Golden Rule PPV (Climate Pledge Arena • Seattle)

 {preshow} Cindy Monet (w/Jane Doe & the International Players) d. Goody Gardner (w/the End Times) 🪙 This came as a sort of appetizer for tonight's main event, with Gardner proving over the past few weeks that despite her former reticence to get her hands dirty that she could acquit herself well between the ropes.  But Monet controlled the match almost from the bell and it took only a couple of minutes for Gardner to roll to the floor after getting hit by Rolling Thunder.  It turned out that Goody was actually setting a trap; when Cindy went for a follow up baseball slide, the matriarch of the Chosen trapped Cindy in the ring apron and laid into her with a barrage of forearms.  Goody controlled the offense for the next couple of minutes but when she went to Lawn Dart Cindy, multi time champion slipped out the back door and countered by hitting Gardner with a reverse suplex.  That set up the Tightrope ropewalk lariat and Cindy's win while allowing the announcers to debate if we would see Collipark beat the Chosen in the main event.

{preshow} | contract match Summer Rose (w/”Sinister” Sarah Fowler) d. “Cambodian Cool” Keo Tevi 🪙 Since Tevi debuted at the top of the year she's been targeted by Fowler, whose sidekick Midsomar revealed themselves to be Summer Rose a few weeks ago.  Coming out from under the mask and self imposed exile, the former champion had to get back on the roster by beating Keo here to nullify the Loser Leaves Town loss she suffered against Autumn Powers (speaking of QCW alums) years ago.  

Rose fought without her former grace and wore Tevi out early while Fowler looked on from the floor with deranged glee in her eyes.  Summer was rolling until Teo caught a flying crossbody attempt and turned it into an oshigoroshi to stay in the fight.   Keo showed why they'd been a three time champion Down Under as they emptied their offensive tank, but when it looked like they were going to banish Summer again, Rose bit their hand to block Psychedelic Shock.  When Keo doubled over to check on their hand, Summer log rolled into Tevi to send them crashing into the canvas to set up a basement rana driver that got the Beautiful Reckoning a three count and officially back into QCW.  Summer put pen to paper five minutes before the PPV proper started; Rose and Fowler celebrated by stomping out Tevi some more before the rest of the referee corps were able to order them to the back.

💫 MAIN CARD 💫

[ QCW NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ] Orion [c] d. Tre Boyd 🔟 🪙 One of the big selling points of Golden Rule was every title in the company being on the line, so what better way to start than with one of the title matches?  Once a tense handshake started the match, the two of them zipped around the ring with both of them going hold for hold and counter for counter.  But after a couple minutes of back and forth it was Boyd who'd hit an early momentum shifter as he.dodged an Orion clothesline with a Matrix bridge before nipping up into an enzuigiri that took Orion down.

But the Cosmic Champion refused to stay down for long, reversing a Blue Thunder bomb into a huracanrana takedown before following up with a step up knee that sent Boyd bouncing through the ropes and out to the floor.  Tre got himself vertical just in time to eat an Orion triangle moonsault that wiped them both out.  

But Boyd bounced back when he countered a top rope flying attack with a powerbomb that drove Orion into a smear on the canvas.  From there, Boyd increasingly put pressure on the titleholder and kept them grounded for the most part.  After landing some strikes and suplexes, Tre began opening the throttle on his offense 

It looked like Tre was well on his way to taking the Natty even though Orion kept managing to kick out at the death.  But after using a Blue Thunder bomb to set up an avalanche Spanish Fly, Boyd called for the end and looked to connect with his Say Hallelujah the same way he’d just hit Heaven Sent.  Tre leapt to the top rope in one jump that he almost overshot, then balanced himself before flying off with his trusty Spiral Tap.

But the couple of moments Boyd balanced himself gave Orion just enough time to get their knees up and snuff out Say Hallelujah.  Boyd was doubled over on his hands and knees on the mat right before Orion snuck up on him and wrapped him up in a La Magistral cradle.  Tre kicked out…unfortunately for him, it was at a count of four.  Just like that, Orion had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and once again retained the National championship.  

Still the Cosmic Champion, they got their hand raised and the title in their arms while the Qualitron showed that Orion had completed the 10 Count; it was only a matter of time until they cashed in the Natty for a shot at the World title.  Orion finished posing on the turnbuckles and hopped down, turning around and coming face to face with Tre.  They draped their belt over the top rope and offered Tre a handshake, but Boyd (openly seething after complaining to the ref several times about the three count) waved it off and rolled out of the ring before stomping off to the back to a loud, mixed reaction.  Orion shrugged and picked up their belt, allowing Mastodon to hit the PA and Orion to enjoy the moment without any of Tre’s sour grapes to leave a bad taste in their mouth.

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A video package set up our second match on the evening, recapping “Night Sky” Diana Spare “rejoining” the Forbidden Book Club and their challenge to their ex friends in Hysteria to an elimination match - with Hysteria accepting as long as it was an extreme rules match as well and the Club more than eager to accept that stip too - weeks and months and years of broken/new/reformed allegiances, sneak attacks from both sides, and both sides promising they would be the ones who’d get their hands raised while putting their rivals in the dirt…

extreme rules elimination match Forbidden Book Club d. Hysteria (survivor: Luz Cruz) 🪙 To the surprise of nobody, this was a chaotic bloody brawl that went at peak intensity for nearly half an hour; to the surprise of some the Club ended up victorious, with Luz Cruz landing the decisive shot that finally ended the brawl.  Hysteria emerged out from the darkness they created, but to the surprise of everyone in Seattle the FBC all emerged from underneath the ring and jumped QCW’s resident coven before they could pose and kicked off a Pier 6 that spilled out to ringside and a little bit up the ramp depending on which of the three fights you were watching the most.  

The Club was the first to use plunder, grabbing multiple weapons from under the ring and swinging for the fences on their ex friends.  After Bonnie Agrippa and Nancy Crowley had taken several shots each from kendo sticks, Bella Jolie threw her body onto theirs to act as a human shield.  FBC then mugged her with a myriad of kendo stick shots before sending Bonnie and Nancy out of the ring.  Luz and Shelley handled them while Diana beat Bella like a rented goalie, using a Black Hole Slam to set up a pop up Michinoku Driver into a trash can to bounce Bella and give the Club a 3-2 lead. 

But that only fueled the fires of Hysteria and made Nancy Crowley more Feral than usual; first she grabbed Carl’s candy jar from off the announce table and smashed it over Diana's head to leave her laying, then she & Bonnie worked over Luz and Shelley long enough to be able to bring steel chairs into the fray and tilt things further in their direction.  Both Cruz and LaVey ate steel, and when Spare recovered enough to get vertical again Hysteria dropped her with a standing Conchairto.   Having taken out who they clearly thought was the Club’s linchpin, Agrippa and Crowley put knots on the heads of the rest of the Club.  They managed to even up the score in vicious fashion, not only hitting their trademark spike brainbuster on Shelley LaVey but doing it into the bottom half of the steel steps to even things up at 2 apiece.   The Hysteria team began showing why they weren't too long removed from being the World Tag Team champions as they sent Cruz sailing over the announce table then overturned it onto her, and even pinned her underneath the remnants of the table with both parts of the steps, the announcers’ chairs and even a piece of the retaining barrier that Bonnie and Nancy had put Luz through moments earlier.  They then bundled Spare up and tossed “Night Sky” into the ring.  Diana staggered over to grab a cookie sheet but Crowley quickly ran up on her and gave Diana a Code Black into some scattered chairs.  While Nancy dragged Diana to her knees, Bonnie made sure to taunt her former tag partner and point to where Luz was buried under the announce table, and even without being miced up you could hear Agrippa mocking Diana about how she should've left the Club for dead and now she was going to get her little sidekicks put in the ICU.  Spare’s response was to spit in her face and Nancy's as well to a big pop, but Hysteria’s response was to give Spare a spike brainbuster into the chair pile before Nancy put a foot on Diana's chest and pinned her to send Hysteria up 2-1.

