Post by Steven Brody, CEO on Jul 23, 2019 19:29:08 GMT -8
The cameras return to the inside of the Target Center as the camera sweeps over the crowd all holding up Burning Hearts signs while some hold up signs in support of their choice to win.
THESE HEARTS BURN
WE WANT THE UNWANTED
THE KINGDOM WILL REIGN
THE KING OF SPADES AND HIS QUEEN
DEMONIC HEARTS
THE QUEEN AND HER WITCH
ALEX & ICE - CUTEST COUPLE
WE LOVE FIRE & STACY
After sweeping across the arena filled with amped up fans, the camera settles on the announce table where Nick Hanson and Miranda Augustino sit, ready and waiting for the event to begin. “Hearts Burst Into Fire” continues to play over the speakers as viewers are welcomed.
HANSON
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the Target Center here in Minneapolis, Minnesota! We’re booked here three days this week and we’re gonna need it because tonight is the first of two nights of the Burning Hearts tournament! Tell them about it, Miranda!”
AUGUSTINO
“What’s up, bitches?! You excited for this? I am, too! I love tournaments! Can’t wait for September for to-fucking-night is a tournament you’re only gonna see here in NFW! I mean, who knows? Someone else might try to do this down the line but the professional wrestling world is gonna know that it started right here and funny enough? It came from the mind of one scary bastard who’s been making waves under our banner. I’m talking about The Slasher, Eddy Poe. He had this idea pop into his twisted little head, NFW’s making it a reality. Sixteen teams - all made up of...how can I put it without sounding lewd or corny? Lovers? No, that’s lewd. Romantically involved? Nah. Anyway! You get the point! Sixteen couples who share a love for one another and an equally strong passion for wrestling will compete for the newly revealed NFW Burning Hearts Championships. Look at those belts, Nick! Wow….”
The camera cuts over to a pedestal about table high with a pair of championship belts resting on top of it. Black straps, silver plating, with fiery orange designs to look like flames over the front plate with the name ‘BURNING HEARTS’ over the front under the NFW logo.
HANSON
“Certainly some beautiful belts, Miranda! Sixteen teams are here to compete for them. Only one team is gonna walk out of Minneapolis, tomorrow as the first ever crowned Burning Hearts Champions. And that’s what makes these belts so special, folks. You see it’s a tag team title but as Miranda mentioned earlier; lovers, significant others, those who are wed. A tag team has to be among one of those to even qualify to compete for these belts!”
AUGUSTINO
“I guess is the future champions ever break up, there’s gonna be a vacating of the titles, huh?”
HANSON
“You know what? Good point. But let’s not even think of that, now. Let’s check out tonight’s first round matchups!”
HANSON
“There you have the sixteen teams entered into this tournament. We’re gonna see the entire first round tonight and tomorrow is where it gets tough. We’re gonna see the quarter, semi and final rounds. Some teams are gonna have, at least, two matches, while the two finalists will have three matches to compete in. The winners, as mentioned before, will become the first ever Burning Hearts Champions. With that being said folks, Miranda has made her way to the ring, let’s take it over to her to kick off the tournament!”
The camera switches over to the ring where Miranda Augustino has posted up in the center with a microphone. She stands radiantly with a smirk on her painted lips as she begins announcing.
AUGUSTINO
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Round One of the Burning Hearts Tournament!”
The audience erupts into cheers of anticipation as Miranda Augustino awaits the music to start for the first matchup….
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[First Round Matchup #1. Ace King & Shelley Silver v. Carlton Walsh & Aurora Luna]
The opening match of the tournament saw Ace King and Shelley Silver take on Carlton Walsh and Aurora Luna. Silver had some familiarity with their opponents as she had worked around them for some weeks now. King was relatively unfamiliar with the pair, however on the flipside, they were unfamiliar with him, as well. The crowd was all behind the NFW Silver Mountain Champion and EWC’s United States and Undisputed Champion as the two teams mixed it up back and forth, pulling no punches. Carlton Walsh brought his brutality and experience to the match while Aurora Luna was an absolute loose cannon, pulling no punches whether she was in the ring with King or Silver. Anyone who thought Ace King might have had reservations of wrestling intergender was sorely mistaken as he took his technical ringwork directly to Luna as much as he did Walsh. The crowd gleefully counted along as Ace hit Four of a Kind on Aurora Luna before posting up on the middle turnbuckle as she started getting to her feet.
Meanwhile, Shelley Silver, being the legal one from their team in the ring, shot across the ring and delivered a Silver Bullet to Carlton Walsh, going for the cover. Before Aurora Luna could fully straighten up, Ace King dove off of the middle turnbuckle and swiftly delivered the WIld Card, planting Luna head first into the mat while his fiance covered Walsh for the 1...2...3!
