Previously on CKW....
Figo Manico shocked the world by surviving Thunder Shock and capitalising on Richard Blood’s revenge, hitting the Madrid Maul to advance to the Hail to the King Final. Eric Tyler joined him there after The Masked Grappler took out The Hype during a referee spill, allowing Tyler to score the win with the Tradition Lift.
Farrah Hesketh picked up a dominant victory over Heidi Hyde before confronting Ashley Amazon, and the Queen agreed to defend her title against Farrah at Hail to the King.
The Style Council defeated Frank Tucker and the Edmonton Outlaws, and Jake Sloan laid down the challenge — Morgan and Flash want their tag title shot at the PPV.
And backstage, a furious Yosuke Narita vowed to destroy Richard Blood for costing him his place in the tournament.
Fresno, CA — Tuesday, 18 February 1997
The CKW road show pulls into the South West for a stacked, oversized edition of Battlefield ahead of Hail To The King.
Commentary opens:
"Welcome, everybody, to a very special edition of CKW Battlefield, live from Fresno, California!"
"Tonight's card is loaded. The Hype looks to bounce back against an Edmonton Outlaw. Eric Tyler has something to say after booking his place in the Hail To The King Final. Ashley Amazon teams with Raven Nightfall to take on Farrah Hesketh and Heidi Hyde. El Bandido takes on the debuting Axxis Jr. Frank Tucker puts the Potential Championship on the line against a newcomer in Shawn Chase. We've got an eight-man all-star spectacular, with ten thousand dollars on the line for the winning team! And in our main event, Style Council go to war with Eric Tyler and Yosuke Narita as they prepare for their Hail To The King tag title shot!"
"It's a massive night here in Fresno, let's get to it!"
The Hype vs Vigilante Hawk
The Hype is already in the ring when Vigilante Hawk's music hits, strutting to the ring with Tavare Loring nowhere in sight tonight, just him.
The bell rings and Hawk immediately tries to bully Hype with his power, backing him into the corner with heavy forearms. Hype covers up, weathers it, then slips out the side and creates space with a series of quick strikes.
Hawk regroups and goes back to basics, working Hype over with a clubbing lariat that puts him down. He keeps Hype grounded, methodical, grinding him down with heavy strikes and a prolonged chinlock.
Hype fights up, fires off elbows to escape, and hits the ropes. Hawk catches him with a big boot attempt, but Hype ducks under and answers with a spinning heel kick that drops Hawk flat.
Hype hauls Hawk up from behind, hooks him, and spins him a full 180 degrees in mid-air before driving him down back-first.
EVOLUTION REVOLUTION.
Cover. One. Two. Three.
The Hype gets back in the win column.
The Hype is still catching his breath in the ring, celebrating his win, when Eric Tyler's music cuts him off.
Tyler steps through the curtain, towel draped over his shoulder, that familiar smug grin already in place. He struts down the ramp, takes his time, and lifts the mic before he's even reached the ring.
"Hype, let's be honest. I had your number last week. I would have beaten you regardless. But I'll admit, Masked Grappler made it a whole lot easier. So, thank you."
Hype glares at him from the ring, saying nothing.
Tyler taps his own temple.
"That's the difference between me and everyone else in the back. They fight. I think."
The crowd boos heavily as Tyler smiles wider.
"At Hail To The King, I'm in the Final. Figo Manico, I respect what you did to get there. I do. But respect doesn't win championships."
He lowers the mic, voice dropping.
"Wrestling's rightful heir is one win away from being Hail To The King champion. And nothing is going to stop that."
Hype takes a step toward the ropes, like he might come down the ramp after him, but Tyler is already backing up the aisle, smiling, in no rush to find out.
Ashley Amazon & Raven Nightfall vs Farrah Hesketh & Heidi Hyde
Before the bell even rings, it's clear Ashley Amazon does not want to be here. She stands in the corner, arms crossed, Queen's Championship handed off to ringside, glaring across the ring at Farrah Hesketh with open contempt.
Raven Nightfall, making her CKW debut, stands beside Amazon, calm, unreadable, sizing up the opposition with quiet intensity.
The bell rings and Heidi Hyde starts for her team, trying to test Raven early with quick strikes. Raven absorbs them without flinching, then snaps off a crisp series of counters, a wristlock takedown, a tight armbar exchange, that has the crowd buzzing about the newcomer's style.
