TAP OUT WRESTLING 6: GORDON VS POENA II PREVIEW

[Cross Recoba]

PRESENTS

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Date: 28th August 2022
Venue: Lansky Ballroom, The Sands Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Capacity: 1000

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MAIN EVENT
TAP OUT WRESTLING OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT MATCH
ERIN GORDON (#7) vs POENA (#2)
We close out the night with a rematch of the first-ever main-event in Tap Out wrestling history. This time however, the stakes are far higher than before! Whilst a loss wouldn't mean instant elimination, it would mean that they'd lost a safety-net at the first hurdle and going into the lower bracket might sound a cakewalk but it leaves no room for error!

Gordon wasn't at the last show for reasons yet to be disclosed but she'll have made sure to have watched the event and will have heard Poena's take on the tournament and paid particular notice to the fact both Close Collins and herself were singled out by the Sanctified One as people he'd like to 'break'. In their first encounter, Gordon got the win but picked up an injury to her shoulder that might well have cost her at the next month's show against NOMAD. She'll be wary but will want to make sure that she gets the win again, without suffering damage that could jeopardise her tournament chances.

Poena remains fully-focused on NOMAD, who was by far the focal point of his interview with Brandon McKay. Indeed, the snapping of McKay's finger would be seen as a warning shot to the rest of the roster that he is the most dangerous member of the roster. With a month without a match in Tap Out, he'll have had plenty of time to evaluate and plan his path to being the first TOW Openweight Champion. More worryingly, with his keeping in ring shape at HardKore World - he's also going to be fighting fit both physically and mentally.

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CO-MAIN EVENT
TAP OUT WRESTLING OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT MATCH
NOMAD (#1) vs ADRIEN COCHRANE(#8)
NOMAD's unbeaten streak means that he comes into this match, and indeed the tournament, in top form. With an unblemished copybook, he'll be keen to make sure he doesn't suffer his first loss in this match. His blend of raw power and mat skills have bested every single person he has stepped into the ring with in Tap Out and he alluded to the fact that he sees the tournament as his shot at being the top guy in a company on the XHF Network. Pundits would point to the way that he dispatched Brad Kane at our first show as the most like-for-like example of how he'd fare against Cochrane, can he prove the experts right?

Tap Out Wrestling 5 was not just physically taxing on Cochrane but must have been a mental drain to boot. He knows he got into the tournament by the skin of his teeth. If he'd have signed when the contract was first offered, he'd have had an extra match and if he'd lost, Jackalope might well have grabbed his slot. Suffering disappointment once more at an XHF event, it'll be interesting to see how he reacts. Will the loss to Null and Dylan Black at Night of Champions drive him on in this tournament or will it play on his mind once that bell rings?

What we can say is that this match would be this writer's tip for Match of the Night.

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TAP OUT WRESTLING OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT MATCH
JACK DIAMOND (#3) VS CLOSE COLLINS (#6) 
Our first-ever rematch opens up proceedings after our interval and if last month's main-event can tell us anything, it's that this match will be as action-packed and tight as its predecessor.

Diamond has proven himself all over the world...twice. He also spoke of his admiration and hopes for the career of his opponent. That's all well and good but he'll be hoping Collins' career takes off after he picks up the win at this event! What may be a factor in the match is whether or not his failure to bring the X*Crown to Tap Out will be something Cross gets revenge for sooner rather than later. 

Close will be told by Tuff to view this match as a no-lose situation. While he lost last month, he put a lot of people watching on notice about his abilities. He'll also look back at how he beat Long and will try to engineer his camp to focus on that, whilst keeping an eye on Diamond's tendency to cheat purely because he can, not because he has to.

With the winner of this match facing off against whoever triumphs in the main-event, expect the monitors backstage to be packed.

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TAP OUT WRESTLING OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT MATCH
ISABELLA VON KRAUSS (#4) VS JASON LONG (#5)
With the brackets based on how the points fell over a period of time, both of these competitors made their stakes for a spot in the last two months of qualification.