Advance: Ace King & Shelley Silver
Eliminated: Carlton Walsh & Aurora Luna
Time: 11:52
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[First Round Matchup #2. Big Daddy Payne & LeeAnn Viskan v. Alex Brody & Ice]
In what most fans thought would be a one sided match up, Alex Brody and Ice showed no fear against the team of seasoned veterans that were Big Daddy Payne and LeeAnn Viskan. Good sportsmanship was shown as LeeAnn and Alex started things off with a handshake before all friendship and niceness went out the window as far as LeeAnn was concerned. The mother to Marissa Payne and surrogate to Morgan Payne showed about as much mercy to her and her husband’s opponents as she had the last time she ended up stepping into the ring with the Payne girls themselves. That is to say...none.
Big Daddy Payne wasn’t as ruthless against the girls as his wife was but he certainly respected both of them enough to not take them lightly, as both Alex Brody and Ice used their sizes and speed advantage to keep the big man on his toes each time they were in the ring with him. Ice got a good “Faery - clapclap - Faery” chant going as she spent a good minute in the ring, evading BDP’s attempts to get a hand on her while she chipped away at his knees with sliding forearms and kicks. As the match escalated, Alex crossed the ring and dropkicked BDP off of the apron while Ice was going for a cover on LeeAnn that Viskan managed to kick out of. Alex followed up with a slingshot plancha over the top rope and came crashing onto BDP, knocking the wind out of them both.
Inside the ring, LeeAnn Viskan managed to turn the tables back around and returned to offense on one of Ice’s legs which she had been working on throughout the match. Eventually, she managed to lock in the Chemical Wedding while BDP recovered enough to hold Alex back from getting into the ring to help Ice as the half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions gave in and finally tapped out on the mat.
Advance: BDP & LeeAnn Viskan
Eliminated: Alex Brody & Ice
Time: 12:37
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[First Round Matchup #3. “The Slasher” Eddy Poe & Dona Rotten v. TBA & TBA]
The mystery tag team revealed as Eddy Poe and Dona Rotten’s first round opponents was Sebastian Riley Young and Hannah Blackwell, making her in-ring NFW debut. The lack of preparation did little to throw Poe and Rotten off as they were still going up against a team that was half rookie. The Slasher and The Scream Queen actually seemed to relish in taking turns picking Blackwell apart with their equally brutal styles. SRY took it to Eddy and Dona as best as he could but Eddy Poe in particular switched to his more martial arts based discipline to start wearing SRY down with legitimate techniques that probably would have been more expected to see inside a cage rather than a wrestling ring.
Eddy Poe continued to show merciless tendencies on his end as he initiated a brawl with Hannah Blackwell outside the ring to keep her busy while Dona Rotten held her own against SRY as the two legal competitors. In the climax moments of the match, Eddy delivered an apron powerbomb to Hannah Blackwell to keep her out of the ring while Dona Rotten performed a double powerbomb on SRY before holding him down for the pinfall. 1...2...3.
Advance: Eddy Poe & Dona Rotten
Eliminated: SRY & Dona Rotten
Time: 9:44
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[First Round Matchup #4. Bryan Ford & Bridgette Babish v. Mia Hayashi & Adrianna Salvatore]
This was a highly anticipated match between Ford & Babish versus Hayashi & Salvatore. It was a couple who had great tag team history taking on a couple who had, virtually none. The more experienced tag team being Bryan Ford and Bridgette Babish worked together to use their experience to their advantage against the two women of The Unwanted whom had never spent much time to tag team with one another before. It was far from one sided, however, as Mia Hayashi still had her own experience as a tag team wrestler in her history and had clearly been teaching Adrianna Salvatore tricks of the trade. And Adrianna still had her agility and brute power to use against their opponents.
Bridgette Babish, however, still had her speed and drive to keep her from taking the offense lying down and Bryan Ford had his own years of experience over Hayashi and Salvatore on the pro circuit. Both teams were going to be damned if they lost their first round and it certainly showed as they pulled out all the stops against one another. So much that, while Hayashi and Babish were the two legal ones in the ring, Salvatore and Ford began brawling out at ringside. Meanwhile, inside the ring, Babish attempted a Superkick on Hayashi who caught it and spun her around before lifting her up and managed to deliver the Supreme Thunder - to which the audience called the move as it happened - to Bridgette Babish and held onto one leg for the 1...2...3.
“Anthem of the Unwanted” played throughout the arena as Adrianna returned to the inside of the ring, showing mutual surprise with Mia as they realized they just won their first two-person tag team match together.
