UCW Meltdown – September 5 – Wednesday Night Action Zone

As the opening strains of Guns’ N’ Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle blast from the screen, we are shown brief highlights from last weeks edition of UCW Meltdown. Sting called out Batista, offering him a UCW Title shot there and then on the spot, however as The Animal came out to accept, these proceedings were interrupted by Jim Cornette, who re-enforced his position by sending Batista to the locker room. Team 3D earned another victory, before seeing another video message from LAX, before Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe fought to a double-count-out on the outside, following some intense action, leaving no winner and a vacancy for No.1 Contender. Then during the Peep Show, Christian Cage made his case to be considered as such, before introducing Father James Mitchell who then introduced his New Monster, Kane with a video package via the Big Screen, until Abyss came down to ringside, destroying Mitchell’s Meltdown security, before a distraction via flaming pyro allowed Mitchell to escape, but now this is surely only the beginning of the story. Finally in our main event match, Ric Flair shocked the world by choosing Triple H, for his mystery Tag Team partner, against the team of King Booker & Randy Orton. And after an intense match, the King of Kings had the definitive final say on debut, finishing Randy Orton with a devastating Pedigree for the 1-2-3, as King Booker ran.

And as this footage ends and we cut away to the live opening of this weeks show, joining JR & King at ringside in the Action Zone, following a huge pyro display. And, wasting no time we see Jim Cornette make his way down the ramp with a thoughtful expression on his face, armed with a clip board in one hand and, as he enters the ring, he claims a mic and begins to address the Action Zone crowd. As Cornette begins… “Good evening to you all. Now…last week, as you know we were due to determine our No.1 Contender…the man to face Sting for the UCW Title at Revolution on PPV. But, however when Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe fought hard to a double-count-out, matters remained unsolved…and I have been deep in thought all week to bring you, our Meltdown fans…a workable solution, for both men involved and for business… This is why, since I informed them off my plans, both Kurt & Joe have the night off, having agreed to my compromised solution, given the facts of the matter at hand. After all, Samoa Joe did not beat Kurt Angle…Kurt Angle did not beat Samoa Joe, consequently not only did neither man win…but in reality neither man lost either, therefore…it is my final decision that on September 16…Live on PPV at Revolution, Meltdown’s main event for the UCW Championship, will be…The Icon Sting vs. …”

I WALK ALONE! But suddenly the Action Zone crowd erupts with a huge cheer, before The Animal Batista makes his way through the curtain and down the ramp. Accompanied by the heavy metal sounds of Saliva and his trademark pyro display, Batista is dressed in a custom-made suit as Cornette now looks on with mild disdain. The Animal then climbs the steel ring-steps and makes his way through the ropes, claiming a mic from the time-keeper and taking time to remove his sun-glasses, before turning to stand face-to-face with the GM, as the crowd gradually falls silent, Batista says…“Let me stop you, before you say…what I think you were about to… because last week, when Angle & Joe fought to a double-count-out in their match, honestly I didn’t see two guys that didn’t lose…I just saw two guys that simply failed! Failed to get the job done and because of that, neither one of them deserves the shot… But I do…since Meltdown began, I have done nothing but get the job done and now, one way or another I want my shot at the UCW Championship…and I demand it…” Cornette then says…“Well, Batista…I must say I am impressed with your ambition, last week you got in Sting’s face…and you seem to be serious about being champion. You make a good point about Angle & Joe, and you have certainly got the job done, yourself…so, if you want a shot at Sting and the UCW Championship at Revolution, you will have to earn it…later tonight…in a No.1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match…”

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1! But before The Animal can begin to respond to the GM’s words, he is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of both Christian Cage and Tomko, making their entrance and, stopping halfway down the ramp, with a mic in hand, Cage says… “Damn it, Cornette…can’t you do anything right…you need to make the right choice! The man who deserves the title shot, is right here…the Instant Classic Christian Cage, need I say more? You see, I am the man who made Sting…I even made Meltdown... Because without me there would be no High Rating, there would be no PPV buy-rates and lets face it…this bone-idle, gym-freak in the ring…can’t even hold my jock… But of course, he asks for a title shot and he jumps ahead of the line…that’s Bullshit!  Jimmy, you need to do the right thing…if there is a Gauntlet Match…Put me in it…” Cornette then says…“Well, Christian Cage, ask and you shall receive…no problem, you’re in the Gauntlet Match and so is your buddy Tomko…as well as, Batista… Now, starting places will be drawn out at random and the last man standing at the end will be the No.1 Contender and will face Sting…for the UCW Title at Revolution…” And with that, as Batista smiles with satisfaction having finally gained an opportunity, he turns towards Christian Cage & Tomko on the ramp, as they begin to back away.

