The fourth week of the Catch Grand Prix wraps up with Norman Harras and Emil Sitoci looking to get their first points of the tournament.
Of course, both men are already eliminated before they start, so they’re playing for pride. Schmidt, Dään Jokisch and Tristan Archer are back at the Steffy once again for this. Tristan’s busy comparing biceps before he’s asked about Marius al-Ani – they face in the final match in week seven, and that may be a make-or-break outing for al-Ani.
As for today, Archer was surprised that Emil Sitoci was coming into this with zero points… and so picks the Dutchman to win here, while making a sly dig at Norman Harras. Andy Jackson’s interview has Norman not wanting any frills – no stats, no nicknames… as he’s still dealing with the recent past, but he has some tricks up his sleeve. Well, I mean, the saying is only that you can’t teach *old* dogs new tricks…
Emil’s response was more out of frustration given how close his losses have been. He had a week off, and he promises to put down Norman Harras.
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Norman Harras vs. Emil Sitoci
Round 1: The crowd gets under Norman’s skin before he even makes a move… we start with a lock-up that goes nowhere… then another one, before Sitoci double legs him to the mat. Harras gets back to his feet, but can’t avoid a hattrick of armdrags as Sitoci took control, following up with a stomp to the bicep. The focus on the arm continues, with a Codebreaker to the arm and a clothesline to the outside taking Harras outside. A superkick keeps him there, but Sitoci gives chase, only to get hotshotted into the top rope, with an uppercut getting Harras a two-count as the round closed out.
Round 2: Norman’s too busy chatting to the crowd and gets charged at the bell, with Sitoci putting the boots to him. He avoids a charge back from Harras, and followed up with a crossbody off the top for a two-count, only for Harras to retaliate with a knee to the gut. Some stomps and knees to the ribs knock Sitoci down for a two-count, before Harras went for a wristlock, keeping Sitoci down as another charging knee to the ribs gets a two-count. Harras keeps going with a sleeperhold, but Sitoci gets out, flips out of a back suplex and hits a side-Russian legsweep, then took to the corner for a split-legged moonsault that gets a near-fall… with Norman rolling into the corner to ride out the remaining seconds.
During the round, Harras pours water on himself, then flings the bottle into the crowd… oh Christian. Norman harrassing the fans gets him a €50 fine, by the way…
Round 3: Sitoci avoids a charge at the bell, but he gets met with an elbow and a dropkick as Norman shows off a kip-up. That annoyed him, but he’s able to cut-off Sitoci with a cross-chop to the throat, following up with a clothesline in the corner… only for Sitoci to block a second one as he came back in with a moonsault. That’s followed up with more clotheslines and elbows, before lifting up Sitoci for a gutbuster. Sitoci goes for a snapmare driver, but Harras shoves him towards the ref, who misses an eye poke as Norman… and my friends, hell has frozen over! Norman cuts a corner but gets his first points of the tournament, and that’s him finally off the bottom spot!
Result: Norman Harras pinned Emil Sitoci at 1:43 of Round 3 (**¾)
Post-match, Nico interviews Norman… he’s still getting the dog-calls, as he flipped out at the crowd again. Crowds can be so mean…
Meanwhile, you can hear said crowd as Emil’s still dealing with the eye poke. There’s another one unhappy with the officiating in this tournament… and that’s it for the week!
Standings, with eliminations (including those who’d be eliminated on tie-breakers)…
Block A
Bobby Gunns (3-0; 6pts)
Avalanche (2-1-1; 5pts)
Cara Noir, Metehan (2-1; 4pts)
Hektor Invictus (1-1-1; 3pts)
Fast Time Moodo (1-3; 2pts) * eliminated
Anil Marik (0-4; 0pts) * eliminated
Block B
Senza Volto (4-0; 8pts)
Marius al-Ani (3-0; 6pts)
Tristan Archer (2-1; 4pts)
Vincent Heisenberg (1-3; 2pts) * eliminated
Prince Ahura (1-2; 2pts) *eliminated
Norman Harras (1-3; 2pts) * eliminated
Emil Sitoci (0-3; 0pts) * eliminated
Disciplinary: €2565 of fines; sixteen yellow cards and one red card.
The tournament picks up again on Monday, with Metehan looking to continue his charge up the table as he takes on Anil Marik in block A.