Isabella will be feeling the more confident, like Diamond she is 2-0 since starting with Tap Out and hosts the better record than her opponent. She'll also want to show Esmerelda von Krauss that whilst she won gold with REIGN, Isabella can match that here in Tap Out. She beat fan-favorite Jackalope to gain entry to the tournament and during that match we saw what chaos her literal pair of clowns can cause to her opponents. 

Long picked up the bonus half-point for Move of the Night and with Danni Anderson out on the sidelines from that Super Kingslayer, you can't afford to sleep on him in this tournament. That's a view shared by our top seed, NOMAD, who name-checked him as one to watch in his interview. With his first win being followed by such an exclamation point of a finish, you'd like to think that Long is building up steam and that means that when the bell rings, he will be a force for anyone.

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XHF PHOENIX CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
DINO BONES (c) VS JACKALOPE
For the first-time in Tap Out history, an XHF title is to be defended on a show and what a match it looks to be.

If you watched Night of Champions, you'll know the chaos that comes from an XHF Phoenix title and our booking agents were relieved the summary results at least spelled out who walked out with the belt at the end of the night! Will we hear the now iconic statement before the match that is 'NOW, INSIDE A BEAR'?

When the Phoenix once again took flight, it found an unlikely home in the hollow belly of a dracolich. Dinosaur Bones' insatiable appetite has seen him eat his way through the competition until finally delivering a delicious mineral deposit. Much like his FWA Anarchy title days, it is unclear if the reanimated skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is aware of his championship status, but one thing is clear - he is the top of the food chain. Technically a mechanic for CAR's Bad to the Bone racing team, Bones has devoured GUNS top singles prize - but with that company in its off season, he plots to stop for a quick bite in Tap Out - crossing a fellow cryptid off his list of gourmet delicacies.

Jackalope was desperately unlucky to not make the cut for the tournament but Cross mentioned he had something in mind for the rookie and now we see his consolation prize. Can one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster capture gold in his first attempt? His mix of astounding aerial attacks and speed-based strikes put him in a good place for the challenge, but can he take down an opponent more used to facing Jeff Goldblum and Chris Pratt? He'll perhaps pray that IVK's two clowns decide to mess with him again and find themselves on Dino Bones' buffet menu!

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TAG-TEAM MATCH
JAMES DRAGON/SAM SAWYER VS WILDCAT CAPONE/JENNA SCYDE
Opening the night we have a tag-team match facing three debutants and a man who made many stand up and take notice at our last show.

James Dragon appeared before the live crowd to announce his return to wrestling. The former AWF United States Champion hasn't been seen inside an XHF ring for quite some time and even he is sceptical as to whether he can return to the form he showed back when he captured titles. Joining him will be Sam Sawyer who will be familiar to anyone who tuned into FIRESIDE shows before their closure. Looking at her approach to wrestling, comparisons can be made between herself and Gordon once the bell rings. Her hard-hitting style shows that what she might lack for size she makes up for in pure pound-for-pound power.

On the opposite side of the ring will be Wildcat Capone and Jenna Cyde. Capone put down Tommy Strychnine at the last show and did so in emphatic fashion. His top-rope Belly-to-Belly suplex rounding off a performance that showed why Tap Out made a play to sign him back in January.  Jenna's style is similar to her partner's, if you look to her highlight reel you see a moveset that builds to her finisher and whilst that means you can plan to avoid it - failure means you're in danger when she decides to end it.

 With both teams knowing that the tournament is a closed shop, the opportunity is there for them to make a claim once it concludes that they should be next in line for a shot. Can they seize the opportunity? 

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PLUS

Half-time show: Live entertainment TBC

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Promo Deadline: 8/26 - 5 AM (GMT) || 8/25 - Midnight (EST) 
Segment Deadline - 8/26 - 5 AM (GMT) || 8/25 - Midnight (EST)
RP Limits: 2 Promos @ 2k a piece 

Segments to be sent to the TOW Admin team.