Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 4, 2018
Attendance: 1,929
The shot opens to show two teams already in the ring before cutting to Matt Striker and Scott Hudson at the commentary table.
Scott Hudson: “Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to a very special edition of TWF programming!Tonight, we’ll be determining the finalists in the tag team championship tournament. There are still quite a few teams in the running, but by the time we’re through, that pool of competitors will be narrowed down to only two teams.”
Matt Striker: “That’s right, Scott, and we’ve got a bit of a blast from the past for everyone right now, as we’re going to be witnessing the Rock n’ Roll Express in action! Let’s not waste any time, as they’re set to take on the team of Gangrel and Johnny Swinger.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- First Round Rock n’ Roll Express vs. Gangrel and Johnny Swinger
Despite both members of the Rock n’ Roll Express being in their upper 50’s and early 60’s, they seemed to be in fine shape, giving the team of Gangrel and Swinger all that they could handle and more.
They kept control for the majority of the match, and after dumping Swinger out of the ring, they landed a perfectly timed double dropkick to Gangrel. Ricky Morton, the legal man, wasted no time going for the cover, gaining the victory for the Rock n’ Roll Express.
Striker: “The Rock n’ Roll Express makes short work of their opponents, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them tonight.”
Hudson: “Not taking anything away from Ricky Morton or Robert Gibson, but you have to wonder if their age might put them at a bit of a disadvantage tonight. I mean, this tournament isn’t just a test of skill, but endurance, as well.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- First Round Killer Elite Squad vs. Jack Evans and P.J. Black
Davey Boy Smith and Lance Archer looked fantastic in this match. Both men utilized frequent tags and their superior strength to essentially bully their opponents. Black managed to gain the upperhand momentarily, landing a flurry of strikes on Lance Archer. After a sharp kick to the gut, Black hit the rope, looking for a big running knee, but Archer quickly regained his composure and blasted Black in the face with a huge boot.
Archer then made the tag to Davey Boy, who then charged across the ring, blasting Evans with a big forearm, sending him to the floor. K.E.S. then picked up the dazed Black before driving him back to the mat with a “Killer Bomb!” Davey Boy then hooked the leg, and the ref counted the 1, 2, 3.
Striker: “Damn, they might have broken some ribs with that “Killer Bomb!”
Hudson: “No doubt, and if K.E.S can keep putting on performances like that all night, we might be looking at our tag team champions.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- First Round Cris Henning and Carney vs. The Steiner Brothers
Cris Henning and Carney seemed to have trouble dealing with the power of the Steiner Brothers in the early going of the match. Rick Steiner manhandled Carney, utilizing a variety of slams and suplexes before making the tag to Scott. Scott continued where his brother left off, throwing Carney around the ring.
Scott then lifted Carney above his head, holding him there in a military press. Henning had seen enough, however, and ran into the ring, nailing Scott with a vicious chop block. Scott dropped to a knee, as Carney landed on his feet. Both Henning and Carney began stomping on the knee of Scott Steiner. The referee pulled Henning away and began walking him to his corner as Rick Steiner entered the ring. He went after Carney, but Carney took advantage of the ref having his back turned, thumbing Rick Steiner square in the eye before tossing him out of the ring. Scott Steiner was still struggling to his feet as Carney made the tag to Henning. Henning gave Scott little time to recover, as he walked over to the big man and decked him with a big right hand before pulling him into a massive DDT that scored him the pinfall.
Hudson: “Well, it took a little bit of rule bending to do it, but Henning and Carney have advanced.”
Striker: “You have to do whatever it takes to win, Hudson, and if you’re not willing to do that, then you’ve got no chance of making it to the finals of this tournament.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- First Round The Young Bucks vs. Austin Aries and Low-Ki
Both teams were in the ring and set to compete when Mr. Taylor and Sylvester Terkay made their way from the back to the ring. All four men in the ring looked confused as the pair walked over to Aries and Low-Ki, and motioned for them to step off the ring apron.
Once they had done so, Taylor whispered something to them, then removed a checkbook from his pocket. He wrote out two checks, and showed them to the two men. Aries and Low-Ki looked at one another, and nodded, taking the two checks. Both of them jumped back onto the ring apron, and Aries got into the ring, set to start the match. As soon as the bell rang, however, Aries quickly left the ring, and Low-Ki jumped down from the apron. The referee started the count as both men, checks in hand, made their way back to the locker room. The Young Bucks looked stunned as the referee counted to 10, then signaled for the bell.
Mr. Taylor grabbed a microphone before he and Terkay made their way to the top of the ramp. They both turned to look at The Young Bucks.
Striker: “Hey, there’s no way to know that for sure! Maybe... maybe Aries and Low-Ki did some lawn work for Mr. Taylor?”
Hudson: “...You can’t be serious.”