Hyde tags Farrah in, and Farrah immediately turns up the aggression, hammering Raven into the corner. Raven tags out, to Amazon.
The moment Amazon steps through the ropes, the temperature changes.
She doesn't circle. She doesn't posture. She walks straight at Farrah and drives her into the corner with a forearm that echoes through the building. Farrah fires back, but Amazon barely reacts. She grabs Farrah by the hair, whips her across the ring, and flattens her with a clothesline that turns her inside out.
Farrah crawls desperately for her corner, fingers stretched toward Heidi Hyde. She makes the tag just before Amazon can cut her off.
Heidi Hyde dives in, fresh, but Amazon catches her mid-leap, pivots, and slams her down with a fallaway slam instead.
The crowd gasps.
Amazon doesn't go for Farrah. She turns, grabs Heidi Hyde, hauls her up, and plants her with the Amazon Arrow, right in front of Farrah Hesketh, who can only watch, frozen, from the apron.
One. Two. Three.
Amazon doesn't even wait for her music. She steps over the fallen Heidi Hyde, retrieves her Queen's Championship from ringside, and locks eyes with Farrah. She doesn't say a word. She simply holds the title up, close enough for Farrah to see every detail, before turning and walking away.
Roman Heidenseik Promo
Backstage, Roman Heidenseik stands in front of the CKW backdrop, arms folded.
"Tonight, I'm part of something big. Eight men, big stakes, and I plan on being the one walking out of here with something to show for it."
He nods once and walks off camera.
El Bandido vs Axxis Jr
Axxis Jr makes his Battlefield in-ring debut to a curious, warm reaction, the rookie from last week's backstage promo finally getting his shot.
El Bandido, never one to respect a debut, tries to bully Axxis early, shoving him into the ropes and talking trash. Axxis bounces back with shocking speed, a springboard arm drag sends Bandido reeling, and the young luchador follows with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors that has the Fresno crowd on its feet.
Axxis strings together a series of dazzling counters, a handspring elbow, a springboard moonsault for a near fall, and for several minutes it looks like the rookie might just steal one in his first night.
Bandido, increasingly frustrated, finally cuts him off with a vicious clothesline out of nowhere. He doesn't let Axxis recover. He drags him up, hooks him, and drives him down with the Hijack Suplex.
One. Two. Three.
El Bandido wins, but he doesn't celebrate much, sliding out of the ring quickly, glancing back at Axxis with something between irritation and respect. Axxis sits up slowly, clearly disappointed, but the ovation he gets on the way to the back tells its own story: CKW just saw something special.
Heidi Hyde Promo
Heidi Hyde storms into frame backstage, still rattled from her loss earlier tonight.
"I am sick of being a stepping stone. Every week it's the same thing. Heidi loses. Heidi gets used. Heidi gets forgotten."
She points off camera.
"That ends. I don't care who I have to go through. I am done losing."
She storms off before the interviewer can even get a question out.
CKW Potential Championship: Frank Tucker (c) vs Shawn Chase
A buzz goes through the Fresno crowd as an unfamiliar entrance theme hits, Shawn Chase, a clean-cut newcomer making his CKW debut against the reigning Potential Champion.
Frank Tucker doesn't bother with introductions. He charges the moment Chase steps through the ropes, driving him into the corner with heavy shoulder thrusts.
Chase, to the surprise of the crowd, doesn't fold. He absorbs the early onslaught, slips out of the corner, and answers with a crisp dropkick that staggers the champion. He follows with a series of clean, fundamentally sound strikes, there's nothing flashy about Shawn Chase, but everything he does looks sharp, polished, ready.
Tucker, irritated that this newcomer isn't rolling over, ramps up the aggression, a snap suplex, a hard clothesline that flips Chase inside out. Chase kicks out at two, gets to his feet, and catches Tucker with a textbook neckbreaker for a near fall of his own.
The Fresno crowd starts to rally behind the rookie.
Tucker, sensing the shift, stops playing around. He waits for Chase to charge, sidesteps, traps him in a headscissors, then flips forward and drives him head first into the mat with The Spotlight.
One. Two. Three.
Frank Tucker retains the Potential Championship.