We then join JR & King at ringside, while Cage & Tomko head through the curtain, while Batista remains at ringside as he accepts the cheers of the crowd, JR says… “Welcome once again to UCW’s Wednesday Night Action Zone, I am Jim Ross and, King what a night we have in store…including that Gauntlet Match just announced?” King says…“That’s right JR; Batista was able to convince Jim Cornette that he deserves the chance and now he has it…but that’s not all we have coming-up later!” JR says…“Right you are King, we have the Latin-American Exchange in action, making their first appearance since winning the Tag Team Titles at Hellbound, however strangely I have not seen or heard from Team 3D all day…very strange…” King says…“Plus we have The Monster Abyss in action as we await the arrival, following weeks of build-up, of James Mitchell and Kane…JR, could it be tonight?” JR says…“I wouldn’t rule it out, but also we have the first words from The Game, Triple H who made his un-announced debut last week in the Meltdown Action Zone. Tonight the King of Kings will address us all, but for now let the action begin…”

MATCH 1 Abyss vs. Kenny Dykstra

With Kenny already waiting in the ring, the music of Abyss sounds in the arena, coming down the ramp to face his opponent, as Dykstra appears terrified with fear. And when the opening bell sounds, Kenny briefly attempts to stay away from Abyss, before slowly moving in to lock-up, but as the agile, smaller Dykstra out-manoeuvres The Monster into a high-standing headlock, Abyss immediately over-powers Kenny, shoving him off and into the ropes, then taking him down with a stiff shoulder block. From that moment, the match was all in the hands of Abyss as he went through his destructive arsenal of moves, from his big boot that acts like a kick from a horse, sending Kenny down, to his vice-like bear-hug that drains the breath out of a man. Eventually utilising his Shock Treatment, a brutally effective sit-down back-breaker, to a debilitating Choke Slam and finally as Kenny made an attempt to break away, hitting the ropes, looking to mount an attack, he ran head-on into a Black Hole Slam as Abyss swung Kenny around and took him down to deliver this most brutal finisher, scoring the 1-2-3 and earning victory, but as the ref raises the hand of The Monster… Attention turns towards the entrance way as Father James Mitchell slowly appears, strolling casually down the ramp, before stopping half-way and engaging Abyss, before The Monster turns to the edge of the ring, stepping easily over the top rope, dropping down from the apron and proceeding to head up the ramp towards Mitchell, enraged at his former mentor and seething with anger as he begins to advance…

THE FIRE BURNS! But after a deafening explosion of towering burning flames, attention turns to the very top of the entrance ramp, as Mitchell begins an evil laugh. And with Abyss taken aback by the sudden inferno, the arena crowd fills with awe before Kane comes through the curtain, accompanied by his Slow Chemical theme. Walking down the ramp with a purpose, and a look of sadistic wrath in his eyes, Mitchell appears overjoyed as the Big Red Machine makes his way towards Abyss. But as The Monster sees this sight ahead of him, he does not hesitate for a moment, stepping towards Kane as these two giant behemoths begin to brawl back and forth.  Kane advances and connects with a huge powerful right hand to the head of Abyss, rocking The Monster until he comes back with a brutal shot of his own rocking Kane. But when the action continues up the ramp and onto the stage of the Action Zone, Abyss looks to connect again as a team of Meltdown security comes in to view, spilling out onto the stage, desperately attempting to diffuse this volatile situation. And as security flocks toward Abyss, Mitchell quickly restrains his monster Kane, while Abyss resists the advances of security as even more Meltdown staff arrives, surrounding Abyss who once again violently begins to fend them off one by one, sending them running for safety away from him, as Mitchell now releases Kane. Before the Big Red Machine now advances, stalking Abyss at a distance from behind until Abyss turns around and walks directly into a devastating big boot from Kane, sending The Monster down to the solid steel floor of the stage with brutal authority. And as Kane stands over the fallen caucus of Abyss and begins to laugh-out-loud, Mitchell leads the Big Red Machine through the curtain, away from the security, before we cut away as The Monster now lays motionless, on the Action Zone stage.  

