ULTRATITLE QUARTERFINALS: Welcome To the Show

[User Poets]

V/O: The following is a JOINT simulcast presentation brought to you by the people at Sirius/XM Radio, ESEN Television, and CS Enterprises, Inc.



(FADEIN: Merritt Auditorium, time – lapse footage of the crowd filing in and getting ready for the show; complete with the opening pyro for the night.)

(CUTTO: Overlay footage of all eight Ultratitle quarterfinalists in the ring against their Sweet Sixteen opponents, just at the winning moment. Freeze frame on each of the eight men involved in the Bracket Finals.)

NATRONE RICE (V/O): Ultratitle.

The very word brings a specific image to mind, depending on your age and the age you were when you were first drawn to the Sport of Professional Wrestling.

Were you a classic Wrestling fan?

Do you see the Anniversary Atom defeating Joey Melton, then reveal himself as Mickey Benedict? Do you see him defying he odds to defeat Kerry Benedict a scant year later to become the first two-time Ultratitle Champion?

Do you see Joey Melton defeat first Ben Flore, then Hornet, to do the same in the years bookending Benedict’s accomplishment?

Do you see Joey Melton make it to the Final Four an impossibly historic four times over the course of his career?

Or did you cut your teeth during the Expansion?

Do you see Dr. Silver defy the odds by defeating first, Dark Warrior, then Timmy Windham, to stand atop the biggest tournament in professional wrestling history, toppling two hundred and fifty five other men?

Do you remember the first time that the UNIFIED Championship was vacated without a legitimate pair of top contenders, and the virtual unknown ‘Golden Boy’ Paul Pierce come seemingly out of nowhere to claim both the belt and the Ultratitle Championship?

Or are you of the New School, in the land of the New Frontier? Are you a child of the NFW East, of the Dildonites and Mike Randalls’ Locker Room?

Of the King of Hallucination Nation and Pez?

Of the Way the West was Won?

Wherever you joined the legacy, let the following men remain imprinted on your memory until the memory of the Ultratitle itself fades into dust.

Kendall Codine, the Blade of the old school.

Eli Flair, the King of Extreme.

Joey Melton, the verifiable Legend.

Cameron Cruise, the Upstart.

Castor V. Strife, the Leader of the New Frontier.

Orphan, the Spirit of ACW.

Jack Harmen, the Time Traveling Lunatic.

Freddie Sagawa, the Unlikely Interloper.

Let these eight men burn into your memory.

After tonight, only four will remain.

 

[User Poets]

'Total Elimination' ELI FLAIR vs. 'The Blade' KENDALL CODINE

RICE (V/O): The battle between the two retirees started off fast and furious, with a bit of can – you – top this – playing to the crowd. It was interesting, at least, to see the six foot nine Eli Flair with historically bad knees facing off against the six foot eight Kendall Codine and his eight year sabbatical from the sport.

They can still go, when they want to.

Codine was the aggressor from the start, jumping Eli at the bell with a series of fists and forearms to Eli’s face and chest, nearly staggering the former CSWA and FWO World Champion against the ropes. Codine’s actions were filled with determination and aggression, however, but no legitimate rage or animosity: he was doing what Eli was doing, making his mark.

It didn’t last.

Eli turned things around with a reversal of a simple Irish whip, a drop to his own knees, and a fist of his own to Codine’s gut. He stepped backwards in one fluid motion and dropped the man formerly known as Blade with a DDT that earned him the first two count of the night.

Control would be fleeting for the King of Extreme, however. He didn’t have the killer instinct that he was infamous for; possibly because, for the first time in this tournament so far, he was facing off with an opponent who was not just a familiar face, but a former friend and ally. He kept control for several minutes after turning the tide, but never truly went in for the kill.

Unfortunately for Eli, Codine was much hungrier. He reversed a simple backdrop attempt into a double underhook powerbomb, followed up with a snapmare that made the ring shake.

And a two count.

The King of Extreme could still take as much punishment as he ever could.

This match was simple: who could take the most hits and keep moving forward?

We thought we had an answer when Eli Flair stopped a belly – to – belly suplex attempt and dropped Codine with a hard Chokeslam, only for Codine to hit a desperation low blow and small package when Eli scooped him for his next assault.

He got a two count that was almost a three count.

Codine wasn’t playing around at this point. He pulled Eli to his knees and had him set up for The End, his Crucifix Powerbomb, only for Eli to pull his legs out from under him and for the King of Extreme to attempt a Scorpion Deathlock, thus demonstrating the uncanny technical ability that everyone forgets the Hardcore Legend possesses. Codine fought the hold and kicked Eli away, sending Flair into the ropes and off the rebound for a hard baseball swing that Kendall dodged, spun, and hooked in the Codine Sedative, his version of the Kata Hajime.

It was all but over.

…

Unfortunately for Codine, it wasn’t quite over. Eli backed him into the corner twice – hard – and managed to flip him over his shoulder, in a perfect setup for the Fallen One.

That, my friends, is How the West was Won.

