Quality Arena | Parts Unknown, FL
Aired live on GRPL+ | March 22, 2024
Standard open to the show, but before we zoomed inside the Arena we went to the QCW Control Center where Julius Duquesne III and Enya Face were standing by to give us updated scores for the Duquesne Classic. With 1 out of the 3 cycles down, here's how things are heading into tonight's slate:
In the Berger block, Ashley “THEE Influencer” Szabo has the lead with 5 points while Luz Cruz and Nazir el-Fadal are on her heels with 2 points each after their time limit draw on last week's Ruckus.
A similar situation is playing out in the Powers block with Razorblade out in front with 5 points and Pyotr Caviar and Lolo Vuitton tied at 2 following their time limit draw on Unleashed.
On the other side of the Classic, the Gunn block sees Dark Mirror in the lead with 5 with Ashok Banjerjee and the Witchfinder General at 2 each after their own time limit draw on Unleashed Wednesday.
And the Jones block has both “Tiki God” Al Buffett and the reigning GRPL+ World TV champion Omar Littlefield tied for first place at 5 after Al beat “Dashing” Pierce Moore to kick off the Classic last week and Omar dominated Jupiter Jones on Unleashed to keep his belt.
Tonight starts cycle 2 of the 2024 Duquesne Classic…and tonight starts right now.
1. “Boundless” Ashok Banjerjee v. “These Hands” Roy Fade (w/the Culture) in a Gunn block cycle 2 Duquesne Classic match
Ruckus and Duquesne action began with the Ruckus debut of Ashok, the former multiple time Catch Hell champion. After a time limit draw on Unleashed he came up against multiple time former World TV champion Fade, looking to gain some ground after losing last week's opener.
After an early feeling out period, Banjerjee got the upper hand by hitting Fade with three quick dropkicks in a row before clotheslining him out of the ring. Ashok looked like he was going to dive outside of the ring but “Dashing” Pierce Moore stood in front of his recovering partner to block the attempt.
Moore checked on Fade and looked up just in time to see Ashok flying through the sky with a spinning plancha that wiped out both members of Beauty and the Beast Mode. Ashok rolled Fade into the ring where Roy was complaining to the ref about Ashok’s offense - exactly the clever ruse Pierce needed to blindside Ashok and throw him into the steps.
The referee pivoted upon hearing it and the crowd ratted out the Baron of Beverly Hills leading to the rest of the Culture getting ejected from ringside. A suddenly recovered Fade ran down the apron and blasted Banjerjee with a knee strike.
Fade worked over Ashok for the next few minutes before the Quality Controllers rallied Ashok with chants and claps. These Hands promised to shut up the crowd and lowered his kneepad but got blasted by a John Woo dropkick that sent him flying into the corner. Banjerjee followed up with a tornado DDT where he ran up the ropes, and then proceeded to shut Roy down. Ashok ran his playbook to near perfection and pinned the former Golden Gloves winner after his Decolorizer Driver, a brainbuster into his knee.
Ashok Banjerjee d. Roy Fade at 11:39; Banjerjee now has 7 points & the lead in the Gunn block; Fade has 0 and is eliminated from winning the Gunn block
Ashok celebrated his win while Roy took the Sad Hulk walk to the back.
We might as well have followed Roy TOTHEBACK~!, where the non teleporting Enya Face welcomed her guests at this time - Nazir el-Fadal & International Lotus. The Quality Controllers booed as the trio walked on the set with Scott Warren-Tisch, a foursome that had the smugness of 40 people. Enya asked the heels how they were feeling ahead of the main event tonight against Autumn Powers & Mean Season.
Sohla Patel said she felt like an untouchable goddess as she stroked the Women's World championship, causing Naz & Karyn Tisch-Warren to look at her like she had 15 fingers. Sohla continued that her feelings of joy would-would turn into feelings of HATRED when the main event came. Hatred!