Advance: Mia Hayashi & Adrianna Salvatore
Eliminated: Bryan Ford & Bridgette Babish
Time: 16:48
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[First Round Matchup #5. Anton Crowley & Eavan Maloney v. Candi Broduer & Max LeBrun]
In another highly anticipated matchup, Anton Crowley and Eavan Maloney took on Max LeBrun and Candi Broduer in a pseudo-rematch between Broduer and Maloney. Max LeBrun and Anton Crowley even seemed to mutually agree to let the two start the match off. Both men watched from the apron as their better halves more or less initiated the long awaited round two of their last meeting that saw Eavan Maloney defeat Candi Broduer for the Women’s TV Championship. Both women seemed determined to show that they were the better wrestler as they traded offense back and forth for the first good five minutes of the match before a tag was even made, pitting Anton Crowley against Candi Broduer, it would have seemed before Max LeBrun quickly blind tagged himself in to give Candi a rest.
A striking contest began as Crowley and LeBrun tested one another’s mettle with trading kicks and backhanded chops. Forearms and European Uppercuts. Where Anton went into grappling and technical work, Max began going aerial, springing off of the ropes and turnbuckles. The match was mostly even back and forth as the teams eventually began to mix it up with the combinations of competitors. Candi and Anton exchanged technical offense with one another, chain wrestling across the mat while Max was more than happy to see what Eavan could offer in terms of her own strikes. He got more than his share full as Eavan was anything but shy about trading blows with the man.
As the match went on, it ended with Anton and Candi working one another over until Anton went for the Morning Star but Candi managed to roll back and avoid the knee, tripping Anton up and switching around to lock him right into the Crippler Crossface on Anton Crowley. Max LeBrun just barely managed to save the hold from being broken up by Eavan Maloney by rushing in to meet the woman with a brutal Slapshot before she could reach Candi. At that point, Anton opted to tap out rather than sustain unnecessary damage.
Advance: Candi Broduer & Max LeBrun
Eliminated: Anton Crowley & Eavan Maloney
Time: 20:12
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[First Round Matchup #6. Erin Mercer & Bronwyn Good v. Wyld Stallion & Mary Kennedy]
In what was both teams first times tagging with one another, Erin Mercer and Bronwyn Good squared off with Wyld Stallion and Mary Kennedy in a surprisingly fast paced contest that saw both teams throw everything they had at one another. Mercer and Good maintained the upper hand for the beginning of the match, showing their natural chemistry as a unit as they worked to try and keep Mary Kennedy as the legal one for her team as long as possible; trying to avoid the more dangerous Wyld Stallion from making it into the ring.
Eventually, however, Mary managed a hot tag when she and Erin Mercer were down for the double count. Erin Mercer tagged in Bronwyn Good at the same time and the two came rushing in at each other with Wyld Stallion going on a tear of offense as the fresh superstar came in, keeping Bronwyn Good down each time she got up from the previous hit. Once Erin managed to get to her feet again, she attempted to lend a hand to her partner but Stallion was too fast and so energetic that he merely added her to the fast paced takedowns he was dishing out.
Stil, Mercer and Good continued to manage a comeback even against Stallion as Mercer entered the ring legally once she had time to rest up after Good had worked to withstand what Stallion was dishing out and tagged her back in. Then came the kicks Erin was known for as one half of Kicks and Stones, followed by her Twerk-Sault to get the crowd really cheering (and Bronwyn Good grinning, biting her lip). Stallion and Kennedy, however, also refused to give up as they continued working together as was expected from the tournament competitors. It paid off for them in the end as Mary Kennedy hit Erin Mercer on her way into the ring with a superkick in order to let Stallion complete delivering a 630 Senton to Bronwyn Good. Mary hopped over the ropes, onto the apron again, asking for a tag. Stallion gave it to her and the one third of the Skillz Vendorz climbed the turnbuckle and delivered a moonsault for the pinfall cover. 1...2...3.
