1. ‘... A style of wrestling evolved from Japanese Puroresu (プロレス) and traditional British Catch wrestling that incorporates full contact martial arts kicks and strikes with a strong emphasis placed on submission wrestling ...’
Elite Champion: Chris Jericho
Hometown: Winnepeg, Mannitoba Canada Ireland
Finisher: Judas Effect Codebreaker Walls of Jericho
Reign: 11/25/20
Monarch Women's Champion: Deonna Purazzo
Hometown: Hackettstown, New Jersey
Finisher: Venus De Milo Cosa Nostra (Cradle Piledriver)
Reign: 12/19/20
Tag Team Champions: Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Cleveland, Ohio
Finisher: Willow's Bell, Fairytale Ending Gargano Escape, One Final Beat
Reign: 01/25/21
LOCATION: London, England (United Kingdom)
ARENA: Royal Albert Hall
BROADCAST TEAM: Mauro Renallo & Wade Barrett
INTERVIEWS: Gabby Loren & Dasha Fuentes
We get a highlight package from Pro Wrestling This Week where Deonna Purazzo defeated Bianca Belair in a steel cage match with Becky Lynch as the referee . . . . Raquel Gonzalez made her Paradigm debut, costing BelAir the match and becoming the newest member of Valifornia . . . .
* * * SHOW OPENING * * *
Tomasso Ciampa comes out to the ring to start the show . . . he has no entrance music, the boos of the fans IS his entrance music . . . . Ciampa starts to speak, but the boos from the people drown him out . . . . so he just turns to walk out when Candice LeRae’s music hits! Ciampa is even surprised by this as Candice makes her way down to the ring with a serious look on her face . . . .
Candice takes the mic from Ciampa and says she heard what he said last week. She tells him that she won't allow him to corrupt Johnny. Candice says that Johnny has proved that he is the heart and soul of this company, but Ciampa just has a black heart .... They thought he was gone from their life but now he has just come back to torment them both . . . . Ciampa thinks he is going to change Johnny but he will fail because he knows deep down that he will never be the man that Johnny Gargano is . . . . She is done trying to reconcile how Ciampa went from someone who lived with them and spent time with them but turned into such a monster . . . . She tells him to just ‘go away’.
Ciampa says maybe Candice doesn’t know Johnny as well as she thinks she does . . . . She lays next to him and night, but she still doesn’t know him like he does . . . . She doesn’t know his dark side . . . . Ciampa knows it, and he promises that Johnny has used Candice as a shield to hide away his true self, but Ciampa is going to bring it out . . . . Candice gets fed up and slaps the shit out of Ciampa! She says “over my dead body” as Ciampa smiles at her, but they are interrupted as out come Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne, the Bro-serweights. Dunne wastes no time getting nose to nose with Ciampa . . . . Riddle says the Bro-serweights never got their rematch for the tag team titles, even though they lost them in a ladder match and were never pinned . . . . Riddle says they want their rematch ‘bro’.
Ciampa looks at Candice, then back at Riddle, and accepts the challenge on behalf of his team. Ciampa turns to Candice and tells her she better go tell Johnny . . . .
Back at ringside with Mauro and Pat McAfee. They recap the opening segment and we have our main event for tonight …. Apparently it will be Gargano & Ciampa defending the tag titles against the former champions, the Bro-serweights.
Singles Match: Mia Yim - vs - Killer Kelly
This is the 3rd match between these two, with the first 2 being a 1-1 split …. Same aggression shown previously as these two tear into each other, and they both continue to work a very stiff, shoot style of offense …. After minutes of back and forth action, it is Mia Yim that abandons the striking offense to go for more high-flying, hitting the ‘SKY YIM’ (twisting corkscrew splash) to get the 3 count ….
POST MATCH: Both women hug and show respect to the other one, and the fans show their appreciation for the series of entertaining matches between the two ….