The crowd's shock and disappointment quickly gave way to loud “Fuck Hysteria” chants that only made the diabolical duo cackle.  Having saved Luz for last, they were more than ready to give La Reina of the ropes flashbacks to last year's Golden Rule and worse.  They rolled out of the ring at the same time and began picking through the wreckage to get Luz Cruz and turn this chaos filled match into a gentlewoman’s sweep - but they couldn't find Cruz, who was hiding in the timekeeper’s area and blasted them both with a spray from a fire extinguisher.  Cruz then climbed up onto the barrier and took them both down with a tornillo off of it to drop Hysteria again before letting out a war cry followed by some cursing in Spanish.  Luz picked up Nancy and lawn darted her into the ring post to stop her shrieks then focused on the woman who’d replaced her 360 days ago as the top of Hysteria's food chain.

Agrippa scrambled into the ring for the high ground and to get a chair, but her swing missed and Luz's springboard dropkick sent the chair into Bonnie's face to a pop.  Cruz grabbed that chair and another one before opening them up to face each other.  Cruz moved as quick as she could and hit the opposite corner on a diagonal, running up onto the chairs before launcherung herself over the ring post with a queen sized tope con hilo that drove Nancy through another section of the retaining barrier, causing the crowd to break out into “HOLY SHIT!” chants.  Cruz staggered up and grabbed Nancy.pff the floor before tossing her back in the ring.  Luz had Nancy in the drip zone and went up for ¡MUERTE!, but that meant she’d taken her eyes off of Bonnie and Agrippa threw a trash can at her to knock her off of the top rope and send Cruz back down to the canvas.  Bonnie pulled Nancy off the deck for a two on one stomping out of Luz while Steve told us that with this advantage it was only a matter of time before Hysteria got their hands raised - but first they were going to make Luz suffer.  Bonnie held Luz down as Crowley climbed to the top rope and flew off with an avalanche senton.  Agrippa shower why she took Luz's spot as leader, giving Crowley whispered instructions in Crowley’s ear.  Crowley cackled before rolling out of the ring while Bonnie laid out Luz with Eclipsing the Light.  Two suplexes and a brainbuster later, Luz was dead weight so she missed Crowley coming into the ring with a full pane of glass.  Bonnie pulled up a limp Luz as she smiled, encouraging Nancy to bring the hammer down.  Crowley reared back and swung the pane like Cal Raleigh…but Luz either went limp or fell down and Bonnie took the sheet of glass to the head as Hysteria’s lieutenant accidentally wiped out her general to the delight of the crowd.  Bonnie was out like Shia LeBouf on Bourbon Street as Nancy screamed in the ring - but for once it was out of panic and not sadistic glee.  Crowley reached down to check on a clearly out of it Agrippa, and she was borderline crying as she tried to bring the High Priestess of Hysteria back to consciousness.  With her attention focused on Bonnie, Nancy forgot all about Luz until she heard cursing in Spanish.  Nancy turned around just in time to block a flying chair with her face that spun her around and dropped her to her knees.  It took Luz longer to climb the ropes but once she was in the penthouse she flew down to ground floor with ¡MUERTE!, sending Nancy head first into the mat with her double jump poison huracanrana.  Cruz flopped on top of Nancy to get the three count to save the match for the Club.  And then it was down to her and an out of it Nancy…

…or not, as when Luz tried to pick her up Agrippa snuck in an inside cradle for 2.8.  Cruz beat Bonnie in getting vertical and laid her out with a massive dropkick before letting out a war cry and pointing to the corner.  Cruz went up top again and flew off for ¡MUERTE! but not only did Bonnie counter it, she picked Cruz out of mid air with a Backstabber and then jumped on Luz with a crossface.  Blood came down Luz’s face while Bonnie was bleeding but also screaming at Luz while she had the hold on, screaming at Luz that this was what she deserved, that this was the reason Hysteria was better off without her, that she was going to humiliate her at Golden Rule just like she was last year.  Cruz started going limp as Bonnie screamed at her to tap out.  Luz slumped over as Agrippa torqued the hold.  Luz’s hand went limp on the mat for a couple of seconds but then it suddenly shot out, back and to the left leaving Bonnie screaming in pain   The crowd gasped or popped upon seeing Bonnie freak out and holding her right wrist where Luz had just stabbed it with a shard of brown glass.  The usually haughty and composed High Priestess screamed for a good while, right until Luz came flying out of the sky to drop Bonnie with another ¡MUERTE!, delivered head first into some of the chairs.  Agrippa was bleeding from the hand and wrist as she was flat on her back, a spent and bleeding Cruz getting her arm across her former friend for the winning pinfall.

We got replays for a solid couple of minutes recapping the biggest moments of the back and forth battle and Cruz stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.  When we cut back to live action we saw Luz Cruz getting her hands raised by the referee while LaVey and Spare helped to steady her.  Cruz looked like she was going to go limp in their arms but suddenly reared back and hocked a bloody loogie onto Bonnie, before cursing her out in Spanish.  The referee quickly moved FBC towards the ropes and they opted to celebrate on the floor, Cruz repeatedly beating her chest while Shelley and even the usually stoic Spare gave her praise.  Steve and Carl were doing the same, but got interrupted by Cruz herself as she talked to the ringside camera she’d shut up Hysteria and that two witches were no match for one brujera. The Club headed to the back as a bloody Agrippa sat up and gave them the finger behind their backs before falling over to her side.  The referee and the medical staff checked on Agrippa heading into some commercials.

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Serge Batroc & “the Proper Villain” Richard Windsor d. The Undaunted 🪙 It didn't take long for the “styles make fights” chestnut to play out in this battle where Serge & Richard continued to be the unwelcome committee for the newly arriving fun-loving Irishmen.  It was the heels who struck a big blow early, a blind tag from Windsor setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker + guillotine legdrop combination.  Windsor & Batroc then targeted the back of “Unforgettable” Dave Mullin and halved the ring on him.  It took Mullin a few minutes to get out from under and he did so in spectacular fashion by planting the black hats with a double handspring tornado DDT.  They both tried to pick his ankle to prevent a tag, but Dave upkicked Serge away and then did so to Windsor, sending him flying into Serge to allow room for the tag to Tim “the Only Hope” McMurray.  Tim came in fresh and went wild on his opponents, hitting flying forearms, hard knife edged chops and even a Sliced Bread #2 of both of them at the same time.  The Undaunted landed some double team offense and looked to put things away with the Doomsday Meteora they call Shamrock Air – but Serge broke it up with a charging European uppercut that sent Dave to the floor, allowing Richard to counter with a victory roll that helped secure a victory…as he wrapped his arm around the middle rope and Serge pulled on it from the floor.  The referee missed both cheats and declared Serge & Richard the winners to a tidal wave of boos; they quickly made tracks up the ramp while Mullin rightfully complained to the referee having seen the last bit of their cheating.

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A brief vignette showed Tre Boyd stomping out of Climate Pledge, ignoring questions from Julius Duquesne III about the title loss to Orion as well as pleas from his former friends in Sky’s the Limit to reunite since they were better off as a unit than set apart.  The Gospel ignored everyone on his way to a Town Car that sped off into the Seattle night the second he closed a back door behind him.

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Ashok Banerjee (w/Jacques Krieger) d. Omar Littlefield (w/Ig de Catur and Republic Enforcement) 🪙 The upset of the night - maybe of the year - came before the double main event as Ashok managed to steal a victory over the former two time World champion.  Banjerjee was able to successfully play a cat & mouse game with Omar, but once the Republic’s land monster caught up to him he turned him into a figurative and at times literal punching bag.  Omar showed off his deep offensive playbook; he nearly Pounced Ashok out of the ring, he cut off a Banjerjee rally with a sit out choke bomb, and after five consecutive Vader Bombs he looked to have things wrapped up after connecting with his Face Eraser.  But Ashok managed to get a foot on the bottom rope to save the match, which Omar didn't notice as he celebrated what he thought was a victory.  When the referee had to inform him someone had actually survived his vicious crucifix powerbomb DDT, Omar let loose several f-bombs (good thing we were on PPV) and backed the ref into a neutral corner before threatening to lay them out, too.  Omar went for another Face Eraser, but Banjerjee hit a flash modified Code Red that stunned Omar just long enough to get the three count, keep his undefeated streak going and ostensibly kill Omar's campaign for another World title shot.

