selfies with fans and signing a couple of autographs. Still, it’s not like KTW needed any help in folding up the masked jobber, throwing a barrage of backbreakers at her before locking down the Circuit Breaker. Midsomnar tapped out to the elevated Texas Cloverleaf while Tisch-Warren’s knee was parked between her L4 and L5. **
After replays we saw Karyn and Scott psyched about the victory and Lolo giving a couple of nods as OnlyFitness headed to the back, while the announce put over a positive uptick for them between Karyn’s win here and Lolo’s retaining the World title on last week’s show. That talk ceased when the creepy whistling of Rammstein’s “Engel” piped over the PA and brought out the International Workrate Consortium. The crowd booed but the fivesome ignored it as they made their way to the ring with Steve giving them begrudging flowers. Naz grumbled about that as some fans might expect.
Once in the ring, Serge got the mic from Duck and looked disgusted at the frosty reception he was receiving. He shook his head a couple of times and handed the mic over to Anton, only to immediately take it back and demand the crowd’s fealty. This group he made under his eye defines excellence in professional wrestling not only in QCW but around the world. You have the future Unified World Champion and the most menacing bodyguard this league has ever seen in Pyotr Caviar. You have the man that is going to ensure next week that the Duquesne Classic winner will be a member of the Consortium for two years running, a man many consider his equal in Anton Stahl. And to say nothing of the Unified World Tag Team champions, the Wonderful Ward Brothers!
The Wonderful Ward Brothers…who were toiling away in Canada before Serge rescued them from obscurity. The Wonderful Ward Brothers…who he had to first destroy to rebuild them as the sort of team that would be titleworthy after months of Jason’s petulance and Rich’s subterfuge. The Wonderful Ward Brothers…who would not be the champions right now were it not for the rest of the Consortium.
Serge suddenly smiled and said that fortunately before things proceeded ahead of the trios match tonight they could make things right and show their proper fealty to their leader –
– by handing over the Unified Tag Team titles.
I can’t tell you the exact nature of the noise the crowd made in response to Serge’s demand, but I can tell you this – it was l o u d. Rich’s mouth fell open as Jason did a triple take between Serge and his brother. But Rich didn’t seem to be moving, just looking down at the title. Rich sighed, raised his hand, and started to hand over his half of the championships to Batroc.
And to the shock of everyone, Jason the Terrible put his arm out and blocked the move. It even took a couple of moments before the crowd started to pop at his sudden reluctance. Jason brought up the mic and said before any titles change hands, he had something to say.
How was it that Serge was telling them what to do when he couldn’t even qualify for the Duquesne this year?
…well, then.
The crowd roared as the usually staid Batroc went bug eyed, with Jason elbowing Rich and looking down at his share of the titles before continuing. Hell, Anton wasn’t making them hand over the belts and he was the one in the Classic, unlike Serge. Matter of fact, the last time Anton faced Serge he beat Serge, if anybody should be running the Consortium, it’s Mr. Teknik. Serge went face to face with Jason now and completely missed Anton swallowing his own face trying not to outwardly react to Jason’s verbal darts. He should be owed another Especialé, but Serge didn’t give it to him. Well, guess what, Frenchie: the WONDERFUL Ward Brothers weren’t giving him the belts.
Big, big pop for this as Serge’s face downshifted to resignation. Jason said that if Serge was going to play by the rules and give Anton a chance to run things again, maybe then they could have a talk. But until then, the only way somebody was going to take these belts off of him and his brother was if they beat them for them. Serge swallowed, nodded, and even backed up a couple of steps.
That gave Pyotr Caviar enough room to get a running start and Russian sickle Jason’s head damn near into the third row. With Jason down, Serge swarmed Rich and as Anton backed up into a corner Batroc and Caviar beat the unholy hell out of the Canadians with their power advantages. Naz gave a low chuckle at the announce table, saying that he knew it was only a matter of time before this would happen. Steve was in absolute shock, and placed the blame for this at Serge’s feet as you might expect.
