Lockdown Losing Matches

[Guest Chuck Woolery]

Eh... deadline-beater match from my end. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I'm not sure how well it flowed in places and how exciting the action was. Feedback would be appreciated.

 

---

 

Fade in...

 

We return to Lockdown and immediately zoom in on the Lockdown announce table, where "Grand Slam" Mark Stevens sits with Bobby Riley, both of them wearing headsets. On this night Stevens' headset rests on top of his baseball cap, tonight bearing the logo of the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Riley's simply sets on his hair. Both men smile into the camera as Stevens leads us back in from break.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to SWF Lockdown! Already tonight we've seen the debut of Beezel, as he went one-on-one with Xero in an excellent contest!"

 

"Yes, and we also saw Fugue demolish Frost, in what will rank for years as one of my favorite matches EVAR~!"

 

"I'm not sure that we were watching the same match, Bobby."

 

"Whatever. Also tonight, we saw Tom Flesher discuss his monumental victory over "TNT" Taylor Nicholas Thompson last week on Storm! Fans, it was one of the greatest matches in SWF history, and while we'd love to take you to a replay it wouldn't do Tom justice."

 

"You make me sick, Bobby."

 

"Yeah, well Tom makes me..."

 

"I suppose I should cut you off and tell our fans to STAY TUNED, because right now we've got a triple threat hardcore match for the SWF Hardcore Gamers' Championship! It's Mike Van Siclen, Johnny Dangerous, and Janus, and it should be an excellent contest! Van Siclen has already held the title once, while Janus was busy chasing the tag belts with Fugue and Johnny was busy floating around the midcard. Tonight, the three of them congregate for what should be a gangbusters match. Funyon, take it away."

 

The lights in the arena go off except for a single spotlight, shining down upon Funyon and tonight's referee, Sexton Hardcastle. Hardcastle holds up the SWF Hardcore Gamers' championship, letting all the people see it before moving out of the spotlight and handing the belt to a ring attendant. Funyon, meanwhile, begins to speak.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen! The following contest is scheduled for ONE fall, and it is a hardcore rules match for the S-W-F HAAAAAARD-COOOOOOORE GAMERS' CHAMPIONSHIP!"

 

.:Ding Ding Ding:.

 

"Johnny Dangerous..."

 

The sexy female's voice trails off as the theme from “Mission Impossible 2” by Limp Bizkit rocks out from the massive wall to wall sound system as colorful arrays of lights begins circling over the arena. On the screen various clips of Johnny Dangerous performing many spy like actions mixed with clips of Johnny’s in ring fights are displayed.

 

"Introducing first! Weighing in at two-hundred and ten pounds, this man hails from LAS VEGAS, Nevada! He is the Barracuda because he is JOOOOOOOOOOOOHNNNNNNNY DAAAAAAAAANGEROUS!"

 

Johnny strides from backstage and to the ring without a care in the world, taking the time to wink at a few ladies before hopping foot into the ring. The crowd roars for the Barracuda as he walks around the ring, before going to his corner to stretch out before his match.

 

"These fans seem to be eating Johnny Dangerous up, Bobby!"

 

"Just like me ea..."

 

Stevens yanks Riley's mic plug out of the sound box, as Bobby invariably makes a crude homosexual remark and the four quick cymbals and even quicker guitar riff that begins “Damage Done” by Dark Tranquility blasts throughout the arena, the lights going out and blue strobes begins to flash in time with the music. Mike Van Siclen steps onto the ramp, his arms extending in a bent crucifix under his acid-green jacket.

 

"Introducing second! Weighing in at two-hundred and thirty-seven pounds, he hails from Harrison, Illinois! The Spectacle himself, he is MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE VA-AN SIIIIIIIIC-LEEEEEEN!"

 

He spins around the on the ramp, grinning like a madman as he breaks out of his spin cycle and steps cockily down the entrance ramp, sliding into the ring and extending his arms to the side, dropping his arms and letting his jacket slide off and to the mat. Hardcastle, hassled, picks it up, as Mike walks over to Johnny and the two begin quietly discussing something, most likely a strategy to take out Janus.