We are then shown a strange promotional vignette featuring some familiar characters. With a blank screen, gradually the music from the Godfather movie begins to play, while the following random dictionary definitions scroll slowly across the TV screen.

Voodoo…“A person skilled in the art or use of…Witchcraft…OR…Black Magic!

Kin…“One or more people closely related by either…Blood…OR…character!

Mafia…“An organised group or body of men…regarded for its’ sinister influence!

Tag Team…“A wrestling partnership formed with an endeavour for infinite success!

VKM…“Coming Soon to UCW Meltdown…the Action Zone will never be the same!

And as the footage comes to an end, displayed scrolling slowly across the blank screen once again, accompanied by the Godfather theme music are the letters…VKM.

We then join Borash in the backstage area, with both Father James Mitchell & Kane. JB says…“James Mitchell we just saw the debut of Kane here on UCW Meltdown and following your actions, Abyss was laid out on the stage and, I am speechless…” Mitchell then says…“Abyss, let this be a lesson to you…and to all who doubted me! Kane is now here and he will not rest until he is the only monster in the Action Zone. Tonight Abyss, was only the start and rest assured if you bring yourself to Revolution, the Big Red Machine will finish what he started here…but it won’t be pretty, ha, ha!” Kane then grabs JB’s hand, with the mic and raises it to his mouth, before saying… “My life was torn apart…So much pain, suffering and nobody ever cared about me… But now I have a Father…And Abyss will burn in hell, just like I did…ha, ha, ha!” Then as Kane releases his grip and JB staggers backwards, Mitchell simply laughs, before he leads the Big Red Machine away from view, as we now return to ringside.

MATCH 2 Latin-American Exchange vs. Cade & Murdock

LAX! With Homicide & Hernandez receiving an overwhelming crowd reaction, coming through the curtain displaying the UCW Tag Team Championship Belts, Hernandez hanging his belt from his vest and Homicide draping his around his neck, both men enter the ring and signal to the Action Zone crowd with LAX hand signals, before Cade & Murdock arrive and face the brunt of the crowds displeasure as usual. And following the bell Cade initially attempts to intimidate the smaller Homicide, however the rugged Texan soon learns that Homicide possess the speed advantage. And, despite the dirty tactics used by Cade & Murdock, their experience as a team means nothing as Homicide is able to take advantage of a mild-miscommunication, enabling him to dive towards his corner and earn a hot tag to his partner, Hernandez. And as the big man enters the ring, the match turns around as his power soon shows. And while he cleans house on Cade before nailing Murdock down and off the apron, Homicide quickly climbs to the top rope as Hernandez picks Cade up, off his feet, lifts him high into the air and drops him down to the canvas with the Border Toss, Homicide comes crashing down on top of Cade with an elbow off the top turnbuckle, before Hernandez then kneels down to make the cover on Cade, earning the victory. Homicide & Hernandez then get their hands raised in victory before sharing a high-5, and making LAX signs with their hands, acknowledging their supporters in the crowd. But as they were handed the UCW Tag Team Belts by the ref, raising them up-high…

Our attention is then drawn to the Big Screen as a commercial begins to air, accompanied by jeers from the live crowd along with the following voice-over… “The following announcement has been paid for by the supporters of Team 3D…” And as the screen then focuses on the shot of a run-down country village dirt track, deep in the middle-of-nowhere, the camera then turns to the opposite direction, focusing upon the images of Brother Ray and Brother Devon walking towards us. Brother Ray then says…“Welcome to our beloved home town of Dudleyville… That’s right, I said Dudley-Ville…so sue me! Ya know, Homicide, Hernandez… Devon & me got a little sick of you staying away, dodging us these past two weeks, so we thought we would come back home and make our own Team 3D commercial. You see, you may have the people fooled…the people who cheer for you each week, who wear LAX T-shirts and wave Latino flags and carry banners of support for you. But we know the truth…we know why you have not been in the Action Zone lately, ever since Hellbound…since you stole out Tag Team Titles away from us that night! The reason is, you are scared…You are scared of the beating that is coming to you… But next week you can’t run anymore…Jim Cornette knows it and you do as well, because both of us will be in the same place, at the same time…ahead of Revolution! So, if you wanna back up what you say…you wanna start your Latino Revolution? Come to the Action Zone next week ready to fight and maybe we can start this early, because me and Devon have the experience, we have had all the success in the past, and we are family…and September 16 at Revolution…you will find out the hard way, that…Blood is Thicker Than Tequila…and you will finally know what it means…… To Live and Die in Dudleyville…say it, Devon…” And as Brother Ray finishes, Devon says…“Oh My Brother…TESTIFY!!!” and as the camera shot fades to black, we return to a live shot of LAX in the ring, as they appear to welcome the challenge, holding their Tag Team Championship Belts aloft, in defiance of Team 3D’s claims.   

