WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE & LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to H2O and to the first edition of Monday Night Death. It might be Monday night but we weren’t going to be sitting watching three hours of sports entertainment. It was time for two hours and twelve minutes of the hardcore hustle. We had rising star warfare, hoss fights, title fights and so much more before getting to the main event bloodbath as The Cogar Brothers continue their destructive tear through H2O and everything Matt Tremont holds dear. The Silver Teeth Satan and Evil Incarnate were colliding with the boss in a tag team deathmatch but no one knew who Tremont’s partner was going to be. Let’s solve the mystery and get into the carnage.

Frank Bonetti defeated Rocket, Nick Grande & Duncan Aleem via Stolen Victory on Aleem

Despite Edward Hawkins’s best efforts, the show was beginning with some rising star warfare. The president wannabe had tried to hold up the show but had been sent packing, so let’s get into match one. It would be a four-way fight for supremacy as Rocket, Nick Grande, Duncan Aleem, and Frank Bonetti all collided to give us a clash of style and skillsets. It would be Rocket’s high-flying meeting Grande’s technicality meeting Aleem’s soul-survivor style meets the scrappy no fucks given approach of Bonetti. It was a fun little car crash with everyone going for broke and then quickly realising that that wasn’t going to work. Aleem and Bonetti had a temporary alliance but that quickly crumbled as their need for victory overwritten their need to work together. Things exploded for one final flurry and just as Grande seemed to have things won, Bonetti threw him out to steal it. Just like that, Bonetti had gotten another one over on Grande, committing a daylight robbery in the process. It made for a fun opener with each rising star getting time to shine.

Chris Bradley & Kristian Ross defeated Marcus Mathers & Reid Walker via Boss Driver on Walker

What better way to piss off a team that thinks they’ve been overlooked than to put them against two of H2O’s biggest stars. Marcus Mathers and Reid Walker have become two of the most recognisable faces for H2O so Tremont was definitely getting to Ross and Bradley with this match. It would be hoss vs hybrid as Ross and Bradley looked to brute-force their way through their opponents. At first, it looked like they weren’t going to get anything in. Walker and Mathers were tearing them apart with crisp, rapid-fire teamwork. It was all going so well until a blind tag from Ross saw Mathers become a punching bag for most of the match. He made a big escape and we got the hyper-paced back-and-forth we’d want from both teams. Mathers and Walker made one hell of a comeback but it just wasn’t enough as Ross and Bradley kept powering through and overpowering the pair, ending things with one hell of a Fire-Thunder Driver and a spear just to keep Mathers out of the equation. This had all the impact Ross and Bradley wanted it to have, leaving their stamp on two of the company’s hottest stars. You don’t fuck with the Full-Time Bosses and get away with it.

Drew Blood defeated Jess Moss (w/Deklan Grant) via Small Package

Time to get grimy. We had Jess Moss and Deklan Grant in action tonight as the most dangerous couple in H2O looked to continue living up to that moniker. Up first was the Infamoss one as she took on the Notorious Drew Blood. This looked set to be a proper scrap as both fighters weren’t going to hold anything back. This was pure physicality. It started stiff and just got stiffer as the pair looked to beat the shit out of each other. It was a nasty little match with the pair beating each other black and blue both in and out of the ropes. It wasn’t pretty but it was damn effective. Moss was taking Blood’s head off with the ferocity of her shots and absorbing just as deadly shots back from Blood. It was an excellent showcase for Moss even if she got rolled up in the end. Blood secured a win the only way he could in that scenario and legged it before she could kill him any further. Smart man. Props to these two, it made the most of the time it had by being a hellacious slugfest with Grant throwing in comedic barbs from the sidelines.

H2O Heavyweight Title: Deklan Grant defeated Anthraxx via TKO

The grimy double-bill concluded with the champion putting the title on the line against the monster Anthraxx. The champ was already pissed since he had to fight to receive an introduction and now, he was going to have to defend his title against a deadly challenger. This led to one hell of a title bout as Grant started fast and tried to break Anthraxx’s body and spirit with repeated attacks and mockery. Much like the last match, it was very physical but these two threw in a lot more power moves and throws, especially Anthraxx and his ridiculous repertoire of Suplexes. The champ had his hands full as the challenger would not stay down and kept finding ways to come back and break Grant. It made for a rather compelling and competitive match as Anthraxx proved why he’d been given the opportunity. Grant started smug and smarmy but was pretty knackered by the end of it. He still had more than enough energy to tell the fans to go fuck themselves. To his credit, he’s a fighting champ and every match he’s had lately has been pretty damn good so I think he can be cocky from time to time. Just not when your opponent could throw you in about 100 different ways. His next opponent? He wants the only guy to have actually pinned him, Brandon Kirk.