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Climate Pledge got to enjoy the moment for about ten seconds before Omar popped back up and laid out Ashok from behind.  Omar hit another Face Eraser, then tossed the referee out to the floor when he tried to intervene.  Republic Enforcement held off Jacques Krieger while Omar hit a third Face Eraser, but as he went for a fourth Krieger got in the ring and went after Omar.  That worked until it didn't and Omar stopped his heavy hands by laying him out with a sit out choke bomb.  Littlefield turned his attention back to Banjerjee and laid him out with the fourth Face Eraser tonight. 

The bell kept ringing and the crowd kept booing and heckling Omar, but changed their tune as Commissioner Holmes came out and waved on not only Quality Force Security but some members of the Seattle PD.  They hit the ring too late to prevent a fifth Face Eraser but immediately swarmed Omar after it connected and took him down to the mat.  As they finally managed to stop Omar's onslaught and put him in cuffs, de Catur got in Holmes’ face and launched into a series of complaints before punctuating it with a couple of hard pokes into the Commissioner's chest.  Holmes let the first one go but after the third he socked Ig on the jaw and sent the techbro multimillionaire on his ass to a big pop from the crowd.  Shaking his head furiously, he walked over to Duck Eko and took control of the mic.

Holmes said he’d be damned if the World Tag Team titles match was going to turn into a Republic debacle as well, so by his ruling he was banning Ig de Catur and Republic Enforcement from ringside for the next match!  It was probably their fault that Justice Davis had gotten taken out on Friday the 13th, and if he could prove it he’d see the lot of them bankrupted and blackballed from the industry - these people deserved better and he was going to give it to them!  Ig de Catur had barely gotten to his feet before he too was in handcuffs, and his private security was as well.  Littlefield, de Catur & Republic Enforcement were taken out of Climate Pledge - but things quickly turned somber once the chaos died down, as it soon became clear that Ashok was barely moving.  The medical staff came to the ring and after some tests loaded Banjerjee onto a stretcher.  An absolutely irate looking Krieger followed them into an ambulance that sped out of the arena saying only one thing twice on the way out: that he was going to destroy Omar.

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A video package ahead of the semi main for the World Tag Team championships showed Savage Justice reuniting at Cold As Hell, Justice Davis pinning Malicía Fernandez at Pure Massacre and SJ being named #1 contenders for their old titles after winning Tag Team Turmoil - then jumped to last week when the end of the Friday the 13th Ruckus showed Justice taken out and being thrown through a car windshield, causing Razorblade to say two nights ago that he knew the Republic was behind the cowardly attack because they were scared of losing their belts and that if he had to, he’d fight them in a handicap match because now that they'd taken away the angel on his shoulder the devil in him was going to show them everyone bleeds, especially Republic bootlickers.

[ QCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS ] Mason “Razorblade” Savage and…somehow, Nazir el-Fadal d. The Republic [c] #AndNEWWWW 😞 No, that's not a typo.  And before you ask: no, that's not a typo.  Remember, with everything that went down in and after the last match Pyotr Caviar and Malicía Fernandez were left on their own to defend the straps with no help.  Still, when Razorblade came out alone it looked like they wouldn't need it as the semi main turned out mostly to be a handicap match.  Battle tested as Razorblade is, sooner rather than later the math caught up to him and that's before the size advantages of Malicía’s height and Pyotr's heft came calling.  Razorblade mustered brief rallies, but every time it seemed he was about to make some real headway, his opposition would tag out double team hin or both.  The Republic representatives had Razorblade dead to rights after hitting a double pop up European uppercut and called for the double goozle - and that's when the lights went out.  

When they came back on, someone in Republic Enforcement gear and their hat looked like they were about to strike Razorblade with a baton.  The referee got that baton and another one out of the wiry man’s hands, but as the referee had to get rid of those the man shocked everyone in attendance by pulling out a taser and literally shocking both Pyotr and Malicía.  Razorblade managed to pin down a convulsing Caviar's shoulders for three.  Razorblade looked shocked over being saved, and even more so when his savior lost his cap and ripped off the Enforcement top to reveal a familiar looking Gold Lion black and gold rugby jersey that had JIHAD 1 on the back.  Savage sat stunned on the mat while the referee draped the belts over his shoulder.  This only lasted for a moment, as Nazir’s grin was so big it almost touched the belts before he snatched one off of Razorblade.  The crowd chanted “Holy shit!” loudly while Naz gave a smirk to end all smirks and thrust the belt in the air, triggering a barrage of gold and white pyro as the Qualitron put up a graphic announcing the longtime rivals as the new World Tag Team champions.  Naz gave Razorblade a couple of pats on the cheek and swaggered his way to the back while Steve and Carl were stumbling over their words on commentary.  Razorblade turned his head towards the ramp shellshocked while Naz got in another pose with the belt and a shit eating grin before he headed to the back.  It's a good thing a couple of commercials happened after this, because what the entire f

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Before the main event we got a sizzle reel hyping up the return of QCW’s beloved and vaunted annual tournament - the Duquesne Classic not only will allow one person to join the ranks of QCW immortality but will grant them a World championship opportunity at Mayday Payday.  The 16 person tournament will kick off on this week's Ruckus, which means that Duquesne season has returned…who will put their name on the Cup this year?

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We got a video package ahead of the main event, covering Jupiter winning the World championship again at Holiday In Cambodia and following it up with a successful title defense at Cold As Hell, then successfully fighting the Republic only to get blindsided weeks ago by “the Purifier” Caleb Gray, the leader of the Chosen who stole the Fifteen Pounds of Gold and has promised to win it tonight to bring about his desire to turn the company into Quality Christian Wrestling with him on top.  Repeated attacks by the Chosen haven't deterred the legendary Jones from promising the fans that he’ll get the physical belt tonight or get crucified trying - even as the former Duquesne Classic winner and National champion Gray promises his ascension to QCW World champion tonight will be the sort of revelation that makes even the staunchest non-believer choose faith over fear…

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[ QCW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ] Jupiter Jones [c, w/Collipark] d. “The Purifier” Caleb Gray (w/the Chosen) 🪙 Golden Rule ended on an up note, as the legendary Jones retained the Fifteen Pounds of Gold over the duplicitous Gray.  Gray went after Jupiter right from the start, peppering him with punches.  But when he tried to land Reap the Whirlwind, Jupiter caught it and turned it into an over the shoulder kneebuster to halt his momentum.  Jupiter spent the next few minutes working over the leg and grounding Caleb while the announcers pointed out how Jupiter used his veteran skills to not only make an opening for himself but change up his usual offense to further tilt the scales in his favor.  After dropping Caleb with a double underhook powerbomb, Jones played to the fans before launching a Bolt From Olympus - but Gray countered and his backdrop sent Jones over the top and to the floor by his acolytes.  

Gray laid out on the mat clutching at his shin, which drew the referee's attention while the End Times grabbed Jones and launched him head first into the retaining barrier to boos from the Seattle Quality Controllers.  Jones tried to fight back, but the Times gave him a toss into the steps to slow him down further.  That drew the attention of the ref, and after hearing the crowd’s complaints ejected the stoic End Times to cheers and sent the innocent Goody Gardner along with them.  When they stood their ground, the International Players and Science Fiction Double Feature ran them off to the back.  

Gray tried to take advantage of the situation and succeeded for a little while, but the biggest weapons in his arsenal had been taken away by Jones’ leg work.  He couldn't land his Whirlwind and the one time he attempted Repent he couldn't get the bigger Jones up for the elevated crucifix neckbreaker and he collapsed under the weight of the attempt which caused Jupiter to essentially reverse splash him into the mat.  That was the beginning of Gray's end, as Jupiter hit the ropes multiple times before sending Gray heels over head with a massive spear.  When he went for the Bolt again, this time it found the target…but before the Purifier could hit the mat, Jones blocked the Chosen leader’s body with his own.  Jupiter looked at the cheering crowd before hoisting Caleb up on his shoulders and serving up a little old school Jones with his Thunder Rolls running powerslam.  Gray was down and out for the count, leaving Seattle to count three as Jupiter retained his belt and finally got back the physical object after weeks of chicanery from Caleb.