Advance: Wyld Stallion & Mary Kennedy
Eliminated: Erin Mercer & Bronwyn Good
Time: 16:33
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[First Round Matchup #7. Fire & Stacy DeVille v. Sativa Nevaeh & Morgan Payne]
This match started off pretty heated with Morgan Payne and Stacy DeVille as the starting competitors. From the very beginning, the two came out of the corner with the trash talk. Almost comically, Fire and Sativa Nevaeh looked passed their respective girlfriends with looks that essentially said ‘uh-oh.’ The actual match kicked off when Morgan Payne shoved Stacy DeVille with such force that she stumbled back into the ropes before catching her balance. Stacy shook her head, forcing a laugh before suddenly palming Morgan’s face and shoving her backwards into her side of the ropes. Morgan Payne came off the ropes, back to the center of the ring with a look at Stacy as if to say she had some nerve. Stacy coaxed her on to come back with something and Morgan answered with a SLAP across the face. This set Stacy off who started throwing forearms at Morgan, gaining the upperhand early on in the match. For a good minute or two, Stacy worked Morgan around the ring with stiff strikes and suplexes galore, throwing the hothead of the Collective around like a rag doll. Morgan managed to get some counter offense in, as well, however and dish out her own barrage of suplexes and drivers, showing she had more power than she physically appeared to have.
Things only slowed down when Stacy tagged in Fire who came in fast and ready to square off with Morgan who was amped up for a fight. That ampedness, however, quickly faded when it was Kingdom vs Kingdom member in the ring. For anyone who remembered the fourway tag match that Fire won by herself, it was almost a repeat of that scene as Fire insisted Morgan just wrestle her but Morgan refused. That is, until Fire repeated that slap across Morgan’s face. Instead of a shove, this time, Morgan clenched her fists and stepped back to her corner to answer a tag request to Sativa Nevaeh. The Women’s Champion gave Morgan a quick word of reassurance before stepping in and locking up with her stable mate, Fire.
Fire and Sativa spent a good several minutes going back and forth in the ring while Morgan and Stacy looked on. It was evident that Morgan felt torn between tagging herself in and taking on a friend when Fire gained an upper hand against Sativa. Only when Fire tagged in Stacy again did Morgan find the will to stick her hand out, asking for a tag from Sativa. Stacy used her strength and grappling to keep Sativa on her and Fire’s side of the ring for awhile, taunting Morgan to come in and save her girl. Each time Morgan tried, however, it was either the referee stopping her or Stacy threatening to tag Fire in, knowing Morgan’s adversity.
In the climactic moments of the match, Sativa managed to overcome Stacy DeVille’s assault, and send her reeling into Fire with a dropkick, causing Stacy to slam into her and knock her off of the apron. While Stacy was stunned at being sent into Fire, Sativa hot tagged Morgan in who came charging across the ring and knocked Stacy into the corner with a running backchop, kicking off Yoi Yoi Double Yoi before pulling her to her feet and lifting her onto her shoulders, delivering a running Downtown After Dark into the center of the ring for the 1...2...3.
Advance: Sativa Nevaeh & Morgan Payne
Eliminated: Fire & Stacy DeVille
Time: 15:21
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[First Round Matchup #8. Kimi Smalls & Vincent Stone v. Marissa Payne & Sammi Belmont]
The final first round match of the night saw friends versus friends as Kimi Smalls and Vincent Stone took on Marissa Payne and Sammi Belmont. Kimi Smalls showed a new sense of discipline and aggression as she started the match off against Sammi Belmont and held back nothing against her as the two went for a stretch of several minutes before Kimi tagged in Vincent Stone. Stone went right for Sammi, whipping her into the corner and calling for her to tag in Marissa Payne. The crowd popped as Payne entered the ring and squared off with her friend. Grinning back and forth, at first, the two locked up and engaged in a strike off of painful sounding proportions.
As the match continued, Kimi got a true test of her return when it was her turn to step up to Marissa Payne. Kimi certainly showed that she was becoming a force to reckon with as she returned the strikes from Marissa with almost as much ferocity. It was a close match up between both teams but during a second square off between Smalls and Payne, Marissa Payne picked up the victory for her team by delivering the Bitch Killa to Kimi Smalls for the 1...2...3!
Advance: Marissa Payne & Sammi Belmont
Eliminated: Vincent Stone & Kimi Smalls
Time: 19:57
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Match Summaries Written By
Commissioner Steven Brody
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First Round Winners
Match #1. Ace King & Shelley Silver def. Carlton Walsh & Aurora Luna
Match #2. BDP & LeeAnn Viskan def. Alex Brody & Ice
Match #3. Eddy Poe & Dona Rotten def. SRY & Hannah Blackwell
Match #4. Mia Hayashi & Adrianna Salvatore def. Bryan Ford & Bridgette Babish
Match #5. Max LeBrun & Candi Broduer def. Anton Crowley & Eavan Maloney
Match #6. Wyld Stallion & Mary Kennedy def. Erin Mercer & Bronwyn Good
Match #7. Sativa Nevaeh & Morgan Payne def. Fire & Stacy DeVille
Match #8. Marissa Payne & Sammi Belmont def. Vincent Stone & Kimi Smalls
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Commentary Added By
Commissioner Steven Brody