 

"Hey, now, that's not fair!"

 

"What's not fair, Boobi?"

 

"The fact that they can double team Janus. What the f<bleep>k is that?"

 

Mark shrugs. "That's hardcore."

 

Suddenly, the arena is plunged into darkness, and the crowd alternates between cheers and whoos into the darkness as the Smarktron shows an image of a young man, with his hair recently dyed white. As the strains of Fear Factory's "Resurrection" echo through the arena, cracks slowly begin to weave through the image, and blue pyros start fountaining up on either side of the ramp. Before Funyon can speak, the voice of Burton C. Bell carries through the arena.

 

"Consumed with memories...

That preceded today...

Given a chance to bereave..

Life that's slipping AWAAAAAAAAAAAY!!"

 

As the heavy riffs roar out of the speakers, the crack-riddled image explodes into fragments, revealing the face of Janus as he is now, with a scowl on his face. His name flashes up in green text, and it proceeds to play clips of some of his more brutal spots - interspersed with flashes of his name and "Magnificent Seven", as the giant steps out onto the rampway, lit only by a spotlight as Funyon lifts up his microphone.

 

"And finally, weighing in at three-hundred and fifty pounds, he hails from Sydney, Australia! The God of Doors himself, he is JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANUS!"

 

Janus stalks down to the ring, blue pyros going off as he walks past them. In the ring, meanwhile, Dangerous and Van Siclen are set up in the center of the ring, Dangerous near the ropes while Van Siclen stands less than a foot away, his arm outstretched. As Janus walks past the part of the outside where the barrier suddenly cuts off, Van Siclen grabs Dangerous by the arm, whipping him as hard as he can across the ring. Dangerous goes flying across the ring, leaping over the top rope and looking for a plancha, but instead of catching Janus with a plancha Janus catches Johnny in mid-plancha! Seeing his ally in trouble, Van Siclen sprints across the ring, leaping over the top rope himself and catching Janus with a plancha of his own, knocking all three of them down and putting Dangerous into a pinning predicament on Janus early! Hardcastle counts -

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO - KICK OUT!" Janus powers one shoulder off of the mats on the outside, and Mike and Johnny stand up, Johnny dusting himself off and readjusting his tie while Van Siclen merely stands there, waiting for Janus to get back to his feet.

 

"Janus catches Dangerous mid-plancha, but he couldn't catch Van Siclen!"

 

"It's because they're working as a team - Janus wasn't prepared for a goddamn handicap match, he was prepared for a hardcore match!"

 

"I'm sure MVS and Johnny can go hardcore, too."

 

The big man gets to his feet easily, looking at Van Siclen and Dangerous and trying to figure out which one of them to go after first. Luckily for him he doesn't have to make that decision, as Van Siclen, obviously having not forgotten his feud with Janus in the JL, charges the giant! Janus, seeing Mike running towards him and assuming what he'll do, charges right back at Mike! Confused and unsure of what's happening, Van Siclen halts, leaving him as a sitting duck for Janus to level with a brutal lariat! Van Siclen bounces off the mats on the outside like a rag doll as Johnny Dangerous, trying to take advantage of any Janus distraction, charges the big man now, but the God of Doors simply spins around and levels Johnny with another lariat! Johnny hits the mats hard, and Janus quickly gets on top of Johnny, looking for the cover.

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"THR - TWO!" Johnny lifts his inside shoulder, and Janus, a bit upset at this but not overly worked up, grabs Johnny by his black hair, messing up Johnny's elaborate gel job as he puts the Barracuda in standing position.

 

"Janus showing his primal dominance there, catching both men with huge lariats."

 

"And now he's gonna inflict that primal rage on Johnny! C'mon, Janus, this is inferior competition you're up against!"