We got replays of the match highlights as Carl accurately pointed out Jupiter turned Caleb into a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.  After they were done, we saw Jupiter in the ring celebrating with the rest of Collipark - right until “Bombs Over Baghdad” cut off and was replaced by Mastodon.  

“Orion” brought out Orion to a massive pop and excited commentary from Steve and Carl; they weren't alone in wondering if this would be the moment Orion cashed in their now certified National championship for a shot at the World title.  Jupiter seemed to be waving them on, but the Cosmic Champion merely sketched out a small bow in the direction of the ring before holding up the Natty.  Jones gave a respectful nod before thrusting the World title overhead.   The cash in is going to happen at some point, but not tonight.  Golden Rule went off the air with Steve wondering if Orion’s meteoric rise would end up with them as the one to dethrone Jupiter and be the next one to hoist up the Fifteen Pounds of Gold.  

AnniVersary PPV (Quality Arena • Parts Unknown, FL)

                                                                          Preshow

1. Justine Danek & Bella Jolie d. the Proper Villains (Jolie Twelve Feet Under -> pinfall Jaspers)

2. Glam Squad d. w @ s t 3 l a n d e r s (Valsada Too Damn Glam-> pinfall m 3 l t d 0 w n)

MAIN CARD

John Arneson (w/Ashok Banjerjee & Jacques Krieger) d. Prince Ootsuka [w/the All Starr Stable] (Natural 20 avalanche powerslam -> pinfall)

Beast Mode (w/Lolo Vuitton) d. Tre Boyd & Kam Eillis of Sky's the Limit [w/the Cooper Brothers] (Fade Dashing Decision -> pinfall Boyd)

contract match the International Players & Jupiter Jones of the College Park Family (w/Science Fiction Double Feature) d. "the Purifier" Caleb Gray, "the Righteous" Justice Davis ^ "the Paragon" Drake Tremble of the Chosen [w/the End Times & Goody Gardner] (Jones Bolt From Olympus -> pinfall Davis)

champions vs. champions QCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Bonnie Agrippa & Nancy Crowley of Hysteria [c, w/Justine Danek and Bella Jolie] d. Catch Hell Wretling League tag team champions the Undaunted (Agrippa spike brainbuster -> pinfall Mullin)

QCW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Lolo Vuitton (w/Beast Mode) d. "Night Sky" Diana Spare [c] (brass knucks punch -> pinfall) #AndNEWWWWW

LockUp Nazir el-Fadal, Orion & Mason "Razorblade" Savage d. the Republic ((World champion Omar Littlefield, Pyotr Caviar & Malicia Fernandez w/Ig de Catur & Republic Enforcement)) [Razorblade barbed wire bat elbow drop off a pod -> pinfall Caviar) [Scott Holmes reinstated as Commissioner]

GRPL+ Presents QCW Ruckus [s3e29 • July 5, 2024]

Quality Arena | Parts Unknown, FL 

Aired live on GRPL+ | July 5th, 2024

Steve Vandeblanche and Carl Christensen on commentary, the Voice of QCW Duck Eko handled the ring announcing

1. Justice Davis d. Jacques Krieger (w/S. Mark Starr) at 12:15 This springboarded from last week's show, as online Starr blamed his client bumping into and having words with Davis before his loss in the World TV title match until Davis made a rare online appearance and said he’d have fun punching his meal ticket.  We got the hard hitting opener you’d expect here, a 50/50 match Davis surprised the bigger Krieger with a Davis Driver out of nowhere but got laid out by “Upper Class” Broderick Palmer II who had beaten him thanks to Krieger showing up last week.  A post match promo saw a giddy Starr reveal that he’d added Palmer II to join his stable of Al Starr's.  Starr pressed that he would find some way to honor his new client's wishes and serve Hashtag JusticeForEvan All One Word.  Palmer II held JD up so the former World TV champion could blast him with a heart punch; the heels celebrated jumping Justice as the crowd booed the new trio.

2. Beauty and the Beast Mode v. Team Batroc v. The Wonderful Ward Brothers in a triple threat ended in a no contest at 11:47 Both babyfaces teams have had prior beef with Team Batroc (the Wards were once aligned with then split from Team Batroc and turned babyfaces) and while they don't hate each other only one team can walk away with the Unified World Tag Team straps at Cruel Summer.  Good action and it seemed like the ex champion Wards were going to win but the End Times jumped the guardrail and started laying into the brothers with their THE END IS NIGH signs.  The went after and laid out both other teams as well before Quality Force security arrived on the scene but they grabbed their signs and wandered through the concourse towards the exits.

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Sizzle reel to again prime the pump for the arrival of luchadora El Vengador de Gente Jr.  from Lucha Salvaje.  In a subtitled promo Vengador said that as the conscience of lucha libre it was his responsibility to come administer justice (not him), reintroduced himself, and said his word was the law.  Speaking of new luchadors…

3. Ashok Banjerjee [c] d. El Loto Negro by disqualification at 6:59 to retain the GRPL+ World Television championship 4️⃣ Pretty good, if short TV match.  Coming off a win on Unleashed, Loto hung early with Ashok until he didn't, and then suddenly low blowed Banjerjee for the DQ.  Loto wailed away on Ashok before revealing Nazir el-Fadal, who revealed his plan - win the World TV title back  and cash it in to get the Unified World title after what's happened to him the past 2 PPVs.  Crowd was its usual 70/30 split during the promo.  

We got a few replays of the match's big moments and Naz’s treachery before Commissioner Holmes came to the ring to officiate the Omar Littlefield/Autumn Powers contract signing making the Cruel Summer main event official.  They exchanged a few barbs, and signed on the dotted line for the 14th.  Things ended with Autumn putting over her bona fides before Omar laughed them off and threatened to end her career like he did Mirror's.  Powers leapt over the table and went after Omar to some success before eating a Face Eraser through the table.  We went to commercial break with Omar blowing off the Commissioner as he headed to the back while Autumn slowly got herself out of the wreckage.

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4. Roberto Villalobos d. Ricardo Villalobos in a contract match at 2:45 Short and frankly bizarre match as Ricardo (the former Crusazdo del Oro) didn't want to fight his brother even after Roberto jumped him last week.  Ricardo seemed to be pleading with his brother to not do this to him, but Roberto said something to his brother that caused the proud Ricardo to almost burst into tears before he laid down and Roberto pinned him to win and get a contract to put him back on the QCW roster.  

There was another interview where Julius Duquesne III’s guests were the Game Changers.  They brought up the fact that Ashley's challenge for the National Championship had gone unanswered and maybe they were too busy hiding behind their Bibles or the Duquesne Cup they stole from Szabo, but the Game Changers were right here and they weren't hard to find.  This proved to be their downfall, as Witchfinder General and Goody Gardner jumped then from behind to kick off a backstage brawl for the next couple of minutes that ended up with both Ashley THEE Influencer and the Tiki God laid out before Quality Force security came on the scene.  Goody held up Ashley's head and hissed at her “we accept” before shoving it back down hard to the concrete.  

5. Lolo Vuitton and Luz Cruz d. International Lotus at 14:36

This match was scheduled to happen last week but got short circuited by a Lotus sneak attack, then they beat unlikely teammates Cruz and Shelley LaVey when LaVey stepped in to take Lolo’s place.  This time around, it was the white hats who had the hot start and cleared Lotus from the ring going into the night's last commercial break before smirking down at Lotus.

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Unfortunately for The Champ and Luz, they couldn't maintain the advantage for long after the break.  Scott Warren-Tisch provided a distraction, allowing Lotus to hit a double team behind the ref’s back on Cruz, who they proceeded to whale on for the next few minutes while halving the ring.  Cruz eventually fought out of the Bad Part of Town and landed a DDT and neckbreaker combo on both to force an opportunity for her to tag out.  The Champ ran wild on both members of Lotus, and eventually Sohla ate a Bloody Shoe and the pin.  Lolo let Karyn know about it as Tisch-Warren collected Sohla and the announce hyped Lolo/Karyn for the Women's World championship at Cruel Summer.  