H2O Tag Team Titles: The Endgame (Darien Hardway & Leroy Robinson) defeated The Rep (Nate Carter & Dave McCall) via Dirty Roll-up on Carter

The title fever continued as the H2O Tag Titles were put up for grabs. The Endgame, Darien Hardway and Leroy Robinson, have started to cut through their challengers but now, it was time for a real test. H2O had brought in the big guns. They were taking on one of the top teams on the independent scene, The Rep. Dave McCall and Nate Carter were in the building and ready to take that H2O gold. As expected, this was fucking awesome. Both teams brought their A-game as The Rep saw off a sneak attack to break down Robinson then we saw the same happen as the Endgame gave McCall the double-team treatment. There was no slack here, it was all intensity, all the time with both teams hitting hard and getting hit harder. It was a monster of a match with a whole lot of great moments. This looked like the Rep’s match to win but devious tactics and smart plays allowed Hardway to sneak back into the match and win with a roll-up. It wasn’t the most powerful finish but it got the job done, giving the Endgame one hell of a win over one hell of a team. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of The Rep in H2O. They could rip the tag division apart if given the chance.

Austin Luke defeated Jimmy Lyon via Barbed-Wire Koji Clutch

Let the blood flow. It was time for the first deathmatch of the night. What better way to kick a blood feud up a notch than with another high-impact deathmatch? Austin Luke was the chosen member of Kennedi Copeland’s band of outcasts to be chosen for this fight with one of H2O’s favourites, Jimmy Lyon. Considering the group had picked Lyon as their original victim, it’s only fitting he was still trying to fight them. This time he was getting his hands on Austin Luke though I don’t know how well it was going to go for him. Luke is just as happy in the blood as he is in a grappling contest. Fucking hell. This was a fucking deathmatch alright. It had nice amounts of blood loss but also creative spots with shopping trolleys, records, and cinderblocks. Both guys used cinderblocks to their maximum effect either using them for limb-crippling counters, bowling ball crash pads, or for Luke, a way to break Lyon’s arm. This was the catharsis we wanted to see from Lyon as he finally got to make one of the main proprietors of his pain suffer for what they did to him. This was Lyon’s playground and he was showing Luke all his toys. The problem was, that Luke kept using them on him too. This wasn’t a one-sided bout and when the smoke had cleared, Luke had racked up the win. It had been painful and he’d been pummelled and cut way more than he’d expected to be but he’d done it with what looked like a barbed-wire Koji Clutch variation. It was the most hybrid way Luke could have ended this. Of course, he didn’t want to end it there and tried to hurt Lyon further but Marcus Mathers made the save and stomped his ass out. He hasn’t forgotten what Luke did to him and seems to be clamouring for another round. Their last encounter, where he leaves Luke a bloody, broken mess.

1 Called Manders defeated Ryan Redfield via Iowa Stampede

Oh, fuck yeah. It was time for the ultimate hoss fight as H2O was bringing in 1 Called Manders. The Corn Belt Cowboy was making the trip from the plains to deliver an ass-whooping and Ryan Redfield had been picked as his opponent. This was going to be a big chance for Redfield to unleash on someone similar to his size and strength. Was he going to be able to beat someone as well-travelled as Manders though? Big Red wasn’t going to back down either way. Goddamn, this was a painful one. This started nice enough with a battle of the big boys then descended into an all-out haymaker fest. The pair were knocking each other down with brutal shots and ridiculous throws. It was a back-and-forth battle of attrition with both hosses finding the other more than willing to get up and keep on slugging. Manders had been smart by wrecking the arm of Redfield but even that didn’t stop most of these bombs from being thrown. Manders had laid down the gauntlet and Redfield was doing everything in his power to represent his home with pride. He may have fallen in the end but had taken an Avalanche Stampede slam to end it. The heart may have been willing but the body was not and Redfield finally stayed down for three. Manders had won his debut but he was going to be feeling it in the morning. He wasn’t a bad winner either, he made sure the crowd realised just how damn good Red had been there. These two showed just how damn fun it gets when you watch big men slapping meat.

The Cogar Brothers (Atticus & Otis Cogar) defeated Matt Tremont & GG Everson via Skewered Brain Haemorrhage on Tremont

Last but not least, the main event. It was time for another bloodbath as Matt Tremont and Atticus Cogar continued their war. 44OH! may be gone but Cogar had never forgotten and was going to continue making Tremont suffer. His brother, Otis had been drafted into this fight and for one night only, GG Everson was adopting the Tremont family name as brothers battled “brothers”. He wasn’t cutting his hair though, names were enough. The tubes, strips and wire were out for this one. It was all put to good use too. The initial brawling soon subsided as the Cogar Brothers tried to get the match switched from a deathmatch to a regular tag bout. That went about as well as expected and we went into a bloody, death fest. The Cogars spent most of the match dealing with their chosen foes, Otis getting Everson and Atticus taking on Tremont. This was an excellent outing for Everson. He looked strong and took all the blows that Otis threw at him, including numerous tubes, the straight razor and even a pelted fuckery board. Meanwhile, Cogar was stabbing up and getting stabbed by Tremont. It was all chaotic fun with all four fighters getting bloody, glassy and angry. The Cogar Brothers won after Tremont tried to save GG from skewers. It worked temporarily but post-match, the Cogars couldn’t leave well alone and skewered Everson anyways. It was an evil statement to end an evil match. The Cogars had left their mark on the boss again and punished his chosen partner for this one. It ended an excellent show with a lot of smashing and a sombre note.

All images courtesy of H2O