WINNER: Eli Flair via Pinfall (Fallen One, 19:13)

 

[User Poets]

SURVIVALISM

At this point, Rudy Seitzer from the CSWA appeared on the video wall, reminding fans both of CSWA Blue Moon that I’m sure we’ll see before the next one, as well as the Ultratitle finals, tentatively subtitled SURVIVALISM, which would feature the Ultratitle semifinal matches, the Ultratitle finals, and an as – yet – undetermined undercard.

Rudy reminded us all that a few tickets were still available, but that they were selling at an incredible rate.

Not bad, when you consider the fact that the only thing we know at this point is that a guy who retired five years ago is wrestling at least once.

 

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'Formerly High Flyer' JACK HARMEN vs. 'The Koichi Cannibal' FREDDIE SAGAWA

RICE (V/O): Sagawa was accompanied to ringside by his manager, Motormouth Cameron Lee Waubash. I like him. He reminds me of what Calvin Carlton could’ve been if his momma had died when he was twelve and left him all her money.

And if she’d taken Shaniqua with her.

Jack Harmen was the opposite. He has a full entourage, but chose to come to the ring by himself, separating the man from the wrestler even farther. He listened to the referee instructions, and he allowed himself to be searched for the ever – elusive foreign object.

Too bad, while he was being searched, his opponent, a literal foreign object, was climbing the ropes and started things off with a double axe handle between the shoulder blades. Well, he was a cannibal after all.

Sagawa may not speak the language, but he seemed to understand the situation he was in. He was facing off with an undeniable legend in this sport, and he seemed to know Harmen’s reputation for turning every disadvantage around. Even though Sagawa held control from the start of the match, he hesitated after every point of impact, just to make sure Harmen wasn’t about to turn it around.

It was as much a matter of respect as it was a survival trick.

Point of order, Sagawa didn’t give Harmen that bit of respect exactly one time. He had just slammed the former High Flyer to the mat and ran to the ropes for an Asai Moonsault without confirming his target.

He surely assumed that Harmen was down for the count.

The moonsault met Harmen’s knees.

Never assume. Ever.

Jack Harmen, Freddie Sagawa’s senior by twelve years, summarily took over. He nipped up, and the first thing he did was curbstomp Sagawa’s skull into the mat.

Experience trumped ferocity at this point, though Sagawa refused to go quietly. He slid out of the ring twice to stop Harmen’s momentum, held on when Harmen went airborne for the Flyerdriver, and caught his foot and twisted him around into an anklelock when Harmen went for the Locomotive.

Ferocity was well on its way.

Experience was trying its hardest to prove its worth.

Many things resolved at the moment when Jack Harmen turned into the hold, and Sagawa leaned in to set his opponent up for another devastating maneuver.

Specifically, Harmen hooked his head and rolled him up tighter than his tag team partner’s nightly blunt.

A small package and a three count, and we had a shocked Cannibal sitting on the mat across the ring from a crafty and victorious Lunatic.

WINNER: Jack Harmen via pinfall (Small package, 15:42)

 

[User Poets]

CASTOR V. STRIFE vs. ORPHAN

RICE (V/O): This was the match I showed up for.

No offense to Cameron Cruise, who is a real workhorse, or Jack Harmen, who is a consistent and reliable wrestler. Or to Joey Melton or Eli Flair, who have both meant a lot to my employers in the New Frontier in years past, but Castor Strife is currently my Champion, and he deserves the appropriate respect.

So much so, that the only reason I agreed to do this review after learning that the NFW World Champion wasn’t headlining the event, was because the two halves of the Cameron Cruise Project had historical precedent.

He would be facing off against the Spirit of ACW, Orphan.

The Artist, formerly known as Seymour Almasy.

But I had to wonder if it was a fair fight. Castor Strife recently had everything he owned except his NFW World Title stripped away from him by Eric Dane, and despite overwhelming odds, he managed to overcome that challenge and walk away with the title belt.

He’s whole again. Could Orphan really hope to defeat him?

Or was the very fact that he was whole again put him at a disadvantage where he wouldn’t see Orphan coming?

Orphan jumped him before the bell to answer that question before any of the rest of us could.

He stayed on the NFW World Champion for several minutes, with unrelenting fists of rage that would have floored a lesser opponent.

Fortunately for the New Frontier, Castor Strife is not a lesser opponent.

It was, quite literally, as simple as a reversed top rope front dropkick that turned into an opportunity for Castor to land several well placed kneedrops into Orphan’s head and neck.

The Spirit of ACW fought back valiantly…

…but unfortunately, was unable to regain the upper hand.

WINNER: Castor V. Strife via pinfall (Director’s Cut, 8:59)

 

[User Poets]

CAMERON CRUISE vs. JOEY MELTON

RICE (V/O): There is one more spot in the ULTRATITLE Final Four and it’s going to be filled by one of two men who have a long, long history with each other.

Cameron Cruise stared down Joey Melton across the ring. Joey seems more concerned with making eye contact with a woman in the second row. He’s either asking her for a lick of her ULTRATITLE ice cream bar or simply being obscene. The bell rings and Cruise charges, getting Melton’s attention immediately with a huge neckbreaker.