We then cut away from ringside to join Jeremy Borash, inside the GM’s office, speaking to Jim Cornette, as Cornette’s phone rings and he picks it up to answer, saying…“Jim Cornette, Meltdown GM…Yes, yes Kurt…I understand…Yes I do but, Kurt…You have to see things from my side too…Batista made a very good point…” But just at that moment, there is a very loud knock on the door of the GM’s office and, when JB answers it Samoa Joe bursts in to confront Cornette, yelling at him… “Cornette, you better start talking because I think…you have some explaining to do! Something don’t feel right about this…first, you tell me your plans for Revolution, then you say I have the tonight off…but when I show up anyway, I hear things… Like, apparently Batista and Christian Cage get the chance to be No.1 Contender!!! And, just to make things worse…Kurt’s not even here, for me to take my frustration, out on him…So, just start talking…and explain why I don’t have my Title Shot…” Cornette then hangs up the phone, before taking a deep breath and starting to say… “Now, Joe…just listen, I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, however… As I just told Kurt on the phone, Batista made a good point and he took the initiative. But I do have a contingency plan for you and Kurt…since you brought that up… Now, he beat you in questionable circumstances at Hellbound, I’ll admit that… however, both of you fought to a draw, a double-count-out last week on Meltdown. So, in order to settle it…there will now be a third match-up between you two rivals… Live on PPV at Revolution…Sunday 16 September…Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe… But this time it will be…A Submission Match…No DQs no Count-Outs or pin falls, the winner of the match is the man who can make his opponent tap out or give-up, right in the middle of the ring…for everyone to see…and the man who can do this, will become the new No.1 Contender…to face the UCW Champion at Doomsday…” Joe then says…“Cornette? You just saved yourself…and you made me very happy, because at Revolution I will make Kurt Angle tap out and…He Will Be Broken…” Then, as Samoa Joe leaves he is passed on his way out by Cryme Tyme, who say… “Y-Y-Y-Y-YO, YO! Cornette, we need to know about these VKM guys, right now!” Cornette then says…“JB, I think you better leave, this could take quite a while…” Borash then leaves, as the office door closes behind him and we return to ringside.

BEHOLD THE KING! And as we return to the Action Zone the crowd begin to cheer, welcoming the arrival of Triple H for his first official appearance on UCW Meltdown. Coming down the ramp, dressed in casual jeans and an official King of Kings T-shirt, as the arena is bathed in a dark green glow and the sounds of Motorhead reverberate, The Game then climbs up onto the apron and spits his water out and into the front row before stepping through the ropes and calling for a mic, to address the sold-out crowd. And with cheers echoing all around for the 10-time World Champion, HHH says… “Just in-case you don’t know…let me tell you who the hell I am…I Am The Game!!! A 10-time World Champion…the greatest wrestler alive today… The King Of Kings! And I’m here for one reason…and one reason only…but right now, it can wait… because over the years, through out my career…I have left a stream of broken bodies, in my wake! But there is one man and one man alone…who has earned by respect, growing up I idolized the man…and when I grew up I wanted to be just like him… So, Randy Orton…King Booker…it’s decision time because none of you can be first, but one of you WILL be next…and in time…you will both bow down to the king… because the days of you beating on Ric Flair are over...and now The Game Begins!”

