(OOC Note: For ' was overcome by passionate rage' read 'had to stop a sentence part-way through because he was about to say something utterly obscene and had just remembered he wasn't supposed to'. This write-up cannot truly convey just how terrible this promo was, from the incoherent mixed metaphors, thinly-veiled homophobic abuse, blatantly racist anti-German sentiment and random non-sequiteurs about Bambi's sexual proclivities. Seriously. And the fans went wild for it.)
Jones promptly went on to take out his displeasure on the ever-unfortunate KAZ, whose terrible win-loss record did not improve at this show. As a warning to Von Steinberg, Kevin Jones took every opportunity to display a wide and creative variety of low blows that knocked the Japanese rookie from his feet early on in the match and kept him from regaining any form of momentum throughout. To the vocal approval of the crowd, Jones was able to knock his opponent down with a simple poke to the chest, before pinning him for the victory.
Kevin Jones defeated KAZ.
Next up came the start of the eagerly-awaited chance for Harder Better Faster Stronger to earn their rematch against The Wigan Bulldogs, as Menace squared off against Walter Morgan in singles competition. Though Menace was backed up as always by his tag team partner, the champion had the greater advantage of numbers at ringside, accompanied as he was by the entirety of Nova Corporation. Interference seemed inevitable, and though Menace fought with all the power and intensity that the fans have come to expect, any advantage was quickly counteracted either by Morgan's own veteran trickery or by distractions from Nova and his allies. It seemed that the former tag team champions might fall at the first hurdle as the referee was unable to keep an eye on all potential sources of interference at once, but Barnes was able to turn the tables on his enemies; climbing to the top rope, he executed a Flying Splash onto Jeff Nova himself, and as the rest of Nova Corporation piled on to rescue their leader, Menace capitalised, turning Morgan head over heels with a vicious clothesline for the pinfall.
Menace defeated Walter Morgan.
Next up, tag team action graced the CWL ring as two impromptu teams faced off against one another. The backing of the crowd was solidly behind 'The British Samurai' Robert Brown and Dwayne Dark, but their opponents, 'The Krakau Crippler' Pavel Vanszycha and Roy Edison seemed entirely unfazed by their lack of support. All four men gave good account of themselves, as Dark and Edison proved that they had what it took to hang with two of the best in the company. The match seemed like it might come to an early end when Dark nearly took Vanszycha's head clean off with a giant haymaker that saw the Nova Corporation member staggered and reeling. Edison made the save, however, and in his turn floored Robert Brown with a roundhouse kick. The back-and-forth continued for some time, until finally Dark and Edison once again faced off in the ring. Edison seemed to have the upper hand when out of nowhere, ark connected with a Dream Left Hook which dropped the MMA specialist cold.
'The British Samurai' Robert Brown and Dwayne Dark defeated 'The Krakau Crippler' Pavel Vanszycha and Roy Edison.
The semi-main event of the show saw the second half of Harder Better Faster Stronger's challenge, as Petey Barnes met Leo 'The Lion' Price in singles competition. Nova Corporation were once again at ringside, although with Walter Morgan exhausted from his earlier match, Pavel Vanszycha similarly reeling and Jeff Nova suffering the effects of Barnes' attack earlier, the potential for interference was dramatically reduced. With this in mind, Leo Price defaulted to his standard strategy: when in doubt, cheat, run away and look for the cheapest victory possible. Barnes was not to be outdone, however, and kept the pressure up constantly with a barrage of kicks, high-speed strikes and innovative aerial offence. At one point the Red Rose Champion seemed set to interfere, but was prevented from doing so by Jeff Nova, who seemed increasingly nervous. Said nerves were not allayed when Price was laid low, allowing Barnes to score the victory with a Spiral Tap.
Petey Barnes defeated Leo 'The Lion' Price.
As the victorious members of Harder Better Faster Stronger hastily made their way backstage, the members of Nova Corporation made no move to follow. Instead, Jeff Nova grabbed a microphone and began a ranting diatribe against the masked man who had assaulted his client, 'The Tower Of London' Danny Patterson, at the last two CWL shows. Nova was wild with anger as he laid down a tirade of abuse against his enemy, calling him cowardly, dishonest and unsportsmanlike, entirely without any sense of irony. Nova also issued a dire warning to the backstage staff at CWL - he'd identified the production assistants who had accepted bribes to sabotage the lights and video screens, and anyone else who did any such thing would be reported to the CWL Booking Committee immediately. He called out the masked man, who apparently identifies himself as The Phoenix, to face him there and then, and to answer for his actions. "Oh, and in case you think that mask is fooling anyone, we all know it's you, Joss. Don't get any ideas." Sure enough, The Phoenix appeared at the entranceway. To Mister Nova's annoyance, he also had a microphone in hand. In a voice dripping with sarcasm he applauded Nova for discovering his 'secret identity'. If this is the extent of his powers of detection, then truly the world has a new supervillain to fear. However, it wasn't Jeff Nova he had returned to CWL to punish: it was the man with the belt. After Danny Patterson had beaten him down, slammed him through a table and left him mostly crippled, he'd had a lot of time to think about his priorities. He'd mused on the nature of life, on his relationships, on his past history, and had come to one conclusion: he didn't care about any of that. One thing had brought him back from his sick bed, one thing had given him the willpower to rehab his broken limbs and climb back into the ring: revenge. Revenge against Danny Patterson, and everyone who wanted to stand with him. Revenge kept him going, put fire in his veins and steel in his bones. Revenge made him invincible to harm. Revenge was the one thing he cared about, and any chance he got to take that revenge, he'd take it. Like, for instance, right the hell now.
So saying, The Phoenix dropped his microphone, rushed the ring and began attacking everyone in sight with a fire rarely seen even in the intense and violent environment of CWL. He'd chosen an ideal moment to attack, as the weakened Nova Corporation were easily knocked aside by a brutal flurry of blows, leaving The Phoenix face to face with his nemesis. Without further ado, the two began to brawl with ferocious intensity, first around the ring, then the ringside area, then finally into the crowd! Patterson tried to rely on his superior strength to give him the advantage, but against The Phoenix this strategy proved ineffective as the smaller man simply absorbed any punishment that was dealt to him, giving as good as he got. Eventually the champion simply hurled his opponent bodily into the rows of chairs in which people were still sitting - something that proved to be a very bad idea when Thompson grabbed one of said chairs and began using it as a weapon, punishing the back of the giant with repeated strikes. Patterson was staggered, dropping to one knee, before a mighty strike to the head knocked the champion to the floor! The Phoenix was not content to simply knock his opponent down, however, and continued to lay a vicious beatdown on the prone form of the Red Rose Champion as the crowd roared its approval. It was not to last, however, as before serious damage could be done the rest of Nova Corporation along with several other members of the CWL roster rushed to prevent an untimely end to The Tower Of London's career. The Phoenix beat a hasty retreat, allowing Danny Patterson to be helped back to his feet as the show came to an end.
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