Karyn stared at Sohla a bit longer before saying that contrary to popular belief this wasn't The Autumn Powers Show but Ruckus, and she hadn't forgotten Cold As Hell. Tonight she’d get her revenge and she wouldn't be alone.
Naz stepped into the forefront at this point, saying that like Karyn he was looking for revenge - first getting predictably screwed by Carpenter at Golden Rule and then the indignity of last week. That was no way to treat the next Unified World champion, and tonight's main event would prove that without a crooked referee he was the true ruler of QCW. He only hoped that his partners would floss their teeth with her scraps. Naz let out a small chuckle before leaving the set and Lotus followed him out; Enya threw things to Duck back in the Arena for our next fight.
2. The International Players v. Team Batroc
As the Players came out, we got a QCW Rewind to Golden Rule where Lucius Patton pinned Serge Batroc to win a fatal four way tag and footage of the Players beating Ian Cook and Gerry Greene last week.
The announce put out the idea that the winners would be in line for a shot at the Unified World Tag Team titles and the former champions fought like that early on. Serge began to wrestle more and more of the match but the Players gained an advantage when they teamed up for a spiked Stun Gun that sent Serge reeling. In a reverse of fortune from most Team Batroc matches it was the Players who isolated Serge, cut the ring in half and quickly tagged in and out to keep their advantage. Pyotr Caviar was stuck on the outside looking in as the Players dominated the back ⅔rds of the match; in fact, when he tried to make a save on Serge”s behalf the Players took him down with a double flapjack that turned into a splash on his mentor. A double clothesline sent Caviar up and out before the Players took down Serge with a catapult into a guillotine legdrop to notch another big win.
The International Players d. Team Batroc at 14:30
After replays, the Players were celebrating in the ring when “Unscripted Violence” hit the PA and brought out Savage Justice with their Unified World Tag Team championships. The crowd gave them a good pop as they came on stage (QCW+ viewers saw them headed to the ring on the app while us normies sat through a block of ads). Shortly after all four men were in the ring together, handshakes were being exchanged before dueling Sav age Just ice!/College Park! chants rang out in the Arena.
Benjamin Valentino said it was nice to see them before asking what they were doing out here. Justice Davis said that his partner had a Classic to win and he’d take another step towards doing so in a few minutes. Justice looked like he was going to continue when Razorblade jokingly said this moment was for the old guard and he’d handle it from here. Savage told them that just because he was aiming to put his name on the Cup didn't mean he and Justice didn't see all the wins the Players were racking up lately, including putting Serge and his Russian bear in their place just now. So with the pleasantries out of the way, he and Justice were here to give them a golden opportunity - a shot at the Unified World Tag Team championships next week. If they accepted, of course.
Valentino broke out in a wide grin while Lucius Patton said “Y’all ain't ready ..but we accept.”. The Quality Controllers popped big as all four men shook hands again to seal the deal. The Players left the ring after that making Very Familiar Gestures around their waist and Justice headed to the back soon after they did, leaving Razorblade in the ring to stretch and get ready for his second opponent in the Classic: multiple time former Women's World champion Lolo Vuitton.
3. Mason “Razorblade” Savage v. Lolo Vuitton in a Powers block cycle 2 Duquesne Classic match
As the match started, the announce stressed that this was a must win for Lolo, who’d be out of Cup contention if she lost here. Unfortunately for Lolo, early on she didn't have an answer for Savage's power advantage eand after eating a big tilt-a-whirl slam she rolled out of the ring to slow down his momentum for a few seconds.
The former World champion continued to show off the upper hand and seemingly had Vuitton ready for the Soul Crusher, but Lolo slipped out and trapped him in the turnbuckle before superkicking him in the face. Seeing an opportunity , she went for the Bloody Shoe but got caught and powerbombed by Razorblade who tried to shake off the superkick before going back on the attack.
Savage continued to press his advantage and even cut off a Lolo rally by absolutely planting her with a spinebuster. Razorblade set Lolo atop the top rope and went for the Soul Crusher again but this time Lolo bounced his head off the turnbuckles a few times before hitting him with a sunset flip powerbomb.
