Gauntlet for the Gold

The Red Lion hotel was restless as Fusion’s first show for 2007 was about to get underway.  Charlie B directed everyone’s attention to the FusionTron where the Fusion superstars all told the crowd what the Fusion Pro Championship meant to them.  Afterwards, the Fusion music hit and the show began.

Charlie B reminded the crowd about the vacancy for the Fusion Pro Championship, but told them not to worry, as there would be a new Fusion Pro Champion crowned that night.  Charlie then introduced Victoria Starr of the Fusion Pro Boards of Directors to address the crowd.  Ms Starr told the crowd that this was going to be the best year of Fusion yet and told them about Ascension on the 17th of February, where out guests would be not only WWE scout Mike "Simon Dean" Bucci, but also Teddy Jr. and Mike DiBiase, sons of the one and only Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.  Victoria told the crowd to grab a drink, sit back and enjoy one hell of a ride, and the Fusion stars didn’t disappoint. 

For the Gauntlet match, all ex Fusion Pro Champions get an automatic bye, meaning that “Mr. Intensity” Jeff Mcallister, Juntsu and “Sensational” Paul Diamond were all in.  The remaining spots would be decided by five qualification matches.  Without further ado, the qualifications began

1st Qualification Match
“Your Idol” Jack Mecidol vs. Hannibal

The two most eccentric wrestlers on the Fusion roster squared off first as Jack Mecidol took on Hannibal, the man from no fixed address.  Mecidol used his experience and considerable weight advantage to take control early.  Mecidol punished Hannibal with several high impact moves, but still couldn’t break the spirit of Hannibal (as he put it “I like it”)  Hannibal caught Jack with a quick clothesline followed by a dropkick and went to the top rope to finish Mecidol.  Unfortunately for the young star, Mecidol caught him mid flight and hit a huge overhead belly to belly suplex.  Mecidol took his time, stalking Hannibal and finally hit the Ego Crush for three.

Winner: “Your Idol” Jack Mecidol

2nd Qualification Match
“Straight Laced” Tommy Bouchet vs. “Hollywood” JDT

Hollywood JDT came down to the ring meaning business, but Tommy Bouchet jumped him from behind before the bell.  Bouchet kept the attack on JDT, hitting two hard back breakers in succession.  Bouchet set Hollywood up for another backbreaker, but JDT reversed through and hit his opponent with a reverse DDT.  Hollywood went for the quick win with a flurry of pins.  However, even his trademark Crucifix roll up wasn’t enough for the win.  After the quick offense, Tommy Bouchet cut JDT off and regained control.  Bouchet tried gaining the win with a big slam, but JDT still kicked out.  Bouchet send JDT into the corner and went for a big splash, but JDT hit an elbow out of desperation and both men went down.  JDT and Bouchet got to their feet at the same time and began trading right hands.  JDT gained control and before anyone knew what happened, he hit Bouchet with “The Box Office” and gained the victory.

Winner: “Hollywood” JDT

3rd Qualification Match
Jason Noel vs. Duff Doyle

Jason Noel came ready to make the most of his opportunity for the gold, but the Georgia native wasn’t about to give up his shot without a fight.  Jason began by showing his power, pushing Duff into the corner.  As the referee called for a break, Jason took the chance to add insult but slapping Duff in the face.  That slap, however, only managed to infuriate Duff and Jason left the ring as quick as he could with Duff following close behind.  Back in the ring, Duff took the fight to Jason, hitting him with a pair of hip tosses and several hard suplexes.  Jason and Duff traded off high power moves, and the momentum went back and forth several times.  Jason eventually got the better of Duff with a big body slam.  He followed that up with a big running powerslam for 2.  Leaving his normal strategy, Jason climbed to the top turnbuckle and went for a big splash.  However, Duff moved out of the way and Jason landed face first on the canvas.  Duff saw his chance and set Jason up for the Airplane Spin.  Jason, showing ring knowledge beyond his experience, elbowed his way out and went for The Beholder.  Duff one upped him once again and hit the Airplane Spin for the win.

Winner: Duff Doyle

4th Qualification Match
“The Arabian Prince” Raheem Rashaad vs. The Amish Warrior

The Amish warrior came to the ring with his usually energy and took the fight to the Arabian Prince early, causing him to flee the ring to regather his thoughts.  Inside, The Amish warrior stood channeling his powers until the ref could no longer hold him back.  The Warrior went after Raheem, but the Arabian Prince ‘s trap worked perfectly.  He dropped the Warrior with a double leg take down and pulled halfway out of the ring and hit a big elbow.  Still in control, Raheem drove The Amish one’s back into the ring several times.  Returning to the ring, Raheem continued to work on the Warrior’s back, ramming it into the corner.  Raheem was close to putting the Warrior away when he got a burst of Amish strength and came right back into the match.  He hit a Manhattan drop on Rashad and followed that up with a big clothesline.  The Amish Warrior went for a suplex, but Raheem blocked it and hit one of his own.  Raheem sent the Amish Warrior to the apron, but as he approached, the Warrior went low and hit a shoulder to the stomach.  The Warrior set up for the Amish Claw and locked in on to Raheem, followed by the Claw slam.  Raheem fought his way out of the claw and, before the Warrior could recover, hit the U.A.E Slam for a victory and a spot in the Gauntlet.