Serge couldn’t hear him though, as he was too busy kicking the Wards out of the Consortium and into the hospital. Despite no help at all from Stahl, both Wards ate Russian sickles, Arc de Triomphes, and then they both ate sickle/Arc hybrids that kept them face down on the mat for good after Pyotr landed them and Serge dropped them like a beat. The crowd layered in some “ASSHOLE!” chants over their booing while Serge cursed at the Wards in French and Caviar used his massive boots to nudge the Wards under the bottom rope to the floor, Serge disgustedly dumping the tag belts over the top rope onto their fallen bodies. Batroc grabbed the mic and said that the idiots in the seats could cry all they want, but they couldn’t stop him from imposing his will between these ropes. The medical staff came out and eventually helped the Wards to the back as Serge paced the ring angrily, saying that the disrespect was going to end right here and now. That little pissant and his brother would be chugging maple syrup in the boondocks were it not for him, and under his eye he, Pyotr and Anton would be winning their match while they licked their wounds. Viva le Serge…and he threw aside the mic while Pyotr smiled evilly and Anton’s face looked mildly intrigued, since the rest of the usual went unspoken. Steve threw to commercials and promised we’d see…well, what used to (?) be the Consortium in six-man tag action up next.
✨
We came back from the break with Serge far more animated than we’ve ever seen him, repeatedly yelling…not exactly at Anton & Pyotr, but more just venting (in French, natch) while they happened to be in the vicinity.
The former tag champions the Hard Way soon parted the Tron to a decent pop, the Quality Controllers firmly behind Paul Fifita and John Goodish as usual. But they saved their biggest pop and their biggest hosannas for The Unified Champ, as “Unscripted Violence” brought out Mason “Razorblade” Savage to an almost deafening roar. As the white hats came out looking all business themselves, Naz casually reminded Steve that he was looking into the spot where he beat Savage at AnIIversary, so all these cheers were cute, but c’mon now.
Serge wasted no time in making a beeline for Razorblade and punching him in the face, all the other participants followed suit, and the Pier 6 was on before the referee could even get the bell rung.
| • Serge Batroc, Pyotr Caviar and Anton Stahl d. Unified World Champion Mason “Razorblade” Savage & the Hard Way • | The opening fight went to the Europeans, who surprised the announce a bit by getting the upper hand and clearing the ring they allegedly hold so dear. As the referee desperately tried to settle things down Steve revealed that due to the crazy brawl that ended last week’s show and took out the security that Razorblade had received the second largest fine in QCW history - a cool 15k. Naz applauded this wildly at the desk and said that if this place had done proper fines earlier, maybe Duck would be two inches taller. When the match settled down, it ended up being Serge v. Fifita in a clash of former tag champs and unfortunately for Paul the French Assassin was treating him like a third Ward brother. The black hats began to take turns on Paul and kept him isolated on their side of the ring, with most of the tags happening between Serge and Pyotr though Anton also was in the ring briefly a couple of times to assert his will. (Later in the match, the announce had a difference of opinion as to why this was happening - was Serge avoiding Anton to keep him fresh for the Duquesne or was he more focused on continuing to coach up Pyotr for help in fighting the Wards?)
In fact, it was a rare mistake that opened the door and changed the match, as Caviar went for a sickle on Fifita, who ducked.
Anton didn’t, and went ass over teakettle before sluicing out of the ring under the bottom rope and thumping on the floor. Serge ran over to check on Anton as Fifta started making his way to the corner and even more hell broke loose – Razorblade suddenly dropped down off the apron leaving him to tag in his partner, and a quick camera change showed why Razorblade did that.
The Revenant had come out and he and Razorblade were picking up right where last week left off, both men furiously throwing hands at each other while Serge was desperate to get away from the carnage and eventually ended up dragging Anton behind him.
The Revenant and Razorblade fought like it was a PPV event, with Razorblade staggering the Rev by bouncing his face off of not one but two ringposts, before clearing the table and sending Steve and Naz off to the side. He cinched up the Rev in what looked to be a Soul Crusher on the announce table but the Rev used his size to get free and then delivered a Flairesque uppercut that crumpled Savage and sent him to the feet of the Rev. The next thing after that was a goozle, and then the Revenant chokeslammed Razorblade off the announce table and into the floor. Razorblade didn’t move around too much after that and he uncharacteristically was howling out in pain due to eating the Red Right Hand. Having gotten done sending his message the Revenant slowly made his way through the concourse and went to the back that way.