That was the move that turned the tide for Lolo as she mustered a furious rally to try and get a win. Vuitton peppered him with hard forearm shots and even got a few 2 ½ counts but as Razorblade managed to avoid the Bloody Shoe, she couldn't put him away. In fact, both competitors were so clearly frustrated with not being able to put the other down that they were in a borderline hockey fight as the final few seconds ticked off the clock.
Mason Savage and Lolo Vuitton fought to a 20 minute time limit draw; Savage now has 7 points & the lead in the Powers block, Vuitton now has 4 points
After replays,Savage offered Lolo a handshake; after a few beats, Vuitton did the honorable thing and shook his hand. Steve pointed out that while Lolo would need to win in cycle 3 and get some help, her chances were on life support instead of dead like These Hands’.
Back TOTHEBACK~! where Enya Face brought on another trio of guests: Mean Season and the Unified World champion, Autumn Powers. Gaia Green, Winter Wonderland and The Champ got a big pop as they came on set and greeted Enya.
Enya asked them what their mindset was ahead of the main event and Autumn said that the last time she saw Naz, she kneed him in the mouth - the time before that when she saw Naz, she kneed him in the mouth - and guess what was going to happen again in just a little while? Her knee, his face. He could run his mouth all he wanted because they all knew by now who would shut it and how.
Gaia added that while Autumn made Naz just a little bit uglier, she and Winter would put International Lotus in their place. They and Naz were perfect for each other, because Mean Season was going to beat all their conceited asses. Autumn and Winter nodded before Enya said that there would be more Duquesne Classic action on the other side of this commercial break.
4. “La Flor” Luz Cruz v. Ashley “THEE Influencer” Szabo (w/”Tiki God” Al Buffett) in a Berger block cycle 2 Duquesne Classic match
Ashley and Luz slapped hands after the bell, then both of them tried Irish whips but couldn't get the other one into the ropes. Things settled into more of a catch as catch can style before THEE Influencer surprised the former multiple time Crush champion with a double stomp to send her into the canvas. Szabo began to put together a string of offense to keep her advantage and made Cruz kick out of a few nearfalls. Ashley looked to try and put things away with a Codebreaker but Cruz turned it into a Stun Gun that sent Szabo reeling and out onto the apron.
Ashley used the ropes to pull herself up but Cruz got a running start down the apron before executing a textbook huracanrana that sent Ashley down to the floor. Luz dished it out as well as she took it, even getting three straight quick nearfalls after hitting a Meteora from the top rope. Cruz used an around the world style setup to pull off a reverse rana then pulled Ashley into position to eat her signature triple jump moonsault – but as she came down Ashley not only thwarted it but turned it into a Codebreaker. Ashley got to her feet first and when La Flor staggered up she drilled her with another Codebreaker before going up and connecting with her Smash That Subscribe Button avalanche fistdrop to secure another Classic W.
Ashley Szabo d. Luz Cruz at 8:54; Szabo now has 10 points and the lead in the Berger block, Cruz has 2 and is eliminated from winning the Berger block
After replays, Ashley and Luz bumped knuckles before Luz took the Sad Fade walk to the back. Steve put over Ashley's consecutive huge wins while Carl chuckled and said that it wouldn't be March without a Cinderella, but back when he laced up the boots Cinderellas weren't built like that.
As Ashley and Al headed up the ramp, JD3 met them at the top by the Qualitron and congratulated Ashley on her win and tournament success. Szabo said that everything was coming up there for the Game Changers; on Unleashed her best workout buddy Al would end Omar's reign of terror and capture the World TV title, and she was super proud to have beaten someone on Luz’s level tonight. But people were waking up to the fact that she wasn't just a regulation hottie muscle momma but on that level, too. And with any luck and more hard work, either her or Al would be adding their name to the Cup when the Classic was all said and done.
