CHAOS IN (AND OUT OF) THE STEEL CELL

It’s finally here: three titles are on the line on Night 4! We begin with Ballesca Pierce getting her rematch with Katherine Sakamoto in a submission match. Katherine has terrorized the Academy for two months since winning the title but this goes down as her first official defense. Unfortunately for Katherine, however, she came up against the wrong opponent for the defense. After an even back-and-forth early, Ballesca went to another level against the champ. Submission after submission stopped Katherine from getting any offense in and kept Ballesca on top. Finally, after so many attempts, Ballesca locked on Guinevere’s Curse, a brutal modified Neck Tie, to force the champ to tap. In the first match of the night we have a new champion.

But would that trend continue? The Seattle fans were certainly hoping so as Kurt Andrews fought for redemption against Flyboy. Early on, it became apparent Andrews was working three-on-one as Shane Thorne and Nick Miller made themselves real nuisances. But before they could tilt the match permanently in favor of their ADK teammate, a few other parties got involved. War Machine jumped the barricade and pulled TMDK away from the match proceedings. This may have evened the numbers but, in all the confusion, Flyboy saw his opportunity. The champ went down to get a steel chair but there was one last surprise in store… Devon Andrews, Kurt’s brother who, at first, seemed to have a less than friendly rivalry with his brother, came down to the ring. He stopped Flyboy from using the steel chair as Andrews got to his feet. As the ref turned around, Andrews dropped Flyboy with the Eye of the Storm to win. Andrews regains his title with the help of his brother and we’ll have to wait until Monday for the fallout…

But we had one more match on the night and it was one of the most shocking we’ve seen in GAW. WALTER got his third and hopefully final shot at Aleister Black’s World Championship in the dreaded steel cell. The match began as a violent clash between two of the best strikers in the world yet, somehow, they reached new levels of brutality. WALTER powerbombed Black through the cell itself, shattering one of the chain-link walls. Now on the outside, Black took control and brought the challenge to a new height- literally. The champ scaled the cell and called for his challenger to meet him. WALTER obliged. High above the ring, the two battled one last time. WALTER got the better of it. He powerbombed Black through the roof of the cell, sending Black’s body crashing to the ring. It seemed the match was surely over. But Black somehow kicked out. The World Champ turned the tables and, after it seemed he would never get up, hit his trademark Black Mass, one of the biggest of his career. WALTER stayed down and Black left Seattle as rightful champion.

At least, that’s what should have happened. Instead, Brock Lesnar, the man who shocked the world by winning the Challenger Briefcase on Night 1, activated it after Black’s brutal battle. Realistically, Black stood no chance of defeating the Beast. But he fought like hell anyway. He avoided the F5 multiple times and even managed to get a few shots in at the super athlete. But Lesnar had one more unexpected surprise in store. He climbed to the top and pulled off a spectacular shooting star press. It was a moment for the ages… but not if you’re Aleister Black. After such an intense war, Black would not walk out as champion. Lesnar will come to Friday Night Storm as the new World Champion.