HD:Zack runs The Gauntlet

[Zack Malibu 0]

Matched up against the most brutal weapon in La Cucaracha's arsenal, Zack walks forward, standing nose to nose with his Samoan rival...and then drills him with a headbutt, catching the beast with his guard down!

 

COLE

That's one way to kick this off!

 

Faqu covers his face, but Zack grabs ahold of him and pulls him close, then rocks him with a kneelift before hitting the ropes! As he rebounds, Faqu takes a swing at him, but Zack ducks under it, then comes off the far side and stuns Faqu with a clothesline. The Wrecking Ball is rocked, but doesn't topple over, even as Zack unloads with hard chops. He takes Faqu and sends him in, but the whip is reversed, only for Zack to deliver a hard kick to Faqu when he drops his head! Zack then takes him by the head and peppers him with forearm shots, drawing blood from the nose of his foe! Faqu shoves Zack away, but Malibu rolls with it and pops back up to his feet...but as he charges in he gets dumped on the canvas with a release uranage by Faqu, who is none too happy at the sight of his own blood staining his hands!

 

COLE

Zack started off in a fury, hoping to catch Faqu off guard, but it's only seemed to make the monster madder!

 

Zack stands up, and when he does Faqu hits a blistering roundhouse kick to the ribs, then sets Zack up for a suplex...but Zack slips out and spins Faqu around...only to catch a knee to the gut! Faqu then hits the suplex he was trying for moments ago, and then follows up by pulling Zack up to a seated position and then cracking him across the back with a kick, the sound of his foot smacking Zack on the back echoing through the arena! He pulls Zack up and snapmares him over, and again follows up with a hard kick to the back, laying Zack out. The big man then starts running, hitting the ropes...but as he comes back to attempt more damage to the Preppy One, Zack kips up and floors him with a lariat that drops him down to the mat!

 

COACH

YO~!

 

COLE

Hard, high-impact shot out of nowhere from Zack! He sprung right off the mat and nailed that madman with a brutal blow!

 

Zack circles the ring, working the crowd as Faqu tries to shake off the effects of the blow. He gets up, but Zack is right on top of things, peppering him with a pair of right hands before bringing him in close. Zack tries to trap him in a butterfly lock, but the intense islander struggles, and elevates Zack over with a backdrop. Malibu lands with a thud, and as soon as he comes up he's barrelled over with a running shoulderblock from the mammoth Faqu! Faqu growls, calling Zack to his feet, but the former World Champion doesn't come up as quickly as he did with that kip-up earlier. As Zack comes up, he's rocked with a chop that knocks him right back down, and almost as soon as he hits canvas, he's dragged up and sent to the corner. Faqu charges in, but Zack kicks both of his legs up and drives his feet across Faqu's cheekbone, driving him back! He then comes and takes Faqu by the head and rams it into the top turnbuckle not once, not twice, not even three times...but a succession of five head rams STILL isn't enough to topple the beast! Zack then takes him by the head and sits up on the ropes, signaling for a tornado DDT...but as he lands, Faqu hits a Northern Lights suplex, putting Zack on the wrong end of a pinning predicament!

 

ONE!

 

T-KICKOUT!

 

There's no bridging out of this one, as the girth of the Samoan is too much for Zack to handle. Faqu gets to his feet and brings Zack up, then dumps him back on the canvas with a fireman's carry. He then stands up and presses his foot down on Zack's throat, causing Zack to kick his legs as he tries to stop the blocking of air! Faqu then comes off the ropes and drops a big leg across the throat, and again goes for the cover!

 

ONE!

 

TW-NO!

 

Zack again finds himself led to his feet, and soon after he's thrown into the corner and struck with a flurry of hard chops which are then capped off by a throat thrust! Zack would be back on the mat if it weren't for the turnbuckles holding him up, but they're actually leaving him prone to the assault, as Faqu charges across the ring and sandwhiches Zack against the turnbuckles! Before he can collapse, Faqu picks Zack up and sets him up on the top rope, then climbs up the ropes himself, rocking the ring as he brings his enemy down from the top with a superplex!

