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Okay, the rules here are the first fall is pinfall only, second is submissions only, and the third if necessary will be a 15 minute Ironman rules fall. Roderick goes right to Eddie's arm, stepping over a wristlock and dropping all his body weight on the arm. They duck one another's chops and Roderick bails out to the floor for a moment, then comes back in and gets an O'Connor Roll for 2, Eddie counters with a rollup of his own for 2, and they go to a stalemate. Another tieup and Roderick takes Eddie to the corner and just batters him down with forearms, but Eddie comes out of the corner with a flying headscissors and a double underhook suplex for 1. Eddie with a stepover chinlock, but Roderick gets out and they go back to trading blows. Roderick with a schoolboy rollup, Eddie rolls through, and Roderick knocks Eddie silly with a Tylerkick to the jaw. Roderick with a hard back suplex for 2 and an elbow to the top of the head, then puts the boots to Eddie in the corner. Roderick dumps Eddie to the floor and they briefly exchange chops until Roderick starts pounding Eddie to the ground. They head back inside and Roderick covers for 2 and goes to a chinlock. Crowd is pretty evenly split between both guys. Eddie escapes with a chinbreaker, but Roderick with a dropkick and a backbreaker for 2. Eddie starts firing back and they again trade blows in the middle of the ring, Roderick with a series of roaring forearms and elbows, but Eddie hits a backdrop suplex that dumps Strong right on his head. These two are just destroying each other. Eddie with a running forearm in the corner and a snap suplex, then he goes up top and hits a missile dropkick that sends Strong careening across the ring. Eddie covers but only gets 2, so he goes for the Backpack Driver, Roderick slips out, and hits a suplex for 2. Roderick tries a charge into the corner but Eddie gets the boot up and comes off the second rope with a Codebreakerand goes for a suplex, but Roderick reverses to the vertical suplex into a backbreaker and wins the first fall.
We have a 30 second rest period, and then go right into the second fall which is submissions only, and Roderick doesn't waste any time stomping Eddie's guts out. Roderick with straight right hands to the ribs of Edwards and makes a cover, but there's no pinfalls in this fall so he chokes Eddie over the second rope instead. Strong gets the LeBell Lock and then releases the facelock portion and goes to a top armbar that looks like it's going to rip Edwards in half. Edwards makes the ropes so Strong picks him up for a back suplex into a backbreaker and then catapults Eddie into the bottom rope. Strong comes off the ropes, but Eddie picks him up in a fireman's carry and dumps him with a sitout F5. Eddie catches Strong's boot on a kick attempt and locks him into an STF, but Strong manages to make it to the ropes. Strong rolls out to the apron and Eddie hits a running kick that sends him to the floor and then tries a dive over the top rope, but Strong moves out of the way and Eddie hits hard, then Strong drills him with a leaping knee to the jaw as soon as he regains his feet. Roderick sets up a chair in the corner of the ringside area and then bodyslams Edwards onto it in probably the most sadistic move I've seen this side of a Necro Butcher match. Roderick then takes the chair out to the middle of ringside and suplexes Eddie through the chair, then mercifully dumps Eddie back into the ring and locks him in the Stronghold. Eddie somehow gets to the ropes, so Roderick pulls him back out to the middle of the ring and gets a conventional Boston Crab as the crowd chants "please don't tap" at Eddie as he crawls to the ropes. They somehow start trading chops again, then forearms and big boots, and Roderick hits a gutbuster and tries a half nelson backbreaker, but Eddie rolls through and catches Strong in the Achilles Lock. Roderick goes for the ropes but Eddie pulls him back out to the center of the ring and Strong taps.