Oh, right! The match!
Well, without a real team to back him up this turned into a handicap match for poor John Goodish. The night ended for him with his shoulders on the mat after eating a roaring European uppercut from Stahl - that set up a tag to Serge and an especially nasty Arc de Triomphe…but he opted to tag in Caviar, who put on a button on things with a running crossbody that eclipsed John and secured the 3. ***
The first time we heard “Engel” was about half an hour ago, and back then the International Workrate Consortium were rolling five deep and Razorblade wasn’t coughing up blood. You better keep your head on a swivel in QCW. We came back from replays to Batroc, Caviar and Stahl in their usual pose in the middle of the ring while the Hard Way and Mason Savage were all left in various states of pain scattered around the ring (and in Savage’s case looking almost unconscious up against the steps). Batroc angrily broke formation to bark at the crowd before leaving with his minions in tow, and Steve said that the Consortium may have become even more dangerous with Serge kicking out the Wards. Naz stirred the pot a little bit against that, saying that were he leading a group he’d be keeping every single championship he could in-house…but then again he didn’t have a young Russian bear on a chain, either. Steve reluctantly agreed with the former Grand Slam champion but from there he threw things
TOTHEBACK~! where Enya wasn't teleporting to the parking garage, she was walking through it, and she caught up to "Superfine" Reggie Strong, who was clearly leaving the building in a huff. Enya asked him what happened earlier in his debut and a frothy Strong said that he was so mad he almost didn’t notice how superfine Enya was in her own right, that’s how mad he was.
Pierce.
Moore.
He said that the mask stunt got his attention, and by the time he was done Pierce was going to wish he’d never gotten it. See, they could’ve handled this like gentlemen; maybe in a walkoff where he’d win and Pierce would go back to his day job managing the Men’s Warehouse.
Now?
After tonight?
Gangsta ish it was, and don’t let the threads fool you about how Superfine gets back after getting disrespected…for his strikes are prolific, his suplexes Olympic, and if Moore can find the set to see him in Vegas at Mayday Payday, well…well, by the time he got done dishing out a Cirque worthy and Superfine asswhoopin’, Mr. Less would be looking pretty damn horrific. Enya corrected Reggie on his opponent’s name but the newcomer said he got it right the first time, and he was going to learn after eating a PPV L that nobody in their right mind messes with the Nephew of Style. He bade Enya good night and then got into a Town Car that quickly sprinted its way out of the Arena while Enya threw things to commercial.
| • "Dark Mirror" Beckett Carpenter & Super Avión ds. The Red, White and True (w/"Swamp Trash" Ted Holland) • | Back from the break and we got a sort of amuse bouche appetizer ahead of the Duquesne main course next week – Tremble singled out Avión for his first round matchup and should they be able to advance to the semis, Carpenter would face the winner of that bout.
No visible tension from Carpenter and Avión, though Bobby Bash didn’t give them time to worry about potential problems next week and proved hard to get off of his feet in the here and now. Carpenter’s offense barely seemed to nudge him, Avión’s didn’t do much better, and their tandem offense wobbled him without getting him down. Bash hit Carpenter with a body attack that sent the former Unified World Tag Team champ reeling, and a gleeful Drake Tremble demanded the tag so that he could put the cherry on top of the cosplaytriot sundae.
Life’s real simple, Tremble.
Don’t play yourself.
Don’t play yourself.
Say, is that a springboard rewind rana from Dark Mirror?
