John Bradshaw Layfield has said that this will be his last night in Global Championship Wrestling if he fails to defeat Brock Lesnar in the Texas Bullrope Match here in Memphis, Tennessee. Will JBL walk away the new champion, or will Lesnar�s one year plus reign of dominance continue? We would find out tonight at Chaos Reigns! Also on tonight�s huge pay-per-view event, a new Intercontinental champion will be crowned as Rey Mysterio Jr. meets Booker T in the finals of the Intercontinental Title tournament! The World Tag Team Titles are also up for grabs as MNM defend against the surprising team of Christopher Daniels & CM Punk! All of these matches, plus Kurt Angle meets Umaga, AJ Styles goes one-on-one with Chris Benoit, Monty Brown locks horns with Mr. Money In The Bank Randy Orton, and much much more!
Our show kicked off with a bang with what would be a guaranteed new champion as Rey Mysterio Jr. & Booker T locked up to determine the Intercontinental champion. Before the match began, we saw the vicious beating that Booker & Blackout put on former champion Bobby Lashley, injuring his right knee and putting him out of action for months. We also saw highlights of Booker defeating Monty Brown & Tommy Dreamer to reach the finals, while Mysterio had to get through Paul Burchill & X champion Gregory Helms. The match itself captured a lot of the old hostilities these two still obviously have toward each other, being former tag team partners. Mysterio tried to keep one step ahead of Booker, but he was cut down many times thanks to interference and distractions from Sharmell & Elix Skipper on the floor. Blackout would go to the well once too often though as Prime Time reached out to trip Mysterio. What he didn�t realize though is that Mysterio had reversed the Irish whip and Skipper had tripped up Booker instead! Booker turned to yell at Skipper, but when he turned back around he walked right into a rana from Mysterio who got the 1-2-3 and is the brand new Intercontinental champion!
Match for the vacant GCW Intercontinental Title:
Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned Booker T after a rana in 0:14:32.
Rating: ****
(Rey Mysterio Jr. won the GCW Intercontinental Title.)
Mysterio bailed from the ring in a hurry and was handed the IC Title by referee Chad Patton as the crowd in Memphis was going nuts. Mysterio has previously held the Cruiserweight & Television Titles and will now enjoy his first reign as Intercontinental champion. Booker couldn�t believe he lost the match and had some harsh words for Elix Skipper, but fact remains that Rey Mysterio Jr. is the Intercontinental champion.
As Mysterio was celebrating his title win, we cut back to the office of Mick Foley, who is talking with Stevie Richards. Foley is giving Richards some advice and asking him about his match with Paul Burchill and why he lost the match. Richards suggests it had something to do with dust getting into his eyes. Foley quickly corrects him by saying that it was because he got excited when he managed to get some successful offense in, adding that he should stop that. Foley then told Richards he had an errand for him and that he needed to go tell Kenny Dykstra to find another partner for tonight. �Elijah Burke might be injured, but Dykstra is not getting out of that match.� As Richards left, MELINA of MNM came in. After some not-so-subtle flirting by Melina, she suggested that in the interest of fairness, Daffney should be banned from ringside during the World Tag Team Title match, citing Daffney�s �unprovoked assault� on her last Monday. Foley thought about it and then agreed, which understandably prompted some boos. Melina was proud of herself for her successful flirting techniques, but Foley stopped her at the door and said, �Oh yeah. I almost forgot. You�re banned from ringside too. And that decision� is FINAL.�
As this match was about to begin, we were shown clips of Chris Benoit�s vicious and completely uncalled for attack on Paul London from a few weeks ago. London has been out of action for over a year with a severely broken back which was originally supposed to have ended his career. If that didn�t do it, Benoit�s attack may have. AJ Styles is a former tag team partner and good friend of London�s and has taken issue with the Crippler, attacking him on several occasions. There would be no attacks this time around though � just an extremely hard fought match. There was a lot more straight-up fighting in this match than you�d expect from these two, but with all of the bad blood involved here, it�s not that surprising. The tide kept shifting back and forth as it was difficult to tell who would walk away with the win. Styles got the momentum going and had Benoit on the ropes, but when Styles went for an Asai moonsault, the Crippler showed his resourcefulness by countering it into the Crippler Crossface. The move itself, plus Styles having the wind knocked out of him from missing the moonsault was enough for him to have to submit, giving this match to Benoit.
Chris Benoit made AJ Styles submit to the Crippler Crossface in 0:11:24.