 

Janus grabs Johnny by the arm and whips him into the barrier, following him and crushing his body against the thin padding and steel! Janus backs up a bit and allows Johnny to stumble... right into the big man's huge hand, palming Johnny's head like a basketball and smoothly bashing it into the barrier! Johnny bounces off, landing flat on his back, and Janus goes to do something else to Johnny's vulnerable body, but he spots Van Siclen furrowing around under the ring, looking for weapons. Janus walks around the ring, grabbing Van Siclen by the back of the tights and yanking him back out from his halfway-under-the-mat position. He lifts Van Siclen to his full height - still a good ten inches shorter than Janus, naturally - and rolls him into the ring. Now Janus lifts up the apron, rummaging around for weapons and pulling out some good ones, which he easily tosses into the ring - a trifecta of chairs and a cricket bat. He rummages around further and finds something else - a table, which he pulls out and sets up on the outside of the ring, grinning deviously.

 

"I don't know what that table is for, Bobby, but it makes me fear for Van Siclen's safety!"

 

"Bahahahaha - I don't."

 

Janus now rolls into the ring himself, grabbing the cricket bat and holding it like a baseball one, waggling it around and around as he waits for Van Siclen to get to his feet. On the outside, Dangerous gets to his feet, wobbling around a bit as on the inside Van Siclen gets to his feet, initially facing away from Janus. Screams of "NOOO!" by the females in the crowd don't even faze Van Siclen as he turns around...

 

CRACK!

 

The crowd's gasps are off the decibel scale as the cricket bat splinters into about forty pieces, Van Siclen going down like a prostitute as a gully appears over his eyebrow as Janus makes the seemingly easy cover. On the outside, Johnny Dangerous has regained his bearings, and he slides into the ring.

 

"ONE!"

 

"Folks, we'd like to apologize for the short duration of that match, but Janus' awesomeness was just too immense for either Mike Van Siclen or Johnny Dangerson."

 

"TWO!"

 

"Not funny, Riley."

 

"THR - TWO COUNT!" Johnny breaks up the count, dropping a double axe handle across Janus' back and causing the big man to remove his body from Van Siclen. Johnny D, looking ready to take Janus out for the shot earlier, grabs the big man by his long white hair and lifts him to his feet.

 

"The Barracuda has that look in his eyes, Bobby, and it says "I'm going to f<bleep>k you up!""

 

"Mark, Johnny can't even f<bleep>k up a woman."

 

Johnny leads Janus by the hair over to the stack of chairs, and the Barracuda grins as he removes one chair from the stack and sets it down on the mat in front of him. Johnny then flips over, wrapping his legs around Janus' head and looking to Hurricanrana him right onto the chair... but Janus, not hurting enough from anything, grabs Johnny by the shoulders and hoists him up into powerbomb position, before slamming him to the mat and sitting out himself, right onto the chair with a vicious sitout powerbomb! The crowd cries out in boos but Janus doesn't even pay attention, instead holding the easy pin on Dangerous

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"THR - TWO!" Van Siclen dropkicks Janus in the back, causing him to let go of Johnny for long enough to let the Barracuda get a kickout. Janus lets go of Johnny, however, standing up and turning his attention to Van Siclen. Mike looks at Janus with a stare of "dear-God-no" and backs up, finally leaning on the ropes with nowhere to go. Janus smiles despicably, backing up a couple of steps and then charging Van Siclen, looking for the Cactus clothesline to the outside... but Mike ducks, bringing the top rope down with him, and Janus flips over the top rope! He manages to land on his feet on the outside, but he's off-balance as he lands and Van Siclen looks to take advantage, vaulting himself over the ropes and looking for the flying cross body on Janus... but the God of Doors catches him!

 

"Van Siclen gets caught looking for a plancha, and I'm not so sure that Johnny Dangerous will be able to bail him out!"

 

"It wouldn't matter if Dangerous was able to, because he couldn't ever no matter what."

 

"...so, he's unable to."

 

"Right."

