WWEP Intercontinental Championship #1 Contenders Match Is Announced For Full Gear And Qualifying Entrants Are Established; Also, Did Ben Geraci Finally Make His Once In A Lifetime Decision?
WNW Opener; Vignette; "Trust In Me"
The shows opens up after the intro video package to show an abandoned dark cellar and chains hanging down from the ceiling, clanging against each other. Babies are heard crying in the distance and dark boots are shown walking stiff on the hard concrete, with bugs and a couple rats crawling around them. A soft violin echoes through the scene with a very dark and evil motif attached, and a quick shot shows blood slowly starting to fall down the concrete wall towards the dark concrete floor.
The camera cuts to another shot of a big dark shadow on the wall with some sort of long belt in his or her hand hanging down by their side. The shadow pulls back with the belt and starts swinging it in a downwards motion extremely fast and vicious hitting some sort of object very hard, with echoes of the lashings bellowing throughout the scene.
Cries and screams are heard getting louder and louder as the violin and music starts getting heavier and even more dark building up to a climatic boom, followed with a loud laugh and undistinguishable voice, "TRUST IN ME!!!" The scene immediately cuts off to a black screen.
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"This show is for you"
The show opens up with WWEP Chairman Tdog standing in the center of the ring with a confused look on his face, confused at the video vignette that just aired. Tdog shakes his head and then puts on his signature smirk as the crowd in attendance is chanting "WNW" as loud as ever. Tdog nods in agreement with the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen...Welcome to Wednesday Night Wars!" - TDog
"W N W! W N W! W N W!" - Fans
"This show is for you! Wednesday nights belong to each and every single one of you here in the arena...and all of you watching at home. WNW is FOR YOU!" - TDog
The crowd gets even louder with their massive amount of appreciation for Tdog and the show itself.
"Last Wednesday night was the debut edition of a revolution that is truly changing the face of professional wrestling, and we together will continue to go full speed ahead into the future to make Wednesday nights all about PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! And that's right, not sports entertainment, I'm talkin' about PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!" - TDog
The crowd cheers as TDog pauses for a moment and nods in approval with the riotous crowd.
"Which brings me to my next point. We are all determined to bring you, the greatest fans in the world, the best damn professional wrestling product on the planet. Which is why when we decided last week who would be the first ever WWEP Intercontinental Champion, we already knew as soon as the show ended how we were gonna determine who was the next in line to try and take that title away from the champion. I couldn't think of anybody better than Austin Michael Pieper to be the face of the Intercontinental Championship and the face of this show right here, but a champion is only as good as his last defense. Which is why at Full Gear on November 9th we will have a TRIPLE THREAT match to determine who goes on to face Austin for the WWEP Intercontinental Championship." - TDog
"Wow! The WWEP Chairman isn't wasting any time putting the Intercontinental Champion on the chopping block with a fresh formidable opponent!" - Jim Ross
"But if you want to even get the opportunity, you have to earn it...which is why tonight we will have two qualifying matches. Tonight in the main event the WWEP Universal Champion Darren Cox will go one on one with my protege who makes his WNW debut right here tonight, Ben Geraci!" - TDog
The crowd pops with excitement and really starts to get behind Ben Geraci especially, which only makes Tdog's smile even grow wider knowing that he was the one who broke him in.
"Now as for our second qualifier match, heh...we will see the WWEP Future Hall of Famer JD Laflin going up against...." - TDog
TDog smiles at the crowd and slowly starts to take off his suit jacket and dress paints to reveal his wrestling gear underneath as the crowd pops huge for what TDog is ecstatically alluding to.
"The most influential man in all of professional sports. Quite possibly the greatest talent to ever live. THE WWEP 2018 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE...me!!!" - TDog
The crowd starts doing the YES chant as TDog gets onto the top rope and screams, "AND THAT MATCH STARTS RIGHT NOW!!" TDog throws the microphone down and starts motioning for JD to come out right now and start the match.