Winner: Mia Yim Time: 6:11
IN THE BACK:
Dasha interviews Bianca BelAir . . . . BelAir isn’t happy and says that she has been screwed over at every turn by Valifornia . . . . She asked Becky Lynch to ref that match but even she dropped the ball . . . . Bianca blames Becky for worrying too much about Chelsea Green and not enough about doing her job . . . . This brings in Becky to interrupt and says that Bianca is the one that picked HER . . . . She isn’t a referee, but she went in that cage and put the shirt on anyway and did the job . . . . Bianca says that she didn’t do it good enough, because she still got screwed . . . Bianca says she isn’t leaving here tonight without a piece of Valifornia’s ass and she tells Becky to stay out of her way . . . .
Tag Team Match: Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) - vs - Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel)
Athletic tag match with the Street Profits getting back on the winning track after hitting the Doomsday Blockbuster on Aichner . . . .
Winners: Street Profits Time: 6:11
POST MATCH: Ford takes the mic and calls out any team for a match afterwards. They talk about how 2 teams that really aren’t teams are fighting for the tag team belts in the main event …. But the Profits want to fight whoever wins …. The Authors of Pain come out at the top of the ramp and stare down Ford & Dawkins to end the segment . . . .
IN THE BACK –
We are in Valifornia’s dressing room . . . . Raquel Gonzalez is just standing there menacingly with her arms crossed as Dasha comes in and tries to get a word . . . . Dasha is intimidated . . . .
PURAZZO – “What? What do you want? Can’t you see we are busy? No wait, I’ve got a word for you Dasha. That word is I TOLD YOU SO! I told everyone that I wasn’t worried about facing Bianca BelAir inside a steel cage because I had an ace left to play. And that ace was none other than my own personal insurance policy: RAQUEL GONZALEZ . . . 6’0” tall and 176 lbs . . . Just another reason why Valifornia is the most dominant force in women’s wrestling. But that reminds me of something that has been bothering me ever since that match. And that is YOU Becky Lynch. You didn’t raise her hand after I was victorious in that cage match.
But you know what? That doesn’t matter. Becky Lynch is irrelevant. It’s all about Valifornia because we take what we want. And what we want next is the SHINE tag team titles. I’m sure you would like me to sit here and put over the other teams in that match, like Purple Rayne or the Canadian Ninjas, both of whom are former women’s tag team champions. But the fact is that I can’t. I can’t put them over because those teams aren’t even in our league! And then there is Indi Hartwell and Victoria . . . PLEASE. But that’s not even all. Wrestlemania weekend will be Valifornia’s victory lap because after we win the SHINE tag team titles, we are going to take the WORLD tag team titles from . . . .”
PURAZZO PAUSES AND ACTS LIKE SHE IS GOING TO THROW UP . . . CHELSEA STOPS PUTTING ON HER MAKEUP AND PATS PURAZZO ON THE BACK . . .
PURAZZO – “Sorry, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. To think of having to get in the ring with a team like Su Yung & Rosemary . . . I get chills just thinking about it, and not the good kind. I mean, they are just . . . gross. Is that who the UWF really want representing their brand as champions? I mean . . . Ewww. But don’t worry, because your ‘Virtuosa’ and Valifornia will be the ones to bring class and prestige back to those titles ….”
Purazzo stops as the lights suddenly go out! We hear Valifornia fumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch, and the room is suddenly bathed in an eerie red glow. Behind Purazzo and Green you can see the painted face of Su Yung!!!! Green and Purazzo look at each other like they know someone is standing right behind them, but when they turn around to look the room goes black again. Gonzalez finds the switch to turn the regular lights back on but when they come back on Valifornia is alone in the locker room . . . .
Singles Match: Tyler Bate w/ Trent Seven - vs - ‘The Sword of Essex’ Will Ospreay
These two tear the house down …. Ospreay proves that he is worthy of all the hype around his signing and he does things in the ring that defy gravity . . . . Tyler Bate continues to be one of the most deceptively strong people in wrestling . . . . at one point Bate has Ospreay in a airplane spin for 20 revolutions, then drops him and puts him in a giant swing for 20 revolutions …. Bate hits the Tyler Driver 97 but Ospreay kicks out! Bate goes for the Spiral Tap, but Ospreay gets the knees up . . . . he follows with the Hidden Blade that nearly KO’s Bate, then finishes him with the Stormbreaker!
