Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN
Aired live on GRPL+ | March 1, 2024
Tonight's show opened with graphics commemorating the passings of Ole Anderson and Mike "Virgil" Jones.
Ruckus began with a pretape from the Commissioner's office. Sitting atop the front of his desk, Scott Holmes welcomed us to Ruckus before addressing the end of last week's show and Pick Your Poison. After exhaustive review of the footage, he determined that Nazir el-Fadal and Autumn Powers did in fact tie in their times, and as a result neither of them would pick a stipulation for the Unified World championship match come next Sunday at Golden Rule.
But he would.
The only way to make the Final Woman vs. the Final Boss even bigger would be the addition of a special guest referee - someone who knew both Autumn and Naz very well and could be relied on to to call things right down the middle. It was his honor to name the special guest referee for Autumn/Naz:
The returning “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter.
You could hear me shock and the cheers from the Quality Controllers even if you couldn't see them yet, and in the pretape Holmes thanked everybody for their time and asked us to enjoy the show.
After the opening stinger rolled we took a trip to Nashville, full of screaming fans. From a humming Bridgestone Arena Steve Vandeblanche and Carl Christensen are your commentators, Duck Eko is your ring announcer.
Among what you can expect on the show tonight, two former champions try to regain their old belts tonight : “Superfine” Reggie Strong ffaces Omar Littlefield for the GRPL+ World TV title and in the main event Luz Cruz tries to hit 10 and defend the Crush championship against Sohla Patel from International Lotus. But the night would begin with tag team action.
1.. Crusazdo del Oro and Super Avión v. The Wonderful Ward Brothers
Last week, Savage Justice (well, Justice Davis) called out the brothers Ward for their tossing the End Times off of the stage a few weeks ago. This week, the Wards brought a harder edge to their usual proceedings and made relatively short work of the luchadors. Team Batroc watched from one of the new skyboxes while Crusazdo del Oro went down to a Cutting Express at the hands of the former tag champs.
The Wonderful Ward Brothers d. Crusazdo del Oro in 6:38
After replays months of frustration came to a head when Avión helped his partner to his feet before nearly clotheslining him out of his boots. Avión continued to stomp away on his former partner and threw him into the ropes before tying him up with them. Of note, both Jason the Great and Rich looked on; they weren't hurting but they weren't helping either.
“Unscripted Violence” hit the PA and out came Savage Justice. The Unified World Tag Team championships made a beeline to the ring, causing Avión not only to flee the ring but head out through the concourse. The feel good moment was surprisingly broken up by Rich, who had Duck’s mic and said that until Savage Justice had something to say about he and his brother getting a shot at their belts some punk rookie should keep their names out of his mouth, and Razorblade damn sure shouldn't be encouraging him when he does.
That was all he had to say, but it clearly had an affect on the former World champion as “We Made It” hit the PA as the Wards left, leaving the Unified Tag champs looking pissed in the ring. Carl, Iin his way, pointed out that Team Batroc lost their titles shot last week and that they and the Wards used to be teammates. Hmmm…
2. The Game Changers v. Evan O'Neill and “Upper Class” Broderick Palmer II
Sort of a proving ground match here, as the cocky newcomers in O’Neill and Palmer II took on forever champions the Game Changers, with announce pushing that the winners would certainly be looking for a shot at Savage Justice sooner rather than later.
Palmer II has no answers for the Tiki God’s strength early, so he used the referee as a shield before thumbing Buffett in the eye and throwing him shoulder first into the ring post. Opening created, he tagged in O’Neill and the black hats went to work.
They took over the next few minutes and seemed to be headed towards victory, but O’Neill whiffed on a senton elbow drop and Al managed to shake free of BP2 and tag in Ashley THEE Influencer. The Beverly Hills bombshell wasted little time lighting up her opponents, even hitting a bulldog/lariat combo on both men that lit up the crowd.
Szabo got on a roll of her own and hit Broderick with a Codebreaker ahead of her Smash That Subscribe Button top rope fist drop, but before she could get the three count O’Neill was in for the save. All four competitors started going at each other until BP2 tossed Ashley into Al. Al stopped Ashley from falling, but it left him open to a Hi/Lo combination that made him inadvertently DDT Ashley. O’Neill took advantage and tossed a limp Al out of the ring before Palmer II drilled Ashley with an Unprettier. Broderick tagged in Evan, who hit the senton elbow this time, and a three count later the rookies had pulled out an upset over the former two time champs.
The Game Changers d. Evan O'Neill and Broderick Palmer II in 11:42
Al recovered and checked on Ashley in the ring while Evan and Broderick made sure the referee raised their hands on the ramp. Announce put over their increasing cohesiveness as a team before action rolled on from Quality Arena.
3. Shelley LaVey v. Lolo Vuitton
As Shelley came out, QCW Rewind threw us back to last week where Shelley laid out Lolo after Vuitton almost beat Autumn Powers in a non-title miatch. Shelley cursed out Lolo fo blowing her shot and promised to get after her tonight.