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WWEP Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender Qualifier Match; JD Laflin (0-1) vs TDog (2-2)
TDog bounces up and down in the center of the ring awaiting for JD to come out, but JD's music fails to come on, which elicits an extremely vocal booing from the crowd. After a few moments, TDog instructs the referee to ring the bell and start a ten count, screaming that "he's had enough time" to come out. The referee starts to count to ten and Tdog just continues to bounce up and down and motion for JD to come out, but he never does. The referee gets to a ten count and the crowd erupts into a unison of booing and dissatisfaction about JD not coming out. TDog shrugs at the crowd with a smirk on his face and announces himself as the winner of the match, "Next Stop...FULL GEAR!"
TDog picks up his suit jacket and pants that he originally took off and gets out of the ring and starts walking up the ramp with a smirk on his face as commentary speculates about why JD did not come out, and that after just 10 seconds, TDog is the first #1 contender entrant in the triple threat #1 contenders match at Full Gear.
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Backstage Interview; "I'm not gonna let anyone take this opportunity away from me"
Jacob Bryant is standing next to Ben Geraci moments before his match with Darren Cox.
“I’m standing next to the newest member of WWEP, Ben Geraci! Ben I’m glad I could talk to you.” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“Thank you Mr.Bryant!” - Ben Geraci
“So Ben, we haven’t heard much about you since you’ve arrived in WWEP, can you tell us a little bit more about you?” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“Absolutely! I’ve been wrestling for a few years now. I’ve been wrestling in front of small crowds, maybe no more than 50 people. All my life, I’ve had to scratch and claw my way to get what I want, what I need to survive!” - Ben Geraci
“Oh wow. And tell me, how exactly did you get into WWEP?” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“TDog. TDog and I go way back! We kinda lost touch around 2015. But then when I saw this promotion...WWEP. I KNEW I needed to be here...but I was turned down over and over again!” - Ben Geraci
“Care to explain?” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“That’s the thing! I don’t know why I was turned down! I tried back in 2016 got turned down by this Marisa lady? And I’ve been trying ever since...that’s until TDog got in charge.” - Ben Geraci
“And tell me Ben, what were contract negotiations like?” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“Well, TDog actually reached out to me! He said this has been the biggest year WWEP has ever seen and it would be a shame if I wasn’t in it! So we talked at his office, and next thing you know...I came down to the ring and hit a Razors Edge on Darren Cox! Hahahah!” - Ben Geraci
“Now Ben, as funny as that may sound, he’s quite the opponent and you’re actually about to face him next! With the winner going on to Full Gear to become the #1 Contender for the WWEP Intercontinental Title. What are your thoughts on this match?” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
“I know I’m new to the organization. But this win would mean so much to me! A potential title shot! It takes people years! To get where I’m at! Everything I’ve done in life...has lead to this moment, this VERY moment! And NO ONE and I mean NO ONE IS GOING TO TAKE THIS FROM ME!” - Ben Geraci
“Thank you for your time Mr. Geraci.” - Jacob Bryant, Backstage Correspondent
Ben walks away, stretching his arms and walking towards gorilla position as cameras fade to a commercial break and commentary hypes up the huge main event coming up after the commercial between Darren Cox and Ben Geraci!
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WWEP Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender Qualifier Match; Ben Geraci (0-0) vs Darren Cox (1-0)
The match goes back and forth through out the entire bout as both men show a strong desire to come out victorious, Darren knowing how much he could lose if he can't beat rookie Ben Geraci, and rookie Ben Geraci knowing that a win against the Universal Champion would be a major momentum boost. Darren through out the match tries to work on Geraci's slightly injured shoulder from the very beginning of the match, when a failed clothesline turned into Darren slamming him shoulder first into the steel ring post. Darren connects with moves directly impacting Geraci's shoulder, connecting with several kicks to his shoulder followed by a double knee drop off the middle rope and a devastating arm bar, pulling on Geraci's arm as hard as he can. But the resilient rookie refuses to tap out and instead somehow finds a way to lift Cox up with his other arm and drop him down to the canvas with a Samoan Drop!
Geraci isn't playing around as he struggles to get back up to his feet and charges at Cox with a flying forearm that nails "The Reaper" right in the center of his skull! Geraci starts stomping away on Cox, followed by a nasty kick to the skull that makes a horrific cracking sound! The referee quickly checks on Darren's well being after a brutal headshot. Geraci quickly heads up to the top rope, but the opportunistic Cox pulls the referee down onto the canvas and quickly rolls out of the ring to catch his breath and regain his composure.