ALL HAIL KING BOOKER! But as Triple H stares disdainfully toward the entrance, King Booker comes through the curtain alone, without Sharmell by his side for once. Making his way down the ramp, with a mic in hand, stopping on the ramp, he says… “Very droll, your words are dully noted…however I must contradict you on one thing. For you see, you may be The Game, you are indeed 10-times a World Champion… Yet, to claim to be the King of Kings is laughable…for there is surely no king, but I… You are no king, Mr. H…indeed you are no better than all these humble peasants…”

HEY, NOTHING YOU CAN SAY! But as Booker turns to look over his shoulder, Randy Orton now makes his way through the entrance ramp, like King Booker, dressed to compete. Orton then asks for Booker’s mic, as he now addresses HHH, saying…“Hunter, you seem to be confused…you seem to think that you still matter? Well, let me be the one to tell you, that you don’t…not anymore and not on my show.  The Game is over & the Legend Killer will take his place…and claim my destiny! You see, just ask Ric Flair…I am the No.1 man in this business…and you, well…” But before Orton can continue, with the crowd growing tired of these ramblings, Triple H says…“You see, Randy…that’s was always your problem. You don’t get it... I am The Game…because I prove it, every night…and you have proved NOTHING!” But as the crowd cheers in response to The Game’s words, Orton looks at Booker, before both men slowly begin to advance down the ramp towards the ringside area. And while Triple H remains in the ring, discarding his mic and removing his T-shirt, Orton and Booker climb up onto the ring apron, as The Game stands his ground…

WOOOOO! But as things look bad for Triple H, suddenly the crowd is rejuvenated, when Ric Flair comes running through the curtain and down the entrance ramp, dressed as usual in a custom-made suit and coming to back-up his tag team partner. And following the arrival of Flair, Orton quickly drops down from the ring apron, meeting the Nature Boy on the ramp and swinging a wild right hand punch at him, until Flair blocks it and comes back with a right hand of his own, followed by a left and then a barrage of stinging knife-edge-chops, while King Booker now looks on, becoming distracted before Triple H steps forwards, connecting with a right hand, nailing Booker down off the ring apron to the floor outside, to a huge crowd cheer. And as Flair takes it to Orton, The Game follows Booker outside and slams his head firmly against the side of the ring, as Flair sends Orton crashing into the ring steps. Then as both men drag their foes to their feet and roll them into the ring in-tandem, together The Game & the Nature Boy slowly milk the responses of the live crowd, before lifting the legs of their rivals and cinching in a double-figure-four leg-lock. With the crowd going wild and Orton & King Booker both now writhing in pain, gradually both men release the pressure of the figure-four before breaking the holds, allowing Orton & Booker to escape, before quickly rolling to the outside in pain, while Triple H & Ric Flair soak up the cheers of the crowd, as we then cut away.

And following this tremendous moment, we return to ringside to join JR & King. While JR says…“King, what a night it has been so far, and it is far from over yet…” King says…“Right JR, we have seen Team 3D turn the tables so to speak on LAX, ahead of next week…when both teams will be in the same place at the same time!” Then JR says…“The first time they have met face-to-face since Hellbound, in fact. Plus… we await the reaction of The Monster Abyss, following the actions of Kane, with Mitchell laying down the challenge to Abyss for a match at Revolution. And, I’ve just heard on my headset, next week…Triple H will meet King Booker, 1-on-1!” King says…“Wow, JR…that’s huge, but coming-up now…is the Gauntlet Match…”

