World Heavyweight Championship Match: Triple H w/ Ric Flair vs. Mitsuharu Misawa ©
The two men stare each other down and neither of them takes a step back after almost a full minute. They finally lock up. Each man pushes looking for any sort of weakness, but finds nothing. Trips makes a move by attempting an armdrag, but Misawa holds his ground and puts his knee on H’s neck, bringing him level with the mat. HHH escapes the hold and backs to the ropes. He steps forward going for a test of strength. Misawa obliges and they lock hands. After a brief struggle, Misawa is on his knees. The intensity on HHH’s face turns to surprise as Misawa does a back roll to twist his arms and reverse the pressure of the knuckle lock, then to pain as he is forced down to his knees. Misawa releases one hand and drives his knee into his opponent’s face. Trips works his way to the ropes to break the hold then crawls out. After a consultation with Flair, The Game is back in the ring and offers to lock up, but when Misawa complies, he gets punched in the face. HHH follows this up and whips Misawa to the ropes. Misawa bounces off the ropes and gets put on his back by a shoulder block. Trips drops an elbow, but gets nothing. Both men get to their feet and Misawa starts firing off chops to put Triple H against the ropes Misawa fires HHH off and drops to his belly. H jumps over the champion and regains control of himself. When Misawa gets up he gets a kick in the stomach and HHH goes for the pedigree, but Misawa unhooks his arms and back body drops The Game out of the ring.
Flair tries to get close to his charge, but backs off when Misawa exits the ring. As the champ tries to pull the game up, he gets a couple of fingers in his eyes. Trips waistlocks Misawa and drives his lower back against the ring. He then whips his opponent into the barricade. After a vertical suplex on the floor, HHH rolls into the ring and gets on the ref’s case about him daring to count while he was out of the ring. This allows Flair to get a few stomps in as Misawa tries to get to his feet. Misawa tries to get into the ring, but gets a knee to his face on his way in. The referee reprimands Helmsley and this allows Flair to get in a few more cheap shots. Flair backs off as the referee turns around and Trips pulls his opponent into the ring under the ropes. He continues to attack the lower back with a series of knees then puts on a Boston crab. Misawa, still being close to the edge of the ring, grabs the ropes and the ref forces a break. HHH holds on until the four count, which causes the ref to continue talking to him after he breaks the hold. This distraction allows Flair to take off his coat and use it to choke Misawa.
Triple H brings Misawa to his feet, chops him across the chest, and hips him into the ropes. Trips runs to meet his opponent with a high knee, which finds its mark and puts the champion on the mat. The challenger hooks a leg…
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The ref stops, after seeing Misawa’s arm on the bottom rope. Triple H pulls Misawa closer to the middle of the ring and pins again…
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Misawa pushes his challenger off. Triple H punches at Misawa’s head then remembers what he did out of the ring. He turns Misawa over and puts his knee into Misawa’s lower back. He stands up and drops an elbow in the same area. Now both knees go into the lower back and HHH pulls back on his opponent’s head and legs for a version of the bow and arrow hold. Misawa shifts his weight and winds up in a pinning position on top of HHH, but the challenger powers out. HHH is up first and approaches Misawa, who from his knees headbutts HHH in the gut. Misawa gets up and delivers a forearm. Trips responds with a punch. Misawa returns in kind. Trips goes low and pushes Misawa to a corner. After a second charging shoulder, Trips whips Misawa across the ring and follows him in. Triple H eats a big helping of Misawa’s boot. Trips backs up to near the middle of the ring. Misawa climbs to the top rope and dives off with an elbow. Both men remain lying on the mat.
Both men are moving, but not even close to standing as the count gets to 8. When the ref counts 9, Flair reaches into the ring and pulls his stable mate out of the ring, technically starting a new count, but also getting the ref to yell at him and eject him from ringside. Flair removes his coat for the second time in this match and throws it at the ref, which somehow doesn’t change his ruling.Triple H rolls back into the ring, where Misawa is using the ropes to stand up as The Nature Boy storms his way up the entrance ramp. They meet in the middle of the ring and Misawa dodges a punch and gets behind his opponent. Misawa hits a German suplex and slowly gets up, grabbing his back. He runs to the ropes and comes off with a senton, but HHH gets his knees up. Trips rolls over and pushes up to try to stand up. He pulls Misawa up and puts him in a standing headscissors. He underhooks both arms, but Misawa escapes and pulls Trips’ legs out from under him. He catapults HHH into the corner. When Trips turns around, he has a boot in his gut and is in a similar position to what he just had his opponent in. Triple H escapes the same way as Misawa did. Misawa steps away from the corner and walks into a spinebuster. He is unable to immediately make the cover, but does crawl his way over to Misawa…
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Misawa gets a shoulder up. Trips goes to Misawa’s legs and attempts to turn him over, but Misawa constantly uses his shoulders and neck to avoid being turned over. HHH finally gets Misawa over, but by this point he’s in the ropes. Trips ignores the ref’s instructions to break the hold and just pulls him away from the ropes to pull him up. Misawa pushes him off and fires off a series of punches and kicks finishing with a kick to the stomach. Triple H experiences Tiger driver ‘91 and Misawa pushes forward for the pin…
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Solie: Two of the most decorated wrestlers to ever grace the ring, Triple H and Mitsuharu Misawa, will be closing out the card tonight, as only an IWC World Championship match can. Each man is known for their toughness and for their stamina, which could be the deciding factor in this championship match, if it isn’t The Nature Boy in Mr, Helmsley’s corner. I would like to inform our viewers that, at the champions’ request, there will be a 20 count for action outside of the ring as opposed to the 10 count that they may be more familiar with.