 

Janus adjusts Mike so that the Harrison native's body is over his shoulder, in setup for a powerslam. Janus runs forward, looking for the running powerslam, but Mike manages to slide down Janus' back! Janus charges forward a few more paces before realizing that Mike is no longer on his shoulder, and he turns around, looking at Van Siclen with an evil glare. He charges the smaller man once more, but Van Siclen hits the mat, catching Janus with a slick drop toe hold! Janus' face ricochets off of the mats on the outside, bouncing him over onto his back as Van Siclen quickly gets to his feet,looking down at Janus and, with a sneer of disdain, kicks him straight in the face! Janus grabs at his jaw as he rolls over onto his stomach, Van Siclen standing over him and trying to think of what to do next.

 

"Van Siclen has Janus down on the outside, but I don't think he's sure of what he wants to do here!"

 

"If he was smart, he'd pull out a gun and blow Janus away - that's the only way Van Siclen will be able to stop him!"

 

On the inside of the ring Johnny Dangerous is finally beginning to recover from the vicious sitout powerbomb, pushing himself to his feet as Van Siclen, on the outside, reaches underneath the ring for something to use on Janus. He shuffles weapons around, looking for the perfect weapon of violence - and pulls out a baseball bat! The crowd roars, obviously remembering the vile cricket bat shot from earlier and wanting to see Mike get revenge for it! Janus is on all fours, meanwhile, pushing himself to his feet as Van Siclen turns around to face him. Janus pushes himself up so that he's on just his knees, looking to get up...

 

CRACK!

 

Van Siclen smashes the bat in three pieces while smashing Janus head like it was home run #74! Janus topples onto his back while the crowd erupts, Van Siclen standing up to his full height and yelling out "Now THAT'S a real AMERICAN bat shot!" to the delight of the fans. Johnny Dangerous, meanwhile, steadies himself on the inside of the ring before charging towards the ropes, catching the top one and springboarding off of it, flipping over once and then stretching himself out so that his entire body catches Janus with a springboard 450 splash! Johnny rolls through on the move, adjusting his tie before going over to make the cover on Janus, which Hardcastle counts...

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"THR - TWO!" Van Siclen breaks up the count with a boot to Johnny's back, causing Johnny to roll off of Janus! Van Siclen, infuriated at Johnny's attempt to steal his thunder, grabs Johnny by the hair and lifts him to his feet, yelling in his face.

 

"Johnny Dangerous with the beautiful springboard 450, but Van Siclen breaks up the count!"

 

"He's jealous, Mark! He's jealous and I love EVERY F<bleep>KING MOMENT OF IT! Keep with the jealousy, Mike!"

 

Van Siclen grabs Johnny by the right arm, running past the Barracuda to the left and wrapping Johnny's arm around his neck before sitting out with a brutal wraparound neckbreaker! Johnny hits the mats on the outside hard, and Van Siclen jumps on top of him for the cover.

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"TH - TWO!" Johnny gets the kickout on Mike, and Van Siclen looks up at Hardcastle with an "explain-that-to-me" look on his face. Hardcastle slaps his hand against his palm twice, and a frustrated Van Siclen brushes the bloody black hair out of his face as he grabs Johnny by the hair, lifting the Barracuda once more to his feet.

 

"The Blackjack Neckbreaker only manages two, Bobby, and I can't help but be a bit surprised by that."

 

"Yeah, well then you need some anti-surprise pills, because you get shocked way too quickly."

 

"I'll take that as an insult and move on."

 

Van Siclen grabs Johnny and rolls him into the ring, sliding in himself as Janus begins pushing himself to his feet on the outside. On the inside, however, Van Siclen grabs a chair, placing it almost dead-center of the ring. He proceeds to walk over to Johnny, grinning like a Cheshire cat as he lifts Dangerous to his feet, leading him by the hair over to the center of the ring, Van Siclen a mere foot from the chair. He grabs Johnny by the arm and whips him into the ropes, turning to face Johnny and bending over, preparing for a Van Slaminator onto the chair! However, as Johnny comes back he sees Mike telegraphing the move. Thinking on his feet, Dangerous flips over Mike, bringing Mike's back down onto the chair with a Sunset Flip! Johnny holds Mike in place as Hardcastle counts and Janus slides into the ring.