Another 30 second rest period later, the third fall starts, which is a 15 minute Ironman fall. Eddie starts with a baseball slide through the ropes that sends Strong crashing into the barricade, and then Eddie continues battering him around ringside, with Strong running and using a female photographer as a human shield. He can't get away, and Eddie catches up and suplexes Strong on the floor, then rolls him back inside and hits a running enziguiri for 2. Eddie with a sunset flip, Strong rolls through, and Eddie hits a Falcon Arrow suplex for 2. Edwards goes up top, but Strong catches him with a pair of leaping enziguiris and hits a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle. Strong covers for 2, then hits a torture rackbreaker for another 2. Strong goes for the Stronghold again, but he's too close to the ropes and Eddie gets the break.
Ten minutes left in the Ironman period with no falls scored yet, and Strong hits a backbreaker for 2 and then dumps Eddie out to the floor. Strong goes to the outside as well and whips Edwards hard into the barricade and then takes him up to the entranceway and hits a Gibson Driver onto the entrance ramp. Strong calmly walks back to the ring and rolls inside while the referee counts and Eddie barely makes it back in. Strong covers for 2, covers again for another 2, and goes for the Stronghold again. Eddie blocks and repeatedly chops Strong in the neck to break the hold. Strong goes for another Gibson Driver but Eddie rams Strong into the corner, sits him up top and hits a leaping enziguiri, then two more, and now hits the Backpack Driver for 2. Eddie dumps Strong with another backdrop suplex and goes for a cover, but Strong gets his foot across the bottom rope at 2.
Five minutes left and we're still dead even. Eddie sits Strong on top and pummels him with chops before another leaping enzigiuri knocks Strong to the floor. Eddie goes after him and Roderick rams him into the ring apron, then rolls him back inside. Strong goes up top but Eddie runs in with a big boot to the face and hits a superplex for 2 as we hit the three minute warning. Eddie with a superkick and goesforthe 2K1 Bomb, and they exchange rollups back and forth as we hit two minutes but still no pinfalls. Strong gets a backslide out of nowhere and Truth Martini holds Eddie's feet so Roderick can get the fall and go up 1-0 with a little over a minute left. Eddie chases Truth Martini around ringside and into the ring. Strong nails Eddie and holds him so Truth Martini can hit him with the Book of Truth, but Eddie moves and Truth hits Strong. Eddie superkicks Martini to the floor and hits a 2K1 Bomb to tie it up at 1-1. The rest period ends with 15 seconds left, and we end with a tie.
Bobby Cruise announces that the match ends in a draw since they're tied on falls, but Jim Cornette comes out and asks both men if they want to accept the draw or prove who the better man is, then tells referee Todd Sinclair that they're not getting five more minutes, this one's going to a decision with the first man getting a fall winning the match.
Much like Rocky and Apollo in the 15th round, they slowly come to the middle of the ring and go face to face before pummeling each other once again. Punch for punch, chop for chop, Strong with a leaping knee, Eddie with a superkick, Eddie with another superkick, Eddie with a Tiger suplex for 2. Eddie chops Strong in the face and covers for 2 and then goes for the Achilles Lock, but Strong kicks his way out and hits another kneestrike and the Sick Kick for 2. Strong with the Gibson Driver, but that only gets 2 so he sits Eddie up top for a top rope gutbuster, but Eddie hits a Frankensteiner into the ring. Strong with another leaping knee, Eddie with a gutbuster of his own, and Strong with another Sick Kick for 2. Crowd is going nuts for this match as Strong brings Eddie back to the top rope again and tries a top rope Gibson Driver, but Eddieslips out and hits a pair of leaping enziguiris and then comes off with a double stomp to Strong on the apron. Strong rolls back in and Eddie hits another top rope double stomp for 2. Eddie with a powerbomb, then a sitout powerbomb for 2. Eddie offthe ropes with a clothesline and then another 2K1 Bomb finally gets the win.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
This was just unbelievable, these guys went around 40 minutes and absolutely tore it up. This was just intensely physically grueling, and the appreciative crowd chants "that was awesome" at them in recognition of the effort they just put forth. Eddie very slowly makes his way back to his feet, and Bobby Cruise again announces him as the winner and the crowd again pops for him.
The main event is up next as the Briscoes battle the All Night Express in a Ladder War on Page 4!
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