The two men stare each other down and neither of them takes a step back after almost a full minute. They finally lock up. Each man pushes looking for any sort of weakness, but finds nothing. Trips makes a move by attempting an armdrag, but Misawa holds his ground and puts his knee on H’s neck, bringing him level with the mat. HHH escapes the hold and backs to the ropes. He steps forward going for a test of strength. Misawa obliges and they lock hands. After a brief struggle, Misawa is on his knees. The intensity on HHH’s face turns to surprise as Misawa does a back roll to twist his arms and reverse the pressure of the knuckle lock, then to pain as he is forced down to his knees. Misawa releases one hand and drives his knee into his opponent’s face. Trips works his way to the ropes to break the hold then crawls out. After a consultation with Flair, The Game is back in the ring and offers to lock up, but when Misawa complies, he gets punched in the face. HHH follows this up and whips Misawa to the ropes. Misawa bounces off the ropes and gets put on his back by a shoulder block. Trips drops an elbow, but gets nothing. Both men get to their feet and Misawa starts firing off chops to put Triple H against the ropes Misawa fires HHH off and drops to his belly. H jumps over the champion and regains control of himself. When Misawa gets up he gets a kick in the stomach and HHH goes for the pedigree, but Misawa unhooks his arms and back body drops The Game out of the ring.
Solie: It appears that each man has done his homework, but Misawa keeps getting the last word.
Flair tries to get close to his charge, but backs off when Misawa exits the ring. As the champ tries to pull the game up, he gets a couple of fingers in his eyes. Trips waistlocks Misawa and drives his lower back against the ring. He then whips his opponent into the barricade. After a vertical suplex on the floor, HHH rolls into the ring and gets on the ref’s case about him daring to count while he was out of the ring. This allows Flair to get a few stomps in as Misawa tries to get to his feet. Misawa tries to get into the ring, but gets a knee to his face on his way in. The referee reprimands Helmsley and this allows Flair to get in a few more cheap shots. Flair backs off as the referee turns around and Trips pulls his opponent into the ring under the ropes. He continues to attack the lower back with a series of knees then puts on a Boston crab. Misawa, still being close to the edge of the ring, grabs the ropes and the ref forces a break. HHH holds on until the four count, which causes the ref to continue talking to him after he breaks the hold. This distraction allows Flair to take off his coat and use it to choke Misawa.
Solie: He’s not known as the dirtiest player in the game for nothing. Ric Flair continues to be a factor even when he is not competing in the match, himself.
Triple H brings Misawa to his feet, chops him across the chest, and hips him into the ropes. Trips runs to meet his opponent with a high knee, which finds its mark and puts the champion on the mat. The challenger hooks a leg…
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The ref stops, after seeing Misawa’s arm on the bottom rope. Triple H pulls Misawa closer to the middle of the ring and pins again…
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Misawa pushes his challenger off. Triple H punches at Misawa’s head then remembers what he did out of the ring. He turns Misawa over and puts his knee into Misawa’s lower back. He stands up and drops an elbow in the same area. Now both knees go into the lower back and HHH pulls back on his opponent’s head and legs for a version of the bow and arrow hold. Misawa shifts his weight and winds up in a pinning position on top of HHH, but the challenger powers out. HHH is up first and approaches Misawa, who from his knees headbutts HHH in the gut. Misawa gets up and delivers a forearm. Trips responds with a punch. Misawa returns in kind. Trips goes low and pushes Misawa to a corner. After a second charging shoulder, Trips whips Misawa across the ring and follows him in. Triple H eats a big helping of Misawa’s boot. Trips backs up to near the middle of the ring. Misawa climbs to the top rope and dives off with an elbow. Both men remain lying on the mat.
Solie: Two men who have exhausted each other lie on the mat. They fight each other to be the best and they are fighting themselves just to get up. Each man, I am certain, is wishing the referee’s count would slow down; he’s up to 7 right now.
Both men are moving, but not even close to standing as the count gets to 8. When the ref counts 9, Flair reaches into the ring and pulls his stable mate out of the ring, technically starting a new count, but also getting the ref to yell at him and eject him from ringside. Flair removes his coat for the second time in this match and throws it at the ref, which somehow doesn’t change his ruling.Triple H rolls back into the ring, where Misawa is using the ropes to stand up as The Nature Boy storms his way up the entrance ramp. They meet in the middle of the ring and Misawa dodges a punch and gets behind his opponent. Misawa hits a German suplex and slowly gets up, grabbing his back. He runs to the ropes and comes off with a senton, but HHH gets his knees up. Trips rolls over and pushes up to try to stand up. He pulls Misawa up and puts him in a standing headscissors. He underhooks both arms, but Misawa escapes and pulls Trips’ legs out from under him. He catapults HHH into the corner. When Trips turns around, he has a boot in his gut and is in a similar position to what he just had his opponent in. Triple H escapes the same way as Misawa did. Misawa steps away from the corner and walks into a spinebuster. He is unable to immediately make the cover, but does crawl his way over to Misawa…
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Misawa gets a shoulder up. Trips goes to Misawa’s legs and attempts to turn him over, but Misawa constantly uses his shoulders and neck to avoid being turned over. HHH finally gets Misawa over, but by this point he’s in the ropes. Trips ignores the ref’s instructions to break the hold and just pulls him away from the ropes to pull him up. Misawa pushes him off and fires off a series of punches and kicks finishing with a kick to the stomach. Triple H experiences Tiger driver ‘91 and Misawa pushes forward for the pin…
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Solie: We have a winner. Mitsuharu Misawa has successfully defended his championship, and has definitely earned the winner’s share of the purse. He doesn’t look it, lying there on the mat, but he his holding his belt in the air like the champion he is.
