Green Bay, Wisconsin was alive and kicking for Monday Night Explosion! On tonight�s show, more matches for the next pay-per-view, Mayhem, would be announced! Also some great wrestling action like only GCW can give you! AJ Styles would be teaming up with Monty Brown to take on Randy Orton and Paul Burchill! In addition, Rey Mysterio Jr. meets Gregory Helms, the singles wrestling debut of Umaga, and Rob Van Dam takes on Edge! All this and a lot more!
The show kicked off with the World Tag Team champions, Johnny Nitro and Shannon Moore, along with Melina, coming out for an interview. MNM said that they were feeling good tonight (even if they were in a dump like Green Bay for the cheap heat). MNM said they were going to give everyone a treat and defend their World Tag Team Titles against the first team that came down to the ring to accept the challenge. They bit off a little more than they could chew though when the challenge was answered by BROCK LESNAR and KURT ANGLE! Lesnar and Angle wanted the match to be right then and now, but MNM managed to convince them to wait until tonight�s main event, presumably so they could figure out some sort of plan to retain the titles against the former champions. Either way, what a helluva main event it�s sure to be!
Poor poor Shark Boy. Somebody had to be the first sacrificial lamb for the Samoan Bulldozer and it happened to be him as Umaga had his first singles match in a GCW ring. At the urging of Armando Alejandro Estrada, Umaga destroyed Shark Boy, finishing him off in short order.
Umaga pinned Shark Boy with the Samoan Spike in 0:02:03.
Rating: ** �
After the match, CHRIS BENOIT jumped in the ring and he had a chair, wanting to get a measure of revenge for the beating Umaga gave him last week. Benoit smacked Umaga in the back with the chair, but it didn�t even phase the savage! Umaga just turned around and with rage in his eyes, leveled Benoit with a clothesline. A Samoan drop and the Samoan Spike followed and for the second week in a row, Umaga had dismantled Benoit. The Crippler is going to have another shot at redemption though as it has been signed for Mayhem, Benoit vs. Umaga, one-on-one!
Rob Van Dam did Abyss a solid last week by saving him from a Conchairto at the hands of Edge and Christian. Team E&C took exception to RVD�s meddling and thus we had this singles match between the Whole F�n Show and the Rated R Superstar. A great match like you would expect from these two with both men getting in their patented offense. After an excellent contest, RVD seemed poised to have the victory when he had Edge down and ready for the Five Star Frog Splash. However, Christian jumped on the apron to distract him, so instead of hitting his finisher, RVD jumped off and hit Christian with a side kick knocking him to the floor. Christian took the brunt of it, but he did his job as it gave Edge time to recover and nail the Spear to get the win.
Edge pinned Rob Van Dam with the Spear in 0:08:12.
Rating: **** �
That wasn�t the end of the story though as while Edge and Christian were celebrating their win, ABYSS came out and abducted Lita and took her to the top of the ramp! Edge was throwing a fit in the ring, especially when MATT HARDY appeared on the VideoTron. Edge was screaming for Abyss to let Lita go, but instead Abyss put Lita over his head and was threatening to toss her off the stage! Matt Hardy said that Abyss would put Lita down if Edge would agree to face him in a match. Edge was reluctant, but when Abyss walked closer to the edge, Edge conceded and agreed to face Hardy, which got a huge pop! Abyss put Lita down and she ran back to the ring and hugged Edge. Edge then went back on his word a bit, saying, �You didn�t let me finish. I will fight you, Hardy� IF RVD and Abyss can beat me and Captain Charisma at Mayhem!� Hardy was not happy with Edge�s change, but he was confident that RVD and Abyss are going to take care of business at Mayhem.
JBL and Lashley wanted to �keep pace� so to speak with Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle and show they can wrestle as a tag team as well. JBL shocked everyone when he announced the team they would be facing was the legendary team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, the Rock�n�Roll Express! Morton and Gibson may be past their prime, but they are still one of the best tag teams of all-time, and they brought it a little harder than I think JBL and Lashley thought they would, capturing a lot of nearfalls. JBL and Lashley were too much for the veterans as JBL took Gibson�s head off (and may have knocked his lazy eye straight in the process) with the Stock Market Crash.
Bobby Lashley and John Bradshaw Layfield defeated The Rock'n'Roll Express Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) when JBL pinned R. Gibson with the Stock Market Crash in 0:06:42.
Rating: **
It was great to see Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson in action, but JBL and Lashley were simply too much for them. JBL and Lashley look on top of their games going into Mayhem.
�Primetime� Elix Skipper burst into Commissioner Tommy Dreamer�s and he didn�t look like he was there for a casual visit. Skipper said that it was a bunch of crap that Booker T got not only screwed out of his rematch with Brock Lesnar, but then he was suspended unfairly. Skipper said, �Booker was right� you ARE a racist.� This didn�t sit well with Dreamer, who told Skipper to get out of his office now or else. When Skipper inquired, �Or else what,� Dreamer told Skipper he�d be facing Brock Lesnar next week in a non-title match. Skipper left the office stunned thinking maybe he had bit off a little more than he could chew.