Rating: **** �
Benoit wasn�t done though as he refused to release the hold. Benoit had the Crossface on Styles for several minutes before officials were finally able to get him to release. Styles was in bad shape and carried away on a stretcher. We�ll have an update on AJ Styles tomorrow night on Explosion.
This was not shaping up to be Kenny Dykstra�s night. For starters, his tag team partner Elijah Burke is going to be out of action until 2007 thanks to the torn quadriceps muscle he suffered last week on Explosion, so he had to find a replacement. He recruited Paul Burchill, which under normal circumstances would be an excellent choice. However, they didn�t have any time to prepare, as well as the fact that a hardcore match is right up Tommy Dreamer�s alley. The Innovator of Violence had a big score to settle with Dykstra, and he�s surely been teaching Lance Cade all he knows about the art of hardcore wrestling. This match was brutal, featuring a healthy dose of Dreamer kicking Dykstra�s ass around the ring area. Dreamer brought a shopping cart full of goodies to the ring and he was not shy about using them, leaving Dykstra bruised and bloodied by the end of this match. Burchill showed his mettle as well, proving the Brit knew how to fight. Despite Burchill�s good showing and Dykstra�s ability to absorb punishment and not give in, there was nothing that was going to stop Dreamer & Cade. Dreamer would put the finishing touches on this ruckus fight with a Dreamer DDT on Dykstra, directly on a steel chair for the 1-2-3.
[Hardcore Match]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Tommy Dreamer and Lance Cade defeated Kenny Dykstra and Paul Burchill when Dreamer pinned K. Dykstra with the Dreamer DDT in 0:10:05.
Rating: ****
Burchill didn�t really try to make much of a save and just looked down at Dykstra with disgust after the match. I somehow don�t think this partnership is going to last very long. An outstanding win for Dreamer & Cade. One has to wonder what is next for this team.
Must See TV came out to the ring, presumably for the tag team match against Matt Hardy & Abyss. Edge has a huge smile on his face though, and we�d soon learn why as he announced that Matt Hardy was GONE from GCW. �That�s right. Your little golden boy couldn�t handle the fact that I have already taken his girl and his dignity. And now I have officially taken his CAREER too! Hardy proved just what kind of man he is, and that�s a crybaby. He took his ball and went home!� Christian then took the mic and said since they didn�t have opponents for this match anymore, they were offering an open challenge to any team in the back who wouldn�t to face Edge and him. �I doubt we�ll have any takers. I mean, Matt Hardy was so scared to face us that he QUIT!� After a moment, their challenge was answered by none other than CRYME TYME, a team that already holds a victory over them. JTG (still sporting the stolen X Title that belongs to Gregory Helms) & Shad Gaspard didn�t give Must See TV a chance to protest as they came in and attacked right away, and the match was on!
Edge & Christian were not expecting Cryme Tyme as you could tell by how much Shad Gaspard & JTG dominated this contest early on. Must See TV couldn�t get out of the gate and it looked as if their big mouths were going to lead them to an embarrassing defeat. But when you have the Brothel and the insane rib-loving Rhyno with you, it�s easy for that momentum to swing. They made their presence known often in this match, but it looked like Cryme Tyme had this one wrapped up when they hit Edge with the G 9. However before they could make the pin, GREGORY HELMS ran down to the ring and took back his X Title that JTG had stolen from him! JTG ran after him but didn�t catch him in time. During the commotion, Christian snuck into the ring and dropped Shad with the Unprettier, putting this one in the books.
Must See TV (Christian and Edge) defeated Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG) when Christian pinned S. Gaspard with the Unprettier in 0:06:03.
Rating: ****
It was by no means easy, but Must See TV sneaks away from Chaos Reigns with a win. And with Matt Hardy out of the picture, what do they have planned next?
JBL was back with his limo driver, Lamont, holding the bull rope around his neck. JBL said that tonight his destiny comes true. He is meant to be a champion. He is the richest man in GCW by far, and along with money comes great power. The only thing that he is lacking to make him the most powerful man in the business is the GCW World Heavyweight Title. He went on to say that would change tonight as there was no way that Brock Lesnar could possibly defeat him in his specialty, the Texas Bullrope match. JBL concluded by saying the people might not like it, but they better get used to the thought of John Bradshaw Layfield, your NEW World Heavyweight champion.
Randy Orton has that Money in the Bank briefcase to use whenever he wanted, but tonight he needed to get past the angry �Alpha Male� Monty Brown. Brown looks to be proving everyone wrong that he can�t win the big one, and this mental state is making him a different wrestler in the ring. He is taking unnecessary chances and making uncharacteristic mistakes. Brown would take control in the early part of this match which is what most expected, but he quickly became frustrated when he couldn�t put Orton away. Orton is crafty, and he waited until he got a good opportunity, avoided a charging Brown in the corner and rolled the Alpha Male up. Orton hooked the trunks and Brown was unable to kick out, giving this cheap win to Mr. Money in the Bank.