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"THR - TWO COUNT!" Janus levels a kick right to Johnny's spine, causing Johnny to shriek out in pain! The crowd boos as Mike rolls over onto his stomach, out of the pinning predicament, and Janus grabs Johnny and lifts him to his feet.

 

"Uh-oh, Bobby, I think Janus is just a bit angry."

 

"Indeed he is, and I think Johnny will be too when he realizes that he may have just knocked his ally out cold."

 

Janus lifts Johnny so that the two men are face to face, Janus staring daggers at the Barracuda as he wraps one giant hand around his throat! The crowd boos, but Janus doesn't even acknowledge their existence as he lifts Johnny high into the air, holding him up their like his puppet for what feels like an eternity but is really more like fifteen seconds, probably not even. The fans don't care, however - they hate the fact that Johnny is suspended in midair like a hanging man! The fans continue to boo, even as Janus falls to his knees and sends Johnny crashing to the mat! Janus doesn't remove the chokehold, however, taking advantage of the Hardcore rules by holding on for a blatant choke! The blatancy, however, doesn't equal illegalcy, as Hardcastle is powerless to do anything about it. Janus continues to choke out Dangerous, looking to possibly win the match via blackout, when suddenly...

 

WHAM!

 

Van Siclen, out of nowhere, kicks Janus right in the back of the head, and the big man topples forward to the mat, letting go of the hold on Johnny! Quickly, Van Siclen jumps on top for the cover!

 

"ONE!"

 

"TWO!"

 

"THR - TWO COUNT!" The count stops as Janus gets his arm up, but it's obvious that the tide is beginning to turn as Van Siclen gets to his feet, bouncing around and hyping himself up, causing the crowd to be hyped up as well! Johnny Dangerous gets to his feet, and he and Van Siclen have a short conference, discussing what the plan is to knock Janus out!

 

"I don't know what Van Siclen and Dangerous are planning, but I have a feeling it will be the end for Janus!"

 

"I... I'm just not feelin' it, Mark."

 

MVS and Johnny nod quickly and Mike walks over to Janus, lifting the giant to his feet and whipping him into the turnbuckle, following him as he hits the buckle and catching him with a flying forearm! Van Siclen ricochets off of Janus and bails to the outside as Janus bounces off the turnbuckle and stumbles out, right to where Johnny Dangerous is standing, waiting! As Janus staggers by Johnny, the Barracuda plants a knee in his back and wraps one around his neck, putting the giant into inverted DDT position! The crowd erupts as Johnny pulls Janus back a little bit, then hops up onto the top turnbuckle! Van Siclen, now, slides a chair into the ring, in front of Janus! The crowd erupts even more as Van Siclen yells out "JOHNNY D!", and the crowd roars as Johnny flips over Janus, keeping his hold on Janus' neck and bringing him down with a diamond cutter, completing the diamond dust right onto the chair!

 

"COVER UP ONTO THE STEEL CHAIR! My God, Riley, that could've destroyed Janus' spinal cord!"

 

"Let's hope it didn't, Mark, I don't think our roster could stand to lose someone as infinitely talented as Janus!"

 

The crowd goes gangbusters for the big move, Janus rolling onto his back and clutching his neck in a position parallel to the turnbuckle. Johnny Dangerous, meanwhile, gets to his feet, dusting off his black pants and re-adjusting his tie. On the outside, Van Siclen attempts takes advantage of the sudden momentum by climbing onto the ring apron and going over to the turnbuckle, looking at it and then looking at Janus, a devious look in his eyes. The twenty-three-year old lets out a roar of desire, his eyes flashing with an untamed fury as he pulls back on the ropes, leaning back for momentum before yanking himself forward, jumping onto the turnbuckle and doing a quarter-turn in midair so that his body faces the fans! Just as quickly as he lands on the turnbuckle he bounces off again, backflipping so that his outstretched body is aimed straight at Janus...

