Shane "The Franchise" Douglas
ECW Heavyweight Champion
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Darkside Of Wrestling: Extreme Championship Wrestling
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ST. LOUIS, MO (STARRCADE: DEADLY UNIONS)
Lex Luger VS. Magnum TA
In this match, we have the two time former NWA United States Champion (Magnum) against the former four time NWA United States Champion (Luger). This was a competative bout that saw Luger work a good match for the first time in a long while. Magnum kept Luger off balance with dropkicks and the use of armdrags to keep Luger grounded. Luger, of course, used power to take the advantage as well as use some surprising wrestling skills. The match reached its climax when Luger nailed his powerslam on Magnum. He then goes for his "Human Torture Rack" backbreaker but Magnum slips behind him as he is being lifted up and hooks in his belly to belly suplex. As Magnum covers, Shane "The Franchise" Douglas (with Chris Candido and Bamm Bamm Bigelow in tow) comes in and attacks Magnum. The ref DQ's Luger and Magnum will win the match but that was secondary right now. Luger makes it to his feet and helps Magnum. Chris Benoit (who has been an ally to Magnum in my past stories and is a member of The WolfPack with Luger) comes down to help as well. It is Luger VS. Bigelow, Candido VS. Benoit and Douglas VS. Magnum (or, in the case of those two, student VS. teacher as these two do share a past). The face off with Douglas and Magnum is especially fiece because of past comments that Douglas had made towards his former friend and mentor. Referees come in and manage to seperate the other combatants but can't break up Douglas and Magnum!!! Finally, Luger, Benoit, Bigelow and Candido seperate their friends from each other with both men screaming angry curses and words at each other. It seems that Magnum and Douglas are on a collision course with the other now and there is no turning back.
TWO WEEKS LATER
We are at the infamous ECW Arena for another night of ECW wrestling. As usual, Joey Styles is the color commentator. It starts off with ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane "The Franchise" Douglas (w/Francine), Chris Candido (w/Sunny) and Bam Bam Bigelow coming down to the ring. They enter the ring to a mixed reaction (with cheers for the ladies of course). Douglas has the mic:
DOUGLAS: Cut the f*cking music!!! Now, everybody wants to know why I attacked my old mentor, Magnum TA at Starrcade: Deadly Unions. Well, there are three good reasons for it. One, because it was Starrcade. It was on national television and it was an opportunity for the Triple Threat to be exposed. Two, because we wanted to prove that they so called "Big Boys" do not have the toughest wrestlers, we do (this comment did get a positive reaction). And three, because I felt like it!!! Hell, if any of the so called "Big Boys" had guts, they would've came down here to do something about it. We jumped them at a WCW event but you don't see any of them coming down here. You know why, because they are scared to death of this place. Because.....
At this point, there is a eruption in the crowd because Magnum TA (along
with WCW United States Champion Chris Benoit and WolfPack member Lex Luger)
is coming down to confront Douglas and his crew. ECW Executive Paul E.
Dangerously has also come down as well. When he gets in the ring, Magnum
takes the mic and speaks:
MAGNUM: You know, I am tired of all of this talk. Mr. Dangerously, is your card filled up?
DANGEROUSLY: Yes it is Magnum but if you're asking me what I think you are about to say and that is you want a match with Shane Douglas, then you got it.
This is met with a positive response.
MANGUM: You read my mind Paul E. except for one thing. Shane, I want you in a 30 Minute IronMan contest and I want it for that belt you have drapped over your shoulder!!!
Douglas takes back the mic now.
DOUGLAS: You want it that way Magnum?!!! Then you got it!! Understand one thing, you are on ECW soil and that means that anything goes!!!
With that, The Triple Threat (and the ladies) leave and prepare for the match later on.
The rest of the night is the usual ECW action but one can sense the extra electricty in the air due to what just happened and what will happen later on.
I am going to skip the undercard on this one and go straight to the main event.
FEATURE MATCH TIME
ANNOUNCER: This next contest is for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. It will be an IronMan contest, set for 30 minutes. The wrestler with the most decisions via pinfall or submission, will win this contest.
The music of Jimi Hendricks' "Purple Haze" plays to signal the arrival of Magnum TA.
ANNOUNCER: First, the challenger. He is from Virginia Beach, VA and he weighs in at 235 pounds. He is a former two time NWA United States Champion, Magnum TA!!
The fans respond with a pretty good reception to Magnum. Although the crowd is pro-Douglas (actually pro-ECW), they give Magnum the respect he deserves as he comes to the ring. He stands in the corner and awaits Shane Douglas.
