We’re back in the RQW archives for more action from 1PW’s Third Anniversary Show.
Episode two of the “special feature” series kicks off with what was a staple of 00s Britwres – overexposed lighting! Stevie Aaron introduces Ric Flair to the ring, and it’s your typical legends segment. Flair thanks the fans, and I’m left wondering why this made the series… apart from RQW being able to say that they had Flair on their show. Moving on – and we’ve got almost ten minutes of this!
Pac vs. Lionheart
Lionheart tried to jump Pac at the bell, but it’s not long before the Geordie – now better known as Neville in WWE of course – takes over with some armdrags and a dropkick.
A leaping legdrop gets Pac a two-count, before he whips Lionheart into the corners before he goes up top… but he’s distracted by Lionheart’s manager Charles Boddington, which allows Pac to get kicked to the floor. On commentary they try and explain what’s going on by referring to a backstage segment I assume was taped but not shown here.
A slingshot from the apron into a splash gets Lionheart a two-count, as does a snap suplex, before Pac’s backdropped onto the apron… but he comes back with a springboard missile dropkick and a Space Flying Tiger Drop as we get an awkwardly placed break. Back in the ring, Pac hits a back senton and a Phoenix splash off the middle rope for a near-fall, but Lionheart comes back with more forearms and clotheslines in the corner. Lionheart almost wins it with a Yakuza kick in the corner, before another clothesline and a standing legdrop gets the Scotsman another two-count. Pac gets backdropped onto the apron again, but he instantly springboards back in with an Ace crusher, then a standing corkscrew press for a near-fall.
A shooting star press of the top is aborted, before Pac turns a uranage into a roll-up for a near-fall as the referee again looks to be out of place. Lionheart gets a pop-up Ace crusher of his own for a two-count, so he goes up top for a frog splash… but Pac gets up to cut him off, and brings him back into the ring with a superplex. Pac only gets a two from that superplex, before he pops back up and gets a shooting star press… but Lionheart rolled him up after the impact for another two-count.
Lionheart goes up and lands his Frog Splash, but Pac kicked out at two. That seemed to be the introduction for Charles Boddington to get involved… he accidentally hits Lionheart with a briefcase, and that left him open for a corkscrew star press off the top rope as Pac gets the win. A fun match, but I’m not too sure what the deal was with Boddington at all, particularly if he wasn’t meant to be Lionheart’s manager du jour? ***
1PW Openweight Championship: Martin Stone (c) vs. Johnny Moss vs. Juggernaught vs. Dave Moralez
Another obvious nod to them “cutting up a DVD into segments” came here as Stevie Aaron on commentary referenced an (unseen) segment relating to Dragon Aisu. This four-way elimination was for Stone’s Openweight title – and featured the future Dave Mastiff (Moralez) – and featured a couple of managers, in Adam Curtis and Gilligan Gordon, at ringside.
Moralez and Stone worked in the ring as Moss whipped Juggernaught into the crowd barriers. The camera switches away from a Moralez/Stone shoulder tackle contest to show Moss beating on Juggernaught at ringside, before all four men trade places as Moss and Juggernaught have their turn inside the ring.
Moss stretches Juggernaught back in an over-the-knees stranglehold, before Moralez’s back senton broke it up. Remember, this is an elimination match, so logic should say we’ll not see too many broken-up pins or submissions. Stone and Moralez trade chops outside the ring, whilst Moss slams and drops an elbow on Juggernaught for a near-fall.
Moss calls for a tombstone piledriver, but Juggernaught reverses it and gets a Fireman’s carry… only for Mossy to slip out and land a German suplex! Juggernaught dumps Moss with a Fireman’s carry slam into the corner, before a lariat from Stone is avoided with a spear. Juggernaught takes a Dragon suplex and a lariat, and that’s the mohawked Juggernaught out! Moralez stands tall as he alternates between Moss and Stone with slaps and headbutts, before Moss gets taken down with a double-team shoulder block. A slam from Moralez takes down Stone for a near-fall, as the future Mastiff stomped away some more on Stone before a bloodied-up Moss returned to the fray to chop away at Moralez.