The Changers were in the middle of thanking JD3 when “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For the Both of Us” hit the PA and brought out Dark Mirror to their usual loud and slightly mixed reaction from the Quality Controllers. Carpenter nodded at their former partners as they parted the QT9K04, while Buffett and Szabo were a bit more demonstrative with their affections (even off mic you could hear Ashley yelling for Carpenter to kick that religious weirdo's ass). Carpenter tilted their head and the Changers ran over for a group hug that popped the Arena before Ashley and Al headed to the back.
Beckett got their game face back on before heading to the ring and bathed in the crowd's noise before their face screwed up upon hearing the opening chords of “Shall We Gather At the River?”. A song like that could only mean one thing - the man who returned to Make QCW Pure Again was heading to the ring to try and gain an upper hand in the Gunn block…
5. ”Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter v. Witchfinder General in a Gunn block cycle 2 Duquesne Classic match
Given both competitors’ backgrounds, it would come as little surprise that this would turn out to be the hardest hitting match of the night. Carpenter was the first one to shade the rules a bit, leading to General using the referee pulling Mirror off of him to blindside them and drop them to the canvas.
General might have wrestled a more old school style but he used his long legs to wrap up Mirror in submission holds to sap their energy. Later on in the fight, General put Mirror in a crossface chicken wing and it worked until Mirror got out of it by running towards a corner and driving his face into the top turnbuckle. WG was in the process of recovering when Mirror blasted him with an enzui dropkick to the back of the head.
Mirror followed that up with her old friend’s Smash That Subscribe Button, and while Witchfinder got out at 2 ½ the momentum had shifted. Mirror spent the next couple of minutes peppering the General with blows only to literally get sent spinning through the air after a lariat from the Puritan found its mark. General regained his bearings and hoisted Beckett up in a crucifix but Carpenter used their legs to push off of the turnbuckles behind them and drop on top of WG to send him face first to the canvas
With General prone, Mirror seized the opportunity and battered Witchfinder with a tide of hammer and anvil elbows before putting their bigger opponent in their signature submission Look Inward. It looked like General was going to tap out a couple of times but he braced his knuckles against the mat and managed to power out - sending Carpenter flying into the referee and leaving all three people in the ring down.
The crowd's buzzing turned to boos as Nazir el-Fadal suddenly ran down the ramp before sliding into the ring. Carpenter had barely gotten to their feet before the One Man Jihad gave them a dose of Nazquil and rolled out of the ring, snickering as he sat against the stairs. The referee and Witchfinder got up roughly around the same time, and General went for a cover…only for Beckett to pop the Arena by kicking out at 2 ⅞ths.
Witchfinder responded by getting them into an overhead crucifix position again before turning it into a sheer drop neckbreaker, and this time once he made the cover Mirror couldn't find a way to kick out.
Witchfinder General d. Beckett Carpenter in 11:28; Witchfinder General now has 7 points and is tied for the lead in the Gunn block, Carpenter has 5 points
Replays got cut off by going back to the ring, where Naz was stomping away at Mirror before getting in Witchfinder’s face about how he owed hin. General looked shocked and offended and probably could’ve hit more octaves on the Karyn scale if a recovering Carpenter’s sneak attack on Naz hadn't sent him flying out of the ring after el-Fadal collided into him.
Carpenter began to stomp Naz out as a receipt only for Naz to give them a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle. el-Fadal rolled out and got a chair but when he got back in the ring a wall of Quality Force Security had formed a diagonal line between him and Dark Mirror. Some security members attempted to help Beckett, but they shoved them away and swore at Naz that this wasn't over while Naz just swore at them, period.
While they tried to regain a semblance of order in the ring, Steve and Carl got the hype train going for all the action to come on next week's QCW TV.
Cycle 2 of the Duquesne Classic will conclude with these matches on Unleashed: Pyotr Caviar vs. Karyn Tisch-Warren, “Dashing” Pierce Moore vs. Jupiter Jones, Serge Batroc vs. Nazir el-Fadal and the World TV title will be on the line as well when Omar Littlefield faces off with “Tiki God” Al Buffett.
