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The First Show of Bret Hart’s Stampede Wrestling has taken place, and it is Stampede Wrestling: Rebirth!
The show is not one to be storyline heavy – To start with, I need to introduce all the wrestlers to the 49 people in attendance, and star to gain some popularity so some of the bigger Canadian Stars will join my promotion (Lance Storm in the one I’m eyeing up before he retires). Very few angles will be part of the show, with no real rivalries progressing. Just some matches to get the fans used to these young Candian superstars.
The Show
The event is taking place at Yorkton Pavillion, in Alberta, in front of 49 paying fans clamouring to see their hero Bret Hart and the next generation of superstars.
The show stars with the Hitman, his music hits and he enters as the crowd are on their feet. He makes his way to the ring, and waits for the cheers to die down. He has a microphone in his hand, and welcomes all the fans to Stampede Wrestling!
He says he’s excited to carry on his families legacy, and to bring some real wrestling back into the fans lives. He runs down the card, including announcing the main event – The Stampede Bulldogs vs Davey Richards and Ricky Morton! (Eddie Edwards was not available for the show, so Morton had to step in.) The Hitman then introduces the first match of the night, Winnipeg’s Kenny Omega vs Quebec’s Kevin Steen!
Match 1 – Kenny Omega vs Kevin Steen
This first match had to be a banger, and despite being well before their primes, both men still have great stats in all the right areas. Even with their non-existent popularity, the pair wrestled for 15 minutes with a rating of 31, according to online fans. Kevin Steen picked up the win with a Package Piledriver.
After the match, Steen grabbed a microphone, and let everybody know that they need to watch out, because there’s only one main man in Stampede Wrestling, and his name is Kevin Steen. He was quite heelish in the delivery, and is set to be a top heel for the promotion going forward. The promo got a rating of 36, which is very good for someone of his popularity.
Match 2: Shawn Spears vs Phil Atlas
The second bout of the night started with Shawn Spears making his entrance. Spears came out looking very happy, slapping hands with the fans in attendance and showing off to the fans. This didn’t impress the fans, who didn’t care about him at all, getting a 0 rating.
His opponent is Phil Atlas, a local worker brought in for the show on a short term contact, with a view of bringing in for more dates should he impress.
Spears defeated Atlas with a Death Valley Driver after 8 minutes, in a match which never hit the highs of the previous one. It got an 18 rating and really casts doubts on Spears as a main event talent, with early reports that Hart has worries about the 25 year old Canadian wrestler.
Match 3 – El Generico vs Adrian O’Ryan
One of the biggest international signings that Bret Hart has managed to secure, Mexican superstar El Generico has ridden his way into Stampede Wrestling. The Mysterious Luchador is an unknown quantity to these Canadian fans, but hopes to spend some time in this foreign land to make his name in Stampede Wrestling.
El Generico faces off with Adrian O’Ryan, another local grappler trying to make his name in Calgary. Generico shows his prowess by defeating the local in 6 minutes with a Brainbuster. The match is rated 28 and is reportedly a hit with the fans, and looks to be a mainstay in Stampede Wrestling going forward, between stints working in his Mexican Orphanage.
Match 4 -Nattie Neidhart vs Jennifer Blake
The last female Hart Dungeon graduate, Nattie Neidhart has the lineage to succeed in the business. Being the daughter of Jim Neidhart and the neice of Bret, she has all the talent to succeed in the ring. One of the toughest women wrestlers in the world, when not in the ring, she spends her time managing Stampede Wrestling’s premier tag team, the Stampede Bulldogs.
Nattie squashes Blake in a short match to showcase her technical abilities in the ring. It’s rated 19, and is a good start to the Stampede women’s division.
Match 5 – Stampede Bulldogs vs Davey Richards & Ricky Morton
Before the match, TJ Wilson and Harry Smith cut a promo, talking about their family, the hard work they took to get here, and how they’re going to win this match for the fans. The duo are a hit with the fans, the segment rated 27 and both being seen as top faces right off the bat.
They face off with one half of the Wolverines, Davey Richards, and one half of the legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton. Morton’s inclusion is a big hit with the crowd, being the most popular wrestler on the roster behind only Bret Hart himself.
The Bulldogs pick up the win, hitting the Hart Attack on Robert Gibson after 14 minutes. The 4 men worked the main event well, keeping the 49 fans in attendance interested and coming in with a 38 rating, according to the dirt sheets. Harry Smith came out looking like the star of the team, but Wilson’s technical and arial abilites in the ring are not to be scoffed at.
The match seemed to set up a potential clash for the Bulldog’s with The Wolverine’s, and the Rock ‘n’ Roll express. Both matches should bring in big numbers for the promotion, and rumours are that it will take place in 2 weeks at Stampede Wrestling: Hart Attack.
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