No.1 Contenders Gauntlet Match Challenge

I WALK ALONE! And suddenly the Action Zone crowd erupts with a huge cheer, before The Animal Batista makes his way through the curtain and down the ramp. Accompanied by the heavy metal sounds of Saliva and his trademark pyro display, Batista enters the ramp with a look of determination etched upon his face as he salutes the crowd before preparing in the centre of the ring for this test of endurance ahead, having been drawn the short straw and having to last until the very end of the night, through all subsequent entrants to earn a UCW Championship Match at Revolution. With The Animal waiting in the ring, the first man to enter through the curtain is Johnny Nitro, coming down the ramp with a un-easy look as he see Batista waiting. And as Nitro enters and the referee explains that the aim of this match is to out-last, all other entrants in single elimination style and reach the end, to win the gauntlet, finally the bell rings and Batista goes immediately on the offensive, as does Nitro, stepping forward into a collar-and-elbow tie-up, before Batista shoves Nitro down. Then as Nitro attempts to stand, Batista catches him with a powerful right hand shot, rocking him and backing him into the corner with authority, before repeatedly driving his shoulder deep into the gut of Nitro and as Johnny winces in pain Batista continues, sending him across the ring and into the far corner, before charging into follow-up, crushing Nitro against the turnbuckle post with a huge clothesline, and as Nitro wilts, Batista picks him up and hoists him onto his shoulder for a hard running-power-slam, before stepping forward and planting Nitro on the canvas and making the cover 1-2-3! And as The Animal picks up the early victory in the first match of this gauntlet, the next man makes his way down the ramp, none other than the esteemed William Regal. While Nitro is helped to the back, the ref calls for the bell to begin the second match, but even before Regal can set himself, Batista charges forwards with a brutal spear, drilling Regal following the bell and taking him down to the mat in a crumpled heap. The Animal then makes the cover, 1-2-3…picking up his second successive victory, as the crowd begin to sense Batista has what it takes to become the No.1 Contender. The next man to enter is the tough, fighting Irishman Finlay, coming down the ramp, stepping into the ring and waiting for the bell to sound, as The Animal paces quietly. And, as the match begins Finlay tries to use his experience and ring craft to out-manoeuvre the over-powering force of Batista, although with little early success.  However, as they become tangled in the corner following a collar and elbow tie-up, when the ref calls for a clean break, Batista complies with the official’s request yet Finlay lashes out with a stiff kick to the knee, staggering The Animal and setting him briefly off-balance, allowing Finlay to mount a brief flurry with Batista weakened. But as Finlay begins to grow in confidence and he attempts to lock in an abdominal stretch, Batista manages to counter with a stiff elbow followed by many rapid right hands, before Finlay cuts him off with a desperation kick to the gut. However as the Irishman hits the ropes to gain momentum, The Animal quickly counters with a brutal Spine Buster, planting Finlay onto the canvas before quickly making the cover, 1-2-3! And as The Animal scores the win, building momentum and growing in confidence, Snitsky makes his way to the ring, coming down the ramp with a look of brutality, eager to establish his physical dominance, as the ref calls for the bell to begin things. Then following an initial test-of-strength, Snitsky is able to over-power Batista, forcing The Animal back on his heels, into the ropes, before grabbing a side-headlock. But as Batista fights back, he shoves Snitsky off and into the ropes, before charging and as the bigger man hits the ropes, Batista then connects with a huge clothesline, rocking Snitsky on his heels, before hitting the ropes for momentum himself, careening off of them and into Snitsky with another clothesline, rocking him again. Batista then lashes out with a stiff kick to the gut, backing Snitsky against the ropes, before sending him across the ring and into the far ropes, and taking him down with another high-impact Spine Buster, making the cover as the ref then gives the 1-2-3! And having defeated four top-calibre opponents in extremely quick succession, Batista looks to the entrance to see who is next, to come down the ramp to enter…

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1! Accompanied by boos from the crowd, Christian Cage enters, coming down the ramp alone, without Tomko, Cage signals out to all his Peeps, before stepping into the ring and attempting to earn his re-match with the Stinger. Then, with the crowd firmly on the side of The Animal, both men step forward again, into a stiff collar-and-elbow tie-up, before Batista over-powers his smaller opponent, violently shoving the Instant Classic away and down to the mat to a huge roar. Then, as Batista advances and Cage tries to stand, The Animal clubs him across the back, before dragging him to his feet and sending his across the ring into the far corner, quickly following up with a stiff clothesline. In control Batista then roars aloud before stepping back and ramming his shoulder into the rib-cage of his wounded opponent, three, four and five times before several vicious stomps to the leg slump Cage down. Batista then drags Christian to his feet, before setting him up for the Batista Bomb, but Cage senses the danger and quickly ducks out of the way and rolls to the outside. And as Batista follows suit, rolling out after Cage and giving chase around ringside, the crowd jeers Cage heavily as they both pass-by before Cage rolls into the ring first, with Batista following him just behind and, as Cage then hurriedly hits the far ropes and Batista gets to his feet, Cage runs directly into a Spine Buster from Batista, who delivers his patented move to the Instant Classic with great applause from the crowd. Batista then attempts a cover but Cage kicks out after 2 and a half to great surprise, before Batista roars with frustration and with Cage down and barely moving at all, the crowd can sense the end as The Animal gets to his feet, roaring aloud one more time. And as Batista drags Cage up again, placing him in position for the Batista Bomb, suddenly Cage delivers a venomous low blow, slumping The Animal to his knees. But, when the ref calls for a DQ, ending Cage’s chance of winning the gauntlet, Christian begins to argue with the official, realising he has cost himself any chance. However, with Batista still on his knees, struggling to recover from Cage’s low blow, the ring announcer introduces the man who is the final entry in his Gauntlet Match…

