November 19, 2012 - Monday Night Anarchy - Helsinki, FI

Attendance: 9,240

-A highlight package from last week’s show is seen. Then we go inside the arena, where Josh Daniels welcomes everyone to Helsinki for the first HWL event ever in Finland! He is joined at ringside by Scott Michaels.

-Jay Briscoe’s music plays as he makes his way down to the ring. Grabbing a microphone, Briscoe says that Cody Rhodes has come back to the HWL a changed man. Not the man who once held the HWL Heavyweight Title, but a man that find himself in the battle of a lifetime. Briscoe says it’s clear what is getting into Rhodes, but he has chosen to mess with the wrong guy. Briscoe demands that Rhodes come out to the ring, so he can expose him in front of the entire world!

This brings out Peter Bradshaw, who tells Briscoe that Cody hasn’t arrived at the arena yet. But, when he does, the first person he will see is Bradshaw. Bradshaw says that Briscoe has been under a lot of stress lately and gives him the night off. Bradshaw leaves the stage as Anarchy goes to commercials.

Commercial Break

Triple Threat Match:
David Otunga defeated Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal:
X S. Moore beat J. Neal via pinfall in 6:39.
X D. Otunga beat S. Moore with the Verdict in 10:24.
Rating: ** ½

The fans in Helsinki were treated to a first tonight – an opening Triple Threat Match that pitted both members of Ink, Inc. and David Otunga. Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal were in the ring for quite a while to start the match, showcasing their skills in the ring. Questions arise as to whether or not this match will put a damper on their partnership or if tonight’s match was good-natured in intent. Otunga periodically tagged in to take the wind of their Moore’s and Neal’s sails, but when the time was right, Otunga tagged in a tired Neal. This allowed Moore to roll Neal up for the first pinfall. Otunga and Moore then battled it out for the next few minutes, but it was evident that Otunga was the fresher man. He was able to wear down Moore before hitting the Verdict to pick up the victory.

Commercial Break

-Returning from the break, CODY RHODES is seen staggering into the arena. He shakes his head and takes a deep breath as a crew member approaches and says that Mr. Bradshaw is looking for Cody. Cody smirks, thanks the crew member, and makes his way toward Bradshaw’s office. The announcers speculate as to what Bradshaw and Rhodes will be discussing.

ODB and Brie Bella battled to a no-contest in 5:30.
Rating: ** ½

The ongoing situation between ODB and Brie Bella looks like it will continue on after this week’s match-up. At Wicked Games, Brie caused ODB to spill the contents of her flask all over herself and the ring. This resulted in ODB using the flask to attack Brie and getting herself DQ’d. Last week, ODB issued a challenge to Brie in the hopes of finishing things once and for all. But, instead of getting a decisive winner, the referee had no choice by to call for the bell after both women grabbed a handful of each other’s hair and refused to let go. Finally, the referee was able to separate the two, and they stood in the ring screaming at each other as Anarchy went to commercials.

Commercial Break

-Returning from the break, ERIC YOUNG makes his way out to the ring. Young has come out to get something off his chest, and to make an announcement that will change the landscape of the Caged Rage pay-per-view. First, Young calls out Ted DiBiase – who Young tells the crowd isn’t in the building and won’t be for the foreseeable future – for grabbing his ball and running home when they were just about to break through the glass ceiling they’ve been under. Young and DiBiase were scheduled to face AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston for the Tag Team Titles on December 16th – which will still happen – just a little differently. Young then announces that he has a new tag team partner before introducing MARTIN KIRBY! Kirby comes down to the ring and says that he has come to help Young do what DiBiase didn’t have the guts to: win the HWL Tag Team Titles.

The Independents (Claudio Castagnoli & Steve Corino (w/Shane Hagadorn) and Colt Cabana & Edwin Colon battled to a double countout in 15:58.
Rating: ** ¾

Cabana & Colon were trying to put a nice little winning streak together tonight, after an impressive victory last week. However, The Independents – led by Shane Hagadorn – had other ideas. All four men battled throughout the ringside area in this match, and there were a number of double-teams on the part of Hagadorn’s men. But, the underhanded tactics didn’t seem to work, as Cabana and Colon were able to hold their ground. Unfortunately, due to the double countout, a clear winner was not decided.

Commercial Break

-Returning from the break, Cody Rhodes is seen entering Peter Bradshaw’s office. Rhodes wants to know what’s going on, and Bradshaw offers him a seat. Bradshaw tells Rhodes about what was brought to his attention last week by Jay Briscoe. Bradshaw asks if the bag in the locker room was Cody’s or not. Rhodes says that Bradshaw’s a fool for believing the story of one man. He says that Briscoe obviously made it look like it was Rhodes’s bag. He says that it’s clear that Bradshaw believed him because here they are. Bradshaw offers Cody the chance to clear the air - all he has to do is let Bradshaw look through his bag. Rhodes slams his hands down on the table and tells Bradshaw that this is ridiculous. He says that his family’s name is a cornerstone of this business, and to have Bradshaw think he’d tarnish that name is offensive. Cody tells Bradshaw he should be ashamed of himself before standing up and storming out of the office.

Commercial Break

Matt Morgan defeated Alex Riley by DQ in 10:35.
Rating: * ¾
[Kevin Steen interfered against Matt Morgan.]

Last week, Matt Morgan made a pretty big impact on Kevin Steen’s in-ring announcement. Morgan interrupted Steen’s claim to being better than the injured Randy Orton, only to say that he would be challenging for Steen’s X-Division Title at Caged Rage next month. Tonight, Morgan was in action, taking on Alex Riley – who was unsuccessful in his rematch against Chris Hero last week. Morgan connected with the Carbon Footprint outside the ring, causing Riley’s head to bounce off the concrete. It looked like Riley would be counted out until STEEN rushed down and helps Riley back under the ropes. Steen was a constant presence at ringside from that point, and when Morgan connected with a second Carbon Footprint, Steen broke up the pinfall by hitting Morgan in the back of the head with the X-Division Title belt! Steen left the ring, smiling, as Anarchy went to commercials.

Commercial Break

-Returning from the break, Alisha Hicks is with Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Alisha asks Cena about his confrontation with CM Punk last week, and how things are shaping up heading into their title match at Caged Rage. Cena tells Alisha that Punk might be able to claim some sort of moral victory after last week, but his taking the high road doesn’t guarantee that he will walk out of the steel cage as champion. Cena says he proved he was willing to stop at nothing to win the belt. He questions whether Punk is willing to do the same.

Non-Title Match
Kevin Steen pinned Delirious (w/Daizee Haze) after a superkick in 7:26.
Rating: *** ¾

A smug Kevin Steen returned to the ring just after interfering in Matt Morgan’s match. He was met by a round of boos from the crowd, but that didn’t derail him inside the ring. Against the newcomer Delirious, Steen looked confident. Delirious held his own but was blindsided by a superkick from Steen that led to the champion’s victory.

Commercial Break

CM Punk pinned Eddie Edwards with the GTS in 13:04.
Rating: ¼

Eight days after earning the right to face John Cena for the Heavyweight Title at Caged Rage, Punk picked up a much-needed victory tonight, which helped him keep momentum heading into the final pay-per-view of the year. In the clear best match of the evening, Punk put Edwards away after his second GTS of the match. Punk seems eager to walk out of Nashville as a two-time champion.

Card rating: *** ¼

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License