CONGRATULATIONS
Carpenter rolled over to their corner and made the tag to Avión, who got Tremble on his heels by peppering him with right hands before showing off his lucha libre bonafides with an around the world headscissor takeover. Carpenter went in the ring seemingly to cut off Bash but dropped down to all fours – as it turned out, that was just the opening Avión needed to catapult himself with a dropkick that not only sent Bash out over the top but sent his face inadvertently careening into the steps, and while Ted Holland checked on his partner Carpenter and Avión took glee in picking apart Tremble piecemeal for what little bit of the match remained. Eventually, the odd couple downed the red hats – Carpenter made Tremble Look Inward, Avión wiped out both Bash and Holland with a S-level tope suicida, and eventually the Voice of Freedom had no choice but to tap out. **
The Red, White and True licked their wounds heading to the back after replays while both Avión and Carpenter celebrated their tag victory tonight, knowing that the Classic could see them face off with a shot at the finals. But, as a wise luchador once said, those are next week’s problems. Avión slapped hands with a few fans as he headed to the back and Carpenter raised a fist in the air proudly at the bottom of the ramp before departing themself. Steve sarcastically asked Naz how he liked the new tag team and el-Fadal replied that he was just here so he didn’t get fined.
The hype from week to week is big, sure. But the hype this week is especially big, which is appropriate once you find out that next week’s Ruckus is the biggest Ruckus ever.
No, seriously:
📺 Diana Spare is halfway to ten and having put Sohla Patel in the rearview mirror, looks to continue retaining the Crush championship on the way to a future World title cash in 📺
📺 There’ll be a six dyad deep Tag Team Turmoil to determine who gets the titles shot against the Wonderful Ward Brothers at Mayday Payday 📺
🏆Oh, and there is the small matter of the 2023 DUQUESNE CLASSIC. The biggest annual tournament in QCW makes next week’s Ruckus not only a special extended episode, but one with limited commercial interruptions. With last year’s winner Serge unable to even qualify we’re guaranteed a new Duquesne Cup holder – and we’re seven matches away from crowning them. 🏆
But we’re no matches away from another big main event with the TV title on the line.
Link Wray’s “Rumble” fired up and brought out Jacques Krieger to a big, big pop. Krieger made his usually nonchalant walk to the ring while the announce put over the undefeated force vs. undead object nature of the main. Krieger stood in the ring and didn’t flinch as the lights went out.
The Hellevator and its red right hand brought out the longest reigning TV Champion in QCW history to the dulcet tones of Nick Cave. Krieger’s walk to the ring was leisurely, and the Rev’s was even more so. When Duck started the introductions the overhead spotlight changed from the Rev’s cold blue to the usual – Krieger got a wash of cheers but no-sold all of them, staring intently at the Rev, who roared and unfolded his black tongue before holding up the belt overhead and getting in Jacques’ face. Krieger didn’t sell that, either. His eyes were on the prize.
At least until “Unscripted Violence” fired up again and he looked around the Rev, who slowly turned his head towards the entryway in response.
Razorblade was trying to make his way out to the ring, surrounded by some of the medical staff and first some of and then all of the Quality Control security forces, who kept him from advancing past the apex of the rampway. Savage was pointing at the Rev with one hand and holding the back of his neck with the other, and actually got bleeped a couple of times. But eventually after about half a minute of lurking without being able to advance, Savage grumpily headed to the back.
It was at this point that the Rev took advantage of the situation, turning to drop Krieger with a cheap shot big boot that dropped the man from Atlantic City. Krieger checked his bicuspids in the corner while the referee checked on One Eye. Jacques’ response - “ring the damn bell” - told him all that he needed to know about Krieger’s willingness to continue the fight.
| | • the main event • | |
The bell rang and the Rev quickly went to work, laying in a series of meaty stomps on Krieger until the challenger managed to stop one kick and slowly draw himself up while holding the Revenant’s scuffed-up cowboy boot. Krieger threw the Rev in the corner and to the cheers of the crowd started throwing his own shots, only for the champion to catch one punch and toss Krieger over the top and to the floor.
Krieger was in a bad way on the floor after bouncing off of the apron, and the Rev took full advantage of it. After peppering Krieger with a series of punches he lifted him up and bieled him into the steps, the top half of which flew off as an upside down Krieger became one with the floor. The Quality Controllers chanted “You suck!” while replays showed off the massive strength of the Rev and the announcers put over the move, Steve revealing that the Rev’s actions at the end of last week show had gotten him the new largest fine in QCW history: $15,001. The Rev grabbed Krieger and tossed him in the ring between the ropes before shocking everybody by slowly going to the top rope. Krieger staggered to his feet only to turn around into a flying lariat that drove him into the canvas and popped a lotta camera phones, but Krieger toughed out at 2.