Randy Orton pinned Monty Brown after a roll up in 0:06:59.
Rating: ***
Orton wisely got out of the ring in a hurry, just narrowly missing a roundhouse right from Brown. Brown was furious in the ring, arguing with referee Charles Robinson, even grabbing him by the shirt. Thankfully Brown calmed himself enough to let Robinson go, but he was obviously not pleased. I�d stay clear of Monty Brown if I was in the back tonight.
Before our next match, Maria is backstage with Kurt Angle, who is just moments away from taking on the undefeated Umaga. Maria asked Angle if he was worried to be taking on the Samoan Bulldozer. Angle said that Umaga is obviously one of the most intimidating men to step foot in a wrestling ring, even adding he knew there was a good chance he could get hurt in this match. But he said that he is scared of no man, noting that he once won an Olympic gold medal with a �broken freakin� neck!� He ended by saying the odds might be against him, but he will walk out of Memphis victorious.
Kurt Angle has already done it all in GCW, being the only Triple Crown winner to date. But despite his multiple high profile battles, he may not have had any bigger mountain to climb than he did in this match against �The Samoan Bulldozer� Umaga. Angle was able to do what most haven�t as of yet, and that�s wrestle Umaga. Most of the savage�s opponents have been decimated before they even knew what hit them, but Angle was frustrating the Samoan Bulldozer with wrestling holds and a solid mat game. This seemed like a great game plan until Umaga got a hold of him and dropped him with a Samoan drop. From there it looked bleak for Angle as Umaga systematically dismantled him at the urging of Armando Alejandro Estrada. Angle showed great heart by not keeping his shoulders off the canvas, which did get him on the receiving end of a lot of pain as well. Estrada told Umaga to finish Angle off, directing him to go up top for a big splash. Umaga jumped and certainly would have crushed Angle had Angle not had the presence of mind to roll out of the way. Umaga was in real trouble as the air was driven out of his lungs, and Angle went on the attack. Angle showed his great strength by hitting a German suplex on Umaga, as well as hitting the savage with a picture perfect moonsault, but could only get a two count. Angle looked to put Umaga down with the Angle Slam, but Umaga put the brakes on and in a heartbeat floored Angle with the Samoan Spike! Good morning, good afternoon, good night.
Umaga pinned Kurt Angle with the Samoan Spike in 0:14:27.
Rating: *** �
Umaga had just pinned the former World Heavyweight champion, and not only that, but cleanly in the center of the ring. Not only that, but Estrada instructed to prop Angle up in the corner and smash him with a running back splash, leaving Angle out in the ring. No one has ever dominated Angle like this. Knowing how competitive Kurt Angle is though, I wouldn�t be shocked to see him ask for a rematch in the future.
Melina had tried to manipulate Mick Foley into banning Daffney from ringside for this match, and it worked. However, she herself was also banned. So what we got was a great match between the reigning tag team champions, Johnny Nitro & Shannon Moore taking on the strange pairing of CM Punk & Christopher Daniels. The history of bitter aggression between Punk & Daniels is well documented, but it seems that all of their brutal and bloody battles over the past two years have led to a �if you can�t beat �em, join �em.� Though it�s nice to see Punk & Daniels on the same page rather than brutalizing each other, one has to wonder how well they can coexist. We were pleasantly surprised to see they coexisted quite nicely. They�ve been working hard this past month to come together as a team and that hard work showed here. But despite their attitude that makes them almost impossible to like, MNM are a great team and are the World Tag Team champions, and not by fluke. Even without Melina down at ringside, MNM knows how to stretch the rules (if not outright break them) to get the advantage, and they did that to the hilt. Despite all of their underhanded tactics, Daniels & Punk looked to have everything on their side to win the titles when MELINA came down to the ring, despite being banned earlier. Referee Mike Chioda wisely jumped to the floor and cut Melina off, but while that was happening, Moore nailed Daniels with a chair on the floor and then jumped in the ring and nailed Punk with a low blow! MNM lifted Punk and dropped him with the Snapshot and looked poised to win the match, but Melina was attacked on the floor by DAFFNEY and we again had a� CATFIGHT~! Chioda now had the task of separating this catfight. MNM was livid in the ring because they had the match won when someone jumped out of the crowd and threw Moore over the top to the floor! Nitro turned around right into a kick to the stomach and a tiger driver! When the man got up we saw it was JOEY MERCURY! Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro�s original partner, is back in GCW and the crowd was going nuts! Mercury placed Punk on top of Nitro as Chioda saw the cover in the ring. He slid in and made the count, and we had brand new World Tag Team champions!
