Welcome back to Paradigm and the UWFI Contender’s Series. It was the penultimate episode and though the series was coming to an end, it had no intention of slowing down. We had another five big fights as the new blood and the regulars kept upping the ante to secure their spots. We were opening with six-man action as the losers of the series were duking it out for their first win, Max ZERO looked to put on another beautifully brutal match, this time against BK Westbrook, Irving West Ph.D. looked to impress against the crusher of dissidents MERC, Kenji Brea debuted against Victor Analog and in the main event, Killa Kate claimed her Super Middleweight Title shot against the Anklebreaker, Jordan Blade. It was going to be another high-risk, high reward episode as all our fighters looked to claim those necessary wins, the spotlight, and the title. Let’s get into the action… after the rules.

Let’s quickly go over the rules. UWFI is all based on shoot wrestling and points. Each fighter starts with a set number of points and will lose them based on rope breaks, knockdowns, and breaches of the rule set in intervals of 1-3 depending on the infraction. Victories can come from KOs, submissions, or draining all your opponent’s points. There are no time limits, closed fists, no groin shots, and no intentional fighting outside the ring. The system is in place to make sure fights have winners and are as rapid, violent, and efficient as possible. Now let’s get to the fights.

Six-man UWFI Tag: Lobo Okami, Joseph Alexander & Steve Peña defeated George Broman Jr, Mitch Malik & Gorgeous Morgan Taylor via Alexander-Style Banana Split on Broman Jr

We opened with a rare six-man UWFI tag match. it would still be fought under the same standards, there were just more points to lose overall as a team before a match could be called off. it would be two teams of those that have fallen short so far in the series chasing an all-important win. On one side, we had Lobo Okami, Steve Peña, and the A-Game Joseph Alexander. On the other side, George Broman Jr, Gorgeous Morgan Taylor, and the Hellhound Mitch Malik. This would be a hot contest. This was a tale of three thirds. Firstly, we had Okami vs Taylor in a battle of big man striking. They threw heavy hands and Okami once again shocked with his ferocity. Then it was the time of Malik vs Pena and Malik’s vicious hands colliding with the technical styling of Pena. Malik was forced to tag as Peña had wrecked his leg and Malik had left Peña wobbly. Lastly, rounding out this history-making match, we had Alexander vs Broman. This was pure technical smoothness and aggression as the pair worked each other over until Alexander tapped out Broman with a nasty Banana Split. This did exactly what it needed to. We got to see more of each fighter’s style in micro-fights that built a fun little six-man. Okami, Alexander, and Peña now all have a win to their name and Alexander’s stock keeps increasing as this is twice he’s shown out this season.

Max ZERO defeated BK Westbrook via Shining Wizard

Next up was a very aesthetically pleasing battle. It would be the intergalactic mat maverick BK Westbrook taking his amateur style grappling to the Himboss, Handsome Max ZERO. No matter who won here, it was going to be beautifully brutal once the pair got to work. This was competitive as hell. Westbrook kept trying to rush things and more often than not it would bite him in the ass. ZERO might be big but he’s no slouch in the technical department and he showed this as Westbrook kept trying to tie him in knots. The pair both threw bombs and both narrowly avoided the knockout as both nailed nasty forearms. Westbrook managed to lock on an Octopus and might have won by submission had ZERO not had the power to throw him across the ring. No, the technicality proved fruitless to both and the match was decided by strikes as Westbrook scored his first knockdown with a brutal combo and ZERO made him pay with a brutal lead forearm and ended things with a Shining Wizard. This was bloody fun to watch. These two managed to showcase so much of their style in about three minutes. We saw ZERO’s experience edge trump the energy Westbrook was trying to bring. The rushing method may have worked at first but ZERO shut it down pretty hard later on

MERC defeated Irving West Ph.D. via Rib-Breaker Kick

All rise as the Generalissimo of Merxism and crusher of dissidents MERC is in the building. After an unsuccessful bout against Bobby Beverly, MERC was back in action and ready to break another skull as the Floral Prince, Irving West PhD rose to challenge him. We know of the MERC’s powerful fighting ability but could that be bested by Irving’s smarts? We’d soon see. It was a valiant effort. West had come to the ring with bandaged ribs and MERC made those his go-to target, kicking the very soul out of West. However, he didn’t just take this beating lying down. He used the momentum and his head to score multiple knockdowns and nearly got a KO with multiple harsh headbutts. Sadly, MERC was too hardy and returned to his feet to administer more kicks. Just as West had found his momentum, it was swiftly ended as MERC dropped him for the ten-count with a rib-breaking kick. West had fought bravely but MERC had picked the weak spot and worked it until West could no longer get up. With that win, MERC has begun work on his one objective in Paradigm, to spread the regime. Merxism works as we just saw.

Victor Analog defeated Kenji Brea via Knee Barrage

It was time for a new debut as a new contender stepped up to the plate. It was time for Kenji Brea’s first foray into the UWFI rules. As another member of the Death Threat Army, he was going to be no easy pickings in this series. His first opponent, the TV Terror, Victor Analog. Brea is well-versed in MMA and that came into play instantly as he laid into Analog. From there, it was a back-and-forth bout of striking, Suplexes, and avoided submissions. Brea and Analog were pretty evenly-matched but Analog seemed to be doing more damage and kept draining Brea’s points with knockdowns. As his point count dwindled, Brea ate another load of knees and couldn’t get back up. Analog had won but Brea still showed a lot of fight and proficiency. These two meshed nicely with the pair dodging, weaving, and striking with pretty equal ferocity. The match took its toll on Brea and Analog was able to snag the win. Brea has another chance next week to show off and I cannot wait to see what he does. Analog had a message for Paradigm and especially to Jeffery John, “2022 will be Analog’s year, all you have to do is watch.”

Super Middleweight Title: Jordan Blade defeated Killa Kate via Split Kneebar

Last but not least, we had the main event. Killa Kate had called out the Super Middleweight Champion Jordan Blade after a successful debut and now, the champ had obliged her. This was the big leagues and now she was going to match her skills with that of the Anklebreaker. This one was going to be a masterclass in technicality. This got heated. What started as a mat-based encounter shifted from scrambling to slugging as Blade and Kate went from trying to tie the other in knots, to trying to KO each other. Blade went for Suplexes and knees whilst Kate had kicks and arm-based breaks. It got very physical and as the match ramped up, Blade just got more and more pissed, throwing in back fists and other rare moves before ending Kate with a Kneebar. Kate had brought one hell of a fight but that has just pushed Blade to end her in even more swift and brutal ways. Blade remains a dominant figure in Paradigm and sent a powerful message to any other challengers. The champ is here and she will break you, no matter how many fights you bring. This was a fitting main event as Kate stepped up to the challenge and just fell short of the deadly submission game of the champ.

Thank you for watching #UWFiContenders! Comment and let us know what you thought!

We're back next week on @indiewrestling for the SEASON FINAL – Champions (@RonMathis13 & @IsaiahBroner) vs Challengers (@VincentNothing & @BobbyBeverly)!

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— Paradigm Pro Wrestling (@ParadigmProWres) February 10, 2022

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