Striker: “I don’t know, all I’m saying is don’t automatically assume the worst in people, Hudson!”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- Second Round Killer Elite Squad vs. Rock n’ Roll Express
This match was almost over right after the word “go.” Lance Archer and Ricky Morton started this one off, but after the bell, Archer ran past Morton and blasted Gibson in the face. Gibson went flying off the ring apron and landed face first into the barricade. It was obvious that Gibson was injured by the impact, and EMTs were brought out to get him to the back.
With Morton all alone, K.E.S made short work of him, tagging each other in frequently and landing power move after power move. After about 5 minutes or so of beating Morton down, Archer finally decided to end it. He tagged in Davey Boy, and the two men put Morton down with the “Killer Bomb.” Davey Boy dropped down and hooked the leg, advancing K.E.S to the semi-finals.
Hudson: “That one was honestly kind of hard to watch…”
Striker: “Robert Gibson landed hard at the beginning of the match; I’m hoping that he didn’t suffer too serious of an injury.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- Second Round C.J. Lethal and Axl Irvin vs. Chaos Wolf and Chris Tirpak
This one was a serious contender for match of the night. C.J. Lethal and Axl Irvin did a good job isolating Chris Tirpak from his side of the ring for the majority of the match. Regardless of the amount of punishment Tirpak took, however, he refused to stay down. The turning point of the match came when Lethal whipped Tirpak into the corner and went for a running clothesline. Tirpak managed to move out of the way and use Lethal’s own momentum to throw him into Irvin, knocking him to the floor below.
Tirpak then took advantage of the situation to nail Lethal with a running forearm, bringing the big man down. Tirpak then tagged in Chaos Wolf, and after taking out Irvin, who had made his way back to the ring, the pair managed to set up Lethal for a spike piledriver for the win.
Striker: “No matter how many times I see it, that spike piledriver always surprises me with how nasty it looks.”
Hudson: “And with that piledriver, Chaos Wolf and Chris Tirpak have punched their ticket into the semifinals. What a great match!”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- Semi-Finals The Young Bucks vs. Killer Elite Squad
This one was a good old fashioned battle of power vs speed, as Davey Boy Smith and Lance Archer looked to keep their high flying opponents grounded. Both teams traded a lot of back and forth offense, with quite a few near falls taking place.
About 15 minutes in, Nick Jackson managed to make a hot tag to his brother, who proceeded to go to town on K.E.S. Both Davey Boy and Archer retreated outside of the ring, but they found no respite, and the Young Bucks followed them out with dual suicide dives. Nick got Archer back into the ring, and the brothers wasted no time setting him up with a “Meltzer Driver” for the win.
Hudson: “Well, I’d say the Young Bucks benefited greatly from... whatever the hell that was we saw with the Gold Standard earlier in the night.”
Striker: “You say that like they did something wrong! When you have friends in high places, sometimes, you get to reap the rewards.”
Hudson: "I didn't realize they were friends. The Bucks seemed as surprised by that whole thing as everyone here in Philly! Regardless, the Young Bucks have made it to the finals of the tag team tournament.”
TWF Tag Team Title Tournament- Semi-Finals Cris Henning and Carney vs. Chaos Wolf and Chris Tirpak
The final match of the night didn’t disappoint, as both teams obviously wanted to make their way into the finals. The strain of their previous match was visibly taking its toll on Wolf and Tirpak, as both men started the match still looking a little winded. In their previous matches, Henning and Carney had utilized a distracted referee to gain an advantage, but that tactic proved to be their downfall in this one.
Whilst Tirpak and Carney were in the ring, Henning began very blatantly untying the turnbuckle bad. As the referee began to admonish him and re-tie the turnbuckle, Carney had snuck a pair of brass knuckles onto his hand! He swung at Tirpak with the knuckles, but Tirpak managed to duck the swing, and took him down with a drop toe hold. While the referee still had his back turned, Chaos Wolf tossed Tirpak his kendo stick, and as soon as Carney stood up, he got blasted with it, causing the stick to break apart. Tirpak tossed the evidence out of the ring just before the referee turned around, then charged Henning before he could react, knocking him to the floor. Tirpak then tagged in Wolf, and the two men drove Carney into the mat with a spike piledriver! Wolf made the pin and the referee counted the 1, 2, 3.
Hudson: “And there you have it! Just like that, Chaos Wolf and Chris Tirpak have just earned their way into the finals! What a way for this hot rivalry between The Empire and Jordan Rockwell's group to take center stage tonight"!
Striker: “Which means that as Resurrection, it’s going to be those two men taking on the Young Bucks for the TWF tag team titles!”
Hudson: “And you’d better believe that that’s going to be a stupendous match! Until next time, folks, thank you for joining us, and have a great night!”
