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Add FightsATW on Google4th Rope, along with Mass Appeal, presented ‘HEELMATIC‘ live from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York, broadcast on YouTube and Revolt. Westside Gunn, the promotions founder, is a marketing monster, which is why he decided to host this event to coincide with the release of his new album, “Heelmatic.” This event drew a ton of eyeballs after the rapper-turned-wrestling promoter posted a cryptic message on social media from WWE’s headquarters, with a caption detailing a potential ‘link up.’
With “Cat” Williams on commentary, MVP kicked the program off by reminding the crowd that former 4th Rope champion Zilla Fatu has moved on to NXT, leaving the belt vacant. MVP called for a 10-bell salute on behalf of Ben Satterly (aka PAC).
JOE ALONSO NEW WORLD CHAMP
It was Benny Blanco’s debut in 4th Rope, but Oni King rolled him up for the win before Joe Alonso ran in the ring post-match and beat down on both. King and Blanco were worked over before Alonso grabbed a mic and demanded MVP come to the ring, trying to secure the vacant world title. Alonso showed footage that made the case that he was ‘cheated’ out of the title opportunity, demanding retribution for the official’s error.
MVP acknowledged that the ref did count 3 and the commissioner gifted Joe Alonso the world title before announcing he would also make his first title defense tonight. However, the 4th Rope Commissioner declared he would make his title defense “hurt,” hinting at ‘The Syndicate.’
Joe Alonso (c) VS Bobby Lashley—4th Rope World Championship
After Zilla Fatu held the title for a full year, Joe Alonso held it for just over a full hour after MVP brought out The Hurt Syndicate’s own Bobby Lashley for the champ’s first challenge. Lashley has been absent from AEW TV for months, but he went out for his 4th Rope debut only to walk out the world champion for the up-and-coming promotion.
Joe Alonso got some quality work with the veteran; combine that with his quality work on the ‘stick,’ and he could be a bright spot on the roster.
The Infantry VS The Skywalkers VS 51/50 VS The Hardys (C)
What was supposed to be a four-way for the tag team belts turned into a straight-up tag match after a severe weather system on the East Coast met the Microsoft outage that continues to cause chaos around the nation’s airports. The weather system kept 5150’s Danny Limelight and Slice Boogie from making the show, and The Hardy Boys‘ arrival was unlikely before airtime.
After some initial scrambling, the right call was made to book the two tag teams to compete for the tag belts. However, Limelight and Boogie made it just in time, barely dressed, as they made their run-in for what would become a triple-threat tag match. The battle of the East Coast continued, with wrestlers representing nearly every borough in the ring, and the fast-paced, athletic style was well received by the crowd.
In the match’s climax, The Hardy Boys made their way to the ring just in time to treat the crowd and clear the ring in their patented Hardy swagger as Jeff ‘aura farmed’ the venue. The Infantry picked up the wins off the back of the Hardys’ work, Bravo tagging himself in just before Jeff hit his ‘Swantom Bomb.’
The Hardy Boys handed the titles to Bravo and Shawn Deen as they explained to the crowd that it took over 10 hours waiting in an airport to make the booking, but they were never going to miss this show as they held up The Infantry’s hands.
Swerve Strickland VS Ninja Mac
Swerve made his debut for Fourth Rope against fan favorite Ninja Mac, beloved for his mastery of the squared circle’s martial arts, ahead of his big 6-man tag team Texas Death Match alongside New Level at this weekend’s Full Gear. If Swerve thought he was going to come into ‘Gunn’s House’ and wash Ninja Mac, then he had another “ninja star” coming.
Swerve went life-and-death with Ninja Mac after the former AEW world champion tapped out in the match just as Prince Nana held the ref’s attention. This was Ninja Mac’s biggest opportunity of his career, and he absolutely rose to the occasion. It was not enough to beat Swerve, but these two meshed in a way that brought the crowd to their feet in a major league way.
Real 1 (c) VS TJP—4th Rope Flyweight Champion
Real 1 cut a promo before the match, throwing some shade and delivering ‘bars’ in the form of Easter eggs as he rehashed his feud with TJP from the ‘Crusierweight Classic’ years ago in WWE. In fact, the wrestler formerly known as Enzo was the ‘disruptor’ in the cruiserweight division, where he drew a ton of heat with the division’s stars—TJP was very much in that mix as the first-ever winner of the Classic.
Real 1 has held the Flyweight title since the beginning of 4th Rope, and he has never lost the title he called the ‘real world title’ after claiming he was the best to ‘hold the purple’ (a reference to the cruiserweight title strap).
The match was great, and you can see the work Real 1 has picked up on the Indies; though, it seemed over when TJP locked in the tarantula. In the end, Real 1 hit the ‘Jaw Done-Zo’ for the win as TJP was left with a bloody mouth for his effort.
Rhio(c) VS Janai Kai —4th Rope Women’s World Championship
Rhio has been building her brand since becoming 4th Rope champion, but tonight she faced one of her more awkward opponents as Janai Kai brought her martial arts kicks with her lanky frame. This was a very aggressive, brawling-style fight as Kai continued to use her bare feet to ‘feet wash’ the champ.
Kai turned the tables with her power style complete with lariats and head-butts before tossing around her opponent. The champion was able to retain the title after surviving a battle of strikes with Kai, pinning her with a ‘swinging neckbreaker’ finisher.
CoKANE VS Atrocity Krule
‘The Big White Machine’ CoKane was in action tonight against Krule, and the ‘viral’ wrestler continues to be a crowd favorite, chanting “We want Cocaine” as he busted out the powder substance. The crowd went nuts as he busted it out, but that is when Krule dumped it out right in front of his opponent.
CoKANE won the match with a chokeslam off the top turnbuckle on his noticeably taller opponent after eating a tombstone piledriver to get to that ‘backup stash’ for the ‘hulk up.’ Before the segment was over, Giant Leather attacked CoKane and took out Krule.
Josh Bishop w/ “Quintessential Stud Muffin” Joel Gertner VS Tommy Dreamer—NO DQ
Josh Bishop destroyed his opponent in record time, throwing him through several doors before pinning him with his knee. His manager, ECW’s former Dudley mouthpiece, has found a grade-A up-and-comer after beating his opponent and then taking out Liamo to answer Gertner’s open challenge.
Bishop pinned both men back-to-back with blood and tape wrapped around his head, but then Tommy Dreamer came down for a slightly longer hardcore showing. The result was the same: Bishop picked up 3 wins in one night—something not even Goldberg’s phony undefeated streak ever reached.
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