However, as he is regaining his composure, that doesn't stop Geraci who dives off the top rope with a cross body aimed right at Cox! But Cox is able to see Geraci in enough time and catch him in mid air, super plexing him onto the steel ring steps at ringside as the crowd OHHHs! Cox staggers back a little bit into the commentary booth and then starts kicking at Geraci's injured shoulder once again. Cox sadistically smiles at the crowd and then proceeds to pick up the steel ring steps and drop them viciously onto the shoulder of Geraci! The crowd boos and the referee screams at Cox that "this is his final warning", but Cox doesn't seem to care and Geraci just rolls back and forth in pain holding his shoulder and screaming out.
"You have got to be kidding me! Get him back in the ring, Darren!" - Jim Ross
"No, what Darren is doing right now is exactly what he should do! This match is about deciding who goes on to Full Gear to compete for the opportunity at an Intercontinental Championship match, you pull out what ever stops you have to in order to win! Darren is showing just how smart he is in this sport, and proving a very valuable lesson to Ben Geraci!" - Excalibur
Darren finally rolls Geraci back into the ring, but not before Darren holds his hands up in the air and taunts at the booing crowd in attendance who is 100 percent behind the young rookie. Geraci looks to be completely defeated as Darren stalks him down in the ring for a few seconds before unloading some even more vicious offense on the WNW debuting Ben Geraci. Cox picks Geraci's arm up off the mat and slams it back down onto the hard stiff canvas, shoulder first as Geraci holds his shoulder and screams out in pain!
"This is absolutely disgusting, folks! Why isn't the referee disqualifying this man?" - Tony Schiavone
"What for??" - Excalibur
"For being an ASSHOLE! That's why!" - Tony Schiavone
Cox gets down onto his knees and starts punching Ben over the top of the head, but after about the fourth punch, Geraci somehow rolls Cox up into a small package as the fans jump to their feet in excitement! 1....2....COX KICKS OUT AT 2!!
Darren jumps back up to his feet with a shocked and angry look on his face, kicking him several times and screaming down at Geraci, "THAT IS NOT HOW THIS IS GOING TO END!!" The two battle back and forth with each other after Ben finds a way to flip the switch on Darren and connect with a Pele Kick, knocking him into the corner, followed up with a hurricarana off the middle rope onto Darren! But as Geraci goes for the cover on Darren, barely a 2 count comes down before Darren kicks out, not ready to give up that quickly. Loads of near falls ensue between the two, the most exciting being when Geraci reversed a Chokeslam from Darren into a fierce Dragon Release Suplex onto the hard canvas! BAM!! Geraci falls on top of Darren for the cover, 1...2...DARREN GETS THE SHOULDER UP!!
Geraci and Cox continues, but commentators abruptly stop calling the action in the ring and state that they have just received word that WWEP Chairman TDog is on the phone RIGHT NOW with the Board of Directors! The match goes into a letter box format in the corner of the screen, and the main screen shows TDog already dressed back in his suit at his desk, holding the phone and looking very unhappy with whatever is happening on the other line.
“Look! I’m doing my best! Not only do I have a company I’m trying run, but I’m also a wrestler. I’m in the predictions cup, hell I just wrestled TONIGHT! And on top of that I’m wrestling FRIDAY night also!” - TDog
TDog rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair as a voice is heard muffled coming through the phone, but can't be understood.
“Woah woah woah, you’re JUST NOW TELLING ME THIS! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!...no we can’t resort to that!” - TDog
TDog buries his head in his hands out of frustration and nods his head in a very sarcastic manner.
“Listen. I know how this company works. I work with these people every single week. I know what makes them happy, I know what makes them NOT happy. Trust in me. Things will get better. We ALL knew this wasn’t going to be a smooth transition! I’m still learning how the business side of things works in all of this, but when it comes to wrestling and promoting, I know what I’m doing.” - TDog
TDog throws his hands in the air! Jumps from his chair and slams the chair into the wall abruptly!
“DAMN IT LISTEN TO ME! WE ARE NOT DOING THAT! THIS COMPANY IS AT THE HIGHEST ITS EVER BEEN!” - TDog
Commentators are very shocked and confused at what is going on, and speculating about what TDog is talking about on the phone.