These two men have done just about everything between them. We all know Melton is a two-time ULTRATITLE Champion, was the first CSWA World Champion and even held the UNIFIED World Championship. Cruise has held titles around the world, including A1E, CSWA, EPW, New Era and the list goes on and on. And together, the two once ruled the tag team circuit. But tonight there’s no love lost, and neither man is leaving anything on the table.

Cruise goes to work on Melton’s right shoulder, first with a dropkick that’s completely on point, then a Northern Lights suplex. A clothesline followed by a shoulder breaker takes Joey down hard, but Cruise continues to attack, eschewing the pin, knowing he hasn’t done enough damage yet.

The Cameron Cruise Project may have given way to a Cruise solo album as the former A1E World Champion continues to devastate the man who may be wrestling in his final ULTRATITLE Tournament. Melton was the first champion, but that was TWENTY-THREE years ago. He may be a grizzled vet from New York, but the Jacksonville, NC native Cruise has seen it all, especially from the man across the mat from him.

Melton tries to catch Cruise with his “trick knee” low blow gimmick in the corner, but Cruise simply sidesteps it, seeing it coming. He pulls Melton out of the corner with a belly-to-back suplex. Melton tries to roll through, but ends up just taking a huge clothesline from Cruise. He rolls outside the ring quickly and starts calling for a time out in his delirium. Cruise simply stays inside and lets the referee begin the count.

I’ve watched Cameron Cruise mature as a wrestler over the last fifteen-plus years. Years ago he would’ve followed Melton out or done some sort of suicide move through the ropes – tonight he is STALKING Joey Melton and he will not be satisfied until he’s in the Final Four. For years, Cameron Cruise has blamed everyone else for not shooting to the top – his wife, Hornet, Melton, Lindsay Troy, the Windhams, promoters, tonight he’s taking his destiny into his own hands.

Melton breaks the count by rolling onto the apron at 8. Cruise charges over, but dodges an attempt at a shoulder to the gut by Joey. Cameron once again uses a suplex to bring Joey in, this time a belly-to-belly. Melton quickly rolls to his side and gets to his feet, this time dodging the clothesline attempt from Cruise and catching him with a strike to the throat. Warned by the referee, Melton catapults Cruise into the corner and keeps him there with an elbow to the chest/throat area. A quick DDT out of the corner and Melton goes for the pin, getting only a one-count. He drops a quick elbow, then grabs the leg and quick as lightning – locks in the FIGURE FOUR in the center of the ring.

Cruise was in severe trouble and he knew it, writhing in pain from the master of the Figure Four. But a few seconds in the pain on his face gave way to fierce determination. You could see it in his eyes and in the position of his body as he planted his hands and started to pull both his and Melton’s body weight inch by inch across the mat. Every pull took an immense amount out of him, but you could almost see him pulling not only against Melton, but against everyone who had ever tried to take advantage of him or mock him. Pull – Windham – Pull – Castor Strife – Pull – Hornet – Pull.

Cruise reaches the ropes and the referee tells Melton to let the hold go. Melton refuses and the referee begins the count. Melton drops the hold at four, but tries to quickly get to his feet and take control of Cruise. He pulls Cruise to his feet and sends him into the ropes – dropkick. He sends him in again – clothesline. He sends him again – Cruise ducks and comes back across with a crossbody right to the right shoulder of Melton again! He pulls Melton up and tosses him into the ropes, then follows him in, jumping to the second rope and hitting the HIGH IMPACT DDT!

Cruise quickly rolled through the DDT, getting to his feet and pulling Melton to his in the corner. Standing back to back, Cruise lifted Melton above his head and PLANTED him across the ring with his Shipwreck maneuver, then quickly slid across the ring for the cover.

Cruise covers Melton and the referee begins the count. ONE…. TWO… THREE! Cameron Cruise moves onto… disbelief as the referee begins patting him on the back and pointing to Melton’s right foot on the rope. An exasperated Cruise reacts immediately, pulling Melton to his feet in the center of the ring and setting him for a cradle suplex. But Melton blocks the cradle with his leg and uses the momentum to tuck Cruise’s head and and lock him in his own cradle. The referee hits the mat – ONE…. TWO… THREE!

WINNER: Joey Melton via pinfall (Inside Cradle, 28:21)

 

[User Poets]

STILL TO COME

And Joey Melton moves on to make an unprecedented FIFTH ULTRATITLE Final Four. In his first in the first tournament, he won the whole thing. In his second, he lost in the finals. In his third, he defeated Hornet to become a two-time ULTRATITLE Champion. In his fourth in NFW Season 1 in 1994, he lost in the semifinals to Shane Southern. To make it this far, the 50-year old has gone through Ethan Archer, Marcus Davis, Showtime, Jeff Andrews, and now Cameron Cruise.

To make it to the finals once again, he’ll have to go through NFW World Champion Castor Strife. And on the other side we’ll have two legends in “Total Elimination” Eli Flair versus the man formerly known as High Flyer, Jack Harmen. The ULTRATITLE Final Four is set and we hope you’ll join us for that and much more at the Merritt Auditorium in Greensboro, NC when we present...

ULTRATITLE 2012
SURVIVALISM



This is the beginning of the end...
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