And Then There Were Two
BRYAN, TX - The journey to crown the first Lions Den Champion is almost complete.
At Resentment, the two semifinal matches in the invitational tournament featured plenty of drama, but MATHAYUS and CHAVY CHULO ended up earning spots in the final, which will take place October 30 back at The Lions Den.
Mathayus and “OUTLAW” J. AUSTIN opened the event, and for a moment, it appeared Austin was the one set to advance. With the referee distracted, “Outlaw” once again used his cowbell to knock out an opponent, then scored a tainted pinfall. Lions Pride Sports Owner HOUSTON CARSON wasn’t having yet another rule violation, though. He consulted with the official, then reversed the decision. Austin’s complaining caused self-inflicted distraction, leading to a Mathayus spear and a win.
The other semifinal featured two of MIKE DELL’S proteges in The Trifecta: CADE CARSON AND CHAVY CHULO. Earlier in the night, Dell had defeated a game but still winless ZANE VALERO thanks to Cade’s distraction. Coming off his win, Dell wanted Carson to join him in the winner’s circle at Resentment, telling Chulo that Cade was more deserving of the spot in the finals and better equipped to defeat Mathayus. But Dell’s order to lay down wasn’t followed by Chavy, who proceeded to fight Carson. The back-and-forth contest would ultimately be decided by a Cade mistake when Valero made his presence felt. Carson swung a chair at Zane, but instead hit the rope and took the chair right back in his face. Chulo planted his partner and scored Trifecta’s trip to the tournament final.
The biggest prize in The Pride was also on the line at Resentment, as JAY ALEXANDER returned with the stolen Lions Pride Sports Championship belt to face DRAKE DURDEN in a no disqualification match. Kendo sticks, chairs and handcuffs came into play, with each competitor showing tremendous resiliency and furious anger. Ultimately, the set-up for a high risk, top rope move by Alexander would be his undoing, as Durden chucked the challenger off the top into a pile of chairs and pinned “The Purveyor of Punishment.” With his belt back in his hands, Durden was stunningly met with a cowbell to the face from J. Austin. With his dreams of winning the Lions Den Championship dashed, a frustrated “Outlaw” appears to be forcing his way toward the top title again.
In other action at Resentment:
With CHARITY KANE unable to compete due to an injury suffered in training, MIA FRIDAY asked for a challenger to come out. The masked CACHORRO DE LEON made his return to action, giving Friday a competitive intergender match. Friday’s M.I.A. earned her the 1-2-3, but her hidden opponent would knock the 15-year-old down after the match.
In the first ever match between THE MOUNTAIN and SHIMBASHI, it was the 600-pounder who got the win. “The Canadian Dragon” was unusually frustrated by the fact that his offense wasn’t effective and refused the hands of The Mountain and the official after the contest.
In tag team action, KOOL DADDI DENZELL and KEMONTE ROSS would come up with a win over HOSTAGE HIRSCH and TRENT MERCER. Denzell would launch a post match attack on Hirsch without Ross, but Mercer would make the save for his partner.