A German suplex from Moss takes down Stone, then Moralez, who gets some rolling Germans instead, forcing Moralez into the ropes after four Germans, before he teases suplexing Moralez to the floor. Dave elbows Moss to the floor, but he’s caught and dragged into the ring with a rope hung DDT as Stone eliminates Big Dave. That leaves us with Martin Stone and Johnny Moss as the last two, and they continue the fight on the outside as Stone’s whipped into the barricade. An axehandle off the apron by Moss is caught and turned into an overhead belly to belly by Stone on the floor. Back inside, a clothesline into the corner, then a short-arm clothesline gets a near-fall as the commentators muse over Stone’s cry of “oi-oi” for some reason.
Stone’s forced to kick out at two after a leaping knee strike from Moss, but the champion comes back with a clothesline that almost ends the match. The pair trade release Northern Lights suplexes, before a double clothesline sends each other crashing to the mat. For some reason we get a run-in from someone who’s unnamed on commentary (G-Man) and Sterling James Keenan (now WWE’s Corey Graves). Keenan trips Stone in the ropes as Moss comes back with a Fisherman’s buster, and that’s enough to crown a new champion! Some really good big lad’s wrestling, but without being able to appreciate the backstory (the managers and run-ins), the finish felt a little flat to me. ***¼
There’s no pre-match graphic for our next outing, as instead we see Ulf Herman and his flaming stick come out for his entrance. Steve Corino is already at ringside, and after Ulf’s done his fire-breathing, Corino gets the mic and tells him to “beat it”. Ulf’s rather more forthcoming in his choice of language, which means we need some Real Quality Bleeping.
Ulf says that Corino was right, that in the old days of 1PW, “we had a smark mark called Gauntley (former 1PW owner Steve Gauntley), who was putting matches on for himself to jack off at home”. Wow. Corino claims that he kept Ulf on shows back in the day, but Herman comes back with a dig at Corino for “at least making the plane” and for “being successful in Japan because [they] don’t understand you”. More Real Quality Bleeping here, and this ends up as an impromptu match.
Ulf Hermann vs. Steve Corino
Corino cheapshots the “Flaming German” as the bell goes, and it’s Herman who lands a shoulder tackle before the former ECW champion plays a bit of cat and mouse.
A back drop is kicked away from as Corino’s dropkicked back to the outside, where Ulf whips him into the crowd barriers. They go back to the ring briefly as Corino throws Ulf back to the outside whilst Stevie Aaron on commentary fills in the blanks on the “making the plane” jibe [Corino no-showed a 3CW show that Aaron had a hand in a year earlier, and after the promotion contacted the airport, they were advised he didn’t even board the plane].
More brawling outside as Ulf tastes more guard railings, before Corino grabs a chair and throws it into the ring, wedging it between the top two turnbuckles. Wrestling logic intervenes as Corino gets thrown into it, which is masked by way of a crossface between the before-and-after shots. A chair-assisted legdrop by Ulf is also masked, before a snap suplex and a grounded sleeperhold looks set to force a submission.
Another edited-out chairshot sees Corino go to the back briefly, as he returns with a New Jack-esque dustbin of weapons. More freeze-frame editing here as Corino takes a hockey stick to the groin, and this is apparently now a Survival of the Sickest match – an old 1PW staple.
Ulf puts Corino’s head in the bin, then drops a leg onto it, before Corino begs off… just to headbutt Ulf below the belt. Corino flips off the crowd as he lands a hip attack in the corner, before he pulls out a fork from his boots. Yes, the King of Old School is going all Abdullah the Butcher on us!
Herman blocks the fork, then ducks a shot before finally landing a lariat, as Ulf uses the fork on Corino instead. The referee grabs the fork off of Ulf in this no-DQ/hardcore match for some reason… just because?
Corino almost gets the win with a kick to the head, before a DDT onto a chair is blocked. Ulf goes for a reverse DDT onto the chair, which gets him a near-fall, before Corino “loads” his fist for some punches as the match turns into a slugfest. The referee gets shoved into the ropes, then he tries to separate the pair, before Herman and Corino suplex the referee, and that ends as a double-DQ. In a Hardcore Match. Utter tripe. This was pretty decent for a hardcore rules match, but that finish automatically ruined it. Sorry guys, this isn’t on you… DUD
The show quickly fades to black with the promise of more from 1PW next week – so we’ll be back to finish off the Third Anniversary Show!