The fans cheer as Shawn Michaels returns to the ring. His head is still bandaged, but this time fresh white replaces the blood soaked crimson we last saw him wearing. His match against South African champion Frans van der Heever was declared a no contest after Michaels was attacked out of the blue again by the masked assailant with a lead pipe. He looks all business as he strides to the ring. He looks very troubled and mad as hell.

 

Michaels] I have an announcement to make, and I don't give a **** who it pisses off, Backlund, Larkin, Adam Riggs. I just figured out who the "mystery" partner is for Adam Riggs tonight. I was sitting up in the ambulance trying to convince the paramedic that I didn't need to go to the hospital right now, when I saw it. There aren't too many Indian Motorcycles like yours bro. That's right, parked just down the street was my brother's vintage ride. DARREN you son of a bitch...how many times have you stabbed me in the back? Now you can add one more time, but for some reason you decide that you need to wear a mask. You are a ****** coward you little ****. No way am I going to let you get into that steel cage tonight and participate in your match when you have screwed me out of mine. No way am I going to sit back there or go to the hospital. And anyone that gets in my way is going to taste a bit of bad medicine; HBK style. So Darren, I know you are hiding in the back. Probably with some street scrag whore, or some 16 year old groupie, or slicing your arm with a razor after free basting some ****, so get it together and come out here now.

 

The crowd roars their approval after getting over the initial shock of Darren Michaels possibly being in the building.

At the announce table they are shocked as well. Joe Aiello calls Darren Michaels a psychopath who has had a life long goal of killing an opponent in the ring. Linley Tolbert though seems to find the whole thing amusing saying that Darren's goal should be to kill 3 men as Ox Baker holds the record with 2 confirmed deaths at his hand. Steven Regal seems very put off and opines that he came to MAPW because they are for tradition and mat wrestling, but with the appearance of Team Extreme earlier and now possibly Darren Michaels he might have to rethink his decision.

 

 

The fans pop big time and come to their feet as Darren Michaels strolls ever so slowly to the ring. He is wearing a black trench coat and a t-shirt that simply says "I'd as soon kill you as look at you". He enters the ring and stands a few feet away from his brother Shawn who is doing his best to control his temper.

 

Darren] Shawny boy. How did you know she was only 16? Don't worry bro, maybe she has a younger brother you could hook up with after the show. Oh wait, the show is finished for you. You had your shot and you blew it. Of course you blow everything don't you? Now I'm not going to pretend to be valiant or brave. If I was going to take you out Shawn you can bet your boyfriend's smooth ass I would attack you from behind, and then beat the hell out of you. And I do admire the use of a lead pipe. BUT, when I turned you over, and pulled your bloodied head up from the mat, I would make you stare into my eyes, and I wouldn't want anything to detract from the anger..the hatred..the depravity that lies underneath them. So I would never wear a mask Shawn, it would serve no purpose. I didn't attack you Shawn, but I would like to buy a few hits for the mother***** who did **** you up.

 

Shawn] You worthless piece of ****. The reason you wore a mask was probably because you are supposed to be a surprise for tonight. You may be psychopathic but I bet you are scared witless to piss of Adam Riggs.

 

Darren] I fear no man Shawn, and that includes Riggs. What can I do to prove to you that I didn't attack you? Your just pissed off because I'm in the main event of my first show in MAPW while you were jerking the curtain earlier. Oh wait I have an idea.

 

The fans pop as the assailant in the black and red mask emerges from the crowd and runs to the ring. Shawn hears him enter and turns around clocking him with a right hand, knocking the masked man on his backside. But Darren then attacks Shawn with a forearm to the back. He straddles his brother and starts to pepper him with shots to the head, aided by a pair of brass knuckles that he withdrew from his jacket.

The masked man recovers and while Darren holds Shawn down the masked man lays in some knees to the back of Shawn.

Finally, it is Goldberg who once again comes to the rescue. The masked man quickly flees from the ring and through the crowd, but Darren is caught up in the heat of the battle and attempts to put the brass knux on again and catch Goldberg off guard. He isn't quick enough though and Goldberg spears him, laying him out cold.

 

 

 

 

 

This match promises to be electric even if it is being presided over by long-time inept official Jurgen Hermann.

 

Mysterio is trying too hard to end this one early and makes a mistake missing a flying cross body press that results in Jons getting a near fall. Mysterio though quickly resumes control and nails a standing moonsault after a Mexican armdrag and gets a 2 count.

It's all Mysterio early who punishes Jons, blocks his assaults, and embarrases him by throwing him out of the ring as if taking out the trash.