Match with Managers Banned From Ringside:
Christopher Daniels and CM Punk defeated MNM (Shannon Moore and Johnny Nitro) when Punk pinned Nitro after outside interference in 0:09:44.
Rating: ***
(Christopher Daniels and CM Punk won the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
Punk & Daniels weren�t even entirely sure what had happened as they were handed the World Tag Team Titles. After they saw Joey Mercury running back through the crowd, they put two and two together. Despite not necessarily being too thrilled with how they won the titles, fact remains Punk & Daniels are the tag team champions of the world.
Just moments before our main event, Maria was standing by with the reigning World Heavyweight champion BROCK LESNAR. Maria asked Lesnar if he was worried about stepping into the ring with JBL in the challenger�s specialty, the Texas Bullrope match. Lesnar said that he never worries, but he puts over JBL for being a smart man. �He knew that I wouldn�t turn down a challenge and gave himself the best setup to become World Heavyweight champion.� Lesnar said he has beaten the odds plenty of times before and his record title reign would not be coming to an end tonight. Lesnar vowed that this would be the last we would see of John Bradshaw Layfield.
As we prepared for our World Heavyweight Title main event, everyone knew this one had the potential to be a bloodbath. JBL isn�t known for being a wrestler � he is known for being a fighter, and there is no better match for JBL than the Texas Bullrope match. And even scarier for Brock Lesnar was that JBL had put his career on the line to get these stipulations, so you know he was going to do anything and everything he could to become the new World Heavyweight champion. Though Lesnar is inexperienced in Texas Bullrope matches, he is not inexperienced in fighting and he didn�t hold anything back. The opening moments were a bit of a feeling out process, both a little tentative of the rope. Once JBL used that cowbell though, all bets were off, and just as we suspected, this became a bloodbath. During the course of this vicious battle, both Lesnar & JBL would end up wearing the crimson mask. There were times where either man would have easily been able to pick up a pinfall, but in this match, you had to touch all four turnbuckles in succession and neither man was going to let that happen with any ease. JBL missed a golden opportunity when he had nailed Lesnar with the Stock Market Crash, but Lesnar fell out of the ring and JBL couldn�t get him back in the ring. JBL lost his cool and went to the outside as well, grabbing a steel chair, knocking Lesnar senseless with it.
The champion was completely unconscious, and JBL had a sick smile on his face as he could sense the World Heavyweight Title in his grasp. He cockily tossed Lesnar into the ring and took a little time to play to the crowd, motioning that the title would be coming around his waist. JBL touched the first turnbuckle, but he didn�t notice that Lesnar touched it right behind him! The crowd was cheering louder and louder as the same thing happened after the second and third turnbuckles. At this point, Lesnar offered some resistance, pulling JBL back so he couldn�t get to that fourth turnbuckle. JBL became frustrated and turned toward Lesnar, right into the F-5! Lesnar looked at the fourth turnbuckle, worked the crowd, and then touched it, giving him the win and retaining his championship.
Texas Bullrope No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Brock Lesnar defeated John Bradshaw Layfield in 0:27:04.
Rating: ***
(Brock Lesnar retained the GCW World Heavyweight Title.)
It wasn�t easy by any means, but Lesnar showed what kind of champion he was by not only retaining the title, but retiring John Bradshaw Layfield in the process! Lesnar was a bloody mess, but he showed how important the World Title is to him. His night wasn�t over yet though as PAUL HEYMAN came to the top of the ramp with a microphone and sporting a neck brace. Heyman mockingly congratulated Lesnar on his win, but told the Monster From Minnesota that the biggest mistake he ever made was attacking him and rejecting his offer for him to be his agent. �But I got somebody who�s not stupid, and someone who is going to end that World Heavyweight Title reign of yours. Brock Lesnar! Meet your worst nightmare� ABYSS!� The crowd was in shock as just as Heyman claimed, ABYSS came out and was ready to fight. I don�t know what Heyman did to get into Abyss� head, but he sure did. Lesnar was already bleeding and exhausted, but he tried to fight Abyss off, but that simply wasn�t in the cards as this animal quickly overwhelmed Lesnar and left him on the mat with the Black Hole Slam. The show came to an end with Abyss and Heyman standing over Lesnar, holding the World Title high above his head.