A vignette played of the WELCOME TO PARTS UNKNOWN sign on the edge of town for a few seconds before the two men from the desert wandering and dive bar destroyers vignettes of the past few weeks passed it.  The sign suddenly went from green to midnight black, and the welcome got replaced by this:

t h 3  w a s t e l a n d 3 r s

Then this:

o n e 

m 1 n u t e

t o

m I d n I g h t

Next week's go home Ruckus will spotlight a trios match as Nazir el-Fadal and International Lotus will team up against Ashok Banjerjee, Luz Cruz and Lolo Vuitton - we’ll have a rundown of the Cruel Summer card - and we'll hear from “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter for the first time since the events of Steel City Showdown.

The main event was a title rematch from two weeks ago except this time the roles of champion and challenger were reversed…

6. Bonnie Agrippa [c, w/Hysteria] d. Shelley LaVey (w/Beauty and the Beast Mode) at 9:07 to retain the Crush championship 2️⃣

Bonnie beat her ex partner clean a couple weeks ago to win the belt, getting her knees up on Shelley's Fallen Angel splash and cradling her for the pin.  LaVey went for the Fresh To Death cutter early on, but Bonnie swatted away one attempt and reversed the other into a German suplex to gain the early lead in the fight.  

Agrippa expanded her lead by putting Shelley in a Tree of Woe before running to the other side of the ring and coming back with a head of steam before spearing the ex champ in the ribs; Agrippa continued to work over LaVey's ribs as the announce put over Bonnie using her familiarity with Shelley to try and remove the Fallen Angel splash from the equation.  Bonnie continued to work over Shelley, and put her in the Tree of Woe again - but this time Shelley pulled herself up when Agrippa charged and Bonnie went flying shoulder first into the ringpost as a result.  LaVey got herself situated on the top rope and hit almost a trust fall avalanche version of the Fresh To Death, which saw both women laid out on the canvas for most of a 10 count before Shelley managed to start putting together a comeback in earnest.

LaVey emptied the tank trying to regain the championship, including dropping Agrippa with two Pele kicks before going up to the top rope.  It was at this point that the rest of Hysteria went after Beauty and the Beast Mode, using their 3-2 advantage to beat down Beauty and the Beast Mode on the floor.  Shelley spotted this and had a choice to make and after a couple of beats she made it - she flew off the top with a tope con hilo into the fight on the floor and wiped everybody out.  Shelley eventually got up from the aftermath of the dive only for Bonnie to run up on her from behind and fling her into the ring post.  LaVey went down in a heap and Agrippa tossed her back in the ring before laying her out with a brainbuster to retain the championship.

Agrippa cackled over a crumpled Shelley's body as she got the title back and was joined in the rest of the ring by Hysteria.  Beauty and the Beast Mode hit the ring just in time for the lights to go out…and when they came back on it was evident all four women had disappeared in the darkness, as is their wont.  B&BM and the ref checked on a still recovering Shelley as Ruckus faded to black with one more show before the Cruel Summer PPV.

GRPL+ & Ruckus presents Steel City Showdown • June 7, 2024

Peterson Events Center | Pittsburgh, PA

Aired live on GRPL+ | June 7th, 202

We saw a vignette to open the show that showed Commissioner Holmes in his makeshift office Earlier Today talking with Ambassadors Trios champions the Culture, and Shelley LaVey had her Crush championship with her as well.  Handshakes happened all around and then Holmes asked them if they’d found a partner for the contract match tonight.  They all seemed confident they could handle the situation when Luz Cruz walked in, saying that she hoped she was in time to join them for the eight person tag.  She and Shelley had their match ruined at Mayday Payday, so if they weren't going to hide in the shadows she’d show them the spotlight and get just what she deserved.  

She shut the door as “These Hands” Roy Fade jerked a thumb over his shoulder and said “Yeah, her.”

We got a modified version of the usual opening to Ruckus – panoramic shots of Pittsburgh landmarks were intertwined with the usual highlight reel while Dreamers’ metal cover of “Black and Yellow” played in the background.  Things ended the way they have for about a month, with the Cavalcade of Champions and Omar Littlefield tugging at the chipped Unified World championship around his neck while breaking out into a slow, sadistic grin.

Fans go RUAHH~! and the red, yellow and blue pyro went off on stage as this supersized edition of Ruckus with limited commercial interruptions kicked off.  The voice of QCW, Steve Vandeblanche was alongside analyst and former QCW champion Carl Christensen - they plugged the first ever contract match to come when “La Flor “ Luz Cruz teamed with the Culture against familiar faces Bonnie Agrippa, Nancy Crowley, Justine Danek and Bella Jolie as well as the main event where the Fifteen Pounds of Gold would be on the line between Littlefield and the person he took the Unified World championship off of, “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter.  But Steel City Showdown would kick off with the 2024 Duquesne Classic winner defending his other piece of hardware for the first time…

1. Witchfinder General [c, w/Goody Gardner] v. “Tiki God” Al Buffett (w/Ashley “THEE Influencer” Szabo) for the QCW National Championship

Once Duck Eko made the introductions under a sole spotlight, we were soon underway and Buffett came out of the gates hot.  While WG was the bigger man, he definitely wasn’t the stronger one, and Al put him through his paces and out powered him early.  No sooner did Al press WG overhead before he started doing some reps with the National Champion, then slammed him down to the mat.   WG tried to roll away and get his bearings only to get clotheslined out of the ring once he did.  General was quick to grab his title and make a move towards the back but got cut off by Ashley THEE Influencer.  The Duquesne Classic finalists faced each other down, but that meant that the champion wasn't focused on the challenger; Al was able to sneak up on WG and throw him back into the ring to continue his offense.

Buffett continued chipping away at Witchfinder, who finally lashed out and raked Al’s eyes to get some breathing room.  But when he charged to follow up, Al gave him a backdrop into the corner that sent WG bouncing off the buckles and falling awkwardly to the mat.  Al followed up by dragging the General to his feet to blast him with a short arm lariat that got the Tiki God the first two count of the match.   Even that was too much for Goody Gardner to bear, and she jumped up on the apron to argue with the referee.  Ashley was coming to get Goody but Al nearly beat his tag partner to the punch and went after her.  Goody dropped off of the apron - and Al turned around right into a cyclone kick that knocked him heels over head.

We got replays of Al Inheriting the Whirlwind as the General began stomping Al out to the boos of the crowd.   The crowd wouldn't get any happier as Witchfinder got Al into position and laid him out with a piledriver.  Goody excitedly pounded the mat as Al almost ended up in the fetal position after getting dropped.   General sneered at the fans while gesturing at the fallen Buffett, asking them why wouldn't they repent?  Did they want to end up like this charlatan?  If you were in the crowd, it was hard to tell what was worse: the harangues or the beating.

Al could tell you which, especially as Witchfinder dished out everything he’d taken earlier and then some.  It only took a couple of minutes before Witchfinder put Al in a sleeper and tried to sap his strength.  Buffett looked to be going limp but it turned around as he countered with a jawjacker.  Al got a running start and charged Witchfinder but the General kicked his leg out from under him and hit him with a couple of quick elbow drops so that he could maintain the upper hand.

“Ti-ki God!” chants fired up in Peterson but it didn't stop Witchfinder from continuing to beat Al down and preach at him when his fists or feet weren't flying.  Witchfinder yelled at Ashley to watch what would happen and see if seemed familiar to her right before he got Al in position for his Repent finisher, but Al frantically kicked his legs to avoid the elevated crucifix neckbreaker, spun WG around and laid him out with a Codebreaker that left both men down.   Ashley and Goody stared daggers at each other while pounding the apron in their sides of the ring, hoping to get their man to their feet.