 

COLE

Faqu continuing to bring the pain, leaving Zack hurting after that devesating superplex!

 

Faqu gets up, then drops a headbutt on Zack, making sure he stays put as he runs the ropes and comes off with a big splash, flattening Zack under the weight of his huge frame! Once again, Faqu goes for a pin, hooking the leg of the prep and sneering at the referee!

 

ONE!

 

TWO!

 

NO! KICKOUT!

 

Faqu gets up and delivers a primal scream as he takes his foot and stomps Zack hard in the chest, then hits the ropes again and hits a second splash, flattening Zack like a pancake! He pulls Zack up and readies him for a powerbomb...but when Zack his hoisted up onto his shoulders he starts hammering him with right hands, knocking Faqu senseless! Zack gets dropped to his feet, and unloads with a discus clothesline...but Faqu ducks it! As Zack turns back around, Faqu lifts him off his feet and runs him to the corner, slamming him against the turnbuckles! Zack falls to a seated position, and Faqu measures him up, snarling with glee that Malibu is about to be destroyed. He charges in, looking to crush Zack's head against the turnbuckle...but at the last second, Zack moves!

 

COACH

He got outta there in the nick of time, Mikey Cole, otherwise his head would've exploded like Gallagher's watermelon!

 

Faqu slams into the turnbuckles, drawing a loud pop from the crowd, who are trying to motivate their hero. Zack comes up to his feet and hits an enzugiri kick to the back of Faqu's head, dropping him to one knee, and then quickly heads out to the apron, springboarding back in with a bulldog on the savage Samoan!

 

ONE!

 

TWO!

 

NO!

 

Faqu is rattled, and Zack looks to keep things that way by planting a kneedrop in his temple, then mounting his shoulders and elbowing the hell out of him! Faqu, whose blood was already spilt earlier with that headbutt, has his nose shifted from left to right as Malibu drives the points of his elbows across his face, only to be thrown off. Zack gets up and charges, but finds himself regretting it as Faqu scoops him up across his shoulders and then falls back, crushing Zack with a brutal Samoan drop!

 

COLE

Samoan drop by Faqu, and Zack is down again!

 

COACH

You know Michael, in Samoa, they just call that a drop.

 

Zack curls up into a ball, having just had his ribs turned into dust. Faqu gets up and glares at the crowd as he reaches down and drags Zack by the arm to a more open spot in the ring. With Zack laid out, Faqu goes over to the ropes and starts to climb, drawing the interest of everyone in attendance since high-risk is not usually his style!

 

The crowd shows their support, encouraging Zack with a loud chant of his name as he stands up...and as soon as Faqu rises, Zack targets him, running across the ring and driving a knee to the side of his head, nailing him with the ZACK ATTACK~! Faqu falls back, but gets caught from falling by landing against the ropes, only to be sent running while in a daze due to the blow, and caught with a snap powerslam from Zack on the rebound!

 

COACH

He just scooped him right up like he was nothing!

 

COLE

Zack is on the warpath, but he has to watch how much energy he's expending...he still has a ways to go in this Gauntlet Match!

 

After flooring the sizable Samoan, Zack brings him up and rocks him with a pair of European uppercuts, causing Faqu to teeter but not topple. Zack then unloads with hard strikes, a Malibu trademark, as Faqu is defenseless against the onslaught of palm strikes and then dropped with a roaring elbow! Zack lures Faqu to his feet and then sends him into motion, tossing him into the corner before following up with a ZACK ATTACK II~!, driving both of his knees into the chest of the big man! Zack then whips him to the other side, this time Faqu colliding chest first with the buckles...and a second Zack Attack II follows, with Zack's knees driven into his back! Woozy, the big man staggers back, and Malibu takes him and hoists him up, planting him with a German suplex!

 

ONE!

 

TWO!

 

THR-NO! NO! SHOULDER UP!

 

COLE

What an onslaught we just saw there, and it STILL wasn't enough to put that animal down!