The Hype Interview
Backstage, The Hype sits on an equipment crate, wrapping his wrists, when the interviewer approaches.
"Hype, big win tonight. How are you feeling heading into Hail To The King?"
Hype looks up, calm, focused.
"Masked Grappler made me a promise. Win the tournament, get a title shot. I was on my way to doing exactly that, and he couldn't stand the thought of it. So he made sure I never got the chance."
He stands, finishing the wrap on his wrist.
"But you can't cost a man his shot and then just disappear, Grappler. Not forever. Next week, you and I are going to sit down, and we're going to sign a contract. One more match, Hail To The King. No interference, no excuses. Just you and me."
He picks up his bag and walks toward the locker room.
"You can't dodge me any longer."
Eight-Man All-Star Showdown — $10,000 Winner-Take-All
Boomer Singh, Leon Williams, Louis Figo Manico & Richard Blood vs Puerto Rican Power, Roman Heidenseik, Tavare Loring & The Masked Grappler
The arena lights shift as commentary builds the moment.
"Folks, this is something special. Eight men, one massive payday, and bragging rights heading into Hail To The King."
Boomer Singh leads his team out first, full of energy, playing to the Fresno crowd. Leon Williams follows with that same calm, veteran intensity. Louis Figo Manico bounces out next, fresh off his Hail To The King Final qualification, soaking in the cheers. Finally Richard Blood walks out last, focused, cold.
On the other side, Tavare Loring and Puerto Rican Power lead the way, both looking every bit like locker room enforcers. Roman Heidenseik follows. And finally, the World Champion himself, The Masked Grappler, steps through the curtain to a chorus of boos, title left at ringside for tonight's non-title affair.
The bell rings and it's chaos from the jump, all eight men brawling, the referee desperately trying to establish legal men.
Boomer Singh and Tavare Loring start the actual wrestling, trading heavy shots that rock the ring. Boomer gets the better of the exchange, tagging in Leon Williams, who immediately lays into Loring with stiff veteran strikes.
Loring scrambles to his corner, tagging Puerto Rican Power, and the power dynamic shifts instantly. PRP bulldozes Leon with a shoulder block that sends him stumbling, then tags in Roman, who keeps Leon grounded with methodical pressure.
Leon eventually fights free, diving for his corner. Figo Manico flies in, a blur of energy, hitting Roman with a flurry of strikes and a springboard dropkick that has the crowd roaring.
Figo and PRP go at it next, PRP overpowers him early remembering last weeks loss and trying to enact some sort of revenge, but Figo's speed keeps him a step ahead, frustrating the bigger man.
The match breaks down into stretches of all eight men brawling on the outside, the referee losing control completely, bodies crashing into barricades, Boomer launching Loring into the timekeeper's table, Roman and Leon trading blows up the aisle.
Eventually order is restored, barely, and Richard Blood finds himself legal against The Masked Grappler.
The crowd reacts immediately. Blood doesn't hesitate, attacking with everything he has, a flurry of clotheslines and elbows that backs Grappler into the corner. Grappler tries to slow him down, going for the eyes, but Blood shrugs it off and continues the assault.
Grappler finally creates separation with a knee to the gut, then tags out to PRP, who immediately overwhelms Blood with raw power, a fallaway slam, a running splash that has Blood gasping.
PRP tags Loring, who keeps the pressure on Blood, isolating him in the heel corner with quick tags between himself, Roman, and PRP.
Blood fights, claws, eventually creates an opening with a desperation enzuigiri on Loring, and dives for the tag.
Figo Manico flies in, fresh, and the match explodes again. He wipes out Roman with a flying forearm, catches Loring with a basement dropkick, and signals for the Madrid Maul on Loring, but PRP breaks it up with a thunderous clothesline before Figo can connect.
All eight men spill back into the ring. It's bedlam.
Boomer and PRP collide in the center with a double clothesline that drops both men. Leon and Loring brawl into the corner. Roman and Richard Blood trade forearms. Figo and Grappler circle each other, the crowd reacting to what would certainly be an exciting match up
Grappler, ever the opportunist, baits Figo into a charge, sidesteps, and Figo crashes hard into the turnbuckle. Grappler grabs him, looking for the Piledriver, but Leon Williams blindsides Grappler from behind with a clothesline before he can lift Figo, breaking it up.
