loopydate
01-19-2004, 01:09 AM
Yeah, I'm bored. Yeah, I'm ripping off an idea that CyNick brought up in another thread. But, if you were to try to get the SmackDown cruiserweights over via a tournament, how would you book it? The whole damn thing. Don't worry about making everything make sense according to how current booking is going, this is your opportunity to let your imagination run wild. Here's mine:
Royal Rumble - January 25th
The Rey Mysterio/Jamie Noble match ends in a no-contest somehow. Perhaps Kyo Dai interferes and attacks both men or something. Who knows? However it happens, neither man clearly wins the match.
SmackDown! - January 29th
Paul Heyman comes out to open the show and cuts a promo. First he talks about how Brock Lesnar annihilated Hardcore Holly. Then he talks about how Chris Benoit will have to walk through hell before he can fight Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Then, he talks about how he was disappointed in the outcome of the Cruiserweight Title match and calls Rey Mysterio to the ring.
Rey comes down with the belt, and Heyman lays it out for him. He can't have a title without a clear-cut champion on HIS SmackDown. He can't allow anything but "undisputed" to precede the names of his champions. Therefore, he has no right to that belt. As of this moment, the WWE Cruiserweight Title is vacated. As Rey starts to threaten Paul, Heyman backs him off with these words: "You'll get your shot Rey. Just like all the other cruiserweights in the back."
Later in the night, the FBI comes to the ring, but they don't know who their opponents are. Heyman's music hits, and he asks Chuck and the Bull to leave the ring. Once Nunzio manages to convince them to leave, Heyman informs Nunzio that, since they're old friends, he's going to let Nunzio have the first crack at the Cruiserweight Title. Tonight begins a ten-man tournament for the belt, and Nunzio has the first match. And now his opponent...
"Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys begins to play, and the "smarks" go absolutely apeshit. That's right...IT'S NOVA! The original wrestling superhero is totally pumped up, and he sprints into the ring. Heyman orders the bell, and they go at it. This is an old-school ECW-style cruiserweight match, with all kinds of absurd aerial moves, and some brutal submissions. In the end, Nunzio grabs Nova for the Sicilian Slice, but Nova wriggles his way free, gets Nunzio upside-down on his back, and hits the Kryptonite Krunch! One...two...THREE! Nova upsets Nunzio, and the Cruiserweight Title Tournament is underway.
SmackDown! - February 5th
Backstage, Funaki tries to track down Paul Heyman to find out what's going on with the Cruiserweight Title tournament, since Paul hasn't announced any more participants. Paul tells Funaki that all the "usual suspects" are in: Tajiri, Jamie Noble, Chavo Guerrero, Shannon Moore, Billy Kidman, of course we've already seen Nova; and next week, Funaki himself will be facing former champion Rey Mysterio...IF he can beat Akio tonight. Oh...and his match is next. Good luck, Funaki. Good luck, indeeeeeeed.
The Funaki/Akio match is not quite as intense as the Nunzio/Nova match, but both men get in some big moves, culminating in Akio hitting the Yang Time (or whatever they call it now) for the three-count. Akio has made it to the semifinals, but he has to fight Rey Mysterio next week.
SmackDown! - February 12th
Heyman announces that the finals of the Cruiserweight Title Tournament will be held at Wrestlemania XX in just under five weeks. He also announces that one more match has been added to the card for this weekend's No Way Out Pay-Per-View. Billy Kidman will be going one-on-one with Tajiri in a quarterfinal match. But tonight, we've got Rey Mysterio and Akio.
This one should be so fast-paced and dizzying that it induces motion sickness. I see Rey getting his knees up during Yang Time, Akio reversing the West Coast Pop into a powerbomb, all kinds of sick aerial moves and counters. In the end, Akio goes up top for a cross body, but Rey dropkicks him in the midsection. With Akio down, Rey goes to the apron, hits his "Dropping the Dime" legdrop across the back of Akio's head, and gets the duke.
No Way Out - February 15th
As promised by Paul Heyman, Billy Kidman and Tajiri will get it on tonight!