 

CRUNCH!

 

Van Siclen hits Janus hard with a moonsault, Janus' back grinding into the chair! The crowd erupts as Van Siclen stands up, looking at Johnny and smiling. Johnny looks back, looking at Van Siclen with a stare of near sympathy, and then Johnny sidesteps forward, Van Siclen not even having enough time to turn away before Johnny's leg shoots up and

 

CRACK!

 

"JOHNNY KICK! Johnny Dangerous just kicked Mike right in the goddamn mouth, Bobby!"

 

"Nice to see him getting revenge on Van Siclen for blasting him earlier! This whole "Men Divided" thing will be pretty interesting three years from now, when we look at Janus' illustrious two-year reign."

 

Dangerous turns around on one foot after kicking Van Siclen, facing away from the Chicago native and readjusting his tie. He turns back to Van Siclen, debating to himself whether or not to make the pinfall but then deciding the other option. He looks at the ropes, then looks at Van Siclen very exaggeratedly. He does it once more, stalling and allowing Janus to roll over onto his stomach and grab onto the bottom rope. Janus continues to lift himself as the crowd erupts, pretty sure they know what Dangerous is looking for, and the announcers go nuts as well as Johnny dashes for the ropes! He bounces off of them and charges back, looking for the Armed and Dangerous on Van Siclen... but his excessive showboating has given Janus a chance to get to his feet, and the big man wraps one large, meaty hand around Johnny's neck!

 

"Dangerous looks for the Armed and Dangerous fist drop on Van Siclen, but Janus just no poboed that!"

 

"JANUS WITH THE NO POBO! THIS IS SUPERIOR LIKE FLESHER, BABY!"

 

Janus holds Dangerous there as near the ropes Van Siclen grabs at the ropes, trying to lift himself to his feet. Janus gives Johnny a mighty knee to the stomach, doubling the spy over and knocking his tie out of his jacket. Janus grabs Johnny around the waist and thrusts Dangerous' head between his legs, putting him into a standing headscissors as the crowd boos heavily! Janus ignores them, however, wrapping his huge arms around Johnny's comparatively tiny waist and hauling the small man up into powerbomb position. Showing off his brute strength even after all of the big moves, he walks over to the ropes, prompting a "GOD NO!" from Stevens! Van Siclen leans against the ropes for balance, able to do nothing but watch as Janus lifts Dangerous higher into the air, and then throws him out of the ring, letting Dangerous fall all...

 

the way..

 

down!

 

And hit the table, set up earlier in the match! The thin wood splinters and the only thing left to protect Johnny from the wrath of the concrete is the thin mats on the outside! The crowd erupts even harder in boos as Johnny lay on the outside, rolling over and groaning loudly before finally stopping on his back, his tie draped over his face limply.

 

"DARK BOMB TO THE OUTSIDE AND THROUGH A TABLE BY JANUS! But does he have enough to take out Van Siclen, too?"

 

"Oh, Stevens, you need to stop asking these half-assed rhetorical questions."

 

Van Siclen, now completely on his feet, kicks the chair used for the Cover Up and Moonsault so that it's behind Janus. The big man, aware of Van Siclen's presence, turns around to face him... and catches a swift kick to the stomach for his troubles! Janus doubles over, and Mike quickly takes advantage of this, wrapping one arm around the big man's neck to put him into DDT position! He raises one arm for the benefit of the crowd, sucking in the cheers like a lightning rod before quickly whipping around a half-turn, grabbing Janus' head with his left arm to put him into Bulldog position! No time to waste, Van Siclen leaps forward, bringing Janus' head with him and driving it straight into the steel chair with a vicious Code Red! The crowd pops huge for the move as Janus' face bounces off of it, sending his entire body onto his back. A thin red trickle appears on Janus' forehead, and Van Siclen, tired but energized, wipes his blood-streaked hair out of his face and jumps on top of Janus for the pin as Hardcastle counts, the crowd behind every number!