However,, Lolo got her back by jumping her from behind when she was making her entrance. The bell rang but that didn't stop Lolo from sending LaVey into the steps three times. Vuitton got Shelley in the ring and threw her into a corner to go mudhole stomping. Lolo followed up with a facewash, LaVey bailed out while Lolo let out a war cry as the Quality Controllers popped.
But Lolo’s lead turned out to be short lived, as once she got back in the ring Shelley dropped her with a STO. LaVey continued putting together offense against the multiple time former Women’s World champion and even laid out Vuitton with a fresh looking cutter. Shelley went to the high rent district and flew off with a top rope splash, but Lolo rolled away from it and left Shelley to get splattered on the mat. A dizzy LaVey got her chin checked by a Bloody Shoe shortly thereafter and Lolo pinned her.
Lolo Vuitton d. Shelley LaVey in 10:03
Lolo celebrated her way up the aisle until the commercial break.
Hour 2 began with breaking news delivered by Steve, who set up a video package that featured new footage of the Quality Arena fire. While the fire damaged a lot of the footage they were able to find a suspect walking away from the scene in something resembling a Pilgrim outfit. However, there's yet to be a positive ID because they were wearing a very wide brimmed black hat. Steve asked us to check on QCW’s site if any further updates came up in the case.
From the announce TOTHEBACK~!, where Julius Duquesne III had a very special guest – “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter. Mirror walked onto the set with a small grin before making a small bow towards JD3. Julius asked them if they could truly be impartial given their history with the two competitors in the main event at Golden Rule. Carpenter thought about it for a couple beats before responding:
“Julius, that is a brilliant question. Anyone who accused you of being just a nepo baby doesn't know what they're talking about.:
It's true that my relationship with Autumn is…complex. We're bitter rivals and will always be in some sort of cold war.
It's also true that Naz and I hate one another. Actually, despise might be a better term - but that is precisely why I would be the only one to call it down the middle. After all, there are some very small minded refs out there who believe that the Unified World championship should remain around the waist of cis men and resent Autumn for daring to hold that belt.
But there are many other refs who hate the guy who's put them in harm’s way to ensure that the title remains within his avaricious clutches. So when it comes to the right person to call such a momentous title match right down the middle…
…why, I would be the fairest of all. In fact, I’m genuinely hoping that the best competitor wins at Golden Rule, because I would be honored to relive either one of them of the burden of carrying the Fifteen Pounds of Gold. But until that happens, I will do everything in my power to make sure that the playing field remains even. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have referee stripes to get fitted for. Thanks, Jules.”.
JD3 thanked them back in kind before throwing things back to ringside for the next match.
4. “These Hands” Roy Fade (w/the Culture) v. “The Fury” Jim Jaspers (w/”the Proper King” Richard Windsor)
Considering the long running history between them and their backgrounds, no one was surprised to find that this turned out to be a hard hitting, stiff affair. Fade countered Fury Road with a familiar looking cutter and went for the Decision, but sent his knee strike into the turnbuckles as Jaspers moved out of its path at the last minute. A limping Fade walked right into Fury Road, but the shift in crowd noise got Old Jim’s attention, and for good reason –
–Prince Ootsuka leapt over the barricade and sent Richard Windsor into the ring post before following up with some rabbit punches. A furious Jaspers slid out of the ring and chased off the Prince, then checked on his now bleeding tag team partner. Jaspers spent most of the ref's count checking on his partner but slid in at 9…just in time to check the Decision with his jaw and get pinned by Fade.
“These Hands Roy Fade d. “The Fury” Jim Jaspers at 8:31
The Culture made sure to smack talk the fallen Proper Villains and show off their Ambassadors Trios championships on their way to the back.
We went from that to “Superfine” Reggie Strong putting on his signature robe in his dressing room, followed by a shot of Omar Littlefield destroying a heavy bag somewhere else backstage – the World TV title rematch was going down next…
5. Omar Littlefield [c] v. “Superfine” Reggie Strong for the GRPL+ World Television championship
In the middle of January Littlefield won a three way dance to win the World TV title; Strong exercises his rematch clause and was out not only for revenge but to regain his old belt
The opening couple of minutes saw Reggie throw a series of flurries at Littlefield, who was uncharacteristically out on the back foot by the assault. But Reggie couldn't power Omar up and over the way he hoped to do, and Omar's response was a reverse chokeslam.
What was left on the match was one way traffic for Littlefield, who put on a borderline showcase and still shocked the fans by dismantling another former TV champ. Reggie had no answers for Omar's perfect storm of offense and eventually went under after eating FIVE Vader Bombs and the Face Eraser. The bell rang and people seemed to be talmost oo scared to boo.
It was that quiet.
Omar Littlefield d. “Superfine” Reggie Strong at 6:05 to retain the GRPL+ World Television championship 6️⃣
Announce put over Littlefield and his continued path of undefeated destruction before hyping up the last stops on the way to Golden Rule next week –
Unleashed live from Boulder, CO will have Mr. Teknik and the Wonderful Ward Brothers face off against Team Batroc & Jacques Krieger; in addition, the main event will see Autumn Powers face off against the Culture’s “These Hands” Roy Fade in a non-title match.