 

With sweat beading up on his brow, Zack rolls to his feet and waits on Faqu, crouching in the ready position for his trademark match-ender. As Faqu rises, Zack bursts forward with SCHOOL'S OUT, only to have his foot caught! Faqu throws his leg down and then snatches Zack by the throat, but the persistent prep quickly breaks free by driving an elbow into his cheekbone! Faqu backs away, then fires off a roundhouse kick, but Zack ducks it and uses a quick go-behind, then lifts Faqu again and drops him on the back of his head with a release German that shakes the ring! Holding his head, Faqu fumbles as he tries to stand, and is defenseless this time when Zack makes a second attempt for School's Out, this time cracking the Samoan in the jaw with his trademark superkick!

 

COACH

Damn, they musta heard that smack outside!

 

Faqu drops, and Zack drops on top, hooking the leg as the fans count along...

 

ONE!

 

TWO!!

 

THREE!!!

 

COLE

He got him! Zack Malibu just scored a victory over Landon Maddix's personal wrecking ball, and now Zack STILL has to face the rest of Cucaracha Internacional!

 

COACH

Faqu might not've gotten the win, but he certainly did his part in wearing Zack down for whoever comes out next!

 

Zack gets to his feet and leans on the top rope, watching the aisleway to see who comes out next. Sure enough, it's none other than the leader himself, LANDON MADDIX, who starts coming to the ring slowly. Zack, looking tired and worn, steps back and waves Landon on, eager to lay a hurting on the man who stole the World Title from him just one year ago. Zack keeps an eye on Landon as he approaches the ring...and that's his fatal mistake, as James Blonde nails him from behind with a rabbit lariat!

 

COLE

HEY! What the hell is he doing!?

 

COACH

So wait...is Landon next, or James Blonde?

 

Maddix is all smiles as he rolls into the ring, while Blonde keeps Zack down by stomping him in the back of the head. At ringside, Nathaniel Black makes his presence felt as well, coming over the railing from the crowd, the same way James Blonde appeared! Hurling Michael Buffer to the floor, Black grabs the steel chair and folds it up, sliding into the ring as Blonde pulls Zack up...and waylays him with a brutal chair shot across the head!

 

COLE

Damn him! This was never meant to be a Gauntlet, Coach. This was all a set up! They're trying to take Zack out before this Sunday, before the War Games!

 

CI stands tall, and the numbers grow as Todd Cortez makes his way down to the ring, taking his time and drawing Landon's ire because of it.

 

COLE

Todd Cortez out now, and here's a guy who really doesn't want to be doing what he's doing.

 

Zack is pulled up off the canvas again, this time with blood dripping down his face. Black and Blonde hold his arms out, and Faqu gets up and comes off the ropes with a running kick, smashing Zack across the face. Zack drops to the canvas again, and as Black pulls him up, Landon tells him to hold on. Maddix turns to Cortez, who is watching his stablemates, all people he'd rather do without in his life, brutalize the OAOAST's hero. Maddix makes a familiar motion to Cortez, then tells him to grab Zack up off the mat.

 

COLE

Landon Maddix wants Zack Malibu out of the way come Sunday, and he wants Todd Cortez to do his dirty work!

 

COACH

There's a history there with Zack, both good and bad, but knowing Cortez, this is the last thing he wants to do right now.

 

Cortez refuses to move, not going after Zack despite Landon's wishes. Maddix, growing frustrated, drags Zack over to Cortez and drops him at his feet, ordering him to lay Zack out. Still, Cortez won't move, and that's when the rest of Landon's crew moves in, looking to treat Cortez as they have Zack tonight. Cortez stares Landon down, then quickly moves for Zack, pulling him up and setting him up for a RIOT ACT PLUS~!

 

COLE

Damn it, Cortez, don't do it! You don't have to do it!

 

The fans try to call off Todd's intentions as well, as he readies Zack...and then shoves Zack back down to the mat! Incensed, Landon spins Todd around, but Todd winds up taking Landon by the throat and lifting him off his feet, driving him down with an URBAN ASSAULT~!

 

COACH

YO~!

 

COLE

INSUBORDINATION AT ITS FINEST!