Winner: Will Ospreay Time: 16:21
Both men are given a standing ovation from the crowd after that performance . . . .
We get another vignette of the hooded man, this time he is standing on a rooftop overlooking a city …. The camera pans down to his hands, and he opens his palms to reveal that one hand has the BLUE PILL and the other has the RED PILL that we have seen in previous videos ….
MAN – “If you are going to truly evolve, you have to admit who you are. Not just to yourself. To everyone. You were happy once, you were considered a nice person, accomplished . . . professional. But it doesn’t matter who you WERE. Your past does not dictate your future. You spent your whole life letting the world tell you what to do . . . tell you who you are. We live in unprecedented times, from lockdowns, to quarantines to turmoil in the streets. If you don’t subscribe to popular opinion, go along with the group think, you’re cancelled. You can’t trust anyone but yourself.”
“When you’ve been beaten down long enough, that person is NEVER coming back. There is not a part of your body or your psyche left that has not been wounded. You have scars. Only after your destruction, after your CANCELLATION, can you be resurrected. You have to be destroyed in order to become free, to be something transcendent . . . to reach your final form. Finish what you started. Break . . . the . . . narrative.”
He drops the Blue Pill slip from his hand, and it falls in slow motion off the side of the building and below …. The shot fades into a logo . . .
We come back to the arena and out comes Bianca BelAir! BelAir is in street clothes but she wastes no time grabbing the mic …. She calls out RAQUEL GONZALEZ and says that it’s obvious that now she has to go through her to get what she deserves . . . . she is ‘UN – DA – FEET – TED!’ She hasn’t been pinned and hasn’t submitted, but she HAS been screwed and she is tired of it …. She tells Gonzalez to bring her triflin ass to the ring!
Here comes Gonzalez and she gives zero fucks …. BelAir starts taking off her earrings as Gonzalez slides in the ring and these two women immediately start throwing crazy fists …. BelAir gets a slight advantage but Gonzalez stops all that with a knee to the gut and then big boot! BelAir is down, and Gonzalez hits the ropes and nearly takes her head off with a HUGE clothesline from hell!!!! Gonzalez takes BelAir to the floor . . . . ONE-ARMED POWERBOMB PUTS BELAIR THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE!!!!
Suddenly someone comes out of the crowd to attack Gonzalez! IT'S HYAN! This is the first time we have seen Hyan since being kicked out of Valifornia a few weeks back! Hyan is going crazy on Valifornia's enforcer, but Gonzalez quickly turns the tables and sends Hyan into the steps. Gonzalez tosses her into the ring, then calls for a referee and we have ourselves an impromptu match!
Singles Match: RAQUEL GONZALEZ - vs - HYAN
This is basically a squash in Gonzalez’s in-ring debut to get her over as the monster she is …. Gonzalez toys with Hyan, hitting a Fall-away slam and some more power moves. Gonzalez finishes it with the one-armed powerbomb ….
Winner: Raquel Gonzalez Time: 2:08
POST MATCH: Gonzalez takes Hyan to the floor and then power bombs Hyan through the timekeepers table!
We get a nice video package hyping next week’s ELITE title match with Chris Jericho defending against Keith Lee . . . . It includes comments from both Jericho and Lee as well as some of the other members of the Paradigm roster making predictions on who will win . . . .
Paradigm Tag Team title Match: (Champions) Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa w/ Candice LeRae - vs - Bro-serweights (Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne)
Ciampa comes out first, but this time it is Johnny’s turn to play mind games as he doesn’t come out right away …. Ciampa rolls out of the ring and is going to take the countout loss but Riddle catches up with him and tosses him in the ring …. Johnny finally comes out and gets in the corner just in time to make the hot tag and run wild …. Dunne stops Gargano and snaps the fingers, but Ciampa actually saves Johnny from the Bitter End and hits the Fairytale Ending on Dunne! Riddle breaks it up with the Floating Bro! The action breaks down with all 4 men brawling, and Ciampa pulls up the padding outside exposing the concrete floor! Ciampa is going to piledrive Riddle on the concrete but Johnny stops him! He grabs Riddle and tosses him inside, and then Gargano and Ciampa get nose to nose! Dunne wipes them both out with a dive! Dunne teases the Bitter End on the exposed concrete, but Johnny avoids it and hits a brainbuster on the concrete on Dunne!!!!