Winner: “The Arabian Prince” Raheem Rashaad

5th Qualification Match
“The One and Only” Billy V vs. Echo

The last Qualification match of the night saw Billy V taking on the Enigma Echo. 
The match started on a technical note, as Echo began working Billy’s over Billy’s arm.  After a few reversals, Echo regained control with several hard shots to the head.  The two traded kicks with each other until Echo took over.  Echo laid Billy out and stood over him, miming that she was shoveling (a reference to Billy’s interview earlier where he said that making it requires a trail of Dead Bodies) Billy saw that Echo’s was guard was down and rolled the Enigma up for a two count.  Echo regained composure and hit Billy with two knees and a hard dropkick to the face.  Echo tried and tried to put Billy away, but the Veteran would not be denied his shot at the gold.  He fought back, hitting Echo with a series of high impact offense, and suddenly he hit Echo with The Burning Guillotine and secured the final spot in the eight man gauntlet.

Winner: “The One and Only” Billy V

All the contestants for the Gauntlet match were introduced and shown the title they were all hoping for.  Charlie B briefed the crowd on the rules and announced that according to the blind draw, Jack Mecidol and Paul Diamond would be starting the match.  He wished all eight men the best of luck and the match began.

Eight Man Gauntlet for the Fusion Pro Championship

Jack Mecidol vs “Hollywood” JDT vs Duff Doyle vs Raheem Rashad vs Billy V vs Jeff Mcallister vs Paul Diamond vs Juntsu

The match began with Diamond taking the advantage over Mecidol with an Amateur take down.  After a few moments, JDT tagged in and took the fight to Mecidol.  Over the next several minutes, all eight men tagged in and fought it out.  With every man for himself, the crowd saw some interesting tandem combinations, including Jeff Mcallister and Billy V working together.  Unsurprisingly, Juntsu and Raheem Rashaad (who call themselves the clique) worked as a team to keep the title in the clique.  Together, they beat down on JDT relentlessly, going for the win.  In the corner, Jack Mecidol was urging JDT to tag him.  However, as he went for the tag, Mecidol jumped down the floor, allowing Raheem to attack him again.  Mecidol finally tagged in and took control of the Arabian Prince.  Jack led Raheem around the ring, boasting that he didn’t need anyone, he could do it all himself.  Suddenly, Raheem tagged in Juntsu who immediately sent Mecidol to the mat.  In desperation, Jack went to tag in JDT, but the Hollywood star returned the favor from earlier and dropped to the floor, as Jack went around the ring, trying to tag someone, all six men jumped off the apron, leaving Mecidol to fend for himself.  Mecidol threw a minor tantrum at the treatment he received, leaving him vulnerable to a Doomsday Device courtesy of the Clique and giving the crowd the first elimination.  After Mecidol left ringside (to a chorus of hey hey, Goodbye from the crowd) Billy V jumped into the ring to battle Juntsu.  Juntsu took control with a nerve grip.  Juntsu tagged in Raheem and Billy V took control with a big boot.  Both men tagged out, bringing JDT and Juntsu back into the match.  JDT was holding his own against the former champ, but Juntsu showed how dangerous he could be by hitting a Spine Buster out of nowhere for the second elimination.  Diamond entered the match and attacked Juntsu with his patented quick hit offense.  He went for the Wa Ta Ta Tang (his face-kick in the corner) but Juntsu ducked, leaving Raheem wide open for the shot.  Diamond hit the ropes to gain speed, but as he crossed the ring, Raheem attempted to pull down the ropes and send Diamond to the outside, fortunately, his trick didn’t work and Diamond kicked Raheem off of the apron to the floor.  Juntsu saw a chance and nailed Diamond with a big forearm.  Juntsu set up for a back body drop, but Diamond flipped through and made the tag to “Mr. Intensity” Jeff Mcallister.  Mcallister raked Juntsu’s eyes, blinding the big man.  Raheem came in, but Mcallister got the best of him, sending him into Juntsu who, not knowing it was his partner, hit another crushing Spine Buster on Raheem.  Mcallister jumped on Raheem and eliminated him from the match.  After the elimination,  Mcallister through Juntsu to the outside, Billy V and Duff Doyle both rushed the ring, but they went out as well.  Mcallister then signaled to Diamond to fly.  The Sensational one took a flying leap and, using Mr Intensity as a launching pad, flew to the outside with a cross body.  However, the combined strength of the three allowed them to catch him.  Mcallister wasn’t about to let in end there, however, and he flew after Diamond with a suicide dive, driving all four stars to the floor.  Back in the ring, Mcallister suggested they all work together to eliminate Juntsu.  He, Duff, Billy and Diamond agreed and attempted to eliminate the big man.  Things were going well until Juntsu managed to hit a Sky High on Billy V out of nowhere, eliminating him and narrowing the field to four.  The remaining three competitors weren’t about to leave anything else to chance.  After a big splash from Mr Intensity, a Frog splash from Diamond and a big leg drop from Duff, Juntsu was eliminated.  Not wasting anytime, Mcallister went back up to eliminate Duff.  He hit a big cross body, but Duff rolled through and got the three, sending Mcallister to the back.  The only two left, Diamond and Duff locked eyes and stared each other down.  Diamond used his speed early, hitting a cross body and a Russian leg sweep for two.  Diamond went for a springboard Hurricanrana, but Duff caught him in midair and slammed him to the mat with a vicious powerbomb.  Diamond wasn’t about to give up, however,and managed to kick out an instant before three.  The kick out seemed to only give Duff more confidence though.  He jumped up and waited for Diamond to return to his feet.  Once there, Duff hit a double leg takedown and locked in his submission hold,  the Trailer Hitch.  Diamond tried his best to make the ropes, but it wasn't;t enough in the end.  With no other option, e was forced to tap out.

Winner, and New FUSION PRO CHAMPION: DUFF DOYLE