Al was first up by a second and managed to block a couple of shots before firing back with a couple of right hands of his own; however, WG cut him off at the pass with a hard knee to the gut that left Buffett splayed out on the mat.  General looked around the ring before grabbing Al and flinging him shoulder first into the ringpost, the dull echoing thud of the impact reverberating around the arena.  With Al incapacitated and in position, General hoisted him up and got a running start before planting the Tiki God with Repent - a three count later, his first successful title defense was in the books.

Witchfinder General d. Al Buffett at 13:20 to retain the QCW National Championship

We got replays of some of the match's big moments but before we could see the end we went back to live action in the ring, where Goody Gardner was laying another stomping down on poor Al.   Fortunately for him, Ashley quickly slid into the ring and launched herself at Goody to stop that noise.  Szabo laid in a beating on Gardner right up until Witchfinder snatched up Ashley from behind and threw her shoulder first into the ringpost.  WG followed up with a Repent on Szabo while Gardner had grabbed the Duquesne Cup and was driving the butt end of it repeatedly into Al's chest and stomach.  The crowd booed the black hats’ walloping the Game Changers until Quality Force security came out and separated the pairs. 

The end result was Al and Ashley laid out in the ring, Witchfinder and Goody sneering at them as they took both the Cup and the QCW National Championship to the back.  Boos rang out as “Shall We Gather At the River?” played.  Witchfinder and Goody sneered at the jeers while standing in front of a modified Qualitron 9004, and he held up the National Championship while she raised the Duquesne Cup.  

We saw what looked like a desert expanse for a few seconds before we saw a hand reach down into the grains and pull out a gray hockey mask, letting sand slide through the holes.   As that happened another hand reached into the sand and pulled out gray, bulky shoulder pads and you heard them being pulled over.  A few beats went by and we saw two men walking up what appeared to be a dune before a road suddenly split the sand in two.  They began to walk down it, though we could just see them walking down the road together into the sun that sort of Star Trekked the screen.for a few seconds before we saw the following:

t h r 3 3 

m I n u t e s 

t o 

m i d n I g h t

Commercials followed after this.

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We came back to Steve and Carl at the desk, who were hyping up the other two title matches on the card when the lights went out in Peterson.  

When they came back on, four familiar faces were standing in the ring and three were smiling while Bonnie Agrippa's face was a brick wall.  “Pray For Me” brought out the Culture along with Luz Cruz to a decent pop from the Steel City branch of the  Quality Controllers.  

2. Bonnie Agrippa, Nancy Crowley, Justine Danek and Bella Jolie vs. the Culture and Luz Cruz in a contract match

It came as a small surprise when Cruz volunteered to start things off for her side, daring any of the four women in the opposition to take her on.  Nancy Crowley broke away from the pack and had a crooked smile on her face while she tilted her head at La Flor.  Cruz landed a punch but when she went for another Crowley bit her hand before following up with a series of clubbing blows across Cruz's upper back.  Crowley brought in Justine Danek off a tag and the two of them teamed up for a double suplex.  Justine took over on offense while the announce talked about all four women suddenly reemerging at Mayday Payday and causing havoc in the women's division since.  

In fact, the bulk of the match was one of the black hats usually keeping an upper hand on an increasingly beleaguered Cruz - and even when Luz got a little piece of daylight something would happen like Bonnie Agrippa taking a swipe at Luz from the apron to help set up a Justine/Bella double gourdbuster.  Justine went for a cover after that but Shelley LaVey pulled her off the cover at 2.  Danek continued running point with occasional hard shots from Agrippa or Crowley but when she went to put Luz away the former Crush champion found the strength to counter with a sky high dropkick that flattened Danek where she stood.  We got a couple replays of Cruz going borderline Rainmaker as both Justine and Luz crawled towards their respective corners.  Danek got there first and tagged in Agrippa, who quickly got in the ring and picked Cruz's leg to try and fend her off.  Luz went for an enzuigiri that Bonnie ducked, but what she couldn't duck was a snap rewind rana that dropped her to the canvas.  Cruz made the crawl to her corner and tagged in the Crush champion.

Shelley LaVey came in the ring and immediately greeted her ex partner with a flurry of fists as the crowd popped.  LaVey sent Agrippa flying multiple times, causing Bella Jolie to get in the ring and try to save her partner.  Shelley managed to sidestep the attack and hit Bonnie with a bulldog while clotheslining Bella down.  LaVey continued her dominant roll, and pointed at Pierce before turning it into a finger gun that she shot at Agrippa.  When Bonnie turned around, Shelley leapt at her and went for her Fresh To Death cutter but Agrippa shoved it off.  Fortunately for Shelley the shove sent her flying towards her corner, where Luz reached past “Dashing” Pierce Moore and tagged herself back into the fray.  Cruz launched herself at Agrippa, who quickly adjusted and turned it into a small package.

And that somehow got Bonnie Agrippa and her group back into QCW.

No, seriously.

Bonnie Agrippa, Nancy Crowley, Justine Danek and Bella Jolie d. The Culture and Luz Cruz at 11:19 to be reinstated on the QCW roster

Agrippa quickly rolled out of the ring as the win played out like a needle scratch throughout Peterson.  Cruz sat up in the ring looking absolutely shocked, turning to the ref and holding up three fingers.  The announce expressed similar shock at the finish while the Culture checked on Luz.  While Danek, Jolie and Crowley exchanged joyous high fives and hugs, Agrippa looked in the ring and smirked before snapping her fingers.  The lights went out and when they came back on the Culture looked bummed out while a frustrated Cruz kicked the bottom turnbuckle repeatedly.  Bonnie and the rest of her cove–uh, group were nowhere to be seen.

We got replays of the finish before a highlight package aired of a remarkable stretch of last year's Cruel Summer PPV that saw three different world titles in three straight matches change hands when

1st) Team Batroc won the Unified Tag belts

2nd) “Night Sky” Diana Spare won the Women's World championship off of Karyn Tisch-Warren; this is the first time Spare has been on the show in any way since heading for the Mouse House last year 

And 3rd) Autumn Powers bested “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter to end their best of 5 series with the upper hand and win the World TV title

As Thievery Corporation’s “33 Degree” played in the background, we found out that this year will see Cruel Summer return as a Quality PPV.  Next month on July 7th, the Capital One Arena in Washington DC will play host to a signature QCW PPV with tickets going on sale Monday at noon Eastern.  Nothing says Cruel Summer like DC in an election year, I suppose.  

Right before we hit commercials we saw minority owner Ig de Catur coming down the ramp with the GRPL+ World Television championship under his arm.  He came around and shook hands with Steve and Carl then headed into the ring to hand off the belt to the referee.  The crowd gave him a decent reaction as the Scoop Republic boss waved.  Ig is here to officially hand off the title to whoever wins the Golden Gauntlet in the next match; one of them will hold the World TV title for the first time.  The former multiple time Catch Hell champion faces the former multiple time Women's World champion when Banjerjee vs. Tisch-Warren goes down next!

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“Galang” brought out Ashok Banjerjee to a big pop from the crowd, but he was on a match to the ring without his usual smile or slapping the hands of the fans.  Once in the ring, Ashok hit the turnbuckles and nodded at the crowd who was changing his name.

As he made A Very Familiar Gesture around his waist, the insipid “Roar” brought out Karyn Tisch-Warren.  While the notorious KTW walked down the ramp, a picture in picture QCW Rewind showed her teaming up with Ashok at points in last week's triple threat semifinal to eliminate Pyotr Caviar from the Golden Gauntlet.  

Once they were in the ring, Duck made the title match intros under the lone spotlight in the Events Center and then we were underway.  

3. Ashok Banjerjee v. Karyn Tisch-Warren in the finals of the Golden Gauntlet for the vacant GRPL+ World Television championship 

As they fought to a standstill in the opening minutes of the fight, Steve noted that per Commissioner Holmes’ edict at the start of the Gauntlet, the rest of International Lotus was banned from ringside and Karyn was going to have to win the World TV title on her own.  Carl also noted he was hearing that there was some kind of disturbance going on in the back and he hoped that if it turned out to be something pivotal that they could get into it after the new champ was crowned.