 

Cortez lays out the man he hates more than anything, drawing a huge reaction from the crowd! It's a short-lived freedom celebration however, as the rest of Cucaracha Internacional pounce, pummeling Cortez before he can get up off the canvas!

 

COLE

Cortez proved to be defiant tonight, not allowing Landon Maddix to blackmail him into doing his dirty work any longer, but he's paying the price right now!

 

With Landon and Zack both down, it's still a three on one situation, reminiscent of a gang beating from Todd's old neighborhood...and just like in those days more people want to get in on the action, as BOHEMOTH and SLY SOMMERS come charging down the aisle!

 

COACH

Here comes the cavalry, Mikey Cole!

 

Bo slides into the ring and immediately tosses a charging Black over the top rope and to the floor with a back bodydrop that splatters him at ringside!

 

COLE

There goes one!

 

With Black out of the way, Sommers and Bohemoth square off with the internationally reknowned duo of Blonde and Faqu, trading blows with their War Games opposition...until James Cone appears to chop block Sly from behind, again putting the odds in favor of the rulebreakers!

 

COLE

James Cone, the captain of this War Games team is out now, and no matter what, it looks like the odds are stacked against Sly and his allies!

 

Blonde and Cone double up on Sly, and with Blonde holding Sommers at bay, Cone picks up the chair that's been left on the canvas, stained with Zack's blood from the earlier shot. Looking positively vindictive as he playfully jabs the end of the chair at Sly's throat, Cone cocks the chair back, ready to lay out the captain of the opposing team...until LEON RODEZ hits the ring and steals the chair from him, throwing it aside!

 

COACH

SILKY SMOOTH, BABY!

 

COLE

Leon Rodez!

 

Cone fumes at the save, while Sly kicks his leg back, striking Blonde low, and then hitting a low blow on Cone as well! Sly gets up and he and Leon team up, taking Cone and tossing him through the ropes to the floor, collding with Nathaniel Black as he attempts to get back in the ring!

 

COLE

James Cone just got sent airborne, and Nathaniel Black was the collateral damage on that one!

 

Cone and Black get up, both stunned and both angered by the infractions against them...which continue as Rodez and Sommers hit stereo dives from the top turnbuckle, dropping down onto their foes on the outside! At the same time, Bo disposes of Faqu by dumping him over the ropes with a clothesline, and Todd Cortez sends Blonde packing as well, catching him with a spin kick off the ropes that sends him rolling to the floor! With the crowd at a fever pitch, the only man left in the ring is Landon Maddix, who gets up and turns around to come face to face with a blood-covered Zack Malibu! Gulping and in fear of what's to come, Landon steps back, but winds up backing into the "other" last person he'd want to run into at this point, that being Cortez!

 

COACH

I have a feeling that this whole thing might be backfiring as we speak!

 

Landon turns around, and without warning, Todd takes him by the head and sets him up for a RIOT ACT PLUS, but Landon bails and goes running from ringside, into the aisleway to regroup with his alliance. Standing tall in the ring though, are now five men, and it looks as though Cortez's defiance has not only made Cucaracha Internacional and James Cone irate, but it's evened the odds for Sunday!

 

COLE

An alliance that we've never expected, but one that is certainly formidable. It looks like Sly's got his squad together, because Zack Malibu, Bohemoth, and now Todd Cortez and Leon Rodez are standing side by side with him, calling out James Cone and company!

 

The heels fume in the aisleway, while in the ring, a tense handshake is seen between Leon and Todd. With the memories of two years ago having come up in conversation recently, it appears that Todd is ready to make some amends by fighting on the same side, doing his best to abolish the slavery Landon has him under.

 

COLE

The Great Angle Bash is this Sunday, and if tonight's mayhem got you fired up, imagine what you'll see when two rings are enclosed by a steel cage! James Cone, Landon Maddix, Faqu, James Blonde and Nathaniel Black, taking on Sly Sommers, Zack Malibu, Bohemoth, Leon Rodez and Todd Cortez! Fans, it's this Sunday and it's not something to miss! For Da Coach, I'm Michael Cole saying we'll see you this Sunday!