The last Ruckus before Golden Rule willbe packed: Vancouver, British Columbiaa will host Karyn Tisch-Warren vs. Lolo Vuitton in a non-title match, a defense of the Crush championship, and aPPV worthy main event.
It's a 10 person tag - one side is loaded with the Ambassadors Trios champions the Culture, the GRPL+ World TV champion Omar Littlefield and Nazir el-Fadal.
Their opponents? The Proper Villains, Mean Season, and the Final Woman who holds the Fifteen Pounds of Gold, Autumn Powers.
And if that wasn't enough, the special guest referee will be “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter. So you want to make sure you don't miss a minute of Ruckus next week live from Vancouver.
Hey, how would you like a high stakes main event? A video package set it up: everything from Sohla Patel bullying Luz Cruz last year and sending her from the promotion to Cruz disguising herself as a luchadora to take the Crush championship from Patel a few months ago to kick off this title reign. A win for Cruz tonight means she can cash in on Patel's partner Karyn Tisch-Warren for a shot at the Women's World championship whenever and wherever she feels like it.
6. “La Flor” Luz Cruz [c] (w/Lolo Vuitton) v. Sohla Patel (w/International Lotus) for the Crush championship
Match LSL
After the fancy introductions we're out of the way Luz and Sohla didn't waste a second before throwing hands to the joy of the crowd. Luz won the brawl after a couple of minutes and cleared Sohla from the ring; Patel gathered herself and got back in only for a Cruz dropkick to send her up and over the top rope to the floor again where she threw a tantrum.
Said tantrum gave Tisch-Warren an opening to slide in the ring and lay out Cruz with a belt shot from the Women's World championship – Patel was suddenly all smiles and slid in the ring for a cover but Cruz kicked out at 2.
Lolo complained to the red and threatened to come after her ex partner Karyn but it didn't stop a “revitalized” Patel from running her playbook as well as she could over the next few minutes. Luz survived half a dozen nearfalls before a livid Sohla slapped her down to the mat, said she was going to make Cruz regret ever coming back, and called for the end.
Patel went to put a button on things with her Ninth Incarnation but Cruz reversed into a DDT that spiked her on her head. An out of it Patel rolled over twice and ended up on the floor, so the ref began making her count. Karyn snuck back in the ring but Lolo alerted the ref, who busted Tisch-Warren with the belt in the ring and ejected her and her husband to a loud pop from the Quality Controllers. Cruz waved a sarcastic goodbye to Karyn as she got escorted to the back by other referees; Patel snuck into the ring and rolled up Cruz for 2 ½.
When both women got up, Luz surprised Sohla with a satellite DDT that folded up Patel like a K/3 off suit. Cruz pulled herself off the mat before showing why she was the most decorated Crush in history by taking over the match and repeatedly introducing the Bollywood Diva to the mat. Even cheating didn't work for Patel, who late in the time limit rolled up Cruz and not only grabbed a handful of tights but put her feet on the middle rope as well; fortunately for everything decent, the ref caught her before 3 and waved the pin attempt off.
Patel complained to the ref, leaving herself open to a rewind rana from the champ that set up her signature triple jump moonsault – Patel's shoulders didn't come up off the mat after that.
Luz Cruz d. Sohla Patel at 13:58 to retain the Crush championship ✨🔟✨
It wasn't until replays fired off that we at home saw that Patel had gotten her foot under the bottom rope after 2, but Lolo knocked it back into the ring at 3 and the ref had missed the whole thing.
Regardless, orange pyro shot off on the stage and a chyron said that Luz had made it down the Road to 10 (cash-in capabilities: activated). Cruz grabbed the mic from Duck while hoisting the belt up on her shoulder and smiling at the crowd’s “You deserve it!” chants.
Luz began to thank the crowd before Lolo grabbed the mic to ripples of confusion from the Quality Controllers. Vuitton said who Luz should be thanking was her, and Cruz asked what she meant by that. Lolo mentioned the times Lotus had screwed her over in the recent post from getting the Women's World championship as well as having Luz’s back tonight and helping her make history - but that didn't do anything to help her be a champion again. Her help meant that Luz owed her, and maybe not just in her own effects for her old belt…maybe she should beat Luz to take the Crush championship juuuust for a little insurance, too
Luz got in Lolo's face, saying she could and has beaten Sohla without Lolo's help before she came back. The difference between them was that when she came back, she was winning titles and all Lolo was doing since coming back was coming close. If Lolo wanted to fight her and Lotus and the division, that was on her. But if she came for Luz's title or ruined her opportunity to get the Women's World championship? Things were going to get real hood real fast.
Cruz slapped the mic out of Vuitton's hand and stared her down only for Vuitton to slap her mic out of her hand and stare her down. They went forehead to forehead as the show closed, completely missing International Lotus snickering at them from the top of the ramp.
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