After some counters and counters to counters, Karyn landed the match's first big blow by dodging a couple of Banjerjee attacks and landing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to stop him in his tracks.  Tisch-Warren used her quickness to keep Ashok relatively grounded and when he rolled onto his side to avoid a pin the First Lady of Fitness fired off a basement dropkick that caught him between the L3 and L4.  Ashok continued to eat Karyn's offense and screamed out as she controlled him on the mat with a bow and arrow hold that caused him to reach out for (and eventually get to) the ropes. 

Banjerjee rolled out to the floor and was crawling around on his hands and knees, using the apron to pull himself up.  Once she saw that, Tisch-Warren was on the move.  Karyn bounced off the ropes and flew to the outside with a tope suicida that unfortunately for her lived up to its name as Ashok dove out of the way and she flew right into the retaining barrier to gasps and groans from the Quality Controllers.  We got a couple of replays as Ashok got himself back in the ring.  The referee started to count Karyn out but Ashok waved him off.  Banjerjee got a running start and springboarded off the middle rope and flew to the outside with a tope con hilo that wiped out Karyn on the floor.  

The crowd popped big for that, and after a few seconds Ashok got himself vertical before tossing Karyn into the ring and following her in.  Ashok showed off some speed of his own but mostly took the rare opportunity he had of a power advantage over an opponent to drive Karyn's health meter further into the red.  Ashok's roll came to a halt when he charged Karyn in a corner and she got her cross trainers up to stop him.  Tisch-Warren went to the top rope but Ashok undercut her to plant her on the top turnbuckle.  Banjerjee went up and not only hit a superplex but rolled through it; he looked to chain together another move - maybe a Decolonizer Driver to end things - but Karyn turned the tables and planted Ashok with a spinning version of the Falcon Arrow that left both of them down and the Pittsburgh crowd clapping.

A “this is awesome” chant got cut off by the Qualitron suddenly coming to life with live footage of the disturbance in the back – Lolo Vuitton whooping Sohla Patel’s ass after International Lotus tried to take her out after the main event between Lolo and Sohla last week ended by DQ at Karyn's head.  A furious Vuitton launched Patel into a production crate like a lawn dart before spotting something out of our eyeline at home.  Lolo grabbed Sohla by the head and spat at Sohla that she knew what payback was before grabbing her by the hair and launching her through some office’s plate glass window.

That got even bigger gasps and “Holy shit!” chants from the crowd.  Quality Force security arrived after the horse was already out of the barn, pulling a cackling Lolo away as she screamed that now that biotch knew how it felt.  QFS took Lolo away as the camera panned over to see Patel in a bloody heap amidst the broken glass.  A recovering Karyn saw her partner laid out and then she got laid out at the hands of Banjerjee when he launched her with a German suplex that had her kissing the mat with force.  

Ashok pulled himself up and controlled the rest of the match, snuffing out a small Tisch-Warren rally with a beautiful satellite DDT to set up the Decolonizer Driver (a brainbuster into the knee).  A three count later, Karyn was still unmoving on the mat and Ashok let out a wordless cry of joy.

Ashok Banjerjee d. Karyn Tisch-Warren at 12:52 to win the GRPL+ World Television championship 

Pyro!  Confetti!

Ig came into the ring with the belt while the referee tended to Karyn and helped her to the back.  De Catur shook hands with a psyched Banjerjee before putting the G+ World TV title around his waist.  Ig moved towards a corner and joined the crowd in applauding Ashok, who got bleeped on the broadcast for letting a joyful F bomb off before he hit the turnbuckles to continue celebrating.  The “You deserve it!” chants got drowned out by a barrage of golden and white pyro exploding from and on front of the Qualitron while confetti with the same colors started falling from the ceiling.   Ashok played to the other side of the crowd before laying down on the canvas and making confetti angels.  Steve put over that after months of trying, Ashok Banjerjee had finally earned the GRPL+ World Television championship.  Carl noted as hard as he fought to become champion, the next question was if he could navigate his way to 10 and get to cash it in for a shot at the Unified World championship.

Backstage, Enya Face sent congratulations to Ashok Banjerjee for winning the GRPL+ World TV championship before bringing out her guest who requested and paid for this television time so that he could address all involved and viewing along.  Here now, “Upper Class” Broderick Palmer II.

Face held out the mic for Palmer II to take, then walked off as he walked on while the Quality Controllers booed.   Broderick agreed with the crowd, saying that's what he felt in his heart in this narrowly disguised zoo masquerading as a workplace environment.  In the hallowed walls of Quality Championship Wrestling there was apparently no room for justice, let alone the Hashtag Justice For Evan All One Word (he said it, not me) that was deserved.  He should be here as not only half of a tag team but half of the Unified World Tag Team champions.  Yet here he was, no belt fashioned around his waist or in his grasp.  He assured us he was seeking legal restitution from Commissioner Holmes with regards to the titles no matter how rudely he had been rebuffed.   Whether between the ropes or in the courts, the result would be the first of what would be many championships under the name Broderick Palmer II.   

But until that time came he would make his name in the singles division just as he had when he ‘ll provide pro wrestling par excellence when he beat Autumn Powers tonight the same way he beat Razorblade a few weeks ago (the term you're looking for is chester) to further showcase his championship mettle.  Perhaps he might set his sights next on the championship in television but first he'd prove he deserved a shot at even more glory by proving where Autumn's place was: beneath him.

From there we went back to Duck in the ring, who announced that the next match had a 30 minute time limit and would be a mask vs. mask match!

4. Crusazdo del Oro v. Super Avión in a mask vs. mask match

Iron Maiden hit the PA and down the ramp swaggered Super Avión.  The crowd already didn't like the former Unified World Tag Team champion and he sure as hell didn't endear himself to the crowd when he yanked a Terrible Towel off a fan in the front row and used it to blow his nose.  The crowd wanted swift justice for this local misdemeanor and got it in the form of Crusazdo del Oro, who ran down the ramp and jumped his ex partner from behind (Avión turned heel on Oro and beat him in a street fight a few weeks ago).  Oro went on the attack with wild swings before the referee ran down the ramp and separated them.  The zebra focused on Oro and getting him into the ring before checking on Avión, who angrily demanded that they ring the bell.  Avión's attempt to get in the ring was cut off by a flying Oro, who dropped him with a springboard spinning plancha that had cell phones up in the air and the crowd cheering loudly.

Replays of the tornillo showed as Oro snatched up Avión and threw him into the ring.  Avión staggered into a corner and Oro quickly met him, jumping up to the second rope so he could lay in not just 10, not 20, not even 30 but 33 punches before the ref could get Crusazdo to come down.  Avión flopped into a seated position but it didn't stop Oro from running to the opposite corner and coming back to drill Avión with a Meteora.  Avión started to slide out of the ring but Oro helped him with an inside-out slingshot leg drop that drove his leg into Avión’s neck.  Oro rolled back into the ring and grabbed Avión's legs to pull him towards the center of the ring.  Oro got a decent two count out of it even though the time spent pulling Avión away from the ropes may have saved the match for Avión.

But nothing could save Avión from the wrath of his ex partner, who spent the majority of the match kicking his ass with some uncharacteristic anger behind every blow.  Avión got in a little offense and cheated a couple times but couldn't sustain any offense long term - and that was before Crusazdo hit him with a springboard rewind rana that put El Super in the drop zone.   Oro signaled he was going to finish it and went up top for his phoenix splash, but suddenly found himself crotched on the top turnbuckle as the referee suddenly went flying into the top rope.  Avión pleaded innocence as he scooted out of the ring while a couple of replays – well, Avión had plausible deniability but he might have been (probably was?) guilty.

He was definitely guilty of grabbing a steel chair and bringing it into the ring.  Avión picked it up and swung it on a rising Crusazdo only to get it yanked out of his hands by the referee.  The referee yelled at Avión before getting the chair out of the ring - all the opening Avión needed to kick a field goal with Oro’s testicles.  The crowd booed as Avión quickly wrapped Oro up with a La Magistral cradle…

Super Avión d. Crusazdo del Oro at 16:13 to unmask Oro

…this fucking guy!