The match descends into total chaos once again, all eight men down or fighting at various points around the ring, the referee shouting, completely unable to restore order.
Leon Williams, the last man standing, drags Roman Heidenseik up from the wreckage. The Fresno crowd roars as he hoists him into the State Of The Union.
He covers, and in the chaos, none of Roman's teammates can break it up in time. The ref seemingly wanting to put an end to the chaos doesn't question either mans legality.
One. Two. Three!
Boomer Singh, Leon Williams, Louis Figo Manico, and Richard Blood win the eight-man showdown, and ten thousand dollars.
The four winners celebrate as PRP, Roman, Loring, and Grappler slowly pull themselves up, furious, glaring at each other almost as much as at their opponents, the kind of frustration that suggests this alliance of convenience might not survive the night.
Style Council (JD Morgan & Steve Flash) vs Eric Tyler & Yosuke Narita
The main event begins with a request, not a challenge. Commentary explains that, with their tag title shot against the Edmonton Outlaws looming at Hail To The King, JD Morgan and Steve Flash specifically asked management for the toughest possible test heading into Fresno.
CKW delivered: Eric Tyler, fresh off booking his Final spot, and Yosuke Narita, still simmering with rage after his elimination from the tournament.
The bell rings and Narita doesn't wait. He explodes across the ring at Morgan, hammering him with stiff forearms and a brutal short arm lariat that drops him instantly. Tyler tags in, content to let Narita do the heavy lifting, and the two heels begin systematically dismantling Morgan in their corner.
Morgan absorbs a beating that would have finished most men, Narita's strikes carry real venom, every blow looking like payback for something that has nothing to do with this match.
Morgan finally creates separation, ducking a Narita lariat and diving for his corner. Steve Flash comes in like a rocket, clotheslines, a springboard crossbody on Tyler, a tight dropkick that staggers Narita.
For the first time, Style Council gets a sustained run. Flash and Morgan, tagging in and out smoothly, start to systematically work over Narita, double team strikes, a tandem backbreaker, crisp tag team timing that the crowd eats up.
Narita, for the first time in weeks, looks human, backing up, absorbing punishment, the relentless aura cracking just slightly under the weight of two world class tag specialists working as one. Narita fights back for a brief moment and all 3 men go tumbling into the Narita's corner.
In the scramble, Tyler manages to tag himself in behind Narita's back, Narita far too focused on the danger in front of him to realize his partner has gone legal, but the ref has seen it.
Flash and Morgan get Narita back under control, Morgan climbing to the second rope, ready to assist Flash on a tag team move attempt on Narita.
On the outside, Tyler grabs Morgan's ankle, yanking him off the apron before he can deliver the assist. Morgan crashes hard to the floor.
Flash, mid move, doesn't see any of it, but spotting Morgan is gone he kicks Narita in the gut, pulls him into a three quarter facelock, and drops him with the Flashbang stunner on his own. Narita crumples.
Flash covers. The ref signals that Narita isn't the legal man. Steve Flash stands up asking the ref what is going on.
Eric Tyler, the legal man all along, slides into the ring, and rolls Flash over into a tight roll up of his own.
One. Two. Three!
Eric Tyler and Yosuke Narita win.
Flash sits up, stunned, staring at the spot where Narita was lying a half second ago. Morgan scrambles back into the ring, furious, realizing exactly what just happened on the outside.
Tyler rolls out of the ring quickly, laughing, pointing at his own head, while Narita slowly gets back to his feet, confused for a moment before catching on, staring daggers at his own partner as much as at Flash and Morgan.
Style Council stand in the ring, frustrated at the result, but commentary is quick to point out the silver lining.
"They came here looking for the toughest test in CKW, and folks, they got it. Yosuke Narita is an absolute monster, and Style Council hung with him for the better part of fifteen minutes. If they can do that again at Hail To The King, the Edmonton Outlaws better be ready."
Flash and Morgan glance at each other, disappointed, but resolute. As the show fades out, the two of them stand tall in the ring despite the loss, clearly feeling like they got exactly the preparation they came for.
The card for Hail To The King is nearly set. And Fresno has reminded everyone there's a lot more to CKW's roster than just the names at the top.
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