ANNOUNCER: His opponent is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He weighs in at 240 pounds and is accompanied by Francine. Here is the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Shane "The Franchise" Douglas.
Douglas gets a huge pop mixed in with some boos as he comes to the ring
to the chant of "ECW, ECW"!!! He hits the ring and he and Magnum have a
staredown in the center of the ring. Douglas, without ever taking his eyes
off of Magnum, takes off his belt and hands it to the ref. The bell rings
and we are underway.
Douglas and Magnum head off to neutral corners but Douglas, seeing
that Magnum's back is turned, takes advantage and jumps him from behind.
Douglas is hammering Magnum down but Magnum gets to his feet and is now
trading blows with Douglas. Magnum gets the upper hand as he is the brawler
of the two. He knocks Douglas down. Douglas gets up but is leveled by a
dropkick. Douglas gets up again and rushes Magnum with a clothesline but
Magnum gets the left arm and takes it down hard with an armbar takedown.
Douglas is now favoring that arm. Magnum then takes the arm, wraps it around
the second rope and kicks at the shoulder repeatedly (he does this about
eight times). He then hooks Douglas in a traditional armbar and pulls on
it. Hear the words of Joey Styles and guest commentator Paul E. Dangerously:
STYLES: We are only two minutes into this match but Douglas may not make it the rest of the way. Magnum has really damaged that arm.
DANGEROUSLY: Well, don't count out the "Franchise" just yet. He has a way of coming back from things like this. Hey, I give Magnum all of the credit in the world. He's one of the few "Big Boys" that I would give a chance at all of making it here in ECW. But, the Shane Douglas that he knew is not the Shane that's in the ring with him now. Magnum better remember that or he will find himself on the losing end here.
As the two continue to talk, Magnum is now driving knees into the shoulder of Douglas. Douglas is in pain but will not surrender. Magnum then brings Douglas to his feet, puts him in a hammerlock and rams his shoulder into the turnbuckle. Magnum grabs the hammerlock again and does the same thing. Magnum goes for it a third time but Douglas counters with a "Stone Cold Stunner"!!! This gives Douglas some breathing room and he tries to shake out his left arm. Douglas moves in on Magnum with repeated kicks to the face and chest area. Douglas then goes in and goes for his standing vertical suplex but can't get Magnum up because of the arm. Magnum quickly turns it into a Fujiwarmi armbar and takes Douglas down. Douglas is trying to get to the ropes but can't make it. Douglas taps out and Magnum has the first fall of the contest with five minutes gone by.
Magnum stands up for about two seconds and then goes back to press his advantage. He goes for the arm again but Douglas pulls his tights and drives him into the corner buckle headfirst. Francine, meanwhile, has slid a chair into the ring. Douglas takes advantage and DDT's Magnum on it (He used his right arm by the way)!!! Douglas covers Magnum for the three count and quickly Douglas has tied up the score.
STYLES: Magnum TA has just gotten a crash course into ECW wrestling.
DANGEROUSLY: He sure has. Now, let's see what Magnum is made of!!!
Douglas is still favoring his left arm but has momentum on his side as Magnum has been busted open from the DDT on the chair. Douglas goes to work with kicks to the head. He then lays Magnum on his back and drives a knee into the head. Magnum jumps up on his knees in pain and he rushes to the corner. Douglas follows him in and repeatedly kicks him on the small of the back. He grabs the back of his head and screams at Magnum. "Welcome to EC F*cking W Magnum!!!" He then rams Magnum's bloody head into the top turnbuckle ten times before taking him out of the corner. Magnum is out on his feet as Douglas takes him down and slaps on a "Boston Crab". Working on the injured back of Magnum. Granted, Douglas can't put full pressure on because his arm but Magnum is feeling the pain nonetheless. Magnum manages to do a push up but Douglas still hangs on. Magnum does make the ropes due to this move though.
Douglas still has the advantage with almost nine minutes gone in this match up. He takes Magnum and bodyslams him onto the chair (which was never taken from the ring). Douglas goes for a running knee again but Magnum moves out of the way. Douglas gets up, not really injured from the missed move. Magnum, however, takes advantage of the ECW rules as he realizes that the chair is still in the ring. Magnum takes it and nails Douglas in the right knee that Douglas missed with!!! If the knee wasn't hurting before, it is now. Douglas is down from this move. Magnum gets to his feet and jams the back edge of the chair into the right knee of Douglas repeatedly. He also mixes that up with stomps to the head. Douglas goes to the corner to beg for mercy but Magnum will have none of it. Magnum kicks Douglas two times in the chest and then takes the chair and whacks Douglas in the bad shoulder with it. Magnum then drags Douglas out to the center of the ring, lays Douglas' leg out flat, hits the ropes, dives into the air, and drives the chair into the leg. Magnum then throws the chair away and puts on a figure four leglock on Douglas. It looks bad for Shane except for one thing, Magnum threw away the chair near where Douglas could reach it. As Magnum applies the pressure, Douglas gets the chair and whacks Magnum in the head!!! This breaks the hold and Douglas crawls over and gets another three count and takes a two to one lead with 13 minutes gone.