Avión let out a cackle while holding the back of his neck, but barely got his hand raised before he got to his knees and started unmasking Crusazdo.  The announce weren't booing like the crowd was, but they didn't like the underhanded way he hung onto his identity.  A few beats later, Avión ripped off Oro's mask and held it up to the lights before spitting at his ex partner.  As Avión headed to the back, Oro rolled over onto his back and gingerly sat up.   He looked familiar, and Steve seemed to initially think that it was former QCW star Roberto Villalobos but then saw the long jagged scar that almost encircled the man’s left eye and took up the most real estate above his eyebrow.   

He waved off the referee’s offer of help and started limping gingerly to the back, Steve again decrying the miscarriage of justice that this man, Crusazdo del Oro had suffered.  Carl provided a pivot point right before the night’s last set of ads, hyping up the Powers/Palmer II match up next.

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5. “Upper Class” Broderick Palmer II v. Autumn Powers

Hot start to this one as Autumn couldn't even get in the ring before Palmer II blindsided her with a low tope.  The referee went to the outside to separate Broderick from Autumn, causing Palmer II to get in the ref’s face.   While that was going on, Autumn got time to recover and launched herself off of the steps with a flying lariat that took BP2 down.   The ref now was keeping Autumn from going after Palmer II and tried to get things started.   

Once the bell rang, Autumn saw that “Upper Class” was still down and hit the ropes to fire off a baseball slide dropkick but Palmer caught her by the legs and swung her like a baseball bat into the dividing wall.  Autumn went down in a heap before we saw replays of how she ended up crumpled.  Broderick followed up by draping Powers over the apron and drilling her with a million dollar kneelift before smiling at his successful offense.   His success continued for the next couple of minutes as he used his power advantage to keep Autumn down; as the announce noted that Palmer II’s offense was also taking the crowd out of the match just like he probably wanted.

Palmer II continued to work over Autumn but when he looked to powerbomb her, Powers reversed into a facebuster to drop Broderick near the center of the ring.   Both were down for the better part of the count before getting up within half a second of each other though once they were up it was Autumn who struck first when she jacked his jaw with a textbook rolling elbow.  

Palmer II started getting his comeuppance as the Pittsburghians (?) rallied behind Autumn and maybe played a 12th man in her comeback.  Autumn's speed killed any chance that Broderick had of coming back, and the former Unified World champion closed out the fight with a vicious 1-2 combo, flattening him with a borderline backdrop driver before putting a button on things with the Hazy Shade.  Good showing from BP2, but in the end the universe continued unfolding the way it should.

Autumn Powers d. Broderick Palmer II at 12:46

After replays, we saw the referee checking on Broderick while Autumn made her way up the aisle.  Julius Duquesne III was in front of the Qualitron and congratulated Autumn on her win and hoped to get a word with her.  Julius asked Autumn how she felt after putting another big win on the board.  Autumn looked at Julius and seemed to think about what she was going to say, but instead shook her head and headed to the back.  After realizing he’d gotten snubbed out of an interview, Julius shook his head and followed her back there.

Before the main event, Steve hyped up next week's Ruckus and while they weren't returning to Quality Arena with a supershow like tonight, there would be not one, not two, but three title matches come next Friday. 

Shelley LaVey will defend the Crush championship against one of the women in the group that just got reinstated earlier in the night in Justine Danek.   And we’ll get two title rematches: Ashok Banjerjee will make his first title defense against the woman he narrowly defeated to win the belt tonight, Karyn Tisch-Warren.  And the Women's World championship will be on the line again when Lolo Vuitton goes against Sohla Patel as that rivalry shows no signs of abating.  Note that in both the World TV title and Women's World championship matches that the rest of International Lotus is barred from ringside.  

Lolo Vuitton made history when she recaptured the Women's World championship at Mayday Payday and it might have been the biggest news from the last PPV…you know, if the main event hadn't seen a pillar of the modern era win the Fifteen Pounds of Gold and the Unified World championship…for all of a few minutes before a rookie monster cashed in his World TV title and leveled up by running through the spent champion to take the top title for himself.   

And now there's no cash in, just a former champion trying to take back what’s theirs and a newly minted champion looking to send another message….and maybe another opponent to the hospital.  

6. Omar Littlefield [c] v. “Dark Mirror” Beckett Carpenter for the Unified World championship 

After Duck made the introductions, the lights came back up and the ref called for the bell.  The crowd chanted for Mirror as Omar confidently strode to the middle of the ring and stuck his chin out in a dare to hit him right on the button.  Carpenter bolted out of the corner with a shotgun dropkick that staggered the Detroit native backwards a few steps.  Carpenter started teeing off with buzzsaw kicks and put some knots on his head.  Omar didn't fall to both knees and was clearly rattled but had enough strength to shove Mirror away.  Carpenter bounced off the ropes and hit Omar with a modified step up enzuigiri.  Omar still didn't go down so Mirror hit the ropes again.  

Littlefield saw it coming and blocked an attempt at another enzuigiri by tossing the Triple Crown winner up like pizza dough and letting them go splat into the mat.  Carpenter started staggering up and Littlefield ran for the ropes, running past Carpenter in two different directions before slamming into them with a Pounce that sent them flying into the corner.  Carpenter was barely moving and Omar wanted to make sure things stayed that way.  Littlefield backed into a corner before charging Carpenter and delivering a cannonball that sandwiched Mirror into the bottom buckles.  Carpenter went limp before Omar stepped on them and up to the middle rope, staring blankly at the booing crowd.  Littlefield pointed out at them and you could hear him say “This next part…this is on y’all.”

What was the next part?

Vader Bomb.

Vader Bomb.

Vader Bomb.

Vader Bomb.

Carpenter wasn't moving.  Omar cared.  

Littlefield grabbed Mirror by the mask before getting them into position and drilling them with his signature Face Eraser.  Omar dismissively put a foot on Beckett's chest for the 3 count.

Omar Littlefield d. Beckett Carpenter at 6:13 to retain the Unified World championship 

The referee started to call for the bell but the champion barked at him to make it five.  The ref hesitated, but did it.  Peterson was almost in a stunned silence as Beckett had just gotten obliterated.  Unfortunately for Carpenter, the beating was just beginning.  

Littlefield got his hand raised and then lariated the poor referee damn near into the fourth row.  Omar chuckled, then grabbed Mirror and planted them with another Face Eraser.  Littlefield rolled out of the ring and grabbed a limp Mirror by the ankles before tossing them to the floor hard.  Littlefield ripped the facade off the announce table, which sent poor Steve and Carl scurrying for the hills.  Omar threw Carpenter on the table and got up there himself before setting up and delivering another Face Eraser that imploded the table and sent Beckett nearly into the fetal position.  

Littlefield got up from the wreckage and let out a roar amidst the boos coming down on him in waves.  Omar shoved Duck Eko down and grabbed his belt as Quality Force security came onto the scene (busy night for them).  Omar threatened a few of them before yelling at them to get out of his way.  As he stomped off to the back he ignored the medical staff coming down the ramp with a stretcher.  Without commentators, we saw some reaction shots of concerned and/or pissed fans watching the scene of devastation The Champ left behind.   

QFS headed to the back as Mirror was loaded onto the stretcher and strapped in.  The med squad took the stretcher around the ring as the credits box came up.

But.

But as the Qualitron opened up to allow them to head to the back, Omar Littlefield was standing there with a smile on his face blocking the path.  The medical crew tried to get him out of the way so he scared them all by running at them, sending them fleeing all over Peterson.  That left him alone with the stretcher…

…which he promptly grabbed and dismissively pushed off the stage to the shock and horror of the crowd.  Security came back out and the medical team joined them as they all got close to Mirror’s body that had just been essentially thrown off the stage while they were held down.  Ig de Catur came out and Commissioner Holmes did too, Littlefield blowing off the Commissioner and moving like he had another appointment that he just wasn't going to miss.  De Catur was screaming for an ambulance, which took a minute to arrive.  Carpenter was loaded into the ambulance shortly thereafter, and Peterson was so quiet you could hear some of the Quality Controllers crying.  The ambulance went out of Peterson en route to the hospital and ten plus minutes into the overrun Ruckus faded to black.