"How it Starts" by The Features hit and the crowd cheered as Dalton Castle made his way to the ring.
Joey Styles: Good evening and welcome to Warfare! I'm Joey Styles, joined by Corey Graves!
Corey Graves: We are live from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and Summerslam is just six days away!
Joey Styles: Tonight in our main event, the two men who will go one on one for the World Title this Sunday, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn, will team up to take on the number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles, Seth Rollins and Jimmy Havoc! Up first though, Rollins and Havoc's newest ally, Baron Corbin, takes on the Peacock of Professional Wrestling, Dalton Castle.
When Castle had entered the ring, "Superhuman" by CFO$ hit and the crowd booed as Baron Corbin headed to the ring. Once Corbin was in the ring, the referee called for the bell. Castle charged towards Corbin, hitting him with some right hands, but Corbin fought back with some right hands of his own. Corbin overpowered Castle and threw him into the corner, then hit him with a clothesline in the corner. Castle staggered out of the corner and Corbin whipped him against the ropes, then took him down with a big boot. As Castle got to his feet, Corbin lifted him up, slamming him onto the mat. Corbin hit a knee drop on Castle, then picked him up, dragging him towards the corner and slamming his head against the turnbuckle. Corbin lifted Castle over his shoulders, hitting a rolling fireman's carry slam.
Corey Graves: A dominant start here by Baron Corbin!
Corbin made the cover and the referee counted – 1... 2... kickout! Corbin got to his feet and stomped on Castle several times, then pulled him to his feet and set him up for a suplex. Castle blocked it, countering with a jawbreaker. Corbin staggered backwards and Castle grabbed him, whipping him into the corner. Castle ran at Corbin, hitting him with a running high knee, then lifted Corbin over his shoulder, hitting a back-to-belly piledriver. Castle hooked the leg and the referee counted – 1... 2... Corbin kicked out! Castle pulled Corbin to his feet and went to whip him against the ropes, but Corbin reversed the Irish whip, sending Castle into the ropes. As Castle ran back towards him, Corbin lifted Castle up, hitting a spinning side slam.
Joey Styles: Deep Six!
Corbin hooked the leg and the referee counted – 1... 2... kickout! Corbin punched Castle against the mat several times, then pulled him to his feet and hit the End of Days! He hooked the leg once more – 1... 2... 3!
Corey Graves: It's over! Baron Corbin gets the victory... an impressive performance from the Lone Wolf!
Joey Styles: He's not the Lone Wolf any more, he's aligned himself with Rollins and Havoc!
Corey Graves: They weren't out here with him tonight, Joey! He beat Dalton Castle all by himself!
Corbin celebrated as Warfare went to a commercial break.
The show returned from commercial break with Renee Young taking it away from backstage.
Renee Young: What a show so far as we move on towards what’s expected to be an action-packed main event for the night! Jimmy Havoc and Seth Rollins take on Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn in a tag team match. With Summerslam just around the corner, it’s hard to expect what will transpire over the next week between these four superstars, but what we do know is that--
Renee stopped speaking and looked to her left as the camera pulled back, revealing a large, brown horse head on top of small shoulders pushing past a much larger bulk of a man, Baron Corbin. He looked annoyed being fresh out of his match and simply shook his head, not wanting to deal with any nonsense about to occur, then walked away.
Renee Young: Err… Baron, wait-- Blue Pants?!
Blue Pants: Yes, it is I. The one who wears pants that are blue. And that WAS Baron Corbin. Looks like he had a lot to say. Why’d he leave?
Sure enough, Blue Pants was wearing her typical ring gear, the blue and yellow with blue pants. Upon further examination, a few stains were seen on them. Some white powder dusted the front of her thigh area. Blue Pants gave a loud sniff from under her horse mask, prompting a query from Renee.
Renee Young: Are you ok?
Blue Pants: NO! If I were ok, I’d be wearing my white unicorn mask to symbolize my happiness, strength, power, and near-immortality from eating all my fruits and vegetables. But I’m wearing my brown poopy horse mask. No horn. Get it? Because the way I am feeling right now is NOT magical!
Blue Pants had an unfamiliar aggressive tone, and folded her arms over her chest after huffing and coughing.
Blue Pants: Sorry, it’s hard to breathe in this thing.
She scratched at the side of her head and neck.
Blue Pants: I’m all worked up. I’m restless. I can’t sit still. I’m still covered in this powder so all the evidence is still there and you’re ALL JUDGING ME! STOP!
Renee Young: No one’s judging you here, Blue Pants… We just want answers. You seem upset. What’s wrong?
Blue Pants tried to furiously wipe at the white powder that wouldn’t come off of her blue pants.
Blue Pants: AHHHH! This won’t come out!!! Look at all of it that got wasted!! That’s the good stuff right there.