Douglas scoots to a corner and drags himself up with Magnum still out. Douglas is doing so with great difficulty because of his knee but he does it. He limps over to Magnum and falls on top to try to get another fall. The ref counts 1..2..but Magnum kicks out!!! Douglas is disgusted. Francine comes over to cheer her man on and to remind him that he has a two to one lead with 14 1/2 minutes gone by. Douglas gets over to Magnum and slaps a reverse chinlock on Magnum.
DOUGLAS: This is good strategy on the part of Douglas. He is hurt with a two to one lead over the challenger. He is keeping Magnum down but he is also giving himself time to recover some.
DANGEROUSLY: That's right. Douglas should not try anything risky right now. He's up two to one and at this stage of the bout, Magnum is the one that has to suck it up and pull it out. All Douglas has got to do is survive for the next 15 minutes and he will retain the ECW title.
As Paul E. and Styles discuss, Douglas is putting on the pressure. Magnum manages to make it up to his feet and drives two elbows into Douglas' gut to break the hold. Magnum hits the ropes but Douglas counters with a knee to the gut.....but it is the right knee so Douglas suffers' as much as Magnum if not more so. Douglas still makes it over for another cover and gets only two. He goes back to the reverse chinlock and holds it for about three minutes. When Magnum gets to his feet again, almost 20 minutes have gone by. He counters this hold with a jawbreaker move. Douglas' jaw is rocked but he still presses the advantage by going for a big right hand but Magnum ducks it and turns it into a backslide. He get the three count off of it and the score is tied again at two to two.
Magnum and Douglas make it up to their feet with 22 minutes gone by. Magnum takes over with right hands to the head. He drives Douglas into a corner. Magnum gets up on the second rope and pounds the head of Douglas (the bleeding in Magnum's head, by the way, has stopped somewhat but is still evident). Douglas counters with a reverse atomic drop....or so it seems. Actually, Douglas turns it a turnbuckle ram as he suddenly drops Magnum into the top turnbuckle. When Magnum staggers out, Douglas hooks in the belly to belly suplex (the very move that Magnum taught him) and gets the pin and regains the advantage. Douglas paid the price though, as he hurt his knee doing the move. It didn't matter at that point as he takes a 3 to 2 lead over Magnum.
Magnum is slowly getting to his feet as Douglas closes in on him with only five minutes left. Meanwhile, Francine gets up on the apron and distracts the ref. She has, meanwhile, placed the ECW title belt in the corner for Shane to use. Shane gets it and goes for a hit but Magnum ducks it, kicks Shane in the gut and brains him with it!! Magnum quickly throws away the title and covers Shane for a three count and a tied up game of 3 to 3.
At this point, with only 4 1/2 minutes remaining, Douglas and Magnum are spent. But, somehow, they make it back up. Douglas gets in a poke in the eyes to stop Magnum from advancing on him. Francine gets up on the apron to distract the ref again. Douglas pulls Magnum into the ref. The ref never knew what hit him. Douglas then asks for a steel chair from Francine. He then tells her to whack Magnum with it. Douglas holds Magnum for Francine. She swings but Magnum is ready as he quickly mule-kicks Douglas in the balls and Francine nails Douglas by mistake!!! Magnum then does a simple trip to Francine that takes her off the apron. Douglas is staggered and Magnum nails him with the belly to belly this time. He covers but the ref is only starting to come around. Meanwhile, Bam Bam Bigelow comes from the back and goes to the top and dives off with his diving headbutt. But Magnum sees him and Bigelow nails Douglas as Magnum moved!!! Bigelow is stunned. Magnum takes advantage and knocks Bigelow out of the ring with the chair that was meant for him. Magnum throws away the chair and recovers Douglas with only 30 seconds left. The ref makes it over and makes the three count just one second before the time expired!!! Magnum TA has won the ECW Title. Bigelow and Chris Candido comes back into the ring to gang up on Magnum as Douglas makes his way over as well. Just as quickly, Luger and Benoit come down and a wild three on three fight breaks out as ECW's program goes off of the air.