The third and final cycle of the Duquesne will begin on next week's RUCKUS but that's not all: Shelley LaVey will defend the Crush championship against former champion Cindy Monet and the Unified World Tag Team championships are on the line when the International Players take on the champions, Savage Justice.
The Duquesne matches will feature “These Hands” Roy Fade vs. Witchfinder General, Serge Batroc vs. Luz Cruz, Ashok Banjerjee vs. Dark Mirror, and Ashley THEE Influencer against Nazir el-Fadal - the man already in the ring for the main event.
6. Autumn Powers & Mean Season v. Nazir el-Fadal & International Lotus
Match | Faces lead on points leading to the finish described below and Naz pinning Gaia
Autumn opted to start off for her side and demanded Naz start for his; el-Fadal made a meal out of being ready to face off…right before tagging in Karyn Tisch-Warren. She and Karyn were at a stalemate for a couple of minutes before Autumn started to show why she's The Champ, countering backbreakers on her way to hitting a couple dropkicks and a pump knee strike that sent Karyn careening towards her corner. Autumn demanded Karyn tag in Naz but she opted to tag in Sohla as the announce buzzed about the two champions going head to head.
Again, Powers took a couple minutes to figure out her opponent and started going on the offensive, but when she ran for the ropes el-Fadal pulled the top rope down to send her spilling out to the floor. Naz jumped down to the floor to follow up but Mean Season sprinted around the corner to have Autumn's back. International Lotus came riding to Naz's rescue, words were exchanged and soon there was a Pier 6 on the floor in front of the announce table. It ended with Autumn sending Karyn into the barricade, Gaia sending Naz into the steps, and Winter sending the announcers fleeing by tossing Sohla over the table and almost into their laps.
The crowd popped as Autumn and Mean Season hit their old pose in the middle of the ring and continued to take the measure of International Lotus while Naz paced on the apron. Winter tagged her partner Gaia and they teamed up for a top rope elbow drop version of the Demolition Decapitation right before a buzz started in the crowd and grew to a mixed reaction as Dark Mirror came marching back down the ramp on a mission.
Autumn's head turned, but it turned out Mirror ignored her side of the ring entirely, which meant they were coming after Naz. el-Fadal did the smart thing and got on his horse, with Carpenter on his heels chasing him around the ring. On his second pass, Naz grabbed Autumn and threw her in Carpenter’s path before rolling into the ring and laying out Gaia with a cheap shot. He ran back to his corner while Karyn quickly crawled over and tagged him in. Seeing Autumn and Mirror brawl on the floor, Naz pivoted to Green and planted her with Nazquil; Karyn and Sohla took out Winter to ensure that a three count later that there would be no joy in Mudv–uh, Parts Unknown on this Friday night.
Nazir el-Fadal & International Lotus d. Autumn Powers & Mean Season at 13:06
Enmity Part II
After replays, the heels were getting their hands raised by the referee when suddenly the Quality Controllers popped off; half a step ahead of the black hats, Autumn and Mirror snuck up behind the ladies of Lotus to lay them out before they sent them out of the ring.
That left Naz in the ring with his two biggest rivals and the crowd (and Carl at the desk) chanting *Fight!”, but when they attacked Naz matadored his way away from them and they accidentally (?) wiped each other out. With a Cheshirian grin, el-Fadal scooped up Carpenter and planted them with Nazquil. A groggy Powers got to her feet only to be taken down by Nazquil as well before el-Fadal rolled out of the ring and snatched the Unified World title out of Ducks hands as a precursor to rolling into the ring with the Fifteen Pounds of Gold.
el-Fadal's sneer could be seen in the twelfth row as “Ready Or Not” hit the PA and he thrust the crown jewel of QCW into the air. After letting the crowd boo for a bit Naz disdainfully threw the belt onto Autumn's recovering body and left the ring. The credits box came up before the final scenes of Carpenter trying to use the ropes to pull themselves up, Autumn holding the belt close to her waist, and Naz smirking at them as he backed his way up the ramp.
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