Jons survives a top-rope hurrancanrana and finally gets a bit of offense in of his own with a bridging back suplex before Mysterio once again resumes control. Mysterio takes the action to the floor nailing Jons with a tope before sending the challenger head first into the ringsteps. However, when the champ went for a springboard bulldog off the steps Jons held on, turned around and smashed the champ shoulder first into the steel ring post. Jons nailed a piledriver for good measure outside the ring. When the action went back into the ring it was now much more even handed.

Jons first tries for the win by wearing Mysterio down with a cobra clutch and then tries for the less subtle method of a spin kick to the back of the head which garnered him a 2 count.

It's all Jons now until he tries to end it with a double underhook superplex only to have Mysterio block it and then throw him off the top turnbuckle. The champ nails the top-rope hurrancanrana followed by the west coast pop but stalls before making the cover which allows Jons to snake a boot out over the bottom strand.

Mysterio does his best to end the challenge but Jons continues to stay alive. The match spills outside the ring once again and like the last time Jons fights back tooth and nail. The match ends when Mysterio executes a simple single leg takedown on Jons who has the misfortune of falling backward and nailing his head hard against the side of the ringsteps. He's dazed and might even have suffered a concussion.

 

[NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship Match]:
Rey Misterio Jr. defeated Chris Jons by countout in 0:20:22.

 

 

 

Champion v Champion - Non-title Match

Steve Riley  v  Rocky Maivia

The night's opening match saw NPW American champion "Total Destruction" Steve Riley take on NPW Canadian champion Rocky Maivia in a non-title match. Riley had the upper hand in much of this match. Bret Hart came down to cheer on Maivia, but Rocky didn't seem to appreciate Bret's prescence so he rocked him with a right hand outside the ring. Then Riley speared Rocky in the lower back, sending Rocky colliding with Bret and landing on him. Bret looked to be quite hurt as did Rocky. A concerned Wayne Hart then applied the 3 count on the pinfall even though it was outside the ring.

[Steve Riley pinned Rocky Maivia after a spear at 12:00]

 

 

The fans were pretty unfamiliar with the challengers and had only seen the champs on one previous occasion. On top of that it was a bit more aerial and reckless then the MAPW crowd usually enjoys. However, all four men were seasoned professionals and put on a good show with the champions firmly implanting themselves as the villians by slagging the Minnesota Vikings inability to win.

In the end Royal and Vakis fought off double teams by the champions and Vakis turned his sleeperhold into a form of diamond cutter and picked up the win.

 

 

As they celebrated their victory however, the music of The Sheepherders played and the New Zealand duo came out to the ring. Sheepherder Cage was wearing a neckbrace on his injured neck, and the men were accompanied by a 3rd man who Linley Tolbert identified correctly as former PWA/WWA star "Viper" Victor Blood. Sheepherder Nancy got on the mic and ran down the quality of the previous match, saying it can't be very good when the wrestlers don't even weigh a buck fifty each. He says the Sheepherders would love to take those titles away from the new champions but due to the injury to his partner Sexton Cage it isn't possible. That's why he bought the services of the Viper for tonight. Nancy and Blood challenge Vakis and Royal to a match, and being the courageous young men they are they have no choice but to accept.

 

 

 

 

The newly crowned champs put up a valiant fight but the deck is stacked against them. They are fatigued from their earlier match which slows down their high flying approach, and they are no match power wise or mat grappling with their much bigger and more experienced challengers. To make matters worse, despite wearing a neckbrace Sheepherder Cage manages to interfere by passing Nancy a chair to be used at the right moment when Jimmy Appleseed's back was turned to the action.

 

 

 

 

Edited for time constraints, approximately 9 minutes of footage shown.

 

March 16th, 2002, Northern Premiere Wrestling TV

 

From the Barry Windham Farewell Tour stop in NPW

MAIN EVENT

WWA/NWA Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Match

"The Champion of Champions" Barry Windham

                      v

"Your Hero" Chris Jericho

The match started when Jericho offered his hand to Windham who then slapped Jericho across the face instead. Jericho looked surprised and bailed out of the ring. He grabbed a mic and tried to get the fans to cheer for him "their hometown boy" only to receive a chorus of boos and jeers. Windham got Jericho to toss him the mic and then told Jericho to stop stalling just to be able to say he lasted 5 minutes with the greatest of all time.

Jericho got into the ring and tried to take Windham down with a single leg takedown but ate a knee instead. Windham tossed Jericho around the ring like a ragdoll delivering many trademark chops to Jericho's chest as he pinned him to the turnbuckle. Five minutes into the match and Jericho's chest was beat red.