Then, as Tomko makes his way to the ring, now accompanied by generic-rock music, he pauses on the ramp as Cage exits the ring, sharing a word with his body-guard, before stepping up onto the apron and through the ropes, to confront his opponent. And as the bell rings with Batista still not on his feet following Cage’s low blow, Tomko moves in for the early kill, attempting to apply a reverse-chin-lock to Batista. But as The Animal begins to fade, he battles and powers back to a solid vertical base. And as both men begin to trade huge bomb-like punches, Batista builds momentum, before winding Tomko with a boot to the gut and them turning away to hit the ropes. But as Batista comes off the ropes with an attempted spear, Tomko raises his boot, connecting firmly with the head of The Animal and sending him down once more. Tomko then attempts a cover, but Batista fortunately places his foot on the rope, breaking the ref’s count at the last second, saving himself and his hopes of victory. Tomko then gets to his feet and begins to pound on Batista with heavy boots, peppering his lower back, before the ref backs Tomko away, as Batista grabs the rope. Both men then step forwards again, with Tomko beating Batista to the punch, connecting with a firm boot to the mid-section, before hooking The Animal’s head and delivering an amazing snap-suplex to the 300lbs power-house, for a near-fall. Tomko then drags Batista up and, almost able to visualise a shot at the UCW Title, attempts to lift The Animal off his feet again, successfully hoisting him into the air and raising him aloft for a high Gorilla Press slam, to the awe of the live crowd. However, as Tomko prepares to send Batista crashing down to the canvas from above, The Animal shifts his weight and drops to the mat behind Tomko, landing on his feet, before quickly hitting the ropes and, as Tomko turns around Batista firmly nails him with a stiff clothesline, followed by another and another, as Tomko springs back up. Then, with Tomko slow to his feet this time, Batista drags him up and hoists him aloft before planting him with a running power slam, before making a cover for a 2-count. Batista then feeds off the energy in the crowd, dragging Tomko back to his feet, before shooting him into the ropes and delivering a brutal patented Spine Buster slam. Batista begins to fire-up as he violently shakes the top rope, signalling to the crowd… Thumbs up and then Thumbs down…before dragging Tomko up for the finale. However, as Batista sets up Tomko for the Batista Bomb, Tomko lashes out, connecting with a vicious fist, firmly on the point of the knee, halting The Animal. Tomko, having gained a reprieve, sends Batista on one unsteady leg into the ropes, but as Tomko looks to follow-up, Batista comes back off the ropes with tremendous momentum, connecting with a spear to the mid-section of Tomko, taking him down. Then, with the cheers of the crowd ringing loudly in his ears, Batista gets to his feet, dragging Tomko up and then raising him high into the air, and planting him firmly down to the canvas with the devastating, powerful Batista Bomb for the ref’s 1-2-3. And, with his hand raised in victory, The Animal then stands with his arms aloft, accepting the cheers of the crowd, as the new No.1 Contender for the UCW Title…

IT’S SHOWTIME! But as the lights dim in the Action Zone and the crowd erupts, Batista turns to the entrance as a look of disdain instantly spreads across his face, while the lights flicker and then come back on as Sting comes through the curtain. Making his way out onto the stage, wearing his black ring attire and long trench coat, with his famous white face-paint and the UCW Championship Belt around his waist, carrying his black baseball in hand he pauses on the ramp, locking eyes with Batista, as The Animal steps towards the edge of the ring, with a scowl now upon his face before stamping his foot and beginning to violently shake the top rope with rage, while Sting raises his arm and points the baseball bat directly towards The Animal, clearly mouthing the words…“It’s Showtime!” as an immediate signal of intent, before Batista then signals to the Stinger…Thumbs Up and then Thumbs Down… And as we prepare to go off the air, The Animal makes a motion across his waist, while JR says…“At Revolution…It’s Sting vs. The Animal…for the UCW Title! Batista vs. The Icon and something has gotta give now…because it’s showtime!!!”