At this point it was clear Renee was becoming more uncomfortable. She took a small step back.
Renee Young: And what is that exactly?
Blue Pants: It’s powdered sugar from some donuts I ate earlier. I’m on a very intense sugar high right now. I think it’s been like, a month now since I’ve started this journey.
Renee audibly sighed and took her place back beside Blue Pants.
Renee Young: Powdered donuts? Good to hear. What journey are you on right now, if you don’t mind me asking?
Blue Pants: Of course I don’t mind Fancy Pants. See, my best friend Bayley disappeared about a month ago. Like, no sign. I thought maybe it was aliens at first, but I checked my clocks and compasses and they’re all functioning normally. So NOW I’ve just decided to go on foot. I’ve been going to all the places I think I’d find her. Today I went to this donut shop but all I ended up doing was getting a dozen for myself, and I ate them ALL because I have NO ONE TO SHARE THEM WITH! It’s making me sad, Fancy Pants. And I don’t know what to do. I’m picking up all of these bad habits too, like binging on donuts. And not doing my laundry.
Blue Pants sighed loudly and threw her hands up in the air.
Blue Pants: Trying to find my best friend Bayley is like trying to find a hay in a needlestack.
Renee Young: I think it’s needle in a haystack, Blue Pants.
Blue Pants: SEE!? I CAN’T EVEN THINK STRAIGHT! I AM LOST WITHOUT MY BEST FRIEND. I’M ALL ALONE IN THIS PLACE. AFTER I CAME TO HELP HER BECAUSE SHE WAS ALONE, SHE LEAVES ME ALONE. THAT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR IT’S NOT FAIR IT’S NOT FAIR!
Renee leaned back as Blue Pants started stomping and jumping on the ground, visibly angry. Her horse head shook and bobbed as she did so. Once she stopped her fit, she set it straight on her shoulders and stormed off the set, leaving a bewildered Renee behind.
The crowd put mad heat on Eva Marie as the Queen of All Red Everything made her way to the ring. She seemed totally unaffected by their boos, as she removed her long coat, and prepared for battle against the newest member of the women's roster, Charlotte. Charlotte's remix hit the arena, the iconic sounds associated with her family name were given a more modern twist as the blonde brick house made her way to the ring.
Corey Graves: Both of these women looking to make an impact and get their names in the spotlight.
Joey Styles: Definitely hard to do lately when the whole world is talking about the huge match up this Sunday between Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss for the Women's Championship.
Eva kicked off the match by getting Charlotte into the Boston Crab, but Charlotte managed to get to the ropes to break the hold. Eva hit an arm drag off the top turnbuckle, but Charlotte came back with flair, hitting a suplex for a two count. Eva is having a hard time getting up, so Charlotte puts her up on her shoulders for the crucifix spin, into another pin. Eva kicked out again.
Corey Graves: The tenacity of Eva Marie!
Eva came back with a fierce series of dropkicks, but it wasn't enough for Charlotte who came back with a backbreaker for another two count. Eva retreated into the corner, where she was met with vicious foot stomps. Charlotte went for the Razor's Edge off of the top but Eva reversed it into a hurricanrana. They traded lefts and rights in the center of the ring until Charlotte went for a spear in the corner. Eva dodged it and locked her in another Boston Crab around the ropes. Eva hit a double knee strike from the top rope to the back of Charlotte. Eva went for the pin.
1....
2....
Kick out!
Joey Styles: Unbelievable! I thought Eva had it there.
Charlotte rolled to the outside and Eva hit the double knee strike into the back of Charlotte all the way to the floor. Both women fought to their feet, and after a moment Eva helped Charlotte back in under the bottom rope by her hair. Eva got Charlotte up for Sliced Red #2, but Charlotte escaped before Eva could follow through. Charlotte came back with Natural Selection and took the pin.
1....
2....
3....
Joey Styles: There it is! What a victory for Charlotte.
Warfare returned from commercial break, Bully Ray stood backstage as the cameras started up. He stood with once again, both EBWF Tag-Team Championship belts, one on each shoulder. Shortly after the cameras started rolling, Bully Ray spoke up.
Bully Ray: This tag-team division is crap, probably the worst that I have seen in all my years in this business. I've gone through two partners, both of which couldn't handle the heat so they walked. And now, I gotta go out there in six days and defend my titles against two chumps that think they're somethin special cause they won some little tournament.
Bully shook his head.
Bully Ray: Rollins... Havoc... The two of you are goin into this match thinkin you have the upper hand. Now, I can beat you two single handed if I wanted, that's not even in the question. But you two fool aren't gonna have it that easy. If you wanna take these belts from me, you're gonna have to beat them in a real tag match. So this Sunday at SummerSlam, I will have a partner. I won't be walkin into the match alone. I'm not gonna tell you who, but believe me... You two wannabes bettah be ready. These title aren't goin anywhere. Only over my dead body.