Steve said he’d never seen anything like the Rev flying off the top rope as we got replays of it, while Naz said it meant he knew he was against his biggest challenge yet and had to empty the tanks to beat him.
The Rev dominated the next couple of minutes in the match as well, and let the sick grin spread over his face as he raised his notorious red right hand in the air and called for the end. Krieger staggered up from the latest thing he’d been victimized by only to be snatched up in a goozle…but that didn’t last long.
Jacques Krieger fought, and then reached up with his arms and strained them until he could break the goozle, the announce freaking out as he became the first person in years (possibly in QCW period) to break the goozle to the shock of everybody watching, including you. Not being able to chokeslam him meant that the Rev was momentarily watching him, too, and that left him open to get heart punched right in the ventricles.
The crowd almost yelled “BOOM!” when it connected, then cheered as Krieger got the Revenant up on his shoulders before running for the corner and hitting Snake Eyes. But Krieger wasn’t done there, hitting a big boot to wobble the Revenant and then a second to knock him down to another big pop from the crowd.
Steve put over Krieger having given the Revenant the longest and toughest test of his title reign as unbelievably Krieger started to take over the match and even get a couple of two counts. The Rev kicked out exactly at 2 on both occasions but the fact Krieger was even making this much noise was a minor upset in itself.
The fight rolled on for a few more minutes. At one point it looked like Krieger was going for a spear, but he got cut off by an all time counter knee that literally distorted his face before the Rev grabbed him and tossed him between the ropes out to the floor. Nazir moved quicker than Steve did, but pretty soon both announcers were in the front row as the Rev cleared house. Earlier on he’d made Savage eat one from the table to the floor - this time he got the goozle on Krieger, stared him down, and then drove him through the announce table with the Red Right Hand.
Wood exploded everywhere and the fans chanted “Holy shit!” as the Revenant rolled back into the ring, walked to the far side of it, and laid back against the ropes watching the referee look over Krieger. The referee made sure Jacques still had a pulse on the floor before getting back in the ring and starting the count.
While Naz & Steve tried to get back on the air, replays ran without commentary of Krieger getting folded up by the chokeslam through the table. Techs were working on Steve and Naz with Krieger rolling away from the wreckage and crawling on the floor. He was up at 7 but down at 7 ½. He heard eight and started lurching only to sort of realize he was moving towards the crowd instead of the ring, and he flopped onto the apron at 9 to save the match. The Quality Controllers fired up more “KRIEGER!’ chants as Duck mentioned there were five minutes remaining in the time limit; this meant Krieger had officially lasted the longest of any Rev victim this year at the very least.
The Rev mockingly kicked Krieger a couple times, then piefaced him.
Krieger SLAPPED HIM back.
…reread that if you need to.
The Rev whipped his head around and then got it headbutted, and to the roar of the crowd and the shock of…well, probably everybody, Krieger started throwing right hands from down deep, rattling the champion and getting him back on a heel. A clothesline off the ropes made things worse but didn’t drop the Rev, and a second upped the damage but still didn’t do the trick. Hell, even a big boot just seemed to piss off the Rev, who’s head snapped back as Krieger briefly stared at him in shock.
That moment with a little under three minutes left was all the Rev needed to snatch up Krieger in a goozle, and up in the air he went – but he came down in a perfect counter with the Rev in an inverted facelock.
ROLL OF THE DICE!
ONE!
TWO!
TH–kickout.
The Rev’s reign of terror had never been closer to ending. And no one had ever kicked out of the Roll of the Dice, but then again the Rev’s not exactly people. The Arena deflated a little bit as the announce was freaked out both over Krieger hitting the move and the Rev surviving it. Krieger pulled himself up slowly, and stalked the Rev to look for another Roll, but the Rev turned into the hold and powered Krieger into the corner, sandwiching the poor zebra in the process.