These two have fought so many times that they have incredible chemistry in the ring. Like the Rey/Akio match, this one will go back-and-forth with each man escaping the other's finisher. In the end, though, it's Tajiri with the Kick of Death winning it and advancing to the semis.
SmackDown! - February 19th
Backstage, Josh Mathews interviews Nova (who has been fighting in tag matches over the last two weeks) about his career. Nova mentions that he's been under a developmental contract with WWE for a long time, but it took Paul Heyman, his old ECW boss, to bring him up to the "big show." He knows that he's an underdog in this tournament, but that's the way he likes it. Jamie Noble's held that Cruiserweight Title a couple of times before, so he knows what it takes to win when the pressure's on. But...pressure CREATES novas.
The match is actually a pretty technical contest. Toward the end, Noble goes for the Trailer Hitch, but Nova escapes. After a bit of grappling, Nova manages to get the Nova-Cain and he gets the upset victory. Cole and Tazz go on about the fact that, three weeks ago, most WWE fans had never even HEARD of Nova, and now he's in the semifinals of the Cruiserweight Title Tournament!
SmackDown! - February 26th
With three of the four semifinal spots decided, tonight Shannon Moore and Chavo Guerrero will go one-on-one to fill the final Final Four position.
The former MFer and Eddie's nephew put on an impressive show, but in the end, it's Chavo with the brainbuster to advance to the semifinals, where he'll join Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, and Nova.
SmackDown! - March 5th
Tonight, one spot in the Cruiserweight Title match at Wrestlemania XX will be decided when former champions and bitter enemies tangle. It's Rey Mysterio against Tajiri. One man goes to Wrestlemania, the other stays home on the 14th and watches on TV.
Mysterio shows off some of the edge he had when he was competing in ECW against the other "extreme luchadores." In the end, though, Tajiri bridges out of a West Coast Pop, and blasts Rey in the back of the head with a brutal kick for the surprise three-count.
SmackDown! - March 12th
With just three days remaining until Wrestlemania, Tajiri needs an opponent for the Cruiserweight Title. Chavo Guerrero cuts a promo about how, all his life, he's been "Eddie's cousin." No matter how good he was of his own accord, everyone always saw him as "Eddie's cousin." After the beating he laid into him at the Royal Rumble and his performance in this Cruiserweight Title Tournament, he is lifting himself up ahead of Eddie in everyone's eyes. He's going to make an example of Nova, and then he's taking the Cruiserweight Title.
Fantastic match here, highlighting both men's strengths. Nova goes for a victory roll, but Chavo plants him and hooks the tights. One...two...three! Chavo wi...wait. A second referee comes out of the back to tell the first ref that Chavo held the tights and Paul Heyman said that there had to be winners, fair and square. The ref re-starts the match, and a surprised Chavo is rolled up by Nova for the three-count. Nova's going to Wrestlemania!
Wrestlemania XX - March 14th
Once Nova and Tajiri are in the ring, Paul Heyman comes out. He makes mention of the fact that there is no belt at ringside, and he didn't bring one out himself. "You two have really impressed me over the last several weeks. But the thing is, as good as this tournament has been, there needed to be something special about the title match. I was wracking my brain for the last couple of weeks trying to figure out a fitting way to end it. And then it struck him. These two have been taking the cruiserweight division to new heights on a figurative level...why not do so literally. If I may, gentlemen, ask you to look up." When they do, we see the Cruiserweight Title lowered from the ceiling. That's right...LADDER MATCH!
This one should be brutal. as. hell. I'm talking suplexes onto the ladder, diving legdrops off the ladder, superkicks into the ladder, big tumbles off the ladder...every big ladder spot these two can come up with. In the end, they both are climbing up to the top and reach for the belt. Out of NOWHERE, Tajiri swings one leg up and clocks Nova in the side of the head with a big kick. With a semi-conscious Nova laid out atop the ladder, Tajiri cinches in the Tarantula (like Jericho's Walls of Jericho at the Rumble a few years back). After he releases the hold, Nova tumbles like dead weight to the canvas. Tajiri reaches up, unhooks the belt, and ushers in a new era in the Cruiserweight Title division.
===
Okay, I know none of this will ever happen, but looking at it from a purely fantasy standpoint: it'd be pretty damned cool, wouldn't it?
Anyway, now it's your turn. Who do you put in it? Who do you have win it? What happens as a result?
Royal Rumble - January 25th
The Rey Mysterio/Jamie Noble match ends in a no-contest somehow. Perhaps Kyo Dai interferes and attacks both men or something. Who knows? However it happens, neither man clearly wins the match.
SmackDown! - January 29th
Paul Heyman comes out to open the show and cuts a promo. First he talks about how Brock Lesnar annihilated Hardcore Holly. Then he talks about how Chris Benoit will have to walk through hell before he can fight Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Then, he talks about how he was disappointed in the outcome of the Cruiserweight Title match and calls Rey Mysterio to the ring.
Rey comes down with the belt, and Heyman lays it out for him. He can't have a title without a clear-cut champion on HIS SmackDown. He can't allow anything but "undisputed" to precede the names of his champions. Therefore, he has no right to that belt. As of this moment, the WWE Cruiserweight Title is vacated. As Rey starts to threaten Paul, Heyman backs him off with these words: "You'll get your shot Rey. Just like all the other cruiserweights in the back."
Later in the night, the FBI comes to the ring, but they don't know who their opponents are. Heyman's music hits, and he asks Chuck and the Bull to leave the ring. Once Nunzio manages to convince them to leave, Heyman informs Nunzio that, since they're old friends, he's going to let Nunzio have the first crack at the Cruiserweight Title. Tonight begins a ten-man tournament for the belt, and Nunzio has the first match. And now his opponent...
"Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys begins to play, and the "smarks" go absolutely apeshit. That's right...IT'S NOVA! The original wrestling superhero is totally pumped up, and he sprints into the ring. Heyman orders the bell, and they go at it. This is an old-school ECW-style cruiserweight match, with all kinds of absurd aerial moves, and some brutal submissions. In the end, Nunzio grabs Nova for the Sicilian Slice, but Nova wriggles his way free, gets Nunzio upside-down on his back, and hits the Kryptonite Krunch! One...two...THREE! Nova upsets Nunzio, and the Cruiserweight Title Tournament is underway.
SmackDown! - February 5th
Backstage, Funaki tries to track down Paul Heyman to find out what's going on with the Cruiserweight Title tournament, since Paul hasn't announced any more participants. Paul tells Funaki that all the "usual suspects" are in: Tajiri, Jamie Noble, Chavo Guerrero, Shannon Moore, Billy Kidman, of course we've already seen Nova; and next week, Funaki himself will be facing former champion Rey Mysterio...IF he can beat Akio tonight. Oh...and his match is next. Good luck, Funaki. Good luck, indeeeeeeed.
The Funaki/Akio match is not quite as intense as the Nunzio/Nova match, but both men get in some big moves, culminating in Akio hitting the Yang Time (or whatever they call it now) for the three-count. Akio has made it to the semifinals, but he has to fight Rey Mysterio next week.
SmackDown! - February 12th
Heyman announces that the finals of the Cruiserweight Title Tournament will be held at Wrestlemania XX in just under five weeks. He also announces that one more match has been added to the card for this weekend's No Way Out Pay-Per-View. Billy Kidman will be going one-on-one with Tajiri in a quarterfinal match. But tonight, we've got Rey Mysterio and Akio.
This one should be so fast-paced and dizzying that it induces motion sickness. I see Rey getting his knees up during Yang Time, Akio reversing the West Coast Pop into a powerbomb, all kinds of sick aerial moves and counters. In the end, Akio goes up top for a cross body, but Rey dropkicks him in the midsection. With Akio down, Rey goes to the apron, hits his "Dropping the Dime" legdrop across the back of Akio's head, and gets the duke.
No Way Out - February 15th
As promised by Paul Heyman, Billy Kidman and Tajiri will get it on tonight!
These two have fought so many times that they have incredible chemistry in the ring. Like the Rey/Akio match, this one will go back-and-forth with each man escaping the other's finisher. In the end, though, it's Tajiri with the Kick of Death winning it and advancing to the semis.
SmackDown! - February 19th
Backstage, Josh Mathews interviews Nova (who has been fighting in tag matches over the last two weeks) about his career. Nova mentions that he's been under a developmental contract with WWE for a long time, but it took Paul Heyman, his old ECW boss, to bring him up to the "big show." He knows that he's an underdog in this tournament, but that's the way he likes it. Jamie Noble's held that Cruiserweight Title a couple of times before, so he knows what it takes to win when the pressure's on. But...pressure CREATES novas.
The match is actually a pretty technical contest. Toward the end, Noble goes for the Trailer Hitch, but Nova escapes. After a bit of grappling, Nova manages to get the Nova-Cain and he gets the upset victory. Cole and Tazz go on about the fact that, three weeks ago, most WWE fans had never even HEARD of Nova, and now he's in the semifinals of the Cruiserweight Title Tournament!
SmackDown! - February 26th
With three of the four semifinal spots decided, tonight Shannon Moore and Chavo Guerrero will go one-on-one to fill the final Final Four position.
The former MFer and Eddie's nephew put on an impressive show, but in the end, it's Chavo with the brainbuster to advance to the semifinals, where he'll join Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, and Nova.
SmackDown! - March 5th
Tonight, one spot in the Cruiserweight Title match at Wrestlemania XX will be decided when former champions and bitter enemies tangle. It's Rey Mysterio against Tajiri. One man goes to Wrestlemania, the other stays home on the 14th and watches on TV.
Mysterio shows off some of the edge he had when he was competing in ECW against the other "extreme luchadores." In the end, though, Tajiri bridges out of a West Coast Pop, and blasts Rey in the back of the head with a brutal kick for the surprise three-count.
SmackDown! - March 12th
With just three days remaining until Wrestlemania, Tajiri needs an opponent for the Cruiserweight Title. Chavo Guerrero cuts a promo about how, all his life, he's been "Eddie's cousin." No matter how good he was of his own accord, everyone always saw him as "Eddie's cousin." After the beating he laid into him at the Royal Rumble and his performance in this Cruiserweight Title Tournament, he is lifting himself up ahead of Eddie in everyone's eyes. He's going to make an example of Nova, and then he's taking the Cruiserweight Title.
Fantastic match here, highlighting both men's strengths. Nova goes for a victory roll, but Chavo plants him and hooks the tights. One...two...three! Chavo wi...wait. A second referee comes out of the back to tell the first ref that Chavo held the tights and Paul Heyman said that there had to be winners, fair and square. The ref re-starts the match, and a surprised Chavo is rolled up by Nova for the three-count. Nova's going to Wrestlemania!
Wrestlemania XX - March 14th
Once Nova and Tajiri are in the ring, Paul Heyman comes out. He makes mention of the fact that there is no belt at ringside, and he didn't bring one out himself. "You two have really impressed me over the last several weeks. But the thing is, as good as this tournament has been, there needed to be something special about the title match. I was wracking my brain for the last couple of weeks trying to figure out a fitting way to end it. And then it struck him. These two have been taking the cruiserweight division to new heights on a figurative level...why not do so literally. If I may, gentlemen, ask you to look up." When they do, we see the Cruiserweight Title lowered from the ceiling. That's right...LADDER MATCH!
This one should be brutal. as. hell. I'm talking suplexes onto the ladder, diving legdrops off the ladder, superkicks into the ladder, big tumbles off the ladder...every big ladder spot these two can come up with. In the end, they both are climbing up to the top and reach for the belt. Out of NOWHERE, Tajiri swings one leg up and clocks Nova in the side of the head with a big kick. With a semi-conscious Nova laid out atop the ladder, Tajiri cinches in the Tarantula (like Jericho's Walls of Jericho at the Rumble a few years back). After he releases the hold, Nova tumbles like dead weight to the canvas. Tajiri reaches up, unhooks the belt, and ushers in a new era in the Cruiserweight Title division.
===
Okay, I know none of this will ever happen, but looking at it from a purely fantasy standpoint: it'd be pretty damned cool, wouldn't it?
Anyway, now it's your turn. Who do you put in it? Who do you have win it? What happens as a result?