Bully turned and walked off camera as the show returned to ringside.
Joey Styles: Still to come, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn take on Jimmy Havoc and Seth Rollins in our main event. First though, the former World Champion The Miz takes on Matt Sydal!
"Basket Case" by Green Day hit and the crowd gave a mixed reaction as Matt Sydal headed to the ring. Once Sydal was in the ring, "I Came To Play" by Downstait hit and the crowd booed as The Miz made his way to the ring, accompanied by Alex Riley. As Miz entered the ring, he smiled cockily at Sydal. The referee called for the bell and the two men locked up. Miz applied a headlock, then took Sydal down to the mat. Sydal fought out of it and both men got to their feet. Miz whipped Sydal against the ropes and went for a clothesline, but Sydal ducked out of the way, ran against the opposing set of ropes, then hit Miz with a spinning heel kick. Sydal pulled Miz to his feet and hit a cradle suplex, hooking the leg. The referee counted – 1... 2... kickout!
Joey Styles: A strong start from Matt Sydal! He's taking the fight to The Miz!
Corey Graves: Don't count Miz out yet though, Joey!
Sydal pulled Miz to his feet once more, whipping him into the corner. Sydal ran at Miz, going for a corner dropkick, but Miz moved out of the way. Sydal landed awkwardly on the mat and clutched his shoulder in pain. Miz stomped on Sydal several times, then applied an armbar. Sydal grabbed the ropes, and the referee forced Miz to break the hold. Miz pulled Sydal to his feet and hit a series of right hands, then hit a snapmare driver. Miz grabbed Sydal by the leg, going for the figure four leglock, but Sydal kicked Miz away and got to his feet. Miz grabbed Sydal and picked him up for a scoop slam, but Sydal countered with a headscissors takedown. Both men got to their feet and Sydal whipped Miz into the corner, then sat him on the top rope, setting him up for a frankensteiner. As Sydal climbed the turnbuckle, Miz fought back, punching Sydal several times then headbutting him. Sydal fell to the mat and Miz hit a diving double axe handle, then hooked the leg. The referee counted – 1... 2... kickout!
Joey Styles: Another near fall! This time The Miz gets a two count!
Miz pulled Sydal to his feet and whipped him against the ropes and as Sydal ran back towards him, Miz lifted him up, hitting a flapjack. Miz stomped on Sydal several times, then Sydal rolled away and got to his feet. Miz hit Sydal with a kick to the midsection, causing Sydal to fall into a kneeling position, then hit a snap DDT. Miz signalled for the Skull Crushing Finale, then waited for Sydal to get to his feet. When Sydal was up, Miz grabbed him and hit his finisher! He hooked the leg and the referee counted – 1... 2... 3!
Corey Graves: It's over! The Miz gets the victory!
As the referee called for the bell, Alex Riley entered the ring, raising Miz's arm in victory. Miz and Riley celebrated together, then made their way to the back as Sydal recovered in the ring.
Joey Styles: Up next, our main event! On Sunday, Chris Jericho defends the EBWF World Title against the two-time King of the Ring, Sami Zayn. First though, they team up to take on the winners of the 2016 Tag Team Classic, Seth Rollins and Jimmy Havoc!
Corey Graves: What an intriguing matchup this is, Joey. Can Zayn and Jericho coexist knowing they will be opponents in just six days' time?
"Second Coming" hit and the crowd booed as Rollins and Havoc made their way to the ring. The two superstars looked confident as they headed down the ramp. Once they were in the ring, "Worlds Apart" hit and the crowd cheered as Sami Zayn stepped out onto the stage. As Zayn walked down the ramp, "Break the Walls Down" hit and the cheers increased in volume as Chris Jericho headed to the ring. Zayn waited for Jericho at the bottom of the ramp, and when Jericho had joined Zayn, both men entered the ring. As they looked across at their opponents, the referee called for the bell. Rollins moved onto the ring apron, allowing Havoc to start the match. Across the ring, Jericho went to exit the ring, but Havoc shouted over to Jericho, then challenged him to start the match. Jericho nodded, and Zayn exited the ring.
Corey Graves: What a moment this must be for Jimmy Havoc, Joey. Six months ago he was competing in Melbourne, Australia in front of less than 200 people... now he's about to lock up with the EBWF World Champion!
Jericho locked up with Havoc, and Havoc applied a headlock. Jericho transitioned it into a wrist lock, then took Havoc down with a clothesline. Havoc got to his feet and Jericho hit a series of right hands, then whipped him against the ropes. As Havoc ran back towards him, Jericho hit a dropkick, then as both men got to their feet, Jericho hit a double underhook backbreaker. He hooked the leg and the referee counted – 1... 2... kickout!