Windham's first mistake in the match was going for a bulldog without it being properly cinched in. Jericho managed to throw Windham head first into the turnbuckle. The Canadian then took control and even managed to deliver two consecutive powerbombs on the bigger champion.

Jericho thought he had the match in hand and went for the Hero's Welcome (formerly the Liontamer). But Windham's superior reach allowed him to block it by reaching backward and pulling on the foot of Jericho, causing him to lose his balance. Jericho continued his assault but it became apparent that he did not have enough conventional moves to damage Windham enough to pick up the win.

So he went outside the ring to grab a steel chair and risk disqualification. But Windham caught Jericho climbing between the ropes carrying the chair, with a nasty dropkick which drove the chair into the head and shoulder of Jericho who tumbled out of the ring.

Windham followed the challenger out of the ring and threw him around the guardrails and the ringposts. Jericho was busted wide open, and Windham twice re-entered the ring to break the 20 count. Finally Windham put Jericho through the announce table with a double underhook piledriver. Jericho was bleeding profusely at this point. However, the challenger got a short reprieve when the ringside doctor stopped the match for a few seconds to take a look at Jericho's cuts along with the ref.

As Windham strutted around the inside of the ring Raymond Bingham entered the ring with his new WWA North American Heavyweight Championship. But Windham was moving around too much and saw Bingham in time to duck. The champion then took Bingham down with a double underhook suplex. Jericho re-entered the ring at this point and took Windham down with a knee to the back.

Jericho took his second long advantage of the night working over Windham's lower back before delivering a herosault and getting a 2 count. Frustrated Jericho went for a powerbomb, but Windham countered with a backflip, and then got on top of Jericho for a series of mounted punches. Every time Windham hit Jericho in the head a little bit of blood would splatter up.

Picking Jericho up by the hair Windham pulled him into the center of the ring and delivered the Western Lariat.

[Barry Windham pinned Chris Jericho after a Western Lariat at 25:33]

Post-Match: Windham had the mic and was about to speak when he was interrupted by NPW President Jack Larkin who came to the ring in a suit, accompanied by April Hunter in an evening gown. They carried a trophy to the ring. This was the first time Larkin ever appeared LIVE on a Mid-AM or NPW show. He wanted to pay tribute to the champion of champions. Instead Windham mocked Larkin and refereed to comments Larkin had made recently on the PWA site about Windham. Windham took the mic away from Larkin, cut his closing promo, pushed Larkin to the ground, took the trophy in one hand and April Hunter in the other arm and left the arena...still the undisputed World Champion..still the champion of champions.

Farewell Mr. Windham

 

 

 

Referee Buddy Lane did his best to keep order in this match but it was an uphill battle with these 6 men who showed little regard for the rules. Riggs and Michaels seemed to work really well together, their two warped minds working together. Bayley was frustrated time and again by his inability to get any momentum going, and DDP played Ricky Morton for a good 6 minute stretch that saw him busted wide open. As the action got really hot Nic Cross nailed the Pedigree on LeMonie but instead of locking on a submission hold or tagging out, he scaled the inside of the cage instead. Bayley and DDP looked on in wonder as Cross perched himself precariously on top of the 16 foot steel cage. Then he shocked his teammates and the crowd by scaling down the outside of the cage. Cross flipped off the other wrestlers in the ring and left for backstage. Kim Page went running after him trying to get him to change his mind. She grabbed his arm to which he responded with a forearm to the skull.

Kim dropped like a rock and Cross left for good. DDP reacted by climbing the cage and going to check on Kim who was now being menaced by April Hunter who took the opportunity to lay in a couple of boots.

This of course left Bayley alone with Riggs, Michaels, and LeMonie. Michaels went to work on Bayley, backing him into enemy corner where Riggs choked him with the tag rope. The three men took advantage of the situation by double teaming Bayley for about 3 minutes. Bayley was busted wide open.

Finally DDP returned from taking Kim Page to the back and began to climb the cage wall to get back into the action. Julian LeMonie though climbed the inside of the cage and fought with DDP on the top to delay his entry. In the meantime Adam Riggs took Bayley to the top turnbuckle and brought him down with a slam right overtop of the waiting knee of Darren Michaels. Bayley groped at his back screaming in pain. DDP dropped to the inside of the cage but by this time Riggs went over to help LeMonie keep DDP at bay. In the meantime Michaels locked on the sharpshooter on Bayley, who after a full courageous minute in the hold finally said "I Quit".