The Rev didn’t pay that any mind at the time, using the now opened window to finally deliver an emphatic Red Right Hand that splattered Krieger across the canvas. The Rev went into his usual cover after this but (sing it with me now) of course there was no referee to make the count, and the Rev clearly looked pissed as he had to scan the ring for the downed zebra. The Rev picked up the official by the belt loops as if they were nothing before shaking them like an Etch-A-Sketch.
The Rev tossed the ref down harshly to boos. Then "Unscripted Violence" kicked in for the third time as the crowd roared, and the Rev looked towards the Tron.
But it was already too late, and as he turned around in the ring, there stood Mason “Razorblade” Savage with a shit-eating grin and more importantly, a taser.
ZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
It turns out being undead doesn’t do jack shit against 10,000 volts, and the Rev convulsed as Savage started to head to the back having gotten his revenge. The Revenant was almost folded in on himself, and he backed right into a staggering Jacques Krieger.
Krieger’s instincts were on point as usual - he turned around and snatched up another inverted facelock with half a minute left, almost dropping it before greedily making sure he had full hold of it before driving the Rev into the mat with the Roll of the Dice.
He hit it…and after he hit he staggered up still holding it to the roars of the crowd. His eyes were wild, and then he drove the Rev into the canvas again with the Roll of the Dice, and now the roars were almost shaking the camera when he came up yet again still holding the Revenant. But now his eyes were focused.
Letting out a wordless cry, Krieger lifted up the Revenant up again but this time lifted the champion up when he started the move as well, drilling him with an implant third Roll of the Dice that rocked the ring, the Arena, and Nielsen. Thinking quickly, Razorblade grabbed Duck’s water and threw it on the ref, then tossed the ref close to where Krieger was slowly trying to hook one of the Rev’s massive legs. The referee slowly crawled over, checked the shoulders, and then made the count.
ONE.
THREE!
TWO.
TWO!
THREE?
ONE!
The Revenant managed to kick out, though it had been a second too late at what would have been a four count. Everybody held their breath.
The referee gestured to Duck.
“The winner of the match–”
People started cheering the moment they saw the four numbers blink repeatedly on the Tron, but that was nothing compared to the pop when Duck said “--AND NEWWWWWWWWWW!”
Bedlam.
Absolute goddamn bedlam.
For the numbers on the Tron said 14:59.
| • Jacques Krieger d. The Revenant [c] to win the GRPL+ World Television Championship • |
You couldn’t hear “Rumble”. You couldn’t hear Duck. It was a low level miracle you could hear Steve and Naz. The roof came off the Quality Arena as the impossible became real. He might’ve gotten a low level black eye and was going to need to enjoy an ice bath before the night was over, but at least Jacques Krieger would be taking it as champion.
Holding the back of his head, the referee extended his other hand to pass the title off to Krieger, who slowly brought it to his side before getting his hand raised in another blow-the-roof-off-the-dump moment. That was Razorblade’s cue to give a wry grin, casually give his taser a friendly flip and tuck it into his black jeans before making his way up the ramp without looking back. Steve could be seen standing by the wreckage of the announce desk clapping wildly, in absolute shock. Naz shook his head bemusedly at the carnival surrounding him and asked Steve if he realized what this meant. Steve correctly enthused that it meant we had a new champion, and el-Fadal pointed out it wasn’t just that – we had a new champion whose first title defenses were going to come in next week’s Duquesne Classic.
Steve’s mouth turned into a donut as Naz pressed him for pushback, saying he knew that if you were holding that belt, you were defending it every damn week, and he was looking at the #1 seed so…and the cleaners will be picking up small chunks of Steve’s brain for the next few hours as he giddily screamed that Krieger wasn’t only still undefeated, he now was going to put up the undefeated streak and the World TV title on the line next week in the Duquesne. The credit box came up as Krieger walked over to a turnbuckle and stood on the middle rope; when he held up the TV title, the subsequent roar from the Quality Controllers followed by “You Deserve It!” chants took us off the air in short order.
Argue with somebody dumber. ****½