Mysterio and Helms have had all kinds of trouble since Helms made his return to GCW with a brand new attitude in tow, an attitude Mysterio does not appreciate. Regardless, this new found meanstreak of Helms� has earned him a shot at the X Title at Mayhem against CM Punk. Another thing Helms has brought back with him is a new style of offense. He used to be primarily a flier, but he has used a more ground based power offense, and it worked well against Mysterio, keeping him from flying all over the ring like he generally does. Mysterio�s one of the best though and he fought back, eventually winning this match with the Drop of the Dime.
Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned Gregory Helms after the Drop of the Dime in 0:10:38.
Rating: *** �
Helms attacked Mysterio after the match, not happy to have his momentum slowed by Mysterio this close to his X Title shot. CM PUNK ran in to make the save, but before he could get to the ring, he was nailed in the back with a chair by CHRISTOPHER DANIELS! The crowd booed Daniels vehemently as he stood over Punk with the chair showing no remorse for his actions. We have since learned that because of what happened tonight, the X Title match at Mayhem has changed. It will now be CM Punk defending the title against Gregory Helms, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Christopher Daniels in a Fatal Fourway!
The ever uppity Kid Kash along with his bodyguard Lance Hoyt were on a mission tonight to set their place in the Fatal Fourway at Mayhem, and they did so by getting right in the faces of the team that many consider to be the best tag team of the decade, the World�s Greatest Tag Team. Kash did all of the talking as you would expect, telling Haas and Benjamin that it was time they stepped aside because there was a new team in town. Benjamin laughed it off, but Haas got very defensive, telling Benjamin to take it more seriously. Haas then told Kash that there was nothing that was going to keep them from being 6-time World Tag Team champions. Haas then went on to challenge Kash and Hoyt to a match next week on Explosion. Benjamin just looked on at Haas with a look of disbelief but then just laughed it off as the match was set up for next week.
We had a tag match featuring a couple of odd pairings next as AJ Styles and Monty Brown teamed up to take on Randy Orton and Paul Burchill. We learned during the match from Michael Cole and Paul Heyman that AJ Styles and Randy Orton will meet one more time in a singles match at Mayhem, seeing how Styles has pinned Orton not once, but twice already. Styles was looking for a third tonight in this contest. Brown was looking for something too, and that was to rip Burchill limb from limb. The problem was, it didn�t seem to matter to Orton and Burchill, who didn�t really look to care much about winning the match, which was made painfully obvious when Orton attacked both Brown and Styles with a chair to cause the disqualification.
AJ Styles and Monty Brown defeated Paul Burchill and Randy Orton when M. Brown defeated R. Orton by disqualification in 0:09:41.
Rating: ** �
Brown and Styles both were laid out as Burchill grabbed a chair of his own and they left the Alpha Male and the Phenomenal One laying.
Main event time, and everyone was anticipating that we would see brand new World Tag Team champions as the former champions Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle took on the arrogant current champions, Johnny Nitro and Shannon Moore, MNM. Despite the fact that Lesnar and Angle have an epic clash forthcoming at Super Cade, Lesnar and Angle have been working outstandingly as a team in recent weeks, including tonight�s title match. Nitro and Moore did everything in their power to stay in this match, and they held their own, but it seemed to be a matter of when, not if they were going to lose the titles. MNM caught a lucky break when referee Nick Patrick got bumped. While the referee was down, BOBBY LASHLEY started down to the ring, pulled angle off the apron, and tossed him hard into the ringsteps. Lashley then got in the ring and got right in Lesnar�s face. There was a huge staredown as the fans were chomping at the bit for these two monsters to tear into each other, but it was a setup as JBL snuck up behind Lesnar and floored him with the Stock Market Crash! MNM quickly capitalized and hit Lesnar with the Snapshot and a groggy Patrick made the count.
MNM (Shannon Moore and Johnny Nitro) defeated Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle when
Nitro pinned Lesnar after the Snapshot in 0:17:54.
Rating: *** �
(MNM retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
It was a big time form of robbery, but never the less, MNM are still the World Tag Team champions. We�ve learned that because of what went down here, the main event next week on Explosion will be Kurt Angle going one-on-one with the undefeated Bobby Lashley! What an interesting way for us to go home on our way to Mayhem!
Updated Card for Mayhem, May 21, 2006, from Detroit, MI:
Brock Lesnar (World Heavyweight champion)/Kurt Angle vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (Intercontinental champion)/Bobby Lashley
If Abyss/RVD win, Matt Hardy is reinstated � Abyss & Rob Van Dam vs. Edge & Christian
X Title Match - CM Punk � vs. Gregory Helms vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Christopher Daniels
Monty Brown vs. Paul Burchill
Fatal Fourway � The Bulldogs vs. The World�s Greatest Tag Team vs. Kid Kash/Lance Hoyt vs. The Blue World Order
Rhyno vs. Kenny Dykstra
Chris Benoit vs. Umaga
AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton