MLW Underground episode 3 starts off with Steve Corino pulling up in a BMW. He says The Extreme Horsemen are all about class while Terry drives in a beat-up ’72 pick-up. He then runs down Terry’s infamous Double Cross Ranch stating that Funk keeps going in the ring just to make ends meet while he is set for life. He says he won’t have to wrestle 38 years to keep the lights on like the Funker. He’s going to replace Terry Funk eventually and will do so in Orlando. He closes out by demanding Terry calls him “god.”
Another talent we see pull up earlier on (in the week, 3 AM to be exact) is Dr. Death protege, PJ Friedman. He doesn’t disclose any details about his and Dr. Death’s gameplan in the Global Tag Team Crown Tourney.
MATCH 1
Global Tag-Team Crown Tournament Semi-Finals
Dr. Death & PJ Friedman vs. Jimmy Yang & Mike Sanders
PJ and Yang start things off as the two trade hard shots and eventually Yang hits his foe with a hard lariat before slapping him across the mush.
He does a spinning wheel kick in the corner before tagging in Mike Sanders who comes running in on all cylinders. He goes for a pin attempt after a neckbreaker, but Dr. Death comes in and powerbombs the boots off Sanders. Yang has to come in and make the save.
Sanders gets tossed to the outside and PJ thrusts a chair in the face of Mike and then gets smacked with a soda. Dr. Death hoists Sanders up and back drops him flush through a table.
Sanders struggles to his feet and he gets double suplexed. Mike somehow manages to muster a shoulder up. He soon finds himself isolated in the Death corner and he tries to fight himself free. He eventually does and goes for a schoolboy. Two count. Good kick by Sanders opens up the window for the tag. He does and Yang comes flying in with a springbaord missile dropkick.
Yang remains on fire as he delivers a beautiful top rope corkscrew senton for another near fall.
Yang ascends once more but PJ crotches him and tags in Dr. Death. Dr. Death press slams him and Friedman follows up with an elbow for a close call. Sanders comes in and double drop kicks the Death duo. He slugs away at both PJ and Death, but soon finds himself in the clutches of a Dr. Bomb.
Yang comes in and flourishes against the two, until Williams catches him for the Back Drop Driver for the pinfall and the win, advancing the two to the finals of the MLW Global Tag Team Crown Championship Tournament.
WINNERS: Dr. Death & PJ Friedman
Joey Styles says CM Punk will be making his MLW debut on Friday, May 9 at Taboo in Orlando. Styles becomes forthright and says he doesn’t like Punk, but even if you can’t stand him, he does admit Punk is a treat to watch.
The Samoan Island Tribe are outside of the arena and they say they might not be dancing bears with thongs up their butt, nor are they the Most Electrifying men in Sports Entertainment, but they are the power source and you will smell what they’re cookin’ because they are the sh*t.
Styles announces despite La Parka’s ambush last week, Bill Alfonso will be in the corner for his Mexican Massacre Street Fight in Orlando
Next up, we see World Champion Satoshi Kojima. He says he hears Mike Awesome and others have been talking trash on him and wanting a shot at his title. He tells Awesome to become the #1 contender and then bring it because he’s here to beat the best and lists names like Mr. Gannosuke, Mitsuya Nagai, Shinjiro Otani, Vampiro and soon enough, his rival Taiyo Kea. He’s not a sports entertainer, but a pro wrestler and the leader of Kojimania. We’re then treated with a hell of a highlight package from our World Champ as he successfully defended the title against the aforementioned Nagai.
Raven has been desperately trying to get the attention of Vampiro, but Vampiro remains off the grid. He does have a title shot Kojima lined up, but promises he will address Raven personally in Orlando at Taboo.
MATCH 2
Global Tag-Team Crown Tournament Semi-Finals
Los Maximos vs. Extreme Horseman (Simon Diamond & CW Anderson)
Jose and Simon start matters off as the two jock for position. Diamond monkey flips Jose and goes for a pin attempt, but Jose kicks out. Maximo returns the favor before the two trade arm drags.
After a brief break in the action, we see CW German suplex Jose, but it’s only good for a two count. Jose elbows CW but he gets hit with a hard left before CW does a stalling superplex! Very hard impact. A delayed cover only gets a two count.
Jose hits a leaping tornado DDT and the two try to get to their respective corners and both do so. Joel comes in with some crisp dropkicks. He lands a top rope moonsault on Diamond but he powers out. Joel then drives CW into the canvas and gets another near fall. Simon steps in and hits the Simon Series. A kick out at two. Diamond goes to death drop Joel, but Jose leaps in with a dropkick.
Jose gets a slingshot double team that nearly gets a W for The Extreme Horsemen, but somehow Jose kicks out. The brothers goe for a Spanish Fly on CW, but a moonsault press disposes of Diamond. However, soon enough, CW finds a window to hit his signature spinebuster for the 1-2-3. The Extreme Horsemen advance.
WINNERS: The Extreme Horsemen
We’re get treated to the memorable King of Kings match that took place at the War Memorial Auditorium which had Dusty Rhodes take on Terry Funk and yes, Steve Corino. This happened to be where the Extreme Horsemen formed and we see Dusty Rhodes. He not only talks trash on Terry Funk, but mentions there’s long and baaaad blood between the two. He then calls Steve Corino a walking contradiction.
We’re back to the program at hand and Styles makes note that cameras are catching Los Maximos getting attacked somewhere backstage. Sure enough, we see them laid out in the parking lot.
We see Mike Awesome. He came to MLW to make an impact on Underground wrestling. He knows there’s one man he has to go through and that’s his old rival Masato Tanaka. He’s gonna powerbomb him through a table and make his way towards World Champion Kojima.
Styles announces that in two weeks on Underground, we’re going to see Mike Awesome take on Jerry Lynn in a number one contender’s match for that very championship Awesome just mentioned.
MAIN EVENT SPECIAL
King Of Kings, December 20, 2002
Terry Funk vs. Dusty Rhodes vs. Steve Corino
Terry insists to Corino that he and Dusty starts the bout off and the two lock up. It doesn’t take long for Corino to jump in but Rhodes battles off with his bionic elbows, daddy.
Corino pleads for Funk to step aside briefly and Terry obliges, leaving the ring momentarily. Corino begins to unload on Dusty before stomping a mudhole into the legend. Terry tosses in a trash can and Corino cracks Dream with it. Funk yells obscenities at his rival before he hits Dusty and then double crosses Corino, smacking him hard with the trash can! He dumps Steve out and the two brawl outside.
After a break in the action we see all three competitors are donning the crimson mask as Funk jabs away at Corino.
He socks Steve down, but Funk finds himself caught in a fallen guardrail. Corino seizes the opportunity to attack Terry but in comes Rhodes to make the save.
Dusty soon goes to cinch in a figure four on Corino and Funk rolls in to root him on. Dusty sees through his rube and delivers two bionic elbows to the both of them.
More elbows to Corino come but out of nowhere come CW Anderson and Simon Diamond. They begin to assault The Dream on the outside and Corino takes a hard shot to Dusty’s ankle. Terry begins to have a change of heart and goes in to protect his adversary. Dusty is laid out cold as Terry calls for medical help. Officials come out to tend to The Dream as Funk wields a trash can to seek retribution. The Ft. Lauderdale crowd chant for Dusty as he is carried to the back. Corino goes to attack Terry, but he gets the end of the trash can. So does Diamond and so does CW.
Soon the numbers game becomes too much and Corino DDTs Terry in the ring. So does an errant official. They annihilate Terry with the trash can as Corino forces official John Finnegan to administer the pinfall and we see The Extreme Horsemen form.
WINNER: Steve Corino
We cut to Raven as he still awaits contact from Vampiro. Raven thinks maybe Vampiro is jealous or maybe he feels that it’s time for the protege to beat the master, or maybe he’s just playing Raven’s own mind games back with him. Either way, Vampiro is going down a very long, lonely and painful road. Don’t antagonize Raven. Because if he does, he’ll end up in Raven’s “Clockwork Orange House of Fun.”