Everyone kind of stops after this, like it is a shocking moment. Johnny looks down at his hands like he can’t believe what he has done and it was like he was acting on instinct only …. Ciampa is shown smiling …. Gargano snaps out of it and tosses Dunne back in the ring and sets on the apron …. ONE FINAL BEAT TO DUNNE! Gargano pins Dunne while Ciampa holds off Riddle and the champs retain.
Winners (and still champions): Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa Time: 12:15
Ciampa looks on and smiles at Johnny …. Johnny looks like he is not proud of what he has done, and Ciampa mockingly claps for him like he is proud of him …. SUPERKICK FROM JOHNNY LAYS OUT CIAMPA! Now it’s Johnny’s turn to hold both of the tag team title belts in his hands, and he drops one on Ciampa’s chest and walks away ….
We are running low on time left in the show when Becky Lynch’s music hits . . . .
BECKY - "You know, I didn't come here last week to put on a striped shirt and be a referee, but I was picked to do that job and I did it. That's not why I came here. I came here because I want to fight the best. Chelsea Green got in my face last week and she almost left without her arm. Earlier tonight, Bianca Belair tried to tell me that I dropped the ball. Well, Bianca, any time you want to continue that conversation you know where to find me. But things like that are the reason I'm here, because I want competition. And not just ‘competition’, I wants the absolute best and I want them at their most aggressive …. So far, no one has wanted to fight. They say they are the best, they say they want to fight but no one has stepped up …. So I guess I'm going to have to be the one to call out these other women for a fight …. People like Kay Lee Ray, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, or even you BETH PHOENIX …. I’ll fight anyone, any ------"
Becky is cut off as Deonna Purazzo’s music hits and she comes out by herself ….
Deonna Purazzo - "You forgot to mention one name on that little list of yours, Becky. You didn't mention me. I should have been the FIRST name out of your mouth, because I am the Virtuosa. And I wasn't even going to come out here because, let’s be honest Becky, you aren't even on her level or worth her time. I was just going to let you talk and talk because that’s all you've done since you showed up here. But then something started to bother me . . . . you didn't raise my hand last week. See, I dont just talk, I PRODUCE. I won that cage match against Bianca BelAir and retained my MONARCH title, and you were the official referee. You should have raised my hand and declared me the winner after that match. So that’s why I'm out here right now. I demand that you show me the respect I deserve and raise . . . my . . . hand!"
Becky just smiles and shakes her head not a chance …. Deonna is visibly annoyed but smiles anyway . . . .
BECKY - "Deonna, I want you to listen real close to me when I tell you this. Im NOT raising your hand. As a matter of fact, since I called someone out to fight, and you are in the ring right now, must mean you WANT to fight ...."
Deonna Purazzo - (laughs) "Becky . . . Becky . . . Becky. I am the Virtuosa. I am your CHAMPION. I am the one that chooses when and where I fight . . . . Valifornia is conquering the wrestling world, and now that I think about it, you aren't even worth my time . . . ."
Deonna turns and leaves the ring, but as she is walking up the aisle the lights go out and this video plays on the screen . . . .
GINA CARANO WALKS OUT ON STAGE! The announcers treat Carano's entrance like Ronda Rousey's at the Rumble and they put her over big time as the pioneer in women's fighting. They mention she paved the way for people like Ronda Rousey to become mainstream, and she was basically Ronda Rousey before Ronda Rousey. But what is she doing here???? Carano walks past Purazzo and doesn't even acknowledge she is standing there . . . . She enters the ring and gets straight in Becky Lynch’s face . . . . They are face to face as the show ends ....
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