 

"ONE!"

 

 

"TWO!"

 

 

 

 

"THRE...

 

E!"

 

.:Ding Ding Ding:.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, YOUR winner, via pinfall, and the NEEEEEEEEEEEW Smarks Wrestling Federation HAAAAAAAAARD-COOOOOOORE GAMERS' CHAMPION.... MIIIIIIIIIKE VA-AN SIIIIIIC-LEEEEEEN!"

 

The crowd again roars as Van Siclen rolls off of Janus, pushing himself up into a sitting position as Hardcastle hands him the Hardcore Gamers' title. Van Siclen slings the belt over his arm, pushing himself to his feet and stepping out of the ring, hopping off of the apron. He slowly makes his way to the back, "Damage Done" playing as he disappears through the curtain.

 

"Janus and Johnny both looked to have it won at different stages of the match, but ultimately Mike Van Siclen managed to do both of them in!"

 

"Hey, maybe he'll hold the belt for more than four days this time!"

 

"...anything's possible, Bobby. We'll be back with more SWF Lockdown, right after this!"

 

...fade out.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

MVS vs. Johnny Dangerous vs. Janus analysis:

 

Just like in Janus match, we have a similar but logical story of the smaller men teaming up in the beginning. Sweet spot to start off with a three man plancha, good way to engage the crowd. Much like Janus’ match, the two faces make the mistake of charging Janus one at time, this time eating Lariats. Unoffensive transition.

 

Janus muscles Dangerous around until he spots MVS looking for weapons. I don’t like how Janus just grabs MVS with no resistance, and just rolls him in the ring. Janus even has enough time to look for a weapon of his own, while MVS is still laying down in the ring. Just a second ago, he can look for weapons now he is down from being simply rolled into the ring. A bit inconsistent selling.

 

Janus gets a near fall on MVS, but Dangerous makes the save. The Hurricanrana into DYNAMIC BOMB on tables spot is always good, as long as the Hurricanrana is a part of Dangerous’ offense, so it isn’t forced transition. MVS making the save on the pin is a good way to keep the spots cred.

 

The whole miss lariat, pescado, power slam, drop toe hold spot on the outside was beautiful. I like how MVS revenge motivation is mentioned, as he slams the ball bat over Janus head. Dangerous trying to steal the pin was pretty cool, but I don’t know if he had quite enough time to recover before pulling off a crazy move like that, afterall he just took a Powerbomb on a stack of chairs. It’s also good to give them a motivation for turning on each other.

 

The Van Slaminator to Sunset Flip spot was pretty good. Janus breaking it up, and scoring with a Nodowa was cool. Always cool to have a match move from high spot to high spot as the end approaches, it also gives the impression of non stop action. MVS getting a near fall of a kick to head is sweet, always good to see strikes get the treatment they deserve.

 

I don’t know if I buy MVS and Dangerous working as a team again, but oh well, I guess it makes some sense since Janus came in and kicked some ass when they were fighting each other. The double team Diamond Dust spot, I like, it ran pretty smoothly. MVS connecting with a moonsault is the icing on the cake, this match feels like it’s being worked at a Hell on Wheels pace. Dangerous turning on MVS with the Superkick seems to work, especially since it sets up the Darkbomb to the outside from Janus. I like how the High Spot takes him out for good, rather than having him come back later. MVS putting Janus away with the Code Red on the chair, is a pretty fitting way to close the match.

 

Overall:

 

For a three way Hardcore match this wasn’t too bad, actually it was pretty good for what it was. There are minimal flaws, the selling is decent for a Hardcore match, the spots are not too contrived and overly crazy(maybe a tad), with the sickest bump being saved for last, and the whole match had a fun, fast-paced flow to it.