Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary friends, welcome to the grand finale of another series of UWFI contenders’ fights. Every season has offered something special and this has been no different, giving us the compelling fights, great stories, and some unique rivalries that no one would have expected. I always feel a slight sadness when we reach season’s end but some of the best fights are always saved for last and this one promised to do the same. On the cards tonight we’d see, Dustin Leonard try to punch his ticket to the Super Middleweight Title by beating Ryan Clark, Max ZERO taking on Sidney Von Engeland, C.R.E.E.P.S having an internal scrap, Jordan Blade looking to make history as Paradigm’s longest reigning champion by retaining against Phoenix Kidd and lastly, in the main event, Alex Kane has to defend his Heavy-Hitters Title against the Mad Dog. Let’s get into the carnage after this reminder of the rules.

As it’s UWFI, we’re not just wrestling. There’s a specific set of rules to follow. Matches can be won by submission, knockout, ref stoppage, or, by draining your opponent of points. How do you do that exactly? Well, rope breaks, suplexes with intent to KO, and knockdowns will all drain various amounts of points. You run out of your 15 allotted points; you lose. Points can also be lost for intentionally breaking the code of conduct so fight clean or pay the price. Fights are meant to be short, sweet, and as deadly as possible. Let’s see who benefitted today, shall we?

Paradigm Super Middleweight Eliminator: Dustin Leonard (w/Ben Shearin) defeated Ryan Clark via Knee Lock

Up first, we were going to decide on another contender to Jordan Blade’s Super Middleweight Title, well if she still held it by the end of the episode. It would be the unstoppable Sultan of Submission, Dustin Leonard of the Ben Shearin Brand taking on the Martini sipping Swinger, Ryan Clark. This was a high-stakes fight to kick things off as this final victory stood between Leonard and a chance at the title he cherishes. He put on another masterclass too. Clark was in full defensive mode as Leonard just swarmed him with takedowns, holds, and submission attempts. Leonard may never need the ropes but Clark had to utilise them multiple times to get away from Leonard’s clutches. It wasn’t one-sided, since Clark was holding his own but it seemed that Leonard was continuously keeping the Swinger at bay and stopping him from getting anything going. It was an intense first fight and one final display of brilliance for both. Whoever holds that Super Middleweight Title has better watch out, they’ll have a date with Dustin Leonard sooner or later.

Max ZERO defeated Sidney Von Engeland (w/Eden Von Engeland) via Sleeper Hold Pass out

It was time for some Himbo violence as Max ZERO participated in his last fight of the night. The Himboss has had a good run this series and looked to end it on a high note by beating the Great British Gaijin, Sidney Von Engeland. This would be no easy task but if anyone had the tools needed to beat a Von Engeland, it was ZERO. This was quite a fun fight. Sidney was pretty tired after the other matches he’d had this season so he spent a lot of time lethargic and lifeless. ZERO tried to wake him up by throwing him around and it worked as the pair bantered their way into a pretty competitive match. It was a great and powerful win for ZERO as he lulled Sidney to sleep with a Sleeper Hold. Despite the clear lethargy on display from the filming process, Sidney still put in a good show and wove a fun fight out of their pairing. ZERO is building quite a bit of momentum and I hope we keep seeing more from the Himbo Slice, especially now he’s coming for the Heavy-Hitters Title.

C.R.E.E.P.S Warfare: Irving West defeated Andey Ripley via Half Crab

Nothing is quite so fun as watching teams fight each other. We’d seen Von Engeland warfare, now we were getting to see C.R.E.E.P.S warfare as the Floral Prince Irving West took on his partner, The King of the Intergender Match, Andey Ripley. These two have very different styles of fighting so it would be fun to see just which C.R.E.E.P would stand tall when the smoke cleared. It would be Dr. Irving West PhD with his hand raised after a Half Crab. C.R.E.E.P.S made sure to give us a bit of everything as they grappled, struck, and headbutted their way through a brief, evenly-matched fight. They both obviously know the other’s strengths and weaknesses and tried to use said knowledge to try and put a stop to each other. It was an entertaining little combat experience with West coming out on top. C.R.E.E.P.S still continues to captivate even when they’re battling each other instead of another team. They too want in on the proposed UWFI tag titles. I do wish to know though, was Irving West having fun?

Paradigm Super Middleweight Title: Jordan Blade defeated Phoenix Kidd via Running Knee KO

History could be made during our next fight as Jordan Blade was on the precipice of setting a record. The Submission Sniper has been undefeatable during her time as champion and with one final win, she could set the record as Paradigm’s longest-reigning champion ever. Standing in the way of that, was Cruiser Brody Phoenix Kidd. The Gatekeeper of the UWFI division had shot their shot and now, the title was in his crosshairs. This was going to be one hell of a vicious fight. in an interesting turn of events, Phoenix Kidd pushed his normal smash mouth “fuck you” style to the wayside in favour of a more grapple-centric approach. He wanted to beat Blade at her own game but it never quite went in their favour. Blade can grapple better than most people on the roster and showed off her range of locks and holds, forcing Kidd to play defence. The Gatekeeper kept getting up and fighting back but whenever it went to the ground it seemed to be all systems Blade. Kidd eventually erupted and brought out more of the Brody style but all this did was piss Blade off. A Suplex later, Kidd was on his knees throwing the bird and getting kneed in the face for the L. It was an enjoyable fight and a chance to see more of the technical skills Kidd has but Blade remains unbeatable and hungry for the next challenge. Eden Von Engeland wants to be that challenge and since they are undefeated in UWFI rules, it seems like a match to be made.

Paradigm Heavy-Hitters Title: Austin Connelly defeated Alex Kane via Ripcord Lariat

Last but not least, the main event. Austin Connelly had been one of the most feared competitors in the division, then he met Alex Kane. The Suplex Assassin destroyed the Mad Dog in their last encounter and since then, Connelly has been on the warpath to redemption. After becoming the absolute spoiler of the UWFI division and taking out anyone in his way, the leash was coming off again. Kane has won the first round, was he going to survive the second? No, he could not. It all seemed over in a flash at first as Kane hit not one but two Mark of Kane’s instantly on the Mad Dog. The problem was, that Connelly was still stirring so Kane tried to inflict more punishment. That stirred Connelly back to life and he quickly had Kane crushed in the buckles and on his back after a Gutwrench Suplex. No one expected the comeback and even fewer people expected the Ripcord Lariat that followed. Connelly kept dropping blows so the ref stopped the match. Connelly had done it. He’d avenged the horrifying loss he took at the hands of Kane and took the Heavy-Hitters Title for himself. It was a shockingly fast fight but when the fighters are hitting this hard, not entirely unexpected. It made for one hell of a main event and ended the season with a bang. We will now see how the purple belt fares under the reign of the Mad Dog.

All images courtesy of Paradigm