Joey Styles: A strong start from Chris Jericho! The EBWF World Champion showing why he calls himself the best in the world at what he does...
Jericho pulled Havoc to his feet and hit a series of backhand jobs, then set him up for a suplex. Havoc blocked it, countering with a suplex of his own, then stomped on Jericho repeatedly, trying to keep him grounded. Havoc tagged in Rollins, who upon entering the ring leaned over Jericho, punching him against the ring mat several times. Rollins pulled Jericho to his feet and whipped him into the corner. Havoc held Jericho in place, and Rollins ran at Jericho, hitting him with a high knee! As Jericho staggered out of the corner, Rollins grabbed him, hitting a reverse STO into the turnbuckle. Rollins moved Jericho away from the ropes and the referee counted – 1... 2... kickout! Rollins tagged in Havoc, then picked Jericho up and held both arms behind his back, allowing Havoc to hit him with several punches. Rollins exited the ring and Havoc whipped Jericho into the corner, then hit a corner clothesline. Jericho fell into a sitting position and Havoc stomped on him several times. The referee intervened, ordering Havoc to step back.
Corey Graves: Great teamwork by Rollins and Havoc here... they're keeping Jericho trapped in the corner and wearing him down!
Havoc stepped back, allowing Jericho to get to his feet. When Jericho was up, Havoc hit him with the Death Valley Driver, then hooked the leg. The referee counted – 1... 2... kickout! Havoc climbed to the top rope and went for a diving double foot stomp... but Jericho rolled out of the way! Both men got to their feet and Jericho hit an enzuigiri, then tagged in Sami Zayn! Zayn was energetic as he entered the ring, charging towards Havoc and hitting him with a series of punches. Zayn whipped Havoc against the ropes, then hit a leg lariat. As both men got to their feet, Zayn hit Havoc with a brainbuster, then hooked the leg. The referee counted - 1... 2... Havoc kicked out! Zayn pulled Havoc to his feet and went to whip put him on Rollins' shoulders. Rollins ran towards the corner, hitting the turnbuckle powerbomb on Zayn! As Havoc exited the ring, Rollins moved Zayn away from the ropes, then hooked the leg. The referee counted – 1... 2... Jericho interrupted the count!
Corey Graves: That could have been it right there if it weren't for Jericho!
Joey Styles: That turnbuckle powerbomb seems to have taken a lot out of Sami Zayn... I think he needs to make the tag.
Rollins stomped on Zayn several times, then pulled him to his feet and hit the Falcon Arrow. Rollins then stepped back, waiting for Zayn to get to his feet. When Zayn was up, Rollins went for a superkick... but Zayn ducked out of the way, then hit the Blue Thunder Bomb! He hooked the leg and the referee counted – 1... 2... kickout! As Zayn got to his feet, Jericho held out his hand for the tag, but Zayn gave him the thumbs up, telling Jericho he was okay to continue. Rollins got to his feet and Zayn hit a dropkick, then followed it up with an exploder suplex into the turnbuckles! Zayn stepped back, signalling for the Helluva Kick! He charged towards Rollins... but as he did so, Jimmy Havoc ran into the ring, taking Zayn down with a lariat. As Havoc stomped on Zayn repeatedly, Jericho came to his partner's aid. Jericho and Havoc exchanged right hands furiously, and the referee tried to intervene, but Jericho and Havoc shoved him aside. The force of their push caused the referee to fall to the mat. Jericho looked down at the referee, momentarily distracted, and Havoc applied a wrist lock, then went for the Acid Rainmaker! Jericho ducked out of the way and hit Havoc with a Codebreaker! Havoc and Rollins both rolled out of the ring, regrouping on the outside. As they did so, Zayn got to his feet and patted Jericho on the back, thanking him for coming to his aid. Zayn then began shouting something to Rollins and Havoc. As he did so, Jericho looked across at Zayn, his facial expression difficult to read. Suddenly, Jericho grabbed Zayn and hit him with the Codebreaker!
Joey Styles: What the hell?!
Jericho pummelled Zayn against the ring mat, then picked him up and hit a powerbomb. He held onto Zayn and lifted him up once more, hitting another powerbomb! Jericho then stomped on Zayn several times, before applying the Walls of Jericho! As Zayn tried to roll out of it, Jericho pressed his knee down on Zayn's back, transitioning it into the Lion Tamer. Rollins and Havoc watched on stunned as referees and road agents rushed to the ring. They forced Jericho to break the hold, then tended to Zayn. Jericho exited the ring, grabbing his title and holding it up in the air.
Corey Graves: Well Joey, we don't know why Jericho did what he did, but he's sure as hell sent a message to Sami Zayn! How will that affect Zayn physically and mentally going into Summerslam?
The crowd watched on in stunned silence as Warfare went off the air.