“You know what? I’m calling an emergency meeting. I expect ALL of the Board to be at Smackdown EARLY Friday morning!” - TDog
TDog aggressively hangs his phone up and just leans over his desk seething in anger and frustration. The main screen with TDog in his office fades, and the letter box in the corner of the screen with the match going on expands out to take up the whole screen; Geraci and Cox is still going on.
+++++++++++++++++SHOW CUTS FOR IT'S FINAL COMMERCIAL BREAK+++++++++++++++++
The match comes back from the commercial break as hot as ever with commentary selling how hard fought and phenomenal of a match this has been, with Ben Geraci doing everything in his power not to stay down once Darren was able to pick up the pace towards the end of the match.
Geraci comes as close as he ever comes when he is able to muster up enough strength to leap over a devastating and finalizing big boot from Darren Cox, and come through with a Razor's Edge out of nowhere on the Universal Champion!! IT'S OVER IT'S ALL OVER!
But when Ben goes to cover Darren, the force of the slam moves Cox's leg onto the bottom rope. The referee goes to count but then sees Darren's foot on the bottom rope and breaks the count, screaming at Geraci to break the cover. Geraci tries to get back up to his feet, but he falls back down onto his knees leaving Darren enough time to lowblow Geraci behind the referee's back and completely flip the momentum.
But it isn't easy work for Darren, because as soon as he is able to get Geraci off his feet and come down with a Chokeslam, he covers him only for Geraci to kick out just right before the count of three! Darren looks at the referee with a shocked and frustrated look on his face, getting back up to his feet and screaming at Geraci to "STAY DOWN!!" Geraci struggles back up to his feet enough for Cox to put his head between his legs, lift him up in the air, and come down with a brutal Last Ride! But just as Cox covers him again, the never give up Geraci is able to kick out ONCE AGAIN at 2!! This time Darren has an absolute breakdown in the ring and starts threatening that he is going to destroy the referee. Darren pounds his boot on the canvas and this time when Geraci struggles back up to his feet, Cox grabs Geraci's arm and wraps his shoulder around the steel ring post holding the turnbuckle pad! Geraci falls back onto his knees in pain and holds his shoulder leaving Cox enough time to pick him up into a Tombstone Piledriver. Cox comes down violently with his Tombstone, bouncing Geraci's head off the canvas, and then finally covering him for the final 3 count.
After the match is over, Cox rolls out of the ring with his Universal Championship and punches a camera man in the face before walking up the ramp. As Geraci starts to come back to himself and realize what has happened, the crowd is all standing up on their feet and clapping for a disheartened Ben Geraci. Geraci nods his head at the crowd and then crawls underneath the bottom rope, holding his shoulder and wincing in pain. As Geraci makes his way up the ramp, he holds his other arm up in the air to the crowd as the crowd gets even louder with their "Geraci" chants. Once Geraci reaches the top of the ramp, backstage correspondent Jacob Bryant runs back out to the stage with the microphone in his hand.
"Wait Ben! One last question, have you at all thought about what Cody said at the end of RAW on Monday night, with inviting you to join Prestige?" - Jacob Bryant
Ben chuckles to himself and with an unsure smirk looks at Bryant with a nod.
"Heh, oh I don't know. *shrug* I might've tossed it around a bit..."
Ben pushes Bryant over to the side and walks back through the curtain. The camera follows Geraci hobbling backstage and all the way to the parking garage.
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"The Limousine"
Every few steps he has to stop and bend over holding his shoulder in pain. He stands straight up and looks at a long black limousine sitting in the parking lot with a smile on his face. He opens up the door and gets into the limousine. A few seconds pass and all of a sudden "The Muscle" Ben Conners and "The Warrior" Cody Miller walk up to the limousine with smiles on their faces. The two look around the parking lot both with huge grins on their faces. Ben opens up the limousine door and gets into the limo and Miller just stands there chuckling to himself as commentary sells the shock and awe of Ben getting into a limousine WITH The Prestige.
Miller slaps the top of the limo and yells "Let's go!" before getting into the limousine and shutting the door behind him. The limousine begins to pull away and out of the parking garage with the camera zooming into the license plate on the back that reads, "Prestige4LYFE". Cameras fade to black as the last thing heard is Jim Ross on commentary, "Oh my god, this is unbelievable. Geraci is Prestige...."
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